“From their unjust cause we draw fresh justice: from their defeats we derive our conquest. Without them we might have forgotten what we were and what we are! We thank and praise Thee, O God, that through these our enemies we have found our best friends—Ourselves!”
RECRUITING SPEECH
(Delivered in the De Montfort Hall, Leicester)
In the De Montfort Hall, Leicester, at the conclusion of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Lecture on the Great War, Miss Marie Corelli, who presided as Chairman, made an appeal for recruits in the following terms:—
“There is very little for me or for any one to say, after what we have heard to-night. The moving and magnificent panorama which Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has brought before our eyes by the force of his eloquence should inspire us more to deeds than words. He has told us what our men have already done; he has hinted at what they have yet to do. This fearful war is not a game at football; we cannot play at it, or put it aside as something to be thought of casually after we have consulted our own humour and convenience. It is a time of self-sacrifice; we owe the best of all we have to our country. We must give, not only ourselves, but those we love to the country’s service. In these fortunate islands, mercifully protected by the sea, we have not as yet experienced the horrors of invasion; but invasion may come, and will come if we are not prepared, alert, and watchful! We must grudge nothing to prevent such disaster. We must put aside our own concerns entirely, and think of what this Great War means. It means wider freedom for the whole world! It means an end to the tyranny and savagery of Prussian militarism; it means greater progress and broader civilisation. And being such a war, every man should be proud and eager to bear his part in it. Any man, physically “fit” who hesitates or hangs back at such a crucial moment in his country’s hour of trial is a coward! And any woman who holds him back is also a coward, and a selfish one! We love our men—yes!—but love is not true love if it hinders a man from doing his duty. There is danger—there is chance of death on the field of battle; but death comes to all of us sooner or later; and we may question whether it is not better to pass away gloriously with honour, than to creep languidly out of existence in bed, surrounded by physic bottles. A soldier must face all possibilities, and a brave man must be willing to risk the worst for the chance of winning the best. As Shakespeare tells us,—
“‘Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant only taste of death but once.’
“There is urgent necessity for every able man (who is not employed in turning out munitions of war) to join the colours—and if he is a man at all, he should have no hesitation. After such a moving history as that told us by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is there a ‘fit’ man here who is not willing and eager to join his brothers-in-arms, and do his best to make their task easier? Is there a man whose work lies, not abroad, but at home in the making of shells and ammunition, that would grudge a single hour of labour for his country in such urgent need? If there is, he must be of bad blood and not a true-born Briton!
“If I had the right, the eloquence or the power to plead with you, I would ask every man here present who can join the colours, but who has not done so, to do it now! And I would also ask every man whose skill and strength are needed for the manufacture of war material, to work steadily, cheerfully, and ungrudgingly, in the full consciousness that by urging on the necessary output he is helping to save hundreds of the lives of his countrymen. He, the worker, is as necessary to the Empire as the soldier; he also is fighting the King’s enemies.