Part 36 (2/2)

13. To abolish War men must remove its cause.

Therefore let the site-rental of England (i.e., the excess of English goods over what English goods would be, if no other country existed) be handed over to a World Council; and the site-rental of America to the same; and the World Council shall disburse such funds for the majesty and joy of Man: and War shall terminate.

14. This way the Lord of the Sea indicates to the world, though with its initiation he is not personally concerned.

15. Beside the small violation of the Fundamental Principle of Society, there is a great on the earth.

16. The Great Violation consists in the claim by individuals to have taken, without having moved, sites and soils called ”estates”, ”domains”, ”plots”: for, as rent tends to rightness when paid to the fifty millions of a nation, _fifty-millionfold_ is its wrongness when paid to one; and as rent is right when paid to the thousand million inhabitants of a planet, _a thousand-millionfold_ is its wrongness when paid to one.

17. For this Great Violation of the Fundamental Principle of Society Nature has sent upon Man great penalties: poverties, frenzies, depravities, horrors, sorrows, lowness, dulness.

18. Lowness, dulness: for by far the greatest of these penalties is a restraint on Man's development. Man is an animal, Man is a mind: and since the wing of mind is Pride, a.s.surance, or Self-esteem, and since the home of an animal is a Planet, and an animal without a home is a thing without a.s.surance or Pride, so Man without Earth is a mind without wing. Even so, a few, having a.s.surance, make what we call ”Progress”, i.e., the discovering of truth--a crawling which might become flight, had all minds but the wing of Pride to co-operate in discovering truth.

But Man lacks a.s.surance and foothold, founded home and domain: his sole heritage, though he is neither fish nor fowl, being sea and air.

19. This is a great violation.

20. And with this great violation of the Fundamental Principle of Society the Lord of the Sea is personally concerned. In the name of Heaven and of Earth he urges upon the nations of men to amend it in the month of the promulgation of this Manifesto: and this summons he strengthens with a threat of his resentment.

As the Lord G.o.d Omnipotent reigneth, I will see to it.

RICHARD.

x.x.xIX

THE ”BOODAH'S” LOCK-UP

Three days after the Manifesto the marriage of Miss Stickney of New York with Lord Alfred Cowern was to take place, this having been put off owing to the _Kaiser_ tragedy; and so, on the day of the Manifesto, Baruch Frankl, the Jew, was crossing to a wedding which, even in the midst of great events, had stirred up a considerable rumour and sensation, since the American guests were to consist of the _coterie_ known as the ”Thirty-four”, all millionaires, while ”the cake” was to weigh three-quarters of a ton, each guest's grub to cost $500, and for that breakfast the Neva had been ravished for fish and Siamese crags for nests.

Frankl, however, was never destined to taste those five hundred dollar mouthfuls. It happened in this way: as the _Boodah's_ searchlights, destroyed in the battle, were not yet repaired, in the interval some lawless s.h.i.+ps took the chance on dark nights to skulk past with extinguished lights; now, the captain of Frankl's chartered steamer had that bright idea (being of adventurous turn), when night fell forty knots east of the _Boodah_, so he came to Frankl, and broached the scheme.

”Not for Joe”, was Frankl's answer: ”pay the Pirate his taxes and be done”.

”It could be worked as sweet as a nut, sir!” persisted the skipper, with a watering mind.

”Well, so long us _you_ take the risk, perhaps--but no, sir, I'd rather not”.

On which the skipper winked self-willed to himself, and, putting out nine miles from the _Boodah_ his three lights, went das.h.i.+ng past.

And the attempt would have succeeded, had it not been for the fact that the night was pitch-dark, and that _another_ s.h.i.+p was trying that very venture with extinguished lights. And these two s.h.i.+ps met, bow to bow, with such an energy of adventurous smartness, that both sharply sank.

The sea, however, being smooth, all hands were saved; and now, since the boats lay forlorn on the vast, with nothing but the _Boodah's_ swarm of moons to move to, for the _Boodah_ they started, while Frankl cast twinkling fingers to the sky, and cursed that night, as the oars with slow wash journeyed through turgid murk toward the very den of the devil.

When they reached the _Boodah_ they were conducted down to a police-court, and there s.h.i.+vered an hour in a dreary light, till three officials in peaked caps and frock-coats came, sat on a Bench, and, after hearing evidence, p.r.o.nounced sentence of seven months against the captains, and one against Frankl.

These were led away by police blue-jackets, and Frankl groaned through the night in a box as cold as the cells of Colmoor.

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