224 BRITISH RURAL LIFE AND LABOUR. 



most distressing accidents often occurred in conse- 

 quence, such as the children setting themselves on fire. 

 Here is a note made by the present writer, in 1872, as 

 the result of his personal inquiries : 



" Babies left in charge of tiny children, themselves 

 little more than babies, have been found dead by dis- 

 tressed mothers when the latter have returned at night ! 

 Apart from the actual dangers of this kind to which peasant 

 children were subjected, there could be, of course, little 

 or no control exercised by young guardians left in charge 

 of tiny brothers and sisters over those entrusted to their 

 care. No training or education of any kind could be 

 given to them. What a sight for a mother returning at night 

 to her cheerless home, tired, wet perhaps, and hungry, to find 

 her little ones dirty from having, uncontrolled, run riot 

 through the house with their clothes torn the poor clothes 

 which had been neatly mended perhaps by the hard-working 

 mother in weary moments stolen from her exhausting toil ; 

 and food so scanty and poor at the best of times wasted 

 or destroyed by thoughtless little ones." 



The Commissioner truly remarked : 



" There is not the same order in the cottage, nor the 

 same attention paid to the father's comfort, as when his 

 wife remains at home all day. On returning from her 

 labour she has to look after her children, and her husband 

 may have to wait for his supper. He may come home 

 tired and wet ; he finds his wife has arrived just before 

 him ; she must give her attention to the children ; there 

 is no fire, no comfort, and he goes to the beer-shop." 



Up to 1869 there had been no improvements in this 

 state of things. Mr. Stanhope, speaking of Dorsetshire 

 ^ypical of many other counties remarked : 



" Throughout the county, except where gloving is a 

 constant source of occupation at home, women are largely 

 employed in the fields. A good deal of the work done by 

 women is in the winter, among the turnips, on the threshing 

 machine, or in the barns." 



He stated that boys were engaged by farmers at a 

 very early age sometimes at six years of age or even 

 younger. Quite a large proportion of boys were em- 

 ployed in farm work from the ages of six to nine, and 



