THE DEVIL IN LONDON.

NZ Truth, Issue 170, 19 September 1908, Page 8

THE DEVIL IN LONDON.

In the Shadow of St. Stephen's,

v- KBy geo. r. snts)V

S^n Fairfax sat m the Strangers' Gallery, at the Hous6 of Commons and listtehed to a great debate. The measure before, the House was a notable one, and dealt with one of the great social problems of tbe day. Fairfax listened with the .deepest, in■terest to the eloquent words m which speaker after speaker dwelt upon the ' evil, conditions which ttiis measure . .would ameliorate. ' . Some of the .speakers discussed the terrible conditions prevailing m the v i£ast. End slums, and dwelt emphatically upon the' cruelties imposed upon the poor by rapacious landlords of an alien race, the neartless house-farmers - who trade upon the7 miseries of toasses brought about 'by congested areas. It was the second reading of the Bill, and- Fairfax had com© m as the debate was . rfearing* the end. . He waited for /the division/ and when the second vending, had been carried by> a large; majority, .he left the gallery and \rwent out , into the palace yard. His travels behind the scenes 1 m London, the kmpwredge , he . had acquired of' the. /terrible conditions , under which a :Vast proportion of the population live— mVii Jsonie instances , : unbelievable— had touched him 'deeply,' and he left the House "of •■ the Lawgivers with deep ' feeing of gratitirde '■' In his heart that the men who represented- ;: the people took such a.rigcrous vie%y / of tbe situation, and : were striving so earnestly to bring about a better state of things. Ifie felt bappy >■ that evening, and he ftad every cause' to te happy. On. the previous Saturday -he had been present at the'.THall : of Hospitality at Sit JKthelbert's, 'when' the* Sisters 7 of the People received their guests; -and fie had ihtef- • esfed Sjster Angela:, very much" when he. told her 6f his adventures araongr the. opium' siuokers,- and -his discovery of the''truth'of. Lady Halcembe's statement.. • ; A|i^r the "Bveni»g '"Party" broke up, ,the". Rev. Arthur' ttelwyn had asked torepme itftb his' "room; and had sn)ilingly informed the "new-recruit"- that Sister, Angela had ; tdld ; him, as the head of tfie' Mission, cf what had passed between Mr Fairfax and 'herself. > -» ■ Tlie J'pung millidnairo : was not quite ptepare'd fcr the official discussion, of his ,Viu.discretiPn," but the kindly pastdr Bopntpiit' him, at his ease.- ■ •'I have formed/ a, very. high, opinion oi you, .--Mr Faii.fax«,i' \h&: said, '.'and 1 knqyir $bat you are not "merely a very wealthy man, but one . who wants to, use Ms wealth wisely. I have « great regard fine Sister Angela, and -I take a fatherly, interest iv her, for. she has no near relatives of hex- own-, and has, so far, devoted herself entirely to our .work , here. lam sure that you' would find in /her not only, a good wife of whom any man' jtfight be proud, but an ideal helper m ■•' the .gocd work you hope to do by .personal service, backed by a .big banking account. . , •. . ; MSister Angela has told, me frankly that she admires you,, and so, my. dear, fellow, ..if you wish to resume the little n ■fconversatioii,.' you had<'with her the other day, you\EaSy do so with, my full appro-tal.-V- ,-'"*■ ■"-..-' '.. The clergyman held out his hand, and Fairfax clasped it • gratefully. . They . went : out of the little room together. Sister Angela and, Sister iSmily #«re just .bididing 'the last of. the guests giwd-bye. . . . \ The clergyman called Sister Emily to Mm. fie had some .instructions tc give fier, ■ \ •■ •■ „ • V ' .-••■' Sister Ang^'.a .was "going to her 'home., " Akin Fairfax asked if he might walk a, ,Httle c way wjth ber, and bis offer, was/ accepted with a "smile" that was more .'•toquent than worflsi, ,' - As Alan Faitfax, came out oi the palBfie -yard after listening; to the. debate m mb^House, he stood for a moment hesit feiting. It was:' only ten o'clock and he 0A& ndt want to go home. Sister Angela was away frbrn^ London ' for a couple of day's ; she had gone into the country to see an old friend r of -her fafcher'sj \ . who was -her and to tell him and his ' wifev "of her engagement. . I. „' Fairfax having nothing to do, strolled leisurely' away -from the House of Commons-, '■■■•.-■■'■ It .was a .bright, clear night. He &topj?ed / / f of a moment and looked at "Hie old abbey; bathed m 1±« soft mpon-v hgi't ; then he looked back at the towers « of isilence that drowned tbe House of the S voiicest , or the- people. "'. " -.'? .Bordering the ; great beauty ol the Hquse of ;t.he Laws of God : and theVtow|rihg majesty of the House of . the. 'Laws vi Man lay Parliamenirsquare, and -around, this were the streets\ and squarest, the hi^ways and the byways of the-.CityJ.of .Westminster. '-' : He, woridpred .what Westminster, itself—:] the Westminster, that lies, hidden away—^ '\ )was like. .He remembered the Prince bad'^ more than once hinted that he- should be* pleased tp show, him a little ol the, life* of the people who live: m, the shadow of ) St/ Stephen's. . „ ...".' „ \ He had the. next., day free. Sister An- -\ isela .would still be, law^ay. As he walked" backVto the Spiendid he made up hist mind that lfe would make, onto .more exlperiment with the -, aid; of 'the Rajah's ring.. ,•;- ... „;■ 7 ..;-• . : v ;. . . . ■ ' '■'■'■■ •■ - ■ ■*.. ' ( "-'i •■• - 7 --.' ■ .■•(.' . • . i It .was noon when Alan '•Fairfax and his jpiiide. stood m the>>front space 'by the Abbey. 7 ■ ' : " •>'• ".This :is the . site of the old Sanctuary.;" /said the Prince. "It will/ interest you' to know that Sanctuary has been ot ,the" greatest possible' service to 'me. The il^wless vagabonds, flying from justice who availed themselves of " Sanctuary have . always left their mark uppn the district.; Sanctuaiy" was . established here a thousand years ago. To-day there are parts of JVcstmtoster which still ■ retain the character that Sanctuary ■ gave them m the "days, of Edwal-d the ' Confessor." VDoybu mean tc say, that the character^ of the place' has remained unchanged for a thousand years ! " 'exclaimed;Fairffax; „-;•■ • "■'■"• ■ ■'. V ' . . ..... . "I ' mean to' say that - m the shadow of 7 the "AW)ey there are still slums and by-ways peopled by lawless ■ vagabonds. Come arid see for, yourself." ' ..''.■ :The Prince .le£ i? the - ypung^ millionaire / into, a "■' street v^ liairdly a "stone's throw :from. the Houses of Parliament. ■ At one end there were ' a number ot-dingy-looking houses, and outside each ■of them stood' a knot of slatternly, unIkerhpt women. / "Theise are women's lodging-houses of . ithe lowest description," said th.c Prince. "There is nothing worse m the Kast . End. There are a number of men's lodg-iing-houses here also, and the lodgers are of 'the roughest, class. In one of the alHeys running off this street there' is a Colony of young thieves. In another, the Jbulk of the inhabitants are professional beggars. v . ' "You remember the Beggars' Festival, In, .Victor Hugo's 'Notre Dame'? I codld show you a Beggars' Festival m ,t,he shade w of the .Abbey^ t "The- scenes m this* street are often what you would, call disgraceful. Until ' recently there were v here two publichquses, m each of which a man had been murdered." "They are not here now," asked Fairfax. ' V "N T o. The "report cf the murders was m all the papers, and the publicity caused the .authorities to 'do something.' . "Here is a nice place for people to. live m," said7 i th.=! Prir.ce as he l;ec!i-oned Fairfax to follow him down a long, paved :iHey, with >two-storeyed Juiiises on one side of ,it and a high wall on. 'the other, that almost shut out ,the li'jrlit cf. 3ay. "You can see. what class of people live v here," he said. "The women, ycung and old, have their story -written m their f,j<-es." ' ■■' . ■ ' '.i "This place ought to have been closed ' t>it huiban habitation Ksbg ago,-'' ■*»*•

Fairfax, as tie squeezed himself info a doorway to let a donkey barrow pass him. • "Yes, but there have been half-a-dozen re-housing schemes discussed m tbe big ■ House, round the corner, and this object lesson still remains under the very noses of the legislators." - "Aye and under their eyes," said Fairfax. , . . :"No," replied the Prince. .= . "I doubt if the members of Parliament know very much- a"bbut the Westminster that lies around them. They do not, as a rule, go*. 7 about <to see things for themselves, you know, even when, the 'things' are at their very doors. '* • ; • The visitors made their way through the alley, disturbing, m tbeir progress, several. small card Parties, composed of lads who , were . .sitting on the pavement and playing for money with penny packs cf cards. ' ' : "This used to be called , the Boys' Monte Carlo," said the Prince, '.'but lately" it has become inconvenient. There! are tco many horses brohgh't thrdugh the' alley to' some stables «t the end, and tlie boys .have nibved oh to' a street m which" there is more room on the pavement." V*- •; '"This alley is. one, of two terrible areas m, London that have the credit ot assisting ih'''the survival of the fittest.' You will ijotlce- that tbe lads and young women yoii see coming out of -the houses or hanging about the cpen doors, are physically very good 'Specimens of the race." "I have noticed that." , "The explanation,, is. simple. The space is -so narrow, the buildings so old, that the; sanitary authorities for many years were unable to do , anything ' at all m the way of improvement. There is hardly any ' air", and very little light. In such an environment the weaklings die like flies;. Only the very strongest/ survive. The people that you see are the strong and robust, whose physical qualities have enabled them to survive m such awful conditions." . > . Leaving "the alley; of the survivals,'' the /Prince conducted Fairfax to a wind-, ing 'street of little houses of attaint construction. In some' the stairways were dark • and so narrow that an ordinary stout person had to squeeze his. or her way up or down them;.' In some there was no staircase at all, access to the upper floors being given by means of a flight of wooden, steps m the back yard. "A good many cf the people who lire he'r,e,V said, the Prince, "are costermongers.", *. •..-.■■■" ' - \ ■;.■-•: " „ , ■•-. .'■ ' .. ■■ ■ ;'There seems a good deal of poverty,, remarked Fairfax, locking at some, of the dhildren Vwho were m the . street. . "Yes ;,but there is wealth as well. You should see the place : on SundajNmorning. That , is- * pay-back - day .' There are women living' , r m these houses who are local bankers^ . The costermongers borrow the money to go to market -Qn Friday and pay back 'on Sunday morning." 1 "At what rate of interest?" "Twopence m the .shilling. These local bankers do ' an .enormous' business. Some years ago a woman living m a small he use djfed* and left a- fortuned of thirty thousand, pounds. She ">ad made every farthing of it by lending the costermpng* eirs their, market money at twopence m, , the' shilling." ' "There is a lot of crowding here," suggested the young millionaire, -wben he Had siicn^ {jtnpthcr half hoiir m the.shim^ lof .Westminster ■ "and the housiag condi-. i tionS ' leave . a • good deal, tp be.desJMwL" . '•' Ye.s ; . and : by the actien of tba auraifl- [ r^ties thousands of working people ha^e : been evicted and forced into confcsjsd areas". Lock at those vast sp*ces'l>barded m and s'teewn ' wirfch old . btftldiu.g material,: The whole of the tenants of tbese areas were avicted ; three y«ers age, and ( the spaces laid bare are still vacaa* land ! This is 'thef property of tbe -ticclesiastical Commissioners,. The Kcclesiastical Commissioners have, by their ac*ti(jn, ruined many of. the smaller tradespeople here. • Tttiey have dishoused their customers -and; leit the land lying idle." and bis .guide came out of the j' unsavory, slum, crossed a vast space of t waste labd which" had , once been covered .with working-class dwellings, and the .'Houses of Parliament and the Abbey rose before them. ' , " ' ■ "The Church and the< State !.'' said the; 'Prince with a mocking', laugh, <*arid you 'have seen what lies at fheir very doors.""Yes, v ( replied Fairfax, "aod m the House of Commons yesterday, member; after member denounced the alien house .'farmers „m vigorous terras^ I did not hear anything' said about the' Ecclesiastical Commissioners!" ' "v? 'Or the County Council , which ;in i the. sacred name of 'Imptoyemen-t' has also been busy here. The'r^- is'np part pf LKm--don m which the evictions have been sp v wholesale and so merciless as here.r^be^re is no part of . London' ;in ■which the^'hoius^ ing question has been; more acute." Here iare'some of the lowest lodging-boluses m London. Yet yonder sits the wjsdom of the nation making its; laws, and yonder is Westminster • Abbey. 'In the shadow of these mighty buildingSu the House of tbe ,Laws of Man and ithe?House of the Laws of God, I ought to 'have no territory, but as a matter of fact, this is one of my show places, but I am delighted to have had the. opportunity ol taking you round." ; ' "But Westminster, has been improved. Look at the"" magnificent street that has been cut ttirough it. Look at 1 the noble [piles, of mansions and flats. M VFlats !"• exclaimed the Prince, laughing. "Oh, .yes, I have nothing to say against the Flats, but if you ask some of the lfrcal " clergy yrhat their' views are . oh : the question, you' will get some interesting information. There are streets here where silks and satins have taken the place of rags. I have no reason to com-' plain , ',< but . l believe some of the eleirgy who have spent their lives here wpulcL have preferred -the rags to remain; JNow^ we are here, would you like to see . the: street near the Abbey where the • Sunday Bird Fair is held? Shall I take "you through the dangerous criminal area closeto t the Houses of'Pafliament ? Would you care to see, the class of women '» in' : the lodging-houses m a street that lifes cheek by jowl with the magnificent . thoroughY.' fare which is Westminster's nride,?"\ ; . '■• "No-; 'thank' -' .you," ' replied Fairfax; gravely. "I have seen enougii, but I'iwill tell you what I would like to do."' "What is that ; ?" ' ''To organise a personally conducted toiir of members of Parliament through the. district to which they come day after day to make the laws of the land.' If 1' could do that I would make you go with Us, as our guide, and I would extend the' tour to the whole of London." ".Thank you," replied the Prince, shading his head. "I am not anxious for the task. Jf your members of Parliament saw things for themselves before they talked about them m the House my plan PI campaign might be • seriously interfered with." -. . "But you' forget," exclaimed the- young '.millionaire. "I have a ring that; enables me to callupon you to do as I Wish m this matter. If I invited a number of members of Parliament to personally ixiA'estigate the sociab problems, of the people as London shows them, I could compel you to be our guide and to take us where I wish," The Prince looked keenly at the young man ifpr a momeDt, then bent his head m acquiescence. - "It is for you to command," h& said. "It is for me to obey." "Then I will do my best to organise such, 'a- tour,"' replied Fairfax. "It -I succeed I shall call upon you." He held out his hand, upon wihich was the Rajah's ring. "While I have. 'this," h4 said, "you have no choice but^o obey,'" "The ring that- was giver* you by Blanche D'Artigny, ' ' exclaimeo>the Prince. ? "Yes." 'I "Well, talk of the devil— you ?know {tba prorwb. Look yonder x&j- / ' ' ' '■.:'•■ '.'■'■ '■■■•■•. ' ¥

Fairfax looked m the direction his -guide had pointed, but saw nothing to attract his attention. "What do you mean?" he said. There was no reply. The Prince had vanished. The next moment Fairfax was astonished to see an old white-haired woman coming towards him. It was Blanche D'Artigny. "Ah, Monsieur !" she exclaimed, "it Is you ! You, my benefactor. I have wondered if I should ever stee-yoM again. Ah, monsieur ! the money you sent me 1 did *not ask you for, hut it was a great •blessing to me— a great" blessing !" The old woman seized the hand of the young millionaire, and held it, and bending over it, and kissing it. "Don't do that, please," exclaimed Fairfax, a little confused, for the pass* ers-by bad stopped to witness the strange scene. He withdrew his hand hastily, and the old woman, muttering to herself, disappeared m the little crowd that ha-d gatheretixound, and Fairfax walked rapidly ■awaY. "Poor old soul!" he said to himself. r"Hippe she did not think I was ashamed to be seen with her..,, I owe her a great deal. But for the ring she gave me 1 snonld never have met Angela." As he spoke he looked at the finger upon which the ring had been. The ring, was no longer there. The meaning of the old woman's effusive flashed upon him at once. She had taken his hand, and held it while she kissed it. In this way she had .been able without his "noticing it to Withdraw the ring from his linger. He was sorry' that she" should liave recovered toer property m siich'-a way as that. He would have given it to her again had she asked for it. He determined to .tell her so.. Late that afternoon he went to Soho. He found the street, and he recognised the house. He knocked at the door and a young Frenchwoman opened it. "There is an old lady who lives on the third floor," he said. "Can I see her 1" The young woman shook her head. • "If monsieur means . the old French lady be cannot see Her. She is dead." , "Dead !" "Yes, monsieur. She died a week ago m the hospital., After she was dead the priest who had attended her came here ;and took away all the property 'she had. at was a big travelling trunk. It Was ncr iast wish, he told us, that he should nave iV ■ ■"Dead!" exclaimed Fairfax,. "There must be some mistake. I saw lier this morning." '• "That is impossible, monsieur. I knew her and went to her funeral.'" > Fairfax turned away from the house, and the young woman closed the door. One thing was certain. The ring was on his \finger when ,the old woman stooped to kiss his, hand. Directly sne had gone he missed it 1 . The woman was the living image, of Blanche D'Artigny, and' Blanche D'Artigny was dead. tost m thought; vainly 'seeking to explain the mystery vto himself, a familiar Voice .spoke m his -ear. \■■ "The Devil can • take what shape he chooses," the voice said. "He- has recovered possession, of the Rajah's ring. See London . -for yourself' m future. Organise "what parties you will to learn its' secrets, you- will haye ■ i he devil as your guide no more." Then tbe young millionaire understood. The Rajah's ring'was lost to. him for ever. , ■ ' 7 . ■ He heaved a sigh' of relief . He had at least . put it to excellent use while it was tin his possession. : He had gained a know- : ledge of London that would be of Jthe greatest possible Value vo Mm m trie social service lie hoped to do with his wealth. . And he would need the fiend as acom/panlon no morei He had found an angel— ?4n... angel with a, Roman's heaxt-r-to take the Devil's place and be his companion through life. \ . > •. • ■ '.--.'.' , ; (The End.)