come ere. You ve tyken some poor man s break
fast ere this morning, that s wot you ve done."

Which was a lie, for every mother s son of us
had come in.

Now I submit, was this Christian-like, or even
honest ? after I had plainly stated that I was
homeless and hungry, and that I wished to look
for work, for him to call my looking for work
business, to call me therefore a business man,
and to draw the corollary that a man of business,
and well off, did not require a charity breakfast, and
that by taking a charity breakfast I had robbed
some hungry waif who was not a man of business.

I kept my temper, but I went over the facts
again and clearly and concisely demonstrated to
him how unjust he was and how he had perverted
the facts. As I manifested no signs of backing
down (and I am sure my eyes were beginning to
snap), he led me to the rear of the building, where,
in an open court, stood a tent. In the same sneer
ing tone he informed a couple of privates standing
there that " ere is a fellow that as business an e
wants to go before services."

They were duly shocked, of course, and they
looked unutterable horror while he went into the
tent and brought out the major. Still in the same
sneering manner, laying particular stress on the
business, he brought my case before the com-

[[135]]

p134 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p135w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p136

v?