The Card

The Card, A Story Of Adventure
In The Five
by Arnold Bennett

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Title: The Card, A Story Of Adventure In The Five Towns
Author: Arnold Bennett
Release Date: July 22, 2004 [EBook #12986]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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WORKS BY ARNOLD BENNETT
NOVELS
A MAN FROM THE NORTH ANNA OF THE FIVE TOWNS
LEONORA A GREAT MAN SACRED AND PROFANE LOVE
WHOM GOD HATH JOINED BURIED ALIVE THE OLD WIVES'
TALE THE GLIMPSE LILIAN MR. PROHACK LORD RAINGO
IMPERIAL PALACE HELEN WITH THE HIGH HAND THE PRICE
OF LOVE CLAYHANGER HILDA LESSWAYS THESE TWAIN
THE ROLL CALL THE CARD THE REGENT THE LION'S SHARE
THE PRETTY LADY RICEYMAN STEPS THE STRANGE
VANGUARD ACCIDENT
FANTASIAS
THE GRAND BABYLON HOTEL THE GATES OF WRATH
TERESA OF WATLING STREET THE LOOT OF CITIES HUGO
THE GHOST THE CITY OF PLEASURE
SHORT STORIES
THE NIGHT VISITOR TALES OF THE FIVE TOWNS THE
MATADOR OF THE FIVE TOWNS THE GRIM SMILE OF THE
FIVE TOWNS ELSIE AND THE CHILD THE WOMAN WHO
STOLE EVERYTHING
BELLES-LETTRES
JOURNALISM FOR WOMEN FAME AND FICTION HOW TO
BECOME AN AUTHOR THE TRUTH ABOUT AN AUTHOR
MENTAL EFFICIENCY HOW TO LIVE ON TWENTY-FOUR
HOURS A DAY THE HUMAN MACHINE LITERARY TASTE THE
FEAST OF ST. FRIEND HOW TO MAKE THE BEST OF LIFE THE
RELIGIOUS INTERREGNUM MARRIED LIFE THE AUTHOR'S
CRAFT LIBERTY OVER THERE BOOKS AND PERSONS SELF
AND SELF-MANAGEMENT THINGS THAT HAVE INTERESTED
ME THINGS THAT HAVE INTERESTED ME (Second Series)

THINGS THAT HAVE INTERESTED ME (Third Series) THE
SAVIOUR OF LIFE
DRAMA
POLITE FARCES CUPID AND COMMON SENSE WHAT THE
PUBLIC WANTS THE HONEYMOON THE LOVE MATCH DON
JUAN THE GREAT ADVENTURE THE TITLE JUDITH SACRED
AND PROFANE LOVE BODY AND SOUL THE BRIGHT ISLAND
MR. PROHACK
MISCELLANEOUS
THEIR UNITED STATE PARIS NIGHTS OUR WOMEN THE LOG
OF THE "VELSA" MEDITERRANEAN SCENES
* * * * *
(In Collaboration with EDEN PHILLPOTTS)
THE SINEWS OF WAR: A ROMANCE THE STATUE: A
ROMANCE
(In Collaboration with EDWARD KNOBLOCK)
MILESTONES LONDON LIFE

THE CARD
A STORY OF ADVENTURE IN THE FIVE TOWNS
BY
ARNOLD BENNETT
First Published (Crown 8vo), February 23rd, 1911
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN

CONTENTS
I. THE DANCE 7
II. THE WIDOW HULLINS'S HOUSE 27
III. THE PANTECHNICON 48
IV. WRECKING OF A LIFE 71
V. THE MERCANTILE MARINE 89
VI. HIS BURGLARY 112
VII. THE RESCUER OF DAMES 132
VIII. RAISING A WIGWAM 153
IX. THE GREAT NEWSPAPER WAR 177
X. HIS INFAMY 196
XI. IN THE ALPS 218
XII. THE SUPREME HONOUR 240

THE CARD
CHAPTER I
THE DANCE
I
Edward Henry Machin first saw the smoke on the 27th May 1867, in
Brougham Street, Bursley, the most ancient of the Five Towns.

Brougham Street runs down from St Luke's Square straight into the
Shropshire Union Canal, land consists partly of buildings known as
"potbanks" (until they come to be sold by auction, when auctioneers
describe them as "extensive earthenware manufactories") and partly of
cottages whose highest rent is four-and-six a week. In such
surroundings was an extraordinary man born. He was the only anxiety
of a widowed mother, who gained her livelihood and his by making up
"ladies' own materials" in ladies' own houses. Mrs Machin, however,
had a speciality apart from her vocation: she could wash flannel with
less shrinking than any other woman in the district, and she could wash
fine lace without ruining it; thus often she came to sew and remained to
wash. A somewhat gloomy woman; thin, with a tongue! But I liked her.
She saved a certain amount of time every day by addressing her son as
Denry, instead of Edward Henry.
Not intellectual, not industrious, Denry would have maintained the
average dignity of labour on a potbank had he not at the age of twelve
won a scholarship from the Board School to the Endowed School. He
owed his triumph to audacity rather than learning, and to chance rather
than design. On the second day of the examination he happened to
arrive in the examination-room ten minutes too soon for the afternoon
sitting. He wandered about the place exercising his curiosity, and
reached the master's desk. On the desk was a tabulated form with
names of candidates and the number of marks achieved by each in each
subject of the previous day. He had done badly