A TALE OF ONE CITY: THE NEW BIRMINGHAM. _Papers Reprinted from the "Midland Counties Herald"_, BY THOMAS ANDERTON. Birmingham: "MIDLAND COUNTIES HERALD" OFFICE. TO BE HAD FROM CORNISH BROTHERS, NEW STREET; MIDLAND EDUCATIONAL CO. , CORPORATION STREET. 1900 I. PROLOGUE. The present century has seen the rise and development of many towns invarious parts of the country, and among them Birmingham is entitled totake a front place. If Thomas Attwood or George Frederick Muntz couldnow revisit the town they once represented in Parliament they wouldprobably stare with amazement at the changes that have taken place inBirmingham, and would require a guide to show them their way about thetown--now a city--they once knew so well. The material history ofBirmingham was for a series of years a story of steady progress andprosperity, but of late years the city has in a political, social, andmunicipal sense advanced by leaps and bounds. It is no longer"Brummagem" or the "Hardware Village, " it is now recognised as thecentre of activity and influence in Mid-England; it is the Mecca ofsurrounding populous districts, that attracts an increasing number ofpilgrims who love life, pleasure, and shopping. Birmingham, indeed, has recently been styled "the best governed city inthe world"--a title that is, perhaps, a trifle too full and panegyricalto find ready and general acceptance. If, however, by this very loftyand eulogistic description is meant a city that has been exceptionallyprosperous, is well looked after, that has among its inhabitants manyenergetic, public-spirited men, that has a good solid debt on its books, also that has municipal officials of high capabilities with fairly highsalaries to match--then Birmingham is not altogether undeserving of thehigh-sounding appellation. Many of those who only know Birmingham froman outside point of view, and who have only lately begun to notice itsexternal developments, doubtless attribute all the improvements to Mr. Chamberlain's great scheme, and the adoption of the Artisans' DwellingsAct in 1878. The utilisation of this Act has certainly resulted in themaking of one fine street, a fine large debt, and the erection of ahandful of artisans' dwellings. The changes, however, that culminated inMr. Chamberlain's great project began years before the Artisans'Dwellings Act became law. The construction of the London and North Western Railway station--which, with the Midland Railway adjunct, now covers some thirteen acres ofland--cleared away a large area of slums that were scarcely fit forthose who lived in them--which is saying very much. A region sacred tosqualor and low drinking shops, a paradise of marine store dealers, ahotbed of filthy courts tenanted by a low and degraded class, was sweptaway to make room for the large station now used by the London andNorth Western and Midland Railway Companies. The Great Western Railway station, too, in its making also disposed ofsome shabby, narrow streets and dirty, pestiferous houses inhabited bypeople who were not creditable to the locality or the community, and byso doing contributed to the improvement of the town. Further, theerection of two large railway stations in a central district naturallytended to increase the number of visitors to the growing Midlandcapital, and this, of course, brought into existence a better class ofshops and more extended trading. Then the suburbs of Birmingham, whichfor some years had been stretching out north, south, east, and west, have lately become to a considerable extent gathered into the arms ofthe city, and the residents in some of the outskirts, at least, may nowpride themselves, if so inclined, upon being a part of the so-called"best governed city in the world, " sharing its honours, importance, anddebts, and contributing to its not altogether inconsiderable rates. I do not purpose in these pages to go into the ancient history ofBirmingham. Other pens have told us how one Leland, in the sixteenthcentury, visited the place, and what he said about the "toyshop of theworld. " Also how he saw a "brooke, " which was doubtless in his time apretty little river, but which is now a sewery looking stream that triesto atone for its shallowness and narrowness by its thickness. They havelikewise told us about the old lords of Bermingham--whose monumentsstill adorn the parish church--who have died out leaving no successorsto bear for their proud title the name of the "best governed city in theworld. " These other pens have also mentioned the little attentions Birminghamreceived from Cromwell's troops; how the Roundheads fired at Aston Hall(which had given hospitality to Charles I. ) making a breakage--stillunrepaired!--in the great staircase of that grand old Elizabethanmansion. My purpose, however, is not to deal with past records ofBirmingham, but rather with its modern growth and appearance. MUNICIPAL STAGNATION. After the sweeping alterations effected by the construction of the newrailway stations in Birmingham, further improvements were for a time ofa slow, jog-trot order, although the town, in a commercial sense, wasmoving ahead, and its wealth and population were rapidly increasing. Small improvements were made, but anything like big schemes, even ifdesirable, were postponed or rejected. Birmingham, indeed, some thirtyyears ago, was considerably under the influence of men of theunprogressive tradesmen class--many of them worthy men in their way butof limited ideas. In their private businesses they were not accustomedto deal with big transactions and high figures, so that spending largesums of money, if proposed, filled the brewer, the baker, andcandlestick maker with alarm. They were careful and economical, buttheir care in finance was apt at times to be impolitic, and theireconomy has in several cases proved to have been somewhat costly. Indeed, until recent years, the leading authorities of the town wereanything but enterprising, and their view of future possibilities verylimited. Could they have seen a little farther ahead they might havelaid out money to the great profit and future advantage of thecommunity. They could have erected new corporation offices and municipalbuildings before land in the centre of the town became so very costly;the gas and water interests might have been purchased, probably at aprice that would have saved the town thousands of pounds. It is alsounderstood that they might have purchased Aston Hall, with its 170 acresclose to the town, on terms which would have made the land (now nearlyall built upon) a veritable Tom Tidler's ground for the town andcorporation. But our shopkeeper senators would have nothing to do withsuch bold and far-reaching schemes, and were given to opposing themwhen suggested by men more courageous and far-seeing than themselves. Between twenty-five and thirty years ago it was felt by the moreadvanced and intelligent portion of the community that the time had comefor the town to arouse itself, and that certain reforms should no longerbe delayed. It was beginning to be felt that the Town Council did notfairly represent the advancing aspirations and the growing needs, importance, and wealth of the town. Sanitary reforms were required, thegrowing traffic in the principal streets called for better and moredurable roadways, and Macadamised and granite paved streets no longeranswered the purposes required. The latter were heavy, noisy, andlumbering; the former were not sufficiently durable. Moreover, "Macadam"consisted of sharply-cut pieces of metal put upon the streets, whichwere left for cart and carriage wheels to break up and press down intosomething like a level surface. When this was done it made objectionabledust in dry weather, and in wet weather it converted the streets intoavenues of mud and puddle to be scraped up, or to be swept off, by somecuriously-devised machine carts constructed for the purpose. Carriagepeople, I fear, often cursed the stone stuff they had to grind into theroads, and pedestrians anathematized the mud and the dust. As many people will remember, in some of the less important streets thefootways were paved with what were called "petrified kidneys"--stonesabout as big as a good-sized potato, very durable but extremelyunpleasant to walk upon. Little or nothing was done to improve theslummy and dirty parts of the town, or to remove some of those foulcourts and alleys which were not only disgraceful in appearance but werea menace to the health of the inhabitants. In fact, for one reason or another, the authorities left undone thethings they ought to have done, and possibly they did some things theyought not to have done, and if allowed to go on it is probable therewould soon have been no health in us. It may, however, be admitted thatBirmingham was no worse governed than many other large towns in thecomparatively unprogressive days of which I speak, but a new race ofmore advanced and energetic men were dissatisfied with the sluggish, stagnant state of local government, and they felt that the hour hadstruck for the inauguration of some large and important improvements. Such was the state of affairs about the year 1868. II. ENTER MR. CHAMBERLAIN. The present position of Birmingham and its improved appearance in theselater years are largely attributed to the work and influence of Mr. Chamberlain. To him, certainly, the credit is largely due. At the sametime it is only fair to say that he was not the first man who haddiscovered that Birmingham, some thirty years ago, was, compared withwhat it should be, in many respects lagging behind. Other persons hadbeen impressed with the idea that the town, in a municipal, sanitary, and social sense, was not advancing at a pace commensurate with itscommercial and material progress. To go just a little farther back for a moment, it must be recorded thatBirmingham, in a political sense, made a great step forward when itelected Mr. Bright as one of its members of Parliament in the year 1857. This served to focus the eyes of the country on the midland capital, andfrom this date the town became a new centre of political activity. Thegreat meetings addressed by Mr. Bright were not regarded as mereprovincial gatherings, but they attracted the attention of the wholenation. The proceedings were no longer chronicled merely by the localpress, but the London daily newspapers sent representatives to furnishspecial reports of our new member's speeches. Indeed, the interest andexcitement at these political gatherings was often feverish in itsintensity, and for many years Mr. Bright's visits to Birmingham werered-letter days in the history of the town. Mr. Bright, however, not being a resident in Birmingham, took no partin its local and municipal affairs, and the man was wanting who wouldcome forward and energetically take town matters in hand. Mr. JosephChamberlain was the man, and the time was ripe for him. He was known tobe smart, able, and energetic, and also to be imbued with decidedlyprogressive ideas. Further, he was justly credited with having a loftyconception of the real importance and dignity of municipal life and thevalue of municipal institutions. In the year 1869 Mr. Chamberlain was elected a member of the BirminghamTown Council, and he began to make things spin and hum at a pace whichliterally soon reached a pretty high rate. His example, and possibly hispersuasion, induced several of his friends and associates to becomecandidates for Town Council membership, and in a very short time he hada strong and influential following, made up of men of energy, substance, and good social position, who soon began to overpower and make thingsmore lively perhaps than pleasant for the anti-progressives in theCorporation. In Israelitish story we are told that a new king arose whoknew not Joseph, but in Birmingham a new municipal kingdom arose thatknew Joseph and trusted him. The changes that soon began to take place were enough to take away thebreath of some of the nice, complacent, arm-chair, "Woodman" members ofthe Town Council. If the preceding rulers of the Corporation had been atrifle too parsimonious in the matter of expenditure, Mr. Chamberlainand his party soon began to make amends for any trifling mistakes orpast errors in the way of economy. In a very few years the town had adebt, I don't say of which it might be proud, but of which it very soonfelt the weight. When Mr. Chamberlain entered the Town Council the municipal debt stoodat some £588, 000. When he left it, after about ten years' service, thedebt had mounted up to the neat and imposing sum of £6, 212, 000. Ofcourse, there were very valuable assets to place against this heavyindebtedness, assets which are likely to improve considerably in valueas time goes on--that is, if the city continues to progress and prosper. Still, a good many people were not a little alarmed at the big figuresthat grew on the debtor side of the Corporation accounts, but morepersons applauded the spirit, courage, and enterprise of those who hadtaken the reins of the town into their hands. When Mr. Chamberlain and his friends had fairly got hold of the TownCouncil ropes, they set to work in strong earnest. Sanitary improvementswere promoted. The principal streets and their lighting and paving wereimproved, and the general appearance of the town quickly presented achange for the better. Trees were planted in some of the chiefthoroughfares. They did not it is true show much disposition to grow andthrive, but they were planted and replanted, though we may still have tolament that our Birmingham boulevards will not compare favourably withthose in some other cities. Mr. Chamberlain, however, was not the manto be content with such trifling reforms as these. He had large andspacious ideas in his mind, and he quickly brought them out to air andgrow. In the year 1873 Mr. Chamberlain was elected Mayor, and in the followingyear he brought forward his schemes for the purchase by the municipalityof the gas and water supplies. His proposals encountered very formidableopposition, principally from those interested in the gas and watercompanies, whose undertakings he proposed compulsorily to purchase. Someof the shareholders in these prosperous companies were fierce in theirdenunciations of his schemes. They regarded Mr. Chamberlain's proposalsas nothing short of confiscation. For years they had supplied the townwith gas and water. They had found the necessary money in the "sure andcertain hope" of having a good and secure investment for their capital, and lo! when they had fairly established their undertakings, it wasproposed to blow out their profitable light and dash the refreshinglyremunerative water from their lips. It was hard--I don't mean thewater, but the situation! Of course the shareholders were to receive afair price for their properties, the gas companies practically£1, 900. 000, the waterworks company £1, 350, 000. But still they were nothappy. They resisted the proposed purchases. Mr. Chamberlain, however, was not the man to be daunted by theopposition of the gas and water company proprietors. He had made up hismind that it would be for the good of the town for these undertakings tobe in the hands of the municipality, and in spite of the Town Council"old gang" and outraged gas and water shareholders, who felt they werebeing fraudulently despoiled of certain prospective advantages, hecarried his point. There are still those among us who, for various reasons, murmur at theseextensive purchases. They maintain, for one thing, that the possessionof the gas influenced the Corporation to turn a discouraging eye uponthe electric light. Certainly Birmingham has been rather lax in takingup electric illumination, and possibly more enterprise would have beenevinced in this direction if the Corporation had not become dealers ingas and water on their own terms, viz. , no competition allowed. Someself-constituted prophets shook their heads and said that before the gasdebt was paid off gas would literally have "gone out" as a generalilluminant. Before the eighty-five years allowed for the redemption ofthe capital invested in the gas have elapsed a good many things maycertainly happen. So far, however, gas is not extinguished, but is inincreased demand, and even water is believed to have a future. With regard to the water purchase, however, a good deal of oppositionwas offered on special grounds. Having purchased the waterworksundertaking the Corporation were, of course, desirous to make it pay. Tobuy the thing was a blunder in the eyes of some, to let it be a sourceof loss would have been a crime. Consequently, it became necessary toforce the water supply business, and the municipal authorities wentabout it in a way that pressed hardly sometimes and provoked not alittle hostility and resentment. "Waterologists" and analysts are somewhat divided in opinion as to whatis pure water, or at least good wholesome water. Some authorities takeone standard, some another. The Corporation, with an eye to business, selected a very high standard, for this brought grist to the mill, or, Ishould say, trade to the tap. It meant the closing of a large number ofwells yielding water which, under a less rigorous standard than thatadopted, would have been considered wholesome. But in this matter again, Mr. Chamberlain and the "new gang" paid no heed to the growls of thedisaffected, and pumps were disestablished in all directions, chiefly, it was maintained, to swell the returns of the water department. "O yewells, bless ye the Lord"--but few were suffered to remain. Mr. Chamberlain, however, was not long content with having municipalizedthe gas and water. In accordance with the strong impetus of his naturehe sighed for more worlds to conquer. Consequently he was soon readywith a gigantic Improvement Scheme, to be carried out under the adoptionof the somewhat misused and delusive Artisans' Dwellings Act. Hisproposal was to make a grand street and a more direct way to Aston, andin doing so to demolish some dirty back thoroughfares and a large numberof foul and filthy unsanitary dwellings. The scheme was a big one. It affected many interests, and before it wascarried out it caused a fierce amount of strife, ill-feeling, andhostility. The discontent and disaffection which Mr. Chamberlain'sprevious schemes aroused were but as morning breezes compared with thestorm and tempest his new proposals raised. His daring and dash almostdazed his fellow townsfolk, for, like Napoleon, he rushed on from oneexploit to another with a rapidity that astounded his friends andconfused and overwhelmed his foes. III. THE ACT AND THE DWELLINGS. Considering how many interests were affected by the BirminghamImprovement Scheme and the adoption of the Artisans' Dwellings Act, itmay be doubted if the scheme would have passed as it did had its fullpurport and meaning been fully considered and understood. Some personssaw that they would be grievously injured, and they offered strenuousopposition, but there were many others who only found out when it wastoo late what extreme and arbitrary power was conferred upon theauthorities who put the Act into operation. Of course the scheme was laid before the rate-payers in the usualmanner, but few realised the importance of studying it well, or graspedthe far-reaching character of its operations till too late. Let me explain more especially what is meant by this. When it wasdecided to adopt Mr. Chamberlain's scheme and make the new fine street, land was cleared and was let on leases by the Corporation. In lettingthis land, agreements were made that the new buildings, when consistingof shops, offices, &c. , should be so many storeys high, the object, ofcourse, being to make the properties, which would in due course revertto the city, the more valuable. When, however, these tall buildings wereerected, adjacent premises were robbed of light and air, and when theowners or tenants of these injured premises asked for compensation theyfound out, at least in some cases, that the authorities were not liable. I believe I am right in saying that the powers conferred by the Actabsolved them from indictments on the part of those whose property wasdamaged by diminished air or light. The result was that certainsufferers found to their mortification that they had no redress, butmust raise their chimneys at their own cost, if necessary, and in othercases endure the inconvenience of a decreased supply of light. This wasan unpleasant revelation that caused much gnashing of teeth among theowners of, and the dwellers in, the properties surrounding the tallbuildings erected by the leaseholders of the Corporation. As for those whose property was required and taken under the Act, it wasall very well for owners and for those who had leases: they could not bemolested without fair and proper payment. Shopkeepers and others, however, who were only annual tenants, had, I fear in many cases, to goempty away. Some of these had good, old-established businesses that hadfor years become identified with certain premises. It was nothing shortof ruin to them to move, but they had to take up their goods and walk. This is the way that authorities often have to deal with the more orless helpless in view of what they consider to be the greatest good ofthe greatest number. It will, of course, be said that some of these traders were extremelyshort-sighted not to have had leases of premises that were soall-important to them. In many cases, however, they were unable toobtain such agreements, the landlords being unwilling or unable to grantthem. The result was that many a prosperous tradesman had his successfulcareer cut short and passed into a retirement he did not desire, probably with a few warm curses upon the Town Council, the ImprovementScheme, and the schemers. It is not very easy to understand the just laws that should governcompensation. When there is talk of disestablishing public-houses, certain statesmen approve of compensation. The argument is that aspublic-houses are licensed by law, their owners have been given a sortof status and sanction, which should be properly and considerately dealtwith in case their businesses are taken away from them. But otherpeople also take out licences, such as tobacconists, pawnbrokers, grocers, and wine sellers, yet when these traders are disturbed ordisestablished, compensation is never suggested. Let us see what has happened in Birmingham. When the grand new streetwas made the traffic to the northern part of the town was largelydiverted from other thoroughfares, and the consequence was that streetsand passages that were once busy highways and byways were sooncomparatively deserted. Shops became tenantless, or had to be let atgreatly reduced rents. Indeed, the depreciation of property in thelocalities referred to is said to have been at least thirty per cent. Yet the owners had no redress. Of course it usually happens that when large reforms are effected thenoble work is done at somebody's inconvenience or cost. It is theinevitable result, and people who are not sufferers shrug theirshoulders and complacently remark that the few must be sacrificed forthe benefit of the many. It is delightfully easy to be philosophicaland even philanthropic when our own pockets, feelings, and interests arenot concerned. The last new great Improvement Scheme would, of course, be a great thing for Birmingham; it would also shed a considerableamount of glory on its authors; it would likewise put a good deal ofpower into the hands of its administrators, and not a little money intothe pockets of professional men. If some few persons had to suffer inorder to bring about such splendid results they must try to bepatriotic, noble citizens, or else grin and bear their discomfiture!Those, however, who were despoiled of their businesses, or who foundtheir property seriously depreciated, were not likely to be consoled bysuch buttered comfort. They raised their voices in impotent protest, anddenounced Mr. Chamberlain and all his works. We do not hear very much of the Artisans' Dwellings Act now, but anytowns that contemplate adopting it should profit by the experience ofBirmingham, consider its full scope and meaning, and count the cost. The city of Birmingham has applied the Act in connection with its lastgreat Improvement Scheme, and it now remains to be seen what theresults, in a commercial sense, will be. The present and succeedinggeneration, at least, will have to pay off some heavy obligations in thenext sixty or seventy years, and then the city should he immensely thericher for its enterprising policy. I say it should be, and probably itwill be, but there is a fair-sized "if" to be considered. It seems to be taken as a matter of course that Birmingham will go ondeveloping and prospering in the future as it has in the past. And itmay be fairly presumed that it will do so. This, however, must not betaken exactly as a matter of positive certainty. There are someindications that there may be a pause in the material prosperity of thecity by and by--a limit to its progressiveness. If so, the enterprisesof our authorities may not prove so advantageous as has been reckonedupon. Partly owing to high rates and the cost of carriage, manufacturers are removing factories outside the city, and in somecases, where they have a large foreign trade, nearer to the seaboard. Ifthis exodus continues and increases it is easy to see that the effectwill be to diminish the population, and this in time will affect thevalue of property. The manufactures of Birmingham are, however, sonumerous and so varied there is reason for hope that any circumstancesthat may apparently show a standstill condition will only be temporary, and that in all general revivals of trade the city will participate. Whatever may happen, we know the city in the middle of the next centurywill come in for a fine heritage of reversions, and it is fair topresume that posterity will greatly benefit by the Improvement Schemefathered by Mr. Chamberlain. In the meantime the citizens--at least, those who bestow much thought upon such matters--shake their heads atthe load of debt Birmingham bears upon its shoulders, and chafe at thehigh rates. It is, however, pointed out to the malcontents that theylive in a healthier place than Birmingham used to be, and, further, thatthe city, owing to its improved character and appearance, attracts morevisitors, and this increases local trade. Of this latter fact there can be little dispute. The new order of thingshas led to a new and, in some cases, better class of shops beingestablished, and these attract a better class of customers. At one timeresidents in the adjoining counties looked down upon Birminghamshopkeepers, and would say rather contemptuously that they never"shopped" in this city, but went to Leamington, Cheltenham, or London tomake their purchases. But we do not hear so much of this now. On thecontrary, I have heard of people--even aristocratic people--who actuallysay that they now, for many reasons, prefer to "shop" in Birminghamrather than go to London. Of course this is not an ordinarycircumstance--for Birmingham has not yet a Bond Street or Regent Street;still, exceptional though it may be, it indicates a change of feelingand shows that, in one sense at all events, Birmingham is on the rise. The increased number of large and important shops in central Birminghamhas led to the formation of trading establishments and Stores of thelatest order of development. There are now large shops of the "universalprovider" type, where they sell everything from blacking to port wine, and where you see silk mantles in one window and sausages in another. Some of us rather preferred the old order of things. We liked and stilllike to go to shops kept by tradesmen who have been brought up tocertain lines of business, and who know from actual knowledge andexperience what they are buying and selling. But in these large newshops and Stores people sell you almost everything without having anyspecial knowledge of anything. They recommend this, that, and the other, but you have often good reason to know that it is not from anyexperience of the commodities they offer, but only the tradesman'sinstinct and desire to dispose of what he wants most to sell rather thanwhat his customers may most wish to buy. Such is the new style of large shopkeeping, and it is not, of course, peculiar to Birmingham. It must be owned, however, that it meanscheapness, and also that it has been largely developed by the new orderof things brought about by the recent street improvements in the city. IV. ECCE MR. CHAMBERLAIN. Having said so much of what Mr. Chamberlain has done in, and for, Birmingham, perhaps I may be permitted to say a few words, "mostly all"my own, respecting a much biographed man. Although Mr. Chamberlain is soprominently identified with Birmingham and Birmingham with him, it iswell known that he is not a native of the place. He was born in Londonin 1836, and came to Birmingham in 1854. We took him in and he did forus. His father joined the well-known firm of Nettlefold, the wood screwmakers, and in the course of time his eldest son, Joseph, succeededhim. Mr. Joseph Chamberlain soon found his feet in trade, and by hisbusiness acumen, his foresight, capacity, and shrewdness he advanced thebusiness, which had already been highly successful, to a rare pitch ofprosperity. At one time I saw and heard much of Mr. Chamberlain, especially in theearlier part of his Birmingham public career. He was always what he isnow--a sharp, smart, and ready man. A man to inspire admiration andconfidence. There was always a promptness and "all thereness" in hisnature, with a decided touch of self-reliance, and I may even sayaudacity. In fact, without intending any reflection upon him, I mightperhaps suggest that he could appropriately take as his motto "Del'audace, encore de l'audace, et toujours de l'audace. " In proof of thisI may cite one or two incidents that came under my notice. Some thirty years or more ago Mr. Chamberlain was a prominent member ofa local debating society. Now, this society used to have every year twosocial gatherings, and it was observed that many members who rarely ornever came to the debates were not conspicuous by their absence when thesummer "outings" and other little feasts took place. The committeethought it would be rather good sport to give these knife and forkdebaters a little mild and gentle rub. Consequently they made them thesubject of a toast at one of their social meetings, held at theLyttelton Arms, Hagley. A word was coined for the occasion, and theywere toasted as the "Artopsareocoluthic Members" (signifying the loversof the loaves and fishes), and to Mr. Chamberlain was entrusted the taskof proposing the toast. In a smart and brilliant speech he poked rare fun at the dinner-debatingmembers who were so ready to participate in the festivities of thesociety and so lax in attending the discussions. He not only did thiswith delicious banter and pointed sarcasm; but, with an audacious touchall his own, he coupled the toast with the name of one member present. This brought the ruffled gentleman up on to his legs, and, smartingunder Mr. Chamberlain's ironical philippics, he tried to pay back "ouryoung friend" for what he considered his unwarrantable impertinence. But Mr. Chamberlain was not in the least disconcerted by the hotlyexpressed resentment of the offended member. With his cigar in his mouthand his eye-glass in his eye he smiled with amused complacency, whilehis irate friend tried to pay him back, though hardly in his own sharp, ringing coin. The other incident to which I have referred took place when theBirmingham Corporation Gas Bill was under consideration. A town'smeeting was held to discuss and decide whether the gas undertakingsshould be purchased by the municipal authorities. As there wasconsiderable difference of opinion upon the question there was a largegathering in the Town Hall, and the opponents of the scheme were instrong force. Mr. Chamberlain, in the course of his speech advocating the purchase, pointed out with characteristic force all the advantages of the proposedscheme, and when he mentioned the satisfactory sum for which the gasundertaking could be bought a prominent opponent called out, "Will yougive that for it?" "Yes, I will, " was the prompt reply, which rathersurprised and silenced his antagonist. And no doubt he meant what he said. He regarded the amount named as anadvantageous price for the purchase--as it has proved to be--and hewould have been willing, and would doubtless, with the aid of hisfriends, have been able, to find the money to secure such a valuablemonopoly. It was, however, the decisive and ready manner in which heanswered his interrogator that was so characteristic of the man, andwhich so appealed to the meeting as to elicit a hearty volley of cheers. Mr. Chamberlain was never easily disconcerted, nor was he ever a touchy, over-sensitive man. In fact, he has been heard to say, I believe, that aman who takes to public life must not be thin-skinned. If he is to giveblows, he must be prepared to take blows in return, and whether he takeshis punishment fighting or lying down, he must take it smiling, or atleast with complacency. This he does himself, as a rule, and whatever hemay feel under the blows of his adversaries, he does not wince norwhine, but always appears more or less imperturbable, good-humoured, andunscathed. We see him demonstrative, combative, even saucy sometimes onthe platform, but rarely or never ruffled, sour, or out of temper. As I have hinted, I heard a good deal of Mr. Chamberlain's publicspeaking when he first came to the front as a public man, and it wasimpossible not to be interested, edified, and oftentimes amused by theintelligence, point, and smartness of his speech. At the same time therewas--especially in the earlier days of his public career--a certainsetness and formality of style that suggested the idea that his speecheswere anything but the inspiration of the moment, but had been madebeforehand, and were being reeled off. Indeed, many of those who knewhim well maintained that his speeches were at this time the result ofpainstaking study, care, and elaboration, and that those who had a nosefor oratory might detect in them a strong smell of the lamp. One incident that came under my notice certainly went far to corroboratethis view. I refer to the occasion of a little semi-public dinner atwhich Mr. Chamberlain was put down to propose a certain toast. Heproceeded for a time in his usually happy, characteristic manner, whenall at once in the middle of a sentence he came to a full stop! We alllooked up, and he looked down embarrassed and confused. He apparentlyhad lost the thread of the discourse he had so carefully woven; he couldnot pick up the dropped stiches; and, if I remember rightly, he satdown, his speech not safely delivered. It seems difficult now to fancy Mr. Chamberlain making such a fiasco. Heis at the present time probably one of the most ready and fluentspeakers we have, and although many strange things might happen in theHouse of Commons, one of the most astonishing would be to see Mr. Chamberlain break down in a speech. It would create a sensation in thatunserene assembly which would almost be enough to make a seasonedpressman swoon, and before the incident had been completely realised theunexpected and startling fact would probably be known at the Antipodes. Mr. Chamberlain can now make his speeches as he goes on--although thematerial may be prepared beforehand--and, as we know, he can turn fromthe course of his argument to answer quickly and effectively somepertinent or impertinent question or interruption. Since Mr. Chamberlain has become such a leading light in Parliament, hisspeeches have taken a much more solid, sedate, and serious tone thanthey had in his early Birmingham days. They have become considerablymore weighty--perhaps some of his unfriendly critics would say moreheavy--than they were in bygone times. Without being open to the chargeof levity or flippancy, Mr. Chamberlain's speeches used to be remarkablefor a certain amount of humour, banter, touch-and-go smartness, as wellas terse argumentative force. At one time he was an appreciative student of the American humorists, and he was very fond of spicing his remarks with apt and amusingquotations from Hosea Biglow, Mark Twain, Artemus Ward, and other comicclassics. Indeed, at one time, no speech of his would have been completewithout some little sallies of this kind. Now, however, he rarelyindulges in such pleasantries. Mr. Chamberlain's speeches in the Houseof Commons though never dull are never funny. He soon learned hislesson. He very quickly discovered that members of the House may notobject to be amused, and are often, it must be admitted, easily moved tomirth. At the same time the members of that assembly do not place a highvalue upon the words of funny or would-be funny speakers. Unless he has changed very much, Mr. Chamberlain has a very keen senseand appreciation of humour. Probably he would like sometimes to indulgehimself and amuse the House by firing off some humorous hits andquotations, but he knows the importance of suppressing such instinctsand tendencies if he is to be taken seriously and regarded as astatesman. Blue books and Biglow, Bills and Sam Slick, do not make thesort of political punch that an influential leader can afford to ladleout at St. Stephen's. At the same time, if he cared to indulge his ownready wit, or to make use of the amusing extracts he has stored away inhis memory, he could doubtless make some lively and diverting speeches. I remember when Mr. Chamberlain was Mayor of Birmingham, the late Mr. George Dawson at a little dinner proposed his health, and in doing soindulged in some characteristic banter and chaff. Mr. Chamberlain, thenas now, was not a man of Aldermanic girth, and Mr. Dawson in the courseof his humorous remarks took occasion to allude to his slight andslender proportions, and said he wished there was more of the Mayor tolook at, and that he should like to see him "go to scale better. " When he rose to reply Mr. Chamberlain, in a quiet, dry manner, andwithout a smile on his face, remarked, "Mr. Dawson has been good enoughto refer to me as a Mayor without a Corporation. " This was so neat andsmart that I need hardly say the company laughed most amusedly. Probably, if I had kept a notebook, or were now to search well mymemory, I might give other instances of Mr. Chamberlain's smart, readywit. Now, however, as most people know, his speeches are remarkable for theirpoint, force, logical reasoning, incisive language, and straight, hardhitting, but, as I have observed, he rarely if ever essays to be funny. By his sharp remarks and his adept turns of speech he often, however, creates much laughter--as, for instance, when he once spoke of anex-Premier's opportunism and readiness to make promises which, whenthey ought to be fulfilled, "snap went the Gladstone bag"--but he neverdegenerates into anything approaching buffoonery. Mr. Chamberlain is always prompt and straightforward in action, and ispleasant and agreeable in manner and speech. Moreover, he is a man ofconsummate tact. I remember in 1874, when he was Mayor, and the Princeand Princess of Wales paid a visit to Birmingham, there was muchwondering and questioning as to how he would comport himself on theoccasion. At that time he was credited with cherishing rather strongRepublican sentiments. It was even said that he had been known to go sofar as to remain seated when the loyal toasts were drunk. I certainlycannot say that I was ever witness of such a proceeding, nor have I beenable to trace the statement to any authentic source. Still, there was awidespread idea that he was not overburdened with feelings of loyalty, and many people naturally wondered how he would manage decorously toentertain his Royal guests. Mr. Chamberlain was quite equal to the occasion. In speech and mannerhis conduct was irreproachable, and he won golden opinions from allsorts of people. I remember that very curious stories were incirculation at the time as to the etiquette which, it had been laiddown, should be observed on the occasion. It was, indeed, said that, inconsequence of Mr. Chamberlain's supposed Republican sentiments, specialregulations were enjoined, and that the formalities to be observed inreceiving and entertaining the Prince were to be of an extra rigidcharacter. I, for one, never believed there was any foundation for thesesilly reports, but, if any special formalities were prescribed, Mr. Chamberlain brushed them aside, and simply conducted himself with quiet, easy grace, always calm and self-possessed, and never fussy orneedlessly obsequious. Mr. Chamberlain entertained the Royal visitors and others at luncheon atthe Society of Artists' rooms, and it struck me that if he had been aborn courtier, and had been bred in the atmosphere of palaces, he couldhardly have been more "at home" in the position in which he foundhimself. His speech, in which he proposed the health of the Prince andPrincess of Wales, was a model of adroitness and good taste. Withoutgiving himself away by indulging in effusiveness, or being carried awayby the glamour of the occasion, he managed to make a very circumspect, clever, and appropriate speech, which, though closely scrutinised, brought no reproaches or even adverse criticisms from Republicans orRoyalists. No doubt it was a somewhat scorching ordeal for Mr. Chamberlain to pass through, but he came out of it unsinged andtriumphant, and was afterwards more popular than ever. I have some hesitation in speaking of Mr. Chamberlain in his private and"at home" character, though in these days I hardly know that I need bevery timid or scrupulous. The public has a ready, I might almost say agreedy, ear for personal details concerning the lives and habits ofpublic men, and there are plenty of writers willing to gratify itsdesires in this respect, and that, too, with the knowledge and consentof the eminent personages themselves. Many people like to hear all aboutthe characteristics of prominent men, and have a keen appetite for allparticulars concerning their personal habits and peculiarities. Theylove to hear what a celebrated man eats, drinks, and avoids, what timehe rises and at what hour he usually goes to bed; and even a littlethimbleful of scandal touching his shortcomings, delinquencies, and, possibly, his small vices, is as nectar to the gossip-loving taste. Totell some people what they have no right to know is often to delightthem. Without at all professing to be in any sense an intimate friend of Mr. Chamberlain's, I may, perhaps, say that I have many times had thepleasure of sitting at his table, and a more genial and interesting hostit would be difficult to describe. He is bland and gentle to a degreethat might surprise those who only know him as a vigorous, fightingpolitician. I remember that once when Sir William Harcourt was a guest of Mr. Chamberlain's at Highbury, he said that he went to stay with hishonourable friend with feelings almost amounting to trepidation, but hesoon found that Mr. Chamberlain was by no means the ogre he had beenrepresented. Mr. Chamberlain eat his meals with an ordinary knife andfork; and he rose up in the morning and went to bed regularly like anyother sane and well-conducted person. Indeed, he found him quite a tameand inoffensive creature compared with the rampant, rampageousautocratic being he had so often heard him described. I do not pretend to quote Sir William Harcourt's words literally. I amrepeating entirely from memory, but I give the gist of some of hisamusing, characteristic remarks when speaking in the Birmingham TownHall at the time he was Mr. Chamberlain's friend and guest. Certainly, Ihave always found Mr. Chamberlain a delightfully pleasant host. He isnot given to monopolizing the talk. He does not dogmatize or lay downthe law; in fact, when acting as host he is so mild, docile, andpleasant that a fossilized Tory, or even a fiery Nationalist, might playwith him. Sometimes I have been among a favoured few who have been asked to stayafter most of his guests have left, and have a cigar with Mr. Chamberlain in his library. On such occasions there has been some raregood talk. I remember on one occasion the conversation did become warmlypolitical, and there was quite a smart little tussle between our hostand Mr. Jesse Collings. At that time Mr. Collings had a trifle moresympathy with Irish patriots than I fancy he has now, and with hisnaturally warm sympathetic feeling he was for liberating Mr. Parnell, who was then a prisoner at Kilmainham. But Mr. Chamberlain would havenone of it. He maintained that Mr. Parnell and his friends had brokenthe law and must pay the penalty. He was quite willing to consider theirdemands, and what they considered to be their wrongs, but they must notdefy the law. Yes, there was some pretty sparring between these twofriends on that occasion, very earnest but, of course, perfectlygood-tempered on both sides. I have before remarked upon Mr. Chamberlain's self-command andimperturbability. Some persons are, perhaps, inclined to think thatbecause he keeps himself so well in hand and so rarely indulges insentiment that he is devoid of feeling and emotion. Not so. I recollectthat on the death of Mr. John Henry Chamberlain--no relation of his, buta gentleman whose personal character, artistic skill, and intellectualgifts he, and many others, held in high esteem--a meeting was held toconsider the desirability of having some memorial of one whose loss wasso deeply deplored. Mr. Chamberlain took a prominent part in theproceedings, and I well remember how deeply affected he was when, in thecourse of his touching references to his deceased friend, he said, "Ifeel that his death, then, is the crowning of a noble life. He has beencalled from us in the moment of victory, and we who remain behind are tobe pitied, for we have lost a great leader, and there are none to takehis place. " "The task which is imposed upon us is certainly a very melancholy one. One by one our leaders are removed from us. The gaps in our ranks arebecoming painfully apparent. Still, there is much work to be done, andwe shall best honour those who are gone by endeavouring, as best we may, to continue and complete the work which they have so well commenced. Inthis spirit we may be content to bide our turn, hoping that when we, too, are called away our record may not shame the bright example ofthose who have gone before us. " When making these touching remarks Mr. Chamberlain's voice becametremulous with emotion. He evidently experienced the greatest difficultyin commanding his feelings, and when he sat down I saw tear-drops in hiseyes. Never have I seen him so overcome, and it is only justice to himto cite this incident as showing that sentiment and feeling, thoughrarely manifested, are not foreign to his real nature. With respect to Mr. Chamberlain's personal appearance his form andfeatures are now well known, but for a time he was a somewhattroublesome subject to caricaturists. When he was first budding out intonational importance the clever artist of _Vanity Fair_ at that time camedown to Birmingham to draw him. He succeeded in making a goodcaricature, but it was said that he found his task by no means an easyone. It was the nose, I believe, that puzzled the artist. Mr. Chamberlain has a pointed, slightly upturned nose, and some cynicalpeople may be disposed to say that it has become more pointed and sharpthe more he has poked it into political business. Anyway, it is acharacteristic, perhaps _the_ characteristic, of Mr. Chamberlain's face, and the skilful _Vanity Fair_ artist caught it after a time, and justsufficiently exaggerated it to make a genuine caricature. Seeing, however, that Mr. Chamberlain was born to be a much-pictured man, onething has stood him in fine stead--his eye-glass. When "Mr. Punch" firsttook him in hand he could make little or nothing of him, but theeye-glass saved the Fleet Street artists from failure. They foundnothing they could lay hold of at first, not even his nose. They saw aman with a pleasant, good-looking, closely-shaven face, some dark hairbrushed back from his forehead, but there was nothing they could hit offwith success, and the only way they could secure identity was by theeye-glass. "Mr. Punch" used at one time to represent Mr. Bright aswearing an eye-glass, but I don't think he ever used one. Certainly Inever saw Mr. Bright with an eye-glass, and never saw Mr. Chamberlainwithout one. Great and prominent men should have some characteristicpeculiarity that should be their own special personal brand, and if theyhave it not, it must be made for them--as in the case of Lord Palmerstonand the wisp of straw that "Mr. Punch" always put in his mouth. Mr. Chamberlain, however, has kindly obliged, and given caricaturists andothers something by which he can be unmistakably "featured. " V. EXIT MR. CHAMBERLAIN. In 1876 Mr. Chamberlain was elected a member of Parliament forBirmingham, and his municipal career shortly came to an end. It may beremembered that he made an unsuccessful attempt to represent Sheffieldsome little time before he aspired to become a candidate for Birmingham. He made a very plucky fight in the cutler constituency, and theSheffield blades were hardly so sharp as they might have been inrejecting such an able and rising politician. Probably, if they couldhave peered a little into the future, Mr. Chamberlain's first seat inParliament would not have been as a representative of Birmingham. Mr. Chamberlain, however, was elected as one of the members of hisadopted town in the year mentioned, and, as I have said, he retired moreor less from municipal life. It may further be said that he relinquishedhis local position at the right moment. He was lucky as to the time inwhich he took up public life in Birmingham, and he was equally fortunatein regard to the period at which he quitted it. He had set afloat greatlocal schemes, he had laboured assiduously for the good of the town, hehad attained the acme of his local popularity, he was admired even byhis opponents, and an imposing memorial was erected in his honour. Afterthis, anything that might have happened would have been in the nature ofan anti-climax so far as his local career was concerned. When at some future day Mr. Chamberlain's life comes to be fullywritten, it will probably be noted as something remarkable that heshould have done so much, and achieved such a position, while yet only ayoung man. For be it remembered, that after he had been for threesuccessive years Mayor of Birmingham, had carried out the large andimportant schemes associated with his name, and had become one of therepresentatives of the town in Parliament, he was only forty years ofage. It will also be noted that very soon after making his appearance inthe House of Commons he quickly got his foot on the ladder and rapidlymounted the rungs that lead to pre-eminence, and in a very few yearsattained the position of Cabinet Minister. What more he might have done for Birmingham it is impossible toconjecture had he remained longer our local leader. But he was called uphigher. Perhaps this was lucky for him. The great enterprises, or atleast some of them, were only fairly started when he relinquished hisgrasp of them, and it remained to be seen whether they were to prove allthey had been painted. If they succeeded, nothing could deprive him ofthe honour and glory of having inaugurated them. If they failed, it wasin his power to say that had he remained to carry them out the resultswould have been altogether different. The working-out of some of his larger schemes and undertakings created, as I have already intimated, considerable soreness and friction invarious quarters. They brought hardship on many persons and produced, atany rate for a time, considerable ill-feeling and discontent. The piperhad to be paid for the great enterprises he had set afloat. With regardto the gas and water purchases, the former has returned a profit to thetune of £35, 000 to £40, 000 a year, and is now (in 1899) realising about£50, 000 per annum. The profits of the water scheme are still more orless prospective, whilst the gains to be realised by his greatImprovement Scheme are in the dim and distant future. Any adverse criticisms on these undertakings do not now directly affecttheir author. He has taken up national in place of local work, and hehas left others in Birmingham to carry out more or less ably what he sosuccessfully began. Some of us are occasionally inclined to think thathis brilliant example and career have inflamed some of our remainingpublic men with a desire to do heroics, and to follow his lofty lead inthe way of promoting large schemes. For instance, the city is now committed to a huge expenditure for thepurpose of bringing a supply of water from Mid-Wales. There wasconsiderable opposition to this very costly project, but it was at lastcarried, though only the future can decide whether it will prove to bean altogether wise and prudent, not to say profitable, undertaking. Experts and some far-seeing men are confident as to its future benefits. We are to have a good supply of excellent water, and we are to save agreat many thousands a year in soap. Further, we shall be independent ofmerely local supplies, which, we are told, will be quite inadequate forour needs in future days. I am not in a position to controvert what hasbeen said in favour of the project, nor have I reason to doubt that thescheme--especially under certain conditions--will be of great benefitand value to the community in the coming by and by. At the same time it may, perhaps, be doubted whether the undertaking, like the Improvement Scheme, was fully comprehended in all its bearingswhen it was decided to apply for an Act of Parliament to carry out theWelsh water project. But its promoters having made up their minds uponthe question bustled, I won't say rushed, the proposal along, and beforemany of the inhabitants were fairly awakened to what was being done, theinitial part of the business was accomplished. When, however, the matter was brought out more into the open in theParliamentary Committee Rooms many of our townsmen opened their eyes andtheir mouths and pressed for a little time for the further considerationof this gigantic scheme. But the opposition was not strong enough toprocure any delay; the advocates of the proposal had our mostinfluential public men on their side, so the bill passed throughParliament. Occasionally now mutterings of doubt and dissatisfaction are heard, andthere are still those who prophesy evil in the future in consequence ofthe enormous outlay to which the city is committed. If, however, Birmingham grows and prospers all will be well. If otherwise--and thelast census did seem to indicate that our progress, as measured byincreasing population, was inclined to steady down--Birmingham will havea huge debt in the future which even a large supply of good wholesomewater will not altogether liquidate. Returning, however, to make a few further observations respecting Mr. Chamberlain, it may be said now that the voices of those who had anygrudge against him for the daring innovations he made, and the boldundertakings he promoted, have become nearly mute. There are, however, some who speak disparagingly of him, partly, perhaps, because they areenvious of him, and cannot complacently realise his rapid rise to theposition of eminence he has attained. Some of his former Radical friends and associates especially denounce inno measured terms his unpardonable heresy in departing from what theyconsider was his old political path. Vituperation is almost too mild aterm to describe their expressed disgust when they see one who was, theybelieved, a man of the people consorting with royal dukes, belted earls, and even with the Sovereign herself. This is too much for some of theold full-blooded Radicals who are still found in our midst. Very possibly some of these would do the same if they had the chance, for your thorough-going Radical is often a curious creature. I rememberonce being at a London theatre with a friend of mine who was a desperateand despotic democrat, and who has been a leading light for years amongour advanced Radicals. Now it so happened that on the evening of ourvisit the Prince of Wales was at the theatre we attended, and I wasgreatly amused to notice how interested my democratic friend was inwatching the royal box. When the performance was nearing the end heamused me still more by suggesting that we should hurry out and watchthe Prince drive off. "I do so like to see that sort of thing, " headded. Mr. Chamberlain, however, is not the man to care what his foes or hisold political friends think or say about him. Water on a duck's back is, I fancy, an oppressive agony compared with the right honourablegentleman's feelings when he hears or reads the condemnatory and abusiveremarks of some of his former allies. If at any time he does perchancefeel at all stung by any of the adverse criticisms he hears or reads, hetakes care not to show that he is hurt. Sparks will fly upwards, and Mr. Chamberlain has had his troubles, buthe does not wear his heart on his sleeve, or carry his woes into themarket place. I remember many years ago, under the stress of severedomestic affliction, he retired into private life for a considerableperiod, and it was said that during his self-imposed obscurity he soughtoccupation and solace in the study of Blue Books. Anyway, when heemerged into public life again he appeared as the author of a magazinearticle of an advanced political character, which seemed to shew that hehad spent his solitude in studying and trying to solve some of the largepolitical problems of the day. In contemplating Mr. Chamberlain's remarkable career and his high risein the political world, I am tempted to wonder whether he would havebuilt his large mansion near Birmingham if he could have foreseen theimmediate future. When he made up his mind to erect his house at a greatcost he perhaps scarcely dreamed he would so soon become a CabinetMinister. Possibly he looked forward to being little more than a localmember of Parliament--for he is not, I fancy, a dreamer of dreams--andfelt he should like to pitch his tent near to his constituency. Anyway he built his house at Moor Green, which he called "Highbury"after the name of the district in London where he was born. The house iswell situated, though in some respects hardly built upon a site worthyof such a costly residence. It stands on a piece of rising ground, andcommands a good prospect. In the front of it are the Lickey and ClentHills some eight or ten miles away, but in the mid-distance is amanufacturing suburb with several tall chimneys which are obtrusivelyconspicuous, and which behave as factory chimneys generally do, scarcelyimproving the prospect or the atmosphere. These disadvantages were, Ibelieve, pointed out to him before a brick was laid, but he had made uphis mind, and when it is made up I fancy it is made up very much. The day may come when he may be able to spend but little of his time athis Highbury home, but he has children who will keep the house inhabitedand well aired if he himself does not. His eldest son, Mr. AustenChamberlain, M. P. For one of the Worcestershire divisions, is intraining to walk in his father's footsteps, and to see eye to eye--or Imight say eye-glass to eye-glass--with him in matters political. Whatthe future of this eldest son may be it is not for me to forecast. Hehas made an exceptionally good start, but he will have his work cut outto follow successfully in the tread of such an able and distinguishedfather. When people see Mr. Chamberlain _père_ in such prosperity, flourishinglike a green bay tree, with a country house that has cost a fortune, atown house to maintain, and plenty of money to do a fair amount ofglobe-trotting, they wonder and ask how did he get such a lot of money?Well, I cannot say, because I do not know, and if I did know I shouldnot tell. Doubtless he had something considerable from his father, whomust have been well off, but as there were some seven children to sharewhat was left by the late Mr. Chamberlain it may be assumed it was notsimply what he inherited that made him rich. Doubtless his wealth was chiefly acquired by his shrewdness, businesscapacity, and enterprise when he was a member of the firm of Nettlefoldand Chamberlain, and probably when he retired from that prosperousbusiness it was with a sum of money which would, perhaps, make some ofus blink with envious surprise if we knew the figure. It is no secret that when he was engaged in business Mr. Chamberlainadopted a policy which created much comment at one time, and was, indeed, rather severely criticised. It was understood that he had sethis heart upon making the trade of his firm as much of a monopoly aspossible, and to this end he made it known to his local competitors thatthey must sell their businesses to him or be prepared for certainconsequences if they did not. Such a course of action was regarded as somewhat tyrannical, especiallyby those directly concerned, and it made bad blood for a time betweenMr. Chamberlain and some of those with whom he was associated in publicwork. After a while his trade opponents came to the idea that it wouldbe better to surrender at discretion than to enter into conflict with afirm that was in such a strong position, and had such a big war chest atits disposal. It is hardly necessary to go into the merits of this trade question, or, indeed, to say anything about it now, as it is all a matter of ancienthistory. Indeed, I only refer to the matter because it formed anincident in Mr. Chamberlain's Birmingham career and left its mark uponthe business that went up and the businesses that went down. Moreover, it is a little instructive and edifying, as showing how Mr. Chamberlain's combative nature manifested itself in his everyday life. He recognised, as other men have done, that business is not a matter tobe played with, and that trade is in fact a commercial conflict in whichone must whip and the other be whipped, and as he felt himself in astrong position, was on the box and had the whip in his hand, he wasresolved to drive and to choose the pace and the road. Live and let live is, of course, a very good and proper maxim, but itfinds no place in the copy-book of sharp, smart, successful men ofbusiness. It is their aim and purpose to get money--without harm toothers, if they can, if not, others must look out for themselves--thatis all. In one sense at all events Mr. Chamberlain's tactics werejustified. They were successful. VI. AND HIS BRETHREN. Mr. Chamberlain having obtained such distinction in public life, it wasperhaps only natural that some of his brothers should be tempted orinduced to follow his shining star. Possibly they had no stronginclination to distinguish themselves in public, and were rather pressedto come forward on account of the influential name they bore. Anyway, some of them did appear in various offices and capacities, but withoutmeaning any disrespect to them or any reflection upon their abilities, itmay perhaps be said that they found their fires so pale and ineffectualcompared with the brilliant light of their eldest brother--or it may bethat they found public work comparatively uncongenial to them--that, most of them soon preferred to efface themselves and leave one of theirfamily and his son to take all the honours and have all the court cards. Mr. Richard Chamberlain took the most prominent position, and made thehighest mark of all Mr. Chamberlain's brothers. He was Mayor ofBirmingham in the years 1879 and 1880. During his years of office he waspublic-spirited and popular, and in the way of civic hospitality he madethings lively and gay. He kept the Council House warm with hisentertainments, and lavished so much money in hospitalities of one kindor another that he made it difficult for his immediate successors tofollow in his wake, and none of them tried to do so. So far as I couldjudge of his character, Mr. Richard Chamberlain did not spend his moneyso freely for the sake of purchasing popularity, and certainly not forthe sake of making ostentatious displays of his wealth. He was naturallygenerous and genial, and as Mayor of a large and important town he foundmany ways of humouring his bent, and he did not mind paying the piperpretty handsomely for his pleasure. As is well known, he was afterwardsM. P. For one of the Islington divisions for some years. Ill-healthhowever overtook him, and he died much regretted on the 2nd of April, 1899. Another brother, Mr. Arthur Chamberlain, was a town councillor ofBirmingham for a limited period, and owing to his business capacity hebecame a useful member of the Corporation. He did not apparently go intothe Council to make a long stay, or if he did he changed his mind, andsoon retired from municipal work. He has since spent his time in mindinghis own business; in strengthening, mending, and making certain publiccompanies; in giving fatherly advice to company shareholders; and indispensing justice, sometimes with pertinent observations, on the localmagisterial bench. Two other brothers, Mr. Herbert and Mr. Walter Chamberlain, have attimes been induced to take a little hand in public work, but theirefforts have been of a mild, modest, innocent character. Now, however, they have retired into that privacy from which they so timidly emerged. For many reasons Mr. Chamberlain's brothers were, perhaps, wise not tobid high for public place and position in Birmingham. People are apt tobe needlessly suspicious of too much family influence in publicconcerns. There is always a tendency and a readiness to inveigh againstcliques, especially family cliques. And at one time there was certainlya disposition in some quarters to keep a jealous eye upon Joseph and hisbrethren, lest they should acquire an undue amount of influence andpower. One blunt, outspoken Scotchman, I remember, expressed thisfeeling in his own characteristic way by saying, "If we don't mind weshall be having too much dom'd Chamberlain. " The Chamberlain family, however, being more or less smart, spry men, were doubtless sharp enough to detect some inkling of this sort offeeling, and consequently they thought it better to silence any suchcavillings by eschewing as far as they could public life, and contentingthemselves with being brothers of a big man and sharing a littlereflected glory. Whilst mentioning Mr. Chamberlain's family I must say a word of hisbrother-in-law, Mr. William Kenrick, for some years M. P. For theNorthern Division of Birmingham. Mr. Kenrick was Mayor of Birmingham in1877, and a worthy and modest chief magistrate he made. A generous, intelligent, public-spirited man, he has always been liberal with hispurse and his time, and has done much to further educational andphilanthropic schemes. Mr. Kenrick belongs to a class some cynicalpeople consider very "cliquey. " It is, however, to be wished there weremore such "cliquey" people in our midst, for they are alwaysconspicuously at the fore in supporting by their influence and theirmoney every good cause which has for its object the alleviation ofsuffering and the improvement of the people. It is true that there was one important project inaugurated some fewyears ago that did not enlist their sympathy. This was the BirminghamBishopric Scheme. But, seeing that most of the "clique" are Unitarians, they could hardly be expected to support a proposal for the benefit ofthe Established Church. It was a misfortune for that Church that theChamberlain party and their friends were aliens in religious matters. Had it been otherwise the results of the proposed scheme might have beenvery different. The "clique, " when they do support a cause, do it withno niggardly hand, and if it had so chanced that they had been Churchmeninstead of Unitarians, the probabilities are that by this timeBirmingham would have been in possession of a full-sized Bishop all itsown, and possibly a fine, bran-new, costly cathedral to boot. Owing to the lack of monetary support the Birmingham Bishopric Schemeis dead, or in such a very sound trance that it is hardly likely torevive. At its birth it was not very strong, and its early existence wasjeopardised by conflicting ideas among its sponsors, chiefly caused bythe difficulties in the way of raising all the money required. Birmingham, therefore, had to settle itself down and be content with aSuffragan Bishop, at least for a time, and this, it is thought, mayprove to be a good long time. In connection with the Birmingham Unitarians I may here, perhaps, appropriately allude to a matter connected with the growth of our moderncity. The New Meeting House of the Unitarians in which Dr. Priestleyministered was situated on the east side of the town, and as thecongregation was migrating westward they desired to have their place--Iwon't say of worship, but their place of meeting, nearer to their homes. Moreover, moved by the advancing spirit of the age, they wished for amore important and ornamental looking edifice than the extremely plain, I might say ugly, structure which their fathers had attended. Unitariansmay appear to be rather rigid and frigid, but they have an intelligentappreciation of art and beauty. Accordingly some forty years ago they selected a site on the west sideof the town, and erected what was then considered a handsome place ofmeeting, which they called the Church of the Messiah, and which wasopened in 1862. The architect of this Church did not seem to be undulyweighed down with Unitarian ideas. By accident or design he marked theedifice with emblems of the Trinity, for at the very entrance there is alarge opening encircling three arches, which are suggestivelyemblematical of the Three in One. The building of this somewhat florid structure, and the move of theUnitarian church from east to west, provoked a considerable amount ofcaustic comment and humorous criticism at the time. These advancedUnitarians were scoffed and sneered at for deserting the simpletabernacle of their ancestors, and one which was associated with therevered name of Dr. Priestley. They were also mocked for their greateriniquity in selling their tabernacle to the Papists. Yes, the NewMeeting House of the Unitarians became a chapel of the Roman Catholics. They rendered to the priests the things that were Priestley's, as theywere reminded by a facetious paper published at the time. But, howevermuch the Unitarians may have been chaffed and sneered at for abandoningtheir old conventicle, they have lived it all down, and, if I mistakenot, Joseph and his brethren, the Kenricks, the Oslers, the Beales, andothers, now congregate in peace in their un-Unitarian-looking Church ofthe Messiah. VII. MR. CHAMBERLAIN'S ASSOCIATES. Having spoken of his brethren, I may now refer to one or two of Mr. Chamberlain's friends and associates. Among these I will speciallymention Mr. Jesse Collings, Mr. Schnadhorst, and Mr. Powell Williams. Mr. Collings, like Mr. Chamberlain, is a stranger within our gates. Heis a Devon man by birth, but as a comparatively young man he came toBirmingham, and he not only came but he saw and he prospered. He enteredlocal public life about the same time as Mr. Chamberlain, and they soonbecame kindred spirits. From the first Mr. Chamberlain seemed to take aspecial fancy to Mr. Collings--in American phrase, he "froze to him. "They became a sort of David and Jonathan company limited, and althougheach of the partners may have preserved a certain amount of independenceand individuality, in many things they pulled together in their work andpolicy like one man. When Mr. Chamberlain took leave of local municipal life and went uphigher, Mr. Collings was not long in following him, and now both havebeen for some years very familiar figures in Parliament. Since theyfirst entered public life both men have in some ways mellowed down. Compared with what they once were, their foes at any rate say, they haveboth lost colour. They were once ripe, full-bodied Radicals, and nowthey are tawny Liberals, who have been bottled late--but bottled. Although time and experience may have taught Mr. Collings many things, he probably retains more of the old Radical Adam than does Mr. Chamberlain. At one time he was regarded by some of his opponents as apolitical fire-eater--a democratic despot who would have decapitatedkings and queens without a tinge of remorse, and slain wicked Torieswith the sword. He was, however, never the ungenial, self-seeking, aggressive person some of his foes may have fancied him. He was alwaysan affable, pleasant, agreeable man, who could be civil and even politeto his adversaries, especially when political fighting was not going onin front. But, as I have said, he has toned down during late years andhas learned, as many other men have done, that there are large lessonsto be learnt by experience, and that there is some virtue in expediency. Of course a good deal of mud has been flung at Mr. Collings by some ofhis local friends in consequence of what they consider his politicalperversion, but I don't know that much of it has stuck to him. With someof his former allies it is not so much that he may have become moretemperate in his views, or that he did actually abandon his absolutefreedom and take a Government office. They might have forgiven theselittle backslidings, but in their eyes he sinned past redemption when heconsorted with titled people, broke the bread of kings, and evensuffered himself to be entertained at Sandringham. These were offencesoutside forgiveness in the eyes of some few of his former associates. With Mr. Chamberlain, however, as his friend and prototype, he probablyfeels that he can afford to smile at the sneers and jeers of those who, not being able to make much way up the political ladder themselves, taketheir revenge by pelting those who are climbing their way towards thetop. Among Mr. Chamberlain's working associates, Mr. Powell Williams has beena sort of "surprise packet. " Poets, we are told, are born, and not made, but Mr. Powell Williams seems to have been made, and not born. At least, no one seems to know anything much about his early career. He appearedto burst upon the municipal horizon all at once, like a meteor emergingfrom outer space, but when he came in contact with the Corporationatmosphere he soon became ignited and fired by municipal enthusiasm, and, encouraged by those who perceived his capacity, he rapidly began tobe a conspicuous luminary in our local Forum. He quickly distinguishedhimself in the matter of local finance, and indeed soon becameBirmingham's Chancellor of the Exchequer. Without being a brilliant or learned orator, Mr. Powell Williams had thegift of fluency, and he could generally be reckoned upon to get up at amoment's notice and make an effective speech. He could also do a littlefighting if it came in his way, and in the course of his Town Councilcareer he had one or two pretty bouts with some of his opponents. Whenhe is not on the war horse he is a pleasant, intelligent, un-sour man, with a touch of smartness and humour which give point to his words. Asis now well known, Mr. Williams was returned to Parliament for one ofthe Birmingham divisions. He became the successful helmsman in Londonof the central organization of the Liberal Unionist party. On theformation of the Government in 1895, to the surprise of many of hisfriends and acquaintances, he became a member of the administration. Itwas believed that he was well taken in tow by Mr. Chamberlain, but itmay with truth, perhaps, be added that by his own energy and ability heplaced himself in a prominent position where he could hardly beoverlooked. With respect to Mr. Schnadhorst, there can be no question as to Mr. Chamberlain's prescience in judging of the capabilities of men, and hisquick appreciation of Mr. Schnadhorst's attributes is a case in point. The pre-eminence this latter-named gentleman attained in the politicalworld was somewhat of a surprise to many of his old friends, andprobably not least of all to himself. Doubtless at the beginning of hiscareer he little dreamt that owing to his being taken in hand by men ofinfluence; to unforeseen circumstances in the evolution of politicalaffairs; and also, it must be admitted, to certain capabilities of hisown, he would attain to the position of importance he somewhat quicklyreached, and his name become a synonym for systematic politicalorganization. I knew Mr. Schnadhorst long before he blossomed out into fame. He struckme, and doubtless others, as being an intelligent, good, easy-manneredman, with a touch of "Sunday schoolism" in his character and manner. Hewas not brilliant, and he did not appear to be burdened with muchoriginality. He seemed to be a pointless sort of man, apparentlydestitute of any keen sense of humour; a spectacled, sallow, sombre man, who would have been an ornament to a first-class undertaker's business. Certainly he was not one who, by his smartness, wit, cleverness, andcourage would have tempted anyone to say, "There is the great politicalorganizer of the future. " In his earlier life and in his own particular line of business he wasnot a conspicuous success. His heart was not in it or his hand either. Speaking from my own experience, he made me about the worst fittingcoat I ever wore. Mr. Chamberlain, however, took his measure moresuccessfully than he himself took other people's, in a sartorial sense, and soon saw that he would make up into something useful if the cuttingout was done for him. Mr. Schnadhorst as a young man began by taking a keen and intelligentinterest in local public life. He came under the eye of Mr. Chamberlain, who quickly perceived that he possessed certain qualities which wouldprove useful and valuable if properly employed. He saw in him a man ofaptitude and capacity, who had the _suaviter in modo_, even if he hadnot much of the _fortiter in re_--a man of method, persuasiveness, andindustry, with a cool head, a safe temper, and a calm mind. Of Mr. Schnadhorst's possession of the last-named qualities I once had astriking proof. It was on the occasion of one of Mr. Gladstone's visitsto Birmingham. A great political meeting was held in Bingley Hall, andthe immense gathering was in a fever of excitement. I remember speakingwith Mr. Schnadhorst in the course of the evening, and was greatlystruck by his self-possessed, quiet, easy manner. So far from beingaffected by the intense enthusiasm and feverish excitement thatprevailed, he was just as cool and collected as though the occasion wassome little tea party affair or a ward meeting, instead of the greatestindoor political demonstration ever held in Birmingham. As already stated Mr. Chamberlain quickly perceived and plumbed to thebottom Mr. Schnadhorst's capabilities, and as he was bent on solidifyingand systematising, or, in other words, "caucusing" the Liberal party inBirmingham, he thought he saw in Mr. Schnadhorst the organising mind andmethodical skill that would be eminently useful in carrying out thework. Nor was he wrong. Mr. Schnadhorst proved to be all that wasexpected of him, and the political world knows the rest. How he becamethe great political machinist of his day, and how, by his zeal, ability, and method, he elevated "caucusing" or party "wire pulling"into a recognised system--I had almost said a political science. Circumstances have changed since that period. Mr. Chamberlain made Mr. Schnadhorst, but Mr. Schnadhorst turned his back upon his maker. He wasprobably actuated by conscientious motives and convictions, althoughprofessional politicians may not, as a rule, be credited with beinggreatly overburdened with conscientious scruples. Still, Mr. Schnadhorstwas, I think, generally credited by those who knew him with being anupright, earnest, honest man, so he may well be allowed the benefit ofthe doubt. It must, I think, have cost him a struggle to part company with such aman as Mr. Chamberlain--with one who had put him in the way he shouldgo, and which led him to such a commanding position of influence andimportance. Anyway, from whatever motive, he was induced to forsake therising star in the political firmament, and to worship Mr. Gladstone, the setting sun. The sun went down below the horizon, but we saw how Mr. Schnadhorst continued to work his political orrery with the major andminor planets, the shooting stars and comets, that shone at Westminsterwith such varied lustre, or wished to shine there if they could. VIII. THE BIRMINGHAM BELGRAVIA. Seeing how Birmingham has grown and prospered, it is interesting toconsider what might have been the result if the town and its outskirtshad not been fairly pleasant for well-to-do people to reside in. Fortunately, there is one extensive west-end suburb--Edgbaston--whichforms a suitable, healthy, and desirable residential locality for theBirmingham upper classes. But for the existence of this well laid out--Iwas going to say genteel, but Heaven forbid--neighbourhood, a very largenumber of its wealthiest manufacturers and professional men woulddoubtless now reside some distance from the city. An increasing numberof those who work in Birmingham now live--at least have theirhouses--outside its limits, owing to facilities afforded by therailways; but Edgbaston is still a rich, well-populated suburb within avery easy distance of the centre of the city. Mr. Schnadhorst, when hepulled political strings in Birmingham, regarded Edgbaston as a fine, good piece of vantage ground from an electoral point of view, since itkept so many rich residents within the pale of the town, and added somuch to its influential voting power. Edgbaston is chiefly, I might almost say entirely, the property of theCalthorpes, and the late Lord Calthorpe, also his predecessor, were wisein their day and generation, and they had agents who were shrewd andfar-seeing. They saw the importance of reserving Edgbaston and laying itout as an attractive, quiet suburb, and the late lord at least lived tosee it covered with leasehold residences, many of them--indeed a verylarge number of them--of considerable value and importance. When theseleases expire, as some of them will now before many years are over, andthe noble ground landlord begins to draw in his net, what a big haul hewill make in the way of reversions of the properties that have beenbuilt upon his land! Some of these Edgbaston houses are not only large and commodious, butare architecturally handsome and artistic. Birmingham has been fortunateduring the last thirty or forty years in having two or three localarchitects who have not only possessed professional skill but alsotaste. The old square, solid, "money box" houses, so much esteemed byour fathers, are rarely erected now, but in their place residences of amore attractive design and artistic type. The Gothic revival has spread to domestic architecture, and the old, dreadfully-symmetrical brick and stuccoed house, and the hybrid Italianvilla, make way for residential structures with gabled roofs, pointedarch windows, red tiles instead of dull-coloured slates, and attractivedetail and ornamentation. In looking at such houses, one can hardly failto be struck by the difference that may be effected by using thesimplest materials--but using them with discrimination and taste. Onearchitect may plan a house which will be plain to ugliness, the brickslaid in the most severe and commonplace fashion, and the outlines of thedesign--if design it can be called--devoid of any grace or variety. Noprojections to break up the dull flatness and give light and shade; noattempt to relieve the unmitigated square, hut-like appearance of thebuilding. Another puts a pointed roof to his house, pierces it withpretty windows that have form without diminishing the light. He runssome courses of brick work round his building laid in diagonal orotherwise diversified lines. He places a porch at the entrance which hasa touch of picturesqueness, and the result is a house that is pleasingto look upon, has at all events a suggestion of form and appearance, and all without any corresponding expense, because he has used hismaterial with skill and taste. In Birmingham we have seen how much may be done in this direction invarious ways, especially in the matter of the Board Schools. When thebuilding of these schools was commenced the firm of Martin andChamberlain were selected as architects. They had to designcomparatively cheap buildings, for anything like extravagance in the wayof ornamentation would probably have provoked much hostility. Brick andwood had to be the chief materials employed, but by using these withdevice and taste good schools were produced from an art point of view, and which, in their way, are a little education to those who attendthem. Possibly there are still not a few among us who think that because thereis an element of design and attractiveness in the appearance of theseschools money has been needlessly expended. Such persons insist upon itthat only ugliness can be really economical, and that the simplestornamentation or beauty of form must mean superfluous cost. The numberof those who take this narrow view is happily limited, and is becomingless owing to the improved and growing taste for art that has beenunmistakeably manifest of late years. I have been led into this trifling digression by speaking of the housesnow built in that suburb of Birmingham inhabited by the wealthierclasses. These residents are, as I have said, better educated than theirfathers, and they have different notions as to how they should live andwhat sort of houses they should live in. They are not merely people whoare beginning to prosper and have only just emerged from the chrysalisstate of modern civilization, but are citizens who have been prosperingfor some time, or are the children of men who have been prosperous, andthey "live up" accordingly. They like their residences to be convenientand comfortable inside; but they also feel a little pride if they lookattractive from without. Nor are tastefully-designed dwellings confinedto Edgbaston. The example of our "Birmingham Belgravia" has spread toother suburbs, and if we go to Moseley, Handsworth, Harborne, and otherplaces in the vicinity of our city we find houses of a very muchimproved pattern from an ornamental point of view compared with those ofa bygone generation. Edgbaston, however, set the example in the way ofGothic house architecture, and the first specimen, I believe, was ahouse in Carpenter Road, designed by the late Mr. J. H. Chamberlain, andwhich was built for Mr. Eld, a partner in the firm of Eld andChamberlain, now Chamberlain, King, and Jones. I remember that the erection of this Gothic house created quite a littlestir. To some eyes it was a very startling innovation. Pointed archwindows for an ordinary dwelling house, who ever heard of such a thing?What next? asked some square-toed, un-compromising, old-fashioned folks. The idea was indeed so novel that it did not take people by storm, andthere was no immediate rush for Gothic houses. Gradually, however, people began to like the style, or their architects told them they mustlike it, and after some time residences of the new order began to beseen in many directions. There are now a number of large, costly, handsome Gothic houses inEdgbaston, which will be, indeed, a goodly heritage for the groundlandlord when the present leases expire--a fact that often gives rise tosome serious thoughts and reflections. Many people feel very sore uponthis matter, and wax strong and vehement upon what is known as the"unearned increment" question. I do not propose to lash this horse, which is every now and then trotted out and properly thrashed byreforming economists and others. "Unearned increment" is one of thoseaccidental incidents of life which can hardly be controlled or reckonedwith. Why should some men be sound and healthy and six feet high, andothers weak and feeble and only four feet ten? Most unequal and unjust!If I have a field, and a town grows up to it of its own accord, andsomebody offers me four times as much as I gave for it, I hardly see whyI should be reckoned a thief and a robber if I pocket the profferedcash. To take another illustration. I may have on my house-walls apicture for which I gave twenty pounds. The artist has "gone up" since Imade my purchase, and I am now offered a hundred and twenty pounds formy painting. "Unearned increment!" But away with this question! I find I am getting the whip out, althoughI promised not to thrash this wretched old economic hack. Only just onelittle parting crack of the lash. Dealing with "unearned increment"being an impracticability, perhaps it would be well for landlords whobenefit immensely by the accident of circumstances to recognise the factthat they _do_ pocket a great "unearned increment, " and be ungrudginglygenerous in return for benefits received. If this were done the namesof suburban landlords would not be received with such derision andcontempt as they are sometimes now, and "unearned increment" wouldbecome all but an obsolete phrase. IX. THEN AND NOW. Great indeed are the changes that have taken place in Birmingham duringthe past forty or fifty years. I do not speak merely in regard to thegrowth, appearance, and the commercial progress of the town and city, but in respect to the life and habits of the people--especially thebetter class of the inhabitants. Half a century ago many of the well-to-do prosperous manufacturers werepractical men--men who had worked at the bench and the lathe, and, frombeing workmen, had become masters. There were not so many manufactoriesthen as now, and the leading manufacturers found themselves in the happyposition of men who were "getting on" and becoming rich. Men as a ruleare, perhaps, more happy when they find they are making money than whenthey have made it, and have nothing to do but to spend it, or to puzzletheir brains as to how they shall do so. "Oh! Jem, " piteously said a manI knew, to his nephew, "what am I to do with that ten thousand poundsa-lying at the bank?" When "getting on, " men go to their various businesses day after day andfind orders rolling in and goods going out, and themselves prosperingand becoming better and better off, they are disposed to be contented, well pleased with their neighbours, and well satisfied with themselves. So with these old Birmingham manufacturers. They were well content, genial, and hospitable. They did not give themselves any fine airs orpretensions; indeed, they were often proud of their success andprosperity, and would sometimes delight in openly boasting of theirhumble beginnings, not always to the joy and delight of their childrenwho might hear them. They were sociable, hospitable, generous-hearted, open-handed men. They gave bountiful entertainments, not of a mereformal give-and-take character in which the feast largely consists ofplate, fine linen, and flowers, the eatables on the side table, and toomuch remaining there. They delighted in welcoming their friends; theyliked to put a good spread on the board, and to see their guests eat, drink, and be merry. In my younger days I knew what it was to enjoy the hospitalities of someof these wealthy manufacturers, and I can call to mind some little--Ishould say large--dinners, in which I have participated, the like ofwhich are, I fancy, rarely seen now. Let me briefly describe one ofthese informal, old-fashioned, friendly feasts. My host would invite members of his family and some friends to dinner attwo o'clock, say. The dinner proper--which was a good, substantial, andeven luxurious meal--being over, we adjourned to the drawing room. Therethe dessert would be laid out on a large round table around which wegathered. Then would mine host call for his wine book--for he had awell-stocked cellar of fine vintages. Turning over the leaves of thisbook he would propose to begin with a bottle of '47 port, which was thena comparatively young and fruity wine. This would be followed probablyby a bottle of 1840, and then we should come to the great 1834 wine, ofwhich mine host had a rare stock. Sometimes we should hark back to 1820 port, a wine which I remember tohave had a rich colour and a full refined flavour, and once I tasted thefamous comet wine, 1811, which, however, had lost something of itsnucleus, and only retained a certain tawny, nebulous tone. On oneoccasion I remember my host said he had some seventeen-ninety somethingwine in his cellar, which he proposed we should taste, but for somereason, now forgotten, it was not produced, and I sometimes ratherregret that I so narrowly missed the opportunity of tasting a lastcentury wine. Perhaps it may be thought from the procession of portsproduced on such occasions as I have described that we indulged in asustained and severe wine-bibbing bout. But it was not so. In reality weonly just tasted each vintage, so that we had the maximum of varietywith the minimum of quantity. The wine ended, we betook ourselves into another room, there to enjoy acigar. Then would come tea and coffee, and a little music. Supper--yes, my reader, a good supper would be announced about nine o'clock; afterthat another little smoke, and about ten o'clock or soon after we shouldtake our departure. Of course all this made up the sum total of a pretty good snack--I meana good, well-sustained feast--but whether it was owing to the excellenceof the viands, or to the fact that we took our pleasures not sadly butdeliberately, I for one cannot remember ever feeling the worse for mylittle-indulgences. Perhaps something was owing to the gloriouscontinuity of our feasting and pleasure. I also remember once being at an unfrugal, old-fashioned, festive dinnerat a friend's house, when one of the guests proposed our host's health, and finished up by saying, "I shall be glad to see everyone at thistable to dinner at my house this day week. " Considering there were aboutthirty persons sitting round the mahogany this was a fair-sized order. But it was no empty compliment. The dinner came off, and a fine goodspread it was, and as for the wine I seem to sniff its "bouquet" now. Some of the old Birmingham men whose characteristic hospitalities I havejust described had, as is pretty well known, certain habits which, looked at by modern light, would seem somewhat plebeian. For instance, there were men of wealth and importance who made it their custom oftento go and spend an hour or two in the evening at some of the oldrespectable hotels and inns of the town. They had been in the habit ofmeeting together at these hostelries in their earlier days to talk overthe news, at a period when daily local newspapers were not published, and they adhered to the custom in their advanced years and wealthierposition, and rejoiced in visiting their old haunts and smoking theirlong clay pipes, and having a chat with old friends and kindred spirits. All this has died out now. For one thing, most of these old inns andhostelries have disappeared with the march of modern times. We haveclubs now and restaurants, also hotels, where visitors "put up, " but theold-fashioned inns and taverns have mostly gone. The present generationof prosperous well-to-do men, too, are of a different stamp from theirpredecessors. They do not take their ease at their inns after the mannerof their fathers. They have been educated differently, and take theirpleasures in a more refined way, as is the fashion of the time. Some of them have been to public schools and to the university, andthey naturally live their lives on a more elevated level. As a rule, they are good, practical, straightforward, worthy men, though there are, of course, some who are rather amusing in their little pretentiousways--as there are in all large communities. Many of these, findingthemselves well off, begin to discover they had ancestors. They nametheir houses after places where their grandfathers lived or should havelived. They put crests upon their carriages; they embellish theirstationery with a motto, and otherwise put on a little of what is called"side. " But Birmingham people are not worse than others in this respect. In fact, I think there is less affectation, pretence, and snobbishness, or at any rate as little as will be found in most places of thestanding, wealth, and importance of Birmingham. Sometimes when I am visiting a newly-risen manufacturing town which haslately blossomed out into a state of thriving progress, I am forciblyreminded of what Birmingham was some years ago, and think of the changesthat have come over our city during the past thirty or forty years. Theeveryday social life is in many respects different from what it was. Young people, with a higher education and more advanced ideas than theirsires, keep their parents up to date, and it is the young people whorule the roost in many houses. The hearty but comparatively simplehospitalities of a generation or so ago are regarded as quite tooancient. Young men who have been to Harrow and Oxford are not likely to look withfavour upon suppers of tripe or Welsh rarebits. They must, of course, dine in a proper, decent manner in the evening, and there must be a goodexperienced cook to give them a fair variety of dainties; or, at least, of well-prepared dishes. Under such circumstances social functions havenaturally a tendency to become more formal, ornamental, and refined. Many of the older-fashioned school mourn the decay of the very thoroughand hearty hospitality of times back, and have often complained thatthey saw too many flowers and too little food at modern dinner parties. Still, the knock-down entertainments of our fathers were often a trifletoo formidable perhaps, and did not always bring the pleasantreflections that follow the more gentle hospitalities of the presentday. Before I close this chapter, in which I am comparing the present withthe past, I cannot help calling to mind features of Birmingham nearlyfifty years ago, when I began to look about me with my boyish eyes. Imade some general reference to these in the opening chapter of thesesketches. I will now just indulge in a few brief details. To go nofurther than quite the centre of the town, I call to mind some importantplaces that disappeared when the New Street railway station was made. I remember Lady Huntingdon's chapel--a place of worship that was popularin its day--and seem to have a hazy recollection of the King Streettheatre (or the remains of it), in which was held the first eveningconcert of the Birmingham Musical Festival in the year 1768. CannonStreet chapel has been too recently removed not to be remembered by manypeople, but I can recollect going to this place of worship when it was areal old-type Baptist chapel, and where special disciples or devoteeswere deeply immersed in religion and water. Most of us can also remember when some unostentatious private housesoccupied the side of New Street opposite the Society of Artists' rooms, and not a few of us can call to mind the dirty, slummy buildings that soclosely blocked up the back of the Town Hall. It was, indeed, animprovement when these wretched houses were removed and the back of theHall was finished and opened out. It is, I believe, true that whatbecame the back of the Town Hall was really intended by the architect tobe its front. However this may be, the proportions of the north side ofthe Town Hall are, I think, more symmetrical and imposing in appearancethan the south side fronting Paradise Street. It is but yesterday, so to speak, since the Old Square, with its sedatelooking houses disappeared, including that of Edmund Hector, the friendof Dr. Johnson, and many of us can readily recall to mind theold-fashioned Birmingham Workhouse standing in Lichfield Street--thatpoor, dirty thoroughfare which doubtless furnished a fair number ofoccupants for the afore-mentioned institution. Looking forward as Ido--at least in my sombre moments--to the "Union" as being my ultimatehome, I feel a sense of satisfaction that the Birmingham workhouse hasbeen removed to a more salubrious and pleasant locality than itsunlovely quarters in Lichfield Street. These are just a few of the more important changes that have takenplace, with one exception, namely, the disappearance of Christ Church. Ialmost shed tears to see the demolition of this church and landmark thathad so many old associations. Some of these were not always of apleasant and joyous character, for in days past the Sunday services werevery long, and the sermons anything but short. I hope my memory has not "berayed" me in making these little reminiscentremarks. I did not make notes in my early days, and now in my lateryears I may make little mistakes; but I do not think I have tripped verymuch. X. THE CITY FRINGE. It is my constant habit to take little runs into the outskirts of ourcity, and when doing so I often stare with all my eyes as I note whathas taken place in a limited number of years. Districts hardly more thana mile or so from the centre of the city, which in my boyhood werefields and meadows, are now laid out into streets and covered withhouses and shops. Indeed, I sometimes feel very aged when I look uponplaces where as a boy I went fishing for small fry, and now find theriver that afforded me such juvenile sport is, owing to the enhancedvalue of laud, compressed into the dimensions of a fair-sized gutter, with houses and small factories closely packed on its margin coveringevery foot of ground. I go in another direction, and scarcely farther than the distance justnamed, and I come to a spot where once stood the fine large park (Aston)which I remember was enclosed by a brick wall on every side. Scarcely atrace of this extensive old wall can I now see, and the site of the oldpark, or nearly the whole of it, is now covered with streets andbuildings. Aston Hall, the grand old Elizabethan house built by theHoltes in the time of Charles I. , still stands in a state of goodpreservation, and is fortunately now the property of the city, togetherwith some forty acres of surrounding land, which is, as is well known, used as a public recreation ground. To speak a little more in detail, I am not the only person living whoremembers "Pudding Brook" and "Vaughton's Hole. " The name of "PaddingBrook" was, in my boyish days, given to a swampy area of fields nowcovered by Gooch Street and surrounding thoroughfares. Pudding Brookproper was, however, a little muddy stream that flowed or oozed alongthe district named and finally emptied itself into the old moat not farfrom St. Martin's Church. Vaughton's Hole, to my juvenile mind, wasrepresented by a deep pool in the River Rea, where something direfultook place, in which a Mr. Vaughton was tragically concerned. The realfacts are--at least, so I read--that there was a clay pit, sixty feetdeep of water, situated near the Rea, and in this pit at least one manwas drowned. The place was named after an old local family namedVaughton, who owned considerable property in the neighbourhood of thepresent Gooch Street. Where Gooch Street now crosses the Rea, I remember there was afootbridge, and beyond that the river was a pretty, purling, sylvanstream, with bushes and rushes growing on its green banks. A field walkpast an old farm house led on to Moseley Hall, which was looked upon asbeing quite away in the country. As for Moseley itself, it was a prettylittle village in those days. The old village green, the rustic countryinns (of which the "Fighting Cocks" was the chief), and some low-roofed, old-fashioned houses, backed by the parish church tower, made up apicture which still remains in my mind's eye. The railway tunnel whichis now looked upon as only a long bridge, was then regarded as somethinglarge in its way, and, perhaps, slightly dangerous, almost justifying alittle something strong to sustain courage when travelling through it. Beyond Moseley Church was a pretty road to Moseley Wake Green, in whichwere, if I remember rightly, one or two timbered houses and someold-fashioned residences, surrounded by high trees. Many of these havenow disappeared. In another direction from the church was a country roadrunning to Sparkbrook, and near which were an important house and landsbelonging to the wealthy Misses Anderton, whose possessions have beenheard of in more recent days. I now often visit Moseley, and change, but not decay, in all around Isee. The prevailing colour of the old village green is now red brick, and the modern colour does not agree so well with my vision as the morerustic tones of a bygone day; whilst the noise and bustle of tram cars, the swarms of suburban residents that emerge from the railway station(especially at certain times in the day), are fast wiping out thepeaceful, pretty Moseley of my youthful days. These new old villages often present some curious anachronisms. A greyold church, partly buried by a hoary fat churchyard, is surrounded bythe most modern of shops and stores; and a primitive little bow-windowedcottage, with a few flower pots in the window, has, perchance, a glaringgin shop next door. This is more or less the case at Moseley, and it ispretty much the same at Handsworth. I remember when old Handsworth Church stood surrounded by fields, andnow it is built up to with villas on nearly every side, and has aneighbouring liquor vault instead of the old-fashioned inn such as oftenkeeps old parish churches in countenance and affords a place of refugeand refreshment for rustic churchwardens, bell-ringers, parish clerks, and the like. Old Handsworth--how well I remember it--also Soho, and the remains ofthe old mint, associated with the honoured names of Boulton and Watt. Then there was that long straight stretch of road from the old pike atthe top of Soho Hill, along which were some large and importantresidences, occupied by business men of Birmingham, who doubtlessregarded this Handsworth and Soho district as being quite out in thecountry. The stretch of road to which I have just referred is now onelong street, or soon will be, reaching from the once Soho toll-gate tothe New Inns, and farther on, indeed, to the park wall of Sandwell. Sandwell Park--ah, yes, I have a pretty distinct recollection of whatthat was, also the Hall, in my boyhood days. The park, or portions ofit, still shews some signs of its past picturesque glories; at any rate, it is not built over after the manner of Aston. The Hall, however, scarcely now conveys an idea of the place it once was. I remember itsinterior when it was the residence of its noble owner and his family, and I recall the splendidly furnished rooms, the riding school, and thegardens. I remember, too, that the Lord Dartmouth of the time of which Ispeak was, like Mr. Gladstone, an amateur woodman. He used to like to goabout with axe and saw, and do a little tree felling and branch loppingto please his fancy, and exercise his limbs and muscles. Sandwell Park, as most people know, has now been deserted for many years by its titledowner, and Sandwell Park Colliery, Limited, reigns in its stead. But recollections of the past are making me "talky, " and, I fear, tedious. I could scribble and chatter about bygone Birmingham from nowtill about the end of the century, which, however, as I write, is notvery far off. But, my gentle reader, you shall be spared. Most peopleknow that Birmingham is swallowing up its immediate suburbs, and theprocess of deglutition is still going on. The city has had its rise, andwill have its decline some day probably, but not while people want pins, pens, electro-plate, guns, dear and cheap jewellery, and whileBirmingham can make these things better or sell them cheaper than otherfolks. As for the centre of the city, I have already made some references tothe transformations that have recently taken place. A few words may, however, be said about our modern street and shop architecture. In theimportant new thoroughfare, Corporation Street--the outcome of Mr. Chamberlain's great improvement scheme--there is a curious series ofshops and public buildings. Some are of one style, some of another, andmany of no style at all. The architecture in this thoroughfarecertainly presents plenty of variety--more variety perhaps than beauty. There are the new Assize Courts--the foundation-stone of which was laidby the Queen in 1887; they are built of brick and terra-cotta, redundantwith detailed ornament, some of it perhaps of a too florid character. Near to our local Palace of Justice is the County Court, which is severein its simplicity, quasi-classic in style, and decidedly plain indesign. There are shops that have a certain suggestion and imitation ofold-fashioned quaintness, and there are other buildings that have atinge of the Scotch baronial hall style of architecture. Then there isthe coffee-house Gothic, the pie-shop Perpendicular, the commercialClassic, the fender and fire-grate Transitional, the milk and creamDecorated, and various hybrid architectural styles. The buildings in this street have, as I have said, the charm ofdiversity, and that, I suppose, is something to the good. Regent Street, London, is a fine thoroughfare, but it will probably be admitted thatit is anything but unmonotonous in appearance or lovely to look uponfrom an architectural point of view. The buildings in our grand newstreet may not be beyond criticism, but there are no long lines ofbuildings of the same heavy dull pattern from end to end. This arisesfrom the fact that the land has not been let in big patches tocapitalists or builders who might have erected a series of shops of oneuniform pattern, but has been leased to tradesmen and others who havetaken a few yards of land, on which they have built premises suited totheir requirements, and in accordance with their aim, tastes, or thebent and ability of their architects. Hence the variety, charming orotherwise according to the taste and eye of the spectator. Anyway, wehave in Birmingham a fine broad street which will, perhaps, comparefavourably with any thoroughfare in any other British city, with theexception of Princes Street, Edinburgh. In the way of splendid streetsthe Scotch capital must be allowed to take the plum. XI. THE FOURTH ESTATE. I cannot say how it may have been in other large cities and towns, butcertainly the newspaper mortality in Birmingham during the past halfcentury has been quite distressing. I think that without difficulty Icould reckon up from twenty-five to thirty papers and journals that havebeen first published and last published in the period named. I do notpropose to say much or to give a list of the dear departed. They wereborn, they struggled for existence, and they died in the effort. That isall that need be said of most of them. There is, however, one defunct paper to which I must make a shortreference, partly because I remember something about its birth anddeath. I refer to the _Birmingham Daily Press_, which first appeared inMay, 1855. If my memory serves me, the Act of Parliament repealing thenewspaper duty had not passed and become law when the _Birmingham DailyPress_ appeared. Its first issues were, I believe, marked "specimen"copies, which would seem to show that the new penny paper was reallypublished in anticipation of the passing of the Act. Anyway, the _Birmingham Daily Press_ appeared in the year mentioned, andconsidering that it was altogether a new venture, and that much had tobe learned by experience, it was a highly creditable production. It soonmade its mark, too, and became popular and largely read. And no wonder. It supplied a real want. Its contents were readable and useful, and itspages contained smart and attractive articles and papers that excitednotice and were much appreciated. Mr. George Dawson was connected withthe paper. Mr. William Harris was editor, or co-editor, of it, and onits staff and among its contributors were some sharp and able writers. With all these merits and recommendations it will be asked, why did notthe _Birmingham Daily Press_ succeed? Well, I do not think I can quiteanswer the question. I can only say that judging by what I have observedand heard literary excellence, good reporting, and able editing will notmake a paper commercially successful. If a newspaper is to succeed inpaying its way and making a profit, its business management must be inexperienced and competent hands. A daily newspaper is apt to be a deadlydrain if its expenditure exceeds its receipts--as the daily loss has tobe multiplied by six every week--and this tells up large in the courseof a year. There can be no question that the _Birmingham Daily Press_ had a finestart, and a splendid chance. But the chance was not turned to the bestaccount, and the promising start ended in a lamentable finish. This, too, in spite of the fact that the paper became really well established. Indeed, Mr. (now Sir John) Jaffray was heard to say that for a long;time the _Birmingham Daily Post_, which was started some two years ormore after the _Birmingham Daily Press_, could make no impression, sofirm a footing had the latter paper obtained in the town. But Messrs. Feeney and Jaffray had put their hands to the plough; they pegged awaywith the _Birmingham Daily Post_ till it did make an impression, and theproprietors being able and experienced in the matter of newspaperbusiness management, they stood very firm when they did begin to feeltheir feet. They drove the town--not from pillar to post, but from_Daily Press_ to _Daily Post_. They established their position, and thatposition they have gone on improving unto this day. As for the unfortunate _Daily Press_, it fell into a very seriousdecline, and finally expired somewhat suddenly in November, 1858. Itssuccessful rival remarked in a not over sympathetic paragraph that "itwent out like the snuff of a candle leaving behind it something of theflavour of that domestic nuisance. " I remember poor George Dawson, whohad lost a good deal of money through the failure of the _BirminghamDaily Press_, thought the _Post's_ spiteful little obituary notice theunkindest cut of all. For victors to crow over the vanquished in suchlanguage he thought was worse than ungenerous, it was mean. I will not now pause to say anything in detail concerning the_Birmingham Daily Gazette_, started in 1862, the _Daily Mail_ in 1870, the _Globe_ in 1879, the _Echo_ in 1883, the _Times_ in 1885, and the_Argus_ in 1891. I must, however, just note that the most important newjournalistic venture in recent years was the production of the_Birmingham Morning News_, which was started in 1871. This daily morningpaper was established on lines which should have led to a permanentsuccess. There was plenty of capital at its back. Mr. George Dawson--whose name it was thought would be a tower ofstrength--took an active part in its editorial work. It had an excellentstaff, and, in a journalistic sense and as a newspaper production, itwas a credit to itself and to the town. The _Birmingham Morning News_ was carried on for some four years at avery considerable loss, and just when it seemed to be about to turn thecorner and get into a more profitable groove, its capitalist proprietorgave it up in disappointment and disgust. For one thing, he found itdifficult to get all the influential help he wanted in the newsdepartment, and he was probably getting a little weary of putting moneyinto a basket that seemed to have no bottom to it. Yet it was believedby those well experienced in newspaper management that another yearwould have seen a favourable turn in the fortunes of the paper. Thecostly ground baiting which is necessary in a newspaper establishmenthad been done, and the expensive seed which has to be sown was about tocome up when the proprietor resolved to plough the paper up and so addanother to the formidable list of local newspaper failures. In the grave of the _Birmingham Morning News_ were buried many hopes. The proprietor hoped to make a fortune. Mr. Dawson hoped to make anincome and secure a still wider influence through its medium. Its rivalshoped it would not succeed, and by its death and burial their hopes wererealised. One little incident in connection with local journalism I must recordhere as being something almost unique. I refer to the astounding sketchMr. H. J. Jennings--for many years editor of the _Birmingham DailyMail_--wrote of himself in 1889, and the circumstances that led to itspublication. After many years' connection with the _Daily. Mail_, Mr. Jennings went over to another local evening paper, the _Daily Times_, and by way of giving it a fillip he published in its columns a series ofpapers on "Our Public Men. " That these sketches were not entirely flattering to the subjects ofthem will be readily understood. Mr. Jennings always was a smart, spicy, and sometimes even brilliant writer, but he could not help being more orless cynical. He rather liked to stick the toasting fork into hissubjects, and then hold them pretty close to the bars of a decidedly hotfire. The result was that many of them burned and smarted under theordeal. One of the victims went so far as to propose that thisself-appointed censor of public characters should be fought with his ownweapons, and have a taste of his own nasty physic. In a word it wassuggested that someone should draw Mr. H. J. Jennings' portrait on hisown lines after his own manner. Mr. Jennings promptly took up the gauntlet that was thrown down andimmediately proceeded to write a sketch of himself, which appeared inthe _Birmingham Daily Times_ of May 29th, 1889, and was, perhaps, one ofthe most daring and audacious feats of contemporary journalism onrecord. If he had entrusted his task to his most bitter enemy it couldhardly have been more scathing than it was. Mr. Jennings certainly did not blunt his steel when he proceeded tooperate upon himself. He did not spare himself, but dug the knife in andturned it round. It was, indeed, a singularly curious piece ofbiography, written with all the pungency and point its writer couldcommand, and it need hardly be said that such a sketch silenced the gunsof some of his foes and made something of a sensation in the town. This clever and amazing article was a sort of dying swan's song so faras Mr. Jennings and Birmingham were concerned. If I remember rightly, soon after its appearance he severed his professional connection withthe town. He went to London and joined the staff of a financial journal. Whether he has made his own fortune or the fortunes of others by hisLondon work I do not know and need not enquire. I will be content torecord the remarkable achievement I have mentioned in connection withhis Birmingham journalistic career. One special reason why I am devoting some consideration and space to theBirmingham press is because I wish to refer to one local publicationwhich had something to do, indirectly at least, with the making ofModern Birmingham. I allude to the _Birmingham Town Crier_. Thisserio-comic, satirical little paper was started in the year 1861, andwas for many years a monthly publication. On its first appearance itcreated some stir by its original and, in some respects, uniquecharacter, also by the general smartness and humour of its contents. When it first appeared many were the guesses made as to its promotersand contributors, and, so far as these came to my knowledge, not oneproved correct. Certain quite innocent men were credited with beingcontributors to the new paper, and some of these did not deny the softimpeachment. The general guessing, however, ranged very wide, andincluded all sorts and conditions of men, from the Rev. Dr. Miller, thenrector of St. Martin's, to the bellman in the Market Hall. Consideringthat the _Town Crier_ was started with a purpose, as I shall presentlyshow, and that it exerted some influence in its own way upon theprogress of the town, it is, I think, fitting that the story of itsearly beginnings should be told, and I am in a position to tell thetale. As all the first contributors of the _Town Crier_ have ceased--most ofthem long since ceased--to have any connection with the paper, there canbe no harm now in referring to its original staff, if only as a littlematter of local history. I may, therefore, place it on record that thecontributors to the first number of the _Town Crier_, which waspublished in January, 1861, were Mr. Sam Timmins, Mr. J. Thackray Bunce, Mr. G. J. Johnson, Dr. (then Mr. ) Sebastian Evans, and the presentwriter, Thomas Anderton. Some two or three months after its first appearance the late Mr. JohnHenry Chamberlain joined the staff, and a little later still Mr. WilliamHarris became one of the "table round. " With this staff the paper wascarried on for many years, and with more or less success, according tothe point of view from which it was considered. Being of a satiricalcharacter it, of course, often rapped certain people over the knucklesin a way they did not appreciate. They naturally resented being chaffedand held up to ridicule, but as there was nothing of a malicious orprivate character in the sarcasms published any little soreness theycreated soon died away. One reason why the _Town Crier_ came into existence was because it wasfelt that there were certain things, and perhaps certain people, whocould be best assailed and suppressed by ridicule. They could be laughedand chaffed rather than reasoned out of existence. Certainly the paperwas not established with any idea of profit, nor for the gratificationof indulging in scurrilous personal attacks. It only dealt with publicaffairs and with men in their public capacity. Indeed, I may say thatall the men connected with the _Town Crier_ at its starting wereinterested in the good government and progress of the town, and theyused the influence of the paper for the purpose of removing stumblingblocks, and putting incompetent and pretentious persons out of the way. As so much interest has lately been created by the descriptions given ofthe _Punch_ dinners and the doings of the _Punch_ staff, I may statethat the promoters of our local _Charivari_ also combined pleasantsocial intercourse with their journalistic functions. The monthlydinners of the _Town Crier_ staff remain in my memory as being among themost delightful and genial evenings I have ever spent in my life. We metat each other's houses, and after a nice satisfying dinner we proceededto pipes and paths of pleasantness, and to planning the contents for thenext number of our paper. Large and hearty was the hilarity at these monthly meetings, and Ithink I may say that the talk was interesting and smart. Mr. J. H. Chamberlain was often positively brilliant in his little sallies ofspeech, whilst Mr. J. T. Bunce would put in dry, sententious words of witand wisdom. Mr. G. J. Johnson laid down the law with pungent perspicuity, and Mr. William Harris was amusingly epigrammatic. Mr. Sam Timmins onthese occasions was ever ready with an apt remark, very often containingan apt quotation, and Mr. Sebastian Evans smoked and laughed much, madeincisive little observations, and drew sketches on blotting paper. As we were all more or less interested in or concerned with the mostimportant matters that were then going on in the town, there was much tobe said that was worth saying and hearing. Even in the wheels that werewithin wheels some of the _Town Crier_ men had spokes. A bank could notbreak without some of us being concerned in the smash, and I rememberto my sorrow that when the Birmingham Banking Company came to grief Iwas an unfortunate shareholder. I do not think it necessary to say much more concerning the early daysof the publication in question. Its first promoters became busy, and, insome cases, important men as time went on, and gradually they had togive up their connection with a periodical whose pages for some yearsthey had done so much to enliven and adorn. The _Town Crier_, I think itwill be admitted, did good work in its own peculiar way, and those whoremain of its early promoters (and the small number has been thinned bythe death of Mr. J. H. Chamberlain and Mr. J. T. Bunce) need not beashamed to speak with the enemy at the gate--I mean, to own their formerconnection with a publication which was not regarded as beingdiscreditable to its contributors, or to the town. One matter in connection with the publication of the _Town Crier_ may bementioned as being curious, and perhaps a little surprising. It isthis: that during the many years that the paper was conducted by itsoriginal promoters it steered clear of libel actions. In only one casewas an action even threatened, and this was disposed of by an acceptedlittle explanation and apology. We often used to hear rumours thatAlderman, Councillor, or Mr. Somebody intended wreaking vengeance uponwriters who had belaboured or ridiculed him; but these threats ended innothing, and the first proprietors of the _Town Crier_ never had to payeven a farthing damages as the result of law proceedings. This issomething to record, because papers of a satirical character necessarilysail pretty close to the wind in the way of provoking touchy people tofly to law to soothe their wounded feelings and pay out their supposedpersecutors. I confess I often used to shiver slightly in my shoes when I consideredthe possible consequences of what I myself and others had written in the_Town Crier_. The law of libel is a wide-spreading net, anything thatbrings a man into ridicule or contempt or damages him in his trade orprofession being libellous. To criticize adversely a painter, actor, orsinger is necessarily damaging, and is really a libel, but to sustain anaction real damage must be proved, or it must be shown that malice andill-will have prompted the objectionable adverse opinions. But, as weknow, there are certain pettifogging men of law who are ever ready toencourage people to bring actions for libel for the mere sake of gettingdamages. I believe I have thus stated the case correctly, but I am not a"limb of the law, " not even an amputated limb, or a law student. I speakfrom what I have seen in the Libel Acts and in the judgments I haveread. Having been one of the Press gang for many years, I have neverthought my liberties quite safe, and have often felt that any day Imight be brought up to the bar for judgment. But I escaped, even when Iwas writing for the _Town Crier_, and have escaped since. But let me notboast. Before these lines are read my ordinary clothes may be requiredof me. On the shelves of my small library are some bound volumes of the earlynumbers of the _Birmingham Town Crier_, in which are some pencil marks. If I should sooner or later have to retire to live _en pension_ atWinson Green, or at the Bromsgrove or other Union, I hope to be able totake these cherished books with me to look at from time to time, and tokeep green my memory of past pleasant days. XII. ITS VARIED AND ODD TRADES. If some outside people were asked to name in three lines the three chieftrades of Birmingham they would probably answer by saying "Guns, ""Hardware, " and then, perhaps rather puzzled, might add "more guns. "This, however, would be a very bald and incomplete reply, and woulddenote a somewhat benighted idea of the productive resources ofBirmingham. Gun and pistol making form a very important industry in thecity, and one ward--St. Mary's--is the happy hunting ground of smallfirearm makers. All the same, gunmaking is not the be-all and end-allof our manufacturing activity, and is, indeed, only one of the many andincreasing trades that thrive and progress in the midland hardwarecapital. It is, indeed, a distinct advantage for Birmingham that it has manydifferent trades, and if some are depressed and slack others may beactive and prosperous. Hence, there is generally business doingsomewhere. It is the misfortune of some towns and districts to bedevoted entirely to one or two industries. For instance, takeManchester. If the cotton trade becomes depressed or paralysedCottonopolis soon becomes a starved-out city. Then there are textiletowns, boot and shoe boroughs, pottery districts, &c. , &c. Birmingham, however, is pretty smart at taking up new ideas, and does not let newmanufacturing industries go begging for a home. A certain number oftrades languish and die out owing to change of fashion and to certainarticles becoming obsolete. Snuffers and powder flasks, for instance, are not in large demand in the present day. A limited number are stillmade for travellers and for remote countries that have not cartridges, the electric light, or even incandescent gas, within their reach. Brass and pearl button making used to be important industries, and tonsof such wares used to be made in Birmingham in the course of a month. Comparatively few are made now. Yet we are not exactly "buttonlessblack-guards, " as Cobbett--at least, I think it was Cobbett--oncedisrespectfully called the Quakers, and buttons of various kinds otherthan pearl and brass are turned out in barrow loads. I remember someyears ago going over the button factory of Messrs. Dain, Watts, andManton, an old-established business now carried on by Mr. J. S. Manton, and was then shown a curious composition or kind of paste that could bemade into buttons useful for all sorts of purposes. On my asking whatthe "button dough" was made of, Mr. Manton, I remember, gave me thecomprehensive reply, "anything. " All sorts of stuff having any substance in it was indeed thrown into akind of mortar, ground up, mixed with something that gave the masscohesion and plasticity, then moulded into buttons as clay is moulded bythe potter, and burned, dried, and hardened. Therefore, if brass andpearl buttons are in limited demand, there are other materials fromwhich a new useful and cheap article can be made--the "very button" forthe time--and this is produced in much larger quantities than the morecostly articles of a few generations ago. In spite, then, of changes in fashion, Birmingham is still--I will notsay a button hole, but a city where billions of buttons are made. Witness, for instance, the turn-out of such a manufactory as that ofThomas Carlyle, Limited. Here is a great and extended concern graftedupon an old-established business, and which at the present time givesemployment, regularly, to over 1, 000 hands. Buttons are made to go toall people, save the rude and nude races, and a few odd millionsproduced for home use. And speaking of all this reminds me how in thedays of my boyhood I sometimes saw a queer character known as "BillyButton. " He was a sight to behold, for he was decorated with buttons, mostly brass, from top to toe, and presented a sight that was enough tomake a thoroughbred quaker swoon. Birmingham, as I have remarked, is sufficiently enterprising not to letopportunities slip through its fingers. Its trades are still increasing, and increasing in number and variety, and though there is a tendency insome of the big industries that do a large foreign trade to get nearerto the sea-board, there are those who are sanguine enough to believethat the number of our works and our workpeople will increase andmultiply till the large supplies of water that are to be conducted to usfrom Mid-Wales will be none too copious for the great unwashed and otherinhabitants of our city a few years hence. Referring again to outsiders and their ideas of Birmingham trades, whenvisitors--distinguished or otherwise--come to see our factories thereare two that they generally begin and often end with--namely, Mr. JosephGillott's pen manufactory and the electro-plate works of Messrs. Elkington. Of late years the Birmingham Small Arms establishment atSmall Heath has gained attention and made a good third to our showindustries. Visitors to Messrs. Elkington's are, of course, largely attracted by theartistic contents and triumphs of the famous Newhall Street show rooms. The name of the Elkington firm has a world-wide fame, and their splendidartistic achievements may almost be said to be epoch-making in the wayof combining utility with beautiful design to the highest degree. Those, however, who fancy that Messrs. Elkington's great and extendingmanufactory is kept going by designing and producing splendid vases, shields, cups, and sumptuous gold and silver services, are, of course, hugely mistaken. The ordinary spoons, forks, &c. , that are to be seen--Iwon't say on every table, but on the tables of millions of people, arethe staple productions of such firms as that of which I speak. Indeed, if I could probe into the secret chambers of Messrs. Elkington's backsafe, I should probably find that the production of those exquisiteartistic articles of theirs has not been the department of theirbusiness that has brought the greatest grist to the mill and made acommercial success of their trade. Those visitors to Elkington's who penetrate beyond the show rooms willfind much to interest, and in some cases to mystify them. Electro-plating is indeed almost a magical sort of craft. How it is thatdirty looking metal spoons can be put into a dirty looking bath and comeout white and silvered must amaze and bewilder many strange eyes. Impassive as Asiatics can be, I should much like for once just to watchthe eyes of an eastern conjuror and magician when he saw the electrobath trick, and especially when done in the way and on the scale thatmay be witnessed at the Birmingham Newhall Street works. With regard to Mr. Joseph Gillott's pen manufactory it is a veryinteresting show place, but is practical and prosaic compared with theart electro-plate establishment I have just now referred to. Those, however, who like to see processes, and something going on quickly fromstage to stage, find Mr. Gillott's factory a place of almost fascinatinginterest. They can, indeed, observe the steel pen emerge from its nativemetal, see it pressed and stamped, and again pressed and stamped, slitted, annealed, coloured, and finally boxed and packed. They can alsosee the penholders produced and inhale the sweet and pungent fragranceof cedar wood, and they can look on the production of the pen boxeswhich are made in so many attractively coloured varieties. All this is to be seen in the course of a little march through Mr. Gillott's factory, which is, indeed, a pattern of order andcleanliness, and so well conducted as to be almost like a real adultschool of industry. Female labour is largely employed--as is customaryin the pen trade--the nimble fingers and deft hands of many girlsfinding useful employment, without fatiguing labour, in the variousprocesses of the pen-making business. Pen-making is, of course, a great industry, but there are pens and pens, and for some of the lower qualities the trade price is of incrediblecheapness. I sometimes think that if an enterprising merchant were totry and place an order for a million gross of steel pens at 1d. Pergross, and 75 per cent. Discount for cash, he would succeed in doing it. The quantity it is that pays. The pleasure and interest of going over Mr. Gillott's establishment isenhanced by the fact that visitors see the popular pens of commerce andthe aristocratic pens of what Jeames calls the "upper suckles" made, soto speak, side by side. The Graham Street works could not be kept goingby merely making dainty gold pens, fine long barrelled goose quills, andother such superior productions. The everyday person muse be consideredand supplied with everyday pens, and the everyday person, although hebuys cheap pens, is a more profitable customer than he looks. A well-known mustard maker has been known to say that he makes hisprofit out of what people leave on their plates. In other words, theeveryday waste of people vastly increases mustard consumption. In thesame way the everyday pen is so cheap that it is not used with care andeconomy. It is lightly thrown aside often before it is half worn, and isoften objurgated and wasted because it is dipped into bad ink. But whatdoes it matter when you can get a gross of pens for just a few pence. One more little remark about the Graham Street works and I have done. Itake leave to doubt if Mr. Joseph Gillott turns out any of the verycheapest and commonest pens, but I feel pretty certain that he makes thebest and most costly productions of their kind. There are still verymany people at home and abroad--especially Americans--who do not like toput a little common, "vulgar" pen on their writing tables. They preferto see something more superior in style and finish. On such pens asthese will generally be seen the name of Mr. Joseph Gillott. There are, of course, other makers of good steel pens in Birmingham, but theirplaces are not so much visited or their productions so widely known asthe pens of Graham Street works. A few years ago Birmingham penmakers, as well as others, were disposedto be rather terrified at the advent of the typewriter, and fancied intheir sable moments that the steel pen would sooner or later besuperseded. They are not now so dismayed as they were, and I hardlythink they need be. The electric light has not put out gas; in spite ofrailway engines I still see a few horses about sometimes; and even motorcars and the like will not at present run locomotive engines off theline. I, therefore, think that makers of fine points, broad points, medium points, &c. , may rest securely in their pens, notwithstanding aYost of typewriters, Remington, or what not. Few people outside our own borders quite realise, perhaps, what a largeand important industry the jewellery trade is in Birmingham. Yet onequarter of the city--the Hockley district--is chiefly devoted to whatcynical people call the production of baubles. If anyone doubts theextent to which the jewellery trade is carried on, and the number ofhands engaged in it, let him station himself somewhere Hockley way atthe hour of one o'clock in the day, and he will see for himself. No sooner has the welcome sound of the tocsin been heard--almost indeedbefore it has time to sound--hundreds, aye thousands of men emerge fromtheir workshops, and for a time quite throng streets that just beforethe magic hour of one p. M. Were comparatively quiet and empty. Curiously enough these working jewellers seem to come from hidden andobscure regions, and appear in the open from their industrial cellsthrough many small doors and entries, rather than through large gatewayswhich are opened at certain regulation hours. The jewellery trade is not carried out in large factories with tall, towering stacks, powerful steam engines, &c. Machinery may be used incertain branches of the trade for all I know, but, speaking generally, working jewellers sit at their bench, play their blow-pipe, and withdelicate appliances and deft hands put together the precious articles offancy they make. Handsome lockets are not turned in a lathe. Diamond and ruby rings arenot productions that are run through a machine and sold by the gross, "subject. " Nor are jewelled pendants made in presses, nor beautifulbracelets banged into shape by the mechanical thump of a stampingmachine. The consequence is that jewellery work of the finest fashionis made in small establishments, but as I have said there are so many ofthese that the "turn-out" in the way of "hands" is a formidable elementin our local population. It is, we know, an ancient saw that tells us that two of a trade cannotagree, but it has always struck me that jewellers belie this generallyaccepted maxim. I came to this conclusion from knowing and visiting acolony of goldfinches--I mean master jewellers, who are quite civil toeach other, will sit at meat and drink together, go to the same place ofworship, and generally behave as friends, neighbours, and Christians. How it was that these employer blow-pipers could maintain and assumesuch a benign and almost brotherly attitude towards each other was alittle puzzling to me till I thought the matter out. Jewellers theymight all be, but they did not all jewel alike. They rowed in the sameboat, but not with the same sculls--to use Jerrold's old joke, Theyblowed the same pipe, but played different tunes. In a word theyproduced different varieties of jewellery, and consequently did not cuteach other's throats in competition. One would chiefly make chains, another lockets and pendants, a third studs and sleeve links, a fourthrings, a fifth bracelets and brooches, and another miscellaneoushigh-class productions, including mayoral chains, &c. , &c. Under thesecircumstances the two or three of a trade to whom I have referred havebeen able to agree, and will be able to maintain good fellowship tillsuch times as some largely enterprising bold blow-piper forms himselfinto a large syndicate, resolves to make everything himself, and crushdown all competition. But that time is not yet. In speaking of the jewellery trade in Birmingham, I think I am safe insaying that at any rate until recently the town, now a city, has notenjoyed full credit for the high-class work it produces. For a long timeit was regarded as the workshop of cheap "sham" jewellery, and that ifyou wanted really good things you must go to London and buy in themarts of New Bond Street. If any such heathen now exist, and I suspect they do, they would berather surprised if they knew how much London sold jewellery is made inBirmingham. Purchasers have the pleasure of buying in Bond Street, andof having bracelets, bangles, rings and lockets put in cases with awell-known West-end firm's name on it, and that is something of whichthey are proud, and for which they are willing to pay. And they do haveto pay. In proof of which I will tell a true story. Some years ago Iknew a Birmingham manufacturing jeweller whose line was gold and silverpencil cases. I was looking over his show cases one day when he pickedup a small good pencil case suitable to put on a lady's chain. My friendtold me chat his trade price for this article was 3s. 6d. , and he hadseen it marked--his own make--18s. In Regent Street shops. I have knownof others in the fancy trades tell a similar story. For instance, a manufacturer once told me that he had made gold warefor the Royal table, but not directly. His order came from a West-endhouse and his name was to be altogether suppressed. In some preceding remarks I referred to cheap sham jewellery. There is avery considerable amount of it made in Birmingham, and "gilt jewellery"is the name by which it is known. Respecting this trade and itsproductions I can, perhaps, tell a few of my readers something that mayrather surprise them. Not many years ago I wished to see and purchasesome of this gilt jewellery in order to make gay and glorious aChristmas tree--Heaven forbid, of course, that my friends or myselfshould adorn ourselves with such baubles. I went to a manufacturer of these wares to make my purchases, and hopedto buy cheaply. And I did; at a price indeed that rather astonished me. For instance, I was shown some brilliant looking brooches of good designand finish, and sparkling with diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, rubies, of rich lustre--or, I should say, imitations of these precious stones. Ilooked at these handsome productions and thought a good price would beasked for them. I was, as I have hinted however, rather more thanastonished to find that I could make a very good selection at from 15s. To 18s. Per dozen. Just fancy, these brilliant brooches adorned with gems of purest rayserene--that is, to the naked, unexpert eye--well-fashioned in thematter of workmanship, and looking of, at least, eighteen carat gold, and yet they could be purchased at the rate of from fifteen to eighteenpence each. What, however, staggered me still more was to find thatthere was a lower deep still in the matter of price. On my venturing toremark to the warehouse-man who showed me the articles mentioned, that Isupposed they were the very cheapest things in the trade, he remarked, "Oh dear no, we don't do anything in the cheap stuff line. If you wantthat you must go to Messrs. So-and-So, in Blank Street. " I went to the cheap firm he named in Blank Street, and there sureenough found cheap stuff and no mistake. Brooches and lockets at 12s. Adozen and even less, and handsome watch chains at the rate of about 10d. Each. I must add, however, that the makers would not dispose of lessthan a dozen of each article shewn. Perhaps they could hardly beexpected to sell retail at such prices as I have named. Having obtained the "Open Sesame" to the jewelled caves or warehouses ofthe gilt jewellers I came away loaded with gems, and my purse but verylittle lighter. So well indeed did some of my purchases look when I gotthem home that I could not see much difference between them and the realarticles. Consequently, when I now see fair ladies gaily bedecked with asuperfluity of handsome lustrous trinkets I think of the gilt jewellerytrade, and brooches at 15s. Per dozen, less a discount doubtless to thetrade. Leaving, now, the gold and gilt jewellery trades, which, as I have said, form a large industry in our midst, let me just briefly refer to someof the odd trades that are carried on in Birmingham. Among these I willfirst of all mention the manufacture of ship Logs, because it seemssomewhat curious that an insular place like Birmingham, whose onlysuggestion of maritime operations is the canal, should produceLogs--that is, cunningly devised instruments for ascertaining the speedof ships. Yet if I go to north country ports, such as Leith, and if I gosouth to Dover, or west to Cardiff, I see the "Cherub, " the "Harpoon, "and other Logs made by the firm of T. Walker and Sons, Oxford Street, Birmingham. As I have said, it seems a little strange, if not funny, that Birmingham should produce ship appliances. Nevertheless, thepresent Mr. T. F. Walker, and his father before him, have been making andimproving ship Logs till their trade name is known and their productionsseen in every port of significance here in Britain and abroad as well. A city, however, that produces Artificial Human Eyes may see its way tomake anything; consequently, all sorts of diverse things are produced inBirmingham, from coffin furniture to custard powder, vices to vinegar, candles to cocoa, blue bricks to bird cages, handcuffs to horse collars, anvils to hat bands, soap to sardine openers, &c. , &c. , &c. There are also in Birmingham certain trades that without being largeindustries have taken fixed root in the locality. For instance, there isthe glass trade, which employs a good few men, and, perhaps, it used toemploy more. On this point I am not certain, but I do know that onelarge glass manufactory that existed in my younger days--namely, that ofRice Harris, which stood near where now stands the Children's Hospital, Broad Street--was disestablished many years ago. If I remember rightly Rice Harris's glass works had one of those largeold-fashioned brick domes that I fancy are not constructed nowadays. Oneor two, however, still remain, and I for one feel glad that Messrs. Walsh and Co. , of Soho, allow their dome to stand where it did, just asa landmark and to remind me of pleasant bygone days. I confess, too, that I like to go into one of these big glass hives, orrather glass-making hives, and see the workmen at their "chairs" blowingand moulding the hot ductile glass into its appointed form and patterns;and I like also to see the curling wreaths of smoke ascend and disappearthrough the orifice at the top of the dome. And when I look at this Iwonder how that huge chimney is cleaned, and where the Titanic sweep isthat could undertake such a gigantic job. Well, I can hardly say Iwonder, because I think I have been told that the way the soot iscleaned from these well-smoked domes is by firing shot at the roof, which brings down the dirt. When in the winter season I see skates prominently exposed for sale inour shop windows I am reminded of another of the odd or rather sideindustries of Birmingham. I refer to the steel toy trade. The word toyseems appropriate enough when applied to skates and quoits, but seems acurious word to designate such articles of distinct utility as hammers, pincers, turnscrews, pliers, saws, and chisels, yet these articles andmany others of a similar kind are included in the words "steel toys. "This steel toy trade, if not a great industry in Birmingham, is anold-established one, and has been carried on for years by goodwell-known local names, such as Richard Timmins and Sons, Messrs. Wynnand Co. , and others. XIII. NEW AND OLD STYLE TRADING. In an earlier part of these chapters I referred to the new style ofshopkeeping that has developed in Birmingham with the growing size andimportance of the town and city. I now return to the subject again forthe purpose of showing that although Birmingham seems to be much to thefore in the matter of up-to-time shopkeeping, there are still a limitednumber of traders and shopkeepers who keep pretty much to the old lines, and evidently desire to carry on their businesses in the way that theirfathers did before them. And in touching this question it is worth while considering for amoment how differently two men or two firms in the same trade will carryon their businesses, and yet both succeed. To put it more plainly, onefirm will bombard the public with "fetching" advertisements, and getbusiness, so to speak, at the bayonet's point. Another firm in the sameline of trade lays siege to its customers in a quiet, systematic way, does its best to prevent any sorties in the direction of rival camps, and is content to keep its connection well guarded and do business in aquiet, undemonstrative way. Of course the man who goes in for publicity--wide publicity--andassaults the public with "loud" advertisements in all directions, drivesthe roaring trade, or the trade that roars loudest. He gets largerreturns, and if his business is well managed he should secure largerprofits. Beside these trade Dives's the humble, quiet, unostentatiousLazarus seems quite out in the cold. Not so, however. The latter picksup some good crumbs, if not some pretty substantial crusts, which heputs into his wallet with a gentle, unostentatious satisfaction whichquite contents him. I could give chapter and verse for what I am now saying, and withouthesitation or difficulty could name two firms in Birmingham that arecarrying on the same trade, making the same everyday articles ofconsumption; yet, while the name of one firm is in everybody's mouth andis known to the ends of the earth, the name of the other is hardly everseen save upon the productions they turn out. Yet I know for a fact thatthis latter firm make some nice solid profits out of their quietbusiness, though nothing perhaps at all comparable with their moreenterprising rival. It is a case of thousands in one case and tens ofthousands probably in the other. But enterprise should, of course, bringits own reward. I fear I have indulged in a rather full-blown parenthesis, but it wassomewhat necessary before going into certain details concerning the twoutterly opposed modes of trading and their exemplifications inBirmingham. As I have mentioned before, we have in recent years seen therise and development of huge establishments and trading concerns thatdeal in anything and everything. Cutting and competition have gone ontill there is nothing left to cut, or no weapon left that is sharpenough to cut finer. The results of all this has been the whittling awayof a good many old-fashioned shops and traders; but they are not allgone, and some long--established businesses still survive and prosper inour midst. I will just mention one or two. If the reader of these lines will walkdown the Lower Priory, which leads out of the Old Square--or what wasthe Old Square--he will see at the bottom of the said Lower Priory, onthe right hand side, a sedate and solid brick building. He will see abrass knocker on the door and a brass plate bearing the name ofSmallwood and Sons--"only this, and nothing more. " This is the businesshouse of the oldest firm of wine merchants in Birmingham, and I believethat these premises in the Lower Priory have been in the possession ofthe Smallwood family since the days of the Commonwealth; and, further, that the present active members of the firm are the fifth and sixthgeneration of Smallwood and Sons, wine merchants. There is no big shopwindow full of bottles of cheap heterogeneous wines and spirits. Itmight be the house of some good old doctor, or the office and home ofsome ripe old lawyer. If you step inside the office, you see few signsof Bacchus or his bowl, but you do see some antiquated rooms, somequaint furniture, and a nice dry, well-seasoned appearance that denotesage. There are full and capacious cellars on the premises ofcourse--cellars containing a sort of well in which the books of the firmwere buried at the time of the Birmingham riots; but, so far as outwardappearance is concerned, Sir Wilfrid Lawson or the top Major-Domo of theBand of Hope might pass by the lintels of the doorway in Lower Priorywithout a sigh. With regard to Messrs. Smallwood's cellars, theirsubterranean premises are honeycombed with catacombs containing theremains of some grand old spirits and big bins of choice vintage andvarious other wines. It might be thought that such a very unbusiness-looking place would bequietly draining away, especially in face of the flaring competition inthe wine and spirit trade. I am, however, glad to think and know thatsuch old-established houses as Smallwood and Sons can bear up againstthe levelling down processes that characterise the more pushing branchesof the wine and spirit trade. There are still a fair number of peoplewho like to buy their wine from dealers who seem to have inheritedcertain trade instincts and experiences, and who can be relied upon tosupply what they know to be good wines and spirits, such as can beconsumed with pleasure and taken without risk. We do not all yet carefor Chancellor claret, Hamburg sherry, petroleum champagne, and Dudleyport, sometimes called "Bilston pit drink. " Bottled red ink and cider champagne does not suit the taste of thosewho have a taste worth owning. They prefer to pay a fair price to have agood article, and they consequently go to old firms who are experts intheir business. The most serious form of competition that knocks the legitimate liquortrader on the head is the grocer wine and spirit selling. It may be veryconvenient to the public to be able to buy a bottle of wine or whiskywhen they are buying their groceries, but this convenience has beenpurchased, I fear, at a cost that is not pleasant to consider. I fear itwould not be difficult to prove that female home-drinking has beenfostered by the grocers' wine and spirit licences. This is a seriousmatter to contemplate, and if I were a zealous temperance advocate Ishould strive to get those grocers' licences wiped out. Besides offering facilities that are calculated to encourage secrethome-drinking the grocers' licences operate in another way that is notexactly conducive to morality or integrity. I will explain what I mean. At Cambridge I knew an undergraduate who had a somewhat parsimoniouspater. The latter limited his son's allowance, and scrutinized his billspretty closely. But my Verdant Green circumvented the supervision of hismale parent by the opportunities offered by the grocers' shops. Althoughmy undergraduate friend was, I knew, kept pretty "short" in the matterof cash supplies, I noticed that he never seemed short of strong drink. He let the cat out of the bag--or let me say the cork out of thebottle--when one day he innocently remarked to me, "I get all my liquorfrom the grocer's; the governor never looks much at the grocer'saccount. " Leaving the question of wines and spirits, I can illustrate mypreference for dealing with men who "know you know" what they areselling, and are, indeed, experts in their trades. Although I am not agood or bad Templar, nor yet a small brass Band of Hope, I confess to alarge weakness for tea--good, nice, well-flavoured tea. I have, however, found it somewhat difficult to obtain. Occasionally I taste it at thehouses of friends who buy their tea in chests at a time; but as forgetting such tea at the usual grocers' shops I have found it difficult, if not impossible. Yet I have been willing to pay up to get some realprime Souchong, Assam, Orange Pekoe, or what not. I do not expect to geta one and twopenny tea with a fine two and ninepenny flavour. Batherrecently I have paid 3s. 6d. A pound to get my little luxury; moreover, I tried many and various shops, but all more or less in vain. At last, however, I found salvation by going to a house--a retail shopindeed--that dealt in scarcely anything else but tea. And I now get teafull of delicious fragrance and flavour. It breathes such a splendidaroma before it is tasted that it almost seems a sin to drink it. When, however, I do taste a well-made cup of this infusion I am so happy andbenign that (to paraphrase some words of the late Bishop of Oxford) myown wife might play with me. I fear, however, I am getting rather rhapsodical on this question oftea. There are other--what I will call specialist old-style--tradersbesides those in the teetotal and unteetotal line to which I wish torefer. But these must be reserved for another chapter. XIV. OLD-ESTABLISHED SHOPS. Considering the pace at which Birmingham moved forward during the latterhalf of the nineteenth century, it is not, perhaps, surprising that fewshops and houses of old date are now to be seen in the chief centrestreets of the city. A few, however, remain to remind us that Birminghamwas not built yesterday, and that it has a respectable past, and is nota place of that mushroom growth which comes into existence in a night. Chief among the old order of retail trading establishments stillflourishing in our midst I may particularly mention the shop of Mr. William Pearsall, silversmith, &c. As many of my readers are aware, itis situated in High Street, opposite the end of New Street, and isconspicuous for its pretty--I had almost said petite--quaintness and itsgenuine old-time appearance and origin. There are the small bow windows, the little panes of glass, that are so suggestive of the architecture ofa century ago, and outside the shop everything bespeaks a past which wasnot exactly of yesterday. This great-grandfather shop, so to speak, has, indeed, been establishedfor more than a century, and when the present proprietor first went tothe business the trade done was chiefly in silver and silver made goods, whereas now it is largely in electro plate, in jewellery, cutlery, &c. The proprietor, indeed, like others in his position, has found himselfobliged to keep in step with the times or go under. He has preferred theformer course, but without abandoning what I may call the antiquedepartment of his business. It is, indeed, a most attractive kind of shop, especially for ladies ofa matured taste and mind who like to see pretty things, some of whichhave a quaint charm which is often especially dear to the feminine soul. I can fancy ladies going there and spending a right down happy time inlooking at the dainty specimens of antique silver, and also the modernreproductions of old patterns in electro plate. I can, indeed, by astretch of the imagination picture in my mind ladies who will go andlook at many things at such a shop, admire all, and buy none. Indeed, I do not know that I should mind indulging in this little luxurymyself, but, being of the masculine order of creation, I, perhaps, hardly like to spend hours in a shop and leave the shopkeeper with thecold comfort of a promise that I will "think about it. " Quaint andinviting shops, however, stocked with articles that form a littleexhibition in themselves must pay the penalty of their attractiveness, and possibly the proprietors have no objection. It goes, of course, without saying that a business that has beencarried on for over a century has seen great changes in regard to customand customers. Consequently, it is not surprising to learn that wealthyiron-masters, the country gentry, and prosperous farmers no longer makethe purchases of silver and fancy wares they did in the days that are nomore. Black country magnates have discovered they can now do withoutmany solid silver services, and even fairly well-to-do rural people findthey can at a pinch put up with electro plate. I confess I like to look at the bijou shop in High Street and think whatit must have seen and heard in its time. It must have heard the bells ofSt. Martin's toll for the death of Nelson and ring out joyous pealsafter Waterloo. It must have seen disorderly crowds march past its doorsat the time of the Birmingham riots; more than this, it felt somethingof the lawlessness that prevailed, since the shop was looted and some ofits contents carried off by the rioters. Yes, as I have said, it must have heard some pealing and tolling of theSt. Martin's Church bells--and what charmingly mellifluous and melodiousbells they are! I do not profess to be a campanologist or a bell hunter, but I have a loving ear for a sweet-toned church bell, and can think offew belfries whose contents surpass St. Martin's, Birmingham. Although Ihave not heard the "Bells of Shandon" immortalised by Father Prout, Ihave, however, heard Great Tom of Lincoln. I have listened to the "bonnyChrist Church bells" of Oxford, and my ears have dwelt upon the sweetjinglings of the Carrillion at Antwerp and in other Flemish cities. Ihave also heard the dulcet chimings of many village church bells invarious parts of the land, and I have listened with undelight to theunmusical tones of Big Ben of Westminster, but so far as mellow tone isconcerned, I rarely hear any ordinary church bells that are more dulcetand harmonious than the bells of St. Martin's, Birmingham. Few people heed their beauties I am afraid; indeed, some singularlyinsensible residents and traders in the neighbourhood have been known toprotest against the charming chimings of the bells of St. Martin's. Those, however, who want to hear the true musical quality and tone ofthese bells must select a quiet time, as the Bull Ring is not aparticularly peaceful spot in the busy hours of day. Midnight is thewitching hour that should be chosen to listen to the music of St. Martin's belfry. It may be a late and inconvenient hour for theexperiment, but it is worth it--if the bells still chime at that"ghostly" hour. I am afraid I have indulged in a somewhat extensive parenthesis, but mypen has run away with me, and now it must come back to the old-fashionedHigh Street shop where I lingered a few paragraphs back. The adjoiningpremises to Mr. Pearsall's, on the east side, are also old and well inyears. They have been altered and provided with a modern "dickey"--Ishould say, front--which rather hides their antiquity. There is, however, still conspicuous a quaint and curious spout-head which bearsthe date 1687, showing that these premises have more than passed theirbicentenary. The only little old-date shop in the heart of Birmingham that, tillrecently, rivalled the "silver-smithy" I have described in High Street, was a saddler's at the top of New Street, which nestled under the shadowof Christ Church. It had the old-style small bow windows, the low roof, and the circumscribed area of old-fashioned shops. The ancient saddlerwho formerly tenanted it had not enough space to crack a whip, let aloneswing a cat in. In past days, however, business was carried on under"limited" principles, but chiefly limited as to extent and space. When walking about Birmingham, archaeological observers should look upif they wish to see and note any traces of age and antiquity. The lowerportions of old premises have often been so enlarged and modernized thatthey give no sign of the real date of the buildings. In Bull Street, for instance, there are narrow old style windows that are verysuggestive of a bygone day. But these are becoming few and far between, and will doubtless soon be seen no more. Old-fashioned shops naturally suggest new and old-style shopkeeping. Ina recent chapter I alluded to some long-established trading houses inBirmingham that within certain limits carry on their trade in a mannerthat differs from the very modern and obtrusively pressing fashion whichis so much the custom of the day. Something of the same kind may be saidof shops, as I generally remarked in my earlier observations. But todescend more into detail, there are still among its at any rate alimited number of shopkeepers who like to do their business on good, safe, and steady lines, and keep together a nice respectable connectionby upholding the dependable quality of their wares. Some of theseshopkeepers do not make much of an outward show, but I have reason toknow that many of them in a quiet undemonstrative manner do a snug andprosperous trade without fuss or display. I will just briefly particularize. Opposite King Edward's School in NewStreet is a quiet, unostentatious-looking tobacconist's shop. The windowplate bears the name of Evans, and in the window is a modest show ofsmoking wares and materials. If you step inside the shop, it iscomparatively calm and quiet. You do not see young men sitting aboutsmoking, chatting, and joking with girls across the counter. There is noconstant succession of customers coming in and out and buying theirounces and half ounces of "Returns, " "Bird's Eye, " "Shag, " and "OldVirginia. " Yet an evident perfume of tobacco and prosperity seems topervade the shop, but no sign of the Tom, Dick, and Henry sort of tradethat is done by more ostentatious modern traders. It is, I believe, acase of half a century's trading in good tobacco stuffs havingestablished a connection among those who like good tobacco, will pay aproper price for it, and deal where they can get it. These remarks apply more or less to a jewellery, watch and clock shopnext door, kept for many years by Mr. L. N. Hobday. Here again there is alook of quality rather than mere quantity. There is no ticketed crowdeddisplay of wares, but the look of the shop inspires a feeling ofconfidence and an assurance that the quality of what you purchase may berelied upon. I am not in the secrets of the proprietor of thisestablishment, and have no interest in it beyond being an occasionalsmall customer, yet I should not wonder if he does not do a nice, steady, quiet trade among those who have found out the advantages ofdealing with a trader who personally understands his business, and willgive them good value for their money. There are, as I have hinted, other shops that prefer adhering towell-established lines of business, rather than up-to-dating theirtrade past all recognition. There are a few drapers still left, who, like Turner, Son, and Nephew, do not go in for a general allround-my-hat sort of business, but who restrict themselves withincertain limited lines and on them keep up a well-established connection. There are, however, others who prefer a more pushing, store-competing, Whiteley-emulating style of trade. They follow their bent and probablymake it pay. It is, of course, well that we should have traders of allkinds to minister to the requirements of a large and varied community. For myself, however, I am glad that there are still some shopkeeperspecialists left who limit themselves to dealing in such things as theyunderstand, and know what they buy, and sell that they know. XV. SOME PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. Though reminiscences and recollections are rather overdone in thesedays, I may, perhaps, be permitted a few personal reflections inbringing my chapters to a close. And I shall not write a long, tedioustale, and why? Because, like the needy knife-grinder, I have no story totell. Happy, we are told, is the country that has no history, and, ifthis is so, happy should be the man who is not burdened with too manyreminiscences. Still, there are just a few memories that I should like to jot down, which may, or may not, be of interest to my readers. Authors, I fancy, often write as much to gratify themselves as to please other people. Icannot boast that I have been personally intimate with manydistinguished people. I have never been to Court, and, consequently, Iam, according to Shakspeare's clown, emphatically "damned. " I have knownsome few titled people, and have even sat at meat with a Duke in hispalatial home, and did not fail to notice that his Grace was very easyand human in his tastes and manners, and was not above taking a glass ofport wine with his cheese. I have just occasionally shaken hands with alord of high degree, and even with a belted earl, but I am not of theUpper Ten, and am quite outside the gilded gate that encloses the nobleof the land. I have seen few people that were particularly worth seeing, that is, for book-writing purposes, but I will take leave to reconnoitrein my memory those I have beheld in Birmingham during the course of myuneventful career. I may, perhaps, preface my observations with the paradoxical remarkthat the first great celebrity I ever saw I just missed seeing. This wasLouis Kossuth. I was only a small boy when the great Hungarian patriotvisited Birmingham in the year 1851. Hearing so much talk about KossuthI naturally burned with a desire to see him. When the eventful day ofhis visit came I secured a very good position at the top of ParadiseStreet, and fancied I was going to have a fine view of the distinguishedHungarian and the procession that accompanied him. I waited patientlyfor some hours, then I heard the sound of music in the distance, andthen the roar and cheers of many voices. They grew louder and louder;then came the surging wave of a great crowd of people. For a brief timeI was quite submerged, and when I recovered my position the processionand the patriot were past and gone. I remember the visit to Birmingham of the Prince Consort in 1855 to laythe foundation stone of the Birmingham and Midland Institute. I saw his Royal Highness well and truly lay the said stone, and Iafterwards saw him in the Town Hall, where he was entertained atluncheon. I have a very distinct recollection of the occasion even now, and I call to mind in particular that the Prince wore a pair of lightgrey trousers and a swallow-tail, that is, a dress-coat. We should thinkthis a strange costume for a gentleman at a morning function in thesedays, but times have changed, and the dress coat is now never seen inthe morning, and not so much at night as it used to be. Of course I remember the Queen's visit to Birmingham in 1858, for thepurpose of opening Aston Park, the "People's Park, " as it was proudlycalled. There was a deal of effervescent talk about this noble project. The People, with a capital P, were going to buy the park for the People, with the money of the People. The scheme succeeded save in the matter ofgetting the funds. The People approved of the project, the Peopleshouted themselves hoarse when her Majesty came to put the finishingtouch to the noble undertaking, but, unfortunately, the great Peoplefailed to find the money necessary to carry out the grand undertaking, and the Municipality had to pay up to complete the purchase. It is still going back a long time, but I distinctly recall the visit ofLord Brougham to Birmingham in 1857, when as president he delivered theinaugural address at the opening meeting of the newly-born Associationfor the Promotion of Social Science. I remember the Town Hall wascompletely filled, and much interest was felt in the appearance of LordBrougham on the occasion. When he took his place on the platform therewas some little disturbance and confusion among the audience. Thispromptly brought to his feet Lord Brougham, who said in very emphatictones, "Allow me to say--and I have had some experience of publicmeetings--that if any persons attempt to disturb the proceedings of thismeeting, measures shall be taken to expel them. " I am quoting from memory, but I believe my words are pretty correct. When Lord Brougham had delivered this emphatic utterance, he proceededwith his address, which was a dull affair and did not inspire the leastenthusiasm. It was, indeed, a somewhat somnolent discourse, and hisaudience hardly seemed to wake up till he reached his peroration, whichclosed with a telling quotation from Oliver Goldsmith. If I recollect rightly there were many notabilities present on thisoccasion. I remember the interest I felt in seeing Lord John Russell forthe first and only time in my life. There was not much of him to lookat, but what there was looked pleasant. I saw, indeed, a small man, witha big head, and a large smile. There was, of course, a good deal ofeloquence on the evening to which I refer, and at this distance of timeI remember that one distinguished visitor made a rather amusing bull. Speaking of some obvious fact and carried away by the enthusiasm of themoment, he said, "Gentlemen, the matter is as clear as the rising sun atnoon-day. " I remember seeing Thackeray in Birmingham, and heard him deliver hislecture on George III. At the Music Hall, Broad Street, now the Princeof Wales Theatre. I was, of course, interested to see the greatnovelist, but I thought his lecture a prosaic performance. In a literarysense the address was characteristic and interesting--as can be seen inits printed form--but it gained nothing by its author's delivery. It wasa well-composed piece of work, and it had a composing effect upon thosewho heard it. At least I know I found it dull, and half dozed during itsmonotonous delivery. Indeed, it was not till Thackeray reached hisconcluding words--which, by the way, were Shakspeare's, being aneffective quotation from "King Lear"--that I was roused from my dreamyreverie. I recollect seeing Charles Kingsley when he was President of theBirmingham and Midland Institute, and noticed that though in speakinghe stammered perceptibly, when he delivered his presidential address headopted a sort of sing-song tone which more or less concealed hisimpediment of speech. In fact he half intoned his discourse. I remember, too, meeting Professor Tyndall at Mr. Chamberlain's table, and wasstruck by the simple modesty of the eminent savant. I sat next to Mrs. Tyndall, who was very unaffected, pleasant, and conversational. I haveoften thought of this occasion, and did so especially when the sad andtragic mistake occurred which ended in Professor Tyndall's prematuredeath. Mrs. Tyndall, it may be remembered, gave her husband a wrong doseof medicine, which brought his illness to a sudden and fataltermination. What an awful mistake. To live after this was pathetic. Of course I remember a good deal about the late Mr. John Bright and hisvisits to Birmingham. So do other people, and as many of these othersare scribes and quasi-historians who have published their records, thereis really not much for me to tell. I may say that I heard nearly everyspeech our distinguished member delivered in Birmingham, for I hardlyever missed a meeting at which Mr. Bright was a spokesman. Even now Idistinctly recall the first occasion on which he spoke after he becameM. P. For Birmingham. The Town Hall was more than crowded, it was packed;indeed, I might almost say that herrings in a tub have elbow roomcompared with the very compressed gathering that welcomed Mr. Bright onthe occasion. In order to make more space the benches were removed from nearly allparts of the Town Hall, and the curious sight of the sea of faces whenMr. Bright appeared lingers in my memory still. One curious thing Iobserved at this gathering was that so long as our member was speakingthe vast assembly was held spellbound. But when he paused for a momentto turn over his notes or take a sip of water, the tightly squeezedaudience swayed for a little bodily relief and expansion, and thisresulted in big surging waves of humanity, which rolled from one end ofthe body of the hall to the other, and often lasted for some littletime. At this moment I can recollect almost word for word the stirring andeloquent peroration with which Mr. Bright closed his first address tohis Birmingham constituents. It roused his hearers to a pitch ofdemonstrative enthusiasm such as I have never seen equalled. I could quote from memory many striking passages from the principalspeeches I heard our distinguished member deliver. But why? Are they notrecorded in a hundred books, or at least in many books and hundreds ofnewspapers? I will, therefore, now content myself with just one or twopersonal reminiscences connected with our great Parliamentaryrepresentative. One little story I have to tell is connected with Mr. Bright's speech onthe occasion of unveiling the statue of Mr. Joseph Sturge, erected atthe Five Ways, Birmingham. There was an immense gathering on thatoccasion, and of course I was there. I secured a good position forhearing, but, unfortunately, there was a woman near me with a cryingbaby in her arms. This prevented me hearing much that the speaker said, and at last I got quite out of patience, and turning to the woman Iremarked, "Why don't you take that noisy child home?" "Oh, " said thewoman in reply, "her's just as bad at home. " I felt I had my answer, andthat there was no more to be said. On another occasion I remember Mr. Bright walking down New Street, justafter delivering one of his grandest speeches, when a working-man, oneof the real "horny-handed, " stepped up to him and patted him on the backin the most familiar and approving manner. I will also just note oneother little incident in connection with Mr. Bright and Birmingham andthen I have done. I have to give this second-hand, but I believe what Isay may be accepted. When Mr. Bright was offered a seat in Mr. Gladstone's administration inthe year 1868 it caused him some severe searching of heart. He did notlike giving up his freedom in the House of Commons. When this questionwas before him he was staying with Mr. ----now Sir John Jaffray, Bart. , and in discussing the matter with his host he walked up and down theroom talking and talking till the hours flew by and it became late. Mr. Jaffray--who was rather an early man--became weary before Mr. Bright hadfinished his talk. The latter probably perceived this, for with a finetouch of humour he made for the chandelier, and said, "I see, Jaffray, that you will never go to bed till I turn off the gas. " In searching the files of memory it is rather surprising to find how onethought leads to another, and the long-hidden past reveals itself withalmost as much clearness as the events of yesterday. When I began towrite down these personal recollections I thought I should find littleor nothing to tell. As I proceed, however, occurrences of past yearscrop up and crowd upon memory, and that to such an extent that itbecomes a question of what I shall not write rather than what I shall. Lest, however, I become tiresome and tedious I will for the most part"let the dead past bury its dead, " and content myself with a littlechapter of history which is especially interesting to me, and may not bewithout some amount of interest to others, especially those concerned inour educational and industrial progress. One important change that has recently taken place in what I will callbusiness Birmingham has brought back to my mind a throng of mixedmemories. I allude to the vicissitudes that have taken place in localtrading concerns, and I may especially mention the disestablishment ordismemberment of the manufactory of R. W. Winfield and Co. , CambridgeStreet. To see the break-up of this once large, important, andsuccessful concern has been a matter of some sorrow to me. And why?Because it was at this establishment that I began my working career. Yes, at an early age I was a junior clerk at Cambridge Street Works, when it was the private business of the late Mr. R. W. Winfield. At that time the manufactory was one of the largest if not _the_ largestin Birmingham. It employed about 1, 000 hands, and its operations werecarried on in several separate departments. These were the tube andmetal, the gas-fitting, the metallic bedstead, the stamped brassfoundry, the general brassfoundry, and other departments and divisions. To myyouthful eyes it seemed to be a huge place, and, indeed, it was a bigmanufactory, and had a very extensive home and foreign trade. I do not propose now to go into details concerning the manufacturingwork done at Cambridge Street at the period of which I speak. This wouldbe a matter of small interest to general readers. The once largeestablishment has had its day and has now ceased to be, though why itshould have fallen to pieces so completely is not readily to beexplained. There are, however, matters concerning the earlier days of CambridgeStreet Works that well deserve to be recognised and recorded. I think, indeed, I may say that Mr. R. W. Winfield was the local pioneer ofcompulsory education. There were, of course, a large number of boysemployed at the works, and Mr. Winfield not only provided an eveningschool for these young hands but compelled them to attend and beeducated whether they liked it or not. At the time mentioned, I remember, Mr. James Atkins--then a manager ofone of the departments--had a large hand in the educational operationscarried on in connection with the Cambridge Street manufactory. He hadthe happy knack of attracting boys to him, and could interest those hetaught and teach those he interested. Mr. Atkins, as is well known, afterwards became the principal of the firm, but more of this anon. In the work of these evening schools, Mr. John Fawkener Winfield, son ofMr. R. W. Winfield, took a very active interest. He used to give someexcellent lectures, and constantly taught in the classes. Much money wasspent upon these schools; indeed, a large room was specially built, atvery considerable cost, in order that the educational work might haveelbow room and be carried on effectually. Mr. Winfield was a stiff, unbending man in some matters--especially inpolitics--but he was in many respects broad-minded and large-hearted. Hewas thoughtful for those in his employ, especially the young people, andhis son was like unto him. When I was engaged at Cambridge Street Works Mr. R. W. Winfield lived atthe Hawthorns, Ladywood Lane. The house seemed by comparison to be alarge and important mansion, and was quite in the country then. Yes, Iremember now, at this distance of time, how often our employer used togive us treats at his house, and what pleasant jinks we had in playingand rollicking about the fields and grounds surrounding his residence. In many respects Mr. R. W. Winfield was one of the real old school. Hewas not a high or broad so much as a good, thick, consistent churchmanof the Evangelical school. He "wore his beaver stiffly up, " his neck-tiewas a starched white cravat, his clothes were black broadcloth, with thedress coat worn by gentlemen in the early and middle years of lastcentury. All the same, he had some modern ideas, especially, as I havesaid, in the matter of education. If it came to be totalled up how muchhe spent on the education of the boys in his employ, the aggregate sumwould run to large figures. Time, we know, smooths the surface or rounds off the corners of pastevents that seemed rather arbitrary at the time of their occurrence. But, after making allowance for all this, my experience of Mr. Winfield's evening schools is occasionally wafted back to me with manypleasant memories and associations. Compulsory education was the ironhand that directed the young ideas how to shoot, though it was envelopedin a soft velvet glove. Mr. Winfield did good far-reaching work by theestablishment and maintenance of his evening schools, and histhoughtfulness and generosity in this direction should be counted untohim for righteousness. Why Cambridge Street Works, which once employed so many hands, shouldhave so completely collapsed is, as I have hinted, a bit of a mystery. Ican only guess, and as tracking conundrums is not my purpose in thesechapters, I will leave others to unravel the riddle if they can. It is, however, a matter of local business history that some thirty years ormore ago the Cambridge Street concern shewed signs of tottering to itsfall, and when Mr. Atkins went into the business as a proprietor, he hadto make some sweeping reforms that naturally created some resentment andcriticism. Possibly the business was "eating its head off, " and theprocess of deglutition had to be rigorously curtailed. This having beendone, the business thrived and prospered once more, and continued to doso for some years. I will not follow its fortunes to its ultimate fall. It became a public company, and now it is no more. Winfields' is not the only important local business that has gone underduring the past fifty years, yet it is satisfactory to find that many ofour old-established manufactories and businesses have survived, andstill exist in some form or other. Elkington's, Gillott's, and Hardman'sstill flourish, and among the brassfounders Pemberton and Son's, Tonksand Son's, Cartland's, and others, go on their way rejoicing, casting, stamping, lacquering, and polishing, and pushing brassfoundry into moreornamental and utilitarian use. Some of our old-established merchants and factors are still with us. Thetrade of Messrs. Keep and Hinckley, whose place of business was foryears near St. Mary's Square, is now carried on by Keep Bros. , in BroadStreet. The establishment of Rabone Bros. , merchants, also in BroadStreet, still stands where it did. The businesses of Rock and Blakemore, Moilett and Gem, and others, are still carried on by survivors of theold firms. As for the new industries, the new firms and companies that have beencreated in our midst during the past half-century, their enumeration anddescription would be a big story, and would require a large volume totell it. That volume I do not propose to begin. I desire to close mypresent little chapter, and perhaps I shall not be the only one who willbe glad to come to the end of it. XVI. THE MUSICAL FESTIVALS. Though it can hardly be said that the Birmingham Musical Festivals havehad any direct bearing upon the progress and development of town andcity, the world-renowned musical gatherings associated with the name ofBirmingham have had something to do with the fame and fortunes of theMidland capital. Established more than a century and a quarter ago, theyattained a pitch of musical excellence and importance that attracted theattention of the civilised world. Birmingham, indeed, was for a time, and is still to some extent, the Mecca of musicians, and the BirminghamMusical Festival is generally regarded as the premier musical meeting ofthe country. One specially fortuitous event has stamped the Birmingham "musicmeeting" with a glory and prestige all its own. I refer to theproduction of Mendelssohn's "Elijah" in 1846. This was, indeed, a pieceof great good fortune, for Mendelssohn's oratorio aroused an interestand enthusiasm throughout the musical world that has not yet died down. The occasion certainly gave the Birmingham Festivals a new lease oflife, and attracted more musical pilgrims to our town than ever. I am not old enough myself to recollect the first performance of the"Elijah, " and as I only propose to write down now what I have myselfseen and heard, I refer those who desire to learn the history of theFestivals to the records written by other more or less accurate writers. The first Festival at which I was present was that of 1852, and I havebeen at every Festival and at nearly every performance since that date. In the year mentioned I sang as a boy in the chorus, and experienced agreat and novel joy that I have never known since. I revelled in therehearsals, and when the week's performances came I seemed to be up inthe clouds amid cherubim and seraphim. Indeed, when at the lastperformance the National Anthem was sung and the meeting came to an endI could have sat down and wept. Of course I recollect the stir made by the production of Costa's "Eli"in 1855, and especially do I seem to remember Mr. Sims Beeves--then inhis primest prime--and his thrilling declamation of the "War Song. " Atthe end of this stirring solo I recall how the voice of the great tenorrang out above the combined power of the full band and chorus. In this connection I may mention that it was at the Festival of 1855that I heard Mario for the first time. I had of course heard much of thegreat Italian tenor, but till the year mentioned had never heard thesound of his voice. Curiously enough, too, I heard him sing injuxtaposition with Mr. Sims Reeves. It was, indeed, a little bit of acontest between the two great tenors, and I am bound to say the Englishsinger did not come off second best. The fact is Mario was then past his prime, whilst Mr. Sims Reeves was inhis fullest strength. The opportunities for comparison on the occasionreferred to were irresistible, since the two tenors sang together in atrio in which they both had to sing the same notes. The result was as Ihave hinted, but I wondered, however, that comparisons should have beenchallenged in such a direct way, and I marvelled much that Mario shouldhave submitted to such a trial. It was at the Festival of 1858 that I heard the _great_ Lablache for thefirst and only time. His appearance excited as much interest, perhapsmore, than his singing--he was so very large. His ruddy countenance, hiswhite hair, and his great girth, combined to make him something to seeas well as hear. When he sang his notes were as the tones emitted from asort of human tun. Then, how I remember hearing Adelina Patti at the Festival of 1861. Oh!how the sweet girl singer charmed, indeed fascinated, her audience withher delightfully fresh voice, and by her attractive appearance andwinning manner. How fatherly, and even tenderly, Costa seemed to watchover the little maiden, and his usual autocratic manner--for he was anautocrat at the conductor's desk--seemed to soften when he came incontact with the pretty young Italian vocalist. Even the stern unbendinggeneral of the orchestra was once so touched with her delightfulrendering of an air in one of his oratorios, that he was actually seento imprint a paternal kiss upon her cheek. It was also at the Festival of 1861 that I remember hearingGiuglini--the "golden-throated Giuglini, " as he was called. Was thereever such sweet, luscious tenor voice, or a more charming and gracefulstyle of vocalization? He literally sang like a bird. He opened hismouth and the notes were warbled forth with exquisite volubility andease. Giuglini's voice had not the power and breadth which Sims Reevescould command, nor was his style so impassioned and fervent as Mario's, but his tones and vocalization were something to hear once and rememberalways. But I am pausing too long over details. Let me hurry on. I remember thedisappointment with which Sullivan's cantata "Kenilworth" was receivedat the Festival of 1867. The then young composer had made such a very"palpable hit" by his "Tempest" music that great things were expectedfrom the new cantata he composed for Birmingham. But "Kenilworth" fellvery flat, and nothing afterwards happened to stir it up into a success. Indeed, the work may almost be said to have died "still-born. " I fancy Sullivan himself had some premonition as to the fate of his newcomposition. At least I know that I saw him in the Society of Artists'Rooms on the day when his work was to be performed in the evening, andon my asking him how he was he smiled "a kind of sickly smile, " and toldme he felt very squeamish. How different was the fate of Mr. J. F. Barnett's "Ancient Mariner. "Though the composer was a well-known musician no great things wereexpected from his new cantata, but it took the musical world by storm. It achieved instant success, and although it was regarded by many asbeing nice innocent "bread and butter" music it is still alive andpopular, and will be while there is an ear left for spontaneous flowingmelody. Of course I recollect Sullivan's second venture at the BirminghamMusical Festival of 1873, when he produced his oratorio "The Light ofthe World. " Contrary to what should have been, the work was at best onlya _succes d'estime. _ Yet it contains some of the best music its composerhas written. Parts of it are magnificent and masterly, whilst others arestrikingly impressive inspirations. That the oratorio is unequal may beadmitted, and it is decidedly heavy in places; moreover, it is too long. Still, looking at its merits as a whole, it deserved better fortune. Itis enough to dishearten a composer when he finds his best workcomparatively unappreciated, and it is hardly surprising if it was inconsequence of disgust and disappointment that Sullivan turned histhoughts to lighter things. By doing so he has filled his purse, he hasdelighted a large public that cannot appreciate serious music, and hehas raised comic opera to a level far above the thin and trivialemanations of foreign "opera bouffists. " When some of us recall past Birmingham Musical Festivals, and scan theschemes of bygone years, we cannot fail to be struck by the change thathas taken place in musical taste and fashion. Especially do we note thisin looking at the programmes of the festival evening concerts. In theseprogrammes quantity as well as quality was an element not forgotten inthe consideration and arrangement of the miscellaneous selections. Twenty or thirty years ago we used to have--in addition to some one ormore important works--a long string of scraps and snatches, chiefly fromwell-known operas, which protracted the concerts to a late hour. Theliberal introduction of these excerpts was attractive to a large sectionof the public who did not care for fine works of musical art or "toomuch fiddling. " Moreover, it was in accordance with the taste andproclivities of the conductor, who gave, perhaps, an inkling of his realmind in a jocular remark made under the following circumstances. It used to be the custom, after the morning performances, to ask theband and principal singers to stay and run through some of the operaticselections, &c. , to be given in the evening. On one of these occasions, after a morning performance of "The Messiah, " Costa quietly andcynically remarked, "Now, ladies and gentlemen, let us have a littlemusic. " To come now to speak of more personal associations with the BirminghamMusical Festivals, it was in the year 1873 that I experienced the novelsensation of standing at the conductor's desk. A trio of mycomposition--a setting of Tennyson's "Break, break, "--was included inthe programme of one of the evening concerts, and I had to conduct itsperformance. I tell you, my reader, it was a trying ordeal, and I hardlyknow how I got through it, but I did in some sort of fashion. Costa, Imay explain, made it a rigid rule never to conduct a living composer'smusic; consequently, he would have nothing to do with the performanceeven of my small trio. I found, however, a good friend in M. Sainton, the leader of the band. He took a kindly pity on me in my tryingsituation, and he did more to make my trio go well with his violin thanI did with the conductor's bâton. But it certainly was a sensation to face that immense orchestra, and Ihad something to do to make my sinews bear me stiffly up. My trio, however, was splendidly sung by Mdlle. Titieus, Madame Trebelli, and Mr. Vernon Rigby--_pace_ Mr. Sims Reeves, indisposed--and if it did notmake a sensation, and was not received with deafening plaudits, I fancyit went smoothly and satisfactorily, and I retired from the field--Imean from the conductor's desk--not exactly with glory, but I think Imay say without a stain upon my character as a local musical composer. At the Musical Festival of 1876 Madame Patey sang a song of mine, "TheFelling of the Trees, " and I repeated my little experience as aconductor; but in 1885, when my cantata "Yule Tide" was included in thefestival scheme, Mr. W. C. Stockley kindly undertook the task ofdirecting the work. I was determined it should not be a personallyconducted cantata; consequently, I was spared what would have severelytaxed my capacity and nerve. With regard to my work it will not become me to say much. I frankly ownthat it did not set the Thames ablaze; it passed muster, and perhapsthat is as much as I could expect at a Birmingham Musical Festival. Itwas somewhat unfortunate that in 1885 there were too many new works. Noless than seven original compositions were included in the scheme, andthey killed each other. The musical public will not swallow and cannotdigest too much new music, consequently they would not make a good, fairmusical meal off any of the new dishes so liberally provided, with theresult that most of them went into the larder after just; being tastedand no more. Some of them--even mine--are at times brought out, smelt, turned over, and looked at, but as I have hinted, none, not even thoseby Gounod, Dvorak, and Cowen, have become standing dishes in constantrequest at musical feasts. Speaking generally, many splendid compositions seem to have missed firethrough sheer bad luck. To go no further than Sir Arthur Sullivan, someof his finest and most important works have had an ill-starredexistence, and even several of his best songs, though introduced to thepublic under the most favourable auspices, have not "taken on. "Sullivan's splendid ditty "Love laid his sleepless head, " though sung byMr. Edward Lloyd all over the country, did not make a hit, whilst themore trivial ballad "Sweet-hearts" became a boom and a property. Atleast, I remember being told that after Sullivan had been receiving goodroyalties from this song for years, the publishers offered him £1, 000for his rights. I am afraid I have been guilty of a digression, but I will recall mywandering steps. I have mentioned the Birmingham Festival of 1885, whichmarked a new order--I might almost say a new epoch--in the history ofthe Birmingham Musical Festivals. For the first time for very many yearsCosta was no longer seen at the conductor's desk, and his place wastaken by Richter. Costa conducted the Birmingham triennial performancesfor about half a century, and although it was sad to miss his face in1885, he had done his work. In 1882--the last Festival in which he took part--it was painful towitness his efforts to conduct the performances. He was partlyparalysed, and his bâton, I believe, had to be fastened to his handbecause he could not grasp it. Further, he was becoming deaf, and theresult was that the loud brass instruments were allowed to become tooblatant and obtrusive. Costa was a good man in his day, and he did goodwork. He was very autocratic, even despotic, but he introduced two goodthings into the orchestra--order and punctuality. With all his ability, tact, and nerve, it must, however, be admitted that his style ofconducting was rough and ready compared with the art, care, and skillthat mark musical conductorship of the present day. With Richter's appearance as conductor, some important changes andreforms were effected in the orchestral arrangements of the Festival. For one thing, the band was cut down in number. This, it was said, wasin consequence of Richter's opinion that the balance of power wasdisturbed by too great a preponderance of string tone, but it is justpossible that economy was considered when the change was made. Anyway, in 1885 there were over twenty stringed instruments less than inCosta's last year, 1882. This alteration was a notable one, and regrettable in some ways. Theextra large string band that Costa would have made the BirminghamFestival orchestra something very special, and the result was somestriking effects not heard elsewhere. Nowhere now do we hear that _tourde force_ which was almost electrical in the rush of violins at the endof the chorus "Thanks be to God" in the "Elijah, " in Beethoven's"Leonora" overture, and in the last movement of the overture to "WilliamTell. " The effect of the violins--between fifty and sixty in number--wassomething magical in the works just named. To put the matter in briefdetail, under Costa's conductorship the string band numbered 108players, when Richter took the orchestra in hand, it was reduced toeighty-six. I will not discuss the expediency of the change. Suffice itto say that the Festival band is now as good, perhaps better, than itever was, save in the matter of numbers. To sum up very briefly the Festivals since 1885--the year that Richtersucceeded Costa--the meeting of 1888 was remarkable for nothing thatmade any permanent notch in the record of the Festivals. Parry'soratorio "Judith" was the chief novelty, but, in spite of its masterlymerit as a work of musical art, it was hardly received with the favourit deserved. The Festival of 1891 saw the production of two important new works, namely, Stanford's dramatic oratorio "Eden" and Dvorak's "Requiem Mass. "With respect to these compositions, they have scarcely been heard, Ithink, since their initial performances. Stanford's "Eden" contains somefine writing, but there was, perhaps, too much of it. Dvorak's "Requiem"was something of a disappointment, and its first rendering anything butsatisfactory; indeed, some of the numbers, I remember, narrowly escapedcoming to utter grief. In 1894 three new productions were heard. These were Parry's "KingSaul"--a very recondite, musicianly composition--but too long; "TheSwan and the Skylark, " a fanciful little cantata by Goring Thomas; and a"Stabat Mater" by G. Henschel. Nothing at the Festival of 1897 made any mark. There was a new "Requiem"by Stanford, but like many other Requiems, it rather celebrated its owndeath. A new work by Arthur Somervell was heard, and, though favourablyreceived at first, like some other Festival compositions it seems now tohave vanished into the _ewigkeit_. With regard to the Festival of 1900--just closed as these lines arebeing written--I will say little. It has been financially successful, and perhaps that is the best that can be said of it. The programme, speaking generally, was a somewhat heavy and dull one, and the specialnew work, namely, Elgar's "Dream of Gerontius, " was disappointing, inspite of its skilful construction, its splendid orchestration, and itsconspicuous touches of character and originality. Mr. Coleridge Taylor's"Song of Hiawatha" was the hit of the Festival, and its performance atBirmingham has hall--marked the young composer's fresh, picturesque, andmelodic music. I might write a great deal more about the Birmingham Musical Festivals, but time and space forbid. I could, for instance, point out that it isbecoming more and more difficult to maintain the prestige of ourFestivals as time goes on. There is more competition now-a-days; thereare more provincial musical gatherings; and there are now morehigh-class concerts than formerly. I think I could also show that somemistakes, of more or less importance, have been made, and are stillperhaps being made in the management, Nevertheless, those who have mostto do with the arrangements are not lacking in energy and enterprise, and in earnest endeavour to uphold the character and reputation of theBirmingham Musical Festivals. XVII. CONCLUSION. There is now little or nothing further for me to say, save to put a tagto my small story, and make my little bow to my readers. Birmingham, like other modern enterprising centres, goes moving on "down the ringinggrooves of change. " The city means to forge ahead, and will not permitanything to impede its progress. Scaffolding seems more conspicuous thanever, and before the ink is dry upon my page, more old buildings will bedown and more new buildings will be up. Since I began these chapters(which have appeared in _The Midland Counties Herald_ during the pastmonths) some important, notable changes have taken place. For instance, the Birmingham Old Library in Union Street, associated with the names ofmany Birmingham worthies, has disappeared, and its site is occupied bythe new City Arcades. That conspicuous landmark, Christ Church, with allits memories and curious belongings and characteristics, is now nolonger to be seen. Old narrow streets are being widened, old buildingsare bulging out, and large new buildings are being erected in alldirections. The municipality have taken in hand some important housingschemes which may be advantageous to the working classes, and result inthe erection of some of those new artisans' dwellings which, so far, have not been conspicuously numerous. In the meantime local debts go onmerrily, or I should say seriously, swelling. Ratepayers have to besqueezed to find the necessary funds for the increasing outgoings; butbest-governed cities in the world must pay a price for their advantagesand pre-eminence, and the citizens thank the gods that they have men whowill devote thought and energy to laying out public money, and ferventlyhope that this may be done wisely and well. Some of our public men who are so ardent in forwarding new schemes andimprovements can, of course, say that if these developments mean higherrates and growing assessments, they themselves have to bear their shareof the burdens. This, of course, is so, but it must be owned that whenwe have a hand in spending large sums of money with the influence andimportance that accompany the process, we pay our quota of thefinancial imposts if not cheerfully, at least without the grudgingfeeling of those who merely have to pay, pay, pay. Gentle, and I trust forbearing, reader I have written my story, and haveadded to my iniquity by publishing it in book form, but I indulge asmall hope that it may possibly interest a limited number of those who, like myself, have watched with their own eyes the rapid growth andalmost amazing development of Birmingham during the last forty or fiftyyears. Writing almost entirely from my own observation and memory, I mayhave made some slips and mistakes, but I have tried to be careful andaccurate, and have endeavoured to verify my facts and figures fromauthentic sources when possible. I therefore venture to hope that myerrors are not very many, and not of any serious moment. Writers, we know, are often prone to say that if their readersexperience as much pleasure in reading their pages as the writers havehad in writing them, the said readers will be rewarded for their timeand pains. I am not going to repeat this pretty formula, I am ratherinclined to say that if my readers experience my feeling that I havesaid enough, they will not be sorry to see these last words of my finalpage. INDEX. Artisans' Dwellings Act 3, 21Aston Hull 5, 113Assize Courts 120Atkins, James 198Attwood, Thomas 1 Barnett, J. F. 210Big Ben of Westminster 177Birmingham and Midland Institute 186"B'ham Belgravia" 95Birmingham Bishopric Scheme 75_Birmingham Daily Gazette_ 126_Birmingham Daily Mail_ 128_Birmingham Morning News_ 126_Birmingham Daily Post_ 125_Birmingham Daily Press_ 123Birmingham Old Library 223Birmingham Workhouse 110Board Schools 93Bright, John 12, 52, 192Brougham, Lord 188 Cambridge StreetWorks Schools 198Chamberlain, Arthur 71Chamberlain, Austen 65Chamberlain, Herbert 72Chamberlain, John Henry 49, 95Chamberlain, Joseph 11, 32, 33Chamberlain, Richard 70Chamberlain, Walter 72Christ Church, Birmingham 110Church of the Messiah 76Collings, Jesse 79Costa, Sir Michael 212Costa's "Eli" 206 Dvorak's "Requiem" 219 Edgbaston 90Eld and Chamberlain 95Elkington and Co. 145 Gas and Water Purchase 16Gas Profits 57Gillott's Factory 147Giuglini 208Glass Making 160Goring Thomas 220Gothic Houses 96Great Tom of Lincoln 177Great Western Railway Station 4 Handsworth 117Harcourt, Sir William 47Hector, Edmund 110"Highbury" 64Hobday, L. N. 182Holtes 113 Improvement Scheme 20 Jaffray, Sir John 195Jewellery Trade 151Johnson, Dr. 110 Keep Bros. 202Kenrick, W. 73Kingsley, Rev. Chas. 190King Street Theatre 109Kossuth 186 Lablache 207Lady Huntingdon's Chapel 108Ladywood Lane 199 London and North-Western Railway Station 3 Mario, Signor 206-7Martin & Chamberlain 93Modern Shopkeeping 29Moilett and Gem 202Moseley 115Municipal Debt 14Municipal Reforms 8Muntz, G. F. 1 Nettlefold & Chamberlain 66New Meeting House 75, 77 Old Birmingham Men 104Old Square 110 Palmerston, Lord 52Pearsall, Wm. 174Pemberton and Sons 202People's Park 187Prince Consort 186Prosperous Manufacturers 99Pudding Brook 113_Punch_ 52 Queen's Visit to Birmingham in 1858 187 Rabone Bros. 202Radicals and Royalty 61Reeves, Sims 206Richter, Dr. 217Rigby, Vernon 214Russell, Lord John 189 St. Martin's Bells 170St. Martin's Church, Birmingham 177Sandwell Park 118Sanitary Improvements 15Schnadhorst, F. 83Sheffield 54Smallwood and Sons 166Steel Toy Trade 162Stockley, W. C. 214Sturge, Joseph 193Sullivan, Sir Arthur 209 Taylor, S. Coleridge 220Tea Drinking 170Thackeray 190"The Dream of Gerontius" 220"The Elijah" 205Timmins and Sons 162Titieus, Mdlle. 213Town Hall 109Trebelli, Madame 213 Unearned Increment 97Unitarians 74, 75 _Vanity Fair_ 51"Vaughton's Hole" 113 Walker's (T. F. ) Ship Logs 159Welsh Water Scheme 58Williams, Powell 81Winfield and Co. , R. W. 196Winfield, John Fawkener 198Wynn and Co. 162 "Yule Tide" 214 CORNISH'S Instalment System of Payment:--TEN MonthlyPayments #7s. 6d. # each and you own #CHAMBERS'SENCYCLOPAEDIA, # A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge. #THE ONLY UP-TO-DATE ENCYCLOPAEDIA, # IMPORTANT TO PURCHASERS OF ANENCYCLOPAEDIA. The Articles in #Chambers's Encyclopaedia, # inaddition to being; written by eminent specialists, are keptwell abreast of the times. Herein to present day readers lies the immense superiorityof this work as compared with almost all other Encyclopaedias. 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JUST PUBLISHED 4s. NETT. 4S. 3D. POST FREE. Crown Octavo uncut, pp. 190. THE NOVEL-READER'SHANDBOOK, BYWILLIAM ROBERTON. The objects of this Handbook are:--(1) To mention the chief novels of important recent authors. (2) To show what kind of novels they write. (3) To tell what some of the leading novels are about. (4) To give a brief sketch of the writer's career. (5) To show something of public opinion concerning them. (6) To illustrate the struggle of authors for a footing. PRESS NOTICES. "The noble army of novel readers will find a good deal ofuseful and interesting information in 'The Novel-Reader'sHandbook, ' by William Roberton, author of 'The KiplingGuide Book, ' and published by _The Midland Counties Herald_, Birmingham. The book is a guide to recent novels andnovelists. 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