The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1844-02-02
NO. SO.

Pots III Tie "!HHuW III Wblch me gerani-'
um flourished. The whole wore an air Of
, neainess virtue always found among the
English, where extreme poverty does not
4 forbid, 4! the sight of shilling, she
called in neighhor 10 take her place,
and set out as my guide among ihe other
cottages. We entered nne in Succession,
where | beheld the same Indebtedness
and modes Of life that prevailed in Sum
merseishire, differing only in the quality
of food which was here cheaper aud con-
sisted partly Of fish.
In one Of them were three Children,
daughter, eighteen, and two small girls
under ten years Of age lheir mother W as
dead. The father presently entered FROM
his labor in the fields. He was small
man, as most Of the English aborers are.
His features were swartIly and wiIered,
for he was near sixty; lis hands wcre
hard and fingers much contracted; he
wore knee breechcs of fustian, patched
and wore sleek with dir, and grease; n
sort Of CATERS that covered his legs shoes
Of untanned leather with thick solcs, stud
ded with projecting males that left their
Impression as he walked a jacket of
coarse woolen fabric much ,aitered at
the elbows and sleeves; shirt Of cati:o,
a strip of checked handkerchief about lis
neck, and small fat round hat; lis
whole apparel as well as complexion
were colored with the red earth in which
he had been at work.
His food was ready at l2 o'clock. He
ate. seated Oh stool upon the hearth,
with white plate on his lap, on which
we're poatoes and two ounces Of bacon.
His children stood by the side Of board
table, and dined upon bread and the cole
werls that had been boiled with the bacon.
His wages were seven shilling Il week,
out of which lie paid cottage rent. He
said he could not ''aiIord meat for his
children, nor for himself every day -
t"t!at he took it all to himself thai he
might have the strength to work"
The eldest daughter wore shoes, bu.
was meanIy dressed; the others were
barefoot and in rags. The whole lulni.
lure in the house, including cookingu,rn.
sis, would not have sold for twenty shn.
ings.
There were other cottages in which
still greater wretchcdncss was visable,
and Others again, in somewhat better con-
dillon; this may be regarded as an aver
age specimen of the whole.
| passed several days five miles from
Exeter, at the beautiful manlion of Mr..
-, who derives his income from a sa-
gar estate in South America. | was re-
ceived with the most liberal and cnlicht-
ened hospitality, and when my object
was made known, was accompanied bv
his excellent and accomplished lady on !;
visit tono less than fifteen cottages in the
immediate neighborhood. The first we
entered was comfortable and altogether
neat; but there were no children to feed,
and | soon discovered that the inmate was
indebted 10 the bounty Of MIS-. - fox
both food and clathiOg. Then next was IN
habiied by widower, an inirn old man.
whorerclyed only five shhings week. He
was an object o.! public as well as private
charity. lie could neither read nor write,
His children were dirty and halfnaked, and
though II was November, he was without
fuel or fire. The upper apartment, which
approached by sort of Ladder, contain
ed Two IiI'hy beds of chat, in such u con-
dlJon, that the stencil drove me back as I
opened The door.
We next visited line of cottages that
stood Immediately ON the mareln Of
little stream that had ovcrnuwed lis banks
and deposited mud on the floors 9th
houses. In one Of them was a mother
who had ust been delivered Of child.
Her feet were raised on BLOCK To protect
them iiom the wet, aud The char in which
she sat was the only article ofGrnture in
the apartment The linen and garments
about the child were furnished 10 her by
Mrs. -.
Here | learnt from this good lady,
that at the birth of every child among the
laborers. she sent the mother pair of
sheets, change OF clothes, and two suits
for the inlanI--io be retained for one
month, then to be clGauscd and returned
IN bag, ready for other similar occa-
slons. This custom. which found af-
forwards to prevail in lseworh and other
parts Of England, bespeaks at once the
charity Of the rich and The frighliul des,i.
tuition of the poor.
She communicated many particulars
concerning the coalition Of the laborcrs
on hes own extensive grounds aud in the
neighboring country, affirming, from her