YOUTH.
Driven from home because he refused to be a hypocrite, Charles
Bradlaugh stood alone in the world at sixteen; cut off from kindred
and former friends, with little or nothing in the way of money or
clothes, and with the odium of Atheist attached to his name in lieu of
character. To seek a situation seemed useless: what was to be done? To
whom should he turn for help and sympathy if not to those for whose
opinions he was now suffering? To these he went, and they, scarce
richer than himself, welcomed him with open arms. An old Chartist and
Freethinker, a Mr B. B. Jones, gave him hospitality for a week, while
he cast about for means of earning a livelihood. Mr Jones was an old
man of seventy; and in after years, when he had grown too feeble to
do more than earn a most precarious livelihood by selling Freethought
publications, Mr Bradlaugh had several times the happiness of being
able to show his gratitude practically by lecturing and getting up a
fund for his benefit. Having learned something about the coal trade
whilst with Messrs Green, my father determined to try his fortune as
a "coal merchant;" but unhappily he had no capital, and consequently
required to be paid for the coals before he himself could get them to
supply his customers. Under these circumstances it is hardly wonderful
that his business was small. He, however, got together a few customers,
and managed to earn a sufficient commission to keep him in bread and
cheese. He had some cards printed, and in a boyish spirit of bravado
pushed one under his father's door. Mr Headingley, in the "Biography of
Mr Bradlaugh" that he wrote in 1880, gives the story of the "principal
customer" in pretty much the very words in which he heard it, so I
reproduce it here intact:--
"Bradlaugh's principal customer was the good-natured wife of a
baker, whose shop was situated at the corner of Goldsmith's Road.
As she required several tons of coal per week to bake the bread,
the commission on this transaction amounted to about ten shillings a
week, and this constituted the principal source of Bradlaugh's income.
The spirit of persecution, however, was abroad. Some kind friend
considerately informed the baker's wife that Bradlaugh was in the
habit of attending meetings of Secularists and Freethinkers, where he
had been known to express very unorthodox opinions. This was a severe
blow to the good lady. She had always felt great commiseration for
Bradlaugh's forlorn condition, and a certain pride in herself for
helping him in his distress. When, therefore, he called again for
orders she exclaimed at once, but still with her wonted familiarity--
"'Charles, I hear you are an Infidel!'
"At that time Bradlaugh was not quite sure whether he was an Infidel
or not; but he instinctively foresaw that the question addressed him
might interfere with the smooth and even course of his business;
he therefore deftly sought to avoid the difficulty by somewhat
exaggerating the importance of the latest fluctuation in the coal
market.
"The stratagem was of no avail. His kind but painfully orthodox
customer again returned to the charge, and then Bradlaugh had to fall
back upon the difficulty of defining the meaning of the word Infidel,
in which line of argument he evidently failed to produce a favourable
impression. Again and again he tried to revert to the more congenial
subject of a reduction in the price of coals, and when, finally, he
pressed hard for the usual order, the interview was brought to a close
by the baker's wife. She declared in accents of firm conviction, which
have never been forgotten, that she could not think of having any more
coals from an Infidel.
"'I should be afraid that my bread would smell of brimstone,' she
added with a shudder."
It always strikes me as a little odd that orthodox people, who believe
that the heretic will have to undergo an eternity of punishment--a
punishment so awful that a single hour of it would amply suffice
to avenge even a greater crime than the inability to believe--yet
regard that as insufficient, and do what they can on earth to give
the unbeliever a foretaste of the heavenly mercy to come. This little
story of the kind-hearted woman turned from her kindness by some
bigoted busybody is a mild case in point. Such people put a premium on
hypocrisy, and make the honest avowal of opinion a crime.
In so limited a business the loss of the chief customer was naturally a
serious matter; and although the young coal merchant struggled on for
some time longer, he was at last obliged to seek for other means of
earning his bread. For a little while he tried selling buckskin braces
on commission for Mr Thomas J. Barnes. Mr Barnes gave him a breakfast
at starting in the morning, and a dinner on his return at night, but as
he could only sell a limited quantity of the braces he grew ever poorer
and poorer.
Early in my father's troubles, Mrs Carlile and her children seem to
have taken a warm liking for him. He shared Julian Carlile's bed, and
there was always a place at the family table--such as it was--whenever
he wanted it. He read Hebrew with Mr James Savage, and in turn taught
Hebrew and Greek to Mr Thomas Barralet, then a young man of his own
age, his particular friend and companion at the time. With the Carlile
children he had lessons in French from Mr Harvey, an old friend of
Richard Carlile's. These "French" days, I can readily believe, were
altogether red-letter days. Usually, from motives of economy, the
_menu_ was made up on a strictly vegetarian basis; but when Mr Harvey
came he invariably invited himself to dinner, and having a little
more money than most of the others, he always provided the joint. Mr
Bradlaugh says in his "Autobiography" that while with the Carliles
he picked up "a little Hebrew and an imperfect smattering of other
tongues." Then and with subsequent study he acquired a good knowledge
of Hebrew; French he could read and speak (although with a somewhat
English accent) as easily as his own tongue; he knew a little Arabic
and Greek; and he could make his way through Latin, Italian, or
Spanish, though of German and its allied languages he knew nothing.
It was whilst under Mrs Carlile's roof my father fell in love with
Hypatia, Mrs Carlile's eldest daughter; and this fleeting attachment
of a boy and girl (or rather, I should say of a boy _for_ a girl, for
I know that Miss Carlile laughed at my father's pretensions, and there
is absolutely no reason to suppose that she felt anything more than a
sisterly affection for him) would hardly be worth alluding to had not a
whole scandal been built upon it. As far as I can trace, the vile and
iniquitous statements that have been made as to the relations between
my father and Hypatia Carlile--he between sixteen and seventeen, and
she a year or two younger--originated with the Rev. J. G. Packer and
the Rev. Brewin Grant; and since Mr Bradlaugh's death there have not
been wanting worthy disciples of these gentlemen, who have endeavoured
to revive these unwarranted accusations. Mrs Carlile was also vaguely
accused of making "a tool" of the lad, and involving him in money
transactions!----It is not easy to sympathise with the temper which
makes people so unable to understand the generous heart of a woman
who, herself desperately poor, could yet freely share the crumbs of
her poverty with one whose need was even greater than her own, and
give a home and family to the lad who had forfeited his own purely for
conscience' sake.
As after my father left home he was chiefly sheltered by the Carliles
at 1 Warner Place, I cannot imagine what Mr Headingley[4] means by
saying that Mr Bradlaugh was saved the anxiety of pursuit by his
parents. There was no necessity for pursuit; he was never at any time
far from home, and for the most part was in the same street, only a
few doors off. His parents knew where he was; he was often up and down
their street; and his sister Elizabeth would watch to see him pass, or
would loiter about near the Temperance Hall to catch a glimpse of her
brother. She was peremptorily forbidden to exchange a word with him;
and when they passed in the street, this loving brother and sister,
who were little more than children in years, would look at each other,
and not daring to speak, would both burst into tears. In spite of all
this I never heard my father say an unkind or bitter, or even a merely
reproachful word about either of his parents.
Having once begun to speak at the open-air meetings in Bonner's Fields,
he continued speaking there or at Victoria Park, Sunday after Sunday,
during the day, and in the evening at the Warner Place Temperance Hall,
or at a small Temperance Hall in Philpot Street. I am also informed
that he lectured on Temperance at the _Wheatsheaf_ in Mile End Road.
The _British Banner_ for July 31st, 1850, contains a letter signed
D. J. E., on "Victoria Park on the Lord's Day." The writer, after
dwelling at length upon the sinfulness and general iniquity of the
Sunday frequenters of the park, who, he affirmed, sauntered in "sinful
idleness" ... "willing listeners to the harangues of the Chartist, the
Socialist, the infidel and scoffer," goes on to say of my father:--
"The stump orator for the real scoffing party is an overgrown boy of
seventeen, with such an uninformed mind, that it is really amusing
to see him sometimes stammering and spluttering on in his ignorant
eloquence, making the most ludicrous mistakes, making all history to
suit his private convenience, and often calling yea nay, and nay yea,
when it will serve his purpose. He is styled by the frequenters of the
park as the 'baby'; and I believe he is listened to very often more
from real curiosity to know what one so young will say, than from any
love the working men have to his scoffings."
[Footnote 4: Biography of Charles Bradlaugh.]
At the conclusion of a long letter, the writer says:--
"It gives me great delight to state that the working men have no real
sympathy with Infidels and scoffers, but would far sooner listen to
an exposition of the Word of God. To give you an instance. One Sunday
I opposed the 'baby' of whom I have spoken, and instantly there was
a space cleared for us, and an immense ring formed around us. The
Infidel spoke first, and I replied; he spoke again, and was in the
midst of uttering some dreadful blasphemy, copied from Paine's 'Age of
Reason,' when the people could suppress their indignation no longer,
but uttered one loud cry of disapprobation. When silence had been
obtained, I addressed to them again a few serious kind words, and told
them that if they wish me to read to them the Word of God, I would do
so; that if they wished me to pray with them, I would do so. Upon my
saying this, nearly all the company left the Infidel, and repaired to
an adjoining tree, where I read and expounded the Word of God with
them for about an hour."
In this first press notice of himself Mr Bradlaugh had an introductory
specimen of the accuracy, justice, and generosity, of which he was
later to receive so many striking examples from the English press
generally, and the London and Christian press in particular.
In attending Freethought meetings Charles Bradlaugh became acquainted
with Austin Holyoake, and a friendship sprang up between these two
which ended only with the death of Mr Holyoake in 1874. By Austin
Holyoake he was taken to the John Street Institution, and by him also
he was introduced to his elder and more widely-known brother, Mr George
Jacob Holyoake, who took the chair for him at a lecture on the "Past,
Present, and Future of Theology" at the Temperance Hall, Commercial
Road. Mr G. J. Holyoake, in a sketch of my father's life and career
written in 1891, says:--
"It will interest many to see what was the beginning of his splendid
career on the platform, to copy the only little handbill in existence.
Only a few weeks before his death, looking over an old diary, which
I had not opened for forty-one years, I found the bill, of which I
enclose you the facsimile. It is Bradlaugh's first placard:--
LECTURE HALL,
PHILPOT ST., (3 DOORS FROM COMMERCIAL ROAD).
A LECTURE
WILL BE DELIVERED BY
CHARLES BRADLAUGH, JUN.,
_On Friday, October the 10th, 1850_,
SUBJECT:
PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF THEOLOGY.
MR GEORGE JACOB HOLYOAKE,
_Editor of the "Reasoner,"_
WILL TAKE THE CHAIR AT EIGHT O'CLOCK PRECISELY.
A Collection will be made after the Lecture for the Benefit of
C. Bradlaugh, victim of the Rev. J. G. Packer, of St. Peter's,
Hackney Road.
"Being his first public friend, I was asked to take the chair for him.
Bradlaugh's subject was a pretty extensive one for the first lecture
of a youth of seventeen, who looked more like fourteen as he stood up
in a youth's round jacket; but he spoke with readiness, confidence,
and promise."
In May 1850, "at the age of 16 years 7-1/2 months," Mr Bradlaugh wrote
an "Examination of the four Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke
and John, with remarks on the life and death of the meek and lowly
Jesus." This he "altered and amended" in June 1854, but it was never
published. In the preface, written in 1850, he says, "I think I can
prove that there did exist a man named Jesus [Greek: chrêstos] the
good man," but in 1854 he no longer adheres to this position, and
adds a note: "I would not defend the existence of Jesus as a man at
all, although I have not sufficient evidence to deny it." Through the
kindness of a friend I am in possession of the MS. volume containing
this "Examination," which, apart from its value to me personally, is
extremely interesting as showing how carefully my father went about
his work, even at an age when many lads are still at school. A month
or so after writing this critical examination, "C. Bradlaugh, jun.,"
published his first pamphlet, entitled, "A Few Words on the Christian's
Creed." To the Rev. J. G. Packer he dedicated his first printed attack
upon orthodox Christianity, addressing him in the following words:--
"SIR,--Had the misfortunes which I owe to your officious
interference been less than they are, and personal feeling left any
place in my mind for deliberation or for inquiry in selecting a
proper person to whom to dedicate these few remarks, I should have
found myself directed, by many considerations, to the person of the
Incumberer of St Peter's, Hackney Road. A life spent in division from
part of your flock, and in crushing those whom you could not answer,
may well entitle you to the respect of all true bigots.--Hoping that
you will be honoured as you deserve, I am, Reverend Sir, yours truly,
C. BRADLAUGH."
At the end of October in the same year he sent "a report of the
closing season's campaign in Bonner's Fields, Victoria Park," to the
_Reasoner_, from which I take an extract, not without interest for
the light it throws upon the manners and methods then common at these
out-door assemblies:--
"In May last, when I joined the fray, the state of affairs was as
follows: In front of us, near the park gates, were stationed some two
or three of the followers of the Victoria Park Mission, who managed
to get a moderate attendance of hearers; on our extreme left was the
Rev. Henry Robinson, who mustered followers to the amount of three or
four hundred; on our right, and close to our place of meeting, was
erected the tent of the Christian Instruction Society; sometimes,
also, in our midst we have had the Rev. Mr Worrall, V.D.M., who gives
out in his chapel one Sunday that infidelity is increasing, and that
there must be fresh subscriptions for more Sunday-school teachers (who
are never paid), and the next Sunday announces in the Fields that
infidelity is dying away. Besides these, we have had Dr Oxley, and
some dozens of tract distributors, who seemed to have no end to their
munificence--not forgetting Mr Harwood, and a few other irregular
preachers, who told us how wicked they had been in their youth, and
what a mercy it was the Lord had changed them.
"When I first came out I attracted a little extra attention on account
of my having been a Sunday-school teacher, and therefore had more
opposition than some of our other friends; and as the Freethinking
party did not muster quite so well as they do now, I met with some
very unpleasant occurrences. One Monday evening in particular I was
well stoned, and some friends both saw and heard several Christians
urging the boys to pelt me. As, however, the attendance of the
Freethinkers grew more regular, these minor difficulties vanished.
But more serious ones rose in their place. George Offer, Esq., of
Hackney, and Dr Oxley, intimated to the police that I ought not to
be allowed to speak; and a Christian gentleman whose real name and
address we could never get, but who passed by the name of Tucker,
after pretending that he was my friend to Mrs Carlile, and learning
all he could of me, appeared in the Park and made the most untrue
charges. When he found he was being answered, he used to beckon the
police and have me moved on.... I happened to walk up to the Fields
one evening, when I saw some of the bills announcing our lecture at
Warner Place pulled down from the tree on which they had been placed.
I immediately renewed them, and on the religious persons attempting to
pull the bills down again I defended them; and one gentleman having
broken a parasol over my arm in attempting to tear the bills, the
congregation, of which Mr Robinson was the leader, became furious.
The pencil of Cruikshank would have given an instructive and curious
picture of the scene. They were crying out, men and women too, 'Down
with him!' 'Have him down!' And here the scene would have been very
painful to my feelings, for down they would have had me had not my
own party gathered round, on which a treaty of peace was come to on
the following terms, viz. that the man who tried to pull the bills
down would guard them to keep them up as long as the religious people
stayed there. Mr Robinson applied for a warrant against me, but the
magistrate refused to grant it."
On another occasion, when some people whom he and Mr James Savage had
been addressing in the Park had become unduly excited by a Scotch
preacher, who politely informed them that they were "a generation of
vipers," Mr Bradlaugh stepped forward in an attempt to pacify them, but
much to his surprise was himself seized by police. Fortunately, several
of the bystanders volunteered to go to the police station with him, and
he was immediately released.
Nowadays the Parks and the Commons are the happy hunting-grounds
for the outdoor speaker, where he inculcates almost any doctrine he
chooses, unmolested by the police or the public.