226 BRITISH RURAL LIFE AND LABOUR. 



she had evidently cut and trimmed herself. It was then 

 between eight and nine o'clock in the evening, and she was 

 just returning from her hard toil. ' What wages may you 

 get now ? ' we asked. ' Aightpence (eightpence) a day, sir/ 

 she answered. She was, she further informed us, seventy 

 years of age, and, poor old soul, probably on account of her 

 feebleness, she had to work from six o'clock in the morning 

 till eight and nine o'clock at night for her daily eightpence, 

 with the usual allowance of some cider. She could not, 

 of course, she told us, work every day probably not more 

 than four out of the six days so that her weekly labour 

 would produce the sum of two shillings and eightpence with 

 which to keep body and soul together ! " 



