ROMANCE AND REALITY. 183 



he had three pints of cider daily when driving the horses 

 for ordinary work, and an extra pint daily when ploughing. 

 No cottage-rent given, no - privileges.' The cottage had a 

 tiny bit of garden ground fifteen yards ' in front, and 

 there was the ' privilege ' of paying ?s. gd. a year for a few 

 yards of potato ground. The cottage-rent under the old 

 squire had been 2, 2s., but the new squire had raised 

 it to 3, 53. In addition to this, out of his wages this 

 poor creature had to pay IDS. a year for rates namely, 

 poor rates, - school rate,' and gas rate for the adjacent 

 parish. The poor folks wondered, naturally enough, 

 why they had to pay a gas rate when there was no gas 

 within more than a mile of them. Deducting these items 

 of expenditure from the grand total of ios., there was left 

 the sum of 8s. yd. on which to subsist each week. In this 

 family there were the husband, his wife, and five children, 

 besides the husband's mother, a poor old bedridden woman 

 ninety-three years of age. The eldest of the children was 

 a boy of nine and a half years old. This little fellow had 

 commenced his career as a farm labourer at the age of eight. 

 His wages were then fourpence a day and a pint of cider. 

 The previous Lady Day, however, his master had raised 

 our little hero's wages to fivepence a day ! The remaining 

 children of the family were a girl of eight, a boy of seven, 

 my little shoeless friend of five, and a baby boy not quite 

 two years of age. All except the husband and the poor 

 old ' granny ' stood before me these poor people are too 

 humble to sit in presence of a stranger in respectable attire. 

 In the one downstair room were grouped the ragged little 

 children looking wonderingly at me. On the table stood a 

 brown pan, filled with butcher's offal. This had been that 

 day purchased at the adjoining town, and would, when 

 cooked, constitute the rare - delicacy ' of this family of 

 eight. I inquired concerning the poor old grandmother, 

 and learnt that she had been bedridden for many long 

 years. ' Would you please to walk upstairs and see her, 

 sir ? ' said the mother. I replied that I would like to 

 see her, and I was accordingly shown up the narrow stair- 

 case. Winding round to the right, I was not long in reach- 

 ing 'the first floor.' Exactly facing the stairhead was one 

 room, and immediately to my right another. Preceding 

 me, my conductress led the way into the first-mentioned 

 room. 



" Never have I witnessed so sad a sight as I saw in that 

 tiny garret of a small hut. There was one bedstead, besides 

 two other I cannot say articles of furniture things 

 purporting to represent a table and a chair, on the bare 

 floor. On the bedstead, in the darkest corner of the room, 

 which might have been some twelve or thirteen feet long, 

 by some eight or nine feet wide, and perhaps seven feet 

 high, lay the poor old bedridden grandmother, her poor 

 wrinkled face looking the picture of patient and uncom- 



