earned a living by dint of incessant labour, brought up his family in an orderly way, and departed with a certain sense of satisfaction at having fulfilled obvious duties—­the only result of life for which he could reasonably look.  With his children we shall have to make closer acquaintance; but before doing so, in order to understand their position and follow with intelligence their several stories, it will be necessary to enter a little upon the subject of ancestry.

Joseph Mutimer’s father, Henry by name, was a somewhat remarkable personage.  He grew to manhood in the first decade of our century, and wrought as a craftsman in a Midland town.  He had a brother, Richard, some ten years his junior, and the two were of such different types of character, each so pronounced in his kind, that, after vain attempts to get along together, they parted for good, heedless of each other henceforth, pursuing their sundered destinies.  Henry was by nature a political enthusiast, of insufficient ballast, careless of the main chance, of hot and ready tongue; the Chartist movement gave him opportunities of action which he used to the utmost, and he became a member of the so-called National Convention, established in Birmingham in 1839.  Already he had achieved prominence by being imprisoned as the leader of a torch-light procession, and this taste of martyrdom naturally sharpened his zeal.  He had married young, but only visited his family from time to time.  His wife for the most part earned her own living, and ultimately betook herself to London with her son Joseph, the single survivor of seven children.  Henry pursued his career of popular agitation, supporting himself in miscellaneous ways, writing his wife an affectionate letter once in six months, and making himself widely known as an uncompromising Radical of formidable powers.  Newspapers of that time mention his name frequently; he was always in hot water, and once or twice narrowly escaped transportation.  In 1842 he took active part in the riots of the Midland Counties, and at length was unfortunate enough to get his head broken.  He died in hospital before any relative could reach him.

Richard Mutimer regarded with detestation the principles to which Henry had sacrificed his life.  From childhood he was staid, earnest, and iron-willed; to whatsoever he put his hand, he did it thoroughly, and it was his pride to receive aid from no man.  Intensely practical, he early discerned the truth that a man’s first object must be to secure himself a competency, seeing that to one who lacks money the world is but a great debtors’ prison.  To make money, therefore, was his aim, and anything that interfered with the interests of commerce and industry from the capitalist’s point of view he deemed unmitigated evil.  When his brother Henry was leading processions and preaching the People’s Charter, Richard enrolled himself as a special constable, cursing the tumults which drew him from business, but determined,