Sidney bore it, from this day beginning a course of
self-discipline of which not many are capable at any age, and very
few indeed at seventeen. Still, there had never been any sympathy
between him and his uncle, and before very long the young man saw
his way to live under another roof and find work with a new
employer.
It was just after leaving his uncle's house that Sidney came to know
John Hewett; the circumstances which fostered their friendship were
such as threw strong light on the characters of both. Sidney had
taken a room in Islington, and two rooms on the floor beneath him
were tenanted by a man who was a widower and had two children. In
those days, our young friend found much satisfaction in spending his
Sunday evenings on Clerkenwell Green, where fervent, if
ungrammatical, oratory was to be heard, and participation in debate
was open to all whom the spirit moved. One whom the spirit did very
frequently move was Sidney's fellow-lodger; he had no gift of
expression whatever, but his brief, stammering protests against this
or that social wrong had such an honest, indeed such a pathetic
sound, that Sidney took an opportunity of walking home with him and
converting neighbourship into friendly acquaintance.
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