Instead of waiting till eight o'clock, the usual breakfast hour, superintendent3 Burchell brought my last prison meal at seven. I wondered at his haste, but when he came again, a few minutes later, to see if I had done, I saw through the game. The authorities wished to "discharge" me rapidly, before the hour when my friends would assemble at the prison gates, and so lessen4 the force of the demonstration5. I slackened speed at once, drank my tea in sips6, and munched7 my dry bread with great deliberation. "Come," said superintendent Burchell, "you're very slow this morning." "Oh," I replied, "there's no hurry; after twelve months of it a few minutes make little difference." Burchell put the words and my smile together, and gave the game up.
Down in the bathroom at the foot of the debtors8' wing my clothes were set out, and some kind hand had spread a piece of bright carpet for my feet. I dressed very leisurely9. With equal tardiness10 I went through the ceremony of receiving my effects, carefully checking every article, and counting the money coin by coin. The Governor tendered me half a sovereign, the highest sum a prisoner can earn. "Thank you," I said, "but I can't take their money." We had to go through the farce11.
In the little gate-house I met Mr. Bradlaugh, Mrs. Besant, and my wife. Colonel Milman wished us good-bye, the gate opened, and a mighty12 shout broke from the huge crowd outside. From all parts of London they had wended in the early morning to greet me, and there they stood in their thousands. Yet I felt rather sad than elated. The world was so full of wrong, though the hearts of those men and women beat so true!
As our open carriage crawled through the dense13 crowd I saw men's lips twitching14 and women shedding tears. They crowded round us, eager for a shake of the hand, a word, a look. At length we got free, and drove towards the Hall of Science, followed by a procession of brakes and other vehicles over half a mile long.
There was a public breakfast, at which hundreds sat down. I took a cup of tea, but ate nothing. After a long imprisonment15 I could not trust my stomach, and I had to make a speech.
After Mr. Bradlaugh, Mrs. Besant and the Rev16. W. Sharman (secretary of the Society for the Repeal17 of the Blasphemy18 Laws), had made speeches, which I should blush to transcribe19, I rose to respond. It was a ticklish20 moment. But I found I had a voice still, and the words came readily enough. Concluding my address I said: "I thank you for your greeting. I am not played out. I am thinner. The doctor told me I had lost two stone, and I believe it. But after all I do not think the ship's timbers are much injured. The rogues21 ran me aground, but they never made me haul down the flag. Now I am floated again I mean to let the old flag stream out on the wind as of yore. I mean to join the rest of our fleet in fighting the pirates and slavers on the high seas of thought."
An hour afterwards my feet were on my own fender. I was home again. What a delicious sensation after twelve months in a prison cell!
Friends prescribed a rest at the seaside for me, but I felt that the best tonic22 was work. In less than three days I settled everything. I resumed the editorship of the Freethinker at once, and began filling up my list of engagements. On meeting the Committee, who had managed our affairs in our absence, I found everything in perfect order, besides a considerable profit at the banker's. Messrs. A. Hilditch, R. O. Smith, J., Grout and G. Standring had given ungrudgingly of their time; Mr. C. Herbert, acting23 as treasurer24, had kept the accounts with painstaking25 precision; and Mrs. Besant had proved how a woman could take the lead of men. Nor must I forget Mr. Robert Forder, the Secretary of the National Secular26 Society, who acted as shopman at our publishing office, and sustained the business by his assiduity. I had also to thank Dr. Aveling for his interim27 editorship of the Freethinker, and the admirable manner in which he had conducted Progress.
The first number of the Freethinker under my fresh editorship appeared on the following Thursday. In concluding my introductory address I said:
"I promise the readers of the Freethinker that they shall,
Not only the writer's pen, but the artist's pencil, shall be busy
in this good work; and the absurdities32 of faith shall, if possible,
implacable war with both."
The artist's pencil! Yes, I had resolved to repeat what I was punished for. I left written instructions against the publication of Comic Bible Sketches36 in the Freethinker during my imprisonment; but although I would not impose the risk on others, I was determined37 to face it myself. A fortnight after my release the Sketches were resumed, and they have been continued ever since. My reasons for this decision were expressed at a public banquet in the Hall of Science on March 12. I then said:
"Mr. Bradlaugh has said that the Freethought party—which no
one will dispute his right to speak for—looks to me, among
others, after my imprisonment, to maintain with dignity whatever
position I have won. I hope I shall not disappoint the expectation.
But I should like it to be clearly understood that I consider
after suffering a cruel and unjust sentence, for no crime except
that of thinking and speaking freely, is to stand again for the
same right he exercised before, to pursue the very policy for
at least until the opposition42 resorts to suasion instead of
force, and tries to win by criticism what it will never win
by the gaol. It is my intention to-morrow morning to drive
to the West of London, and to leave the first copy of this week's
Freethinker pulled from the press at Judge North's house with
my compliments and my card."
Prolonged applause greeted this announcement, and I kept my word. Judge North had the first copy of the re-illustrated Freethinker and I hope he relished43. At any rate, it showed him, as John Bright says, that "force is no remedy."
At the banquet I refer to I was presented with a purse of gold, in common with Mr. Ramsey, and an Illuminated44 Address, which ran as follows:
"To GEORGE WILLIAM FOOTE, Vice-President of the National Secular
Society, who suffered for twelve months in Holloway Gaol for the
so-called offence of Blasphemy.
"In offering you on your release this illuminated address, and
the accompanying purse of gold, we do not seek to give you
recompense for the sufferings and insults which have been
heaped upon you. We bring them only as a symbol of our thanks
the right of free speech on religious questions; thanks,
at once cruel and unjust; thanks, because you have carried
on our days the traditions of a Freethought faithful in the
prison as on the platform.
"Signed on behalf of the National Secular Society
C. BRADLAUGH, President.
R. FORDER, Secretary."
Greatly also did I value the greeting I received, with my two fellow prisoners, from the working men of East London. At a crowded meeting in the large hall of the Haggerston Road Club, attended by representatives of other associations, I was presented with the following address:
present this testimonial to George William Foote as a token of
admiration of the courage displayed by him in the advocacy of
free speech, and in sympathy for the sufferings endured during
twelve months' imprisonment for the same under barbarous laws
unfitted for the spirit of a free people.
"Signed on behalf of the Council
ALFRED PIKE, President.
The largest audience that ever assembled at the Hall of Science listened to my first lecture, at which Mr. Bradlaugh presided, two days after my release. Seventeen hundred people crowded into a room that seats nine hundred, and as many were unable to gain admission. Similar welcomes awaited me in the provinces; and ever since my audiences, as well as the sale of my journal and writings, have been far larger than before my imprisonment. Hundreds of people, as they have told me, have been converted to Freethought by my sufferings, my lectures, and my pamphlets. I hope Judge North is satisfied.
To prevent a break-down in case of another prosecution49, Mr. Ramsey and I clubbed our resources, and purchased printing plant and machinery50, so that the production of the Freethinker and other "blasphemous51" literature might be done under our own root. The bigots had proved themselves unable to intimidate52 us, and as we were no longer at the mercy of printers they gave up the idea of molesting53 us. May Freethinkers ever act in this spirit, and be true to the great traditions of our cause!
The End
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1
expectancy
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| n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额 | |
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anticipation
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| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
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3
superintendent
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| n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长 | |
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lessen
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| vt.减少，减轻；缩小 | |
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demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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6
sips
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| n.小口喝，一小口的量( sip的名词复数 )v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的第三人称单数 ) | |
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7
munched
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| v.用力咀嚼（某物），大嚼( munch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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8
debtors
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| n.债务人，借方( debtor的名词复数 ) | |
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9
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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tardiness
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| n.缓慢；迟延；拖拉 | |
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farce
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| n.闹剧，笑剧，滑稽戏；胡闹 | |
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12
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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14
twitching
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| n.颤搐 | |
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imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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16
rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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repeal
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| n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消 | |
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blasphemy
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| n.亵渎，渎神 | |
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19
transcribe
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| v.抄写，誉写；改编(乐曲)；复制，转录 | |
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20
ticklish
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| adj.怕痒的；问题棘手的；adv.怕痒地；n.怕痒，小心处理 | |
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21
rogues
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| n.流氓( rogue的名词复数 )；无赖；调皮捣蛋的人；离群的野兽 | |
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tonic
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| n./adj.滋补品，补药，强身的，健体的 | |
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23
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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24
treasurer
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| n.司库，财务主管 | |
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25
painstaking
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| adj.苦干的；艰苦的，费力的，刻苦的 | |
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secular
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| n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的 | |
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27
interim
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| adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间 | |
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28
diminution
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| n.减少；变小 | |
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29
vigor
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| n.活力，精力，元气 | |
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30
shams
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| 假象( sham的名词复数 )； 假货； 虚假的行为（或感情、言语等）； 假装…的人 | |
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31
superstitions
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| 迷信，迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 ) | |
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32
absurdities
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| n.极端无理性( absurdity的名词复数 )；荒谬；谬论；荒谬的行为 | |
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33
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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34
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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35
ridicule
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| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
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36
sketches
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| n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概 | |
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37
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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38
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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39
gaol
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| n.(jail)监狱；(不加冠词)监禁；vt.使…坐牢 | |
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40
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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41
flinch
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| v.畏缩，退缩 | |
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42
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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43
relished
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| v.欣赏( relish的过去式和过去分词 )；从…获得乐趣；渴望 | |
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44
illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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45
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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46
flinching
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| v.（因危险和痛苦）退缩，畏惧( flinch的现在分词 ) | |
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47
borough
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| n.享有自治权的市镇；(英)自治市镇 | |
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48
knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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49
prosecution
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| n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营 | |
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50
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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51
blasphemous
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| adj.亵渎神明的，不敬神的 | |
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52
intimidate
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| vt.恐吓，威胁 | |
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53
molesting
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| v.骚扰( molest的现在分词 )；干扰；调戏；猥亵 | |
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