It was a general holiday at the time in that city, and I lounged about
the streets, looking at the crowds of people. The "Pembroke Social
Reform League" was holding a mass meeting at the foot of Wellington's
monument in St. George's Square to protest against the Government's
building eight _Dreadnaughts_ at a cost of 14,000,000 pounds. The crowd
was all composed of working men and was most orderly; the speakers were
clever and moderate in their attitude. I became interested, and edged up
to the foot of the steps in order to hear what was said. The meeting had
lasted about an hour, when one speaker in finishing, remarked:
"I see an American here: will not the gentleman step up and tell us how
America feels about these things?"
I was immediately threatened with heart disease and protested, but before
I knew what I was about a couple of them had pulled me up on the steps
and I was really "up against it," so I had to say something or beat an
ignominious retreat. I have always been in full sympathy with
disarmament and the reduction of naval fleets, so I told them I had just
returned from Spain, Italy and Turkey, and had there seen the armies
drilling and the idle navies anchored in the ports, for the most part at
the expense of the poor people, many of whom had neither food nor decent
clothing. At this point a young man called out:
"We are Englishmen--we want no Yankees here!"