In 1907, also, they became aware that their new mother was not alone
in the world. A stately lady whose eyes seemed once to have done a
deal of weeping (they were destined alas! to do much more, for three
of her gallant, handsome sons were killed in the War, and _that_
finally killed the poor old Dean of Thetford), who wore a graceful
Spanish mantilla of black lace when in draughty places, came to see
them after they had moved to Garden Corner on the Chelsea
Embankment. She turned out to be the mother of Mrs. Beryl and was
quite inclined to be their grandmother as well as Margery's and
Podge's. But her husband the Dean was--it appeared--too great an
invalid to come up to town.

The second Mrs. Storrington, who was a woman of boundless energy,
could work all day with secretaries, and could dance all night, gave
brilliant parties in the season at her large Chelsea house. But she
never invited to them Mr. David Vavasour Williams, that rising young
barrister who had become so famous as a pleader of the causes of
friendless women.

CHAPTER X

THE SHILLITO CASE

In the autumn of 1905, increase among women of the idea of full
citizenship made rapid strides. There was a feeling in the air that
Balfour must soon resign or go to the country, that a Liberal
Ministry would succeed to power, and that being Liberal it could
scarcely, in reason or with any logic, refuse to enlarge the
franchise to the advantage of the female half of the community.
These idealizers of the Liberal Party, which had really definitely
ceased to be Liberal in 1894, had a rude awakening. Annie Kenney and
Christabel Pankhurst dared to act as if they were men, and asked Sir
Edward Grey at his Manchester meeting in October, 1905, if a Liberal
Administration would give Votes to Women, should it be placed in
power at the next Election. Answer they had none, from the platform;
but the male audience rose in their hundreds, struck these audacious
hussies in the face, scratched and slapped them (this was the role
of the boys), and hustled them out into the street, bleeding and
dishevelled. Here for attempting to explain the causes of their
expulsion they were arrested by the police, and the following
morning were sent to prison, having declined to pay the fines
illegally imposed on them.

This incident made a great impression on the newspaper-reading
public, because at that time the Press boycott on the Woman Suffrage
movement had not set in. It ga