The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-01-22 00:00:00

Cke ctottrt)agt Oberittr.

SATURDAY. JANG:I/V

WINTER

AFTER havthg delayed its attank, winter h.:
swept down upon the land with unusual severity.
From le coaits of the Mediterranean as weli as
from the shores of the Baltic, and from the
Danube as well as from the Volga, the same
story has during the past few days been borne
across Europe. Even in oar own English
rivers, which flow out to meet the sea under the
genial influence of a teniperate &invite, masses
of ice have floated up and down the streams with
every-tide, wrapped in a mantle of snew, and
fast tuund in a grip of ice, the land has cxneri-
enced a piercing atmosphere such as does not
-,fttu find its way across thew: islands It has
been well said that in England almost every
variety of climate is to be found. Scm.letime3in
summer the heat exceeds that of Calcutta (1.
_Bombay ; whi;e the cold i the Inirrhilo of this
present month of 'January W 33 at least equl to
that of a Canadian witit.q.. It is our misfortune
that the a'rernations of heat and cold :430u1d bø
of such an extreme character.

A sharp season of frost has, no dout, many
positive advanteßes. For tlist, who Ili', youtig
and heahliy and full of life it affords opportunity
for an infinite variety of out door f.xera,c.
There is skati,,g. which of late years has become
a recognized accolipisbrnent for larlies ; anti
there are sleighiog and wil,t-fo.vl shooting, and
fishing for those who care to e:.pture lime pik,
and perch at the risk of frezing their lingers;
and for the young Asere are sliding and snow-
balling. Then, too, frosty weather makes a sort
of enforced holid,y which indirectly does good
to all of us. The cold makes people torpid and
.ii.sposes them to curl themselves up like dormice,
and steep tranquilly it' oblivion of the past and
indifference to the future. Many go to lied
early and rise late ; and the brain of the man
who is worried with professional or business
cares recovers itself from a long and weary strain
which may have lasted for months. We are
, inclined to feel hospitable and cheerily-disposed,
a-d generally to act as if a sharp wintbr were a
time at which the wicked cease from troubling
and the weary are at res. This half-genial,
half-lazy attitude of wind is ,not without i:s
physiological interest. It is perfectly possible
for those who enjoy vigorous health and strength
to take several exercises in such hard weather.
The air is parer, and it is impossible to feel ii-y•
thing like languor when the themometer is below
freezing point; and it is only to watch the
' delight of the skater engaged in his favourite
recreation to be assured of the exhilarating
influence of such weather. -
There is, however, another side to this
pleasant picture. A month of weather such as
that of inid•January, 1881, inflicts untold agony.
upon the old, the infirm, and the sickly. Rheu-
matism‘und sciatica are aggravated; neuralgia
' and tooth-ache repeat their attack. Sharp frost,
is a severe trial to the aged. If aft.:r a cl•-i•ir
week of good skating, the ohitnary notices :u he
newspapers are consulteo, it will be found that
aged ladies and gentlemen, who with a temper-
ate winter might have well lived throngh
another year, have dropped off suddenly lA,.
rotten twigs. Children suff-r even more. The
system of an infant or young chiitt is iiiiideqUite
to provide a sufficient supply of meat for its ova
positive requirements. The children of wz,,,e,-0..
or prosperous parents sleep under ill:my bin
kets, with fires in their bedrooms, with wii.eiow
and doors that let in no pitiless druigei . son
w . ith other such minor comforts. 1:1t tn. ail

Tlren of the poor, scantily-eothed, half starverl,
ill-housed, and constitutionally weak, die off iu
a sharp period of frost, much as butterfli'
appear and leaves fall when autumn first. be ~14i.
Wieteryin a werd, for the great built of he
population, is a time of want and suffering.
There is little work, if any, to be done, wages
are low, aud men are out of. employment. A
fire 'has to be kept up. This is a s.;:ail item
wilt') the familylincowe is reekoned by hundreds
but it becomes a serious matter when coals have
risen in price, and when every penny in the
day's expenditure has to b.) considered. Were
we to realise these facts in their full force, we
might be disposed to lay aside somewhat of
that sentiment with which Christmas is invested
and to ask ourselves whether we can do any-
thing to mitigate the existin; suffering. Hard
sharp weather is a jovial thee for the young,
the strong, and the hearty ; let for the t,ld,
the infirm, and the sickly it means death. For
the poo." and the needy it is a time of bitter
privation and hardship, which it is the pleasure
as well as the duty of the well-to do and the
prosperous to alleviate.