G
THE DAILY EVENING TELEGRAPH PHILADELPHIA, TUESDAY, AUGUST 17, 18G9.
LITERATURES.
REVIEW OF MEW BOOKS.
J'hk Skvi n CtTimKs ok Lonkon. By Jnmos
(ircen wood, tho "Amateur Casual. ' l'uli
lisliecl 1y 1'iel.lM, Osgood A- Co. l'hilftdel
pliia Agents: Turner lirotliovfl &. Co.
Mr. James Greenwood mndo liiniKclf famous
ly spciulmf,' ft night in the Lambeth work
Louko in London ns n pauper, imd then
giving tho world a graphic description of his
experu-nceH. His nrticlo was a southing ex
pose of tho !ri(ish worMiotiso system, and
the deep impression it mado induced tho
writer to make a specialty of tho same, elasg
uf subjects subjects, by-the-wny, that sadly
need to bo set before tho public by tho pell
t)f nn honest Mid able reporter. Tho present
work is ft descriptive analysis of tho seven
curses of London, which tho author desig
nates as follows Neglected Children; Pro
fessional Thieves; Professional lloggars; Fal
len Women: the (!urse of J runkenness; Pet
ting (laiubleis; and Waste of Charity. Seve
ral chapters are devoted to each of theso
themes, and considerable information of a
statistical as well as of a general character is
presented, which is well worthy of tho
thoughtful consideration of readers on both
sides of the Atlantic. Mr. (Irconwood is n
forcible and often an eloquent writer: ho is
thoroughly conversant with his theme, and
we commend the book to tho consideration of
the public.
AVe present thn following extract on "l.aby
Panning, " n better calculated to give our
readers nn idea of tho merits of tho work
than any comments of ours could do:
Here i-. m daily newspaper that is mainly an
urtvertiMnir l.t'oaili-Otccl. Jt is an old-established
newspaper, and its advertisement column may
lie siid tairly to rilled the condition of tin:
Icmale l.d'or market oer va-t tracts of the
London ditrict. Column after column
tells of the wants of servants and
line-ten-. "Cap-hands." "leather-hands."
"artificial liower - hands." chenille -
hands." hand- lor the manufacture of "ehi'
lion'' and "hair-net--" and "head work," and
all manner of pl.iitii.n" and "i uilliiiif' and
"jraulterinfi"' in rihhon and net and muslin, con
triiiutiiiir towards the thousand and one articles
that stock the "lanej-" trade. There are more
news-papers than one that aspire as mediums
Li'twccn employer and employed, hut this,
heloie all oilier-. ; 'e newspaper, daily conned
by tho't-and- o! iriri anil women in search ol
work ol the Kinil above mentioned, and it is
in this now-paper that the baby-fanner li-he-who!c-.i!e
for cii-toiiter-.
I wi'iv-"u hole-ale." and surely it i- nothing
el-c. To the uninitiated in thi- peculiar branch
1 the v. orld - wi'-ki-dne-s it wo.d.l -cetu lliut.
as an article m ueotialioii. a baby would liure
rarer ihan anyl tiini;. and in lieir innocence
thcymiu'ht be tairly guided to this coneln-ion
on the evidence ol their personal evperience of
the unlliiiel'.iuv,1 lovo ol parents. I hou-xh ever so
poor, for their children: yet in a single number
of this new-paj-c.'. nibli-liel even-lay of the
week and all the yea!' round, be k borne in
mind, appear no k-- ihan n separate advertisement-,
emauaiitiu- trotn iudividuils so
liciions tor the care, weekly, linvithly, yeal'lv
anyhow, of other people's clill.li'ci:, ami that" on
terms odorous of starvation, at the lea.si in every
JiiOap'e figure,
it i evident :n a glance that the advcrtl-crs seek
for customers and epect none oilier than from
amon the sorely pinched and poverty-stricken
class that specially putroni.e the newspaper in
(juestion. The eomih'ion, tone, and lernis of
their villainously cheap sii'l'cstious for child
adoption are most cuimiiurly shaped to meet the
po-sihle rcjuiremeuts of some union una to work
girl, who. ciirnin while al liberiy never more
than seven or ciuht shillings a week, tinds her
self hampered with an infant lor whom no
lather is forthcomin-j.-. There can seaicely be
imagined a more terrible encumbrance than a
j-oung babj is lo a working girl or woman
so circumstanced. Very often -he has a
home before her disaster announced itself
her lir-t home, that is, with her
parents and in her shame ami di-gr.iee she
abandons it, determined on hiding away where
she is unknown, "keeping herself to herself."
fcjhc has no other means of earning a livelihood
excepting that she has been used to. She fc a
"cap hand,'' or an "artilicial-llowcr hand." and
Mich work is always entirely performed at the
warehon-e, immediately under the employer's
eye. What is she to do 'i JShe cannot possibly
carry her baby with her to the shop and keep it
with her the' livelong day. Were -he inclined
so to do. and could somehow con
trive to accomplish the double duty of nurse
and tlower-weaver, it would not be allowed. If
hhe stays at home in tho wretched little room
the rents with her infant, sin; and it must grow
hungry. it is a terrible dilemma tor a voung
woman "all but'' good, and honestly willing lo
accept the grievous penalty she must pay if it
may be accomplished by the labor of her hands.
Small and puny however the poor unwelcome
little stranger may be, it is a perfect ogre of
rapacity on its unhappy mother's exertions.
Now and then an instance of the self-sacrificing
devotion exhibited by those unhappy mothers
for their fatherless children creep- into print.
There was held in the parish of St. l.ukeV, last
.-ummer. an inipiest on the body of a neglected
infant, aged seven months. The woman to whose
care the was collided had got drunk, and left
tho poor little thing exposed to
the cold, so that it died. The mother paid the
drunken nurse four-aiid-sixpence a week lor the
child's keep, and it was proved in evidence that
she (the mother) had been earning at her trade
of paper-bag making never more than six-and-threepence
during the previous live months.
That was lour-aiid-siNpence for baby and one-suid-nincpence
for herself.
I don't think, however, that the regular baby
farmer is a person habitually given to drink.
The successful and lucrative prosecution of her
business forbids the indulgence. Decidedly not
erne of the eleven adverli-monts before'inen
tioucd read like the concoctions of persons,
whose heads were muddled with beer or gin.
Here, is the first one:
f j"Nl'KSE Cim.n W'ANTF.n, oit to A do it. The
advertiser, a widow Willi u little laiuily of her own
and a moderate allowance from her laid husband s
friends, would be Klud lo accept tlm cliaij(u of a
voting child. Age no object. If sickly would receive
a parent's care, 'f erius, liltecu stiilliutTS it mouth;
r would adopt entirely if under two months for the
small Hum of twelve pounds.
Women are shrewder than men at understand
ing these matters, and the advertisement is
addressed to women; but I doubt if a
man would be far wrong in setting
down the "widow lady with a
little family of her own" as one of those
monsters in woman's clothing who go about
seeking for babies to devour. Her "moderate
allowance," so artlessly introduced, Is intended
to convey to the unhappy mother but half re
solved to part with her encumbrance, that -possibly
the widow's late husband's friends settle her
butcher's and baker's bills, and that under such
circumstances tho widow would actually be that
fifteen shillings a month in pocket, for the small
trouble of entering the little stranger with her
own interesting little (lock. And what a well
bred, cheerful, and kindly behaved little Hock it
must be to have no objection to add to its num
ber a young child aged one month or twelve,
sick or well ! Fancy such an estimable
person as the widow lady appraising her
parental care at so low a figure as three-uud-niuepence
a week seveupeiico farthing
a day, including Sundays! but, alter
all, that is not so cheap as the taking the
whole aud sole charge of a child, sick or well,
mind you, to nourish and clothe, and educate
it from the age of two months till twelve years,
uny' To l.e sure, the widow lady stipulates
under two months, and we all know how pre
carious Is Infantine existence, and at what ft
wonderfully low rate the cheap undertakers bury
babies in these days.
Another of the precious butch of eleven speaks
plainer, and comes to the point w ithout any pre
liminary walking round it:
I fAnoi'TioN A person wishing a lnstlnff and
comfortable home for a young elrild of either sex
wjll find tins a (rood opportunity. Advertisers having
nn children of their own, are about to proceed to
America. Premium, llftecn pounds. Respectable
relerences piven and required. AdJress F. X .
All that is Incomplete in the above is the ini
tials; but one need not ask for tho "O" that
should come between the "K" and "X." After
perusing the pithv advertisement, I interpreted
lis meaning simply this: Any person
possessed of a child he is anxious
to be rid of, here is a, good chance tor
hiiiv. Perhaps "P. .." Is going to America: per
haps lie's not. That is Aw business. The party
having a child to dispose of need not trouble
itself 'on that score, l'or 'respectable refer
ences" read "mutual eonlidence.' I'll take the
child, and ask no ueslions of the party, and the
party shall fork over the lit teen pounds, :indak
no questions of me. That will make matters
coiniortable for both parties, Vpecially if the
meeting is at a collee-house, or at some public
building, for il I don't know the party's address,
of course he can have no fear that I shall turn
round on him, ami return the ( hihlon his hands.
The whole affair might be managed while an
omnibus is waiting lo take up a pa-.-enger. A
simple mailer of handing over a bulky parcel
and a little one the child and the money and
all over without so much as "good night." if so
be the party is a careful party, and wouldn't like
even his voice heard.
It may be objected that the seduced I aetory
girl is scarcely likely to become the victim Id
"P. ..." inasmuch as she never had fifteen
pounds to call her own in the whole conr-e ol
her lite, and is less likely than ever to grow so
rich now. And that is quite true, but as well as
a seduced there must bo a seducer. Not a Ulan
of position and means, probably: more likely
the fast young son ol parents in the butchering,
or cheesctuongering, or grocery interest a
dashing young blade, whose ideas of "seeing
life" is seeking that tin whole-ome. phae of it
presented at those unmitigated dens
of vice. the "music-halls," at one
of which places, probably. the ac
quaintance terminating so miserably was com
menced. Or. maybe, instead of tie' "young
master." it is the shopman who is the male de
linquent: and. in either case, anything is pre
ferable to a "row." and an exposure. Possibly
the embarrassed young mother by stress of ne
cessity, and impelled faith in the voluntary
goodness of her lover, is driven to make the
best of the deleiisive weapons that chance had
thus placed in her hands, and her urging lor
"some little assistance" becomes troublesome.
This being the case, and the Devil stepping in
with "P. N.'s" advertisement in his hand, the
diliiculty is immediately reduced lo one of rais
ing liltecu pounds. No more hourly anxiety
le.-t "something should turn "up" t"
explode the secret under the very nose ol parents
or master, no more restrictions irom anm-einciu-lovcdsowell
bceau-e of a dread le-t I i.tl pale
b.ecd bal y-i-arrvim: young woman should in
trude her repr-i.u-l.ful prc-ciuv. a-:d h.-r tear-,
into their mid-t. Only one endeavor--a b'g
one. it is true, but still, "only one -and the ugly
uho.-t is laid at once and forever! Perhaps Un
voting fellow has friends of whom he can bor
row the money. Maybe he has a watch, and
articles of clothing and jewelry, that wilj pawn
for tlm amount. If he has neither, still he is
not entirely without resources. Music-halls and
dancing rooms cannot be patroni.ed on bare
journeyman's wages, and probably alreidv
the till ha bled slightlylet it bleed mere
copiously! And the thefi Is perpetrated, and "P.
." releases the guilty pair of the little, creature
that looks in its helplessness and innocence o
little like a bugbear. And it isn't at all un
likely that, after all, papa regards himself as a
fellow deserving of commendation, perhaps, but
entitled to some pity, and, still more, of approval
for his sclf-sacrilieiiig. Another fellow, finding
himself in such' a lix, would have snapped his
lingers in Polly's face, and told her to do her
worst, and be hanged to her: bill., confound ii,
all, lie was not such a brute a- I'kiI. Having
got the poor girl into trouble, ho had done all
he could to get her out of it clean out
of it, mind you. Not only had he
done iill that he could towards this
generous end. but con -idernhly ;nore than
he ought: he had risked exposure as a thief, and
the penalty ol the treadmill, and all for her
sake! And so thiek-bkinned is the young fel
low's morality that possibly he is really not
aware of the double-dyed villain he has become:
that lo strip his cu-e of the specious wrappings
in which he would envelop it, he is nothing
better than a scoundrel who has stooped to tiil
robbcry in order to qualify himself a- an acces
sory to" child murder, or worse the casting ol
his own olispring. like a mangy dog, on the
streets, to die in a gutter, or to live and g'row
up to be a terror to his kind a rulli-.iu. and
a breeder of Indians. Nor need it be sup
posed that this last is a mere fancy
sketch. There can be no doubt that if
the history of every one of the ten thousand of
the young human pariahs that haunt Lou Ion
streets could be inquired into, it would be found
thill no insignificant percentage of the whole
were children abandoned and left to their fate
by mock "adopters," such as "P. N."
It is these "adopters" of children who should
l.-e specially looked after, since, assuming that
heartless roguery is the basis of their business
dealing, it becomes at once manifest that their
main source of profit must lie in their ability to
gel rid ot their hard bargains ns soon as possible.
Prom fifteen to live-and-twenty pounds would
appear to be the sums usually asked, and having
once got possession of the child, every day that
the mockery of a Imnn ic bargain is main
tained, the value of the blood money that came
with it diminishes. The term "blood money."
however, should be accepted in a qualified
sense. It is quite common for these people to
mention as one of the conditions of treaty that
a sickly child would not be. objected to, ami
prov ided it were very sickly it might in ordi
nary cases have a lair chance of dying a natural
death: but the course commonly pursued by the
professional ehihlmonger is not to murder it
e'u her by sudden and v iolent means, or by the
less merciful though no less sure process of
cold, neglect, and starvation. Not only
does death made public (and in these wide
awake times it is not easy to hide a
body, though a little one, where it may
not speedily be found ) attract an amount of at
tention that were best avoided, but it also entails
the expenses of burial. A much easier wav of
getting rid of a child, especially if it be of 'that
convenient age when it is able to walK but not
to talk, is to convey it to a strange quarter of
the town and there abandon it.
Speaking of :he professional child-farmer, it
has been already remarked that his solo object,
as regards these innocents that are adopted for
a sum paid down, is to gel rid of theiii as
secretly and quickly as possible. And assumiu"
the preservation ot health and life in the little
mortal to bo ot the first importance, there can
be no question that he has a better chance of
both, even though his treacherous "adopter"
deserts him on the doorstep, than if he were so
kindly cruel as to tolerate his existence at the
"larm." It is those unfortunate infants who are
not "adopted," but merely housed and led nt so
much per week or month, who are the greater
sullerers. True, il is to the interest of the prac
titioners who adopt this branch of biiby-furmin"-to
keep lite in their little charges, since with
their death terminates the more or less prolit
ablo contract entered into between themselves
and the child s parent or guardian; but no less
true is it ihiit is to the "farmers'" interest and
proht to keep down their expenditure in the
nursery at as low an ebb as is consistent
with the bare existence of its luckless
inhabitants. Ihe child Is welcome to live on
starvation diet just as long as it may. It is very
welcome indeed to do so, since the longer it
holds out the larger the number of shillings the
ogres that have it in charge will bo enabled to
grind out ol Its poor Halo bones. These are not
the "tanners" who append to their advertise
ments the notification that "children of ill-health
are not objected to." Thev are bv fur too good
! Judge: for that. What, the-y rejoice lu is u liue
robust, healthy-lunged child, with whom some
such noble sum as a shilling a day is paid. Such
nn nrticlo is as good ns a gift of twenty pounds
to them. See the amount of privation
such a child can stand before It succumbs.
The tenacity of life In children of per
fectly sound constitution Is proverbial. A
ha'p'orth of bread and a ha'p'orth of milk daily
will sullicc to keep the machinery of life from
coming to a sudden stand-still, by such a barely
sullieicnt link will the poor little helpless victim
lie held to life, while what passes ns natural
causes nttack and graduallv consume it, and
drag it down to its grave. This, in the baby
farmer's estimation, is a first-rate article, the
pride of the market, and without doubt the most
profitable. The safest too. Children will pine.
Taken from their mother, It is only to be ex
pected that they should. Therefore, when the
poor mother, who is working of nights as well
as days, that "nurse's money ' may be punctually
paid, "visits her little one, and finds it thin anil
pale and wasting, she is not amazed, although
her conscience smites her cruelly,
and her heart is lit to break, She is only too
thankful to hear "nur-e" declare that she is
doing all she can for the little darling. It is her
only consolation, and she goes aw ay hugging it
while "nur-e" and her old man make merry
over gin bought with that hard, hard-earned
extra sixpence that the poor mother has. lelt to
buy baby some little comfort.
I trust and hope that what is here set dou n
w ill not be regarded as mere tinsel and wordy
extravagance, designed to produce a "sensa
tion" in the mind ot the reader. There is
no telling into whose hands a book may
fall. Maybe, it is not, altogether impos
sible eyes may scan this page that have
been recently red w'uh weeping over the terrible
secret thai w ill keep but a little longer, and lor
the inevitable launching of which provi-ion
must be made. To such a reader, with all kind
liness. I would whisper words of counsel. Think
not "tw ice," but many times before you adopt
the "readiest" means of shirking the awful re
sponsibility you have incurred. Uely on it, you
will ih rive "no lasting satisfaction out ol this
readiest way, by which, of course, is meant the
way to which the villanous child-farmer reveals
an open door. Ho righteously courageous, and
bike any step rather, as you would, 1 am sure,
il you were permitted to raise a corner and peep
behind the curtain that conceals the hidden
Hosieries of adopted-child murder.
As a volunteer explorer into the depths of
social mysteries, once upon a lime 1 made it my
business to invade the den ol a child-farmer.
'I he result of the experiment was printed in a
daily new .-paper or magazine at the time, sol
will here make but brief allusion to it. I bought
the current number of the new -paper more than
once here mentioned, and discovering, as usual,
a considerable siring of child-adopting and
nur- big advcrtbdueuis, 1 replied lo the majority
of Ibein, professing to have a child "on my
hands." and signing myself "M. D." My inten
tion being lo trap the villain.-. I need not say
that in every case my reply to their preliminary
communications was couched in such carefully
considered terms a- might throw ihe
lilo-t suspicious oil their guard. Hut I
lomid that I hud uudcres.imuted the cunning
id the enemy. .Mi hough ihe innocent seeming
bait w as made a- attractive and savory as-pos-
sible. at lca-t
epistles v.cri
alfol the farmers t- whom my
addressed vouchsafed no repp.
'J here was something about it not lo their hiving,
evidently.
Three'or four of the hungry pike bit. however,
one being a lady signing herself "V. '.." lu her
newspaper at! vert k ement, if 1 rightly remember,
per.-oi!- whom it concerned were to address,
"V. .." Post Ofliee. - street, tlcpney.
"V. '.." replying to mine so addressed, said
that, as before slated, she was willing to
adopt ;i little girl of weally couslilution
at the terms I stigge-led. her object being chieliy
to secure a companion for her ow n little darling,
who had lately, through death, been deprived
of his own dear little si.-ter. "Y. further
suggested that I should appoint a place where
we could 'meet and arrange."
This, however, was not what 1 wanted. It was
quite evideut. fi'om the tone of the holy's note,
that she was not at all desirous that the meeting
should take place at her abode. Again I was to
address "Post OHice. " To bring mailers to a
conclusion. 1 w rote, declaringthat nothing could
be done unless I could meet "Y. ." at her own
abode. No answer was returned to this my last,
and it was evidently the intention uf "Y. to
let the matter drop.
I was otherwise resolved, however. T had
some sort ol clue, and was resolved to follow it
up. Hy what subtle arts and contrivance 1
managed to trace "Y. .." from "Post Ollice" to
her abode need not here be recited. Armed with
her real name and the number of the street in
which she resided, 1 arrived at the house, and at
the door of it just as the postman was rapping
to deliver a lett- to the very party 1 had come
uninvited to vi a. I may say that the house
was of the small four or live-roomed order, and
no more or less untidy or squalid than is com
monly to be found in the back streets of Stepney
or Pcihnul (ircen.
"Oxleek" was the original of " . and of
the slatternly, ragged-haired girl who opened
the door I asked if that lady was at home. The
young lady said that she was out that she had
"gone to the Li-ver." The young woman spoke
with a rapid utterance, and was evidently in a
mighty hurry to get back to some business the
postman's knock had summoned her from.
"1 beg your pardon, miss, gone to the "
"Li-ver, where you pays in for young uns'
berrvins and that. Sho ain't at home, but lie is.
I'll call him."
And so she did. And presently a husky
voice from the next Hour called out, "Hullo"!
what is it r"
"Here's a gentleman wants yer, and here's a
letter as the postman jest left."
"Ask him if he's the doctor: I've got the young
nn, I can't come down," the husky voice was
again heard to exclaim.
To be sure 1 was not a doctor, not a qualified
practitioner that is to say, but as far as the Ox
leek family knew me I was "M. 1)."; and paci
fying my grumbling conscience with this small
piece of jesuilisni, 1 blandly nodded my head to
the young woman when she recited to ine Mr.
O.xlcek's querv.
"Then you'd bdtcrgo up, and p'r'aps you
wouldn't mind taking Uii letter up with you,"
(aid she.
I went r.p: it was lutein the -evening, and can
dlelight, in the room on the next floor that is,
but not on the stairs; but hud it lceii altogether
dark, I might have discovered Mr. Oxleek bi
ting stench of his tobacco. 1 walked in at the
half-open door.
There was Mr. Oxleek by the fire, the very
perfection of an indolent, ease-lov ing, pipe
smoking, beer-soaking wretch as ever sat for
his portrait. He was a man verging on fifty, I
should think, with a pair of broad shoulders lit
to carry a side of beef, and as greasy about the
cuffs ami collar of his tattered jacket as though
at some early period of his existence he had car
ried sides of beef. Hut that must have been many
years ago, for the grease had all worn black
with nge, and the shoulders ot the jacket were
all fretted through by constant friction against
the back of the easv-chair he sat in. He wore
slippers-at least he" wore our slipper; the other
one, all slouched down at the heel, had slipped
oft his lazy foot a lew inches too tar for easy
recovery, and there it lay. A villainously dirty
lace had Mr. Oxleek, and a beard ol at least a
month's growth, it was plain to be seen that
one of Mr. Oxleek's most favorite positions ot
sitting Wiis with his head resting against that
part of the wall that was by the side of the
mantel-shelf, for there, largo as a dinner-plate,
was the black, greasy patch his dirty hair had
made. He had been smoking, for there, still
smouldering, was his filthy little pip" m tho
shilf, and bv the side of it a yellow jug all
streaked and stained with ancient smears
of beer. Ho was not . quite un
occupied, however; ho was nursing a
baby! lie, the pipe-sucking, beer-swigging',
unshaven, dirty, lazy rufllau was nursing a poor
little creature less than a year old, as I should
judge, with its small, pinched faco renosiug
against Ids ragged waistcoat, in the pocket of
which his tobacco was probably kept. The baby
wore its bedgown, as though it had once been
put to bed and roused to be nursed. It was a
yvry old und wofully begrimed, betlgowiij bear
ing marks of Mr. Oxleek's dirtv paws, and of
jils tobacco-dust, nnd of phvsle clumsily ndniin
Wercd and spilt. It would appear too much
like "piling up the agony" did I attempt to de
scribe Hint baby's face, 'it was the countenance
of nn Infant that had cried Itself to sleep, and to
whom pnm was so familiar, that It Invaded its
dreams, causing its mites of features to twitch
find quiver so that it would have been a mercy
to wake it.
"Evening, sir; take a cheer!" remarked Mr.
oxleek, quite hospitably; "this is the young uu,
It was very odd. Clearly there was n great
mistake somewhere, and yet as far as thev had
gone, the proceedings were not much nt variance
with the original text. I was "M. 1).," mid a
doctor was expected. "This was the young tin,"
.Mr. Oxleek declared, nnd a voting one, a be
reaved young one who had lost his darling play
mate, was a prominent feature in his wile's let
ter to me.
"Oh. is that the voting on:-" I remarked.
" es; n heap of trouble: going alter the list.
I m a f card."
"The same symptom-, eh?''
"Just the same, lleg'ler handful she Is. and
no mistake."
This then was vo the "voting nn" Mrs. Ox
leek had w ritten about. This "was a girl, it
seemed.
"Pray, how long L it -ince a medical man -aw
llie child '(" I inquired, I am afraid in a tone that
rou-ed suspicion in Mr. Oxleek's mind.
. "Oh, you know, when he came last week
you're come instead of him? Yon lntr.v come
instead of him. haven't yoti ?"
"No. indeed." I replied. "I've come to talk
about that advertisement ot yours.''
Mr. Oxleek for a moment looked blank, but
only lor a momeiil. He -aw the trap just as he
vvn- about lo set his foot iu it. and w ithdrew it
in time.
"Not here," he remarked, impudently.
"Put I must beg your pardon, it, is here. You
forget. I wiide lo you as M. 1)."
lly thi- time Mr. Oxleek had -ei.ed and lit
his short pipe, and was pulling away at it with
great vigor.
"You're come to the wrong shop. I (ell you!''
he replied. Irom behind the impenetrable cloud:
"we don't know no "M. I).' nor M. 1'., nor M.
anythink: it's a mistake."
" Perhaps if I show you your wife's writing,
you will lie convinced?"
"No. I shan't: it's all a mistake, I tell you."
I sat down on a chair.
"Will your wile be long before -he returns?"
I inquired.
"Can't say oh. here she ct me: inur p'r'aps
you'll believe that you're come to the wrong
shop. My dear. what, do wo know about M"!
D.'s, or advertising, eh?"
"Nothing."
Mrs. Oxleek was a short, hit woman, with a
sunny smile on her florid face, and a general air
of content about her. She had brought in with
her u pot of beer and a quantity of pork and
Rau.-agcs tor supper.
"Nothing." she repeated instantly, taking the
cue: "who says that we do?"
"This gentleman's been a tacklin' me a good
"i:n. I can icll you! --ays that he's got your
writing1 to .-lioA lor siiinmat or other."
"Where is my writing:-" a-ked Mr-. Oxleek.
defiantly.
"This is it. if I am not mi-taken, tua'am."
And I di-playcd it.
"Ah! that's where it is. you -ce," said she,
with a triumphant chuckle, "you ; mistaken.
You are only wa-iing your "time, my good sir.
My mune isn't 'Y . '...' and never was." Allow me
to light you down stairs., my good sir."
And 1 did allow her. What e! -e could I do ?
At the same time, and although my investigations
led to nothing at all, I came away convinced,
as doubtless the reader is, that there was no
"mistake." and that Mr. and Mr-. Oxleek were
of the tribe of ogres, who fatten on little chil
dren. Singularly enough, as I revise these pages for
the press, there appears in the new-papers a
grimly apt illustration of the above statement.
So exactly do the details of the case in question
bear out the arguments used in support of my
views of baby-farming, that I will take the
liberty of setting the matter before the reader
just as it was set before the coroner.
"An investigation of a singular character wis
held by Mr. Kichards on Thursday night, at Ihe
Lord Campbell tavern. How. respecting the
death ot Frederick Wood, aged two years and
three month-.
"Miss A. V , of Iloxton, said deceased was
a sickly child, and ten months ago witness took
it to Mrs. Savill. of :M Sway ton Load. How. She
paid her four and sixpence a week to take care
of the child. She never saw more than two other
babies at Mrs. Savill's house. She thought her
child was thoroughly attended to. The deceased
met Willi an accident and its thigh was broken,
but the doctor said that the witness need not put
herself out in the slightest degree, for the child
was getting on very well. Witness could not
get away from business more than once a week
to see the child. iShe had not seen the child for
live weeks.
Mrs. Caroline Savill said she was the wife of
a porter in the city. The deceased had been
with her ten months. She put him to bed at il
o'clock on Saturday night, and at half-past 8 on
8unduy morning she said to her daughter, "He
looks strange,' and then she put a looking-glass
to his mouth and found that lie was dead.
"Hy the Coroner: She could account for the
broken thigh. Last October, when she was
taking deceased up to bed, she slipped down
and fell upon the child. She was quite certain
that she was sober. It was a pair of old boots
that caused her to slip. She had eleven children
to keep at How.
"A Juryman You keep, in fact, a baby
farm ?
"Witness That I must leave to your gene
rosity, gentlemen. Iu continuation, witness
stated that out of the eleven children ,icc had
tlicd. There had been no inquest on either of
them. The deceased's bed was an egg-box with
some straw in it. The egg-box was a short one,
and was sixteen inches wide. The child could
not turn in it. She never tied deceased's legs
together. She never discovered that the child's
thigh was broken till the morning following
the night when she fell on it. He cried and
she put him to bed. She fell upon the edge of
the stairs and her weight was on him. She sent
for a doctor next day.
"Dr. Atkins said he was called to see the dead
both' of the deceased last Sunday. The child
had a malformed chest. Death had arisen trom
cllusion of serum on the brain from natural
causes, and not from neglect. Witness had
attended the deceased for the broken thigh. Ho
believed that the bones had not united when
death took idaee.
I "'I he jury, after a long consultation, returned
a verdict of 'death from natural causes;' and
they wished to append a censure, but tho coro
ner refused to record it."
That is the whole of the pretty story of which
the reader must be left to form his own opinion.
Should Unit opinion insist on a censure as one of
its appendages, the reader must of course beheld
personally responsible for it. It is all over now.
The poor'littlc victim whom a .Miss of his namo
placed with the How "child-farmer," "by leave
of your generosity, gentlemen," is dead and
buried. It would have been a mercy when his
unsteady nurse fell on and crushed him on the
edge of the stairs, if she had crushed his misera-
i hie life out, instead of only breaking a thigh.
Since last October, with one small leg literally
in tho grave, he must have had a dismal time of
U, poor little chap, and glad, indeed, must his
I spirit have been when its clay tenement was
lifted out of his cotlin cradle tho egg-box
! with tho bit of straw in it and con
signed to tho peaceful little wooden house
that the cemetery claimed. It is all over with
Frederick John 'Wood; and his mamma, or
whoever she was who was at liberty only once a
week to come and sec him, is released from tho
crushin" burden his maintenance imposed on
her and Mrs. Savill by this time has doubtless
filled up the egg-box the little boy's demise ren
dered vacant. Why should she not, when she
left the coroner's court without a stain on her
character ? It is all over. The curtain that was
raised just a little has been dropped again, and
the audience has dispersed, and nobody will
think ngaln of the tragedy tho darkened stage in
ready to produce usaia ut tho shortest notice,
until the coroner's constable rings the bell and
the curtain once more ascends.
And so we shall go on, unless the law slops In
to our aid. Vhy does It not do so ? It Is strin
gent nnd vigilant enough as regards Inferior
animals. It has a stern eye for pigs, and will
not permit them to be kept except on certain
indexible conditions. It holds dogs In leash,
and permits them to live only as contributors to
her Majesty's Inland Kevenuc. It holds its
whip over lodging-house keepers, and uuder
frightful pains and penalties they may not
swindle a lodger of one out of his several hun
dred regulation feet of air; but it takes no heed
of the cries of its persecuted babes and suck
lings. Any one may start as a professed adopter
of children. Any one, however ignorant and
brutal, and given to slipping down stairs, may
start as n baby-farmer, with liberty to do as she
pleases with "the helpless creatures placed in
her charge. What she pleases first of all to do.
as a matter of course, is to pnrc down the cost of
her charge's keep, so that slie may make a living
of the parings. As has been seen, she need not
even find them beds to lie on: if she be extra
economical, an egg-box with a handful of straw
will do as well.
And is there no remedy for this ? Would it
not be possible at. least to issue licenses to baby
keepers as they are at present issued to cow
keepers? It may appear a brutal way of putting
the matter, but it becomes less -o when one con
siders how much at present the brutes have the
hi st of it.
Turner Urothors Co. send ns the fol
lowing September magazines:
Tin Liiihfx Friiud is illustrated with a
number of engravings, patterns for nil kinds
of ladies' work, n double-page colored fashion
plate, nnd a steel plate frontispiece of "Por
tia. " The literary contents are such as will
be appreciated by the readers of the inagn
zine, as tin y iiK I'tde stories by Amanda M.
Tlotiglnss, T.liznbeth Present t, nml u poem by
Florence Percy.
A rlli lli'ini f'lin:.! 'm has for a front is
pieeo a clever drawing by Mr. E. P. Penscll,
illustrating a temperance .dory by Mr. Arthur.
The stories, sketches, poetry, and miscella
neous articles of this magazine are interesting
and especially adapted for home reading.
Out a Mniii'i presents; nn attractive variety
of original selected articles that w ill m ike
pleasant reading for travellers, or visitors to
the seashore or mountains.
Thi dn'ih'i n'.i 1 fin r is illustrated by nume
rous nttractive designs, while its stories and
sketches are such as will please the fancy of
the young readers.
PROPOSALS.
1! U P V S A I,
i' it i; u I'j i: p.
OITK I-: d-' .DISTANT CiniMlSs I; V-( i l'. Kb' l.
if si i'.-i-tknci;. rim:!' ( (immisai:y wr
SI r.MsTKNCK. I Hil'A liTM I'M' ( if T UK IIAsf
AND M1I.ITAKY D! Y!-do i if TIIK ATI. N I'K'.
Ni:w Yoi;k Oty, August t:, !-'.:.
Scale I Proposals, in duplicate, will be ivre, , ,-d ,y
the undersigned a! his otlii-e, roam An.iy I'.uild
imr, corner of crecue ami Houston streets, or
directed to Post Olllee I'.ox 'J-Ji'.'.l, New York, until III
o'c'.ncU A. M.. September in, 1 -ii'.i, for supplying
Coiumissjeiiod (ulieers and " i-ir I'i luihes stationed
at Philadelphia. Pa., or supplied tlie'vfruni, wi'h
such choice l'Kl;i p.rfP as they may front time to
time reipiire. such a siroiu and Porie,-lIo;is(. steak,
Standing l.'ilis, or b'ii-s Ko;is;s, delivered free of eo-t.
The con'racts to lie in totve six months, or such
less time as the t'oiiunissary-( 'eiier.il shall direct,
commencing on the '.'nth September, l-cn. au-l sub
ject til the approval of the Commanding Oeueral ol
the Department of tin? East.
In case of failure or deiicieney in the rpialitv or
quantity of the fresh beef stipulated to be delivered,
then the Assistant, onmiissary-tiencral ut New York
city shall have power to supply the deiicieney by
purchase, and the contractor will be charged with
the (Inference of cost.
The contractor will be required to enter into bonds
for the sum of three hundred dollars (E-l"" signed
also by two responsible sureties, vvlio-c nuiics must
be mentioned in the bids.
The proposals will be opened at 10 A. M. on
September l.'ith, fsiii).
Proposals will be marked '-Proposals for beef,"
and addressed
V. b. Kir.Pil b'X,
s 1(1 fit brevet llrig. (ien'l .V A. ('. (1. S.
j it opus a I. s v o it p (j i; a c K .
Depot (,ir a ktkk m a stem's oiiice,)
Washington, 1). (.'., duly lit, IsO'.i. f
Proposals are invited, Irom responsible parties,
until 12 M., August :io, lsoti, for furnishing all the
Corn. Oats, Hay, and itye Straw (to be of llrst class
merchantable quality) required ut this Depot during
the year coiiiineucing October 1, fsr,'.). Forage and
Straw to be delivered monthly anywhere within one
mile of limits of the cities of Washington and George
town, at Port Whipple. Ya., about one and a half
miles from Ceortretowu, and a small quantity at
Soldiers' Home, and in such quantities and at such
times us ordered by the (quartermaster in charge.
Corn to bo delivered in good sacks, of about two
bushels each, lifty-si.x (!0) pounds to the bushel;
Oats in like sacks, of anout three bushels each, of not
less than thirty-two (!W) pounds to the bushel ; Hay
and straw baled, and to weigh two thousand (JnoO)
pounds per ton.
rdddcrs will state price of Oats and Corn tier
bushel, iiicludiiifr sacks, ami also price without sacks,
and of Hay and Straw per ton.
The quantity required for the year Is estimated at
five thousand nine hundred and forty bushels of
Com; thirty-one thousand one hundred ami seventy
five bushels of Oats; seven hundred ami seventy
live tons of Hay; ami two hundred tons of Straw;
but the right Is reserved to increase or diminish that
quantity by one-third on proper notice. The eon
tnctor will be required to keep at least one month's
supply of forage and straw on hand, and I ) have a
place of business in this city.
(Jiiarantees will be furnished with each bid in the
sum of live thousand dollars, signed by two respon
sible sureties, that the bidder will, if successful,
within six days after his acceptance, execute a eon
tract In accordance with above requirements. The
contractor will be required to exhibit on or before
the l.'ith day of Septemlx r next satisfactory evidence
that he Is prepared to commence fiiltillhig contract.
Payments will be made monthly for quantity of
forage and straw delivered. If in funds, or as soon
thereafter as funds are furnished for the purpose.
None fo be paid for except on receipts of the parties
to whom delivery has been ordered.
A bond In the sum of twelve thousand dollars,
signed by himself and two accepted sureties, will be
required of the successful bidder for the faithful ful
filment of his contract.;
Should the contractor fail to furnish the kind and
quantity of forage and straw required, It will he pur
chased in open market, and the excess of cost
charged to him.
All bids will be submitted to the (Jiiiirterniaster
Oeneral before awarding contract.
Proposals, in duplicate, will bo addressed to the
undersigned, with copy of advertisement attached,
marked "Proposals for Forage," and bidders are
Invited to be present at the opening of bids.
Ify order of the imarterniasteMieiienil.
J. C. McKKKUAN,
Deputy Quartermaster-General, Pvt. llrig. (icn., r.
8. A., and Depot (quartermaster. 8 liict
GROCERIES AND PROVISIONS.
JICHAEL MEAGHBK & CO.,
NO. 823 South SIXTEENTH Street,
Wholesale and Retail Dealers In
PROVISIONS
OVbTEKS, AJTO SAND CLAMS,
FOK FAMILY CSS
TERRAPINS f 8 DOZEi
SHIPPING.
-T FOK LIVERPOOL AV
ifV ' 9.V KKNHTW M -Inmiin bin of '
S?3?ri Tn" ' ,r9 ,,,0,mB,l to M fv
Ciiyu! ISoMon, SattirdAy. Anoint 21, at 1 P. M. j
Kt na, Tin HnlifHx, Tncnriiiv, AuiiNt4, nt 1 lM. I
City (if 1'nris, Sitnrday. Aukum 2. t III A. M. ' f
City of Hreoklyn, hut urdny. Snelpiiiln-r 4, nt j p. M f
And nrh sin-rowling Siilurilay and allomuto Tqesd.
from l'iur 45, North Hivpr.
HATKN OK PASSAOP:. i
BY tut; mait, htkamf.h baiijno kvi:bt RAmnrnT '
.... i1"''1'' 'oal. Payable in Currency'
HHS I C A BIN $1KiSTKFRA(,K
'lolrfindon In;-. 1 To London ."" .
To Paris 1 1 T I To l'nria '
1-AHNADK 1IY TIIK TUKBDAX HTKAMKH, VIA UAI.1KAT.' ,
HUNT ( ACIN. KTI.I-HAdR. J
Payable mOuld. Pnynblo in Current f
I.lvcrimol flu" Liverpool ft
Halifn. iW I Halifax "',
bt. Jnlin'a, N 1-., ) iSt. J,ni, jV r ".l
by Itranch Meiim-r... .( b by linin.-li Steamer... (
et,cttM7(;ua',rTl'or,,,0t, lla"- ""'Ul'"r'
l(.Mrv".'"'i'.rA V'In.nli"n apply at the Company's Offlo,
.IOIIN u. UALK, AfTont, No. 15 HKOAMVVAV. N 1
fr. CHARLFRTn o
.l JII.(4 - j
THE SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST. I
FAST
FlJlilGIIY
EVKKY THUKSDAV.
The Steamships I'HOMETHEfH, Captain jr
.1. W. KVKintAN, Ca tit ;i hi I - mi k Vv
WILL l-CL.M , ItKui-LAK VI L, 'l y YlE
I he steamship .1. W. KV El! t AN will s'-il
Tl I ESDAV, August 1!, tit 4 I'. .M.
S. . 1!. 1!. to points In the South and Southwest 1
Insurance at lowest rates. l:es of fivig it s id
ns by any other route, for freight, apply to I
Dltsllliij
i iinmi'ii ii m oi mm Tier r vim in . z
rr. ONLYMIKECTLIXETOFKWrl
If . ti.i- 3 v v .-.rr 1
('.Hi i'Aiivi i i ,y.'SiT 'AT?
it id. sr. -.-iiai !!., -.ji.iu
..The Hplcndid new vcsspla on this fnvoriia ...,.
I. -. V I K. N I- W VI lit UT A Vli .V '.'. ':''
5
hSlurdlS 'r0,U l''Ur N- '' Kur"1 "Vr. !v
i . , . . , ,. PRK!K Ob' PASSAGE
in Rnld (including wine),
IO UK I-ST OR HAviiii-
Ul,,in ! Second Cabin..
I O PA lilS.
..l ..
Kir c"b n C ""y i.'fjH'' furnishc! en board.)
' Ii ; i4: ' s-L-omi Cabin a
mine., ,. risks l,-, triun.it by English ,dw,
-i Wo.aa, (tMKstlJ
f --Tr. , I'lllI.ADELl'lirA, RIC
:r, t P;AMl NOIU OLK NTK VMKI
jyjb; ri'oi'( it i-itKKJii .'
ri-itssri.THE south aniwkst
HIlI.ADELl'lirA. RlCinrnvi
I'.A.MSUIP UN
..nt line -a
uo"n' ,rom ' r WUAKK above MARk-
c-irvjim A,,;vir0irtti.t,trth nn"
) ..rlMn.mth and lo I vnrlibiiri 'r """"tinK
It AT LS i'iVa'V AN V o'lM f'it j' U'" ' Wff
vcrryinif evei.v deseripfion of fn-i, """""""
tl.VnH!er!r,,'0 'r co,"mi!iu. or any oxponso
Sumi.-.liips insured nt tho lowest ratos
I reiKUt lucned liaily.
No PS WflMIVTsUJ?! P- CLYDK AGO..
t. r. ( :t( i i-1 . i . a- i . :.. :.. .' : ' .:
.iki iii i. . nurmiK, tj
4
$T'rt LOKILLAllirs STEAMS1II
V TJ.-JT 7' LIKE I'Oit
ua-i fjEW YORK.
.SuiliuR on Tuesday, Thursdays, nnd Saturdays.
K EDUCTION OE KATES.
1-rpiKhtbytliislinctiikenatlJ cents per tin) pounds!
e-. .......or i ceni por Kall.m, ship's option. Ai
vam-o euurws chriumi at otf.ee on Pier. Freight reoeivd
fV tut timi-? uu tUCItU tWJUIIt
JOHN E. OIIL,
2 2! Pier 10 North Wharves.
N. H. Extra rntoaon umall piu-knyos iron, inotal, etc,
vm.r i, ' t. T-.-. . . . . I
S3 Ih i.r.v l'-Vl-lit',&S LINK le
1 J It' A 11 IH1 1 III, ...(.OrtfO.OWn . and n, i nntnn
, . """. ' -".' "'iw .'i.Ilttl, V Iff
y ..nur. ti.uiH hi Alcxi.ndrin Ir.mi iho limit diniof, route t
C Vl:l Ctln.li1.nnL-.. un,l l..l ...... .
...... m, unaiui, niuuniio, asuvinu, lAUlou, audita
SLwincrs lenvo rr-Bularly evrry Saturday at noon from tl
Ill-St .llll.-r llllllVI. M.-irUl.t Itrnnl "!
I- icikIu rucuivu.l daily. ' I
WILLIAM P. CLYDE CO., '.
..,,, . ,r, U North and South Wharves.
l i nil i i ii i -Ii ' -, ' "'' ."'ri i . oorKOtown;
1- LDHIIICK & CO., Awntsut Aloiauiina. 61
rii te. ...iiai-i. rw i,.i-.w viikk v
VlTT.-l.' vttiiii .r - - -
;J j ',, '!',"; Jii KAIOI'AN OA , A
i. i.i-i tin, nn . ..t
liio CIIEAI'I-'ST and OUIok KST u-,.ir'..,..',..
. ........ 1 ....... .1 ll.l.ll-l I,. Ul mv I ,1 it. 1
tS: earners l.'nvo daily Irom lirst wharf below Mark
U. r....l ll.a..l..l..l,l.. ..n.l f..... ..tf W..II T.
i..., I............. ll.;l...li..l.:.. i v-
-.. . ... ......... .... ..... ''""" ".I", nire.i., now oq
.ii.i,;vt i.., nn ,iio iii.ub ruNIl.UK out Ol H0
1 ink. North, Lust, and West, freo of commission. j
l-ri-iKht rut-.-ivi-d and forwarded on aeoommodatia
tei-uiK. WILLIAM P. CLYDE A CO., Aui.nla,
I0. 12 S. DELAWAUU Aveimo, Philadelphia.!
, , JAMES HAND, Agent, i
E"? No. flM WALL Str.ief, New Yorkj
fc NOTICE. TOli NEW YOKK, VE
I Iwl ii.- I UK A 111 I., MPA VV 111,
......... ..... ..... vi.,.i-l, n . ll- iaui,'
PATCH AND SWIl-'I'SUKK. LINK.
The business by those lines will be resumed on and aftj
. ..c ...iiiii. vi iic.KULS, HU1CU Will U(J laKOQ I
ucuoiuiuouuuuK terms, apply to
W. M. BAIUD A CO..
3 -i No. 1&! South Wharves. 3
ENGINES, MACHINERY, ETO.
PENN STEAM ENGINE A
BOILER WORKS NKA KIK A LKV
PRACTICAL AND THKIIR KT in A
? VWi;l!Vi.-ii-Htt M a i ml visi-ru uou u-x
UI.A(!US;MITIIM anil LllllV.wbc I
. Huu . . u.. ur.i.u. uaTIK
for many years been in successful operation, and been m
clusively engaKod in building and repairing Marine an
Kiver Engiues. hih and low-pressure. Iron lioilera, Wat
Tanks, Propellers, etc., etc,, respectfully offer their sw
vices to the public as being fully prepared to contract f
engines of all sizes, Marine, River, and Stationary; navii;
gets of patterns of different sizee, are. prepared U execul
orders with quick Jespatcb. Every description of patten
making made at tne shortest notice. High and Low-pra
sure tine Tubular aud Cylinder lioilera ol the best Ien
sylvania Charcoal Iron. Korgings of all sizes and kind.
Iron and Brass Castings of all descriptions. Roll Turning
(Screw Cutting, and all other work connected with ti
above business. t
Drawings aud specifications for all work dona at Uf
establishment free of charge, and work guaranteed. -f
The subscribers have amide wharf dock-room for repatf
of boats, where they can Jiu in perfect saiety, and are pr.
vided with shears, blocks, falls, etc. etc, for raising beat
or iignt weignia.
JACOB O. NRAFIH. i
JOHN P. LEVY, I
815
BEACH and PALMER Streets.'
COI'TIIWAKK FOUNDRY, FIFTH ANl
IO WAMil-NCiTOX Streets, 1
I'llII.AIIKI.I'HIA. 8
MERRICK A SONS,
ENGINEERS ANl) MACHINISTS, f
manufacture Hili ami Low I'rcs.siue bieum Engine
lor Lund, River, mid Murine Service. i
lioilcrH, Oiisumctei'H, TiinkH, Iron Uouts, etc. f
Ca.stinirH of nil kinds, either Iron or Ilrasti. f
Iron Eriinie Roofs for (las Works, Workshops, ar
Iiiiilrou.l Stations, etc. .
lietorts and (ias Machinery of the latest and mot
Improved const ruction. j
Every description of Plantation Machinery, alef
Enjrar, suw, and (irlst Mills, Vacuum Pans. Oi
Steam Trains, Defecators, Filters, J'uuipiuir En
gincs, etc. 1 6
Sole Agents for N. Itllleux's Stipar lioiiintr Apntf
ra us JseKinytli s Patent Steam Hammer, ami As, id
wall A oulscya Patent Ceutrilugal Sugar UrJn
itiig .Machines. B 6 " 4 atij i
Q I R A R D TUDE VORKC
JOHN II. MUltPIIY & BHOS. I
Itlnniifucturere of Wrought Iron i'lpe, Kla 7
PHILADELPHIA, PA. i
WORKS, I
TWENTV.THIKIJ nnd FILBERT Htreeu I
OKFI0E. M1
Wo. 4'i Worth FIFTH Street. ?
WOODLANDS CEMETERY COMPANY71
1 1 . .'''""'""owing Manager! and Offioera hi. hlT
elected for the year 1hsi: Ueej
O.IIH- u . PKIOK, President.
Wllllsm H KT.... I unn: ... v.'.
Williom H. Moore,
rtitinuui n. moon,
(.ilhtu Dallett,
Edwin Greble,
ti iiuaiu v. Keen,
rerdinand J. Drew
Ceorge L. Huzbv.
I B. A. Knight.
JOSEPH ll TOWNSRND. 1
oecreiary ana j reasnrer, JOSEPH fi. TOWNSRND v
Ihe Managers have passed a resolntion reimirini Sot
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