ll me, Mark, that a mother doesn't know
her own son?"

"Beggared a one," replied Mark.

"D'ye say that again?" said Rush; "I tell you, when a woman puts her
arms around her son's neck, d'ye think she doesn't know it's her son?"

Mark by this time is also frothing at the mouth; and, standing in a
bellicose attitude, hisses:

"I says 'beggared a one.' Roger's not the man!"

Rush becomes speechless, and his eyes flash with anger, and he flings
the _Englishman_ at Mark, who in turn calls his friend, "Coward; that's
the only argument you have. I tell you again, Roger's _not_ the man!"

"Who are you?" retorted Rush; "do you think yourself the Lord High
Admiral Dundas, then?"

"No," said the excited Mark; "I'm Mark Grips, one of Jimmy Young's
skippers, and I tell ye Roger never was the man!"

This finished the controversy for a time, as the two combatants were
prevailed upon to shake hands, and in spite of this spirited combat
they were soon enjoying their long pipes and their grog together.

Just about the time the Radicals in the House of Commons, aided by the
Irish Nationalists, were making a good stand-up fight for the abolition
of flogging in the army and navy, Mr Charles Bradlaugh was elected as
one of the members for Northampton, with Mr Henry Labouchere as his
colleague. The sanctity of the nation was violently shocked at the
effrontery of Northampton in electing so dangerous a Radical infidel to
represent them in Parliament as the notorious "Iconoclast." A wave of
screaming passed over the fair Christian land; the notorious advocate
of atheistic principles was proclaimed a menacing danger to the
Christian edifice. Injustice and untruth joined against him; shocking
stories of blasphemy were circulated with mad recklessness against him.
There was not a single word of truth in them. This was proved over and
over again in courts of law, and yet the charges were encouraged and
persisted in. Poor Bradlaugh; what a time he had of it until the
tempest of folly subsided, and both the people and some of their
representatives in Parliament came back to their senses, and not only
allowed the member for Northampton to take his seat, but passed an act
giving members the option of affirming instead of taking the oath, and
also ordered the erasing from the journals of the House those records
which were said to justify Mr Bradlaugh's exclusion. It was not to be
wondered at that this rapturous concert of passion and prejudice