It wad dazzle a hungry
crocodile lookin' for its denner. His e'en are aye brighter than ony I
ever saw--an' speak! Guid God! He could speak for a hale June day. He's
gran' at makin' your flesh creep. He blinds you wi' sparks, an'
fire-works, his words are that hot an' glowin', an' he fair dumbfounders
you wi' fine soundin' sentences an' lang words. He's a corker I can tell
you! But here, they are gaun to begin," he broke off hurriedly as the
Prime Minister rose to his feet. Then in a sly whisper, he added:--"Just
you pay attention, an' tell me after if you can tell how we hae been
dune. They are here to do us the day, as sure as daith."
The Prime Minister's speech was a masterly plea for compromise; but
through it all, it seemed as if he was laying the blame upon the miners
for the critical stage which had been reached. He appealed and cajoled,
asked them to take long views, and talked fine platitudes about
self-sacrifice, and the spirit of brotherhood, which could alone bring
peace and contentment. The country was in danger, and it would be a
terrible crime if the miners forced a strike; for only upon the great
white solitudes of self-sacrifice and mutual help, whose peaks towered
away into the realms of eternity, could real satisfaction be gained, and
much more of a like kind.
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