mrs. lime was recalled to london, and julia, being now full fledged, was ordered to make a tour of certain districts of the north and west, speak in all circumstances, and make converts not only to the cause of suffrage, but to the woman’s social and political union.
julia for the next four months spoke nearly every day, sometimes twice a day. she had encounters with the police, although she tactfully avoided street corners, and they hardly could eject her from a hall she herself had hired. there were towns, however, where the feeling among men was so strong against the new manifestation of suffrage, that owners refused to rent her their halls, and then she spoke either in a friendly drawing-room, at a working-girls’ club, on the common, or, on sunday, in an open field. on the whole, however, she had far less trouble with the authorities than she expected and fewer unfriendly demonstrations. occasionally, the rear benches were occupied by hooligans employed to howl her down, and to these infringements the police were deaf; but in the audience there was usually a sprinkling of respectable men who had come to hear what she had to say; and when they were tired of the interruptions, they arose as one man and disposed of the intruders.
she found herself addressing great and greater crowds, for the north was awakening in earnest; the laboring women had been ready for years, and now the middle class, long torpid, was furnishing recruits every hour. annie kenny’s second and long imprisonment caused wide-spread interest as well as indignation, and her release was celebrated by great meetings of welcome both in london and the provinces. after addressing crowds in lancashire, and receiving an ovation, she went to wales to speak, and mrs. pethick lawrence and bridgit herbert, once more whole and belligerent, held a series of meetings in yorkshire.
like a heather fire the new gospel of suffrage swept over the north, and where a few months since the w. s. p. u. had struggled along with a few hundred members, it now reckoned its thousands.
julia, like many another aspirant for fame, found that she must submit to have notoriety thrust upon her first. she was regarded as “news” both by the british and the american press. reporters followed her about, she had been ordered by headquarters to have her photograph taken, and it frequently embellished the sumptuous weekly newspapers. there was no question of her popularity as a speaker, aside from the growing popularity of her subject. she not only spoke with a full command of the principles and intentions of the new movement, often brilliantly, and always well, never with sentimentality, and often with power, but she was a charming figure to look at. she had sent for her trunks and her maid.
she rarely felt tired, for the artificial method of relaxation which she had been taught, and practised daily, gave both brain and body a more complete rest than sleep itself. therefore, was she always in form, and never looked worn. as her fame grew, more and more of the county people attended her meetings, and many distinguished names upon which the government relied for opposition were added to the list of converts.
she was also complimented by covert offers from the pillars of the anti-suffrage party, and one supporter of the government went so far as to make love to her; then, finding himself inoculated with his own virus, retired in discomfort after a dry reference by julia to parnell and mrs. o’shea.
“how do you like being famous?” asked mrs. herbert one day. they had planned to meet for sunday.
“famous? is that what you call it?”
“rather. we live in the twentieth century. the advertising poster is the modern work of art. i’m told your picture has appeared in every illustrated paper in the united states. it’s not only your beauty and brains and kingsborough connection. some people have a magnetism for the public, and you are one of them. you strike the spark.”
“the oddest thing about it all is that there doesn’t seem to be the least jealousy among the women in london. they might easily resent that a newcomer with no more ability than themselves should suddenly shoot up into what you call fame. it’s almost uncanny.”
“jealous? not they. what they’re after is freedom and power for women, and they don’t care tuppence whose sun shines the brightest in the process. they’re depersonalized, those women.”
“all the same it’s uncanny. it makes them the more formidable. as nigel says, they’re a new race. i believe i’m growing just like them. i’d go to the stake myself, or blow up westminster. the only thing that worries me is the attitude of the duke. of course he is furious, looks upon me as a disgrace to the family, particularly since i can’t keep out of the newspapers. i’ve had two letters from him, threatening to withdraw my income if i don’t retire into private life. he’s not the man to take back what he has given, without qualms, but i fancy he will, and that will leave me with exactly two hundred pounds a year,—all that i am allowed from harold’s estate. that would merely keep me, and so far i’ve never called upon the union’s exchequer. i wish i might always be able not only to pay my own expenses, but contribute largely to the fund.”
“the duke running the w. s. p. u. is sufficiently humorous. however, you’ve nothing to worry about. the american public would pay much gold to hear you speak, and you can always write.”
