CHAPTER VI.

THE REVOLT OF WOMAN.

England was agitated by two items of the latest intelligence. The same journal which announced the sudden and serious illness of President Jardine also recorded a bold move in the campaign of the Lady Catherine Kellick, Vice-President of the Council of State. Enormous interest was roused, not so much by the advertised notice of a public meeting on affairs of State, as by the rumours of its real object. Ostensibly, the people of London were invited, so far as the accommodation of the Queen's Hall would permit, to hear a statement as to the position of public affairs and to consider questions of national importance. But it was well understood that the real aim of the convener of the meeting was to strengthen her grip on the helm of State by means of her rumoured forward policy, in the interests of the sex which she claimed to represent.

Long before the hour fixed for the meeting, multitudes of people of both sexes approached Langham Place by every converging avenue. The doors of the Hall were besieged by an enormous concourse, and the police on duty soon found themselves entirely powerless to preserve order. As evening approached, the crowd became more and more dense, extending southward far into Regent Street, and northward into Portland Place. Every window in the Langham Hotel was crowded with wondering visitors, looking down upon the immense assembly, from which rose angry shouts as mounted constables forced their horses through the outskirts of the crowd in the vain effort to keep the people on the move. When darkness rendered the situation still more dangerous, urgent representations were made to the managers of the Hall, and the doors were suddenly thrown open. A wild yell of relief or eagerness rose from thousands of throats, and a scene of indescribable violence and confusion followed, as men and woman pushed, struggled, and fought their way towards the entrances. In a few moments every seat had been seized, every inch of standing room occupied. The attempts of the attendants to attend to the angry demands of those who held tickets for reserved seats were absolutely futile. Every gangway was blocked by pushing and struggling humanity, and those who, alarmed by such a condition of things, sought to force their way out were prevented from doing so by the swarms of people who were already wedged in the corridors.

A babel of voices arose on every side, but at length the audience was weeded out to some extent, and the great numbers that remained settled down in patient expectation, solaced, after a time, by the music of the grand organ and the singing of the songs and choruses. Tier after tier at the back of the platform, usually occupied by musicians, had been reserved for Members of Parliament and officials of State. Not one seat was vacant save the chair of the Vice-President. When the hour appointed for the meeting struck on the clocks of the neighbouring churches, there was a great clapping of hands, and an excited waving of hats and handkerchiefs. A tall thin figure, wearing a flowing robe of scarlet, now advanced from the right-hand side of the platform, and, on emerging from behind the rows of palms and ferns, came into full view of the audience.

Although she had become so great a power in England, the Vice-President was only known by means of pictures and photographs to a great number of those who were present. They gazed at her with wonder and interest. There was character in every line of her face. Her grey hair, swept back from the broad low brow, made her look older than her actual years. Her eyes were rather prominent and staring. The upper lip was so long as to betoken a marked degree of obstinacy, and her chin, square and firm, with the flesh bagging a little on either side, accentuated the general indications of hardness.

When she spoke, her greatest charm was made known. Her voice was excellent, it had that kind of purring intonation which reminded some of the older people of the celebrated actress Sarah Bernhardt; her friends said that it was partly because of the "purr" that she had acquired the popular nickname of "Lady Cat."

There were no formal preliminaries. Raising her hand for silence, she began to speak, and her first sentence was well chosen and arresting:

"The Amazon is the greatest river in the world!"

Puzzled glances were exchanged, and here and there was heard a wondering titter. Were they in for a lecture on geography?

The speaker went on without a pause, and swiftly undeceived them:

"The Amazon flows from the Andes with such stupendous force, in such enormous volume, that its waters are carried unmixed into the Atlantic Ocean."

They now had a dim idea of what was coming, and the impression was speedily confirmed:

"There are other mighty forces in the world besides that river, and I for one, speaking for the sex to which I belong, would glory in the name of Amazon. Call us Amazons, if you will. Let those laugh who win; women are winning all along the line!"

Shrill applause went up from hundreds of women in the audience. The men, in a minority, were silent and uneasy.

"The time has come for facing facts, for examining claims and titles. Man's title to be Lord of Creation is full of flaws, and we dispute it."

Frantic cheers and handkerchief-waving came from the women; a few deep groans from the men.

"It is no use trusting to recent history. The men by force and fraud got into possession of all the good things, all the power that life has to offer, and thousands of us have meekly acquiesced. If you are content to be regarded as the weaker vessel, if it satisfies you to be compared with men as water is compared with wine, or moonlight unto sunlight, be it so; we who are wiser must leave you to your fate. But some of us have already advanced a stage or two towards the position we claim rightfully as our own. Yet, you women of England, mark this, the stages already covered are nothing to what we can and will achieve."

Excited applause for a few minutes prevented the speaker from proceeding. A fierce disturbance broke out at the back of the Hall, but was promptly quelled.

"One thing all men and women here to-night must realise. There cannot be two Kings in Brentford, no, nor a King and Queen. Of the two sexes, one alone can reign. Which shall it be?"

Shrill cries of "ours, ours!" broke from the speaker's supporters.

"Yes," she cried triumphantly, "our turn has come at last; it _shall_ be ours, if women only stand to their guns. But there can be no halting half way. Forward or Retreat!"

"Forward, Forward!" came from the now enthusiastic audience, with eager cheers and shouts, and again the cry went up: "Forward, one and all."

"Forward let it be. But, remember, the race will be to the swift and the battle to the strong. To-night I call you to arms. To-night I remind you that among the ancient races of the world there were women who set us the example that we need. The story of the Amazons of old is no fable. They lived--they fought for supremacy. They won it and they held it. So can we!"

Tumultuous cries, blended now with angry hisses from the men, disturbed the meeting. But so great was the ascendency which the Vice-President already had acquired over most of her hearers, that a wave of her hand stilled the uproar, and she was enabled to proceed. At the same moment, on a screen at the back of the platform, was thrown a startling life-sized picture of an Amazonian warrior:

"Behold!" cried the orator, grasping the dramatic moment and extending her arm, "Behold Thalestris--Queen of the Amazons!"

For an instant the vast audience paused--surprised, staring, almost bewildered.

"You are asking yourselves who was Thalestris," the speaker continued. "The Amazons founded a state in Asia Minor on the coast of the Black Sea. Herodotus will tell you how they fought with the Greeks; how they hunted in the field and marched with the Scythians to battle. Well, Thalestris became their Queen. They styled her the daughter of Mars. She set the men to spin wool and do the work of the house. The women went to the wars, and the men stayed at home and employed themselves in those mean offices which in this country have been forced upon our sex. The Amazons went from strength to strength; they built cities, erected palaces, and created an empire. And there were other Amazonian nations. All of them acted on the same principle. The women kept the public offices and the magistracy in their own hands. Husbands submitted to the authority of their wives. They were not encouraged, or allowed, to throw off the yoke. The women, in order to maintain their authority, cultivated every art of war. For this is certain--all history proves it: force is the ultimate remedy in all things. That was why the Amazons of old learnt how to draw the bow and throw the javelin."

"For shame! for shame!" roared a man's voice from the balcony.

"There is plenty of cause for shame," was the speaker's swift retort, "but the shame is on the men, the swaggering, bullying, self-sufficient men who in times past held women in subjection. Why, there were men in England not so very long ago who would put a halter round a wife's neck and bring her into open market, for sale to the highest bidder. It used to be the law of England that men might chastise their wives with a rod of specified dimensions...."

"We don't do it now," shouted the same voice.

"No! because you cannot and you dare not. It used to be said that there was one law for the rich and another law for the poor. But it was always a much more glaring truth that there was one law for men and another law for women. It was so in the Divorce Court until we women altered it. It was so in respect of the results of what was called a lapse from virtue, and we are going to alter that. It was so in regard to votes and representation, and you know we have changed all that!" Loud and vehement applause from the majority of the audience greeted this allusion to the suffrage.

"More than half the nation is no longer disenfranchised. But we must not rest content. Like Alexander, we seek more worlds to conquer, and conquest will be ours. While women have grown, men have shrivelled. Athletic exercise and a freer and more varied life have given our women thews and sinews. But the men are decadent, degenerates who have led indolent, self-indulgent lives. They have given up the Battle of Life. Thousands of them are as enfeebled in body as in intellect. We see around us an undeveloped, puny, stunted race. What? Call these creatures men? I tell you they are not men, they are only mannikins!"

Immense uproar broke out again in every part of the heated, crowded building. When it was subdued, the speaker resumed in scornful tones:

"Better masculine women than effeminate men! Better the Amazon than the mannikin! Read the story of Boadicea, of Joan of Arc, and of Joan of Montfort! Read what history will tell you about Margaret of Anjou! Worthy successors were they of the Amazons of the Caucasus and the Amazons of America, the noble women who gave their name to the greatest river in the world. Like the women of old, let the Amazons of the present century--the Amazons of England--learn to arm, and learn to fight."

There was a moment's pause. Then the Vice-President, in tones now piercing and tremulous, cried out:

"Who will join the First Regiment of the Amazons of England?"

The electrified audience saw the speaker raise her hand, and at the signal twenty girls in smart military uniform marched on to the platform, saluted, and stood at attention. Each Amazon's hair was cut short, but not too short to be frizzed. On each small head was worn a helmet like that of Thalestris. The braided tunic was buttoned from shoulder to shoulder in the Napoleonic style, and the two rows of gilt buttons narrowed down to the bright leather belt that encircled the waist. "Bloomers" completed the costume, and a light cutlass and a revolver furnished each Amazon's warlike equipment.

Laughter, applause, and shouted comments greeted the entrance of the girl-soldiers. It became a scene of indescribable confusion.

Then once more the Vice-President vehemently appealed to the audience:

"Who will join the Amazons of England?"

Shouts of "I will, I will!" came, first, from the body of the hall; then from every part of the building, until, at last, the women seemed to answer in a perfect scream of eagerness. Many minutes passed before silence was restored. Then it was announced that all recruits could give in their names as they left the hall, and the Vice-President went on to move in formal terms a resolution declaring that this meeting was firmly persuaded that the cause of the nation and of woman required that the women of England should take up arms, and pledged itself, first, to support the establishment of a new body of militia to be recruited from the ranks of the young women of England; and, secondly, to claim from the State the same rate of pay that hitherto had been paid to men alone.

A thin young woman with hectic cheeks and excited manner sprang to her feet on the right of the platform and seconded the motion. She only made one point, but it went home. "I'll ask you one question," she exclaimed, in tones so shrill that here and there a laugh broke out: "Are we inferior to poor Tommy Atkins?"

The aggregate answer was so ready and so violent a negative that the opposing element was momentarily subdued. Storms of applause broke out as she resumed her seat.

But with equal readiness another speaker was on her feet on the other side of the platform. In clear high tones her voice rang out over the noisy assembly: "I oppose it!"

Another storm--a storm of remonstrance now arose. Cries of "Shame, shame," were hurled towards the platform. Then, as some of the audience recognized the new speaker, they exclaimed to the people near them: "It's the President's daughter! It's Zenobia Jardine!"

"Order, order!" roared a minority of the audience, now somewhat encouraged, and in a few minutes, while Zenobia waited--her eyes bright, her lips firmly set--order was secured. The Vice-President had sat down. She looked at her young opponent with no friendly eye, taking no trouble to secure her a quiet hearing. But there was a section of the audience that had only waited for a champion, and meant to see fair play.

"I oppose it," repeated Zenobia, "because I believe that to arm women and train them to fight will be a mad and wicked act. It would mean a return to barbarism. It would be adding a monstrous climax to the progress of a great cause. Instead of being the final exaltation of our sex, it would lead to our political extinction and our ruin. Let us have none of it."

The Vice-President's face wore a wicked look, and her thin lips tightened as this appeal drew a loud cheer from the men and from a certain number of the women in the excited audience.

"It has been said that the empire of women is an empire of softness, of address. Her commands are caresses, her menaces are tears!"

"No! No!" came from the throats of the Vice-President's supporters. The Vice-President herself arose.

"Will the speaker favour us with the authority for her quotations?" she asked in loud and cutting tones.

"Rousseau...." began Zenobia nervously.

"An effeminate authority indeed!" exclaimed the Vice-President. "We are not all in love" she added sneeringly.

She seemed for the moment to have won the audience back to her cause. But Zenobia was not beaten.

"Very well!" she cried, "I will give you an English author. Doctor Johnson, at least, was not effeminate. What did he say? 'The character of the ancient Amazons was terrible, rather than lovely. The hand could not be very delicate that was only employed in directing the bow and brandishing the battle-axe. Their power was maintained by cruelty; their courage was deformed by ferocity'.... Besides, the whole thing's impossible." Conflicting cries broke out in every quarter, and the rest of the sentence became wholly inaudible. There was a slight lull when the Vice-President rose and raised her hand.

"Is it your pleasure that this lady be heard further?" she demanded. The hint received a ready response, and shrieks of "No, no!" drowned the protests of the minority. In a moment, the Vice-President put her resolution and called for a show of hands. In another moment, she had declared the motion carried by an overwhelming majority.

At a sign, the organ gave forth a trumpet note, and then burst into a rushing volume of sound, which drowned all cries and counter-cries, and ended the meeting in a scene of unexampled tumult and excitement.