THE FATE OF ICIODORUM. 193 
outside, a big, burly fellow, with a sledge-hammer 
fist and an unpleasant look in his eye. The mayor 
took one glance at him, and saw that he was not 
to be trifled with. Moreover, this one case was 
not to end the difficulty. The road from Clermont 
and the road across the mountains to Aurillac, the 
chief town of the next department, Cantal, were 
black with the advancing hosts of workmen coming 
to share the privileges which Issoire held out to 
the oppressed of every city. Through the win- 
dows of the Hétel de Ville the mayor could see 
them coming, and he knew that the demand of 
each one of them would be “boots.” It was not 
one pair of boots to be paid for, it was a thousand! 
There were boots enough in Issoire. The factories 
were never so prosperous, and the money they re- 
ceived from the city was kept in rapid circulation. 
The grocers got some, the butchers some, a good 
deal went to the landlady of the Golden Lion, and 
the wives of the factory-owners and the council- 
men bought diamond necklaces and bracelets to 
match the ear-rings which they had before. 
But this could not go on unless the city treasury 
could meet the demands upon it. In the words of 
a celebrated economist, “‘ The mill can never grind 
again with the water that is past,” and, unless new 
water could be procured, grinding was over at 
Issoire. The town must have money, or else the 
factories would be closed, the supply of boots 
cease, and each citizen of Issoire would have to 
keep the wolf from the door by his own unaided 
exertions. 
It was a great crisis; but such crises, “ God’s 
13 
