"In a couple of years," he says, " my lease ex
pires. My landlord is one of our kind. He has
not put up the rent on any of his houses here, and
this has enabled us to stay. But any day he may
sell, or any day he may die, which is the same thing
so far as we are concerned. The house is bought
by a money breeder, who builds a sweat shop on
the patch of ground at the rear where my grapevine
is, adds to the house, and rents it a room to a family.
There you are, and Johnny Upright s gone!"

And truly I saw Johnny Upright, and his good
wife and fair daughters, and frowzy slavey, like so
many ghosts, flitting eastward through the gloom,
the monster city roaring at their heels.

But Johnny Upright is not alone in his flitting.
Far, far out, on the fringe of the city, live the small
business men, little managers, and successful clerks.
Thev dwell in cottatres and semidetached villas,
with bits of flower garden, and elbow room, and
breathing space. They inflate themselves with pride
and throw chests when they contemplate the Abyss
from which they have escaped, and they thank God
that they are not as other men. And lo ! down
upon them comes Johnny Upright and the mon
ster city at his heels. Tenements spring up like
magic, gardens are built upon, villas are divided
and subdivided into many dwellings, and the black
night of London settles down in a greasy pall.

[[29]]

p028 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p029w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p030

v?