David Herbert Lawrence

Touch and Go David Herbert Lawrence

WILLIE HOUGHTON. What's the matter with you folks, as I've told you before, and as Ishall keep on telling you every now and again, though it doesn't make a bit of difference, isthat you've got no idea of freedom whatsoever. I've lived in this blessed place for fiftyyears, and I've never seen the spark of an idea, nor of any response to an idea, come out of asingle one of you, all the time. I don't know what it is with colliers-whether it's spendingso much time in the bowels of the earth-but they never seem to be able to get theirthoughts above their bellies. If you've got plenty to eat and drink, and a bit over to keep themissis quiet, you're satisfied. I never saw such a satisfied bloomin' lot in my life as youBarlow & Wasall's men are, really. Of course you can growse as well as anybody, and you dogrowse. But you don't do anything else. You're stuck in a sort of mud of contentment, andyou feel yourselves sinking, but you make no efforts to get out. You bleat a bit, like sheep ina bog-but you like it, you know. You like sinking in-you don't have to stand on your ownfeet then. I'll tell you what'll happen to you chaps. I'll give you a little picture of what you'll be likein the future. Barlow & Walsall's 'll make a number of compounds, such as they keepniggers in in South Africa, and there you'll be kept. And every one of you'll have a littlebrass collar round his neck, with a number on it. You won't have names any more. Andyou'll go from the compound to the pit, and from the pit back again to the compound. Youwon't be allowed to go outside the gates, except at week-ends. They'll let you go home toyour wives on Saturday nights, to stop over Sunday. But you'll have to be in again by halfpast nine on Sunday night; and if you're late, you'll have your next week-end knocked off. And there you'll be-and you'll be quite happy. They'll give you plenty to eat, and a can ofbeer a day, and a bit of bacca-and they'll provide dominoes and skittles for you to playwith. And you'll be the most contented set of men alive.-But you won't be men. You won'teven be animals. You'll go from number one to number three thousand, a lot of numberedslaves-a new sort of slaves--VOICE. An' wheer shall thee be, Willie?WILLIE. Oh, I shall be outside the palings, laughing at you. I shall have to laugh, becauseit'll be your own faults. You'll have nobody but yourself to thank for it. You don't WANT tobe men. You'd rather NOT be free-much rather. You're like those people spoken of inShakespeare: "Oh, how eager these men are to be slaves!" I believe it's Shakespeare-or theBible-one or the other-it mostly is--ANABEL WRATH (she was passing to church). It was Tiberius.