collection would now be taken up to defray the expenses
of the meeting, and for the benefit of the campaign fund of
the party. Jurgis heard; but he had not a penny to give,
and so his thoughts went elsewhere again.

He kept his eyes fixed on the orator, who sat in an arm~
chair, his head leaning on his hand and his attitude indi~
cating exhaustion. But suddenly he stood up again, and
Jurgis heard the chairman of the meeting saying that the
speaker would now answer any questions which the audi~
ence might care to put to him. The man came forward,
and someone -- a woman -- arose and asked about some
opinion the speaker had expressed concerning Tolstoy.
Jurgis had never heard of Tolstoy, and did not care any~
thing about him. Why should any one want to ask such
questions, after an address like that? The thing was not
to talk, but to do; the thing was to get hold of others and
rouse them, to organize them and prepare for the fight!

But still the discussion went on, in ordinary conversa~
tional tones, and it brought Jurgis back to the everyday
world. A few minutes ago he had felt like seizing the hand
of the beautiful lady by his side, and kissing it; he had
felt like flinging his arms about the neck of the man on
the other side of him. And now he began to realize again
that he was a "hobo," -- that he was ragged and dirty, and
smelt bad, and had no place to sleep that night!

And so, at last, when the meeting broke up, and the
audience started to leave, poor Jurgis was in an agony of
uncertainty. He had not thought of leaving -- he had
thought that the vision must last forever, that he had
found comrades and brothers. But now he would go out,
and the thing would fade away, and he would never be
able to find it again! He sat in his seat, frightened and
wondering; but others in the same row wanted to get out,
and so he had to stand up and move along. As he was
swept down the aisle he looked from one person to
another, wistfully; they were all excitedly discussing the
address -- but there was nobody who offered to discuss it
with him. He was near enough to the door to feel the
night air, when desperation seized him. He knew nothing

[[369]]

p368 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p369w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p370

v?