100 FACT AGAINST FICTION. 



servants, how much more erroneous It niust he, 

 in the eatmg-houses or cook-sliops of the metro- 

 polis, to expose to the London ''poor" all sorts 

 of roast, boiled, and pickled eatables, Avith but 

 the texture of a fragile piece of glass, not the 

 fifteenth part of an inch, between their mouths 

 and the joint they long to dine on. 



The same may be said of the silversmith and 

 jeweller, and the pastrycook, and even to the man 

 who dares to walk the street Avitli a visible watch 

 or jewel on his person. 



I had obtained, but at this minute I cannot lay 

 my hand upon it, a computation of the amount 

 of pounds of meat sold by the poulterers of the 

 large cities and towns in wholesome food in 

 rabbits alone to the labour hig classes, and to 

 those who come within the fashionable denomina- 

 tion of '' the poor.''* I think at Southampton 

 fourteen thousand rabbits, or couples of rabbits, 

 sold as food for the people, w^as about the annual 

 numl^er ; so that if you put each rabbit at about 

 three pounds' Avortli of animal food, it would be 

 difficult to include them in the audacious nomen- 

 clature of a blatant farmer or speech-maker at 



* This shall be appended to the close of this volume. 



