After Golden Head in 1889, The Town in 1890 written in France, and a second version written in China 1897. The Golden Head is the drama of a man alone with his own nothingness; The Town is that of the Commonwealth of Men. Not the entire population is brought on to the stage as a really sophisticated modem would attempt or would pretend, but four men and one woman come forward, and behind them is the murmur of the masses.

Lambert de Besme is a political Boss. To him you turn when things come to a head, for he knows the magic formulae which quieten the crowd, and can give pleasant names to the behaviour of the herd. Yet he is not happy: after wasting his life in futile fuss he feels his soul awaking: stricken in years, he has not known the love of woman; this way, his world will fall to dust, he will seek shelter with the dead, will hug the dust before he is one with it; nay, the champion of the settled order will voice the vengeance of the oppressed.