"It is proposed by Mr. Richard Chappel," said Mr. Bartholomew, "boot and shoe maker, and seconded by Mr. William Blackmore, that we form ourselves into a working-man's club, we being all of us Liberals, and our chief object being the political and social advancement of working-men generally. Those in favor of the resolution signify it in the usual manner by holding up their hands."
Full half of those present held up their hands.
"No, no, no," cried the chairman, "there must be something wrong here. You, Stokes, and you, Manning, and you, Bill Forbes, and you, William Blackmore, who seconded the resolution, all voted for it, of course, and now you vote against it. You can't vote two ways!"
Boot and shoe maker No. 2, with a white face, whispered something in a neighbor's ear, who thereupon said:
"Blackmore says he always votes on the contrary. He does it at home."
"But that can't be here," said the chairman; "we must all vote one way or the other. Are you in favor of this club?"
"Yes," every man cried. "Is there any one not in favor of it?"
"Then it's carried," said the chairman, "unanimously. Now we must give it a name."
Upon the face of every man present dwelt a pondering expression, the general just interpretation of which would be vacuity. Half a dozen put their fingers to their brows, but not one of them had a name to propose.
The ever-ready chairman--and be it here remarked that Mr. Bartholomew was as good-humored as he was apt--rose and said:
"It ain't the lightest of matters to give a fit name to such a club as ours. I think I can suggest one."
"Bart's the cleverest chap in the country," said one of the audience. "He ought to be prime-minister."
"I don't throw it in your teeth, mates; it's only a matter of reading, and I don't doubt in a year or two that some of you will know as much as me, and a good deal more. I don't throw it in your teeth, I say, that perhaps none of you ever heard the name of William Wilberforce."
They looked at each other and shook their heads.
"He wasn't a working-man, he was a gentleman with plenty of money; born a gentleman, and bred at college. But, mates, he was a man who saw things with a clear eye, and a clear heart that bled at the sight of oppression, and with a mind steadfast enough to accomplish what it was set upon. It is to William Wilberforce that we may say we owe--not only we, but all mankind--the abolition of slavery."