All in a garden fair; the simple story of three boys ... - University Library

202 ALL LV A GARDEN FAIR,
adds up all the day long, one is reminded of
the prisoners who carry the shot. The reader
of Lempriere, or any other person of classical
tastes, may also consider the labours of Sisyphus.
Allen felt all day long like the man with the
heavy shot. His labours led to nothing and
were of no importance to him. He would
have been walking in the Forest alone, or
reading wuth Claire, or meditating some great
design. His mind was filled with books. As
yet he w^as able to give his daily work sufficient
attention, but he felt as if the burden was every
day becoming greater.
Now I suppose that no one will believe
a thing, however, perfectly true—that neither
of these lads had ever been to a theatre, or a
picture gallery, or a museum, or a concert, or
on opera, or a collection of Art of any kind.
To realise the possibility of such destitution
you have to comprehend the East End, which
is, to those of us who live in tlie West, abso-
lutely incomprehensible. It is like a theologi-
cal dogma : it is beyond man's reason. You