He could not know then that he was helping a boy
who would be the greatest man in England at a later day.

Eagerly Lloyd George entered upon his work at the university, studying
especially the subject of law. At graduation time, funds were too low
to pay for the official robe which was accustomed to be worn in the
profession. But Lloyd George left college and worked in an office
until he had acquired the needed sum. Then he went back home and
opened a law office.

[Illustration: David Lloyd George.]

He knew that his home people needed his help, for they were farmers who
were continually being taxed or having portions of their land taken
from them unjustly by the rich landowners. He knew, too, that the
laborers in the Welsh mining districts were unfairly treated. Lloyd
George undoubtedly had heard the men talk over their troubles in his
uncle's shop. Now he was prepared to defend them, and soon had many
clients, for they learned that he could not only sympathize with them,
but could plead their cases well. Because he so strongly championed
the rights of the miners, and because he himself lived for so long in
the mining district, Lloyd George came to be called "The Miner."

More and more, renowned lawyers of the country began to hear of him.
He carried cases to the high court of London where he won great
admiration. Always he fought for the poor and downtrodden people. He
began to speak everywhere--on street corners, in the market places, and
in public buildings, with such feeling and force that even those who
opposed him admired him. They liked his quick wit and good humor, and
his honest, direct way of looking at things.

In the year 1890 he obtained a seat in the House of Commons. His
reputation grew, as through one act after another he sought to make
life easier and fairer for the nation's poor. His advance, step by
step, to higher seats in the government was met with constant
opposition from the rich lords and magistrates. But there was in him
an almost unbelievable power for overcoming all obstacles. He was keen
to see what was the right thing to be done, then went straight after
it, making a new way, if necessary,--breaking down all barriers by
means of his own wonderfully skillful schemes. Thus his policy came to
be known as one of "make or break." Often the men who opposed him most
bitterly at first were afterward his stanchest friends and supporters.
No other premier, elected at the beginn