He stood upreared against a background of the crowd under the balcony; he stamped when the applause died low; then it swelled again and again like great waves.

The Swede brandished his long arms, he shouted, others echoed him.

Even the women hallooed in a frenzy of applause, they clapped their hands, they stood up in their seats.

Only a few sat silent and contemptuous through all the enthusiasm.

Thomas Briggs, the manufacturer, was one of them.