VOL. 3.-No. 54.

NOTES ON PASSING EVENTS. PRINCE BISMARK has made his speech, set all Europe guessing as to what it might mean, had his Army Bill thrown out, and dissolved the Reichstadt, and now he is to have another by March; energetic work enough, but what does it all mean? First, one may suppose that he knows he is not going to live much longer, as he said, and that' wants to leave the German army still the tremendong anơipurpose of reaction which it has be unless it is systematicallso plain-spok

doubtles

WEEKLY; ONE PENNY.

T

By Leonard

HE records of English journalism can show nothing more remarkable or interesting-certainly nothing with more romantic associations than the story of William Morris's Commonweal. It is wonderful enough that Morris should ever have left the palace of the muses for the Socialist lecture-hall; still more is it so that he should have settled down for five years to the humdrum work of editing a Socialist weekly paper. But when one understands the tremendous individuality of the man and his fearless determination to follow to its logical issue what he held to be the truth, these methods are perceived to be the natural, nay, the only possible outcome of his own special line of thought.

The first number of the Commonweal appeared in February, 1885, and for a year the paper was issued every month. After that it was published weekly until November, 1890, when Morris resigned from its editorship. Commonweal was "the official journal of the Socialist League," an organization founded by Morris in 1884; and the same cause that broke up the League in 1890, namely, the growth of the Anarchist element, was also re

D. Abbott.

sponsible for Morris's resignation. The paper finally came to an ignominious end; for Mr. Nicoll, the Anarchist editor, who undertook its management after 1890, was consigned to jail on a charge of sedition.

William Morris announced in the first issue of the paper that the Commonweal had "one aim, the propagation of Socialism." It soon became evident, however, that from Morris's lips "Socialism" was to have a very wide significance. His first contribution to the journal was a poem of inimitable spirit and fire, to be sung "to the tune of John Brown." The opening stanza runs:

"What is this, the sound and rumor? What is this that all men hear,

Like the wind in hollow valleys when the storm is drawing near,

Like the rolling on of ocean in the eventide of fear?

'Tis the people marching on."

He followed this up by a serial poem in thirteen parts, entitled "The Pilgrims of Hope,"* which describes the awakening of two lovers to a sense

*The first two poems of "The Pilgrims of Hope," viz., "The Message of the March Wind" and "Mother and Son," also "Mine and Thine" and "A Death Song," have been reprinted in William Morris's "Poems by the Way."

of the social injustice around them, and their strenuous efforts to "set the crooked straight." This poem contains without doubt some of the finest work of William Morris's lifetime, and its vivid scenes, no longer taken from classical lore, nor from the great sagas of the North, but from the grim, sordid present, mark an important epoch in his poetry. Here is an extract from the fourth paper, telling of a meeting of the "Communist folk." It is of special interest, as Morris, in describing the lecturer, is obviously thinking of himself.

"My heart sank down as I entered, and wearily there I sat,

While the chairman strove to end his maunder of this and that,

And partly shy he seemed, and partly indeed ashamed

Of the grizzled man beside him, as his name to us he named.

And I followed from end to end, and triumph grew in my heart

As he called on each that heard him to arise and play his part

In the tale of the new told gospel, lest as slaves they should live and die."

In the sixth number of Commonweal appeared an interesting "Prologue spoken at an Entertainment of the Socialist League," in rhymed couplets, and in a later volume an exquisite little poem, "Mine and Thine," translated from the Flemish of the fourteenth century, and illustrating in a remarkable way the communism of these early people. Another strikingly powerful poem, "A "A Death Song," which was sung at the grave of Alfred Linnell, killed by the police in the Trafalgar Square riots of 1887, and was originally issued in pamphlet form "for the benefit of Linnell's orphans," also appeared in the pages of the Commonweal.

"What cometh here from east to west a-wending?

And who are these, the marchers stern

and slow?

We bear the message that the rich are sending

Aback to those who bade them wake and know.

Not one, not one, nor thousands must they slay,

But one and all, if they would dusk the day."

William Morris's prose contributions to the Commonweal were in many ways quite as notable as his poems. His two serials in the third and sixth volumes-"A Dream of John Ball" and "News from No

which Morris declares that the only blotch on the landscape is the poor, starved laborers: "The Worker's Share of Art" is a plea for the restoration of the mediæval spirit of craftsmanship and joyful work, in place of the hideous drudgery of modern factories; "The Society of the Future" is a specially interesting paper, in which Morris gives at length his social ideals. Under the title "Artist and Artisan," a poor workingman, "Jim Allman," writes with reference to the remuneration of artists and manual laborers, and his remarks are printed above an article by William Morris, criticising and, on the whole, supporting him. Three contributions from Morris are in the form of satirical dialogues, and these are very humorous. In addition to this mass of articles and poems, Morris also contributed all kinds of miscellaneous work in his editorial capacity, and in almost every number there were "Notes on Passing Events," "Political Notes," etc., signed either with initials or full

name.

It would be difficult to imagine a stranger literary partnership than that constituted by the editors and contributors who gave their services in behalf of the Commonweal. During the first year William Morris was joint editor with the late Dr. Aveling, son-in-law of Karl Marx, whose cold articles on "Scientific Socialism," illustrated by algebraic formulæ, appeared side by side with Morris's passionate poems. It is not surprising that the two editors fell out after a year together, and Dr. Aveling gave place to William Morris's future son-in-law, H. Halli

OF BOTH COUNTRIES

day Sparling. Mr. Sparling is a devoted disciple of William Morris, and his frequent contributions bore the strong impress of the poet's influence. He wrote for the paper for some years, and when he gave place to David Nicoll, and later to Frank Kitz, the Commonweal began to show marked degeneration. Both the last named were workingmen with a good deal of rude power, and all their contributions were characterized by a strong diction which frequently exceeded the bounds of good taste and which, indeed, as already mentioned, finally brought about Nicoll's imprisonment.

The literary side of the Commonweal was very strong, though often marred by extravagances. Space was set apart in every number for poems, and