The Fixed Period

by Anthony Trollope

  CHAPTER X.

  THE TOWN-HALL.

  When I went home and told them what was to be done, they were ofcourse surprised, but apparently not very unhappy. Mrs Neverbendsuggested that she should accompany me, so as to look after my linenand other personal comforts. But I told her, whether truly or not Ihardly then knew, that there would be no room for her on board a shipof war such as the John Bright. Since I have lived on board her, Ihave become aware that they would willingly have accommodated, at myrequest, a very much larger family than my own. Mrs Neverbend at oncewent to work to provide for my enforced absence, and in the course ofthe day Eva Crasweller came in to help her. Eva's manner to myselfhad become perfectly altered since the previous morning. Nothingcould be more affectionate, more gracious, or more winning, than shewas now; and I envied Jack the short moments of _tete-a-tete_ retreatwhich seemed from time to time to be necessary for carrying out thearrangements of the day.

  I may as well state here, that from this time Abraham Grundleshowed himself to be a declared enemy, and that the partnership wasdissolved between Crasweller and himself. He at once brought anaction against my old friend for the recovery of that proportion ofhis property to which he was held to be entitled under our marriagelaws. This Mr Crasweller immediately offered to pay him; but someof our more respectable lawyers interfered, and persuaded him notto make the sacrifice. There then came on a long action, with anappeal,--all which was given against Grundle, and nearly ruined theGrundles. It seemed to me, as far as I could go into the matter, thatGrundle had all the law on his side. But there arose certain quibblesand questions, all of which Jack had at his fingers'-ends, by thestrength of which the unfortunate young man was trounced. As Ilearned by the letters which Eva wrote to me, Crasweller was allthrough most anxious to pay him; but the lawyers would not have itso, and therefore so much of the property of Little Christchurch wassaved for the ultimate benefit of that happy fellow Jack Neverbend.

  On the afternoon of the one day which, as a matter of grace, hadbeen allowed to me, Sir Ferdinando declared his intention of makinga speech to the people of Gladstonopolis. "He was desirous," hesaid, "of explaining to the community at large the objects of H.M.Government in sending him to Britannula, and in requesting theinhabitants to revert to their old form of government." "Requestindeed," I said to Crasweller, throwing all possible scorn into thetone of my voice,--"request! with the North-north-west Birminghamregiment, and his 250-ton steam-swiveller in the harbour! ThatFerdinando Brown knows how to conceal his claws beneath a velvetglove. We are to be slaves,--slaves because England so wills it. Weare robbed of our constitution, our freedom of action is taken fromus, and we are reduced to the lamentable condition of a British Crowncolony! And all this is to be done because we had striven to riseabove the prejudices of the day." Crasweller smiled, and said not aword to oppose me, and accepted all my indignation with assent; buthe certainly did not show any enthusiasm. A happier old gentleman,or one more active for his years, I had never known. It was butyesterday that I had seen him so absolutely cowed as to be hardlyable to speak a word. And all this change had occurred simply becausehe was to be allowed to die out in the open world, instead ofenjoying the honour of having been the first to depart in conformitywith the new theory. He and I, however, spent thus one day longerin sweet friendship; and I do not doubt but that, when I returnto Britannula, I shall find him living in great comfort at LittleChristchurch.

  At three o'clock we all went into our great town-hall to hear whatSir Ferdinando had to say to us. The chamber is a very spacious one,fitted up with a large organ, and all the arrangements necessary fora music-hall; but I had never seen a greater crowd than was collectedthere on this occasion. There was not a vacant corner to be found;and I heard that very many of the inhabitants went away greatlydispleased in that they could not be accommodated. Sir Ferdinando hadbeen very particular in asking the attendance of Captain Battleax,and as many of the ship's officers as could be spared. This, I wastold, he did in order that something of the _eclat_ of his orationmight be taken back to England. Sir Ferdinando was a man who thoughtmuch of his own eloquence,--and much also of the advantage which hemight reap from it in the opinion of his fellow-countrymen generally.I found that a place of honour had been reserved for me too at hisright hand, and also one for my wife at his left. I must confess thatin these last moments of my sojourn among the people over whom I hadruled, I was treated with the most distinguished courtesy. But, asI continued to say to myself, I was to be banished in a few hoursas one whose intended cruelties were too abominable to allow of myremaining in my own country. On the first seat behind the chair satCaptain Battleax, with four or five of his officers behind him. "Soyou have left Lieutenant Crosstrees in charge of your little toy," Iwhispered to Captain Battleax.

  "With a glass," he replied, "by which he will be able to see whetheryou leave the building. In that case, he will blow us all intoatoms."

  Then Sir Ferdinando rose to his legs, and began his speech. I hadnever before heard a specimen of that special oratory to which theepithet flowery may be most appropriately applied. It has all thefinished polish of England, joined to the fervid imagination ofIreland. It streams on without a pause, and without any necessary endbut that which the convenience of time may dictate. It comes withoutthe slightest effort, and it goes without producing any great effect.It is sweet at the moment. It pleases many, and can offend none. Butit is hardly afterwards much remembered, and is efficacious only insmoothing somewhat the rough ways of this harsh world. But I haveobserved that in what I have read of British debates, those who havebeen eloquent after this fashion are generally firm to some purposeof self-interest. Sir Ferdinando had on this occasion dressed himselfwith minute care; and though he had for the hour before been verysedulous in manipulating certain notes, he now was careful to shownot a scrap of paper; and I must do him the justice to declare thathe spun out the words from the reel of his memory as though they allcame spontaneous and pat to his tongue.

  "Mr Neverbend," he said, "ladies and gentlemen,--I have to-day forthe first time the great pleasure of addressing an intelligentconcourse of citizens in Britannula. I trust that before myacquaintance with this prosperous community may be brought to an end,I may have many another opportunity afforded me of addressing you. Ithas been my lot in life to serve my Sovereign in various parts of theworld, and humbly to represent the throne of England in every quarterof the globe. But by the admitted testimony of all people,--myfellow-countrymen at home in England, and those who are equally myfellow-countrymen in the colonies to which I have been sent,--it isacknowledged that in prosperity, intelligence, and civilisation, youare excelled by no English-speaking section of the world. And if bynone who speak English, who shall then aspire to excel you? Such,as I have learned, has been the common verdict given; and as I lookround this vast room, on a spot which fifty years ago the marsupialraces had under their own dominion, and see the feminine beauty andmanly grace which greet me on every side, I can well believe thatsome peculiarly kind freak of nature has been at work, and has tendedto produce a people as strong as it is beautiful, and as clever inits wit as it is graceful in its actions." Here the speaker paused,and the audience all clapped their hands and stamped their feet,which seemed to me to be a very improper mode of testifying theirassent to their own praises. But Sir Ferdinando took it all in goodpart, and went on with his speech.

  "I have been sent here, ladies and gentlemen, on a peculiarmission,--on a duty as to which, though I am desirous of explainingit to all of you in every detail, I feel a difficulty of saying asingle word." "Fixed Period," was shouted from one of the balconiesin a voice which I recognised as that of Mr Tallowax. "My friendin the gallery," continued Sir Ferdinando, "reminds me of the veryword for which I should in vain have cudgelled my brain. The FixedPeriod is the subject on which I am called upon to say to you a fewwords;--the Fixed Period, and the man who has, I believe, been amongyou the chief author of that system of living,--and if I may bepermitted to say so, of dying al
so." Here the orator allowed hisvoice to fade away in a melancholy cadence, while he turned his facetowards me, and with a gentle motion laid his right hand upon myshoulder. "Oh, my friends, it is, to say the least of it, a startlingproject." "Uncommon, if it was your turn next," said Tallowax in thegallery. "Yes, indeed," continued Sir Ferdinando, "if it were myturn next! I must own, that though I should consider myself to beaffronted if I were told that I were faint-hearted,--though I shouldknow myself to be maligned if it were said of me that I have acoward's fear of death,--still I should feel far from comfortable ifthat age came upon me which this system has defined, and were I tolive in a country in which it has prevailed. Though I trust that Imay be able to meet death like a brave man when it may come, still Ishould wish that it might come by God's hand, and not by the wisdomof a man.

  "I have nothing to say against the wisdom of that man," continuedhe, turning to me again. "I know all the arguments with which hehas fortified himself. They have travelled even as far as my ears;but I venture to use the experience which I have gathered in manycountries, and to tell him that in accordance with God's purposes theworld is not as yet ripe for his wisdom." I could not help thinkingas he spoke thus, that he was not perhaps acquainted with all thearguments on which my system of the Fixed Period was founded; andthat if he would do me the honour to listen to a few words which Iproposed to speak to the people of Britannula before I left them,he would have clearer ideas about it than had ever yet entered intohis mind. "Oh, my friends," said he, rising to the altitudes of hiseloquence, "it is fitting for us that we should leave these things inthe hands of the Almighty. It is fitting for us, at any rate, that weshould do so till we have been brought by Him to a state of god-likeknowledge infinitely superior to that which we at present possess."Here I could perceive that Sir Ferdinando was revelling in the soundsof his own words, and that he had prepared and learnt by heart thetones of his voice, and even the motion of his hands. "We all knowthat it is not allowed to us to rush into His presence by any deed ofour own. You all remember what the poet says,--

  'Or that the Everlasting had not fixed His canon 'gainst self-slaughter!'

  Is not this self-slaughter, this theory in accordance with which aman shall devote himself to death at a certain period? And if a manmay not slay himself, how shall he then, in the exercise of his poorhuman wit, devote a fellow-creature to certain death?" "And he aswell as ever he was in his life," said Tallowax in the gallery.

  "My friend does well to remind me. Though Mr Neverbend has named aFixed Period for human life, and has perhaps chosen that at which itsenergies may usually be found to diminish, who can say that he haseven approached the certainty of that death which the Lord sendsupon us all at His own period? The poor fellow to whom nature hasbeen unkind, departs from us decrepit and worn out at forty; whereasanother at seventy is still hale and strong in performing the dailywork of his life."

  "I am strong enough to do a'most anything for myself, and I was tobe the next to go,--the very next." This in a treble voice came fromthat poor fellow Barnes, who had suffered nearly the pangs of deathitself from the Fixed Period.

  "Yes, indeed; in answer to such an appeal as that, who shall ventureto say that the Fixed Period shall be carried out with all itsstartling audacity? The tenacity of purpose which distinguishes ourfriend here is known to us all. The fame of his character in thatrespect had reached my ears even among the thick-lipped inhabitantsof Central Africa." I own I did wonder whether this could be true."'Justum et tenacem propositi virum!' Nothing can turn him from hispurpose, or induce him to change his inflexible will. You know him,and I know him, and he is well known throughout England. Persuasioncan never touch him; fear has no power over him. He, as one unit, isstrong against a million. He is invincible, imperturbable, and everself-assured."

  I, as I sat there listening to this character of myself, heroicsomewhat, but utterly unlike the person for whom it was intended,felt that England knew very little about me, and cared less; andI could not but be angry that my name should be used in thisway to adorn the sentences of Sir Ferdinando's speech. Here inGladstonopolis I was well known,--and well known to be neitherimperturbable nor self-assured. But all the people seemed to acceptwhat he said, and I could not very well interrupt him. He had hisopportunity now, and I perhaps might have mine by-and-by.

  "My friends," continued Sir Ferdinando, "at home in England, where,though we are powerful by reason of our wealth and numbers--" "Justso," said I. "Where we are powerful, I repeat, by reason of ourwealth and numbers, though perhaps less advanced than you are inthe philosophical arrangements of life, it has seemed to us to beimpossible that the theory should be allowed to be carried to itslegitimate end. The whole country would be horrified were one lifesacrificed to this theory." "We knew that,--we knew that," said thevoice of Tallowax. "And yet your Assembly had gone so far as to giveto the system all the stability of law. Had not the John Brightsteamed into your harbour yesterday, one of your most valued citizenswould have been already--deposited." When he had so spoken, he turnedround to Mr Crasweller, who was sitting on my right hand, and bowedto him. Crasweller looked straight before him, and took no notice ofSir Ferdinando. He was at the present moment rather on my side of thequestion, and having had his freedom secured to him, did not care forSir Ferdinando.

  "But that has been prevented, thanks to the extraordinary rapiditywith which my excellent friend Captain Battleax has made his wayacross the ocean. And I must say that every one of these excellentfellows, his officers, has done his best to place H.M. ship the JohnBright in her commanding position with the least possible delay."Here he turned round and bowed to the officers, and by keen eyesmight have been observed to bow through the windows also to thevessel, which lay a mile off in the harbour. "There will not, atany rate for the present, be any Fixed Period for human life inBritannula. That dream has been dreamed,--at any rate for thepresent. Whether in future ages such a philosophy may prevail, whoshall say? At present we must all await our death from the hands ofthe Almighty. 'Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.'

  "And now, gentlemen, I have to request your attention for a fewmoments to another matter, and one which is very different from thiswhich we have discussed. I am to say a few words of the past andthe present,--of your past constitution, and of that which it is mypurpose to inaugurate." Here there arose a murmur through the roomvery audible, and threatening by its sounds to disturb the orator. "Iwill ask your favour for a few minutes; and when you shall have heardme to-day, I will in my turn hear you to-morrow. Great Britain atyour request surrendered to you the power of self-government. Toso small an English-speaking community has this never before beengranted. And I am bound to say that you have in many respects shownyourselves fit for the responsibility imposed upon you. You have beenintelligent, industrious, and prudent. Ignorance has been expelledfrom your shores, and poverty has been forced to hide her diminishedhead." Here the orator paused to receive that applause which heconceived to be richly his due; but the occupants of the benchesbefore him sat sternly silent. There were many there who had beenglad to see a ship of war come in to stop the Fixed Period, buthardly one who was pleased to lose his own independence. "But thoughthat is so," said Sir Ferdinando, a little nettled at the want ofadmiration with which his words had been received, "H.M. Governmentis under the necessity of putting an end to the constitution underwhich the Fixed Period can be allowed to prevail. While you have madelaws for yourselves, any laws so made must have all the force oflaw." "That's not so certain," said a voice from a distance, which Ishrewdly suspect to have been that of my hopeful son, Jack Neverbend."As Great Britain cannot and will not permit the Fixed Period to becarried out among any English-speaking race of people--"

  "How about the United States?" said a voice.

  "The United States have made no such attempt; but I will proceed. Ithas therefore sent me out to assume the reins, and to undertake thepower, and to bear the responsibility of being your governor during ashort term of years. Who shall say
what the future may disclose? Forthe present I shall rule here. But I shall rule by the aid of yourlaws."

  "Not the Fixed Period law," said Exors, who was seated on the floorof the chamber immediately under the orator.

  "No; that law will be specially wiped out from your statute-book. Inother respects, your laws and those of Great Britain are nearly thesame. There may be divergences, as in reference to the non-inflictionof capital punishment. In such matters I shall endeavour to followyour wishes, and so to govern you that you may still feel that youare living under the rule of a president of your own selection." HereI cannot but think that Sir Ferdinando was a little rash. He did notquite know the extent of my popularity, nor had he gauged the dislikewhich he himself would certainly encounter. He had heard a few voicesin the hall, which, under fear of death, had expressed their disliketo the Fixed Period; but he had no idea of the love which the peoplefelt for their own independence, or,--I believe I may say,--for theirown president. There arose in the hall a certain amount of clamour,in the midst of which Sir Ferdinando sat down.

  Then there was a shuffling of feet as of a crowd going away. SirFerdinando having sat down, got up again and shook me warmly by thehand. I returned his greeting with my pleasantest smile; and then,while the people were moving, I spoke to them two or three words. Itold them that I should start to-morrow at noon for England, undera promise made by me to their new governor, and that I purposed toexplain to them, before I went, under what circumstances I had giventhat promise, and what it was that I intended to do when I shouldreach England. Would they meet me there, in that hall, at eighto'clock that evening, and hear the last words which I should haveto address to them? Then the hall was filled with a mighty shout,and there arose a great fury of exclamation. There was a waving ofhandkerchiefs, and a holding up of hats, and all those signs ofenthusiasm which are wont to greet the popular man of the hour. Andin the midst of them, Sir Ferdinando Brown stood up upon his legs,and continued to bow without cessation.

  At eight, the hall was again full to overflowing. I had been busy,and came down a little late, and found a difficulty in making my wayto the chair which Sir Ferdinando had occupied in the morning. Ihad had no time to prepare my words, though the thoughts had rushedquickly,--too quickly,--into my mind. It was as though they wouldtumble out from my own mouth in precipitate energy. On my right handsat the governor, as I must now call him; and in the chair on my leftwas placed my wife. The officers of the gunboat were not present,having occupied themselves, no doubt, in banking up their fires.

  "My fellow-citizens," I said, "a sudden end has been brought tothat self-government of which we have been proud, and by which SirFerdinando has told you that 'ignorance has been expelled from yourshores, and poverty has been forced to hide her diminished head.' Itrust that, under his experience, which he tells us as a governor hasbeen very extensive, those evils may not now fall upon you. We are,however, painfully aware that they do prevail wherever the concretepower of Great Britain is found to be in full force. A man rulingus,--us and many other millions of subjects,--from the other side ofthe globe, cannot see our wants and watch our progress as we cando ourselves. And even Sir Ferdinando coming upon us with all hisexperience, can hardly be able to ascertain how we may be made happyand prosperous. He has with him, however, a company of a celebratedEnglish regiment, with its attendant officers, who, by their redcoats and long swords, will no doubt add to the cheerfulness of yoursocial gatherings. I hope that you may not find that they shall everinterfere with you after a rougher fashion.

  "But upon me, my fellow-citizens, has fallen the great disgrace ofhaving robbed you of your independence." Here a murmur ran throughthe hall, declaring that this was not so. "So your new Governorhas told you, but he has not told you the exact truth. With whomthe doctrine of the Fixed Period first originated, I will not nowinquire. All the responsibility I will take upon myself, though thehonour and glory I must share with my fellow-countrymen.

  "Your Governor has told you that he is aware of all the arguments bywhich the Fixed Period is maintained; but I think that he must bemistaken here, as he has not ventured to attack one of them. He hastold us that it is fitting that we should leave the question of lifeand death in the hands of the Almighty. If so, why is all Europebristling at this moment with arms,--prepared, as we must suppose,for shortening life,--and why is there a hangman attached to thethrone of Great Britain as one of its necessary executive officers?Why in the Old Testament was Joshua commanded to slay mighty kings?And why was Pharaoh and his hosts drowned in the Red Sea? Because theAlmighty so willed it, our Governor will say, taking it for grantedthat He willed everything of which a record is given in the OldTestament. In those battles which have ravished the North-west ofIndia during the last half-century, did the Almighty wish that menshould perish miserably by ten thousands and twenty thousands? Tillany of us can learn more than we know at present of the will of theAlmighty, I would, if he will allow me, advise our Governor to besilent on that head.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, it would be a long task, and one not to beaccomplished before your bedtime, were I to recount to you, for hisadvantage, a few of the arguments which have been used in favour ofthe Fixed Period,--and it would be useless, as you are all acquaintedwith them. But Sir Ferdinando is evidently not aware that thegeneral prolongation of life on an average, is one of the effectsto be gained, and that, though he himself might not therefore livethe longer if doomed to remain here in Britannula, yet would hisdescendants do so, and would live a life more healthy, more useful,and more sufficient for human purposes.

  "As far as I can read the will of the Almighty, or rather theprogress of the ways of human nature, it is for man to endeavour toimprove the conditions of mankind. It would be as well to say that wewould admit no fires into our establishments because a life had nowand again been lost by fire, as to use such an argument as that nowput forward against the Fixed Period. If you will think of the lineof reasoning used by Sir Ferdinando, you will remember that he has,after all, only thrown you back upon the old prejudices of mankind.If he will tell me that he is not as yet prepared to discard them,and that I am in error in thinking that the world is so prepared,I may perhaps agree with him. The John Bright in our harbour isthe strongest possible proof that such prejudices still exist. SirFerdinando Brown is now your Governor, a fact which in itself isstrong evidence. In opposition to these witnesses I have nothing tosay. The ignorance which we are told that we had expelled from ourshores, has come back to us; and the poverty is about, I fear, toshow its head." Sir Ferdinando here arose and expostulated. But thepeople hardly heard him, and at my request he again sat down.

  "I do think that I have endeavoured in this matter to advance tooquickly, and that Sir Ferdinando has been sent here as the necessaryreprimand for that folly. He has required that I shall be banishedto England; and as his order is backed by a double file ofred-coats,--an instrument which in Britannula we do not possess,--Ipurpose to obey him. I shall go to England, and I shall there usewhat little strength remains to me in my endeavour to put forwardthose arguments for conquering the prejudices of the people whichhave prevailed here, but which I am very sure would have no effectupon Sir Ferdinando Brown.

  "I cannot but think that Sir Ferdinando gave himself unnecessarytrouble in endeavouring to prove to us that the Fixed Period is awicked arrangement. He was not likely to succeed in that attempt. Buthe was sure to succeed in telling us that he would make it impossibleby means of the double file of armed men by whom he is accompanied,and the 250-ton steam-swiveller with which, as he informed me, he isable to blow us all into atoms, unless I would be ready to start withCaptain Battleax to-morrow. It is not his religion but his strengththat has prevailed. That Great Britain is much stronger thanBritannula none of us can doubt. Till yesterday I did doubt whethershe would use her strength to perpetuate her own prejudices and toput down the progress made by another people.

  "But, fellow-citizens, we must look the truth in the face. In thisgeneration probably, the Fixed Pe
riod must be allowed to be inabeyance." When I had uttered these words there came much cheeringand a loud sound of triumph, which was indorsed probably by thepostponement of the system, which had its terrors; but I was enabledto accept these friendly noises as having been awarded to the systemitself. "Well, as you all love the Fixed Period, it must be delayedtill Sir Ferdinando and the English have--been converted."

  "Never, never!" shouted Sir Ferdinando; "so godless an idea shallnever find a harbour in this bosom," and he struck his chestviolently.

  "Sir Ferdinando is probably not aware to what ideas that bosom maysome day give a shelter. If he will look back thirty years, he willfind that he had hardly contemplated even the weather-watch which henow wears constantly in his waistcoat-pocket. At the command of hisSovereign he may still live to carry out the Fixed Period somewherein the centre of Africa."

  "Never!"

  "In what college among the negroes he may be deposited, it may betoo curious to inquire. I, my friends, shall leave these shoresto-morrow; and you may be sure of this, that while the power oflabour remains to me, I shall never desist to work for the purposethat I have at heart. I trust that I may yet live to return amongyou, and to render you an account of what I have done for you andfor the cause in Europe." Here I sat down, and was greeted by thedeafening applause of the audience; and I did feel at the moment thatI had somewhat got the better of Sir Ferdinando.

  I have been able to give the exact words of these two speeches, asthey were both taken down by the reporting telephone-apparatus, whichon the occasion was found to work with great accuracy. The words asthey fell from the mouth of the speakers were composed by machinery,and my speech appeared in the London morning newspapers within anhour of the time of its utterance.