And he knew more about economics and sociology, I
firmly believe, than half the college professors. A truly
remarkable man.
It was an Italian restaurant, and I remember how, in my hunger, I
assailed the generous dishes of boiled meat and spaghetti. A red
wine was served in large bottles which circulated rapidly around
the table, and almost immediately the room began to fill with
tobacco smoke. Every one seemed to be talking and laughing at
once, in the liveliest spirit of good fellowship. They joked from
table to table, and sometimes the whole room would quiet down
while some one told a joke, which invariably wound up with a roar
of laughter.
"Why," I said, "these people have a whole life, a whole society,
of their own!"
In the midst of this jollity the clear voice of a girl rang out
with the first lines of a song. Instantly the room was hushed:
Arise, ye prisoners of starvation,
Arise, ye wretched of the earth,
For justice thunders condemnation
A better world's in birth.
These were the words she sang, and when the clear, sweet voice
died down the whole company, as though by a common impulse, arose
from their chairs, and joined in a great swelling chorus:
It is the final conflict,
Let each stand in his place,
The Brotherhood of Man
Shall be the human race.
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