Under ordinary circumstances this would have augured well for the success of his appeal, for it showed that the public were at all events not apathetic.

On this particular occasion, however, Mr.O'Rourke would have been better pleased with a smaller audience.

The placards had shown him that something unpleasant was likely to occur, though they afforded no hint of the form which the unpleasantness would take.

When he rose to his feet he was greeted with the usual volley of cheers, and although some rude remarks about the Boers were made in the corners of the hall, they did not amount to anything like an organized attempt at interruption.

He began his speech cautiously, feeling the pulse of his audience, and plying them with the well-worn platitudes of the Nationalist platform.