Southport telegraph. [volume] (Southport, W.T. [i.e. Kenosha, Wis.]) 1840-1850, 1844-12-10
Extremes of Splendor and Of Misery.
" Take phYsic. Pomp /;

Extremes of SplendOr and Of Misery.
"Take physic, Pomp:
Expose myself to feel what wretches feel,
That thou may'st shake the superfiux to them
And show the heavens more just
In a country calling itself frec-and
England preiends TO be free country
wealth should not be possessed in such ex-
cesses and disparisies. Contrast the enor-
nous splendor Of tste at Windsor with
some official reports respecting the state OF
the poor. Here is the description Of the
Queens dinner 10 the King of the French:
"The long table on which the dinner
was served was covered with magnificent,
cindlebra. epcrgnes, placed alternately
several of the former Of n circular form,
being filled with artificial flowers. A row
of candeleb:a with wax lights were placed
on each side; and beyond those al both
sides of the table were numerous vases,
wine coolers, and dishes Of the most ele-
CANT forms and designs. At each end Of
the hall were elev ted sideboarls Of equal
dimensions, containing n choice selection
tiom the numerous and valuable articles
Of plate in the royal treasury, remarkable
Tor excellence of workmanship, antiqui-
ty, or h storical interest. FIaxman's cele-
DRAFTED Shield of Achilles The Armada
Urn,' and some ancient sconces, were dis
played on she west sideboa-d and a large
shield sculptured in rich relief with the re-
presentation of battle, and tee Neptune
Epergne' richly embellished With marine
emblems, and .surmounted with statue of
the marine deity, were on tho east side
board. Numerous tankards, vases, shields.
and bulb cups, richly chased, we're tasteful
ly arranged on a background of crimson,
and were very brilliantly illuminated with
candelebras, and sconccs Of silver gilt,
bearing wax lights. The Prince of Wales
epergne, crowded with his Royal High
ness's plume, was placed at this par; of the
table, between two other epergnes of great
beauty, sculpturcd in gold at the base, with
'danc ng fauns : those epergnes hid on Ell
Their side the 'Hesperd,s' candelebra."
There is something ridiculous in the
extreme in exposing the baby Prince of
Wales's feather in an epergne, on dinner
table and having looked at the one case
let us advert to some others. In the sani-
tory report made by the secretary Of the
poor law commissioners, one Of the inves-
tigators into the condition OF the poor says
that, in the counties Of England, 2i,577
persons have died in one year, in houses
that waited draining and roofing. Those
who died Of other causes make the ' hole
obi uary amount to 81 1899 persons in one
year. One would suppose that this alone
world be sufficient to thin The population.
In England and Wales the deaths in
1888 were 2o2 94O, excluding deaths by
violence, by suicide or other causes, which
the parliamentary and parish papers do not
specify. In 1888, the deaths amounted TO
81 per thousand Mos, Of them had taken
place in swampy and unwholeson4e lorali-
ties. Mr.. Gilbert, one Of the poor law
inquirers, stated that no found the open
drains AMI sewers had Eeen the cause OF
malaria, and cons. quentlv Of death. In
this rich and beautiful country the poor Of
ten live in mud cottages. with ltle or no
roof, and with floors Of absolute mud A
Mr.. Fox, medical officer, says that the
poor were badly fed, badly clothed, and
consequently dirty. IL have" he remarks
"oflen seen the springs burs ing through
the mud floors Of some Of the cottages, and
Little channels cut from the centres, under
the doorways, to carry off the water,
whilst the do3r has been removed from its
hinges for the child en- TO put their feet on
in making b4ttons." The local gentry
and parochial authorities ought TO interfere
in these cases, which very sensibly and
quickly take the poor off our hands. In
one cottage, consisting only Of one room
measuring eighteen feet by ten and a half
feet high, one-third was Pcti'ioned off by
rough boards, and in this s,naiF space were
three beds, and six persons sleeping in
them, and the consequence was that iyph-
US fever did It's work, relieving the parish
of all further expenses than that Of paying
for Their funerals. In family OF six per-
sons, taken with the fatal disease Of typh-
US, the doctor found the mud floor of this
cottage was at least one foot below the
lane. 1t consisted Of but one room, the
ladder in the middle leading to a platform
where the patient slspt, and from this plat.
form boy, in a fl, Of delirium, threw
himself on the ground and was killed.
The report says the cottages in which
the typhrs fever broke out in Fliwick, and
TO which the dreadful disease was al,nos,
exclusively confined, were of the mos,
wre,ched description. or course neither
the Queen nor her husband, or their chill
dren, run any risk of catching typhus fe-
yer in the spacious, well ventilated rooms
Of Windsor Castle; but the villages do not
escape this terrible malady. In such towns
as Stafford, for instance, the poverty and
filth of the cottages are described as al
most beyond c:edibii,v. and diseases easus
from these causes. The very splendid en-
terta;nmen,s given TO the King OF the
French cost more than would be required
for beneftting vas, number of small
towns, which are every year the foci Of
fever. In one case. FIVE sisters were at
tackled with fever, from the malaria arising
from an uncovered drain. and they all died
In Liverpool, from ,hirty-fse TO forty
thousand persons live in cellars, always
damp and low, generally unpaved, and de-
void of sewers or drainage Throughout
Northumberland the case is. the same.