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absence or presence of the public-house. They are agreed that if licensed houses were opened in Bessbrook, the readingroom, the library, the schools, the co-operative societies would all be deserted, by only too many, for the allurements of the dram-shop, and that another establishment, hitherto unknown in Bessbrook, the pawn-office, would soon be required. And not only so, but the police-barrack, the handcuffs, and the dark cells would come into fashion, too, and homes now happy would soon be rendered miserable. All this Mr. Richardson had seen in too many other towns, and he decided to keep the licensed public-houses out of Bessbrook. The results have decidedly confirmed him in his resolution, and would convince the most sceptical of the wisdom of the course he thus adopted, if the town were only once or twice visited by them. Coupled with the last negative point of management is also the exclusion of police and pawn-offices, as already referred to; these follow in the wake of the dram-shop, and the exclusion of the public-house renders all the rest unneces

sary.

As bearing upon this question, we may add that there is a well-managed temperance society conducted in the town, of which Mr. Richardson is president, and Dr. Lightburne secretary. A large number of the workers, male and female, are enrolled teetotalers, and take an interest in the meetings, which are held in the school-rooms; occasional soirées are held in the dining hall, at these tea and coffee are provided, and very pleasing reunions are effected. At these latter Mr. John Richardson, son and heir to the proprietor, takes a leading part, and, in person, sees that every one is made thoroughly comfortable. We had the pleasure of attending one of these meetings during the winter just past, and we must bear witness that the arrangements reflected credit on all concerned,' as the reporters put it.

The amount of comfort in the homes of the people at Bessbrook is exactly what might be expected from all these efforts to educate the operatives in practical matters. The houses, which we visited extensively, are kept scrupulously clean. The walls of the ground-floors are neatly whitewashed, the floors are well kept, the furniture is suitable, and much of it is, moreover, ornamental. There is nothing like 'an Irish cabin' to be seen; nothing of the custom of feeding the fowl and the pig in the kitchen which still prevails amongst even rather well-to-do farmers. The good housewives appear tidy and neatly dressed, with nothing tawdry or showy about them. The children seem well kept, and everything bespeaks good wages well spent for the benefit of the household, not for the

advantage of the spirit-dealer, as is too often the case with even the poorest in our Irish towns, whose earnings, if well laid out, would not purchase enough of bare necessaries, much less needless and worse than useless luxuries, for a working

man.

On the whole, then, we think we have clearly established our starting point, that there is a model manufacturing town, and that Bessbrook, county Armagh, Ireland, is entitled to rank as such. Our narrative plainly proves that even amid agitation and foolish commotion, the manufactures of the country can be promoted and the well-being of the workers carefully secured in such a model town as Bessbrook, and with such a model proprietor and employer as Mr. J. Grubb Richardson.

THE AMATEUR FEMALE CASUAL.

MR.

R. JAMES GREENWOOD'S famous adventure in one of the Metropolitan casual wards, with the graphic details of his description of it, from the bath of weak mutton broth, to the horrible conversation of the casuals,' will long remain in the memories of those who read it on its original appearance. The experiment has been imitated, on the female side, by a poor widow who, in gratitude for some assistance rendered to her at a time of great distress, accomplished four visits to so many different casual wards in London, in order to supply materials for a true appreciation of their character and management. We are assured by the gentleman who has published the result*, that her character is reliable, and that every effort had been made to confirm the truthfulness of her descriptions, by visits to the wards and otherwise; so that although, as he admits, it is impossible to rely implicitly on every detail, there is nevertheless full reason to believe that her statements are substantially true, and that the picture may be regarded as practically correct.

The Female Casual and Her Lodging, with a Complete Scheme for the Regulation of Workhouse Infirmaries. By J. H. Stallard, M.B., London, Author of 'London Pauperism.' London: Saunders, Otley, and Co., 66, Brook-street.

Of course, the same difficulty occurs in the outset, as in the case of Mr. Greenwood himself. Falsehoods had to be told in order to gain admission to the wards; are we sure, then, that they had not to be told subsequently in order to add to the sensation? In her case as in Mr. James Greenwood's, it seems requisite to assume that although witnesses like these will be false for a purpose, they may be relied upon for this purpose ;-that though they will tell lies in workhouses, they will not deceive the public at large.

In commencing her undertaking, our female casual' discovered that as a preliminary to obtaining admission, just as severe an ordeal of questioning and of delay had to be gone through as if what was sought had been a real privilege deserving to be very jealously guarded. At Newington, there was no admission to be had without an order from the police; and this caused the loss of more than an hour in searching for and securing it. At the police station, the inspector scrutinised the applicant 'very fiercely,' and wanted to know why she came there. Several men of the force standing by as spectators served as accessories to the scene, and laughed and jeered at the applicant as if it was fine fun;' but one of them was of a better sort, for he seemed to pity her, and said he was sorry he had not a penny in his pocket to give her. Having at length got the order, she returned to the workhouse door, but found the knocker fastened down with wire, so that it could not be used except to knock very gently. The door was opened by a porter, who looked at her order of admission, and then shut the door in her face. For ten minutes she waited outside, affording to some people in the neighbourhood a favourable opportunity for coming out of their cottages and staring at her, of which they continued to avail themselves until the moment of her admission.

At Lambeth, from the workhouse, where she applied for a night's lodging, she was sent to the police station for an order of admission. The inspector was very abrupt did nct seem to like his duty, and talked to her bluffly; but after asking sundry questions, gave her the order. Possessed of this, she returned to the workhouse, and was admitted by two men, the elder of whom, having read the document, sent the other with her to the casual ward.

On her third adventure, the witness took care to apply where she knew no police order was required; for she was glad to escape the ordeal of the police station, which is enough,' she says, 'to deter any one who is respectable from seeking a night's lodging in the places provided for the destitute.' Having asked for a night's lodging, she was told

to go to the stoneyard, at the back of the Pavilion Theatre, in the Whitechapel Road. Passing up a wide entry, she found the place with some difficulty. Here again the knocker on the door was fastened down,-so securely, indeed, this time, that it could not be moved at all, and the adventurer had to kick at the door to make her presence known. A little greyheaded old man, clad in workhouse attire, made his appearance. He had a kindly expression, which, however, he tried to disguise under a very stern manner. A curious scene ensued between the two impostors,-the sham casual on the one hand, the honest old pretender to hard-heartedness on the other. He asked her shortly what she wanted, and when she had told him, 'a night's lodging,' he replied, 'You cannot have it; we are full!' She retorted, 'I must have a night's shelter somewhere;' and, looking through the gate at a wooden lodge which appeared to be his room, she added, 'I can sit down there, if you please.' 'Oh no, indeed,' said he, 'you will get me into fine trouble if you go there; you'd better go somewhere else, for we cannot take you in here.' The visitor pretended to be greatly distressed, but the soft-hearted old. hypocrite said sternly, You must be off; I have no room,' and slammed the gate, taking good care, however, to leave it a little open that he might see which course the woman would take. Finding at length that she would not go away, he said, 'Well, there, come along; I've got one bed left, and you seem a decent sort of woman. I don't think you were ever here before. Looking at her very scrutinisingly, but very kindly, he added, 'Poor soul, I hope you will not want to come again, for there is a rough lot here;' and thinking she was still crying, he said, 'There, come along in, and you shall have a bed.' He then showed her into a little square office, and after asking her name, age, and other particulars, gave her a ticket with her name upon it, and a man's blue and white calico shirt to sleep in. In reply to a question, he told her she was to undress and give him all her clothes; but on her objecting to the shirt he had given her as not being clean, he advised her not to put it on, as she did not look like one of the roughs, and they were a dirty lot; however, he begged her to mind what she was about, and not let the nurse see her in her own shift in the morning, lest he should catch it' for having been so lenient with her. Having put the rest of her clothes. together, and pinned them in a bundle, to which the ticket was appended, he led her across the yard to a wooden building which proved to be the casual ward.

On her fourth adventure, the workhouse of St. George in the East was the scene of the experiment. She had the

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greatest difficulty in finding it, and was very tired when she arrived. Here the doors were open; and in the gateway was a stout man leaning over the half door of the office, wearing a cap, and smoking a cigar. Puffing the smoke in her face, and taking it very easily,' he said, What do you want?' and having heard her tale, he said, 'I cannot make it out what you want here. Do you know what a casual ward is? It is a great pity that you cannot manage better than to come here.' Again he looked her over from head to foot; and it was only on a view of her boots that he at length determined to admit her.

Such are the difficulties through which it was necessary to make one's way, prior to obtaining the boon of a night's lodging in a ward for casuals.'* And what a boon ! In only one of the four cases would a lodging in the street have been less desirable.

The exception was Lambeth. Here, after being put through a bath room having a very clean wooden floor, and separated from the sleeping ward by a door and curtain, and furnished with

*

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* An odd parallel, with striking contrasts with all this painful search in the policeoffice for her 'evidence,' followed by the ordeal at the door with the knocker fastened down, and the horrible conversation of the wretched inmates, is supplied in the famous old story of a male casual' who required a night's lodgings, and was fortunate enough to find it. Then he clapped his hands, and went on till he came and stood before the gate where the porter was. Then said Christian to the Porter, "Sir, what house is this? and may I lodge here to-night?" The Porter answered, "This house was built by the Lord of the Hill, and he built it for the relief and security of pilgrims." The Porter also asked whence he was and whither he was going. * *PORTER: "But how doth it happen that you come so late? The sun is set."-CHRISTIAN: "I had been here sooner, but that * I lost my evidence, and came without it to the brow of the hill; and then feeling for it, and finding it not, I was forced with sorrow of heart to go back to the place where I slept my sleep, where I found it; and now I am come."-PORTER: "Well, I will call out one of the virgins of the place, who will, if she likes your talk, bring you in to the rest of the family, according to the rules of the house." So Watchful, the porter, rang a bell, at the sound of which came out of the door of the house a grave and beautiful damsel, named Discretion, and asked why she was called. * *Then she asked him whence he was, and whither he was going; and he told her. She asked him also how he got into the way; and he told her. Then she asked him what he met with on the way; and he told her. And at last she asked his name, so he said, "It is Christian; and I have so much the more a desire to lodge here tonight, because, by what I perceive, this place was built by the Lord of the Hill for the relief and security of pilgrims." So she smiled, but the water stood in her eyes; and after a little pause she said, I will call for two or three more of my family. So she ran to the door, and called out Prudence, Piety, and Charity, who, after a little more discourse with him, had him into the family; and many of them meeting him at the threshold of the house, said, "Come in, thou blessed of the Lord! this house was built by the Lord of the Hill on purpose to entertain such pilgrims in." Then he bowed his head, and followed them into the house. So when he was come in and sat down, they gave him something to drink, and consented together that, until supper was ready, some of them should have some particular discourse with Christian, for the best improvement of time, and they appointed Piety, Prudence, and Charity to discourse with him.'

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