Chapter III: Introduction: xiii

YOUTH

CHAPTER I. WATERLOO, THE MAYOR AND THE BABY 3

The Fisherman—The Battle of Waterloo—The Mayor of Salisbury—the
Mayor’s Son—The Market-place—The Circus—Boarding-School and
Fun—A Diary

CHAPTER II. THE BOY LECTURER 11

A Lecture on the Uses of Steam—Parliamentary Ambitions—King’s
College—Politics in the Fifties—Cribbage and Cricket

CAMBRIDGE

CHAPTER III. THE TALL STUDENT 25

Peterhouse—Quoits and Billiards—Trinity Hall—A
Fellowship—Lincoln’s Inn

CHAPTER IV. A SET BACK 35

A Trip to France—Wiltshire French—A Discouragement

WINNING BACK

CHAPTER V. DARKNESS 43

A Shooting Accident—Blindness—Readjustment

CHAPTER VI. HAPPINESS 54

The clear-sighted Man—A Scot’s Accent—Mountain
Climbing—Skating—Riding, etc.

CHAPTER VII. DISTRACTION 63

Fishing—In the House of Commons—Need for Distraction—What Helen
Keller thinks—Sir Francis Campbell—Leap Frog—Despair and
Cheer—Paupers and Political Economy

CAMBRIDGE AGAIN

CHAPTER VIII. THE PROBLEM OF THE POOR 75

A Prime Object—Lincoln—Leslie Stephen—Daily Life at
Cambridge—Deepening interest in Social Questions

CHAPTER IX. THE GOOD SAMARITAN 84

‘Ask Fawcett’—The Ancient Mariners and the Diplomat—Christmas
Exceedings—Fawcett as Host—A Bore Foiled—The British
Association

CHAPTER X. THE YOUNG ECONOMIST 94

Championing Darwin—Darwin at Down—Salisbury gossip—Meeting
Mill—Fawcett for Lincoln and the Union—John Bright’s Dog—Chair
of Political Economy

THE PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL ECONOMY

CHAPTER XI. A PROGRAMME OF HELPFULNESS 111

Triumphing over Blindness—The Professor’s Audience—Free Trade
and Protection—The Luxury of Light—The Malady of Poverty

CHAPTER XII. THE SCHOOLS OF THE POOR 119

Need of non-secular Education—Charity and Pauperism—Friendship
with Working-Men—The Voice that Linked

CHAPTER XIII. THE NEW M.P. AND THE CLUB 127

Thackeray and the Reform Club—The Popular M.P.—The Assassination
of Lincoln—Marriage

CHAPTER XIV. THE WOMAN AND THE VOTE 135

The Home in London—Sympathy with Woman Suffrage—The Blind
Gardener—Clubs—Hatred of Flunkeyism

THE NEW M.P.

CHAPTER XV. BLIND SUPERSTITIONS 143

Speech before the British Association—Mill again—Bright and Lord
Brougham—The Mythical Committee Room—Defeat at Southwark

CHAPTER XVI. PURE POLITICS 151

Defeat at Cambridge and Brighton—Routing a Chimæra—Elected the
Member for Brighton—The House of Commons

CHAPTER XVII. A PROPHETIC QUESTION IN PARLIAMENT 162

The Blind and Silent M.P.—His First Speech—Protecting Cattle,
neglecting Children—Industry earns Penury—Mill ‘out’

CHAPTER XVIII. GLADSTONE PRIME MINISTER 173

Opposition to Gladstone—‘The Most Thorough Radical Member in the
House’—Growing Dissatisfaction with the Government—The Irish
Universities Bill—Helping to Defeat his own Party

SAVING THE PEOPLE’s PLAYGROUNDS

CHAPTER XIX. THE STOLEN COMMONS 185

The Disappearance of the English Playgrounds and
Commons—Fawcett’s First Protest—The Annual Enclosure Bill
stopped by his Energetic Action

CHAPTER XX. THE FIGHT FOR THE FOREST 194

The Commons Preservation Society—The Saving of Epping Forest—The
Queen’s Rights—The Lords of the Manors’ Rights.—The People’s
Rights

CHAPTER XXI. FOR THE PEOPLE’S WOODS AND STREAMS 203

Saving the Forests—‘The Monstrous Notion’—Walking with Lord
Morley—The Boat Race—Safeguarding the Rivers

THE MEMBER FOR INDIA

CHAPTER XXII. WHAT INDIA PAID 217

India Pays for English Hospitality—Royal English Generosity to
India paid for by India—How to Deal with an Angry
Opponent—Indian Finance and the poor Ryot—Gratitude from
India—How Fawcett Prepared his Speeches

CHAPTER XXIII. THE ‘ONE MAN WHO CARED FOR INDIA’ 227

Defeated at Brighton—Spectacles and the Man—Elected for Hackney

CHAPTER XXIV. FAMINE, TURKS AND INDIANS 234

_Punch_ and Fawcett—The Indian Famine—Parliamentary Interest
Aroused in India—Bulgarian Atrocities—Afghanistan
War—Gladstone’s Faith in Fawcett—A £9,000,000 Mistake

A NEW KIND OF POSTMASTER-GENERAL

CHAPTER XXV. LIBERALS IN POWER 249

General Expectation that Fawcett would join the
Cabinet—Importance of a Fish—Postmaster-General—Queen Victoria
Interested—Post Office Problems—Scientific Business Management
Anticipated—Women’s Work—A Likeness to Lincoln

CHAPTER XXVI. FRESH AIR, BLUE RIBBONS AND POSTMEN 262

A Day with the Postmaster-General—How he Worked—Reform—The
Parcel Post

CHAPTER XXVII. THE PENNIES OF THE POOR 275

Cheap Postal Orders—Savings Bank—Life Insurance—Two Post Office
Pamphlets to Help the People—Cheap Telegrams—Telephones—‘The
Man for the Post’—‘Words are Silver, Silence is Gold’

A TRIUMPHANT END

CHAPTER XXVIII. AT HOME AND AT COURT 287

Appreciating Opponents—Hackney Address—Proportional
Representation—Justice for Women—A State Concert—Humble
Friendships—Pigs—Salisbury again

CHAPTER XXIX. A GRAVE ILLNESS 300

Illness—Convalescence—Musical Discrimination

CHAPTER XXX. AMONG THE BLIND 306

A Leader of the Blind—Honours—His Last Speech

CHAPTER XXXI. LIGHT 311

The Passing—The People Grieve—Sorrow in Parliament—The Nation’s
Loss—Letters from Queen Victoria, the Prince of Wales (the
late King Edward) and Gladstone—The Railroad Men’s Tribute—The
Significance of his Life—India’s Loss—Fawcett’s Message

HENRY FAWCETT, FROM ‘PUNCH’ 327