ANOTHER TALE OF ABCADY. 73 



Here they are not so hard worked as in the 

 farmhouses, and have the satisfaction of being 

 engaged in what they esteem a more " genteel " 

 occupation. 



Many of the men, when about thirty years 

 of age, are able to take small farms of their 

 own. Nearly all the 'Statesman's sons do 

 this, probably without any outside help. I 

 know a man who saved £120, which sum he 

 divided and deposited in three banks. This 

 was his whole wealth, and he explained to me 

 that he did not want to lose his hard-earned 

 savings if the banks should " break." His 

 object was to acquire a small farm. He has 

 now succeeded. 



From the fact of "living in," as nearly all 

 the farm servants of Cumbria do, it need 

 hardly be said that early marriages are rare. 

 All the better men look forward to the time 

 when they can have a farm of their own; and 

 as soon as they have obtained a " holding," 

 they look out for a wife. This fact alone speaks 

 well of their thrift ; but it has its dark side. 

 How far the two things are connected may 

 be a matter of speculation, but it is notorious 

 that the number of illegitimate children in 



