THE CLOSURE IN THE PUBLIC-HOUSE.
STUDENTS of humanity, who find in the police-court reports much valuable material for study, will hardly have failed to note a case of assault which was tried before the North London magistrate at the beginning of this week. The assault itself was a very commonplace one, and was committed within the customary precincts of a public-house; but the case was, nevertheless, of considerable interest, inas- much as it afforded an unusual illustration of the malign influence exercised by a certain type of character. The plaintiff and the defendant, it appeared, frequented the same public-house, but with a different object. The latter went there to drink his beer in peace and quietness ; the former to theek for an audience and to air his eloquence. He was a man, to quote the words of an unprejudiced witness, "who thought himself a good speaker, and fastened himself on to everybody -who could not talk." On this occasion he was said to have talked and argued for more than an hour and a half, in spite of the fact that the general feeling of his listeners was not with him. He bad begun with a rambling dissertation upon the present condition of the working classes, had passed in review Sir William Harcourt's Budget and a few other light topics of a kindred interest, and was engaged at the time that the inter- ruption occurred in explaining his own attitude and senti- ments with regard to Anarchism and social reform. The defendant, we gather, was a person who, as the witness said, could not talk, and had therefore been especially singled out for a victim ; unfortunately, like many other men of few words, he was also a matt of prompt action. The words that he did speak were received, according to the plaintiff's own evidence, with a smile. It is not difficult to imagine that smile; its complacency, its self-satisfied superiority, its pitying contempt. It was altogether too much for the defendant to bear. He might net be able to stem the intolerable torrent of words, but he knew he could change that yet more intoler- able expression of countenance. He yielded to temptation and' smote the smiler full in the face,—whence there came about the interference of the police and the appearance of both parties before the North London magistrate, who vindicated) freedom of speech and discouraged violence by inflicting a fine of 8s., together with 2s. costs, upon the assailant.
No peaceable and order-loving citizen can question the justice of this decision; still it may be allowed him to fed some sympathy for the sorely tempted sinner, and to entertain, a secret hope that the satisfaction which the latter derived, from his guilty blow was not too dearly paid for at the price of 10s. The argumenium llama/A/um is one that we cannot afford to encourage ; however great the provocation, it is most inexpedient that a man should silence an oppressive bore with blows. And yet one cannot but wish that some equally short and efficient method were possible, for the tyranny of the bore is hard to bear, and his spirit refuses to yield to all gentler appeals. No doubt the case which we have quoted was an ex- ceptional one. The British workman, as a rule, is very tolerant of bores, and it needs one of a really gigantic calibre and extraordinary powers of penetration to goad him into revolt, He rather enjoys listening to the recital of disconnected im- becilities, and finds a strange pleasure in discursive and aimless discussion, in roundabout arguments, and in the portentous. utterance of unaccustomed words. The pot-house politician who encounters disfavour in the place of applause, must be a nuisance of an extremely virulent kind. Still, he is by no means unknown to the unfortunate publican, who is some- times compelled to witness the gradual emptying of his bar- parlour under the influence of a too loquacious customer. And if these be the ravages of the bore in the more humble and more patient class of society, how infinitely more de- vastating are the effects of his energy upon a better educated. and more nervous class. Who does not know the club bore, the counterpart of the public-house pest, who figures in Theakeray's "Book of Snobs" as Mr. Jawkins P What defence has any ordinary man against a creature of this kind, what refuge from his onslaught P In truth, there are people in the world who ought to be compelled by law to wear muzzles, for nothing short of physical restraint is sufficient to curb their tendency towards destructive • speech. We do not mean the mere babbler who suffers from simple incontinence of tongue,—he is easily silenced) by short answers and a chilly demeanour; but the mare who never enters any society without seeking at once to dominate by his voice, and whose imperious desire to make himself heard, knows neither compunction nor shame. Takes. for example, the man who will talk to his neighbours in a railway-carriage or omnibus. Even if he has no accomplice with him, he is sure to find some timid person who meekly consents to become the recipient of his remarks, and forth- with the rest of the passengers are condemned to listen to an interminable monologue, delivered in a strident voice, dis- tracting to their own thoughts, and drowning every sense in them, save that of rebellious suffering. That man ought to be cloeured by the other travellers, or he ought not to be permitted, to enter a public vehicle at all. We are fain to confess, how- ever, that it is not only the bore who needs reform in this par.. theater instance. There are a great many other people in the world who fail to realise that a public vehicle is not a place for private discussion, and who drive unoffending strangers to the verge of frenzy by their blatant conversations. Such people seem to be absolutely regardless of the ears and. the feelings of the general public; indeed, to judge by the self-assertion of their dress and demeanour, they often con- eider a manifest disregard of their surroundings to be the best and most striking method of supporting their own claims- to importance. It was once our fortune to hear two of these. people silenced after a very effectual fashion. They were apparently mother and daughter, and the shrillness of their- voices and the splendour of their apparel called with equal loudness for recognition. The company inside the omnibus happened to be very mixed, and the ostentatious glances of mutual commiseration which the pair cast upon each other- showed but little consideration for their neighbours' feelings. It was with even less regard for their neighbours that they began a conversation in a tone that was calculated to drowse the roar of the outside traffic and prevent any of their fellow- travellers from losing a syllable of what they said. Tholes- 'discourse turned chiefly upon the unaccountable conduct of a -certain Sir Henry who, it seemed, was engaged in yachting through distant seas when he ought to have been entertaining them as his visitors in the country ; and they debated anxiously whether his absence of body might be due to absence of mind, or to the stupidity which they both agreed in describing as his chief characteristic. The omnibus rolled on without stopping, for it was full of passengers ; but the tones grew more and anore insistent, until it seemed that there was nothing inside the vehicle but those two voices and their owners. At last the omnibus halted to allow the descent of an elderly artisan who had been sitting quietly in the corner. Not a flicker of .a smile crossed the polite gravity of his face as he turned towards the elder of the two ladies :—" Take my word for it, Mum, Sur 'Ennery ain't a fool ; 'e knows what 'e is about," With a friendly "good night" the speaker departed, leaving tbehind him a welcome peace.
It is not every one who has the tact and the moral -courage to apply the muzzle where it is wanted. Still, if long-suffering victims could only be induced to show a little more public spirit in the matter, we really believe that the nuisance, if not prevented, could at least be consider- ably abated. There are people who ought to be immediately =silenced whenever or wherever they begin to speak. When it -is noticed that a man tunes his voice to a concert pitch in -offering his remarks, it is the plain duty of the person whom the addresses to stop the conversation by any means in his Tower, even though he should thereby be guilty of impolite- mess. Otherwise, by remaining passive, he may tamely assist the growth of an oration which will ultimately incite others to a breach of the public peace. It really is not a matter in which a good citizen can afford to consider the niceties of polite 'behaviour. The closure must be applied quickly and effectually or it is useless ; for when once the wordy man has tasted the -delights of argument there is no stopping the current of his -eloquence. To reform the man himself is, we believe, im- Tossible ; the utmost one can hope to do is to discourage him .by means which just stop short of physical restraint. There is no need to waste consideration and courtesy upon him ; as -a rule the creature is quite impervious to ridicule, and his feel- ings are not to be injured even by open discourtesy. If .people steadfastly refuse to listen to him, he must perforce submit ; but he is not personally affronted, for he fancies that 'the loss is not his, but theirs.
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