Then came Hardie, halting and stammering a little as he began his
address. The audience thinking this was due to his searching for a way
to delude them, became more suspicious and critical, and ready to stop
him, if he tried any tricks upon them; but broad-minded enough and fair
enough to give him a hearing, until he trespassed upon them too much.
So it was in this atmosphere that Socialism first was heard in Lowwood;
but soon the speaker became less halting as he warmed to his subject,
until not only was he fluent, but eloquent, and powerful, winning his
audience in spite of themselves.
They sat and listened, and were soon under his sway, watching his every
gesture and thawing under his spell, as they watched the fine head
thrown back with its inimitable poise, the back straight and stiff, the
eyes aglow with the light of the seer, and the hands gracefully rising
and falling to emphasize some point.
What a change soon came over them! Gradually as the speaker developed
his subject the faces changed, and they were soon responsive to his
every demand upon them. The clear ringing voice, insistent, strong, yet
catching a cadence of gentleness and winsomeness that moved them to
approval of everything he said.
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