580 



MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. 



HOUSEWIFE'S DEPARTMENT. 



CATHERINE OF LIVERPOOL. 



Among the many females in humble life who 

 have been exemplary lor their extraordinary 

 perseverance under difficulties, their ingenious 

 industry, and their self-sacrificing benevolence, 

 a poor woman now living in an obscure situa- 

 tion is deserving of being placed in the foremost 

 rank. This heroine in humble life^whora vi'e 

 shall describe under the name of Catherine or 

 Kitty, by which she is usually known to her 

 friends — was born in a populous village in Lan- 

 cashire about the yeai- 1786. Her parents, who 

 were in poor circumstances, happened to be- 

 come favorably known to an infirm and venera- 

 ble lady, who kindly took Catherine home to 

 stay with her as a humble companion and ser- 

 vant By this humane lady she was taught to 

 read, and trained not only to early habits of 

 neatne.ss and order, but to the knowledge as 

 well as the practice of Christian dispositions 

 and duties. 



Although this lady had only a moderate in- 

 come, she spent not a little on the poor, whom 

 she likewise encouraged with her advice in 

 cases of difficulty, and cheered with her pres- 

 ence in distress. When she became too feeble 

 to walk to the houses of her neighbors, she was 

 occasionally carried out in a sedan-chair, her lit- 

 tle servant walking by her side. Catherine af- 

 terward used to describe these expeditions to 

 her friends : " The old lady would say to me, 

 Catherine, I am going out ; and then she would 

 be carried out in her sedan. She was too lame 

 to walk, and could not easily get into a coach. 

 I used to take a little basket and go by her side. 

 We would soon stop at a cellar, into which she 

 sent me to see how the poor woman was; and 

 when I had come out again, she would say, 

 How does .she look ? Is there any fire in the 

 grate ? Is there any coal in the house ? Then 

 she would send me for anything that was want- 

 ed. And when we had come home, she would 

 say, Go put your feet upon the fender, and dry 

 tliem, and tell me what you think of what you 

 have seen. Then she would .say, Catherine, 

 poverty will probably be your portion : but you 

 have one talent which you may use for the good 

 of others. You may sometimes road half an 

 hour to a poor sick neighbor. You may read a 

 chapter of the Bible to her when .«he could not 

 read it herself; or you may run en-ands for those 

 who have no one else to go for them. Promise 

 me, then, my child, that you will try to do what 

 you can for others, and I hope we may meet in 

 another world. Ah ! there were few like my 

 dear mistress." 



This lady having died, her household was 

 broken up, and Catherine returned to her family. 

 She could not, however, be kept at home ; and 

 as no suitable place in domestic service could 

 be obtained for her, she was sent with her 

 brother to work at a cotton mill in a village at 

 6ome distance. This was in the year 1798. when 

 nhe was only twelve years of age. That a child 

 (1060) 



so youthful should have been dispatched to such 

 a scene of labor may excite surprise, but only in 

 those who ai'e in the habit of considering all fac- 

 tory systems as injurious, if not tyrannical. Many 

 may be bad enough, but those conducted iu 

 country districts, and under good management, 

 are, on the whole, not unfavorable to health 

 or morals. The mill to which our young heroine 

 and her brother were committed was one of the 

 better regulated class. The hours were not 

 long, and were precisely fixed. All had their 

 appointed duty, which, if they attended to, no 

 complaint was made. There was an open air- 

 ing-ground for recreation iu good weather, and 

 a library from which books were given freely 

 out to those who chose to read. Great care was 

 likewise taken to prevent any impropriety of 

 behavior. In short, nothing was wanting to 

 render the attendance agreeable, or to encourage 

 the diligent and orderly. In this mill Catherine 

 passed a few years, improving in health and in- 

 telligence, though without distinguishing her- 

 self from the mass of her companions. Perhaps, 

 however, she excelled in the propriety of her 

 deportment, from the instructions she had re- 

 ceived from her old mistress ; and her good feel- 

 ings prompted her to be grateful for the care 

 taken of her, as well as others, at the mill. She 

 has often been heard to say, " If ever there was 

 a heaven upon earth, it was that apprentice- 

 house, where we were brought up in such igno- 

 rance of evil ; and where Mr. Norton, the man- 

 ager of the mill, was a father to us all." It is to 

 be wished that every one who takes the charge 

 of a child, whether as a pupil, an apprentice, 

 or a servant, should feel it a duty to do what 

 may be done early, to establish the principles 

 and practice of virtue, and to deserve such 

 grateful recollections as those of our heroine. 



Mr. Norton did not see Catherine after she 

 quitted his establishment, and never probably 

 was aware of the beneficial influence he had 

 exerted on her mind ; yet it was by the course 

 of discipline and instruction in the cotton factory 

 that her character was fomied during the mo.st 

 susceptible and dangerous sea.'ion of her life. 



Catherine left the cotton mill to go to service 

 in a family. The lady of the house was a very 

 good manager, and a good mistress ; knew 

 what a servant's duty was, and took care that 

 it was well done. In her family, Catherine's 

 habits of diligence, order, and fidelity were 

 strengthened. Everything she saw there tend- 

 (fd to advance her education. And is it not the 

 (rue idea of education, that it comprehends all 

 the daily and hourly influences, small as well 

 as great, of the circumstances by ichick toe are 

 surrounded, and tohich are constantly acting- 

 upon us ; bearing upon thought and feeling, 

 and every spring of action within us ? It is be- 

 ginning to be understood, that tokatever acts 

 upon our powers for their growth, or decrease, 

 or direction ; xohatever acts upon desire, appetite. 



