Sentinel of the valley. [volume] (Woodstock, Va) 1841-1848, 1845-03-27
hair was knotted and entangled with

!, hair was knotted and entangled vii
k filth; their features wore an impressio
It of idiocy, and their inhamed eyes wei
o too sensitive forthe light ofthe alread
d declining sun. The feet of the eide.
y were red and chapped by the cold, res
a ting fiat upon the pavement, the hollo'
/ or palm of the foot having wholly dis
e appeared. | inquired the cause; tn
I father said, she was obliged to stan
all day in the factory where she work
l ed, that she never wore shoes, and thu
many other children had feet as flat a
; hers. The limbs of the younges
, We're misshapen; the stomarch prefer
naturally distended, as was her mouth
and so stupid that / could not obtain al
Ineligible word from her. I gave then
a trihe, whereupon they renewed thei
song and went their way.
They were followed by a young man
apparently twenty years of age, almos
naked, with his hands thrust in hi.
ltrowsers, and a paper on the crown o
his hat, on which was written, q an
starving l told him to go to work
he replied he could get none; that ihe
mill in which he was employed hac
stopped.
The number Of sufferers soon became
too great for detail. My attention was
particularly arrested by little girl ten
years old, who stood near cellar door,
with box of matches in her hand,
whiche she had constantly extended.
Her naked feet were half buried in mud
and snow; her garments a tissue OF
rags blown aside by the winds, expos
ing her infantine limbs to the rain as it
fell. Her features were stained with
dirt, stiff with cold, and frightfuliy de-
formed by endurance too great for her
tender years. Great as were her suffer-
ings, she did not complain or shed a
tear. Have you a mothers' She turned
towards the cellar; l entered, full of re-
sentiment against the unnatural parent
what revolution came over me at the
sight Of this abode of misery! l pur-
chased my right of enterance with mo-
ney, the St. Peters key that unlocks
every door. The apartment was some
fifteen feet square; the filth heaped up
on the floor concealed the material BE-
meath the damp, decayed walls. were
of a dingy hue; the chimney, the recep-
tacle of every uncean thing, not of fire,
for there seemed no means of cooking
food. The sour, sickeniug vapor that
loaded the air, drove me back to the
first step of the door, where the mother
sat mending a dirty coyerlet, upon
which she sewed patches of different
co'ors. She was without shoes, wore
a tattered cloak about her shoulders,
a black filthy handkerchief over her
ears, which she tied under the chin
Eslading that shpt ogt 1he light from
the poor woman's labors, ! again adj
vanced into the interior. is that your
child at the door?' Yes, your honor. ,
sShe will perish with cold 4 cannot
help it, Does she get anything by
standing there?' yes, people somtimes
gives her penny, that helps keep US
alive Have you other children -
She pointed to a corner where were 4
lying on straw, covered with a new
] blanket, which She said was bought
with money given to the poor. One
of them was an infant six months Of
age, another eighteen; little girl II
years old, and boy 10. She said she
made them lie in bed, as she had nc
fire; besides, they could do 'bettel
without eating s
The eyes of the little girl We're much
inhamed: asked the cause;-she sale
| the children that worked in the cottol
mills always had sore eyes. That he
son was sick, and her daughter hae
been out of employment three days
that her husband was a stocking wea
yer, and had gone in search of work
that her family was fed at a soup kit
chen, where she went every day TO
her share. s1a %
Il In another corner of the cellar, lay
stretched on sort of litter, ma
: whose pale features and sunken jaw
announced the near approach of death
On his body was blanket, too shor
: to cover his naked feet, that extende
E beyond the bed. His wife spoke c
e him with Indifference; said that the
!, had been married three weeks; that h
t had taken bad cold and could nc
S Hive. 'a sa3 q A&
e Conjugal and parental affection hav
( but feeble hold Of the wretched poo
: Want separates the husband from
j. wife whom he cannot maintain, and IN
IS starving father snatches the bread fro'
It the mouths of his helpless, unresistln
ir offspring: all distinction of right an