grand pianner.'

As by a strange coincidence nobody happened to have any gold with them,
it was decided to make shift with the halfpence.

'Now this is the way the trick works--'

'Before you goes on with it,' interrupted Philpot, apprehensively,
'don't you think we'd better 'ave someone to keep watch at the gate in
case a Slop comes along? We don't want to get runned in, you know.'

'I don' think there's any need for that,' replied Owen, 'there's only
one slop who'd interfere with us for playing this game, and that's
Police Constable Socialism.'

'Never mind about Socialism,' said Crass, irritably. 'Get along with
the bloody trick.'

Owen now addressed himself to the working classes as represented by
Philpot, Harlow and Easton.

'You say that you are all in need of employment, and as I am the
kind-hearted capitalist class I am going to invest all my money in
various industries, so as to give you Plenty of Work. I shall pay each
of you one pound per week, and a week's work is--you must each produce
three of these square blocks. For doing this work you will each
receive your wages; the money will be your own, to do as you like with,
and the things you produce will of course be mine, to do as I like
with. You will each take one of these machines and as soon as you have
done a week's work, you shall have your money.'

The Working Classes accordingly set to work, and the Capitalist class
sat down and watched them. As soon as they had finished, they passed
the nine little blocks to Owen, who placed them on a piece of paper by
his side and paid the workers their wages.

'These blocks represent the necessaries of life. You can't live
without some of these things, but as they belong to me, you will have
to buy them from me: my price for these blocks is--one pound each.'

As the working classes were in need of the necessaries of life and as
they could not eat, drink or wear the useless money, they were
compelled to agree to the kind Capitalist's terms. They each bought
back and at once consumed one-third of the produce of their labour. The
capitalist class also devoured two of the square blocks, and so the net
result of the week's work was that the kind capitalist had consumed two
pounds worth of the things produced by the labour of the others, and
reckoning the squares at their market value of one pound each, he had
more than doubled his capital, for he still possessed the three pounds
in money and in additi