The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1909-05-16

AV0o
dives Instances Of tho way in which, ths,
regard tho workers. Ono old woman
.bAds farewell 70 the looum tenens ant
his wife at the end Of their years resi-
denos In these terms: Us be sorry you're
going. Us be getting used to co. Beini
experienced workers. they soceptsd these
compliments gratefully. A lady who's
family had worked hard In nsasn'
borhood for over thirty years said to me-
No, We do not understand the people
but I think they are beginning to under
stand us. They would not believe any
thing very bad against us entirely with.
out svtdeuoe.- Sine irms nj Inst inpo {
grim account Of the general neglect Of
and harshness toward the aged, who
need protection even more than the
children do.
In an article on The Pleasures Of ths
Poor the author begins with their low
for strong sensation, which makes them
read the newspapers. III there's . good
murder a woman told mo In South
London, every ones out with their
penny or their haffpenny. whether they
can afford it or whether they can't
and q respectable old person nearly treble
her age said frankly: I do enjoy . good
murder, especially when there's q long
trial after" If the scene Of the murder
is not In England men take comparatively
little interest In 1t, but women r more
cosmopolitan, and II 1t should be double
or treble, or peculiarly %strocious In
character. It will excite their attention
almost as much as II 1t wore In the next
street. Cautiously enough. an Ameri-
can murder creates very little excite
ment; there seems to be a damping under
current Of thought that perhaps it 10
only their fun She digresses soon to
other matters and tells some interesting
servant girl stories too long to quote.
with regard to employers Of all classes
an amount Of calumny finds
ready currency; how much Of 1t is really
believed by those who repeat 1t, or even
by those who originate It, II would be diff
cult to say. In one district, where men
and women alike readily threw up their
employment on the lishtest Of pretexts,
I asked an old inhabitant. Without a
character. how do they manage to get
fresh places 80 easily2' oh, they nevef
trouble about q character Of their own.
he replied. They take away their en-
ployer's instead In illustration she
tells a story OF "a little boy who at the
close Of q three weeks drought last sum-
mer was given a watering can, with which
he busted himself until bedtime. Wher
he awoke he heard q steady drip. drip
and In much d~ispleasure asked his nurse
Why is it rainine2' Because God sends
it. But why?' Because He thought We
needed it. 'H'm'm-thsn He can't have
seer me with my watering can yesterday
This story she thinks all workers among
the poor should take to heart.
Tho chapter IN prejudices is peculiarly
interesting. The author was struck
forcibly when beginning her nursing by
the facts that physical disgust at the
sight Of illness and ~unwilhngness tc
come into the slightest personal contac,
with a sufferer were not uncommon
This led to active cruelty on the par
Of some mon and to neglect and aversion
on the part Of tho m Any ssigr
of respect for the dead is valued more
than care and tenderness for the living
An instance Of . little girl is given who
had been treated with especial indulgence
and affection by the hospital nurses
In after years l often met the mother
She never referred to the kindness shown
her child whilo living. but never omitted
to make grateful mention Of the hothouss
flowers the nurses had bought to lay or
her coffin two deadly errors are
firmly held among the poor with regard
to the most common Of the infectious
fevers. Ono is that you are bound to
have en- and the other Ia that they are
Of little consequence Then the author
turns from prejudices to strong criticisms
Of enforced school attendance. to religious
tests and other matters.
There is a mine Of information about
the psychology Of the poor in the stories
NJ. Loane tells for those who can reao
them with understanding. There is any
amount Of suggestion and warning FOL
the we'll meaning in her criticisms, hsl
demonstrations and her recommendation,
on the many sides Of the subject that she
touches on. She gets closer to the truth
than the theoretical sociologists do.
Francis Thompson on Shelley.
Valuable in the main as An uninten,
tional revelation Of the author himself
n rare poet. to whom because OF his tenn