strove to assert himself above the hum of agreement that mounted from
the foreign contingent, and the doubtful sort of grumble by which the
Britisher signifies his disapproval.

"Mr. Chairman! Gentlemen!" he cried in a loud voice. "I call upon those
loyal subjects of her Majesty who are present here, to join with me in
giving three cheers for the British flag. Hip, hip, hurrah! And, again,
hip, hip, hurrah! And, once more, hip, hip, hurrah!"

His compatriots followed him, though flabbily; and he continued to make
himself heard above the shouts of "Order!" and the bimming of the
chairman's bell.

"Mr. Chairman! I appeal to you. Are we Britons to sit still and hear our
country's flag reviled?--that flag which has ensured us the very
liberty we are enjoying this evening. The gentleman who has been pleased
to slander it is not, I believe, a British citizen. Now, I put it to
him: is there another country on the face of the earth, that would allow
people of all nations to flock into a gold-bearing colony on terms of
perfect equality with its own subjects?--to flock in, take all they can
get, and then make off with it?" a point of view that elicited forcible
grunts of assent, which held their own against hoots and hisses.
Unfortunately the speaker did not stop here, but went on: "Gentlemen! Do
not, I implore you, allow yourselves to be led astray by a handful of
ungrateful foreigners, who have received nothing but benefits from our
Crown. What you need, gentlemen, is not revolution, but reform; not
strife and bloodshed, but a liberty consistent with law and order. And
this, gentlemen,----"

("You'll never get 'em like that, Dick," muttered Purdy.)