Delphi Complete Works of Jerome K. Jerome (Illustrated) (Series Four) (525 page)

“I commenced as a Radical. It was your Radical who was then the bogey of respectable society. The comic papers generally represented him as something between a half-starved Guy Fawkes and an extraordinary gorilla.

“I reformed. I became a true blue Conservative. I forget what converted me. It may have been the Liberal Press. (Laughter.) From Toryism I passed on naturally to Socialism, and joined the Fabians in company with Wells and Shaw.

“With them, I soon grew tired of Fabianism. Mr. Wells — or should it be Mr. Clissold — is now, I gather, an ardent believer in government by men of business.... While Mr. Shaw, from his latest utterances, would appear to be now a humble disciple of Mussolini, and I am saved only by a miracle from becoming a Liberal Member of Parliament.

“Still seeking my ideal, I might have joined the Labour Party, but that with the years there has come to me the reflection that the future of mankind does not depend upon any party, but upon natural laws, shaping us to their ends quite independently of governments and politics.”

This sums up very neatly J. K. J.’s attitude towards party politics. It is hardly to be wondered at that each policial party has claimed him as its own. In this respect he was something like Shakespeare. There is a difference of opinion among Shakespearian scholars as to his party leanings. Mr. Charles Whibley speaks of Shakespeare as being, like Aristophanes and all the greatest poets, “a sound Tory”. To Lord Morley he was a feudalist. To Swinburne he was something of a Socialist. Professor Dowden is not sure whether he was a Liberal or Conservative.

The fact is Shakespeare was superior to party or class prejudices. His nearest approach to a party cry was “A plague on both your houses”. He was too human, too universal in his sympathies, to be limited by the shibboleths of any party. The same may be said of Jerome. Strictly speaking he was not a party man. Politics interested him only in so far as they would improve the condition of the poor.

Jerome believed that there is no permanent greatness in a nation unless it is based upon the contentment and happiness of the great mass of people. The masses do not dwell in palaces and stately homes, but in humbler abodes, and unless legislation illuminates the homes of the people our system of government is yet imperfect.

His intense desire to help the poor had weighed upon his mind from youth up. It was impressed upon him by the memory of his own bitter struggles and sufferings in his early life. But his privations had not embittered him. On the contrary they made a saint of him. Such sufferings cause some men to be cynical, bitter, and enemies of society. Jerome’s heart and mind were too big to seek reprisals and to fan class warfare. There was no room in his great heart to hold the memory of a wrong. These things made him humble and sympathetic. They sanctified his life both during his struggles and when they were comparatively over.

Jerome was asked to write a foreword for a volume of “Dog Stories” by Zola, the distinguished French novelist, and others. He did so, and following the foreword are these lines:

“I know that the world, the great big world

Will never a moment stop

To see which dog may be in fault,

But will shout for the dog on the top;

But for me, I shall never pause to ask

Which dog may be in the right,

For my heart will beat, while it beats at all,

For the
under
dog in the fight.”

These lines may have been written by J. K. J. or they may not; there is nothing in the book to indicate their authorship. In any case they certainly express Jerome’s sentiments; but while his sympathies were always with the under dog it does not follow that he harboured antipathy towards the top dog. The characteristic of the top dog, as a rule, is capability, and J. K. J. possessed a full share of this. He was far too astute to regard a man as an enemy of the race merely because he has ability. Some people do this, particularly if the ability runs in the direction of employing labour; but Jerome often said to Coulson Kernahan that “he’d rather own a great commercial concern, honourably and conscientiously, and by his own labour and brains helping to keep the poor fellows in employment, than write a great classic.”

Jerome started out in life to achieve four ambitions, one of which was to become a Member of Parliament. The other three, as we have seen, were accomplished fairly early in life; but for the War it is almost certain he would have entered Parliament.

Jerome on Poetry

In 1919 Jerome was asked to contribute to an Anthology of Walsall Poetry, namely, a collection of poems by Walsall writers of the past two hundred years. He replied that he did not know why, but he had never written any verse. He stated that he seriously thought of trying his hand. He, however, wrote a foreword for the said volume. In this he traced the history of poetic utterance right back to the cradle of the human race, before the conventional language had been invented and men and women made themselves understood by signs and vocal sounds. The fore-word is too long to quote in full. Here is a brief extract:

Let those to whom the gift has been given, the poets of the world, the makers of pictures, the makers of music, the makers of runes, continue their work in quietness and confidence. Major or minor, greater or smaller, they are helping to make the world less ugly and less brutal. It may be that the true progress of the world lies with them, and less than we thought with the builders and chemists, the mechanics and the bankers. It may be that the things of the spirit are more important than the things of the body. If so, man’s future is the business of the poets.

Jerome Visits Walsall

In 1921 he was collecting material for what proved to be his last book, “My Life and Times”. He visited Walsall with the object of seeing again the house in which he was born and obtaining a photograph of it. He also wished to see his father’s old friend, Sir Edward Holden, then over ninety years of age. He was the guest of Councillor Brockhurst, J.P., and Mrs. Brockhurst. On their way to Sir Edward’s home he leaned upon his friend Arthur Brockhurst’s arm, and gave expression to thoughts which seemed always to be uppermost in his mind:

“The older I get,” he said, “the more insistent does the cry of suffering humanity become. All my life I have been trying to help. Now that I am less able to answer its call, owing to advancing years, the cry becomes more and more poignant and saddens me.”

After dinner they talked far into the night about old times. He was intensely interested in what Sir Edward told him about his father’s activities before he (J. K. J.) was born. How, many times, he drove Mr. Jerome, Sen., in a gig to the coal-pits at Norton Canes, and how he tried to persuade him not to invest his money in them, unfortunately to no purpose.

Besides spending some time at his birthplace, Jerome visited Wednesbury Road Church, which his father helped to build, and of which he was architect. He enjoyed a quiet and restful time, and on returning to London he wrote as follows:

189, Earl’s Court Road, S.W.5.

Sunday.

Dear Mrs. Brockhurst, Just a line to tell you that I got home safe and well after a comfortable journey.

My visit and your great kindness did me good, and I am feeling better than before I started on my visit to Walsall.

A thousand thanks and all best wishes. You, both of you, were so good to me. I shall always retain pleasant memories.

Yours ever sincerely, JEROME K. JEROME.

Entertained by the O.P. Club

On January 30th, 1927, a complimentary dinner was given in Jerome’s honour at the Hotel Cecil by the members of the O.P. Club. The club is composed of literary men, artists and musicians, and a large and distinguished company assembled. Sir Johnson Forbes-Robertson presided. In the course of his speech he said:

“Mr. Jerome is a great literary genius. He has taken his place amongst the best in literature.” Speaking of the play,
The Passing of the Third Floor Back,
Sir Johnson said: “I remember the afternoon Jerome read it to me and my wife. I saw my wife’s eyes fill with tears. My eyes, also, were wet. As a second title he called it
An Idle Fancy.
It was a noble fancy — a great fancy (applause), which had enormous influence on the people of this country and through the length and breadth of America. For seven years my wife and I played in that great play. It was a sort of new religion, and the beauty of it was, no religion was thrust upon the people. This man,” concluded the chairman, “is a genius, and I hope he will be able to impress the world with his beautiful character and fine ideals.”

Sir Charles Higham, president of the club, said:

“It would be difficult to find two men who started life with fewer advantages than Mr. Jerome and Sir Johnson Forbes-Robertson. They simply had to fight for success. Few men could have worked harder or with more determination, and possibly few had shed more tears in the course of their careers. They know now that there is nothing comparable with the joy which comes with a day’s work well done. God help those men who don’t try to do their best at their jobs, whether they work only eight hours a day or, as some of us have to do, eighteen hours a day.”

The Lord Chief Justice of England (Lord Hewart) related his interesting experiences when working with Mr. Jerome as a journalist. In the course of his reply Mr. Jerome said:

“My successes I never had any difficulty in explaining to myself (laughter), but I confess my failures always puzzled me — until one day there came to me an explanation, and I give it to-night for what it may be worth. It is that life is a gamble. Disappointments are part of the game. Without them life would be a poor thing.”

Honoured by His Native Town

Some months prior to the function just referred to, viz., in the summer of 1926, a movement was set on foot in Walsall to entertain Jerome at a complimentary dinner. The Mayor of the town, Councillor D. E. Parry, fell in with the suggestion, which developed into a proposal for presenting Mr. Jerome with the Freedom of the Borough. The Mayor piloted the proposition through the Town Council and secured an enthusiastic and unanimous vote in its favour.

The presentation ceremony, owing to the time required for making the casket, did not take place until Thursday, February 17th, 1927. This was “Jerome Day” in Walsall. Mr. Jerome afterwards said it was the greatest day in his life. Some of the works were closed for a period to enable their staffs to pay homage to their much-esteemed townsman.

A tablet had been placed upon the house in which Mr. Jerome was born recording the date of his birth. The streets were thronged as the Mayor (Councillor J. A. Leckie) and the Mayoress, accompanied by the Town Clerk (Mr. Herbert Lee), the Deputy Mayor, Mr. Jerome, his wife and daughter, Mr. W. W. Jacobs and many members of public bodies made their way to the birthplace for the purpose of witnessing the unveiling of the tablet.

The Mayor said: “In unveiling this artistic tablet which marks the birthplace of one of Walsall’s most eminent sons, I should like to say what special pleasure it gives me to do so, in the happy circumstances, that this tablet has been placed in its position during the lifetime and in the presence of him whom it commemorates. We are delighted to have Mr. Jerome K. Jerome with us to-day as a witness of what is in many respects a unique ceremony. For these tablets are usually erected after a man’s death. It is, therefore, a peculiar tribute that we are to-day paying to Mr. Jerome. It can no longer be said of Walsall, at any rate, that a prophet has no honour in his own country or among his own kindred, for here we have visible proof to the contrary.

“May this tablet, commemorating one who in spite of early struggles has risen to a high position by sheer ability and determination, be an inspiration to the youth of to-day and of the coming days to use their talents for the best and highest aims in life and an encouragement to all with high ideals to steadfastly pursue them, realizing that they are bound to receive their reward.”

The Knighthood of the People

The company then returned through the crowded streets to the Town Hall, which was densely packed with people, many having to stand. When the Mayor, accompanied by Mr. Jerome, W. W. Jacobs, the Town Clerk and the mace-bearers appeared on the platform they had a most vociferous reception. A choir of school children sang very beautifully two pieces which some time previously they sang before the Prince of Wales. Mr. Jerome then signed the Freeman’s Roll, and the Mayor declared him to be an Honorary Freeman of Walsall and presented him with the scroll and casket. The latter was unique in that it was made of leather beautifully ornamented, Walsall being noted the world over for its leather products, Mr. Jerome had expressed a wish that the casket should be in this material.

The Mayor in making the presentation referred to the town of Walsall as being one of the oldest in the country, having had a Mayor and governing body certainly since 1377, probably much earlier, and that the honour of its Freedom had always been jealously guarded. Mr. Jerome, he said, had shed lustre upon the old borough, and the town was proud to honour him by giving him the greatest distinction it was able to confer upon any citizen. He referred to the wonderful influence of Jerome’s mother as being immortal, also to his being blessed with a good wife who stood by his side and encouraged him in his early struggling days.