taken by surprise by the strike; it was the
last thing I should have expected to see in America. But there it was,
sure enough; and now that the boss had so unequivocally declared his
sentiments, the shop became the more demonstrative in the expression of
theirs. They were not going to be slaves for anybody; it was a free
country; they had a right to higher wages, and higher wages they would
have. The Britisher wasn't half a man; he was a sneak, who ought to have
stayed in his own tyrannical country; and much more to the same effect.
Consequently, on the day fixed, they just shewed themselves at the shop
for a few minutes after breakfast, and then went off in a body to a
great 'mass meeting,' called for the first day of the strike; and all
the while emigrants from Europe were pouring into the city at the rate
of ten or twelve hundred every week.

A first measure was to ascertain the numbers who had struck, how many
were recusants, and in what shops they were working, with a view to
devise means for procuring a total cessation of work in all the shops of
the city. Advertisements of the proceedings speedily appeared in the
daily papers, chiefly in those which, being sold at a cent apiece,
circulated most largely among the working population. The masters were
warned, that holding out on their part would be of little avail; and as
for the 'misguided men' who persisted in working, they were invited to
join the ranks of the insurgents, with promises of work at twelve
dollars a week, or the option of being stigmatised as unworthy members
of society. Compared with the 'turn-outs,' the number of those who
persisted in their labour was very small. As for myself, it seemed at
first uncommonly dull to hear only the noise of my own tools, or of the
apprentice's, echoing through the workshop. But the weather was fine; my
'job,' a 'secretary bookcase,' was one that I liked; and I kept on
without a single misgiving as to the propriety of my determination.

After a few days spent in debates and discussions, and adjustment of
differences between the old and new list of prices, deputations were
sent round to all shops where the men had not joined the strike, and,
among others, they visited me. For some reason--perhaps to avoid vexing
the boss--they would not come up stairs, and requested me to meet them
at the basement door. On going down, I saw some five or six
well-dressed, intelligent-looking men--not a rare sight among the
mechanics