CHAPTER I
I
Oliver Brand was seated at his desk, on the evening of the next day,reading the leading article of the _New People_, evening edition.
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"We have had time," he read, "to recover ourselves a little from theintoxication of last night. Before embarking on prophecy, it will be aswell to recall the facts. Up to yesterday evening our anxiety withregard to the Eastern crisis continued; and when twenty-one o'clockstruck there were not more than forty persons in London--the Englishdelegates, that is to say--who knew positively that the danger was over.Between that moment and half-an-hour later the Government took a fewdiscreet steps: a select number of persons were informed; the policewere called out, with half-a-dozen regiments, to preserve order; Paul'sHouse was cleared; the railroad companies were warned; and at the halfhour precisely the announcement was made by means of the electricplacards in every quarter of London, as well as in all large provincialtowns. We have not space now to adequately describe the admirable mannerin which the public authorities did their duty; it is enough to say thatnot more than seventy fatalities took place in the whole of London; noris it our business to criticise the action of the Government, inchoosing this mode of making the announcement.
"By twenty-two o'clock Paul's House was filled in every corner, the OldChoir was reserved for members of Parliament and public officials, thequarter-dome galleries were filled with ladies, and to the rest of thefloor the public was freely admitted. The volor-police also inform usnow that for about the distance of one mile in every direction roundthis centre every thoroughfare was blocked with pedestrians, and, twohours later, as we all know, practically all the main streets of thewhole of London were in the same condition.
"It was an excellent choice by which Mr. OLIVER BRAND was selected asthe first speaker. His arm was still in bandages; and the appeal of hisfigure as well as his passionate words struck the first explicit note ofthe evening. A report of his words will be found in another column. Intheir turns, the PRIME MINISTER, Mr. SNOWFORD, the FIRST MINISTER OF THEADMIRALTY, THE SECRETARY FOR EASTERN AFFAIRS, and LORD PEMBERTON, allspoke a few words, corroborating the extraordinary news. At a quarterbefore twenty-three, the noise of cheering outside announced the arrivalof the American delegates from Paris, and one by one these ascended theplatform by the south gates of the Old Choir. Each spoke in turn. It isimpossible to appreciate words spoken at such a moment as this; butperhaps it is not invidious to name Mr. MARKHAM as the orator who aboveall others appealed to those who were privileged to hear him. It was he,too, who told us explicitly what others had merely mentioned, to theeffect that the success of the American efforts was entirely due to Mr.JULIAN FELSENBURGH. As yet Mr. FELSENBURGH had not arrived; but inanswer to a roar of inquiry, Mr. MARKHAM announced that this gentlemanwould be amongst them in a few minutes. He then proceeded to describe tous, so far as was possible in a few sentences, the methods by which Mr.FELSENBURGH had accomplished what is probably the most astonishing taskknown to history. It seems from his words that Mr. FELSENBURGH (whosebiography, so far as it is known, we give in another column) is probablythe greatest orator that the world has ever known--we use these wordsdeliberately. All languages seem the same to him; he delivered speechesduring the eight months through which the Eastern Convention lasted, inno less than fifteen tongues. Of his manner in speaking we shall have afew remarks to make presently. He showed also, Mr. MARKHAM told us, themost astonishing knowledge, not only of human nature, but of every traitunder which that divine thing manifests itself. He appeared acquaintedwith the history, the prejudices, the fears, the hopes, the expectationsof all the innumerable sects and castes of the East to whom it was hisbusiness to speak. In fact, as Mr. MARKHAM said, he is probably thefirst perfect product of that new cosmopolitan creation to which theworld has laboured throughout its history. In no less than nineplaces--Damascus, Irkutsk, Constantinople, Calcutta, Benares, Nanking,among them--he was hailed as Messiah by a Mohammedan mob. Finally, inAmerica, where this extraordinary figure has arisen, all speak well ofhim. He has been guilty of none of those crimes--there is not one thatconvicts him of sin--those crimes of the Yellow Press, of corruption, ofcommercial or political bullying which have so stained the past of allthose old politicians who made the sister continent what she has become.Mr. FELSENBURGH has not even formed a party. He, and not his underlings,have conquered. Those who were present in Paul's House on this occasionwill understand us when we say that the effect of those words wasindescribable.
"When Mr. MARKHAM sat down, there was a silence; then, in order to quietthe rising excitement, the organist struck the first chords of theMasonic Hymn; the words were taken up, and presently not only the wholeinterior of the building rang with it, but outside, too, the peopleresponded, and the city of London for a few moments became indeed atemple of the Lord.
"Now indeed we come to the most difficult part of our task, and it isbetter to confess at once that anything resembling journalisticdescriptiveness must be resolutely laid aside. The greatest things arebest told in the simplest words.
"Towards the close of the fourth verse, a figure in a plain dark suitwas observed ascending the steps of the platform. For a moment thisattracted no attention, but when it was seen that a sudden movement hadbroken out among the delegates, the singing began to falter; and itceased altogether as the figure, after a slight inclination to right andleft, passed up the further steps that led to the rostrum. Then occurreda curious incident. The organist aloft at first did not seem tounderstand, and continued playing, but a sound broke out from the crowdresembling a kind of groan, and instantly he ceased. But no cheeringfollowed. Instead a profound silence dominated in an instant the hugethrong; this, by some strange magnetism, communicated itself to thosewithout the building, and when Mr. FELSENBURGH uttered his first words,it was in a stillness that was like a living thing. We leave theexplanation of this phenomenon to the expert in psychology.
"Of his actual words we have nothing to say. So far as we are aware noreporter made notes at the moment; but the speech, delivered inEsperanto, was a very simple one, and very short. It consisted of abrief announcement of the great fact of Universal Brotherhood, acongratulation to all who were yet alive to witness this consummation ofhistory; and, at the end, an ascription of praise to that Spirit of theWorld whose incarnation was now accomplished.
"So much we can say; but we can say nothing as to the impression of thepersonality who stood there. In appearance the man seemed to be aboutthirty-three years of age, clean-shaven, upright, with white hair anddark eyes and brows; he stood motionless with his hands on the rail, hemade but one gesture that drew a kind of sob from the crowd, he spokethese words slowly, distinctly, and in a clear voice; then he stoodwaiting.
"There was no response but a sigh which sounded in the ears of at leastone who heard it as if the whole world drew breath for the first time;and then that strange heart-shaking silence fell again. Many wereweeping silently, the lips of thousands moved without a sound, and allfaces were turned to that simple figure, as if the hope of every soulwere centred there. So, if we may believe it, the eyes of many,centuries ago, were turned on one known now to history as JESUS OFNAZARETH.
"Mr. FELSENBURGH stood so a moment longer, then he turned down thesteps, passed across the platform and disappeared.
"Of what took place outside we have received the following account froman eye-witness. The white volor, so well known now to all who were inLondon that night, had remained stationary outside the little south doorof the Old Choir aisle, poised about twenty feet above the ground.Gradually it became known to the crowd, in those few minutes, who it waswho had arrived in it, and upon Mr. FELSENBURGH'S reappearance that samestrange groan sounded through the whole length of Paul's Churchyard,followed by the same silence. The volor descended; the master stepped onboard, and once more the vessel rose to a height of twenty feet. It wasthought at first that some speech would be made, but none was necessary;and after a moment's pause, the volor began th
at wonderful parade whichLondon will never forget. Four times during the night Mr. FELSENBURGHwent round the enormous metropolis, speaking no word; and everywhere thegroan preceded and followed him, while silence accompanied his actualpassage. Two hours after sunrise the white ship rose over Hampstead anddisappeared towards the North; and since then he, whom we call, intruth, the Saviour of the world, has not been seen.
"And now what remains to be said?
"Comment is useless. It is enough to say in one short sentence that thenew era has begun, to which prophets and kings, and the suffering, thedying, all who labour and are heavy-laden, have aspired in vain. Notonly has intercontinental rivalry ceased to exist, but the strife ofhome dissensions has ceased also. Of him who has been the herald of itsinauguration we have nothing more to say. Time alone can show what isyet left for him to do.
"But what has been done is as follows. The Eastern peril has been forever dissipated. It is understood now, by fanatic barbarians as well asby civilised nations, that the reign of War is ended. 'Not peace but asword,' said CHRIST; and bitterly true have those words proved to be.'Not a sword but peace' is the retort, articulate at last, from thosewho have renounced CHRIST'S claims or have never accepted them. Theprinciple of love and union learned however falteringly in the Westduring the last century, has been taken up in the East as well. Thereshall be no more an appeal to arms, but to justice; no longer a cryingafter a God Who hides Himself, but to Man who has learned his ownDivinity. The Supernatural is dead; rather, we know now that it neveryet has been alive. What remains is to work out this new lesson, tobring every action, word and thought to the bar of Love and Justice; andthis will be, no doubt, the task of years. Every code must be reversed;every barrier thrown down; party must unite with party, country withcountry, and continent with continent. There is no longer the fear offear, the dread of the hereafter, or the paralysis of strife. Man hasgroaned long enough in the travails of birth; his blood has been pouredout like water through his own foolishness; but at length he understandshimself and is at peace.
"Let it be seen at least that England is not behind the nations in thiswork of reformation; let no national isolation, pride of race, ordrunkenness of wealth hold her hands back from this enormous work. Theresponsibility is incalculable, but the victory certain. Let us gosoftly, humbled by the knowledge of our crimes in the past, confident inthe hope of our achievements in the future, towards that reward which isin sight at last--the reward hidden so long by the selfishness of men,the darkness of religion, and the strife of tongues--the reward promisedby one who knew not what he said and denied what he asserted--Blessedare the meek, the peacemakers, the merciful, for they shall inherit theearth, be named the children of God, and find mercy."
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Oliver, white to the lips, with his wife kneeling now beside him, turnedthe page and read one more short paragraph, marked as being the latestnews.
"It is understood that the Government is in communication with Mr.Felsenburgh."
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