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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of London Labour and the London Poor, Vol. 4, by
-Henry Mayhew
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
-the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-Title: London Labour and the London Poor, Vol. 4
-
-Author: Henry Mayhew
-
-Release Date: October 9, 2020 [EBook #63415]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LONDON LABOUR, LONDON POOR, VOL 4 ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Henry Flower, the booksmiths at eBookForge and
-the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
-http://www.pgdp.net
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-Transcriber's Note
-
-
-Superscript text is indicated by caret signs, e.g. "Adm^l".
-
-Large tables have been refactored for display on smaller screens.
-
-Illustrations have been moved to paragraph breaks and/or placed next
-to the text which they illustrate, and may not match the locations
-give in the List of Illustrations.
-
-The text (enclosed in ~swung dashes~) beginning "Removing any goods off"
-on p. 444 was printed as vertical text.
-
-On p. xxii, the figures "2,721,73" and "54,00" were each printed
-without the final digit.
-
-Corrected errata are listed at the end of the text.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration: A MIDNIGHT MEETING.--REV. BAPTIST NOEL SPEAKING.]
-
-
-
-
- LONDON LABOUR
- AND THE LONDON POOR
-
- A Cyclopædia of the Condition and Earnings
-
- OF
-
- THOSE THAT _WILL_ WORK
- THOSE THAT _CANNOT_ WORK, AND
- THOSE THAT _WILL NOT_ WORK
-
- BY
- HENRY MAYHEW
-
- THOSE THAT WILL NOT WORK
- COMPRISING
- PROSTITUTES · THIEVES · SWINDLERS · BEGGARS
- BY SEVERAL CONTRIBUTORS
-
- With an Introductory Essay on the Agencies at Present in Operation in
- the Metropolis for the Suppression of Vice and Crime
-
- by
-
- THE REV. WILLIAM TUCKNISS, B.A.
- CHAPLAIN TO THE SOCIETY FOR THE RESCUE OF YOUNG WOMEN AND CHILDREN
-
- WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
-
- VOLUME FOUR
-
-
-
-
- First edition 1851
- (_Volume One only and parts of Volumes Two and Three_)
- Enlarged edition (Four volumes) 1861-62
- New impression 1865
-
-
-
-
-ADVERTISEMENT.
-
-
-It would be a work of supererogation to extol the utility of such a
-publication as “London Labour and the London Poor,” so apparent must be
-its value to all classes of society. It stands alone as a photograph of
-life as actually spent by the lower classes of the Metropolis. That one
-half of the world does not know how the other half lives is an axiom of
-antiquity, but the truthful revelations and descriptions of the London
-street folk, workers and non-workers, and the means by which they
-exist, will go a great way to enlighten the educated classes respecting
-matters which have hitherto been involved in mystery and uncertainty.
-
-The class of individuals treated of in this volume are the Non-Workers,
-or in other words, the Dangerous Classes of the Metropolis; and every
-endeavour has been made to obtain correct information, not only through
-the assistance of the police authorities, but by an expenditure of much
-time and research among the unfortunates themselves. Their favourite
-haunts, and the localities in London wherein they chiefly congregate,
-as well as their modes of existence, are accurately described; in
-addition to which have been inserted very many deeply interesting
-autobiographies, faithfully transcribed from their own lips, which go
-far to unveil the intricate schemes of villany and crime that abound
-in the Metropolis, and prove how much more rational and effective are
-preventive measures than such as are merely correctional.
-
-Every phase of vice has been investigated and treated of, in order that
-all possible information that can prove interesting to the moralist,
-the philanthropist, and the statist, as well as to the general public,
-might be afforded. In a word the veil has been raised, and the skeleton
-exposed to the view of the public.
-
-In order to inspire hope and confidence in those who would shudder
-and lose heart in the perusal of such a record of crime and misery,
-the volume is prefaced by a comprehensive account of the agencies in
-operation within the Metropolis for the suppression of crime and vice,
-in which is detailed the aim and scope of the numerous religious and
-philanthropic associations now actively following the footsteps of that
-Divine Saviour, Whose chief mission was to the poor and guilty.
-
-These brave workers now abound in all the dark places of the
-Metropolis, and the fruits of their labours, particularly in the
-case of youthful criminals, are becoming, through the blessing of
-Providence, abundantly apparent.
-
-A vast amount of statistical information, compiled from authentic
-records, is contained in the body of the work, and in the Appendix, and
-a few illustrations are introduced, graphically showing the extremes of
-vice and crime.
-
-The publishers have to thank Sir Richard Mayne and the authorities at
-Scotland Yard, as well as the Secretaries of the various charitable
-societies, for much valuable information and assistance.
-
- _Stationers’ Hall Court;
- December, 1861._
-
-
-
-
-CONTENTS.
-
-
-THE AGENCIES AT PRESENT IN OPERATION WITHIN THE METROPOLIS, FOR THE
-SUPPRESSION OF VICE AND CRIME.
-
-BY THE REV. WILLIAM TUCKNISS, B.A.
-
- PAGE
-
- UNIVERSAL DESIRE FOR INVESTIGATION xi
-
- MERE PALLIATIVES INSUFFICIENT TO CHECK THE GROWTH OF CRIME xi
-
- DECREASE OF CRIME DOUBTFUL xii
-
- GENERAL DESIRE TO ALLEVIATE MISERY xiii
-
- GUTHRIE ON GREAT CITIES xiv
-
- SOCIAL POSITION OF LONDON xv
-
- AGENCIES AT WORK IN LONDON xvii
- Their Number and Income xvii
-
- CURATIVE AGENCIES xviii
- British and Foreign Bible Society xix
- Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge xix
- Institution for Reading the Word of God in the Open Air xix
- Theatre Services xix
- London City Mission, xx
- Church of England Scripture Readers’ Society xxii
- Religious Tract Society xxiii
- Pure Literature Society xxiii
-
- PREVENTIVE AGENCIES xxiv
- National Temperance Society xxiv
- United Kingdom Alliance xxiv
- Free Drinking Fountain Association xxv
- Ragged School Union xxv
- Society for Improving the Condition of the Labouring Classes xxv
- Female Servants’ Home Society xxvi
- Female Aid Society xxvii
- Training Institutions for Servants xxvii
- Field Lane Night Refuges xxvii
- Dudley Stuart Night Refuge xxvii
- Houseless Poor Asylum xxviii
- House of Charity xxviii
- Foundling Hospital xxviii
- Society for the Suppression of Mendicity xxviii
- Association for Promoting the Relief of Destitution xxviii
- Association for the Aid and Benefit of Dressmakers and Milliners xxix
- Young Women’s Christian Association and West-end Home xxix
- Society for Promoting the Employment of Women xxx
- Metropolitan Early Closing Association, &c. xxx
-
- REPRESSIVE AND PUNITIVE AGENCIES xxx
- Society for the Suppression of Vice xxxi
- The Associate Institution xxxi
- Society for Promoting the Observance of the Lord’s Day xxxiv
- Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals xxxiv
-
- REFORMATIVE AGENCIES xxxiv
- Reformatory and Refuge Union xxxiv
- Reformative Agencies for Fallen Women xxxv
- Magdalen Hospital xxxvi
- London by Moonlight Mission xxxvii
- Society for the Rescue of Young Women and Children xxxvii
- London Female Preventive and Reformatory Institution xxxvii
-
- CONCLUDING REMARKS xxxviii
-
-
- INTRODUCTION AND CLASSIFICATION. BY HENRY MAYHEW 1
-
- WORKERS AND NON-WORKERS 2
- Classification of ditto 11
-
- THOSE WHO WILL WORK 12
- Enrichers 13
- Auxiliaries 16
- Benefactors 19
- Servitors 20
-
- THOSE WHO CANNOT WORK 22
- Those who are provided for 22
- Those who are unprovided for 22
-
- THOSE WHO WILL NOT WORK 23
- Vagrants or Tramps 23
- Professional Beggars 23
- Cheats and their Dependants 24
- Thieves and their Dependants 25
- Prostitutes and their Dependants 27
-
- THOSE THAT NEED NOT WORK 27
- Those who derive their Income from Rent 27
- Those who derive their Income from Dividends 27
- Those who derive their Income from Yearly Stipends 27
- Those who derive their Income from obsolete or nominal Offices 27
- Those who derive their Income from Trades in which they do
- not appear 27
- Those who derive their Income by favour from others 27
- Those who derive their support from the head of the family 27
-
- THE NON-WORKERS. BY HENRY MAYHEW 28
-
-
- PROSTITUTES.
-
-
- THE PROSTITUTE CLASS GENERALLY. BY HENRY MAYHEW AND
- BRACEBRIDGE HEMYNG 35
-
- PROSTITUTION IN ANCIENT STATES 37
- The Jews, &c. 39
- Ancient Egypt 43
- Ancient Greece 45
- Ancient Rome 49
- The Anglo-Saxons 34
-
- PROSTITUTION AMONG THE BARBAROUS NATIONS 58
- African Nations 58
- Australia 67
- New Zealand 71
- Islands of the Pacific 76
- North American Indians 84
- South American Indians 90
- Cities of South America 93
- West Indies 94
- Java 96
- Sumatra 99
- Borneo 103
-
- PROSTITUTION AMONG THE SEMI-CIVILIZED NATIONS 104
- Celebes 107
- Persia 108
- The Affghans 111
- Kashmir 115
- India 117
- Ceylon 125
- China 129
- Japan 136
- The ultra-Gangetic Nations 139
- Egypt 141
- Northern Africa 149
- Arabia, Syria, and Asia Minor 151
- Turkey 155
- Circassia 158
- The Tartar Races 160
-
- PROSTITUTION AMONG THE MIXED NORTHERN NATIONS 163
- Russia 165
- Siberia 167
- Iceland and Greenland 172
- Lapland and Sweden 174
- Norway 177
- Denmark 179
-
- PROSTITUTION IN CIVILIZED STATES 181
- Spain 191
- Amsterdam 195
- Belgium 195
- Hamburg 196
- Prussia--Germany 198
- Berlin 198
- Austria 200
- Modern Rome 201
- Turin 203
- Berne 204
- Paris 205
-
-
- PROSTITUTION IN LONDON. BY BRACEBRIDGE HEMYNG 210
-
- GENERAL REMARKS 210
-
- SECLUSIVES, OR THOSE THAT LIVE IN PRIVATE HOUSES AND APARTMENTS 215
-
- THE HAYMARKET 217
-
- DEGREE OF EDUCATION AMONG PROSTITUTES 218
-
- BOARD LODGERS 220
- Autobiographies 220
-
- THOSE WHO LIVE IN LOW LODGING HOUSES 223
- Swindling Sall 223
- Lushing Loo 224
-
- SAILORS’ WOMEN 226
- Visit to Ratcliff Highway 228
- Visit to Bluegate Fields, &c. 231
-
- SOLDIERS’ WOMEN 233
- Visit to Knightsbridge 235
-
- THIEVES’ WOMEN 236
- Visit to Drury Lane, &c. 236
-
- PARK WOMEN 242
- Examples 242
-
- THE DEPENDANTS OF PROSTITUTES 246
- Bawds 246
- Followers of Dress Lodgers 247
- Keepers of Accommodation Houses 249
- Procuresses, Pimps, and Panders 250
- Fancy Men 252
- Bullies 253
-
- CLANDESTINE PROSTITUTES
- Female Operatives 255
- Maid Servants 257
- Ladies of Intrigue and Houses of Assignation 258
-
- COHABITANT PROSTITUTES 259
- Narrative of a Gay Woman 260
-
- CRIMINAL RETURNS 263
-
- TRAFFIC IN FOREIGN WOMEN 269
-
-
- THIEVES AND SWINDLERS.--BY JOHN BINNY.
-
- INTRODUCTION 273
-
- SNEAKS, OR COMMON THIEVES 277
- Juvenile Thieves 277
- Stealing from Street Stalls 277
- Stealing from the Till 278
- Stealing from the Doors and Windows of Shops 279
- Stealing from Children 281
- Child Stripping 281
- Stealing from Drunken Persons 282
- Stealing Linen, &c. 283
- Robberies from Carts 284
- Stealing Lead from House-tops, Copper from Kitchens, &c. 285
- Robberies by false Keys 286
- Robberies by Lodgers 288
- Robberies by Servants 289
- Area and Lobby Sneaks 290
- Stealing by Lifting Windows, &c. 292
- Attic or Garret Thieves 293
- A Visit to the Rookery of St. Giles 294
- Narrative of a London Sneak 301
-
- PICKPOCKETS AND SHOPLIFTERS 303
- Common Pickpockets 306
- Omnibus Pickpockets 309
- Railway Pickpockets 310
- A Visit to the Thieves’ Dens in Spitalfields 311
- Narrative of a Pickpocket 316
-
- HORSE AND DOG STEALERS 325
- Horse Stealing 325
- Dog Stealing 325
-
- HIGHWAY ROBBERS 326
- A Ramble among the Thieves’ Dens in the Borough 330
-
- HOUSEBREAKERS AND BURGLARS 334
- Narrative of a Burglar 345
- Narrative of another Burglar 349
-
- PROSTITUTE THIEVES 355
- Prostitutes of the Haymarket 356
- Common Street Walkers 360
- Hired Prostitutes 361
- Park Women 362
- Soldiers’ Women 363
- Sailors’ Women 365
-
- FELONIES ON THE RIVER THAMES 366
- Mudlarks 366
- Sweeping Boys 367
- Sellers of Small Wares 367
- Labourers on board Ship 367
- Dredgermen or Fishermen 368
- Smuggling 368
- Felonies by Lightermen 368
- The River Pirates 369
- Narrative of a Mudlark 370
-
- RECEIVERS OF STOLEN PROPERTY 373
- Dolly Shops 373
- Pawnbrokers, &c. 374
- Narrative of a Returned Convict 376
-
- COINING 377
- Coiners 378
- Forgers 380
-
- CHEATS 383
- Embezzlers 383
- Magsmen or Sharpers 385
- Swindlers 388
-
-
- BEGGARS.--BY ANDREW HALLIDAY.
-
- INTRODUCTION 393
-
- ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE POOR LAWS 394
- Statistics of the Poor Laws 397
- Report of the Poor Law Board 397
-
- STREET BEGGARS IN 1816 398
-
- MENDICANT PENSIONERS 399
-
- MENDICITY SOCIETY 399
- Examples of Applications 401
-
- BEGGING LETTER WRITERS 403
- Decayed Gentlemen 404
- Broken-down Tradesmen 405
- Distressed Scholar 405
- The Kaggs’ Family 406
-
- ADVERTISING BEGGING LETTER WRITERS 410
-
- ASHAMED BEGGARS 412
-
- THE SWELL BEGGAR 413
-
- CLEAN FAMILY BEGGARS 413
-
- NAVAL AND MILITARY BEGGARS 415
- Turnpike Sailor 415
- Street Campaigners 417
-
- FOREIGN BEGGARS 419
- The French Beggar 419
- Destitute Poles 420
- Hindoo Beggars 423
- Negro Beggars 425
-
- DISASTER BEGGARS 427
- A Shipwrecked Mariner 428
- Blown-up Miners 429
- Burnt-out Tradesmen 429
- Lucifer Droppers 431
- Bodily Afflicted Beggars 431
- Seventy years a Beggar 432
- Having swollen Legs 433
- Cripples 433
- A Blind Beggar 433
- Beggars subject to Fits 434
- Being in a Decline 435
- Shallow Coves 435
- Famished Beggars 436
- The Choking Dodge 437
- The Offal Eater 437
-
- PETTY TRADING BEGGARS 438
- An Author’s Wife 440
-
- DEPENDANTS OF BEGGARS 441
- Referees 445
-
- DISTRESSED OPERATIVE BEGGARS 446
- Starved-out Manufacturers 446
- Unemployed Agriculturists 446
- Frozen-out Gardeners 446
- Hand-loom Weavers, &c. 447
-
-
-
-
-APPENDIX.
-
-
-MAPS AND TABLES
-
-ILLUSTRATING THE CRIMINAL STATISTICS OF EACH OF THE COUNTIES OF
-ENGLAND AND WALES IN 1851.
-
- PAGE
-
- Map showing the Density of the Population 451
- Table of ditto 452
-
- Map showing the Intensity of Criminality 455
- Table of ditto 456
-
- Map showing the Intensity of Ignorance 459
- Table of ditto 460
- Table of Ignorance among Criminals 462
- Table of Degrees of Criminality 464
- Comparative Educational Tables 465
-
- Map showing the Number of Illegitimate Children 467
- Table of ditto 468
-
- Map showing the Number of Early Marriages 471
- Table of ditto 472
-
- Map showing the Number of Females 475
- Table of ditto 476
-
- Map showing Commitals for Rape 477
- Table of ditto 479
-
- Map showing Committals for Assault with Intent to Ravish and
- Carnally Abuse 481
- Table of ditto 482
-
- Map showing Commitals for Disorderly Houses 485
- Table of ditto 486
-
- Map showing Concealment of Births 489
- Table of ditto 490
-
- Map showing attempts at Miscarriage 493
- Table of ditto 494
-
- Map showing Assaults with Intent 497
- Table of ditto 498
-
- Map showing Committals for Bigamy 499
- Table of ditto 500
-
- Map showing Committals for Abduction 501
- Table of ditto 502
-
- Map showing the Criminality of Females 503
- Table of ditto 504
-
-
-
-
-LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
-
-
- A MIDNIGHT MEETING--REV. BAPTIST NOEL SPEAKING _Frontispiece_
-
- GREEK DANCING GIRL--HETAIRA--AGE OF SOCRATES _Page_ 45
-
- ROMAN BROTHEL--IMPERIAL ERA 47
-
- WOMEN OF THE BOSJES RACE 59
-
- GIRLS OF NUBIA--MAKING POTTERY 65
-
- WOMAN OF THE SACS, OR “SAU-KIES,” TRIBE OF AMERICAN INDIANS 85
-
- DYAK WOMEN--BORNEO 103
-
- CHINESE WOMAN--PROSTITUTE 129
-
- SCENE IN THE GARDENS OF ‘CLOSERIE DES LILAS’--PARIS 213
-
- A NIGHT HOUSE--KATE HAMILTON’S 217
-
- THE NEW CUT--EVENING 223
-
- THE HAYMARKET--MIDNIGHT 261
-
- BOYS EXERCISING AT TOTHILL FIELDS’ PRISON 301
-
- CELL, WITH PRISONER AT CRANK LABOUR IN THE SURREY HOUSE
- OF CORRECTION 345
-
- FRIENDS VISITING PRISONERS 377
-
- LIBERATION OF PRISONERS FROM COLDBATH FIELDS’ HOUSE OF CORRECTION 387
-
-
-
-
-INTRODUCTION.
-
-THE AGENCIES AT PRESENT IN OPERATION WITHIN THE METROPOLIS FOR THE
-SUPPRESSION OF VICE AND CRIME.
-
-
-One of the most remarkable and distinctive features of the present age
-is the universal desire for analytical investigations. Almost every
-branch of social economy is treated with a precision, and pursued with
-an accuracy, that pertains to an exact science. Demonstration has been
-reduced to a mathematical certainty; figures and statistics everywhere
-abound, and supply data for further research.
-
-Too often, however, it happens that the solution of the social problem,
-or the collation of facts tending to throw light upon the moral and
-religious condition of our country, forms the goal, and not the
-starting point of our labours.
-
-Having accomplished a diligent, and often a laborious, search, and
-succeeded in eliminating truth from a mass of contradictory evidence,
-men are generally satisfied with the mere pleasure derived from
-success. Their knowledge, the hard pursuit of which has called forth
-immense energy and perseverance, and entrenched largely on their time
-and capital, is no longer the means to an end, but the end itself.
-Having gathered a few pebbles from the exhaustless arcana of social
-philosophy, they complacently enjoy their newly-found treasures,
-without a thought of the practical uses to which they may be applied.
-
-Other men are found who enter into their labours, and use the materials
-thus collected as the basis of further philanthropic investigations.
-
-While thus perpetually rising higher in the scale of intelligence, and
-arriving at closer approximations to truth, men too often neglect to
-turn their discoveries to any utilitarian or practical purpose, and
-rest content with merely theoretical results.
-
-Thus it is that while an inductive philosophy is built up from a
-series of statistics and particulars, very little is being done to
-reduce this knowledge to practice. The science of investigation is
-admirable as far as it goes, and the pursuit of truth is at all times
-an object worthy of human ambition; but it must become the pioneer to
-tangible results, or its utility will by no means be apparent; and
-indeed it becomes a question, in an active state of existence, how
-far knowledge, which is final in its character and valuable merely
-for its own sake, is calculated to reward the efforts expended on its
-acquisition. It is true that the old philosophers held a contemplative
-life to be the highest development of human happiness, but their dreamy
-and fluctuating views are hardly likely to carry weight in an age of
-bustling activity; and it is equally certain that the bare, quiescent
-contemplation of evil in all its endless ramifications and hideous
-consequences, apart from all remedial efforts, is not likely to prove
-satisfactory to the philanthropist, nor consolatory to the Christian.
-
-It is only so far as knowledge opens up to us the path of usefulness,
-and directs us how and where to plant our energies for the benefit of
-the human race, that it becomes really valuable. If, however, knowledge
-be power, and if the discovery of an evil be half-way towards its
-cure, then have we a right to expect that our humanitarian and other
-appliances for the alleviation of misery and the prevention of crime,
-should at least keep pace with modern developments of social science.
-Hitherto men have been content to declaim against these evils, wherever
-they existed, without suggesting any feasible remedies.
-
-For a length of time our philanthropic schemes have partaken too
-much of the character of mere surface appliances, directed to the
-amelioration of existing evils, but in no way likely to effect their
-extirpation. We have been dealing with effects rather than with first
-causes, and in our zeal to absorb, divert, or diminish the former,
-the latter have generally escaped detection. When too late, we have
-discovered that mere palliatives will not suffice, and that they are
-powerless to resist the steady growth of crime in all its subtle
-developments. For, as well might we attempt to exhaust the perennial
-flow of a spring by the application of sponges, as prescribe external
-alleviations for our social disorders.
-
-Our homes, penitentiaries, and industrial reformatories will continue
-to do their work of mercy upon an infinitesimal scale, and will snatch
-solitary individuals from impending destruction; but in the meantime
-the reproductive process goes on, and fresh victims are hurried upon
-the stage of suffering and of guilt, from numberless unforeseen and
-unsuspected channels, thus causing a continuous succession of want,
-profligacy, and wretchedness.
-
-We have affected surprise, that, notwithstanding all our benevolent
-exertions, and the completeness and efficiency of our reclaiming
-systems, the great tide of our social impurities continues to roll on
-with increasing velocity. Happily, however, for future generations,
-there is a manifest tendency in the present age to correct these fatal
-mistakes, and to return to first principles.
-
-The science of anatomy is not confined to hospitals and
-dissecting-rooms, nor restricted in its application to the human frame.
-Social science conferences, and other associations are laying bare the
-deeply-imbedded roots of our national evils, and are preparing the way
-for their extirpation. Men are getting tired of planting flowers and
-training creepers to hide their social upases, and are beginning to
-discover that it is both sounder policy and truer economy to uproot a
-noxious weed than to pluck off its poisonous berries.
-
-We have flattered ourselves that education and civilization, with all
-their humanizing and elevating influences, would gradually permeate
-all ranks of society; and that the leaven of Christianity would
-ultimately subdue the power of evil, and convert our outer world into
-an Elysium of purity and unselfishness. The results, however, of past
-years have hardly answered these sanguine expectations; and our present
-experience goes far to prove, that while there has undoubtedly been
-progress for good, there has been a corresponding progress for evil;
-for although the criminal statistics of some localities exhibit a
-sensible diminution in certain forms of vice, we must not forget that
-an increase of education and a growing intelligence bring with them
-superior facilities for the successful perpetration and concealment of
-crime.
-
-All the latest developments of science and skill being pressed into
-the service of the modern criminal, his evasion of justice must
-often be regarded less as the result of caution, or of a fortuitous
-combination of favourable circumstances, than of his knowledge of
-chemical properties and physical laws. So far indeed from our being
-able to augur favourably from the infrequency of convictions, the
-fearful tragedies which are occasionally brought to the surface of
-society, coupled in many instances with a surprising fertility of
-resource and ingenuity of method, are indicative of an under current
-of crime--the depth and foulness of which defy all computation. We may
-add further, that the immense difficulty of obtaining direct evidence
-in cases of criminal prosecution, and the _onus probandi_ that the
-law, not unfairly, throws upon the accusers, are sufficient to hush
-up any cases of mere suspicion; so that at present we possess no
-adequate data by which to gauge the real dimensions of crime, or to
-judge respecting its insidious growth and power. It is not, however,
-so much with crime in the abstract, as with the most prolific sources
-of vice that the philanthropist has to deal; and it is a highly
-suggestive and encouraging fact that, in these days, men are concerned
-in investigating the various causes of crime, and in exposing its
-reflex influence upon society. Just in proportion as they adhere to
-this course, which is distinguished alike by prudence and sagacity,
-will they become instrumental in effecting a radical reformation of
-existing evils, and in restoring society to a more healthy and vigorous
-condition. “What we want in all such cases is no false rhetoric and no
-violent outbursts of passion, but clear statements of that vivid truth
-which contains the intrinsic elements of reformation amongst mankind.
-The true philanthropist is the man whose judgment is on a par with his
-feelings, and who recognizes the fact that there is some particle of
-meaning in every particle of suffering around us.
-
-“Some of this wretchedness is remediable, the result of actual causes
-which may be altered, though much is beyond human control. In an age
-like this, however we may toil to overtake the urgent need of our own
-time, the difficulty is, at the same time, calmly and deliberately
-to satisfy the fresh wants which may daily arise--keeping pace with
-them. With the heavy defalcations from past years weighing upon them,
-our statesmen and economists are often bewildered at the magnitude of
-their engagements; while the best and wisest amongst us are crushed
-and appalled by the new and giant evils which are continually being
-brought to light. Earnest thought, however, is the true incentive to
-action,”[1] and we would thankfully recognize as one visible result of
-the increasing attention given to matters of public interest, a growing
-disposition on the part of all who are qualified by position and
-authority, to grapple manfully with the various phases of wretchedness
-and crime now contributing their influence upon our social condition.
-
-Nowhere are these hopeful indications more manifest than in this giant
-metropolis, where the various conditions of ordinary life seem to be
-intensified by their direct contact with good and evil; and where
-Christianity appears to be struggling to maintain its independent
-and aggressive character, amid much that is calculated to retard its
-progress and check its influence.
-
-It is here, within the crowded areas and noisome purlieus of this
-greatest of great cities, that we may gather lessons of life to be
-gained nowhere else--and of which those can form a very inadequate
-conception, who dwell only in an atmosphere of honied flowers and rural
-pleasures.
-
-It is here especially that the sorrows and sufferings of humanity
-have evoked an active and pervasive spirit of benevolence, which has
-infected all ranks and penetrated every class of society; so that the
-high born and the educated, the gentle and the refined, vie with each
-other in a restless energy to alleviate human misery and to assuage
-some of the groans of creation. This disposition to relieve distress
-in every shape, and to mitigate the ills of a common brotherhood,
-proclaims at once its divine origin, and is, in fact, the nearest
-assimilation to the character of Him who “went about doing good.”
-
-The germ of this heaven-born principle has survived the fall; and
-though its highest development is one of the distinguishing marks of
-the true Christian, its existence is discernible in all who have not
-sinned away the last faint outlines of the Divine image.
-
-Some philosophers, indeed, would persuade us that there is no such
-thing in existence as a principle of pure, unmixed benevolence; that
-every exercise of charity is simply another mode of self-gratification,
-and every generous impulse a mere exhibition of selfishness.
-
-Undoubtedly there is a “luxury in doing good,” and the ability to
-contribute to the happiness of others is one of the purest sources of
-human gratification; but we question whether an act, resulting from
-mere self-love, is capable of yielding any solid satisfaction to the
-agent; and we therefore hold the existence of genuine benevolence,
-believing that it is a principle innate in the human breast, and
-requiring only to be developed and consecrated by religious influence
-to become one of the most powerful levers for the evangelization of the
-world.
-
-Unhappily there are too many who have schooled themselves to the
-practice of inhumanity, and closed up the springs of spontaneous
-sympathy, thus depriving the heart of its rightful heritage, and
-restricting the sphere of its operations to self. Those who thus
-sever themselves from all external influences are left at length in
-undisturbed possession of a little world of their own creation. No
-longer linked to their fellow-men in the bonds of true fellowship,
-their orbit of activity becomes narrower, until at length every
-avenue to the heart is hermetically sealed, except such as minister
-to self-gratification and indulgence. The man who has thus estranged
-himself from the rest of creation, and become isolated from all the
-ties of a common humanity, is indeed an object of unqualified pity,
-because he has destroyed one of the purest springs of happiness.
-
-He who, on the other hand, is most fully alive to the claims of
-universal brotherhood, and whose heart is most
-
- “At leisure from itself,
- To soothe and sympathize,”
-
-is the highest type of man, and the best representative of his race.
-This spirit of brotherhood if recognised by the world, would “hush the
-thunder of battle, and wipe away the tears of nations. It would sweep
-earth’s wildernesses of moral blight, causing them to blossom as the
-rose.”
-
-Those persons who accustom themselves to speak of London as a mere
-seething caldron of crime, or as a very charnel-house of impurity,
-without any redeeming character or hopeful element, are surely as wide
-of the mark as they who under-rate its vast resources for crime, or
-take a superficial view of its predominant vices.
-
-It would, perhaps, be a curious and not unprofitable subject of
-inquiry how far the metropolis contributes its influence for good or
-evil upon the provinces, and to what extent the country is capable of
-reciprocating this influence. Probably, allowance being made for the
-difference of population, the law of giving and receiving is pretty
-evenly adjusted. Those forms of vice which seem to be more indigenous
-to our great cities are steadily imported into the country, while on
-the other hand, the hamlet and the village transmit to the town those
-particular vices in which they appear to be constitutionally most
-prolific.
-
-It is in the crowded city, however, that the seeds of good or evil are
-brought to the highest state of maturity, and virtue and vice most
-rapidly developed, under the forcing influences that everywhere abound.
-
-“Great cities,” says Dr. Guthrie, “many have found to be great curses.
-It had been well for many an honest lad and unsuspecting country
-girl, that hopes of higher wages and opportunities of fortune--that
-the gay attire and polished tongue, and gilded story of some old
-acquaintance--had never turned their steps cityward, nor turned them
-from the rude simplicity, but safety of their rustic home. Many a foot
-that once lightly pressed the heather or brushed the dewy grass, has
-wearily trodden in darkness, and guilt, and remorse, on these city
-pavements. Happy had it been for many that they had never exchanged
-the starry skies for the lamps of the town, nor had left their lonely
-glens, or quiet hamlets, or solitary shores, for the throng and roar of
-our streets. Well for them that they had heard no roar but the rivers,
-whose winter flood it had been safer to breast; no roar but oceans,
-whose stormiest waves it had been safer to ride, than encounter the
-flood of city temptations, which has wrecked their virtue and swept
-them into ruin.
-
-“Yet I bless God for cities. The world had not been what it is without
-them. The disciples were commanded to ‘begin at Jerusalem,’ and Paul
-threw himself into the cities of the ancient world, as offering the
-most commanding positions of influence. Cities have been as lamps of
-light along the pathway of humanity and religion. Within them science
-has given birth to her noblest discoveries. Behind their walls freedom
-has fought her noblest battles. They have stood on the surface of
-the earth like great breakwaters, rolling back or turning aside the
-swelling tide of oppression. Cities, indeed, have been the cradles
-of human liberty. They have been the radiating, active centres of
-almost all church and state reformation. The highest humanity has
-been developed in cities. Somehow or other, amid their crowding and
-confinement, the human mind finds its fullest freest expansion.
-Unlike the dwarfed and dusty plants which stand in our city gardens,
-languishing like exiles for the purer air and freer sunshine, that
-kiss their fellows far away in flowery fields and green woodland, on
-sunny banks and breezy hills, man reaches his highest condition amid
-the social influences of the crowded city. His intellect receives its
-brightest polish, where gold and silver lose theirs, tarnished by the
-scorching smoke and foul vapours of city air. The mental powers acquire
-their full robustness, where the cheek loses its ruddy hue, and the
-limbs their elastic step, and pale thought sits on manly brows, and as
-aërolites--those shooting stars which, like a good man on his path in
-life, leave a train of glory behind them on the dusky sky--are supposed
-to catch fire by the rapidity of their motion, as they rush through
-the higher regions of our atmosphere, so the mind of man fires, burns,
-shines, acquires its most dazzling brilliancy, by the very rapidity of
-action into which it is thrown amid the bustle and excitements of city
-life. And if, just as in those countries where tropical suns, and the
-same skies, ripen the sweetest fruit and the deadliest poisons--you
-find in the city the most daring and active wickedness, you find there
-also, boldly confronting it, the most active, diligent, warm-hearted,
-self-denying and devoted Christians.”[2]
-
-London then may be considered as the grand central focus of operations,
-at once the emporium of crime and the palladium of Christianity. It is,
-in fact the great arena of conflict between the powers of darkness and
-the ministry of heaven. Here, within the area of our metropolis, the
-real struggle is maintained between the two antagonistic principles
-of good and evil. It is here that they join issue in the most deadly
-proximity, and struggle for the vantage-ground.
-
-Here legions of crime and legions of vices unite and form an almost
-impenetrable phalanx, while the strong man armed enjoys his goods in
-peace--no, not in peace, for here too the banner of the cross is most
-firmly planted, and Christianity wins its freshest laurels. Here is
-the stronghold, the occupation of which by the everlasting gospel,
-has given vigour, support, and consistency to the religion of the
-world. Here is concentrated that fervent and apostolic piety that has
-made itself felt to the remotest corner of the earth; and here is the
-nucleus of missionary enterprise, and the radiating centre of active
-benevolence.
-
-“The Christian power that has moved a sluggish world on, the Christian
-benevolence and energy that have changed the face of society, the
-Christian zeal that has gone forth, burning to win nations and kingdoms
-for Jesus,” have received their birth or development in London.
-
-Since, then, this busy mart of the world, in which the most opposite
-and dissimilar wares are exhibited, is made up of such composite
-materials and conflicting elements, it is only fair that while
-estimating its capabilities for crime, and endeavouring to plumb
-its depths of depravity, ignorance, and suffering, we should, when
-possible, faithfully depict their opposites, and take cognizance of
-such instrumentalities as present the best antidotes and alleviations.
-
-It is questionable, indeed, how far the cause of religion and morality
-would be promoted by a ghastly array of facts, representing the
-dimensions of crime in all its naked deformity, or by any exhibition,
-however truthful, of vice and wretchedness under their most repulsive
-aspects, and without any cheering reference to corrective and remedial
-agencies. The effect produced upon the mind, in such a case, would be,
-in the generality of instances, blank despair; and the only influence
-thus excited would partake strongly of that morbid sympathy and
-unhealthy excitement, awakened by delineations of fictitious distress.
-
-To unravel the dark catalogue of London profligacy, and present to
-the eye of the reader the wearisome expanse of guilt and suffering,
-unrelieved by any indications of improvement, would be like exhibiting
-the convulsive death-agony of a drowning man without the friendly
-succour of a rope, or like conjuring up the horrors of a shipwreck
-without the mental relief afforded by a life-boat.
-
-We need the day star of hope to guide us through the impenetrable gloom
-of moral darkness. The olive branch of mercy and the rainbow of promise
-are as needful tokens of social and religious improvement, as of abated
-judgments and returning favour.
-
-After being required to give attention to figures and statistics
-representing crime in the aggregate, the mental eye requires
-alleviation from the gross darkness it has encountered, and looks
-impatiently for some streak of light in the moral horizon, indicative
-of approaching day. To view London crime and misery, without their
-encouraging counterparts, would be like groping our way through the
-blackness of midnight, unrelieved by the faintest glimmer of light.
-
-Just, however, as stars shine brightest in the darkest nights, so may
-we discover some element of hope under the most appalling exhibitions
-of human depravity, which thus serve as a background to portray in
-bolder relief, and by force of contrast, the redeeming qualities of
-Christianity.
-
-As a work of absorbing interest and utility to the British
-philanthropist, Mr. Mayhew’s wonderful book, “London Labour and London
-Poor,” stands probably unrivalled. The mass of evidence and detail,
-accumulated after the most careful and indefatigable research, and
-the personal interest which is sustained throughout, by the relation
-of facts and occurrences, gleaned from the author’s own private
-observation, or in which he took an active share, render his work both
-invaluable to the legislator and acceptable to the general reader.
-
-While, however, the former will refer to it as a book of reference,
-the latter would probably rise from its perusal, with a sickening
-apprehension of London depravity, and unless fortified by a previous
-knowledge of counteracting agencies would probably form a too
-lugubrious and desponding view of its social aspects. As any such
-impression, derived from _ex-parte_ statements, would be highly
-detrimental to the cause of truth and religious progress, and might
-contribute to the relaxation of individual effort, the publishers
-have naturally hesitated to allow one of the most startling and vivid
-records of crime to go forth to the world, without directing attention
-to the most approved and popular agencies, for the correction of such
-abuses, as have been faithfully delineated in the course of the work.
-
-The following brief summary of charitable and religious organizations,
-having for their object the repression of crime and the diffusion of
-vital Christianity, is intended therefore to form a supplement, or
-prefatory essay, to the fourth and concluding volume of _London Labour
-and London Poor_.
-
-It would be impossible, within the narrow limits that have been
-assigned to this essay, to do more than touch in a cursory and
-incidental manner upon some of the principal agencies now at work
-within the metropolis, for the suppression of vice and crime; the
-object being not so much to exhibit the results which have rewarded
-such instrumentalities, great and incalculable as they are, as to
-indicate the best channels of usefulness, towards which public
-attention should be constantly directed; not to foster pride and
-self-complacency by tracing the progress we have already made, in
-the race of Christian philanthropy, but rather to show how we may, by
-rendering efficient support to existing organizations, advance still
-further towards the goal, and rise to higher degrees of service in that
-ministry of love, which aims at nothing less than the regeneration of
-society, and the restoration of its unhappy prodigals to a condition of
-present and eternal peace.
-
-What we want is not so much the elaboration of new schemes and the
-introduction of untried agencies, as a more unanimous and hearty
-co-operation in sustaining such as are at present in existence, many
-of which though fully deserving of a large measure of confidence and
-support, are grown effete solely from want of funds to maintain them in
-efficiency.
-
-It has been truthfully remarked that there is hardly a woe or a misery
-to which men are liable, whether resulting from accidental causes or
-from personal culpability, which has not been assuaged or mitigated
-by benevolent exertions. Experience indeed would go far to prove that
-there are everywhere around us two mighty conflicting elements at
-work, each having no other object than to pull down and destroy the
-other. Every vice has its corresponding virtue, every form of evil
-its counteracting influence for good, every Mount Ebal, its Gerizim;
-the one being designed to act as an antidote or corrective to the
-other, and to restore the type of heaven which the other has defaced.
-The highest glory of our land--a glory far removed from territorial
-acquisitions and national aggrandisement, and that which makes it
-pre-eminently the admiration and envy of all other countries--are its
-benevolent and charitable endowments. There is not another nation
-in the world, where eleemosynary institutions have obtained such a
-permanent hold upon the sympathies of all classes of society, nor where
-such vast sums are realized by voluntary and private contributions.
-
-“Palatial buildings, hospitals, reformatories, asylums, penitentiaries,
-homes and refuges, there are, for the sick, the maimed, the blind, the
-crippled, the aged, the infirm, the deaf, the dumb, the hungry, the
-naked, the fallen and the destitute; and it is to the support of such
-institutions, and the works which they carry on, that the nobles of
-the land, and our prosperous merchants devote a large proportion of
-their wealth.” No less than 530 charitable societies exist in London
-alone, and nearly £2,000,000 of money is annually spent by them, while
-probably the amount of alms bestowed altogether is not less than
-£3,500,000.[3]
-
-How far these resources, vast and extended as they really are, are
-capable of satisfying present demands, may be best inferred from the
-state of our criminal population, which is still to be counted by tens
-of thousands, even while our prisons, refuges, and reformatories are
-filled to overflowing.
-
-“In spite,” says the author just quoted, “of our prison discipline, our
-classification system, our silent system, and our separate system, all
-these efforts that we make, and perhaps boast that we make, to turn
-back the law-breaker to honest paths, nearly 30,000 criminals are each
-year sent to prison, who only know the higher classes as objects of
-plunder, and the maintenances of law and order as things; if possible
-to be destroyed, and if not avoided.” £170,000 are annually expended
-in London for the reformation of such offenders, and every modern
-appliance that mercy or ingenuity can devise is brought to bear upon
-our prison system, with what results may be clearly ascertained by the
-large and increasing number of re-commitments--which form a proportion
-of something like 30 per cent. on such as have been previously
-incarcerated; while these, be it remembered, represent only the number
-of those who render themselves amenable to justice by detection; there
-being no means of ascertaining how many continue their avocations with
-impunity.
-
-Results like these are sufficiently disheartening to the
-philanthropist, and embarrassing to the statesman, and serve to
-show that however necessary it may be to devise methods for criminal
-reformation, it is even more incumbent upon us, and far more
-remunerative in the end, to carry out the principles of prevention.
-
-The various agencies, at work in London, for the suppression of vice
-and crime, may be treated under the following heads, which will serve
-to indicate their relative value and proportionate influence; and
-though, in their popular sense, many of the words used, may appear to
-be only convertible terms, it is intended, for the sake of perspicuity
-and arrangement, to assign to each a distinctive and separate meaning.
-
-Thus the word _curative_ is used, not in its loose, remedial sense, as
-applying to expedients calculated to produce a diminution of crime, but
-must be understood as tending to the entire and absolute change of the
-human will, and the renovation of a corrupt nature--such a thorough
-change, in fact, as is implied in the word _cure_.
-
- { 1. Curative (radical).
- Agencies for the { 2. Preventive (obstructive).
- suppression of vice { 3. Repressive and punitive (compulsory).
- and crime. { 4. Reformative (remedial).
-
-
-1. _Curative Agencies._
-
-Under this head _religion_ naturally occupies the foremost place;
-since, by its restraining influence and converting power, it presents
-the only true antidote, and the only safe barrier to the existence or
-progress of crime; all other specifics, however valuable, being liable
-to the imputation of failure, and their influence being either more
-or less efficacious, according to the various phases of moral disease
-exhibited by different mental and physical constitutions.
-
-While applying political expedients for the cure of such disorders, it
-must ever be borne in mind, that the origin of all evil is to be found
-in the corruption of the human heart, and in its entire alienation
-from God; and it is only so far as these intrinsic defects can be
-remedied, that any permanent influence will be produced. That power,
-therefore, which seizes upon the citadel of the heart, controlling
-its affections, regulating its principles of action, and subduing its
-vicious propensities or illicit motions, is the only sovereign remedy
-for crime. In its natural state the heart may be compared to a fountain
-discharging only turbid and bitter waters; but while various agencies
-are employed to sweeten, disguise, or check this poisoned current,
-religion is the only influence which purifies the fountain head, and
-dries up the noxious springs, by placing a wholesome check upon the
-first motive principles of action--the thoughts.
-
-The truth of these remarks is even more strikingly exemplified in
-the sudden and complete transformations of character, effected by
-the all-mighty influence of religion. The moral demoniac finds no
-difficulty in bursting the chains and fetters, in which society has
-attempted to bind him. He is never changed, only curbed, pacified, or
-restrained by such artificial modes of treatment. The wound may be
-cauterised, cicatrised, or mollified, but the poison, if left in the
-system, is sure to rankle and exhibit itself afresh. Religion, however,
-casts out the unclean spirit, restores human nature to its right mind,
-and asserts the supremacy of reason over that of passion and caprice.
-
-Next in value and importance to religion itself, are those subordinate
-instrumentalities calculated to exhibit or extend its influence, and
-which bear the same relation to it as the means do to the end. Such
-are the various agencies, in that divinely-appointed machinery for the
-regeneration of mankind, the universal spread of “truth and justice,
-religion and piety” throughout the world, and for the formation and
-support of the spiritual Church of Christ.
-
-The most powerful and efficacious of all levers for the social, moral,
-and spiritual elevation of mankind is the _Word of God_. Into whatever
-quarters of the habitable globe the sacred volume is diffused, there is
-a corresponding spread of civilisation, and a sensible improvement in
-the scale of humanity; and those countries are most socially, morally,
-and politically debased, in which its circulation is debarred or
-restricted.
-
-Here it is only right to mention those societies which are directly
-concerned in diffusing the Scriptures.
-
-_The British and Foreign Bible Society_ is one of the most honoured and
-influential channels for promoting the circulation of the Word of God,
-“without note or comment.” It dates its origin from 1804, and since
-this period it has, either directly or indirectly, been instrumental in
-translating the Scriptures into 160 different languages or dialects,
-including 190 separate versions. Connected with this Society, there are
-in the United Kingdom 3728 auxiliary branches or associations.
-
-The number of issues from London alone, during the last financial year,
-amount to 594,651 copies of the Old Testament, and 544,901 copies of
-the New Testament. The grants made during the same time amounted to
-£58,551 17_s._ 7_d._ The total receipts of the Society derived from
-subscriptions, and from the sale of publications, amounted last year to
-£206,778 12_s._ 6_d._
-
-Next to the Bible Society, the _Society for Promoting Christian
-Knowledge_ is most directly concerned in the propagation of the
-Scriptures. It was founded in 1698. During the past year 157,358
-Bibles, and 78,234 New Testaments have been issued, besides
-prayer-books, tracts, and other publications. In addition to the
-dissemination of religious works, its objects include the extension of
-the Episcopate in the colonies, by contributing to the erection of new
-sees, and the support of colleges and educational institutions. The
-receipts for the past year amounted to £31,697 19_s._ 7_d._ besides
-£81,516 6_s._ 8_d._ received for the sale of publications.
-
-In addition to these larger instrumentalities for the circulation
-of the Scriptures, it has been reserved for modern zeal and piety
-to discover a “missing link” in the operations hitherto in use, and
-this void has been admirably supplied by the “Bible women” of the
-nineteenth century. The appointment of these female colporteurs has
-been attended with the most beneficial and encouraging results, for
-not only has the sale of Bibles been facilitated among classes almost
-inaccessible to such influences, but opportunities have been afforded
-of permanently benefiting some of the most wretched and morally debased
-of our population. The introductions, gained by means of this traffic,
-have been turned to the best account, and a kindly influence has been
-established over the families thus visited, which has been often
-attended with the most favourable results.
-
-“The lowest strata of society are thus reached by an agency which
-takes the Bible as the starting point of its labours, and makes IT
-the basis of all the social and religious improvements which are
-subsequently attempted. Small in its beginnings, the work, by its
-proved adaptation and results, has greatly enlarged its dimensions,
-enlisting the sympathy and liberality of the Christian public; and in
-almost all the metropolitan districts affording scope for the agency,
-the Bible women are to be found prosecuting their arduous labours,
-with immense advantage to the poor. At the present time there are
-152 of these agents employed. During the past year the Bible women
-in London disposed of many thousand copies of the Scriptures amongst
-classes, which, to a very great extent, were beyond the reach of
-the ordinary means used to effect this work; and this circulation
-was attained not by the easy method of gift, but by sale, the very
-poorest of the population being willing, when brought under kind and
-persuasive influence, to pay for the Bible or Testament by small weekly
-instalments.”
-
-Another kindred agency of recent appointment is the “_Institution for
-reading aloud the Word of God in the open air_,” in connection with
-which are the “_Bible Carriages_,” or locomotive depôts, now employed
-for extending the sale of the Scriptures in various parts of London,
-and which have succeeded in drawing a large number of purchasers,
-attracted, no doubt, by the novelty and singularity of the means
-adopted.
-
-While enumerating the religious agencies concerned in the repression
-of crime in London, allusion need only be made incidentally to such as
-necessarily spring out of an organized, ecclesiastical, or parochial
-machinery consisting of clergy, churches, chapels, schools, &c., and
-to the various societies and associations designed to extend and give
-support to this machinery; the object of this essay being rather to
-draw public attention to such auxiliary and supplemental organisations,
-as are less generally known, or are of more recent origin.
-
-One of the most remarkable movements of modern times in connection with
-preaching, has been the establishment of _Theatre services_, which
-owe their existence to the present Earl of Shaftesbury. So irregular
-and unconstitutional a proceeding provoked, as might naturally have
-been expected, a large amount of censure and unfriendly criticism.
-Ecclesiastical dignities were at first somewhat scandalized by such an
-innovation of church discipline, and evidently regarded the movement as
-one calling rather for reluctant toleration, than as being entitled to
-episcopal sanction--a feeling which was probably largely shared by the
-more sober and orthodox portion of the community.
-
-There appeared to be, at first sight, it must be confessed, a singular
-incongruity, if not an absolute impropriety, in converting the stage
-of a playhouse into a temple for the provisional celebration of divine
-worship, and using an edifice habitually consecrated to amusement,
-for the alternate promulgation of sacred verities and pantomimic
-representations. Apart, however, from the repulsive features of the
-proceeding arising from local associations, and from the periodical
-juxtaposition of objects the most hostile and dissimilar, there
-appeared to be no graver objection to the arrangement. The end was
-here, at least, supposed not only to justify, but even to sanctify the
-means, and the defence of this mal-appropriation was not unfairly said
-to consist in the inadequacy of church accommodation, and in the cheap
-facilities thus afforded, for bringing under the occasional ministry of
-the word of life, classes, who from long habits of neglect, prejudice,
-and an utter disrelish of religious ordinances, had become isolated
-from the ordinary channels of instruction and improvement. The movement
-having now had a fair trial, and the results being found to answer
-the expectations of the originators, it may be regarded as no longer
-a hazardous experiment, but as a part of the recognised machinery
-employed for the evangelisation of the masses.
-
-These special services for the working classes are now regularly
-conducted in the various theatres and buildings temporarily
-appropriated to divine worship. The attendance has been uniformly
-good, and that of a class who habitually absent themselves from
-religious ordinances, and could not therefore be reached by any of
-the usual instrumentalities. Considering the unpromising materials of
-which these singular congregations are composed, and the unfavourable
-antecedents of most of the audience, it is something to be able to
-state that on such occasions they are, for the most part, orderly and
-well conducted, while the continued good attendance at these services
-marks the appreciation in which they are held. During the Sabbath,
-then, at least, a wonderful outward transformation is effected in the
-pursuits and general demeanor of the frequenters, who meet together,
-week after week, to hear the Gospel message expounded in the very
-edifice, which during the previous six days has resounded with their
-oaths, ribaldries, and licentious language. Is there not room for at
-least a charitable hope, that when the heralds of salvation carry
-their proclamations into the very heart of the enemy’s territory, and
-aggressively plant the banner of the cross, where only the cloven foot
-is wont to be seen, some victories will be achieved over the world,
-the flesh, and the devil, and that some who usually meet to scoff and
-jeer, will return home savingly impressed with what they have heard?
-
-In strict conformity with the objects contemplated by this arrangement,
-and arising out of the same temporary necessity, is _The Open-Air
-Mission_, which was established in 1853 “for the purpose of stirring up
-the Church of Christ, especially the lay elements, to go out into the
-streets and lanes of the city, the towns and villages of the provinces,
-the great gatherings that periodically occur at races, fairs,
-executions, &c.; to go into lodging-houses, workhouses, and hospitals,
-and in fact wherever persons are to be met with and spoken to about sin
-and salvation.” Since the formation of the Society, open-air preaching
-has become as it were a standing institution, and is recognized as an
-indispensable agency in working densely-populated districts. Ministers
-and laymen are to be found on every hand using this divinely-appointed
-and apostolic agency to “bring in the poor, the maimed, the halt, and
-the blind,” and God has eminently blessed their labours.
-
-From May 1st, 1860, to March 31st, 1861, the London City Missionaries
-conducted 4,489 outdoor meetings, at which the average attendance was
-103, and the gross attendance 465,070. Numerous associations have
-been formed in connection with this Society for Open-Air Preaching,
-in various parts of London, and during the summer, eighteen stations
-are occupied for this purpose by the students at the Church Missionary
-College, under the direction of the Islington Church Home Mission.
-A course of Sunday afternoon services is also regularly held by the
-appointment of the rector in Covent Garden Market, which are generally
-well attended and appear admirably calculated to benefit the classes
-whose welfare is designed. The Bishop of London and other dignities of
-the Church have been the preachers on such occasions, and have thus
-lent their countenance to the proceeding.
-
-In reference to all such agencies as open-air services, prayer
-meetings, tract distributions, Bible readings, &c., it may be safely
-asserted, that never in the entire history of the Church was there a
-period, when such extraordinary efforts have been made to evangelise
-the poor and the criminal population of London; or when a similar
-activity has been displayed in ministering to the social and spiritual
-wants of the community.
-
-One of the oldest and most privileged institutions within the
-metropolis, for bringing the influences of religion to bear upon the
-dense masses of our population is the _London City Mission_. It was
-founded in 1835, and its growth has steadily progressed up to the
-present date. The object of the mission is to “extend the knowledge
-of the Gospel, among the inhabitants of London and its vicinity
-(especially the poor), without any reference to denominational
-distinctions, or the peculiarities of Church government. To effect
-this object, missionaries of approved character and qualifications
-are employed, whose duty it is to visit from house to house in the
-respective districts assigned to them, to read the Scriptures, engage
-in religious conversation, and urge those who are living in the neglect
-of religion to observe the Sabbath and attend public worship. They
-are also required to see that all persons possess the Scriptures,
-to distribute approved religious tracts, and to aid in obtaining
-Scriptural education for the children of the poor. By the approval
-of the committee they also hold meetings for reading and expounding
-the Scriptures and prayer, and adopt such other means as are deemed
-necessary for the accomplishment of the mission.”
-
-The London City Mission maintains a staff of 389 missionaries, who are
-employed in the various London and suburban districts; and thus the
-entire city is more or less compassed by this effective machinery, and
-brought under the saving influences of the Gospel. The very silent and
-unobtrusive character of the work thus effected, precludes anything
-like an accurate estimate of results, or a showy parade of success.
-
-It works secretly, quietly, and savingly, in districts too vast to
-admit of pastoral supervision, and in neighbourhoods too outwardly
-unattractive and unpropitious, to win the attention of any who are not
-animated with a devoted love of souls. The influence which is thus
-exerted in a social and religious point of view is inestimable, and the
-benefits conferred by this mission, are of an order that would be best
-understood and appreciated by the community, if they were for a time to
-be suddenly withdrawn.
-
-In addition to the regular visitation of the poor, the missionaries
-are employed in conducting religious services in some of the “worst
-spots that can be found in the metropolis, and the audiences have been,
-in such cases, ordinarily the most vicious and debased classes of the
-population.”
-
-Six missionaries are appointed, whose exclusive duty it is to visit
-the various public-houses and coffee-shops in London, and to converse
-with the _habitués_ on subjects of vital importance. There are also
-three missionaries to the London cabmen, a class greatly needing their
-religious offices, and by their occupation almost excluded from any
-social or elevating influences.
-
-The following summary of missionary work, and its results for 1861, is
-sufficiently encouraging, as pointing in some instances, at least, to a
-sensible diminution of crime, and as being suggestive of a vast amount
-of good effected by this pervasive evangelistic machinery.
-
- Number of Missionaries employed 381
- Visits paid 1,815,332
- Of which to the sick and dying 237,599
- Scriptures distributed 11,458
- Religious Tracts given away 2,721,73
- Books lent 54,00
- In-door Meetings and Bible Classes held 41,777
- Gross attendance at ditto 1,467,006
- Out-door Services held 4,489
- Gross attendance at ditto 465,070
- Readings of Scripture in visitation 584,166
- Communicants 1,535
- Families induced to commence family prayer 681
- Drunkards reclaimed 1,230
- Unmarried couples induced to marry 361
- Fallen females rescued or reclaimed 681
- Shops closed on the Sabbath 212
- Children sent to school 10,158
- Adults who died having been visited by the Missionary _only_ 1,796
-
-The income of the London City Mission, during the past year, amounted
-to 35,018_l._ 6_s._ 10_d._; 5,763_l._ 15_s._ 7_d._ having been
-contributed by country associations.
-
-Next to the London City Mission, the _Church of England Scripture
-Readers’ Society_ is one of the most extensive and important channels
-for disseminating a religious influence among the masses by means of a
-parochial lay agency.
-
-It is the special duty of the Scripture readers to visit from house to
-house; to read the Scriptures to all with whom they come in contact; to
-grapple with vice and crime _where they abound_; and to shrink from no
-effort to arrest their career.
-
-“To overtake and overlook the growing multitudes which crowd our large
-and densely-peopled parishes,” was a work universally admitted to be
-beyond the present limits of clerical effort; and this _desideratum_
-has been supplied, at least to some extent, by the appointment of a
-lay agency, acting under the direction and control of the parochial
-clergy. By this means “cases are brought to light and doors opened
-to the pastoral visit, which were either closed against it or not
-discovered before; and an amount of information concerning the
-religious condition of the parish is obtained, such as the minister,
-single-handed, or with the aid of a curate, never had before.” The
-following results, which are reported as having attended the labours
-of a single Scripture reader, during a period of fourteen years, will
-serve as an illustration of the nature of those services rendered by
-this instrumentality:--
-
- Visits paid to the poor 23,986
- Infants and adults baptized on his recommendation 3,510
- Children and adults persuaded to attend school 2,411
- Persons led to attend church for the first time 307
- Persons confirmed during visitation 429
- Communicants obtained by ditto 269
- Persons living in sin induced to marry 48
-
-One hundred and twenty-five grants are now made by the Society for the
-maintenance of Scripture readers in eighty-seven parishes and districts
-in the metropolis, embracing a population of upwards of a million.
-
-The Society’s income for the past year amounted to 9,850_l._ 2_s._
-10_d._
-
-Second only in importance to personal evangelistic effort is the
-influence of a _Religious Press_. Public opinion being often
-fluctuating, and its general estimates of morality being, to a
-considerable extent, formed by the current literature of the age, it is
-essential that this mighty and controlling power should be exerted on
-the side of religion and virtue.
-
-Works of a high moral tone, inculcating correct principles and
-instilling lessons of practical piety, conduce, therefore, in
-the highest degree, to a wholesome state of society, and to the
-preservation of public morals.
-
-The two great emporiums of religious literature, most directly
-concerned in producing these results, are the _Religious Tract Society_
-and the _Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge_. The latter
-has already been referred to, as one of the main channels for the
-diffusion of the Scriptures.
-
-None of the works issued by the _Religious Tract Society_ can compete
-in point of interest or usefulness with those widely-circulated and
-deservedly-popular serials the Leisure Hour, the Sunday at Home, and
-the Cottager, a periodical lately published, and admirably adapted for
-the homes of the working classes.
-
-The publications issued by the Society during the past year amounted
-to 41,883,921; half of which number were English tracts and handbills;
-537,729 were foreign tracts; and 13,194,155 fall under the head of
-periodicals.
-
-The entire number of both English and foreign publications issued by
-the Society, since its foundation in 1799, amount to 912,000,000.
-
-Grants of books and tracts are annually made by the Society for schools
-and village libraries, prisons, workhouses, and hospitals, for the
-use of soldiers, sailors, emigrants, and for circulation at fairs and
-races, by city missionaries and colporteurs.
-
-The total number of such grants during the past year amounted to
-5,762,241; and were of the value of £6,116 14_s._ 4_d._
-
-The entire receipts of the Society from all sources for the past year
-amounted to £103,127 16_s._ 11_d._; the benevolent contributions being
-£9,642 9_s._ 2_d._
-
-Other channels for the supply and extension of religious literature are
-the _Weekly Tract Society_, the _English Monthly Tract Society_, and
-the _Book Society_, which latter aims especially at promoting religious
-knowledge among the poor.
-
-As a supplemental agency for the collection and dissemination of a
-wholesome literature, the _Pure Literature Society_, established 1854,
-is deserving of especial commendatory notice.
-
-The following is a list of the periodicals recommended by the Society;
-and the circulation of which it seeks to facilitate:--
-
-For Adults:--Leisure Hour, British Workman, Good Words, Old Jonathan,
-Youth’s Magazine, Appeal, Bible-Class Magazine, Christian Treasury,
-Churchman’s Penny Magazine, Evening Hour, Family Treasury, Family
-Paper, Friendly Visitor, Mother’s Friend, Servant’s Magazine, Sunday at
-Home, The Cottager, Tract Magazine.
-
-For Children:--Young England, Band of Hope Review, Child’s Own
-Magazine, Child’s Companion, Child’s Paper, Children’s Friend,
-Children’s Paper, Our Children’s Magazine, Sabbath School Messenger,
-Sunday Scholar’s Companion.
-
-Upwards of 140,000 periodicals are sent out annually by the Society in
-monthly parcels.
-
-The Society’s income during the past year amounted to £2,783 12_s._
-2_d._
-
-
-2. _Preventive Agencies._
-
-Under this division are not included those measures which have
-for their object the forcible suppression of crime, which will be
-considered under a separate head, nor yet such as are calculated
-to extinguish those criminal propensities, which are ever lying
-dormant in the human heart, for these, as has been already shown,
-can only be effectually subdued, or eradicated by the influences of
-religion. By preventive agencies are rather to be understood, those
-instrumentalities best adapted to effect the removal of peculiar forms
-of temptation, or to abridge the power of special producing causes of
-vice; whatever means, in fact, are efficacious in removing hindrances
-to the development of virtue, and in fostering principles of morality.
-Human nature, owing to the force of adverse circumstances, being often
-placed at a disadvantage, it is the peculiar province of preventive
-agencies to give it a fair chance of escape, by extricating it from
-its perilous position, and surrounding it with virtuous influences and
-humanizing appliances. Under this head, moreover, are included all
-such measures as conduce to the social and moral improvement of the
-community, either by presenting an indirect barrier to the progress of
-crime, or by the employment of counteracting agencies.
-
-In this connexion the _Temperance Associations_ are deserving of
-especial prominence. Drunkenness being the most fruitful source of all
-crime, and the primary cause of want and wretchedness, it follows that
-whatever instrumentalities are capable of arresting its progress, or
-curtailing its influence, are in every way worthy the consideration
-of the philanthropist and the statesman. The utility of temperance
-societies has often been called in question; but it must be admitted,
-that as an instrumental agency for the suppression of drunkenness,
-and consequently for the diminution of crime, the influence of such
-associations is unlimited. Whether or not the entire-abstinence
-system is based on philosophical arguments, or is deducible from
-Scripture teaching, is little to the point, provided the fruits it has
-yielded are unquestionably salutary in their effects upon society,
-and conducive to the present and eternal happiness of millions of
-individuals, who, but for this timely interference would have continued
-in their mad career of dissipation, without the power to break off the
-thraldom, or to dispel the infatuation in which they were held.
-
-_The National Temperance Society_, formed in 1842, is now in active
-operation, and seeks by means of meetings, lectures, and publications,
-to disseminate its principles, and to draw attention to the objects it
-is endeavouring to promote.
-
-_The United Kingdom Alliance_, for the legislative suppression of
-the liquor traffic, is a step in advance of the ordinary temperance
-movement, and aims at nothing short of the entire extinction of a
-commerce in intoxicating drinks. This body has already secured a large
-number of influential adherents, and appears to be rapidly gaining
-ground. A monster meeting has lately been held in Manchester in
-furtherance of the Society’s proximate aims, which are to introduce a
-permissive Bill into Parliament, to delegate to local authorities the
-power to prohibit such traffic within their respective neighbourhoods.
-
-The passing of this Act will in effect resolve the question of
-abolition or toleration into one of public opinion; and districts, if
-so inclined, will possess the power of deciding whether or no the sale
-of intoxicating drinks shall be carried on within their own parochial
-boundaries.
-
-As a counteracting agency to the beer-shop and the gin-palace, _The
-Metropolitan Free Drinking Fountain Association_, formed two years ago,
-is deserving of special notice. It has for its objects the erection and
-maintenance of drinking fountains in the various crowded thoroughfares
-of the metropolis, thus humanely furnishing the means of alleviating
-that feverish thirst, which during the hot season impels so many to an
-excessive use of intoxicating drinks.
-
-_The Ragged Schools_ hold a prominent place among the indirectly
-preventive agencies for the suppression of crime in the metropolis; for
-since ignorance is generally the parent of vice, any means of securing
-the benefits of education to those who are hopelessly deprived of it,
-must operate in favour of the well-being of society.
-
-_The Ragged School Union_ has been formed with a view to develope and
-give consistency to this movement, which it does by collecting and
-diffusing information respecting schools now in existence, and by
-pecuniary grants towards their foundation and support.
-
-The number of buildings now in existence in London, appropriated to
-these educational purposes, is 176. The day-schools are 151 in number,
-and are attended by 17,230 scholars. The evening-schools number 215,
-and the scholars 9,840; Sunday-schools 207, and scholars 25,260. The
-number of scholars placed in situations last year amounted to 1,800.
-
-Penny Banks, Clothing Clubs, Reading Rooms, Mother’s Meetings, and
-Shoe-Black Brigades have been established in connexion with this
-movement, and contribute their influence to the general well-being of
-those attending the schools, as well as to that of society at large.
-
-In connexion with the Union are 16 refuges for the homeless and
-destitute, accommodating 700 inmates.
-
-The receipts of the Union amounted last year to £5,739 7_s._ 8_d._;
-and probably no money was ever laid out at better interest, than that
-contributed by the benevolent public towards the rescue and moral
-training of these embryo criminals. Difficult as the principle of
-Government intervention no doubt is, that would be a wise, politic,
-humane, and economical course which should sever this Gordian knot, by
-constituting the State the lawful guardian of such as are deprived of
-all that is understood by the terms home influence, and moral training.
-
-Another agency contributing largely to the prevention of crime is _the
-Society for Improving the Condition of the Labouring Classes_, not so
-much, however, in the transformations and improvement of buildings
-effected under its own immediate control, which are rather designed to
-serve as models to those desirous of carrying out these principles of
-reform, as by drawing public attention to one of the most interesting
-and painful subjects that can occupy the mind of the philanthropist,
-viz., the inadequate provision of decent, and proper house
-accommodation for the industrial classes, which is now universally
-admitted to be productive of the worst social disorders.
-
-The important provisions of the Common Lodging-Houses Act, passed
-in 1851, under the auspices of Lord Shaftesbury, and the system
-of registration thus enforced, have also been attended with great
-benefits, and have conduced not a little to the promotion of
-social and sanatory reform, by bringing legal enactments to bear
-upon the disorders, indecencies, and impurities of low and crowded
-lodging-houses.
-
-There is no class of preventive agencies in the metropolis, which on
-every principle of justice and humanity have stronger claims on the
-sympathy of the benevolent than such as interpose their friendly
-shelter and kind offices, to rescue those who are suddenly reduced to
-positions of great extremity and temptation. It is doubtless an act of
-mercy to rescue a drowning man, and such charitable deeds are performed
-by those who labour for the reformation of the criminal; but it is a
-higher act of charity, and a wiser and more Christian course to prevent
-his falling into the stream; experience, however, proves that it is
-easier to enlist sympathy on behalf of one who is already being swept
-away by the current of crime, than to rescue one who is bordering on
-destruction, and perhaps bravely battling with temptation. This is
-perhaps only natural; our perception of danger in the one case is far
-greater than in the other, and our commiseration is awakened at sight
-of the death agony of the drowning wretch, but is hardly stirred on
-behalf of him who walks on the slippery brink.[4]
-
-It is unhappily a fact too well authenticated to need further
-demonstration, that owing perhaps to sudden reverses of fortune, to the
-removal of natural protectors, or to the force of some overwhelming
-temptation, many persons are unwillingly, and almost unavoidably,
-pressed into the ranks of crime, who but for the extremity in which
-they were placed, would have continued to walk erect in the path of
-honour and virtue. Let none then who move in the calm sunlight of
-prosperity, presume to judge those who stumble in the dark night of
-trial.
-
-“The path of a man, even of a man on the highway to heaven, is never
-one of perfect safety. There are many dangerous passes in the journey
-of life. The very next turn, for anything we know, may bring us on one.
-Turn that projecting point, which hides the path before you, and you
-are suddenly in circumstances which demand that reason be strong, and
-conscience be tender, and hope be bright, and faith be vigorous.”
-
-Happily there are persons whose qualities of head and heart have
-enabled them by precautionary measures to provide against the weakness
-of human nature, and to offer assistance to those who are placed in
-such critical positions.
-
-There is no class more essential to the well-being and comfort of
-society, and none, it is to be feared, more exposed to dangers and
-temptations, than domestic servants. It is calculated that in London
-alone there are upwards of one hundred thousand females engaged in
-domestic service, and that ten thousand of these are continually
-in a transition state, and therefore out of employment. When it is
-borne in mind that vast numbers of these young women have migrated,
-at an early age, from various parts of the country in search of a
-livelihood, that many of them are orphans and friendless, or at least
-wholly destitute of friends and resources in London, that they are
-moreover inexperienced, unsuspecting, and ignorant of the snares and
-temptations that surround them, it cannot be a matter of surprise that
-the reports of all the London penitentiaries should bear witness to the
-fact, that a large majority of the fallen women who are received into
-these institutions came originally from the ranks of domestic service.
-It would be superfluous to attempt to prove the value of associations
-formed to counteract these evils, by offering advice, shelter, and
-protection to servants who are out of situations or seeking employment.
-One of the oldest and best organizations of this kind is the _Female
-Servants’ Home Society_,[5] which has now been in active operation
-four-and-twenty years. Its objects are to provide a safe _home_ for
-respectable female servants when out of place, or for those seeking
-situations. The Homes, four in number, are under the control of
-experienced and pious matrons, who establish a kind and motherly
-influence over the inmates, and are indefatigable in endeavouring to
-promote their welfare. The Homes are regularly visited by Christian
-ladies, and a service is conducted every week by the chaplain. A
-registry, free to the servants, is attached to each Home, where for
-a trifling fee of half-a-crown, or by an annual subscription of one
-guinea, every facility is afforded to employers of procuring efficient
-and trustworthy servants.
-
-Since the formation of the Society, upwards of 7,000 servants have been
-received into the Homes, and 37,000 have availed themselves of the
-registry provided, while in numberless instances young and friendless
-girls have been rescued from positions of extreme and imminent danger.
-
-A kindred institution to the above is _The Female Aid Society_,
-established in 1836. Its objects, which are threefold, are thus
-defined:--
-
-1st. “It provides a home for female servants, where they may
-reside with comfort, respectability, and economy, while seeking
-for situations;” and in connexion with which is a register for the
-convenience of servants and employers.
-
-2nd. “It receives into a home, for purposes of protection and
-instruction, young girls to be trained for service and other
-employments, who, from circumstances of poverty, orphanage, or sinful
-conduct in those who should preserve them from evil, are exposed to
-great temptations, and are in want of a home where there is proper
-guardianship and example.”
-
-3rd. “A home and rescue is offered to women who, weary of sin, are
-desirous of leaving a life of awful depravity and misery;” and no
-depth of past degradation, provided there is any sign of amendment,
-presents a barrier to their reception, shelter being freely offered to
-the very outcast among the outcasts, to inmates of refractory wards,
-of workhouses, and to women freshly discharged from prison. Since the
-formation of the Society 4,116 servants have been admitted into the
-Home, and 7,622 placed in service; 2,008 young women have enjoyed the
-protection of the Friendless’ Home, and 2,205 have been received as
-penitents. Want of funds, however, has obliged the Society to curtail
-its operations.
-
-_The Girls’ Laundry and Training Institution for Young Servants_ is
-an industrial home, affording shelter, protection, and instruction in
-household duties to forty young girls, who are thus carefully trained
-and prepared for domestic service.
-
-Other institutions for the accommodation, temporary relief, and
-permanent benefit of servants are, _The National Guardian Institution_,
-_The Marylebone Philanthropic Servants’ Institution and Pension
-Society_, _The Provisional Protection Society_, _The General Domestic
-Servants’ Benevolent Institution_, and _The Servants’ Provident and
-Benevolent Society_.
-
-Among the London preventive agencies must be classed the various homes,
-refuges, and asylums for the relief of the utterly destitute and
-friendless of good character, and which severally offer food, shelter,
-and protection to those needing their assistance.
-
-_The Field Lane Night Refuges_ provide accommodation nightly for 200
-men and women; and by this instrumentality many are rescued from death
-and crime, and are enabled to regain their positions in life, or to
-maintain themselves in respectability. During the past year 31,747
-lodgings were afforded to persons of both sexes. Many of those thus
-assisted were poor needlewomen, who, during an inclement winter, had
-been, together with their families, turned into the street, having been
-stript of everything for rent.
-
-_The Dudley Stuart Night Refuge_, founded by Lord Dudley Stuart in
-1852, provides for the reception of the utterly destitute during the
-winter months. Accommodation is offered to 95 persons in two warm,
-spacious, and well-ventilated apartments. The relief afforded consists
-of a night’s lodging, bread night and morning, and medical attendance,
-if required. This charity has, since its foundation, alleviated a vast
-amount of suffering. It admits those against whom every other door is
-closed, and requires no recommendation beyond the utter destitution of
-the applicants. Upwards of 8,000 men, women, and children were admitted
-and relieved during last winter.
-
-_The Houseless Poor Asylum_ is the oldest night-refuge in London, and
-was opened to “afford nightly shelter and sustenance to the absolutely
-destitute working classes, who are suddenly thrown out of employment
-during the inclement winter months.” Accommodation is provided for 700;
-and since the opening of the Asylum 1,449,047 nights’ lodgings and
-3,515,951 rations of bread have been supplied.
-
-_The House of Charity_ provides for the reception of distressed persons
-of good character, who, from various accidental causes, require a
-temporary home, protection, and food. Nearly 3000 persons of both sexes
-have been thus accommodated for an average period of a month or five
-weeks.
-
-_The Foundling Hospital_, first opened in 1741, for the reception
-of illegitimate children, has undergone considerable changes and
-improvements, and now shelters, maintains, and educates 460 children,
-who, at the age of fifteen, are apprenticed or otherwise provided
-for, and are thus humanely rescued from the early and contaminating
-influence of vicious associations. No child is eligible for this
-charity unless there is satisfactory proof of the mother’s previous
-good character and present necessity, of desertion by the father, and
-that the reception of the child will, in all probability, be the means
-of replacing the mother in the course of virtue, and the way of an
-honest livelihood.
-
-_The Society for the Suppression of Mendicity_ was instituted in 1818,
-“for the purpose of checking the practice of public mendicity, with all
-its baneful and demoralizing consequences; by putting the laws in force
-against imposters who adopt it as a trade, and by affording prompt
-and effectual assistance to those whom sudden calamity or unaffected
-distress may cast in want and misery upon the public attention.”
-
-A just discrimination between cases of real and fictitious distress,
-and a judicious adaptation of relief to deserving cases, is a
-necessary, but very difficult, part of true benevolence. The frauds
-which are successfully practised by systematic sharpers upon a
-charitable, but over-credulous public, and the existence of an immense
-amount of genuine and unrelieved suffering, are sufficient proofs of
-the value and importance of any agency designed to counteract these
-abuses, and to accord a just measure of benevolence.
-
-By means of printed tickets supplied to subscribers, beggars can
-be directed to the Society’s offices, where their cases are fully
-investigated, and treated according to desert, a sure provision being
-thus made against imposture.
-
-Since the formation of the Society 51,016 registered cases have been
-disposed of, and food, money, and clothing dispensed to deserving
-applicants, while employment has been provided for such as were found
-able to work.
-
-_The Association for Promoting the Relief of Destitution in the
-Metropolis_ is likewise a safe channel for the exercise of public
-benevolence. It is carried on under the direction of the bishop
-and clergy, and the efforts of the Association are directed to
-the origination and support of local undertakings, thus forming a
-connection and a centre of union between the various parochial visiting
-societies.
-
-The present condition of that large class of female workers in London,
-comprehended under the terms milliners and dressmakers, is one of
-the saddest reproaches upon a country whose benevolent objects are
-so numerous, and so extensive, and one of the severest comments upon
-the heartlessness and artificialism of that society, which takes no
-cognizance of those who are most largely concerned in administering to
-its necessities. The miseries of this shamefully under-paid and cruelly
-over-worked class of white slaves have been too often eloquently
-animadverted upon, to need any further denunciations of the system,
-under which they are hopelessly and unfeelingly condemned to labour.
-
-The impossibility of supporting life on the wretched pittance accorded
-to their labours, is the oft-heard, and the unanswerably extenuating
-plea for their recourse to criminal avocations.
-
-While, however, the State shrinks from the task of ameliorating their
-condition by any legislative interference, it is satisfactory to know
-that public benevolence in this wide field is not wholly unrepresented.
-
-_The Association for the Aid and Benefit of Dressmakers and Milliners_
-is a noble breakwater against the inroads of oppression, and a valuable
-counteracting agency to the force of temptation.
-
-Its objects, briefly stated, are to obtain some remission of labour and
-other concessions from employers, and to afford pecuniary and medical
-assistance in cases of temporary distress or illness. A registry and
-provident fund are provided in connexion with the association.
-
-Actuated by the same humane intention, although different in object, is
-the _Needlewomen’s Institution_, established in 1850, “with the twofold
-view of affording those who had suffered under the oppression of middle
-men and slop-sellers, the opportunity of maintaining themselves, by
-supplying them with regular employment at remunerative prices, in airy
-work-rooms, and if desired, lodging at a moderate charge.”
-
-Another institution of very recent origin directed to the religious and
-social improvement of the same unhappy class, is the _Young Women’s
-Christian Association and West London Home_, for young women engaged in
-houses of business. Its objects are twofold, 1st, “to supply a place
-where young women so employed, can profitably spend their _Sundays
-and week-day evenings_,” thus counteracting the evil influence of
-badly conducted houses of business; and 2nd, “the home is intended to
-provide a residence for young people coming from the country to seek
-employment, and for those who are changing their situations, or who
-from over-work and failing health require rest for a time.” The rooms
-of the Association are open every evening from seven until ten o’clock,
-when educational and religious classes are held for the benefit of
-those attending.
-
-Thus, “where occasional spasms of sympathy, the well-merited
-castigations of the press, and the voice of popular opinion had
-unitedly failed to shake the throne of the god of Mammon, erected on
-skeletons, and cemented with the blood of women and children, it was
-reserved for a Christian lady to strike out a plan which has already
-been productive of an immensity of good, and has commended itself to
-the approval of all who are labouring to promote the welfare of this
-oppressed and neglected class. The better to appreciate the importance
-of this noble and truly womanly enterprise, only let the solemn and
-fearful fact be borne in mind, that in London _alone_ 1,000 poor girls
-are yearly crushed out of life from over-toil and grinding oppression,
-while 15,000 are living in a state of semi-starvation. Ah! who can
-wonder that our streets swarm with the fallen and the lost, when SIN
-OR STARVE is the dire alternative! Who cannot track the _via doloroso_
-between the 15,000 starving and the thrice that number living by sin as
-a trade!
-
-“Here, then, is an Institution that meets the wants of the case.
-It not only catches them before they go over the precipice, and
-lovingly shelters them from the fierce blasts of temptation, beating
-remorselessly on many a young and shrinking heart, but ensures them a
-‘_Home_,’ where soul and body alike may find rest and peace.”[6]
-
-The _Society for Promoting the Employment of Women_ has lately been
-called into existence, by the emergencies of the present age, the
-object of which is to develop and extend the hitherto restricted field
-of female labour, by the establishment of industrial schools and
-workshops, where girls may be taught those trades and occupations which
-are at present exclusively monopolised by men. Those “educated in this
-school will be capable of becoming clerks, cashiers, railway-ticket
-sellers, printers,” &c.
-
-These and similar measures which tend to open up resources to women
-in search of a livelihood, will have the happiest effect in diverting
-numbers into paths of honest industry, who now labour under strong
-temptations to abandon themselves to a life of criminal ease and
-self-indulgence.
-
-The remaining agencies indirectly tending to the prevention of crime,
-are the _Metropolitan Early Closing Association_, for abridging
-the hours of business, so as to afford to assistants time for
-recreation, and for physical, intellectual, and moral improvement; the
-_Metropolitan Evening Classes for Young Men_, for furnishing the means
-of instruction and self-improvement; and the _Young Men’s Christian
-Association_, for promoting the spiritual and mental improvement of
-young men, “by means of devotional meetings, classes for Biblical
-instruction, and for literary improvement, the delivery of lectures,
-the diffusion of Christian literature, and a library for reference
-and circulation.” This last instrumentality has been widely blessed,
-and its beneficial influence is now extended, by means of branch
-associations, to most of the provincial towns.
-
-
-3. _Repressive and Punitive Agencies._
-
-The various instrumentalities falling under this head appear deserving
-of separate consideration, and cannot therefore be appropriately
-included under either of the previous divisions, being neither curative
-in their character, nor preventive to any appreciable extent. They
-evidently presuppose the existence of crime, and merely seek to
-diminish its influence, or curtail its power by the application of
-legal provisions and compulsory measures, intended on the one hand to
-indemnify society against the infraction of its rights, and on the
-other to intimidate or restrain the criminal offender. The absolute
-reformation of the viciously disposed can hardly be expected to result
-from the use of such means, and belongs properly to another class
-of agencies. It may indeed be achieved by punitive measures, but in
-this case reformation of character is rather a startling accident
-than an essential property of the system pursued. Experience has
-abundantly established the utility of legal provisions as a “terror
-to evil doers;” but the statistics of our police-courts will by no
-means warrant the assumption that penal measures have _per se_ been
-successful in reclaiming the offender. It is not intended, however,
-while speaking of repressive and punitive agencies, to include in this
-category the strictly legal efforts employed by the State to deter and
-correct the criminal who renders himself amenable to justice. This
-subject will be found fully and distinctly treated by Mr. Mayhew, in
-a work now in the press, entitled “Prisons of London, and Scenes of
-Prison Life.”
-
-The inquiry pursued in the course of this Essay is not designed to
-comprehend such constitutional measures as are employed by either
-Church or State, for the suppression of vice and crime; but rather to
-draw from their obscurity, and to give prominence to those resources
-and expedients which society itself adopts, for the defence and
-preservation of its own interests.
-
-_The Society for the Suppression of Vice_, which was established
-in 1802, has for its objects the repression of attempts “to spread
-infidelity and blasphemy by means of public lectures, and printed
-publications.” The operations of the Society have also been
-directed to the suppression of disorderly houses, the punishment of
-fortune-tellers, and other important objects. “It is represented that
-by means of this Society many convictions have taken place, and persons
-have been sentenced to imprisonment for selling obscene publications
-and prints,” while their works have been either seized or destroyed.
-With such admirable intentions and useful objects, to commend it to
-benevolent support, and with the entire voice of public opinion in its
-favour, the only wonder is that this Society does not carry on its
-operations with greater publicity, vigilance, and efficiency. Unhappily
-the loathsome traffic in Holywell Street literature is still carried
-on with bold and unblushing effrontery, and its existence, although
-greatly diminished in the country, is too notorious and too patent, in
-certain portions of the metropolis, to need any extraordinary efforts
-to promote exposure and punishment.
-
-The demoralizing influence of low theatres, and the licentious
-corruptions of the Coal Hole, and Posés Plastiques, might surely afford
-scope for vigorous prosecutions under the Society’s auspices; and yet
-these dens, in which the vilest passions of mankind are stimulated, and
-every sentiment of religion, virtue, and decency grossly outraged, or
-publicly caricatured, are allowed to emit their virulent poison upon
-all ranks of society without the slightest let or hindrance! Only let a
-man smitten by the plague or with any other infectious disease, obtrude
-himself by unnecessary contact upon the public, and his right to free
-agency would be summarily disposed of, by speedy incarceration within
-the walls of a hospital; but provided only the disorder be a moral
-one--and therefore far more to be dreaded, in its pestiferous influence
-and baneful effects upon society--it is forsooth to be tolerated as a
-necessary evil! _Proh tempora et mores!_
-
-_The Associate Institution_, formed in 1844, has been in active
-operation fifteen years, and has been instrumental in effecting a large
-amount of good, by improving and enforcing the laws for the protection
-of women. It has maintained a strenuous crusade against houses of
-ill-fame, and has since its establishment conducted upwards of 300
-prosecutions, in most of which it has been successful in bringing
-condign punishment upon the heads of those, who have committed criminal
-assaults upon women and children, or who have decoyed them away for
-immoral purposes.
-
-Important as these results have been, a larger amount of good has
-probably been achieved by means of lectures and meetings held in
-various parts of the country by Mr. J. Harding, the Society’s
-travelling secretary, whose faithful and stirring appeals and bold
-denunciations of vice have contributed not a little to the spread
-of sounder and more wholesome views on social questions, and to the
-removal of that ignorance of profligate wiles and artifices, which, in
-so many cases, proves fatal to the unsuspecting and unwary.
-
-Two Bills prepared by this Association, one for the protection of
-female children between 12 and 13 years of age, and the other to
-simplify and facilitate the prosecution of persons charged with
-keeping houses of ill fame, were this year submitted to parliament,
-but unhappily without success, having been lost either on technical
-grounds, or for want of support. It is refreshing to turn from the
-supineness of statesmen to the energy and decision manifested by
-private associations in resisting the encroachments of vice. The _East
-London Association_, composed of a committee partly clerical and partly
-lay, and including most of the influential parochial clergy in the
-district, was instituted four years ago for the purpose of checking
-“that class of _public offences_, which consists in acts of indecency,
-profaneness, drunkenness, and prostitution.”
-
-Its modes of action are as follows:--
-
- 1. To create and foster public opinion in reprobation of the
- above-named acts.
-
- 2. To bring such public opinion to bear upon all exercising social
- influence, with a view to discountenance the perpetrators and abettors
- thereof.
-
- 3. To secure the efficient application by the Police of the laws
- and regulations for the suppression of the class of public offences
- above named; and to obtain, if necessary, the institution of legal
- proceedings.
-
- 4. To procure the alteration of the law, wheresoever needful to
- the object contemplated, and especially to the obtaining further
- restrictions in granting Licenses for Music and Dancing to houses
- where intoxicating liquors are sold.
-
- 5. To find Houses of Refuge and means of restoration for the victims
- of seduction by honest employment, emigration, &c.
-
-It is satisfactory to state that already, and with the very limited
-funds placed at the disposal of this Association, no fewer than
-“seventy-five houses in some of the worst streets in the east of
-London, hitherto devoted to the vilest purposes, have been cleared
-of their inmates; one of these houses having had thirty rooms, which
-were occupied by prostitutes; that more than one house ostensibly
-open for public accommodation, but really for ensnaring females for
-prostitution, has been closed; and that in one instance of peculiar
-atrocity, the owner of the house has been convicted and punished.
-Handbills have also been issued, containing extracts from the Police
-Acts, to show the power of remedy for offences against public decency,
-such as swearing, the use of improper language, and the exhibition of
-improper conduct in the streets.”
-
-Such are the objects and results of this Association, and such the
-praiseworthy example set to other London districts, which if vigorously
-followed would result, at least, in the repression of vice, and in a
-marked diminution of crime.
-
-“It is chiefly from the reserve which, rather by implication than by
-compact, has so long been preserved in those influential quarters
-where the power to correct and guide public opinion is maintained,
-that the crying social evil of our day has attained such dimensions,
-and exhibited itself in such dangerous and revolting forms as we
-have referred to. Preachers, moralists, and public writers have been
-deterred by the difficulty and delicacy of the subject from their
-obvious duty of protecting the social interests, and a sluggish
-legislature, ever inert in introducing such measures as are calculated
-to foster and conserve the public virtue, has thus lacked the external
-pressure which might have aroused it to vigilance and forethought in
-the discharge of its duties. Recently, however, there have been clear
-indications that a distrust of the old plan is spreading. With manifest
-reluctance, but not without interest, has public attention fastened
-itself on a subject in which not merely the happiness of individuals,
-and the peace of families, but the national prosperity and the concerns
-of social life, are felt to be bound up. Inquiries as to the best mode
-of doing something to stem the tide of immorality which is coursing
-onwards are made in quarters where indifference, if not acquiescence,
-was formerly manifested. Public opinion is ever slowly formed, but
-is seldom wrong at the last in detecting the true source of generic
-evils, and in applying to them the best remedies. Example, also, is as
-contagious on the side of virtue as of vice; and where an initiative
-step, taken by another, appeals to our intuitive sense of right and
-duty, it is seldom that the courageous right-doer has to wait long for
-the expression of sympathy and the proffer of aid.
-
-“It is only recently that the great sin of our land has received a
-measure of the attention it has long and loudly called for.
-
-“First in one quarter, and then in another, has the subject been
-discussed with tolerable delicacy, and with an approximate fidelity.
-
-“The discussion has done good. Men have thought about the subject,
-have been led to measure the fearful dimensions of this evil, to
-observe its progress and influence within their own neighbourhoods,
-and have come at last to deplore the existence of that which they have
-too long tolerated or connived at. Where remedial measures have been
-attempted, they have not lacked for countenance and support; and,
-in some quarters, at least, there have been indications of a desire
-to pass from the feebler stage of alleviation to the more potential
-remedy of prevention. Whilst it seems to be admitted on all hands,
-that to aim at the forcible extinction of immorality would be Utopian
-and disappointing, the repression and diminution of crime is felt to
-be an imperious obligation upon all who are vested with any power and
-influence for that end.
-
-“We cannot help regarding the measures which have been recently
-adopted by certain parochial authorities in the metropolis as at once
-a proof of the benefit which has arisen from the partial discussion of
-this subject in the various public channels into which it has gained
-admittance; and we regard it, further, as a cheering sign that a
-deepening conviction is spreading on all sides respecting the absolute
-necessity of a well-organised antagonism to evil, in place of our
-former supine indifference, or more culpable acquiescence. Some of
-the most influential metropolitan vestries have commenced a crusade
-against the keepers of bad houses in their respective parishes, and,
-by the vigour and promptitude characterizing their prosecutions, seem
-determined to hunt down the hosts of abandoned householders who are
-mainly concerned in extending and facilitating immorality.
-
-“Aristocratic St. James’s, and more plebeian Lambeth, have alike joined
-in these laudable measures; and it is to be noticed, with extreme
-satisfaction, that the steps thus taken have been almost invariably
-successful, and that severe punishments have been inflicted upon the
-wretches who were the objects of these prosecutions. Such a movement
-cannot be sufficiently applauded, and fervently is it to be trusted
-that the example thus shown in these influential centres may not only
-reach to every other parish in the metropolis, but may also stir up
-the parochial authorities in every city and town in the land to a like
-course of procedure. This is to strike at the main root of the evil. In
-vain are all our Reformatories and Refuges, in vain the endeavours of
-Christian people to repress the evil by exertions for the rescue even
-of a large number of its victims, if the floodgates of vice be allowed,
-by public neglect, to remain open, ever to pour out into our streets
-fresh streams of wickedness and pollution. There are, no doubt, persons
-who think that measures, such as those now under consideration, will
-not materially check the traffic in vice, but will only lead to its
-being more subtly and secretly practised. Even that result, if brought
-about, would be something gained, something as a protest on the side
-of public purity and virtue, and something in the amount of warning
-and terror brought home to guilty breasts, leading them to dread
-retribution in future, whenever offended justice could detect them
-in their malpractices. But in truth there is no limit to the amount
-of good which would result from these repressive measures becoming
-universal and well-sustained.
-
-“Many persons would be saved from future ruin, a manifest check would
-be given to the further development of iniquity, and the example of
-authority thus generally exercised in aid of the cause of virtue, would
-greatly tend to the spread of sounder views of social duty in regard to
-this matter.”[7]
-
-One of the greatest scandals on a country professedly Christian, is
-the extent to which Sabbath desecration pervades the metropolis.
-Although the traffic now openly pursued in the streets, or carried on
-with impunity in shops, is strictly illegal, yet the technicalities
-which are too often allowed to obstruct the ends of justice, and
-the smallness of the fines inflicted, even where summary conviction
-follows, concur to render the law, in this particular, a mere dead
-letter.
-
-The permission to sell on Sunday, originally extended only to
-vendors of perishable articles, is now claimed by whole troops of
-costermongers, who, presuming upon the license they have so long
-enjoyed, no longer hesitate to ply their usual calling in the most
-public and offensive manner, frequently pursuing their traffic in the
-open streets during the hours of divine service, and disturbing whole
-congregations by their noisy vociferations around the very doors of our
-churches.
-
-These evils call loudly for more stringent legal measures, and it is to
-be hoped the time is not far distant when some improvement will take
-place.
-
-As one means of directing public attention to this subject, by the
-circulation of appeals and tracts, and of promoting the introduction
-of salutary legal provisions for the repression of such acts of
-desecration, the _Society for Promoting the Due Observance of the
-Lord’s Day_ is entitled to a large measure of support. The efforts made
-by the Society to awaken public opposition to the obnoxious provisions
-of Lord Chelmsford’s Sunday Trading Bill, were probably mainly
-instrumental in securing its rejection.
-
-One of the noblest repressive agencies within the metropolis is the
-_Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals_, established
-in 1824, which employs a number of agents to frequent the markets
-and public thoroughfares, for the purpose of bringing to punishment
-persons detected in the commission of acts of cruelty to animals. It
-seeks, moreover, by means of suitable tracts, to diffuse among the
-public a just sense of the duty of humanity and forbearance towards the
-lower orders of creation. Allusion was made during the present year
-to the objects embraced by this Society from upwards of two thousand
-London pulpits, which will doubtless have the effect of directing the
-attention of the benevolent public to an instrumentality which has
-already achieved a large amount of good; and only requires to be better
-known to enjoy a corresponding measure of support.
-
-
-4. _Reformative Agencies._
-
-Must be understood as referring solely to individuals, and include
-all such measures as are employed to effect an external change of
-character, and render those, who are vicious and depraved, honest and
-respectable members of society.
-
-While, however, agencies of this kind are reformative in their relation
-to persons, they have also a preventive aspect, when viewed in their
-bearings upon the entire community; for the reformation of every
-vicious man is a social boon, inasmuch as it removes one individual
-from a course of vice, and thus diminishes the aggregate of crime.
-
-As a nucleus of reformatory operations, and a “centre of information
-and encouragement,” the _Reformatory and Refuge Union_ was established
-in 1856. It seeks to diffuse information respecting the various
-agencies at present in existence, and to encourage and facilitate the
-establishment of new institutions. In connection with the Union is a
-“_Female Mission_” for the rescue of the fallen. The Mission maintains
-a staff of female missionaries, whose business it is to distribute
-tracts among the fallen women of the metropolis, to converse with them
-in the streets, and visit them in their houses, in the hospitals, or
-in the workhouses. These missionaries, “as a rule, leave their homes
-between eight and nine o’clock at night, remaining out till nearly
-twelve, and occasionally till one in the morning. They are located in
-different parts of London, near to the nightly walks and haunts of
-those they desire to benefit. They have the means of rescuing a large
-number who have been placed in the Homes or restored to their friends.”
-
-There are upwards of fifty metropolitan institutions for the reception
-of the destitute and the reformation of the criminal, or those who are
-exposed to temptation, capable of accommodating collectively about
-4,000 persons of both sexes.
-
-Nine of these institutions are designed especially for the reception
-and training of juvenile criminals, sentenced under the “Youthful
-Offenders’ Act,” and two for vagrants sentenced to detention under the
-“Industrial School Act.” Three are exclusively appropriated to the
-benefit of discharged prisoners, and the rest are chiefly employed in
-the rescue and reformation of destitute or criminal children.[8]
-
-Most of these institutions, with the exception of such as are certified
-by Act of Parliament, and aided by Government subsidies, are supported
-entirely by voluntary contributions and by the earnings of the inmates,
-who are either admitted free on application, or by payment of a small
-sum towards the expense of maintenance.
-
-Such is the benevolent machinery now at work within the metropolis for
-the reformation of our criminal population, and for the preservation of
-those who are in a fair way of becoming the moral pests and aliens of
-society.
-
-The results, both in a religious, social, and sanatory point of view,
-achieved by these different agencies, are beyond all human calculation;
-and it is mainly to their beneficial and restraining influence that the
-peace, safety, and well-being of society may be attributed.
-
-The other _Reformative Agencies_ are those adapted to the rescue and
-reformation of fallen women, or such as have been led astray from the
-paths of virtue.
-
-There are twenty-one institutions in London devoted to these objects,
-and unitedly providing accommodation for about 1,200 inmates. Ten of
-these are in connexion with the Church of England, and in the remaining
-eleven the religious instruction is unsectarian and evangelical.
-Three, viz., _The Female Temporary Home_, _The Trinity Home_, and _The
-Home of Hope_, are designed for the reception of the better educated
-and higher class of fallen women. One, viz., _The London Society for
-the Protection of Young Females_, is limited to girls under fifteen
-years of age; and another, _The Marylebone Female Protection Society_,
-affords shelter exclusively to those who have recently been led astray,
-and whose previous good character will bear the strictest investigation.
-
-It may be fairly assumed that the objects of all these institutions
-are substantially the same, viz., the reformation of character, and
-the restoration of the individual to religious and social privileges.
-While, however, the end is in most cases one and the same, the methods
-and subordinate means adopted to insure its attainment, are often
-strikingly dissimilar, and present distinctive and almost opposite
-features. Thus one class of institutions, in imitation of our Lord’s
-merciful forbearance towards the sinner, make their treatment
-pre-eminently one of love, and seek by means the most gentle and
-attractive to win back the stubborn wills and depraved natures of those
-entrusted to their care. Kindness is the only instrument used in laying
-siege to the hard heart, and in mollifying the seared conscience. Stern
-discipline, irritating restraints, and rigorous exactions, form no
-part of a system which is built up on the model prescribed by Him, who
-“spake as never man spake.”
-
-That a mode of treatment which affords such a remarkable coincidence,
-and such a striking parallel to the divine method of dealing with
-the sinner, so eloquently taught under the parable of the Prodigal
-Son, should be found by experience to be the only really efficacious
-one, can hardly be a matter of surprise. The fact is too notorious to
-require any proof that in numberless instances
-
- ‘Law and terrors do but harden’
-
-the heart which can be easily subdued by the exhibition of Christian
-kindness. Here is the omnipotent weapon which has achieved such moral
-victories, when wielded by gentle and loving women, like Miss Marsh,
-Mrs. Wightman, and Mrs. Sheppard.
-
-The opposite mode of treatment, however successful it may be in the
-restoration of external character, or in the subjugation of turbulent
-passions, is defective, inasmuch as it fails to influence the heart,
-and therefore at best contributes only to an incomplete and partial
-cure. The almost penal character of the system pursued in many of
-the older penitentiaries is founded on the misconception, that the
-injury sustained by society in the departure from virtue of her female
-members, can only be atoned for by some personal mulct inflicted on the
-offender. While, therefore, the ultimate object is the reformation of
-lost character, this is too often overlooked or rendered subsidiary to
-the proximate one of propitiating society; and the austere regimen by
-which the latter point is secured, is generally found to be subversive
-of the other. When, however, as is too frequently the case, society is
-the _tempter_, the offence may surely be condoned by a less rigorous
-process! Society may indeed well waive the right to compensation
-for supposed damages, when it can be proved that she is at least
-_particeps criminis_, and when, moreover, she has a personal interest
-in the speedy restoration of her unhappy prodigals. The retributive
-suffering, which, in the majority of cases, so surely overtakes the
-female delinquent, may be urged as another reason for dealing leniently
-with the erring; but the strongest justification of such a method is
-undoubtedly derived from the success attending it, and from the Divine
-sanction which it has received.
-
-The impediments which the old penitentiary system of close confinement,
-criminal fare, and hard labour, have unfortunately presented to the
-rescue of fallen women is too well known to those who are accustomed
-to deal with this class. Frequently are the urgent entreaties of the
-missionary to forsake an abandoned course of life, and seek shelter
-in some institution, met with either rancorous denunciations against
-the penal system, or by polite but firm refusals to submit to the
-discipline, which is supposed to extend to all reformatory asylums.
-
-Gradually, however, this prevailing opinion is being cleared away, and
-the fallen women themselves are not slow to distinguish between the
-two opposite methods of treatment, a fact which is rendered clearly
-apparent by the overwhelming number of applications for admission into
-those Homes which are characterized by a more humane and gentle regimen.
-
-The oldest reformatory institution in the metropolis for the reception
-of fallen women is _The Magdalen Hospital_, founded in 1758. During the
-last 100 years of its existence nearly 9,000 women have been admitted,
-about two-thirds of whom have been restored to friends or relations.
-At the time when this charity was first instituted “the notion of
-providing a house for the reception and maintenance of ‘Penitent
-Prostitutes’ seems not to have suggested itself to the public mind.
-Even good and actively benevolent men appear to have been startled at
-the novelty of the proposition, while they doubted the wisdom, and
-still more the success of such an attempt. The newspapers of that
-period contained both arguments against, and ridicule of the plan and
-its promoters. God, however, blessed the undertaking, and raised up
-friends and supporters in every direction.”
-
-So that eighteen years after its incorporation its friends were able to
-use the following cheering language.
-
-“We see many fellow-creatures, by means of this happy asylum, rescued
-from sorrow in which they had been involved by all the iniquitous
-stratagems of seduction; in which condition they had been detained
-by a species of horrid necessity; from which they had no probable or
-possible retreat; and in which they must, therefore, according to all
-human appearance, have perished. We see them restored to their God,
-to their parents, to their friends, their country, and themselves.
-What charitable heart, what truly Christian hand can withhold its best
-endeavours to promote an undertaking so laudable, so beneficent? Who
-would not desire to add to the number of souls preserved from the
-deepest guilt--of bodies rescued from shame, misery, and death? Who
-would not wish to wipe the tear from a parent’s eyes--to save the hoary
-head from being brought down with sorrow to the grave?”
-
-An interval of half a century elapsed after the foundation of the
-Magdalen Asylum before the establishment of any similar institution.
-Within the last ten years, however, public attention has been directed
-with increasing interest to this subject, and numerous efforts have
-been made to provide more ample accommodation for those who are
-desirous of escaping from their wretched mode of life.
-
-The _London by Moonlight Mission_, inaugurated some years ago by
-Lieutenant Blackmore, has been followed in our own day by the
-_Midnight Meeting Movement_, which has excited a world-wide sympathy
-and interest, and has been very generally approved even in quarters
-where encouragement could be least expected. The commencement of
-these meetings in London was the signal for similar experiments in
-Manchester, Liverpool, Nottingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Dublin,
-and other large towns.
-
-Twenty-two of these meetings have now been held, and attended by
-upwards of 4,000 women, more than 600 of whom have been rescued, and
-either restored to friends, or placed in situations, where they are
-giving satisfactory evidence of outward reformation, and many of them
-of a thorough change of character.
-
-The largest association in London for the reformation of fallen
-women, is the _Society for the Rescue of Young Women and Children_.
-The Society has at present eleven homes in various parts of London,
-and one at Dover. Four of these are “Family Homes” for the reception
-of _preventive_ cases, or young girls who have not strayed from the
-path of virtue, but are addicted to crime, or are in circumstances of
-danger. One is a Home for orphan children, from nine to thirteen years
-of age; and the remaining seven are for fallen cases.
-
-Upwards of 2,700 women and children have been admitted into these
-Homes since the Society’s formation in 1853, the greater part of whom
-have given satisfactory proof of having been reclaimed and permanently
-benefitted. The Society’s income for the past year amounted to £6,789
-17_s._ 2_d._ The Homes are under the care of pious and experienced
-matrons, who labour incessantly to promote the spiritual and social
-welfare of their charges.
-
-Another institution of recent origin, but of rapidly increasing growth,
-is the _London Female Preventive and Reformatory Institution_, which
-already numbers four Homes, and has admitted, during the past year,
-upwards of 250 inmates.
-
-The following are the objects embraced by the Institution:--
-
-“I. To seek the destitute and fallen by voluntary missionary effort.
-
-“II. To afford temporary protection to friendless young women, whose
-circumstances expose them to danger; also to effect the rescue of
-fallen females, especially those decoyed from the country, by admitting
-them to the benefits of this Institution.
-
-“III. To restore, when practicable, the wanderer to her family and
-friends, whether in town or country.
-
-“IV. To qualify those admitted into the Institution for various
-departments of domestic service, to obtain suitable situations for
-them, and provide them with clothing.
-
-“V. To aid such as for approved reasons wish to emigrate.
-
-“VI. Above all, to seek the spiritual welfare of the inmates.”
-
-The two last-named Societies and the _Home of Hope_, which is another
-Refuge identical in character and spirit with that last named, have
-received most of the cases rescued by the midnight meetings.
-
-Great and encouraging as are the results effected by these
-institutions, and wide as the sympathy is which they have awakened, it
-is clear that the means of rescue are as yet wholly disproportioned to
-the numbers claiming assistance.
-
-Calculating the number of fallen women in London at _eighty thousand_,
-which is probably not far wide of the truth, and computing the number
-at present in the different institutions to be 1,000, the chance of
-rescue through the only recognized medium for female reformation is
-offered to _one woman in every eighty!_
-
-This is _the high-water_ mark of public charity, and the utmost
-provision made by Society for the rescue of these 80,000 outcasts!
-And yet there are special reasons which seem to give them a strong
-claim upon the sympathy and compassion of the benevolent public. The
-brief term of their existence, the average length of which is at best
-but a few years, and the fact that large numbers of them are driven
-upon the streets by a stern necessity, and compelled to live by sin
-as a trade, while everything contributes to prevent their escape from
-the mode of life into which they have been involuntarily forced, are
-surely considerations calculated to stimulate Christian effort on their
-behalf. But more than this,--it is well known that they are hanging as
-it were over the mouth of the bottomless pit.
-
-“Their life-blood is ebbing at a fearful rate, and their souls are
-drifting madly to eternity. Their fate is certain; their doom impends:
-and, for their death-bed, there is not even the faintest glimmer
-of hope which charity can bequeath to the dying sinner. All others
-_may_ find peace at last; but these, suddenly overtaken by death,
-and perishing _in_ and _by_ their sins, _must_ be irrevocably lost.
-And who are they on whose warm vitals the ‘worm feeds sweetly,’ even
-on this side the grave, and around whose heads the unquenchable fire
-prematurely burns? Who are those whose souls, in countless numbers,
-are now glutting the chambers of hell? Not swarthy Indians nor sable
-Africans, whose deeds of violence and superstition have spread horror
-and astonishment among civilized nations, but delicately-nurtured Saxon
-women, who in infancy were lovingly fondled in the arms of Christian
-mothers, and received ‘into the ark of Christ’s Church’ in baptism,
-before a praying congregation; young girls, for whom pious sponsors
-promised that they should be ‘virtuously brought up to lead a godly and
-a Christian life,’ and who, in the faithful discharge of this promise,
-were trained in our Sabbath-schools, and ‘taken to the Bishop to be
-confirmed by him.’ They have sung the same hymns which we now sing;
-our congregational melodies are still familiar to them. They have read
-the same Scriptures which we now read, worshipped in the same temple
-in which we assemble, offered up the same prayers, listened to the
-same exhortations, and looked forward to the same glorious fruition of
-future blessedness. But where are they now? What are their hopes and
-expectations, and what the probable end of their existence? Let those
-answer these questions who sneeringly ask why such prodigious efforts
-are made to rescue the fallen.
-
-“It not unfrequently happens, however, that the benevolent promoters
-of such schemes are perplexed and disheartened by those who assume a
-tone of expediency and argue thus: ‘Yes, it is all very true; and we
-can sympathise with your efforts, and pity the poor unhappy objects of
-your solicitude; but, then, this is a necessary evil, and any attempts
-to remove it are altogether mistaken, and are sure to end in failure,
-or to produce greater mischief. Besides, the demand will always create
-the supply, and for every fallen woman you snatch from the streets,
-an innocent, and hitherto virtuous girl, must be sacrificed. No, we
-are sorry for them, but better let them perish than save them at the
-sacrifice of other victims.’
-
-“First then, this is a ‘_necessary_ evil.’ Falsehood is sufficiently
-patent upon the face of this foolish and monstrous assertion. Could the
-Creator have pronounced his work ‘very good’ with such an inseparable
-appendage to social life? Again, how comes it that a ‘_necessary_ evil’
-only exhibits itself in _certain localities_, and under particular
-circumstances, disappearing altogether in uncivilized countries,
-and gathering strength and virulence in the most refined states of
-society? Will any modern philosopher favour us with a solution of this
-difficulty?
-
-“But ‘the demand will always create the supply.’ Inexorable logic
-apparently, and incontrovertible if the supply were limited to the
-demand. This, however, we deny. Thousands are driven to prostitution
-as the only alternative from starvation. _Necessity_, and not the
-demand, here creates the supply, and it is well known that the supply
-_suggests_ the demand. Is, then, the balance of vice so exact and
-undeviating, that the gap occasioned by the removal of one victim must
-be speedily filled by another? Is the equilibrium of profligacy so
-nicely adjusted, that it would be dangerous to assert the prerogative
-of virtue; and shall we desire its unhappy votaries to continue in sin
-that virtue may abound? Shall we drive back anxious souls, striving to
-‘flee from the wrath to come,’ with the cold-blooded assurance that,
-‘for the good of society, they had better remain where they are?’ Will
-it satisfy an immortal spirit, to be told that she helps to maintain
-the proper equilibrium of vice; or that, by standing in the gap, she
-is a benefactor to the innocent of her own sex, who would otherwise be
-sacrificed? Shall we assign as our reason for not preaching the Gospel
-to ‘every creature,’ that the state of society would be unhinged by
-curtailing a necessary evil, or that greater injuries would result from
-any attempt to rescue perishing souls? Shall we mock Him who has said
-‘All souls are mine,’ by elevating a doctrine of human expediency above
-the authority of a distinct command? Let us be sure that, in a case so
-intimately affecting the honour and glory of God, to ‘obey is better
-than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.’ In vain may we
-plead political necessity as a plausible pretext for disobedience.
-
-“We are not afraid, however, to meet this argument on philosophical
-grounds; and we affirm, confidently, that the rescue of every fallen
-woman is a social boon. Admitting the _possibility_ that, eventually,
-her place will be supplied by another--for we can approach no nearer
-to the truth--is it not better to remove a _present_ evil than to
-provide for a _remote_ contingency? Supposing that in the long vista of
-future years, the immolation of a fresh victim is the price of every
-individual rescue, do we overlook the fact, that _in the mean time_
-a powerful temptation is removed, and that not merely _units_, but
-probably _hundreds_, of the young of the opposite sex are delivered
-from the toils of the strange woman? Is nothing achieved by the
-temporary removal of one tempter from the streets, and is society a
-loser in the end, by the reformation of one whose sole occupation is to
-waylay and ruin the youth of the opposite sex? Let our moral economists
-escape from this dilemma if they can; the philanthropist and the
-Christian need no further arguments to convince them that they have not
-only the law of God, but the inexorable logic of common sense on their
-side.
-
-“Who can tell the pestiferous influence exercised on society by
-one single fallen woman? Who can calculate the evils of such a
-system? Woman, waylaid, tempted, deceived, becomes in turn the
-terrible avenger of her sex. Armed with a power which is all but
-irresistible, and stript of that which can alone restrain and purify
-her influence, she steps upon the arena of life qualified to act her
-part in the reorganization of society. The _lex talionis_--the law of
-retaliation--is hers. Society has made her what she is, and must be
-now governed by her potent influence. The weight of this influence is
-untold: view it in the dissolution of domestic ties, in the sacrifice
-of family peace, in the cold desolation of promising homes; but,
-above all, in the growth of practical Atheism, and in the downward
-tendency of all that is pure and holy in life! One and another who
-has been educated in an atmosphere redolent of virtue and principle,
-and has given promise of high and noble qualities, falls a victim to
-the prevalence of meretricious allurements, and carries back to his
-hitherto untainted home the noxious influence he has imbibed. Another
-and another, within the range of that influence, is made to suffer
-for his sacrifice of moral rectitude, and they, in their turn, become
-the agents, and the originators of fresh evils. Who, in contemplating
-this pedigree of profligacy resulting from a solitary temptation, will
-venture to affirm that the temporary withdrawal of a single prostitute
-is not a social blessing? Surely for such _immediate results_ we are
-justified in dispensing with considerations of _future expediency_;
-and, acting upon the first principles of Christian ethics, may help
-to reform the vicious and profligate, leaving it in the hands of a
-merciful God to avert the contingency of ruin overtaking the as yet
-unfallen woman.”[9]
-
-In reference to all such Christian efforts to reclaim the fallen, it
-has been truly said that “You may ransack the world for objects of
-compassion. You may scour the earth in search of suffering humanity,
-on which to exercise your philanthropy; you may roam the countless
-hospitals and asylums of this vast city; you may penetrate the dens
-and caves of all other profligacy; you may lavish your bounty upon a
-transatlantic famine, or dive into Neapolitan dungeons, or scatter the
-Bible broadcast throughout the great moral wildernesses of heathendom:
-but in all the million claims upon your faith, upon your feeling as
-a man, upon your benevolence as a Christian, you will never fulfil
-a mission dearer to Christ, you will never promote a charity more
-congenial to the spirit of this gospel; you will never more surely wake
-up joy in heaven, and force tears into the eyes of sympathising angels,
-than when you can bring a Magdalene face to face with her Redeemer, and
-thrill her poor heart, even to breaking, with the plaintive music of
-that divine voice, calling her by name--MARY.”
-
-
-
-
-LONDON LABOUR
-
-AND THE
-
-LONDON POOR.
-
-THOSE THAT WILL NOT WORK.
-
-
-
-
-INTRODUCTION.
-
-
-I enter upon this part of my subject with a deep sense of the misery,
-the vice, the ignorance, and the want that encompass us on every
-side--I enter upon it after much grave attention to the subject,
-observing closely, reflecting patiently, and generalizing cautiously
-upon the phenomena and causes of the vice and crime of this city--I
-enter upon it after a thoughtful study of the habits and character of
-the “outcast” class generally--I enter upon it, moreover, not only as
-forming an integral and most important part of the task I have imposed
-upon myself, but from a wish to divest the public mind of certain
-“idols” of the platform and conventicle--“idols” peculiar to our own
-time, and unknown to the great Father of the inductive philosophy--and
-“idols,” too, that appear to me greatly to obstruct a proper
-understanding of the subject. Further, I am led to believe that I can
-contribute some new facts concerning the physics and economy of vice
-and crime generally, that will not only make the solution of the social
-problem more easy to us, but, setting more plainly before us some of
-its latent causes, make us look with more pity and less anger on those
-who want the fortitude to resist their influence; and induce us, or at
-least the more earnest among us, to apply ourselves steadfastly to the
-removal or alleviation of those social evils that appear to create so
-large a proportion of the vice and crime that we seek by punishment to
-prevent.
-
-Such are the _ultimate_ objects of my present labours: the result
-of them is given to the world with an earnest desire to better the
-condition of the wretched social outcasts of whom I have now to treat,
-and to contribute, if possible, my mite of good towards the common weal.
-
-But though such be my ultimate object, let me here confess that my
-immediate aim is the elimination of the truth; without this, of course,
-all other principles must be sheer sentimentality--sentiments being, to
-my mind, opinions engendered by the feelings rather than the judgment.
-The attainment of the truth, then, will be my primary aim; but by the
-truth, I wish it to be understood, I mean something _more_ than the
-bare facts. Facts, according to my ideas, are merely the elements of
-truths, and not the truths themselves; of all matters there are none so
-utterly useless by themselves as your mere matters of fact. A fact, so
-long as it remains an isolated fact, is a dull, dead, uninformed thing;
-no object nor event by itself can possibly give us any knowledge, we
-must compare it with some other, even to distinguish it; and it is the
-distinctive quality thus developed that constitutes the essence of a
-thing--that is to say, the point by which we cognize and recognise
-it when again presented to us. A fact must be assimilated with, or
-discriminated from, some other fact or facts, in order to be raised to
-the dignity of a truth, and made to convey the least knowledge to the
-mind. To say, for instance, that in the year 1850 there were 26,813
-criminal offenders in England and Wales, is merely to oppress the brain
-with the record of a fact that, _per se_, is so much mental lumber.
-This is the very mummery of statistics; of what rational good can such
-information by itself be to any person? who can tell whether the number
-of offenders in that year be large or small, unless they compare it
-with the number of some other year, or in some other country? but to
-do this will require another fact, and even then this second fact can
-give us but little real knowledge. It may teach us, perhaps, that the
-past year was more or less criminal than some other year, or that the
-people of this country, in that year, were more or less disposed to the
-infraction of the laws than some other people abroad; still, what will
-all this avail us? If the year which we select to contrast criminally
-with that of 1850 be not itself compared with other years, how are we
-to know whether the number of criminals appertaining to it be above
-or below the average? or, in other words, how can the one be made a
-measure of the other?
-
-To give the least mental value to facts, therefore, we must generalize
-them, that is to say, we must contemplate them in connection with
-other facts, and so discover their agreements and differences, their
-antecedents, concomitants, and consequences. It is true we may frame
-erroneous and defective theories in so doing; we may believe things
-which are similar in appearance to be similar in their powers and
-properties also; we may distinguish between things having no real
-difference; we may mistake concomitant events for consequences; we
-may generalize with too few particulars, and hastily infer that to
-be common to all which is but the special attribute of a limited
-number; nevertheless, if theory may occasionally teach us wrongly,
-facts without theory or generalization cannot possibly teach us at
-all. What the process of digestion is to food, that of generalizing
-is to fact; for as it is by the assimilation of the substances we eat
-with the elements of our bodies that our limbs are enlarged and our
-whole frames strengthened, so is it by associating perception with
-perception in our brains that our intellect becomes at once expanded
-and invigorated. Contrary to the vulgar notion, theory, that is to say,
-theory in its true Baconian sense, is not opposed to fact, but consists
-rather of a _large_ collection of facts; it is not true of this or
-that thing alone, but of _all_ things belonging to the same class--in
-a word, it consists not of _one_ fact but an _infinity_. The theory of
-gravitation, for instance, expresses not only what occurs when a stone
-falls to the earth, but when every other body does the same thing; it
-expresses, moreover, what takes place in the revolution of the moon
-round our planet, and in the revolution of our planet and of all the
-other planets round our sun, and of all other suns round the centre of
-the universe; in fine, it is true not of one thing merely, but of every
-material object in the entire range of creation.
-
-There are, of course, two methods of dealing philosophically with
-every subject--deductively and inductively. We may either proceed
-from principles to facts, or recede from facts to principles. The one
-explains, the other investigates; the former applies known general
-rules to the comprehension of particular phenomena, and the latter
-classifies the particular phenomena, so that we may ultimately come
-to comprehend their unknown general rules. The deductive method is
-the mode of _using_ knowledge, and the inductive method the mode of
-_acquiring_ it.
-
-In a subject like the crime and vice of the metropolis, and the country
-in general, of which so little is known--of which there are so many
-facts, but so little comprehension--it is evident that we must seek by
-induction, that is to say, by a careful classification of the known
-phenomena, to render the matter more intelligible; in fine, we must,
-in order to arrive at a _comprehensive_ knowledge of its antecedents,
-consequences, and concomitants, contemplate as large a number of facts
-as possible in as many different relations as the statistical records
-of the country will admit of our doing.
-
-With this brief preamble I will proceed to treat generally of the class
-that will not work, and then particularly of that portion of them
-termed prostitutes. But, first, who are those that _will_ work, and who
-those that _will not_ work? This is the primary point to be evolved.
-
-
-OF THE WORKERS AND NON-WORKERS.
-
-The essential quality of an animal is that it seeks its own living,
-whereas a vegetable has its living brought to it. An animal cannot
-stick its feet in the ground and suck up the inorganic elements of
-its body from the soil, nor drink in the organic elements from the
-atmosphere. The leaves of plants are not only their lungs but their
-stomachs. As _they_ breathe they acquire food and strength, but as
-animals breathe _they_ gradually waste away. The carbon which is
-_secreted_ by the process of respiration in the vegetable is excreted
-by the very same process in the animal. Hence a fresh supply of
-_carbonaceous_ matter must be sought after and obtained at frequent
-intervals, in order to repair the continual waste of animal life.
-
-But in the act of seeking for substances fitted to replace that which
-is lost in respiration, nerves must be excited and muscles moved;
-and recent discoveries have shown that such excitation and motion
-are attended with decomposition of the organs in which they occur.
-Muscular action gives rise to the destruction of muscular tissue,
-nervous action to a change in the nervous matter; and this destruction
-and decomposition necessarily involve a fresh supply of _nitrogenous_
-matter, in order that the loss may be repaired.
-
-Now a tree, being inactive, has little or no waste. All the food
-that it obtains goes to the invigoration of its frame; not one atom
-is destroyed in seeking more: but the essential condition of animal
-life is muscular action; the essential condition of muscular action
-is the destruction of muscular tissue; and the essential condition of
-the destruction of muscular tissue is a supply of food fitted for the
-reformation of it, or--_death_. It is impossible for an animal--like a
-vegetable--to stand still and not destroy. If the limbs are not moving,
-the heart is beating, the lungs playing, the bosom heaving. Hence an
-animal, in order to continue its existence, must obtain its subsistence
-either by its own exertions or by those of others--in a word, it must
-be _autobious_ or _allobious_.
-
-The procuration of sustenance, then, is the necessary condition of
-animal life, and constitutes the sole apparent reason for the addition
-of the locomotive apparatus to the vegetative functions of sentient
-nature; but the faculties of comparison and volition have been further
-added to the animal nature of Man, in order to enable him, among
-other things, the better to gratify his wants--to give him such a
-mastery over the elements of material nature, that he may force the
-external world the more readily to contribute to his support. Hence
-the derangement of either one of those functions must degrade the
-human being--as regards his means of sustenance--to the level of the
-brute. If his intellect be impaired, and the faculty of perceiving
-“the fitness of things” be consequently lost to him--or, this being
-sound, if the power of moving his muscles in compliance with his will
-be deficient--then the individual becomes no longer capable, like his
-fellows, of continuing his existence by his own exertions.
-
-Hence, in every state, we have two extensive causes of allobiism, or
-living by the labour of others; the one intellectual, as in the case
-of lunatics and idiots, and the other physical, as in the case of the
-infirm, the crippled, and the maimed--the old and the young.
-
-But a third, and a more extensive class, still remains to be
-particularized. The members of every community may be divided into
-the _energetic_ and the _an-ergetic_; that is to say, into the
-hardworking and the non-working, the industrious and the indolent
-classes; the distinguishing characteristic of the _anergetic_ being
-the extreme irksomeness of all labour to them, and their consequent
-indisposition to work for their subsistence. Now, in the circumstances
-above enumerated, we have three capital causes why, in every State, a
-certain portion of the community must derive their subsistence from
-the exertions of the rest; the first proceeds from some _physical_
-defect, as in the case of the old and the young, the super-annuated and
-the sub-annuated, the crippled and the maimed; the second from some
-_intellectual_ defect, as in the case of lunatics and idiots; and the
-third from some _moral_ defect, as in the case of the indolent, the
-vagrant, the professional mendicant, and the criminal. In all civilized
-countries, there will necessarily be a greater or less number of human
-parasites living on the sustenance of their fellows. The industrious
-must labour to support the lazy, and the sane to keep the insane, and
-the able-bodied to maintain the infirm.
-
-Still, to complete the social fabric, another class requires to be
-specified. As yet, regard has been paid only to those who must needs
-labour for their living, or who, in default of so doing, must prey on
-the proceeds of the industry of their more active or more stalwart
-brethren. There is, however, in all civilized society, a farther
-portion of the people distinct from either of those above mentioned,
-who, being already provided--no matter how--with a sufficient stock of
-sustenance, or what will exchange for such, have no occasion to toil
-for an additional supply.
-
-Hence all society would appear to arrange itself into four different
-classes:--
-
- I. THOSE THAT WILL WORK.
- II. THOSE THAT CANNOT WORK.
- III. THOSE THAT WILL NOT WORK.
- IV. THOSE THAT NEED NOT WORK.
-
-Under one or other section of this quadruple division, every member,
-not only of our community, but of every other civilized State, must
-necessarily be included; the rich, the poor, the industrious, the idle,
-the honest, the dishonest, the virtuous, and the vicious--each and all
-must be comprised therein.
-
-Let me now proceed specially to treat of each of these classes--to
-distribute under one or other of these four categories the diverse
-modes of living peculiar to the members of our own community, and so to
-enunciate, for the first time, the natural history, as it were, of the
-industry and idleness of Great Britain in the nineteenth century.
-
-It is no easy matter, however, to classify the different kinds of
-labour scientifically. To arrange the several varieties of work into
-“orders,” and to group the manifold species of arts under a few
-comprehensive genera--so that the mind may grasp the whole at one
-effort--is a task of a most perplexing character. Moreover, the first
-attempt to bring any number of diverse phenomena within the rules of
-logical division is not only a matter of considerable difficulty, but
-one, unfortunately, that is generally unsuccessful. It is impossible,
-however, to proceed with the present inquiry without making some
-attempt at systematic arrangement; for of all scientific processes,
-the classification of the various phenomena, in connection with a
-given subject, is perhaps the most important; indeed, if we consider
-that the function of cognition is essentially _discriminative_, it is
-evident, that without distinguishing between one object and another,
-there can be no knowledge, nor, indeed, any perception. Even as the
-seizing of a particular difference causes the mind to _apprehend_ the
-special character of an object, so does the discovery of the agreements
-and differences among the several phenomena of a subject enable the
-understanding to _comprehend_ it. What the generalization of events
-is to the ascertainment of natural laws, the generalization of things
-is to the discovery of natural systems. But classification is no less
-dangerous than it is important to science; for in precisely the same
-proportion as a correct grouping of objects into genera and species,
-orders and varieties, expands and assists our understanding, so does
-any erroneous arrangement cripple and retard all true knowledge.
-The reduction of all external substances into four elements by the
-ancients--earth, air, fire, and water--perhaps did more to obstruct the
-progress of chemical science than even a prohibition of the study could
-have effected.
-
-But the branches of industry are so multifarious, the divisions of
-labour so minute and manifold, that it seems at first almost impossible
-to reduce them to any system. Moreover, the crude generalizations
-expressed in the names of the several arts, render the subject still
-more perplexing.
-
-Some kinds of workmen, for example, are called after the _articles
-they make_--as saddlers, hatters, boot-makers, dress-makers,
-breeches-makers, stay-makers, lace-makers, button-makers,
-glovers, cabinet-makers, artificial-flower-makers, ship-builders,
-organ-builders, boat-builders, nailers, pin-makers, basket-makers,
-pump-makers, clock and watch makers, wheel-wrights, ship-wrights, and
-so forth.
-
-Some operatives, on the other hand, take their names not from what they
-make, but from the _kind of work they perform_. Hence we have carvers,
-joiners, bricklayers, weavers, knitters, engravers, embroiderers,
-tanners, curriers, bleachers, thatchers, lime-burners, glass-blowers,
-seamstresses, assayers, refiners, embossers, chasers, painters,
-paper-hangers, printers, book-binders, cab-drivers, fishermen,
-graziers, and so on.
-
-Other artizans, again, are styled after the _materials upon which they
-work_, such as tinmen, jewellers, lapidaries, goldsmiths, braziers,
-plumbers, pewterers, glaziers, &c. &c.
-
-And lastly, a few operatives are named after the _tools they use_; thus
-we have ploughmen, sawyers, and needlewomen.
-
-But these divisions, it is evident, are as unscientific as they are
-arbitrary; nor would it be possible, by adopting such a classification,
-to arrive at any practical result.
-
-Now, I _had_ hoped to have derived some little assistance in my attempt
-to reduce the several varieties of work to system from the arrangement
-of the products of industry and art at “the Great Exhibition.” I
-knew, however, that the point of classification had proved the great
-stumbling block to the French Industrial Exhibitions. In the Exposition
-of the Arts and Manufactures of France in 1806, for instance, M. Costaz
-adopted a topographical arrangement, according to the departments of
-the kingdom whence the specimens were sent. In 1819, again, finding
-the previous arrangement conveyed little or no knowledge, depending,
-as it did, on the mere local association of the places of manufacture,
-the same philosopher attempted to classify all arts into a sort of
-natural system, but the separate divisions amounted to thirty-nine,
-and were found to be confused and inconvenient. In 1827 M. Payon
-adopted a classification into five great divisions, arranging the arts
-according as they are chemical, mechanical, physical, economical, or
-“miscellaneous” in their nature. It was found, however, in practice,
-that two, or even three, of these characteristics often belonged to the
-same manufacture. In 1834 M. Dupin proposed a classification that was
-found to work better than any which preceded it. He viewed man as a
-locomotive animal, a clothed animal, a domiciled animal, &c., and thus
-tracing him through his various daily wants and employments, he arrived
-at a classification in which all arts are placed under nine headings,
-according as they contribute to the alimentary, sanitary, vestiary,
-domiciliary, locomotive, sensitive, intellectual, preparative, or
-social tendencies of man. In 1844 and 1849 attempts were made towards
-an eclectic combination of two or three of the above-mentioned systems,
-but it does not appear that the latter arrangements presented any
-marked advantages.
-
-Now, with all the experience of the French nation to guide us, I
-naturally expected that especial attention would be directed towards
-the point of classification with us, and that a technological system
-would be propounded, which would be found at least an improvement on
-the bungling systems of the French. It must be confessed, however, that
-no nation could possibly have stultified itself so egregiously as we
-have done in this respect. Never was there anything half so puerile as
-the classification of the works of industry in our own Exhibition!
-
-But this comes of the patronage of Princes; for we are told that at
-one of the earliest meetings at Buckingham Palace his Royal Highness
-_propounded_ the system of classification according to which the works
-of industry _were to be_ arranged. The published minutes of the meeting
-on the 30th of June, 1849, inform us--
-
-“His Royal Highness communicated his views regarding the formation of
-a Great Collection of Works of Industry and Art in London in 1851, for
-the purposes of exhibition, and of competition and encouragement. His
-Royal Highness considered that such a collection and exhibition should
-consist of the following divisions:--
-
- Raw Materials.
- Machinery and Mechanical Inventions.
- Manufactures.
- Sculpture and Plastic Art generally.”
-
-Now, were it possible for monarchs to do with natural laws as with
-social ones, namely, to blow a trumpet and declaring “_le roi le
-veut_,” to have their will pass into one of the statutes of creation,
-it might be advantageous to science that Princes should seek to lay
-down orders of arrangement and propound systems of classification. But
-seeing that Science is as pure a republic as Letters, and that there
-are no “Highnesses” in philosophy--for if there be any aristocracy at
-all in such matters, it is at least an aristocracy of intellect--it is
-rather an injury than a benefit that those who are high in authority
-should interfere in these affairs at all; since, from the very
-circumstances of their position it is utterly impossible for them to
-arrive at anything more than the merest surface knowledge on such
-subjects. The influence, too, that their mere “authority” has over
-men’s minds is directly opposed to the perception of truth, preventing
-that free and independent exercise of the intellect from which alone
-all discovery and knowledge can proceed.
-
-Judging the quadruple arrangement of the Great Exhibition by the laws
-of logical division, we find that the three classes--Raw Materials,
-Machinery, and Manufactures--which refer more particularly to the Works
-of Industry, are neither distinct nor do they include the whole. What
-is a raw material, and what a manufacture? It is from the difficulty
-of distinguishing between these two conditions that leather is placed
-under Manufactures, and steel under Raw Materials--though surely
-steel is iron _plus_ carbon, and leather skin _plus_ tannin; so that,
-technologically considered, there is no difference between them. If
-by the term raw material is meant some natural product in its crude
-state, then it is evident that “Geological maps, plans, and sections;
-prussiate of potash, and other mixed chemical manufactures; sulphuric,
-muriatic, nitric, and other acids; medicinal tinctures, cod liver oil,
-dried fruits, fermented liquors and spirits, preserved meats, portable
-soups, glue, and the alloys” cannot possibly rank as _raw_ materials,
-though one and all of these articles are to be found so “classified”
-at the Great Exhibition; but if the meaning of a “raw material” be
-extended to any product which constitutes the substance to be operated
-upon in an industrial art, then the answer is that leather, which
-is the material of shoes and harness, is no more a manufacture than
-steel, which is placed among the raw materials, because forming the
-constituent substance of cutlery and tools. So interlinked are the
-various arts and manufactures, that what is the product of one process
-of industry is the material of another--thus, yarn is the product
-of spinning, and the material of weaving, and in the same manner
-the cloth, which is the product of weaving, becomes the material of
-tailoring.
-
-But a still greater blunder than the non-distinction between products
-and materials lies in the confounding of _processes_ with _products_.
-In an Industrial Exhibition to reserve no special place for the
-processes of industry is very much like the play of Hamlet with the
-part of Hamlet omitted; and yet it is evident that, in the quadruple
-arrangement before mentioned, those most important industrial
-operations which consist merely in arriving at the same result by
-simpler means--as, for instance, the hot blast in metallurgical
-operations--can find no distinct expression. The consequence is that
-methods of work are arranged under the same head as the work itself;
-and the “Executive” have been obliged to group under the first
-subdivision of _Raw Materials_ the following inconsistent jumble:--Salt
-deposits; ventilation; safety lamps and other methods of lighting;
-methods of lowering and raising miners, and draining; methods of
-roasting, smelting, or otherwise reducing ores; while under the second
-subdivision of Raw Materials chemical and pharmaceutical _processes_
-and _products_ are indiscriminately confounded.
-
-Another most important defect is the omission of all mention of those
-industrial processes which have _no special or distinct products of
-their own_, but which are rather engaged _in adding to the beauty or
-durability of others_; as, for instance, the bleaching of some textile
-fabrics, the embroidering of others, the dyeing and printing of others;
-the binding of books; the cutting of glass; the painting of china,
-&c. From the want of an express division for this large portion of
-our industrial arts, there is a jumbling and a bungling throughout
-the whole arrangement. Under the head of _manufactures_ are grouped
-printing and bookbinding, the “dyeing of woollen, cotton, and linen
-goods,” “embroidery, fancy, and industrial work,” the cutting and
-engraving of glass; and, lastly, the art of “decoration generally,”
-including “ornamental, coloured decoration,” and the “imitations of
-woods, marbles, &c.,”--though surely these are one and all _additions_
-to manufactures rather than _manufactures_ themselves. Indeed, a more
-extraordinary and unscientific hotch-potch than the entire arrangement
-has never been submitted to public criticism and public ridicule.
-
-Amid all this confusion and perplexity, then, how are we to proceed?
-Why, we must direct our attention to some more judicious and more
-experienced guide. In such matters, at least, as the Exposition of
-the Science of Labour, it is clear that we must “put not our trust in
-princes.”
-
-That Prince Albert has conferred a great boon on the country in the
-establishment of the Great Exhibition (for it is due not only to his
-patronage but to his own personal exertions), no unprejudiced mind can
-for a moment doubt; and that he has, ever since his first coming among
-us, filled a most delicate office in the State in a highly decorous
-and commendable manner, avoiding all political partizanship, and
-being ever ready to give the influence of his patronage, and, indeed,
-co-operation, to anything that appeared to promise an amelioration of
-the condition of the working classes of this country, I am most glad
-to have it in my power to bear witness; but that, _because of this_,
-we should pin our faith to a “hasty generalization” propounded by him,
-would be to render ourselves at once silly and servile.
-
-If, with the view of obtaining some more precise information concerning
-the several branches of industry, we turn our attention to the
-Government analysis of the different modes of employment among the
-people, we shall find that for all purposes of a scientific or definite
-character the Occupation Abstract of the Census of this country is
-comparatively useless. Previous to 1841, the sole attempt made at
-generalization was the division of the entire industrial community into
-three orders, viz.:--
-
- I. _Those employed in Agriculture._
-
- 1. Agricultural Occupiers.
-
- _a._ Employing Labourers.
-
- _b._ Not employing Labourers.
-
- 2. Agricultural Labourers.
-
- II. _Those employed in Manufactures._
-
- 1. Employed in Manufactures.
-
- 2. Employed in making Manufacturing Machinery.
-
- III. _All other Classes._
-
- 1. Employed in Retail Trade or in Handicraft, as Masters or Workmen.
-
- 2. Capitalists, Bankers, Professional, and other educated men.
-
- 3. Labourers employed in labour not Agricultural--as Miners,
- Quarriers, Fishermen, Porters, &c.
-
- 4. Male Servants.
-
- 5. Other Males, 20 years of age.
-
-The defects of this arrangement must be self-evident to all who have
-paid the least attention to economical science. It offends against
-both the laws of logical division, the parts being neither distinct
-nor equal to the whole. In the first place, what is a manufacturer?
-and how is such an one to be distinguished from one employed in
-handicraft? How do the workers in metal, as the “tin manufacturers,”
-“lead manufacturers,” “iron manufacturers,”--who are one and all
-classed under the head of manufacturers--differ, in an economical
-point of view, from the workers in wood, as the carpenters and
-joiners, the cabinet-makers, ship-builders, &c., who are all classed
-under the head of handicraftsmen? Again, according to the census of
-1831, a brewer is placed among those employed in retail trade or in
-handicrafts, while a vinegar maker is ranked with the manufacturers.
-According to Mr. Babbage, _manufacturing_ differs from mere _making_
-simply in the quantity produced--he being a manufacturer who makes
-a greater number of the same articles; manufacturing is thus simply
-production in a large way, in connection with the several handicrafts.
-Dr. Ure, however, appears to consider such articles manufactures as
-are produced by means of machinery, citing the word which originally
-signified production by hand (being the Latin equivalent for the Saxon
-_handicraft_) as an instance of those singular verbal corruptions
-by which terms come to stand for the very opposite to their literal
-meaning. But with all deference to the Doctor, for whose judgment I
-have the highest respect, Mr. Babbage’s definition of a manufacturer,
-viz., as a producer on a large scale, appears to me the more correct;
-for it is in this sense that we speak of manufacturing chemists, boot
-and shoe manufacturers, ginger-beer manufacturers, and the like.
-
-The Occupation Abstract of the Census of 1841, though far more
-comprehensive than the one preceding it, is equally unsatisfactory and
-unphilosophical. In this document the several members of Society are
-thus classified:--
-
- I. _Persons engaged in Commerce, Trade, and Manufacture._
-
- II. _Agriculture._
-
- III. _Labour, not Agricultural._
-
- IV. _Army and Navy Merchant Seamen, Fishermen, and Watermen._
-
- V. _Professions and other pursuits requiring education._
-
- VI. _Government, Civil Service, and Municipal and Parochial Officers._
-
- VII. _Domestic Servants._
-
- VIII. _Persons of Independent Means._
-
- IX. _Almspeople, Pensioners, Paupers, Lunatics, and Prisoners._
-
- X. _Remainder of Population, including Women and Children._
-
-Here it will be seen that the defects arising from drawing distinctions
-where no real differences exist, are avoided, those engaged in
-handicrafts being included under the same head as those engaged in
-manufacture; but the equally grave error of confounding or grouping
-together occupations which are essentially diverse, is allowed to
-continue. Accordingly, the first division is made to include those
-who are engaged in trade and commerce as well as manufacture, though
-surely--the one belongs strictly to the distributing, and the other
-to the producing class--occupations which are not only essentially
-distinct, but of which it is absolutely necessary for a right
-understanding of the state of the country that we know the proportion
-that the one bears to the other. Again, the employers in both cases
-are confounded with the employed, so that, though the capitalists
-who supply the materials, and pay the wages for the several kinds
-of work are a distinct body of people from those who _do_ the work,
-and a body, moreover, that it is of the highest possible importance,
-in an economical point of view, that we should be able to estimate
-numerically,--no attempt is made to discriminate the one from
-the other. Now these three classes, distributors, employers, and
-operatives, which in the Government returns of the people are jumbled
-together in one heterogeneous crowd, as if the distinctions between
-Capital, Labour, and Distribution had never been propounded, are
-precisely those concerning which the social inquirer desires the most
-minute information.
-
-The Irish census is differently arranged from that of Great Britain.
-There the several classes are grouped under the following heads:--
-
- I. _Ministering to Food._
-
- 1. As Producers.
- 2. As Preparers.
- 3. As Distributors.
-
- II. _Ministering to Clothing._
-
- 1. As Manufacturers of Materials.
- 2. As Handicraftsmen and Dealers.
-
- III. _Ministering to Lodging, Furniture, Machinery, &c._
-
- IV. _Ministering to Health._
-
- V. _Ministering to Charity._
-
- VI. _Ministering to Justice._
-
- VII. _Ministering to Education._
-
- VIII. _Ministering to Religion._
-
- IX. _Various Arts and Employments, not included in the foregoing._
-
- X. _Residue of Population_, not having specified occupations, and
- including unemployed persons and women.
-
-This, however, is no improvement upon the English classification. There
-is the same want of discrimination, and the same disregard of the
-great “economical” divisions of society.
-
-Moreover, to show the extreme fallacy of such a classification, it is
-only necessary to make the following extract from the Report of the
-Commissioners for Great Britain:--
-
-“We would willingly have given a classification of the occupations of
-the inhabitants of Great Britain into the various wants to which they
-respectively minister, but, in attempting this, we were stopped by the
-various anomalies and uncertainties to which such a classification
-seemed necessarily to lead, from the fact that many persons supply more
-than one want, though they can only be classed under one head. Thus to
-give but a single instance--_the farmer and grazier may be deemed to
-minister quite as much to clothing by the fleece and hides as he does
-to food by the flesh of his sheep and cattle_.”
-
-He, therefore, who would seek to elaborate the natural history of
-the industry of the people of England, must direct his attention to
-some social philosopher, who has given the subject more consideration
-than either princes or Government officials can possibly be expected
-to devote to it. Among the whole body of economists, Mr. Stuart
-Mill appears to be the only man who has taken a comprehensive and
-enlightened view of the several functions of society. Following in the
-footsteps of M. Say, the French social philosopher, he first points out
-concerning the products of industry, that labour is not creative of
-objects but of utilities, and then proceeds to say:--
-
-“Now the utilities produced by labour are of three kinds; they are--
-
-“First, utilities _fixed and embodied in outward objects_; by labour
-employed in investing external _material_ things with properties which
-render them serviceable to human beings. This is the common case, and
-requires no illustration.
-
-“Secondly, utilities _fixed and embodied in human beings_; the labour
-being in this case employed in conferring on human beings qualities
-which render them serviceable to themselves and others. To this
-class belongs the labour of all concerned in education; not only
-schoolmasters, tutors, and professors, but governments, so far as
-they aim successfully at the improvement of the people; moralists and
-clergymen, as far as productive of benefit; the labour of physicians,
-as far as instrumental in preserving life and physical or mental
-efficiency; of the teachers of bodily exercises, and of the various
-trades, sciences, and arts, together with the labour of the learners
-in acquiring them, and all labour bestowed by any persons, throughout
-life, in improving the knowledge or cultivating the bodily and mental
-faculties of themselves or others.
-
-“Thirdly, and lastly, utilities _not fixed or embodied in any object_,
-but consisting in a mere _service rendered_, a pleasure given, an
-inconvenience or pain averted, during a longer or a shorter time, but
-without leaving a _permanent_ acquisition in the improved qualities of
-any person or thing; the labour here being employed in producing an
-utility _directly_, not (as in the two former cases) in _fitting some
-other_ thing to afford an utility. Such, for example, is the labour of
-the musical performer, the actor, the public declaimer or reciter, and
-the showman.
-
-“Some good may, no doubt, be produced beyond the moment, upon the
-feeling and disposition, or general state of enjoyment of the
-spectators; or instead of good there may be harm, but neither the one
-nor the other is the effect intended, is the result for which the
-exhibitor works and the spectator pays, but the immediate pleasure.
-Such, again, is the labour of the army and navy; they, at the best,
-prevent a country from being conquered, or from being injured or
-insulted, which is a service, but in all other respects leave the
-country neither improved nor deteriorated. Such, too, is the labour of
-the legislator, the judge, the officer of justice, and all other agents
-of Government, in their ordinary functions, apart from any influence
-they may exert on the improvement of the national mind. The service
-which they render is to maintain peace and security; these compose the
-utility which they produce. It may appear to some that carriers, and
-merchants or dealers, should be placed in this same class, since their
-labour does not add any properties to objects, but I reply that it
-does, it adds the property of being in the place where they are wanted,
-instead of being in some other place, which is a very useful property,
-and the utility it confers is embodied in the things themselves, which
-now actually are in the place where they are required for use, and in
-consequence of that increased utility could be sold at an increased
-price proportioned to the labour expended in conferring it. This
-labour, therefore, does not belong to the third class, but to the
-first.”
-
-To the latter part of the above classification, I regret to say I
-cannot assent. Surely the property of being in the place where they are
-wanted, which carriers and distributors are said to confer on external
-objects, cannot be said to be fixed--if, indeed, it be strictly
-_embodied_ in the objects, since the very act of distribution consists
-in the alteration of this local relation, and transferring such objects
-to the possession of another. Is not the utility which the weaver fixes
-and embodies in a yard of cotton, a very different utility from that
-effected by the linendraper in handing the same yard of cotton over the
-counter in exchange for so much money? and in this particular act, it
-would be difficult to perceive what is fixed and embodied, seeing that
-it consists essentially in an exchange of commodities.
-
-Mr. Mill’s mistake appears to consist in not discerning that there is
-another class of labour besides that employed in producing utilities
-_directly_, and that occupied in _fitting other things_ to afford
-utilities: viz., that which is engaged in _assisting_ those who are so
-occupied in fitting things to be useful. This class consists of such
-as are engaged in aiding the producers of permanent material utilities
-either _before_ or during production, and such as are engaged in
-aiding them _after_ production. Under the first division are comprised
-capitalists, or those who supply the materials and tools for the
-work, superintendents and managers, or those who direct the work, and
-labourers, or those who perform some minor office connected with the
-work, as in turning the large wheel for a turner, in carrying the
-bricks to a bricklayer, and the like; while in the second division, or
-those who are engaged in assisting producers _after_ production, are
-included carriers, or those who remove the produce to the market, and
-dealers and shopmen, or those who obtain purchasers for it. Now it is
-evident that the function of all these classes is merely _auxiliary_ to
-the labour of the producers, consisting principally of so many modes of
-economizing their time and labour. Whether the gains of some of these
-auxiliary classes are as disproportionately large, as the others are
-disproportionately small, this is not the place to inquire. My present
-duty is merely to record the fact of the existence of such classes, and
-to assign them their proper place in the social fabric, as at present
-constituted.
-
-Now, from the above it will appear, that there are four distinct
-classes of workers:--
-
- I. ENRICHERS, or those who are employed in producing utilities
- fixed and embodied in material things, that is to say, in producing
- exchangeable commodities or riches.
-
- II. AUXILIARIES, or those who are employed in aiding the production of
- exchangeable commodities.
-
- III. BENEFACTORS, or those who are employed in producing utilities
- fixed and embodied in human beings, that is to say, in conferring upon
- them some permanent good.
-
- IV. SERVITORS, or those who are employed in rendering some service,
- that is to say, in conferring some temporary good upon another.
-
- Class 1 is engaged in investing _material_ objects with qualities
- which render them serviceable to others.
-
- Class 2 is engaged in aiding the operations of Class 1.
-
- Class 3 is engaged in conferring on _human beings_ qualities which
- render them serviceable to themselves or others.
-
- Class 4 is engaged in giving a pleasure, averting a pain (during
- a longer or shorter period), or preventing an inconvenience, by
- performing some office for others that they would find irksome to do
- for themselves.
-
-Hence it appears that the operations of the first and third of the
-above classes, or the Enrichers and Benefactors of Society, tend to
-leave some _permanent acquisition_ in the improved qualities of either
-persons or things,--whereas the operations of the second and fourth
-classes, or the Auxiliaries and Servitors, are limited merely to
-promoting either the labours or the pleasures of the other members of
-the community.
-
-Such, then, are the several classes of Workers; and here it should be
-stated that, I apply the title Worker to all those who do _anything_
-for their living, who perform any act whatsoever that is considered
-worthy of being paid for by others, without regard to the question
-whether such labourers tend to add to or decrease the aggregate wealth
-of the community. I consider all persons doing or giving something for
-the comforts they obtain, as self-supporting individuals. Whether that
-something be really an equivalent for the emoluments they receive, it
-is not my vocation here to inquire. Suffice it some real or imaginary
-benefit is conferred upon society, or a particular individual, and
-what is thought a fair and proper reward is given in return for it.
-Hence I look upon soldiers, sailors, Government and parochial officers,
-capitalists, clergymen, lawyers, wives, &c., &c., as self-supporting--a
-certain amount of labour, or a certain desirable commodity, being
-given by each and all in exchange for other commodities, which are
-considered less desirable to the individuals parting with them, and
-more desirable to those receiving them.
-
-Nevertheless, it must be confessed that, economically speaking, the
-most important and directly valuable of all classes are those whom I
-have here denominated Enrichers. These consist not only of Producers,
-but of the Collectors and Extractors of Wealth, concerning whom a few
-words are necessary.
-
-There are three modes of obtaining the materials of our wealth--(1)
-by collecting, (2) by extracting, and (3) by producing them. The
-industrial processes concerned in the collection of the materials
-of wealth are of the rudest and most primitive kind--being pursued
-principally by such tribes as depend for their food, and raiment, and
-shelter, on the spontaneous productions of nature. The usual modes by
-which the collection is made is by gathering the vegetable produce
-(which is the simplest and most direct form of all industry), and when
-the produce is of an animal nature, by hunting, shooting, or fishing,
-according as the animal sought after inhabits the land, the air, or
-the water. In a more advanced state of society, where the erection of
-places of shelter has come to constitute one of the acts of life, the
-felling of trees will also form one of the modes by which the materials
-making up the wealth of the nation are collected. In Great Britain
-there appears to be fewer people connected with the mere _collection_
-of wealth than with any other general industrial process. The fishermen
-are not above 25,000, and the wood-cutters and woodmen not 5000; so
-that even with gamekeepers, and others engaged in the taking of game,
-we may safely say that there are about 30,000 out of 18,000,000, or
-only one-six hundredth of the entire population, engaged in this mode
-of industry--a fact which strongly indicates the artificial character
-of our society.
-
-The _production_ of the materials of wealth, which indicates a far
-higher state of civilization and which consists in the several
-agricultural and farming processes for increasing the natural stock of
-animal and vegetable food, employs upwards of one million; while those
-who are engaged in the _extraction_ of our treasures from the earth,
-either by mining or quarrying, both of which processes--depending, as
-they do, upon a knowledge of some of the subtler natural powers--could
-only have been brought into operation in a highly advanced stage of
-the human intellect, number about a quarter of a million. Altogether,
-there appear to be about one million and a half of individuals engaged
-in the industrial processes connected with the collection, extraction,
-and production of the materials of wealth; those who are employed
-in operating upon these materials, in the fashioning of them into
-manufactures, making them up into commodities, as well as those engaged
-in the distribution of them--that is to say, the transport and sale
-of them when so fashioned or made up--appear to amount to another two
-millions and a half, so that the industrial classes of Great Britain,
-taken altogether, may be said to amount to four millions. For the more
-perfect comprehension, however, of the several classes of society, let
-me subjoin a table in round numbers, calculated from the census of
-1841, and including among the first items both the employers as well as
-employed:--
-
- Engaged in Trade and Manufacture 3,000,000
- „ Agriculture 1,500,000
- „ Mining, Quarrying, and Transit 750,000
- ---------
- Total Employers and Employed 5,250,000
- Domestic Servants 1,000,000
- Independent persons 500,000
- Educated pursuits (including Professions
- and Fine Arts) 200,000
- Government Officers (including
- Army, Navy, Civil Service, and
- Parish Officers) 200,000
- Alms-people (including Paupers,
- Prisoners, and Lunatics) 200,000
- ---------
- 7,350,000
- Residue of Population (including
- 3,500,000 wives and 7,500,000 children) 11,000,000
- ----------
- 18,350,000
-
-Now, of the 5,250,000 individuals engaged in Agriculture, Mining,
-Transit, Manufacture and Trade, it would appear that about one million
-and a quarter may be considered as employers; and, consequently, that
-the remaining four millions may be said to represent the numerical
-strength of the operatives of England and Scotland. Of these about
-one million, or a quarter of the whole, may be said to be engaged in
-producing the materials of wealth; and about a quarter of a million,
-or one-sixteenth of the entire number, in extracting from the soil the
-substances upon which many of the manufacturers have to operate.
-
-The artizans, or those who are engaged in the several handicrafts
-or manufactures operating upon the various materials of wealth thus
-obtained, are distinct from the workmen above-mentioned, belonging
-to what are called skilled labourers, whereas those who are employed
-in the collection, extraction, or growing of wealth, belong to the
-unskilled class.
-
-An artisan is an _educated_ handicraftsman, following a calling that
-requires an apprenticeship of greater or less duration in order to
-arrive at perfection in it; whereas a labourer’s occupation needs no
-education whatever. Many years must be spent in practising before a
-man can acquire sufficient manual dexterity to make a pair of boots
-or a coat; dock labour or porter’s work, however, needs neither
-teaching nor learning, for any man can carry a load or turn a wheel.
-The artisan, therefore, is literally a handicraftsman--one who by
-practice has acquired manual dexterity enough to perform a particular
-class of work, which is consequently called “skilled.” The natural
-classification of artisans, or skilled labourers, appears to be
-according to the materials upon which they work, for this circumstance
-seems to constitute the peculiar quality of the art more than the tool
-used--indeed, it appears to be the principal cause of the modification
-of the implements in different handicrafts. The tools used to fashion,
-as well as the instruments and substances used to join the several
-materials operated upon in the manufactures and handicrafts, differ
-according as those materials are of different kinds. We do not, for
-instance, attempt to saw cloth into shape nor to cut bricks with
-shears; neither do we solder the soles to the upper leathers of our
-boots, nor nail together the seams of our shirts. And even in those
-crafts where the means of uniting the materials are similar, the
-artisan working upon one kind of substance is generally incapable of
-operating upon another. The tailor who stitches woollen materials
-together would make but a poor hand at sewing leather. The two
-substances are joined by the same means, but in a different manner, and
-with different instruments. So the turner, who has been accustomed to
-turn wood, is unable to fashion metals by the same method.
-
-The most natural mode of grouping the artisans into classes would
-appear to be according as they pursue some _mechanical_ or _chemical_
-occupation. The former are literally mechanics or handicraftsmen--the
-latter chemical manufacturers. The handicraftsmen consist of (1) The
-workers in silk, wool, cotton, flax, and hemp--as weavers, spinners,
-knitters, carpet-makers, lace-makers, rope-makers, canvas-weavers,
-&c. (2) The workers in skin, gut, and feathers--as tanners, curriers,
-furriers, feather dressers, &c. (3) The makers up of silken, woollen,
-cotton, linen, hempen, and leathern materials--as tailors, milliners,
-shirt-makers, sail-makers, hatters, glove-makers, saddlers, and the
-like. (4) The workers in wood, as the carpenters, the cabinet-makers,
-&c. (5) The workers in cane, osier, reed, rush, and straw--as
-basket-makers, straw-plait manufacturers, thatchers, and the like.
-(6) The workers in brick and stones--as bricklayers, masons, &c. (7)
-The workers in glass and earthenware--as potters, glass-blowers,
-glass-cutters, bottle-makers, glaziers, &c. (8) The workers in
-metals--as braziers, tinmen, plumbers, goldsmiths, pewterers,
-coppersmiths, iron-founders, blacksmiths, whitesmiths, anchor-smiths,
-locksmiths, &c. (9) The workers in paper--as the paper-makers,
-cardboard-makers. (10) The chemical manufacturers--as powder-makers,
-white-lead-makers, alkali and acid manufacturers, lucifer-match-makers,
-blacking-makers, ink-makers, soap-boilers, tallow-chandlers, &c. (11)
-The workers at the superlative or extrinsic arts--that is to say, those
-which have no manufactures of their own, but which are engaged in
-adding to the utility or beauty of others--as printing, bookbinding,
-painting, and decorating, gilding, burnishing, &c.
-
-The circumstances which govern the classification of _trades_ are
-totally different from those regulating the division of work. In trade
-the convenience of the purchaser is mainly studied, the sale of such
-articles being associated as are usually required together. Hence the
-master coachmaker is frequently a harness manufacturer as well, for
-the purchaser of the one commodity generally stands in need of the
-other. The painter and house-decorator not only follows the trade
-of the glazier, but of the plumber, too; because these arts are one
-and all connected with the “doing up” of houses. For the same reason
-the builder combines the business of the plasterer with that of the
-bricklayer, and not unfrequently that of the carpenter and joiner
-in addition. In all of these businesses, however, a distinct set of
-workmen are required, according as the materials operated upon are
-different.
-
-We are now in a position to proceed with the arrangement of the several
-members of society into different classes, according to the principles
-of classification which have been here laid down. The difficulties of
-the task, however, should be continually borne in mind; for where so
-many have failed it cannot be expected that perfection can be arrived
-at by any one individual; and, slight as the labour of such a task may
-at the first glance appear to some, still the system here propounded
-has been the work and study of many months.
-
-
-
-
-CLASSIFICATION
-
-OF
-
-THE WORKERS AND NON-WORKERS
-
-OF GREAT BRITAIN.
-
-
-THOSE WHO WILL WORK.
-
- I. ENRICHERS, as the Collectors, Extractors, or Producers of
- Exchangeable Commodities.
-
- II. AUXILIARIES, as the Promoters of Production, or the Distributors
- of the Produce.
-
- III. BENEFACTORS, or those who confer some permanent benefit,
- as Educators and Curators engaged in promoting the physical,
- intellectual, or spiritual well-being of the people.
-
- IV. SERVITORS, or those who render some temporary service, or
- pleasure, as Amusers, Protectors, and Servants.
-
-
-THOSE WHO CANNOT WORK.
-
- V. THOSE WHO ARE PROVIDED FOR BY SOME PUBLIC INSTITUTION, as the
- Inmates of workhouses, prisons, hospitals, asylums, almshouses,
- dormitories, and refuges.
-
- VI. THOSE WHO ARE UNPROVIDED FOR, and incapacitated for labour, either
- from want of power, from want of means, or from want of employment.
-
-
-THOSE WHO WILL NOT WORK.
-
- VII. VAGRANTS.
-
- VIII. PROFESSIONAL BEGGARS.
-
- IX. CHEATS.
-
- X. THIEVES.
-
- XI. PROSTITUTES.
-
-
-THOSE WHO NEED NOT WORK.
-
- XII. THOSE WHO DERIVE THEIR INCOME FROM RENT.
-
- XIII. THOSE WHO DERIVE THEIR INCOME FROM DIVIDENDS.
-
- XIV. THOSE WHO DERIVE THEIR INCOME FROM YEARLY STIPENDS.
-
- XV. THOSE WHO DERIVE THEIR INCOME FROM OBSOLETE OR NOMINAL OFFICES.
-
- XVI. THOSE WHO DERIVE THEIR INCOME FROM TRADES IN WHICH THEY DO NOT
- APPEAR.
-
- XVII. THOSE WHO DERIVE THEIR INCOME BY FAVOUR FROM OTHERS.
-
- XVIII. THOSE WHO DERIVE THEIR SUPPORT FROM THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY.
-
-
-THOSE WHO WILL WORK.
-
-I. _Enrichers_, or those engaged in the collection, extraction, or
- production of exchangeable commodities.
-
- A. COLLECTORS.
-
- 1. Fishermen.
-
- 2. Woodmen.
-
- 3. Sand and Clay-collectors.
-
- 4. Copperas, Cement-stones, and other finders.
-
- B. EXTRACTORS.
-
- 1. Miners.
-
- _a._ Coal.
-
- _b._ Salt.
-
- _c._ Iron, Lead, Tin, Copper, Zinc, Manganese.
-
- 2. Quarryers.
-
- _a._ Slate.
-
- _b._ Stone.
-
- C. GROWERS.
-
- 1. Farmers.
-
- _a._ Capitalist Farmers.
-
- i. Yeomen, or Proprietary Farmers.
-
- ii. Tenant Farmers.
-
- _b._ Peasant Farmers.
-
- i. Peasant Proprietors; as the Cumberland “Statesmen.”
-
- ii. “Metayers,” or labourers paying the landlord a certain portion of
- the produce as rent for the use of the land.
-
- iii. “Cottiers,” or labouring Tenant Farmers.
-
- 2. Graziers.
-
- 3. Gardeners, Nurserymen, Florists.
-
- D. MAKERS OR ARTIFICERS.
-
- 1. Mechanics.
-
- _a._ Workers in Silk, Wool, Worsted, Hair, Cotton, Flax, Hemp, Coir.
-
- _b._ Workers in Skin, Gut, and Feathers.
-
- _c._ Workers in Woollen, Silken, Cotton, Linen, and Leathern Materials.
-
- _d._ Workers in Wood, Ivory, Bone, Horn, and Shell.
-
- _e._ Workers in Osier, Cane, Reed, Rush, and Straw.
-
- _f._ Workers in Stone and Brick.
-
- _g._ Workers in Glass and Earthenware.
-
- _h._ Workers in Metal.
-
- _i._ Workers in Paper.
-
- 2. Chemical Manufacturers.
-
- _a._ Acid, Alkali, Alum, Copperas, Prussian-Blue, and other
- Manufacturers.
-
- _b._ Gunpowder Manufacturers, Percussion-Cap, Cartridge, and Firework
- Makers.
-
- _c._ Brimstone and Lucifer-match Manufacturers.
-
- _d._ White-lead, Colour, Black-lead, Whiting, and Blue Manufacturers.
-
- _e._ Oil and Turpentine Distillers, and Varnish Manufacturers.
-
- _f._ Ink Manufacturers, Sealing-wax and Wafer Makers.
-
- _g._ Blacking Manufacturers.
-
- _h._ Soap Boilers and Grease Makers.
-
- _i._ Starch Manufacturers.
-
- _j._ Tallow and Wax Chandlers.
-
- _k._ Artificial Manure Manufacturers.
-
- _l._ Artificial Stone and Cement Manufacturers.
-
- _m._ Asphalte and Tar Manufacturers.
-
- _n._ Glue and Size Makers.
-
- _o._ Polishing Paste, and Glass and Emery Paper Makers.
-
- _p._ Lime, Coke, and Charcoal Burners.
-
- _q._ Manufacturing Chemists and Drug Manufacturers.
-
- _r._ Workers connected with Provisions, Luxuries, and Medicines.
-
- i. Bakers, and Biscuit Makers.
-
- ii. Brewers.
-
- iii. Soda-water and Ginger-beer Manufacturers.
-
- iv. Distillers and Rectifiers.
-
- v. British Wine Manufacturers.
-
- vi. Vinegar Manufacturers.
-
- vii. Fish and Provision Curers.
-
- viii. Preserved Meats and Preserved Fruit Preparers.
-
- ix. Sauce and Pickle Manufacturers.
-
- x. Mustard Makers.
-
- xi. Isinglass Manufacturers.
-
- xii. Sugar Bakers, Boilers, and Refiners.
-
- xiii. Confectioners and Pastry-cooks.
-
- xiv. Rice and Farinaceous Food Manufacturers.
-
- xv. Chocolate, Cocoa, and other Manufacturers of Substitutes for Tea.
-
- xvi. Cigar, Tobacco, and Snuff Manufacturers.
-
- xvii. Quack, and other Medicine Manufacturers, as Pills, Powders,
- Syrups, Cordials, Embrocations, Ointments, Plaisters, &c.
-
- 3. Workers connected with the Superlative Arts, that is to say, with
- those arts which have no products of their own, and are engaged either
- in adding to the beauty or usefulness of the products of other arts, or
- in inventing or designing the work appertaining to them.
-
- _a._ Printers.
-
- _b._ Bookbinders.
-
- _c._ Painters, Decorators, and Gilders.
-
- _d._ Writers and Stencillers.
-
- _e._ Dyers, Bleachers, Scourers, Calenderers, and Fullers.
-
- _f._ Print Colourers.
-
- _g._ Designers of Patterns.
-
- _h._ Embroiderers (of Muslin, Silk, &c.), and Fancy Workers.
-
- _i._ Desiccators, Anti-dry-rot Preservers, Waterproofers.
-
- _j._ Burnishers, Polishers, Grinders, Japanners, and French Polishers.
-
- _k._ Engravers, Chasers, Die-Sinkers, Embossers, Engine-Turners, and
- Glass-Cutters.
-
- _l._ Artists, Sculptors, and Carvers of Wood, Coral, Jet, &c.
-
- _m._ Modellers and Moulders.
-
- _n._ Architects, Surveyors, and Civil Engineers.
-
- _o._ Composers.
-
- _p._ Authors, Editors, and Reporters.
-
- ⁂ Operatives are divisible, _according to the mode in which they are
- paid_, into--
-
- 1. Day-workers.
-
- 2. Piece-workers.
-
- 3. “Lump” or Contract-workers; as at the docks.
-
- 4. Perquisite-workers; as waiters, &c.
-
- 5. “Kind” or Truck-workers; as the farm servants in the North of
- England, Domestic Servants and Milliners, Ballast-heavers, and men
- paid at “Tommy-shops.”
-
- 6. Tenant-workers; or those who lodge with or reside in houses
- belonging to their employers. The Slop-working Tailors generally lodge
- with the “Sweaters,” and the “Hinds” of Northumberland, Cumberland,
- and Westmoreland have houses found them by their employers. These
- “Hinds” have to keep a “Bondager,” that is, a female in the house
- ready to answer the master’s call, and to work at stipulated wages.
-
- 7. Improvement-workers; or those who are considered to be remunerated
- for their work by the instruction they receive in doing it; as
- “improvers” and apprentices.
-
- 8. Tribute-workers, as the Cornish Miners, Whalers, and Weavers in
- some parts of Ireland, where a certain proportion of the proceeds of
- the work done belongs to the workmen.
-
- The wages of “society-men” among operatives are settled by _custom_,
- the wages of “non-society-men” are settled by _competition_.
-
- Operatives are also divisible, _according to the places at which they
- work_, into--
-
- 1. Domestic workers, or those who work at home.
-
- 2. Shop or Factory workers, or those who work on the employer’s
- premises.
-
- 3. Out-door workers, or those who work in the open air; as
- bricklayers, agricultural labourers, &c.
-
- 4. Jobbing-workers, or those who go out to work at private houses.
-
- 5. Rent-men, or those who pay rent for
-
- _a._ A “seat” at some domestic worker’s rooms.
-
- _b._ “Power,” as turners, and others, when requiring the use of a
- steam-engine. Some operatives have to pay rent for tools or “frames,”
- as the sawyers and “stockingers,” and some for gas when working on
- their employer’s premises.
-
- Operatives are further divisible, _according to those whom they employ
- to assist them_, into--
-
- 1. Family workers, or those who avail themselves of the assistance of
- their wives and children, as the Spitalfields Weavers.
-
- 2. “Sweaters” and Piece-master workers, or those who employ other
- members of their trade at less wages than they themselves receive.
-
- 3. “Garret-master” workers, or those who avail themselves of the
- labour (chiefly) of apprentices.
-
- Operatives are moreover divisible, _according to those by whom they are
- employed_, into--
-
- 1. “Flints” and “Dungs;” “Whites” and “Blacks,” according as they work
- for employers who pay or do not pay “society prices.”
-
- 2. Jobbing piece-workers, or those who work single-handed for the
- public (without the intervention of an “employer”) and are paid by the
- _piece_. These mostly do the work at their own homes, as cobblers,
- repairers, &c.
-
- 3. Jobbing day-workers, or those who work single-handed for the public
- (without the intervention of an “employer”) and are paid by the _day_.
- These mostly go out to work at persons’ houses and frequently have
- their food found them. Among the tailors and carpenters this practice
- is called “whipping the cat.”
-
- 4. “Co-operative men,” or those who work in “association” for their
- own profit, obtaining their work directly from the public, without the
- intervention of an “employer.”
-
- Lastly, Operatives admit of being arranged into two distinct classes,
- viz., the superior, or higher-priced, and the inferior, or lower-priced.
-
- The superior, or higher-priced, operatives consist of--
-
- 1. The skilful.
- 2. The trustworthy.
- 3. The well-conditioned.
-
- The inferior, or lower-priced operatives, on the other hand, are
- composed of--
-
- 1. The unskilful; as the old or superannuated, the young (including
- apprentices and “improvers”), the slow, and the awkward.
-
- 2. The untrustworthy; as the drunken, the idle, and the dishonest.
- Some of the cheap workers, whose wages are minimized almost to
- starvation point, so that honesty becomes morally impossible, have to
- deposit a certain sum of money, or to procure two householders to act
- as security for the faithful return of the work given out to them.
-
- 3. The inexpensive, consisting of--
-
- _a._ Those who can live upon less; as single men, foreigners,
- Irishmen, women, &c.
-
- _b._ Those who derive their subsistence from other sources; as Wives,
- Children, Paupers, Prisoners, Inmates of Asylums, Prostitutes, and
- Amateurs (or those who work at a business merely for pocket-money).
-
- _c._ Those who are in receipt of some pecuniary or other aid; as
- Pensioners, Allottees of land, and such as have out-door relief from
- the workhouse.
-
-II. _Auxiliaries_, or those engaged in promoting the enrichment and
-distributing the riches of the community.
-
- A. PROMOTERS OF PRODUCTION.
-
- 1. Employers, or those who find the materials, implements, and
- appurtenances for the work, and pay the wages of the workmen.
-
- _a._ Administrative Employers, or those who supply wholesale or retail
- dealers. These are subdivisible into--
-
- i. Standard Employers, or those who work at the regular standard
- prices of the trade.
-
- ii. “Cutting” Employers, or those who work at less than the regular
- prices of the trade; as Contractors, &c.
-
- _b._ Executive Employers, or those who work directly for the public
- without the intervention of a wholesale or retail dealer; as Builders,
- &c.
-
- _c._ Distributive Employers, or those who are both producers and retail
- traders.
-
- i. Those who retail what they produce; as Tailors, Shoemakers, Bakers,
- Eating-house Keepers, Street Mechanics, &c.
-
- ii. Those who retail other things (generally provisions), and compel
- or expect the men in their employ to deal with them for those
- articles, as the Truck-Masters and others.
-
- iii. Those who retail the appurtenances of the trade to which they
- belong, and compel or expect the men in their employ to purchase such
- appurtenances of them; as trimmings in the tailors’ trade, thread
- among the seamstresses, and the like.
-
- _d._ Middlemen Employers, or those who act between the employer and the
- employed, obtaining work from employers, and employing others to do it;
- as Sub-contractors, Sweaters, &c. These consist of--
-
- i. Trade-working Employers, or those who make up goods for other
- employers in the trade.
-
- ii. Garret-masters, or those who make up goods for the trade on the
- smallest amount of capital, and generally on speculation.
-
- iii. Trading Operative Employers, or those who obtain work in
- considerable quantities, and employ others at reduced wages to assist
- them in it; as “Sweaters,” “Seconders,” &c. These are either--
-
- α. Piece Masters; as those who take out a certain piece of work and
- employ others to help them at reduced wages.
-
- β. “Lumper” Employers, or those who contract to do the work by the
- lump, which is usually paid for by the piece, and employ others at
- reduced wages in order to complete it.
-
- ⁂ Employers are known among operatives as “honourable” or
- “dishonourable,” according as the wages they pay are those, or less
- than those, of the Trade Society.
-
- 2. Superintendents, or those who look after the workmen on behalf of
- employers.
-
- _a._ Managers.
-
- _b._ Clerks of the Works.
-
- _c._ Foremen.
-
- _d._ Overlookers.
-
- _e._ Tellers and Meters, or those who take note of the number and
- quantity of the articles delivered.
-
- _f._ Provers, or those whose duty it is to examine the quality or
- weight of the articles delivered.
-
- _g._ Timekeepers, or those who note the time of the operatives coming
- to and quitting labour.
-
- _h._ Gatekeepers, or those who see that no goods are taken out.
-
- _i._ Clerks, or those who keep accounts of all sales and purchases,
- incomings, and outgoings of the business.
-
- _j._ Pay Clerks, or those who pay the workmen their wages.
-
- 3. Labourers.
-
- _a._ Acting as motive powers.
-
- i. Turning wheels, working pumps, blowing bellows.
-
- ii. Wheeling, dragging, pulling, or hoisting loads.
-
- iii. Shifting (scenes), or turning (corn).
-
- iv. Carrying (bricks, as hodmen).
-
- v. Driving (piles), ramming down (stones, as paviours).
-
- vi. Pressing (as fruit, for juice; seeds, for oil).
-
- _b._ Uniting or putting one thing to another.
-
- i. Feeding (furnace), laying-on (as for printing machines).
-
- ii. Filling (as “fillers-in” of sieves at dust-yards).
-
- iii. Oiling (engines), greasing (railway wheels), pitching or tarring
- (vessels), pasting paper (for bags).
-
- iv. Mixing (mortar), kneading (clay).
-
- v. Tying up (plants and bunches of vegetables).
-
- vi. Folding (printed sheets).
-
- vii. Corking (bottles), or caulking (ships).
-
- _c._ Separating one thing from another.
-
- i. Sifting (cinders), screening (coals).
-
- ii. Picking (fruit, hops, &c.), shelling (peas), peeling, barking, and
- threshing.
-
- iii. Winnowing.
-
- iv. Weeding and stoning.
-
- v. Reaping and mowing.
-
- vi. Felling, lopping, hewing, chopping (as fire-wood), cutting (as
- chaff), shearing (sheep).
-
- vii. Sawing.
-
- viii. Blasting.
-
- ix. Breaking (stones), crushing (bones and ores), pounding (drugs).
-
- x. Scouring (as sand from castings), scraping (ships).
-
- _d._ Excavating, sinking, and embanking.
-
- i. Tunnelling.
-
- ii. Sinking foundations.
-
- iii. Boring.
-
- iv. Draining, trenching, ditching, and hedging.
-
- v. Embanking.
-
- vi. Road-making, cutting.
-
- B. DISTRIBUTORS OF PRODUCTION.
-
- 1. Dealers, or those who are engaged in the buying and selling of
- commodities on their own account.
-
- _a._ Merchants or Importers, and Exporters.
-
- _b._ Wholesale Traders.
-
- _c._ Retail Traders.
-
- _d._ Contracting Purveyors, or those who supply goods by agreement.
-
- _e._ Contractors for work or repairs; as Road Contractors, and others.
-
- _f._ Contractors for privileges, as the right of Printing the
- Catalogue of the Great Exhibition, or selling refreshments at Railway
- Stations, &c.
-
- _g._ Farmers of revenues from dues, tolls, &c.
-
- _h._ Itinerants, or those who seek out the Customers, instead of the
- Customers seeking out them.
-
- i. Hawkers, or those who cry their goods.
-
- ii. Pedlars, or those who carry their goods round.
-
- 2. Agents, or those who are engaged in the buying or selling of
- commodities for others, as Land Agents, House and Estate Agents,
- Colonial and East India Agents, &c., &c.
-
- _a._ Supercargoes.
-
- _b._ Factors, or Consignees.
-
- _c._ Brokers, Bill, Stock, Share, Ship, Sugar, Cotton, &c.
-
- _d._ Commission Salesmen, or Unlicensed Brokers.
-
- _e._ Buyers, or those who purchase materials or goods for
- Manufacturers, or Dealers.
-
- _f._ Auctioneers, or those who sell goods on Commission to the highest
- bidder.
-
- 3. Lenders and Lettors-out, or those who receive a certain sum for the
- loan or use of a thing.
-
- _a._ Lenders or Lettors-out of commodities, as--
-
- i. Job-horses, carriages, chairs and seats in parks, gardens, &c.
-
- ii. Plate, linen, furniture, piano-fortes, flowers, fancy dresses,
- Court suits, &c.
-
- iii. Books, newspapers, prints, and music.
-
- _b._ Lettors-out of tenements and storage room, as--
-
- i. Houses.
-
- ii. Lodgings.
-
- iii. Warehouse-room for imports, &c., as at wharfs.
-
- iv. Warehouse-room for furniture and other goods.
-
- _c._ Lenders of money, as--
-
- i. Mortgagees.
-
- ii. Bankers.
-
- iii. Bill-discounters.
-
- iv. Loan offices with and without policies of assurance.
-
- v. Building and investment societies.
-
- vi. Pawnbrokers.
-
- vii. Dolly shopmen.
-
- ⁂ The several modes of distributing goods or money are--
-
- 1. By private contract or agreement.
-
- 2. By a fixed or ticketed price.
-
- 3. By competition, as at Auctions.
-
- 4. By games of chance, as Lotteries (with the “Art Union”), Raffles
- (at Fancy Fairs), Tossing (with piemen and others), Prizes for skill
- (with throwing sticks, &c.), Betting, Racing, &c.
-
- The places at which goods are distributed are--
-
- 1. Fairs, or annual gatherings of buyers and sellers.
-
- 2. Markets, or weekly gatherings of buyers and sellers.
-
- 3. Exchanges, or daily gatherings of merchants and agents.
-
- 4. Counting-houses, or the places of business of wholesale traders.
-
- 5. Shops, or the places of business of retail traders.
-
- 6. Bazaars, or congregations of shops.
-
- 4. Trade Assistants.
-
- _a._ Shopmen and Warehousemen.
-
- _b._ Shopwalkers.
-
- _c._ Cashiers or Receivers.
-
- _d._ Clerks.
-
- _e._ Accountants.
-
- _f._ Rent-Collectors.
-
- _g._ Debt-collectors.
-
- _h._ Travellers, Town as well as Commercial.
-
- _i._ Touters.
-
- _j._ Barkers (outside shops).
-
- _k._ Bill deliverers.
-
- _l._ Bill-stickers.
-
- _m._ Boardmen.
-
- _n._ Advertizing-van Men.
-
- 5. Carriers.
-
- _a._ Those engaged in the external transit of the Kingdom.
-
- i. Mercantile Sailing Vessels.
-
- ii. Mercantile Steam Vessels.
-
- _b._ Those engaged in the internal Transit of the Kingdom.
-
- i. Those engaged in the coasting trade from port to port.
-
- ii. Those engaged in carrying inland from town to town, as--
-
- α. Those connected with land carriage; as railroad men, stage
- coachmen, mail coachmen, and mail cartmen, post boys, flymen,
- waggoners, country carriers, and drovers.
-
- β. Those connected with water carriage; as navigable river and canal
- men, bargemen, towing men.
-
- iii. Those engaged in carrying to and from different parts of the same
- town by land and water.
-
- α. Passengers; as Omnibus-men, Cabmen, Glass and Job Coachmen, Fly
- Men, Excursion-van Men, Donkey-boys, Goat-carriage boys, Sedan and
- Bath Chair Men, Guides.
-
- β. Goods; as Waggoners, Draymen, Carters, Spring-Van Men, Truckmen,
- Porters (ticketed and unticketed, and public and private men).
-
- γ. Letters and Messages; as Messengers, Errand Boys, Telegraph Men,
- and Postmen.
-
- δ. Goods and Passengers by water; as Bargemen, Lightermen, Hoymen,
- Watermen, River Steamboat Men.
-
- _c._ Those engaged in the lading and unlading and the fitting of
- vessels, as well the packing of goods.
-
- i. Dock and wharf labourers.
-
- ii. Coal whippers.
-
- iii. Lumpers, or dischargers of timber ships.
-
- iv. Timber porters and rafters.
-
- v. Corn porters.
-
- vi. Ballast heavers.
-
- vii. Stevedores, or stowers.
-
- viii. Riggers.
-
- ix. Packers and pressers.
-
-III. _Benefactors_, or those who confer some _permanent_ benefit by
-promoting the physical, intellectual, or spiritual well-being of others.
-
- A. EDUCATORS.
-
- 1. Professors.
-
- 2. Tutors.
-
- 3. Governesses.
-
- 4. Schoolmasters.
-
- 5. Ushers.
-
- 6. Teachers of Languages.
-
- 7. Teachers of Sciences.
-
- 8. Lecturers.
-
- 9. Teachers of “Accomplishments”; as Music, Singing, Dancing, Drawing,
- Wax-Flower Modelling, &c.
-
- 10. Teachers of Exercises; as Gymnastics.
-
- 11. Teachers of Arts of Self-Defence; as Fencing, Boxing, &c.
-
- 12. Teachers of Trades and Professions.
-
- B. CURATORS.
-
- 1. Corporeal.
-
- _a._ Physicians.
-
- _b._ Surgeons.
-
- _c._ General Practitioners.
-
- _d._ Homœopathists.
-
- _e._ Hydropathists.
-
- 2. Spiritual.
-
- _a._ Ministers of the Church of England.
-
- _b._ Dissenting Ministers.
-
- _c._ Catholic Ministers.
-
- _d._ Missionaries.
-
- _e._ Scripture Readers.
-
- _f._ Sisters of Charity.
-
- _g._ Visitants.
-
-IV. _Servitors_, or those who render some _temporary_ service or
-pleasure to others.
-
- A. AMUSERS, or those who contribute to our entertainment.
-
- 1. Actors.
-
- 2. Reciters.
-
- 3. Improvisers.
-
- 4. Singers.
-
- 5. Musicians.
-
- 6. Dancers.
-
- 7. Riders, or Equestrian Performers.
-
- 8. Fencers and Pugilists.
-
- 9. Conjurers.
-
- 10. Posturers.
-
- 11. Equilibrists.
-
- 12. Tumblers.
-
- 13. Exhibitors or Showmen.
-
- _a._ Of Curiosities.
-
- _b._ Of Monstrosities.
-
- B. PROTECTORS, or those who contribute to our security against injury.
-
- 1. Legislative.
-
- _a._ The Sovereign.
-
- _b._ The Members of the House of Lords.
-
- _c._ The Members of the House of Commons.
-
- 2. Judicial.
-
- _a._ The Judges in Chancery, Queen’s Bench, Common Pleas, Exchequer,
- Ecclesiastical, Admiralty, and Criminal Courts.
-
- _b._ Masters in Chancery, Commissioners of the Bankruptcy, Insolvent
- Debtors, Sheriffs, and County Courts, Magistrates, Justices of the
- Peace, Recorders, Coroners, Revising Barristers.
-
- _c._ Barristers, Pleaders, Conveyancers, Attorneys, Proctors.
-
- 3. Administrative or Executive.
-
- _a._ The Lords Commissioners of the Treasury; the Secretaries of
- State for Home, Foreign, and Colonial Affairs; the Chancellor and
- Comptroller of the Exchequer; the Privy Council, and the Privy Seal;
- the Board of Trade, the Board of Control, and the Board of Health; the
- Board of Inland Revenue, the Poor-Law Board, and the Board of Audit;
- the Commissioners of Woods and Forests; the Ministers and Officials in
- connection with the Army and Navy, the Post Office, and the Mint; the
- Inspectors of Prisons, Factories, Railways, Workhouses, Schools, and
- Lunatic Asylums; the Officers in connection with the Registration and
- Statistical Departments; and the other Functionaries appertaining to
- the _Government at home_.
-
- _b._ The Ambassadors, Envoys Extraordinary, Ministers Plenipotentiary,
- Secretaries of Legation, Chargés d’Affaires, Consuls, and other
- Ministers and Functionaries appertaining to the _Government abroad_.
-
- _c._ The Governors and Commanders of British Colonies and Settlements.
-
- _d._ The Lord Lieutenants, Custodes Rotulorum, High and Deputy
- Sheriffs, High Bailiffs, High and Petty Constables, and other
- Functionaries of _the Counties._
-
- _e._ The Mayors, Aldermen, Common Councilmen, Chamberlains, Common
- Sergeants, Treasurers, Auditors, Assessors, Inspectors of Weights
- and Measures, and other Functionaries of _the Cities or incorporated
- Towns_.
-
- _f._ The Churchwardens, the Commissioners of Sewers and Paving, the
- Select and Special Vestrymen, the Vestry Clerks, the Overseers or
- Guardians of the Poor, the Relieving Officers, the Masters of the
- Workhouses, the Beadles, and other _Parochial Functionaries_.
-
- _g._ The Masters and Brethren of the Trinity Corporation, the Pier
- and Harbour Masters, Conservators of Rivers, and other Functionaries
- connected with Navigation, and the Trustees and Commissioners in
- connection with the Public Roads.
-
- _h._ The Naval and Military Powers; as the Army, Navy, Marines,
- Militia, and Yeomanry.
-
- _i._ The Civil Forces; as Policemen, Patrole, and Private Watchmen.
-
- _j._ Sheriffs’ Officers, Bailiffs’ Followers, Sponging-house Keepers.
-
- _k._ Governors of Prisons, Jailers, Turnkeys, Officers on board the
- Hulks and Transport Ships, Hangmen.
-
- _l._ The Fiscal Forces; as the Coast Guard, Custom-house Officers,
- Excise Officers.
-
- _m._ Collectors of Imposts; as Tax and Rate Collectors, Turnpike Men,
- Toll Collectors of Bridges and Markets, Collectors of Pier and Harbour
- dues, and Light, Buoy, and Beacon dues.
-
- _n._ Guardians of special localities; as Rangers, and Park-keepers,
- Arcade-keepers, Street-keepers, Square-keepers, Bazaar-keepers, Gate
- and Lodge-keepers, Empty-house-keepers.
-
- _o._ Conservators; as Curators of Museums, Librarians, Storekeepers,
- and others.
-
- _p._ Protective Associations; as Insurance Companies against Loss by
- fire, shipwreck, storms, railway accidents, death of cattle, Life
- Assurance Societies, Provident or Benefit Clubs, Guarantee Societies,
- Trade Protection Societies, Fire Brigade and Fire-escape Men, Humane
- Society Men, and Officers of the Societies for the Suppression of
- Mendicity, Vice, and cruelty to Animals.
-
- SERVANTS, or those who contribute to our comfort or convenience by the
- performance of certain offices for us.
-
- 1. Private Servants, regularly engaged.
-
- _a._ Stewards.
-
- _b._ Farm Bailiffs.
-
- _c._ Secretaries.
-
- _d._ Amanuenses.
-
- _e._ Companions.
-
- _f._ Butlers.
-
- _g._ Valets.
-
- _h._ Footmen, Pages, and Hall Porters.
-
- _i._ Coachmen, Grooms, “Tigers,” and Helpers at Stables.
-
- _j._ Huntsmen and Whippers-in.
-
- _k._ Kennelmen.
-
- _l._ Gamekeepers.
-
- _m._ Gardeners.
-
- _n._ Housekeepers.
-
- _o._ Ladies’ Maids.
-
- _p._ Nursery Maids and Wet Nurses.
-
- _q._ House Maids and Parlour Maids.
-
- _r._ Cooks and Scullery Maids.
-
- _s._ Dairy Maids.
-
- _t._ Maids of all work.
-
- 2. Private Servants temporarily engaged.
-
- _a._ Couriers.
-
- _b._ Interpreters.
-
- _c._ Monthly Nurses and Invalid Nurses.
-
- _d._ Waiters at Parties.
-
- _e._ Charwomen.
-
- _f._ Knife, boot, window, and paint Cleaners, Pot scourers, Carpet
- beaters.
-
- 3. Public Servants.
-
- _a._ Waiters at hotels and public gardens.
-
- _b._ Masters of the Ceremonies.
-
- _c._ Chamber-Maids.
-
- _d._ Boots.
-
- _e._ Ostlers.
-
- _f._ Job Coachmen.
-
- _g._ Post-boys.
-
- _h._ Washerwomen.
-
- _i._ Dustmen.
-
- _j._ Sweeps.
-
- _k._ Scavengers.
-
- _l._ Nightmen.
-
- _m._ Flushermen.
-
- _n._ Turncocks.
-
- _o._ Lamplighters.
-
- _p._ Horse Holders.
-
- _q._ Crossing Sweepers.
-
-THOSE WHO CANNOT WORK.
-
-V. _Those that are provided for by some Public Institution._
-
- A. THE INMATES OF WORKHOUSES.
-
- B. THE INMATES OF PRISONS.
-
- 1. Debtors.
-
- 2. Criminals (Some of these, however, are made to work by the
- authorities).
-
- C. THE INMATES OF HOSPITALS.
-
- 1. The Sick.
-
- 2. The Insane; as Lunatics and Idiots.
-
- 3. Veterans; as Greenwich and Chelsea Hospital men.
-
- 4. The Deserted Young; as the Foundling Hospital children.
-
- D. THE INMATES OF ASYLUMS AND ALMSHOUSES.
-
- 1. The Afflicted; as the Deaf, and Dumb, and Blind.
-
- 2. The Destitute Young; as Orphans.
-
- 3. The Decayed Members of the several Trades or Sects.
-
- _a._ Trade and Provident Asylums and Almshouses.
-
- _b._ Sectarian Asylums and Almshouses--as for aged Jews, Widows of
- Clergymen, &c.
-
- E. THE INMATES OF THE SEVERAL REFUGES AND DORMITORIES FOR THE HOUSELESS
- AND DESTITUTE.
-
-VI. _Those who are Unprovided for._
-
- A. THOSE WHO ARE INCAPACITATED FROM WANT OF POWER.
-
- 1. Owing to their Age.
-
- _a._ The Old.
-
- _b._ The Young.
-
- 2. Owing to some Bodily Ailment.
-
- _a._ The Sick.
-
- _b._ The Crippled.
-
- _c._ The Maimed.
-
- _d._ The Paralyzed.
-
- _e._ The Blind.
-
- 3. Owing to some Mental Infirmity.
-
- _a._ The Insane.
-
- _b._ The Idiotic.
-
- _c._ The Untaught, or those who have never been brought up to any
- industrial occupation; as Widows and those who have “seen better
- days.”
-
- B. THOSE WHO ARE INCAPACITATED FROM WANT OF MEANS.
-
- 1. Having no tools; as is often the case with distressed carpenters.
-
- 2. Having no clothes; as servants when long out of a situation.
-
- 3. Having no stock-money; as impoverished street-sellers.
-
- 4. Having no materials; as the “used-up” garret or chamber masters in
- the boot and shoe or cabinet-making trade.
-
- 5. Having no place wherein to work; as when those who pursue their
- calling at home are forced to become the inmates of a nightly
- lodging-house.
-
- C. THOSE WHO ARE INCAPACITATED FROM WANT OF EMPLOYMENT.
-
- 1. Owing to a glut or stagnation in business; as among the
- cotton-spinners, the iron-workers, the railway-navigators, and the
- like.
-
- 2. Owing to a change in fashion; as in the button-making trade.
-
- 3. Owing to the introduction of machinery; as among the sawyers,
- hand-loom weavers, pillow-lace makers, threshers, and others.
-
- 4. Owing to the advent of the slack season; as among the tailors and
- mantua-makers, and drawn-bonnet-makers.
-
- 5. Owing to the continuance of unfavourable weather.
-
- _a._ From the prevalence of rain; as street-sellers, and others.
-
- _b._ From the prevalence of easterly winds; as dock-labourers.
-
- 6. Owing to the approach of winter; as among the builders, brickmakers,
- market-gardeners, harvest-men.
-
- 7. Owing to the loss of character.
-
- _a._ Culpably; from intemperate habits, or misconduct of some kind.
-
- _b._ Accidentally; as when a servant’s late master goes abroad, and a
- written testimonial is objected to.
-
-THOSE WHO WILL NOT WORK.
-
-VII. _Vagrants or Tramps._
-
- Under this head is included all that multifarious tribe of “sturdy
- rogues,” who ramble across the country during the summer, sleeping
- at the “casual wards” of the workhouses, and who return to London in
- the winter to avail themselves of the gratuitous lodgings and food
- attainable at the several metropolitan refuges.
-
-VIII. _Professional Beggars and their Dependents._
-
- A. NAVAL AND MILITARY BEGGARS.
-
- 1. Turnpike Sailors.
-
- 2. Spanish Legion Men, &c.
-
- 3. Veterans.
-
- B. “DISTRESSED-OPERATIVE” BEGGARS.
-
- 1. Pretended Starved-out Manufacturers, as the Nottingham “Driz” or
- Lace-Men.
-
- 2. Pretended Unemployed Agriculturists.
-
- 3. Pretended Frozen-out Gardeners.
-
- 4. Pretended Hand-loom Weavers, and others deprived of their living by
- Machinery.
-
- C. “RESPECTABLE” BEGGARS.
-
- 1. Pretended Broken-down Tradesmen, or Decayed Gentlemen.
-
- 2. Pretended Distressed Ushers, unable to take situation for want of
- clothes.
-
- 3. “Clean-Family Beggars” with children in very white pinafores, their
- faces newly washed, and their hair carefully brushed.
-
- 4. Ashamed Beggars, or those who “stand pad with a fakement” (remain
- stationary, holding a written placard), and pretend to hide their
- faces.
-
- D. “DISASTER” BEGGARS.
-
- 1. Shipwrecked Mariners.
-
- 2. Blown-up Miners.
-
- 3. Burnt-out Tradesmen.
-
- 4. Lucifer Droppers.
-
- E. BODILY AFFLICTED BEGGARS.
-
- 1. Having real or pretended sores, vulgarly known as the “scaldrum
- dodge.”
-
- 2. Having swollen legs.
-
- 3. Being crippled, deformed, maimed, or paralyzed.
-
- 4. Being blind.
-
- 5. Being subject to fits.
-
- 6. Being in a decline, and appearing with bandages round the head.
-
- 7. “Shallow coves,” or those who exhibit themselves in the streets
- half clad, especially in cold weather.
-
- F. FAMISHED BEGGARS.
-
- 1. Those who chalk on the pavement, “I am starving.”
-
- 2. Those who “stand pad” with a small piece of paper similarly
- inscribed.
-
- G. FOREIGN BEGGARS.
-
- 1. Frenchmen who stop passengers in the street and request to know if
- they can speak French, previous to presenting a written statement of
- their distress.
-
- 2. Pretended Destitute Poles.
-
- 3. Hindoos and Negroes, who stand shivering by the kerb.
-
- H. PETTY TRADING BEGGARS.
-
- 1. Tract sellers.
-
- 2. Sellers of lucifers, boot-laces, cabbage-nets, tapes, and cottons.
-
- ⁂ The several varieties of beggars admit of being sub-divided into--
-
- _a._ Patterers, or those who beg on the “blob,” that is, by word of
- mouth.
-
- _b._ Screevers, or those who beg by screeving, that is, by written
- documents, setting forth imaginary cases of distress, such documents
- being either--
-
- i. “Slums” (letters).
-
- ii. “Fakements” (petitions).
-
- I. THE DEPENDENTS OF BEGGARS.
-
- 1. Screevers Proper, or the writers of slums and fakements for those
- who beg by screeving.
-
- 2. Referees, or those who give characters to professional beggars when
- a reference is required.
-
-IX. _Cheats and their Dependents._
-
- A. THOSE WHO CHEAT THE GOVERNMENT.
-
- 1. Smugglers defrauding the Customs.
-
- 2. “Jiggers” defrauding the Excise by working illicit stills, and the
- like.
-
- B. THOSE WHO CHEAT THE PUBLIC.
-
- 1. Swindlers, defrauding those of whom they buy.
-
- 2. “Duffers” and “horse-chaunters,” defrauding those to whom they sell.
-
- 3. “Charley-pitchers” and other low gamblers, defrauding those with
- whom they play.
-
- 4. “Bouncers and Besters” defrauding, by laying wagers, swaggering, or
- using threats.
-
- 5. “Flatcatchers,” defrauding by pretending to find some valuable
- article--as Fawney or Ring-Droppers.
-
- 6. Bubble-Men, defrauding by instituting pretended companies--as Sham
- Next-of-Kin-Societies, Assurance and Annuity Offices, Benefit Clubs,
- and the like.
-
- 7. Douceur-Men, defrauding by offering for a certain sum to confer
- some boon upon a person as--
-
- _a._ To procure Government Situations for laymen, or benefices for
- clergymen.
-
- _b._ To provide Servants with Places.
-
- _c._ To teach some lucrative occupation.
-
- _d._ To put persons in possession of some information “to their
- advantage.”
-
- 8. Deposit-Men, defrauding by obtaining a certain sum as security for
- future work or some promised place of trust.
-
- C. THE DEPENDENTS OF CHEATS ARE--
-
- 1. “Jollies,” and “Magsmen,” or accomplices of the “Bouncers and
- Besters.”
-
- 2. “Bonnets,” or accomplices of Gamblers.
-
- 3. Referees, or those who give false characters to swindlers and
- others.
-
-X. _Thieves and their Dependents._
-
- A. THOSE WHO PLUNDER WITH VIOLENCE.
-
- 1. “Cracksmen”--as Housebreakers and Burglars.
-
- 2. “Rampsmen,” or Footpads.
-
- 3. “Bludgers,” or Stick-slingers, plundering in company with
- prostitutes.
-
- B. THOSE WHO “HOCUS,” OR PLUNDER THEIR VICTIMS WHEN STUPIFIED.
-
- 1. “Drummers,” or those who render people insensible.
-
- _a._ By handkerchiefs steeped in chloroform.
-
- _b._ By drugs poured into liquor.
-
- 2. “Bug-hunters,” or those who go round to the public-houses and
- plunder drunken men.
-
- C. THOSE WHO PLUNDER BY MANUAL DEXTERITY, BY STEALTH, OR BY BREACH OF
- TRUST.
-
- 1. “Mobsmen,” or those who plunder by manual dexterity--as the
- “light-fingered gentry.”
-
- _a._ “Buzzers,” or those who abstract handkerchiefs and other articles
- from gentlemen’s pockets.
-
- i. “Stook-buzzers,” those who steal handkerchiefs.
-
- ii. “Tail-Buzzers,” those who dive into coat-pockets for sneezers
- (snuff-boxes,) skins and dummies (purses and pocket-books).
-
- _b._ “Wires,” or those who pick ladies’ pockets.
-
- _c._ “Prop-nailers,” those who steal pins and brooches.
-
- _d._ “Thimble-screwers,” those who wrench watches from their guards.
-
- _e._ “Shop-lifters,” or those who purloin goods from shops while
- examining articles.
-
- 2. “Sneaksmen,” or those who plunder by means of stealth.
-
- _a._ Those who purloin goods, provisions, money, clothes, old metal,
- &c.
-
- i. “Drag Sneaks,” or those who steal goods or luggage from carts and
- coaches.
-
- ii. “Snoozers,” or those who sleep at railway hotels, and decamp with
- some passenger’s luggage or property in the morning.
-
- iii. “Star-glazers,” or those who cut the panes out of shop-windows.
-
- iv. “Till Friskers,” or those who empty tills of their contents during
- the absence of the shopmen.
-
- v. “Sawney-Hunters,” or those who go purloining bacon from
- cheesemongers’ shop-doors.
-
- vi. “Noisy-racket Men,” or those who steal china and glass from
- outside of china-shops.
-
- vii. “Area Sneaks,” or those who steal from houses by going down the
- area steps.
-
- viii. “Dead Lurkers,” or those who steal coats and umbrellas from
- passages at dusk, or on Sunday afternoons.
-
- ix. “Snow Gatherers,” or those who steal clean clothes off the hedges.
-
- x. “Skinners,” or those women who entice children and sailors to go
- with them and then strip them of their clothes.
-
- xi. “Bluey-Hunters,” or those who purloin lead from the tops of houses.
-
- xii. “Cat and Kitten Hunters,” or those who purloin pewter quart and
- pint pots from the top of area railings.
-
- xiii. “Toshers,” or those who purloin copper from the ships along
- shore.
-
- xiv. Mudlarks, or those who steal pieces of rope and lumps of coal
- from among the vessels at the river-side.
-
- _b._ Those who steal animals.
-
- i. Horse Stealers.
-
- ii. Sheep, or “Woolly-bird,” Stealers.
-
- iii. Deer Stealers.
-
- iv. Dog Stealers.
-
- v. Poachers, or Game Stealers.
-
- vi. “Lady and Gentlemen Racket Men,” or those who steal cocks and hens.
-
- vii. Cat Stealers, or those who make away with cats for the sake of
- their skins and bones.
-
- _c._ Those who steal dead bodies--as the “Resurrectionists.”
-
- 3. Those who plunder by breach of trust.
-
- _a._ Embezzlers, or those who rob their employers.
-
- i. By receiving what is due to them, and never accounting for it.
-
- ii. By obtaining goods in their employer’s name.
-
- iii. By purloining money from the till, or goods from the premises.
-
- _b._ Illegal Pawners.
-
- i. Those who pledge work given out to them by employers.
-
- ii. Those who pledge blankets, sheets, &c., from lodgings.
-
- _c._ Dishonest servants, those who make away with the property of their
- masters.
-
- _d._ Bill Stealers, or those who purloin bills of exchange entrusted to
- them, to get discounted.
-
- _e._ Letter Stealers.
-
- D. “SHOFUL MEN,” OR THOSE WHO PLUNDER BY MEANS OF COUNTERFEITS.
-
- 1. Coiners or fabricators of counterfeit money.
-
- 2. Forgers of bank notes.
-
- 3. Forgers of checks and acceptances.
-
- 4. Forgers of wills.
-
- E. DEPENDENTS OF THIEVES.
-
- 1. “Fences,” or receivers of stolen goods.
-
- 2. “Smashers,” or utterers of base coin or forged notes.
-
-XI. _Prostitutes and their Dependents._
-
- A. PROFESSIONAL PROSTITUTES.
-
- 1. Seclusives, or those who live in private houses or apartments.
-
- _a._ Kept Mistresses.
-
- _b._ “Prima Donnas,” or those who belong to the “first class,” and
- live in a superior style.
-
- 2. Convives, or those who live in the same house with a number of
- others.
-
- _a._ Those who are independent of the mistress of the house.
-
- _b._ Those who are subject to the mistress of a brothel.
-
- i. “Board Lodgers,” or those who give a portion of what they receive
- to the mistress of the brothel, in return for their board and lodging.
-
- ii. “Dress Lodgers,” or those who give either a portion or the whole
- of what they get to the mistress of the brothel in return for their
- board, lodging, and clothes.
-
- 3. Those who live in low lodging-houses.
-
- 4. Sailors’ and soldiers’ women.
-
- 5. Park women, or those who frequent the parks at night, and other
- retired places.
-
- 6. Thieves’ women, or those who entrap men into bye streets for the
- purpose of robbery.
-
- 7. The Dependents of Prostitutes:
-
- _a._ “Bawds,” or Keepers of Brothels.
-
- _b._ Followers of Dress Lodgers.
-
- _c._ Keepers of Accommodation Houses.
-
- _d._ Procuresses, Pimps, and Panders.
-
- _e._ Fancy-Men.
-
- _f._ Magsmen and Bullies.
-
- B. CLANDESTINE PROSTITUTES.
-
- 1. Female Operatives.
-
- 2. Maid Servants.
-
- 3. Ladies of Intrigue.
-
- 4. Keepers of Houses of Assignation.
-
- C. COHABITANT PROSTITUTES.
-
- 1. Those whose paramours cannot afford to pay the marriage fees.
-
- 2. Those whose paramours do not believe in the sanctity of the
- ceremony.
-
- 3. Those who have married a relative forbidden by law.
-
- 4. Those whose paramours object to marry them for pecuniary or family
- reasons.
-
- 5. Those who would forfeit their income by marrying, as officers’
- widows in receipt of pensions, and those who hold property only while
- unmarried.
-
-THOSE WHO NEED NOT WORK.
-
-XII. _Those who derive their income from rent._
-
- A. LANDLORDS OF ESTATES.
-
- B. LANDLORDS OF HOUSES.
-
-XIII. _Those who derive their income from dividends._
-
- A. FUNDHOLDERS.
-
- B. SHAREHOLDERS.
-
- 1. In Mines.
-
- 2. In Canals.
-
- 3. In Railways.
-
- 4. In Public Companies.
-
-XIV. Those who derive their income from yearly stipends.
-
- A. ANNUITANTS.
-
- B. PENSIONERS.
-
-XV. _Those who hold obsolete or nominal offices._
-
- SINECURISTS.
-
-XVI. _Those who derive their incomes from trades in which they never
-appear._
-
- A. SLEEPING PARTNERS.
-
- B. ROYALTY MEN.
-
-XVII. _Those who derive their incomes by favour from some other._
-
- A. PROTEGÉS.
-
- B. DEPENDENTS.
-
-XVIII. _Those who derive their support from the head of the family._
-
- A. WIVES.
-
- B. CHILDREN.
-
-
-
-
-OF THE NON-WORKERS.
-
-
-The exposition of the several members of society being finished, I now
-come to treat of that inoperative moiety of it, which more especially
-concerns us here. The non-workers, we have seen, consist of three
-broadly marked and distinct orders, viz:--
-
- _The incapacitated_, or compulsory non-workers.
-
- _The indisposed_, or voluntary non-workers.
-
- _The independent_, or privileged non-workers.
-
-It would be of the highest possible importance, could we ascertain
-with any precision the number of people existing in this country, who
-do no manner of work for their support; and I was anxious to have
-concluded the preceding account of the several divisions of society,
-with an estimate of the numbers appertaining to each of the four great
-classes, as well as the incomes accruing to them. I found, however, on
-consulting the official documents with this view, that the government
-returns were in such an economical tangle--distributor being confounded
-with employer, and employer again jumbled up with the employed--that
-any attempt to unravel the twisted yarn would have cost an infinity of
-trouble, and have been almost worthless after all; and it was from a
-long experience as to the incompetency of the official returns to aid
-the social inquirer in solving the great economical problems concerning
-the production and distribution of wealth, that I was induced to
-suggest to Sir George Grey (to whom I had been indebted for much
-courtesy and valuable information, and who, from the commencement of my
-investigations, had shown a readiness to afford me every assistance),
-that, in the ensuing census, an attempt should be made to obtain
-some definite account of the numbers of employers and employed, and
-I am happy to say that, in conformity with my suggestion, the next
-“Abstract of the Occupations of the People,” will at least teach us
-the proportion between these two main elements of our social state; so
-that if the Distributors are but kept distinct from the Promoters and
-Producers of the wealth of the country, one important step towards a
-right understanding of the subject will assuredly have been made[10].
-
-It should, however, be borne in mind, that, though the distribution,
-the promotion, and the production of the riches or exchangeable
-commodities of a country are usually distinct offices in every
-civilized nation, they are not invariably separate functions, even in
-our own. The exceptions to the economical rule with us appear to be as
-follows:--
-
-1. Sometimes the producers themselves supply the materials, tools,
-shelter, and subsistence, that they require for their work, though
-this is usually done by some capitalist; and having finished the work,
-proceed themselves to find purchasers for it likewise (though this is
-generally the office of the distributor or dealer). Street artizans,
-or those who make the goods they sell in the streets, may be cited as
-instances of a class uniting in itself the three functions of producer,
-capitalist (supplying the materials, &c.), and distributor.
-
-2. Sometimes the capitalist employer is also the distributor of the
-commodities, such being the case with bakers, tailors, and the like,
-who themselves “purvey” what they employ others to produce.
-
-3. Sometimes the craft does not admit of a distributor being attached
-to it; the employer himself undertaking to supply the wants of the
-public; this is the case with the building and decoration of houses.
-
-4. Sometimes the work is done directly for the public, without the
-intervention of either a distributor or trading-employer; such is the
-case with the jobbing, day, or piece workers--among the seamstresses
-and journeymen tailors, for instance--who “make up ladies’ and
-gentlemen’s own materials,” either at home or at the houses of those
-for whom the work is done.
-
-5. Sometimes the artificers or working men are their own capitalists;
-providing the materials, tools, shelter, and subsistence requisite for
-the work, as is the case with the garret and chamber-masters in the
-slop cabinet and shoe trades, and among the members of co-operative
-associations.
-
-6. Sometimes the artificers are both employers and employed; being
-supplied with their materials and subsistence from a capitalist, and
-supplying them again to other artificers working under them; this is
-the case with sweaters, piece-working masters, first hands, and the
-like.
-
-7. Sometimes the capitalist employer, on the other hand, is, or rather
-assumes to be, the proprietor of both the capital and labour; as is the
-case with the slave-owners, masters of serfs, bondmen, villeins, and
-the like; though this state of things, thank God, no longer exists in
-this country.
-
-8. Sometimes the capitalist supplies all the requisites of production,
-excepting the subsistence of the artificer, who is remunerated by a
-certain share of the profits (if any); this is often the case with
-publishers and authors.
-
-9. Sometimes the capitalist supplies only the materials and
-subsistence, but not the tools, of the artificers, and sometimes he
-compels them to pay him a rent for them out of their wages; as is the
-case with the employers of the sawyers and stockingers.
-
-10. Sometimes the capitalist supplies the materials, tools, and
-subsistence of the artificers, but not the appliances of their work;
-and sometimes he compels them to purchase such appliances of him at an
-exorbitant profit; as the trimmings in the tailors’ trade, thread with
-the seamstresses, and the like.
-
-11. Sometimes the capitalist supplies the materials, tools,
-subsistence, and shelter of the artificers, but not their gas-light,
-and compels them to pay a rent for the same out of their wages.
-
-12. Sometimes the capitalist supplies the materials, tools, appliances,
-and subsistence, but not the shelter, necessary for the due performance
-of the work, the artificers, in such cases, doing the work at their own
-homes.
-
- * * * * *
-
-But all this concerns the workers more directly than the non-workers of
-society, and it is mentioned here merely with the view of completing
-the classification before given. Our more immediate business in this
-place lies with the inoperative, rather than the operative, members of
-the community. Nor is it with the entire body of these that we have
-to deal, but rather with that third order of the non-working class
-who are unwilling, though able, to work, as contradistinguished from
-those who are willing, but unable, to do so. The non-workers are a
-peculiar class, including orders diametrically opposed to each other:
-the very rich and the very poor, in the first place, and the honest and
-dishonest in the second. The dishonest members of society constitute
-those who are known more particularly as the criminal class. Hence
-to inquire into their means of living and mode of life, involves an
-investigation into the nature and the extent of crime in this country.
-Crime, sin, and vice are three terms used for the infraction of three
-different kinds of laws--social, religious, and moral. Crime is the
-transgression of some social law, even as sin is the transgression of
-some religious law, and vice the breach of some moral one. These laws,
-however, often differ only in emanating from different authorities;
-while infractions of them are merely offences against different powers.
-To thieve is to offend at once socially, religiously, and morally; for
-not only does the social, but the religious and moral law, each and
-all, enjoin that we should respect the property of others.
-
-But there are other crimes or offences against the social powers,
-besides such as are committed by those who will not work. The crimes
-perpetrated by those who object to labour for their living, are
-habitual crimes; whereas those perpetrated by the other classes of
-society are accidental crimes, arising from the pressure of a variety
-of circumstances. Here, then, we have a most important fundamental
-distinction: all crimes, and consequently all criminals, are divisible
-into two different classes, the professional and the casual; that is
-to say, there are two distinct orders of people continually offending
-against the laws of society, viz., those who do so as a regular means
-of living, and those who do so from some accidental cause. It is
-impossible to arrive at any accurate knowledge on the subject of crime
-generally, without making this first analysis of the several species
-of offences according to their causes; that is to say, arranging them
-into opposite groups or classes, according as they arise from an
-habitual indisposition to labour on the part of some of the offenders,
-or from the temporary pressure of circumstances upon others. The
-official returns, however, on this subject are as unphilosophic as the
-generality of such documents, and consist of a crude mass of undigested
-facts, being a statistical illustration of the “rudis indigestaque
-moles,” in connection with a criminal chaos.
-
-At present the several crimes of the country are officially divided
-into four classes:--
-
- I. Offences against persons; including murder, rape, bigamy, assaults,
- &c.
-
- II. Offences against property.
-
- A. With violence; including burglary, robbery, piracy, &c.
-
- B. Without violence; including embezzlement, cattle-stealing, larceny,
- and fraud.
-
- C. Malicious offences against property; including arson, incendiarism,
- maiming cattle, &c.
-
-III. Forgery and offences against the currency; including the forging
-of wills, bank-notes, and coining, &c.
-
-IV. Other offences; including high-treason, sedition, poaching,
-smuggling, working illicit stills, perjury, &c.
-
-M. Guerry, the eminent French statist, adopts a far more philosophic
-arrangement, and divides the several crimes into--
-
- I. Crimes against the State; as high treason, &c.
-
- II. Crimes against personal safety; as murder, assault, &c.
-
- III. Crimes against morals (with and without violence); as rape,
- bigamy, &c.
-
- IV. Crimes against property (proceeding from cupidity or malice); as
- larceny, embezzlement, incendiarism, and the like.
-
-The same fundamental error which renders the government classification
-comparatively worthless, deprives that of the French philosopher of
-all practical value. It gives us no knowledge of the character of
-the people committing the crimes; being merely a system of criminal
-mnemonics, as it were, or easy method of remembering the several
-varieties of offences. The classes in both systems are but so many
-mental pigeon-holes for the orderly arrangement and partitioning of
-the various infractions of the law; further than this they cannot help
-us.
-
-Whatever other information the inquirer may want, he must obtain for
-himself; if he wish to learn from the crimes something as to their
-causes, as well as the nature of the criminals, he must begin _de
-novo_, and, using the official facts, but rejecting the official system
-of classification, proceed to arrange all the several offences into two
-classes, according as they are of a professional and casual character,
-committed by habitual or occasional offenders. Adopting this principle,
-it will be found that the _non-professional_ crimes consist mainly of
-murder, assaults, incendiarism, ravishment, bigamy, embezzlement, high
-treason, and the like; for it is evident that none can make a trade or
-profession of the commission of these crimes, or resort to them as a
-regular means of living[11].
-
-The _professional_ crimes, on the other hand, will be generally found
-to include burglary, robbery, poaching, coining, smuggling, working of
-illicit stills, larceny from the person, simple larceny, &c., because
-each and every of these are regular crafts, requiring almost the same
-apprenticeship as any other mode of life. Burglary, coining, working
-illicit stills, and picking pockets, are all _arts_ to which no man,
-without some previous training, can take. Hence to know whether the
-number of these dishonest _handicrafts_--for such they really are--be
-annually on the increase or not, is to solve a most important portion
-of the criminal problem; it is to ascertain whether crime pursued as
-a profession or business, is being augmented among us--to discover
-whether the criminal class, as a distinct portion of our people is, or
-is not, on the advance. The non-professional crimes will furnish us
-with equally curious results, showing a yearly impress of the character
-of the times; for being only occasional offences, of course the number
-of such offenders at different years will give us a knowledge of the
-intensity of the several occasions inducing the crimes in such years.
-
-The accidental crimes, classified according to their causes, may be
-said to consist of--
-
- I. Crimes of malice, exercised either against the person or the
- property of the object.
-
- II. Crimes of lust and perverted appetites; as rape, &c.
-
- III. Crimes of shame; as concealing the births of infants, attempts to
- procure miscarriage, and the like.
-
- IV. Crimes of temptation, } with, or without
-
- V. Crimes of cupidity, } breach of
-
- VI. Crimes of want, } trust.
-
- VII. Crimes of political prejudices.
-
-With the class of casual or accidental criminals, however, we are not
-at present concerned. Those who resort to crime as a means of support,
-when in a state of extreme want, for instance, cannot be said to belong
-to the _voluntary_ non-workers, for many of these would willingly work
-to increase their sustenance, if that end were attainable by such
-means, but the poor shirt-workers, slop-tailors, and the like, have not
-the power of earning more than the barest subsistence by their labour,
-so that the pawning of the work entrusted to them by their employers,
-becomes an act to which they are immediately impelled for “dear life,”
-on the occurrence of the least illness or mishap among them. Such
-_offenders_, therefore, belong more properly to those who cannot work
-for their living, or rather, who cannot live by their working, and
-though they offend against the laws in the same manner as those that
-will not work, they cannot certainly be said to be of the same class.
-
-The _voluntary_ non-workers are a distinct body of people. In the
-introductory chapter to the first volume of the “Street-folk,” they
-have been shown to appertain to even the rudest nations, being
-as it were the human parasites of every civilized and barbarous
-community. The Hottentots have their “_Sonquas_,” and the Kafirs their
-“_Fingoes_,” as we have our “Prigs” and “Cadgers.” Those who will not
-work for the food they consume, appear to be part and parcel of a
-State--an essential element of the social fabric as much as those who
-cannot, or need not work for their living. Go where you will, to what
-corner of the earth you please, search out or propound what new-fangled
-or obsolete form of society you may, there will be some members of it
-more apathetic than the rest, who object to work--some more infirm
-than the rest, who are denied the power to work--and some more thrifty
-than the rest, who from their past savings have no necessity to work
-for the future. These several forms are but the necessary consequences
-of specific differences in the constitution of different beings.
-Circumstances may tend to give an unnatural development to either one
-or other of the classes; the criminal class, the pauper class, or the
-wealthy class, may be in excess in one form of society, as compared
-with another, or they may be repressed by certain social arrangements;
-nevertheless, to a greater or less degree, there they will and _must_
-ever be.
-
-Since, then, there _is_ an essentially distinct class of people who
-_will_ not work for their living, and since work is a necessary
-condition of the human organism, the question becomes, How do such
-people live? There is but one answer:--If they do not labour to procure
-their own food, of course they must live on the food procured by
-the labour of others. But how do they obtain possession of the food
-belonging to others? There are but two means: it must either be given
-to them by, or be taken from, the industrious portion of the community.
-Consequently, the next point to be settled is, what are the means by
-which those who _object_ to work get their food given to them, and what
-the means by which they are enabled to take it from others. Let us
-begin with the last mentioned.
-
-The means by which the criminal classes obtain their living constitute
-the essential points of difference among them, and form indeed
-the methods of distinction among themselves. The “Rampsmen,” the
-“Drummers,” the “Mobsmen,” the “Sneaksmen,” and the “Shofulmen,”[12]
-which are the terms by which they themselves designate the several
-branches of the “profession,” are but so many expressions indicating
-the several modes of obtaining the property of which they become
-possessed.
-
- The “_Rampsman_” or “_Cracksman_” plunders by force; as the burglar,
- footpad, &c.
-
- The “_Drummer_” plunders by stupefaction; as the “hocusser.”
-
- The “_Mobsman_” plunders by manual dexterity; as the pickpocket.
-
- The “_Sneaksman_” plunders by stealth; as the petty-larceny men and
- boys.
-
- The “_Shofulman_” plunders by counterfeits; as the coiner.
-
-Now each and all of these are distinct species of the genus, having
-often little or no connection with the others. The “Cracksman,” or
-housebreaker, would no more think of associating with the “Sneaksman”
-than a barrister would dream of sitting down to dinner with an
-attorney; the perils braved by the housebreaker or the footpad make
-the cowardice of the sneaksman contemptible to him; and the one is
-distinguished by a kind of bulldog insensibility to danger, while the
-other is marked by a low cat-like cunning. The “Mobsman,” on the other
-hand, is more of a handicraftsman than either, and is comparatively
-refined by the society he is obliged to keep. He usually dresses in the
-same elaborate style of fashion as a Jew on a Saturday (in which case
-he is more particularly described by the prefix “swell”), and “mixes”
-generally in the “best of company,” frequenting--for the purposes of
-his business--all the places of public entertainment, and often being
-a regular attendant at church and the more elegant chapels, especially
-during charity sermons. The Mobsman takes his name from the gregarious
-habits of the class to which he belongs, it being necessary, for the
-successful picking of pockets, that the work be done in small gangs or
-mobs, so as to “cover” the operator. Among the Sneaksmen, again, the
-purloiners of animals, such as the horse stealers, the sheep stealers,
-the deer stealers, and the poachers, all belong to a particular tribe
-(with the exception of the dog stealers)--they are agricultural
-thieves; whereas the others are generally of a more civic character.
-The Shofulmen, or coiners, moreover constitute a distinct species, and
-upon them, like the others, is impressed the stamp of the peculiar line
-of roguery they may chance to follow as a means of subsistence.
-
-Such are the more salient features of that portion of the voluntary
-non-workers who live by _taking_ what they want from others. The other
-moiety of the same class who live by getting what they want _given_ to
-them, is equally peculiar. These consist of the “Flatcatchers,” the
-“Hunter” and “Charley[13] Pitchers,” the “Bouncers” and “Besters,” the
-“Cadgers,” the Vagrants, and the Prostitutes.
-
- The “_Flatcatchers_” obtain what they want by false pretences; as
- swindlers, duffers, ring droppers, and cheats of all kinds.
-
- The “_Hunter_” and “_Charley Pitchers_” obtain what they want by
- gaming; as thimblerig men, &c.
-
- The “_Bouncers_” and “_Besters_” obtain what they want by betting,
- intimidating, or talking people out of their property.
-
- The “_Cadgers_” obtain what they want by begging, and exciting false
- sympathy.
-
- The _Vagrants_ obtain what they want by declaring on the casual ward
- of the parish workhouse.
-
- The _Prostitutes_ obtain what they want by the performance of an
- immoral act.
-
-Each of these, again, are unmistakeably distinguished from the rest.
-The “Flatcatchers” are generally remarkable for great shrewdness,
-especially in the knowledge of human character and ingenuity in
-designing and carrying out their several schemes. The “Charley
-Pitchers” appertain more to the conjuring or sleight-of-hand and
-blackleg class. The “Cadgers,” again, are to the class of cheats what
-the “Sneaksmen” are to the thieves, the lowest of all, being the least
-distinguished for those characteristics which mark the other members
-of the same body. As the “Sneaksmen” are the least daring and expert
-of all the thieves, so are the “Cadgers” the least intellectual and
-cunning of all the cheats. A “shallow cove,” that is to say, one who
-exhibits himself half naked in the streets as a means of obtaining his
-living, is looked upon as the most despicable of all, since the act
-requires neither courage, intellect, nor dexterity for the execution
-of it. The Vagrants, on the other hand, are the wanderers--the English
-Bedouins--those who, in their own words, “love to shake a free
-leg”--the thoughtless and the careless vagabonds of our race; while the
-Prostitutes, as a body, are the shameless among our women.
-
-Such, then, are the characters of the voluntary non-workers, or
-professionally criminal class, the vagrants, beggars, cheats, thieves,
-and prostitutes--each order expressing some different mode of existence
-adopted by those who object to labour for their living. The vagrants,
-who love a roving life, exist principally by declaring on the parish
-funds for the time being; the beggars, as deficient in courage and
-intellect as in pride, prefer to live by soliciting alms of the public;
-the cheats, possessed of considerable cunning and ingenuity, choose
-rather to subsist by continual fraud and deception; the thieves,
-distinguished generally by a hardihood and comparative disregard
-of danger, find greater delight in risking their liberty by taking
-what they want, instead of waiting to have it given them; while the
-prostitutes, as deficient in shame as the beggars are in pride, prefer
-to live by using their charms for the vilest of purposes.
-
-The exposition of the _causes_ why the several species of voluntary
-non-workers object to labour for their living, I shall reserve for a
-future occasion; that they do _object_ to work is patent in the fact
-that they might sustain themselves by their industry if they chose
-(for those who are unable to do so, and are consequently driven to
-dishonesty, have been purposely removed from the class).
-
-The number of individuals belonging to the professional criminal class,
-we are not yet in a position to ascertain; but few dependable facts
-have been collected on the subject, and even these have been obtained
-so many years back that, with the increase of population, they have
-become almost worthless, except in a historic point of view. Such as
-they are, however, it will be as well to add them to this introduction
-to the class of voluntary non-workers, as the best information at
-present existing upon the subject.
-
-
-TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF DEPREDATORS, OFFENDERS, AND SUSPECTED
-PERSONS WHO HAVE BEEN BROUGHT WITHIN THE COGNIZANCE OF THE POLICE IN
-THE YEAR 1837, COMPREHENDING:--
-
- 1. Persons who have no visible means of subsistence, and who are
- believed to live wholly by violation of the law, as by habitual
- depredation, by fraud, by prostitution, &c.
-
- 2. Persons following some ostensible and legal occupation, but who are
- known to have committed an offence, and are believed to augment their
- gains by habitual or occasional violation of the law.
-
- 3. Persons not known to have committed any offences, but known as
- associates of the above classes, and otherwise deemed to be suspicious
- characters.
-
- --------------------------------------------------------+--------------------------------------
- | Metropolitan Police District.
- Character and description of Offenders. +--------+--------+-------+------------
- | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total
- | Class. | Class. | Class.|all Classes.
- --------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+-------+------------
- { Burglars | 77 | 22 | 8 | 107
- RAMPSMEN[14] { Housebreakers | 59 | 17 | 34 | 110
- { Highway robbers | 19 | 8 | 11 | 38
- |---- 155|--- 47|--- 53|---- 255
- | | | |
- MOBSMEN Pickpockets | 544| 75| 154| 773
- | | | |
- SNEAKSMEN Common thieves | 1667| 1338 652| 3657
- | | | |
- { Horse stealers | 7 | 4 | | 11
- ANIMAL STEALERS { Cattle stealers | | | |
- { Dog stealers | 45 | 48 | 48| 141
- |---- 52|--- 52| |---- 152
- | | | |
- { [15]Forgers | | 3 | | 3
- SHOFULMEN { [15]Coiners | 25 | 1 | 2 | 28
- { Utterers of base coin | 202 | 54 | 61 | 317
- |---- 227|--- 58|--- 63|---- 348
- | | | |
- { [15]Obtainers of goods by false pretences| 33 |108 | | 141
- FLATCATCHERS { [15]Persons committing frauds of any | | | |
- { other description | 23 |118 | 41| 182
- |---- 56|--- 226| |---- 323
- | | | |
- Receivers of stolen goods | 51| 158| 134| 343
- | | | |
- [15]Habitual disturbers of the public | | | |
- peace | 723| 1866| 179| 2768
- | | | |
- Vagrants | 1089| 186| 20| 1295
- | | | |
- CADGERS { [15]Begging-letter writers | 12 | 17 | 21 | 50
- { Bearers of begging-letters | 22 | 40 | 24 | 86
- |---- 34|--- 57|--- 45|---- 136
- | | | |
- { [15]Prostitutes, well-dressed, living in | | | |
- { brothels | 813 | 62 | 20 | 895
- PROSTITUTES {[15]Prostitutes, well-dressed, walking the| | | |
- { streets |1460 | 79 | 73 |1612
- { Prostitutes, low, infesting low | | | |
- neighbourhoods |3533 |147 |184 |3864
- |----5806|--- 288|--- 277|---- 6371
- | | | |
- [15]Classes not before enumerated | 40| 2| 438| 470
- | | | |
- Total | 10,444| 4353| 2104| 16,901
- --------------------------------------------------------+--------+--------+-------+-----------
-
-The estimate made for five of the principal provincial towns in the
-same year was as follows:--
-
-
-TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF DEPREDATORS, OFFENDERS, AND SUSPECTED
-PERSONS BROUGHT WITHIN THE COGNIZANCE OF THE POLICE OF THE
-UNDERMENTIONED DISTRICTS, IN THE YEAR 1837.
-
- -------------------------------------+-----------------------------------+----------+-----------
- | | |
- | Number of Depredators, Offenders, | | Proportion
- | and Suspected Persons. | Average | of
- District or Place. | | Length | known bad
- +--------+--------+--------+--------+ of | Characters
- | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | | Career. | to the
- | Class. | Class. | Class. | Total. | |Population.
- -------------------------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+----------+-----------
- Metropolitan Police District | 10,444 | 4353 | 2104 | 16,901 | 4 yrs. | 1 in 89
- Borough of Liverpool | 3,580 | 916 | 215 | 4,711 | ...... | 1 in 45
- City and County of Bristol | 1,935 | 1190 | 356 | 3,481 | ...... | 1 in 31
- City of Bath | 284 | 470 | 847 | 1,601 | ...... | 1 in 37
- Town and County of Newcastle-on-Tyne | 1,730 | 222 | 62 | 2,014 |2-1/4 yrs.| 1 in 27
- +--------+--------+--------+--------+ |
- Total | 17,973 | 7151 | 3584 | 28,708 | |
- -------------------------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+----------+-----------
-
-By the above table it will be seen that, in 1837, there were 28,708
-persons of known bad character, infesting five of the principal towns
-in England: nearly 18,000 of the entire number had no visible means of
-subsistence, and were believed to live wholly by depredation; 7000 were
-believed to augment their gains by habitual or occasional violation
-of the law; and 3500 were known to be associates of the others, and
-otherwise deemed suspicious characters. According to the average
-proportion of these persons to the population, there would have been
-in the other large towns nearly 32,000 persons of a similar class, and
-upwards of 69,000 of such persons dispersed throughout the rest of the
-country. Adding these together, we have as many as 130,000 individuals
-of known bad character in England and Wales, _without_ the walls of the
-prisons.
-
-To form an accurate notion of the total number of the criminal
-population at the above period, we must add to the preceding amount the
-number of persons resident _within_ the walls of the prisons. These, at
-the time of taking the last census, amounted to 19,888, which, added
-to the 130,000 above enumerated, gives within a fraction of 150,000
-individuals for the entire criminal population of the country, as known
-to the police in 1837.
-
-Let us now, for a moment, turn our attention to the number and cost of
-the honest and dishonest poor throughout England and Wales. Mr. Porter,
-usually no mean authority upon all matters of a statistical nature,
-tells us, in his “Progress of the Nation,” p. 530, that “the proportion
-of persons in the United Kingdom who pass their time without applying
-to any gainful occupation is quite _inconsiderable!_ Of 5,800,000
-males of 20 years and upwards living at the time of the census of 1831,
-there were said to be engaged in some calling or profession 5,450,000,
-thus leaving unemployed only 350,000, or rather less than six per
-cent.” “The number of unemployed adult males in Great Britain in 1841,”
-he afterwards informs us, “was only 274,000 and odd.”
-
-But this statement gives us no accurate idea of the number of persons
-subsisting by charity or crime, for the author of the “Progress of
-the Nation,” strange to say, wholly excludes from his calculation the
-mass of individuals maintained by the several parishes, as well as
-the criminals, almspeople, and lunatics throughout the country! Now,
-according to the Report of the Poor-law Commissioners, the number of
-paupers receiving in and out-door relief, in 1848, was no less than
-1,870,000 and odd. The number of criminals and suspicious characters
-throughout the country, in 1837, we have seen, was 150,000. In 1844 the
-number of lunatics in county asylums was 4000 and odd; while, according
-to the occupation abstract of the population returns there were in 1841
-upwards of 5000 almspeople, 1000 beggars, and 21,000 pensioners. These,
-formed into one sum, give us no less than 2,000,000 of individuals
-living upon the income of the remainder of the population. By the above
-computation, therefore, we see that, out of a total of 16,000,000
-souls, in England and Wales, one-eighth, or twelve per cent. of the
-whole, continue their existence either by pauperism, mendicancy, or
-crime.
-
-Now, the cost of this immense mass of vice and want is even more
-appalling than the number of individuals subsisting in such utter
-degradation. The total amount of money levied in 1848 for the
-relief of the poor throughout England and Wales, was 7,400,000_l._
-But, exclusive of this amount, the magnitude of the sum that we give
-voluntarily towards the support and education of the poorer classes,
-is unparalleled in the history of any other nation, or of any other
-time. According to the summary of the returns annexed to the voluminous
-reports of the Charity Commissioners, the rent of the land and other
-fixed property, together with the interest of the money left for
-charitable purposes in England and Wales, amounts to 1,200,000_l._
-a year; and it is believed that, by proper management, this return
-might be increased to an annual income of at least two millions of
-money. “And yet,” says Mr. MʻCulloch, “there can be no doubt that
-even this large sum falls far below the amount expended every year in
-voluntary donations to charitable establishments. Nor can any estimate
-be formed,” he adds, “of the money given in charity to individuals,
-but in the aggregate it cannot fail to amount to an immense sum.” All
-things considered, therefore, we cannot be very far from the truth, if
-we assume the sums _voluntarily_ subscribed towards the relief of the
-poor to equal, in the aggregate, the total amount raised by assessment
-for the same purpose (the income from voluntary subscriptions to the
-_metropolitan_ charities alone equals 1,000,000_l._ and odd); so that
-it would appear that the well-to-do amongst us expend the vast sum
-of 15,000,000_l._ per annum in mitigating the miseries of their less
-fortunate brethren.
-
-But though it may be said that we give altogether 15,000,000_l._ a
-year to alleviate the distress of those who want or suffer, we must
-remember that this vast sum expresses not only the liberal extent of
-our sympathy, but likewise the fearful amount of want and suffering,
-on the one hand, and of excess and luxury on the other, that there
-must be in the land. If the poorer classes require fifteen millions to
-be added in charity every year to their aggregate income in order to
-relieve their pains and privations, and the richer can afford to have
-the same immense sum taken from theirs, and yet scarcely feel the loss,
-it shows at once how much the one class must have in excess and the
-other in deficiency. Whether such a state of things is a necessary evil
-connected with the distribution of wealth, this is not the place for me
-to argue. All I have to do here is to draw attention to the fact. It is
-for others to lay bare the cause, and, if possible, discover the remedy.
-
-There still remains, however, to be added to the sum expended in
-voluntary or compulsory relief of the poor, the cost of our criminal
-and convict establishments at home and abroad. This, according to the
-Government estimates, amounts to very nearly 1,000,000_l._; then there
-is the value of the property appropriated by the 150,000 habitual
-criminals, and this, at 10_s._ a week per head, amounts to very nearly
-4,000,000_l._; so that, adding these items to the sum before-mentioned,
-we have, in round numbers, the enormous amount of 20,000,000_l._
-per annum as the cost of the paupers and criminals of this country;
-and, reckoning the national income, with Mr. MʻCulloch and others,
-at 350,000,000_l._, it follows that the country has to give upwards
-of five per cent. out of its gross earnings every year to support
-those who are either incapable or unwilling to obtain a living for
-themselves.
-
-
-
-
-OF THE PROSTITUTE CLASS GENERALLY.
-
-
-We have now seen that the two modes of obtaining a living other than
-by working for it are, by forcibly or stealthily appropriating the
-proceeds of another’s labour, or else by seducing the more industrious
-or thrifty to part with a portion of their gains. Prostitution,
-professionally resorted to, belongs to the latter class, and consists,
-when adopted as a means of subsistence without labour, in inducing
-others, by the performance of some immoral act, to render up a portion
-of their possessions. Literally construed, prostitution is the
-putting of anything to a vile use; in this sense perjury is a species
-of prostitution, being an unworthy use of the faculty of speech;
-so, again, bribery is a prostitution of the right of voting; while
-prostitution, specially so called, is the using of her charms by a
-woman for immoral purposes. This, of course, may be done either from
-mercenary or voluptuous motives; be the cause, however, what it may,
-the act remains the same, and consists in the base perversion of a
-woman’s charms--the surrendering of her virtue to criminal indulgence.
-Prostitution has been defined to be the illicit intercourse of the
-sexes; but illicit is unlicensed, and the mere sanctioning of an
-immoral act could not dignify it into a moral one. Such a definition
-would make the criminality of the act to consist solely in the absence
-of the priest’s licence.
-
-In Persia there are no professional prostitutes permitted; but though
-the priest’s sanction there precedes the surrendering of the woman’s
-virtue in every instance, still the same immoral perversion takes
-place--it being customary for couples to be wedded for a small sum by
-the priest in the evening, and divorced by him, for an equally small
-sum, in the morning. Here, then, we find the licensed intercourse
-assuming the same immoral cast as the unlicensed; for surely none
-will maintain that these nuptial ephemeræ are sanctified, because
-accompanied with a priestly licence. Nor can we, on the other hand,
-assert that the mere fact of continence in the association of the
-sexes, the persistence of the female to one male, or the continued
-endurance of an unsanctioned attachment, can ever be raised into
-anything purer than cohabitation, or the chastity of unchastity.
-
-Prostitution, then, does not consist solely in promiscuous intercourse,
-for she who confines her favours to one may still be a prostitute; nor
-does it consist in illicit or unsanctioned intercourse, for, as we have
-seen, the intercourse may be sanctioned and still be prostitution to
-all intents and purposes. Nor can it be said to consist solely in the
-mercenary motives so often prompting to the commission of the act; for
-fornication is expressly that form of prostitution which is the result
-of illicit attachment.
-
-In what, then, it may be asked, _does_ prostitution consist? It
-consists, I answer, in what the word literally expresses--putting
-a woman’s charms to vile uses. The term _whore_ has, strictly, the
-same signification as that of _prostitute_; though usually supposed
-to be from the Saxon verb _hyrian_, to hire, and, consequently, to
-mean a woman whose favours can be procured for a reward. But the
-Saxon substantive _hure_, is the same word as the first syllable of
-_hor-cwen_, which signifies literally a filthy quean, a _har_-lot.
-Now the term _hor_, in _hor-cwen_, is but another form of the Saxon
-adjective _horig_, filthy, dirty, the Latin equivalent of which is
-_sor_-didus; hence the substantive _horines_ means filthiness, and
-_horingas_, adulterers (or filthy people), and _hornung_, adultery,
-fornication, whoredom (or filthy acts). Prostitution and whoredom,
-then, have both the same meaning, viz., perversion to vile or _filthy_
-uses; and consist in the surrendering of a woman’s virtue in a manner
-that excites _our moral disgust_. The offensiveness of the act of
-unchastity to the moral taste or sense constitutes the very essence
-of prostitution; and it is this moral offensiveness which often makes
-the licensed intercourse of the sexes, as in the marriage of a young
-girl to an old man, for the sake of his money, as much an act of
-prostitution as even the grossest libertinism.
-
-The next question consequently becomes, what are the invariable
-antecedents which excite the moral disgust in every act of
-prostitution? or are there any such invariable antecedents
-characterizing each offensive perversion of a woman’s charms? Is the
-offensiveness a mere matter of taste, differing according as the moral
-palates of the individuals or races may differ one from the other, and
-ultimately referable to some peculiar form of organization, convention,
-fashion, or geography? or is it a part of the inherent constitution of
-things?--in a word, is there an abstract chastity and unchastity; an
-erotic τὸ καλὸν and τὸ κακὸν; an universal standard of moral beauty and
-ugliness in woman--that, go where you will, is the same to all natures
-and in all countries? or is the vice of one set of people the virtue of
-another, as this race admires white teeth and that black?
-
-This is a matter lying, as it were, across the very threshold of the
-subject, and which must necessarily, according as one or other view
-be taken, give a wholly different cast, not only to all our thoughts
-in connection with the evil, but to all our plans for the remedy of
-it. If prostitution be loathsome to us, merely because it is the moral
-fashion of our people that it should be so, then by popularizing new
-forms of thought and feeling among us may we remove all opprobrium from
-the act, and so put an end to all the moral evil in connection with it;
-but if it be naturally and innately offensive to every healthy mind,
-then can it be remedied solely by improving the tone of the thoughts
-and feelings of the depraved, and restoring the lost moral sense, as
-well as directing the perverted taste to more wholesome and beautiful
-objects.
-
-To solve this part of the problem, then, it will be necessary that
-we should take as comprehensive a view of the subject as possible,
-collecting a large and multifarious body of facts, and examining
-the matter from almost every conceivable point of view. It will be
-necessary that we should regard it by the light of the early ages of
-society--that we should contemplate it amid all the primitive rudeness
-of barbaric life--and ultimately that we should study it under the many
-varied phases that it assumes in civilized communities.
-
-For the better performance of this task I have availed myself of the
-services and assistance of my friend, Mr. Horace St. John, whom I shall
-now leave to lay before the reader the many curious and interesting
-facts which he has collected at my request in connection with the
-ancient and foreign part of the subject, after which I shall return to
-the consideration of that branch of the general inquiry connected more
-immediately with the prostitution of this country.
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN ANCIENT STATES: GENERAL VIEW.
-
-In the following inquiry, though the chief object will be to ascertain
-the extent and character of the prostitute class of women, it will be
-necessary to indicate generally the condition of the sex in various
-ages, and among different nations. This will afford a comparative view
-of the subject. It is impossible to form a judgment on the condition
-of this class, and its influence on society, without learning in what
-degree of estimation morality is viewed by a people; what position in
-the social scale is occupied by their women; at what price chastity
-is held; and what are the relative stations of the sexes. To afford
-a correct idea of this, in plain, popular language, is the task to
-which we now apply ourselves; and we commence with the ancient states
-whose institutions have, in a greater or less degree, influenced those
-of all others, in every later age. It is necessary to maintain a
-distinction between those countries where marriage was an institution,
-and those--if they are not quite fabulous--at least savage communities
-where the intercourse of men with women is looser than that of beasts.
-
-Far as we can trace the history of society we discover no state without
-the blemish of prostitution. In some it was more, in others less
-prevalent; but in all it existed in one form or another. In examining
-the manners of the ancient nations, Hebrews, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans,
-Celts, and Anglo Saxons, we find women who degraded themselves from
-vanity, lust, or for gain; and, among the old communities of the East,
-less known to us, public immorality was a characteristic. We shall
-show this to have been the case, and, basing our statements on the
-most creditable authority, indicate the principal features of each
-system. The information, it is true, which has been bequeathed to us,
-and elucidated by the learning and diligence of numerous scholars, is
-far from complete; but enough may be collected among the antiquities
-of Israel, Greece, Rome, and Egypt, to establish a fair opinion. The
-general design of this inquiry will be to draw a view of the position
-occupied by the female sex in different ages and countries, to measure
-the estimation in which it was held, to fix the accepted standard of
-morality, to ascertain the recognised significance of the marriage
-contract, the laws relating to polygamy and concubinage, the value
-at which feminine virtue and modesty were held, and thus to consider
-the prostitute in relation to the system of which she formed a part.
-_She_ will be the particular object of investigation; but the others
-are by no means unimportant. They are, indeed, necessary to a just and
-comprehensive view of the question before us. In a society where men
-lived in brutal promiscuousness with the women, prostitution could
-scarcely exist; where chastity was lightly esteemed, and marriage
-held to be a loose contract for social purposes, adultery could
-hardly be very full of shame. In this, therefore, as in all other
-inquiries, it is necessary to view the actual object in relation to
-others which are invariably connected with it. There is no universal,
-unvarying standard, by which even prostitution can be measured.
-Circumstances, not belonging, yet not entirely foreign to it, are to
-be considered. Consequently, while we hold that in view as the main
-ground of research, we shall, where materials allow, draw a sketch of
-the situation occupied by the female sex, and of the other traits of
-civilization to which we have referred.
-
-In a general view, Greece and Rome, with the great city of Babylon,
-stand most prominently forward with their system of prostitution.
-Closer inquiry, however, induces us to hesitate before assigning
-them that distinction. Of the two classical states especially, it is
-because our information is more immediate and complete, that their
-public immorality is more remarkable. The poets of the earlier, and
-the historians of the later, period, have transmitted to us numerous
-accounts of the manners and customs of Greece and Rome; their painters
-have left us views,--their architects and sculptors, monuments of
-their civilization. Their moralists and satirists have enlarged on the
-prevalent vices, and from all these sources we are enabled to derive
-clearer ideas of their women, and especially their prostitution.
-Besides, in a polished state, with pure manners the prostitute class
-will always be more distinct, and therefore more conspicuous.
-
-Babylon, far more than a thousand years ago, was a proverb of
-immorality. Her name and the name of Whore have been associated ideas,
-not on account only of the idolatry practised by her people, but on
-account of their licentious manners. Concerning Egypt, though Diodorus
-and Herodotus wrote of it, little is known; of the marriage ceremony
-absolutely nothing. The prostitutes are not described; but, from every
-trace and record of their civilization which has been preserved, it
-is evident that a large class addicted itself to this calling. Who
-were the public musicians, disreputable in the eyes of all other
-persons?--who were the dancers who performed their wanton feats at the
-entertainments of the rich, and stripped themselves half, or entirely,
-naked before their couches?--who were the drunken women, who bared
-their bodies, and capered in that state on the Nile boats, during the
-festival of Bubastis?--who were they who assisted at the sacerdotal
-orgies, which defiled the temples of ancient Egypt?--who could they
-have been, but women of abandoned character, who prostituted themselves
-for vile purposes, for gain or pleasure?
-
-Among the Jews, again, the continually reiterated allusions to harlots,
-in the Scriptures, the abominations perpetually charged to their
-account, the threats pronounced upon their wickedness, the frequent
-allusions to their licentious manners, indicate a wide prevalence of
-this system. Among a people so commonly guilty of nameless crimes,
-we cannot expect to find chastity a peculiar virtue. Indeed, it is
-seldom such vices are practised until all the inferior offences against
-decency have become insipid through satiety. The writers, therefore,
-who parade before us the civilization of the Jews, as an example of
-public morality, base their conclusions on a strange interpretation of
-facts. To contrast them with the manners of Attic Greece, is a pure
-satire on common sense. Sparta was licentious, but not in the low and
-gross manner of the Jews. Athens harboured a licentious class; but none
-like those bestial voluptuaries among the Hebrews, in whom lust became
-a loathsome passion. Although, therefore, the actual manners of ancient
-Israel have been less vividly described than those of Greece, it is
-evident from the tenour of Scripture history, that morality there was
-less pure than in the Attic state.
-
-Rome, under the republic, was, perhaps, still farther removed from
-the charge of corruption. Prostitutes it had, and brothels; but its
-women were generally virtuous. The chastity of the Roman matron has
-passed into a proverb. It was, however, if we may credit the historian
-Tacitus, exceeded by the modesty of the women in ancient Germany. Among
-them morals appear purged of licentiousness. Polygamy was forbidden,
-and practised only by the petty kings who set themselves above the law.
-The manners of the people, rather than the enactments of their code,
-prohibited divorce. Adultery, rare as it was, ranked as an inexpiable
-crime; while seduction was condemned, and prostitution unknown. It was
-not, however, the severity of the law which enforced the virtue; it
-was the virtue that imparted its spirit to the law. From the morals
-of ancient Germany, the lawgivers of society might learn many useful
-lessons. Bars and bolts, multiplied walls, troops of eunuchs, jealous
-lattices, and the dread of punishment, failed to guard the harems of
-the East; while the hut of the German barbarian, open on all sides,
-was impregnable against the seducer. The poor toy of the Persian’s
-seraglio, protected by a hundred devices, often eluded them all; but
-the German women were the guardians of their own honour. They may be
-described as possessing all the virtues, without the vices, of the
-stern Spartan stock; and, living on terms of equality with the men,
-held their virtue at too dear a price to prostitute it for admiration,
-or lust, or money. Civilization, in this respect, has done the Germans
-a very ill office.
-
-Allied to these fierce wanderers in the Hyrcynian wood were the Saxons,
-from whom our ancestors descended. We shall find among them, on their
-native soil, similar manners, especially in the circumstance of the
-adulteress being whipped without mercy through the village. Among
-them prevailed, however, an enlightened reverence for the female sex,
-which contrasted strongly with the ideas of many surrounding nations,
-who looked on a woman as a creature merely dedicated to the service
-and gratification of man. They brought over to England institutions
-susceptible of being moulded to a different form. They became more
-refined and less moral. Whenever, indeed, rude men, who have not given
-themselves up to the indulgence of their low physical appetites, turn
-from the chase, from war, and similar rough occupations, to the framing
-of laws, to the formation of society, to any intellectual exercise, it
-appears natural that other propensities should be awakened in them,
-and of these the sensual always form a part. It is, consequently,
-interesting to study the progress of manners from stage to stage of
-civilization, from the rudest tribe to the most refined community.
-
-We shall occupy ourselves first with the Hebrew republic, and then
-with the monarchy which succeeded it. From Israel we proceed to Egypt,
-related to it in various ways. Thence our attention will be directed
-to Greece, which offered models to the statesmen and public economists
-of all time. The contrast between the Ionic and the Doric states will
-be presented. Then we shall proceed to Rome, which will lead us to the
-Anglo-Saxons, others being incidentally noticed by the way.
-
-In all, as far as our limits and our materials will allow, a sketch
-of the condition of women, the national ideas of feminine virtue,
-the laws of marriage, and the extent of prostitution, will be given;
-and thus the reader will be prepared to enter on the wider field of
-modern society abroad. This will be divided into the barbarous and the
-civilized; and of the barbarous, the hunters, fishers, shepherds, and
-tillers of the soil, may be separately noticed.
-
-The account of every ancient people will not be equally complete,
-because the sources of information are not so. Thus of Egypt, its
-marriage-customs are wholly unknown; of the Anglo-Saxons, although the
-learning and industry of Sharon Turner have been employed upon them,
-our knowledge is extremely imperfect. Even Rome and Greece, though
-they present us with the general features of their social systems,
-disappoint us when we search into details. Nevertheless, the reader
-may be enabled, as we have before said, to form a just idea of the
-condition of women in antiquity; for the researches of modern scholars
-have succeeded, at least, in laying bare the principal roots of the
-ancient system, upon which all the institutions of existing society
-are, in one form or another, established.
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION AMONG THE JEWS AND OTHER ANCIENT NATIONS.
-
-A slight and rapid view of the subject in connection with the Jews, and
-more obscure nations of antiquity, is all that can here be attempted.
-With reference to the republic of the Hebrew race, though the ingenuity
-of modern writers has built up very pleasing theories, described as the
-manners and customs of the Jews, we can look nowhere for information
-except to the Bible, and, in a later age, to Josephus.
-
-The position of woman among the Jews was by no means exalted. She was
-seldom consulted by her friends, when an union with her was desired
-by a wealthy suitor. Indeed, in the patriarchal times she was regarded
-more as her husband’s property than as his companion. Such must
-invariably be the case where polygamy and concubinage are institutions
-of society. At a still earlier period the customs of society were even
-more at variance with our ideas. Of course the sons of Adam must have
-married their sisters, and the practice continued after the necessity
-for it had ceased. Abraham formed such an union without exciting
-surprise. The patriarchs permitted men to wed two sisters at once,
-but the law of Moses brought a reform of marriage customs among the
-Jews[16]. They discontinued the intercourse between blood-relatives
-long before it was abandoned by the surrounding nations. Marriages
-with sisters not by the same mother were forbidden in the Mosaic code.
-Previously, however, none were unlawful except those of a man with his
-mother, or mother-in-law, or full sister. In the new dispensation the
-widow of a deceased brother was placed within the prohibited degree of
-consanguinity.
-
-The laws against adultery were severe; death was ordained for both
-the guilty persons, and the punishment appears always to have been by
-stoning. Many victims, doubtless, perished under this cruel code; but
-the example of Jesus Christ gave a new lesson to mankind. The woman was
-brought before him, and the Jews claimed her condemnation. They asked
-him “should she be stoned.” Had he said no, they might have charged
-him with favouring adultery, and denying the Mosaic law; had he said
-yes, the Romans might have impeached him, for they had assumed the
-distribution of justice, and abolished the punishment of death for
-adultery. But he evaded their malice, and gave the law of mercy. “Let
-him that is without sin among you cast the first stone.” They all went
-out, and when he was alone with her he said, “Hath no man condemned
-thee?” She answered, “No man, Lord.” And he again said, “_Neither do I
-condemn thee--go, and sin no more_.”
-
-That sentence should ever be in remembrance when we frame our moral
-code.
-
-Adultery, however, was a crime only to be committed with a married
-woman, or one who was betrothed. The man’s marriage placed him under no
-obligation to abstain from intercourse with other than his wife. Wives
-to the number of four were allowed, while concubinage was unlimited.
-The first wife, however, was superior to the others. Jealousy,
-therefore, among the Jewish women could not have been a powerful
-feeling. Indeed we find strong proofs to the contrary. When Sarah found
-herself barren, she gave Hagar, her Egyptian maid, to Abraham, as a
-concubine or inferior wife. Other women, frequently, on discovering
-themselves to be sterile, begged their husbands to procure another
-companion of the bed, that they might not die childless. Similar
-instances are common in the social history of the East.
-
-Marriage with an idolater was forbidden; but a man might marry a
-proselyte captive. When he saw a beautiful woman among his prisoners
-of war, he was to take her home, shave her head, pare her nails,
-change her raiment into that of a free person, and as he had _humbled_
-her, was forbidden to make merchandise of her again. The possession,
-nevertheless, of two wives by a private individual was a rare thing.
-Popular feeling was generally averse to it. The personages who most
-commonly practised it were the great men and kings, who were most
-expressly prohibited. In the Book of Deuteronomy, when the degraded
-Israelites had clamoured for a king, the law was given, “Neither
-shall he multiply wives to himself, so that his heart turn not away.”
-No command was more frequently broken in the palaces of Israel.
-David had an immense harem; it seemed to be reckoned among the
-regalia. Solomon, who married Pharaoh’s daughter, had seven hundred
-wives--princesses--and three hundred concubines; but we find that he
-“did evil in the sight of the Lord,” and that “his heart was turned
-away.”
-
-Respecting the children born to these parents there was a change in
-the law. In _Genesis_ a man was allowed to transfer the inheritance
-to a favourite child; but, probably from the many flagitious actions
-committed, it was in Deuteronomy ordained, that if a man had two wives,
-of whom he hated one and loved the other--each bearing a child, the
-first-born, whether of the loved or the hated woman, should enjoy the
-right of inheritance.
-
-From all the passages in Scripture referring to this subject, it
-appears that women among the Jews held but an indifferent position,
-being made the subject of barter, and that marriage was not a sacred
-but a civil institution,--a legal bond, which might be broken by a
-legal act. Matches were usually made by the woman’s kindred, she
-herself being a secondary actor in the transaction.
-
-Throughout the Bible, notwithstanding, we find women held by the
-inspired writers in great respect, their treatment by the rebellious
-Jews, as they sank through various degrees of corruption, being
-continually set forth among the abominations practised by that
-flagitious people.
-
-In the Scriptures we discover innumerable references to women, and to
-prostitutes in particular; but, collecting and comparing them all, we
-find for our present purpose materials by no means abundant: there is
-no exact information. Prostitutes, we know, existed, and we are told
-in what estimation they were held; that they stood at the corners of
-streets, that they practised many seductive arts, and sold themselves
-at a very cheap rate: but how many they were, how they lived, what was
-the nature of their places of resort, we are left uninformed, or guided
-only by obscure allusions. Nevertheless, sufficient is known upon which
-to base a view of the condition of women, and the extent of morality
-among the most ancient nation recognised in history.
-
-In the book of Genesis, whence we obtain our first glimpses of the
-social history of mankind, we find interesting, though imperfect,
-sketches of a curious state of society. We meet, even so early as
-this, with a woman wearing a veil, not taking her meals in company
-with men, living in separate apartments, and presenting a model of the
-system still prevalent in the East. Simplicity and luxury in strange
-combination characterized the manners of that remote age. Their morals
-appear to have been at all times gross; and one of the principal tasks
-of legislation was to restrain the licentiousness to which the people
-were so prone to abandon themselves. Many barbarous races present at
-this day social institutions similar to those of the Jews, whence many
-writers have traced them to that stock. It is more probable, however,
-that similar manners grow out of a similar condition.
-
-Several writers, we know, contend for the purity of manners among the
-Jews, and point to the rigid laws which ruled them. The social history
-of mankind, however, if it proves anything, proves this, that it is
-not by any means the nation with the severest code which is the most
-virtuous. Examples of the contrary might be multiplied. No state,
-savage or civilized, could ever have more rigorous laws than Achin and
-Japan, and nowhere have the people been more flagitious. While the
-Draconic code was in force, morals in Greece went to rot. Consequently,
-if we are to consider the Jews to have been a moral people, it must
-certainly not be on the ground of their severe laws. Arguing from that,
-a contrary inference should be drawn. The direct evidence, however,
-tends the other way. Chastity appears to have been by no means a
-favourite virtue. Not to allude to the unnatural abominations mentioned
-in the Bible, it is certain that there existed a considerable class
-of public women, who prostituted themselves to any one for a certain
-reward.
-
-The story of Tamar is a curious illustration of this subject. To impose
-on Judah, and bear a child by him, and in spite of him, she assumes the
-habit and appearance of a regular prostitute. She then goes out, and
-sitting down by the highway covers her face. Judah thought her to be
-a harlot, “because she covered her face,” which, as the commentators
-tell us, it was the custom for such women to do, as among the same
-class of females in Persia, in mimicry of a shame they did not feel.
-Judah speaks to her, and says, “Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto
-thee.” She answers, “What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in
-unto me!” He promises to give her a kid from his flock, but she demands
-a pledge; this he gave, and went with her.
-
-The circumstance is related in a manner which seems to show that the
-practice was common with men, nor does any particular disgrace appear
-to attach to it. When, however, Judah learns that his daughter-in-law
-Tamar is “with child by whoredom,” he condemns her to the punishment of
-death by burning, on the secret being at length revealed to him[17].
-We have here a singular illustration of manners among the primitive
-tribes of that great family of mankind. The corruption of manners
-reached, it is probable, a high degree before the laws were given.
-
-Where concubinage was practised, feminine virtue could not be held as
-a precious possession. The intercourse accordingly of a married man
-with an unmarried woman was esteemed simply as a proof of deficient
-chastity. At the same time, the encouragement of prostitution, or
-“the feeding of whores,” is denounced as the conduct of foolish
-and profligate men, who unwisely waste their substance. The class
-of prostitutes was held in very low esteem; they were, in general,
-foreigners and heathens, and are spoken of usually as “strange women.”
-Delilah, who beguiled Sampson, was probably a Philistine, though it is
-not certain that she was not an Israelite. At any rate, there appear
-to have been many Jewish women, of the lowest order, who followed this
-degrading occupation. To render them as few as possible, a law was
-passed forbidding men, under severe penalties, from bringing up their
-daughters to prostitution for gain. Legislation, however, could not
-entirely restrain the vicious from such a course of life.
-
-Apparently the prostitutes, among the Jews, sometimes obtained
-husbands. Priests, however, were forbidden on any account to marry
-a harlot, or indeed any woman with even a breath of imputation on
-her fame. For the daughter of a priest, who took to the calling of
-a prostitute, the punishment was death by burning. For any woman it
-was infamous, but in spite of what was laid down in the law, or by
-the public opinion of the Jews, cities never wanted prostitutes, and
-women walked the streets, or stood in groups at the corners, ready to
-entrap the young men who came forth in quest of pleasure. Among the
-exhortations of parents to their sons, and of patriarchs to youth, we
-always find an injunction to beware of strange women, which implies a
-considerable prevalence of the system. The readers of the Bible will
-at once remember the many passages of this kind contained in that
-volume[18].
-
-With respect to prostitution among the Jews, an illustration is
-afforded by the story of the two mothers who came before Solomon for
-judgment. They were _harlots_, though bearing children, and they
-said they dwelt in one house, and “there was no stranger with us in
-the house.” Another is afforded by the account of the two men whom
-Joshua sent out as spies. They came into a harlot’s house at Rabbah--a
-brothel, in fact, where, as at Rome in the Imperial age, the woman sat
-impudently, without a veil, at the door, and solicited the passers
-by. They wore peculiar clothing. In addition to the vile customs of
-the East, we find, “Thou shalt not bring into the temple the price of
-a whore.” This was to guard against the introduction of a practice
-not uncommon among some ancient and modern nations, of the priests
-enriching themselves and their temple by hiring out prostitutes[19].
-
-Another state, known to us from Scripture, is Babylon, surnamed the
-Whore, as well from its profligacy as its idolatry. The one, indeed,
-was accompanied by the other. Luxury and debauch were carried to
-the highest excess. The Temple of Venus,--a goddess known there as
-Mylitta,--was sacred to prostitution. The priests had, in immemorial
-time, invented a law that every woman should once in her life present
-herself at the temple, and prostitute her body to any stranger who
-might desire it. Consecrated by religion, this act appeared odious to
-few of the Babylonian citizens. The woman came, dressed brilliantly,
-and crowned with a garland of flowers; she sat down with her companions
-in a place where the strangers who filled the galleries might observe
-and make choice of their victims. Numbers were found always ready
-enough to enjoy the privilege procured for them by the priests. When
-a man had selected one of the women who pleased him most, he came
-down, and making her a present of money, which she was compelled to
-take, took her hand and said, “I implore in thy favour the goddess
-Mylitta!” He then led her to a retired spot and consummated the
-transaction. Having once entered the temple it was impossible for any
-ordinary woman to return home without having prostituted herself.
-Nevertheless, the priests allowed some ladies of rank and wealth to
-make a bargain for their chastity, which they probably desired to
-dispose of more agreeably to their own caprice. These few privileged
-persons went through the ceremonies without performing the usual act of
-prostitution. At the taking of Babylon by Cyrus, men were found ready
-to hire out their daughters and prostitute them for profit, while in
-the Alexandrian age men sent their wives to strangers for a sum of
-money[20].
-
-Throughout the countries of the East, upon the history of which at that
-early period any light has been thrown, we discover the prevalence of
-similar customs. The most celebrated appear the most licentious, but
-probably only because they have been the most strictly investigated.
-The wealthy and luxurious capitals, in which the spoils of great
-conquests were piled up, never failed to supply a sufficient number
-of abandoned women, supported by the looser sort of men, in various
-degrees of position, from penury to splendour. Though circumstances
-of time and place, of religion and civilization, imparted peculiar
-characteristics to the prostitute class of each age and country, the
-general features of the system were invariably the same, and the
-prostitutes of Babylon resembled very much the prostitutes of New
-Orleans and London. We turn next to ancient Egypt, a country of whose
-laws and manners we have had interesting, if not complete, accounts
-bequeathed us.
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN ANCIENT EGYPT.
-
-Turning to ancient Egypt, we find, in the records of that singular
-people, little directly bearing on the question before us. Herodotus,
-and Diodorus the Sicilian, are almost the sole lights which guide
-us in our researches among them. Recently, the labours of a learned
-antiquarian have tended to increase our acquaintance with the people
-of old Egypt, by translating into language the volumes of information
-engraved or painted on the walls of tombs, temples, palaces, and
-monuments, so numerous in the cities on the banks of the Nile. We
-have thus had broad glimpses of the ancient history, the geography,
-population, government, the arts, the industry, and the manners of
-that country at that period; but the extent of the prostitute system
-has not been touched upon. Nevertheless, as one of the most ancient
-civilizations known to history, Egyptian society deserves some
-attention, and it is worth while to glance at the general condition of
-its women, especially as a few facts throw light on the especial point
-of our inquiry.
-
-The position of a woman in ancient Egypt was in some respects
-remarkable. Entire mistress of the household, she exercised
-considerable influence over her husband, and was not subjected to any
-intolerable tyranny. In all countries, however, where concubinage
-is allowed, the condition of the sex must be in a degree degraded.
-Herodotus tells us that the Egyptians married only one wife, Diodorus
-that they married as many as they pleased, the restriction applying
-only to the sacerdotal order. The contradiction may be reconciled
-by supposing that the former writer described the general practice,
-and the latter the permission granted by the law; or, which is more
-probable, that he confounded concubinage with polygamy. From frequent
-allusions to this system we know it was tolerated. Wise laws, however,
-held a check upon the practice. Every child, the fruit of whatever
-union, was to be reared by its parents, infanticide being severely
-punished. Illegitimacy was a term not recognised. The son of the free,
-and the son of the bondwoman, had an equal right to inheritance, the
-father alone being referred to, since the mother was viewed as little
-more than a nurse to her own offspring. Women in Egypt bore numerous
-children, which rendered many concubines a burden too heavy for any but
-the wealthy to bear; nevertheless, some did indulge themselves in this
-manner, procuring young girls from the slave-merchants who came from
-abroad, or captives taken in the field.
-
-In a country where the marriage of brother and sister was allowed,
-we might expect to find curious laws relating to the subject before
-us. But they were not curious, in any particular degree. Adultery was
-punished in the woman by the amputation of her nose, in the man by a
-thousand blows with a stick. The wealthier men were extremely jealous,
-forcing their wives to go barefooted, that they might not wander in
-the streets. Eunuchs, also, were maintained by some. Among classes of
-a lower grade, the women enjoyed peculiar freedom, being allowed to
-take part in certain public festivals, on which occasions they wore
-a transparent veil. Among all sorts and conditions of the sex, the
-drinking of wine was permitted, as it was by the Greeks, though not by
-the Romans; and ladies are occasionally represented on the monuments,
-exhibiting all the evidences of excess.
-
-These observations apply to the respectable female society of ancient
-Egypt. There existed, however, another class, nowhere indeed indicated
-under the term harlot, or prostitute, but evidently such from the
-accounts we have received. If the descriptions transmitted to us of
-the ordinary female society be correct, the women to whom we allude
-could have been no other than public prostitutes. Such were, in all
-probability, those who enlivened the festival of Bubastis, and danced
-at the private entertainments. What ideas of decency prevailed among
-them, may be imagined from the brief though curious account afforded
-by Herodotus. When the time of the festival arrived, men and women
-embarked promiscuously, and in great numbers, on board the vessels
-which conveyed them up or down the river. During the voyage, they
-played on various instruments, and whenever they arrived at a city
-moored the boats. Then some of the women, who could have been no
-other than the Almé of those days[21], played furiously all kinds of
-music, flung off their garments, challenged the women of the town with
-gross insulting language, and outraged decency by their gestures and
-postures. An immense concourse of people assembled on the occasion,
-and a large proportion of them belonged to the female sex. “Some of
-them” only, according to our author, took part in the exhibitions of
-profligacy we have noticed.
-
-The public dancers and musicians of the female sex were also, in all
-probability, members of the sisterhood we allude to. They were, it is
-well known, held in extremely low estimation: they were clothed, like
-the prostitutes of ancient Greece, in a single light garment; indeed,
-from the monuments, it is questionable whether they did not, like
-those in the Roman saturnalia of Flora, dance entirely naked at some
-of the more dissolute private festivals of the wealthy. At any rate,
-their forms are represented so completely undraped, that any garment
-they wore must have been a light veil which clung to the skin, and was
-transparent. But from what we are told of the festival of Bubastis, it
-is by no means improbable that they were actually nude.
-
-In that remote period, fancifully called the age of Sesostris, chastity
-does not appear to have been the capital virtue of society among the
-Egyptians. At least, we must draw this inference if we are to attach
-any significance to traditions or fables, which generally reflect
-some phase of truth. Sesostris, it is said, having offended the gods,
-was struck blind, and ordered to find a woman who had been strictly
-faithful to her husband. He was very long in performing the task, being
-furnished with an unerring rule of judgment. Of course the account is
-an idle fable, yet it is not altogether unworthy of notice, for it
-indicates an opinion as to the chastity of that period[22].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN ANCIENT GREECE.
-
-In the heroic ages of Greece, we find women--on the authority, indeed,
-of poets, the sole historians of those times--enjoying a considerable
-share of liberty, held in much respect, accustomed to self-reliance,
-and allowed freely to mingle with others of their own sex and with men.
-A modest simplicity of manners is ascribed to them, which is wholly
-foreign to modern ideas of refinement. What education they received is
-not well known, though they appear to have been trained to practise
-many of the useful as well as the elegant arts of life; but with
-respect to the morality prevalent among them little exact information
-can be gained. As in the Bible, however, frequent allusion is made to
-harlots and strange women, waiting at the corners of the streets, so
-in the poets of antiquity, passages occur which point to the existence
-of a class, dedicating itself to serve, for gain, the passions of
-men who could not afford marriage, or would not be bound by its
-restrictions. The science of statistics, however, does not seem to have
-been cultivated in those days. We are not told with certainty of the
-population of cities, or even whole countries, and men were not then
-found to calculate how many in a hundred were immoral, or to compare
-the prostitute with the honourable classes of women.
-
-With the commencement of the strictly historical age, though
-statistics are still wanting, there have been collected materials
-from which we may gather fair ideas of the _status_ of women, and the
-position and extent of the prostitute class among them. Beginning
-with Sparta, a very peculiar system displays itself. Among the
-citizens of that celebrated Doric state, women were regarded as
-little more than agencies for the production of other citizens. The
-handsome bull-stranglers of Lacedæmon held exceedingly lax notions
-of morality, and would have considered a delicately chaste woman as
-one characterized by a singular natural weakness. Taught to consider
-themselves more in their capacity of citizens than of women, their
-duty to their husbands, or to their own virtue, occupied always the
-second place. Their education inculcated the practice of immorality.
-All ideas of modesty were by a deliberate public training obliterated
-from their minds. Scourged with the whip when young, taught to wrestle,
-box, and race naked before assemblages of men, their wantonness and
-licentiousness passed every bound. Marriage, indeed, was an institution
-of the state; but no man could call his wife his own. On occasions
-when the male population was away in the field, the women complained
-that there was no chance of children being born, and young men were
-sent back from the camp, to become the husbands of the whole female
-population, married and single.
-
-[Illustration: GREEK DANCING-GIRL--HETAIRA: _Age of Socrates_.
-
-[From “_Costume Antico e Moderno_.”--Milan, 1616.]]
-
-In times of peace, also, the public laws gave every woman a chance
-of becoming what we should in these days term a public prostitute. A
-man without a wife might insist on borrowing for a certain time the
-wife of another. Should her husband resist, the law was called in to
-enforce the demand. It is asserted, indeed, by some, that adultery was
-unknown in Sparta. There was no such offence, in truth, recognised in
-the code. It was common, legal, and occurred every day. At the same
-time, however, it is to be remembered, that the severe laws of Sparta,
-recognising no concessions to the weaker passions of men, allowed these
-things only for state purposes, that citizens might be brought forth.
-There appears to have been no class of prostitutes gaining a livelihood
-by selling their persons to the pleasures of men: the rigorous code of
-the state forbade such sensual indulgences. Women were not allowed,
-apparently, to walk the streets. The young were strictly watched by the
-elders, the elders jealously observed by the young; and any proneness
-to a practice subversive of that vigorous health in the population,
-considered essential to preserve the manhood of Sparta, would have
-been denounced as an attempt to introduce luxury and effeminacy--the
-vices, in their eyes, of slaves. To assert that in the whole state no
-virtuous women, and no public prostitutes, in our sense of the word,
-could be found, would be rash; but it is certain that no authority
-which has come down to us represents chastity as a Spartan virtue,
-or prostitution for money, or from predilection, one of their social
-institutions.
-
-In Athens a wholly different picture is presented. There, and generally
-among the Ionians, the duty of the wife was to preserve a chastity as
-delicate and pure as any which is required in our strictest social
-circle. There, at the same time, the courtezan class existed, and men
-of all descriptions and all ages encouraged prostitution, to which a
-considerable class of women devoted themselves. This is a complete
-contrast with Sparta.
-
-The young girls of Attica were early trained to all the offices of
-religion; they acquired considerable knowledge; their intellectual
-qualities were to some degree developed: they were educated to become
-housekeepers, wives, and mothers, such as we describe under those
-heads. Exercising considerable influence over their male relatives,
-they possessed consequently considerable weight in the community, and
-altogether held a higher position than the women of Sparta. They led
-secluded lives, yet they enjoyed many opportunities of intercourse with
-the other sex; and though, in their theatres, and in their temples,
-indecency of the grossest description was frequently displayed to
-their sight, they seem otherwise to have been somewhat refined in this
-respect. In Sparta, the virgins never hesitated to expose themselves
-naked before any circle of spectators: in Athens they observed at least
-the public forms of decorum, and, with the exception of the Hetairæ or
-prostitute class, were sufficiently modest in their conversation and in
-their behaviour.
-
-Accustomed to be present at public spectacles, to converse with men, to
-share in the performance of ceremonies at religious or civic festivals,
-the women of Athens occupied a position somewhat approaching that
-which we believe is proper to their sex. Marriages, as among us, were
-contracted, some from sentiment, others from interest. We are led
-to form a high idea of the general morality prevailing in the Attic
-states of Greece at an early period, from the exalted view of love, of
-chastity, of matronly duties, urged in the writers of the time. This
-seems a fair measure to employ, since, in a later age, when morals were
-more corrupt, and the regular class of prostitutes might be confounded
-with the general society, the style and sentiment of poets and others
-formed an exact reflex of the prevailing state of morality.
-
-Traditions point to a period in the social history of Greece, when
-men and women dispensed altogether with the ceremony of marriage,
-living not only out of wedlock, but promiscuously, without an idea
-of any permanent compact between two individuals of opposite sexes.
-If such a state of things ever existed, it must have been before any
-regular society was formed, and it is therefore vain to dwell upon
-it. Polygamy, we know, long continued in practice among the Greeks,
-though it was a privilege and a propensity chiefly followed by the
-powerful and rich. In Athens marriage was held sacred. The character
-of a bachelor was disreputable. So, indeed, was it in Sparta, where
-young men remaining single after a certain period might be punished
-for the neglect of a duty exacted from them by the severe laws of
-the state. In both states, but in different degrees, the prohibition
-of marriage within certain limits of consanguinity extended; but
-when once the union took place, it was, in Athens, a crime of great
-enormity to defile its sanctity. The influence of the wife was, in the
-household, powerful; and commanding, as she did, the respect of men,
-the advantages of her position were so great, that to risk their loss
-by a transgression of the moral law, was not a common occurrence. We
-may therefore assign to the women of Athens a high average of morality,
-and consider them as having been held in remarkable estimation.
-
-An important point in the manners of every people is the institution
-of marriage. From an inquiry into its estimation, whether it be held
-a religious rite, or a civil contract, or both, with various other
-circumstances in connection with these, we are aided in forming a just
-idea of the prevalent civilization. In the Doric states of Greece,
-it was esteemed as little more than a prudent ceremony, binding man
-and woman together for purposes of state. As among the savages of
-Australasia, it was the custom for a man to bear a woman forcibly from
-among her companions, when he took her to the bridesmaid’s house, and,
-her hair being cut short and her clothes changed, she was delivered
-to him as wife. His intercourse with her however, was, for some time
-clandestine, and he shunned being seen in her society. This was the
-case with the wealthier maidens. The portionless girls were, from time
-to time, shut up in a dark edifice, and the youths, being introduced,
-accepted each the woman he happened to seize upon. A penalty was
-imposed on any one refusing to abide by the decision of chance.
-
-Occasionally public ceremonies were enacted at the marriages of the
-rich; but from all testimony it appears certain that the union of
-man with woman at Sparta was entirely of a civil, and by no means of
-a sacred character. Private interest, sentiment, and happiness were
-indeed, in this, as in all other matters, subordinate to the public
-exigencies. When a woman had no children by her own husband, she was
-not only allowed, but required by the law to cohabit with another man.
-Anaxandrides, to procure an heir, had, contrary to all custom, two
-wives. The state excused no licentiousness for its own sake, but any
-amount for a public object[23].
-
-In Attic Greece, the ceremony of marriage was viewed in a more poetical
-light, and divinity was supposed to preside over it. We have already
-alluded to the notion of the promiscuous intercourse among them at a
-remote period; but, passing from this fable, we find traces of polygamy
-long discernible. Heracles maintained a regular seraglio. Egeus,
-Pallas, Priam, Agamemnon, and nearly all the chiefs, possessed harems,
-but these were irregularities, contrary to law and custom, and only in
-fashion among royal personages. The story of the two wives of Socrates
-seems a pure invention.
-
-In the Athenian Republic, marriage, being held in reverence, was
-protected by the law. In the later and better known ages, consanguinity
-within certain limits was a bar to such union. Men, however, might
-marry half-sisters by the fathers’ side, though few availed themselves
-of the permission. Betrothed long before marriage by their parents,
-the young man and woman were nevertheless allowed on most occasions to
-consult their own inclinations. Numerous religious rites preceded the
-actual ceremony, and heavenly favour was invoked upon it. The marriage
-was performed at the altar in the temple, where sacrifice was made,
-and a mutual oath of fidelity strengthened by every sacred pledge.
-Adultery was held a debasing crime, and divorce discreditable to man
-and wife[24].
-
-In connection with the subject of marriage is that of infanticide. It
-prevailed among the Greeks, under the sanction of philosophy. Among the
-Thebans and the Tyrrhenians it was, however, unknown. Why? Because they
-were more humane, or moral? Not by any means. They were among the most
-profligate societies of antiquity. It is generally shame which induces
-to child-murder women bearing offspring from illicit intercourse
-with men. Where no disgrace attaches to illegitimate offspring, the
-principal incentive to destroy them is taken away; and in Tyre, where
-female slaves served naked at the table of the rich, and even ladies
-joined the orgies in that condition, modesty was by no means a common
-grace of their sex.
-
-The Thebans, a very gross people, made infanticide a capital crime; but
-allowed the poor to impose on the state, under certain circumstances,
-the burden of their children. In Thrace, the infant, placed in an
-earthen pot, was left to be devoured by wild beasts, or to perish of
-cold and hunger[25].
-
-In Sparta, clandestine infanticide was a crime; but the state often
-performed what it declared a duty, by condemning weakly and delicate
-infants to be flung into a pit. In Athens, on the contrary, it was left
-for desperate women, and cold-blooded men, privately to accomplish
-the act, exposing their children in public places to perish, or to
-claim charity from some wayfarer. Frequently the rich had recourse to
-this, for concealing an intrigue, and left a costly dowry of gold and
-jewels in the earthen jar where they deposited the victim. The temple
-steps sometimes received the foundling; but occasionally they were left
-to die in desert places.
-
-In the flourishing period of the Republic, however, poverty was so
-rare, indeed so unknown, that it seldom exacted these sacrifices from
-the humbler people. Infanticide was then left to the wholly unnatural
-who refused the burden, or the guilty who dreaded the shame, of a child.
-
-But in the female society of that state, there was, as we have said,
-a sisterhood which exercised no inconsiderable influence on public
-manners. These were the Hetairæ, or prostitutes, who occupied much the
-same position which the same class does in most civilized communities
-of modern times. The youthful, beautiful, elegant, polished, and
-graceful, commanded, while their attractions lasted, the favours and
-the deference of wealthy and profligate young men, and, when their
-persons had faded, sank by degrees, until they dragged themselves in
-misery through the streets, glad to procure a meal by indiscriminate
-prostitution, with all who accepted their company. When children
-were born to them, infanticide usually--especially in the case of
-girls--relieved them of the burden.
-
-The position the prostitute class of Athens occupied in relation to the
-other women in the community was peculiar. They entered the temples
-during the period of one particular festival--and in modern countries
-the church is never closed against them; but they were not, as among
-us, allowed to occupy the same place at the theatre with the Athenian
-female citizen. Yet this was not altogether to protect the virtue of
-the woman; it was to satisfy the pride of the citizen, since every
-stranger suffered an equal exclusion from these “reserved seats.”
-Notwithstanding this, however, the courtezans occasionally visited the
-ladies in their own houses, to instruct them in those accomplishments
-in which, from the peculiar tenor of their lives, they were most
-practised, while it appears that both classes mingled at the public
-baths.
-
-The Hetairæ, or prostitute class, exercised undoubtedly an evil
-influence on the society of Athens. They indulged the sensual tastes
-and the vanity of the young, encouraged among them a dissolute manner
-of life, and, while the power of their attractions lasted, led them
-into expensive luxury, which could not fail of an injurious effect
-on the community. The career of the prostitute was, as it is in all
-countries, short, and miserable at its close. While their beauty
-remained unfaded they were puffed up with vanity, carried along by
-perpetual excitement, flattered by the compliments of young men, and
-by the conversation of even the greatest philosophers, and maintained
-in opulence by the gifts of their admirers. Premature age, however,
-always, except in a few celebrated cases, assailed them. They became
-old, ugly, wrinkled, deformed, and full of disease, and might be seen
-crawling through the market places, haggling for morsels of provision,
-amid the jeers and insults of the populace.
-
-In some instances, indeed, there occurred in Athens what occasionally
-happens in all countries. Men took as wives the prostitutes with
-whom they had associated. Even the wise Plato became enamoured of
-Archæanassa, an Hetaira of Ctesiphon. For many of these women were no
-less renowned for the brilliancy of their intellectual qualities than
-for their personal charms. Of Phryne, whose bosom was bared before
-the judges by her advocate, and who sat as a model to the greatest of
-ancient sculptors, all the world has heard. Her statue, of pure gold,
-was placed on a pillar of white marble at Delphi. Aspasia exercised
-at Athens influence equal to that of a queen, attracting round her
-all the characters of the day, as Madame Roland was wont to do in
-Paris. Socrates confessed to have learned from her much in the art
-of rhetoric. Yet these women, harsh as the judgment may appear, were
-common whores, though outwardly refined, and mentally cultivated.
-Instances, indeed, of high public virtue displayed by members of that
-sisterhood, distinguished among the Hetairæ of ancient Greece, are on
-record, and sufficient accounts of them have been transmitted to us to
-show that they were among the male society a recognised and respected
-class, while by the women they were neither abhorred nor considered
-as a pollution to the community. Still, prostitutes they were, to all
-intents and purposes.
-
-The mean, the poor, and faded, were chiefly despised for their ugliness
-and indigence, not for their incontinence. It was, in the Homeric ages,
-as we learn from the Odyssey, held disgraceful for “a noble maiden”
-to lose her chastity. But in Athens, at a later time, chastity in an
-unmarried woman was not held a virtue, the loss of which degraded her
-utterly below the consideration of all other classes, or debarred her
-for ever from any intercourse with the honourable of her own sex. The
-Hetaira was not, it is true, admitted to mingle freely in the society
-of young women; but she was not shut out from all communication with
-them; while among men, if her natural attractions or accomplishments
-were great, she exercised peculiar influence. Consequently, it appears
-that in Athens the superior public prostitute had a _status_ higher
-than that of any woman of similar character in our own day. If we look
-for a comparison to illustrate our meaning, we may find it in many of
-the ladies who at various periods have frequented our court--known but
-not acknowledged prostitutes[26].
-
-In the public judgments of Athens we find, it is true, a penalty or
-fine imposed on “whoredom,”[27] from which, however, the people escaped
-by a variation of terms, calling a whore a mistress, as Plutarch tells
-us. Solon, however, recognised prostitution as a necessary, or at least
-an inevitable evil, for he first built a temple to Aphrodite Pandemos,
-which, truly rendered, means Venus the Prostitute; and his view was
-justified by the declaration that the existence of a prostitute class
-was necessary, in order, as Cato also thought, that the wives and
-daughters of citizens might be safe from the passion which young men
-would, in one way or the other, satiate upon the other sex. Though
-procurers, therefore, were punishable by law, and the Hetairæ were
-obliged to wear coloured or flowered garments, it was enacted in
-the civil code of Athens, that “persons keeping company with common
-strumpets shall not be deemed adulterers, for such shall be common for
-the satiating of lust.”
-
-Brothels, consequently, existed in moderate numbers at Athens, and
-the young men were not discouraged from attending them occasionally.
-There were also particular places in the city where the prostitutes
-congregated, and a Temple of Venus, which was their peculiar resort.
-We find in the poets passages, indeed, advocating the support of
-whores[28].
-
-Still, respected and beloved as the Hetairæ were among their friends
-and lovers, recognised by the law, and protected by it, general public
-respect was denied them, for the Athenians estimated above their
-brilliant charms the modest virtues of inferior women[29].
-
-One of the most remarkable features in the public economy of Athens was
-the tax upon prostitutes, introduced also in Rome by Caligula. It was
-annually farmed out by the Senate to individuals who knew accurately
-the names of all who followed this calling. It is to be regretted
-that their statistics have not been furnished to us. Every woman, it
-appears, had a fixed price, which she might charge to the men to whom
-she prostituted her person, and the amount of the tax varied according
-to their profits. Apparently, they were principally “strangers” who
-filled the ranks of the Hetairæ, for we find that if persons enjoying
-the rank and privilege of citizens took to the occupation, a tax was
-imposed on them as on the ordinary prostitutes, and they were punished
-by exclusion from the public sacrifices, and from the honourable
-offices of state. The same writer informs us, on the authority of
-Demosthenes, that a citizen who cohabited with an alien paid a penalty,
-in case he was convicted, of a thousand drachmas, but the penalty
-could not often have been enforced, as the laws of Solon recognised
-prostitution; it was a feature in the manners of the city, and brothels
-were fearlessly kept, and entered without shame. Numerous evidences of
-this have been supplied us[30]. To preserve a respect for chastity,
-however, and to inculcate a horror for the prostitute’s occupation, the
-same code allowed men to sell their sisters or daughters when convicted
-of an act of fornication, which, in Athens, as elsewhere, frequently
-was the first step in the regular career of these women[31].
-
-The dishonour thus accruing to the general body of prostitutes, though
-a small class of them enjoyed many superior advantages from their
-wealth, and the polish of their manners, served at Athens, in some
-degree, to preserve public morality. The system never seems to have
-reached the height which it has gained in many of our modern cities,
-where married women often follow the occupation, and live upon its
-gains[32].
-
-In Corinth, however, prostitutes abounded, and the Temple of Venus
-in that city was sometimes thronged by a thousand of them. They were
-usually the most beautiful women of the state, presented or sold
-to the temple, who prostituted themselves for hire. They were of a
-superior kind, admitting to their embraces none but men who would
-pay munificently, and in this manner many of them are said to have
-accumulated large fortunes[33].
-
-Tabular statements, and numerical estimates, have been wanting to
-complete this glance at the system in ancient Greece; but it may,
-nevertheless, afford a just idea of the extent and character of the
-prostitute class there.
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN ANCIENT ROME.
-
-If our knowledge of ancient Greece, with reference to its moral
-economy, is slight, ancient Rome is still less understood. Nothing,
-indeed, like a detailed account of its social institutions has been
-preserved; its scheme of manners is incompletely comprehended; and only
-an outline picture of its private life can be formed from passages
-supplied by hundreds of authors, from allusions in the poets and in the
-satirical writers. German scholars have laboured industriously in the
-field of classical politics; but the social economy of Rome has been
-neglected, or, which is worse, obscured by them. We are, therefore,
-enabled only to afford a general sketch of the subject in connection
-with the great Republic, and the imperial system which grew out of its
-decay.
-
-Examining the condition of the female sex, especially with reference to
-prostitutes, we must in Rome, as in all other states, distribute our
-observations over several distinct periods--for such there were in the
-social history of the nation.
-
-In the more honourable days of the Republic, women occupied a high
-status. While the state was extremely young we find them, indeed, in
-perpetual tutelage; but gradually, as institutions were improved and
-manners refined, they rose to independence, and formed an influential
-element in society. The matron, in particular, stood in her due
-position. Respected, accomplished, allowed to converse with men, she
-was, in the most flourishing era of Roman history, a model for her sex.
-She presided over the whole household, superintended the education
-of the children, while they remained in tender years, and shared the
-honours of her husband. Instead of confined apartments being allotted
-to her as a domestic prison, the best chambers in the house were
-assigned, while the whole of it was free to her. Other circumstances in
-her condition combined to invest her with dignity; and the consequence
-was, that the Roman matron seldom or never transgressed against the
-moral or social law. No divorce is recorded before the year 234 B.C.;
-and that instance was on account of the woman’s barrenness--a plea
-allowed by the law, but universally reprobated by the people. Yet the
-obstacles to this dissolution of the marriage compact were by no means
-formidable. Under the imperial régime, when there was less facility,
-divorces were more frequent.
-
-The Roman law of marriage was strict. Degrees of consanguinity were
-marked, though within narrower limits than among us, within which
-marriage was not only illegal, but wholly void, and any intercourse, by
-virtue of it, denounced as incest by the law. Public infamy attached to
-it--not only the odium of opinion, but a formal decree by the prætor.
-Adultery was held as a base, inexpiable crime. It was interdicted
-under every penalty short of death, and even this was allowed under
-certain circumstances to be inflicted by the husband. Wedded life,
-indeed, was held sacred by every class from the knights to the slaves,
-though among these social aliens actual marriage could not take place.
-Celibacy was not only disreputable, but, in a particular degree,
-criminal; while barrenness brought shame upon the woman who was cursed
-with it. In an equal, or a greater ratio, was parentage honourable.
-Polygamy was illegal; but the social code allowed one wife and several
-concubines, occupying a medium position, finely described by Gibbon,
-as below the honours of a wife, and above the infamy of a prostitute.
-Such institutions were licensed that common whoredom might be checked;
-though the children born of such intercourse were refused the rank of
-citizens. Often, indeed, they were a burden to the guilty as well as
-to the poor; and infanticide, which was declared in 374 B.C. a capital
-crime, was resorted to as a means of relief.
-
-If we examine our question in connection with marriage among the
-ancient Romans we find a curious system. First, there were certain
-conditions to constitute _connubium_, without which no legal union
-could be formed. There was only connubium between Roman citizens[34];
-there was none where either of the parties possessed it already with
-another; none between parent and child, natural or by adoption; none
-between grandparents and grandchildren; none between brothers and
-sisters, of whole or half blood; none between uncle and niece, or
-aunt and nephew: though Claudius legalized it by his marriage with
-Agrippina, the practice never went beyond the example. Unions of this
-kind taking place were void, and the father could claim no authority
-over his children. Mutual consent was essential--of the persons
-themselves, and of their friends. One wife only was allowed, though
-marriage after full divorce was permitted.
-
-There were two kinds of marriage,--that _cum_, and that _sine
-conventione_. In the former the wife passed into her husband’s family,
-and became subject to him; in the latter she abdicated none of her
-old relations, and was equal to her husband. There was no ceremony
-absolutely essential to constitute a marriage. Cohabitation during a
-whole year made a legal and lasting union; but the woman’s absence
-during three nights annually released her from the submission entailed
-by the marriage _cum conventione_. Certain words, also, with religious
-rites, performed in presence of ten witnesses, completed a marriage;
-but certain priestly offices, such as those of the _flamen dialis_,
-could only be performed for those whose parents had been wedded in a
-similar way[35]. The sponsalia, or contracts between the man and his
-wife’s friends, were usual, but not essential, and could be dissolved
-by mutual consent. The Roman idea of marriage was, in a word, the
-union of male and female for life, bringing a community of fortune, by
-a civil, not a sacred contract. Yet from the ceremonies _generally_
-observed, it is evident that an idea, though unrecognised, of a
-religious union, existed among the Romans in their more pious age.
-
-With respect to property, its arrangement depended on settlements made
-before hand. Divorce was at one time procured by mutual consent, though
-afterwards it became more difficult, but never impossible.
-
-There was in Rome a legal concubinage between unmarried persons,
-resembling the morganatic or “left-handed” marriage, giving neither the
-woman nor her children any rights acquired from the husband. Widowers
-often took a concubine, without infamy[36].
-
-The law of Romulus, enacting that no male child should be exposed, and
-that the first daughter should always be preserved, while every other
-should be brought up, or live on trial, as it were, for three years,
-has misled some writers into giving the Romans credit for a loftier
-humanity. No parent, it is argued, would destroy a three years’ old
-child. Nevertheless, it is certain that, in the imperial age, at least,
-infanticide and child-dropping were frequent occurrences. Deformed
-or mutilated infants, having been shown to five witnesses, might be
-destroyed at once. The Milky Column, in the Herb-market, was a place
-where public nurses sat to suckle or otherwise tend the foundlings
-picked up in various parts of the city. In the early Christian age
-it was a reproach to the Romans that they cast forth their sons,
-as Tertullian expresses it, to be picked up and nourished by the
-fisherwomen who passed. Mothers would deny their children when brought
-home to their houses. Some strangled them at once. Various devices were
-adopted among them, as among other nations of antiquity, to check the
-overflow of population, as well as to hide the crimes of the guilty.
-Thus the Phœnicians passed children through fire, as a sacrifice; the
-Carthaginians offered them up at the altar; the Syrians flung them
-from the lofty propylæa of a temple[37]. One observation, however,
-applies to the Romans, and, we believe, to every other nation, savage
-or civilized, in every age of the world--exceptions being invariably
-allowed. Cruel as may have been the laws sanctioning infanticide,
-when once the child was received into the bosom of the family it was
-cared for with tenderness, and, generally, with discretion. It is not
-sentiment, but justice, which induces us to say that the mother, having
-once accepted her charge, has seldom been guilty of wilful neglect.
-The abandoned and dissolute, especially in those societies where
-fashion has made the performance of maternal duty ridiculous, if not
-disreputable, have consigned their offspring to others; but women in
-their natural state usually fulfil this obligation.
-
-In Rome, from various causes, public decency was, at least during
-the republican period, more rigidly observed, and licentiousness
-less common and less tolerated than in Sparta or even the later age
-of Athens. None of its institutions rivalled the dissolute manners
-of Crete or Corinth. One cause of prostitution being less common was
-the licence of concubinage, which was to the rich a preferable and
-a safer plan of self-indulgence. It existed, however, in the State,
-and employed a considerable class of women, though we are told the
-accomplished prostitute was known as a Grecian import. Nevertheless,
-the frequent allusions of the laws to these women prove that they
-formed no insignificant element in the society of the capital.
-
-[Illustration: ROMAN BROTHEL.--IMPERIAL ERA. (DUFOUR.)]
-
-Lenocinium, or the keeping of female slaves to hire them out as
-prostitutes for profit, was an offence rather against the moral than
-the written law of Rome. The lenones, in many instances, kept brothels
-or houses open for the trade of prostitution. They purchased in the
-market handsome girls, for each of whom a sum equal to about 250_l._ of
-English currency was given--from which we infer that the rates charged
-in the superior establishments of this kind were somewhat high. Free
-women were also kept for the same purpose, upon a mutual agreement. The
-practice was not actually interdicted, but branded as infamous by the
-prætor’s declaration. No woman, however, whose father, grandfather,
-or husband had been a Roman knight was allowed to prostitute herself
-for gain. The independent prostitutes, or those who occupied houses
-of their own, were compelled to affix on the door a notice of their
-calling, and the price they demanded. They were also required, when
-they signified to the prætor, as they were bound to do, their intention
-of following this disgraceful occupation, to drop their real names,
-which they resumed whenever they abandoned that mode of life. Cato,
-the censor, recognised prostitution as Solon did, and Cicero declared
-no State ever existed without it. Notwithstanding this, the occupation
-of the prostitute was, in the republican age, so infamous that a
-comparatively small class practised it; but under the emperors it
-grew so prevalent, that during the reign of the few of them who even
-pretended to morality, the severest edicts appeared called for against
-it. Caligula, however, made a profit from the system. The lenones
-were subject to a tax, which fell, of course, as in Athens, upon the
-prostitutes themselves. No check, therefore, was offered by him to
-prostitution. But Theodosius and Valentinian sought, by formidable
-penalties, to prevent parents from prostituting their children, and
-masters their slaves, for gain. Lenocinium was interdicted under pain
-of the scourge, banishment, and other punishments. In one age public
-opinion, in the other the whip, held guardianship over the morals of
-the State.
-
-The owners of houses who allowed lenocinium to be carried on on their
-premises were liable to forfeit the property, besides paying a price of
-ten pounds weight of gold. Such edicts, however, only drove immorality
-into the dark. When the prostitutes could not find enough brothels to
-harbour them--and, indeed, at all times the poorer sort were excluded
-from these large establishments--places of refuge were still open. The
-_fornices_ of Rome were long galleries, divided into a double row of
-cells--some broad and airy, others only small dark arches, situated on
-a level with the street, and forming the substructure of the houses
-above. Some of them, as those of the Formian villa of Cicero, were
-tastefully stuccoed, and painted in streaks of pink, yellow, and blue.
-In these long lines of cells the prostitutes of the poorer class were
-accustomed to assemble, and thence was derived the ecclesiastical term
-fornication, with its ordinary English meaning. Allusions to this
-practice occur in the works of Horace and Juvenal, as well as other
-writers. Some of the arches appear to have been below the surface of
-the ground, as we find a decree of Theodosius against the subterranean
-brothels of Rome.
-
-The great satirist who has left us his vivid, though exaggerated
-picture of manners in the imperial age, supplies some allusions in
-elucidation of our subject. He speaks of the “transparent garments”
-worn by prostitutes, as by the dancers of ancient Egypt; of the
-“foreign women” who swarmed in its “foul brothels;” of the “gay
-harlots’ chariots” dashing through the streets; and of the porticos
-and covered walks forming for these women places of promenade. We
-learn that some of them were forced, as a punishment for disorderly
-behaviour, to wear the male toga, while most were distinguished by
-a yellow headdress. The fornices were publicly opened and closed
-at certain hours. The women stood at the doors of their cells, in
-loose, light attire, their bosoms exposed, and the nipples gilt. Thus
-Messelana stood at the door of the lupanaria, with her breast adorned
-with this singular ornament[38].
-
-At various periods efforts were made to suppress the prostitutes’
-calling, but never with success. The lawmakers of the imperial age gave
-no example of the morality which their edicts pretended to uphold.
-Thus, the bawds who inveigled or ravished girls from their homes, to
-obtain a livelihood by their prostitution, became liable to “extreme
-penalties,” though what these were we know not. The law of lenocinium
-was more widely interpreted, as manners became more corrupt. If a
-husband permitted his wife to prostitute herself that he might share
-the gains, it was lenocinium. Justinian allowed a woman the privilege
-of divorce, if her husband endeavoured to tempt her into such adultery:
-he was forced also to restore her dowry. On the other hand, if a woman
-committed the crime, it was lenocinium for the husband to receive her
-again, to spare the adulterer if caught in the act, or to refrain
-from prosecuting him if otherwise detected. If a man married a woman
-convicted of adultery, discovered a crime of this kind and was bribed
-to hold his peace, commenced a prosecution for adultery and withdrew
-it, or lent his house for rape or prostitution, the Julian law made him
-guilty of lenocinium, and penalties of various kinds were attached to
-the offence in its different modifications.
-
-Lupanaria, or common brothels, were at all times considered infamous.
-Young men seem to have been more careful to visit them in secret than
-at Athens, where they visited and left them in the light of open day,
-and were encouraged to do so by the poets. There was, however, another
-class of disreputable places of assembly, to which a similar exists in
-most modern cities. These were the lower order of _popinæ_, or houses
-of entertainment, not absolutely recognised as “stews,” but generally
-known to be the resorts of prostitutes and their companions. In Pompeii
-there appears to have existed a class of the same description, for in
-one of the wine-houses discovered there, an inner room is situated
-behind the shop, the walls of which are covered with lewd and filthy
-pictures. Pornography, or obscene painting, was much practised at
-Rome, and doubtless afforded much pleasure to the company who nightly
-assembled in the Ganeæ, or regular brothels.
-
-As among the Greeks, instances of men willing to marry prostitutes
-occurred among the Romans. It was found necessary to check the
-practice by rendering it disreputable. The penalty of public infamy
-was denounced against all freemen contracting such an union; while a
-senator, and the son of a senator, were especially forbidden.
-
-The prostitutes of Rome, like those of many other countries, varied
-their principal calling by others which rendered them more attractive
-to the dissolute youth of the city. They cultivated the arts of
-dancing, singing, and playing on musical instruments. They performed
-lascivious dances at their places of assembly, playing on the flute,
-and practising all those tricks of seduction employed so successfully
-by the Almé of Egypt.
-
-Difficulties have arisen before many inquirers into the social
-condition of the ancient Romans, as to whence the prostitutes came,
-seeing that they were chiefly strangers. Some light, we think, is
-thrown on the subject by the fact that the Ambubaiæ were Syrian
-musicians, who performed dances in Rome, and, like the Bayaderes of
-India, the Almé of Egypt, and the dancers of Java, led a life of
-prostitution. They continued long to be imported; for, in the History
-of Gibbon, we find particular notice of the lascivious dances performed
-by the Syrian damsels round the altars on the Palatine Hill, to please
-the bestial senses of Elagabalus. During the public pantomimes, the
-prostitutes danced naked before the people; and, at the Floralian
-festival, the actresses at the theatre, who are known to have been
-common prostitutes, were compelled to strip, and perform indecent
-evolutions for the delight of the audience. This refers, however,
-to the imperial age. It was at no time a task of much inconvenience
-to divest themselves of clothing, for the harlots never encumbered
-themselves with much. In this they resembled the Hetairæ of Greece,
-whose thin slight garment was so insufficient for the purposes of
-decency, that it was designated as “naked.” This was not, however,
-from hardiness or simplicity, but merely to promote the profit of
-their calling. In other respects the luxury of the wealthy prostitutes
-was boundless, and they were borne through the streets on the rich
-and elegant lactræ or portable couches, softly pillowed on which they
-reposed their limbs in voluptuous indolence. In the reign of Domitian
-a decree was passed that no whore should in future make use of these
-couches, which were reserved as an especial luxury to the privileged
-classes of Rome.
-
-The edicts against prostitution increased in severity under various
-emperors. The severity of Constantine enacted that a man guilty of
-rape should die, whether he accomplished his purpose by violence, or
-by gentle and gradual seduction. The virgin who confessed her consent,
-instead of procuring a mitigation of this sentence, exposed herself
-to share the penalty. Slaves who were accomplices in the crime of
-procuring young women for prostitution, were punished by being burnt,
-or having boiling metal poured down their throats. The consequence of
-such a savage law was, that it could not be generally applied; nor was
-it enforced by the example of the emperor, who, once rigidly strict,
-turned dissolute and luxurious towards the close of his reign.
-
-It will be seen, from the information here collected, that no actual
-knowledge exists of the precise extent of the prostitute system in
-Rome. Facts, and some of these extremely curious, have been preserved
-in connection with it; but the statistics of the question are wholly
-lost, if, indeed, they ever existed. On this account, it appeared
-possible to do no more than bring those facts together, and, throwing
-them into a general sketch of the morality prevailing at different
-periods in the social history of that state, to draw thence an idea
-of the truth. Under the comparatively virtuous Republic, a line could
-certainly be drawn between the profligate and the moral classes of the
-community. Under some of the emperors such a distinction was wholly
-impossible. The vulgar prostitute was commonly met at the tables of the
-rich, and the palace itself was no more than an imperial brothel. A few
-notes on the history of the empire will justify these remarks.
-
-In the early period of the decline, the licentious amours of Faustina
-were excused, even encouraged, by her husband, and the nobles paid
-homage in the temples before the image of an adultress. In the eyes
-of Commodus virtue was criminal, since it implied a reflection upon
-his profligacy. Dissolving his frame in lust amid 300 concubines and
-boys, he violated by force the few modest women remaining near his
-court. Julia, the wife of Severus, though flattered in life and death
-by public writers, was no better than a harlot. We have already noticed
-the pleasures of Elagabalus, who committed rape upon a vestal virgin,
-and condescended to the most bestial vice. The nobles readily followed
-his example, and the people were easily led into the fashion. Maximin
-drowned every coy maiden who refused his embraces. In process of time,
-the most degrading features of Asiatic profligacy were introduced
-into Rome, and eunuchs crowded the palaces of the emperor and his
-nobles. History alludes to no more vulgar prostitute than the Empress
-Theodora, who played comedies before the people of Constantinople,
-and prostituted her person--of unparalleled beauty as it was--night
-after night to a promiscuous crowd of citizens and strangers, of every
-rank and description. She exhibited herself naked in the theatre. Her
-sympathy for the prostitute class may be indicated by almost the only
-virtuous action recorded of her;--inducing her husband Justinian to
-found a monastery on the shores of the Bosphorus, where 500 miserable
-women, collected from the streets and brothels, were offered a refuge.
-When we remember the usual relative proportion of objects relieved by
-charity, to the numbers from which they are selected, this indicates a
-considerable trade in prostitution then carried on in Constantinople.
-When, however, such a social system prevailed, no inquiry could fix the
-professional class of harlots, since moral women, if any existed, were
-certainly exceptions.
-
-It is always necessary, while inquiring into the morality of any
-people, to inquire into the extent to which the practice of procuring
-abortion was carried, and how it was viewed. Montesquieu justly
-observes, that it is by no means unnatural, though it may be criminal,
-for a prostitute, should she by chance conceive a child, to seek to
-be relieved from the burden. She has no means of support except one
-which she cannot possibly follow and at the same time fulfil the
-duties of a mother. These considerations, perhaps, had some weight
-with the legislators of Rome, as well as those reasons of political
-prudence which in various ancient states recognised infanticide. That
-it was practised to some extent there, is shown by frequent allusions
-in various works. It has been asserted, indeed, that the custom of
-procuring abortion prevailed to such an extent, that, combined with
-celibacy, it materially affected the population of the state, but this
-appears a false view. There are no accounts to support such an idea.
-It is not known at what particular time a law was introduced against
-it. Certainly it was held in a different light than it is by our
-religion, and our civilization. Plato’s republic permits it. Aristotle
-also allows it to be practised under certain circumstances, but only
-before the child is quick in the womb. So, also, among the Romans, it
-seems long to have been unrestrained by law, though it is impossible
-to believe that the natural instincts of women would not deter them,
-except in desperate situations, from such unnatural offences.
-
-Such is the view of the prostitute system, with a sketch of general
-morality, which the facts preserved by history enable us to offer. It
-appears from these facts, that, during the more flourishing period of
-the Roman state, the prostitutes formed a class, to which the principal
-immorality of the female society was confined, while in the later
-or imperial age profligacy ran loose among the people, so that the
-distinction between the regular harlot and the unrecognised prostitute
-was all but lost. Chastity, under the Republic, was a peculiar Roman
-virtue, and the prostitutes were usually foreigners, while we do not
-find that they ever mixed with reputable women who had characters to
-lose[39].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION AMONG THE ANGLO-SAXONS.
-
-We leave the countries of classical antiquity and arrive at the
-Anglo-Saxons of our own history, in whom the reader will feel a
-peculiar interest. Unfortunately, our usual observations with reference
-to ancient times, apply to them also. Extremely imperfect records exist
-of their manners, laws, and institutions. The learned and industrious
-Sharon Turner has collected most of the facts known, yet neither the
-word prostitution, nor any term analogous to it, is to be found in his
-work. In the Leges Anglo-Saxonicæ, we find laws and regulations in
-reference to the chastity of the women, but nothing which indicates
-the existence of a class professionally addicted to prostitution.
-Nevertheless, it is improbable that such a class was utterly unknown,
-for the modern historians, as well as the old chroniclers, who have
-described the era, allude repeatedly to the licentious manners of the
-period. Gluttoning and deep drinking may, however, have excused the
-epithet, without supposing any prevalence of immorality.
-
-Sharon Turner refers us to the Maories of New Zealand, for a parallel
-to the manners and condition of Great Britain, when first invaded by
-the Romans. As far as profligacy goes, the comparison appears correct.
-
-Among the Britons, however, prevailed the extraordinary and pernicious
-institution of small societies of ten or twelve men, with a community
-of women among them. Ceremonies of marriage, indeed, took place, but
-for no other purpose than to provide that each woman’s husband should
-maintain all her children, whoever their fathers might be. In some of
-their religious ceremonies women officiated naked, and in all their
-modes of life a coarse licentiousness obtained.
-
-The Romans introduced a more refined luxury, and manners became
-less coarse, though no less profligate. The Saxons, however, then
-transported themselves to these islands from the Cymbric Peninsula, and
-the civilization of the country passed through a complete revolution.
-In their original country they had displayed a system of manners
-peculiar to themselves, and the other wild races inhabiting the mighty
-woods of Germany. Their laws against adultery were of the most savage
-character. When a woman was guilty of it, she was compelled to hang
-herself, her body was burned, and the execution of the adulterer took
-place over the pile of her ashes. Among some communities the punishment
-was still more severe, and infinitely more barbarous. The guilty
-creature was whipped from village to village by a number of women, who
-tore off her garments to the waist, and pierced her with their knives.
-Company after company of them pursued her until she sank under the
-shame, torture, and loss of blood. Chastity, indeed, was very generally
-regarded among these rude people, but their ideas were very foreign
-from ours. The degrees of consanguinity within which marriage was
-prohibited were extremely narrow, a son being permitted to marry his
-father’s widow, provided she was not his own mother.
-
-In their marriage customs the Anglo-Saxons displayed considerable
-regard for the female sex, although the wife was taken rather as the
-property than as the companion of the husband. The original laws
-of Ethelbert, indeed, as we have said, made the transaction wholly
-one of purchase; but in the reign of Edmund a more refined code was
-established. The betrothal usually took place some time before the
-actual ceremony. This was held as a sacred tie, the high-priest being
-at the marriage to consecrate it, and pray for a blessing on the wedded
-pair[40].
-
-The manners of the Anglo-Saxons, after their settlement in England,
-underwent considerable improvement. They became, indeed, to a degree
-civilized. Their women were no longer the savages of Germany. They
-occupied a position wholly different from that of their sex among
-the more polished and luxurious nations of the East. It was, we may
-say, similar to that which they at present fill among us. They were
-recognised as members of the body politic, could bequeath and inherit
-property, could appeal to the law against any man; they possessed, in
-a word, the rights, the duties, and the public relations of citizens.
-Of course, in all these particulars, their position was modified by
-the natural restraints imposed on their sex. This refers to the more
-improved period of their civilization. In the laws of Ethelbert a man
-was permitted to buy a wife, provided he did it openly. By Edmund’s
-time, however, the practice was changed, and the woman’s consent,
-as well as that of her friends, was necessary. The man was also
-pledged before the law to support and respect her. She carried public
-protection into her new home. Considerable honour, consequence, and
-independence were there pre-enjoyed by the female sex. Nevertheless
-there continued long to be in the transaction much of a business
-character, and the consent of the woman was frequently no more than
-submission to the terms of a bargain struck between her lover and her
-parents. By some husbands, indeed, a wife seems to have been considered
-as little more than a property. We find adultery, for instance, allowed
-to be compounded. “If a freeman cohabit with the wife of a freeman he
-must pay the fine, and obtain another woman with his own money, and
-lead her to the other.” In other words, when he has destroyed the
-value of one wife, he must buy a fresh one for the injured husband.
-
-This would seem to indicate that women were to be had for money.
-Adultery, indeed, was at all times an affair of payments. It was
-punished only by various fines, varying according to the rank of the
-woman. The chastity of the high noble’s wife was valued at six pounds,
-that of a churl’s attendant at six shillings.
-
-In the Leges Anglo-Saxonicæ we find many regulations laid down
-respecting rape and fornication, which imply the occasional practice
-of those crimes. From the tone of the enactments on the subject, it
-seems impossible reasonably to doubt that a class of women existed who
-prostituted themselves for gain or pleasure to the other sex. None
-such, it is true, is directly indicated. We find, however, a rule of
-the venerable Bede, that any “slave woman” or “servile” turning her
-eyes immodestly on men, is to be severely chided. Blount also, quoted
-in Brand’s “Popular Antiquities,” with the historian Henry, describes
-the punishment of the cucking stool, as inflicted by the Anglo-Saxons,
-both in Germany and in England, upon scolds, disorderly women, and
-strumpets, who in the more barbarous society on the Continent were
-suffocated in marshes. In Cornwall harlots were long punished in the
-ludicrous and degrading manner described by Brand.
-
-In the absence of any ground upon which to stand, we cannot describe a
-particular class among the Anglo-Saxons as addicted to prostitution,
-but from the whole colour of their civilization, from the rudest to
-the most refined period, it is evident the practice was followed, in a
-greater or less degree[41].
-
-
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION AMONG THE BARBAROUS NATIONS.
-
-
-INTRODUCTION.
-
-In surveying the social aspects of the barbarian world, we discover
-many striking phenomena. The relations of the sexes, among uneducated
-races, appear modified by every circumstance of their position; but
-everywhere the natural ascendancy of the strong over the weak is
-displayed. A few savage communities allow women a position nearly
-level with that of the men; but wherever this is the case, a degree of
-civilization has been attained.
-
-If we divide mankind into two classes--the civilized and the
-savage--forming an ideal of both extremes, we shall not find one tribe
-or community to occupy either pole of our supposed sphere. No one
-requires to be told that every part of the human race is still below
-the perfect development of its good attributes; but the observation
-is equally true, though less generally accepted, that every family of
-creatures showing our nature has advanced beyond the utterly savage
-state. When we find men wandering not only unclothed, but unhoused,
-over the earth, and following only their animal propensities, we may
-regard them as wholly untaught. At present no such tribe is known.
-Every human being that has come under our notice has progressed beyond
-the simple gratification of his appetites. The love of ornament and the
-practice of exchange have raised him one step in the scale.
-
-The Africans, the Australians, the New Zealanders, the ruder tribes
-of the Pacific Isles, the Dyaks of Borneo, and the natives of Sumatra
-and Celebes, with the Indians of North and South America, may be
-included under the appellation _barbarous_. They vary, however, in the
-characteristics of their barbarism, as the nations of Europe vary in
-the characteristics of their civilization. They are even divided into
-classes. (1) The hunters, with little property in the soil, precarious
-means of existence, and migratory habits; the fishers, who are only the
-hunters of the sea; (2) the pastoral tribes, with property in herds
-and flocks, nomade, and therefore little property in the soil; (3) the
-agricultural tribes, permanently or temporarily fixed to localities,
-whose means of life are less precarious, and whose habits are more
-regular than those of the two former. The third is the most educated,
-the second the most innocent, the first the most simple state. It is
-among the shepherds that women enjoy most consideration, and that
-morality is highest. The hunters are more savage, and the tillers of
-the earth more sensual.
-
-In judging the condition of the female sex, it is always necessary to
-hold in view the general state of manners. When we inquire how husbands
-behave to their wives, and how parents treat their daughters, we must
-ask also how they live themselves. Where the male sex is degraded the
-female will be so. On the other hand, the refinement of any people may
-be estimated by the condition of its women. The islanders of Celebes
-are among the most elevated of barbarian races, and the sexes are
-nearly on an equality. The hordes of Western Africa are the most gross
-and ferocious of savages, and their women are treated as reptiles. The
-Indians of North America offer, apparently, an exception to this rule,
-for their lofty, proud, and polished warriors behave contemptuously to
-the squaws in their wigwam, who crouch to the earth while their lords
-stand haughtily before the most powerful conquerors. But the Choctaws
-and the Cherokees are in reality as far removed from true civilization
-as the dwellers in New Zealand. The amenities and not the arts of life
-civilize men. Wherever in the Indian village the gentler influences of
-humanity prevail, the feebler sex is treated with respect and affection.
-
-The points of contrast between barbarian and civilized races display
-themselves strongly in relation to the condition of the female sex.
-Throughout the savage portions of Africa one system of manners
-prevails. The men occupy the lowest stage of the social scale. They
-are neither hunters, fishers, shepherds, nor tillers of the soil; but
-mix up several occupations, though none of an elevating character.
-Some raise a few materials of food; others collect ivory in the
-woods; others live on the profits of the slave-trade; but the greater
-number subsist on the refuse of what they gain in the service of
-their petty kings. They have been sophisticated from the simplicity
-of savages without acquiring one grace from civilization. Subject to
-the gross caprice of princes more miserable than themselves, they
-have remained beyond the reach of every humanizing influence, and,
-as a natural consequence, their women are debased. Polygamy produces
-its worst results. The wife is an object of barter; a slave, whose
-labour assists to support her owner. In some parts diligence is more
-valued than chastity. In others the husband makes a profit from his
-wife’s prostitution. The slave trade has assisted largely towards
-this melancholy state of manners. The finer sentiments of humanity
-are altogether lost, and the contempt for life, as well as for all
-that is amiable or pure, has reduced men far below the level of the
-brute creation. We speak literally in saying that a nobler, happier
-spectacle is presented among the antelope and elephant herds than among
-the swarms of men and women corrupting in Africa. In the few parts
-where the male sex has risen from this debasement, the female has been
-equally improved. The barbarous Edeeyahs offer an example.
-
-The savages of Australia differ in many respects from those of Western
-Africa. They are even less educated, but they are also less ferocious;
-their women are their abject servitors, but there is more humanity in
-their treatment. They have scarcely approached so near to the forms
-of regular society, as to systematize the intercourse of the sexes.
-Nevertheless, among some tribes we not only find the institution of
-marriage respected, but wives guarded with Turkish jealousy. Among a
-people which does not dwell in regular habitations, or even lodge in
-roomy tents, it is scarcely possible to imagine the sanctity of a man’s
-harem; but it is true, notwithstanding, that a similar seclusion is
-enforced. The Australian woman, in the desert and under the open sky,
-is hedged round by her husband’s jealousy as securely as the ancient
-German was in her unwalled shelter of thatch.
-
-It is seldom, however, that among barbarous races we find the sentiment
-of chastity in its abstract sense. Women are generally treated as
-though their inclinations were licentious, and in this consists one
-great line of distinction between civilization and barbarism. With the
-one, moral influence--with the other, material force, is employed as
-the guardian of female honour. The result is important to be noticed.
-Women are depraved by the rude and gross means devised to keep them
-virtuous. Where the moral sentiment is feebly developed, guilt is
-created by the efforts made to prevent it. The wife perpetually
-watched, as though her heart were full of adultery, becomes an
-adulteress. The young girl continually guarded, with the avowed object
-of compelling her to be chaste, loses insensibly any natural feeling
-she may have possessed, and covets the opportunity to sin.
-
-In the South Sea Islands this truth is illustrated; in New Zealand
-it is still more strongly proved. It is taken for granted that a
-woman will prostitute herself if she can. The state of morality is
-consequently so low that it is difficult for parents to preserve
-a daughter’s virtue until she is given in marriage. To prevent
-her holding _vicious_ intercourse she is forbidden to hold _any_
-intercourse with the opposite sex.
-
-Another characteristic of civilized races is the separation of the
-vicious from the moral classes; they systematize the offences against
-society. Every class of vile persons becomes, as it were, an isolated
-community; the prostitute is segregated from the rest of her sex. In
-some barbarian states, as in Dahomey, the same division is effected;
-but the kings of that country have sought to mimic the forms of
-educated communities. The professional is distinguished from the
-habitual prostitute only by her open assumption of the title; but the
-immorality of the female sex in Dahomey is far from being represented
-by the order of confessed harlots.
-
-The inhabitants of some islands, and the shores of bays and roadsteads,
-have discovered that in prostituting their women to the crews of
-trading ships they have a readier means of subsistence than was
-offered by their former industry. This has produced a frightful system
-of vicious commerce, which still prevails to a great extent in the
-Pacific, as well as in New Zealand and the ports of Africa. It is
-for Europeans to repair the evil created by the incontinence of their
-predecessors. Many captains of vessels have already effected much good
-by forbidding women to come on board.
-
-In proportion as nations approach the higher stages of civilization
-does the respect for human life increase. Infanticide is practised with
-the least remorse by the most savage tribes. Among those communities
-with whom the means of existence are precarious this crime is most
-common. Wherever barbarians have been induced to labour, and secured
-in the enjoyment of their earnings, the natural feelings of the breast
-have revived; and mothers who have slain six infants cherish the
-seventh as a sacred possession. Missionary enterprise has produced
-much good in this respect; while the beneficent rule of our Indian
-government has bestowed incalculable blessings on the people of the
-East, among whom the system of infanticide is daily becoming rarer, and
-the condition of women more elevated.
-
-The same may be remarked of that unnatural practice upon which, as
-indeed on all kindred subjects, writers are reluctant to touch--that,
-we mean, of destroying the unborn fruits of union. The savage regards
-it as an act rather meritorious for its ingenuity than abominable
-for its unnatural character. The cause that encourages infanticide
-encourages this, which, indeed, is the less horrible crime. The woman
-is less reluctant to extinguish the vitality of a being which has
-become to her dear only in anticipation, than to quench a life which
-has once been embodied before her eyes, and warmed in her bosom. The
-operation, so dangerous to females in civilized communities, is, like
-childbirth, far easier among savages. The native of the Bornean woods,
-without any of the delicacy engendered by luxury, may one moment be
-without a pang giving birth to an infant, and the next be washing it
-in a neighbouring brook. The Malayan lady, bred in a city in indolence
-and comfort, suffers agony under which she sometimes perishes before
-her offspring has breathed. So it is with the practice of destroying
-the unborn child. Civilization lessens in all creatures their means of
-independent life, and their powers of endurance; but it also enables
-them to discover or compound the elements by which these artificial
-ills may be remedied.
-
-In proportion as the intercourse of the sexes is loose is the
-difficulty of learning the actual extent of immoral practices. The
-prostitute class, as we proceed from the pure savage to the highest
-point of civilization, becomes more and more distinct--being more
-conspicuous because more isolated. This is accompanied by another
-process, which is a superior standard by which to measure the social
-elevation of a people. Women respect themselves in proportion as
-men respect them. Where locks and bolts, scourges and cudgels, are
-the guardians of female chastity, it is only preserved when there
-is no opportunity to lose it. When the protecting influence springs
-from within, the woman moves a virtuous being, defended even from a
-licentious glance by the impenetrable cloud which her native modesty
-and virtue diffuse around her.
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION AMONG AFRICAN NATIONS.
-
-In the wide field of inquiry presented by the barbarian races of our
-own time, Africa occupies a prominent place. Some of the most wild
-and savage tribes of the human family are to be found on that immense
-peninsula. Many degrees in the inferior scale of civilization are
-represented, from the uncouth Hottentots of the south to the wandering
-Arabs of the desert, in whose blameless lives we have a picture of
-original simplicity--not far removed from the real refinement, though
-very far from the vices, of the most polished among the communities
-of Europe. The inquiry we have made into the condition of women and
-the state of manners in Africa, has confirmed us in our opinion, which
-is supported also by many circumstances observed among other races of
-men. The medium of refinement is accompanied by the least immorality.
-As in our own, among other civilized states, the ratio of profligacy
-is greatest at the opposite poles of society--the wealthiest and the
-most indigent--so in Africa it is among the basest savages and among
-the most highly polished communities that immorality prevails to the
-greatest extent. The brutal hordes on the western coast, with the
-populations of the half-civilized cities of the north, abound in vices,
-while the barbarian though innocent communities, with the wandering
-dwellers in the desert, are characterised by manners far more pure.
-
-In ranging over Africa in search of facts to complete the present
-inquiry, we meet with numerous tribes belonging to seven separate
-races of mankind: the Hottentot, the Kaffir, the Negro, the Moor, the
-Abyssinian, the Arab, and the Copts or descendants of the true Egyptian
-stock. Among each of these we perceive some varieties of manners;
-but everywhere in Africa one circumstance is prominent--the degraded
-condition of the female sex. The women of Cairo and Algiers are in
-comparison treated with little more refinement than those of some
-purely savage states; but we shall not include such communities among
-the barbarian races, reserving Egypt and some of the other countries
-characterised by a mongrel civilization for separate notices. We may,
-as far as our present inquiry goes, present the subject clearly and
-without confusion by making a geographical arrangement, and, commencing
-from the south, pass over the continent, until we encounter a form of
-civilization in the valley of the Lower Nile.
-
-The condition of women generally in heathen countries is degraded. As
-we proceed through Africa this truth will be strongly illustrated.
-Commencing with the Hottentots of the south, we find them a dissolute
-profligate race, who have been so from the earliest period. It was
-remarked in 1655 by Van Riebeck, when the chiefs, departing on a
-distant expedition, were urged to leave their women behind, they
-replied “that their wives must be with them everywhere so as to be kept
-from the other men.” It was remarked also in 1840 by Colonel Napier,
-who describes them as proverbially unchaste. Polygamy, at the early
-period referred to, was prevalent. Men bought their wives--sometimes
-from their wealthier, sometimes from their poorer, neighbours; but
-all alliances between persons of near kindred were held in utter
-abhorrence. Indecency and lewdness are their characteristics, for
-though now accustomed to clothing, it is no uncommon thing for them,
-when drunk at their festivals, to strip naked and perform lascivious
-dances, to music of the rudest harmony. Many among them appear to
-prostitute themselves readily to strangers, some from inclination,
-others for money, many for a gift of finery; but in what numbers this
-disreputable class exists we have no means of knowing[42]. A superior
-order, however, is scattered among these degraded creatures, and many
-lively, intelligent, and well-conducted women have attracted the notice
-of travellers.
-
-[Illustration: WOMAN OF THE BOSJES RACE.
-
-[_From a Daguerreotype by_ BEARD.]]
-
-The pastoral Kaffirs are perhaps a more moral though a more ferocious
-people than the Hottentots. They are, indeed, superior in mental and
-physical characteristics, being more addicted to arms, and less to
-debauch. They also, however, practise polygamy, and buy their wives for
-so many head of cattle. Among them, as well as among the Bechuanas,
-the girls undergo a probation before marriage, during which they live
-apart, and hold no intercourse with their tribe except through an old
-woman. Sichele, king of the Bechuanas, had numerous wives, of whom
-one was a favourite; but he granted each a separate hut, so that his
-palace was a kind of village surrounded by a fence. They punish theft
-in a woman by twisting dry grass round her fingers and burning them to
-the bone. Wandering from place to place in tent-shaped temporary huts,
-they carry their women with them, and condemn them to domestic labour.
-Even the chief’s wives assist in grinding the corn, and tending their
-husband’s nomade household. Divorce is easy, on very slight grounds.
-We occasionally hear of women committing what is termed fornication,
-but no professed class of prostitutes has been described. As among all
-nations practising polygamy, marriage is not held as a sacred tie; but
-adultery on the wife’s part is severely punished as an infraction of
-the social law. The bonds of natural affection appear extremely weak
-among the Kaffir tribes. Men are inspired by an inclination, not an
-attachment, to their wives, and mothers possess less affection for
-their children than is observed even in the Australian savage. The weak
-and sickly are sometimes abandoned, to save the expense or trouble
-of their support. Mrs. Ward knew of a woman who, having a little
-daughter in a decline, buried it alive, to be rid of the burden. The
-little creature, imperfectly interred, burst from its grave and ran
-home. Again it was forced into the hole, again it escaped, and a third
-time it was removed to the earth; once more, however, it struggled
-till free, and, flying to its mother’s hut, was at last received,
-and ultimately recovered. Such instances of inhumanity are not rare
-among the Kaffir tribes, whose passion for blood and war seems to have
-blunted some of their natural sentiments. Husbands, when their wives
-are sick, frequently drag them into a neighbouring thicket, where they
-are left to die, and women continually do the same with their poor
-offspring. It is important, however, to mention, that in the instances
-of Kaffirs converted to Christianity their manners undergo a most
-favourable modification. One of them was known to Mrs. Ward who had
-refused to take a second wife, in deference to the moral law laid down
-by the interpreters of his adopted religion; and, where the conversion
-is sincere, they always manifest an inclination to practise the
-manners of the white men[43].
-
-In the rude maritime region extending from the countries on the border
-of the Cape territory as far as the Senegal, a set of characteristic
-features is universally marked on the people, varied though their
-nationality be. Differences, of course, prevail among the numerous
-tribes in the several states; but the impress of African civilization
-is there all but uniform.
-
-Those between the tropics, especially, are absorbed in licentiousness.
-Morality is a strange idea to them. Polygamy is universally practised,
-and in most places without limitation; while nowhere is a man
-restrained by the social law from intercourse with any number of
-females he chooses. The result is that women are, for the most part,
-looked upon as a marketable commodity; that the pure and exalted
-sentiment of love is utterly unknown; and that even the commonest
-feelings of humanity appear absent from among them. Husbands, for
-instance, on the Gold Coast, are known to prostitute their wives to
-others for a sum of money. This is an open transaction. In other
-places, however, where the adulterer pays a fine to the husband he
-has injured, we find men allowing their wives an opportunity to be
-unfaithful, in order to obtain the price of the crime. Throughout,
-indeed, the gloomy and savage states, sheltered by the woods bordering
-the Niger, and over the whole western coast, mankind appears in its
-uncouthest form. Human nature, degraded by perpetual war against
-itself, rots at the feet of a gross superstition. As we have said, the
-result is developed in various modifications of barbarian manners.
-
-When Laird, in 1832, visited the Niger, he found the condition of the
-female sex upon its borders most humiliating. In the dominions of King
-Boy polygamy was unlimited, and the wives reduced to slavery in their
-own homes. The people dwelling on the banks of the Lower Niger may be
-described, in fact, as among the most idle, ignorant, and profligate
-in Africa. The prince himself set the example to his subjects. He
-possessed 140 wives and concubines, of whom one was no more than
-thirteen years of age, whom he had purchased for a few muskets and a
-piece of cloth. Half a dozen enjoyed the distinction of favourites;
-one of them was more than 25 stones in weight. The mother of this
-pluralist was maintained in her son’s palace, where she amused the
-court by dances of the most revolting and obscene description. No
-care was, in any respect, taken to preserve a sense of virtue in the
-king’s harem; but adultery was, nevertheless, punished with death.
-This appears the case in most countries where shame holds no check on
-immorality; it may, indeed, be taken in some measure as an index to
-the state of manners where crimes against chastity are visited with
-public infamy alone, or with legal penalties. In the dominions of Boy,
-one wife, at least, was expected to attend her husband, even when
-dead. The chosen victim was bound and thrown into the river; a mode
-of death preferable to that practised at Calabar, on the coast, where
-the miserable woman is buried alive. In the kingdom of Fundals, when a
-chief died leaving fifteen women in his harem, the king selected one
-to be hung over the tomb, and transferred the rest to his own palace;
-nevertheless, a few of these enjoyed an independent existence. One
-lively intelligent woman possessed an estate of land and 200 slaves,
-whom she employed in trade. Industry flourished, there being small
-competition, as a more idle demoralized people than the dwellers on the
-Niger as far as Ebo cannot be imagined.
-
-Above that place, where the land is less marshy and more favourable
-to cultivation, the natives are more intelligent, more addicted to
-agriculture, more manly in their habits, and in proportion more kind
-and respectful to their women. Polygamy, it is true, prevails, as it
-does all over Western Africa, but the sex is somewhat raised above a
-mere instrument of sensual gratification. In other directions the old
-features are resumed. The Bambarras, a Pagan people, marry as many
-wives as they can support; and the Mandingoes, who are only allowed
-four, treat them as slaves, though they love their children.
-
-The native of Western Africa, in most cases, looks upon his wife, in
-one respect as a source of pleasure, in another as a source of gain,
-reckoning her as property to the amount she can earn by labour. In the
-institution of marriage, therefore, it may easily be conceived that
-no sacred tie is acknowledged. It is merely a civil contract, to be
-dissolved at will. The man sends a present to the woman’s father; if
-a virgin, she exchanges her leathern girdle for a cloth wrapped about
-the loins, and a little merry-making consummates the transaction. This
-account applies especially to the Tilatates. In Yarriba and Bughor,
-when a woman finds herself _enceinte_, she is obliged to inform her
-husband, or suffer a public whipping when the discovery is made. This
-custom refers, there is no doubt, to a feature in the morals of the
-people. Mothers, also, are forced to suckle their children until three
-years old, and punished if, during that period, they cohabit with a man.
-
-Strange inconsistencies occasionally display themselves in the manners
-of these unintellectual barbarians. They have introduced a feature
-of Asiatic luxury, by having eunuchs to guard their seraglios, while
-instances occur in which the uncouth savage professes a sentiment of
-attachment. The King of Attah told Lander that he loved him as he loved
-the wife who shared his bed. Yet he was a polygamist, and a sensualist.
-In Abookir the prince was continually multiplying the inmates of his
-harem, and having many daughters, had numbers of wives younger than
-they. Girls of eleven years old are there considered marriageable.
-
-Regarded as a mere social contract, temporary or otherwise, marriage,
-in this region, is held among the most ordinary occurrences of life.
-A man arriving at the age of 20 takes one wife, and then another,
-increasing the number from four to 100, as his circumstances allow.
-Many women, even under this system, cannot procure husbands. This,
-however, we must not ascribe so much to a vast preponderance of the
-female sex over the male, as to the fact that thousands of men take no
-permanent partners at all. It may, perhaps, be safe to assert that,
-of the single men, none remain without intercourse with women, and of
-the unmarried women, that not one preserves her chastity. The idea
-of that virtue appears foreign to those races. Adultery, indeed, is
-held a crime, but not so much against morals as against the husband.
-A wife suspected of it is compelled to drink a decoction called Sassy
-water, which poisons her, unless she bribes the priest to render it
-harmless by dilution, in which case she is pronounced innocent. The
-widow, even, who has been known to live on bad terms with her husband
-is forced, among the tribes on the banks of the Lower Niger, to undergo
-this ordeal. An illicit connection with the king’s wife, however, is
-punished with death to both parties, while among the chiefs the fine
-of a slave is exacted. Every woman, except the consort of royalty,
-has thus her market value, which is greatly increased if her friends
-fatten her up to a colossal size. Men frequently buy slender girls at
-a cheap rate, and feed them to a proper obesity before taking them as
-companions. Marriage, or concubinage, may be entered on at the age of
-thirteen, and so universal is the system in this part of Africa, that
-the sex seems absolutely wedded to its degradation.
-
-Among the people of Ibu a singular custom exists. When twins are born
-they are immediately exposed to wild beasts. The mother, compelled to
-go through a long course of purification and penance, is thenceforward
-an outlaw, disgraced among the women, who hold up two fingers as she
-passes, to remind her of the misfortune:--she is at once divorced from
-her husband.
-
-Though thus reduced to slavery by the other sex, women, among these
-tribes, enjoy a certain degree of freedom, which is a mitigation of
-their miserable state. Married without their own consent, they are sold
-to a husband for from 26_s._ and upwards, and thenceforward become his
-servants. Yet the favourite wives of the rich, exempt from toil, are
-allowed to amuse themselves in various ways, and even to walk about
-unveiled, under the guard of an eunuch. Men never eat with their wives,
-and often treat them brutally, bewailing the loss of a slave far more
-than the death of a wife, unless she happens to please the caprice
-of the hour. It is among the poorest that most freedom is allowed,
-and among those tribes who have intercourse with Europeans that most
-ferocity prevails. Some dig the soil, some attend to the household,
-some support their husbands by the profits of a petty retail trade,
-while others, kept for his gratification, are allowed to idle. These
-favoured ones are often slaves. A handsome young one often sells for
-from 60,000 to 120,000 cowries (from 3_l._ 15_s._ to 7_l._ 10_s._[44]),
-while the price of a common wife is only 20,000 cowries (25_s._).
-Frequently, the man’s inclination changes its direction, and he sells
-one girl to purchase another. With many of the kings and chiefs a
-continual trade in women is common. King Bell, of the Cameroons, for
-instance, had more than 100 wives, and his wealth was increased by
-their numbers. In his dominions the young maidens had considerable
-liberty, sporting in the fields, and enjoying, for a few years,
-comparative independence of the men[45].
-
-In the kingdom of Dahomey, on the Guinea Coast, we find some of the
-most remarkable institutions with respect to women which exist in
-the world. It has been the centre of the slave trade. Few of the
-comparatively fair aboriginal race exist, but in their place has been
-gathered a mixed population, incontestably one of the most profligate
-in Africa. Entering its seaport town the traveller is at once struck
-by the remarkable immodesty of the female population. Throughout the
-country the same characteristic is observable, though in a modified
-degree. Sir John Malcolm observed of the subjects of the Imaum of
-Muscat--manners they have none, and their habits are disgusting. The
-same description has been judiciously applied to the people of Dahomey.
-They are profligates, from the highest to the lowest--a bloody-minded
-savage race, delighting in human suffering, and finding their national
-pleasure in customs the most revolting and cruel that ever obtained in
-the world.
-
-The king practises all these, and is superior in brutality and
-filthiness to any of his subjects. This has been a characteristic of
-the throne in Dahomey. He has thousands of wives, while his chiefs
-have hundreds, and the common people tens. The royal favourites are
-considered too sacred to be looked upon by vulgar eyes. Whenever they
-proceed along the public road, a bell is rung to warn all passengers of
-their approach, and every one must then turn aside or hide his face. If
-one of them commits adultery, she is, with her paramour, put to death.
-The harem is sacred against strangers, but the privileged nobility
-attend the royal feasts, where the king’s wives sit, attired in showy
-costumes of the reign of Charles II., drinking rum and leading the
-debauch. Those of an inferior class, or the concubines, are employed
-in trade, the profits of which accrue to their master. Every unmarried
-woman in Dahomey is virtually the property of the sovereign, who makes
-his choice among them. No one dares to dispute his will, or to claim a
-maiden towards whom he has signified his inclination.
-
-When the king desires to confer honour on any favourite, he chooses a
-wife for him, and presents her publicly. In this case she performs the
-ceremony of handing to her husband a cup of rum, which is a sign of
-union. Otherwise no rite or ceremony whatever is essential. However,
-the man must finally take his wife or concubine, in the usual business
-manner, for if he seduces a maiden he must marry her, or pay to her
-parent or master 160,000 cowries (equal to 7_l._ 10_s._ of our money).
-Failing in this, he may be sold as a slave. This punishment also is
-inflicted on those who commit adultery with a common person’s wife.
-The rich often buy a number of concubines, live with them for a short
-time, and then sell them at a profit. It is in Dahomey, too, that
-the practice prevails of throwing a wife in the way of committing
-adultery for the sake of the penalty which her husband may exact from
-the criminal. It is commonly known that the king of Dahomey supports
-an army of several thousand Amazonian soldiers. These women dress
-in male attire, and are not allowed to marry, or supposed to hold
-intercourse with the other sex. They declare themselves, indeed, to
-have changed their nature. “We are men,” they say, “and no women.” In
-all things--courage and ferocity among the rest--they seek to preserve
-the character. They dwell in barracks, under the care of eunuchs; they
-practise wild war-dances, and, officered by their own sex, scorn the
-allurements of any weaker passion; they are, therefore, for the most
-part chaste. Vanity and superstition combine to guard their virtue.
-They boast of never encountering a man except in the field of battle.
-Thus their pride is enlisted in the service of their chastity. A charm
-is placed under the threshold of their common dwelling, as it is under
-that of the palace harem, which is supposed to strike with disease the
-bowels of any guilty woman who may cross it. So strong is this belief,
-that many incontinent Amazons have voluntarily revealed their crime,
-though well aware that the punishment of death will be, without mercy,
-dealt upon them as well as their lovers[46].
-
-Most men have a favourite wife, and her privilege is valuable so
-long as her husband lives; but on his decease it entails a terrible
-obligation. The dying chief invites one or more of his principal wives
-to die with him, and these, with a number of slaves, varying according
-to his rank, are sacrificed at his tomb.
-
-In consequence of the immense number of wives and concubines kept by
-the king and his wealthier subjects, numbers of the common people are
-forced to be content with the company of prostitutes, who are licensed
-in Dahomey, and subject to a particular tax. There is a band of them,
-according to Dalzel, who appears worthy of belief, in every village,
-though confined to a certain quarter, and they prostitute themselves
-to any who desire it, at a moderate fixed price. The profits thus
-obtained are often insufficient for their support, and they eke out
-their gains by breeding fowls, and other industrial occupations. Women
-also hire themselves out to carry heavy burdens, and they no doubt
-belong to the prostitute class. Norris saw 250 of these unfortunate
-women collected in a troop on a public occasion. The object of this
-institution, according to the king, was to save the respectable people
-from seduction. There were many men who could not get wives, and,
-unless prostitutes existed, they would seduce the wives or daughters
-of others. At Whyddah, on the coast, Mr. John Duncan was assailed by
-numbers of women who offered to “become his wives,” or, in other words,
-to prostitute themselves to him, for a drop of rum. Many of the poorer
-class strolled about naked, ready to accept any one for a miserable
-gratuity. In that city it was the custom when a man committed adultery,
-to press him into the king’s army. Formerly he was sacrificed, but
-the practice was abolished--prisoners of war furnishing “the annual
-customs” with victims. Whatever the punishment was, however, it was
-ineffectual to suppress the crime, as depravity was the general
-characteristic of the people. At Zapoorah, beyond Dahomey, a chief
-offered one of his wives for sale, and parents asked a price for their
-children; while at Gaffa, still further, the men are more jealous, and
-the women more modest. Adultery with the king’s wife was punished by
-impalement on a red-hot stake.
-
-The dirty, lazy, and dull people of the Fantee coast, near Dahomey,
-wear the same moral aspect as the subjects of that kingdom. Women
-support the men. Parents would sell their children, husbands their
-wives, and women themselves, for a trifling sum. One woman was so
-desirous of changing her companion, that she took possession of a
-recent traveller’s bed, and could only be expelled by force. Marriage
-is a mere purchase--of from six to twenty wives and concubines. The
-rich support their harems at a great cost. The common price is sixteen
-dollars. Maidens are seldom bought when beyond fifteen or sixteen years
-of age, so that many men have wives younger than their daughters. The
-individual committing adultery is forced to buy his paramour at her
-original price. Contrary to the custom of Ibu and Bony, the mother of
-twins is, among the Fantees, held in great respect.
-
-Along the coast of Benin manners, in most respects similar to these,
-prevail--public dancers acting as prostitutes in most of the native
-towns, and offering themselves for a wretched price. Every woman holds
-it an honour to be the king’s companion even for one night[47].
-
-In Ashantee, where polygamy, as elsewhere in Africa, prevails, adultery
-is common, especially among the king’s wives, who, when discovered,
-are hewn to pieces. The manners of the people are profligate beyond
-anything of which in England we can realize an idea. In the country of
-the Kroomen, eastward on the Guinea Coast, where nearly all the labour
-devolves on women, men become independent by the possession of from
-twenty to forty wives. One practice prevailing there is characterized
-by an unusual depravity. The son, inheriting his father’s property,
-inherits also his wives, his own mother then becoming his slave. In
-the interior, on the banks of the Asinnee, we find a people among
-whom the men are industrious, and the women treated with respect. The
-consequence is a far higher standard of morality[48].
-
-It is remarkable to find among the Edeeyahs of Fernando Po a strong
-contrast to these general characteristics of manners and morality in
-Western Africa. Generous, hospitable, humane, practising no murder,
-possessing no slaves, with only innocent rites, they treat their women
-with comparative consideration, and assign them far less than the usual
-amount of hard labour. To cook food, bear palm oil to market, and press
-the nuts, are their principal occupations. Polygamy is allowed, and
-when a man undertakes a journey, he is accompanied by one or more of
-his wives, who are much attached to their husbands and children.
-
-The first wife taken by a man must be betrothed to him at least two
-years before marriage. During that period the lover must perform all
-the duties which otherwise would have been performed by her. He must
-go, indeed, through a probation resembling the servitude of Jacob
-for Rachel. Meanwhile the maiden is kept in a hut, concealed from the
-sight of the people. These courtships often begin while the girl is
-no more than thirteen or fourteen, and her lover only a youth; but
-if he seduces her before the two years are elapsed, he is severely
-punished. That time having expired the young wife is still kept in the
-hut, where she receives her husband’s visits until it is evident she
-is about to become a mother--or if not, for eighteen months. When she
-first appears publicly as a married woman, all the virgins of her tribe
-salute her and dance about her. These customs indicate far more purity
-and elevation of manners among the Edeeyahs than among any other people
-in Western Africa. They are only observed, however, with regard to the
-first wife, all the others being virtually no more than concubines
-governed by her. Some chiefs have upwards of a hundred, and the king
-more than twice that number.
-
-Adultery is severely punished, but, nevertheless, not very rare. For
-the first offence both parties lose one hand. For the second the
-man, with his relatives, is heavily fined, and otherwise chastised,
-while the woman, losing the other hand, is driven as an outlaw into
-the woods. This exile is more terrible to the Edeeyahs than the
-mutilation[49].
-
-In examining the condition of Africa, in the light we have chosen,
-it would entail a tiresome repetition to pass in review all the
-various groups of states sunk in barbarism. The natives are generally
-barbarian. Elevated slightly above the hunting or pure savage state,
-they have subdued some animals to their use, and practise some
-ingenious arts; but their manners are baser than those of any race
-below them in point of art and luxury. We have seen that in the West,
-with a few rare exceptions, profligacy is the universal feature of
-society. In the East it is almost equally so. Our knowledge of that
-coast, it is true, is less full than of the West; but travellers afford
-sufficient information to justify an opinion on the general state of
-manners. In Zulu, as an example of the rest, the king has a seraglio of
-fifteen hundred women, who are slaves to his caprice. His mother was in
-that condition when Isaacs visited the country. She endured corporal
-chastisement from her son. A number of women and boys, belonging to
-the royal harem, and suspected of illicit intercourse, were massacred
-by the prince’s orders. Adultery, indeed, was a thing of continual
-occurrence in the palace. Marriage is held among the people not as a
-sacred tie but as a state of friendship. All the people, however, are
-polygamists, and the laws of morality refer only to wives. With others
-the intercourse of the sexes is unrestrained. Men do not cohabit with
-their wives on the first night after their wedding. This ceremony among
-the rich is accompanied by a grand feast, though, as in other parts
-of Africa, the wife is bought--at the most for ten cows. A man cannot
-sell but may dismiss his wife, over whom also he has the power of
-life and death. Adultery is always capitally punished, that is, when
-discovered; for with eighty or ninety women in his possession, it is
-not always possible for the husband to watch their conduct--especially
-as they labour for his support. Girls are not allowed to marry or
-become concubines until the age of fourteen, until which period they go
-without clothing. The degrees of consanguinity, within which marriage
-is strictly prohibited, are very wide--an union being permitted only
-between the most distant relations.
-
-It is necessary to observe that in the Zulu kingdom profligacy is more
-general among the men than among the women, for wives hold the marriage
-tie in great estimation. It is the unlimited power of the male sex over
-the other which forces it to become the prey of sensuality. Throughout
-the Eastern region, indeed, women are the mere instruments of pleasure,
-being bought and sold like cattle--forced to toil and live in drudgery
-for the benefit of their masters and husbands[50].
-
-Among the nomade and stationary tribes of the Sahara, who are not
-aboriginal to that region, we have a different system of manners. In
-the Arabian communities you may find women ready to perform indecent
-actions, and even to prostitute themselves for money; but these are of
-the low classes. Cases of adultery are rare.
-
-The Mohammedans believe that a man cannot have too many wives, or, at
-least, too many concubines. They declare it assists their devotion;
-but the feeling is one merely sensual. Pure sentiment is a thing in
-which they can scarcely believe. Rich men who are accustomed to travel
-in pursuit of trade, have one family at Ghadames, another, perhaps,
-at Ghat, and another at Soudan, and live with each of them by turns.
-These women stand in great fear of their husbands. The rich are veiled,
-and live in retirement; the poor do not; but all will unveil their
-faces to a stranger, if it can be done with safety. The white, or
-respectable women of Ghadames, never descend into the streets, or even
-into the gardens of their houses. The flat roof of their dwelling is
-their perpetual promenade, and a suite of two or three rooms their
-abode. It is said that in these retreats many of the women privately
-rule their husbands, though no men will confess the fact. Among the
-Marabouts it is held disgraceful to be unmarried, but shameful also to
-be under the wife’s control.
-
-The negresses and half-castes who may be seen in the streets of the
-cities of the Sahara, are generally slaves. The women of the Touarik
-tribes, however, are by no means so. They belong to a fierce and
-warlike tribe, half vagrant, half stationary, and are bound by few
-restrictions. Their morals are described as superior to those of the
-lower class of women in Europe; though exceptions, of course, are
-found. One Touarik woman offered to prostitute herself to Richardson
-for a sum of money; or, as it was expressed, to become his wife.
-
-Polygamy, though universally allowed in the Sahara, is not carried to
-an extent at all equal to that prevailing in the savage regions on the
-east and west. Three wives usually occupy the harem of a rich man.
-Marriage is, as usual with people of that religion, a civil contract
-with a shade of sanctity upon it, but celebrated with great feasts and
-rejoicings. The bridegroom is expected to live in retirement during two
-or three weeks. He occasionally walks about the town at evening alone,
-dressed in gay clothes of blue and scarlet, and bearing a fine long
-stave of brass or polished iron. He never speaks or is spoken to, and
-vanishes on meeting any one.
-
-[Illustration: GIRLS OF NUBIA (MAKING POTTERY).
-
-[_From_ ST. JOHN’S “_Oriental Album_.”]]
-
-The manners of the communities in the Sahara are imperfectly known;
-but from the accounts we have received they appear to be of a far more
-elevated order than those of any other part of Africa. It is true
-that customs prevail which shock our ideas of decency. A chief, for
-instance, offered Richardson his two daughters as wives. It is also
-true that many women exist who follow the profession of prostitutes,
-though we have no distinct account of them. But immorality is usually
-among them a secret crime. Their general customs with regard to
-sexual intercourse are at least as pure as those of Europe. Among the
-wandering tribes of the desert the hardship of their lives, continual
-occupation, varied scenes of excitement, and contempt for sensual
-enjoyments, contribute to preserve chastity among their virtues;
-while the Marabouts of the cities are of a generally moral character.
-Intoxication never happens among the women. Still, the condition of
-the sex is degraded; for they are, with exceptions, regarded only
-as the materials of a man’s household, and ministers to the sensual
-enjoyments of his life[51]. The Mohammedans of Central Africa, bigoted
-as to dogmas, are nevertheless more liberal to women, who enjoy more
-consideration among them than in the more important strongholds of that
-religion[52].
-
-The wandering Arabs of Algeria hold marriage as a business transaction,
-though the estimation of the sex is not low. The lover brings to the
-woman’s home ten head of cattle, with other presents, which usually
-form her dowry. The father asks, “How much does she whom you are going
-to have for wife cost you?” He replies, “A prudent and industrious
-woman can never be too dear.” She is dressed, placed on a horse, and
-borne to her new home amid rejoicing. She then drinks the cup of
-welcome, and thrusting a stick into the ground, declares, “As this
-stick will remain here until some one forces it away, so will I.” She
-then performs some little office to show she is ready for the duty of a
-wife, and the ceremony is ended[53].
-
-Transferring our observations to Abyssinia, we find in its several
-divisions different characteristics of manners. In Tajura, on the Red
-Sea, profligacy is a conspicuous feature of society. Men live with
-their wives for a short period, and then sell them, maintaining thus
-a succession of favourites in their harems. Parents, also, are known
-not only to sell their daughters as wives, but to hire them out as
-prostitutes. One chief offered a traveller his daughter either as a
-temporary or a permanent companion; he showed another whom he would
-have sold for 100 dollars. One woman presented herself, stating, as a
-recommendation, that she had already lived with five men. These are
-nothing but prostitutes, whatever the delicacy of travellers induces
-them to term them. Unfortunately the inquiries made into this system
-are very slight, affording us no statistics or results of any kind. We
-are thus left to judge of morality in Tajura by the fact that syphilis
-afflicts nearly the whole population, man and woman, sultan and beggar,
-priests and their wives included.
-
-In the Christian kingdom of Shoa, the Christian king has one wife,
-and 500 concubines; seven in the palace, thirteen at different places
-in the outskirts, and the rest in various parts of his dominions. He
-makes a present to the parents of any women he may desire, and is
-usually well paid in return for the honour. The governors of cities and
-provinces follow this example, keeping establishments of concubines at
-different places. Scores of the royal slaves are cast aside, and their
-place supplied by others.
-
-In Shoa there are two kinds of marriage; one a mere agreement to
-cohabitation, another a holy ceremony; the former is almost universally
-practised. The men and women declare before witnesses that they intend
-to live happily together. The connection thus easily contracted is
-easily broken; mutual consent only is necessary to a divorce. In Shoa
-a wife is valued according to the amount of her property. The heiress
-to a house, a field and a bedstead, is sure to have a husband. When
-they quarrel and part, a division of goods takes place. Holy ceremonies
-are very rare, and not much relished. A wedded couple, in one sense
-of the term, is a phenomenon. Instances of incontinence are frequent;
-while the caprice of the men leads them often to increase the number
-of their concubines. These are procured as well from the Christians as
-from the Mohammedans and Pagans; but the poor girls professing these
-religions are forced to a blind profession of Christianity. Favourite
-slaves and concubines hold the same position with married women; while
-illegitimate and legitimate children are treated by the law with no
-distinction. Three hundred of the king’s concubines are slaves, taken
-in war or purchased from dealers. They are guarded by fifty eunuchs,
-and live in seclusion; though this by no means prevents the court from
-overflowing with licentiousness. Numerous adulteries take place, and
-this example is followed by the people; among whom a chaste married
-couple is not common.
-
-Women in Abyssinia, which is an agricultural country, mix freely with
-the men, and dance in their company; though a few jealous husbands or
-cautious parents seclude them. Morality is at an extremely low ebb. At
-the Christmas saturnalia, gross and disgusting scenes occur, as well as
-at other feasts. What else can be expected in a country where 12,000
-priests live devoted, in theory at least, to celibacy; and where, at
-the annual baptisms, these priests, with men, women, and children strip
-naked, and rush in promiscuous crowds into a stream, where they are
-baptised according to the Christian religion! The sacerdotal class of
-Shoa is notoriously drunken and profligate. Another cause of corruption
-is the caprice which induces men to abandon their concubines after
-short cohabitation with them. These women, discarded and neglected,
-devote themselves to an infamous profession, and thus immorality is
-perpetuated through every grade of their society: in a word, the morals
-of Shoa are of the lowest description. In the Mohammedan states in its
-neighbourhood the condition of the sex is no better. If there is less
-general prostitution, it is because every woman is the slave of some
-man’s lust, and is imprisoned under his eye. He is jealous only of
-her person; scarcely attributing to her a single quality which is not
-perceptible to his senses[54].
-
-In the southern provinces of Kordofan, under the government of Egypt,
-south of the Nubian Mountains, immense labour is imposed on the
-unmarried girls; yet the sentiment of love is not altogether unknown to
-them, and men fight duels with whips of hippopotamus hide on account
-of a disputed mistress. The wife is nevertheless a virtual slave, and
-still more degraded should she prove barren; the husband, in that
-case, solaces himself with a concubine, who, if she bears a child, is
-elevated to the rank of wife. It is common among the rich for a man to
-make his wife a separate allowance after the birth of her second child,
-when she goes to live in a separate hut. All their bloom is gone by
-the time they are twenty-four years old, and thenceforward they enjoy
-no estimation from the men. Yet, improvident in their hearts, the
-young girls of Kordofan are merry; and, whether at work or idle, spend
-the day in songs and laughter; while in the evening they assemble and
-dance to the music of the Tarabuka drum. Their demeanour, in general,
-is modest, and their lives are chaste. Married women, on the contrary,
-especially those who are neglected by their husbands, occupy themselves
-in gossip, and find solace in criminal intrigues. In some parts of the
-country, indeed, men consider it an honour for their wives to have
-intercourse with others; and the women are often forwarded in their
-advances. Female slaves often have liberty when they bear children to
-their proprietors.
-
-Women eat when the men have done, and pretty dancers attend at the
-feasts to amuse their employers. These girls, like the Ghawazee of
-Lower Egypt, are usually prostitutes, and very skilful in the arts of
-seduction. Numbers of this class fled from Egypt into Kordofan, on one
-occasion, when Mohammed Ali, in one of his affected fits of morality,
-endeavoured to suppress their calling altogether.
-
-Marriage, it may be scarcely necessary to say, is concluded without
-the woman’s consent. The man bargains for her, pays her price, takes
-her home, strips off her virginal girdle, which is the only garment
-of unmarried girls, and covers her with a cloth about her loins; a
-feast and a dance occasionally celebrate the event. When a wife is
-ill-treated beyond endurance, she demands a divorce; and, taking her
-female offspring, with her dowry, returns home. Trifles often produce
-these separations. That her husband has not allowed her sufficient
-pomatum to anoint her person with, is not unfrequently the ground of
-complaint. Few men in Kordofan have more than two wives; but most have
-concubines besides, whom the more opulent protect by a guard of eunuchs.
-
-These remarks apply to the agricultural or fixed population. The
-Baghaira, or wandering pastoral tribes of Kordofan, are a modest, moral
-race--naked, but not on that account indecent[55].
-
-A chief of the Berbers offered a late traveller the choice of his two
-daughters for a bedfellow. They were already both married. Women there,
-however, as well as in Dongola, are, many of them, ready to prostitute
-themselves for a present. A virgin, whether as wife or concubine, may
-be purchased for a horse. “Why do you not marry?” said a traveller to a
-young Berber. He pointed to a colt and answered “When that is a horse I
-shall marry.”[56]
-
-The condition of women and state of manners on the upper borders
-of the Nile, we find described in Ferdinand Werne’s account of his
-recent voyage to discover the sources of the White Stream. The system
-in Khartum may be indicated by one sentence in the traveller’s own
-language. He speaks of desiring that the pay might be advanced to
-prevent starvation from visiting the soldiers’ families, “which,
-from the low price of female slaves, were numerous.” It may, without
-resort to hyperbole, be said, that the female monkeys peopling the
-neighbouring woods occupy a far nobler and more natural position.
-Among the barbarians on the banks of the river further up, the state
-of manners is in a great degree more pure. The Keks, for example,
-are described as leading a blameless life. The travellers saw no
-marriageable maidens or children, married women alone appearing. The
-most singular social economy prevails among them. The women live,
-during a considerable part of the year, in villages apart from the men,
-who possess only temporary huts. Their wives have regular substantial
-habitations, which are common to both sexes during the rainy season. A
-man dare not approach the “harem village,” except at the proper period,
-though some of the women occasionally creep into their husbands’
-village. Polygamy is allowed, but only practised by the chiefs, since
-all the wives are bought, which renders the indulgence costly.
-
-Among some of the tribes on the banks of the White Nile women will sell
-their children if they can do so with profit. Everywhere in that region
-the maidens mingle naked with the men, but appear by no means immodest.
-When married they wear an apron. All exhibit a sense of shame at
-exhibiting themselves unclothed before strangers. Beyond the Mountains
-of the Moon, however, Werne found people, among whom the unmarried men
-and women were separated. They were completely naked, but chaste and
-decent nevertheless. A heavy price was always asked for a girl, which
-prevented common polygamy, though their social code permitted it[57].
-
-It must be evident that, in an inquiry like the present, a view of the
-manners and morals of Africa with regard to the female sex must be
-incomplete. In the first place, our information is very limited; in
-the second, we are confined for space--for otherwise these sketches
-could be extended to an indefinite extent. We have, however, taken
-observations in Southern, in Western, in Eastern, in Northern, and
-Central Africa. Kingdoms and communities, indeed, there are which we
-have not included in our description. Of these some wear features
-so similar to others we have noticed, that to particularise them is
-unnecessary in a general view. Of others, such as Egypt, Nubia, Barca,
-Tripoli, Algiers, and Morocco, we shall treat in a future division of
-the subject, because they are not included, by the character of their
-civilization, among the communities of which we have hitherto spoken.
-The reader will, we trust, have been enabled to form a fair idea of
-the average of morals among the savages and semi-savages of Africa.
-With modern barbarians, as with ancient states, tabular statistics are
-impossible: but from a description in general terms, we cannot always
-refuse to ground a confident opinion.
-
-
-WOMEN IN AUSTRALIA.
-
-In Australia we have a family of the human race still more uneducated,
-though not more barbarous, than that which inhabits the woods of the
-African continent. There is among them less approach to the arts of
-civilization, less ingenuity, less intelligence, but there is more
-simplicity. Their customs are not so brutal as those prevailing on
-the banks of the Joliba or the Senegal. Nevertheless they are true
-savages, and the condition of their women is consistent with all the
-other features of their irreclaimed state. Of the Australians, however,
-as of all races imperfectly known, there obtains in this country a
-vulgar idea drawn from the old accounts, which are little better than
-caricatures. They have been represented as a hideous race, scarcely
-elevated above the brute, blood-thirsty, destitute of human feeling,
-without any redeeming characteristics, and, moreover, incapable of
-civilization. Such a description is calculated only to mislead. The
-aborigines of Australia are certainly a low, barbarous, and even a
-brutal race, but the true picture of their manners, which form the
-expression of their character, is not without encouraging traits.
-
-Considering the great extent of New Holland, it is surprising to find
-such an uniformity of character and customs, as we actually discover
-among its nations. The language, varied by dialects, the habits, social
-laws, and ideas of the people, are extremely similar, whether we visit
-them in that province called the Happy or in the districts around Port
-Essington. Consequently, though it occupy a large space on the map,
-this region will not require any very extended notice. An idea of the
-condition and morality of its women may be afforded by one general
-view, with reference to the various local peculiarities noticed by
-travellers.
-
-The native inhabitants of Australia are generally nomadic. They dwell
-in temporary villages scattered over vast surfaces of country, and
-move from place to place, as the supply of provisions, spontaneously
-provided by the earth, is more or less abundant. Separated as they are
-into small isolated communities--rarely numbering more than eighty
-members--they resort to the borders of lakes and streams, which dry up
-at certain seasons, and force them to seek elsewhere a home. A rude
-copy of the patriarchal form of government prevails among them--old men
-being the rulers of the tribe.
-
-The condition of women among these primitive savages is extremely low.
-They are servants of the stronger sex. In some of their dialects wife
-and slave are synonymous. All the labour devolves on her, and, as no
-form of agriculture is practised, this consists principally in the
-search for the means of life. She collects the daily food, she prepares
-the camp or the hut at night, she piles fire-wood, draws water, weaves
-baskets, carries all burdens, and bears the children on her back, and
-the return for all this willing devotion is frequently the grossest
-ill-usage.
-
-There is no form of marriage ceremony observed. A man gets a wife in
-various ways. Sometimes she is betrothed to him while an infant--even
-before her birth, and sometimes she devolves to him with other
-property. The eldest surviving brother, or next male relative, inherits
-the women of a whole family. Thus many households are supplied. Others
-steal their wives from hostile tribes, and frequent wars arise from
-such proceedings. Polygamy is universally allowed, but not by any
-means generally practised; for there are few parts of Australia where
-the female sex is not outnumbered by the male. Plurality of wives
-consequently implies wealth and distinction--each additional one being
-regarded as a new slave, an increase of property. Nor are the women
-jealous of polygamy. When a man has many wives, they subdivide the
-labour, which otherwise would devolve on one, thus lightening each
-others’ burdens, and procuring companionship. There can indeed be
-little jealous feeling where affection on the part of the husband to
-the wife is almost a thing unknown.
-
-The Australian wife when past the prime of life is usually a wretched
-object. She is often deformed and crippled by excessive toil--her body
-bent, her legs crooked, her ankles swollen, her face wearing an aspect
-of sullen apathy, produced by long hardship. When young, however, they
-are frequently lively and happy, not being cursed with keen feelings,
-and caring for little beyond the present hour. Should a young woman,
-nevertheless, be distinguished by peculiar beauty, she leads, while
-her attractions last, a miserable course of existence. Betrothed at
-an early age, she is perpetually watched by the future husband, and
-upon the least suspicion of infidelity is subjected to the most brutal
-treatment. To thrust a spear through her thigh or the calf of her leg
-is the common mode of punishment. She may, in spite of all precautions,
-be snatched away: whether consenting or not, she must endure the same
-penalty. If she be chaste, the man who has attempted to seduce her may
-strike her with a club, stun her, and bear her to a wood, where she is
-violated by force. Still she is punished, and it is, says Sir George
-Grey, no common sight to see a woman of superior elegance or beauty
-who has not some scars disfiguring various parts of her person. This
-period, however, is soon over, for the bloom of an Australian woman
-is very short-lived. When the seducer is found, he is punished in a
-similar manner, and if he have committed adultery with a married woman,
-suffers death.
-
-The jealousy of the married men is excessive, and would be ridiculous
-were it not that their vigilance is absolutely called for. A careless
-husband would speedily suffer for his neglect. Accordingly we find
-the Australian savages practising in their woods or open plains
-restrictions not dissimilar to those adopted in the seraglios of the
-East. When an encampment is formed for the night every man overlooks
-his wives while they build one or more temporary huts, over which he
-then places himself as a guard. The young children and the unmarried
-girls occupy this portion of the village. Boys above ten years of
-age and all single men are forced to sleep in a separate encampment,
-constructed for them by their mothers, and are not allowed to visit
-the bivouacs of the married men. Under no circumstances is a strange
-native allowed to approach one of the family huts. Each of these little
-dwellings is placed far from the rest, so that when their inmates
-desire to hold converse they sing to each other from a distance. When
-the young men collect to dance, the maidens and wives are allowed to be
-spectators, but only on a few occasions to join. They have dances of
-their own, at which the youth of the other sex are not permitted to be
-present.
-
-In spite of this excessive jealousy the idea of a husband’s affection
-for his wife appears strange to them. Men return from journeys without
-exchanging a greeting with the mothers of their children, but those
-children they salute with many endearing terms, falling on their necks
-and shedding tears with every demonstration of love. A man has been
-known, when his wife was grievously sick, to leave her to die in the
-wilderness, rather than be troubled with her on his journey.
-
-Yet the influence of women is not by any means small. In some of the
-tribes they obtain a position of moderate equality with the husband,
-are well-fed, clothed, and treated as rational beings. Everywhere the
-men, young and old, strive to deserve their praise; and exhibitions of
-vanity take place, perfectly ludicrous to those European travellers who
-forget that the silly dandyism of the Australian savage, with his paint
-and opossum skin, is only peculiar in its form of expression. Women
-are often present on the field of battle, to inspire their husbands by
-exhortations, to rouse them by clamours of revenge or appeals to their
-valour; and among the chief punishments of cowardice is their contempt.
-The man failing in any great duty of a warrior is so disgraced. Thus,
-if he neglect to avenge the death of his nearest relation, his wives
-may quit him; the unmarried girls shun him with scorn, and he is driven
-by their reproaches to perform his bloody and dangerous task.
-
-Where polygamy exists it is seldom the woman’s consent is required
-before her union with a suitor. In Australia it is never required
-or expected. The transaction is entirely between her father and the
-man who desires her for a wife, or, rather, for a concubine. She is
-ordered, perhaps, to take up her household bag, and go to a certain
-man’s hut, and this may be the first notice she has of the marriage.
-There she is in the position of a slave to her master. If she be
-obedient, toil without torture is her mitigated lot; but if she rebel,
-the club is employed to enforce submission. She is her husband’s
-absolute property. He may give her away, exchange her, or lend her
-as he pleases. Indeed, old men will sometimes offer their wives to
-friends, or as a mark of respect to strangers; and the offer is not
-uncommonly accepted.
-
-Though we have mentioned three ways of obtaining a wife, the system of
-betrothal is the most general. Almost every female child is so disposed
-of a few days after its birth. From that moment the parents have no
-control whatever over her future settlement; she is in fact a bought
-slave. Should her betrothed die she becomes the property of his heir.
-Whatever her age she may be taken into the hut; cohabitation often
-commencing while the girl is not twelve years old, and her husband only
-a boy. Three days after her first husband’s death the widow goes to the
-hut of the second.
-
-Some restrictions, however, are imposed on the intercourse of the
-sexes. Thus all children take the family name of their mother, and a
-man may not marry a woman of his own family name. Relations nearer than
-cousins are not allowed to marry, and an alliance even within this
-degree is very rare. The Australians have, indeed, a horror of all
-connections with the least stigma of incest upon them, and adjudge the
-punishment of death to such an offence. Their laws, which are matters
-not of enactment but of custom, are extremely severe upon this and all
-other points connected with their women.
-
-Chastity, nevertheless, is neither highly appreciated nor often
-practised. It is far from being prized by the women as a jewel of
-value; on the contrary, they plot for opportunities to yield it
-illicitly, and can scarcely be said to know the idea. Profligacy is
-all but universal among them; it is a characteristic even of the
-children. When some schools were formed at Perth, for the education of
-the natives, it was found absolutely necessary to separate children
-of tender years, in order to prevent scenes of vile debauch from
-being enacted. It should be said, however, that though indiscriminate
-prostitution among the women, and depraved sensuality among the men,
-exist in the most savage communities, disease and vice are far less
-characteristic of them than of those tribes which have come in contact
-with Europeans. In all the colonial towns there is a class of native
-women following the calling of prostitutes, and there the venereal
-disease and syphilis are most deadly and widely prevalent. The former
-appears to have been brought from Europe, and makes terrible havoc
-among them. The latter, ascribed by their traditions to the East, has
-been found among tribes which had apparently never held intercourse
-with the whites; in such cases, however, it is in a milder form.
-
-Several causes contribute to the corruption of manners among these
-savage tribes. One of the principal is, the monopoly of women claimed
-by the old men. The patriarchs of the tribe, contrive to secure all
-the young girls, leaving to their more youthful brethren only common
-prostitutes, prisoners of war, and such women as they can ravish from
-a neighbouring community, or seduce from their husbands’ dwellings.
-They also abandon to them their own wives when 30 or 40 years old,
-obtaining in exchange the little girls belonging to the young man’s
-family. The youthful warrior, therefore, with a number of sisters, can
-usually succeed in obtaining a few wives by barter. That their personal
-attractions are faded is not of any high importance; since they are
-needed chiefly to render him independent of labour. His sensual
-appetites he is content to gratify, until he becomes a patriarch, by
-illicit intrigues with other women of the tribe. Of these there are
-generally some ready to sell or give away their favours. The wives,
-especially of the very old chiefs, look anxiously forward to the death
-of their husbands, when they hope, in the usual course of inheritance,
-to be transferred to the hut of a younger man; for, among nations in
-this debased state, it is not _the_ woman that is prized, but _a_
-woman. Personal attachment is rare. The husband whose wife has been
-ravished away by a warrior from a neighbouring tribe may be pacified
-by being presented with another companion. Even in Australia Felix,
-which is peopled by the most intelligent, industrious, and manly of
-the Australian race, the young man disappointed of a wife in his own
-tribe sets off to another, waylays some woman, asks her to elope with
-him, and, on her refusal, stuns her with his club, and drags her away
-in triumph. Marriage, indeed, appears too dignified a term to apply to
-this system of concubinage and servitude which in Australia goes under
-that name. Travellers have found in the far interior happy families of
-man and wife, roaming together, with common interests, and united by
-affection; but such instances are rare.
-
-A large proportion of the young men in Australia can by no means obtain
-wives. This arises from the numerical disparity between the sexes,
-which is almost universal in that region, and is chiefly attributable
-to the practice of infanticide. Child-killing is indeed among the
-social institutions of that poor and barbarous race. Women have been
-known to kill and eat their offspring, and men to swing them by the
-legs and dash out their brains against a tree. The custom is becoming
-rare among those tribes in constant intercourse with Europeans, but
-that intercourse itself has caused much of the evil. Half-castes,
-or the offspring of native women by European fathers, are almost
-invariably sacrificed. They are held in dread by the people, who fear
-the growth of a mixed race which may one day conquer or destroy them.
-Females, also, are killed in great numbers. This class of infanticide
-is regulated by various circumstances in different communities. Among
-some tribes all the girls are destroyed until a boy is born; in others,
-the firstborn is exposed; in others, all above a certain number
-perish; but everywhere the custom prevails. One of two twins--a rare
-birth--is almost always killed. It may be ascribed to the miserably
-poor condition of the people, and the degraded state of the female sex;
-for in a region where the aborigines have not yet learned to till the
-soil, and where the means of life are scanty, there will always be an
-inducement to check the growth of numbers by infanticide; and where
-women have to perform all the labour, and follow their husbands in long
-marches or campaigns, ministering to every want they may experience,
-the trouble of nursing an infant is often saved at the cost of the
-infant’s life. Neglect also effects the same purpose.
-
-The population, under these circumstances, has always been thin, and is
-apparently decreasing. Among 421 persons belonging to various tribes
-in Australia Felix, Eyre remarked that there were in the course of two
-years and a half only ten children reared. In other places one child to
-every six women was not an unusual average. This, however, is not all
-to be ascribed to infanticide. Many of the females abandon themselves
-so recklessly to vice that they lose all their natural powers, and
-become incapable of bearing offspring. Eyre found in other parts of
-Australia that the average of births was four to every woman. In New
-South Wales the proportion of women to men appears to be as two to
-three; while in the interior, Sturt calculated that female children
-outnumbered the male, while with adults the reverse was true. This
-indicates an awful spread of the practice of infanticide, which we
-cannot refuse to believe when we remember the facts which travellers of
-undeniable integrity have made known to us.
-
-To suppose from this that in Australia the natural sentiments of
-humanity are unknown, would be extremely rash. On the contrary, we find
-very much that is beautiful in the character of its wild people, and
-are led to believe that civilization may go far towards elevating them
-from all their barbarous customs. Women are known to bear about their
-necks, as relics sacred to affection, the bones of their children,
-whom they have mourned for years with a pure and deep sorrow. Men have
-loved and respected their wives; maidens have prized and guarded their
-virtue; but it is too true that these are exceptions, and that the
-character and the condition of the female sex in Australia is that of
-debasement and immorality.
-
-With respect to the prostitute class of the colonial towns, to which
-allusion has been made, it will be noticed in another part of this
-inquiry, when we examine into the manners of English and other settlers
-abroad.
-
-Of prostitutes as a class among the natives themselves, it is
-impossible to speak separately; for prostitution of that kind implies
-some advance towards the forms of regular society, and little of this
-appears yet to be made in that region. From the sketch we have given,
-however, a general idea may be gained of the state of women and the
-estimation of virtue among a race second only to the lowest tribes of
-Africa in barbarity and degradation[58].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN NEW ZEALAND.
-
-In the New Zealand group we find a race considerably elevated above
-the other inhabitants of Australasia, with a species of native
-civilization--a system of art, industry, and manners. Perhaps the
-savage of New Holland is one of the most miserable, and the New
-Zealander one of the most elevated, barbarians in the world. By
-this we do not mean that he has made any progress in refinement,
-or been subdued by the amiable amenities of life; but he is quick,
-intelligent, apt to learn, swift to imitate, and docile in the school
-of civilization. The Maories, in their original state, are low and
-brutal; but they are easily raised from that condition. They have
-exhibited a capacity for the reception of knowledge, and a desire to
-adopt what they are taught to admire--which encourage strong hopes
-of their reclamation. Among them, however, vice was, until recently,
-almost universal, and at the present day it is so, with the exception
-of a few tribes brought directly under the influence of educated and
-moral European communities. The only class which has discarded the
-most systematic immorality is that which has reconciled itself to the
-Christian religion, or been persuaded to follow the manners of the
-white men. The unreclaimed tribes present a spectacle of licentiousness
-which distinguishes them even among barbarous nations.
-
-They show, indeed, an advance in profligacy. Their immorality is
-upon a plan, and recognised in that unwritten social law which among
-barbarians remedies the want of a written code. It is not the beastly
-lust of the savage, who appears merely obedient to an animal instinct,
-against which there is no principle of morals or sentiment of decency
-to contend;--it is the appetite of the sensualist, deliberately
-gratified, and by means similar, in many respects, to those adopted
-among the lowest classes in Europe. We may, indeed, compare the Maori
-village, unsubjected to missionary influence, with some of the hamlets
-in our rural provinces, where moral education of every kind is equally
-an exile.
-
-The New Zealanders have been divided into the descendants of two
-races, the one inferior to the other; and the Malay has been taken
-as the superior. Ethnologists may prove a difference between them,
-and trace it through their manners; but these distinctions of race
-are not sufficiently marked to require separate investigations. The
-social institutions of the islanders are very generally the same,
-with some unimportant variations among the several tribes. We are
-placed in this peculiar difficulty when inquiring into the manners
-of New Zealand--that they appear to have undergone considerable
-modification since, and in consequence of, the arrival of Europeans.
-The natives refer to this change themselves, and in some cases
-charge the whites with introducing various evils into their country.
-Undoubtedly this is as true of New Zealand as of every other portion
-of the globe whither men have carried from Christendom the vices as
-well as the advantages of civilization. But in speaking of European
-settlers, a broad distinction must be borne in mind. White is not
-more contrasted with black, than are the regular orderly colonies
-established under the authority of Great Britain with the irregular
-scattered settlements planted by whalers, runaway or released convicts,
-land speculators, and other adventurers before the formal hoisting
-of our flag. The influence of the one has been to enlighten and to
-elevate, of the other to debase and demoralize, the native population.
-Gambling, drinking, and prostitution were encouraged or introduced
-by the one, Christianity, order, and morality are spreading through
-the exertions of the other; and it is, therefore, unjust to confound
-them in one general panegyric or condemnation. Nor shall we include
-all the unrecognised settlements in this description. Many of the
-hardy whalers and others have taken to themselves Maori wives, who,
-sober, thrifty, and industrious, submit without complaining to rough
-usage and hard work, and are animated by a deep affection for their
-husbands. Contented with a calico gown and blanket, an occasional pipe
-of tobacco, and a very frugal life, they cost little to support, and
-appear for the most part not only willing but cheerful.
-
-The female sex throughout New Zealand is not in such complete
-subjection to the male as in New Holland. With the right they have
-acquired the power to resist any unnatural encroachment upon their
-liberties, though still in a state of comparative bondage. They are
-influential in society, and whenever this is the case they enjoy, more
-or less, remission of oppression. We find them declaiming at public
-meetings of the people, and fiercely denouncing the warriors who may
-be dishonourably averse to war, or have behaved ignominiously in the
-field. By influencing their friends and relatives they often secure to
-themselves revenge for an injury, and thus security against the same
-in future. In various other ways their position is defended against
-utter abasement. They are not regarded merely as subservient to the
-lust and indolence of the male sex. When dead they are buried with
-ceremony according to the husband’s rank, and formal rites of mourning
-are observed for them. In public and in domestic affairs their opinions
-are consulted, and often their hands are obtained in marriage by the
-most humble supplication, or the most difficult course of persuasion,
-by the lover. All this is evidence of a higher state than that which is
-occupied by females either in Africa or New Holland.
-
-Polygamy is permitted and practised by those who can afford it. In
-reality, however, the man has but one wife and a number of concubines,
-for though the second and third may be ceremoniously wedded to him,
-they are in subjection to the first, and his intercourse with them is
-frequently checked by her. She is paramount and all but supreme, though
-a man of determination will sometimes divorce his first wife to punish
-her contumelious behaviour to his second.
-
-It is customary for a man to marry two or more sisters, the eldest
-being recognised as the chief or head of the family. They all eat with
-the men, accompanying them, as well as their lovers and relations,
-before marriage, on their war expeditions or to their feasts. Betrothal
-takes place at a very early age--often conditionally before birth. Thus
-two brothers or two friends will agree that if their first children
-prove respectively a boy and a girl, they shall be married. When it
-is not settled so early, it is arranged during infancy, or at least
-childhood--for a girl of sixteen without an accepted lover is regarded
-as having outlived her attractions and all chance of an alliance.
-The betrothal is usually the occasion of a great feast, where wishes
-for the good success and welfare of the young couple are proclaimed
-by a company of friends. Three varieties of marriage formality are
-observed--differing as the girl is wanted to fill the place of first,
-second, third, or fourth wife. The first is a regular ceremony, the
-second less formal, and the last, which is merely conventional, is when
-a slave is raised from servitude to the marital embrace. The highest
-is that in which the priest pronounces a benediction, and a hope, not
-a prayer, for the prosperity of the married couple. The rest, which is
-the most approved and common, is for the man to conduct his betrothed
-to his hut, and she is thenceforward mistress of the place. Unless
-she be divorced, no one can take away her power, and no inferior wife
-can divide it. When they have entered the dwelling a party of friends
-surround it, make an attack, force their way, strip the newly-married
-pair nearly naked, plunder all they can find, and retire. By taking
-a woman to his house a man makes her his wife, or virtually, except
-in the case of the first, his concubine. When he merely desires to
-cohabit with one, without being formally united to her, he visits her
-habitation.
-
-Though polygamy or concubinage has been practised in New Zealand from
-immemorial time, jealousy still burns among the wives as fiercely as
-in any Christian country where the institution is forbidden by the
-social law. It is the cause of bitter domestic feuds. The household,
-with a plurality of women, is rarely at peace. It is universally known
-to what an extent the jealousy of the Dutch women in Batavia carried
-them when their husbands indulged in the practice--common in Dutch
-settlements--of keeping female slaves. They watched their opportunity,
-and when it occurred would carry a poor girl into the woods, strip her
-entirely naked, smear her person all over with honey, and leave her
-to be tortured by the attacks of insects and vermin. A similar spirit
-of ferocious jealousy is characteristic of the women in New Zealand.
-The inferior wives consequently lead a miserable life, subjected to
-the severest tyranny from the chief, who makes them her handmaids, and
-sometimes terrifies her husband from marital intercourse with them. She
-exposes them to perpetual danger by endeavouring to insinuate into his
-mind suspicions of their fidelity, and thus the household is rendered
-miserable. When a man takes a journey he is usually accompanied by one
-of his wives, or, if he goes alone, will bring one back with him. Hence
-arise bitter heart-burnings and quarrels. Occasionally they lead to the
-death of one among the disputants, and frequently to infanticide.
-
-So furious are the passions of the women when their jealousy is excited
-against their younger rivals, that many of the chiefs in New Zealand
-fear to enjoy the privilege allowed them by their social law. When
-they resolve upon it, they often proceed with a caution very amusing
-to contemplate. More than one anecdote in illustration of this is
-related in the works of recent travellers. A man having a first wife
-of bad temper and faded beauty, whom he fears, nevertheless, to offend
-altogether, is attracted by some young girl of superior charms, and
-offers to take her home; she accepts, and the husband prepares to
-execute his design. It is often long before he acquires courage to
-inform his wife, and only by the most skilful mixture of persuasion,
-management, and threats, that she is ever brought to consent. Women
-captured in battle, however, may be made slaves, or taken at once to
-their captor’s bed. Thus raised from actual slavery, their condition
-is little improved. The tyranny of the chief wife is exercised to
-oppress, insult, and irritate them. Should one of them prove pregnant,
-her mistress--especially if herself barren--will often exert the most
-abominable arts to ensure her miscarriage, that the husband may be
-disappointed of his child, and the concubine of his favour which would
-thence accrue to her.
-
-Divorces, according to the testimony of most writers, are not
-unfrequent in New Zealand. Among the ordinary causes are, mere decline
-of conjugal affection, barrenness in the wife, and a multiplication
-of concubines. A stepmother ill-treating the children, or a mother
-wantonly killing one of them, is liable to divorce. The latter is not
-an useless precaution, for jealous wives have been known in cold blood
-to murder an infant, merely to revenge themselves upon their husbands,
-or irritate them into divorce. A woman extravagantly squandering the
-common property, idling her time, playing the coquette, becoming
-suspected of infidelity, or refusing to admit a new wife into the
-house, is sometimes put away. This is effected by expelling her from
-the house. When it is she who seeks it, she flies to her relatives
-or friends. Should the husband be content with his loss, both are at
-liberty to marry; but if he desire to regain her, he seeks to coax
-her back, and, failing in that, employs force. She is compelled to
-submit unless her parents are powerful enough to defend her--for in
-New Zealand arms are the arbiters of law. When the desire to separate
-is mutual, it is effected by agreement, which is a complete release to
-both. If the husband insist on taking away the children, he may, but he
-is forbidden, on pain of severe punishment, from annoying his former
-wife any further.
-
-There is among the New Zealanders a rite known as _Tapu_, and the
-person performing it is sacred against the touch of another. While in
-this condition no contact is allowed with any person or thing. There
-are, however, comparative forms of Tapu. Thus a woman, in the matter
-of sexual intercourse, is _tapu_ to all but her husband, and adultery
-is severely punished. Formerly the irrevocable remedy was death, and
-this may still be inflicted; but jealousy is seldom strong in the New
-Zealand husband, who often contents himself with receiving a heavy
-fine from his enemy. The crime is always infamous, but not inexpiable.
-The husband occasionally, when his wife has been guilty, takes her
-out of the house, strips her, and exposes her entirely naked, then
-receiving her back with forgiveness. The paramour usually attempts to
-fly. If he be not put to death, he also is sometimes subjected to a
-similar disgrace. When a wife discovers any girl carrying on a secret
-and illicit connection with her husband, a favourite mode of revenge
-is, to strip and expose her in this manner. For, in New Zealand,
-libidinous as the conduct of the people may be, their outward behaviour
-is, on the whole, decorous. They indulge in few indecencies before a
-third person. The exposure of the person is one of the most terrible
-punishments which can be inflicted. A woman has hanged herself on its
-being said that she has been seen naked. One girl at Karawanga, on the
-river Thames, charged with this offence, was hung up by the heels and
-ignominiously flogged before all the tribe. Shame drove her mad, and
-she shot herself. They are otherwise obscene, and the children are
-adepts in indecency and immorality. One strong characteristic of their
-rude attempts at art is the obscenity in their paintings and carvings.
-In those singular specimens which crowd the rocks of Depuch Island, on
-the coast of New Holland, not a trace of this grossness is visible.
-
-One of the most melancholy features in the manners of this barbarous
-race, is the prevalence of infanticide. The Christian converts, as well
-as some of the natives who hold frequent intercourse with the more
-respectable Europeans, have abandoned it, as well as polygamy; but,
-with these exceptions, it is general throughout the thinly-scattered
-population of New Zealand. It almost always takes place immediately
-after birth, before the sentiment of maternal affection grows strong
-in the mother’s breast. After keeping a child a little while they
-seldom, except under the influence of frenzy, destroy it. As they
-have said to travellers, they do not look on them, lest they should
-love them. The weakly or deformed are always slain. The victim is
-sometimes buried alive, sometimes killed by violent compression of its
-head. This practice has contributed greatly to keep the population
-down. It is openly and unblushingly pursued, the principal victims
-being the females. The chief reasons for it are usually--revenge in
-the woman against her husband’s neglect, poverty, dread of shame, and
-superstition. One of the most common causes is the wife’s belief that
-her husband cares no longer for his offspring. The priests, whose
-low cunning is as characteristic of the class in those islands as
-elsewhere, frequently demand a victim for an oblation of blood to the
-spirit of evil, and never fail to extort the sacrifice from some poor
-ignorant mother. Another injurious and unnatural practice is, that of
-checking or neutralizing the operations of nature by procuring abortion.
-
-Tyrone Power, in his observations on the immorality prevalent in New
-Zealand, remarks that some of the young girls, betrothed from an early
-age, are _tapu_, and thus preserved chaste. He regrets that this
-superstition is not more influential, since it would check the system
-of almost universal and indiscriminate prostitution, which prevails
-among those not subject to this rite. Except when the woman is _tapu_,
-her profligacy is neither punished nor censured. Fathers, mothers,
-and brothers will, without a blush, give, sell, or lend on hire, the
-persons of their female relatives. The women themselves willingly
-acknowledge the bargain, and Mr. Power declares the most modest of them
-will succumb to a liberal offer of money. Nor is anything else to be
-expected, in any general degree. The children are educated to obscenity
-and vice. Their intercourse is scarcely restrained, and the early age
-at which it takes place has proved physically injurious to the race.
-Even those who are betrothed in infancy and rendered _tapu_ to each
-other, commence cohabitation before they have emerged, according to
-English ideas, from childhood. Except in the case of those couples
-thus pledged before they can make a choice of their own, the laws
-which in New Zealand regulate the intercourse of the sexes with regard
-to preparations for marriage, approach in spirit to our own. A man
-desiring to take as wife a woman who is bound by no betrothment has to
-court her, and sometimes does so with supplication. The girls exhibit
-great coyness of manner, and are particular in hiding their faces from
-the stranger’s eye. When they bathe it is in a secluded spot; but they
-exercise all the arts which attract the opposite sex. When one or two
-suitors woo an independent woman, the choice is naturally given to the
-wealthiest; but should she decline to fix her preference on either, a
-desperate feud occurs, and she is won by force of arms. Sometimes a
-young girl is seized by two rivals, who pull on either side until her
-arms are loosened in the sockets, and one gives way.
-
-Perhaps, under these circumstances, the system of betrothal is
-productive of useful results, since it prevents the feuds and conflicts
-which might otherwise spring from the rivalry of suitors. The girl
-thus bound must submit to marriage with the man, whatever may be
-her indifference or aversion to him. Occasionally, indeed, some
-more youthful, or otherwise attractive, lover gains her consent to
-an elopement. If caught, however, both of the culprits are severely
-whipped. Should the young suitor be of poor and mean condition, he
-runs the chance of being robbed and murdered for his audacity. When,
-on the contrary, a powerful chief is desirous of obtaining a maiden
-who is betrothed, he has little difficulty in effecting his object,
-for in New Zealand the liberty of the individual is proportionate to
-his strength. It is a feudal system, where the strong may evade the
-regulations of the social law, and the weak must submit. Justice,
-however, to the missionaries in those islands requires us to add, that
-in the districts where their influence is strong, a beneficial change
-in this, as in other respects, has been produced upon the people. They
-acknowledge more readily the supremacy of law; they prefer a judicial
-tribunal to the trial of arms; they restrain their animal passions in
-obedience to the moral code which has been exhibited to them; and many
-old polygamists have put away all their wives but one, contented to
-live faithfully with her.
-
-Among the heathen population chastity is not viewed in the same light
-as with us. It not so much required from the _woman_ as from the
-_wife_, from the _young girl_ as from the _betrothed maiden_. In fact,
-it signifies little more than faithful conduct in marriage, not for
-the sake of honour or virtue, but for that of the husband. With such
-a social theory, we can expect no general refinement in morality.
-Indeed, the term is not translatable into the language of New Zealand.
-Modesty is a fashion, not a sentiment, with them. The woman who would
-retire from the stranger’s gaze may, previous to marriage or betrothal,
-intrigue with any man without incurring an infamous reputation.
-Prostitution is not only a common but a recognised thing. Men care
-little to receive virgins into their huts as wives. Husbands have
-boasted that their wives had been the concubines of Europeans; and one
-declared to Polack that he was married to a woman who had regularly
-followed the calling of a prostitute among the crews of ships in the
-harbour. This he mentioned with no inconsiderable pride, as a proof of
-the beauty of the prize he had carried away.
-
-Formerly many of the chiefs dwelling on the coast were known to derive
-a part of their revenue from the prostitution of young females. It was,
-indeed, converted into a regular trade, and to a great extent with
-the European ships visiting the group. The handsomest and plumpest
-women in the villages were chosen, and bartered for certain sums
-of money or articles of merchandise, some for a longer, some for a
-shorter period. The practice is now, if not abolished, at least held
-in great reprobation, as the following anecdote will show. It exhibits
-the depraved manners of the people in a striking light, and is an
-illustration of that want of affection between married people which has
-been remarked as a characteristic of the New Zealanders. A chief from
-Wallatani, in the Bay of Plenty, went on an excursion to the Bay of
-Islands, and was accompanied by his wife and her sister. There he met
-a chief of the neighbourhood, who possessed some merchandise which he
-coveted. He at once offered to barter the chastity of his wife for the
-goods, and the proposal was accepted. The woman told her sister of the
-transaction, and she divulged the secret. So much reproach was brought
-upon the chief among his people, that he shot his wife’s sister to
-punish her incontinent tongue.
-
-Jerningham Wakefield describes the arrival of the whalers in port.
-He mentions as one of the most important transactions following this
-event, the providing of the company with “wives for the season.”
-Some had their regular helpmates, but others were forced to hire
-women. Bargains were formally struck, and when a woman failed to give
-satisfaction, she was exchanged for another. She was at once the slave
-and the companion of her master. This is neither more nor less than
-a regular system of prostitution; but it is gradually going out of
-fashion, and is only carried on in a clandestine manner in the colonies
-properly so called. Indeed this is, unfortunately, one of the chief
-products of imperfect civilization--that vice, which before was open,
-is driven into the dark; it is not extirpated, but is concealed. A man
-offered his wife to the traveller Earl, and the woman was by no means
-loth to prostitute herself for a donation. Barbarians readily acquire
-the modes of vice practised by Europeans. In the criminal calendar of
-Wellington for 1846, we find one native convicted and punished for
-keeping a house of ill-fame.
-
-Extraordinary as it may appear, prostitution in New Zealand has
-tended to cure one great evil. It has largely checked the practice of
-infanticide. For, as the female children were usually destroyed, it
-was on the supposition that, instead of being valuable, they would be
-burdensome to their parents. This continued to be the case until the
-discovery was made that by prostituting the young girls considerable
-profits might be made. It is to Europeans that the introduction of
-this idea is chiefly owing. The females were then, in many cases,
-carefully reared, and brought up to this dishonourable calling without
-reluctance. No difficulty was ever experienced from their resistance,
-as they would probably have become prostitutes of their own free will,
-had they not been directed to the occupation. Slavery, which has from
-the earliest time existed in New Zealand, has supplied the materials
-of prostitution, female servants being consigned to it. When possessed
-of any attractions they are almost invariably debauched by their
-masters, and frequently suffer nameless punishments from the jealous
-head wife. Concubinage does not, as in some other countries, release a
-woman from servitude, but she enjoys a privilege which is denied to the
-chief wife--she may marry again after her master’s death.
-
-Formerly the general custom, however, was for a wife to hang, drown,
-strangle, or starve herself on the death of her husband. Her relatives
-often gave her a rope of flax, with which she retired to a neighbouring
-thicket and died. It was not a peremptory obligation, but custom viewed
-it as almost a sacred duty. Sometimes three of the wives destroyed
-themselves, but generally one victim sufficed. Self-immolation is
-now, indeed, becoming very rare; but it is still the practice for the
-widow, whether she loved her husband or not, to lament him with loud
-cries, and lacerate her flesh upon his tomb. Whenever she marries again
-a priest is consulted to predict whether she will survive the second
-husband or not. Occasionally we find instances of real attachment
-between man and wife, such as would sanctify any family hearth; while
-examples have occurred of women hanging themselves for sorrow, on the
-death of a betrothed lover.
-
-These, however, are only indications that humanity is not in New
-Zealand universally debased below the brute condition. The general
-colour of the picture is dark. Women are degraded; men are profligate;
-virtue is unknown in its abstract sense; chastity is rare; and
-prostitution a characteristic of female society. Fathers, mothers,
-and brothers--usually the guardians of a young woman--prostitute her
-for gain, and the women themselves delight in this vice. There is,
-nevertheless, some amelioration observable in the manners of the
-people, produced by the influence of the English colonies. Those
-colonies themselves, however, are not free from the stain, as will be
-shown when we treat of communities of that description in general[59].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC.
-
-Among the innumerable islands which are scattered over the surface
-of the Pacific, we discover various phases of manners developed
-under different influences. In some of the lonely groups lying out of
-the usual course of trade or travel, communities exist whose social
-habits remain entirely pure--that is, unchanged by intercourse with
-foreigners. In others continual communication through a long period,
-with white men, has wholly changed the characteristic aspects of
-the people--given them a new religion, a new moral code, new ideas
-of decency and virtue, new pleasures, and new modes of life. The
-same process appears likely, at a future day, to obliterate the
-ancient system of things. In all the islands of this class, indeed,
-the reform of manners is not so thorough as the florid accounts of
-the missionaries would induce us to believe; but those pioneers of
-civilization have done enough, without assuming more than their due,
-to deserve the praise of all Christendom. To have restrained the
-fiercest passions of human nature among ignorant and wilful savages;
-to have converted base libidinous heathens into decent Christians;
-to have checked the practice of polygamy; and in many places to have
-extinguished the crime of infanticide;--these are achievements which
-entitle the missionaries to the applause and respect of Europe; but it
-is no disparagement of their labours to show, where it is true, that
-immense things yet remain to be performed before the islanders of the
-Pacific are raised to the ordinary level of civilized humanity.
-
-The main family of the Pacific--the Society, the Friendly, the
-Sandwich, the Navigators’, and the Marquesas Islands--present a
-state of society interesting and curious. Inhabiting one of the
-most beautiful regions on the face of the earth, with every natural
-advantage, the inhabitants of those groups were originally among the
-most degraded of mankind. Superior to the savage hordes of Africa
-and the wandering tribes of Australia, they are in physical and
-intellectual qualities inferior to the natives of New Zealand, though
-excelling them in simplicity and willingness to learn.
-
-Tahiti may be considered the capital of Polynesia, as it is the head of
-its politics, trade, and general civilization. Before the settlement
-of the missionaries and the introduction of a new social scheme, its
-manners were barbarous and disgusting. The condition of the female sex
-corresponded to this order of things. It was humiliated to the last
-degree. Most of the men, by a sacred rite, were rendered too holy for
-any intercourse with the women except such as was pleasant to their
-own lusts. It was similar to the _tapu_ of the New Zealanders, but was
-not, as among them, common to all. It was an exclusive privilege of the
-males. In consequence of this, women lived in a condition of exile from
-all the pleasures of life. They never sat at meals with their husbands,
-dared not eat the flesh of pigs, of fowls, of certain fish, or touch
-the utensils used by the men. They never entered the houses of their
-“_tabooed_” lords, dwelling in separate habitations, which these might
-enter when they chose. Those of the royal blood, however, were excepted
-from the action of this law. They might mingle with the other sex,
-might inherit the throne, and enjoy the advantages of society. With
-almost all others, beggary, toil, and degradation was the universal lot.
-
-Marriage under such circumstances could not be looked upon as a sacred
-tie, or even a dignified state. It was held to serve only the purposes
-of nature and the pleasures of the men. With all, indeed, except
-the rich, it was a mere unceremonious bargain, in which the woman
-was purchased, though the parents usually made a present to their
-son-in-law. Among the nobler orders of society there was a little more
-parade, though an equal absence of sanctity. A person with a beautiful
-daughter brought her to some chief, saying, “Here is a wife for you.”
-If she pleased him he took her from her father’s hands, placed her
-under the care of a confidential servant, and had her fattened, until
-old and plump enough for marriage. All her friends assembled with his
-at the temple, and proceeded to the altar. The bride, with a rope
-hanging about her neck, was accompanied by a man bearing a bunch of
-the fragrant fern. Prayers were muttered, and blessing invoked upon
-the union. Then the names of their ancestors were whispered, and at
-each one of the leaves was torn. The nearest kinsman of the woman next
-loosened the rope from about her neck, and delivered her over to the
-bridegroom, bidding him take her home. Presents of various kinds were
-made to the newly-married pair, but, with all this ceremony, the tie
-was merely one of convenience. Within a month the man might tire of
-his partner and wish to be rid of her. All he had to do was to desire
-her departure, saying, “It is enough--go away.” She immediately left
-him, and almost invariably became a prostitute. This process might
-be repeated as often as he pleased. The caprice of the male sex thus
-threw numbers of the females into a necessity of supporting themselves
-by the public hire of their persons. For, although polygamy existed,
-it was practised only by the rich, since the facility of divorce
-rendered it more convenient to take one wife, dwell with her a short
-time, and abandon her for another, than to be troubled or burdened
-with several at the same time. The wealthy, however, took numerous
-concubines--indulging in this luxury more than any of the other
-islanders. In all their customs and national characteristics, if we
-desire to view them in their original form, we must contemplate the
-people of those islands as they were twenty years ago. A great change
-is now apparent among them. The accounts, therefore, published at that
-period, though improved by later inquiries, afford us the information
-we are in search of. We are not surprised to find an indolent
-licentious people, as they were, when under no restraint, addicted to
-the most odious forms of vice. One natural result of their manner of
-life was infanticide. It was practised to a frightful extent, and was
-encouraged by a variety of causes. In the first place, poverty and
-idleness often induced parents to destroy their children--choosing
-to suffer that short pang of natural sorrow than the long struggles
-with starvation which awaited the indigent--even in those prolific
-islands. Next the common licentiousness produced innumerable bastards,
-which were generally killed. Thirdly, the social institutions of the
-country, with the division of classes, contributed to increase the
-prevalence of the custom--for the fruit of all unequal matches was
-cast aside. Superstition also aided it, for the priests demanded for
-their gods frequent oblations of infant blood. The missionary Williams
-was informed that, from the constant occurrence of wars, women, being
-abandoned by their husbands, slew their children, whom they knew not
-how to support. When a man married a girl of inferior rank, two, four,
-or six of her children were sacrificed before she could claim equality
-with him, and should she bear any more they were spared. Vanity, too,
-exercised its influence, for, as nursing impaired the beauty of the
-women, they sought to preserve their attractions by sparing themselves
-the labour. Perhaps, however, we should not lay it to the charge of
-vanity. The miserable women of these islands found in the flower of
-their persons the only chance of attachment or respect from their
-husbands. When this had faded, nothing could save them from neglect.
-
-Whatever the cause, the extent of the practice was fearful.
-Three-fourths of the children were destroyed, and sometimes in the
-most atrocious manner. A wet cloth placed on the infant’s mouth, the
-hands clenched round its throat, or the earth heaped over it while
-alive in a grave, were among the most humane. Others broke the infant’s
-joints, one by one, until it expired. This was usually the plan of
-the professional child-killers, of whom there was a class--male and
-female--though the parents often performed the office themselves.
-Before the establishment of Christianity, Williams declares he never
-conversed with a woman who had not destroyed one or two of her
-offspring. Many confessed to him, as well as to Wilmer, that they had
-killed, some three, some five, some nine, and one seventeen.
-
-Connected with infanticide was one of the most extraordinary
-institutions ever established in a savage or a civilized country. This
-was the Areoi Society. It was at once the source of their greatest
-amusements and their greatest sorrow, and was strictly confined to
-the Society group, though indications of a similar thing have been
-discovered in the Ladrones. The delicacy of the missionary writers--in
-many instances extremely absurd--has induced them to neglect informing
-us in detail of the practices and regulations adopted by this society;
-but enough is known from them, and from less timid narrators, to allow
-of a tolerably full sketch.
-
-From the traditions of the people it appears that the society was of
-very ancient date: they said there had been Areois as long as there
-had been men. Its origin is traced to two heroes--brothers, who, in
-consequence of some adventures with the gods, were deified, and made
-kings of the Areoi, which included all who would adhere to them as
-their lords in heaven. Living in celibacy themselves, they did not
-enjoin the same on their followers; but required that they should leave
-no descendants. Thus the great law of the Areois was that all their
-children should be slain. What the real origin of the institution was
-it is impossible to discover. This legend, however, indicates a part of
-its nature.
-
-The Areois formed a body of privileged libertines, who spent their days
-travelling from province to province, from island to island, exhibiting
-a kind of licentious dramatic spectacle to the people, and everywhere
-indulging the grossest of their passions. The company located itself
-in a particular spot as its head-quarters, and at certain seasons
-departed on an excursion through the group. Great parade was made
-on the occasion of their setting out. They bore with them portable
-temples for the worship of their tutelar gods, and, wherever they
-halted, performed their pantomimes for the amusement of the people. The
-priests and others--all classes and things--were ridiculed by them in
-their speeches, with entire impunity, and they were entertained by the
-chiefs with sumptuous feasts. There were, however, seven classes of
-the Areois, of which the first was select and small, while the seventh
-performed the lower and more laborious parts in their entertainments.
-Numbers of servants followed them to prepare their food and their
-dresses, and were distinguished by the name of Fanannan; these were not
-obliged to destroy their children.
-
-Every Areoi had his own wife, who was sacred from attack. Improper
-conduct towards her was severely punished, sometimes by death. Towards
-the wives of other persons, however, no respect was shown; for after
-one of their vile and obscene spectacles, the members of the fraternity
-would rush abroad, and commit every kind of excess among the humble
-people. At their grand feasts, to which the privileged orders only were
-admitted, numbers of handsome girls were introduced, who prostituted
-themselves for small gifts to any member of the association.
-
-The practice of destroying all their children, which was compulsory
-among the Areois, licensed them to every kind of excess. The moment a
-child was born its life was extinguished--either strangled, stabbed
-with a sharp bamboo, or crushed under the foot. The professional
-executioner waited by the woman’s couch, and, immediately the infant
-came into the world, seized it, hurried it away, and in an instant
-flung it dead into some neighbouring thicket, or a pit prepared
-beforehand.
-
-Infanticide was by no means confined to the Areois; it was an universal
-practice. Generally the sacrifice took place immediately after the
-birth; for, with the exception of those children demanded by the
-priests to offer in the temple, it was seldom that an infant allowed to
-live half an hour was destroyed. Whenever the execution was performed,
-it was previously resolved upon. The females were killed oftener than
-the males, and thus sprang up a great disproportion between the sexes,
-which was evidently owing to this and their often unnatural customs,
-as, since their abolition, the sexes are nearly equal.
-
-Adultery was sometimes punished with death, but not under the public
-law. It was optional with the husband to pursue the criminal, or
-content himself with procuring another wife. A strange state of manners
-is exhibited by the account we have of the early missionaries arriving
-in Tahiti. The King Pomare came down to meet them with his wife Idia.
-This woman, though married to the prince, remaining on friendly terms
-with him, offering him advice, and influencing his actions by her
-counsel, was then cohabiting with one of her own servants, who had for
-some time been her paramour. The King, meanwhile, had taken his wife’s
-youngest sister as a concubine; but she had deserted him for a more
-youthful lover, whereupon he contented himself with a girl belonging to
-the poorer class. Women, indeed, and men of the royal blood, were above
-the law.
-
-Abandoned wives, and girls who could find no husbands, usually became
-prostitutes, as distinguished from those who pursued a profligate life
-from sheer sensuality. They hired themselves out to the young men whom
-the monopoly of women by the rich constrained to be contented with such
-companions. We have no information whether they were subject to any
-especial regulations; what the terms of contract were between them and
-their temporary cohabitants; how they supported themselves in old age;
-or, indeed, of anything concerning them, except the general nature of
-their calling. A large class of these prostitutes dwelt near the ports
-and anchoring grounds, deriving their means of subsistence from open or
-clandestine intercourse with the sailors, who willingly paid them with
-little articles of ornament or utility from Europe.
-
-One of the missionaries of the first company desired to marry a Tahiti
-woman. His brethren, however, strongly objected to the act; first,
-because she was a heathen, second, because she was a prostitute. There
-could not be then found on the island, as they declared themselves on
-belief, a single undebauched girl above twelve years of age; therefore,
-in accordance with the Scripture prohibition against marrying a
-“heathen harlot,” they forbade him forming the connection. Nevertheless
-he persisted, took the prostitute as wife, and is supposed to have been
-murdered with her connivance.
-
-Inconstancy among wives, and profligacy among unmarried women, was then
-a characteristic almost universal in Tahiti. The wide-spread practice
-of procuring abortion concealed many of the intrigues which took
-place, and the last crime which began visibly to decrease was that of
-adultery. Nor could this be a matter of wonder. The education of the
-people was in a school of licentiousness. The most effective lessons
-in obscenity were afforded by the priests in the temples, and children
-of tender years indulged in acts of indescribable depravity. Thus in
-few parts of the world could be discovered a more corrupt system of
-manners, a more complete absence of morals, than in Tahiti.
-
-Under the influence of the missionaries a great and beneficial change
-was produced. French priests have now in a measure superseded them;
-but even their exertions have not been able to neutralize the good
-effects of the new code of morals introduced by the English friends of
-civilization.
-
-As to the actual amount, however, of the good which has been effected,
-the accounts are contradictory. From the missionaries themselves we
-learn that Christianity has been firmly established; that the female
-sex has been elevated to an honourable position; that the Christian
-rite of marriage is now generally observed; that infanticide is wholly
-abolished; and that the manners of the people have become comparatively
-pure. The picture, indeed, drawn by these artists, is vivid and full of
-charms. We cannot, however, accept it without reserve; for such writers
-have in many parts of the world been too eager to ring their peals
-of triumph over the appearance of reform, without inquiring into its
-substantial and durable nature.
-
-Other accounts insist on the truth of a totally different view. A
-recent author, a merchant, many years resident in Tahiti, describes
-the result of missionary labour as a mere skinning over of the
-corruption which exists. “Even now,” he says, speaking of that island,
-“a people more ready to abandon themselves to sensuality cannot be
-found under the canopy of heaven.” And further, in noticing the state
-of the youthful population, he asserts, “It is a rare thing for a
-woman to preserve her chastity until the age of puberty.” Delicacy,
-he proceeds to tell us, is a thing unknown. There is hardly a man who
-would not wink at his wife’s prostitution, or even abet it, to support
-himself. The same system of corrupt manners is general throughout
-the islands. The missionaries, by making adultery and fornication
-offences punishable by fines--so many dollars each--have set up a
-species of licence for immorality. The penalty is either eluded or
-laughed at. Sometimes the woman’s paramour pays the penalty, and
-continues with her. The morals of the people, therefore, have not
-been radically reformed. Public decency is observed, but private
-manners are disgusting. The Tahitians have thus learned hypocrisy,
-for they now practise secretly what was formerly a recognised custom.
-The men are jealous of their own race, but will bargain for their
-wives with Europeans. One was asked the reason of this distinction. He
-instantly made answer, that when a white man took one of their wives
-he made her a present, passed on his way, and thought no more of her;
-but it was very different with their own people, for they would be
-continually hovering about the woman. The legal penalty for adultery by
-a single man is a fine of ten hogs to the husband. If it is committed
-by a married man he pays the ten hogs, while his paramour pays his
-wife another ten to compensate her for the injury she has suffered;
-thus the bargain is equal. Divorce is optional on either hand. For
-prostitution, or fornication of any kind, the missionaries enacted a
-fine. In a climate, however, where the girl ripens into puberty at the
-age of eight or nine, this becomes a licence, and immorality is very
-slightly checked. The depopulation of the group, which is still going
-on, is mainly owing, says the same author, to physical privations
-acting on moral depravity; for indigence is the lot of the people, and
-licentiousness now, as formerly, their besetting sin.
-
-We believe this to be an unfair account of the state of things now
-existing in Tahiti. The writer[60] is possessed of a strong prejudice
-against the missionaries, and we are inclined to apply to him, with
-some modification, the observations of Commodore Wilkes, commander of
-the recent American exploring expedition in reference to that island.
-He tells us there is a class of traders who defame the missionaries,
-as well as a profligate class who hate them, because they forbid
-intoxicating liquors, have abolished lascivious dances, and prevent
-women going on board ship to prostitute themselves. One charge against
-the missionaries is, however, proved: they are guilty of a misjudging
-zeal amounting to fanaticism, forbidding the women to wear chaplets
-of flowers, because it is a sinful vanity; such a restriction is
-worse than ridiculous. The Commodore, however, whom we accept as a
-judicious and a trustworthy authority, already shows that much good
-has been effected. The population is now almost stationary--the
-births and deaths among all ages and both sexes were in 1839 naturally
-proportionate; Christian marriage is established as the national
-custom, and polygamy abolished; if infanticide be ever practised,
-it is as a secret crime; and as for immorality, though by no means
-extirpated, it has been considerably reduced. “Licentiousness,” says
-Wilkes, “does still exist among them, but the foreign residents and
-visitors are in a great degree the cause of its continuance, and an
-unbridled intercourse with them serves to perpetuate it. Severe laws
-have been enacted, but they cannot be put in force in cases where one
-of the parties is a foreigner.” He proceeds to deny that the island is
-conspicuous in this respect, and believes it would show advantageously
-in contrast with many countries usually styled civilized.
-
-In the distant Sandwich group a similar system of manners existed
-before the abolition of idolatry in 1819. There was, however, one
-singular custom: children bore the rank of their mother, not their
-father, probably from the reason assigned by other savage races for
-different laws, that the parentage was never certain. Polygamy was
-practised, but if the king had a daughter by a noble wife she succeeded
-to the throne, though he should have numerous sons by the others; in
-fact, they were no more than concubines, though their offspring were
-not invariably destroyed, unless the mothers belonged to the humbler
-class of people; all the king’s illegitimate children, however, were
-immediately killed. Adultery was punished with death; but intrigues
-were frequent, and infanticide was practised to a terrible extent.
-Since the enactment of the laws restraining sexual intercourse, the
-crime has become comparatively rare, and the progress of depopulation
-has been arrested.
-
-We must, however, first view the people as they were before these
-reforms occurred: there was little check upon the intercourse of the
-sexes, except with regard to married women; the young girls being
-abandoned almost entirely to a dissolute mode of life, the marriage
-contract was a loose tie, easily broken, without anything of a sacred
-or even honourable character. Husbands continually abandoned their
-wives, who invariably destroyed the children thus left to them in
-their virtual widowhood, and took to prostitution as a means of life.
-The practice of procuring abortion was also resorted to, even more
-than infanticide, and women were sometimes killed by the operation;
-nevertheless, bastard children are sometimes reared, and the language
-of the islanders supplies a delicate designation for one of this
-brood: it is called “one that comes.”
-
-Although the condition of the female sex was degraded, and although
-the women were for the most part subjected to the will of the chiefs,
-a few remained to be wedded among the poor, and to follow their own
-inclinations in the choice of partners. The word “courting” is used
-among them, or at least a synonymous term, signifying, literally,
-“we must be crept to.” This indicates some elevation in their social
-intercourse, but appears to have been a recent introduction. When a man
-wished to marry a girl, some previous intimacy was supposed. According
-to their former customs he goes to her, and offers her a present. If
-she was willing to receive him, the gift was accepted; if not, he went
-his way. The parents were then consulted. When they consented he at
-once took home his bride, and all was consummated. When they refused
-he either abandoned his suit or persuaded his lover to elope with him;
-or, if possessed of sufficient property and power, forces her away.
-When once settled in union the wives were usually faithful, though
-previously they indulged in the utmost profligacy without any check.
-
-The infanticide of the Sandwich Islands presented details still more
-horrible than the worst of those described in connection with Tahiti.
-Children six or seven years old, who so far had been carefully nursed,
-were sometimes sacrificed when their parents became desperate or
-indolent. An American traveller relates an affecting incident of a
-man who desired to be rid of his child, while the mother endeavoured
-to save it. Long altercations took place between them, until the
-father one day, to put an end to the debate, seized his little son,
-threw him over his knees, and with a single blow broke his back. The
-circumstance was related to the king, with a demand for punishment
-upon the offender. “Whose child was it?” he asked. They answered, “His
-own.” “Then that is nothing,” he said, “to you or to me.” Usually the
-office was performed by female child-stranglers, who made it their
-profession. In a country where marriage, especially among the rich, was
-simply a compact for temporary or permanent cohabitation, abundance of
-employment was naturally afforded to those people. The chiefs, it is
-true, married in the temple, but the addition of ceremonies added not a
-whit of sanctity or durability to the bond. The first Christian wedding
-took place in Oalm in 1822, and the rite has since that period been
-established by law. The edict of 1819, indeed, proclaimed a revolution
-in the social system of the group. But it is not easy to reform the
-manners of a whole people. It is a slight task to publish laws, but
-difficult to enforce them, especially when they assail the most
-deeply-rooted prejudices, the sentiments, the passions, the religions,
-and the pleasures, of a numerous community. Idolatry, infanticide,
-polygamy, concubinage, and prostitution were all prohibited by the
-declaration of 1819, but are still practised, though in secret, but by
-no means so extensively as in former times. The financial laws check
-infanticide. If a man has four children, he is exempt from labour taxes
-to the king and to his landlord; if five, from the poll-tax also; if
-six, from all taxes whatsoever. Indeed, the condition of the females
-has been considerably raised, so that, instead of being the slaves,
-they are now, at least in some degree, the companions of the men.
-
-Of the actual state of the sex, and the characteristic of manners
-in the Sandwich group, a fair sketch may be gathered from the facts
-scattered through the large work of Commodore Wilkes; he went through
-many districts, and examined minutely the progress of the people under
-the new code. In one district of Dahu, a small island in the group, no
-instance of infanticide had occurred (1840) during ten years; the law
-against the illicit intercourse of the sexes had not tended to increase
-the practice, and the population, which had been almost swept away, was
-recovering. In the valley of Halalea the population had been decreasing
-at the rate of one per cent. for nine years. In 1837, it was 3024--1609
-males, 1415 females; and in 1840, 2935--1563 males, 1372 females. The
-general licentiousness of manners, causing barrenness in the women,
-with the practice of infanticide and abortion, prevented any increase.
-In Waiaulea the population of 2640 decreased by 225 in four years; and
-instances were known of women having six, seven, or even ten children,
-in as many years, without rearing one of them; the bastards were
-almost always destroyed, but the new law operated very beneficially
-to check the intercourse of the sexes; and only one case was known of
-a woman destroying her child, through fear of the penalty attaching
-to fornication. It appears probable, however, that the regulation
-compelling all unmarried women, found pregnant, to work on the public
-roads, must encourage many unnatural practices; in Hawaii itself, the
-principal island, where large numbers of men and women formerly lived
-in promiscuous intercourse--as one woman common to several men--great
-improvement is visible, and public manners have undergone much change;
-licentiousness, notwithstanding, is still a prominent characteristic of
-the people. These observations may be applied generally to the whole of
-the Sandwich group.
-
-Of the Tonga or Friendly Islands no description equals in completeness,
-and none exceeds in general accuracy, that by Mariner, compiled by
-John Martin. According to him, the female sex was not degraded there,
-old persons of both sexes being entitled to equal reverence; women
-in particular were respected as such, considered to form part of the
-world’s means of happiness, and protected by that law of manly honour
-which prohibits the strong from maltreating the weak. There were many
-regulations respecting rank which do not belong to this inquiry; but
-others of the same kind must be alluded to. The young girl, betrothed
-or set apart to be the wife or concubine of a noble, acquired on that
-account a certain position in the community. The rich women occupied
-themselves with various forms of elegant industry, not as professions,
-but accomplishments; while others made a trade of it.
-
-The chastity of the Tonga people should be measured, in Mr. Martin’s
-opinion, rather by their own than by others’ ideas of that virtue.
-Among them it was held the positive duty of a married woman to be
-faithful to her husband. By married woman was meant one who cohabited
-with a man, lived under his roof and protection, and ruled an
-establishment of his. Her marriage was frequently independent of her
-own will, she being betrothed by her parents, while very young, to some
-chief or other person. About a third were thus disposed of, the rest
-marrying by their own consent. She must remain with her husband whether
-she pleased or not, until he chose to divorce her.
-
-About two-thirds of the females were married, and of these about half
-continued with their husbands until death; that is, about a third
-remained married till either they or their partners died. Of the others
-two-thirds were married, and were soon divorced, marrying again two,
-three, or four times; a few never contracted any marriage at all; and a
-third were generally unmarried. Girls below puberty were not taken into
-this account.
-
-During Mariner’s residence of four years in the islands, where he
-enjoyed privileges of social intercourse which no native was allowed,
-he made numerous inquiries, and was led to believe that infidelity
-among the married women was very rare. He remembered only three
-successful instances of planned intrigue, with one other which he
-suspected. Great chiefs might kill their wives taken in adultery, while
-inferior men beat them. They were under the surveillance of female
-servants, who continually watched their proceedings. Independently of
-this also, he considered them inclined to conjugal virtue.
-
-A man desiring to divorce his wife, had to do no more than bid her go,
-when she became perfect mistress of herself, and often married again
-in a few days. Others remained single, admitting a man into their
-houses occasionally, or lived as the mistress of various men from time
-to time--that is to say, became wandering libertines or prostitutes.
-Unmarried women might have intercourse with whom they pleased without
-opprobrium, but they were not easily won. Gross prostitution was
-unknown among them. The conduct of the men was very different. It
-was thought no reproach, as a married man, to hold intercourse with
-other females; but the practice was not general. It was checked by the
-jealousy of the wife. Single men were extremely free in their conduct;
-but seldom made attempts on married women. Rape occasionally happened.
-Captives taken in war had, as a thing of course, to submit, and
-incurred no dishonour through it. Few of the young men would refuse to
-seduce an unmarried girl of their own nation, had they the opportunity.
-Nevertheless, in comparison with the islanders in the surrounding sea,
-they were rather a chaste than a libertine people.
-
-Commodore Wilkes declares himself glad to confirm the account in
-“Mariner’s Tonga Islands” as an “admirable and accurate description.”
-The women are said to be virtuous, and the general state of morals
-superior far to that of Tahiti. The venereal disease is much less
-extensively prevalent.
-
-In the Marquesas the curious social phenomenon of polyandrism
-exists--several men cohabiting with one woman. This is in consequence
-of the preponderance of the male over the female sex. A young girl may
-become attached to a youth, and live with him for a short time. A man
-may then become attached to her, and transfer her, with her lover,
-to his house, where he supports them both. Infanticide is unknown,
-but procuring abortion not uncommon. The marriage tie, though a mere
-private compact signified by an exchange of presents, is, in spite
-of polyandrism, distinct, binding, and enduring--the parties abiding
-by the agreement they have made, until another formal agreement to
-dissolve it. In other parts of the Pacific the contrary system is
-carried out to an extravagant extent. In the Isle of Rotumah the land
-is divided into various estates, the property of certain chiefs. Each
-of these lords of the soil has absolute control over all the women in
-his district, and not one can marry without his consent. Should he
-not desire her for himself he allows her to contract the engagement,
-on receiving a present from the bridegroom. Gifts are exchanged on
-either side, bowls of cava are drunk, and the ceremony is over. The
-wife, in this island, has singular power. She may, a few days after the
-marriage, desire her husband to leave her. He does so for three or four
-months, and then returns to spend two or three days in her society.
-She may then request him again to quit the house; and this is repeated
-until she consents to live with him permanently. Occasionally, when all
-the preliminaries of the match are arranged, the girl will suddenly
-revoke her resolution, and refuse to leave her parents’ house. The man
-may be equally desirous of leaving her at home, and in this case she is
-henceforward a privileged libertine, and usually lives well upon the
-gains of prostitution. But if, previously to the contract, she lose
-her virginity, the punishment is death, which is also inflicted for
-adultery.
-
-A similar system with respect to the chief’s authority prevails in the
-Feejee group. All the young girls in his district are at his mercy; he
-may take them all as concubines if he pleases. When they are allowed
-to marry they become slaves, living in complete subjection to their
-husbands, who flog them at will. They are denied the privilege of
-entering a temple, and are bought, sold, and exchanged, like cattle.
-Inclined as they are to licentiousness, they have certain ideas of
-modesty, and wear a girdle round the loins; any girl seen without this
-covering is put to death.
-
-In the wild isles of the Kingsmill group in the Western Pacific,
-polygamy prevails; but more consideration is paid to the female
-sex than in any other part of that great insular region. All the
-hard labour is performed by the men; the women pursuing only those
-occupations which are truly domestic and feminine. Men, indeed, beat
-their wives, but in a similar manner to the lower classes here. If
-she be vigorous or bold enough, she returns blow for blow, and there
-is no appeal for him against her retaliation. Chastity is scarcely
-esteemed a virtue, nor is it considered essential by a man requiring
-a wife. After marriage, however, continence is strictly required.
-The adulteress is either put to death or expelled; but, in spite of
-these punishments, offences of this class are not uncommon. They are
-encouraged by the laws which forbid the younger brothers of a chief,
-who are not holders of land, from marriage; for it may be laid down
-as an axiom that all restrictions upon lawful intercourse with women
-multiply illicit connections. The adulteress and the prostitute in the
-Kingsmill Isles, as elsewhere, form the resources of those to whom
-celibacy is enjoined.
-
-A wife is not bought, but the parents of both contribute to the
-household stock of the newly-married pair. It would be indecent in
-the young man to inquire of the girl’s father what is the amount of
-her dowry. The marriage ceremony is only a feast, which is continued
-during three days. Children are sometimes betrothed during infancy,
-and in this case no marriage ceremony is required: as soon as they are
-sufficiently old they are sent to live together. When this is not the
-case, the young man makes an offer first to the girl, and, if accepted,
-next to her parents; but usually carries her off if they do not consent.
-
-On the neighbouring isle of Maluni all the women who are married have
-been betrothed during childhood; the rest, without exception, being
-prostitutes, living with the single men, and receiving payment from
-them.
-
-This is, as usual, in consequence of the rich men having so many wives
-that only a few women are left to live in common with the poorer sort.
-Infanticide is not practised, but abortion is continually procured. A
-woman has seldom more than two, and never more than three children.
-After the third is born she invariably calls in the aid of a woman to
-prevent another birth. This is not attended with any shame, but is,
-on the contrary, considered prudent; with the unmarried females it is
-invariable.
-
-In the Samoan or Navigators’ group women now enjoy equal privileges
-with the men, and no indiscriminate intercourse of the sexes is
-permitted. Polygamy has been very much checked, but is generally
-regretted. The people say, with a simplicity which takes away its
-profanity from the expression, “Why should God be so unreasonable as to
-require them to give up all their wives for his convenience?” Among the
-unconverted tribes it still prevails as formerly. Girls are betrothed
-early, and tabooed until marriage, which preserves the general
-chastity. Infanticide never occurs. Adultery is severely punished,
-and seldom committed; the marriage ceremony is only a trifling form
-of exchanging presents. The power of divorce may be exercised by the
-husband under certain circumstances, but not by the wife. Altogether
-their morals are of a superior order; and their libertine disposition
-exercises itself chiefly in the performance of lascivious dances.
-Everywhere, however, in these seas, except where the power of the
-missionaries is supreme, the whaling ships, on arriving at a port,
-attract numbers of prostitutes, who offer themselves to the sailors at
-various prices. When Coulter made his voyage, not many years ago, the
-vessel was assailed at the Kingsmill Islands by dozens of these women,
-who came, some attended by their fathers, mothers, or brothers, to
-entice the sailors. Some of them were very beautiful, and nearly naked.
-When he was in bed, in a house on shore, several young girls came in
-with scarcely any clothing, and asked him to choose a companion, or
-“wife.” In other places hundreds of prostitutes swarmed down to the
-beach, performing the most obscene antics. It was so when La Perouse
-visited the region; it is so now. It was remarked by Cook, and it was
-remarked by the most recent voyager.
-
-To pass up and down through that prodigious wilderness of sea, visiting
-each group in succession, and noticing the peculiar manners of all the
-various insular communities which there exist, would exceed the limits
-of an ordinary work. Nor would it continue to interest the reader;
-for there is an unavoidable monotony in the subject, when extended
-too greatly in reference to one region. What we have described will
-show that, among the innumerable islands of the Pacific, the original
-condition of women, before the partial establishment of Christianity,
-was pitifully degraded, and that the labours of the missionaries have
-been fruitful in good results. Wherever Christianity has been received,
-much outward improvement, at least, is visible. And there is something
-in this. When crime is perpetrated in secret, it is so because it is
-dangerous or disgraceful; and in proportion as it is either the one or
-the other the inducement to it will diminish. There is an immense field
-open in the Pacific; but the exertions of future missionaries may be
-encouraged by contemplating the good results which have sprung from
-the labours of those who have gone before them[61].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION AMONG THE NORTH-AMERICAN INDIANS.
-
-Various as are the phases of civilization in different parts of the
-earth, no race is more peculiar than the North American Indian. It
-is alone. It stands apart from the rest of the human family. It
-resembles no other. In manners, customs, laws, ideas, and religion,
-the nation occupies its own ground, related by no tie with any of
-the innumerable tribes of the human family inhabiting the remaining
-divisions of the world. It has, indeed, exercised the ingenuity of
-ethnographical philosophers to trace among the North American Indians
-an identity of social institutions with the people of ancient Israel;
-but the comparison appears forced except in a few particulars, which
-seem rather matters of accident, and by no means the prominent
-characteristics of the Red or the Jewish race.
-
-Until the complete establishment of a civilized society in North
-America, and before the settlement of peace, our knowledge of the
-Indian race was most imperfect. We depended on the relations of certain
-imaginative travellers, who wrote not so much to inform as to startle
-the reader--a practice not altogether abandoned at the present day.
-Carver, indeed, with a few others, brought home honest accounts of
-what he saw, but was not always careful to separate that from what
-he heard; and thus, even his picture is strangely coloured in some
-of its details. Later and more scrupulous travellers, however, have
-investigated the manners of the Indian race, and our acquaintance with
-it is gradually becoming familiar. Catlin and the various historians
-have added to our knowledge; so that a clear outline, at least of
-their social institutions, may be drawn. There are three classes
-of writers on the subject:--those who paint the red man as poetry
-incarnate; those who describe him as a vile and drunken barbarian; and
-those who have the sense to discriminate between the Indian of the
-seaport town corrupted in the dram-shop, and the Indian of the woods,
-displaying the original characteristics of his race. It is from such
-authorities we shall draw our view of the condition of women and the
-state of morals among them.
-
-[Illustration: WOMAN OF THE SACS, OR “SÁU-KIES” TRIBE OF AMERICAN
-INDIANS.
-
-[_Copied, by permission, from a Portrait taken by_ MR. CATLIN, _during
-his residence among the Red Indians_.]]
-
-A race divided into several nations, and subdivided into innumerable
-tribes, might be supposed to present a similar diversity of manners.
-Not so, however. The social institutions of the North-American Indian
-are generally uniform, though of course there are many varieties of
-detail in their habits and customs. Yet these are neither so numerous
-nor so striking as to render it impossible to sketch the whole in a
-general view.
-
-The Indian loves society. He is never found wandering alone. He is
-attached also to the company of women. Priding himself, however, on
-his stoicism, he never, at any period of his history, condescended to
-voluptuousness. His sense of manly pride prevented him from becoming
-immodest or indecent. This feeling at the same time inspired him with
-the idea that everything except the hunt and the war-path was below
-the dignity of man. The sentiments, therefore, which saved the female
-sex from becoming the mere food of lust, consigned it to an inferior
-position. The Indian women formed the labouring class. Such a result
-was inevitable. The warrior would only follow the chase or fight.
-There was labour to be performed. No men were to be employed for hire.
-Whatever, therefore, was to be done must be done by the females. The
-wife is, consequently, her husband’s slave. She plants the maize,
-tobacco, beans, and running vines; she drives the blackbird from the
-corn, prepares the store of wild fruits for winter, tears up the
-weeds, gathers the harvest, pounds the grain, dries the buffalo meat,
-brings home the game, carries wood, draws water, spreads the repast,
-attends on her husband, aids in canoe building, and bears the poles of
-the wigwam from place to place. Among the trading communities she is
-especially valuable,--joining in the hunt, preparing the skins and fur,
-and filling the wigwam with the riches of the prairie, which the men
-exchange for the means of a luxurious life. When the hunter kills game
-he leaves it under a tree, perhaps many miles from the “smokes” of his
-tribe, returns home, and sends his wife to fetch it. Making garments
-of skins, sewing them with sinews and thorns; weaving mats and baskets;
-embroidering with shells, feathers, and grass; preparing drugs and
-administering medicine; and building huts--are among the other offices
-of the sex. To educate them for this life of industry, the girls are
-trained by the severe discipline of toils; taught to undergo fatigue,
-to be obedient, and to suffer without complaining.
-
-Considered as the slaves of the men, it is natural to find a plurality
-of wives allowed by the Indian social law; accordingly from Florida
-to the St. Lawrence polygamy is permitted, though some tribes further
-north have not adopted the practice. Elsewhere also, in other
-directions, more than one woman is taken into the chief’s wigwam.
-They are his servants, and he counts them as we count our horses and
-cattle; some of the great Mandan warriors have seven or eight; indeed,
-among all the communities which Catlin had an opportunity of visiting,
-polygamy was allowed, and it was no uncommon thing for him to find
-six, eight, ten, twelve, or even fourteen wives in the same lodge. The
-practice is of an antiquity too remote to fix, and is considered not
-only as necessary, but as honourable and just; they are servants, and
-a man’s wealth is partly measured by this standard. This is one of the
-man’s inducements to follow the custom, though it cannot be denied
-that some of these stoic warriors delight in a harem from the same
-motives as the Turk or the Hindu. It is allowed, we say, to all, but is
-principally confined to the great chiefs and medicine men, the others
-being too humble or too poor to obtain girls from their fathers: there
-are, indeed, few instances in which an ordinary man has more than one
-squaw, and it might be supposed that his wigwam was most peaceful; but
-it is not so. The jealousy of the Indian women is not of the same kind
-as with Europeans; it is watchful of strangers, not of regular wives,
-and six or seven of these dwell in great harmony under the same roof.
-So well established is this usage among them, that civilization meets
-more resistance in attempting to break it down, than in any other of
-its efforts; indeed, in overthrowing polygamy among the North-American
-Indians, or the remnant which is left of them, we shall overthrow their
-whole social economy and change their national character, and this
-it will be long before we are able to do. Probably the custom will
-continue as long as the race exists, and be only extinguished with
-it. Instances, indeed, have occurred, in which an Indian has sworn
-obedience to our social law, but many examples also are known of a
-return to the old habit. Sir George Simpson relates an anecdote of one
-who came into the settled parts, learned to read and write, adopted
-the principle of monogamy, and, returning among his countrymen, sought
-to persuade them to follow the same practice, and acquire the same
-accomplishments. They held long arguments with him upon the subject,
-debated gravely, and, in the end, instead of being converted by him,
-won him back to their ancient institution. He took a great number of
-wives, forswore books, and alluded no more to his designs of social
-reform. Some shame, however, possessed his mind, so that, when some
-Europeans were in the village, he kept in his wigwam and would not see
-them.
-
-A chief named Five Crows, of the Cayux tribe, offered also to renounce
-polygamy, but it was from impulse only, and not from the discovery of
-any social principle. He had five wives, and great wealth in horses,
-cattle, and slaves. Falling in love, however, with a young Christian
-girl, the daughter of a gentleman in the service of the Hudson’s Bay
-Company, he dismissed his old companions, and with great parade and
-confidence presented himself, made the proposal, but, to his infinite
-astonishment as well as mortification, was rejected; in a transport of
-spite, he immediately married one of his own slave girls. Generally,
-however, the American Indians are far less susceptible of the sentiment
-of love, still less of sensuality, than natives of Asiatic blood, and
-women among them are usually viewed with indifference; instances of the
-contrary occur and will be alluded to.
-
-Whether polygamists or otherwise, the American Indians universally
-recognise the marriage contract. There is no such thing among them as
-a tribe practising promiscuous intercourse; the reports of such are
-idle tales. Such a community would become extinct, in the inevitable
-course of nature. The circumstances of the contract vary, however, in
-different parts, and among different societies. In fertile districts
-polygamy is more common; in barren tracts most of the men of all
-classes have only one wife. In some communities the man takes his squaw
-for life, and only divorces her for a recognised cause; in others,
-no more than a temporary union is expected. Everywhere, however, the
-condition of the sex is humiliating, if not miserable, and marriage is
-no more than the conjunction of a master with his servant. Thus the
-noblest institution of society is perverted into a form of slavery.
-That polygamy is practised cannot, nevertheless, be lamented in a
-social view. The frequency of wars among the American Indians, in their
-original state, caused a disproportion of the sexes, which allowed many
-of the men to take several wives, without preventing all from having
-one. Had this custom not been prevalent, one alternative only would
-have remained to the superfluous women--they would have become common
-prostitutes.
-
-The conditions and forms of the marriage contract are various only
-in the inferior details--the general tenour of them being that a man
-procures a woman from her father as a purchase, and acquires in her a
-property over which he has the control of a master. Some restrictions,
-however, are laid upon the intercourse of the sexes. Marriage cannot be
-contracted among any of the tribes which originally dwelt east of the
-Mississippi, or indeed anywhere between kindred of a certain degree.
-The Iroquois warrior may choose a partner from the same tribe, but
-not the same cabin, or group of wigwams. For it is to be recollected
-that, among the tribes, especially of the Algonquin race, the whole
-family, or clan of several families, dwell together, bearing a common
-designation. One of that nation must look for a wife beyond those who
-bear the same token or family symbol. The Cherokee would marry at once
-a mother and her daughter, but never a woman of his own immediate
-kindred. The Indians of the Red River frequently take two or more
-sisters to wife at once.
-
-The manners of the Algonquin race are generally similar. The young
-man desiring a wife offers a gift--or, if he be poor, his friends do
-it for him--to the girl’s father. If this be accepted, the marriage
-is complete. He goes to dwell in the woman’s house for a year,
-surrendering the gains of one hunting season to her family, and then
-taking her away to a wigwam of his own.
-
-The contract is, with all the other tribes, usually made with the
-girl’s father; she is virtually bought and sold. In many cases she is
-never consulted at all, and the whole is a mere mercenary transaction.
-Instances do occur, also, where the parties approach each other,
-express mutual affection, make arrangements, and swear vows, sacred
-and inviolable as vows can be; but the marriage is never consummated
-without payment to the bride’s father. In the interior of Oregon the
-permission of the chief is first asked, then the approval of the
-parents, then the assent of the girl; but if she object, her decision
-is conclusive. If she consent, the man gives from one to five horses to
-her father; they have a feast, and the ceremony is complete. Espousals
-often take place during infancy, but neither is absolutely bound by
-this engagement. The influence of the parents is, however, so powerful,
-that their will is seldom or never resisted; so that a bargain is often
-concluded, and a price paid; while the girl is a child. Occasionally
-the female courts the male--that is, proposes to become his squaw,
-and promises to be faithful, good-tempered, and obedient, if he will
-take her to his hut. He seldom refuses, for polygamy is permitted, and
-a husband may in this region put away his wife when he pleases. He
-usually allows each to have a separate fire.
-
-The missionaries in Oregon have had some success, and have displayed
-more prudence than some of their brethren of the same profession in the
-island of Tahiti. Men who had a plurality of wives were required, on
-their conversion, to maintain them; while those who had only one were
-forbidden to take more.
-
-On the Red River, when a young man desires a girl as wife, he addresses
-her father, and, if accepted by him, dwells in his wigwam for a
-year--as among the Algonquins--and then takes her home. This is only
-observed with the first; he adds to the number, if he is wealthy, as
-fast as he can. Few of the women are thus left single, and scarcely
-any common prostitutes are found. Some will occasionally bear children
-before marriage; and the zeal of the missionary West was displayed in
-somewhat of a fanatical spirit by his refusing to baptize a child not
-born in formal wedlock. We may, however, forgive this eccentric spirit
-for the motive which created it; and must admit that, as Sir George
-Simpson bears witness, the Indians of Oregon are vastly reformed, and
-chiefly by missionary influence.
-
-Among the curious customs preceding marriage in other parts of North
-America, is that of the lover going at midnight into the tent of the
-woman he desires, and, lighting a splinter of wood, holding it to her
-face. If she wake and leave the torch burning, it is a sign for him
-to be gone; if she blow it, he is accepted, and we are told that this
-frequently leads to immoral intercourse. Catlin knew a young chief of
-the Mandans on the Upper Missouri, who took four wives in one day,
-paying for each a horse or two. They were from twelve to fifteen
-years old, and sat happily in his wigwam, perfectly contented to dwell
-under his commands. He was applauded for the act. This extreme youth
-in the bride is common among the tribes; children pass from infancy to
-womanhood by a single bound--we are assured, on good testimony, that
-mothers twelve years of age are not unfrequent. The youths are led
-by precept and example to adopt marriage; celibacy beyond the age of
-puberty being very rare, especially in those communities which have
-come into familiar contact with Europeans. It appears indeed that this
-plan is resorted to by the men to secure virgins as their wives, for
-among few barbarous nations is the chastity of unmarried woman safe
-very long after she has reached a marriageable age. To have no husband
-is esteemed by the females a misfortune and a disgrace, while to have
-no wife entails great discomfort on a man.
-
-It has already been shown that, when married, the woman becomes her
-husband’s servitor; that she is, in many cases, the humiliated drudge,
-in all, the humble attendant on her master; that she waits on him in
-submissive silence while he eats, and approaches him with the deference
-due from an inferior to a superior being. Those who infer, however,
-from these circumstances that the sentiments of conjugal, filial, and
-parental affection are unknown to the Indian race, think erroneously
-of them. Strong and tender attachments continually spring up between
-the sexes. The lover sings of the girl he has chosen, and takes her
-home with the delight of gratified affection. The husband, too, when
-he devolves upon his wife all the labours of the wigwam, is no more
-conscious that he is using her harshly than she is that she occupies an
-unnatural position. Ideas and sentiments are often no more than things
-of habit, and with the Indian chief strong love is not inconsistent
-with his walking in lordly indolence along the forest path while
-she is bearing the heavy wigwam poles behind. Heckewelder relates a
-singular instance of indulgence, which, it must be confessed, is rare
-among the barbarians of North America. There was a scarcity in the
-district inhabited by a certain tribe, and an Indian woman, being
-sick, expressed a strong desire for a mess of Indian corn. Her husband
-having been told that a trader at Lower Sandarsky had a little, set
-off on horseback for that place, a hundred miles distant, gave his
-steed in exchange for a hatful of grain, returned home on foot, and
-gratified his wife by the treat he had thus procured. It is seldom that
-the most polished society presents a similar instance of kindliness.
-Many pictures of domestic happiness are exhibited among the Indians.
-The Blackfeet, Sanee, and Blood Indians, reckon it among their chief
-desires that their wives may live long and look young. Smoke sometimes
-rises for forty years from the same hearth, with one couple presiding
-over it. On the other hand, the husband’s infidelity or harshness
-sometimes drives his wife to suicide, for the woman has no protector.
-The life of hardship they lead soon strips them of all their personal
-beauty, when they are entirely consigned to toil. In spite of this,
-they are well fed, healthy, and robust, unlike the women of Australia
-who are stinted in food, and often deformed or crippled by the severity
-of their labour. Nature has been very indulgent to them. Scarcely any
-have more than five, and few more than three children. Easy travail
-takes away one affliction from their lot. The pains of delivery are
-seldom prolonged for more than a quarter of an hour, and she who groans
-under the acutest pang is prophesied, with a taunt, to be the mother
-of cowards. Death, however, occasionally ensues. The Indian mother
-loves her children dearly, never trusting it to a hireling nurse--which
-indeed could not be found; for no woman would put away her own infant
-to suckle another’s. Bearing the cradle on her back she performs her
-daily task, and if she die the nursling is laid in her grave. One
-curious and beautiful custom is that of carrying the cradle of a dead
-nursling child for a whole year, and all are familiar with the story of
-the Canadian mother bedewing the grave of her child with milk from her
-bosom. Infanticide is a rare and secret crime, not by any means to be
-enumerated among the characteristics of their manners.
-
-Marriage among the North-American Indians is contracted for the
-happiness and comfort of the man. He is bound to live with his wife
-only so long as these are enjoyed. Adultery, indolence, intemperance,
-and sterility are among the causes of divorce. It takes place without
-formality by simple separation or desertion; and where there are no
-children is very easy. Their offspring forms their most powerful
-bond; for, where the mother is discarded, the unwritten law of the
-red man allows her to keep the children whom she has borne or nursed.
-The husband detecting his wife in adultery may cut off her nose, or
-take off part of her scalp. He sometimes kills her with her paramour
-at once; and the only blame attached to him on the occasion is,
-descending from his dignity to feel so strongly the loss of one woman,
-when another may easily be procured to supply her place.
-
-The idea of chastity as a positive virtue is but feebly developed
-among them. With the men, indeed, it is a Spartan quality, as opposed
-to effeminacy; otherwise, the promiscuous sleeping of whole families
-in the same chamber, with various other circumstances, would tend
-much to immorality. Nevertheless, among some tribes, as that of the
-Mandans, the women are delicate and modest; and in the wigwams of the
-respectable families virtue is as cherished, and as unapproachable,
-as anywhere in the world. Generally the Indians are decent, and, with
-the exception of those customs which form the basis of their manners,
-and result directly from their national character, might be won over
-without difficulty to the amenities of civilized life. Many of the
-squaws, of course, in North America, as elsewhere, are immodest, and
-seek occasion to engage in an intrigue. With the unmarried girls the
-same is the case. A bastard child may be born without entailing great
-shame upon its mother, though the seducer is greatly despised; but such
-an occurrence is rare, not altogether, however, because the females
-are too chaste, but because they are too cautious, and employ means to
-procure abortion. This practice is sometimes resorted to by the squaws,
-though discountenanced by the men, except when they are on the march,
-or hotly pressed by an enemy.
-
-From a notice of their punishments in Hunter’s narrative of his
-captivity, it would appear that the last act of depravity is not
-unknown among the Indians. Adultery, he tells us, where not perpetrated
-by the husband’s consent, is punishable with divorce. We might doubt
-the testimony of this writer, but that Wilkes found Indians in the far
-north, within the range of the Hudson’s Bay territories, who would
-gamble away their wives, and prostitute them for money. These men he
-believed to be degraded from their original condition, but various
-authors speak of a similar practice. Carver relates that, among the
-Manedowessis, it was a custom when a young woman could not get a
-husband, for her to assemble all the chief warriors of the tribe in
-a spacious wigwam, to give them a feast, and then, retiring behind a
-screen, to prostitute herself to each in succession. This gained her
-great applause, and always insured her a husband. It was, however,
-nearly obsolete when he wrote, and appears now to be altogether
-extinct.
-
-Many of the Europeans dwelling on the Red River were accustomed to take
-concubines during the period of their residence there. The Indians,
-who are civilized, as it is called, in the provinces of Nova Scotia,
-New Brunswick, and Canada, have thus learned also the worst vices of
-Europe. Maclean, a very recent writer, declares that the Christianized
-tribes in the Hudson’s Bay territories have been deteriorated by
-intercourse with the whites, become drunken, sensual, and depraved. The
-venereal disease commits frightful ravages among them. Most of their
-diseases arise from excess of one kind or another. He says that the men
-employed by the Company are chiefly reconciled to their hard employment
-and poor remuneration by the immorality of the women, of whom large
-numbers follow the occupation of prostitutes, and sell themselves for
-the vilest price. On the north-west coast, chastity is scarcely even
-a name; indeed, there is no word in the language of the people to
-express that idea. The sea tribes are, indeed, in all cases, the most
-licentious; which appears to justify the remark, that intercourse with
-a strange unsettled population has demoralized them.
-
-At some parts of the coast where the trading ships touch for supplies,
-hundreds of women come down, and, by an indecent display of their
-persons, endeavour to obtain permission to go on board. When Sir George
-Simpson arrived at one of these ports a man asked for the captain’s
-wife, and offered his own in exchange. In that part of the country the
-tyranny over the female sex is even more severe than in the interior.
-When a man takes a wife, he purchases her as his perpetual property;
-and if they separate, whether from an offence of hers or his, she must
-never marry again. She usually takes to clandestine prostitution as a
-means of living. But such instances as the foregoing are not confined
-to the coast. In the interior the traveller may observe, wherever a
-large concourse of Indians is assembled, a number of beautiful and
-voluptuous-looking women continually mixing in the throng, and throwing
-their glances upon strangers, or the single young men of the tribe. The
-Indians have now been removed to a territory beyond the Mississippi;
-and it is probable their corruption will rapidly increase in proportion
-to their congregation.
-
-One peculiar feature of the system, introduced of course since
-Europeans visited the country, remains to be noticed. Many of the
-white traders, among the tribes of the Upper Missouri, find it good
-policy to connect themselves by marriage with powerful families, and
-they procure then the most beautiful girls of the noblest tribes, who
-aspire with delight to such a station, which usually elevates them
-above their servile occupations to a life of indolence, ease, and
-pleasure. These engagements, however, are scarcely marriages--at least
-in the European sense of the term--ceremonies of any kind being seldom
-performed. A large price in Indian estimation is paid for the girl, and
-she is transferred at once to the trader’s house; with equal facility
-he may annul the contract, leaving his companion to be candidate for
-another mate, for which her father is not sorry, as he may procure
-an additional horse again in exchange for her: this is no more than
-a system of virtual prostitution, in which the woman is hired out as
-a temporary companion, merely for the pecuniary gain. The trader may
-procure the handsomest girl in the tribe for two horses; for a gun with
-a supply of powder and ball; for five or six pounds of beads; for a
-couple of gallons of whiskey; or a handful of awls. Such is the price
-at which the Indian chief will prostitute his daughter. Occasionally,
-it must be added, the couple thus united live together permanently
-as man and wife, the possibility of which is, indeed, almost always
-supposed.
-
-The Indians of New Caledonia, though not belonging to the same stock
-with the red race of North America, may be noticed here: they are
-extremely profligate; the venereal disease is common among them;
-and the blessing of a healthy climate is rendered nugatory by the
-intemperance of the people. Among them, nevertheless, women are held
-in more estimation than among the red tribes, for the men are not
-possessed by that sense of lordly dignity which disdains at once to
-become sensual, and to share the labours of the inferior sex. Women
-assist in the councils, and those of high rank are even admitted to the
-feasts. During the fishing season each sex is equally employed, and
-so in all their other tasks. Lewdness could not be carried to greater
-excess than it is among them: both men and women are addicted to the
-vilest crimes; they abandon themselves in youth to the indulgence of
-their most unbridled lust, and the country owes its rapid decrease of
-population to the universal depravity of the people. No man marries
-until his animal appetite is satiated upon the voluntary prostitutes
-who abound, and then his wife, if dissatisfied with the restraints
-of matrimony, may refuse to dwell with him; the union is consequently
-broken by mutual consent, for a certain time or for ever. Meanwhile
-they addict themselves to their former pleasures, but the woman is
-nominally prohibited, by law, under pain of death, from cohabiting
-with any man during this period of separation from her husband; he
-seldom cares, however, to enforce his right, and she seldom fails to
-break the law. Polygamy is allowed, but only one woman is actually a
-wife--the rest are mere concubines; the chief one may be supplanted
-by a new favourite, when the old one yields without a murmur, though
-occasionally a woman of violent passions will destroy herself.
-
-To illustrate the general subject of the condition of women among the
-North-American Indians, we may notice an incident described by the
-observant traveller Catlin. When, among the Sioux, he proposed to
-paint the portrait of a woman, his condescension was regarded by the
-warriors of the community first as incredible and then as ridiculous.
-It appeared marvellous that he should think of conferring on the
-females the same honour he had conferred on the medicine men and
-braves; those whom he selected were laughed at by hundreds of others
-who were, nevertheless, jealous of the distinction. The men who had
-been painted said that if the artist was going to paint women and
-children the sooner he destroyed their portraits the better; the women
-had never taken scalps, never done anything but make fires and dress,
-with other occupations equally servile: at length, he explained that
-the portraits of the men were wanted to show the chiefs of the white
-nation who were great and worthy among the Sioux nation, while the
-women were only wanted to show how they looked and how they dressed:
-by this means he attained his object. Mr. Catlin considers that, on
-the whole, the Old World has no superior morality or virtue to hold
-up as an example to the American Indian races. The degradation of the
-women, however, is denied by none, though a woman of superior courage
-or contrivance sometimes places herself above the degrading laws
-which depress the rest of her sex. Thus one whom Catlin saw joined
-boldly in a dance--though females are only allowed to join in a few
-of these--played off great feats before the warriors, and for her
-audacity no less than for her skill was greeted with thundering peals
-of applause, besides a pile of gifts[62].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION AMONG THE INDIANS OF SOUTH AMERICA.
-
-The plan and purpose of this inquiry will by this time have become
-obvious to every reader. It is to afford a comparative view of the
-state of manners throughout the world, with reference to public morals,
-the condition and the character of the female sex. We have chosen to
-treat of the barbarians in a separate division of the inquiry, and
-for this reason have left a large portion of Africa, and by far the
-greatest portion of North America, for future pages. With respect
-to South America, its various states will be classed among those
-half-barbarous communities, which we shall take as the link between
-the savage and the civilized portions of the globe; for, in spite of
-the dreams in which some romantic travellers have indulged, Lima is
-only fit to be compared with Algiers, and Brazil with Morocco. Leaving,
-therefore, these half-caste societies, as we shall next turn to them in
-a separate notice, we may briefly treat of the Indian race which still,
-though in numbers awfully reduced, clings to its native soil in South
-America.
-
-A very brief description will suffice. Remembering the difference
-of character between the Indian of the North and the Indian of the
-South, we may, in most respects, apply our last notices to the present
-subject. The barbarians with whom we have now to deal are not possessed
-by that rigid masculine vanity which inspires them with a contempt not
-only of the female sex, but of the pleasures they furnish to men of
-more sensual temperaments and more effeminate mould. They have less
-pride, but not more manliness than the Indians of the Red Race. There
-is no comparison, in point of mental and moral character, between the
-savage of the Brazilian forest and the stately Huron or Iroquois, or
-the warrior of the Algonquin race.
-
-Two classes of Indians exist in South America--the pure native, and
-the breed corrupted by intercourse with Europeans, half-castes, and
-the rest of that variety of colours which have been produced between
-the white and the original tenant of the soil. The first is now an
-exceedingly small family, and some accounts have represented it as
-eminent for virtue and simplicity. We know that romantic pictures have
-been drawn of the golden days when Montezuma reigned in the Valley
-of Mexico, and gave laws to the free population of the country; but
-sober research has dissipated the idea that he was the governor of a
-civilized and polished nation. Superior, indeed, the Mexicans were to
-the savages who occupied so large a portion of the New World, but they
-were deficient in many of the arts, and gross in many of the manners
-which assist in comparing the standard of a people’s progress. This
-much has been ascertained, though it is little. At the present day, the
-great characteristics of the barbarian state are strongly exhibited
-in this as in other parts of South America. The miserable remnant of
-the Indian race grows yearly more debased, learning little from its
-European preceptors except profligacy and the coarsest arts of vice.
-Throughout the region women are degraded. The men generally sleep and
-lounge, or occupy themselves with easy tasks, but more from indolence
-than pride, while the women perform the labours of the house and of the
-field. Such is almost the universal practice of Indian manners in South
-America. Instances of the contrary, indeed, there are. King found among
-the Chedirrione tribes of the Argentine Republic, a primitive state of
-society, no less innocent than simple. The women were modest, the men
-kind to them, and labour was justly shared. All property was in common,
-and the members of the community lived in perfect brotherhood. This,
-however, is only one cheerful spot upon the surface of South-American
-manners. In the Central Region the females are degraded, and chastity a
-rare virtue. Women may bear children before marriage without shame, and
-the intercourse of the sexes is unrestrained.
-
-Among the Indians of Brazil a curious system of manners existed before
-the establishment of European power, and many traces of it still exist.
-No man might marry until he had killed an enemy. When a girl reached
-the age of puberty her hair was cut off, her back tattooed, and she
-wore a necklace of the teeth of wild beasts until her hair grew again.
-Bands of cotton were fastened about her waist and the fleshy parts of
-her arms, to signify her maidenhood. It was said that if any but a pure
-virgin wore these emblems, the evil spirit would bear her away; but the
-national belief was not sufficiently strong to render this a defence of
-chastity, for it was lost without reproach or fear, and incontinence
-was regarded as no offence. Sleeping in crowds, in large common
-dormitories produced a pernicious effect on the people, destroyed all
-ideas of decency, and caused universal lewdness. When a man tired of
-his wife, he put her away and took another; indeed, as many as he
-pleased. Although unrestrained polygamy was allowed, the first wife,
-however, continued to enjoy some privileges, as having a separate berth
-to sleep in, and a separate plot of ground to cultivate for her own
-use. Nevertheless she was bitterly jealous of those who supplanted her,
-and frequently, when altogether neglected by her husband, abandoned
-herself altogether to vice, and became a clandestine prostitute to any
-of the young men who would flatter or pay her for the favour.
-
-Being regarded, more or less, as property, a man’s wives formed part of
-his estate, and were bequeathed on his death to his brother or nearest
-kinsman. The women thus procured were seldom treated with any delicacy
-or consideration, yet they found sources of happiness, and were often
-lively and gay to the last degree. When utterly miserable the female
-sex does not delight to clothe itself in gaudy attire, or adorn itself
-with sparkling trinkets, as in Brazil, where masculine vanity ran so
-high that it declared certain ornaments to be the exclusive privilege
-of men.
-
-In the neighbouring regions there was some variety among the different
-tribes. The Tyrinambas used their women fairly, though they somewhat
-overloaded them with employment. They were, however, generally happy,
-and were principally employed in spinning and weaving--for the
-industrial arts had reached that stage among them. They also cultivated
-the ground. On this subject a curious and not unpoetical idea prevailed
-among some of the Indians of South America. It was, that as females
-only bore children, so the grain planted by their hands would fructify
-in a more plentiful increase than that sown by men. Female porters,
-also, formed a considerable class.
-
-In Paraguay the wars that spread havoc among the miserable people
-gave rise to a flagitious custom, which destroyed the population more
-rapidly than pestilence or the sword. No woman ever reared more
-than one child. The difficulty of subsistence was one cause which
-induced this custom. The practice of producing abortion was adopted in
-preference to infanticide, since it inflicted a less violent shock on
-the natural feelings of the woman. Remonstrated with upon the horror of
-the crime, one mother replied that an infant was a great incumbrance,
-that parturition took away from the grace of the figure, rendering
-her less attractive to the men, and moreover that abortion was easier
-than delivery. The manner of procuring it was singular. The woman lay
-down on her back, and was beaten by two aged crones till the result
-was certain. Many died in consequence of this barbarous process, while
-others contracted a disease which afflicted them through life. Men
-and women were equally debauched. Their gregarious habits afforded
-unlimited opportunities for intrigue, and husbands cared little to
-whom their wives prostituted themselves, though they regarded them
-as absolute property, branding them on the thigh or bosom with a hot
-iron as they did their horses. One peculiar custom obtained among
-them--the married spoke in a dialect different from that employed by
-the unmarried people.
-
-Contrasted with this community was the Abifrone, a tribe inhabiting
-the same region, more long-lived, healthy, and numerous, because
-they were temperate and chaste. Morality was characteristic of them,
-and prudence also. The men seldom or never married before the age of
-thirty, or the women before that of twenty, and were usually continent
-before contracting that engagement. A wife was purchased from her
-parents, and was entirely at their disposal, unless bold enough to run
-away. There was some poetry in the rite of marriage. If the suit was
-accepted, eight maidens carried a canopy of fine tissue over the bride,
-who walked in silence, and with downcast eyes, to her husband’s tent.
-There he received her with signs of love; she then returned, bearing
-the few domestic articles necessary to their simple mode of life, and
-her new master dwelt in her father’s house with her until she had borne
-a child, or he had sufficiently proved his affection towards her. Women
-were obliged to suckle their children for three years, and forbidden
-to hold connubial intercourse during that period. This induced the
-practice of procuring abortion, for the wife feared her husband would
-forget and abandon her after the long interval. Depopulation was thus
-caused. Infanticide, also, was practised, but the boys were selected
-as victims rather than the girls, who were valuable to their parents.
-The intercourse of the sexes before marriage was rigidly watched;
-the maidens were educated in habits of industry, and taught to prize
-their virtue. When the missionaries came among them preaching against
-polygamy and divorce, the women of this tribe were eager listeners.
-
-Transferring our attention to another part of the South-American
-Continent, we find among the Sambos of the Mosquito Shore some curious
-customs. They are not of the Indian race, but closely allied with
-them in their social habits: when a man commits adultery the injured
-husband shoots a beeve, takes a horse, or carries off something of
-value, no matter to whom it may belong, and the proprietor must obtain
-restitution from the adulterer. Polygamy is practised among them, but
-one wife is superior to the rest; they marry very young; the Indians
-of the same country have a plurality of wives, but each must have a
-separate hut; if the husband makes a present to one, he must make one
-of equal value to each of the others, and he must spend his time with
-them equally, week by week.
-
-In Venezuela, among the native tribes, marriage is frequently dispensed
-with altogether, and cohabitation takes place for a temporary period,
-or permanently, as the sentiments of the man may incline. This is the
-case even among the Christianized people, but no blame can be attached
-to them, poor as they are; for the priests, grasping everywhere, charge
-such high fees, that marriage is a privilege of the rich.
-
-The same characteristics prevail all over South America, in Chili,
-Peru, Mexico, and among the Araucanian tribes: the men idle, the women
-labour; and the national idea is, that one sex is born to command,
-the other to obey. The Araucanians carry this principle to excess,
-and do not allow their wives to eat until they are satisfied. When a
-man desires to have a girl as his wife, he proposes for her to the
-father; if the father consent, the girl, without being informed of the
-bargain, is sent out on some pretended errand, when she is seized by
-her purchaser and carried home to his tent or hut. There a feast is
-prepared; their friends assemble; her price is paid in horses, cattle,
-or money, and the ceremony is concluded by a debauch. Immorality among
-them is rather secret than recognised; in Peru it is affirmed that,
-among the native Indians, instances of infidelity between man and wife
-are very rare, for where polygamy is sanctioned and regulated by law,
-it is by no means inconsistent with chastity.
-
-In New Andalusia the men and women go all but naked, wearing only
-slight girdles, and appearing strangers to the sentiment of decency.
-The condition of the female sex is that of privation and labour; yet,
-though overwhelmed with toil, they appear happier, because naturally
-more buoyant of heart than the squaws of North America. Even among the
-Indians on the banks of the Xingu, where the lordly husband lies all
-day in a hammock, and requires literally to be fed by his faithful
-wife, the women sing, dance, and seem to enjoy their lives most
-heartily. So, throughout the whole region, humiliation and slavery
-form their lot, but their spirit yields willingly to the yoke, which
-consequently does not pain them.
-
-The regular prostitute class of South America belongs to the
-half-civilized communities, and will be noticed in our reference to
-them[63].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN THE CITIES OF SOUTH AMERICA.
-
-When we visit the semi-civilized communities of South America, instead
-of the barbarian tribes still running wild in its deserts of forest,
-the state of morals we discover presents a contrast by no means
-favourable to the half-educated States, where a hybrid compromise
-seems to have been made between refinement and barbarism. The general
-characteristic of South-American society is profligacy. Almost every
-city on that continent is demoralized and debauched; Brazil, Mexico,
-Peru, Chili, all present features very similar, and differing only
-in the inferior details. Professional prostitutes, indiscriminate in
-their companionship, form only a small part of the system. Immorality
-takes many other forms. This, however, we learn only from the general
-terms in which traveller after traveller has described those regions,
-especially the cities. Absolute information we have none, except with
-respect to the station occupied by women, and their moral demeanour in
-society. Statistics are entirely wanting. All writers seem by mutual
-consent to have avoided our subject, and left us to conjecture the
-extent and character of prostitution in Mexico, Rio Janeiro, Lima, and
-the various other cities of South America.
-
-In Mexico, the women of the upper or idle classes are described as
-elegant, polished, and fascinating, perfectly easy in society, and
-attached above all things to the gaieties of life. Their morals
-appear to be similar to those of the female sex in the older cities
-of Spain--that is, there are many profligates among them; but a large
-number are well-conducted, virtuous women, not very timid in society,
-but not immodest. Among the lower classes the average of Spain may
-also be adopted--if we may ground an opinion on the vague accounts we
-receive from travellers.
-
-In Lima, society is far more profligate. The women are superior to the
-men in little more than affection for their children; in other respects
-their general conduct is loose. They are devoured with that passion for
-intrigue--not amounting in many cases to actual adultery--which has
-been a famous trait in the manners of that country in Europe whence
-South America has derived all its impress of civilization. One remark
-which is true of Lima, applies also to the other cities. The veil,
-which in some countries is worn as the guard of virtue, is here the
-screen of vice. It is inviolable. The woman so draped may pass her
-own husband unrecognised, so that she can play truant as she pleases.
-Two or three females of good station often pay visits at the houses
-of strange men, without being known. Men sometimes take up with their
-own wives in the streets, or at some place of public entertainment,
-or on the alameda, or city promenade, without being aware who their
-companions are.
-
-The state of manners indicated by frequent allusions to these facts is
-far from pure. We have also a few other glimpses into the society of
-Mexico and Lima. In the former there were, in 1842, 491 persons--312
-men, and 179 women--committed to prison for “prostitution, adultery,
-bigamy, sodomy, and incest;” besides 65 men, and 21 women, for “rape
-and incontinence.” So far for the capital of Mexico.
-
-In Lima, the chief city of Peru, the number of illegitimate children
-annually born is about 860; and of new-born infants exposed and found
-dead, 460. Two-thirds of the former, and four-fifths of the latter,
-belong to the coloured population--which is, indeed, in a proportionate
-majority. A dead child is picked up without any sensation being excited
-among the inhabitants of the locality in which it is found. Frequently
-it is cast away unburied. Ischudi has seen these little carcasses
-dragged about by vultures, in the public streets.
-
-The white creoles are noted for sensuality, as well as a brutal want
-of sentiment towards their offspring. The dances in which they indulge
-are some of them of indescribable obscenity, and the whole population
-is addicted to demoralizing pleasures. In Lima, however, though
-delicate modest women are rare, actual adultery is not often committed
-by that sex. The men seem to obey the exhortation of Cato, who
-encouraged prostitutes, while he abhorred unfaithful wives--“Courage,
-my friends; go and see the girls, but do not corrupt the married
-women.” Concubinage is more common, or rather, perhaps, more public
-than in Europe, and the father is usually very fond and careful of his
-natural children. Where marriage is contracted, it is, all over the
-Continent, fulfilled at an early age. In Brazil the neglect of this
-institution and the profligate intercourse of the sexes have diminished
-the population to an immense extent. In Rio Janeiro, however, we are
-told that the manners of the people have much improved since they have
-become more republican in their manners and ideas. The women there
-are shy and retired, but ignorance and awkwardness more than modesty
-may be assigned as the cause. While slavery was a public institution,
-which the government desired to abolish, the only restriction in the
-intercourse of the sexes was among the slaves. Procreation among them
-was as far as possible prevented; the women and the men in Janeiro were
-locked up at night in separate apartments, and carefully watched during
-the day.
-
-In Chili, also, a reform of manners has commenced since the reduction
-of the military power, which is proverbially demoralizing. The
-higher classes of females have a character for modesty and virtue,
-but the men generally indulge themselves in vicious pleasures to a
-very considerable extent. It is, perhaps, in Brazil that society
-is most corrupt, for there the common decencies of life are, among
-the inferior orders, grossly disregarded. Matheson, the traveller,
-slept in the same room with a young married couple; girls are sold
-as concubines, and children are hired out by their mothers to
-prostitution. The youth of that sex bathe, while very young, entirely
-naked, and afterwards with scarcely any clothing, before the public
-eye, so that altogether the manners of the people are wanting in
-decency.
-
-Travellers agree in assigning as one chief cause of this general
-demoralization, the profligate conduct of the Roman Catholic clergy;
-their lives are, in many cases--and of course there are many exceptions
-also--exceedingly scandalous. Numbers of them, bound by their vows to
-celibacy, live with concubines, and are not even faithful or constant
-to them. Where the priests have such influence, and indulge in such
-practices, we may expect to find a low state of morals. That this is
-the case in the cities of the South America most travellers agree in
-declaring; but unfortunately their notices are only vague generalities,
-and we have no positive information as to the extent and character of
-prostitution in those cities[64].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN THE WEST INDIES.
-
-A very slight notice of the West Indies will suffice, until we arrive
-at that division of our inquiry which includes the half-civilized
-communities, and the colonial societies related to Great Britain.
-Of the barbarous race scarcely a vestige remains, and of the negro
-population a general view is all that is required, except with
-reference to the prostitution carried on under the encouragement
-of the European settlers, which we shall hereafter describe. When
-Columbus first visited the beautiful islands of the West Indian
-group, he found two classes of people inhabiting them--the savage and
-cannibal Caribs, who delighted in war, and preyed upon the weaker and
-more effeminate tribes; and the comparatively innocent and simple
-communities, whose unwarlike habits rendered them victims to their more
-powerful neighbours. The characteristics of these distinct populations
-were strongly illustrated in their treatment of women. The mild and
-peaceful islanders admitted the female sex to a participation in
-the delights and enjoyments of life, allowed their women to mingle
-with them in the dance, to inherit power, to wear what ornaments
-they fancied; and shared, indeed, with them all the opportunities
-of happiness which belonged to their savage condition. Among the
-cannibal Caribs, on the other hand, a different fashion prevailed.
-The handsomest and youngest of female captives taken in war were
-preserved as slaves and companions, while their other prisoners were
-devoured. The lot of these exiles, however, was little superior to
-that of the Carib women themselves. The nation was low and barbarous,
-and accordingly treated its women with harshness and indignity. Proud
-of their superior power and courage, the men looked down on the
-females as on an inferior sex, whose degradation was natural and just.
-Although a wife was awarded as the prize of valour, she was regarded
-as property acquired. She was her husband’s slave. All the drudgery of
-his habitation fell on her. She bore his implements for war or for the
-chase. She carried home the game he had killed; and never sat down to a
-meal with him, or even dared to eat in his presence. She approached him
-with abject humility, and if she ever complained of ill usage, it was
-at the peril of her life. Nevertheless, the child born of this slave
-was loved and tended with wonderful care. This description, however,
-must apply to the weaker race of women, not to those Amazons described
-by Columbus, who, well-trained to war, rivalled in power of muscle and
-vigour of limb the bull-stranglers of Sparta.
-
-These, however--the original inhabitants of the West-Indian
-Islands--have disappeared, and been succeeded by another race or
-compound of races, among which the Negroes only claim our notice at
-present. Among the blacks of Antigua, as an example of the rest,
-immorality is a characteristic which may be traced to the institution
-of slavery. Infanticide is frequently practised by them, especially
-since the Emancipation Act was passed. The reason of this circumstance,
-which at first seems strange, is very clear. Under the institution
-of slavery, negroes were not allowed to marry, or, at least, their
-marriages were never held as binding before the law. They therefore
-cohabited, and their unions lasted usually only so long as the caprice
-of affection, or the heat of a criminal appetite existed. Women,
-therefore, continually had five, six, seven, eight, or nine children
-by various fathers, and no disgrace was attached to the fact. A new
-system was introduced by the abolition of the slave system. The
-sentiments of shame and modesty have been cultivated in their minds;
-and the idea of female virtue has at least been awakened, so that they
-often seek to escape the consequences of an illicit amour by destroying
-the offspring.
-
-One of the demoralizing effects of slavery was the encouragement of a
-species of concubinage. Rewards, indeed, were held out by some masters
-to such of the negroes as lived faithfully with a single partner; but
-the prevalence of vice was all but universal. A permanent engagement
-between a man and a woman was seldom formed. Two females frequently
-lived with one man, and of these one was considered his wife and the
-other his mistress.
-
-When the negroes were emancipated, in 1834, many of them were anxious
-to be legally married. Numbers had been already united in wedlock by
-the missionary preachers; yet, though complete in its character, and
-regarded as a sacred tie, this act was not held as binding by the law,
-and many of the emancipated negroes, putting away the partners of their
-compulsory servitude, took new companions to their homes.
-
-The offence of bigamy was not uncommon among them, and still continues
-to be so. It is prohibited under a severe enactment, but many devices
-are adopted to elude the law. Concubinage is less openly practised than
-formerly, but the tie of marriage is by no means generally respected.
-Chastity is indifferently regarded; and where the men do not prize it
-in women, women will be at little pains to preserve it for the men.
-Women are sometimes married who have been living in concubinage with
-several persons, and become the mothers of numerous children.
-
-The condition of the free female negroes is by no means so degraded
-as in the original country of the blacks. Women enjoy an independent
-existence, and live as they please, though many of them labour. Their
-character is not distinguished by morality. Decency was entirely
-obliterated from their ideas, and they are only beginning to recover
-it. Women who were daily stripped and exposed to receive a whipping
-from the hands of men, could not be expected long to retain the sense
-of feminine shame; and this process, acting upon one generation
-after another, has left its impress on the character of the negro
-population. Human nature, also, was outraged by the gross tyranny of
-the planters. The intercourse of the sexes was regulated, not with
-a view to the morals of the negroes, but to the propagation of the
-species. They were coupled like beasts, to increase the number of
-slaves on the estate. In consequence of this the degradation of the
-negro population was so complete that, after it was emancipated, a
-woman considered it more honourable to become the mistress of a white,
-than the wife of a black man. In all the islands, indeed, this vile
-system was carried on. In St. Lucia, however, the intercourse was
-almost unrestrained, and consequently became in a degree promiscuous;
-for moral law there was none. The St. Lucia negro, in fact, is, even at
-this day, averse to matrimony, and inclined to support concubines, to
-none of whom is he faithful, even for an interval of time. Yet he is
-thoroughly attached to his children. It has been observed, that if any
-improvement in the morality of the island has taken place, it is more
-in the tone than in the temper, in the appearance than in the reality.
-Infanticide is never practised, or only as a rare and secret crime.
-It is prevented, however, not by moral restraint, but by the motherly
-feelings of the women--by the absence of reproach on bastardy, and the
-facility for rearing children.
-
-In Santa Cruz the same low condition of manners is observable in the
-negro population; though in Jamaica the negroes are generally married,
-and are, on the whole, faithful to the engagement. This, however, is
-the result of the Emancipation Act. Previously to that mighty social
-reform, marriage, or a connubial contract of any kind, was rare; and
-the intercourse of the sexes was loose, profligate, and lewd. The
-men lived either with several concubines at once, or replaced one
-by another, as their inclination prompted. When the missionaries
-endeavoured to change this state of things, any couples which submitted
-to their teaching were sure to be ridiculed and jeered by the servile
-and demoralized populace. When slavery was abolished, so far had the
-corruption of manners proceeded, that numbers of the women, in the
-delirium of their new liberty, abandoned themselves to their vicious
-appetites, and became common prostitutes.
-
-The example of Europeans has not by any means displayed to the
-negroes any instruction in morality; on the contrary, it has, to a
-great extent, encouraged their vices. This we shall show in a future
-division of the subject. We therefore leave at present the other
-islands which form the plantation colonies of England and Spain: we
-shall hereafter visit the native community which has recently made
-itself ridiculous by enacting the forms of an empire--we allude to
-Hayti, or St. Domingo. The brief notice we have given is intended to
-apply to the rude black population, but not in respect of its relation
-to the white communities[65].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN JAVA.
-
-In the island of Java, which is perhaps the most fertile and beautiful
-country in the world, a curious system of manners now prevails.
-Hindoos have been succeeded by Mohammedans, and these by Dutch: each
-of the conquering races has impressed some characteristic trait on the
-population, and, unfortunately, the stamp of vice is more easily set
-than any other. The character and condition of the female sex in Java
-indicate the whole state of manners there. The men are somewhat cold
-towards the women, a fact which some learned Theban has ascribed to
-their feeding more on vegetable than on animal substances, but they are
-neither cruel nor negligent towards them. The institution of marriage
-is universally known, if not universally practised or generally
-respected. The lot of women may be described as peculiarly fortunate;
-in general they are not ill-used at all, and when, as among some of
-the more opulent, they are secluded, they are rather withdrawn from
-the indiscriminate gaze of the people, than shut up in lonely secrecy,
-for they are by no means watched with that exaggerated jealousy which
-in some parts of the East renders the husband a continual spy on the
-actions of his wife. Though the man pays a price for his bride, he does
-not therefore disdain or abuse her.
-
-The condition of the sex in Java is, indeed, an exception to the
-habitual custom of Asiatics. The women eat with the men, associate with
-them in all the offices and pleasures of life, and live on terms of
-mutual equality.
-
-Many queens have, in different States, occupied the throne. The sex is
-nowhere in the island, as a rule, treated with coarseness, violence,
-or neglect. They are industrious, and hard-working, but they labour
-more through desire of praise than through fear of chastisement, and
-are admitted to the performance of many honourable tasks. Among the
-wealthier classes men sometimes act tyrannically in their households;
-but this must be taken as the characteristic not of the race, but of
-individuals. Those who seclude their wives do so only from the common
-eye; English gentlemen have often been introduced into the most private
-chambers of the harem, while the wives and daughters of the greatest
-chiefs have appeared at the entertainments given by the European
-residents in Batavia, Sumarang, and other cities, where they conduct
-themselves usually with modesty and good grace.
-
-Polygamy and concubinage are tolerated, that is, they are practised
-among the nobility of Java, who do not allow public opinion to
-interfere with the gratification of their desires; both of these
-customs are looked upon, however, rather as vicious luxuries, than as
-established social institutions; yet, however limited their extent,
-they never fail to degrade the position and to vitiate the character
-of the female sex. Some circumstances in the feelings of the people
-prevent either practice from being generally adopted, and the evil
-is thus, in its moral influence, mitigated. The first wife is always
-mistress of the household, and the others are little more than her
-handmaids, who contribute to her husband’s gratification, but never
-share his rank or his wealth. No man of station will give his daughter
-as a second or third wife, unless to a chief of far higher nobility
-than himself; the inferior wives or concubines are therefore of an
-inferior class. Thus the artificial distinctions of classes vitiate
-the public morals, for a woman considers it dishonourable, not to
-prostitute herself, but to prostitute herself to a poor man of humble
-birth.
-
-When we say that polygamy and concubinage are not general in Java, the
-reader must by no means infer a high state of manners to exist there.
-On the contrary, Java is the most immoral country in insular Asia.
-The woman who would be ashamed to become the second wife of a chief
-might not be ashamed to commit adultery with him; in general terms,
-both sexes are extremely profligate and depraved, though the poets
-and historians of the island boast of chastity as the distinguishing
-ornament of their women; because a married female shrieks when a
-strange man attempts to kiss her before her attendants and a large
-mixed company, they hold up their sex in Java as the standard of
-feminine purity and virtue.
-
-In most islands of the Indian Archipelago, divorces are not easy to be
-obtained; but in Java the total separation of married people may be
-procured with the utmost freedom and facility. It is a privilege in
-which the women indulge themselves to a most wanton degree, and often
-so much as to fall little short of prostitution. A wife may turn away
-her husband by paying him a certain sum of money; he is not, indeed,
-absolutely bound to accept this, but usually does so, in conformity
-with the established opinion of society, that it is disreputable to
-live with a woman on such terms. Women often change their partners
-three or four times before they are thirty years of age; some have been
-seen boasting of a twelfth husband. In Java the means of subsistence
-abound, and are easy to be procured as well by females as by men;
-one sex is, therefore, in a great measure, independent of the other;
-women find no difficulty in living without husbands. They are not,
-consequently, forced to remain in a state of bondage through fear of
-being drifted destitute upon the world; but, unfortunately for the
-theories of our new female reformers, the sex in Java, though thus
-enfranchised, is proverbially dissolute and libertine.
-
-This, nevertheless, in reality is no argument for those who attempt
-to show that the female sex, enjoying perfect liberty, makes use
-of its freedom to indulge in vicious pleasures. The women of Java
-are dissolute, not because they are free of control, but because
-the whole society of the island is profligate. Among the wealthier
-classes, especially, the utmost immorality prevails with respect to
-the intercourse of the sexes. In the great native towns the population
-is debauched to the last degree. Intrigues among the married women
-continually occur; and females of high rank have intercourse with
-paramours, to the knowledge, and almost before the faces, of their
-husbands. The men are tame and servile, often not daring to revenge
-their honour or assert the conjugal right, and they are by no means
-inspired with that fiery spirit of jealousy which among many Asiatics
-renders a wife sacred from all but her husband’s eye. Females of
-respectable rank are often the subject of conversation. An inquiry
-after a man’s family is held by no means insulting, but rather as a
-conventional act of courtesy.
-
-Flagrant instances of the loose character of Javan manners have come to
-the notice of travellers. Before the island was absolutely conquered by
-the Dutch, one of its great princes, being desirous of purchasing the
-favour of the people, gave many public feasts and entertainments, at
-which the wives and daughters of the chiefs attended. He seduced one of
-his guests, a married woman, and was in the habit of passing the night
-with her, while her husband was engaged with his duty on the public
-guard. One morning, by chance, the chief returned home earlier than
-usual, and detected them together. He had, however, discovered the rank
-of the paramour, and discreetly coughed, that the prince might have
-an opportunity to escape. He then went into the chamber, and severely
-flogged his guilty wife. She fled, and complained to the king of the
-treatment she had received. He being in the critical position of making
-good his claim to a crown, dared not exercise the usual prerogative
-of a throne; but called for the man he had injured, made him many
-rich gifts, and offered him, as compensation, the handsomest woman in
-his own household. The husband accepted the peace-offerings, and was
-content to take back his adulterous wife. The relation of a subject
-to his prince must, at least when developed in this manner, be most
-unnatural.
-
-Women in Java are usually married very young, though not before the
-age of puberty, which is speedily reached. The reason assigned by
-writers for this haste is, that their chastity is no longer safe after
-they have reached womanhood. Men wait for two or three years after
-that period, during which they may indulge in unbounded profligacy. At
-eighteen or twenty a girl is looked upon as verging towards the wane of
-life, and becomes a suspected character. No age, however, excludes a
-woman from the chance of a match; but scarcely any are unmarried after
-22. Widows at 50 often procure husbands; for men at that period of life
-usually choose wives equal in years to themselves, and sometimes older.
-
-The preliminary arrangements are made by the parents on both sides; for
-no intercourse could previously take place between the young people
-themselves without being, and often justly, the occasion of scandal.
-They are looked upon, as the natives themselves express it, as mere
-puppets in the performance. There are three kinds of connection.
-The first is when the rank of the parties is equal, or when the man
-is superior to the woman. The second is when the bride is above her
-husband, who is taken into the house, and adopted into the family,
-by his father-in-law. The third is a species of concubinage, without
-any rites whatever, and confirmed by the simple fact of recognised
-cohabitation. In such cases, as no formality is required to conclude,
-so none is necessary to dissolve the contract, which is, therefore, no
-more than a species of prostitution, for the changes of companions are
-extremely frequent.
-
-In the other two, the ceremonies are similar. The young people are,
-in all cases, betrothed for a longer or a shorter period before their
-union--from one month to several years. The father of the youth,
-having made for his son what he considers a suitable choice, proceeds
-to the parents of the girl, and proposes for an alliance. If they
-accept the suit, a betrothal is ratified by some trifling present to
-the bride. Visits are made, that the intended nuptials may be publicly
-known. At the third stage in the progress of the transaction the price
-is arranged, and varies according to the rank and circumstances of
-the families. Sometimes it is plainly called the _purchase-money_;
-sometimes the act of sale is covered by a more delicate term--_the
-deposit_. It is usually considered, however, as a settlement or
-provision for the bride.
-
-The only Mohammedan feature in the whole ceremony is the exchange of
-vows in a mosque. This is followed by many ritual observances, more
-of etiquette than religion, and great parade is affected. At length
-the married people eat rice from one vessel, to typify their common
-fortune; but in some places the bride washes her husband’s feet, as an
-acknowledgment of her subjection to him, or else he treads upon a raw
-egg, and she wipes his foot.
-
-Though, as we have said, polygamy and concubinage are not generally
-practised, partly because too expensive, partly from a feeling against
-them--some of the rich chiefs indulge in them to an extravagant degree,
-and glory in a train of 60 children. The wives, however, as already
-noticed, can easily release themselves when their married state is
-deteriorated into real or fancied bondage. The fact of their early
-marriage, without knowing their future husband, or consenting to the
-union, causes a great number of divorces. A widow may marry again after
-three months and ten days have elapsed since her husband’s death.
-
-Though the intercourse of the sexes is so free that vicious
-inclinations may be indulged without difficulty or peril, the Javans
-support a large class of women--prostitutes by profession. Adultery
-is not considered a very heinous crime, but rather an offence against
-the husband’s property and honour, yet it is attended sometimes with
-danger, and often with disagreeable results. The vocation of the
-trading prostitute is not, therefore, taken away. She unites in Java,
-as in India, the profession of a dancer with her infamous calling.
-
-There is a large class of these dancers in the island. The people
-are passionately fond of this amusement, but no respectable woman
-will join in it. The sultans, indeed, used to have some of their most
-beautiful concubines trained to dance, and they were privileged in the
-performance of certain figures; but, otherwise, all its professors are
-prostitutes. Nevertheless, a Javan chief of high rank is not ashamed to
-be seen before a large mixed assembly tripping with one of these women.
-
-The dancers may be found in all parts of Java, but chiefly in the
-north-west, towards the capital. They figure at most of the public and
-private entertainments. Their conduct is so dissolute that the words
-dancer and prostitute are, in the Javan language, synonymous; yet, on
-account of the wealth they often amass, petty chiefs occasionally marry
-them. In such cases they usually, after a few years, become tired of
-their quiet secluded life, divorce their husbands, and resume their
-old calling. The dress in which they appear to dance is very immodest,
-exposing almost the whole bosom, and the attitudes they assume are
-licentious in a high degree. Nevertheless, they seldom descend to the
-obscene and degrading postures practised by some of the Bayaderes in
-India.
-
-The Europeans in Java have not certainly, up to a late period, at
-least, set to their native subjects an example of pure manners. The
-Dutch merchant had usually a Javan female at the head of his household,
-who served him as a mistress as well. Indeed, the marriage ceremony
-is seldom insisted on by the women; while, among the lower classes,
-simple cohabitation is the usual method in which the sexes are related.
-Yet they are by no means so gross and sensual as the wealthier sort
-of people. Altogether, however, the island is remarkable for the
-profligacy of its inhabitants. In every city prostitutes abound; and
-about the roads in their vicinity women may be seen straying, ready
-for hire. They mostly, as we have said, assume also the profession of
-dancers, and this, in a manner, covers the profligacy of those who
-employ them at their houses[66].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN SUMATRA.
-
-The population of this extensive island is divided into several tribes,
-slightly differing in their manners and modes of life. The Rejangs,
-who may be supposed to represent its original habits, are still rude
-barbarians. With them, as with many people of the East, the scrupulous
-attention to external show is by no means accompanied by a similar
-spirit within. They drape their women from chin to foot, and dread
-lest a virgin should expose any part of her person; yet modesty is
-not at all a characteristic of the dwellers in villages and towns, to
-whom this description refers. Those who live in the rural communities,
-and are more easy in their costume, distinguish themselves by their
-decency and decorum. In this is exhibited a curious fact, which may be
-discovered in many parts of the world.
-
-The civilization, if such it may be called, of Sumatra, is of a
-peculiar character. Its people are in that stage of their progress when
-great importance is ascribed to the multiplied formulas of etiquette.
-Ritual is with them more essential than principle--of which, indeed,
-they know little. It is wonderful to examine the intricate details
-of the Sumatran marriage contract. Nearly all the litigation in the
-country springs from that perplexing cause. Men in a barbarous state
-appear to be under the influence of some law which forces them into
-extremes. They must be at one pole or another. Either they dispense
-altogether with ceremonial usages, and satisfy themselves with
-obeying the simple dictates of nature, under plain rules for their
-own convenience, or they divide the sexes by a maze of convention,
-which prescribes a form for the most trivial occasions of life. True
-refinement appears to be in the medium; but this is a question still
-to be resolved. In some districts of Sumatra, Europeans, wearied with
-the endless legal quarrels arising from these complicated transactions,
-have prevailed on the people to simplify their code of marriage, and
-the result has proved beneficial.
-
-Some have supposed that the system of procuring wives by purchase,
-which renders marriage difficult to the poor, has retarded the growth
-of population. Others, however, assert, and with much appearance of
-reason, that in Sumatra at least the contrary is true. Children being
-considered as property, and daughters being especially valuable for
-the price they command, powerful incentives to matrimony exist. The
-purchase-money obtained for the girls supplies wives for the sons, and
-in few islands are instances of celibacy more rare. It is certain,
-however, that the fostering, or rendering obligatory, thrifty habits on
-the young, has a tendency to check population, though it may be only
-so far as to keep it on a level with the means of subsistence. Various
-European countries illustrate that truth. In Sumatra, also, we have a
-wealthy region thinly and badly peopled; but misgovernment, war, and
-barbarism may be assigned as the chief causes. Besides, it is said the
-women are naturally unprolific; that they cease to bear children at an
-early age; that ignorance of the medical art causes thousands to perish
-of endemic complaints.
-
-There are three modes of forming a marriage contract. The first is
-that, when one man pays to another a certain sum of money in exchange
-for his daughter, who becomes a virtual slave. There is usually,
-however, a certain amount--about five dollars--held back, and, so
-long as this remains unpaid, friendship is supposed to exist between
-the families, and the girl’s parents have a right to complain if she
-be ill-treated. If the husband wound her he is liable to a fine,
-and in other ways his absolute command is curtailed. When, however,
-on the occasion of a violent quarrel, the sum is paid, the bond of
-relationship is broken, and the woman is entirely in her master’s
-power. The regulations in regard to money are numerous and intricate;
-but need not be explained in detail. They give occasion, however, as we
-have said, to endless law-suits, which are bequeathed by one generation
-to another.
-
-In other cases the marriage contract is an affair of barter. One virgin
-is given for another, and a man who has not one of his own sometimes
-borrows a girl, engaging to replace or pay for her when required. A man
-having a son and a daughter, may give the latter in exchange for a wife
-to the former. A brother may barter his sister for a wife, or procure a
-cousin instead. If, however, she be under age, a certain allowance is
-made until she becomes marriageable.
-
-Another method is practised when a parent desires to get rid of
-a daughter suffering from some infirmity or defect. He sells her
-altogether without any reserve, and she has fewer privileges than other
-classes of wives.
-
-Sometimes a girl evades these laws by an elopement, and a match is
-formed upon mutual affection. If the fugitive couple are overtaken
-on the road, they may be separated; but when once they have taken
-sanctuary, and the man declares his willingness to comply with all the
-necessary forms, his wife is safely secured to him.
-
-Many persons have assigned to whole nations, in various parts of the
-world, a Jewish origin, partly because the custom prevails with them of
-a man marrying his brother’s widow. The Sumatrans, in this case, belong
-to them also, for the same rule is enforced by them; but if there be
-no brother surviving, the woman is taken by her husband’s nearest male
-relation--the father excepted. If any of her purchase-money remains
-unpaid, her new master is answerable for it.
-
-When, under this system, adultery is committed--which is not frequently
-the case--the husband usually passes it over, or inflicts revenge
-with his own hand. It is seldom such an offence is brought before the
-law. When a man desires to divorce his wife thus married to him, he
-may claim back her purchase-money, with the exception of twenty-five
-dollars, as she is supposed, by cohabitation with him, to have
-diminished in value to that amount. If, having taken a woman, he be
-unable to pay the whole price, though repeatedly dunned for it, the
-girl’s parents may sue for a divorce, but they must restore all they
-have received. The old ceremony consisted merely in cutting a rattan
-cane in two, in the presence of the disunited couple, their friends,
-and the chiefs of the province. The woman is expected to take to her
-husband’s house effects to the value of ten dollars. If she take more,
-he is chargeable to the amount. Thus the whole transaction is carried
-on upon mercenary grounds.
-
-The second kind of marriage is, when a virgin’s father chooses for
-her husband some young man whom he adopts into his family, making a
-feast on the occasion and receiving what we may term a premium of
-twenty dollars. The young man is thenceforward a property in his
-father-in-law’s family. They are answerable for the debts he may incur;
-but all he has and all he earns belong to them; he is liable to be
-divorced when they please, and to be turned away destitute. Under
-certain circumstances he may redeem himself from this bondage, but
-pecuniary considerations are so entangled with the whole agreement that
-infinite confusion is the result. Several generations are sometimes
-bound in this manner before the contract can be legally broken by the
-fulfilment of all the required conditions.
-
-The Malays of Sumalda have generally adopted the third kind of
-marriage, which is called _the free_. It is a more honourable compact,
-in which the families approach each other on the natural level of
-equality. A small sum is paid to the girl’s parents, usually about
-twelve dollars, and an agreement is drawn up, that all property shall
-be common between husband and wife, and that, when divorce takes
-place by mutual consent, all shall be fairly divided. If the man only
-presses a separation, he gives half his effects, and loses the twelve
-dollars; if the woman, she then loses her right to any but her female
-paraphernalia. This description of contract, which is productive of
-most just dealing and felicity, has been adopted in many parts of the
-island.
-
-The actual ceremony of marriage, though fenced about with so many
-ceremonial observances, is extremely simple. An entertainment is given,
-the couple join their hands, and some one pronounces them man and wife.
-
-Where the female sex is a material for sale, little of what we term
-courtship can be expected. The manners of the country are opposed to
-it; strict separation is enforced between the youth of different sexes;
-and when a man pays the full price for a bride, he considers himself
-entitled to her without any manner of persuasion or solicitation to
-herself. Nevertheless, traces of gallantry--using that word in its
-proper, not its ridiculous sense--may be observed in the manners of the
-people. A degree of respect is shown to women, which may be favourably
-contrasted with the conduct of some polished nations. On the few
-occasions on which the young people meet, such as festivals and public
-gatherings in the village hall, they dance and sing, and behave with
-much delicacy; mutual attachments often spring out of such association,
-and the parents frequently promote the desire of union thus arising. In
-most countries, indeed, the barbarism of the law is mitigated in its
-influence by the universal operation of the natural human sentiments;
-it is no less true than strange, that mankind are usually better,
-not only than their rulers, but than their laws. The festivals are
-enlivened by dances and songs; the dances have been described as
-licentious and grotesque, but Marsden, the philosophical historian of
-Sumalda, only remarks that the figures displayed at English balls are
-often more immodest and absurd. The songs are usually extempore, and
-always turn on the subject of love.
-
-The existence or flourishing of any sentiment among a people with whom
-marriage is a commercial transaction, and who allow a plurality of
-wives, may be considered incredible; but as, in the first instance,
-Nature often asserts herself and the law is accommodated to her will,
-so, in the second, the nature of things prevents any general extension
-of the practice. Polygamy is permitted; but only a few chiefs have
-more than one companion. The general indigence of the people is one
-cause of this, for the perpetual weight of necessity is more powerful
-than the irregular impulse of animal passion. To be a second wife is
-also considered by many below the dignity of a reputable person. A man
-sometimes prefers a divorce for his daughter when he hears that her
-husband is about to take another wife. In the contract which stipulates
-for a division of property, polygamy is impossible, for this obvious
-reason, that the wife must have half the husband’s effects, which more
-than one, of course, could not do. The origin of polygamy in Sumalda
-and other parts of Asia has been traced by various ingenious writers
-to different causes; but being, as it is, the indulgence which is a
-privilege of wealth, it appears to have grown up with the whole system
-of manners; no natural reason seems to exist for it. The proportion
-of the sexes is nearly equal, and all the theories grounded on a
-different assumption fall to pieces. Wherever polygamy exists, women
-are purchased, and where they are thus viewed as property, wealthy men
-will surely distinguish themselves from their neighbours by a plurality
-of wives; and this happens in Rajpooratan, where the women are far
-less numerous than the men, as well as in other countries where they
-out-number them to an equal extent.
-
-In the country parts of Sumatra, chastity, says Marsden, exists
-more than among any other people with which he was acquainted. The
-same characteristic appears to distinguish them at the present day.
-Interest, as well as decency, renders the parents anxious to preserve
-the virtue of their daughters. The price of a virgin is so far above
-that of a woman who has been defiled, that the girls are jealously
-watched, lest their value deteriorate in this respect. But the truth of
-the Oriental idea is sometimes illustrated--that girls should marry
-as soon as they are marriageable, or they soon cease to be chaste.
-In Sumatra they remain single for some time after that period, and
-occasionally lose their chastity in consequence. In such cases the
-seducer, if discovered, may be forced to marry the girl, and pay her
-price, or make good the diminution he has occasioned in her value.
-
-Regular prostitution is little known, except in the towns. There,
-especially in the bazaars, women following that calling may be found
-mixed up with the concourse of sailors and others who support them. In
-the seaports especially, where the population is not only floating,
-but mixed from various nations, there is a great deal of profligacy,
-and troops of professional prostitutes ply the streets for hire.
-Europeans, however, who represent the general manners of the island
-from the experience of short visits to the maritime cities, convey a
-false impression of the people. The Sumatran is, as a rule, contented
-to marry and be faithful to his wife. This proceeds, however, it would
-seem, rather from some peculiar tone of temperament, than from any
-principles of morality; for their ideas on this subject are, at any
-rate, widely different from ours. Incest they hold as an offence; but
-except it occurs within the first degree it is regarded rather as an
-infraction of the conventional, than the natural law. It is sometimes
-punished by a fine; but sometimes also the marriage is confirmed, and
-the parties remain together.
-
-The chiefs of the cannibal nations of Batta have sometimes several
-concubines. A man once stole a woman of this kind--the favourite of her
-master--and was punished by being cut to pieces, roasted, and devoured.
-Among the people of Bulu China, on the east coast, a man may have four
-wives, and as many concubines as possible. Some of the chiefs possess
-one of these companions in each town or village of their country.
-Adultery is punished by death to both criminals.
-
-The general treatment of the sex in Sumatra is of an average character.
-They are not absolutely degraded, nor do they enjoy an elevated
-position. The poorer classes labour, and all are subject to the men;
-but on the whole they are far superior to Java, and, in a considerable
-degree, to many other Eastern countries[67].
-
-
-OF BORNEO.
-
-The splendid achievements in the cause of civilization which Sir James
-Brooke has performed, have directed an extraordinary attention to the
-immense island of Borneo. Like the rest of the Indian Archipelago,
-it is, nevertheless, little known to the English reader--no complete
-accounts having been yet published. Sir James Brooke, however, with
-Captain Keppel, Captain Mundy, Mr. Hugh Low, and others, have thrown
-a new light on the country, and enabled us to discern many striking
-features in the social system of the races which inhabit it. The
-uniformity of manners observable in Celebes does not exist in Borneo.
-The inhabitants of Borneo, for the most part, remain in an inferior
-stage of the barbarian state. There are, however, among them many
-varieties of the social law. Some are the purest savages, wandering
-unclothed in the depths of the forests, and subsisting alone on the
-spontaneous gifts of nature. Others cultivate the soil, dwell in
-comfortable villages, and traffic with their neighbours. The river
-communities are far more advanced than those who live far from the
-means of water-carriage; and the inhabitants of the maritime towns
-are more educated, and also more profligate, than any. They have been
-depraved by that bloody and destructive system of piracy, which was,
-until recently, the curse of the Archipelago; but when Sir James
-Brooke’s policy has been maturely developed, we may expect to see vast
-ameliorations in their manners.
-
-The state of morals among the Sea Dyaks, or dwellers on the coast, is
-low, even in comparison with the average of other Asiatic races. There
-is no social law to govern the intercourse of the youths of both sexes
-before marriage. Even the authority of parents is not recognised to any
-extent. The Dyak girl is supposed capable of selecting a husband for
-herself; and before she is betrothed to a man she may cohabit, without
-disgrace, with any other with whom she may please to associate. The
-women appear to make liberal use of this privilege. Loose as their
-conduct is, however, before marriage, they are subject afterwards to
-a more stringent code. As a man is only allowed one wife, he requires
-strict fidelity in her, and if she break faith with him, she is
-punished by a severe beating and a heavy fine. On his part, moreover,
-he must be continent, for the penalty is the same for either sex. Cases
-of adultery are not frequent in times of peace, though during war more
-licence is allowed. The Dyak women seldom engage in intrigues with
-Malays or other foreigners.
-
-[Illustration: DYAK WOMAN--BORNEO.
-
-[_From_ MARRYAT’S “_Indian Archipelago._”]]
-
-From their long intercourse with the Malays, who are all Mohammedans,
-the Dyaks might have been expected to borrow such of their customs as
-encourage the savage in the gratification of his animal appetites,
-and would enable him to live in lordly indolence on the labour of his
-wives. Monogamy, however, still prevails with all the tribes.
-
-The ceremony of marriage--if such it can be called--is simple to the
-last degree with all except a few communities, who practise some
-particular rites. The consent of the woman is necessary to the match,
-which is made without the intervention of the parents, who, after the
-mutual willingness of the young people has been expressed, cannot
-refuse their sanction. The bride and bridegroom meet, a feast is given,
-and the transaction is concluded.
-
-There are certain restrictions on the immoral intercourse of the young
-people, to which we have alluded. If a girl becomes pregnant, the
-father of her child must marry her. Such an occurrence often precedes
-a match. Men and women live with each other on trial, and if no signs
-of offspring appear, the acquaintance is discontinued. Constancy during
-such an intercourse is not rigidly required. Mr. Hugh Low was assured
-that, in some communities, the laxity of manners was carried so far,
-that when a chief was travelling from place to place, hospitality
-required that at every village he should be furnished with a girl as
-his companion while he rested. Such a practice is general among the
-Kyans who inhabit a large part of the interior of Borneo. The fear
-of not becoming the father of a family--a misfortune greatly dreaded
-by the Dyaks--is supposed to encourage the loose intercourse of the
-unmarried people, since, as we have said, a man always marries the
-woman by whom he has a child.
-
-Among the Dyaks who dwell on the hills in the interior, a higher
-morality prevails. The licentious intercourse of the unmarried people
-is not permitted. The young and single men are obliged to sleep apart
-in a separate building, and the girls are carefully kept from them.
-Marriage is contracted at a very early age, and adultery is almost
-unknown. Polygamy is not allowed; but some of the chiefs indulge in
-a second wife or concubine--an infringement of the law which is held
-in great reprobation, though it cannot be prevented. The degrees of
-consanguinity within which marriage is prohibited extend beyond
-cousins. One man shocked the public feeling of his tribe by marrying
-his granddaughter--his wife and the girl’s mother, his own child, being
-still alive. The people affirmed that ruin and darkness had covered
-the face of the sun ever since the day when that incestuous union took
-place. Nevertheless, as they adhere almost constantly to the practice
-of marrying within their own tribe, the whole commonwealth comes, in
-the course of time, to be united by distant ties of blood, which has
-been assigned as a cause for the cases of insanity not uncommon among
-them. This may be true, since it is a fact that many royal families,
-constrained to perpetual intermarriage, have dwindled into a race of
-imbeciles in consequence. The women put faith in medicines to render
-them fruitful; but they never resort to the custom of procuring
-abortion adopted by the Malay prostitutes on the coast. These women
-eat large quantities of honey, largely mixed with hot spices, which
-produces the desired result. It is said that among the people of the
-south numerous public prostitutes are to be found, though this is on
-the equivocal authority of a German missionary, whose testimony is much
-to be suspected. No word for prostitution appears to exist in the Dyak
-language. Among the Malays such women are numerous.
-
-The Sibnouan females present a fair average of the manners prevailing
-with the various divisions of that singular race. Their women are not
-concealed, nor are they shy before strangers. They will bathe naked in
-the presence of men; yet many of the decencies of life are observed.
-Though the unmarried people sleep promiscuously in a common room,
-married couples have separate chambers. The labour of the household,
-with all the drudgery, is allotted to the females; they grind rice,
-carry burdens, fetch water, catch fish, and till the fields, but
-are far from occupying the degraded condition of the wives of the
-North-American Indians; their situation may, indeed, be compared to
-that of women in the humblest classes in England. They eat with the
-men, and take part in their concerns as well as their festivals. This
-is an agricultural and fishing tribe.
-
-Among the Kayans a _naked woman_ cannot under any circumstances be
-killed, or a woman with child.
-
-Among the Mohammedan Malays, as we have said, there is more
-civilization and corruption of manners in another form. They are
-polygamists, indulge in concubines, encourage prostitutes, and
-sometimes treat their wives with great tyranny. An English physician
-lately received a message from one of the wives of a chief--celebrated
-for fostering privacy--desiring a secret interview with him at a
-secluded spot in the jungle. He went with the high belief that the
-woman was enamoured of his good looks. He met her, found her young and
-pretty, but with an air of firmness and dignity which showed that it
-was no frivolous purpose which had led her to take so dangerous a step.
-She complained of her miserable life, of the despotism under which
-she suffered, declared she would endure it no longer, and requested
-the doctor to furnish her with a small dose of arsenic to poison, not
-herself, but her husband. Of course he refused, and the poor creature
-went away sorely disappointed.
-
-The rich Malays allow their wives to keep female slaves for their
-service. The position of these captives is, under any circumstances,
-unenviable; should, however, one of them, by her personal qualities,
-excite the jealousy of her mistress; her case is miserable, until
-she can procure another owner. Sometimes the slaves are used as
-concubines, when by law they become free, though they seldom avail
-themselves of their liberty, preferring to be supported by their old
-masters, while prostituting themselves to others. The wealthy chiefs
-spend large sums in the purchase of concubines. The marriage ceremony
-is performed according to the ritual of the Koran, but is often
-neglected.
-
-The prostitutes who congregate in the seaport towns have not been
-particularly described. They appear to be divided into classes:
-those who cohabit temporarily with the Malays, are paid a certain
-price, and exchange their residence; those who prostitute themselves
-indiscriminately to all comers; and those who are supported by the
-sailors, and profligate Chinese, who invariably create such a class
-wherever they settle. Of their numbers we have no account, nor of
-their modes of life; but it is certain they exist in considerable
-numbers[68].
-
-
-
-
-PROSTITUTION AMONG THE SEMI-CIVILIZED NATIONS.
-
-
-INTRODUCTION.
-
-Surveying the social aspects of the globe, we discover an immense range
-occupied by races partially civilized, which connect the barbarian with
-the polished communities. Some of these, perhaps, are placed below
-European nations rather because they differ from, than because they are
-inferior to them.
-
-The influence of every great religion is powerful in various divisions
-of the vast range. Buddha and Bramah have their millions of worshippers
-in China, India, and the intervening regions. The prophet is followed
-by whole nations in eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa. Christianity has
-numerous adherents on the plains of Syria, Palestine, and the countries
-of Asia Minor. An equal variety of institutions prevails among these
-half-educated races. British policy in India; paternal despotism in
-China; republican simplicity in Arabia, Celebes, and Afghanistan;
-religious tyranny in the empire of the Porte; and patriarchal freedom
-among the nomades of Asia Minor, exercise different influences on this
-mighty and mixed population. In some we find a singular purity of
-manners, as among the Bedouins of Arabia; with others, morals are more
-gross than among the worst savages; but in all there is a perceptible
-contrast between the civilized states of Europe on the one hand, and
-the barbarian countries of Africa, Australasia, and the Pacific, on the
-other.
-
-The position of the female sex among half-civilized races, as among
-all others, may be taken as a standard to measure their progress. It
-differs, in some remarkable particulars, from that occupied by women
-in purely savage or highly-civilized communities. In the one, where
-any regulations exist they are rude and coarse, and only obeyed where
-their action is constant, which it seldom is. In the other, men fear
-blame more than the law, and manners perform what legislation is unable
-to accomplish. In most of the countries of which we are now treating,
-government endeavours to rule with parental discipline the minutest
-concerns of life, to affix a penalty to every fault, to adjust with
-nicety the slightest relations of individuals with individuals, to
-guard morals by police and suppress profligacy by imperative decrees.
-So it is in China, so in Japan, and so in a less degree in the
-dominions of every Asiatic prince. In Egypt Mohammed Ali attempted,
-by one stroke of his pen, to blot out the stain of prostitution. He
-banished the old professors of that class, and new ones were created
-from the remainder of the population. In Persia a royal decree forbade
-prostitution, and men immediately prostituted the right of marriage
-to evade the law. In China the Emperors have, from time to time,
-fulminated proclamations against all profligate persons; but they
-have flung their invectives into the void, and no impression has been
-produced. The coarse and awkward efforts of a barbarian despot’s will
-never produce any better result. The Draconic decree is promulgated and
-the offences it is intended to suppress continue to be perpetrated as
-before. A distinction must be drawn, however, between those communities
-in which severe laws are enacted to produce, and those in which they
-are inspired by, public morality. In the one case they are worthless,
-because they are in hostility to the prevailing system; in the other
-they are the signification, because they are the embodiment, of the
-national feeling. They may be symptoms, but they can never be causes,
-of virtuous manners.
-
-The view of the half-civilized nations, which is here presented,
-includes sketches of India, of Afghanistan, Kashmir, the Hindu-Chinese
-races, China, Japan, Celebes, Ceylon, Persia, Egypt, the Barbary
-States, Syria, Palestine, Asia Minor, Arabia, and Turkey. In all of
-them polygamy exists, though to a very small extent in Ceylon. It
-will be seen that the popular ideas on this subject are somewhat
-exaggerated. Most persons unaccustomed to read, or reflect, imagine
-that throughout the East all men have their harems filled with wives,
-who are beautiful prisoners, immured in perpetual seclusion, slaves to
-the will of their lord, and never allowed to move unless guarded by
-a fierce black eunuch, or a duenna still more dark and angry. It is
-left for those who are accustomed to peruse the accounts of veracious
-travellers, to know that polygamy, though allowed to almost all, is
-practically a privilege only of the rich, and not indulged in even by
-the majority of these. The general notions, also, of female seclusion
-are extravagant. Women in Turkey enjoy far more liberty than is usually
-imagined. So do they even in China, though very wealthy husbands,
-especially among the Hindus, shut up their wives and never allow a
-stranger’s glance to fall upon their countenances. This excessive
-jealousy is not always disagreeable to the objects of it; indeed, in
-the harem where three or four wives are congregated, the youngest
-and most beautiful sometimes makes it her chief triumph over her
-mortified rivals, that she is watched, guarded, shaded even from the
-light, and immured beyond the sound of a man’s voice, while they are
-far less religiously secluded. Thus the sex, influenced during ages by
-a peculiar system of manners, accommodates itself to them, invariably
-sinking or rising to the level assigned it by the civilization of the
-period.
-
-Throughout the world the numerical disparity of the sexes is nowhere
-such as to induce the belief that polygamy is natural to certain
-countries. It is practised in many where the females are less numerous
-than the males, in consequence of infanticide. Everywhere, when
-extensively prevalent, it produces injurious results, diminishing the
-fecundity of women, and by no means preventing men from encouraging
-a class of professional prostitutes. There is, indeed, in this idea,
-something debasing to the female sex. That men should multiply their
-wives that they may not be induced to visit harlots, appears to
-degrade the institution of marriage, which was not intended for the
-satisfaction of sensual appetites, but for the continuation of the
-human species. Polygamy is opposed to increase, and thus appears
-unnatural; still more revolting to our ideas of civilization is the
-custom of polyandrism, or one wife with many husbands. It obtains in
-some regions of the Himalaya, among the Nairs of Malabar, and in the
-Cingalese kingdom of Kandy. Nowhere else do we find more than a trace
-of it, and it is singular to find a practice so utterly repugnant to
-the general sense of Orientals, prevailing close to the region in which
-men are most jealous and women most carefully guarded. In Hindustan
-some men will not divorce a wife whom they thoroughly dislike, because
-they will not allow her to be unveiled by a stranger; yet among the
-neighbouring Hindu-Chinese nations, a man will frequently prostitute
-his wife for gain. On the southern coast, and in Ceylon, eight men will
-live with one wife. This proves that institutions have no geographical
-distribution. Both kinds of polygamy are equally opposed to the natural
-increase of population.
-
-Where nobler qualities distinguish the men of any race, we still find,
-as we ascend the scale of civilization, that women rise with them. In
-Afghanistan, in Celebes, and among the Bedouins of Arabia, the male
-sex is distinguished for its upright, dignified, and manly character.
-Chastity in women is prized, and because it is prized it is preserved.
-Where, on the contrary, the husband desires his wife may be faithful
-to him, not that she may be virtuous, but that he may not be robbed
-or wronged, it frequently occurs that she only keeps her vow until she
-has an opportunity to break it. On the whole, however, female chastity
-among the Hindus and Mohammedans is more general than from some popular
-accounts might be inferred. With the mixed races--hybrid in blood,
-manners, and religion--an inferior state of morality prevails.
-
-With respect to actual prostitution, the region which is most free
-from it is the desert country of Arabia. It flourishes most, perhaps,
-in India and China. The flower boats of the Pearl River, the temples
-of the Deccan, the kiosks of Barbary, the Ghawazee villages of Egypt,
-the dancing houses of Java, and the tea-gardens of Japan, were all
-originally consecrated to vice, which nowhere flourishes more rankly
-than in those countries where despotism has paralyzed the virtuous
-energies of men.
-
-Almost everywhere the prostitute class, among Eastern nations, has
-addicted itself to other pursuits--to music and the dance--to inflame
-the lust which it designs itself to satisfy. In many countries also
-the prostitutes have been allied to the priesthood. Thus in India
-they have formed a sacred class; in the cities of Arabia they are
-encouraged by the Moolahs to frequent places of worship; elsewhere they
-have flourished under the auspices of government, which has placed
-them under the charge of inspectors and derived profit from their
-degradation. In such countries they carry on their profession more
-openly, and are more openly encouraged, than in others where their
-occupation is clandestine.
-
-Some of the nations included in this division of the subject appear to
-have reached the last stage of their native civilization. Among these
-is China: her further progress will not be influenced by internal
-causes, but will be regulated by contact with a superior race. In
-India the process has already begun, and in the condition of women,
-and consequently, also, in their national character, the change is
-becoming apparent. Widow-burning is already a thing of the past; the
-blot of infanticide will soon be obliterated from the face of society;
-the prejudice which prevented the second marriage of women, and drove
-thousands to suicide or prostitution, is gradually yielding before
-reason; the barriers of caste are being broken down, and more natural
-relations restored to society. Women in India are the chief degradation
-to the sacred class of Brahmins, in whom were combined the fanaticism
-of idolatrous priests and the pride of nobles. Thus the contact of
-English with Oriental civilization, gentle as it has been, is leading
-to the subjugation of the latter before the more humane and liberal
-principles of the former. But it is singular to find that much more
-difficulty is experienced in modifying the social institutions of
-half-educated, than in changing those of barbarous races. With the
-one they are based on habit, with the other on prejudice; and the
-pride of a little learning induces the one to cling to them, while the
-simplicity of the savage allows him easily to yield.
-
-The sentiment of chastity is nowhere discovered pure except among very
-simple and unsophisticated, or very refined and polished nations. It is
-found in the Bedouin encampments of Arabia, it is found in the pastoral
-communities of Afghanistan, and it is found among the wandering
-shepherds of Asia Minor; but amid the barbaric millions of China, with
-their innumerable maxims of virtue, the true sentiment is very rare.
-So also is that of love, which belongs also to the infancy and to the
-maturity of nations, for in the intervening stages it becomes mingled
-with an alloy of interest, sensuality, or superstition.
-
-Prostitution, however, belongs to all ages and to every nation. But
-it assumes various forms in the different classes of mankind: it is
-loose and scattered among the barbarous tribes not yet settled under
-the forms of regular society; it is systematized and acknowledged
-among the half-barbarous races; it is adopted as a sacred institution,
-in regions where the object of the priesthood is, to enslave the
-souls of men through their senses; it is encouraged in States where
-the desire of government is to absorb the people in the pursuit of
-animal gratification, and thus distract their attention from public
-affairs; it is submitted to a strict, though awkward discipline in
-countries where the rulers desire to mimic the social code of civilized
-commonwealths; and as society progresses, though it becomes distinct
-and conspicuous, it exchanges the highway for the bye-street, the day
-for the night, withdraws from other classes of the people, and becomes
-a despised sisterhood, cut off from intercourse with the moral classes
-of women.
-
-Various stages of this process may have been remarked in the view of
-the condition and character of women, and the extent and state of
-the prostitute system in barbarous countries. We now enter on the
-half-educated communities which occupy the greater part of the world’s
-surface, and these will lead in the communities of Europe, to which
-they are linked, on the one hand by Turkey, and on the other by the
-inhospitable deserts of Siberia.
-
-
-OF CELEBES.
-
-In a region so vast as the Indian Archipelago it would be useless to
-dwell separately upon every island, especially as many characteristics
-are common to most of them. We have taken Java and Sumatra as
-representing the Sunda group, and we shall take Celebes as the head of
-a family of isles, with Borneo as another. Incidental notices of any
-peculiarities in the lesser isles will suffice.
-
-Celebes, in its political and social state, is far in advance of the
-other countries in insular Asia. It enjoys in many of its States a
-considerable degree of civilization. The idea of freedom, so rare
-among barbarous races, is recognised in its political system, and
-representative institutions have actually developed themselves into a
-republican form of government. Where such progress has been made in the
-art of civil polity, we may look with confidence for a superior social
-scheme, and this we actually find. It should be premised that the
-Indian Archipelago is peopled by two races--the brown, or Malay; and
-the black, or Ethiopian. The former is the more powerful, intelligent,
-and polished, and has therefore become the conquering race. It has
-subdued the Negro hordes of the various islands, and is now paramount
-in all the great native States. In Java, Sumatra, and Celebes, it has
-entirely displaced the original possessors of the soil, who dwell only
-in scattered communities, defended from annihilation by forests and
-hills, which serve in some degree to balance that native valour which
-has made the Malays an imperial nation, subdued in their turn by the
-more powerful race from Europe.
-
-In the States of Celebes women are not excluded from their share in the
-public business of the commonwealth, though their influence is usually
-indirect. They rule their own households, give counsel to the men on
-all important occasions, and even, when the monarchy is elective, are
-frequently raised to the throne. They eat with their husbands, and
-from the same dish, only using the left side. They appear mixed with
-the other sex at public festivals, and, when intrusted with authority,
-preside over the councils, and are vigorous in the exercise of their
-prerogative. Nor is peace the only era of their reign. They have
-sometimes presented themselves in the field, and animated the warriors
-to battle by applauding the courageous and upbraiding the timid.
-
-In the State of Wajo, which is, perhaps, the most advanced in the
-island, one check upon civilization exists, and that is the extravagant
-pride of birth. The spirit, if not the actual institution of caste,
-exists, and is productive of the usual evils attending an artificial
-division of classes. A woman of pure descent dare not mingle her blood
-with that of an inferior, though a man may ally himself with a girl of
-humbler station. The offspring of such a connection, however, carry
-with them an appellation denoting their imperfect parentage.
-
-Polygamy is universally permitted among the Bugis of Celebes; but
-certain restrictions, unknown in other Mohammedan countries, attach to
-the privilege. Two wives seldom inhabit the same house, and for three
-or four to do so is an extremely rare circumstance. Usually each has
-a separate dwelling, and in this private establishment she generally
-supports herself, with occasional assistance from her husband. The men
-can easily procure a divorce, and when the consent is mutual nothing
-remains but to separate as quickly as possible. If the woman only,
-however, desire to be set free, she must produce some reasonable ground
-of complaint, for the mere neglect of conjugal duties is not considered
-a sufficient cause. Many years pass sometimes without any intercourse
-taking place between man and wife. Nevertheless, though many of them
-indulge in polygamy, concubinage, or the keeping of female slaves for
-sensual purposes, is rarely practised. Many of the rajahs, however,
-take women of inferior rank to be their companions until they marry a
-woman of equal birth, when their old partners are divorced.
-
-In Wajo, the marriage state, though characterised by these
-extraordinary customs, is decently preserved, and more honourable than
-with any other Eastern nation. So equal, indeed, is the proportion of
-the sexes, that not only is the throne, or rather president’s chair,
-given to them, but also the great offices of state. Four out of six of
-the great councillors are sometimes women. They ride about, transact
-business, and visit even foreigners as they please, and enjoy every
-advantage. Their manners are easy and self-possessed, though too
-listless and slow to be fascinating to an European. Their morals, as
-well as those of the men, are far superior to that of any other race in
-Eastern or Western Asia, and prostitution is all but unknown. Far from
-modest, in the English sense of the term, they are yet very chaste;
-and, though they maintain little reserve in their conduct towards
-strangers, never exhibit the inclination to be indecent or licentious.
-Even the dancing girls, though of loose virtue, dress with the utmost
-modesty, but their performances are occasionally lascivious.
-
-Throughout the beautiful and interesting island of Celebes the same
-state of things prevails, and wherever the women are most free, they
-are least licentious. The intercourse of the sexes is unrestrained;
-the youth meet without hindrance; and chastity is guarded more by
-the sense of honour and by the pride of virtue, than by the jealousy
-of husbands or the rigid surveillance of parents. On the whole,
-therefore, the condition of the sex in Celebes is elevated. That women
-are there perverted in some of their manners, and that they do not
-approach that exalted state which was accorded to them in the Attic
-states of Greece, is true, because the people are barbarians. It is
-necessary always, in considering the state and character of women in
-any country, to hold in view the state and character of the men also.
-We are to apply no unvarying standard to measure the condition of one
-sex, for it is only by viewing it relatively to the other that we can
-arrive at a sound conclusion. The Bugis of Celebes are among the most
-manly, enterprising, and virtuous nations of Asia; and their women are
-proportionably free, chaste, and happy[69].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN PERSIA.
-
-In Persia the Oriental idea of the female sex is completely developed.
-Women are there the property of men and their enjoyment of life
-is circumscribed to suit the pleasure of their masters; among the
-wandering tribes, indeed, they go unveiled, and breathe the air
-of partial freedom; but among the fixed inhabitants of cities and
-villages, their lot is one of seclusion and servitude. Subservient as
-they are to the will and caprice of the supreme sex, the estimation
-in which they are held is extremely low. The lower classes consider
-them, indeed, valuable in proportion to the amount of household labour
-they perform; the higher classes look on them as the means of sensual
-gratification. We find, it is true, in Persian romance and poetry,
-eulogiums on the beauty of their women, and songs of devotion to them;
-but they are the objects of barter, and are consequently in a despised
-condition.
-
-There is actually no station assigned to women in Persia; they are
-recognised only as ministers to the wants or pleasures of the male
-sex. They are what their husbands choose to make them. Instances occur
-where a favourite wife or concubine is ruler of the house, or a mother
-exercises strong influence over her son, but these are rare examples;
-women, in total seclusion, are submissive slaves. The wives of the
-Shah, especially, vegetate within the walls of a splendid prison;
-occasionally one of them is permitted to walk abroad, but then all must
-fly from the route she takes, and no one dare look upon her on pain of
-death. She is paraded in stately procession, and eunuchs run in front
-to clear the way, firing guns loaded with ball to frighten any bold
-adventurer who may be reckless enough to remain on the line of the
-cortege. This isolation of the sex pervades all the wealthier orders
-of Persian society; even brothers are not allowed to see their sisters
-after a certain age.
-
-Polygamy is practised in Persia. The palace especially has a crowded
-harem; numbers of female officers and attendants wait on the Shah.
-The wives and concubines are arranged with the most rigid regard to
-the rules of precedence; none but those of the highest rank and most
-distinguished favour dare sit down in the presence of their royal lord;
-over all the rest the strictest discipline is preserved. The king
-is said sometimes to have a thousand women in his palace, and much
-skill is required to preserve decorum among them; some he has given
-away to his principal officers. The chief of them lives in splendour,
-wearing garments so thickly embroidered with pearls that they impede
-her movements; but the others are subject to much rigour, especially
-under the savage eunuchs whose favourite mode of chastising the female
-slaves is to strike them on the mouth with the heel of a slipper.
-However, large numbers of them lead a pleasant, while all enjoy an
-indolent life, lounging for hours in the warm bath, whence they emerge,
-with enervated frames, to spend an equal time in the coquetry of the
-toilette. All the arts which vanity can devise are exhausted to render
-their persons attractive to the Shah, whose favours are courted as much
-as his displeasure is feared. In the one case, the fortunate woman is
-elevated, for a brief period at least, to the very ideal of her hopes,
-while, in the other, she may be fastened in a sack and hurled from the
-top of a lofty tower.
-
-The Persians generally believe themselves entitled to unlimited
-indulgence in the delights of the harem. Their religious law confines
-them to four wives, but they may have as many concubines or other
-female companions as they can support. The priests are expected to be
-the most chaste, but are usually the most licentious; it is remarked as
-an extraordinary circumstance of one celebrated spiritual leader, that
-it was affirmed that he never had connection with any other woman than
-his four legitimate wives.
-
-A Persian is permitted, as well by the enactments of the law as by
-common usage, to take a female, not within the prohibited degrees of
-affinity, in three different ways: he may marry, he may purchase, or
-he may hire her. Persons are frequently betrothed during infancy; but
-the engagement is not considered binding unless contracted by both the
-actual parents. The girl, indeed, may, even under these circumstances,
-refuse her consent, but this privilege is rather nominal than real. If
-she resolutely refuse, she may be taken back to the recesses of her
-parent’s harem, and there chastened until she chooses to submit; and it
-is not long before she is whipped into compliance. The nuptial ceremony
-must be witnessed by at least two men, or one man and two women. An
-officer of the law attends to attest the contract. The written document
-is delivered to the wife, who carefully preserves it, for it is the
-deed that entitles her to the amount of her dower, which is part of her
-provision in case of being left a widow, and her sole dependence in
-case of being divorced. Her right in this respect is strictly guarded
-by law, and by her male friends, and it is one of which the women of
-Persia are extremely jealous. The marriage festival is usually very
-expensive, for the reputation of the husband is supposed to be measured
-by the splendour of his nuptials.
-
-Though a man may, when he pleases, put away his wife, the expense and
-scandal attending such a proceeding make it rare. It seldom occurs,
-indeed, except among the poorer classes, who do not so rigidly seclude
-their females; among the wealthier and prouder, a man would be ashamed
-to expose a woman, with whom he had once associated, to be seen by
-others, unless in the case, of course, of a common woman. Divorce never
-takes place on account of adultery, which is punished with death. Bad
-temper and extravagance on the woman’s side, and neglect or cruel usage
-on the husband’s, may be urged by either as reasons for separation. If
-the husband sues for a divorce, he pays back the dowry he received
-with his bride; if the wife commences the proceeding, she loses
-her claim. In this, as in all other respects, the male sex has the
-advantage. A man who desires to be relieved of a disagreeable partner,
-sometimes uses her so cruelly that she is compelled to open the suit,
-by which means he gets rid of her, but keeps her money.
-
-The Persian may have as many female slaves as he desires or is able to
-maintain. They earn no advantage of position by becoming his concubines
-instead of the sweepers of his house. They are still in slavery, and
-may at any time be sold again if they displease their masters. A woman
-so cast off is in a bad position, for she must then sink into worse
-degradation than before. Mohammedan jealousy, however, serves, in some
-respects, as a kind of protection for the woman; for a man, having once
-cohabited with her, will seldom allow her to fall into the hands of any
-other.
-
-One very extraordinary custom prevails in Persia, and seems now
-peculiar to that country, though it is said to have existed in
-Arabia at the time of the prophet’s appearance there. Mohammed
-tolerated it; but his successor, Omar, abolished it, as a species of
-legal prostitution injurious to the morals of the people. All the
-Turks and others, therefore, who hold his precepts in veneration,
-abhor and condemn the practice, but it still obtains. It is that of
-hiring a companion. A man and a woman agree to cohabit for a certain
-period--some for a few days, others for 99 years. In the one case it is
-simply an act of prostitution; in the other it is morally equivalent to
-marriage, though the woman acquires no right to property of any kind,
-except the price of her hire. This sum is agreed upon at the first
-compact; and though the man may discard his companion when he pleases,
-he must pay her the whole amount promised. If both are willing, the
-arrangement may be renewed at the expiration of the term, which is
-generally short. This kind of intercourse usually takes place among
-persons of very unequal stations. The women are generally of a low
-class, and are, for the most part, a peculiar sort of prostitutes, if
-prostitution mean the hiring out of a woman’s person for money. The
-children springing from such a union are supported by the father. In
-one circumstance the custom differs from the ordinary prostitution of
-other countries. When a man has parted from a woman of this class, she
-is forbidden to form any new connection until a sufficient time has
-elapsed to prove whether or not she is pregnant from the last. This
-precaution is to hinder the chance of a man’s being burdened with the
-support of a child of which he is not actually the father.
-
-The characteristics of women in Persia agree with this picture of their
-treatment. They are degraded down to the level of their condition.
-Leaving a few exceptions out of sight, we find the rich and idle vain,
-sensual, and absorbed by animal desires; the poorer classes, licentious
-and intriguing.
-
-The peculiar customs of the country cause strange occurrences to take
-place. A man is sometimes deceived into marrying the wrong woman,
-under cover of the inviolable drapery which veils her face. He is
-usually content to stow her away in his harem, and solace himself
-with a concubine, or the company of prostitutes; for though he may
-hold that his own wife and daughter would be polluted by the eye of a
-strange man, and though he may be able to fill his harem with beautiful
-slaves, the Persian voluptuary is not content. He must associate with
-the more brilliant and lively beauties, who are ready to receive him
-in various retired houses of the city. These houses are generally in
-obscure places, dull and uninviting on the outside, but fitted up in
-the interior with much elegance and luxury.
-
-Formerly there was a numerous class of public dancing girls in Persia,
-and the beauty of their persons, and the melody of their voices, were
-celebrated by the most famous poets of the country. They were wealthy
-and popular, continuing to figure prominently at the entertainments
-of the people until the family of Futteh Ali Khan rose to the throne;
-they were then discouraged by a monarch who crowded his harem with a
-thousand women, and, in the midst of this multitude of concubines,
-issued edicts for the suppression of immorality. The dancing girls
-were prohibited from approaching the court, and compelled to seek a
-livelihood in the distant provinces of the empire. It is not to be
-denied that considerable reform has taken place in the manners of the
-people; but profligacy is still a marked characteristic of the cities
-in Persia.
-
-Under the Sefi dynasty morals reached the last stage of depravity.
-The royal treasury was filled with the proceeds of immorality. Public
-brothels were licensed and became extremely numerous. A large revenue
-was drawn from them. In Ispahan alone no less than 30,000 prostitutes
-paid an annual sum to government. The governors of provinces and
-cities also granted the same privileges for sums of money, and there
-was scarcely a town of any size in Persia which had not at least one
-large brothel, crowded with inmates. The prostitutes were all licensed,
-and known by the appellation of _cahbeha_, or _the worthless_. An old
-traveller, whose authority is accepted by the best writers, describes
-the system then prevailing; it displays the corruption of manners
-in the open and systematic character of profligacy. As soon as the
-merchants’ shops were closed in the cities the brothels were opened;
-the prostitutes then issued into the streets, dispersed themselves, and
-repaired to particular localities. There they sat down in rows, closely
-veiled; behind each company stood an old woman holding an extinguished
-candle in her hand. When any man approached with a sign that he desired
-to make a bargain, this harridan lit her taper, and led him down the
-line of women, removing the veil of each in her turn until he made his
-choice. The girl was then dispatched with him, under the guidance of
-a slave, to the house, which usually stood close by the way-side. All
-payments were made to the old woman or “_mother_” of the company.
-
-Under the reigning family this open system has been checked,
-and prostitution, not being licensed, is a more secret system.
-Nevertheless, there abound in the cities of Persia numerous brothels,
-to which the men proceed after dark, and where they are entertained as
-they desire; numbers of women are always ready to hire themselves out
-to any who desire to associate with them.
-
-The females of the wandering tribes are far more virtuous than those of
-the cities; they are also more happy and free, for if they share the
-labours of the men, they share also their pleasures and hopes; far from
-being secluded, they are allowed to converse even with strangers, and
-grace the hospitality of the tents with modest but polite attention.
-The men seldom have more than one wife, and abhor the practice of
-hiring women, though their priests have made attempts to introduce
-it among them. Still, even the women of these tribes are below their
-proper condition, and the men as they become wealthier become more
-corrupt; when, also, they sojourn for a while in the cities, they
-speedily contribute to the general profligacy, and often exceed the
-regular inhabitants in vice. Among those, however, in the nomade state,
-rape and adultery are rare, and when committed the woman suffers a
-cruel death at the hands of her nearest kindred. In the cities females
-are seldom publicly executed, but are put to death in private, or given
-as slaves to men of infamous occupation[70].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION AMONG THE AFGHANS.
-
-Women in Afghanistan are sold to the men. A marriage is a commercial
-transaction. The practice is recognised by the Moslem law, and is here,
-as in most parts of Asia, universally adopted. The price varies, of
-course, according to the condition of the bridegroom or his friends.
-Females, consequently, are in some measure regarded as property. They
-are in absolute subjection to the other sex. A husband may at any time,
-from mere caprice, and without assigning any reason, divorce his wife;
-but a woman cannot, unless she have good grounds, and sue for the
-separation before a magistrate. Even this is seldom done. When a widow
-marries, the friends of her first husband may claim the price that
-was originally paid for her; but usually the brother of the deceased
-inherits this property, and any one else usurping his privilege becomes
-a mortal enemy. However, the widow is not forced to take a new partner
-against her will. Indeed, if she have children with claims upon her
-care, it is considered more respectable to lead a single life.
-
-In the lower regions of India, on the warm plains, we find marriage
-contracts fulfilled at a very early age. In the colder climate of Kabul
-they are left to a later period in life--men being wedded at twenty,
-women at about fifteen years of age. The time varies, however, with
-different classes. Among the poor, with whom the price of a wife is not
-easily to be amassed, the men often remain unmarried until forty, and
-the women till twenty-five. On the other hand, the rich frequently take
-brides of twelve to bridegrooms of fifteen, or even earlier, before
-either of them has attained puberty. Those living in towns and in
-Western Afghanistan marry earlier than those dwelling in the pastoral
-districts and in the eastern parts. These often wait until twenty-five,
-until the chin is thoroughly covered with beard, and the man is in all
-respects mature. The Ghiljies are still more prudent in this respect.
-In most parts of the country, nevertheless, the date of marriage is
-determined by the individual’s ability to purchase a wife, provide
-a home, and support a family. Usually men form alliances within the
-blood of their own tribe; but many Afghans take also Tavjik and Persian
-women. It is not considered disreputable to take a wife from those
-nations; but it is held below the dignity of the Durani race to bestow
-a wife on a stranger, and this, consequently, is seldom or never done.
-
-The intercourse of the sexes is regulated by various circumstances,
-many of them accidental. In the crowded towns, where the men have
-little opportunity of converse with the women, matches are generally
-made with views of family policy, and contracted through the agency of
-a go-between. When a man has fixed on any particular girl to be his
-wife, he sends some female relation or neighbour to see her and report
-to him upon her qualifications. If the account be satisfactory, the
-same agent ascertains from the girl’s mother whether her family are
-favourable to the match; should all this prove well, arrangements are
-made for a public proposal. On an appointed day the suitor’s father
-goes with a party of male relations to the young woman’s father, while
-a similar deputation of females waits on her mother, and the offer is
-made in customary form. Various presents are also sent, the dowry is
-settled, a feast is prepared, and the betrothal takes place. Some time
-after, when both man and woman have mutually, by free consent, signed
-the articles of agreement--which stipulate for a provision for the wife
-in case of divorce--the union is completed at a festival, and the bride
-is delivered, on payment of her price, at the dwelling of her future
-master.
-
-In the country, formalities very similar take place; but, as women
-there go unveiled, and the intercourse of the sexes is less restricted,
-the marriage generally originates in a personal attachment between the
-wedded pair, and the negotiations are only matters of etiquette. An
-enterprising lover may also obtain his mistress, without gaining the
-consent of her parents, by tearing away her veil, cutting off a lock
-of her hair, or throwing a large white cloth over her, and declaring
-her to be his lawful and affianced wife. After this no other suitor
-would propose for her, and she is usually bestowed on the bold lover,
-though he cannot escape paying some price for his wife. Such expedients
-are, therefore, seldom resorted to. When a man desires a girl for whom
-he cannot pay, and who reciprocates his affection, the common plan is
-to elope. This is, indeed, considered by her family as an outrage
-equivalent to the murder of one of its members, and pursued with
-equally rancorous revenge, but the possession of the wife is at least
-secured. The fugitive couple take refuge in the territories of some
-other tribe, and find the hospitable protection which is accorded by
-the Afghans to every guest, and still more to every suppliant.
-
-Among the Eusufzies different customs prevail. A man never sees his
-bride until the marriage rites are completed. The Beduranis, also,
-maintain great reserve between the youth and the girl betrothed one to
-another. Sometimes a man goes to the house of his future father-in-law,
-and labours, as Jacob laboured for Rachael, without being allowed to
-see his destined wife until the day for the ceremony has arrived. With
-many of the Afghan tribes a similar rule is nominally laid down, but a
-secret intercourse is countenanced between the bridegroom and future
-bride. It is called Naumzud bauzee, or the sport of the betrothed. The
-young man steals by night to the house of his affianced, pretending
-to conceal his presence altogether from the knowledge of the men, who
-would affect to consider it a great scandal. He is favoured by the
-girl’s mother, who privately conducts him to an interior apartment,
-where he is left alone with his beloved until the approach of morning.
-He is allowed the freest intercourse with her, he may converse with
-her as he pleases, he may kiss her, and indulge in all other innocent
-freedoms; but the young people are under the strongest cautions and
-prohibitions to refrain from anticipating the nuptial night. “Nature,
-however,” says Mountstuart Elphinstone, “is too strong for such
-injunctions, and the marriage begins with all the difficulty and
-interest of an illicit amour.” Cases have not unfrequently occurred
-in which the bride has been delivered of two or three children before
-being formally received into her husband’s house. This, however, is
-regarded as extremely scandalous, and seldom happens among the more
-respectable Afghans. However, the custom of Naumzud bauzee prevails
-with men of the highest rank, and the king himself sometimes enjoys its
-midnight pleasures.
-
-Though polygamy is allowed by the Mohammedan laws, it is too expensive
-to be practised by the bulk of the people. The legal number of wives
-is four; but many of the rich exceed this, and maintain a crowd of
-concubines besides. Two wives and two female slaves form a liberal
-establishment for a man of the middle class; while the poor are
-obliged to be content with one companion.
-
-The social condition of the female sex in Afghanistan is low, as it
-must be in all countries where women are bought and sold. The wives of
-the rich, indeed, secluded in the recesses of the harem, are allowed
-to enjoy all the comforts and luxuries within reach of their husband’s
-wealth. This, however, is more to please the man, than indulge the
-women, though many husbands really love their wives, and are influenced
-to a considerable degree by their desires. In general, however, it is
-to enjoy the pride of having a beautiful wife in his zenana, with all
-the appliances of opulence to render her gracious and dainty.
-
-Among the poorer classes the women perform the drudgery of the house
-and carry water. Those of the most barbarous tribes share the labours
-of the field; but nowhere are they employed as in India, where there
-is scarcely any difference between the toils of the sexes. A man by
-the Mohammedan law is allowed to chastise his wife by beating. Custom,
-however, is more chivalrous and merciful than the written code,
-and lays it down as disgraceful for a man to avail himself of this
-privilege of his sex.
-
-Though many women of the higher ranks learn to read, and exhibit
-considerable talents for literature, it is reckoned immodest for
-a female to write, as that accomplishment might be made use of to
-intrigue by correspondence with a lover.
-
-Many families have all their household affairs, and many even their
-general customs, controlled by women. These sometimes correspond for
-their sons. It is usually the mother who enjoys this influence, but
-the wives also frequently rise to ascendancy; and all the advantages
-conferred on him by the Mohammedan law frequently fail to save a man
-from sinking to a secondary position in his own house. All domestic
-amusements indulged in by men are, among the lower and more estimable
-orders, shared by the women.
-
-In towns, these envelope themselves in an ample white wrapper, like
-the Arab burnouse, which covers them to the feet, and altogether
-conceals their figure. A network in the hood, spread over the face,
-enables them to see, while their features are invisible to others.
-When on horseback, those of the upper classes wear large white cotton
-wrappers on their legs, which completely hides the shape of the limb.
-Frequently, also, they travel in hampers, large enough to allow
-of their reclining, which are strung like paniers over a camel’s
-back, and covered with a case of broad cloth. They are hot almost to
-suffocation during the sultry season. Females are allowed to go about
-seated in this manner, and form a large proportion in the crowds which
-throng the public ways. Scrupulously concealed as their features are,
-they are thus subject to little restraint; and, compared with their sex
-in the neighbouring regions, though they do not occupy an honourable,
-they are by no means in an unhappy position.
-
-In the rural districts they are still more free, and go without a veil.
-Walking through the village or the camp, they are subject to no other
-restraint than the universal opinion that it is indecent to associate
-with the other sex. Should a strange man approach, they immediately
-cover their faces. At home, they seldom enter the public room of
-their house if an Afghan with whom they are not intimate is there.
-With Armenians, Persians, and Hindoos, indeed, they do not hold this
-reserve; for they consider them as of no importance; and the pride
-of her race is, in these cases, a sufficient guardian to the woman’s
-virtue. When their husbands are from home, also, they receive guests,
-and entertain them with all the liberal courtesy required by the sacred
-laws of hospitality.
-
-But the modesty and chastity of the country women, especially of
-those belonging to the simple shepherd tribes, has been remarked and
-admired by almost every traveller. “There are no common prostitutes,”
-says Mountstuart Elphinstone, “except in the towns, and very few
-even there, especially in the west, which is the colder region;
-it is considered very disreputable to frequent their company.” In
-Afghanistan, however, as in all other parts of the East, and in many
-states of antiquity, the imperfect education of the women is a cause
-of profligacy among the men. The wives and concubines who fill a rich
-man’s harem are usually ignorant, insipid, and unacquainted even with
-the forms of conversation. The prostitutes, on the other hand, are
-generally well versed in the science of the world, polished in their
-manners, practised in the arts of seduction, and afford amusement
-of such interest and variety that men, with four wives and numerous
-female slaves at their command, frequently seek the society of these
-accomplished women.
-
-An able and judicious writer has observed that, as far as he
-recollected, he saw among no people in the East, except the Afghans,
-any traces of the sentiment which we call love, that is, according to
-European ideas. There, however, it not only exists, but is extremely
-prevalent. One sign of this is exhibited in the numerous elopements,
-which are always attended with peril, and are risked through love. It
-is common also for a man in humble circumstances to pledge his faith
-to a particular girl, and then start off to some remote town, or even
-to Lower India, where, by industry or trade, he might acquire wealth
-enough to purchase her from her friends. One traveller met at Poonah a
-young man who had contracted one of these engagements. He had formed
-an attachment with the daughter of a Mullah, who reciprocated his
-affection. Her father gave his consent willingly to the marriage; but
-said that his daughter’s honour would suffer if she did not bring as
-large a price as the other women of her family. The young people were
-much afflicted, for the man owned only one horse. However, his mistress
-gave him a needle used for applying antimony to the eye, and with this
-pledge of her affection he was confidently working to accumulate the
-fortune which was required to purchase her. These romantic amours are
-most common among the country people, especially where the women are
-partially secluded--accessible enough to be admired, but withdrawn
-enough to excite the lover’s attachment by some difficulty. Among the
-higher orders such unions are less frequent, though with them also
-they occasionally occur. It was an affair of love between a chief of
-the Turkolaunis and a Khan of the Euzufzies that gave rise to a bloody
-war which lasted many years. Many of the songs and tales sung and told
-among the Afghans have love for their plot and spirit, and that passion
-is expressed in the most glowing and flowery language. Such a trait in
-a nation’s manners is highly favourable, and, joined with many others,
-renders the Afghan one of the most admirable races of the East.
-
-An exceptional feature in the manners of that region is exhibited
-by the Moolah Zukkee, a sect of infidel pedants, who are more
-unprincipled, dissolute, and profligate than any other class in the
-country. They resemble in their conduct the Areois of the South Sea
-Islands, doubt the truth of a future state, are sceptical as to the
-existence of a God, and have released themselves from every fear of
-hell. They have taken full advantage of this, and indulge in the vilest
-lusts without check or shame. This is the more extraordinary as the
-Afghans are represented, on the whole, as a devout and pious people.
-
-The inhabitants of Afghanistan are divided into the stationary and
-wandering population--the dwellers in tents, and the dwellers in
-houses. It is a curious fact that the dwellers in tents, who live
-chiefly to the West, are the more chaste and moral. It is among these,
-however, that the intercourse of the sexes is confined less by law than
-by public opinion. Men and women dance together, but in modest measures.
-
-The slaves we have alluded to are divided into the home-born and the
-foreign. The beautiful girls are purchased for the harems of the rich;
-the others are sold as menials, or attendants on the rich women. The
-habit of buying concubines is unfortunately becoming more common.
-Intercourse with the voluptuaries of Persia has seduced them into many
-Persian vices. Naturally they are, perhaps, one of the least voluptuous
-nations in Asia; but their manners are becoming visibly corrupted,
-and this decay of their ancient simplicity is felt and regretted by
-themselves. Corps of prostitutes and harems full of concubines will do
-the work of the sword among them, and their spirit of independence,
-which never yielded even before English bayonets, will evaporate, if
-they long continue to decline in their morals and manners. Luxury has
-subdued more great nations than the sword.
-
-In the Vizeeree country, to the north of the Sherauni district, one
-very extraordinary custom prevails; it is quite peculiar to that tribe;
-the women have the right of choosing their husbands. When a woman has
-fixed on any man whom she desires to marry, she sends the drummer of
-the camp to pin a handkerchief on his cap, with a pin which she has
-previously used to fasten up her hair. The drummer goes on his mission,
-cautiously watches his opportunity, and executes the feat in public,
-naming the woman. The man is obliged immediately to take her as his
-wife, if he can pay her price to her father[71].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN KASHMIR.
-
-In Kashmir we find the Hindu system of manners considerably modified
-by various circumstances. The people are not oppressed by that rigid
-code of etiquette, which in India isolates every caste and almost
-every family. Naturally addicted to pleasure, they find much of their
-enjoyment in the society of the female sex, and from the earliest
-times have been celebrated for their love of singers and dancers.
-Formerly, when the valley was more populous and flourishing than at
-present, its capital city was the scene of eternal revel, in which
-morals stood little in the way of those gratifications to which the
-sensual ideas of the richer orders inclined them. Now, under a vile
-and monstrous despotism, the inhabitants relieve themselves from
-a continual struggle with misfortune by indulging in gross vices.
-Formerly they were corrupted by luxury; now they decay through misery,
-and drown the sense of hopeless poverty in the gratification of their
-animal passions.
-
-The situation of the female sex in Kashmir differs from that occupied
-by them among the Hindus of Bengal. They are far more free, and appear
-more licentious. The women of this delightful and romantic valley
-have long been celebrated for their grace and beauty. Their renown
-extended on the one side as far as the plains of Central Asia, and on
-the other beyond the borders of the Ganges. They were formerly much
-sought after by the Mogul nobility of Delhi, to whom they bore strong
-and handsome sons; and even after that monarchy had declined from its
-original opulence and power, its luxurious kings solaced themselves in
-their humiliation by concubines and dancing girls from Kashmir. Nor has
-the beauty which in those early ages attracted to the women of this
-country the admiration of all the East, faded in any degree. They are
-still described as the flowers of Oriental grace--not so slender as the
-Hindus of Bengal, but more full, round, voluptuous, and fascinating.
-Since few except those belonging to the very highest classes wear a
-veil, travellers have enjoyed abundant opportunities of observing the
-characteristics of the sex. The face is of a dark complexion, richly
-flushed with pink; the eyes are large, almond-shaped, and overflowing
-with a peculiar liquid brilliance; the features are regular,
-harmonious, and fine; while the person, as we have said, is plump
-and round, though the limbs are often models of grace. Such is the
-portrait we are led to draw by the accounts of the best writers. They
-agree, however, in adding, that among all, except the dancers, singers,
-and prostitutes, with probably those few women who are shut up in
-harems, art has done nothing to aid nature. The eyes, unsurpassed for
-brightness, with full orbs, and long black lashes, shine often from a
-dirty face, expressing a mind flooded with sensual desires, and utterly
-unadorned by education or accomplishments. Among the poorer classes,
-especially, filth, poverty, and degradation render many of the women
-repulsive, in spite of their natural beauty. It is remarkable that the
-inhabitants of the boats on the lakes possess among them the handsomest
-women in the valley.
-
-The customs of marriage, courtship, and the general habits of the
-women, resemble so closely what have already been described in treating
-of India, that we need not enter into any particular account of
-them. The life of the woman belonging to a chief of high rank is a
-monotonous seclusion. She sits, enveloped in full wrappings of shawls
-and robes, amid all the luxury and brilliance of an Oriental harem,
-with every appliance of ease and comfort, but not the liberty which
-the humbler orders enjoy. Wives of all classes, indeed, are subject to
-their husbands, but those of the nobles are most under control. They
-often experience in its full bitterness the curse of slavery under a
-capricious despot. The authority of the man is absolute.
-
-Mikran Singh, a chief of the valley, was a few years ago, during the
-reign of the Maharaja Runjit Singh, guilty of a horrible act, which
-illustrates in a striking manner the condition of women in that
-country. His wife happened to be in the Punjab, and, while there,
-was accused by some enemies of a criminal intrigue. She was sent
-to her husband in Kashmir. Her son flung his dagger at the feet of
-Mikran Singh, and threw himself at his knees, begging mercy for his
-mother. The man promised to forgive her; but, as soon as occasion
-offered, ordered her to be forced into a bath the temperature of which
-was rapidly increased with the purpose of suffocating her. She was
-tenacious of life, and struggled long with her tortures, filling the
-palace with shrill and piercing shrieks. Many people fled from the
-neighbourhood that they might not listen to these fearful cries. At
-length, to put an end to this horrid scene, the husband sent his wife a
-bowl of poison, which she drank and immediately died.
-
-Women of the middle and lower classes affect no concealment, and never
-wear a veil. They experience less caprice from their husbands, and are
-perhaps more free than females in Hindustan formerly were. Widows have
-long been released from the disgusting obligation of burning at the
-funeral pyre of their husbands. The custom, indeed, was at no time very
-prevalent in the valley, and since the decree of abolition, published
-by Aurungzebe in 1669, it has never been revived. Women in Kashmir
-bear a fair proportion to the men, and are proverbially fruitful. The
-depopulation of the country is owing to no natural causes, but to the
-rapacious despotism under which it suffers. British government would
-soon, without a doubt, restore it to its ancient flourishing condition,
-as well as reform its manners.
-
-Travellers in Kashmir always remark the dancing girls, for which it
-was formerly renowned. The village of Changus, near the ancient city
-of Achibul, was at one time celebrated for a colony of them. They
-excelled, in singing, dancing, and other accomplishments, all the other
-girls of the valley. When Vigne visited it some years ago, the village
-had fallen to decay, and its famous beauties had disappeared. Old men,
-however, remembered and spoke of them with regret. One, whose name was
-Lyli, still lived in the recollection of many. A few dancers of another
-class remained, but were inferior in their natural charms and arts to
-those of the city, and were obliged to be content with engagements in
-the humbler or country districts.
-
-These women may be divided into classes. Among the highest we
-might find some that are virtuous and even modest, as we may among
-singers and actresses in Europe. Others frequent entertainments at
-the houses of rich men and public festivals, receiving large sums
-for their attendance, and occasionally consent to prostitute their
-persons for a valuable gift. Others are regular professional harlots,
-indiscriminately prostituting themselves to any who desire their
-society. Many of these are widows, who are forbidden to marry again,
-and are devoted to the service of some god, whose temple and priests
-they enrich by the gains of their disreputable calling.
-
-The Watul or Gipsy tribe of Kashmir is remarkable for the loveliness of
-its females. Living in tents or temporary huts, these Gipsies pass from
-spot to spot; and many of their handsomest girls are sold as slaves
-to furnish the harems of the rich, or enter the train of some company
-of dancing girls. These are bred and taught to please the taste of
-the voluptuary, to sing licentious songs in an amorous tone, to dance
-in voluptuous measures, to dress in a peculiar style, and to seduce
-by the very expression of their countenances. Formerly many of these
-women amassed large sums in their various callings; but now that the
-prosperity of the valley has decreased, the youngest and most beautiful
-seek their fortunes in the cities of Agra and Delhi; which, though
-decaying, still retain traces of the imperial luxury and profligacy
-which once rendered them the splendid capitals of the East.
-
-The bands of dancing girls are usually attended by divers hideous
-duennas and men, whose conspicuous ugliness makes the loveliness of the
-women appear more complete through contrast. Baron Hugel, whose ideas
-are purely German, did not find his sense of the beautiful satisfied by
-the women, and especially the public women, of Kashmir; but every other
-traveller, from Bernier to Vigne, expatiates upon the subject. The
-Baron does not, in other respects, inspire us with the idea that he is
-an authority on such a question.
-
-The Nach girls are under the surveillance of the Government--which
-licenses their prostitution--and lead in general a miserable life. They
-are actual slaves, cannot sing or dance without permission from their
-overseer, and must yield up to him the most considerable part of their
-profits. Some of them still ask large sums, especially from strangers.
-One troop demanded from our German author a hundred rupees for an
-evening’s performance.
-
-The education of a superior Nach girl should commence when she is no
-more than five years old. Nine years, it is said, are required to
-perfect them in song and dance. They dress usually in trowsers of
-rich-coloured silk, loosely furled round the limb, fitting tight at
-the ancle, and confined round the waist by a girdle and tassels, which
-hang down to the knee. Over these is draped a tunic of white muslin,
-reaching half-way down the leg; but when dancing they wear a full
-flowing garment of soft light tissue of various colours, intermixed
-with gold. Some have been seen with ornaments on their persons to
-the value of 10,000 or 12,000 rupees. Some, also, with all these
-adornments, neglect to be clean, and omit perfume from among the graces
-of their toilette. Their songs are often full of sentiment and fancy,
-finely expressed, and accompanied by pleasing music. Their dances are
-not chaste or modest; but neither are they obscene or gross.
-
-Among the poorer orders exist a swarm of prostitutes, frequenting low
-houses in the cities or boats on the lakes; but of their modes of life
-we have no account. Probably the manners of prostitutes differ little
-throughout the world. It is certain that they are largely patronised by
-the more demoralised part of the population. The traveller Moorcroft,
-who gave gratuitous advice to the poor of Serinaghur, had at one time
-nearly 7000 patients on his list. Of these a very large number were
-suffering from loathsome diseases, induced by the grossest and most
-persevering profligacy. Altogether the manners of Kashmir appear very
-corrupt[72].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN INDIA.
-
-We shall have to view the Hindus under two aspects--as they were under
-their former oppressors, and as they are under the administration
-of the Company. The change of rule has wrought, and is working,
-a change in the manners and institutions of the people perfectly
-wonderful to contemplate. Climate and position have much to do with
-national characteristics, but government has more. India under the
-English no more resembles India under the Mogul, than the England
-of the nineteenth century resembles the England of the Heptarchy. A
-beneficent revolution in her fortune has occurred, which is developing
-an extraordinary reform in the customs and ideas of her native race.
-Consequently a distinction must be observed between the old and the
-new state of things. It will be necessary, also, to distinguish those
-provinces which are absolutely under our sway from those which are
-independent, or only related to us by subsidiary alliances. A strong
-contrast is exhibited by these different communities, which, as
-far as the welfare of the people is concerned, differ as much from
-each other as the slave states of western Africa differ from the
-population of Cape Colony. In the one a wise and beneficent government
-is administered for the happiness of the people; in the other, an
-imbecile yet savage tyranny makes them look with jealousy on their more
-fortunate neighbours. This is an important consideration, and by no
-means irrelevant to our subject, for it illustrates the influence of
-laws and institutions upon the manners and morals of a nation.
-
-The state of women among the Hindus is not elevated, and as long as
-their ancient teachers of religion are revered, such must be the case.
-The female sex is held absolutely dependent on the male, and, as among
-the Chinese, the father before marriage, the husband afterwards, and
-the son in widowhood, are the natural protectors assigned by the sacred
-law. Nothing is to be done by a woman of her purely independent will.
-She must reverence her lord, and approach him with humble respect. She
-is bound to him while he desires it, whatever his conduct may be, and,
-if she rebel, is to be chastised with a rope or cane on the back part
-of her person, “and not on a noble part, by any means.”
-
-Writers with a particular theory to support frequently quote the
-institutes of Menu, to show that a contempt of women is inculcated, and
-hard usage of them encouraged by the precepts of that singular code.
-
-Indolence, vanity, irascible humours, evil dispositions, and
-lasciviousness, are enumerated as the vices which are declared
-natural to them. “A woman is chaste, when there is neither place,
-time, nor person, to afford her an opportunity to be immoral,” says
-the “Hetopadera,” which is quoted in application to the whole sex,
-though it applies only as Professor Wilson--the great authority on
-this subject--observes, to that class of idle, intemperate, profligate
-females, to be found in every society. Passages undoubtedly occur in
-the laws and in satirical compositions levelled at the whole sex; but
-the Hindus themselves usually describe them as amiable, modest, gentle,
-chaste, full of wit, and excelling in every grace. They are allowed
-to inherit property; they are permitted under certain circumstances
-to exercise power, though by indirect means; and they certainly exert
-great influence over the men. In no state of ancient times, except
-the polished republics of Greece and Rome, were women held in so much
-esteem as among the Hindus.
-
-Debarred as they are from the advantages of education, not allowed to
-eat with their husbands, and forbidden from mixing in society, the
-Hindu women, of course, are degraded below their just position; but
-it is not true that they are abject slaves, or are generally treated
-with barbarity. Among the more wild and barbarous tribes, as well as
-the more ignorant classes in all parts of India, men frequently beat
-their wives; but, from the few revelations of the Zenana which have
-been made, it would appear that its inmates are generally treated with
-considerable deference and attention. The contact of Mohammedan with
-Hindu manners has certainly, however, had an effect on the latter,
-which has depreciated the rank and estimation of the female sex.
-
-Nowhere, indeed, where polygamy is allowed, can women hold their true
-position. In India, however, though permitted, it was not encouraged
-by the religious law, and sanctioned in particular cases only, as
-barrenness, inconstancy, aversion, or some other similar cause. The
-wife, also, must be consulted, and her consent obtained to the second
-match. She still held the principal rank in the family, for the new
-comer could not take her place while she remained in the household.
-
-In various parts of India, different customs of marriage prevail. There
-are, indeed, four prescribed forms--all honourable, and various only in
-detail. A fifth is, when the bridegroom, contrary to the sacred law,
-traffics for a girl. Another is, when a captive, left helpless in a
-man’s power, is forced to become the companion of his bed. And a last
-is, when a girl is ravished, when surprised asleep, and taken off or
-deluded to the house of a new master.
-
-Marriage is viewed as a religious duty by the Hindus. A few are
-exempted, under special circumstances, from the fulfilment of this
-sacred obligation. The rules of law enacted with respect to it apply
-chiefly to affairs of caste, with which we have here little to do. It
-is forbidden to purchase a wife for money, except under particular
-conditions; but the young girls have little share in their own destiny,
-being usually betrothed while very young. The father has the disposal
-of them until three years after the age of puberty, when it is reckoned
-disgraceful for her to be single, and then she may choose a partner for
-herself. Few, however, will marry a maiden so old. In Bahar the girl,
-betrothed while an infant, is not permitted to enter her husband’s
-house until mature, when she is conducted thither with as much ceremony
-as the circumstances of the family will allow. In Bengal the couple are
-pledged with many rites and a profusion of expense. The bride is taken
-to her husband’s house, remains there a little while, and then goes
-home for a short period, but the whole is consummated as soon after
-ten years of age as practicable. The timid effeminate Bengalee appears
-of a sensual character, and regards his wife as little more than the
-instrument of his pleasure. A better state of things is now beginning
-to prevail there, in consequence of the efforts made by the Company;
-but under the old system, not one female in twenty thousand was allowed
-to acquire the least particle of learning. The natives excuse or
-justify this fact,--first, by the prohibition against educating girls
-which are contained in their sacred books; and secondly, by declaring
-that many women would, did they possess those means of intrigue, run
-riot in profligacy and vice.
-
-The birth of a daughter being throughout the East, and especially in
-Bengal, regarded as less auspicious than that of a son, indicates a
-low position of the sex. From that moment her parents are solicitous
-to settle her, so that she is often in infancy pledged for life.
-The character of the bridegroom is of little consequence. Matches,
-consequently, often prove unhappy, especially where the jealousy or
-despotism of the husband forces the woman to live in seclusion, and
-mainly within the private recesses of the zenana. This, however, is
-not the general custom, women being allowed to appear at festivals and
-jubilees. Even the wives of respectable Hindus frequently quit the
-interior apartments set aside for them, and go to bathe in the waters
-of the Ganges or some other holy stream. The poorer, of course, who
-assign a share of labour to their wives, cannot seclude them if they
-would, for the expense of confinement is not inconsiderable.
-
-The wife waits on her husband, and is treated with very partial
-confidence. In the lower ranks she is employed to prepare cow-dung for
-fuel, to fetch water, to make purchases in the markets, and perform
-the drudgery of the house, though this is no more than is done by
-the poorer classes in Europe. The rich woman adorns herself, curls
-her hair, listens to the gossip of her slaves, and indulges in what
-amusements may be within her reach. It may be imagined that the child
-or wife, uneducated and without a gleam of light in her mind, amuses
-herself by a thousand trivial devices. The home is thus not unhappy,
-unless the husband be naturally harsh, or the house be ruled by a
-tyrannical mother-in-law, which is often the case. Matches founded
-upon a mutual attachment are very rare, but by no means unknown. The
-romances of the Hindus are in many cases founded on them. The general
-plan, however, is for the parties to be betrothed in childhood.
-
-When they perform the ceremonies of marriage they are complete
-strangers to each other; yet Hindu wives are, on the whole, faithful.
-When the husband finds himself united to a woman who is hateful to him,
-he neglects her altogether, and takes another or a concubine, though
-this is against the ancient law. In many things, however, the practice
-of this nation, especially among the ruder classes, is opposed to that
-extraordinary sacred code. However, if he have no children, he adopts
-this plan of ensuring them, and frequently conceals the facts for a
-long time from his wife. Polygamy causes great troubles in the Bengalee
-households. A man is not allowed by law to take a new partner after
-fifty, but this regulation is observed by few. These customs, together
-with the facility of divorce--a privilege from which the female sex is
-excluded--contribute to the demoralization of society. A man calling
-his wife _mother_, by that act renounces her, and is thenceforward free
-from the tie. A barren wife may be superseded in the eighth year; she
-whose children are all dead in the birth; she who bears only daughters,
-in the eleventh; while she who is of an unkind disposition may be
-divorced without delay. The whole code, composed by the priestly order,
-is unjust to the sex.
-
-Of the general character of the female sex in Hindustan very
-exaggerated ideas commonly prevail. It is represented as corrupted
-throughout by the obscenity and indecency of the public religion and
-the institutions framed by priests. It is true the Hindu Pantheon is
-a representation of the lowest vices, and that the manners of the
-people are by no means delicate; yet the respectable class of women
-appear chaste, orderly, modest, and decorous. The fair muscular race
-of Afghanistan has indeed been depicted in favourable contrast to the
-dark and slim race of Bengal, but this need suppose no characteristic
-depravity in the latter, for the hardy mountaineers are celebrated
-for their contempt of sensual pleasures. Other parts of India exhibit
-their peculiar features. Among the rude Mughs of Arracan--a hunting
-and fishing, as well as cultivating, and formerly a predatory
-tribe--when a man wants money he pawns his wife for a certain sum, or
-transfers her altogether. In the southern parts of the Peninsula and
-the Mysore, manners are more licentious, and women are more debased.
-There polygamy has always been practised by the powerful and wealthy
-whose means enabled them to enjoy indulgences discouraged by the
-precepts of the ancient law. Buchanan, travelling towards the close
-of the eighteenth century, found about 80 concubines secluded in the
-palace of Tippoo Sultan, at Seringapatam. These were attended by more
-than 500 handmaids. The same traveller made a diligent inquiry into
-the manners of the various communities he visited. Among the Teliga
-Divangas, followers of Siva, a man was allowed to take many wives, but
-not to hurt them, or divorce them, except for adultery. It was once
-the practice for the widow to bury herself alive with the body of her
-husband.
-
-The Shaynagas of Canara were not allowed to take a second wife unless
-the first had died, or had no children. The Corannas permitted
-polygamy, and girls were purchased for money. Adultery was punished
-by a beating or by a divorce, in which case the guilty wife might
-marry whom she pleased. The Panchalaru had similar laws, and so indeed
-had many other tribes. One of the most general rules was, that a
-woman could not be divorced except for faithless conduct. Widows were
-sometimes destroyed. Among the Bherid and many others, marriage was
-contracted, under obligation, before the age of puberty. If a girl
-remained single beyond that age, no credit was given to her virginity;
-she was declared incapable of marriage, and usually took resource in
-prostitution.
-
-The severe laws against violating the law of chastity have not, in
-India, been formed so much for the protection of morals, as for
-preserving the boundaries of castes. Women are severely punished for
-holding intercourse with a man of superior caste; that is, if the
-intrigue be discovered, for there is no doubt that such intrigues
-frequently occur.
-
-Among the Woddas the laws of marriage were by no means so stringent
-as among many other tribes visited by Buchanan. Women abounded. Every
-man had as many wives as he pleased. They all laboured for him; and if
-one was lazy she was divorced, though left free to marry again; she
-also might leave him if hardly treated, but could not contract a new
-engagement without his consent.
-
-The Carruburru permitted adulteresses to live with any man who would
-keep them, provided their husbands did not immediately desire revenge.
-They were despised, but not altogether cast out from the communion
-of social life. The children of concubines enjoyed equal rights with
-those of real wives. That they were a gross people is proved by the
-fact that adultery was sometimes winked at in an industrious woman, too
-valuable as a servant to lose. The more refined idea, however, which
-prevailed among them of not allowing a girl to marry until naturally
-marriageable, was looked upon by members of the higher castes as a
-beastly depravity.
-
-Among the Rajpoots women are not degraded; they hold a higher position.
-Ladies of rank are, indeed, secluded, but more from ideas of dignity
-and etiquette than sentiments of jealousy or the habit of despotism.
-There is an air of chivalry in some of their customs. A woman of high
-station, threatened with danger, sometimes sent to any youth whom
-she might admire the present of a bracelet. He was then called her
-“bracelet-bound brother,” and was expected to defend her under all
-circumstances, even at the hazard of his life.
-
-Men, it has been remarked, make the laws--women make the manners--of a
-country. In Rajasthan, the few women reared exercised great influence
-on the actions, habitudes, and tastes of the men. The Rajpoot consults
-his wife on every important occasion; and, much as we are given to
-lament the condition of these women, it is by no means so debased as
-many writers would persuade us to imagine. Marriage contracts which
-often, as among the Jews, took place at the well, where the young girls
-assembled to draw water and converse, were, in frequent instances, the
-commencement of a happy life. The precepts of Menu have been quoted
-to show the contempt of the sex inculcated by the sacred books. His
-censures on a class, however, have been taken as his description of
-all womankind--but falsely; for the Rajpoot proverbs on this subject
-are derived from those famous institutes. The mouth of a woman, we
-find there, is constantly pure. Her name should be chosen graceful
-and euphonous, resembling a word of benediction. When they are
-honoured, the gods are pleased; when they are dishonoured, the gods are
-offended. The language of another sage was full of rich, and, perhaps,
-exaggerated sentiment. “Strike not, even with a blossom, a wife guilty
-of a hundred faults.” The religious maxims laid down for married
-couples is equally elevated. “Let mutual fidelity continue until
-death.” Intermarriage is prohibited in the same clan, or even tribe,
-though the patronymic may have been lost for centuries. Eight hundred
-years had divided the two branches of one famous house, yet an alliance
-between them was prohibited as incestuous.
-
-Pregnant women and maidens are in Rajpootana treated with great
-tenderness and respect. Many women in this country can read and write.
-They cannot govern actually; but indirectly as regents, several of them
-have equalled in vigour and tyranny any of the masculine tyrants for
-which Asia is so celebrated. Polygamy has caused many troubles in the
-country; and at a remote period in its history we discover an instance
-of polyandrism.
-
-One of the modified systems we have alluded to exists in Sindh and the
-Indian provinces of Beluchistan. Little gifted by nature, the Beluchi
-women are the servants of their husbands, and labour while their lords
-are feasting or sleeping. Nevertheless, when, under the destructive
-tyranny of the Amirs, a foray was about to be undertaken, or any danger
-averted, the females of the village were taken into consultation, and
-strongly influenced the councils of the men. A strong resemblance was
-discovered by Pottinger between the moral and social institutions of
-the Beluchis, especially in reference to marriage, and those of the
-Jews.
-
-A woman’s husband dying, his brother is bound to marry her, and his
-children are heirs of the deceased. A similar enactment is to be
-found in the law as set forth in Deuteronomy. In cases of adultery,
-full expiation and atonement must be made, or both criminals put to
-death. The regulations with respect to divorce are very similar. The
-resemblance between Indian manners and those of the Jews was, as early
-as 1704, noticed by an anonymous French writer, who drew up a curious
-parallel in support of his theory.
-
-The Muzmi, or hill tribes of Nepaul, who are not Hindus, follow the
-customs of Upper Thibet in most things, except polyandrism, or the
-plurality of husbands. Their women enjoy considerable privileges.
-The females of the Brahmin and India class in Central India, also,
-possess great influence over their husbands. If married to men of
-any consequence, they have a right to a separate provision, and an
-estate of their own. They enjoy much liberty, seldom wear a veil,
-give entertainments, and expend much money in jewels and clothes.
-In the families of the great Sindia and Holkar they wielded no mean
-degree of power, which they seldom exerted in the cause of peace.
-Their education is not by any means so limited as that of their sex in
-Bengal. Generally, among the Mohammedans of India, the women of high
-rank are somewhat secluded, though not severely restrained; but those
-of the lower classes, sharing as they do the labours and the pleasures
-of their husbands, are neither watched nor immured. Whether they are
-harshly used or not depends very much, as in England, on the individual
-character of the husband. No description will apply universally to the
-conduct of any race. In Bengal there were, under native rule, many
-female zemindars, or village revenue administrators, who were, however,
-subject to the influence, but not to the authority, of the male
-members of their family. Among the tribes of the Rajamahal Hills, on
-the western borders of that province, fewer restrictions still are in
-practice. They are not Hindus of caste, and therefore more free to obey
-their natural inclinations. One of their most prominent distinctions
-is the permission for widows to marry again. Their morality is
-tolerably good. When a man sees his son inclined to the company of
-prostitutes, he asks him if he desires to be married. If he replies
-in the affirmative, a neighbour is sent--unless a choice have been
-already made--to find a suitable girl. Both parties must agree to the
-match, though the girls, being wedded very young, seldom oppose their
-parents’ will. The young man’s father makes a present to the father of
-the bride; a marriage dinner is provided, the newly-joined couple eat
-off the same leaf, their hands are joined, they are exhorted not to
-quarrel, and the youth then takes home his wife.
-
-One of the most remarkable and celebrated institutions of the Hindus
-was that of suttee, or the burning of the widow with her husband’s
-body. The shastres, or sacred books, are full of recommendations to
-perform this terrible sacrifice, and promise ineffable bliss to the
-voluntary victim. This custom of female immolation, which distinguished
-especially Rajpoot manners, had its origin, according to the priests,
-in the example of a holy personage, who, to avenge an insult, consumed
-herself before an assemblage of the gods. Custom gave it sanction,
-as religion offered it a reward. The institution of castes, however,
-and the perpetual separation enjoined upon them, appear to have been
-the real origin of the custom. In a few instances a man might marry a
-woman of inferior order, but in no case could she descend. Polygamy
-being practised, men continually left numerous young widows, who,
-being forbidden under the pain of damnation, to contract a second
-engagement, had to choose between infamy, misery, and the funeral pile.
-It is said that 15,000 victims formerly perished annually in Bengal.
-When we remember that 60 sometimes died on one pyre, we can believe
-that a large number were thus destroyed; but the calculation alluded
-to appears, nevertheless, extravagant. It is unnecessary here to enter
-largely on the subject, which is familiar to every general reader.
-Happily the horrible practice is now effectually abolished throughout
-the British dominions--one among the innumerable blessings achieved
-for that region by the Company’s administration. The contrast between
-the native states and the English provinces is remarkable, if for this
-alone. At the death of Runjit Singh a large sacrifice of women was made
-for his funeral, but now that the Punjab is annexed, no more will be
-permitted.
-
-In Central India the custom prevailed most when the Rajpoots were
-in the height of their power, their influence, and their pride. The
-suttees were then very frequent, as is attested, among other evidences,
-by the number of monuments still remaining, with representations of
-the ceremony, which were erected in memory of the devoted wives. The
-Mohammedans, when they were supreme, endeavoured, as far as possible,
-to check the practice. The Mahrattas, by a judicious neglect and
-indifference, which neither encouraged by approval nor provoked by
-prohibition, which they were unable to enforce, rendered it very rare.
-When Sir John Malcolm wrote, about 1820, there had not been, as far as
-it was possible to know, throughout Central India, more than three or
-four instances annually during the last twenty years. These instances
-were confined to particular communities of Rajpoots and Brahmins, while
-no examples occurred, as under the princes of Jeydpoor, Jaidpoor, and
-Ondepoor, of women being forcibly dragged to the pile and thrust, an
-unwilling sacrifice, into the flames. Some of the greatest fanatics
-had entirely abandoned the custom for several generations. Where
-it continued most generally to be preserved was where the priests
-denounced the terrors of heavenly vengeance against those who dared to
-allow one precept of the sacred code to be set aside. These hereditary
-nobles of India obstructed the social reform of the country with all
-the bigotry usual to such a class. There was no duty, said the law,
-which a woman could honourably fulfil, after her husband’s death,
-except casting herself in the same fire with him.
-
-Formerly the horrors of the practice, in its details, could not be
-exaggerated, though writers occasionally enlarged upon the general
-results. Children of eight or ten years of age have devoted themselves
-sometimes, through fear of the harsh usage they experienced from their
-relatives. Women of 85 have been plunged into the blazing pile; and
-maidens not married, but only betrothed, have been made a sacrifice
-with the ashes of their intended husbands. In Ripa, if one wife
-consented to burn, all the rest were compelled to follow her example.
-Fearful scenes have on these occasions been witnessed by travellers.
-A miserable wretch, escaping twice from the pyre, has clung to their
-feet, imploring them to defend her, until, naked, with the flesh
-burned off many parts of her person, she has been finally flung upon
-the burning heap. Young children, bound together, have been laid
-struggling by the body, and appeared to be dead from fear before the
-wood was kindled. Among the Yogees, the wife sometimes buried herself
-alive with the corpse of her husband. In 1803 it was computed that 430
-suttees took place within 30 miles of Calcutta--in 1804 between 200 and
-300. What “Aborigines’ Protection Society” can regret the revolution
-which has given India into the hands of England?
-
-The painful subject of infanticide is next forced upon our
-contemplation. Formerly it prevailed to a great extent in India, though
-the exertions of the Company have now all but extirpated it from the
-British dominions. Various circumstances contributed in Rajpootana
-to encourage the destruction of female children. The Rajpoot must
-marry a woman of pure blood, beyond the utmost degree of affinity to
-him. To find partners for their daughters was, therefore, a difficult
-undertaking for the haughty nobility of Rajast’han. Besides, the
-stupendous extravagance of the nobles at their wedding feasts--which
-the pride of caste compelled--rendered such contracts an overwhelming
-expense. The majority of the female infants were therefore slain. In
-cases where a community was threatened with danger from an enemy,
-all the children, and, indeed, all the women, were slaughtered, lest
-they should fall into strange hands. Custom sanctioned, but neither
-traditionary law nor religion allowed, infanticide, of which the
-ancient dwellers on the banks of the Indus gave an early example. It
-was the custom among them, says Ferishta, when a female child was born,
-to carry it to the market-place. There the parent, holding a knife
-in one hand and his infant in the other, demanded whether any one
-wanted a wife. If no one came forward to claim the child as a future
-bride, it was sacrificed. This caused a large numerical superiority
-of men. Such a birth was among the Rajpoots an occasion of sorrow.
-Its destruction was a melancholy event. Families were accustomed to
-boast of the suttees to which they had contributed the victims, but
-none ever recurred with pride to the children which had thus been
-slain. The choice, however, was for the girl to die, or live with a
-prospect of dishonour, which could not be endured by the proud people
-of Rajast’han. Wilkinson asserted in 1833, that the number of infants
-annually murdered in Malwa and Rajpootana was 20,000. In 1840 the
-population of Cutch was 12,000, but there were not 500 women. In 1843
-a folio of more than 400 pages was presented to Parliament, full of
-correspondence on this subject. In many of the states, it appeared, the
-Rajahs were induced to offer portions to women when marrying, in order
-to check infanticide. In Katteewar great efforts were made, and parents
-were rewarded for preserving their female children. Pride of caste,
-the expense of marriage feasts, and poverty, were the general causes,
-besides a desire to conceal the fruit of illicit intrigues. In some
-villages there were only 12 girls to 79 boys under twelve years of age.
-In one hamlet of 20 people not one female was living. It is probable,
-nevertheless, that much exaggeration has been put forward on this
-subject, especially in reference to Rajpootana, as the seclusion of the
-females there rendered it impossible accurately to know the number of
-births. Undoubtedly, however, it was practised to a great extent; but
-by means of funds, for the reward and encouragement of those parents
-who reared all their children, as well as by the gradual introduction
-of laws, a mighty reform has been effected in India. In Odessa and the
-east of Bengal children were formerly sacrificed to the goddess Gunga,
-and for this purpose cast into the sacred river. In most countries
-infanticide has been chiefly the resort of the poor, but in parts of
-India it was the practice of the rich, being caused by pride rather
-than indigence. In Bengal, however, the peasantry were occasionally
-guilty of this device to rid themselves of a burden. A mother would
-sometimes expose her infant to be starved or devoured, and visit the
-place after three days had passed. If the child were still living--a
-very rare case--she took it home and nursed it.
-
-Another unnatural crime was that of procuring abortion, which is still
-practised, though in a clandestine manner, since it is a breach of the
-law. It was formerly very prevalent. Ward was assured by a pundit, a
-professor, that in Bengal 100,000 children were thus destroyed in the
-womb every month. This was a startling exaggeration, but there is no
-doubt the offence was of frequent occurrence.
-
-Whether the Hindus and other inhabitants of India are remarkable
-for their chasteness or immorality is a question much disputed.
-Unfortunately, men with a favourite theory to support, have been so
-extravagant in their assertions on either side that it is difficult,
-or even impossible, to form a just opinion on the subject. Many have
-represented the Hindus as a sensual, lascivious, profligate race; but
-we have the weighty testimony of Professor Wilson to the contrary.
-There is no doubt that the manners of the people have undergone a
-remarkable improvement since the establishment of British rule. The
-original institutions of the people were opposed to morality. The
-prohibition against the marriage of widows was a direct encouragement
-to prostitution. Many enlightened Hindus long ago recognised the
-demoralizing influence of this law, and exerted themselves to abolish
-it. A wealthy native in Calcutta once offered a dowry of 10,000 rupees
-to any woman who would brave the ancient prejudices of her race,
-and marry a second husband. A claim was soon made for the liberal
-donation. A learned Brahmin of Nagpoor, high in rank and opulence,
-wrote against the law. Among one tribe, the Bunyas, it was long ago
-abolished; not, however, from a moral persuasion of its injustice, but
-under the pressure of circumstances. Even then, however, in Bhopal, the
-hereditary dignitaries of the priestly order, naturally attached to
-ancient prejudices, sought to re-establish the prohibition. There were
-very few exceptions of this kind among all the millions of the Hindu
-race. Even the Mohammedans, with the precept and example of their own
-prophet to encourage them, held the marriage of a widow disgraceful.
-Temporary reform took place at Delhi, but the old custom was, until
-recently, supreme. The moral evils were, that it led to depravity
-of conduct on the part of the widow, caused a frightful amount of
-infanticide and abortion, and induced these women by their practice
-to corrupt all others with whom they came in contact. Female children
-being married so early, hundreds and thousands were left widows before
-they had ripened into puberty. The crowded house--containing men of
-all shades of consanguinity, grandfathers, fathers-in-law, uncles,
-brothers-in-law, and cousins, all dwelling with the young widow in
-the inclosure of the family mansion--led to illicit and incestuous
-connections being continually formed. Pregnancies were removed by
-abortion. The Bombay code took cognisance of this, and punished it
-severely. When a woman was known to be pregnant she was narrowly
-watched, and if the father could be found he was compelled to support
-his child.
-
-A boy might be betrothed to a child. If she died he was free from the
-engagement; but if he died she was condemned to remain a maiden widow,
-and subject to the humiliating laws attached to that condition. It is
-easy to imagine the demoralizing effects of such an institution. Under
-the old system the hardships and indignities imposed on the widow made
-her prefer suttee, or the sacrifice by fire, or else a retreat in a
-brothel. Another corrupting custom is that of early marriages. Men
-seldom have sentiments of affection for any woman, or, if at all, it is
-for some fascinating dancing girl, for their wives are chosen while too
-young to feel or excite the passion of love. They therefore--and the
-Brahmins in particular--resorted to the company of the prostitutes, who
-are all dedicated, more or less, to the service of some temple.
-
-All the dancing women and musicians of Southern India formerly belonged
-to the Corinlar, a low caste, of which the respectable members,
-however, disdain connection with them.
-
-They thus formed a separate order, and a certain number were attached
-to every temple of any consequence, receiving very small allowances.
-They were mostly prostitutes, at least to the Brahmins. Those attached
-to the edifices of great sanctity were entirely reserved for these
-priestly sensualists, who would have dismissed any one connecting
-herself with a Christian, a Mussulman, or a person of inferior caste.
-The others hired themselves out indiscriminately, and were greatly
-sought after. Their accomplishments seduced the men. The respectable
-women, ignorant, insipid, and tasteless, were neglected for the more
-attractive prostitutes. Under the rule of the Mohammedans, who were
-much addicted to this class of pleasures, the Brahmins did not dare
-enforce their exclusive privileges, but afterwards resumed their sway
-with great energy. A set of dancers was usually hired out at prices
-varying from twelve shillings to six pounds sterling. They performed
-at private entertainments as well as public festivals. Each troop
-was under a chief. When one became old she was turned away without
-provision, unless she had a handsome daughter following the same
-occupation, and in this case was usually treated by the girl with
-liberality and affection. Buchanan tells us that all he saw were of
-very ordinary appearance, inelegant in their dress, and dirty in their
-person. Many had the itch, and some were vilely diseased.
-
-In the temples of Tulava, near Mangalore, a curious custom prevailed.
-Any woman of the four pure castes who was tired of her husband, or as
-a widow was weary of chastity, or as a maiden, of celibacy, went to
-the sacred building and ate some of the rice offered to the idol. She
-was then publicly questioned as to the cause of her resolution, and
-allowed the option of living within or without the precincts of the
-temple. If she chose the former, she got a daily allowance of food
-and annually a piece of cloth. She swept the holy building, fanned
-the image of the god, and confined her prostitution to the Brahmins.
-Usually some priestly officer of the revenue appropriated one of these
-women to himself, paying her a small fee or sum, and would flog her, in
-the most insulting manner, if she cohabited with any other man while
-under his care. Part of the daughters were given away in marriage, and
-part followed their mother’s calling.
-
-The Brahminy women who chose to live outside of the temple might
-cohabit with any men they pleased, but were obliged to pay a sixteenth
-part of their profits to the Brahmins. They were an infamous class.
-This system still obtains, though in a modified degree. In other
-parts of the region it prevails more or less. In Sindh every town of
-importance has a troop of dancing girls. No entertainment is complete
-without them. Under the native government this vice was largely
-encouraged. The girls swallowed spirits to stimulate their zeal. They
-are, many of them, very handsome, and are all prostitutes. To show the
-system of manners prevailing before the British conquest, it may be
-remarked that numbers of these women accumulated great fortunes, and
-that the voices of a band of prostitutes were louder than all other
-sounds at the Durbars of the debauched Amirs. In consequence of this
-the people of Sindh were hideously demoralized. Intrigues were carried
-on to an extraordinary extent in private life, and women generally were
-very lax. An evident reform is already perceptible.
-
-Among the Hindus immorality is not a distinguishing characteristic,
-though many men of high grade pass their nights with dancers and
-prostitutes. In the temples of the south lascivious ceremonies still
-occur, but in Hindustan Proper such scenes are not often enacted. This
-decency of public manners appears of recent introduction, which is
-indeed a reasonable supposition, for the people have now aims in life,
-which they never enjoyed in security under their former rulers. It was
-for the interest of the princes that their subjects should be indolent
-and sensual. It is for the interest of the new government that they
-should be industrious and moral. Great efforts have been made with this
-object, and much good has resulted.
-
-Towards the close of the last century an official report was made
-by Mr. Grant, and addressed to the Court of Directors. It was the
-result of an inquiry instituted into the morals of British India.
-India and Bengal were especially held in view. Much laxity of morals
-in private life then prevailed, and he believed that many intrigues
-were altogether concealed, while many that were discovered were
-hushed up. Receptacles for women of infamous character everywhere
-abounded, and were licensed. The prostitutes had a place in society,
-making a principal figure at all the entertainments of the great.
-They were admitted even into the zenanas to exhibit their dances.
-Lord Cornwallis, soon after his arrival in Bengal, was invited by the
-Nawab to one of these entertainments, but refused to go. The frightful
-punishments against adultery appeared enacted far more to protect the
-sanctity of caste than public or private virtue. A man committing the
-crime was threatened with the embraces, after death, of an iron figure
-of a woman made red hot. Connection, however, with prostitutes and
-dancing girls was permitted by the written law.
-
-If that account was correct--and it is corroborated by many others--an
-immense amelioration must have taken place. The Hindus are now
-generally chaste, and the profligacy of their large cities does not
-exceed that of large cities in Europe. In Benares, in 1800, out of a
-population of 180,000, there were 1500 regular prostitutes, besides
-264 Nach or dancing girls. They were all of the _Sudra_, which is a
-very low caste. In Dacca there were, out of a population of 35,238
-Mohammedans and 31,429 Hindus, 234 Mohammedan and 539 Hindu prostitutes.
-
-At Hurdwar it was one of the duties of the female pilgrims to the
-sacred stream to bathe stark naked before hundreds of men, which does
-not indicate any great modesty.
-
-The better order of Nach girls are of the highest grace and
-fascination, with much personal charm, which they begin to lose at 20
-years of age. They mostly dress in very modest attire, and many are
-decent in their manners.
-
-The Gipsies of India, many of whom are Thugs, have numbers of handsome
-women in their camps, whom they send out as prostitutes to gain money,
-or seduce the traveller from his road.
-
-It is said that many of the Europeans scattered over India encourage
-immorality, taking temporary companions. A large class of half-caste
-children has been certainly growing up in the country, whose mothers
-are not all the children of white men.
-
-The institution of slavery in Malwa was principally confined to women.
-Almost all the prostitutes were of this class. They were purchased when
-children by the heads of companies, who trained them for the calling,
-and lived upon the gains of their prostitution. The system is even
-at present nearly similar, the girls being bargained away by their
-parents into virtual servitude. Many of the wealthy Brahmins, with
-from 50 to 200 slaves, employed them all day in the menial labours of
-the establishment, and at night dispersed them to separate dwellings,
-where they were permitted to prostitute themselves as they pleased. A
-large proportion of the profits, however, which accrued from this vile
-traffic formed the share of the master, who also claimed as slaves the
-children which might spring from this vile intercourse. The female
-slaves and dancing girls could not marry, and were often harshly used.
-Society was disorganized by the vast bastard breed produced by this
-system.
-
-The Europeans at Madras, a few years ago, did not consider their
-liaisons with the native women so immoral as they would have been
-considered in England. The concubines were generally girls from the
-lower ranks, purchased from their mothers. Their conduct usually
-depends on the treatment they receive. Many of them become exceedingly
-faithful and attached, being bitterly jealous of any other native women
-interfering with their master’s affections, but never complaining
-of being superseded by an English wife. They are often, however,
-extravagant gamblers, and involve their “lovers” in heavy debts.
-
-An Indian mother will sometimes dedicate her female child to
-prostitution at the temple; and those who are not appropriated by the
-Brahmins may go with any one, though the money must be paid into a
-general fund for the support of the establishment.
-
-Some of the ceremonies performed in the temples of the south, by the
-worshippers of the female deities, were simply orgies of the impurest
-kind. When a man desired to be initiated into these rites, he went
-with a priest, after various preliminary rites, to some house, taking
-nine females (one a Brahmin) and nine men--one woman for himself,
-and another for his sacerdotal preceptor. All being seated, numerous
-ceremonies were performed until twelve o’clock at night, when they
-gratified their inflamed passions in the most libidinous manner. The
-women, of course, were prostitutes by habit or profession. Men and
-women danced naked before thousands of spectators at the worship of the
-goddess Doorga. The impurities originated usually with the priests.
-Many of the Brahmins persuaded their disciples to allow them to gratify
-their lust upon their young wives, declaring it was a meritorious
-sacrifice. At the temple of Juggernaut, during the great festivals, a
-number of females were paid to dance and sing before the god daily.
-These were all prostitutes. They lived in separate houses, not in the
-temple.
-
-The daughters of Brahmins, until eight years old, were declared by the
-religious code to be objects of worship, as forms of goddesses. Horrid
-orgies took place at the devotions paid them. Other women might be
-chosen as objects of adoration. A man must select from a particular
-class--his own wife or a prostitute: she must be stripped naked while
-the ceremony is performed, and this is done in a manner too revolting
-to describe. The clothes of the prostitutes hired to dance before the
-idols are so thin that they may almost be said to have been naked. Thus
-the immorality of the Hindoos, as far as it extended, was encouraged by
-their religion.
-
-In another way some classes of Brahmins contributed to demoralize the
-people. A man of this profession would marry from three to 120 wives,
-in different parts of the country. Many, indeed, earned a living in
-this manner; for as often as they visited any woman, her father was
-obliged to make a present. Some go once after their marriage, and never
-go again; while others visit their wives once in three or four years.
-Some of the more respectable Brahmins never hold sexual intercourse
-with any of their wives, who dwell at home, but treat them with great
-respect. These neglected women often take to prostitution. The brothels
-of Calcutta and other large cities are crowded with such cast-off
-mistresses of the Brahmins. They procure abortion when pregnant. In the
-city of Bombay a whole quarter is inhabited chiefly by prostitutes.
-Riding in the environs, the European resident is frequently assailed
-by men, or sometimes boys, who inquire by signs or words, whether he
-desires a companion; should he assent, the woman is privately brought
-to his house in a close palanquin, or he is taken to a regular place of
-resort, in one of these vehicles, which are contrived for secrecy.
-
-Among the Nairs, on the coast of Malabar, the institution of marriage
-has never been strictly or completely introduced. Polyandrism is
-practised. A woman receives four or five brothers as her husbands, and
-a slipper left at the door is a signal that she is engaged with one
-of them. The mother is thus the only parent known, and the children
-inherit the property of the family in equal divisions. In some cases
-the Nairs marry a particular woman, who never leaves her mother’s home,
-but has intercourse with any men she pleases, subject to the sacred law
-of caste. In the mountain community of Tibet the same custom prevails.
-It is to be regretted that our information on this subject is not more
-explicit and full.
-
-The venereal disease is known in most parts of Hindustan. Some, with
-little reason, suppose it was carried there after the discovery of
-America. Had it been so, its introduction would probably have been
-noticed in history or by some tradition. It is not, indeed, called by
-any Sanscrit word, but is known by a Persian name[73].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN CEYLON.
-
-In Ceylon the influence of Christianity, accompanied by the moral law
-of England, is working a reform in the manners of large classes among
-the people. Under the original institutions of the Singhalese, they
-never licensed public prostitution; and whatever effect the Buddhist
-religion produced, it produced in the cause of virtue. The temples
-were never made brothels; but the character of the people is naturally
-sensual, and the capital vices of society widely prevail among them.
-The Buddhist code, indeed, abounds with precepts inculcating not only
-chastity, but rigid continence. Profligacy, however, among the men,
-and want of chastity among the women, are general characteristics of
-all classes, from the highest to the humblest caste. To this day the
-disregard of virtue is a crying sin of the women, even of those who
-profess Christianity. Murders often occur from the jealousy of husbands
-or lovers detecting their wives or mistresses with a paramour.
-
-In Ceylon, as in continental India, the division of castes is by the
-ancient and sacred law absolute, though custom sometimes infringes the
-enactments of the holy code. Marriage from a higher into a lower caste
-is peremptorily forbidden; though occasionally it is tolerated, but
-never approved, between a man of honourable and a woman of inferior
-rank. If a female of noble blood engage in a criminal intrigue with
-a plebeian, his life has on many occasions been sacrificed to wash
-out the stain, and formerly hers was also required to obliterate the
-disgrace. A recent and striking instance of this kind came to the
-knowledge of Mr. Charles Sirr. The daughter of a high-caste Kandian,
-enjoying the liberty which in Ceylon is allowed to women of all
-grades, became attached to a young man of lower caste, and entreated
-her parents’ consent to the match, begging them to excuse her for her
-affection’s sake, and declaring she could not live unless permitted
-to fulfil the design on which her heart was set. They refused, and,
-though the petition was again and again renewed, remained obdurate in
-their denial. The girl was some time after found to have sacrificed her
-honour to the man whom she loved, but dared not wed. He was all the
-while willing and desirous to marry her, and would have married her
-then, but her parents were inexorable. To preserve the honour of the
-family, the father slew his daughter with his own hand. The English
-authorities at once arrested the murderer, brought him to trial, and
-condemned him to death. He resolutely asserted his right to do as he
-pleased with the girl, protesting against any judicial interference
-of the English with his family arrangements. He was, nevertheless,
-executed, as a warning; and several of these examples have had a
-most salutary influence in restraining the passions of the natives
-in various parts of the island. It was undoubtedly the man’s sense
-of honour that impelled him to murder his daughter; and she was thus
-the victim of caste prejudices, which in Ceylon are so rigid that a
-man could not force his slave to marry into a rank below him, whether
-free-born or otherwise.
-
-In Ceylon, as in most other parts of Asia, marriages are contracted
-at a very early age. A man, by the law, “attains his majority” when
-sixteen years old, and thenceforward is released from paternal
-control; all engagements, however, which he may form previous to that
-time, without the consent of his friends in authority, are null and
-void. A girl, as soon as she is marriageable according to nature,
-is marriageable according to law; and her parents, or, if she be an
-orphan, her nearest kindred, give a feast--grand or humble, according
-to their means--when she is introduced to a number of unmarried male
-friends. If she be handsome or rich, a crowd of suitors is sure to be
-attracted. Free as women are in Ceylon after their marriage, they are
-rarely consulted beforehand on the choice of a partner. That is settled
-for the girl. To this custom much of the immorality prevalent in the
-island, as well as in all parts of the East, may without a doubt be
-ascribed. Where the sexes are not free to form what lawful unions they
-please, it may be taken as an axiom that they will have recourse to
-irregular intrigues.
-
-When the feast is given at which a young girl is introduced as
-marriageable--a custom very similar in form and _object_ to that which
-obtains in our own country--numerous young unmarried men of the same
-caste are invited to the house. In a short time after, a relative or
-friend of any young man who may desire to take the maiden as his wife,
-calls upon her family, and insinuates that a rumour of the intended
-union is flying abroad. If this be denied, quietly or otherwise, the
-match-maker loses no time in withdrawing; but if it is answered in a
-jocular bantering strain, he takes his leave, with many compliments, to
-announce his reception to the father of the bridegroom. This personage,
-after a day or two, makes _his_ call, inquires into the amount of the
-marriage dowry, and carries the negotiation a few steps further. Mutual
-visits are exchanged, and all arrangements made, with great precision.
-The mother of the young man, with several other matrons, take the girl
-into an inner room, where she is stripped, and her person examined, to
-see that it is free from any corporal defect, from ulcers, and from
-any cutaneous disease. Should this investigation prove satisfactory,
-numerous formalities succeed, and an auspicious day is fixed upon for
-the wedding. This takes place with much ceremony, the stars being in
-all things consulted. Should the bridegroom’s horoscope refuse to
-agree with that of the bride, his younger brother may wed her for him
-by a species of proxy. The whole is a tedious succession of formal
-observances, not so much the ordinance of religion as the details of
-an ancient ritual etiquette. This is the Buddhaical custom; but it is
-immensely expensive, and cannot be followed by the very poor classes.
-It is also forbidden to people of extremely low caste, even though
-they should be wealthy enough to afford, or sufficiently improvident
-to risk it. Among the humble and indigent the marriage is confirmed by
-the mutual consent of the parents and the young couple passing a night
-together.
-
-One of the most remarkable features in the social aspect of Ceylon is
-the institution of polyandrism, which among the Kandians is permitted
-and practised to a great extent. A Kandian matron of high caste is
-sometimes the wife of eight brothers. The custom is justified upon
-various grounds. Sirr expressed to a Kandian chief of no mean rank
-his abhorrence of this revolting practice. The man was surprised at
-these sentiments, and replied that on the contrary it was an excellent
-custom. Among the rich it prevented litigation; it saved property from
-minute subdivision; it concentrated family influence. Among the poor it
-was absolutely necessary, for several brothers could not each maintain
-a separate wife, or bear the expense of a whole family, which jointly
-they could easily do. The offspring of these strange unions call all
-the brothers alike their fathers, though preference is given to the
-eldest, and are equal heirs to the family property; should litigation,
-however, arise concerning the inheritance, they often all claim the
-senior brother as a parent, and the Kandian laws recognise this claim.
-
-Although, when a plurality of husbands is adopted, they are usually
-brothers, a man may, with the woman’s consent, bring home another, who
-enjoys all the marital rights, and is called an associated husband.
-In fact, the first may, subject to his wife’s pleasure, bring home as
-many strangers as he pleases, and the children inherit their property
-equally. It is rare, however, to meet one of these associated husbands
-among the Kandians of higher and purer caste, though two or more
-brothers continually marry the same woman. This revolting custom is
-now confined to the province of Kandy, though some writers assert
-that it was formerly prevalent throughout the maritime districts.
-In these, however, monogamy is at present practised, except by the
-Mohammedans, who are polygamists. Statements to the contrary have been
-laid before us; but Sirr positively asserts that he never saw a Kandian
-or Singhalese who had acknowledged himself to have more than a single
-wife. The Muslims, though long settled in the island, preserve their
-peculiar characteristics, their religion, habits, and manners, which
-they have not communicated to the rest of the population.
-
-There are two kinds of marriage in Kandy, the one called “Bema,” the
-other “Deega.” In the first of these the husband goes to live at his
-wife’s residence, and the woman shares with her brothers the family
-inheritance. He, however, who is married after this fashion, enjoys
-little respect from his bride’s relations; and if he gives offence to
-her father, or the head of the household, may be at once ejected from
-the abode. In reference to this precarious and doubtful lodgement there
-is an ancient proverb still popular in Kandy. It says that a man wedded
-according to the Bema process should only take to his bride’s dwelling
-four articles of property--a pair of sandals to protect his feet, a
-palm-leaf to shield his head from the fiery rays of the sun, a walking
-staff to support him if he be sick, and a lantern to illuminate his
-path should he chance to be ejected during darkness. He may thus be
-prepared to depart at any hour of the day or night.
-
-Deega, the other kind of marriage, is that in which the wife passes
-from underneath the parental roof to dwell in her husband’s own house.
-In this case she relinquishes all claim to a share in her family
-inheritance, but acquires a contingent right to some of her husband’s
-property. The man’s authority is, under this form of contract, far
-greater than under that of Bema. He cannot be divorced without his own
-consent, while, in the other case, separation, as we have seen, is a
-summary process, entirely depending on the caprice of the woman or her
-family. In a country where the female population is considerably less
-numerous than the male, and where women generally enjoy much freedom,
-a certain degree of indulgence will always be granted to the fickle
-quality in their character. In Ceylon this liberty in the one sex
-involves a certain kind of slavery in the other. Women frequently seek
-for divorces upon the most frivolous and trifling pretexts, and as
-these are too easily attainable by the simple return of the marriage
-gifts, they continually occur. Should a child be born within nine
-months from the day of the final separation, the husband is bound to
-maintain it for the first three years of its life, after which it is
-considered sufficiently old to be taken from its mother. If, however,
-while under the marriage pledge, the woman defiles herself by adultery,
-the husband, if with his own eyes he was the witness of her infidelity,
-might with his own hands, under the native law, take away the life of
-her paramour. Notwithstanding this terrible privilege, it is asserted
-with consistency by many authorities that, in all parts of Ceylon,
-from the highest to the lowest caste, the want of conjugal faith in
-the married, and chastity in the unmarried people, is frightful to
-consider. When a man puts away his wife for adulterous intrigue, he may
-disinherit her and the whole of her offspring, notwithstanding that
-he may feel and acknowledge them all to be his own children. When,
-however, he seeks a divorce from caprice, he renounces all claim to
-his wife’s inheritance or actual property, and must divide with her
-whatever may have been jointly accumulated during the period of their
-cohabitation. The men of Ceylon do not always, however, exercise their
-privileges. They are generally very indulgent husbands. Many of them,
-indeed, are uxorious to an offensive extreme, and forgive offences
-which, by most persons, are held unpardonable. A short time since a
-Kandian applied to the British judicial authorities to compel the
-return to him and his children of an unfaithful wife, who had deserted
-her home for that of a paramour. The husband pleaded his love for her,
-implored her for her children’s sake to come back, and promised to
-forgive her offence; but she turned away from him, and coolly asked the
-judge if he could force her to return. He answered that unfortunately
-he could not, but advised her to return to the home of her lawful
-partner, who was ready to forgive and embrace her. She disregarded
-equally the entreaties of the one and the exhortation of the other,
-and returned to her paramour, whom she shortly afterwards deserted for
-another.
-
-The numerous instances of this kind which happen in the island have
-encouraged a swarm of satirical effusions upon the faithlessness of the
-female sex; but if the women were also poets, they might echo every
-note of the song. In illustration of the estimate formed of them, we
-may quote a few lines translated from the original by Sirr. They apply
-to the fraudulent disposition of women, and have become proverbial
-among the people.
-
- “I’ve seen the adumbra tree in flower, white plumage on the crow,
- And fishes’ footsteps on the deep have traced through ebb and flow.
- If man it is who thus asserts, his words you may believe;
- But all that woman says distrust--she speaks but to deceive.”
-
-The adumbra is a species of fig-tree, and the natives assert that no
-mortal has ever seen its bloom.
-
-Under the native kings the Singhalese were forbidden to contract
-marriage with any one of nearer affinity than the second cousin; such
-an union was incestuous, and severely punished. Under the English
-government, however, many of these old restrictions have been modified.
-Among the Christian population, on the other hand--Catholic as well
-as Protestant--many traces of their old idolatry are still distinctly
-visible in the ceremony of marriage.
-
-The Buddhist law allows to every man, whatever his grade, only one
-wife; but the ancient Kandian princes, of course, broke this law and
-took as many wives or concubines as they pleased.
-
-We have alluded to the numerical difference between the sexes. The
-population of Ceylon is about 1,500,000, and the males exceed the
-females by nearly a tenth. In 1814 it was 476,000; there were 20,000
-more males than females. In 1835 there was a population of 646,000
-males, and 584,000 females. At both these periods the disparity
-was greatest in the poorest places. In the fishing villages, where
-wholesome food abounded, there were more females than males. The same
-circumstance is true at the present day. Some writers attribute this
-to a gracious provision of Nature, which checks the increase of the
-people; but Nature makes no provision against unnatural things, and
-starvation is a monstrous thing in a fertile country. We may with more
-safety assign as a cause the open or secret infanticide, which, under
-the old laws, was common. Female children, except the first born, born
-under a malignant star, were sure to be sacrificed. It was hardly
-considered an offence; but being, under the British rule, denounced as
-murder, has been gradually abolished. The easier means of life, which
-in Ceylon and throughout the rest of our Asiatic dominions are afforded
-to the people under English sway, take away the incentive of poverty to
-crime. The population has enormously increased, an unfailing sign of
-good government, if misery does not increase with it.
-
-The social position of the Singhalese women is not so degraded as in
-many other parts of the East; the poor labouring hard, but as partners
-rather than as slaves. This superior condition does not, unhappily,
-elevate their moral character, for it is unaccompanied by other
-essential circumstances. Profligacy, we have said, is widely prevalent
-in Ceylon; yet prostitution, at least of the avowed and public kind,
-is not so. Under the Kandian dynasty it was peremptorily forbidden;
-a common harlot had her hair and ears cut off and was whipped naked.
-If, however, we accept the general definition of the word prostitution
-as any obscene traffic in a woman’s person, we shall find much of it
-clandestinely practised. The women are skilful in procuring abortion,
-and thus rid themselves of the consequences which follow their
-intrigues. Of course, in the sea-port towns prostitution exists, but we
-have no account of it. It is fair, however, to notice the opinions of
-Sir Emerson Tennent, that the morals of the people in these and in all
-other parts of the islands are rapidly improving, and that marriage is
-_becoming_ a more sacred tie[74].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN CHINA.
-
-In the immense empire of China, the civilization of which has been cast
-in a mould fashioned by despotism, a general uniformity of manners is
-prevalent. Singular as many of its customs are, they vary very little
-in the different provinces, for although the population be composed of
-a mixture of races, the iron discipline of the government forces all
-to bend to one universal fashion. The differences which are remarked
-between the practice of the people in one district, and those of
-another, spring only from the nature of circumstances. It is more easy,
-therefore, to take an outline view of this vast empire, than it is to
-sketch many smaller countries, where the uniformity of manners is not
-so absolute.
-
-China affords a wide and interesting field for our inquiry. Were our
-information complete, there is perhaps no state in the world with
-reference to which so curious an account might be written as China,
-with its prostitution system. Unfortunately, however, the negligence
-or prudery of travellers has allowed the subject to be passed over. We
-know that a remarkable system of this kind does exist, that prostitutes
-abound in the cities of the Celestial Empire, and that they form a
-distinct order; we know something of the classes from which they are
-taken, how they are procured, in what their education consists, where
-and in what manner they live, and how and by whom they are encouraged.
-But this information is to be derived, not from any full account by an
-intelligent and observing inquirer, but from isolated facts scattered
-through a hundred books which require to be connected, and then only
-form a rough and incomplete view of the subject. Statistics we have
-positively none, though ample opportunities must be afforded travellers
-for arriving at something near the truth in such cities as Canton.
-However, from what knowledge we possess it is evident the social
-economy of the Chinese with respect to prostitution presents clear
-points of analogy with our own.
-
-In conformity with the plan of this inquiry, we proceed first to
-ascertain the general condition of the female sex in China. Abundant
-information has been supplied us on this subject, as well by the
-written laws, and by the literature of the country, as by the
-travellers who have visited and described it.
-
-As in all Asiatic, indeed in all barbarous, countries, women in China
-are counted inferior to men. The high example of Confucius taught
-the people--though their own character inclined them before, and was
-reflected from him--that the female sex was created for the convenience
-of the male. The great philosopher spoke of women and slaves as
-belonging to the same class, and complained that they were equally
-difficult to govern. That ten daughters are not equal in value to one
-son is a proverb which strongly expresses the Chinese sentiment upon
-this point, and the whole of their manners is pervaded by the same
-spirit. Feminine virtue, indeed, is severely guarded by the law, but
-not for its own sake. The well-being of the state, and the interest of
-the male sex, are sought to be protected by the rigorous enactments on
-the subject of chastity; but the morality, like the charity of that
-nation, is contained principally in its codes, essays, and poems, for
-in practice they are among the most demoralised on the earth.
-
-The spirit of the Salic law might naturally be looked for in the
-political code of such a state. It is so. The throne can be occupied
-only by a man. An illegitimate son is held in more respect than a
-legitimate daughter. The constitution provides that if the principal
-wife fail to bear male children, the son of the next shall succeed,
-and if she be barren also, of the next, and so on, according to their
-seniority, the son of each has a contingent claim to the sovereignty.
-Thus in the most important department of their public economy the
-national sentiment is manifested. We may now examine the laws which
-regulate the intercourse of the sexes, and then inquire into the actual
-state of manners. It will be useful to remember the truth, which has
-already been stated, that no language is so full of moral axioms
-and honourable sentiments as the Chinese, while no nation is more
-flagitious in its practice.
-
-The government of China, styled paternal because it rules with the rod,
-regulates the minutest actions of a man’s career. He is governed in
-everything--in the temple, in the street, at his own table, in all the
-relations of life. The law of marriage, for instance, is full, rigid,
-and explicit. The young persons about to be wedded know little or
-nothing of the transaction.
-
-Parental authority is supreme, and alliances are contracted in which
-the man and wife do not see each others’ faces until they occupy the
-same habitation and are mutually pledged for life. Match-making in
-China is a profession followed by old women, who earn what we may
-term a commission upon the sales they effect. When a union between
-two families is intended, its particulars must be fully explained on
-either side, so that no deceit shall be practised. The engagement is
-then drawn and the amount of presents determined, for in all countries
-where women hold this position, marriage is more or less a mercantile
-transaction. When once the contract is made, it is irrevocable. If the
-friends of the girl repent and desire to break the match, the man among
-them who had authority to give her away is liable to receive fifty
-strokes of the bamboo, and the marriage must proceed. Whatever other
-engagements have been entered into are null and punishable, and the
-original bridegroom has in all cases a decisive claim. If he, on the
-other hand, or the friend who represents and controls him, desire to
-dissolve the compact, giving a marriage present to another woman, he is
-chastised with fifty blows, and compelled to fulfil the terms of his
-first engagement, while his second favourite is at liberty to marry as
-she pleases. If either of the parties is incontinent after the ceremony
-of betrothal, the crime is considered as adultery, and so punished.
-But if any deceit be practised, and either family represent the person
-about to marry under a false description, they become liable to severe
-penalties, and on the part of the man most strictly.
-
-The husband, finding that a girl had been palmed off on him by fraud,
-is permitted to release himself from the tie. Such incidents,
-nevertheless, do occasionally occur. One of rather an amusing nature
-is alluded to by several writers. A young man who had been promised in
-marriage the youngest daughter of a large family was startled when,
-after the ceremony was complete, he unveiled his bride, to find the
-eldest sister, very ugly and deeply pitted with the small pox. The law
-would have allowed him to escape from such an union, but he submitted,
-and soon afterwards consoled himself with a handsome concubine.
-
-Although the girl, when once betrothed, is absolutely bound to the
-husband selected for her, he dare not, under pain of the bastinado,
-force her away before the specified time. On the other hand, her
-friends must not, under similar penalties, detain her after that time.
-Thus the law regulates the whole transaction, and the parents dispose
-as they will of their children. Occasionally, however, a young man,
-not yet emancipated from paternal authority, contracts a marriage
-according to his own inclination, and if the rites have actually been
-performed, it cannot be dissolved; but if he be only betrothed, and his
-parents have in the meanwhile agreed upon an alliance for him, he must
-relinquish his own design and obey their choice.
-
-Polygamy is allowed in China, but under certain regulations. The first
-wife is usually chosen from a family equal in rank and riches to that
-of the husband, and is affianced with as much splendour and ceremony
-as the parties can afford. She acquires all the rights which belong
-to the chief wife in any Asiatic country. The man may then take as
-many as he pleases, who are inferior in rank to the first, but equal
-to each other. The term inferior wife is more applicable than that of
-concubine, as there is a form of espousal, and their children have a
-contingent claim to the inheritance. The practice, however, brings no
-honour, if it brings no positive shame, though now sanctioned by long
-habit. Originally it appears to have been condemned by the stricter
-moralists, and it has been observed that the Chinese term to describe
-this kind of companion is, curiously enough, compounded of the words
-_crime_ and _woman_. It is a derogatory position, and such as only the
-poor and humble will consent to occupy. One of the national sayings,
-and the feeling with many of the women, is, that it is more honourable
-to be a poor man’s wife than the concubine of an emperor. A man cannot,
-under the penalty of a hundred blows, degrade his first wife to this
-position, or raise an inferior wife to hers--no such act is valid
-before the law.
-
-None but the rich can afford, and none but the loose and luxurious will
-practise, polygamy except when the first wife fails to bear a son.
-Unless some such reason exists, the opinion of moralists is against it.
-Men with too many wives lose the Emperor’s confidence, since he accuses
-them of being absorbed in domestic concerns. In this case it is usual
-to take an inferior wife, who is purchased from the lower ranks for
-a sum of money, that an heir may be born to the house. The situation
-of these poor creatures is aggravated or softened according to the
-disposition of their chief, for they are virtually her servants, and
-are not allowed even to eat in her presence. They receive no elevation
-by her decease, but are for ever the mere slaves of their master’s
-lust. At the same time their inferior position, and therefore inferior
-consequence, gains them some agreeable privileges. The principal wife
-is not allowed to indulge in conversation or any free intercourse
-with strangers--a pleasure which is sometimes enjoyed with little
-restraint by the others, as well as by the female domestics. Not much
-jealousy appears to be entertained by these women, who are easily to be
-procured. Their sons receive half as much patrimony as the sons of the
-mistress of the household.
-
-The social laws of China inculcate the good treatment of wives; but
-the main solicitude of the legislator has been with respect to the
-fixity of the law, and the rights of the male or supreme sex. Leaving
-her parents’ home, the girl is transferred into bondage. Some men,
-however, go to the house of their bride’s father, which is contrary to
-the established form; but when once received across the threshold as a
-son-in-law, he cannot be ejected, and leaves only when he is inclined.
-
-A man may not marry within a certain period of his chief wife’s
-death; but if he takes a woman who has already been his concubine,
-the punishment is two degrees milder. So also with widows, who cannot
-be forced by their friends to make any new engagement at all, but are
-protected by the law. Women left in this position have a powerful
-dissuasive against a fresh union, in the entire independence which they
-enjoy, and which they could enjoy under no other circumstances.
-
-With respect to the laws relating to consanguinity, the Chinese system
-is particularly rigid. The prohibited limits lie very widely apart.
-In this a change appears to have been effected under the Mantchus,
-for among the traces of ancient manners which become visible at a
-remoter period, revealed only, however, by the twilight of tradition, a
-profligate state of public morals is indicated. We find parents giving
-both their daughters in marriage to one man, while the intercourse of
-the sexes was all but entirely unrestrained. The strictness of the
-modern law is attended with some inconvenient results, for in China
-the number of family names is very small, while it enacted that all
-marriages between persons of the same family names are not only null
-and void, but punishable by blows and a fine. All such contracts
-between individuals previously related by marriage within four degrees,
-are denounced as incestuous. A man may not marry his father’s or his
-mother’s sister-in-law, his father’s or mother’s aunt’s daughter, his
-son-in-law’s or daughter-in-law’s sister, his grandson’s wife’s sister,
-his mother’s brother’s or sister’s daughter, or any blood relations
-whatever, to any degree, however remote. Such offences are punished
-with the bamboo. Death by strangling is enacted against one who marries
-a brother’s widow, while with a grandfather’s or father’s wife it
-is more particularly infamous, and the criminal suffers the extreme
-disgrace of decapitation.
-
-These regulations apply to the first wife, similar offences with regard
-to the inferior being visited with penalties two degrees less severe.
-Not only, however, are the degrees of consanguinity strictly defined,
-but the union of classes is under restriction. An officer of government
-within the third order marrying into a family under his jurisdiction,
-or in which legal proceedings are under his investigation, is subject
-to heavy punishment. The family of the girl, if they voluntarily aid
-him, incur the chastisement also; but if they have submitted under fear
-of his authority, they are exempt. To marry an absconded female, flying
-from justice, is prohibited. To take forcibly as a wife a freeman’s
-daughter, subjects the offender to death by strangulation. An officer
-of government, or the son of any high functionary with hereditary
-honours, who takes as his first or inferior wife a female comedian or
-musician, or any member of a disreputable class, is punished by sixty
-strokes of the bamboo. An equal punishment is inflicted on any priest
-who marries at all; and, in addition to this, he is expelled his order.
-If he delude a woman under false pretences, he incurs the penalty of
-the worst incest. Slaves and free persons are forbidden to intermarry.
-Any person, conniving at, or neglecting to denounce, such illegal
-contracts, are criminals before the law.
-
-The union after the betrothal must be completed; but it may also
-be broken. Seven causes, according to the law, justify a man in
-repudiating his first wife. These are--barrenness, lasciviousness,
-disregard of her husband’s parents, talkativeness, thievish
-propensities, an envious suspicious temper, and inveterate infirmity.
-If, however, any of the three legal reasons against divorce can be
-proved by the woman, she cannot be put away--first, that she has
-mourned three years for her husband’s family; second, that the family
-has become rich after having been poor before and at the time of
-marriage; third, her having no father or mother living to receive her.
-She is thus protected, in some measure, from her husband’s caprice.
-If she commit adultery, however, he dare not retain, but must dismiss
-her. If she abscond against his will, she may be severely flogged; if
-she commit bigamy, she is strangled. When a man leaves his home, his
-wife must remain in it three years before she can sue for a divorce,
-and then give notice of her intention before a public tribunal. It is
-forbidden, under peremptory enactments, to harbour a fugitive wife or
-female servant.
-
-A man finding his wife in the act of adultery may kill her with her
-paramour, provided he does it immediately, but only on that condition.
-If the guilty wife adds to her crime by intriguing against her
-husband’s life, she dies by a slow and painful execution. If even the
-adulterer slay her husband without her knowledge, she is strangled. The
-privilege of putting a wife to death is not allowed for any inferior
-offence. To strike a husband, is punishable by a hundred blows and
-divorce; to disable him, with strangulation. In all these circumstances
-the inferior wife is punished one degree more severely. Thus offences
-against them are less harshly, and offences by them more rigidly,
-chastised. In addition to these legal visitations the bamboo is at hand
-to preserve discipline among the women.
-
-One of the laws of China exhibits a peculiar feature of depravity in
-the people. It is enacted, that whoever lends his wife or daughter
-upon hire is to be severely punished, and any one falsely bargaining
-away his wife or his sister is to be similarly dealt with. All
-persons consenting to the transaction share the penalty. Nor is this
-an obsolete enactment against an unknown crime. Instances do not
-unfrequently occur of poor men selling their wives as concubines to
-their wealthier neighbours. Others prostitute them for gain; but these
-instances of profligacy usually occur in the large and crowded cities.
-Sometimes the woman consents, but sometimes also opposes the infamous
-design.
-
-In 1832 a woman was condemned to strangulation for killing her husband
-by accident, while resisting an adulterer whom he had introduced for
-her to prostitute herself to him. These incidents occur only in the
-lowest class. Some men are as jealous as Turks, and maintain eunuchs to
-guard their wives.
-
-Under this system many restrictions are imposed on the women of
-China. They form no part of what is called society, enjoying little
-companionship, even with persons of their own sex. Those of the better
-class are instructed in embroidering and other graceful but useless
-accomplishments. They are seldom educated to any extent, though some
-instances have occurred of learned women and elegant poetesses, who
-have been praised and admired throughout the country. Fond of gay
-clothes, of gaudy furniture, and brilliant decoration, they love
-nothing so much as display; and though assuming a demure and timid air,
-cannot be highly praised on this account, for their bashfulness is, in
-such cases, more apparent than real. Still they are generally described
-as faithful partners. Religious services are performed for them in
-the temple, to which women are admitted. The wives of the poorer sort
-labour in the fields, and perform all the drudgery of the house, an
-occupation which is held as suited to their nature. “Let my daughter
-sweep your house” is the expression made use of in offering a wife. It
-should be mentioned, however, to relieve the darkness of this picture,
-that husbands often present offerings at the temples, with prayers to
-the gods for the recovery of their sick wives. The idea may indeed
-suggest itself, that this is with a view to economy, as girls are
-costly purchases; but no man is the greater philosopher for asserting
-that a whole nation exists without the commonest sentiments of human
-nature. Indeed, many instances occur even in China of husbands and
-wives living as dear friends together, especially when polygamy has not
-been adopted in the dwelling. The obedience to old habits is not to be
-confounded with characteristic harshness in the individual; nor does it
-seem impossible, when we examine the variety of manners in the world,
-to believe in a strong and tender attachment between a man and the
-woman whom, in adherence to ancient usage, he would not allow to eat
-at the same table with himself. A privilege belongs to the female sex
-here which it enjoys in no other barbarian country. A strong authority
-is recognised in the widow over her son. She is acknowledged to have
-the right to be supported by him, and it is a proverbial saying, that
-“a woman is thrice dependent--before marriage on her father, after
-marriage on her husband, when a widow on her son.”
-
-From this view of the condition of women, and the regulations of
-marriage, we proceed to an important part of the subject--the
-infanticide for which China has been so infamously celebrated. It is
-impossible to conceive a more contradictory confusion of statements,
-than we have seen put forward with reference to this question. Weighing
-the various authorities, however, we are inclined to adopt a moderate
-view, rejecting the extravagant pictures of one, and the broad denials
-of the other set of writers. Infanticide, it cannot be disputed, is
-practised in the country, and to a considerable extent; but it is, and
-always will be impossible, to acquire the exact statistics, or even an
-approximation to the precise truth.
-
-Two causes appear to have operated in encouraging this practice--the
-poverty of the lower classes, and the severity of the law with respect
-to the illicit intercourse of the sexes. The former is the principal
-cause. There is a strong maternal feeling in the woman’s breast, and
-children are only destroyed when the indigence of the parents allows
-no hope of rearing them well. It is invariably the female child which
-is, under these circumstances, slain; for the son can always, after
-a few years, earn his livelihood, and be an assistance, instead of
-a burden, to the family. The birth of a female child is regarded as
-a calamity, and brings mourning into the house. One of the national
-proverbs expresses this fact in a striking manner, exhibiting also the
-inferior estimation in which that sex is viewed. It says, that to a
-female infant a common tile may be given as a toy, while to a male a
-gem should be presented.
-
-When it is determined to destroy the offspring thus born under the
-roof of poverty, a choice of method is open. It may be drowned in warm
-water; its throat may be pinched; it may be stifled by a wet cloth
-tied over its mouth; it may be choked by grains of rice. Another plan
-is to carry the child, immediately after its birth, and bury it alive.
-Captain Collins, of the _Plover_ sloop-of-war, relates that some of
-his company, while visiting the coast of China, saw a boat full of
-men and women, with four infants. They landed and dug two pits, in
-which they were about to inter their living but feeble victims, when
-they were disturbed. They then made off rapidly, and passed round a
-headland, beyond which they, no doubt, accomplished their purpose
-without interruption. When the missionary Smith was in the suburbs of
-Canton, in 1844, he was presented by a native with a work written by
-a mandarin, and published gratuitously at the expense of government,
-to discourage the practice of infanticide. When questioned upon the
-actual prevalence of the custom, the native said that, taking a circle
-with a radius of ten miles from the spot they then occupied, the number
-of infanticides within the space thus included would not exceed five
-hundred in a year. It was confined to the very poor, and originated in
-the difficulty of rearing and providing for their female offspring.
-The rich never encouraged, and the poor were ashamed, of the practice.
-He knew men who had drowned their daughters, but would not confess the
-act, speaking of their children as though they had died of disease.
-In Fokien province, on the contrary, infanticides were numerous. At
-a place called Kea-King-Chow, about five days’ journey from Canton,
-there were computed to be 500 or 600 cases in a month. The comparative
-immunity of Canton from the contagion of this crime was the government
-foundling-hospital established there. About 500 female children,
-born of parents in poverty and want, were annually received, to have
-temporary provision and sustenance. From time to time, the more wealthy
-merchants and gentry visit the institution to select some of the
-children, whom they take home to educate as concubines or servants. The
-hospital has accommodation for at least 1000 infants, each of which
-is usually removed after three months, either to the house of some
-voluntary guardian, or to wet nurses in other districts. This is the
-only important institution of the kind in the province. Infanticide
-is still, even by the most favourable accounts, lamentably prevalent.
-The foundling-hospitals, of which there is one in every great town, do
-certainly oppose a check to the practice. That at Shanghae receives
-annually about 200 infants.
-
-The villagers in the neighbourhood of Amoy confessed that female
-infanticide was generally practised among them, and their statements
-were expressed in a manner which left no doubt that they considered it
-an innocent and proper expedient for lightening the evils of poverty.
-Two out of every four, they said, were destroyed; but rich people,
-who could afford to bring them up never resorted to, because they
-never needed, such a means of relief. Some killed three, four, or even
-five out of six; it depended entirely on the circumstances of the
-individual. The object was effected immediately after the infant’s
-birth. If sons, however, were born in alternate succession, it was
-regarded as an omen of happy fortune for the parents, and the daughters
-were spared. None of the villagers denied to any of their questioners
-the generality of the custom, but few would confess personally to the
-actual fact. In some districts one-half was reported as the average
-destruction of the female population, and in the cities some declared
-the crime was equally prevalent, though we may take this as the
-exaggeration which always attends the loose statements of ignorant men,
-who, having little idea of figures, are required to furnish a number,
-and speak at random.
-
-Infanticide, however, is not wholly confined to the poor. It is
-occasionally resorted to by the rich to conceal their illicit amours.
-In 1838 a proclamation against it was published, but the general
-perpetration of the crime rendered its repression impossible, with such
-machinery as the Emperor has at his command. Abeel calculated that
-throughout a large district, the average was 39 per cent. of the female
-children. It is evident, however, from all these facts, that under an
-improved government, the crime might be altogether extinguished, not
-by severe enactments or vigilant police, but by rendering infanticide
-unnecessary in the eyes of the people.
-
-The second cause which induces parents to destroy their children is
-the stringency of the law against the illicit intercourse of unmarried
-people; its provisions are equally characteristic and severe. To render
-its enforcement easier, the separation of the sexes is rigidly insisted
-upon. Not only are servants, but even brothers and sisters, prohibited
-from mixing except under regulation. Intercourse by mutual consent is
-punished with 70 blows, while with married people the penalty varies
-from 80 to 100. Violation of a female, wedded or single, is punished
-by strangulation. An assault, with intent to ravish, by 100 strokes of
-the bamboo and perpetual banishment to a remote spot. Intercourse with
-children under twelve years of age is treated as rape. Should a child
-be born from one of these unlawful intrigues, its support devolves on
-the father; but if the transaction be thus far concealed, this evidence
-of it is usually sunk in the river, or flung out by the way-side.
-An unmarried woman found pregnant is severely punished, whether her
-accomplice can be discovered or not. The illicit intercourse of slaves
-with their masters’ wives or daughters is punished with death; while
-officers of government, civil and military, and the sons of those
-who hold hereditary rank, if found indulging in criminal intrigues
-with females under their jurisdiction, are subjected to unmerciful
-castigation with the stick.
-
-One grace is accorded to the weaker sex in China. No woman is committed
-to prison, except in capital cases, or cases of adultery. In all others
-they remain, if married, in the custody of their husbands; if single,
-in that of their friends. No woman quick with child can be flogged,
-tortured, or executed, until a hundred days after her delivery.
-
-Women, however, of the poorer orders, whose friends do not care, or
-are unable, to be responsible for them, are lodged under the care of
-female wardens, and in reference to this we may instance a curious fact
-illustrative of prison discipline in China. In 1805 one of the great
-officers of government made a report to the Emperor, that three female
-warders of the prison were in the habit of engaging with traders in an
-illicit and disgraceful intercourse with female servants, and hiring
-out the female prisoners, not yet sentenced or waiting for discharge,
-to gain money for them by prostitution.
-
-Sensual as the Chinese are, the punishable breach of the moral law--the
-intercourse of unmarried persons--is checked by the system of early
-marriages. Children are often betrothed in the cradle. Men seldom pass
-the age of twenty, or girls that of fifteen, in celibacy. The Parsees,
-however, of all ages, are notorious for their abandoned mode of life.
-
-Prostitution, however, prevails to a prodigious extent. There is
-throughout the country a regular traffic in females. “Seduction and
-adultery,” says Williams, “are comparatively unfrequent; but brothels
-and their inmates occur everywhere on land and water. One danger
-attending young girls going alone is, that they will be stolen for
-incarceration in these gates of hell.”
-
-This is in allusion to a very extraordinary system prevalent in the
-great cities of China. In 1832 it was calculated there were between
-8000 and 10,000 prostitutes having abodes in and about Canton. Of these
-the greater portion had been stolen while children, and compelled to
-adopt that course of life. Dressed gaily, taught to affect happiness,
-and trained in seductive manners, they were examples of their class in
-Europe. Many young girls were carried away, forcibly violated, and then
-consigned to a brothel.
-
-Hundreds of kidnappers, chiefly women, swarmed in the city, gaining a
-livelihood by the traffic in young girls and children. Nor was this
-the only way in which such places were supplied. In times of general
-scarcity or individual want, parents have been seen leading their own
-daughters through the streets and offering them for sale. The selling
-of children, says Cunynghame, one of the most recent visitors to
-Canton, is an every-day occurrence, and is on the whole a check upon
-infanticide. The little victims are seen constantly passing on their
-way to the habitations of their purchasers gaily dressed out as though
-for some great ceremony or happy festival. Of these, indeed, some are
-disposed of as concubines, but many also are deliberately sold to be
-brought up as prostitutes. It is looked upon as a simple mercantile
-transaction, the children being transferred at once to the brothels,
-whence they are hired out for the profit of their masters. Some of
-those who are deserted or exposed to perish are reserved by the agents
-for these places; but the principal supply is brought by kidnappers.
-Proclamation after proclamation has been issued to complain of them,
-but with little effect. The system appears rather on the increase than
-otherwise.
-
-The children thus purchased or picked up in the streets are educated
-with care, taught to play on various kinds of instruments, to dance,
-to sing, to perform in comedies or pantomimes, and to excel in many
-graceful accomplishments, which render them agreeable. They are often
-richly clothed, and adorned in such a way as to render them most
-attractive to the _roués_ of Canton and Peking.
-
-They do not often compress their feet, as it is a hindrance to their
-movements, but may be seen in the streets occasionally--though not
-often--with painted faces, looking boldly at the strangers who pass
-along. Of the houses they frequent we have no particular description;
-but they probably resemble much similar places of resort in civilized
-countries. A peculiar feature of China, however, is displayed in the
-floating brothels, which are the chief habitations of the prostitutes.
-Licentious as the native of that empire is in the general turn of his
-ideas, he makes a public display of his indulgence in those pleasures
-which in Europe men affect, at least, to conceal from general view.
-The floating brothels of the Pearl River are moored in conspicuous
-situations, and distinguished from the other boats by the superior
-style of their structure and decorations. The surface of the stream,
-indeed, is studded with beautiful junks, which are the first objects
-to attract the traveller’s eye as he approaches the provincial city of
-Canton. Comparatively few of the women parade the streets, except when
-they form part of a public procession, so that there is at least in the
-heart of the town an appearance of morality.
-
-[Illustration: CHINESE WOMAN (PROSTITUTE), ACCUSED OF DISORDERLY
-CONDUCT BEFORE A JUDGE.
-
-[_From_ ALEXANDER’S “_Illustrations of China_.”]]
-
-Many of these brothel junks are called Flower Boats, and are resorted
-to by numbers of the class. They form, indeed, whole streets in the
-floating city on the Pearl River, which is one of the most remarkable
-features of Canton. The prostitutes themselves, like all women of the
-same sisterhood, lead a life of reckless extravagance--plunging while
-they can into all the exciting pleasures which are offered by their
-particular mode of life, careless of the future, and eagerly snatching
-at anything which may release them from the change of dulness or time
-for reflection. Diseases are very prevalent among them, and cause much
-havoc among the men who frequent their boats or houses. They endeavour
-to cure themselves by means of drugs and medicinal draughts, and by
-this means concentrate the malady upon some secret vital part, whence
-it shoots through the frame, but does not manifest itself until the
-victim is all but destroyed. With the exception of an unusual paleness
-and a heated appearance in the eyes, the prostitutes do not wear the
-aspect of disease; but they, indeed, paint themselves inordinately to
-mask the ravages of time or the maladies which afflict them.
-
-The prostitutes of Canton are usually congregated in companies
-or troops, each of which is under the government of a man who is
-answerable for their conduct--if they rob, or disturb the peace, or
-commit any gross offence against decency, or perpetrate any other
-offence. National delicacy, however, has little to do with the
-prohibitions which restrain them from entering certain parts of the
-city, and forbid young men of rank and influence to hold intercourse
-with them. The brothel junks, of lofty build, brightly painted, and
-glittering with gaudy variegated flags, float in squadrons on the
-water, are seen and known by all, and are resorted to by numbers of
-the citizens. Persons pass to and from them without an attempt at
-disguise or concealment. Rich men, on festive occasions, make up a
-party of pleasure, embark in a gaily-decorated boat, send to one of
-the prostitute junks, engage as many of the women as they please,
-and spend the day in amusement with them. It is openly done, and no
-disgrace attaches to it. The junks themselves are fitted up in the
-interior--according to the class of prostitutes inhabiting them--with
-all the appurtenances of luxury, and on board them is a perpetual gala.
-It would be interesting to know how many of these boats are known to
-float on the Pearl River, with the average number of prostitutes in
-each.
-
-But this is not the only, or the most offensive form which prostitution
-assumes in China. An incident which occurred at Shensee a few years ago
-illustrates another system, which is clandestine, though apparently
-carried on to a considerable extent. A young widow resided there with
-her mother-in-law, supporting herself and her companion by the wages
-of prostitution. At length her occupation failed her; she was deserted
-by her associates, and could procure no more rice or money by the
-pursuit of her vicious calling. The elder woman, however, would not
-hear of these excuses, ordered her daughter-in-law to obtain her usual
-supplies from the man she had last cohabited with, and on her declaring
-her inability, began to flog her. The prostitute defended herself,
-and at last, taking up a sickle, struck her relative dead. She was
-seized, tried, and condemned to be cut in pieces for the crime; but as
-her mother-in-law had been guilty of an illegal act in forcing her to
-prostitute herself, the sentence was changed to decapitation.
-
-It is to be regretted that our sources of information on this
-subject are not more copious. Travellers have had opportunities of
-communicating more, but have refrained from doing so. We wait for a
-separate and full account of prostitution in China[75].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN JAPAN.
-
-Among the innumerable islands scattered over the southern and eastern
-oceans there are none more curious in their social aspects than Japan.
-We find there a kind of native civilization, influenced indeed by
-former intercourse with Europeans, but now complete within itself, and
-isolated from all other systems in the world. The mountainous, rocky,
-and arid country, has been fertilized from the centre to the sea by the
-persevering industry of a hardy race; they found it poor, and they have
-made it one of the richest agricultural regions in the globe. This fact
-serves to illustrate the national character.
-
-The Japanese, upon whose institutions much light has been thrown by the
-learned and laborious researches of Mr. Thomas Rundall, of the Hakluyt
-Society, may be described as a punctilious, haughty, vindictive, and
-licentious people; but there is nothing vulgar in their composition.
-Truth is held in reverence, hospitality is viewed as sacred, and the
-bonds of friendship are regarded with extraordinary earnestness. St.
-Francis Xavier, the apostle of the Indies, declared “the Japans” to be
-the delight of his heart. There is, perhaps, more to admire than to
-love in their character. They are certainly elevated far above many of
-the nations who surround them, as well in the arts as in the amenities
-of life. Virtue is a recognised principle, and this indicates a phase
-of true civilization.
-
-The character of the male is reflected by the female sex. Intelligent
-and agreeable in their manners, affectionate in their family relations,
-and faithful to their marriage vows, the women of Japan breathe all the
-pride of virtue. The man who attempts the honour of a matron sometimes
-encounters death in his adventure.
-
-In illustration of this characteristic, Mr. Rundall relates an
-interesting anecdote. A noble, going on a journey, left his wife at
-home, and another man of rank made infamous proposals to her. Her scorn
-and indignation only inflamed him to his purpose, which he effected in
-spite of her denial. When her husband returned she received him with
-much reserve, and when he asked why, bade him wait until the morrow,
-when a grand feast was to be given. Among the guests was the noble
-who had wronged her. They sat down on the terraced roof of the house,
-and the festival began. After the repast the woman rose, declared the
-injury she had suffered, and passionately entreated to be slain, as
-a creature unfit to live. The guests, the husband foremost, besought
-her to be calm; they strove to impress her with the idea that she had
-done no wrong, that she was an innocent victim, though the author
-of the outrage merited no less punishment than death. She thanked
-them all kindly; she wept on her husband’s shoulder--she kissed him
-affectionately--then, suddenly escaping from his embraces, rushed
-precipitately to the edge of the terrace, and cast herself over the
-parapet. In the confusion that ensued, the author of the mischief,
-still unsuspected, for the hapless creature had not indicated the
-offender, made his way down the stairs. When the rest of the party
-arrived he was found weltering in his blood by the corse of his victim.
-He had expiated his crime by committing suicide in the national manner,
-by slashing himself across the abdomen with two slashes in the form of
-a cross.
-
-The condition of women in Japan varies with different classes. Those
-of high rank have a separate suite of rooms assigned to them, beyond
-which they are seldom seen. Among the middle and lower orders they
-enjoy more liberty, though they are careful to seclude themselves, and
-are distinguished in general by extraordinary reserve. Men pay them
-a polite respect not common among semi-barbarians, as the Japanese
-will continue to be until they are forced to acknowledge the duty of
-intercourse with the rest of mankind.
-
-The marriage laws of Japan are curious, and vary in different classes.
-Among the wealthy they are occasions of extravagant parade and long
-ceremonies, in which the minutest detail is regulated by a peremptory
-law. A full description of all the marriage ceremonial would fill a
-small volume. A man can only take one wife; he is united to her in the
-temple. In addition, however, he may take as many concubines as he
-chooses, who are not degraded by their position. He may separate from
-a woman when he pleases; but one who is known to have done so must pay
-a large sum for the daughter of any other person whom he may desire
-to have. Marriages are seldom contracted before the age of fifteen.
-The courtship and betrothal are conducted with much formality; but
-sufficient opportunity is allowed to the youth of the two sexes to
-become acquainted each with the other.
-
-The Japanese are not so jealous as many other Asiatics: “Indeed,” says
-Captain Golovnin, “they are not more so than, considering the frailty
-of the sex, is reasonable.” Nevertheless, a man may put his wife to
-death for whispering to a stranger; while adultery is always capitally
-punished, sometimes by the hand of the injured husband.
-
-In the northern parts, it is said, that in the beginning of the
-seventeenth century a curious custom prevailed. When a woman was
-convicted of infidelity, her head was shaved. Her paramour was exposed
-to an equally disgraceful, but more whimsical penalty. The friends of
-his victim, whenever they met him, might strip him naked, and deprive
-him of his property. But the modesty with which youth are inspired from
-the cradle tends much to protect female virtue. The intercourse of the
-sexes, it will thus be seen, is regulated by very natural laws; the
-condition of the sex is somewhat high. Its virtues are prized by the
-men, and consequently are generally faithfully preserved.
-
-We have said, however, that the men of Japan are licentious; since,
-therefore, the wives and daughters of the respectable classes are
-difficult to corrupt, a numerous sisterhood of prostitutes is
-rendered necessary. Accordingly we find them from the earliest period
-associating with every rank of men. In one of William Adams’s letters,
-published under the editorship of Mr. Rundall, we find the king coming
-on board our countryman’s vessel, bringing with him a number of female
-comedians. These formed large companies, and travelled from place to
-place, with a great store of apparel for the several parts they played.
-They belonged to one man, who set a price upon their intercourse with
-others, above which he dared not charge under pain of death. It was
-left to his own discretion to set a value on a girl at first; but
-afterwards he could not raise, though he might abate his charge. All
-bargains were made with him, and the woman must go whither she was
-directed. Men of the highest rank, when travelling through the islands,
-and resting at houses of entertainment, sent, without shame, for
-companies of these prostitutes; but the pander was never received by
-them, however wealthy he might be; after death he was also consigned
-to infamy. Bridled with a rope of straw, he was dragged in the clothes
-he died in through the streets into the fields, and there cast upon a
-dunghill for dogs and fowls to devour.
-
-In Kœmpfer’s account of the city of Nangasaki we find a curious
-description of the prostitute system. The part of the town inhabited
-by these women was called “the bawdy-house quarter,” and consisted of
-two streets, with the handsomest houses in Japan, situated on a rising
-hill. At these places the poor people of the town sold their handsome
-daughters while very young, that is, from ten to twenty years of age.
-Every bawd kept as many as she was able in one house; some had seven,
-others 30, who were commodiously lodged, taught to dance, sing, play
-on musical instruments, and write letters. The elder ones taught the
-younger, who in return waited on them; the most docile and accomplished
-were most sumptuously treated. The price of these women was regulated
-by law; and one wretched creature, having passed through all the
-degrees of degradation, occupied a small room near the door, where she
-acted as watch all night, and sold herself for a miserable coin. Others
-were set to this task as a punishment for ill behaviour. The infamy of
-this vile profession attached justly, not so much to the unhappy women
-themselves, as to their parents who educated them to it. Many, as they
-grew up, changed their mode of life, and were received again among the
-reputable and chaste. Generally well educated and politely bred, they
-often procured husbands, and passed from a life of daily prostitution
-to one of unswerving fidelity. The pander and the tanner of leather
-occupied the same position in society; which shows that the prejudice
-of class, rather than the abhorrence of an infamous calling, ruled the
-Japanese.
-
-The historian classes the temples and brothels together, and not
-without justice. Prostitution was greatly encouraged by the priests.
-In their public spectacles, representing the adventures of gods and
-goddesses, young prostitutes, richly attired, were engaged to act.
-Their performances resembled those of the European ballet--dress,
-gesture, and action expressing that which in a drama language would
-represent.
-
-Such was the prostitute system in the great cities; throughout the
-country a similar system prevailed. The houses of entertainment
-lining the main highways, with the tea-booths of the villages, were
-frequented by innumerable girls. These usually spent the morning in
-painting and dressing themselves, and about noon made their appearance
-standing before the door of the house, or sitting on benches, whence,
-with smiling face and coy address, they solicited the passengers. In
-some places their chattering and laughter were heard above all other
-sounds; two villages, called Akasaki and Goy, were celebrated on this
-account, all the houses being brothels, each containing from three
-to seven prostitutes. The Japanese seldom passed one of these “great
-storehouses of whores” without holding intercourse with some of these
-women. Kœmpfer asserts, in contradiction to Caras, who married a
-native, that there was in his time scarcely one house of entertainment
-in the islands which was not a brothel. When one inn had too many
-customers, it borrowed some girls from a neighbour who had some to
-spare. This profligate system is said, in the Japanese traditions,
-to have taken its rise at a remote period, during the reign of a
-certain martial emperor. That monarch, who was perpetually marching
-his armies to and fro, feared lest his soldiers should become weary of
-separation from their wives; he therefore licensed public and private
-brothels, which multiplied to such an extent that Japan came to be
-known as “the bawdy-house of China.” This was in allusion to a period
-when prostitution was made in that empire an unlawful calling, and
-suppressed by severe laws. The people, deprived of the resources they
-had formerly enjoyed at home, made Japan the place of resort; so that
-its prostitution system flourished far and wide.
-
-These accounts appear extravagant, and doubtless are so in some degree;
-all writers, however, coincide in describing the prostitution system
-of Japan as very extensive and flagitious. The French historian,
-Charleroix, repeats the statement of Kœmpfer. We have before us
-extracts from the autograph “diary of occurrants” written by Captain
-Richard Cock, who was chief of the English factory at Firando, from
-the year 1613 to 1623. There are many passages corroborative of the
-representations we have given. Of these some examples follow, which are
-also interesting as illustrations of Japanese manners.
-
-“A.D. 1616, Sept. 8th (at Edo).--We dyned or rather supped at a
-merchant’s house called Neyem Dono, where he provided caboques, or
-women players, who danced and sung; and when we returned home he sent
-every of them to lie with them that would have them all night.
-
-“October 24 (at Yuenda, between Edo and Firando.)--We went to bed, and
-paid 3500 gins; and to the servants, 300 gins; and to the children, 200
-gins, or about 200_l._ This extraordinary charge was for that we had
-extraordinary good cheer, being brought hither by a merchant of Edo,
-our friend, called Neyemon Edo, and every one a wench sent to him that
-would have her. I gave one of them an ichebo, but would not have her
-company.
-
-“1617-18, January 27th (at Firando).--Skiezazon Dono set the masts of
-his junk this day, and made a feast in Japan fashion. 29th. Skiezazon
-Dono and his consorts had the feast of Baccus for their junk this day,
-dancing through the streets with caboques or women players, and entered
-into an English house in that order, most of their heads being heavier
-than their heels, that they could not find their way home without
-leading.
-
-“March 29th (at Firando).--The kyng and the rest of the noblemen came
-to dyner (at the English house), and, as they said, were entertained to
-their own content, and had the dancing beares or caboques to fill their
-wine; Nifon Catanges, with a blind fiddler to sing, ditto.
-
-“July 11th.--There came a company of players, or caboques, with apes
-and babons, sent from the tono, or king, to play at our house.
-
-“December 6th (at Meaco).--Our host, Meaco’s brother-in-law, invited
-us to dyner to a place of pleasure without the city, where the dancing
-girls or caboques were with a great feast; and there came an antick
-dance of satyrs or wild men of other Japons, until whom I gave 1000
-gins (about 10_s._), and a bar of plate to the good man of the house,
-value about 1_l._ 1_s._ 6_d._ So the dancing girls were sent home after
-us.”
-
-As not altogether inapplicable to the subject, the following passage,
-which shows how the courtezans of Japan proceed towards such as would
-cheat them, may be cited: “The caboques took Tane, an interpreter,
-prisoner, for fifteen tares (about 3_l._ 15_s._) he owed them for
-lichery, and, not having to pay, set his body for sale, no one having
-the money for him.”
-
-It would appear that in obtaining possession of a female of this class
-by clandestine means tragical consequences may ensue; while, if done
-fairly, considerable expense may be involved. Mr. Wickham, one of the
-English factors stationed at Mesco, writing on the 15th of April, 1616,
-to his chief, Captain Cock, gives an account of a soldier of high
-reputation who ran away with a prostitute, and, fearing she would be
-reclaimed, was seized with a fit of frenzy, during which he first cut
-the throat of the girl, and afterwards ripped himself up. The writer
-then communicates a piece of news:--“Micaonæcamo, the nobellman that
-gave me my cattan or sword, hath carried away a caboque, and hath payed
-her master 10,000 tares (2500_l._). I would I had the money, and it
-makes no matter who hath the woman.” Replying to this communication,
-Captain Cock quaintly observes on one point, “Yf some will be so
-foolish as to cut their bellies for love (or rather lust) of whores,
-the worst end of the staff will be their owne;” and on the other point
-he agrees with his correspondent that he “had rather have the money
-than the ware.”
-
-Vice of a more brutal kind is systematically practised by many of the
-Japanese nobility, as well as by the meanest orders; and houses are
-kept for this purpose similar to those inhabited by prostitutes.
-
-Some parents apprentice out their daughters for a term of years to this
-abominable profession, and the girls then return to honourable life.
-The houses they frequent continually resound with music. At Jeddo, a
-later traveller was informed there was one brothel, or rather temple
-of prostitution, where 600 women were maintained. Notwithstanding
-this number, young men were nightly refused admittance, from the
-over-crowded state of the rooms. Passing through the streets of the
-brothel quarter Golovnin saw groups of girls standing about the doors;
-some of them were in the bloom of youth, and so handsome that they
-appeared fascinating even to the European eye.
-
-Thus the system of professional prostitution flourishes more in Japan
-than in any other part of insular Asia; yet the women of other classes
-appear to hold a higher position, and to enjoy more respect from the
-men. It is remarked, however, by all writers, that the profligacy of
-the female sex is confined to those who are so by profession; but the
-male is generally licentious throughout the empire.
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN THE ULTRA-GANGETIC NATIONS.
-
-In this division we include what are commonly called the Hindu-Chinese
-nations, or the inhabitants of that immense tract lying between
-Hindustan and China. Geography makes several sections of them, and they
-present, it is true, some variety in laws, customs, and degrees of
-progress. But these are not more distinct than may be observed in every
-large country, whether called by one name or many. The same physical
-type is marked upon them all; and, speaking in general terms, their
-manners are uniform.
-
-In one respect they are all similar. The condition of women is
-extremely low. A curious phenomenon is observable in relation to this
-subject. The Buddhists of the ultra-Gangetic countries, uninfluenced
-by the jealous spirit of the Hindu and Mohammedan codes, allow to the
-female sex great liberty; yet assign it less respect than it enjoys
-either in Hindustan or China, to both of which they are inferior in
-civilization. The freedom thus conceded to women fails to elevate them.
-They are held in contempt, they are taught to abase themselves in their
-own minds, and they employ their licence in degrading themselves still
-further. In few parts of the world is the effect of Asiatic despotism
-more plainly visible than in the countries lying between Hindustan
-and China. The peculiar system of government renders every one the
-king’s serf. The men labour for the benefit of their master, having no
-opportunity to profit themselves by their own industry. Their support,
-therefore, naturally devolves on the women, who in Cochin China
-especially, plough, sow, reap, fell wood, build, and perform all the
-offices which civilization assigns to the abler sex.
-
-The marriage contract is a mere bargain. A man buys his wife from
-her parents. The first is usually the chief, but he may have as many
-others as he chooses to purchase. A simple agreement before witnesses
-seals the union. The band thus easily formed is as easily dissolved.
-In Cochin China a pair of chopsticks or a porcupine quill is broken in
-two before a third person, and the divorce is complete. When only one
-desires a separation it is more difficult, but the law allows a man to
-sell his inferior wives.
-
-The unmarried women of this region are proverbially and almost
-universally unchaste. They may prostitute themselves without incurring
-infamy or losing the chance of marriage. A father may yield his
-daughter to a visitor whom he desires specially to honour, or he may
-hire her out for a period to a stranger who may reside for a short time
-in his neighbourhood. The girl has no power to resist the consummation
-of this transaction, though she cannot be married without her own
-consent.
-
-The wife, however, is considered sacred, but rather as the property
-of her husband than for the sake of virtue. A man’s harem cannot be
-invaded, even by the king himself. This, at least, is the theory of
-the law; but absolutism never respects the high principles of a code
-which opposes its desires. Adultery is punished in Siam with a fine,
-in Cochin China with death. In Birmah, executions are very rare among
-females. “The sword,” they say, “was not made for women.” In all parts
-of the region, however, the bamboo is in requisition to discipline the
-women; and husbands are sometimes seen to fling their wives down in
-the open street, lay them on their faces, and flog them with a rattan.
-
-It will thus be seen that, lying between two regions, in each of
-which a form of civilization has been introduced, the ultra-Gangetic,
-or Hindu-Chinese nations, differ from them both. Since no unmarried
-woman is required to be chaste, professional prostitutes do not form
-so large a class as might be expected. They do exist, however, and
-in considerable numbers. In Siam a common prostitute is incapable of
-giving evidence before a country justice, but this is by no means
-on account of her immorality. It is from other prejudices. The same
-disability attaches to braziers and blacksmiths[76].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN EGYPT.
-
-Egypt, as the seat of a civilization among the most ancient and
-remarkable that have flourished on the earth, calls for particular
-attention. The inquiries of the curious have in all ages been directed
-as well to its people as to its monuments. It has, indeed, been
-the subject of infinite investigation. Travellers innumerable have
-explored its beautiful valley; year after year adds to their number and
-countless reports have been made to us of the ruins, the antiquities,
-the resources, the condition, the scenery, and the manners of Egypt.
-In all, consequently, except statistics, our knowledge is very
-considerable, though the inexhaustible interest of that celebrated
-country still leaves an open field for the romantic traveller. The
-dry hot climate is supposed to influence the character of the people.
-A remarkable system of politics also modifies the national features,
-so that we examine our subject, in reference to Egypt, with peculiar
-curiosity.
-
-The population of Egypt is various, being composed of the four
-Mohammedan sects, of the Copts, the Greeks, the Armenians, Maronites,
-and Levantines. The mass, however, is formed of Arabs, while the
-general plan of manners has originated, in a great measure, from the
-spirit of the prophets’ civil and religious code. Of the system with
-respect to the female sex this is more especially true; but the history
-of manners before Mohammed’s age is too incomplete for us to know
-precisely how much was originated, and how much was adopted by him.
-Had his scheme opposed itself wholly to the previous habits of the
-East, it would never have been so universally or so readily accepted.
-It is one characteristic of Asiatic countries that women exercise less
-influence on manners than in Europe. The laws made by men would, in
-fact, isolate them within a sphere of their own; but agencies which are
-irresistible counteract this effort. The tendency of social legislation
-is to shut them out from a share in the government of society; but the
-tendency of nature is in the contrary direction.
-
-The women of Egypt are naturally adapted for the position in which
-they are placed--unless we suppose that long discipline has subdued
-them to the level of their condition. They display every attraction
-for Mohammedans, with few of the characteristics which fascinate an
-European. In youth many of them are possessed of every charm--the
-bosom richly developed, the whole form gracefully rounded, the face
-full of bloom, and the eyes overflowing with brilliance; but all
-these beauties speedily fade, and nowhere is old age so unsightly.
-The figure approaches maturity at the ninth or tenth year, and at
-fifteen or sixteen has reached the perfection of the Oriental ideal.
-With rare exceptions they have passed the flower of their lives at
-24, and in this short-lived loveliness we may find one cause of
-polygamy and frequent divorce, among a people with whom women are
-the mere unspiritual ministers to the senses of man. The Mohammedan
-peoples even his heaven with feminine creations destined for his
-animal gratification. When, therefore, we find religion itself thus
-impregnated with a gross element, we can only expect to find the female
-sex regarded in a degrading point of view. The opinion prevails with
-some Muslims, that Paradise has no place reserved for women; but this
-is by no means the universal idea among them.
-
-Though by their tame spirits and submissive humility the women of Egypt
-appear moulded to suit the system in which they move, their character
-has not, on the whole, been entirely vitiated by the process. Modesty
-and virtue are frequent ornaments of the harem, and distinguish the
-sex throughout the valley. Even among the lower or labouring orders,
-though the maidens may sometimes be seen bathing in the Nile, or
-hurrying from hovel to hovel naked, and at all times with a light and
-scanty garment, a demure and retiring demeanour is general. Chastity
-is a very prevalent virtue, except in the cities, where a crowded
-population is immersed in that profligacy surely bred by despotism.
-With respect to their modesty, travellers appear to have been led
-astray by their prejudices. Many of them appear to carry among the
-necessaries for their journey an English measure of propriety, which
-they invariably apply to all nations with which they come in contact.
-Thus the remark is commonly made, that women in Egypt hide their faces
-in obedience to habit, but care not what other part of the person they
-expose. Consequently, it is inferred they are devoid of modesty. But
-this by no means follows. Custom, which is one of the most powerful
-among the laws which regulate society, has taught them that to display
-the features is disgraceful, but has made no regulation for more than
-that. Unless, therefore, we accept the doctrine of innate ideas--which
-meets a refutation in every quarter of the globe--we must not cite the
-women of Egypt before the tribunal of our own opinions, and condemn
-them on that charge. On the contrary, we must confess that they are
-naturally a virtuous race, though the influences of their government
-are sufficiently injurious. Any, indeed, but an excellent people would
-long ago have been irredeemably depraved.
-
-There are, in Egypt, only two classes of females--those whose opulence
-allows them to be wholly indolent, and whose life is entirely dreamed
-away in the luxury of the harem; and those to whom poverty gives
-freedom, with the obligation of labour. To see the wife of a bey, to
-examine her tastes, her conduct, her private pleasures, and daily
-occupations, you have the beau ideal of a voluptuous woman literally
-cradled in one long childhood, with all the ease, the indulgence, and
-the trifling of infancy. Enter the habitation of a fellah or artizan,
-and the hardship of the man’s lot is exceeded by that of his wife.
-She has to do all that he can do; but if he be personally kind, her
-situation is morally superior to that of the petted toy nursed on the
-cushions of the harem. The same weakness, however, is paramount over
-both. The indolent lady satisfies herself with rich Eastern silks and
-shawls, and gems of fine water; while the poor drudge of the field adds
-to her toil, and stints herself in food, to purchase decorations for
-her person.
-
-The polygamy which is practised in Egypt has, more than in many other
-countries, tended to the degradation of the female sex. It seems to
-be encouraged in some degree by the rigid separation of the sexes
-before marriage. A man takes with less scruple a wife whom he has never
-seen when he knows that if she disappoint him he may take another.
-The law allows four wives, with an unrestricted number of concubines.
-The Prophet, his companions, and the most devout of his descendants,
-so indulged themselves; but the idea is vulgar which supposes that
-Mohammed introduced the practice. On the contrary, he found it
-universal, and was the first to put a check upon it. Some of the higher
-moralists contend, that as four wives are sufficient for one man, so
-are four concubines; but few of the rich men who can afford to keep
-more allow themselves to be influenced by this opinion.
-
-The Muslim lawgiver was wiser than the priestly legislators of India;
-for he insulted nature with less peremptory prohibitions against the
-union of sects. A Mohammedan may marry a Jewish or a Christian woman,
-when he feels excessive love for her, or cannot procure a wife of
-the true faith; but she does not inherit his property or impart her
-religion to her offspring. The children of a Jewish woman, if they
-are not educated to the Mohammedan, must embrace the Christian creed,
-which is considered better than their own. In this we find a privilege
-reserved by the male sex to itself, for a woman of the Prophet’s faith
-dare not marry an infidel, unless compelled so to do by actual force.
-This has given rise to many apostasies, which form the subject of
-numerous romances.
-
-The degrees of consanguinity within which marriage is prohibited are
-strictly marked. A man may not marry his mother or any other relative
-in a direct ascending line; his daughter or any descendant; his sister,
-or half-sister; his aunt, his niece, or his foster-mother. The Hanafee
-code enacts that a man shall not take as his wife any woman from whose
-breast he has received a single drop of milk; but E. Shafæee allows it
-unless he has been suckled by her five times within the course of the
-first two years. Nature, in this respect, is the principal guardian
-of the law, for as women in Egypt age very quickly, the men endeavour
-to obtain more youthful brides. A man may not marry the mother, or
-daughter of his wife, or his father’s or his son’s wife; his wives must
-not be sisters, or his own unemancipated slaves--if he already have
-a free wife. Those women whom the Muslim is forbidden to marry it is
-lawful for him to see, but no others except his own wives or female
-servants.
-
-The marriage engagement is merely a civil transaction. The man and
-woman having declared in the presence of two witnesses their mutual
-willingness, and part of the dowry being paid, their union is legal.
-The bride usually signifies her consent through a deputy. If, however,
-she be under the age of puberty, her assent is not necessary, and she
-is in the hands of her friends. A boy may also be thus disposed of; but
-he may divorce his wife if he be not contented with her. Usually, if
-rich, he neglects the first, and takes a second by way of solace after
-his disappointment.
-
-In one feature of its manners, modern Egypt resembles the States of
-ancient Greece. The character of a bachelor is ridiculous, if not
-disreputable. As soon as a youth has attained a proper age, with
-sufficient means, his friends advise him to marry. His mother, or a
-professional match-maker, is usually left to choose the bride. When a
-girl has been fixed upon with his approval, some one goes to her father
-to effect an arrangement. The price is fixed, with the amount of dowry,
-and the future ceremonials depend on the resources of the two families.
-Sometimes a profusion of rites is insisted upon; sometimes the simplest
-agreement is all that is required, for the law exacts nothing but the
-plain convention we have before described. The giving of a dowry is,
-however, indispensable. With all who can afford it, also, the sanction
-of religion and the witness of the law add solemnity to the occasion.
-The rich choose it as an opportunity to display the pride of wealth,
-and the poor to indulge in a little show, with that idleness which is
-so essential to the happiness of most Asiatics.
-
-The condition of wives in Egypt has been much misrepresented by some
-popular writers, to whom the imprisonment and slavery of women offer
-a fertile theme for declamation. The word harem, or _harim_, indeed,
-meaning _sacred_ or _prohibited_, applies to the women as well as to
-the apartments in which they dwell; but considerable liberty is allowed
-them. Those of the upper classes are secluded, and go veiled in the
-streets. They are seldom seen on foot in public, and their costume is
-indicative of this detail in their manners. Though, however, they have
-a suite of apartments assigned to them, they are not prisoners. A few
-Turks, jealous to exaggeration, may immure the inmates of the harem,
-and shut them altogether from contact with the world; but, generally,
-they are allowed to go out, pay visits, and control the household.
-The theory of the Muslims is more rigid than their practice, which,
-were it consistent in all its features, would swathe the female sex
-with convention, as the ancient inhabitants used to swathe their
-mummies--until the form of humanity is lost amid the very devices which
-seek to preserve it. To such an extravagant height do some of them
-carry their ideas of the sanctity of the female sex, that their tombs
-are closed against strangers, while others will not permit a man and a
-woman to be buried in the same grave. Generally, however, husbands do
-not object to their wives mingling with the public throng so as they
-religiously veil their faces. The lower orders are, of course, the
-least restrained. Those of the wealthiest and proudest men are most
-strictly secluded; but the interchange of visits between the harems is
-constant. With this degree of freedom the Egyptian women are content.
-Time has trained them to their situation, until a relaxation in their
-discipline is viewed less as an indulgence than a right. The wife who
-is allowed too much liberty imagines she is neglected, and, if others
-are more narrowly watched, is jealous of the superior solicitude
-bestowed on them. Among the rich the harem supplies all the delights
-of life. Rose-water, perfumes, sherbet, coffee, and sweatmeats,
-constitute the supreme joys of existence, with precious silks, muslins,
-and jewels. Among the poor, though reduced to beasts of burden, their
-buoyant hearts are not depressed under the load, and they sing from
-infancy to old age. Nevertheless their lives are full of misery, but it
-is the misery of a class, not only of one sex.
-
-The Muslim woman is _proud_ of her husband, and _fond_ of her children.
-Exceptions undoubtedly occur, in which the warmth of the Oriental
-temperament takes the form of refined and spiritual love; but these
-are rare. In their offspring they find the chief resource of their
-lives. They may become mothers at twelve years of age, and at fifteen
-commonly do so. They give proof of astonishing fecundity, bearing
-numbers of children, though ceasing at an earlier period than among
-Europeans. That is the critical occasion of their lives, but they who
-pass it safely often survive to an extreme old age. The manners of the
-country render it necessary that midwives only should attend at the
-accouchement, which is usually easy. When a physician is called in,
-he must feel his patient’s pulse through the sleeve of her garment,
-while her face is almost invariably wrapped in a veil. The utmost
-kindness, even in the indulgence of their most trifling whims, is shown
-to pregnant women. The absence of that sentiment which, according to
-English notions, should attach a wife to her husband, is made up by
-the stronger bond which binds a mother to her child. Upon this all
-the wealth of her affection is bestowed, and in that precious charge
-all her soul is centred. This feeling--the most pure and true of any
-that grow in the human breast--stands to the woman of Egypt in place
-of every other. A proverbial saying expresses the national philosophy
-upon this subject: “A husband is a husband; if one is lost another
-is to be got; but who can give me back my child?” To be childless is
-regarded as a signal misfortune, and with those who happen to be barren
-many devices are employed to remove the curse. Among these, one of
-the most curious is--to wash the skin with the blood of an executed
-criminal. Her fecundity, with her parental care, might be expected to
-prove itself by a flourishing population; but the blind rapacity and
-profligate contempt of human life exhibited by the tyrants who, in
-succession, have ruled Egypt, have been more than enough to neutralise
-the liberality of nature.
-
-The Mohammedan is essentially an Epicurean. In him the object of nature
-appears perverted. Instead of the animal being made subservient to the
-intellectual man, the mind is devoted to gratifying the sense. His
-life is divided between praying, bathing, smoking, lounging, drinking
-coffee, and the gratification of the various appetites. Voluptuary as
-he is, therefore, the opulent Egyptian does not rest content with the
-four wives allowed him by the law. He takes as many concubines as he
-can afford. They are all slaves, and are absolutely at the disposal
-of their master, who may handle, whip, or punish them otherwise as he
-pleases, and incurs very slight danger by killing one of them. The same
-regulations as to blood affinity apply to them as to free women. A man
-when he takes a female slave must wait three months before he can make
-her his concubine. If she bear him a child which he acknowledges to
-be his own, it is free. Otherwise it is the inheritor of its mother’s
-bonds. She herself cannot afterwards be sold or given away, but is
-entitled to emancipation on the death of her lord. He is not, however,
-obliged to free her at once, though, if he have not already four wives,
-it is considered honourable to do so. A wife sometimes brings to the
-establishment a few handmaidens. Over these she has control, and
-need not, unless she pleases, allow them to appear unveiled in their
-master’s presence; but occasionally we find a wife presenting her
-husband with a beautiful slave damsel, as Sarah presented her bondwoman
-Hagar to Abraham. Rich men often purchase handsome white girls. Those
-of the humbler class are usually brown Abyssinians, for the blacks are
-generally employed in menial offices. Neither the concubine nor the
-wife is permitted to eat with the lord of the house. On the contrary,
-they are required to wait on him, and frequently, but not always, to
-serve as domestics. In consequence of this system, a great gulf lies
-between man and wife. His presence is viewed as a restraint in the
-harem, which, from all we can learn, is mostly lively and loquacious.
-Nor is this surprising, when we consider that the harems of aged men
-are so frequently filled with young girls in the fresh bloom of life,
-who can never learn to be fond of their husbands. The Egyptian proverb
-in reference to this is peculiarly apt. It describes an ugly old Turk
-with some beautiful youthful wives as “A paradise in which hogs feed.”
-Ibrahim Pasha introduced into his private apartments the amusement of
-billiards, which at once became a favourite recreation.
-
-Though polygamy is not only licensed but esteemed, and concubinage
-unlimited, few Egyptians have more than one wife, or one female slave.
-Not more, indeed, than one in twenty, it is said, indulge in this kind
-of pluralism, and it is probable that concubinage might be almost
-altogether abolished by the suppression of the slave trade. At present
-the markets are continually supplied with girls kidnapped in various
-countries, and these are sometimes stripped and exposed naked to the
-purchaser’s inspection.
-
-Satisfied as he generally is with one wife, the Egyptian Mohammedan
-is not by any means remarkable for continence. He may content himself
-with a single woman, but he may change her as often as he pleases, a
-privilege which is continually abused. The facility of divorce has had
-a most demoralising effect upon Egyptian manners.
-
-A man may twice put away his wife and take her back without ceremony.
-If, however, he divorces her a third time, or deliberately unites in
-one act the effect of three, he cannot take her again until she has
-been married and divorced by another husband. The manner of divorce
-is sufficiently simple. The husband says, “I divorce thee,” and
-returns his wife about one-third of the dowry, with the effects which
-she brought at her marriage. He may do this through sheer caprice,
-without assigning or proving any reason; but when a woman desires to
-put away her husband, she must show herself to have suffered serious
-ill-treatment or neglect, lose the share of her dowry, and often go
-into a court of justice to prove her claim. With the man this is
-never required, as is indicated by the common proverb: “If my husband
-consents, why should the Kadi’s consent be necessary?”
-
-A widow must wait three months, and a divorced woman three months and
-ten days, or, if pregnant, until delivery, before marrying again. The
-latter, in this case, must also wait an additional forty days before
-she can receive her new husband. Meanwhile her former proprietor must
-support her, either in his own house or in that of her parents. If he
-divorce her before the actual consummation of the marriage, he must
-provide for her more liberally. In case, however, of a wife being
-rebellious, and refusing to recognise the lawful authority of her
-husband, he may prove her to have offended, before a Kadi, and procure
-a certificate exempting him from the obligation to clothe, lodge, or
-maintain her. Thus she is desolate and without resource, for she dare
-not go to another home; but if she formally promise to be obedient in
-future, her husband must support or divorce her. When a wife desires
-to be freed from any man’s restraint and is unable to dissolve the
-union altogether, she may make a complaint and obtain a licence to
-go to her father’s house. In that case he, through sheer spite,
-generally persists in refusing to divorce her. Sometimes a man with a
-disagreeable mother-in-law quartered upon him, puts away his wife in
-order to be rid of both.
-
-The slightness of the marriage tie, and the ease with which it may be
-severed, leads, as we have said, to a profligate abuse of the power
-thus assumed by the male sex. Numbers of men have, in the course of
-their lives, 10, 20, 30, or even 40 wives. Women, also, have as many
-as a dozen partners in succession. Some profligates have been known
-to marry a woman almost every month. A man without property may pick
-up a handsome young widow, or divorced woman, for about 10_s._, which
-he pays as dowry. He lives with her a few days or weeks, and then
-divorces her with the payment of about 20_s._, to support her in the
-interval during which she is prohibited from marrying again. Such
-conduct, however, is regarded as disreputable, so that few respectable
-families will trust a girl with any man who has put away many wives.
-The crime of adultery is laid down by the law as worthy of severe
-punishment. Four eye-witnesses, however, are necessary to prove the
-fact, and the woman may then be stoned to death. From the secluded
-nature of their lives, and from the nature of the offence itself, it
-is rarely that such testimony is to be had. Cases, therefore, scarcely
-ever occur before the public courts. Heavy and ignominious penalties
-are denounced against witnesses who make these charges and fail in the
-proof. Unmarried persons convicted of fornication may be punished by
-the infliction of one hundred stripes, and, under the law acknowledged
-by the Sumrh sect, may be banished for a whole year.
-
-Egypt has in all times been famous for its public dancing girls, who
-were all prostitutes. The superior classes of them formed a separate
-tribe or collection of tribes, known as the Ghawazee. A female of
-this community is called Ghazeeyeh, and a man Ghazee. The common
-dancing girls of the country are often erroneously confounded with the
-Almeh--Awalim in the singular--who are properly female singers; though,
-whatever some authoritative writers may assert, they certainly practise
-dancing, as well as prostitution, especially since the exile of the
-Ghawazee. They perform at private entertainments, and are sometimes
-munificently rewarded. The Ghawazee, on the other hand, were accustomed
-to put aside their veils and display their licentious movements in
-public, before the lowest audience. The evolutions with which they were
-accustomed to amuse their patrons were commonly the reverse of elegant.
-Commencing with decency enough, they soon degenerated into obscenity,
-the women contorting their bodies into the most libidinous postures.
-The dress was graceful, but exposed a large portion of the bosom, and
-was frequently half thrown aside. The Ghawazee sometimes performed
-in the court of a house or in the open street; but were not admitted
-into the harems of respectable families. A party of men often met in a
-house, and sent for the dancers to amuse them. Their performances, on
-such occasions, were more than usually licentious, and their dresses
-less decent. A chemise of transparent texture, which scarcely hid the
-skin, and a pair of full trousers, was frequently all that covered
-them. Drinking copious draughts of brandy or some other intoxicating
-liquor, they soon laid aside even the affectation of modesty, and
-scenes took place like those with which the priests defiled the
-temples of India. Many of the women who thus degrade themselves are
-exceedingly beautiful. As a class, indeed, they are described as the
-handsomest in Egypt. They are distinguished, by the peculiar caste of
-their countenances, from all other females in the country, and there
-can be little doubt that they spring from a distinct race. They boast
-themselves of the Barmecide descent, but this is impossible to be
-proved. It has been conjectured that they are the lineal, as well as
-the professional descendants of those licentious dancers who exhibited
-naked--as these sometimes do--before the Egyptians in the age of the
-Pharaohs. Some imagine that the dancers of Gade, or Cadiz, ridiculed by
-Juvenal, were the prototypes of the modern Ghawazee; but it has been
-supposed, with more reason, that the Phœnicians introduced the practice
-thither from the East, where profligacy flourished at the earliest
-period.
-
-It has been the pride of the Ghawazee tribes to preserve themselves
-distinct from all other classes of the population, to intermarry, and
-thus to perpetuate their blood unmingled. A few have repented their
-mode of life, and married respectable Arabs; but this has not often
-occurred. They never among themselves took a husband until they had
-entered on a course of prostitution. To this venal calling they were
-all trained from childhood, though all were not taught to dance. In
-this community of harlots, it is singular to find that the husband
-was inferior to the wife; indeed he was subject to her, performing
-the double office of servant and procurer. If she was a dancer he was
-generally her musician, and sat by quietly tinkling upon a stringed
-instrument, while she, his wife, exposed her person in the most
-indecent attitudes, and by every voluptuous artifice endeavoured to
-seduce the spectator. Profligacy never assumed a more infamous form
-than that of the husband assisting at the daily adultery of his wife.
-Some of the men earned a livelihood as blacksmiths or tinkers. Many of
-them, however, were rich, and the women, especially, were possessed of
-costly dresses and ornaments.
-
-The Ghawazee generally followed the kind of life led by our gipsies,
-whom some, indeed, have traced to an Egyptian origin. Many, but not
-all, of the wanderers of this nation in the Valley of the Nile,
-ascribe to themselves a descent from a branch of the same family from
-which the Ghawazee claim to have sprung; but both traditions rest on
-doubtful testimony. The ordinary language of the Ghawazee is similar
-to that in use among the rest of the Egyptian population; but like all
-other unsettled, wandering tribes, they have a peculiar dialect, a
-species of slang, only intelligible to themselves. Most of them profess
-the Mohammedan faith, and they were accustomed to follow in crowds the
-pilgrim caravans to the sacred shrine at Mecca.
-
-Every considerable town in Egypt formerly harboured a large body of
-the Ghawazee, who occupied a distinct quarter, allotted entirely
-to prostitutes and their companions. Low huts, temporary sheds, or
-tents, formed their usual habitations, since they were in the habit
-of frequently transplanting themselves from one district to another.
-Others, however, occupied and furnished handsome houses, trading
-also in camels, asses, and grain; possessing numerous female slaves,
-upon whose prostitution they also realized much profit. They crowded
-the camps and attended the great religious festivals, and on these
-occasions the Ghawazee tents were always conspicuous. Some joined the
-accomplishment of singing with that of the dance.
-
-The inferior Ghawazee women resembled in their attire the common
-prostitutes of other classes, which also swarmed in Egypt. Many of
-these also, who were not Ghawazees, took the name, in order to increase
-the gains of their calling.
-
-The system of marriage, to which we have slightly alluded, is worthy
-of more particular notice. The man who married a Ghazeeyeh was a
-low and despised creature. The saying is proverbial in Egypt, that
-“the husband of a harlot is a base wretch by his own testimony.”
-The law among the Ghawazee was, that a girl as soon as marriageable
-must prostitute herself to a stranger and then take a husband. He is
-constantly employed in looking for persons to bring to her, himself
-cohabiting with her only by stealth, for she would be exposed to
-shame and made the object of ridicule were it known that she had
-admitted her own husband to her embraces. Polygamy is unknown among
-the Ghawazee. In that community, indeed, as it existed previously to
-the edict of 1835, we find a system exactly the reverse of that in the
-midst of which it existed. The birth of a male child was looked upon
-as a misfortune, since he was of no value to the tribe. Women, on the
-contrary, were precious, because they were sought after by nearly the
-whole male population of Egypt. The Ghazeeyeh made it a rule never to
-refuse the offer of a person who could pay anything. The fashionable
-dancer, therefore, at country fairs, though glittering with golden
-ornaments, and arrayed in all the beauties of the eastern loom, would
-admit the visit of any rough and ragged peasant for a sum not exceeding
-twopence. In this manner, by seizing whatever was offered to them, they
-often accumulated wealth, dressed in superb attire, rich embroidery
-of gold, with chains of golden coins, and solid bracelets of the
-same costly metal. In many instances, when the Ghazeeyeh had lost or
-divorced her former husband, and become opulent upon the profits of
-her venal calling, she married some village Sheikh, who was proud of
-his acquisition. A virgin Ghazeeyeh was never induced to forsake her
-hereditary profession; but when she formed such an alliance, she made
-a solemn vow on the tomb of some saint, to be true to her new partner,
-sacrificed a sheep, and was generally faithful to her sacred engagement.
-
-It was not only in the more populous cities and districts of Lower
-Egypt that the Ghawazee pursued their double calling of dancer and
-prostitute. Those in the Upper country were equally addicted to that
-immoral calling, and were, in proportion, equally encouraged. Even
-in the small villages a company of them was usually to be found,
-glittering in finery of gaudy colours, unveiled, and clothed only in
-those light transparent garments in which the members of the same
-sisterhood are represented on the monuments--a loose chemise of gauze,
-a scarf negligently hung about the loins, and loose trousers of the
-most delicate texture. Their dances were exhibitions of unrestrained
-indecency,--attitude, look, and movement being equally lascivious. They
-also sang and played on the viol, lute, tambour, lyre, or castanet. The
-common prostitutes of the meaner class excelled them, at least in the
-affectation of modesty. Many of the Ghawazee, however, appear sensible
-of the degradation to which they are consigned.
-
-The dance of the Ghawazee was, to the Egyptians, what an opera ballet
-is in England--the representation of some episode, generally of love.
-Formerly there was, near Cairo, a little village called Shaarah, the
-Eleusis of modern Egypt, where the mystical rites of Athor were,
-until recently, celebrated. It was a collection of small mud huts,
-distinguished from those of the common people by superior cleanliness
-and comfort. Numbers of the Ghawazee dwelt here, and when Mr. J. A.
-St. John visited their abode, came out to meet him, dressed in elegant
-attire, with a profusion of ornaments. All were young--none were more
-than twenty, many not more than ten years of age. Some were exceedingly
-handsome, while others, to an European judge, appeared quite the
-reverse. In this village lived a considerable number of the Ghawazee.
-The greater part of their lives was passed in the coffee-house,
-where they lounged all day on cushions, sipping coffee, singing, and
-indulging in licentious conversation. In the great room a hundred might
-assemble, and here they were visited by the profligates of Cairo, to
-whom the village of Shaarah was a regular place of resort. In the
-towns they frequented the common coffee-houses, and in the smaller
-hamlets up the valley, they wandered all day among the dwellings,
-or reclined on benches in the open air until a boat with travellers
-appeared on the Nile, when they immediately hurried down to the shore
-and commenced their lascivious songs. The Arabs have the reputation of
-being extremely profligate, and when on their journeys never visited a
-city or village without paying a visit to the Ghawazee quarter. Indeed,
-the manners of the population have been debased under every vicious
-influence. A despotic government, an epicurean religion, and the spirit
-of indolence thus engendered, have encouraged among the men every
-species of crime against nature. The corruption which brought a curse
-on the Cities of the Plain is emulated in the cities of Egypt.
-
-When Burckhardt wrote, about 1830, the number of males and females of
-the Ghawazee nation in Egypt was estimated at from 6000 to 8000. Their
-principal settlements were in the towns of the Delta in Lower Egypt,
-and, in the Upper country, at Kenneh, where a colony of at least 300
-generally resided. The scattered companies generally formed a great
-concourse at Tanta, in the Delta, at the three annual festivals, when
-a vast multitude was collected from all parts of the valley. Six
-hundred Ghawazee have on such occasions pitched their tents near the
-town. During the reign of the Memlooks, the influence of these women
-was, in the open country, very considerable. Many respectable persons
-courted their favour. They were accustomed to dwell in the towns until
-the brutality of the soldiers--who sometimes killed one in a fit of
-jealousy--drove them into the rural parts. At each of their chief
-places of sojourn one was invested with the title of Emir, or chief
-of the settlement. She was entitled to no authority over the rest,
-yet exercised much influence by virtue of her dignity. In Cairo itself
-their number was small, and they inhabited a spacious Khan, or hotel,
-overlooked by the castle. “In a city,” says Burckhardt, “where among
-women of every rank chastity is so rare as at Cairo, it could not be
-expected that public prostitution should thrive.” This is a harsh
-judgment on the character of the Caireen females, and, according to the
-accounts of most travellers, it is unjust.
-
-Before Mohammed Ali, instigated by the priests, made his awkward
-crusade against the Ghawazee tribes, the public prostitutes were put
-under the jurisdiction of a magistrate--an aga, or captain of the
-dancing girls. He kept a list of them, and exacted from each a sum of
-money by way of tax. He also acted as a censor on the general morality
-of the people. One of these agas took upon himself an extension of
-his jurisdiction, and whenever he found a woman, no matter of what
-class, who had been guilty of a single act of incontinence, he added
-her name to the list of common prostitutes, and extorted the tax from
-her, unless she could offer him a sufficient bribe, and thus escape
-the infamy. Nor was this all. To gratify private revenge, he sometimes
-inserted in his list the names of respectable ladies; but was at length
-detected and punished with death. Whenever a party of Ghawazee was
-engaged, they had to pay to their chief a sum of money and procure his
-permission to dance. This practice was pursued by persons who farmed
-the tax, until Mohammed Ali was smitten by a sudden reverence for
-morals, and made an attempt, characteristic of his vulgar genius, to
-abolish the profligacy of Egypt. In June, 1834, a law was published
-compelling the Ghawazee throughout the country to retire from their
-profession. It is said that the Moolahs, or Muslim bishops, objected
-to them, not on account of the impurities they practised, but because
-it was a scandal that women belonging to the race of true believers
-should expose their faces to infidels for hire. An agitation was
-raised on the subject; a storm of sacerdotal rage assailed the palace;
-and the viceroy, priest-ridden, banished all the dancers to Esneh,
-500 miles up the Nile. There they were herded together, with a small
-stipend from government to keep them from starvation. The effect of
-this truly barbarian device was just what might have been expected. The
-profligacy, which had been chiefly confined to them, broke out in other
-classes, and demoralization advanced several steps further. It is said
-that the Moolahs repent their policy, since some additional burdens
-have been laid on them to make up for the loss of revenue.
-
-Under the old system, when all the known prostitutes paid a tax, the
-amount contributed by those of Cairo alone was 800 purses, or 4000_l._,
-which was a tenth of the income-tax on the whole population. This will
-suggest an idea of the numbers in which they existed. The Ghawazee
-formed the chief element in this system of prostitution, and Mohammed
-Ali imagined that with one stroke of the pen he could obliterate this
-blot on the social aspect of Egypt--he who had so worn himself out with
-licentious pleasures that his physicians had to persuade him to disband
-an army of concubines which he had kept at the expense of his miserable
-people. At once prostitution was denounced as a crime. The Ghazeeyeh
-daring to infringe the new law was condemned to fifty stripes for the
-first, and imprisonment with severe labour for the second, offence. The
-punishments of these and of all other women were illegal, according
-to the code of the Prophet. It has, however, been a blessing to the
-Mohammedan population of the East that their great lawgiver left his
-frame of legislation, for, invested with the authority of religion, it
-has been some check on the caprice of tyrants.
-
-The men, also, who were detected encouraging the Ghawazee were made
-liable to the punishment of the bastinado. Legal enactments, however,
-cannot purify the morals of a whole community. Prostitution was
-abolished by law, but remained in practice as flagrant as ever. The
-Egyptians borrowed a device from the Persians. When a man desires to
-have intercourse with a woman of the prostitute class, he marries her
-in the evening and divorces her in the morning. The dowry he pays
-her is no more than she would receive were this transaction not to
-take place. She dare not apply for the usual stipend to maintain her
-afterwards. Even these connections are often kept entirely secret.
-The dancing has been more successfully suppressed, for many of the
-performances were public; but the Europeans, as well as the rich
-natives, frequently indulge by stealth in the prohibited amusement.
-
-The Almehs, at least since the banishment of the Ghawazee, dance, and
-prostitute themselves, as well as sing--though their name implies
-neither practice, meaning simply “learned or accomplished women.” When
-an entertainment of the kind is given, it is usual to choose for the
-scene a lonely house in the outskirts of the city, surrounded by a
-garden with a high wall. There, with the windows veiled, parties meet,
-and the dancers are introduced. Women with children at the breast come
-sometimes to take part in these abominable orgies; but do not usually,
-unless excited by the men, develop all their powers of licentious
-expression. Occasionally a party of soldiers breaks in on the forbidden
-revel, and the girls are carried off to prison, where stripes, or,
-perhaps, sentences of banishment, await them.
-
-There are, however, in Egypt considerable classes of women solely
-devoted to prostitution, who practise none of the accomplishments in
-which the Almeh and Ghawazee excel. Among them is a peculiar tribe
-called the Halekye, whose husbands are tinkers or horse and ass
-doctors. They wander about the country like gipsies, and most of the
-women engage in prostitution. Prostitutes of the common order swarm in
-all the cities and towns of the valley. In and about Cairo they are
-particularly numerous, whole quarters being inhabited exclusively by
-them. Legislation is powerless to suppress their calling. Their dress
-differs from that of the other sorts of women only in being more gay
-and less disguising. Some even wear the veil and affect all the airs
-of modesty. Many are divorced women, or widows, or wives of men whose
-business has obliged them to go abroad. The wives of many of the Arabs,
-if neglected for a short time, slide easily into prostitution. When
-Ibrahim Pasha was away on the expedition to Syria, it was said that
-on his return the soldiers would find all their wives courtezans; but
-this, of course, was a satire.
-
-Numbers of the common prostitutes in Cairo have been accustomed to sell
-pigeons and other birds in the different bazaars. Hence has arisen a
-proverb, that a person who marries in the bird-market must divorce his
-wife next morning. We find in these popular sayings many indications
-of the features which mark the system in Egypt. We have some in
-allusion to the shouts and disorderly conduct of persons issuing from
-the brothels in the morning, and others describing the career of the
-prostitutes themselves. “The public woman who is liberal of her favours
-does not wish for a procuress.” “If a harlot repent she becomes a
-procuress.”
-
-One reason assigned for the practice of early marriages is, the
-proneness of the young men to be seduced by prostitutes. It is only
-just, however, to observe, that in Alexandria, though it is considered
-the _refugium peccatorum_ of the Mediterranean, the European community
-has preserved itself to an unusual degree uncontaminated by the general
-corruption of the male population.
-
-The women of Egypt, as we have already observed, are, in point of
-morals, far superior to the men. They are generally silly and childish,
-because they are treated as soulless creatures and children; but, on
-the whole, their character is not so degraded by unnatural vices as
-that of their male rulers. These generally are coarse voluptuaries, in
-whom little except the animal appetite is developed.
-
-We perceive in Egypt the illustration of some signal truths. We find
-there the proper fruits of Oriental despotism; we see the results of a
-vulgar barbarian attempt to reform public morals. We witness also the
-influence of its position upon the character of the female sex. Women
-in Egypt have been made by their social laws what the originator of
-those laws considered them to be--the mere servitors of man. In the
-prostitute system of the country we discover some singular features,
-which contribute to render modern Egypt, in relation to our actual
-subject, one of the most interesting regions in the East. The Christian
-population we do not notice, because it is composed of fragments of
-races which will be noticed in their proper countries[77].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION AMONG THE STATES OF NORTHERN AFRICA.
-
-A very brief notice is all that is required by the other States of
-northern Africa. They are distinguished from the barbarous communities
-of that region by having assumed the forms of regular society, which
-places them under a separate head, but, in relation to our subject,
-they present little that is characteristic. In describing the condition
-and morality of the female sex in other Mohammedan countries we shall
-meet with nearly all the features offered by Algiers, Barca, Morocco,
-Tunis, and Tripoli. Nevertheless, on account of the extraordinary
-mixture of the population, some curious details are observed. Turks,
-Christians, Arabs, Jews, Berbers, and Moors mingle in the cities of
-those States. The last, however, form the mass, and it is to them our
-remarks must apply.
-
-The Moors of northern Africa possess all the vices, and scarcely any of
-the virtues, of the Mohammedans of the East. They are proud, ignorant,
-sensual, and depraved, without any of that high spirit of honour which
-often, in the oriental Muslim, half redeems his character.
-
-The treatment of women among the Moors answers exactly to this
-view. They are regarded as the mere material instruments of man’s
-gratification. Accordingly their whole education is modelled so as to
-render them fit to serve the lust of a gross sensualist. Among the more
-elevated nations of Asia, men sometimes tire of their wives’ company,
-because they are simple beauties, without animation of mind, seeking
-the society of educated courtezans, more for their wit and vivacity
-than for their meaner and more material accomplishments. But, with the
-Moors, the animal appetite is all that they seek to satisfy. A woman
-with daughters does not train them in seductive arts; she _feeds_ them
-into a seductive appearance--as pigeons and doves are fed in certain
-parts of Italy. They are made to swallow daily a number of balls of
-paste, dipped in oil, and the rod enforces their compliance. This
-practice is adopted as well by the inmate of the rich man’s harem as
-by the courtezan; for to be plump, sleek, and fair, are the objects of
-their common ambition. A girl who is a camel’s load is the perfection
-of Moorish beauty. Thus intellect and sentiment are not the possessions
-to recommend her, but fat.
-
-It is strange that the woman’s character does not correspond altogether
-with her mode of life. Heavy, corpulent, and sensual, she is,
-nevertheless, alive to the keenest feeling. Hot impulses, untameable in
-their outbreak, characterize her sex. Rivarol once said, that in Paris
-the veins of the women were full of milk; but in Berlin, of pure blood.
-Pananti says that in the Moorish woman fire is the circulating fluid.
-Fiery hearts, indeed, are general among the women of the East; and are
-as remarkable in Egypt as in Morocco, where Oriental passions seem to
-spring from African soil.
-
-Immured as the wives of rich men are in splendid harems, and rigidly
-excluded from intercourse with the other sex, they seek their whole
-enjoyment in the gratification of their passions or their senses. Their
-time is spent at home, or at the bath, lounging on cushions, sipping
-coffee, smoking, gossiping, or multiplying the devices of the toilette.
-
-The Moors are extravagantly jealous. Some have been known to slay their
-women before proceeding on a long journey; others have forbidden them
-to name even an animal of the masculine gender. They are, therefore,
-entirely shut up within the walls of the harem; muffled under mountains
-of ungraceful black drapery as they move along the streets; or secluded
-from the sight of the world in the impenetrable recesses of the bath.
-There they exhaust all the ingenuity they can command in the perfuming
-and decoration of their persons.
-
-Many have wondered why women thus prevented from displaying themselves
-should be so untiring in the offices of vanity. The reason, however, is
-clear. In the Moorish harem all that a wife or concubine has to look to
-is the favour of her lord. If she succeed in charming him, her lot is
-far more happy than under any other circumstances. Besides, it is not
-only to please him that she labours. The mortification of her rivals is
-an additional source of triumph, for in the narrow sphere of the harem,
-where the nobler qualities of the mind have no room for development,
-the meanest naturally flourish most profusely.
-
-The marriage laws of Mohammedan countries in general prevail in the
-Barbary States, with slight modifications. The husband has more
-absolute control over the wife. Few take more than one, though polygamy
-is universally allowed. Opulent men, however, sometimes indulge in the
-full complement of four, besides a number of concubines. Though the
-betrothal usually takes place at an extremely early age, the actual
-union seldom takes place until the bride is twelve or thirteen, when,
-as a poet of Barbary expresses it, “The rose-bud expands to imbibe the
-vivifying rays of love.”
-
-An extensive system of professional prostitution prevails in all the
-cities of these States. In Algiers and Morocco they are particularly
-numerous. The low drinking shops are crowded with men, and the loose
-characters of the town have each a companion who is a harlot. The
-public dancers all belong to this sisterhood. They exist in large
-numbers and are very much encouraged by both sexes. The women in the
-baths, after steeping their bodies in warm water until every nerve is
-relaxed, and all their limbs are softened into a voluptuous languor,
-lie on cushions and sip coffee, while dancers, attired in a slight
-costume, display their licentious arts, and Almeh sing songs equally
-lascivious. These prostitutes are of various classes, from the low
-vulgar wretches, encouraged by the French soldiers in Algiers, to the
-wealthy courtezans who live amid luxury and splendour.
-
-A late traveller was introduced by a friend to “a Moorish lady.” She
-occupied a fine house, situated, however, in a narrow and retired
-street. Its architecture was rich, and on the door being opened,
-signs of wealth became everywhere apparent. The visitor was ushered
-into a spacious apartment, roofed with graceful arches, and hung with
-rich-coloured silks. A lamp burning amid piles of freshly-gathered
-flowers, stood on the table. Reclining on a luxurious divan, with a
-tiger-skin spread at her feet, was a woman of extreme loveliness,
-attired in a superb costume. Though of a fair and brilliant complexion,
-her hair was jet black, braided with curious art and bound up with
-strings of pearl. Its heavy tresses were partly concealed by a tiara of
-crimson, figured with gold. Diamond drops hung from her ears; corals
-and gems sparkled round her neck.
-
-A garment, of a fabric almost transparent, was folded over her bosom,
-and fastened with a golden ornament. A loose pelisse of blue brocade,
-confined at the waist with a cymar of embroidered silk, displayed the
-contour of her figure, and full trousers of muslin were furled about
-her limbs. Her cheek was tattooed with a blue star, and her nails were
-stained pink with henna. She was waited upon by a negro girl wearing
-a white muslin turban ornamented with a rose, the leaves and stem of
-which were gilded. Elegant in her manners, easy in her mode of address,
-this woman appeared to the uninitiated traveller the model of feminine
-grace. When he took his leave, however, his friend undeceived him,
-with an apology, and he discovered that he had been conversing with a
-Moorish prostitute.
-
-This sketch of a woman, belonging to the class, may serve to show the
-extent to which some of them are encouraged. Indeed the society of the
-dancers, who are all prostitutes, is a favourite recreation with the
-Moors of all classes. The women, as we have said, belong to various
-grades, from those who debase themselves by their obscene postures
-in the low coffee-houses, to those who display their more elegant
-licentiousness to amuse the wealthy. A man, entertaining a party of
-friends, sends for a company of dancers to enliven them in his kiosk
-or pavilion. There, amid the fumes of tobacco, and sometimes of strong
-liquors (for the precepts of the Koran are often disregarded), these
-unhappy women descend from ordinary immodesty to the most degrading
-obscenity, until the orgies become such as no pen could describe. When
-the master of the feast is particularly delighted with the beauty or
-the dexterity of any girl, he performs a favourite act of gallantry
-by dropping a few golden coins into her bosom. The whole company is
-liberally rewarded[78].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN ARABIA, SYRIA, AND ASIA MINOR.
-
-In whatever countries the Mohammedan religion has been established,
-to describe the condition of women would be generally to repeat
-the accounts already given. Their character varies in different
-populations, but everywhere the laws to which they are subject are
-substantially the same.
-
-In Syria and Asia Minor the marriage code is, among the Muslims,
-precisely similar to that of Egypt and Turkey, and so also in Arabia.
-In Natolia, especially, the influence of the Prophet’s law is powerful,
-and the comparative simplicity of its inhabitants leads them to respect
-the boundaries laid down to their indulgences. Possessing within
-their own country all the materials of prosperity, they might, with
-virtue and industry, become once more a powerful and wealthy race; but
-misgovernment adds yearly to the mass of their corruption, and they
-perish in misery and servitude.
-
-In such countries ambition sees no path but that of reckless crime,
-and mental activity only stimulates to sensual pursuits. Accordingly
-profligacy flourishes in the cities of Asia Minor, though in the
-thinly-peopled tracts there is perhaps more purity of manners than in
-any other Mohammedan country, except Arabia. Polygamy, permitted as
-it is by the law, is far from being generally adopted. In 1830, the
-extensive city of Brussa contained only a single man who had more than
-one wife. Women are secluded to some extent, but enjoy great freedom.
-Loved and indulged they are, but not respected; and, consequently,
-their morals are inferior to those of the Bedouin wives.
-
-The Christians, who are so freely tolerated among the Mohammedan
-population of Asia Minor, preserve very much the customs of Europe,
-except in the lesser details of their life. In the rich provinces of
-Syria, Arabs, Greeks, and Ottomans have mingled, bringing each some
-characteristic habits to modify the general social scheme. The pastoral
-and the Christian tribes are by far the most moral.
-
-Among the Maronites of Lebanon, who hold our faith, a rigid code
-exists, with purity of manners; but, as among the ancient Germans, the
-severe law is only the moral influence in action. The law, without the
-feeling which upholds it, would be powerful; which constitutes the
-difference between a community which frames its own code according to
-its own spirit, and that which receives decrees from the caprice of a
-ruler. If a man among the Maronites seduce a girl, he must marry her;
-should he refuse, fasts, imprisonments, and even blows are employed,
-which force him to submit. The illicit intercourse of the sexes,
-married or unmarried, is reprobated by the sense of the community, and
-the profession of prostitution is unknown. On the whole, this may be
-described as a simple and comparatively innocent race, removed above
-the profligacy which ferments around them.
-
-The Druses, also, are distinguished by the same characteristics; they
-do not permit polygamy, and marry very young. A man may divorce his
-wife, however, by only saying, “Go;” or if she ask permission to visit
-her relatives, and he concede it, without enjoining her to return,
-she must consider herself put away. In spite of this facility such
-separations scarcely ever occur. An adulteress is mercilessly put to
-death by the hands of her friends. One who commits fornication suffers
-a similar punishment, but in this case the father may pardon her if he
-choose. The tenderness of the parent sometimes induces him to spare
-his child, though her guilt may stain the honour of his house; but
-brothers, it is said, never relent, visiting the sin of their sister
-with unsparing sternness.
-
-Prostitutes and dancing girls are common in all the cities and towns of
-Syria, but they are never met with among any of the pastoral or nomade
-tribes. In Asia Minor and Palestine the same circumstance is to be
-observed.
-
-There is little to remark upon in the habits or characteristics of the
-class, which is similar to others of the same sisterhood in Egypt,
-Turkey, and other parts of the East[79]. Since, therefore, little could
-be gained by dwelling at length upon these countries, we quit them,
-and pass to a region which, if the spirit of romance still remains on
-earth, may be described as its chosen home.
-
-In Arabia we find a system of manners at once unique and beautiful. In
-saying this, however, we allude to the Bedouins, or representatives
-of the true Arab race, who preserve their original simplicity in
-the rainless plains of their ancient country. In the cities of the
-coast, and wherever the fertility of the soil has attracted a crowded
-population, vice has introduced itself, and the graces of the shepherd
-state have quickly disappeared. In surveying the civilization of Arabia
-this distinction must always be held in view.
-
-Many natural circumstances combine to influence the natural character
-of the Arabs in their native region. A country whose sunny and sandy
-plains alternate with tracts of hills and valleys of the richest bloom,
-has been their home. In the mountains of Yemen wet and dry seasons
-alternate, but over the desert hangs a sky of perpetual blue,--bright,
-dry, and warm; while, during the summer solstice, a sun almost vertical
-floods the waste of rock and sand with insufferable light, parching the
-face of all nature.
-
-In this extraordinary region the Arabs live; some, as we have said,
-in cities or villages, some in separate families, under tents. An
-independent patriarchal form of government has been preserved in
-complete unity with their simple system of manners. Their religion
-is that of Mohammed, though various interpretations of his law
-have divided them into numerous sects. Differing, as they do, in
-their scheme of education from Europeans, it is difficult for us to
-understand their character. The boy grows up until five years old under
-his mother’s care; then, without a graduation, he is taken to his
-father’s side. From the companionship of women and children he passes
-at once into the society of men.
-
-The Arabs hold the female sex in high estimation. They exclude women,
-indeed, from all public assemblies, preclude them from the use of
-strong liquors, and hold them from infancy to womanhood under tutelage;
-but they restrain themselves as well, and their general demeanour is
-modest, sober, and grave. Those in the fertile province of Yemen are
-more vivacious than those of the sterile plains. Nevertheless the men
-love society. Every village has its coffee-house full of gossipers, and
-every camp its place of rendezvous.
-
-The women of the family occupy the interior of the house or tent;
-they are secluded to some extent, but not in the extravagant degree
-described by some writers. A man will not salute one in public, or
-fix his eyes upon her. Strangers, in general, are not allowed to
-converse with them, and they are expected to pay great deference to
-the ruling sex, but they are neither disguised nor immured. Veils they
-wear, but do not hide their faces with that religious care considered
-indispensable in some countries. Among many of the tent-dwellers, women
-drink coffee with strangers; and in some of the communities towards the
-south they are allowed to entertain a guest in their husband’s absence.
-Indeed it may be said, that they are in Arabia more free than anywhere
-else in Islam, and proverbially abstemious in the gratification of all
-their appetites. All the household duties are performed by them. They
-fetch water, drive flocks, and wait on the men; but they are loved and
-respected, notwithstanding, and no claim is held so sacred as that by
-which a mother exacts duty from her son. There is, indeed, something
-admirable in the simplicity of these desert tribes, where the wife sits
-within her husband’s tent, weaving her own garments from the wool of
-his flocks.
-
-Where several families are congregated, the females visit each other,
-assemble together, and exchange every pleasant service. They meet in
-the evening to sing to the young men of the tribe, and many romantic
-assignations are kept in the little secluded valleys in which Arabia
-abounds. The well is the favourite spot of rendezvous.
-
-The dances of the Arab girls, who perform before the men, are not only
-decent but elegant and romantic--totally in contrast to those of the
-Ghawazee. These amusements are as much for their own gratification as
-that of the other sex, for sometimes no males are present. Nor are they
-forced to exhibit when disinclined. Sometimes when the young men have
-offended the maidens of a tribe, they assemble night after night, but
-no damsels appear to dance or sing. All this indicates considerable
-purity of manners. The Mohammedan marriage law prevails among all the
-Arabs of the peninsula, though its details are modified by their system
-of manners. A man is expected, though not compelled, to take the widow
-of his deceased brother. A man has an exclusive right to the hand
-of his cousin, but is not compelled to marry her. He, however, must
-finally renounce his claim before she can be taken by any one else.
-Each may have four wives and as many concubines as he pleases. Two
-sisters may not be had at once; but one being divorced, the other may
-be taken.
-
-The disparity between the sexes in point of number, which has been
-asserted by some travellers, does not appear to exist. Polygamy, a
-privilege of the rich, is seldom practised even by them. Many wealthy
-Bedouins, who could well maintain a harem, declare they could not be
-happy with more than one companion. The law obliges a man to pass at
-least one night in every week with each of his wives, and this has
-assisted in checking the practice.
-
-The Mohammedans of Arabia are accused of selling their daughters; but
-they do not often bargain them away for profit. They naturally prefer
-a wealthy before a poor son-in-law, and receive a bounty from him;
-but they richly portion out the bride. She is further endowed by her
-husband. The contract drawn up before the Kadi stipulates not only
-what she is to receive upon her marriage, but what she may claim in
-case of a divorce. In many cases a sheikh of substantial fortune takes
-a poor son-in-law, gives him the sum necessary to be paid before the
-judge, and exacts from him in return only a pledge of such an amount,
-in the event of repudiation, that it can never take place. The wife,
-not being compelled to vest all her property in him, is, in some
-measure, free from his authority. She is, indeed, more supreme in the
-household than in most countries, and is even more happy, because she
-can insist upon a divorce if ill-used. Some men, indeed, take two
-wives, and some even three, but these instances are so few that, though
-the sexes are numerically equal, almost every man may have a wife. In
-the towns, soldiers and domestics are more frequently married than in
-Europe. No insult wounds an Arab woman more than to compare her to a
-fruitless tree. In this way the evils of polygamy, in the cities, are
-counteracted. A maiden past the marriageable age is ashamed of her
-virginity, and a widow without children is miserable until she finds a
-new partner. There are no retreats whither celibacy may fly for refuge
-from the taunts of the world. Every woman, consequently, is desirous to
-marry; but those who are taken by pluralists bear fewer children than
-those who have no rival under the roof. In the house of a polygamist,
-each woman, feeling she has to contend for favour, seeks by unnatural
-means to increase her own attractions, to seem more voluptuous than she
-is, and thus injures her natural powers. Concubinage is more common
-than polygamy. The sheriff of Mecca has numerous female slaves, and
-his high example is followed by many wealthy men in the luxurious and
-corrupt populations of the cities. In the desert it is more rare, and,
-indeed, scarcely ever practised, except where a father presents his son
-with a beautiful bondmaid, that he may be satisfied with her, and not
-enter the towns in search of prostitutes.
-
-In Mecca, the sacred city of the Mohammedan faith, nearly all the
-wealthy men maintain concubines, but, if they bear children, must,
-unless their complement of four wives be already complete, marry them
-or incur public reproach. Some of these voluptuaries, who look on
-women only as a means to gratify their animal appetites, marry none
-but Abyssinian wives, because they are more servile, obsequious, and
-voluptuous than those of pure Arabian blood. Foreigners arriving at
-that city with the caravan bargain for a female slave, intending to
-sell her at their departure, unless she bear offspring, in which case
-she is elevated to the position of a wife. Under any circumstances, to
-sell a concubine slave, is by the respectable part of the community,
-regarded as disreputable. Speculators, however, sometimes buy young
-girls, indulge their sensuality upon them, train them up, educate them,
-and sell them at a profit. No distinction is made among the children,
-of whichever class of mothers they are born.
-
-It is one sign of pure manners among the simple communities of Arabia,
-that chastity is highly prized. When the young Arab marries a girl, he
-sometimes stipulates in the contract that she must be a virgin. Of this
-he desires to assure himself by examination. If the outward signs are
-wanting, the bride’s father has to prove the circumstance accidental;
-should he fail in this, the fame of her innocence may be destroyed,
-and she may be driven from home overwhelmed with shame. In many of
-the nomade communities it is the invariable rule to put away a bride
-immediately after the discovery of any suspicious sign, and in the
-hills of Yemen the laws are equally severe. The man who marries a woman
-disgraced by incontinence shares her infamy unless he send her back to
-her father.
-
-The dwellers in towns, estimating less highly the worth of feminine
-virtue, laugh at a man who dishonours his family on account of such
-a circumstance. A man finding that his bride is not a virgin demands
-compensation from her father, keeps her a short time, and then puts
-her away privily, as Joseph was minded to do with the mother of
-Jesus. Many also understand that nature has refused the sign to some
-females, and that it is unjust to condemn a woman on the strength of
-a circumstance which a hundred accidents may have caused. If adultery
-be committed by the wife, the law condemns her to have her throat
-cut by the hand of her brother or father; but in general humanity
-prevails against the written code, and this horrible punishment is
-seldom inflicted. The usual manner of visiting such an offence is by
-summary divorce, which is indeed easily to be obtained for trivial
-causes, or for no cause at all. In towns an agreement before the Kadi,
-in the desert a lamb slaughtered before the door of the tent, is all
-the ceremony needed. The simple pronunciation of the word “Go” is, in
-many parts, sufficient. Men of violent passions abuse this privilege,
-and it is said that some, not more than 40 years of age, have had as
-many as 50 wives; but it is utterly untrue to say that such instances
-are frequent. The existence of the pure and true sentiment of love,
-which is so rare in Mohammedan countries, is admitted to prevail in
-Arabia; the natural jealousy of the male sex, the superior wisdom of
-their regulations respecting the intercourse of the sexes prior to
-marriage, the independence of the women, and the lofty system of morals
-distinguishing the Bedouins of the desert, are totally incompatible
-with such a flagrant profligacy in the use of divorce. Were it the
-case, the complete confusion of society would ensue; whereas no region
-in the world presents spectacles of happier homes than the plains of
-Arabia, with their tents and wandering tribes. Women are comparatively
-free, being tolerated even in religious differences, which implies a
-high estimate of their intellectual qualities. The republican spirit of
-the desert assigns them, indeed, their natural position, and, though
-much is required from them as modest women, little is exacted from them
-as an inferior sex.
-
-Some of the peculiar customs among the various communities of Arabia
-are curious enough to require notice. Before the Wahaby Conquest it
-was customary among the Deyr Arabs for a man to take his daughter,
-when marriageable, to the market-place--where all such engagements
-were formed--and proclaim her for disposal, crying aloud, “Who will
-buy the virgin?” The Bedouins of Mount Sinai still adhere to their
-singular practices. A man desiring matrimony makes a bargain with some
-one who has an unmarried daughter, and if able to settle it, sticks in
-his turban a sprig of green, which signifies that he is wedded to a
-virgin. The bride’s inclinations are not beforehand consulted. She must
-go home with her husband, and submit for one night to his embraces.
-If she be not pleased, however, she may in the morning go home, when
-the contract is dissolved. Among the wealthier tribes of the East, no
-price is paid, and every girl is free to choose a partner. Modesty,
-with them, is regarded as the finest grace of the sex. It is genuine
-and unassailable. The bride even is sometimes so coy, that her husband
-is obliged to tie her up and whip her before she will yield to him. A
-widow’s marriage is disreputable, and assailed with every demonstration
-of disrespect. This proves that divorce among them is unfrequent. Among
-the Nazyene, a tribe on the peninsula of Sinai, a girl, when given in
-marriage, flies and takes refuge among the hills, where she is supplied
-with food by her relations. The bridegroom goes in search, and when
-he finds his bride, must pass the night with her in the open air.
-She may repeat the flight several times, and indeed is not expected
-to live with her husband until a whole year has elapsed or she has
-become pregnant. Various other customs characterise different tribes;
-but in every feature of Arabian manners we discover a simplicity and
-purity as admirable as it is rare. Conjugal infidelity is rare in the
-desert. Fornication scarcely ever happens, and common prostitutes are
-unknown. In the crowded towns on the coast, however, there are numbers
-of professional prostitutes, licensed to carry on their calling, who
-pay considerable sums to the magistrates for the enjoyment of their
-privileges. In Mecca they are extremely numerous, and for the most
-part inhabit the poorest quarter of the city. In Dhyrdda, also, they
-are extremely numerous, but the population of that place is almost
-exclusively foreign. These women bear scarcely any children. When,
-during the early years of their vocation, they are capable of producing
-offspring, they employ artificial means to ensure abortion. The seeds
-of the tree whence is obtained the balm of Mecca, are used for that
-purpose.
-
-In the mosques of the sacred city, prostitutes collect in great
-numbers, and are largely encouraged by the Moolah or priestly
-class, who find them a source of profit. Those of the more indigent
-description inhabit a particular quarter, but the others are dispersed
-amid the general mass of the population. They are more decent in their
-outward demeanour than the same class in the East and in Europe, and
-it requires a practised eye to detect, amid the throng of veiled women
-circulating in the streets and bazaars, those of the venal sisterhood.
-Contrary, however, to the rule which prevails in England, they are
-almost the only females who frequent places of worship, which is on
-account not of their devotion, but of their effrontery, the prejudices
-of Mohammedans being against it. The Bedouins near cities sometimes
-frequent the brothels in their neighbourhood; but these belong to the
-class the manners of which have been vitiated by intercourse with
-strangers.
-
-In what numbers the prostitutes of the Arabian cities are found we know
-not, nor do we discover anything remarkable in their manners or modes
-of life. It would, consequently, be unprofitable to dwell on them. We
-have to notice, however, in connection with Arabia, two remarkable
-customs, one of which exhibits to us a class of male prostitutes, if
-such a term may be allowed, and the other a species of hospitality, now
-very rare, except among the grossest communities.
-
-In the Arabian province of Hedjaz no unmarried woman may pass within
-the boundary or enter the mosque. As, however, many rich old widows and
-persons whose husbands have died by the way arrive with every pilgrim
-caravan, some device is necessary to procure them admission without
-breaking the law. A number of men, therefore, live in the frontier
-towns, who, upon the arrival of every concourse, hire themselves out
-to the women, marry them, live with them while they pass through the
-sacred territory, receive a munificent sum for their services, and
-are then divorced. If one of these individuals chooses to insist on
-keeping the wife he has procured, she cannot help it; but such an
-act would be attended with great discredit and the loss of a very
-profitable occupation. Eight hundred men are sometimes employed as
-temporary husbands, and a number of boys are continually trained that
-they may inherit the calling. On the various roads to the shrine of
-Mecca congregate a number of women, with somewhat of a sacred character
-attached to them. They are prostitutes, but not indiscriminate in
-their connections, since they offer to bear to wealthy pilgrims
-children, who are considered as born under a fortunate auspice.
-
-Among the Merehedes, on the frontiers of Yemen, a custom far more
-revolting has existed from ancient time, and still prevails. A stranger
-arriving as a guest is compelled to pass the night with the wife of
-his host, whatever her age or condition. Should he succeed in pleasing
-her he is honourably treated. If not, she cuts off a piece of his
-garment, turns him out into the village, and leaves him to be driven
-away in disgrace. When the Wahabis conquered the Merehedes, they forced
-them to abandon this odious practice; but some misfortunes ensuing to
-the tribe, they were all imputed to this sacrilegious infringement of
-an ancient law. The custom was therefore restored. Some other female
-of the family, may, however, be substituted for the wife, but young
-virgins are never sacrificed to this barbarous hospitality[80].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN TURKEY.
-
-There is one general system of manners pervading the Mohammedan world.
-In examining, therefore, the moral aspects of the various countries
-in which the religion of the Prophet is established, we find little
-in each to distinguish it from the rest. In Turkey exists the same
-civilization as in Egypt, though its population is more corrupt.
-25,000,000 souls inhabit a region which would support twice as many,
-and yearly the work of decay is going on.
-
-The Osmanlis, a race of Scythian extraction, have held Turkey during
-400 years, receiving, however, large infusions of Persian and
-Mongolian blood. The wealthier people their harems with the beauties
-of Georgia and Circassia; the humbler intermarry with Servians,
-Bulgarians, Albanians, and Greeks, so that the original physical
-characteristics of the race have been greatly modified. Their moral
-nature has changed also, but in a less degree. Proud, sensual, and
-depraved in their tastes, they are too indolent to acquire even the
-means of gratifying their most powerful cravings. Their pride is
-satisfied with the recollection of former glories; their lust looks
-forward to the enjoyments of paradise, crowded, as they believe, with
-celestial creatures devoted to the delight of their senses. Immersed
-in an atmosphere of epicurean speculation, the Turk whom poverty does
-not compel to labour for his bread passes the day in lounging on
-cushions, smoking, sipping coffee, winking with half-closed eyes on
-the landscape, dreamily indifferent to all external objects. Even the
-poor indulge in this idleness. They measure out the amount of labour
-sufficient to keep them from want, and spend the rest of their lives
-drowsily awaiting the sensual bliss promised them by their prophet in
-heaven. During this lethargy passions more violent than are known to
-Europeans sleep in their breasts, and when these are excited, the Turk
-cannot be surpassed for brutal fury. All his ideas are gross. He is
-able to imagine no authority not armed with whip or sword. Moral power
-is to him an incomprehensible idea. It is, perhaps, for this reason
-that the Osmanlis have conquered so much, and possessed so little
-talent for governing what they acquired.
-
-This notice of the Turkish character is necessary, because it
-corresponds exactly with their estimation of the female sex. The person
-alone is loved. Intellect in a Turkish woman is a quality rarely
-developed, because never prized. It is no part of her education to
-learn to read or write. To adorn herself, to dress in charming attire,
-to beautify her face, to perfume her hair, and soften her limbs in the
-bath or with fine ointments, is the object to which she applies her
-mind; and when, thus decorated, she lounges on a pile of cushions in
-the full splendour of her costume, her delight is some spectacle which
-will stimulate her passions and intoxicate her with excitement. Turkey
-is thus the empire of the senses.
-
-Polygamy, authorized by the Prophet’s code, is not now so frequently
-resorted to as formerly. It is growing into disrepute, and the female
-sex, upon which the laws relating to property have conferred much
-independence, are generally averse to it. Men marrying wives equal in
-rank to themselves frequently engage in their first marriage contract
-not to form a second, and the breach of this agreement is viewed as
-a profligate abuse of manners. The practice of polygamy was once,
-however, very prevalent among the higher orders, and contributed much
-to corrupt as well as to diminish the population. In the families of
-those Mohammedans who indulge in a plurality of wives, the children
-are fewer than in those of the Greeks, Armenians, and Jews, to whom
-polygamy is not permitted.
-
-The offspring of married women, also, in the middle ranks of life is
-more numerous than in the wealthier harems. Indeed, the sex in Turkey
-is naturally prolific; but the growth of the nation has been checked
-by this among other causes. To account for the origin of the practice
-in Turkey many ingenious theories have been framed. It appears easy,
-however, to find its origin. The men are naturally sensual, and have
-never been accustomed to respect the female sex. When, therefore,
-an individual’s wealth allowed him, he naturally made use of it to
-multiply the sources of that animal enjoyment, dearer to him than
-any other earthly pleasure. Some have supposed that polygamy was
-necessitated by the numerical disparity of the sexes; but this does not
-seem the case. In those cities and towns where the women are in greater
-numbers than the men, we find that they are purchased in large numbers
-from the neighbouring villages or in the markets, to furnish the harems
-of the opulent.
-
-The social code of Turkey requires a woman to preserve herself in
-strict seclusion. The privacy of her apartments is so great that,
-unless on very rare occasions, no male is allowed to enter them except
-the master of the house. There are only certain days of the year in
-which a brother, an uncle, or a father-in-law can be admitted, or on
-festive occasions, such as a birthday or ceremony of circumcision.
-
-The usages of the country do not even permit a man to see his wife
-before marriage. In this respect the Turks are more jealous than their
-written law, for the Prophet advised his friend to obtain a glimpse of
-the woman whom he designed to receive into his bed. She may gratify
-her curiosity by seeing him, but such an occurrence is not frequent.
-This severe separation of the sexes has given employment to a class of
-professional matchmakers, who, as in China, make considerable profits
-by their calling, and often gain money under fraudulent pretences. The
-beauty and temper of the woman are exaggerated to the man, who, on
-the other hand, is described to the lady as possessed of every heroic
-qualification. They are mutually deceived; they rush into a marriage,
-and perhaps in a few days a divorce is required. Children of three or
-four years are sometimes betrothed, and married when they are fourteen.
-This interference of the parents leads often to evil results, for the
-youth, who is forced to accept his father’s choice, sometimes hates his
-bride before he sees her, and resolves to take a concubine as soon as
-circumstances permit.
-
-Each family deputes an agent to promote the satisfactory settlement of
-the transaction, while the girl herself, under her cloudy veil, sits
-in her harem to await her fate. To expose her face to a strange man’s
-gaze would be regarded as a species of prostitution. Her fortune is,
-therefore, decided for her. The terms of the contract are laid down in
-a document, which is signed by witnesses, and the woman is then called
-“a wife by writing.” This is concluded some days before the actual
-rite of wedding; but the whole interval is occupied with ceremonies,
-rejoicing, and liberal displays of hospitality. A man in Constantinople
-usually reckons on spending a year’s income on the occasion of his
-marriage. The average of this, in the middle ranks, is from 2000 to
-2500 piastres.
-
-On the appointed day the union, which is a mere civil contract, though
-blessed by religious rites, is concluded. The bridegroom is conducted
-by an Imaum, or priest, to the entrance of the bride’s chamber, and
-there a prayer is uttered, to which all his friends make response. He
-is then left alone, standing outside the door. He knocks three times. A
-slave-maid admits him, going out herself to fetch a table with a tray
-of viands. While she is gone the husband endeavours to uncover his
-wife’s face, in which, after the usual coy resistance prescribed by
-custom, he, of course, succeeds. Meanwhile the damsel returns, and they
-eat together. The meal is very quickly dispatched, and a bridal couch
-is spread on the floor. Then the bride is taken into a neighbouring
-room, where she is undressed by her mother and her friends, after which
-the newly-married pair are left alone. Among the most popular stories
-connected with Ottoman manners, is that of the sultan throwing his
-handkerchief to the woman he chooses as the companion of his pillow,
-and the imitation of this practice by great men in their harems. This,
-however, is a fanciful invention, repeated by some travellers who
-desired the world to suppose they were intimate with the secrets of
-the seraglio. When the sultan chooses any one of his women to pass the
-night with, he sends an eunuch with a present to inform her of the
-intended honour. She is taken to a bath, perfumed, attired in beautiful
-garments, and then placed in bed. The story of her creeping in at the
-foot of the couch is also a fable. The first chosen is the chief in
-rank.
-
-The first of these fanciful accounts was probably suggested by a
-custom still practised among some of the Bosnian communities in western
-Turkey, where manners are more simple than in the eastern provinces.
-The young Muslim girls are there permitted to walk about in the
-daytime with uncovered faces. A man inclined to matrimony who happens
-to be pleased with the appearance of one of these maidens throws an
-embroidered handkerchief, or some part of his dress, over her head
-or neck. She then returns to her home, considers herself betrothed,
-and never again exposes her features in public. This is the usual
-preliminary to marriage; but it is probable that the lover has more
-than one look at his mistress before he makes the sign.
-
-Even the sultan’s concubines are purchased slaves, since no free
-Turkish woman can occupy that position. Occasionally he gives one away
-to a favourite pasha, who looks with pride upon the acquisition, and
-glories in the refuse of a palace. Little girls, about seven years of
-age, are much prized as slaves, and are often sold for upwards of a
-hundred guineas.
-
-Life in the harems of Constantinople is similar to that in those of
-Cairo. It is a round of sensual enjoyment, in which vanity is almost
-the only relief to the grosser appetites of humanity. The bath is the
-favourite place of resort. Lady Wortley Montague has left a celebrated
-description of one of these palaces of indolence. The ladies, perfectly
-naked, walked up and down, or reclined in various attitudes on heaps of
-cushions, attended by pretty slaves, who handed them coffee or sherbet.
-They delighted in the voluptuous movements of the female dancers,
-of which the public class in Turkey, as in Egypt, is composed of
-prostitutes. It struck them with surprise and disappointment that Lady
-Mary did not take off her clothes as they did; but she showed them how
-she was cased up in her stays, so that she could not strip, which they
-imagined was an ingenious device of her jealous husband.
-
-The morals of the Turkish women in general are described by most
-writers as very loose. The veils which were invented to preserve their
-virtue, favour their intrigues to dispose of it. The most watchful
-husband may pass his wife in the street without knowing her. Thus they
-live in perpetual masquerade. The places of assignment are usually
-at Jews’ shops, where they meet their paramours, though very seldom
-letting them know who they are. “You may easily imagine,” said Lady
-Montague, “the number of faithful wives to be very small in a country
-where they have nothing to fear from a lover’s indiscretion.” This
-may be taken, however, as an exaggerated view, for her ladyship was
-accustomed to breathe the impure moral atmosphere of courts, and cared
-little for the character of her sex in any part of the world.
-
-The wife in Turkey holds this check upon the caprice of her
-husband--her property belongs to herself, and if she be divorced she
-may take it away. The widow, also, is inviolable in her harem, not only
-against private intrusion, but against the officers of the law. If a
-woman’s husband neglect her, that is, if he fail to visit her once a
-week, she may sue for a separation, which may be easily effected before
-a Kadi. If she commit adultery, he may also sue; but if the divorce
-takes place by mutual consent no formality whatever is required. As in
-Egypt, a man may marry a woman twice after divorcing her; but the third
-time he must not take her again, until she has been had and put away by
-another person.
-
-Women, in Turkey, regard as an object more pitiable than any other
-the childless wife. With them to be barren after marriage is viewed
-as more disgraceful than with us to be fruitful before. All sorts of
-quackeries are resorted to by them to prolong and increase their powers
-of child-bearing, so that many kill themselves by the dangerous devices
-they employ. It is common to see a woman who has borne thirteen or
-fourteen children; some in the middle ranks bear from 25 to 30. They
-pray for the birth of twins, and are usually good mothers, though some
-have expressed themselves indifferent whether all their children lived
-or half of them were swept off by the plague. The single instance
-of superior refinement observable in Egypt is also remarkable here.
-Midwives only attend the bed of child-birth. There are no accoucheurs.
-Female practitioners also cure diseases; though an European physician
-is sometimes admitted to feel a pulse or even to see a patient’s face.
-
-Among the humbler classes the condition of the women resembles very
-nearly that of our own country. Their morality is generally superior to
-that of those wealthier inmates of the harems whose indolence seduces
-them into vice.
-
-The dancing girls of the public class of Turkey resemble, in all
-respects, those of Egypt. They are prostitutes by profession; but they
-do not appear to be so numerous in that country as formerly. Their
-performances, however, are prized by all classes, and they dance
-as lasciviously in the harem before women, as in the Kiosk before a
-party of convivial men. Those who perform in public indulge in every
-obscenity, and vie with each other in their indecent exhibitions. Their
-costume is exceedingly rich both in colour and in material. Frequenting
-the coffee-houses by day, they pick up companions, whom they entertain
-with songs, or tales, or caresses until nightfall, when preliminary
-orgies take place, and they disperse, with their patrons, to houses
-in various parts of the city, generally in the more narrow, tortuous,
-and remote streets. The outsides of these habitations are usually
-of a forbidding, cheerless, dirty aspect, but the interior of those
-belonging to the wealthier chiefs of the dancing girls are fitted up
-with every appurtenance of luxury.
-
-One of the most extraordinary features in the social institutions of
-Turkey is the temporary union, or marriage of convenience, which is
-adopted by many. It is, indeed, strictly speaking, simple prostitution.
-A man going on a journey, and leaving his wife behind, arrives in
-a strange city, where he desires to make some stay. He immediately
-bargains for a girl to live with him while he remains in the
-neighbourhood; a regular agreement is drawn up, and he supports her,
-and pays her friends, while he has her in his possession. The Moolahs
-declare this to be one valuable privilege of the male sex in Turkey;
-but the engagement does not appear to be valid before the law, if
-contracted expressly as a temporary union. But this is not necessary.
-The facility of divorce renders all such precaution useless. The man,
-therefore, takes the girl, nominally as his wife, but virtually as
-his mistress, until he is tired of her, or wishes to depart, when she
-returns to her friends and waits the occasion of a new engagement.
-
-Such is, in outline, the social system of Turkey with reference to the
-female sex[81].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN CIRCASSIA.
-
-A peculiar interest attaches to the nation inhabiting that isthmus,
-with its stupendous mountains, which forms the natural barrier between
-Asia and Europe; and is, perhaps, still the least known region in the
-ancient world. The Western Caucasus comprehends an immense district
-commencing at the middle Kuban, and terminating with Georgia. It is
-peopled by various tribes, claiming a common descent, and governed by
-princes, elders, and nobles. The Circassians are a brave and civilized,
-hospitable and courteous, race, resembling the ancient Swiss; and they
-present a singular system of manners varying considerably with the
-different tribes.
-
-There is a race, known as the Abassians, which is considered the
-aboriginal nation of the Caucasus,--described by Strabo as a predatory
-people,--pirates at sea, robbers on land; characteristics which they
-have to this day preserved. They are, however, in other respects,
-virtuous, dwelling in fixed habitations, strangers to the worst vices
-of civilized life, and humble in their desires. Their religion, a
-compound of Judaism, Christianity, and Islamism, permits polygamy;
-but, as a wife is expensive, they are usually contented with one, who
-is more the companion than the menial of her husband. The women are
-exceedingly industrious; employing themselves in a variety of pursuits,
-and tasking themselves far more than is essentially necessary in order
-to procure ornamental clothes. To reward them for this they are allowed
-full liberty, are free in their social intercourse, and, if they wear
-a veil, wear it only to screen their complexions from the sun. Their
-costume is highly elegant, and their state is indicated by the colour
-of their trowsers--white being that for the virgin, red for the wife,
-and blue for the widow.
-
-The laws these people have made to protect their own morals, have,
-in some degree, answered their purpose. Illegitimate children have
-no claim to a share of the patrimony, and can legally claim no
-relationship with any one. Should they be sold as slaves there is no
-one bound to ransom; should they be assassinated there is no relative
-expected to avenge their death. Nevertheless the inherent kindness of
-the Abassians mitigates the effect of these harsh laws. Illegitimate
-children are rarely treated ill, and their legitimate brothers often
-make with them a voluntary partition of property.
-
-But when a man marries a barren woman, he is allowed to take a
-concubine, whose children inherit no disability on this account.
-
-When a man dies, be his rank what it may, the social law confers on his
-wife the superintendence of the household, and she administers the
-property without division until her death, when it is divided among
-the sons. Should any of the daughters remain unmarried, their eldest
-brother is bound to support them until a suitor appears, when he may
-make as good a bargain as he can.
-
-Severe laws have been enacted against immorality. The man detected in
-illicit intercourse with a married or unmarried woman is tried before
-the elders of the community, who rarely fail to punish him, either by
-a fine or by perpetual banishment. The dishonoured wife is returned to
-her parents, as well as the girl, and sold as a slave. The dowry which
-her husband had given for her is returned to him. If the guilt have
-happened in the family of a prince, it can only be washed out by the
-blood of one, if not both, of the criminals. So bitter, indeed, is the
-shame which such an occurrence brings upon a house, that they who have
-been so disgraced often retire to some desolate part of the Caucasus,
-there to hide themselves from the obloquy which ever afterwards
-attaches to their name.
-
-When a man desires to divorce his wife, he must declare before a
-council of elders the reasons for such a step; and if these be not
-perfectly satisfactory he is obliged to pay the parents of the women a
-sufficient amount to recompense them for the burden thus thrown upon
-their hands. Should the woman, however, marry again before two years
-have expired, this sum is returned. Frequently a maiden having formed
-some romantic attachment, and hating the man chosen as her husband by
-her parents, flies alone into the woods, and hides until her friends
-proclaim themselves willing to concede her desires. Occasionally, also,
-two warriors select the same girl to marry, and in this case a duel is
-fought--sometimes with fire-arms--the victor carrying off the prize.
-Similar laws and usages prevail among the Circassians, except that
-the wealthier men among them seclude their wives, and are altogether
-more Turkish in their manners. On the whole, however, the patriarchal
-institutions of this singular and romantic people are admirable for
-the effect they produce, since the Circassians and Abassians are
-exceedingly pure in their morality.
-
-Among the Circassians themselves, with the exception of the prouder
-nobles, women are not secluded. The wives and daughters of a house are
-often introduced to the traveller, and unmarried girls are frequently
-seen at public assemblies. One singular custom, however, is observed,
-which is that the husband never appears abroad with his wife, and
-scarcely ever sees her during the day. This is not from neglect or
-scorn, but in accordance with ancient habits, and a desire to prolong
-the first sentiments with which the bridegroom approaches his bride.
-
-All Circassian women wear, until they are married, a tight corset of
-leather, which makes their complexion sallow, and hurts the figure,
-as all unnatural compression does. The consequence is, that the young
-wives are infinitely more beautiful than the maidens; and the charms of
-the women of this race are celebrated throughout the world. The reason
-assigned for this strange custom is, that it is shameful for a virgin
-to have a full bosom. When a girl has been chosen and purchased, her
-future husband comes to the house, places her on horseback, gallops
-away, and conveys her home. Then, when all the people are supposed
-to be asleep, the bridegroom first unlooses the abominable ligatures
-which confine the bosom of his bride. He does not, until some time has
-passed, live with her openly.
-
-An idea prevails among the vulgar in Europe, that the Circassians
-sell their daughters as slaves to any Turk or Persian who may desire
-to buy them. This is not correct. They are particularly careful as to
-the position and birth of the individual who desires to intermarry
-with them, and the sale is no more than takes place among their own
-people, as well as among all the nations inhabiting the Caucasus.
-Great precautions are taken to secure the happiness of the girls, and
-long negotiations frequently produce no bargain. It is true that in
-the bazaars of Constantinople, and the principal towns of Asia Minor
-and Persia, numerous girls are sold under the name of Circassians, but
-they are mostly Abassians, or the children of Circassian peasants, or
-children ravished from the neighbouring Cossacks, or slaves procured
-from those base Circassian traders who have given in their adhesion to
-Russia. Many of the girls, being trained to such ideas from childhood,
-prefer the Turkish harem to the life they follow among their native
-hills. Some come back after having obtained their liberty, and bring
-accounts, in the most fluent language, of the voluptuous joys they
-have indulged in in their luxurious prisons; but generally the race is
-dearly attached to its freedom.
-
-Throughout the Caucasus we have found a high scale of manners.
-Prostitution, as a profession, is unknown. In one of the simple
-tribes, still under patriarchal rule, a girl who took up such a calling
-would be so shunned and abhorred by the rest of her countrywomen, that
-she would speedily be compelled to fly beyond the bounds of their
-territory, that is, if she escaped being sold as a slave or put to
-death by her indignant friends. The parental authority, more moral
-than legal, is a great check upon profligacy, since a man of whatever
-age, if he have a father living, pays obedience to him, and fears to
-incur his reproof. It is therefore delightful to point out a country
-surrounded by gross and profligate nations, where simplicity of manners
-still prevails, and where the female sex is as happy and as highly
-esteemed as it is modest, chaste, and virtuous[82].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION AMONG THE TARTAR RACES.
-
-The immense region of Central Asia, little known and seldom visited,
-has been the cradle of great nations, which have exercised a mighty
-influence on the fortunes of the world, and may again become
-conspicuous in history. It is, therefore, interesting, as well as
-important, to inquire into the characteristics of the populations
-which still cling to its soil. They are divided under many names, and
-among the most remarkable are the hordes of Kirghiz Kazaks, who wander
-between the borders of the Caspian Sea on the west, and the fortified
-line which forms the southern frontier of the Russian Empire. On
-the east it is divided by a similar chain of posts from the Chinese
-dominions, but towards the south the limits of their wanderings are
-unknown. Over this vast steppe a various climate prevails; but the
-whole is particularly marked by extremes of heat and cold, while the
-soil is composed of alternate deserts of sand and pasture, where rain
-during the greater part of the year is exceedingly scanty. A short
-and delicious spring, a burning and dry summer, a short and miserable
-autumn, which speedily darkens into a long, bitter, and gloomy
-winter--such are the influences to which these hordes are subject.
-Forests, patches of green, salt lakes, springs and rivers of fresh
-water, a few rich valleys, and some rocky hills, vary the aspect of
-the wilderness which is their home; but generally it is a blank and
-monotonous waste. All these circumstances are enumerated, as they
-may be supposed to have formed, or at least to have modified, the
-character of the Kirghiz Kazaks. They are divided into three principal
-hordes--the Great, the Lesser, and the Little--amounting altogether to
-from 2,000,000 to 2,400,000 souls. Engaged perpetually in wandering
-from place to place, they have nevertheless certain spots, belonging
-by prescriptive rights to particular tribes, where they encamp for the
-coldest months of the winter. Their manners afford a faithful picture
-of the ancient patriarchal life, not, indeed, the poetical life of
-Arcadia and the pastures of Israel, but that of the Scythians, as
-represented by Herodotus, or the Bedouins in their original simplicity.
-Forming a nation of shepherds, they appear to live only on and for
-their flocks, accustoming themselves little to the use of arms, and,
-though perpetually on horseback, seldom engaging in the chase. They
-dwell in huts or temporary habitations of strong wickerwork, covered
-in with fleeces; and in the interior of these singular habitations
-much comfort, elegance, and even sumptuous luxury may often be found.
-Nevertheless they are a robust, hardy race, possessing very indistinct
-ideas of property, and, though addicted to sensual enjoyments, long
-lived, and seldom visited by epidemic diseases, except when the
-small-pox is brought among them from Siberia.
-
-Their manners with respect to the character and treatment of the female
-sex are simple, but, in comparison with other pastoral races, somewhat
-coarse. In costume the woman differs little from the man. Both men and
-women adorn themselves with ornaments of silver, gold, or coral, or
-even pearls and other gems, and in this reciprocal display of vanity
-we discover a token of equality between the sexes. It is difficult to
-ascertain the religion of these hordes, but it is apparently a crude
-mixture of Mohammedanism and Paganism. The Muslims have attempted to
-disseminate their doctrines widely, but few of the Prophet’s laws
-have been accepted so readily as that which allows a plurality of
-wives--which the Kirghiz indulge in whenever they can afford the amount
-to be paid for a bride according to the usages of their nation.
-
-The Kirghiz are immoderately addicted to voluptuous pleasures, and are
-extremely idle. It is curious to remark, however, that while the men
-are distinguished by their indolence, the women are fond of exertion,
-occupying themselves, as much from inclination as from necessity,
-with the affairs of the household, with attendance on the flocks, and
-with the manufacture of garments. Their recompense is to be treated
-as servitors by masters who are sometimes proud and harsh; but the
-labour of the women is not compulsory, nor are they shut up in harems,
-or forbidden to mix with the other sex. The seclusion of females,
-indeed, is not a custom. Their manner of living exposes them to every
-temptation; jealousy has little power to watch, and the wife’s virtue
-is, for the most part, left to guard itself.
-
-Though, as we have said, the Kirghiz, when they are rich enough,
-eagerly avail themselves of the privilege of polygamy, few possess
-wealth enough to enable them to marry more than one wife. This
-circumstance prevents them from indulging in that pride which impels a
-man to shut up the partner of his pillow from every eye but his own.
-They who have seraglios must follow a steady and uniform course of
-life. The Tartar’s tent offers few obstacles to curiosity or intrigue.
-Turks and Persians who keep a harem usually possess slaves also, whose
-labour permits their mistresses to lounge idly on silken cushions;
-but as the Kirghiz loves to be indolent, he is constrained to let his
-wife be as active as she pleases, and is never so happy as when she
-saves him the trouble of moving from his couch, by going everywhere
-and doing everything herself. But on horseback he is proud of motion,
-which accounts partly for the migratory habits of the hordes, though
-the nature of their country is the chief cause of their nomade manner
-of life. Women consequently enjoy their liberty, and to their love of
-industry they join a goodness of heart and a warmth of affection which
-extort praises from many travellers.
-
-The great check upon polygamy is, as we have noticed, the cost of the
-_Kalyms_, which is to be paid for every woman. This price varies in
-amount, from five or six sheep, and occasionally less among the poor,
-to 200 or 500 or even 1000 horses among the rich. To these are added
-different household effects, with, on rare occasions, a few slaves,
-male or female. Out of these payments a considerable share goes to the
-Mohammedan Moolahs who frequent the steppes, and who are attracted
-thither no less by their profitable occupation of marrying the people
-than by religious zeal. The Kalym increases with the number of wives.
-The second costs more than the first, and the third than the second,
-and so forth, which enables none but a very wealthy man to keep a
-harem. The khan of the Little Horde, who was lord over nearly 1,000,000
-men, had sixteen or seventeen wives, besides fifteen concubines, whose
-offspring, however, were all on an equality. This patriarch had 42 sons
-and about 34 daughters. Young men usually take their first wife not
-according to their own choice, but under their father’s direction. As
-to girls they are always under their parents’ control, and many are
-affianced during infancy.
-
-The first arrangement made when a marriage is in contemplation is to
-fix the amount of the _kalym_, and the date on which it is to be paid.
-These preliminaries concluded, the Moolah consecrates the transaction
-by asking three times of the parents of the bride and those of the
-bridegroom, “Do you consent to the union of your children?” and
-reading prayers for the happiness of the married couple. Witnesses and
-arbitrators are then chosen, who may decide future disputes, should
-any such arise, and the nuptials are terminated by a feast and various
-kinds of merry-making. The man then begins to pay a kalym, or else his
-father does this on his behalf; and the parents of the girl occupy
-themselves with getting ready a trousseau for their daughter--among
-the articles of which it is essentially requisite to include the tent
-which the bride is to occupy when she is finally delivered over to her
-husband. While the kalym remains unpaid the marriage is suspended;
-though the bridegroom may pay visits to the maiden he has chosen, and
-even live with her, provided he engages not to take away her chastity.
-
-Among some tribes these preliminary meetings are conducted with much
-ceremony; in all they are often the first interviews which the husband
-has with the woman who is to be his wife. When once, however, a part
-of the required amount is paid, neither can retract without disgrace.
-Ruptures, indeed, rarely, if ever, take place; partly because no young
-girl dare to assert a will of her own, and partly because the man does
-not care to rebel against a union which he is free to break when he
-desires.
-
-Frequently, however, the bride and bridegroom, during their preliminary
-visits, anticipate the final nuptial ceremony; in which case this is
-usually hastened, though the whole amount of kalym may not have been
-paid. They are led, richly clothed if possible, into a tent, where
-various rites are performed. The husband then departs, but immediately
-comes again on horseback and demands his wife. Her parents refuse to
-yield her, when he enters, bears her off by force, places her across
-his saddle, and gallops away to his tent, which during many hours after
-is sacred against all intruders. This custom, however, is not universal.
-
-If a man finds his wife not to be a virgin, he may disgrace her, send
-her home, and demand from her father the restitution of the kalym, or
-one of his other daughters who happens to be chaste, without payment.
-
-As every woman brings with her dowry a new tent, so each wife, when
-a man has more than one, dwells in a separate habitation. The first
-is styled the “rich wife,” and exercises superior authority over all
-the rest. Though she may have disgusted her husband, he is bound to
-distinguish her by respect; while the others, entirely equal among
-themselves, remain always in a certain dependence on her. Prudent
-husbands divide even the flocks belonging to the different women, that
-the children of each may justly inherit her property. The chief wife
-may quit her husband, if she can show any grave cause for separation,
-and return to her parents, but the others have not that privilege.
-
-The manners of the Kirghiz women are in general simple and courteous;
-and the conduct of the men towards them, though often rude, gross, and
-contemptuous, is frequently also polite and deferential. The love songs
-of the desert are some of them exceedingly poetical; and the pictures
-drawn by Tartar improvisatori of their mistresses are full of passion
-and adulation.
-
-A man may kill his wife if he find her actually committing adultery,
-but not otherwise. A fine is the usual punishment of the adulterer;
-while the woman may be divorced, or chastised in various ways.
-
-Generally the morals of the Kirghiz Kazaks are good. Chastity in their
-women is highly prized--its loss entailing disgrace; but as numbers of
-the men are extremely sensual, many prostitutes may usually be found
-in each camp, though not so many as some appear to imagine. They live
-usually in companies, resembling the class of suttlers in European
-armies; though some of superior fortune inhabit separate tents, and
-live in ease and plenty.
-
-Among the Nogay Tartars, who are also nomades, the custom prevails of
-a man serving his father-in-law for a certain number of years. With
-them the weaker is absolutely the property of the stronger sex, and
-all contracts are transactions of sale. The father sells his daughter,
-the brother his sister, and girls are considered part of an inheritance
-as much as flocks and herds, and are equally divided among the sons.
-The value of a woman is measured in cows; five being the cost of an
-inferior, and thirty of a superior one. The man, however, though
-obliged to buy, is not allowed to sell his wife. If she transgress
-beyond his patience he turns her out of the dwelling, and she returns
-to her parents, who seldom fail to receive her kindly. Divorce is
-permitted, but is so costly that few resort to it. When a wife leaves
-her husband against his consent he may demand her back; but if she
-meanwhile commit adultery or theft, her parents must restore the kalym
-which was originally paid for her, and she becomes so infamous that
-only the poorest man will buy her.
-
-The rich are polygamists; and as the sexes are about equal in point of
-numbers, many of the poor cannot get a wife of any kind. The woman is
-not allowed to eat with her husband; and if she expect paradise, it
-is with the understanding that she is to dwell there as a servitor.
-Marriages are not fruitful, and the population is regularly decreasing.
-
-The Russians have introduced into the country certain virulent
-diseases, which aid rapidly to thin the people, who themselves have
-lost much in morality. Wherever they have large encampments, and settle
-for the winter, numbers of prostitutes spring up among them, not
-indeed entirely addicted and altogether destined to that calling, but
-employing it as a means of gain, and living on its wages for a shorter
-or a longer period.
-
-Prostitution, which is unknown among the pastoral tribes of Arabia,
-is, in fact, very prevalent among some of the shepherd communities
-inhabiting the Tartar steppes. There are two classes of women who
-betake themselves to it--widows and divorced women--who, having no
-independent means of subsistence, hire out their persons under a sort
-of necessity, and linger through a miserable remnant of life, in dirt,
-rags, and contempt; and a few who addict themselves to prostitution
-simply under the impulse of a profligate disposition. On the whole,
-however, the morality of Tartars is of a superior character[83].
-
-
-
-
-OF THE MIXED NORTHERN NATIONS.
-
-
-INTRODUCTORY.
-
-Pursuing our inquiries among the northern races, to the very extreme
-of Polar cold, we discover many interesting peculiarities. Perhaps,
-however, the most important result of our research is the establishment
-of the fact, that the popular idea is in great measure erroneous,
-of hot countries having the most licentious population. Climate,
-indeed, may by fine degrees influence the temperament of men; but the
-conspicuous truth evolved from all our investigations has been that the
-manners of nations are regulated by their moral education, and not by
-the thermometer.
-
-In Egypt, India, Persia, and the other hot regions of the African and
-Asiatic continents, there prevails a voluptuous spirit; but in Russia,
-in Siberia, among the Greenlanders, and the tribes of the snowy deserts
-in the utmost north, equal sensuality is to be discovered. In the warm
-and happy plains of Arabia, in the sultry champagnes of various parts
-of the East, we find shepherd communities with manners most pure and
-simple, and we find the same among many roving nations in the cold of
-Tartary and Siberia. The languor and indolence engendered by a fervent
-climate may, indeed, induce a thirst for exciting pleasure; but the
-rigour and inclemency of the north appear equally to dispose men to
-take refuge in sensual gratification. Ispahan was never more licentious
-than St. Petersburgh 50 years ago; nor are the debauchees in the
-burning atmosphere of Africa more gross and indiscriminate in their
-pursuit of animal delights than many tribes of Esquimaux, buried though
-they be among the frosts of an eternal winter.
-
-Thus climate appears to exert, at least, far less influence than
-is popularly imagined. The horrible orgies of the Areois, in the
-voluptuous islands of the Pacific, were rivalled and surpassed by
-the Physical Societies of Moscow; nor are the revels of Southern
-India more profligate than those enacted among the snowy solitudes of
-Siberia. Indeed, among the Hindus, we have never found perpetrated,
-even by the lowest class, depravities more vile than those we have
-discovered among tribes in Kamschatka and other parts of the Arctic
-regions.
-
-One circumstance, however, appears to be undeniable. The temperament
-of Asiatics is more easily inflamed than that of northern races. Their
-mind is more active, their fancy more busy, their imagination more
-creative. They give even to their vices a picturesque colour, quality,
-and configuration, whereas the voluptuaries of cold countries are dull
-and drowsy sensualists, without a tinge of poetry in their composition.
-For this reason the ardent passions of the East have been celebrated
-in romance and history, while the slothful sensuality of the North has
-been neglected and forgotten. The world consequently has heard much of
-the one, and little or nothing of the other; and in course of time,
-by a very natural process, has imagined that the burning climates of
-Asia represent the passions of its inhabitants, while the snows of the
-opposite regions of Polar cold are characteristic of their purity and
-freedom from the dross of vice.
-
-This idea, which we confess we once shared with the rest of the
-public, has been dissipated in our minds by the inquiries we have
-made. The sensuality of the East is more striking, more conspicuous,
-more celebrated, because it has been dressed by history and fable in
-more attractive forms, while that of the North is forgotten, because
-it has presented no theme for declamation or romance. But the people
-of the one resemble very much the people of the other; and even in
-the South, among the old and decaying nations of Europe, the same
-truth is discovered. Spain and Italy are supposed to be the cradles of
-voluptuous sentiment; but history shows how they have, in the manners
-of their people, passed from gradation to gradation, from variety to
-variety, while their climate has remained perpetually the same. Nature
-alters in nothing, but civilization is in continual change; and Rome,
-which was the sanctuary of female virtue in the heroic times of the
-Republic, is now, like Babylon, a city where adultery is licensed, and
-profligacy has the encouragement of the law.
-
-Manners in Russia appear also to have passed through a considerable
-change since the days of the Empress Catherine. When it becomes
-civilized, it will, probably, improve still further. Its manners are
-now gross and profligate in the extreme, which in servile populations
-is invariably the case; but they have undergone considerable
-ameliorations since the close of the last century. In the neighbouring
-and kindred regions of Siberia, alterations appear only in those
-parts where a congregation of tribes has taken place, and the ruder
-are giving way to the more refined forms of society. Throughout the
-North, indeed, as much variety appears as in the East, and communities
-dwelling under the same temperature, present a perfect contrast in
-their morals and customs.
-
-In Finland a very extraordinary state of manners still prevails. A
-recent traveller affords a curious illustration of this, showing how
-the ideas of decency in various countries are modified by habit. He
-went to a bath, and when conducted into a private chamber, found to his
-astonishment a tall handsome girl ready to attend him. She exhibited
-the utmost coolness and indifference, stripped off all his clothes,
-and rubbed him with herbs from head to foot as though he had been
-a mere log of wood, bathed him, laid him on his face, scourged him
-with a bundle of twigs, until he broke out into copious perspiration,
-dried him with towels, and all the while appeared utterly unconscious
-that her task was inconsistent with modesty or decent manners. In
-many parts of the North it is customary, as in some places in the
-East, and in the heroic ages in Greece, for the maidens of the house
-to attend a guest to his bedchamber, and assist in disposing him in
-comfort for the night. These practices do not in all countries, and at
-all times, illustrate the same national characteristics. They belong
-on the contrary to two extremes of social development. They indicate
-either a perfect simplicity or a total corruption of manners. It was
-genuine purity of mind and unsuspecting innocence of character that is
-represented in the virgin who attended Ulysses to the bath; but it was
-the vilest sensuality and brutality of manners that allowed the Roman
-Emperor of later days to be bathed and dressed by women.
-
-Consequently in passing from the semi-civilized nations, through the
-races of the North, to the educated communities of Christendom, we
-proceed without the theory of measuring a country’s manners by its
-geographical position. If it be civilized, it will be moral; but
-civilization is a false name when it is applied to a corrupt and
-enervated society. Art and luxury are not its highest evidences; but
-virtue and obedience to the exalted maxims of ethical philosophy.
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN RUSSIA.
-
-Russia, included by courtesy among civilized states, retains strong
-traces of its original barbarism. Resembling China in its system of
-government, it resembles it also in manners. What is admirable in its
-social characteristics arises from the natural good qualities of the
-people, who, notwithstanding a despotism which has wanted no feature to
-degrade them, please the traveller by a display of many signs of good
-disposition.
-
-Russia resembles Asia in the indolence and apathy of its population.
-In the one region nations appear to have been enervated by heat, in
-the other benumbed by cold into a torpid submission to power. This is
-evident from the state of public manners. In Russia the inquiry is not
-what is essentially wrong, but what is wrong according to the police;
-and nothing else is condemned. Abject towards their rulers, they assume
-towards others the arrogance of slaves, so that a succession of tyrants
-may be said to exist from the emperor who tramples down sixty millions,
-to the peasant who oppresses his serving-boy.
-
-No more striking proof could be mentioned of the fact that the
-condition and character of women form an infallible measure of
-civilization, than the state of the sex in Russia. It is true that
-our knowledge is very incomplete. Most travellers who have written on
-that country complain how difficult it is to describe it well, and
-they have generally verified their remark; still we learn enough from
-various authorities to enable us to judge in a general way of its
-characteristics.
-
-Among the higher classes women affect and study a polish and refinement
-of manners, but this relates chiefly to the formalities of life. They
-dare not, under their own social code, make an inelegant salutation,
-transgress a point of etiquette, ride in an unfashionable equipage, or
-converse in a vulgar tone; but they may break the most sacred moral
-laws, may speak openly of indecent subjects, and may act and talk in a
-way which a modest English lady would blush to think of. The position
-they hold in society is in accordance with this view. Formerly marriage
-was little more than a bond between master and slave; but the relation
-has been, in that respect, improved. Women are to a certain degree
-independent, but it is the independence of neglect. They lead, in a
-word, a life very nearly resembling that of fashionable persons in our
-own metropolis, but their morals are not to be compared.
-
-Little need be said of the marriage contract in Russia, since it is
-under the laws of the Christian church. It is, however, necessary to
-mention that few engagements occur between persons mutually united by
-affection. Interest is the usual tie; and frequently a girl is taken
-to the altar, where her appointed husband stands before her, all but
-an utter stranger. The ceremony is so theatrical that it wears no
-solemnity whatever. It is a drawing-room scene, directed by priests;
-so that the very seal of matrimony is of such a kind as to impress the
-woman with no idea of a holy union. The wives of the Russian nobles
-have accordingly little reputation for fidelity to their husbands;
-a characteristic observed by Clarke, long ago, as he travelled, and
-confirmed by Mr. Thompson, who wrote a year or two since, as well
-as by many other writers. Immorality and intrigue are of universal
-prevalence, from the palace to the private house. In a social sense
-they are scarcely looked upon as offences. The husband and wife, united
-by a bond, not of affection but of policy, look on each other from
-the first with coldness and indifference. Gradually each withdraws in
-a separate circle of life, and at length one looks without much care
-upon the guilt of the other. Before marriage the sexes are divided by
-etiquette, after marriage by mutual repulsion. The women, inferior in
-personal attractions, but superior in manner and acquirements to the
-men, receive from them little respect; and thus society, poisoned in
-its very springs, becomes yearly more dissolute and melancholy.
-
-None will require to be reminded that numerous exceptions occur; that
-pure and strong family attachments exist in Russia; that young persons
-marry sometimes influenced by reciprocal feelings of affection; but
-from the accounts of all the writers we know who have described Russia,
-no other picture of its society could fairly be drawn. There is in that
-state licence for every crime which does not offend the government; and
-the more the nation is absorbed in its sensual enjoyments, the less
-will it be disposed to weary of servitude.
-
-Among the peasantry sensuality is equally prevalent. They generally
-marry very young, but it is by no means essential that the bride should
-be a virgin. On the contrary, numbers of women never marry until they
-have had an intrigue with some other lover.
-
-St. Petersburgh, it is said, is a city of men, there being, in a
-population of about 500,000, 100,000 more males than females. The
-native Russians are less handsome and sooner faded than the women of
-Germany, Finland, Livonia, Esthonia, and Courland--countries which
-supply the state with prostitutes. Such are the manners of the city
-that no woman may walk out unless accompanied by a man, not even on the
-great promenades, in the broad light of day.
-
-In ten years, from 1821 to 1831, the deaths in St. Petersburgh were
-61,616, being 24,229 more than the births; and during the same period
-there were 11,429 marriages. The native Russian women are remarkable
-for the ease with which they bring forth children, while the foreigners
-in that country are precisely the reverse. Of the former, 15 in 1000;
-and of the latter, 25 is the average of those who die in childbed. The
-average of 20 years gives 6 still-born infants out of every 1000.
-
-The foundling hospitals of Russia, magnificent as they are, cannot but
-be regarded as a premium upon immorality. Those of St. Petersburgh
-alone cost from 600,000,000 to 700,000,000 of rubles annually;
-supporting from 25,000 to 30,000 children, who are received at the rate
-of 7000 or 8000 a year. They are called “houses of education,” because
-a prejudice attaches to their proper name. They are not, however,
-intended for infants who are picked up in the streets. There is never
-a case of such exposure. Women who have children of which they desire
-to be rid, bring them usually in the twilight, and they are taken in
-without any questions being asked. No one can tell whether they are
-legitimate or illegitimate--whether the offspring of poverty, adultery,
-or prostitution. In cases where fear or shame might in other countries
-induce a woman to murder or abandon her child, the mothers bring them
-to the hospital, and impenetrable obscurity remains over the previous
-part of the transaction. It is questionable whether the crimes thus
-prevented would make up an amount of evil equal to that caused by the
-profligacy to which the licence of impunity and encouragement is thus
-afforded.
-
-Violence committed on a woman, married or single, is, in Russia,
-punishable by the knout; but this is almost the only check which the
-law, written or social, imposes on immorality. It is said that judges
-sometimes compound with a female criminal who happens to possess
-beauty, and pardon her at the price of her virtue.
-
-When a French writer, many years ago, astonished the civilized
-countries of Europe by the description of a private institution in
-Russia known as the Physical Club, his report was rejected by the
-majority of persons as one of those travellers’ tales which had
-their origin in a man’s impudence or credulity. Lyall, however, made
-extensive inquiries upon the subject, and found that there did actually
-exist at Moscow a society called the Physical Club, the object of which
-exhibited, perhaps, more depravity of manners than could be found in
-any other part of the world, except among the Areois of the Pacific.
-
-This club was originated by eight men and women of high rank, who
-agreed to hold common intercourse with each other, and for that purpose
-established a society. Its members all belonged to the nobility, and
-they sought to exclude all but beautiful women with the bloom of youth
-still upon them. Admittance was very difficult to be procured. A person
-before being initiated was sworn to secrecy, so that the names of the
-members remained unknown.
-
-At stated intervals the members of the club assembled at a large
-house, where, in a magnificent saloon, brilliantly lighted up, they
-indulged in every kind of licentious amusements, inflaming themselves
-with strong potations, and preparing for the hideous orgies which
-were to follow. Suddenly all the candles were put out, each man chose
-a companion, and a scene of indescribable debauch ensued. On other
-occasions tickets were drawn by lot, and the company paired off to
-bedchambers prepared for this libidinous festival. This horrible
-institution, transferring its pestilential influence through every
-circle of society in Moscow, was abolished by Catherine the Second,
-who hated to see the reflection of her own vices--for it is matter of
-history that she was a vulgar prostitute herself.
-
-Of the prostitute system in Russia our accounts are the most scanty
-possible. They exist in large numbers in every city and almost in
-every village; and a traveller remarks that they have the character of
-demanding to be paid beforehand, and refusing afterwards to remain with
-their companion. They do not form so distinct and conspicuous a class
-as in some countries, for the virtue of married women and young girls
-in the various ranks of life is not so inaccessible as to distinguish
-the professional prostitute so broadly from the other classes, as in
-a society whose manners are less corrupt. They are, in the cities,
-under the perpetual surveillance of the police. In the rural districts
-numbers of young women, belonging to the village populations, addict
-themselves to prostitution for gain--some permanently, others only
-until they have a chance of marriage.
-
-There is apparently no check upon this calling, unless the women become
-afflicted by disease. When this is discovered the prostitute is forced
-to discontinue for awhile her dissolute course of life, and remain in
-a hospital until cured. When, as very frequently happens, the wife
-of a soldier takes to this occupation, and becomes tainted, she is
-delivered to her husband, who is obliged to sign a bond, engaging for
-the future to restrain her from profligacy. The wives of serfs are also
-delivered up to their husbands, who must pay the expenses of their cure
-at the hospitals. If they refuse to do this, and to answer for the
-future conduct of their partners, the women are sent, without further
-ceremony, to Siberia.
-
-Another peculiarity in the civilization of Russia is exhibited in
-the market of wives, which is annually held in St. Petersburgh. It
-is one of those things which many persons exercise their philosophy
-by refusing to believe; but its existence is undoubted. It is still
-practised, even among the upper orders, while among the humbler classes
-it is extremely popular. Every year, on the twenty-sixth day of May,
-numbers of young women assemble in a particular part of the City
-Summer Garden, where they are exhibited in a formal “_bride_-show.”
-Decked with an Oriental profusion of ornaments, all the marriageable
-girls are arranged in lines along the shady alleys, while some friends
-and professional match-makers stand in attendance on each group. The
-men who are inclined to matrimony visit the garden, pass along the
-rows of maidens, inspect them leisurely, enter into conversation,
-and, if pleased, enter into a preliminary, but conditional, contract.
-Numerous matches are thus formed; but very frequently the engagement
-here concluded, has long, between the youthful couple, been a matter
-of contemplation. Those who do not possess sufficient beauty or
-fascination are sometimes loaded with the signs of property to induce
-men to take them. A mother once, desiring to match her daughter to
-a man of substance, hung about her neck a massive chain of gold, to
-which was attached six dozen silver-gilt tea-spoons, and three dozen
-table-spoons, besides two heavy punch-ladles of the same metal, which
-soon attracted the attention of the young men. In the towns, indeed,
-we are told that marriages among all classes are generally settled
-by interest. In the rural parts this is also the case, but in a less
-degree. There it is the custom--among the peasantry--for the bride
-and bridegroom to enter the church door side by side, which they take
-care to do with the utmost regularity, since the superstitious idea
-prevails, that the one who plants a foot first inside the threshold of
-the edifice, will be supreme over the other, and become a tyrant in the
-family. The serfs cannot marry without the consent of their masters.
-In all parts of Russia the marriage of a felon is dissolved by the
-sentence which condemns him; but if he be pardoned before his wife has
-married again, he can recover her.
-
-It will, from this account, be seen that the manners and morals of the
-Russians are dissolute in an extraordinary degree. There is, perhaps,
-no part of Europe where the people, as a race, are so profligate.
-This does not imply that the society of St. Petersburgh or Moscow is
-not distinguished by many virtuous families; but, on the whole, all
-travellers concur in showing the facts upon which we have based our
-estimate of the national character with respect to morality[84].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN SIBERIA.
-
-From Russia the transition is natural to the contiguous and kindred
-region of Siberia. Thence we may, without any apology, extend our
-inquiries to the remotest north--for the Arctic countries do not
-present themselves with sufficient prominence to occupy a separate
-account, and to none could they be added as a supplement more fitly
-than to the snowy wilderness which spreads on one side to the shores
-of the Frozen Sea, and on the other to the frontiers of the Chinese
-Empire. It may appear anomalous to include any of these tracts under
-the head of civilized countries; but we place them as an appendage of
-Russia, to which, indeed, they form an appropriate companion.
-
-The state of manners at which the population of these snowy tracts
-have arrived is extremely low. Nature has taught them many rude
-arts; but their civilization has not advanced far beyond its crudest
-elements. The severe rigours to which they are exposed have produced
-pressing wants, which they have ingenuity enough to satisfy, and
-further than this their education does not appear to go. They are rude,
-ignorant, and gross. Some remain with none but the faintest idea of
-a Deity; others preserve the ancient heathen belief of the Shamans;
-others have accepted a form of Christianity; but in few of them has a
-variation in their religious ideas resulted in a change of manners. In
-fact, the form, and not the spirit of our creed has been introduced
-among them.
-
-Throughout the immense tracts of Siberia we find numerous tribes, and
-even nations, classed under various denominations; but all, in their
-general manners, very much resembling each other. The condition and
-character of the female sex among them is low; but it is not treated
-with that harshness or contumely which it experiences in some savage
-races. Although the rude Ostyak, for instance, considers his wife as
-no more than a domestic drudge, seldom thinks of giving her a cordial
-word, and loads her with tasks, he does not use her with positive
-severity. Among the Samoyedes, women are much less happy and more
-harshly treated. In the perpetual migrations of the tribes they are
-charged with the principal burdens, and drag after the men like a train
-of slaves. The wife is viewed as a necessary but almost disgusting
-appendage to a man’s household. She is regarded as unclean under
-many circumstances--especially childbirth, after which her husband
-will not approach her for two months. When about to be delivered she
-experiences, instead of the kind, considerate usage which some, even of
-the wildest savages pay to their women in such situations, a scorn and
-indignity to which, by long custom, she has thoroughly learned to bend.
-
-In many parts of Siberia, however, a better prospect is presented,
-and the sexes appear more on an equality. Towards the centre, away
-from the sea on one hand, and Russia on the other, the tribes enjoy
-a very independent existence, being, indeed, the most free among
-the subjects of the Czar. In the winter time, when the rivers are
-completely frozen, the young girls assemble on their snowy borders,
-taking care to deck themselves out with every sort of finery they can
-procure. Their friends also congregate, forming groups, gossip, and
-enjoy themselves, while the youths mix with the maidens--each selecting
-the partner he likes the best. It is at this time of the year that the
-principal matches are arranged. In all parts it is customary to pay a
-certain amount to the girl’s parents to buy the privilege of marrying
-her. Should a man not be rich enough to offer the sum required, he
-hires himself to her father, who tasks him sometimes very heavily, and
-continues in servitude for three, five, seven, or ten years, according
-to the agreement made beforehand. At the end of that period he takes
-his bride, is redeemed from his servile condition, and enters the
-family with all the dignities and rights of a son-in-law.
-
-Among the Ostyaks it is regarded as very disgraceful to marry a
-brother’s widow, a mother-in-law, or, indeed, any person connected
-in an ascending or descending line with the wife; but it is reckoned
-honourable to marry several sisters. The sister of a deceased wife is
-considered a particular acquisition, and, indeed, is attended with
-a solid advantage, for a man taking the second daughter of a house
-pays to her father a sum only equal to half of that which he paid for
-the first. No one can marry a person of the same family name; but
-this seems to apply to men alone, for a woman under this description
-who enters another household, and bears a daughter, may bestow her
-upon her brother. In a word, every union is lawful provided the
-father of the bridegroom and the father of the bride are of different
-families--though custom makes other distinctions, which are generally
-observed with as much strictness as those marked by the traditionary
-law.
-
-When an Ostyak desires to marry he selects from among his companions or
-relatives a mediator. He then goes with a train of friends, as numerous
-as his influence enables him to collect, and stands before the door of
-the house in which the girl whom he has fixed upon resides. Her father
-easily guesses, on the arrival of such a cavalcade, what the object of
-it is, and consequently asks no questions, but invites the company in
-and welcomes them with a feast. Then, retiring with the mediator into
-another hut, he enters into a negotiation about the amount which he is
-to receive for his daughter. These things are quietly arranged, though
-the spirit of bargaining is generally active on both sides. It is not
-necessary to pay down the whole amount at once, but this must be done
-before the nuptials can take place. Sometimes, however, a man snatches
-away his bride before he has fully discharged his debt. In that case
-her father waits for an opportunity to seize her, carries her home, and
-keeps her in pledge until the amount be faithfully paid.
-
-Similar customs prevail among the Samoyedes, who are polygamists,
-though they prefer the changing one wife for another, according to
-the changes in their inclination, to having two or three at once. The
-Tungueses, however, often keep as many as five, but even among them
-the majority of men marry no more than one at a time. They enter into
-matrimony at a very early age. It is common to see a husband fifteen
-years old, and a wife, or even a widow, of twelve. There is with them
-no feast or ceremony of any kind. The bargain is made and ratified, and
-the young couple proceed forthwith to their nuptial couch.
-
-The Bulwattes, who are also polygamists, treat their women well.
-Among them one curious observance is,--that the consummation of every
-marriage must take place in a newly-built hut, where, as they say, no
-impure things can have been. This is, at any rate, a poetical and a
-somewhat refined idea. Certain feasts are essential before the union is
-contracted.
-
-The Tchoutkas, beyond Nigri Kolinsk, have been baptized in large
-numbers. Their Christianity, however, does not incline them to remove
-polygamy, for they have in most cases a plurality of wives, whom
-they marry for a certain period--long or short, as circumstances may
-determine. It sometimes happens in one of these households that the
-wife obtains sufficient ascendancy over her husband to bind him to her,
-and a convention, intended from the first to be only temporary, becomes
-permanent. The woman who accomplishes this achievement is honoured
-by the rest of her sex, and is thenceforward supreme in the family.
-Generally speaking the women of this tribe are more happy and free than
-in any other part of Siberia.
-
-Among the Tschuwasses it is customary on the occasion of a betrothal
-to offer a sacrifice of bread and honey to the sun, that he may look
-down with favour on the union. On the appointed day, while the guests
-are assembling, the bride hides herself behind a screen. Then she walks
-round the room three times, followed by a train of virgins bearing
-honey and bread. The bridegroom entering, snatches over her veil,
-kisses her, and exchanges rings. She then distributes refreshments to
-her friends, who salute her as “the betrothed girl,” after which she is
-led behind the screen to put on a matron’s cap. One of the concluding
-rites performed is that of the bride pulling off her new husband’s
-boots--a ceremony to symbolise her promise of obedience to him. When,
-however, he on his part takes the cap from her head, she is divorced,
-and goes home to her parents.
-
-Still more degrading is the custom of the Tchemerisses. A man,
-representing the girl’s father, presents to her husband a whip, which
-he is allowed freely to use. There is only one occasion during the year
-when men permit their wives to eat with them. The Morduans betroth
-their children while very young; but the youth does not know his bride
-until he marries her. She is then brought to him, placed on a mat,
-and consigned to his charge with these words, “Here, wolf, take thy
-lamb.” Still more singular is the custom of the Wotyahe tribes. With
-them it is usual for the young wife, a few days after the wedding, to
-go back to her father’s house, resume her virgin costume, and remain
-sometimes during a whole year. At the end of that period the husband
-goes to fetch her, when she feigns reluctance, and exhibits every sign
-of bashfulness and modesty. The women of this community are habitually
-chaste and decorous in their behaviour.
-
-The usual occupations of the men in Siberia are hunting, fishing,
-smoking, drinking, and bartering with the Russian traders. Those of the
-women are far more numerous and wearisome. They build the huts, they
-tend the cattle, they prepare the sledges, they harness the reindeer
-when their husbands are away, and drive them also occasionally; they
-weave mats, baskets, and cloth; they dye worsted for embroidery; they
-tan hides, make garments, cook the food, and, in some tribes, assist in
-catching fish. While they perform these varied and harassing offices
-without a murmur, as they usually do, their life is one of peace; but
-if they repine they are sure to be harshly reproved, if not severely
-punished. In some communities the husband is permitted the free use of
-his whip; but in others, as that of the Ostyaks, a husband dare not
-flog his wife without the consent of her father, and on account of some
-grievous fault. If he does she has the privilege of flying home, when
-her dowry must be restored, and she has her liberty complete.
-
-Jealousy is a sentiment little known among the Ostyaks, or, indeed,
-any of the Siberian races. Sometimes the women wear veils, but not
-with that strictness observable with some nations, and more to save
-their eyes from the effect of the snow glare than from any other
-motive. Modesty, indeed, is by no means one of their characteristics.
-Nor is chastity very highly prized. When a Samoyede woman is about to
-be delivered, she is obliged to confess, in presence of her husband
-and a midwife, whether she has engaged in any criminal intrigue. If
-she tell an untruth, the national superstition is that death will
-assail her amid the pangs of childbirth. Should she declare herself
-guilty, the husband contents himself with going to the person whom her
-confession has accused, and exacting from him a small fine by way of
-compensation--for having, “without permission,” carried on intercourse
-with a stranger’s wife.
-
-The barbarous manners of Siberia do not allow us, indeed, to expect
-any refined modesty among its women. Wrangell was introduced into the
-family of a rich and influential man--the head of a tribe. Within a
-low-roofed but spacious habitation he found five or six women--wives
-and daughters, of various ages, all completely naked. They roared with
-laughter when their visitor entered, and appeared excessively amused at
-being discovered in that condition. The dancing women of these tribes
-wear clothing while they display their skill, but otherwise they are
-as indecent as possible. Obscene and degrading postures, indeed, make
-up the chief merit of their performances. A late traveller, hearing
-of these dancers, desired some women to perform, but they appeared so
-modest, bashful, and diffident, that he feared to urge them. However,
-after considerable solicitation they consented, when he was disgusted
-at seeing them fling themselves with marvellous rapidity into a hundred
-disgraceful attitudes.
-
-Infanticide is not practised in Siberia, except on those children who
-are born with deformities. These are, it is said, invariably destroyed.
-There is, in fact, little inducement to the crime, for the whole region
-is but scantily peopled, and marriages are not at all prolific.
-
-The morals of the Siberian races are universally low. A licentious
-intercourse is carried on between the sexes long before marriage,
-early as this takes place. In the great city of Yehaterinbourgh,
-where religious dissensions are extremely bitter, profligacy is still
-more powerful; and women, from sheer lust, prostitute themselves
-to men of all sects, with whom, however, they would rigidly refuse
-to eat or drink. In all the towns numbers of prostitutes reside.
-They are scarcely, if at all, reprobated by the other classes of
-the population, and the young men who do not wish to marry, or
-cannot afford to procure a wife, as well as widowers, resort to them
-continually. The process, in fact, which educates a Siberian prostitute
-to her calling, appears to be this. A young girl, in a community where
-general licentiousness of manners prevails, is brought up from her
-mother’s breast with the most loose ideas. She is not taught to prize
-her chastity, though told that marriage is the destiny to which she
-must look, and warned that her husband will require her to be faithful
-to him. Meanwhile, however, there is little in her own mind, or in the
-care of her friends, to protect her virtue. She forms acquaintances,
-and is seduced, first by one, and then by another, until her profligacy
-becomes so flagrant and so public that no one will purchase her as
-a wife. Accordingly she follows as a means of livelihood that which
-she has hitherto resorted to only as a means of indulging her vicious
-appetite. Thousands of prostitutes are thus made, especially amid the
-crowded communities. In some of the small wandering tribes, the women
-are comparatively chaste; but on the whole the refined sentiments of
-virtue are unknown, and prostitution extremely prevalent. This appears
-strange to those who are accustomed to believe that a warm climate is
-essential to form a sensual race. It seems, on the contrary, that one
-extreme of temperature is accompanied with influences as demoralising
-as another, for it is certain that nations dwelling in the temperate
-zone are more moderate in their passions, and more abstemious in the
-gratification of them.
-
-For the races inhabiting the Arctic regions, the Esquimaux may be taken
-as a proper type. As a race, they are dirty, poor, and immoral, but
-not so grovelling as the tribes of Western Africa. Though their ideas
-of beauty and grace are totally at variance with ours, it is wrong to
-suppose that they have none, for the Esquimaux woman, who tattooes her
-skin to charm a lover, exhibits undeniably one of those characteristics
-in human nature which allow opportunities to civilize individuals and
-nations. They are an ingenious industrious people, understanding well
-how to make use of those conveniences and appliances of life which have
-been placed by nature at their disposal; and they who make themselves
-comfortable and happy in the coldest and most desolate parts of the
-earth, must possess a certain amount of that genius which, properly
-developed, flourishes in civilization.
-
-The estimation in which women are held among the Esquimaux is
-somewhat greater than is usual among savages. They are by no means
-abject drudges, those cares only being assigned to them which are
-purely domestic, and which are apportioned to the females among the
-humbler classes in all European countries. The wife makes and tends
-the fire, cooks the food, watches the children, is sempstress to the
-whole family, and orders all the household arrangements, while her
-husband is labouring abroad for her subsistence. When a journey is
-to be performed, they, it is true, bear a considerable share of the
-burdens, but not more than among many of the poor fishing populations
-of civilized countries in Europe, in some of which the man’s occupation
-ceases when his boat touches the shore. It is a division of labour, not
-so much imposed as shared, and the toil is not by any means hateful to
-them. During the stationary residence in the winter, the life led by
-the women is in fact one of ease, indolence, and pleasure, for they sit
-at home, cross-legged on their couches, almost all the day, enjoying
-themselves as they please, with a fire to warm the habitation, which it
-is a pleasant task to attend.
-
-The Esquimaux women are not very prolific, few bearing more than three
-or four children. They generally suckle them themselves, but it is not
-uncommon for one woman to nurse at her breast the infant of another who
-may be closely occupied at the time. They are more desirous of bearing
-male than female offspring, for parents look to their sons in old age
-as a means of support.
-
-The Esquimaux are permitted by their social and hereditary law to have
-two wives, but the custom is by no means general. Parry describes a
-tribe of 219--69 being men, 77 women, and the rest children--among
-whom there were only twelve men who had two wives, while a few were
-doubly betrothed. Two instances occurred of a father and son being
-married to sisters. Children are usually plighted during infancy--that
-is, from three to seven years of age, and the boy sometimes plays with
-his future bride, calling her wife. When a man has two wives, there is
-usually a difference of six or seven years between their ages, and the
-senior being mistress, takes her station by the principal fire, which
-she entirely superintends. Her position is in every respect one of
-superiority; but this is seldom asserted, as the two generally live in
-the most perfect harmony. The marriage contract has nothing of a sacred
-character about it, being merely a social arrangement which may be with
-great facility dissolved. A man can without any ceremony repudiate
-his wife, to punish her for a real or supposed offence, but this is
-rarely done. The husband, who is usually older by many years than his
-partner, chastises her himself when she irritates him, though caring
-comparatively little for her fidelity. Absolute in his authority,
-according to the laws of the Esquimaux, he is sometimes, nevertheless,
-ruled by the women. Usually, however, he upholds his prerogative, and
-punishes any infringement of it in a very summary manner; but the
-utmost harshness commonly employed is to make the delinquent lead her
-master’s reindeer while he rides comfortably in his sledge. Women are
-very careful of their husbands, partly no doubt from natural sentiments
-of affection, but partly also, we may believe, from knowledge of the
-fact that widows are not half so happy as wives, being dirty and
-ragged, unless they have friends willing to support them, or sufficient
-attractions to enable them to gain a livelihood by regular prostitution.
-
-Respecting the virtue of the Esquimaux women and the morality of
-the men, little of a favourable nature is to be said. Husbands have
-continually offered their wives to strangers for a knife or a jacket.
-Some of the young men told Parry, that when two of them were about to
-be absent for any length of time on whaling expeditions, they often
-exchanged wives as a matter of temporary convenience; instances of
-which have been noticed by the voyager--in some cases merely because
-one woman was pregnant and unable to bear the hardship of a journey.
-The same writer affirms that in no country is prostitution carried to
-a greater length. The behaviour of most of the women while the men
-are absent, causes a total disregard of connubial fidelity. Their
-departure, in fact, is usually a signal to cast aside all restraint,
-and, as the last excess of profligacy, children are sent out by
-their mothers to keep watch lest the husband should return while his
-habitation is occupied by a stranger[85].
-
-
-ICELAND AND GREENLAND.
-
-Iceland and Greenland, differing in their people, their fortunes and
-their civilization, may, nevertheless, be classed together, for both
-belong geographically to the western world, while both present intimate
-relations with Europe. Iceland, a lonely, gloomy, and extensive
-country, is inhabited by a serious, humble, and quiet people, numbering
-about 55,000. Isolated from the rest of the world by dreary and
-tempestuous seas spreading far around it on every side, its inhabitants
-remain to this day almost in their primitive condition. Nine centuries
-have produced little change in their language, costume, or modes of
-life. Formerly, indeed, they were heathens, and have now been converted
-to Christianity. Modifications have also occurred in their manners. At
-one period, for instance, the law allowed the exposure of such children
-as their parents desired to be rid of, and the unnatural sacrifice
-was common. It originated with the men, and the women appear never to
-have become reconciled with the usage, which has now been entirely
-abolished, though infants perish in large numbers from insufficient
-and unskilful nursing. On the whole, however, the original manners
-of the Icelanders remain unchanged. We refer, of course, to a period
-since what has been termed the heroic age, when a system of society
-prevailed, which has been entirely swept away by a new and victorious
-civilization. In those ancient times, when Iceland was a republic, with
-institutions of a most remarkable nature, the treatment of the female
-sex there, and among the Scandinavian nations generally, was unequalled
-by any other heathen communities, except the polished state of Greece.
-Polygamy, though not forbidden by their religious code, was exceedingly
-rare. Their manners, indeed, are, in several other respects, superior
-to their enacted laws. Fathers, or other near male relatives, possessed
-unlimited power to dispose of the young girls as best suited their
-convenience or caprice, but seldom or ever exercised this invidious
-prerogative, leaving them rather to their own choice. With mild advice,
-indeed, they persuaded them to prudent unions, but with no harsh,
-inconsiderate authority. The daughter received, on her marriage, a
-dowry from her parents besides a present from her husband. These
-acquisitions formed a property which remained absolutely her own, and
-constituted her provision in the event of a divorce. This could take
-place whenever she chose to express before certain prescribed witnesses
-her desire for such separation. A harsh word, any ill-usage, or a hasty
-blow, might be pleaded as sufficient reason for her resolve; and by
-a liberal use of this prerogative the wives of Iceland obtained high
-authority over their husbands. They occasionally accompanied them to
-the public assemblies, which were convened in conformity with their
-popular institutions, and were always present at the great festivals.
-Sometimes they assembled in rooms assigned exclusively to them, and
-made merry among themselves; sometimes they mingled with the general
-company. With the exception of a few, whom the fearful superstition of
-that age condemned to death as witches, no women suffered very severe
-punishment. The warriors of the island delighted to celebrate their
-praises, and terms expressing the high qualities of the female sex
-were abundant in the Icelandic language, and profusely employed in its
-literature. At present the condition of the sexes is somewhat equal.
-The men of the humbler classes divide their labours with the women,
-but do not oppress them with any of the taskmaster’s tyranny. Both are
-alike filthy and coarse in their habits. Among the wealthy, as well
-as in the middle orders, it is customary for ladies to wait at table
-when strangers are present; but this is considered as an employment by
-no means menial. The hospitality of the Icelanders, indeed, assumes
-some very singular forms. Their women often salute the stranger with
-a cordial embrace, from which on account of their uncleanliness he is
-generally desirous to escape as quickly as possible. When Henderson,
-the missionary, resided there, he visited, during his travels, the
-house of a respectable man, where he was liberally treated. At night,
-when he retired to his bedroom, the eldest daughter of the family
-attended him, and assisted him to undress by pulling off his stockings
-and pantaloons. He was unwilling to accept such services, to which he
-was wholly unaccustomed; but she imputed his refusal to politeness,
-and insisted on performing the office, declaring it was the invariable
-custom of her country. It is the task of the women, almost always, to
-unloose the sandals or latchets of their husband’s shoes.
-
-The intercourse of the sexes in Iceland is regulated by few absolute
-laws; but Christianity has abolished polygamy, while public opinion
-holds a strong check upon illicit communication. With the exception
-of those seaport populations, which have been corrupted by an influx
-of Danes and other foreigners, generally of disreputable character,
-they are, as a nation, moral. These exceptions contribute very
-considerably to the number of bastard children. In 1801, the population
-was 46,607--21,476 males and 25,131 females, or in the proportion of
-thirteen to fifteen of men to women. The average marriages during a
-period of ten years, were 250, or one out of 188 of the population; the
-births 1350, or one in 35, and the deaths 1250. One child out of nine
-was illegitimate. In 1821 one out of seven was illegitimate, and in
-1833 the proportion remained the same. Men usually marry between the
-ages of 25 and 32, women between those of nineteen and 30.
-
-If, however, we give credit to a scandalous anecdote related by Lord
-Kames, in his “Sketches of Man,” we must impute to the Icelanders, of a
-century and a half ago, a very profligate disposition. In 1707, it is
-said, a contagious distemper having cut off nearly all the people, the
-King of Denmark fell on an ingenious device to repeople the country.
-He caused a law to be promulgated that every young woman in Iceland
-might bear as many as six illegitimate children without injuring her
-reputation; but, says the gossipping philosopher, the young women
-were so zealous to repeople the country, that after a few years it
-was found necessary to abrogate the law. Little dependance is to be
-placed on such stories, though the number of illegitimate children
-born does certainly contradict the panegyrics on the pure morality
-of the Icelanders, in which some writers are fond of indulging.
-About one person in seven is married; but it is the custom among the
-poor for persons of both sexes to sleep promiscuously in small close
-cabins, which cannot but corrupt their manners. In the fishing towns,
-especially, where numerous foreigners have congregated, there are many
-prostitutes, who usually gain only part of their livelihood by that
-profession. What their numbers are it is impossible to tell; but it
-seems that the crews of the fishing-vessels, as well as the traders who
-frequent the ports from time to time, generally resort to the company
-of prostitutes, who present themselves in any numbers that may be
-required.
-
-Extending our observations to the remote and desolate coast of
-Greenland, we find a population partly composed of European colonists
-and partly of Esquimaux, who have, however, a system of manners not
-identical with that of the tribes we have already noticed. They are a
-vain and indolent, but not a very sensual, people. What virtue they
-possess consists rather in the negation of active vice, than in any
-positive good qualities. Their women occupy an inferior, yet not a
-degraded, position. They take charge, indeed, of all domestic concerns,
-make clothes, tools and tents, build huts and canoes, prepare leather,
-carry home the game, clean and dry the garments, and cook the food,
-while their husbands catch seals; but the men often assist their wives
-in these occupations. Marriage is essentially a contract for mutual
-convenience, to be dissolved when it ceases to be agreeable to both.
-The woman looks out for a skilful hunter, the man for an industrious
-housewife. She brings him little dowry, possessing usually no more than
-a kettle, a lamp, some needles, a knife, and a few clothes. Parents
-seldom interfere with the matches of their children. It is considered
-proper for a girl, when a man comes to request her in marriage, to
-fly away and hide among the hills, whence she is dragged, with a show
-of violence, by her suitor. He takes her home, and if her aversion be
-real, she runs away again and again, until he is weary of pursuit.
-Formerly, it was the custom to make incisions in the soles of a bride’s
-feet, as some tribes in Siberia and Borneo are accustomed to do to
-the captives, to prevent their escaping. When a woman is courted by a
-man whom she detests, she cuts off her hair, which is a sign of great
-horror and grief, and usually rids her of her suitor. Among the heathen
-tribes polygamy is allowed, though seldom practised. Divorces sometimes
-take place. All the man has to do is to assume a stern expression of
-countenance, and quit the home for a few days without saying when he
-intends to return. The woman takes the hint, packs up her few effects,
-and goes with her children to the house of her parents or some friend.
-Generally, however, they lead a reputable life, the women being docile,
-and the men indulgent.
-
-Considering themselves, as they do, the only civilised people in the
-world, the Greenlanders feel a pride in observing the outward shows of
-decorum. They do not allow marriages within three degrees of affinity.
-It is not considered reputable for persons, though not related, who
-have been educated in the same house, to marry. Sometimes a man takes
-two sisters, or a mother and her daughter, but this is viewed with
-general reprobation. The marriage contract is, on the whole, very
-strictly observed, few divorces taking place, except between the young.
-“The most detestable crime of polygamy,” as a Danish writer terms it,
-produced, where it was practised, little of that jealousy which might
-be expected among the wives, until the arrival of the missionaries, who
-preached against it, and speedily won the female sex to support their
-doctrine.
-
-There was formerly in Greenland a society resembling very closely the
-Physical Club of Moscow, but still more obscene in its practices.
-This, however, has disappeared. Prostitution, nevertheless, prevails
-to a considerable degree, widows and divorced women almost invariably
-adopting it, as the only means of life, indeed, to which they can
-resort. There are numerous habitations in the larger communities, which
-can only be described as brothels; but the profession entails the worst
-odium on those who follow it[86].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN LAPLAND AND SWEDEN.
-
-A notice of the Scandinavian populations would be incomplete, unless
-we touched particularly on the Laplanders; especially as they contrast
-very strongly with their neighbours the Swedes, notwithstanding that
-these are far more inflated with the pride of civilization. Forming a
-nomade race, known in their own region as Finns, they occupy a country
-little favoured by the prodigality of nature. Nevertheless, where they
-have settled into fixed communities, we find them adopting many forms
-of luxury, polishing their manners, and pursuing wealth with eagerness.
-But these scarcely belong to the body of the Laplanders, and it is
-only necessary to say of them that they are a happy, virtuous people,
-distinguished by the affection and harmony existing between men and
-women.
-
-The genuine Laplander, among his free rocks and snows, lives partly in
-a tent, partly in a hut; but, whichever tenement he inhabits, he is
-content with the most simple economy. During the summer he wanders, and
-is equally industrious and frugal; during the winter he remains in one
-place, enjoying the fruits of his labour in ease and idleness. This is
-a peculiar mode of life, and has much influence on the manners of the
-people; for, during their leisure months, they invent many pleasures,
-few of which are indulged in by one sex apart from the other.
-
-The Lapland families are generally small;--three or four children being
-the largest number habitually seen; but what they do bring forth, the
-women bring forth easily, scarcely ever requiring help, and speedily
-leaving their couch to fulfil their usual tasks.
-
-The general character of the Lapland race is good. From whatever cause
-the circumstance proceeds, it is certain that their morals are strict
-and virtuous. Few strong passions of any kind prevail among them, and
-they are more especially distinguished by their continence.
-
-The priest of a large parish assured one traveller that there had been
-but one instance of an illegitimate birth during twenty years, and that
-illicit intercourse between the sexes was almost unknown.
-
-Old travellers have amused their readers with accounts of the conjugal
-infidelity common in Lapland, and asserted that the men are in the
-habit of offering their wives to strangers: this appears to be wholly
-untrue. So far from truth is it, indeed, that adultery is a crime
-almost unknown among them; they are, in fact, rather jealous than
-otherwise of their women. The intercourse of the sexes, nevertheless,
-is free and agreeable; their marriages are contracted, sometimes
-according to the choice of the young people, sometimes by that of their
-parents. Prostitution is unknown among them, except in the fishing
-towns, where a few wretched women have taken to that mode of life; but,
-on the whole, they are a chaste and virtuous race.
-
-The great difference between the institutions of Norway and those of
-Sweden consist in this--that in the former, manners influence the law;
-while in the latter, law attempts to regulate every detail of public
-manners.
-
-Men, says the public law of Sweden, attain their majority at the age
-of 21 years, but women remain in tutelage during the whole period of
-their lives, unless the king grants a privilege of exemption: widows,
-however, are excepted. Men cannot legally marry before the age of
-21. Even to this rule there is an exception, for among the peasants
-of the north it is lawful for a youth of eighteen to take a wife--a
-device adopted to increase the population of those thinly-inhabited
-provinces. Women may marry immediately after their confirmation,
-which never takes place before fourteen. The nuptials are recognised
-by law, and are celebrated in the presence of a priest, by the gift of
-a ring. A man desiring to take his sister-in-law to wife, must have
-permission from the king. A few years ago an ordinance was abolished
-which required a similar formality to be gone through previous to the
-marriage of cousins. A man may marry without the consent of any one;
-but a woman must obtain the sanction of her parent or guardian. To
-render binding the contract, which stipulates for the rights of each
-with respect to property, it must be presented to the magistrates of
-the place, and signed by the priest, before the celebration of the
-wedding.
-
-In default of such an agreement a division takes place, under rules
-which differ in the country and in the town. In the former, two-thirds
-of the property belong to the man, and one-third to the woman; in the
-latter, half is apportioned to each.
-
-Marriage, when fully consummated, is not indissoluble. Divorce may be
-pronounced by the public tribunals of justice. First, for adultery on
-the part of the husband or of the wife; second, on the condemnation of
-one or the other, on account of a felonious crime, to loss of honour
-and liberty for ten years; thirdly, in cases of insanity; fourthly, for
-desertion, neglect, or the continued absence, without intelligence,
-of husband or wife. When a married person complains of having been
-abandoned, the magistrate fixes a certain interval during which the
-other may make answer; a notice is inserted in the gazette and the
-newspapers. If, at the expiration of this period, no reply is heard,
-the divorce is pronounced. The length of absence necessary to justify
-such a separation is left to the discretion of the judge. Fifthly,
-when one person is palmed off for another; sixthly, for ill-treatment;
-seventhly, for apostasy; eighthly, for incurable epilepsy. After
-the sentence of the civil tribunal, the divorce is held good in an
-ecclesiastical court.
-
-A man is bound to support his natural children, and inquiries in cases
-of affiliation are frequent. When a girl accuses a man before a public
-tribunal, of being the father of her child, he may deny it upon oath,
-when her allegation is dismissed, unless she can prove by witnesses,
-or by any other evidence, that her claim is absolutely just. As such a
-proof is difficult to obtain, there are abundance of false oaths made
-at Stockholm. A girl sometimes accuses a peasant of being the parent
-of her child, demanding, perhaps, a sum of money equal to a sovereign
-of our coinage, by way of compensation. The man refuses to pay it, and
-offers to swear that he is not the child’s father. The magistrate then
-seeks by persuasion to induce him to confess the truth; but he persists
-in his refusal until the woman modifies her claim. He continues all
-the while to threaten her with the oath of repudiation, unless she
-is contented with his offer. If she accepts a miserable trifle, he
-acknowledges the debt; if not, he perjures himself, and the law allows
-him to escape, though morally convinced, beyond all question, of his
-profligacy and falsehood.
-
-The illegitimate child has no claim on the property of its father, or
-even on that of its mother; but if the parents marry, however short a
-time before the child’s birth, it is saved from the stigma of bastardy.
-A legitimate child cannot be disinherited by its parents, unless for
-marrying against their consent, or being condemned for felony to a
-heavy and disgraceful punishment.
-
-Death is the penalty attached to infanticide, but is almost invariably
-commuted to detention for a longer or shorter period, with hard labour
-in prison. In 1832 the House of Correction for females in Stockholm,
-which served for all Sweden, contained 290 women, of which 45 were
-condemned to hard labour for life; of these, 30 had murdered their
-children.
-
-The punishments denounced against adultery endeavour to mark a
-distinction between particular degrees of the crime. Incest and
-bestiality are, however, punished only with a moderate fine. When a
-married man indulges in guilty intercourse with a married woman, they
-both suffer death by decapitation. When it is committed by a married
-man with a girl betrothed and pregnant by her lover, he receives 120
-blows with a stick, and she 90 lashes with a whip. Punishments of
-this sort continually take place in a public square at Stockholm. At
-present, in whipping the girls on their naked persons, care is taken
-to protect their bosoms and their abdomens with plates of copper.
-Formerly, however, when this precaution was not adopted, the lash
-frequently lacerated the bosom and tore open the flesh, so as to
-expose the bowels. When adultery is committed by a married man with an
-affianced girl, or the reverse, a simple fine is exacted; in default
-of which, imprisonment on bread and water, or a public flogging, is
-inflicted. When one of the criminals only is married, and the other is
-entirely free, an inferior money penalty is adjudged.
-
-An unmarried woman becoming a mother pays to the church penance money,
-to a certain amount. So also does every man: that is to say, the law
-enacts it; but it is, perhaps, needless to add that the priests get, in
-this respect, much less than is legally their due.
-
-In 1836 prostitution was forbidden by law throughout Sweden. The public
-woman, being convicted, was imprisoned in a house of correction,
-until she had time to reclaim herself, and some one was willing to
-take her into service. The same, indeed, was done to any poor woman,
-whatever her character, who could not describe her occupation. Many
-little girls, some not more than eleven years old, were confined as a
-punishment for being without a regular avocation. Professional and open
-prostitution being thus severally prohibited by the law, there were, at
-that period, no regular brothels in Sweden; but the women of the lower
-orders were so corrupt, that prostitution was as common as possible.
-“Every servant girl,” says the advocate Angelot, who wrote in 1836,
-“may be considered as a public prostitute, and every house of public
-entertainment may be described as a brothel.”
-
-So far the laws describe the manners of Sweden; that is, they indicate
-the profligacy they are unable to cure. The country is, perhaps, one
-of the most demoralized in Europe. During many years it continued to
-decline in population, prosperity, and character; and if during the
-last quarter of a century it has improved in these respects, it is
-because the old system of institutions is gradually wearing away.
-
-Superficial travellers, who gather their ideas of other countries by no
-other light than that of the chandelier, and in no other society than
-that of fops and flirts, describe Sweden as a paradise of good breeding
-and elegance. Society is there often gay and lively, which satisfies
-the inquiries of such tourists. The ladies of that nation also possess
-many fascinations, with an apparent frankness and sincerity, which
-never fail to please. The women of the humbler orders wear, in the
-streets, the airs of modesty, and never shock the eye by exhibitions
-of wantonness or indecency. The intercourse of the sexes is extremely
-free; and therefore there are fewer signs of intrigue, because this is
-not necessary; but to infer from such circumstances that Sweden is a
-moral country, is to fall into a grievous error.
-
-Sweden is immoral, and Stockholm is the most immoral place in Sweden.
-For many years it absolutely decayed under the moral disease which
-afflicted it. In 1830 it contained nearly 81,000 inhabitants; this
-number decreased in a year or two to 77,000, and the deaths during a
-period of ten years exceeded the births by an average of 895. Yet it is
-in a healthy situation; the people are well lodged; everything, indeed,
-is there to render it pure and salubrious; but the moral atmosphere is
-tainted by a continual epidemic of depravity.
-
-The whole nation numbers about 3,000,000; but it is in the capital that
-the excess of profligacy is displayed. Three or four years ago the
-proportion of illegitimate children was as one to two and three-tenths,
-that is to say, one person out of every three was a bastard. Taking all
-Sweden, we find the proportion of the ten years, from 1800 to 1810, was
-one in sixteen; from 1810 to 1820, one in fourteen; from 1820 to 1830,
-one in fourteen and six-tenths. It was thus the town population which
-was to be charged with the immoral result of depravity. In Stockholm,
-however, statistics could not fully exhibit the general demoralization.
-Laing asserts his deliberate belief that the offspring of adultery and
-children saved from illegitimacy by the late marriage of their parents
-were there exceedingly numerous; and it is probable that the law
-forbidding young men to marry before they were 21 years of age had, in
-this respect, a very evil influence, as similar checks have undoubtedly
-had in Norway.
-
-In 1837 the government of Sweden, finding that to prohibit prostitution
-was not to prevent it, and that the vice they sought to check increased
-in spite of their efforts, ran, at one impulse, to a contrary extreme.
-Formerly no public women were allowed, now they were created as a
-class; formerly no brothels were permitted to be kept by private
-individuals, now a huge brothel was instituted by the authorities. A
-large hotel was hired, was fitted up for the purpose, and opened to
-all the city. A number of unfortunate women were expected to inhabit
-this licensed resort of infamy, and it speedily overflowed. A code
-of regulations was framed for the government of the place; but the
-barbarity of this discipline prevented the scheme from succeeding.
-Prostitution, however, had been recognised by law. Therefore, though
-the government brothel was abandoned, others were multiplied in its
-place; and vice, which had rioted under a mask, appeared in her
-proper form, among the citizens of Stockholm. Nevertheless, numbers
-of the restaurants and houses of public entertainment still retain
-their original character as the secret resorts of prostitutes and
-their companions. One great cause of the immorality prevalent in
-Stockholm was, that no woman who could afford to do otherwise, or had
-any of the wretched pride of respectability, would suckle her own
-child. Wet nurses, therefore, were in great request. Unmarried girls
-were absolutely preferred, because the family was not troubled with
-their husbands. Their own offspring were meanwhile transferred to
-the foundling hospital, which remains another licence to immorality.
-There are in Stockholm two of these institutions, where the children
-are educated, on payment of a premium varying from five to ten pounds
-sterling of English coinage. In 1819 there were born in Sweden 14,000
-illegitimate children, being nearly a seventh of the births. M.
-Alexandre Daumont says, that there was in Woesend, a canton of Finland,
-a special law which, granting to women equal rights of property with
-the men, improved the character of their morals. But no institutions
-will improve the manners of a country like Sweden, until the national
-sentiments are purified, for the example of the court and the nobility,
-says Mr. Laing, have instructed the people so far, that it is only a
-moral revolution which can reclaim them.
-
-There is in Stockholm a separate hospital for the treatment of
-syphilis. It received in one year 701 patients, 148 being from the
-country and the rest from the city itself. In that year (1832) the
-number of unmarried persons, of both sexes, above the age of fifteen,
-was 33,581. Consequently, 1 person out of every 61 was afflicted by the
-venereal disease.
-
-The condition of women in Sweden is low in comparison with the other
-countries of Europe, and offers a strong contrast with that which we
-discover in Norway. Tasks are assigned among the humble orders to the
-female sex against which true civilization would revolt. They carry
-sacks, row boats, sift lime, and bear other heavy labours. Among the
-middle classes they hold an inferior situation; but among the higher,
-though little respected, they are comparatively free[87].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN NORWAY.
-
-Living under ancient laws and social arrangements distinct in their
-principles no less than in their forms from those which discipline
-society in the feudal countries of Europe, the people of Norway are
-among the most singular and interesting in the world. Their peculiar
-institutions, which never admitted of an hereditary nobility, have
-distributed property among all, so that nowhere is there less poverty,
-or more abundance of the necessaries of life. These circumstances have
-exerted a powerful influence on the moral character of the Norwegians.
-It is consequently important to inquire into their manners, since the
-solution of many social problems may, by such an investigation, be
-assisted.
-
-There are in Norway two classes of checks upon the rapid increase
-of population--one arising from their public economy, the other
-artificial, and under the influence of law. In all countries where the
-poor possess the land, provident marriages prevent the growth of a
-pauper population, and this is the case in Norway. So far the results
-produced are wholly beneficial; but here other restraints are imposed,
-which, being somewhat extravagant, miss their object, and exert bad
-effects on the moral tone of the community.
-
-A marriage in Norway is an occasion, not only of long and formal
-ceremonies, but of considerable expense. This circumstance has
-two opposite tendencies on the character of the people. It is not
-considered respectable to marry unless some grand display takes
-place, with a liberal festival, the distribution of presents, a long
-holiday, and other means of expenditure, which create a provident
-spirit and prudent habit, which stimulate industry, and contribute to
-the general happiness and prosperity. Spending on their wedding-day
-what would support them during twelve months, many young couples do,
-indeed, commit acts of injurious extravagance in emulation of their
-neighbours; but in accumulating what they thus lavish, they have
-acquired the custom of saving, the necessity for which puts off the
-period of marriage. The Lutheran church also holds another strong check
-upon improvident and ill-considered marriages. It compels all within
-its communion to observe two separate ceremonies--one the betrothal,
-the other the wedding. The first must precede the second by several
-months at least, and generally does by one, two, three, or even four
-or five years. This interposes a seasonable pause between the first
-engagement, which may have sprung out of a temporary passion, and its
-irrevocable ratification, which may be the prelude to a life of misery.
-It has been calculated that the practical result of this interval
-between the period when a girl becomes naturally, and that when she
-becomes legally marriageable, checks the growth of the population by
-four or five per cent. Maintained within just limits such social laws
-are found to act beneficially, and tend in every way to improve the
-condition, manners, habits, and morals of the people.
-
-In Norway, however, they have been pushed beyond the frontiers of
-moderation, and in many cases cause more evils than they cure. For it
-is found impossible to put a bridle on human nature. Powerful impulses
-attract the sexes to intercourse, and it frequently occurs that the
-betrothed girl becomes a mother before she becomes a wife. Up among
-the high districts of the interior, it is said that the peasant girl
-rarely marries until she has borne a child. Throughout Norway, indeed,
-the proportion of illegitimate to legitimate children is about one
-to five, and in some parishes, where the restraint upon marriage is
-greatest, the average lies far more towards the side of immorality.
-In one of these districts, where there are no other obvious causes of
-profligacy, such as the resort of shipping, the cantonment of troops,
-the neighbourhood of a great manufactory, or any other of the usual
-demoralizing influences, the proportion of illegitimate children is
-nearly one to three.
-
-This by no means implies, however, a profligate disposition in the
-Norwegians--male or female. The woman who bears offspring by a lover is
-almost invariably married to him afterwards; it is impatience of the
-restraint put upon them by the law which impels them to this illicit
-communication. The evils of illegitimacy are also, in a great measure,
-counteracted by liberal and wise regulations. Subsequent marriage of
-the parents removes the stigma of bastardy from their children. A man,
-even, who feels inclined to marry another woman, when his first friend
-has died or become indifferent to him, may legitimatize his former
-children, by a particular legal instrument. This, in such cases, which
-are rare, is commonly done, and all, consequently, share alike in their
-father’s inheritance. Some neglect to perform this act of justice,
-but instances seldom or never occur of a man leaving his offspring
-desolate when he has any means or opportunity of providing for them,
-which in Norway almost every person has. Women in Norway occupy a
-position of superior honour. They have, perhaps, more to do with the
-real business of life, and more share in those occupations which
-require the exertion of intellect and study, than in England. They
-enjoy less compliment, but more respect, which all the sensible members
-of their sex would infinitely prefer. She, indeed, who provides for a
-household, under the peculiar domestic arrangements of the country,
-and presides over its economy, is held in high estimation. Women, in
-fact, hold a very just position in the society of Norway, having that
-influence and participation in its affairs which develope their mental
-and cultivate their moral qualities. Yet it is far from true that they
-occupy themselves entirely with the sober business, paying no attention
-to the elegant arts of life. Many of them adorn themselves also in
-those lighter accomplishments which gracefully amuse a leisure hour;
-but they certainly do not exhaust on song or dance, or the embroidery
-frame, the most valuable powers they possess. The able and observant
-traveller, Laing, supplies a true picture of their character and
-position, observing that among the wealthier merchants the state of the
-female sex is less natural and less to be admired than among the humble
-classes, which compose the general mass of society. Generally speaking,
-therefore, women nowhere play a more important part in the affairs of
-social life than in that remote and romantic part of Europe. Among the
-poor the division of labour between the sexes is excellent: all the
-indoor work is assigned to the women, all the outdoor labour to the men.
-
-Travellers, among whom Mary Wolstonecroft is one, have nevertheless
-complained direly of the situation women hold in Norway. One gentleman
-condemns the national character, because the ladies in respectable
-houses often wait at their own tables; but this is a national
-peculiarity, hereditary among the Norwegians. It is a voluntary office;
-no compulsion is used to impose this or any other task upon them. All
-that we can infer from such a custom is, the dissimilarity of ideas on
-points of propriety which prevail with different nations. The English
-pity the women of Norway, because they sometimes wait at their own
-tables; the Norwegians accuse the men in England of ill-breeding,
-because they do not take off their hats whenever a female appears in
-sight, and because they dismiss the ladies after dinner.
-
-With respect to the actual morals of Norway, we may assign them
-the highest rank. The number of illegitimate births can scarcely be
-described, under the circumstances we have noticed, as indicating
-an immoral disposition in the people. Nowhere is adultery less
-frequent. The matrons are almost universally above suspicion, while
-street-walking and professional prostitution are almost unknown.
-The most profligate class of females appears to be the domestic
-servants[88].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN DENMARK.
-
-In the laws of Denmark in 1834 the position of the sexes, the
-regulations of the marriage contracts, and the restrictions on public
-immorality were sought to be fixed, with every distinction of detail.
-A man was declared under tutelage until the age of eighteen, and
-under a modified authority until twenty-five, after which he attained
-independence in all the acts of his life as a citizen. The woman was
-declared to remain under tutelage all her life. Even the widow must
-place herself under a guardian, without whose consent she can do
-nothing; but this person she may choose herself. She may place herself
-under the direction of one or many, and even distribute authority among
-them, but is never allowed to assert an independent existence.
-
-To contract marriage a man must be at least twenty years old, and the
-woman not under sixteen. The system of legal and binding betrothments
-was abandoned in 1799; but previous to that period the ceremony of
-affiancing the bridegroom to the bride was important and almost as
-absolute as the last ceremony itself.
-
-To contract a legal marriage, it is essential that both persons shall
-be free from the ties of any other legal engagements. Persons who are
-related to each other in an ascending or descending line are prohibited
-from marrying. Brother and sister, says the code, may not marry; but
-brother-in-law and sister-in-law, uncle and niece, may. A man who
-desires to marry his mother’s or father’s sister must obtain a special
-permission from the government.
-
-It is necessary before marriage to procure the consent of the parents
-or guardians of both parties; but if they refuse, their refusal may be
-complained of, and the judge, reproving them, may order the union to
-take place in spite of their opposition. At twenty-five years of age
-the man is released from this authority.
-
-According to an ordonnance passed in 1734, promises of marriage may
-be written or verbal; a promise of marriage by written agreement must
-bear the handwriting, seal, and signature of him who makes it. It must
-be certified by two witnesses, respectable men, before there is any
-communication between the man and the woman. The verbal promise must
-also be spoken aloud in the presence of two respectable men, before any
-intercourse is allowed. Such engagements are binding, and the man who
-breaks one may be prosecuted at law.
-
-There are, however, certain descriptions of persons whom the law does
-not allow to invoke the faith of such promises. Widows, who desire to
-act against their guardians’ consent, and women of bad reputation, are
-in this manner excluded. A servant cannot plead a promise of marriage
-against her master, her master’s son, or any person dwelling in the
-same house. A man may also repudiate, by a formal oath, the accusation
-of a pregnant woman who pretends he has promised her marriage, and that
-he is the father of the child she bears in her womb, unless she can
-prove her allegation by sufficient testimony.
-
-Divorce is permitted, and may be pronounced immediately when legal
-cause is proved against one or other of a married pair. It may be
-demanded in the case of simple abandonment during seven years, or
-malicious intentional desertion for three years, in the case of
-condemnation to perpetual hard labour, of impotence existing previously
-to marriage, of the venereal disease contracted previously to marriage,
-of insanity supervening upon marriage, and of adultery. Divorce may
-also take place, without any judgment from the public tribunal, when
-both parties equally desire it.
-
-In this case, after the married persons have declared their intention,
-they must be entirely separated in bed and at table during three years;
-when, if they persevere in their desires, the separation is legally
-complete. If, however, at the expiration of that period, one of them
-refuse to abide by the agreement, the administrative college may order
-it to be fulfilled, notwithstanding all such opposition. Lastly, the
-king may always allow a divorce to take place, for any or no cause,
-according to his royal pleasure.
-
-Inquiries into the maternity or paternity of children are permitted.
-If a girl accuses a man of having been the father of an infant to
-her, he can only rebut the charge by taking a solemn oath that he had
-intercourse with her at the period presumed to be the date of her
-conception. She may then prove, if she can, by any means whatever, that
-he is swearing falsely; but such evidence being difficult to complete,
-so as to produce legal conviction, many individuals escape the burden
-which justly attaches to them.
-
-He who acknowledges or is proved the father of a natural child is
-bound, until it attains its tenth year, to maintain it according to
-his rank in life. Should he refuse to pay what he has promised, he may
-be imprisoned on bread and water. Every twenty-four hours thus spent
-acquit him of about half-a-crown of his liability.
-
-Illegitimate children have no claim upon the inheritance of their
-father’s property; but to that of their mother, or even of their
-mother’s parents, they are absolutely entitled. A natural child may
-be adopted or legitimatized by subsequent marriage, in which case it
-loses all the disability which attached to its former condition. In
-1831 the proportion of illegitimate children in Denmark was one in nine
-and three-fifths. In Copenhagen, however, the frightful proportion was
-exhibited of one to three and a half.
-
-The law adjudges to the child killer death without mercy. She is
-decapitated, and her head fixed upon a spike. The woman who does
-not take proper precautions before the delivery of her offspring is
-accounted guilty of infanticide should the infant die.
-
-Notwithstanding the severity of the law infanticide is a very common
-crime in Denmark, although it contains foundling hospitals, at least in
-Copenhagen. Angelot saw in one of the prisons of that city a man, who,
-after having flung his four children into the water, went immediately
-before a magistrate, declaring that he could not provide them with
-sustenance, and had consequently thought it better to send them to God.
-Another of these murderers was a woman, who had cut the throats of two
-of her children, and was engaged in attempting to kill the third, when
-she was arrested. Superstition and misery, combined with the looseness
-of morals in the capital of Denmark, were the chief causes of these
-fearful crimes against nature. The criminals are condemned to the
-death we have mentioned, but their sentence is usually commuted to
-imprisonment for life in a house of correction.
-
-The punishment denounced against unnatural crimes was formerly that of
-burning alive; but it is now softened to that of perpetual exile or
-forced labour.
-
-The husband may be prosecuted for adultery, as well as the wife, and
-it is an offence which, says the code, may be punished by law; but
-authority seldom interferes. The ancient Danes visited the crime with
-death, and that at a period when murderers were only condemned to pay
-a fine. At present the penalty is fixed, for the first offence, at
-confiscation of a tenth part of the guilty person’s property; for the
-second, banishment. For the third repetition of the crime the adulterer
-may be tied up in a sack and drowned. The law, however, has now become
-obsolete through long disuse.
-
-Women may take to public prostitution if they receive permission from
-the authorities. They are not troubled afterwards unless they offend
-against peace or decency, or bear more children than may legally be
-born. The code declares that any unmarried woman who becomes the
-mother of two children may be prosecuted, fined, and committed to
-prison. Custom, however, in this, as in many other instances, is more
-considerate than the law, and no woman is troubled who has not born
-three children by three different men; even then a permission of a
-special character is necessary before the prosecution can be carried
-on. No doubt these restrictions encourage women to procure abortion,
-or destroy their offspring when born. Prostitutes are very numerous,
-and the vexatious restraints upon marriage appear to produce much
-immorality. In Copenhagen, however, the corruption of society cannot be
-altogether, or even chiefly, traced to that cause; for the manners of
-the city are, in a general sense, profligate.
-
-The appearance of the women belonging to the lower classes in
-Copenhagen, as in Stockholm, is remarkably modest and unpresuming.
-Neat and tasteful in their costume, they preserve in their own homes
-a freshness and a comfort which indicate that they enjoy a position
-of some honour; for where women are not well treated, they never have
-a pride in keeping their clothes, habitations, or persons clean and
-elegant.
-
-It seems that the condition as well as the morality of the sex has
-improved since the laws of the country have become more polished by
-civilization. The code we have described belonged to a period several
-years back. Since then a new constitution has been established; the
-nation has become more free; the penal laws, especially, have been very
-considerably modified; the relations of the sexes have lost some of the
-rudeness which characterized them before; and though civilization still
-remains at a low ebb, public manners have certainly undergone great
-improvement.
-
-The prostitutes of Copenhagen live, some in a kind of hotel, where
-they take part in mixed entertainments, to which the dissolute persons
-of the city congregate; some in a sort of boarding-houses; others in
-private dwellings of their own; or they lodge in small rooms, and go
-with their companions to houses where temporary accommodation may be
-had at various charges. Their numbers would appear to be considerable;
-and their habits do not differ in any peculiar manner from those of the
-same class in other cities of the Continent, which afford materials for
-a more complete description[89].
-
-
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN CIVILIZED STATES.
-
-
-INTRODUCTION.
-
-We have inquired into the history of the female sex under the social
-laws of antiquity, under the rude codes of barbarian races, and under
-the Mohammedan and Hindu systems. It will now be interesting to trace
-it through the dusky period of modern civilization from the rise of
-Christianity to the middle ages. Many writers afford the materials
-for a view of the prostitute systems of Europe during that era, and
-M. Rabuteaux especially has combined their researches in one wide and
-broad view.
-
-The Christian Emperors of Rome endeavoured to suppress prostitution,
-but with little success. Constantine, Constantius, Theodosius the
-Younger, Valentian, and Justinian took up the task by turns, denounced
-penalties against offenders--those who debauched others, and those who
-prostituted themselves; but though the world changed its aspect, it did
-not change its vices. Among the northern barbarians, indeed, austere
-principles ruled over the people, and women occupied a higher place
-than is accorded them now. They were companions of the men, not toys
-for their pleasure, or bagatelles for their amusement. Called, at a
-later age, to the functions of maternity, they previously learned the
-use of reason, and succeeded from a virtuous maidenhood to the dignity
-of matron. The chastity which Tacitus describes among the barbarians
-of Germany continued long to be their characteristic; but their penal
-customs became milder as they received better maxims of social policy.
-A woman who debauched herself was expelled from the city--a sufficient
-punishment. She had no more any family. Even the ties of paternity were
-broken. Gradually, however, the barbarian conquerors of Europe bent
-to the attractions of a corrupted society, and though the laws of the
-Visigoths forbade prostitution, men were found to encourage and females
-to pursue this infamous occupation.
-
-The free woman who prostituted herself was, for the first offence,
-punished with 300 strokes, and for the second reduced to slavery, given
-to some poor man, and prohibited from entering a town. Parents who
-connived at the vice of their children were flogged. If the offender
-was already in bonds, she was whipped, shorn of her hair, and returned
-to her master. Should he himself be the accomplice of her sin, he lost
-her, and suffered an equal penalty of the rod. Prostitutes who walked
-the streets and fields were flung into prison, scourged, and fined. A
-decree of Theodoric, king of the Goths, declared death against all who
-gave an asylum or any encouragement to infamous persons.
-
-The epithet of “lost woman” applied to one of honest character was an
-insult punishable by law--generally by fines. A maiden or a widow was
-especially protected against such imputation. In France the female who
-accused another of infamous habits was condemned to pay five sous,
-or to walk in penance, only clothed in a light shift, while a matron
-followed, and thrust a fine-pointed instrument above her thighs, more
-as a humiliation than an injury. The Spanish code also recognised this
-offence, as well as that of general defamation.
-
-The church was the universal censor of public manners in the middle
-ages. No sin was more severely denounced by the Christian law than
-that of licentiousness; yet it inculcated no savage persecution of the
-fallen. Good men could never forget, that a courtezan had washed the
-feet of Christ, and accordingly a humanizing spirit presided over the
-social code of the early fathers. They received into their communion
-any woman who renounced her evil life, married, and was faithful to her
-husband, or remained single without prostituting herself again.
-
-Everywhere, indeed, Christianity tolerated prostitution. It was
-impossible to eradicate vice, and it was better one class should make a
-profession of it than that all should follow it as a secret occupation.
-Suppress courtezans, said St. Augustine, and you confuse all society by
-the caprice of the passions. Nevertheless, efforts were made to check
-the evil, though the principal rules of this “police of manners” were
-applied to confine the prostitutes of every town in a separate quarter,
-and to force on them an uniform apparel, that their shame might not
-be concealed, and that other women might be safe from the address of
-brutal libertines.
-
-But while the woman who lost herself was forgiven by the civil and
-religious law, no toleration was extended to the wretch who made her
-such--the pander who seduced young girls and sold them for profit. The
-Council of Elvira refused pardon, even on his deathbed, to the wretch
-who was guilty of leading the innocent to prostitution. “Miserable
-wretch; brand of hell!” exclaimed Merot to one of these, “dost thou
-believe that when thy accursed soul is lost in eternal pains, God will
-be content? No; he will augment thy punishment;” and he added, that the
-young females he had ruined should inflict his tortures. All the rigour
-of the law, every form of public infamy, every device of humiliation,
-was called in to brand with additional opprobrium the depraved trader
-in prostitution.
-
-In France the punishment was in general arbitrary, according to the
-circumstances of each case. Nevertheless law and usage regulated the
-degree of it. In Paris an edict was published in 1367 forbidding
-persons to procure girls for prostitution on pain of being exposed in
-the pillory, marked with a hot iron, and expelled from the city. It
-was renewed in 1415, and we find an instance of its application in the
-next year, for in the public accounts Cassin La Botte is described as
-receiving money for the expenses of an execution of this kind, in which
-some wretches were led into a public place, branded, mutilated by the
-ears, and set in the pillory. Sometimes the procuress was mounted on
-an ass, with her face towards its tail, a straw hat on her head, and
-an inscription on her back. In this state she was paraded through the
-streets, whipped, and sent to prison, or exiled. These circumstances
-appear to have frequently occurred as lately as 1756. We find it
-applied in a provincial town to some prostitutes who had infringed the
-local rules:--“They were led through the place, with a drum beating
-before them, and exposed.” In England similar occurrences were common,
-and were accompanied by some peculiar details. The cart in which the
-culprit sat was preceded by two men playing music, while a crowd
-followed and showered filth and mud upon the offenders.
-
-Sometimes, when the penalty was aggravated in severity, the culprit’s
-hair was burnt. Thus, in 1399, at Paris, several men and women suffered
-this punishment, being pilloried and deprived of all their possessions.
-At Toulouse, a prostitute was conducted to the town hall, where the
-executioner tied her hands, stripped her naked, placed a cap, made in
-the form of a sugar-loaf, ornamented with feathers, on her head, hung
-an inscription on her back, and then took her out to a rock in the
-middle of the river. There she was compelled to enter an iron cage,
-which was plunged three times into the water, while nearly the whole
-population was assembled to witness the scene. Afterwards she was led
-to the hospital, where she remained labouring for the rest of her days.
-A similar custom existed at Bourdeaux. Everywhere, indeed, the same
-rude devices were employed to terrify the people from profligacy.
-
-The laws of Naples were extremely severe. Before the thirteenth
-century we find every procuress endeavouring to corrupt innocent
-females punished, like an adultress, by the mutilation of her nose.
-The mother who prostituted her daughter suffered this punishment,
-until King Frederic absolved such women as trafficked with their
-children under the pressure of want. The same prince, however, decreed
-against all who were found guilty of preparing drugs or inflammatory
-liquors--to aid in their designs upon virtuous females--death in
-case of injury resulting, and imprisonment when no serious harm was
-effected. These laws, however, proved insufficient for their purpose,
-and towards the end of the fifteenth century profligacy ran riot in
-Naples. _Ruffiani_ multiplied in its streets, procuring by force or by
-corruption multitudes of victims to fill the taverns and brothels of
-the city. Penalties of extreme severity were proclaimed against them.
-The _Ruffiani_ were ordered to quit the kingdom, and the prostitutes
-were prohibited from harbouring such persons among them. Any woman who
-disobeyed was condemned to be burnt on the forehead with a hot iron,
-whipped in the most humiliating manner, and exiled.
-
-The code of Alphonso IX., King of Castile, which belonged to the
-second half of the twelfth century, included procurers among infamous
-persons, which condemned them to “civil death.” Five classes of these
-were enumerated:--I. Men who trafficked in debauch: these were expelled
-the country. II. Speculators who hired their houses to abandoned women
-for the exercise of their vocation: their houses were confiscated, and
-they were fined. III. Men or women who kept brothels and hired out
-prostitutes: if the females they sold were slaves, the law gave them
-liberty; if they were free, their corrupter was under pain of death,
-forced to endow and place them in a situation to marry. IV. Death was
-denounced against the husband who connived at the dishonour of his
-wife, and against every one who seduced an honest woman to infamy. V.
-Girls who supported _Ruffiani_ were publicly whipped, and deprived of
-the clothes they wore when arrested. The men themselves were, for the
-first offence, flogged; for the second, expelled from the city; and
-for the third, sent to the galleys. Between 1552 and 1566 additional
-terrors were devised against this crime, and the _Ruffiani_ once
-convicted were sentenced to ten years chained at the oar, while for a
-repetition of the offence they received two hundred blows, and were
-condemned for life to the galleys.
-
-The incitement to vice has, indeed, been everywhere considered a crime
-deserving of the heaviest punishment; but prostitution itself has not
-been tolerated without interference. In France, especially, efforts
-were early made for its suppression. The laws, however, failed, on
-account of the number of offenders it would have been necessary to
-condemn, and a few examples only were made, to show that no licence
-was extended to debauch. The first edict published was an absolute
-prohibition by Charlemagne. He commanded strict search to be made
-throughout his dominions, in every habitation and place of resort,
-that every public woman, and all persons without known occupations or
-means of livelihood, might be exposed. Men who were found harbouring
-prostitutes were compelled to carry them on their shoulders to the
-place where they were to be whipped with rods. In case of refusal they
-suffered this infliction themselves. It is singular to find, that among
-the ancient Parisians no disgrace was equal to that of bearing on the
-back a debauched woman.
-
-During three centuries and a half after Charlemagne, public immorality
-flowed in a tide over the country. Prostitutes multiplied in every
-town, and in the eleventh century Paris was as one general brothel.
-Everywhere harlots thronged the streets, soliciting the men who passed,
-dragging them by the arms into their dens, and if they resisted,
-abusing them in unmeasured terms. In the same house might be found a
-school on the upper floor and a brothel below. In 1254 an effort was
-made for the reformation of manners; but the only effect was, that vice
-dissimulated instead of bearing its title on its face. Clandestine
-succeeded to public debauch. At length, however, some real good
-resulted from a succession of rigorous edicts. At the commencement of
-the fifteenth century, the scourge of society had been lightened, but
-there broke out wars and troubles which gave new licence to immorality.
-A hundred years revived the pestilence in all its virulent shapes; and
-in 1503 a council was assembled at Paris to deliberate on the best
-means of abolishing the brothels which were crowded around them. Laws
-were passed, which we cannot describe in detail, especially as they
-are of no value to the legislators of this age, for in spite of them
-the moral malady of France extended, and public custom recognised what
-authority refused to allow.
-
-In Paris the prostitutes resorted to places known as _clapiers_, or
-mole-holes, in allusion to the brutal subterranean life they led.
-They did not live in the houses where they received their temporary
-companions; there were localities common to many, where they assembled
-during the day, and which the magistrates ordered to be opened and
-closed at stated hours. They were not permitted to carry on their
-orgies at night, to prostitute themselves in their own homes, or
-publicly to shock the decent population; but they rebelled against all
-discipline, and evaded where they did not openly contradict the law. In
-1307 an edict was published, assigning to prostitutes certain streets
-as places of abode--Rue de l’Abreuvorix Macon, la Boucherie, la Rue
-Froidmantel, de Glatigny, la Cour Robert de Paris, les rues Baillohé,
-Tyron, Charon, and Champ Fleury. It is remarkable that the infamy of
-these neighbourhoods has been hereditary; for after the lapse of 500
-years, after all the alterations in the city of Paris which have been
-effected, after all the vicissitudes of its domestic history, the same
-places still exhibit the same spectacles, and are inhabited by the
-same population. The complaint of two neighbours was enough to cause
-a prosecution against the keeper of a brothel. Notwithstanding every
-exertion which the inefficient law and police of those ages enabled
-rulers to make, prostitution increased, spread into prohibited streets,
-and throughout France was a characteristic feature of society. Nor
-were the palaces whence issued decrees for the reformation of public
-manners, superior in many instances to the brothels they denounced.
-
-In the eleventh century a brothel and a church stood side by side
-at Rome; and 500 years after, under the pontificate of Paul II.,
-prostitutes were numerous. Numerous statutes were enacted, and many
-precautions taken, which prove the grossness of manners at that epoch.
-One convicted of selling a girl to infamy was heavily fined, and if
-he did not pay within ten days had one foot cut off. The nobility and
-common people indulged habitually in all kinds of excess. Tortures,
-flogging, branding, banishment, were inflicted in vain on some to
-terrify the others, but with very incomplete success. To carry off and
-detain a prostitute against her will was punishable by amputation of
-the right hand, imprisonment, flogging, or exile. The rich, however,
-invariably bought immunity for themselves. In Spain, although violence
-offered to a public woman was an offence, few women dared to complain
-of having been seduced. In Naples, also, under King Roger, such a
-charge was never taken; but William, the successor of that prince,
-punished with death the crime of rape; but the victim must prove that
-she shrieked aloud, and prefer her complaint within eight days, or
-show that she was detained by force. When once a woman had prostituted
-herself, however, she had no right to refuse to yield her person to any
-one. This legislation extended to the extreme north, and obtained in
-Sleswig.
-
-Among the most extraordinary acts of legislation on this subject was
-the bull of Clement II., who desired to endow the church with the
-surplus gains of the brothel. Every person guilty of prostitution was
-forced, when disposing of her property, either at death or during life,
-to assign half of it to a convent. This regulation was easily eluded
-and utterly inefficacious. A tribunal was also established, having
-jurisdiction over brothels, upon which a tax was laid continuing in
-existence until the middle of the sixteenth century. Efforts were made
-to confine this class of dwellings to a particular quarter, but without
-success. In Naples the same failure attended the attempt. Prostitutes,
-in spite of the law, established themselves in the most beautiful
-streets of the city, in palatial buildings, and there, with incessant
-clamour, congregated a horde of thieves, profligates, and vagabonds of
-every kind, until the chief quarter became uninhabitable. In 1577 they
-were ordered to quit the street of Catalana within eight days, under
-pain of the scourge for the women, and the galleys for such of the
-proprietors as were commoners, while simple banishment was threatened
-against “nobles.”
-
-One example of good legislation was the pragmatic law of 1470 to
-protect the unfortunates against the cupidity, the extortion, and the
-fraud of tavern keepers and others, who grew rich upon their infamy.
-Men went into their places of entertainment with some single girls,
-contracted a heavy debt, and then left their victims to pay. These were
-then given the choice of a disgraceful whipping or an engagement in the
-house. They often consented, and usually spent the remainder of their
-lives in dependence on their creditor, without ability to liberate
-themselves. By the new law masters of taverns were forbidden to give
-credit to prostitutes for more than a certain sum, and this only to
-supply her with food and clothing absolutely necessary. If he exceeded
-this amount he had no legal means of recovering it.
-
-The most remarkable feature in the Neapolitan legislation on this
-subject was, the establishment, at an unknown but early date, of the
-Court of Prostitutes. This tribunal, which sat at Naples, had its
-peculiar constitution, and had jurisdiction over all cases connected
-with prostitution, blasphemy, and some other infamous offences.
-Towards the end of the sixteenth century it had risen to extraordinary
-power and was full of abuses. It practised all kinds of exaction and
-violence, every species of partiality and injustice, and even presumed
-to publish edicts of its own. The judges flung into prison numbers of
-young girls, whom they compelled to buy their liberty with money, and
-sometimes dared to seize women who, though of lax conduct, could not
-be included in the professional class. This was discovered, and led
-in 1589 to a reform of the court. Its powers were strictly defined,
-and its form of procedure placed under regulation, while the avenues
-to corruption were narrowed. The institution itself existed for
-nearly a hundred years after that period--until 1768, when a royal
-edict declared the ruler’s resolution to abolish the infamous calling
-altogether. Vice, however, when widely spread in a nation, does not
-vanish at the breath of authority. Denounced by the law, prostitution
-continued to flourish and society to feel its influence.
-
-Passing from the south to regions with a less voluptuous climate, we
-find Strasburgh as overflowing with vice as perhaps any other city in
-the world. Prostitutes were in the fifteenth century so numerous there
-that, though a distinct quarter was assigned for their residences, they
-invaded every locality, and swarmed in the finest streets. Speculators
-were accustomed to travel abroad and bring home unfortunate girls,
-whom they kidnapped and reduced to a state of slavery. Officers were
-appointed to visit the brothels and collect the tax imposed on them.
-More than fifty-seven of these places existed in six streets only.
-One contained nineteen, while other neighbourhoods were infested in
-an equal degree. At the commencement of the sixteenth century, so far
-were public manners demoralized that prostitutes horded in the clock
-towers and aisles of the great cathedral as well as in several smaller
-churches. In 1521 an ordinance appeared directing the “cathedral
-girls,” who were called “swallows,” to quit the sacred places of their
-retreat within fifteen days. To those who persevered in their libertine
-mode of life, various residences were assigned--in the suburbs.
-Strasburgh was now in the depth of demoralization; but the Reformation
-soon visited the city, awakened its people from sensual pleasures to
-an intellectual battle, and a speedy change was apparent. In 1536
-there were only two brothels there. In 1540 public prostitution was
-effectually suppressed. Ten years after it was proposed to establish a
-house of legal debauch; but the attempt was resisted, though renewed in
-the third and fourth year after this.
-
-It was little matter to the prostitutes to inhabit houses especially
-dedicated to their vile traffic. They cared not to wait passively at
-home for visitors. Wherever men congregated for pleasure or for the
-business of life, wherever there was any chance of provoking their
-desires, they thronged, sometimes impelled by the love of excitement,
-sometimes by the pains of hunger. They thus transformed into so many
-brothels wine houses, barber’s shops, and students’ rooms, and the
-perseverance of government against them was by no means equalled by
-their own tenacity. An edict of 1420 forbade prostitutes to enter the
-cabarets; another of 1558 prohibited tavern-keepers from entertaining
-them. Another denounced gambling, and prostitutes were only allowed
-when desirous of refreshment to stand without and drink what was
-handed to them from within. In England similar regulations was
-established, and barbers especially were made the object of very severe
-restrictions. Sempstresses and butchers were forbidden to employ any
-females of bad character, and others were restrained by similar laws.
-
-All these efforts, however, to render the sisterhood of prostitutes
-a homeless, desolate, hopeless class--to deprive them of shelter, of
-comforts, and the honest means of life--failed in purifying the manners
-of the age. The baths became a regular resort of women belonging to
-this order--in Paris, in Geneva, in Venice, in Rome, in Naples, in
-Milan, in Ferrara, in Bologna, in Lucca, and in every other city of the
-Peninsula--so that there was scarcely the keeper of a bath who was not
-at the same time a brothel keeper, employing numbers of _Ruffiani_ to
-procure attendance at his house. There were other cities in which baths
-were publicly tolerated and recognised as places of prostitution. Among
-these were Avignon and London. A statute of the Church of Avignon,
-dated 1441, interdicted the use of certain baths, known to be brothels,
-to the priests and clergy. An offence committed by day was not punished
-half so severely as one committed by night. There is only one other
-instance of a punishment inflicted during that age on men who violated
-the public law of morals. It was that of certain citizens of Anvers in
-Flanders, who were condemned to make a pilgrimage to expiate an offence
-of this kind. On one occasion, indeed, of which the date is lost,
-the magistrates of Bourdeaux caused a man to be hanged for forcibly
-violating a prostitute.
-
-In Avignon, however, the licence of prostitution was shortly taken
-away. The residence of the popes in that city had attracted a concourse
-of strangers from all parts of the globe, and brothels sprung up in
-profusion in the neighbourhood of churches, at the door of the Papal
-palace, and side by side with prelatical residences--a display of
-libertinism so gross that the public acts of encouragement at once
-ceased, and an edict drove all the prostitutes out of the city.
-
-In London, as we have said, as at Avignon, prostitution took refuge in
-the public baths--a practice of very ancient date. These places were
-situated in the borough of Southwark, which was not included in the
-city until 1550. It was a miserable quarter, full of inhabited ruins,
-to which some public gardens, dedicated to dog and bear baiting, alone
-attracted the people of the neighbourhood. In this general preliminary
-sketch it is not necessary to say more of London.
-
-In various parts of Europe a continual stream of edicts was poured
-out against the system of prostitution; but it was only persecuting
-the victims, instead of eradicating the causes. In some States, as
-in Lombardy, men were forbidden to give them an asylum; they were
-prohibited from appearing among honest citizens; they were prevented
-from purchasing food or clothes, or borrowing money by the hire of
-their persons; in fact, fines, prisons, whips, still continued to
-attempt the reform of morals.
-
-Hitherto, however, we have seen prostitution in some places protected,
-but in all restrained, though everywhere freely exercised by those
-persons who would brave its perils and its disgrace. It was now sought,
-by the direct and continuous intervention of the law, to transform
-it into a public institution, organized, watched, disciplined, by
-particular officers, and subjected to special authority. In France,
-and especially in Languedoc, these principles were, during the
-middle ages, firmly established. Louis XI. proclaimed, that from the
-remotest antiquity it was the custom in Languedoc to have a house
-and asylum for public women. The most celebrated of these were at
-Toulouse and Montpellier. That at Toulouse was known to exist during
-the twelfth century, and by an abuse of terms, not uncommon at that
-period, was called the Great Abbey. The Commune and the University
-divided the expense, and were proprietors of the building, and a
-good revenue was derived from it for municipal purposes. But in
-1424 the receipts diminished considerably, to the great regret of
-the governors. The turbulent youth of Toulouse behaved to the poor
-girls, whom they sacrificed to their lust, with the utmost violence
-and brutality--beating them and their children, breaking up the
-furniture, and wrenching off even the doors of the house. Many
-attempts were made to repress these outbreaks, but the prostitutes
-were at length compelled to take refuge in the interior of the city.
-Severe regulations were imposed upon them. All who were diseased were
-compelled to live in solitude until cured, and some were whipped for
-disobedience. On one occasion, when a famine prevented the inhabitants
-from indulging in their ordinary pleasures, the prostitutes emigrated,
-but returned to their post in 1560. The magistrates, shamed by public
-outcry, which accused them of purchasing their robes from the tax on
-debauched women, abandoned the money, at this time, to the hospitals;
-but the administrators of these afterwards made them some compensation.
-In 1566 a council was called to deliberate on the best means of ridding
-the city from the profligacy and wickedness which had grown up through
-the immense licensed brothels it contained. To increase the scandal,
-four prostitutes were discovered in a monastery of Augustine friars.
-Three of these unhappy girls were hung. Shortly afterwards three others
-were found in a convent, and they also were sent to the gallows.
-
-It appears that in 1587 prostitution was almost eradicated from
-Toulouse, though it flourished in the rural districts around. Many
-of the girls were forced to labour at cleansing the streets as a
-punishment. Two decrees of Louis XI. and Charles VIII. indicate the
-history of prostitution at Montpellier in the fifteenth century. A man
-named Panais possessed and governed the place devoted to this purpose,
-and dying, left a dynasty of brothel keepers--two sons, who associated
-with a banker. They embellished the edifice, furnished it luxuriously,
-constructed beautiful baths, and obtained a legal monopoly in their
-infamous traffic, by engaging to pay a certain tax. However, in 1458,
-another individual was permitted to establish himself, which he did
-with _éclat_, and the women deserted their old quarters for the new
-“hotel.” A public cause was made of the quarrel, and it was decided
-that the original promoters should continue to enjoy their privilege.
-The two brothel keepers, who gained the titles of “Friends and faithful
-Councillors of the King of France,” grew wealthy, and their trade of
-prostitution became one of the most important branches of enterprise in
-the city.
-
-The city of Rhodes appears to have been another city of Europe where
-a chartered brothel existed, for the bishop, in 1307, forbade the
-inhabitants to receive any of the public prostitutes into their
-houses, which supposes that some particular retreat was open to them.
-There was one also at Lisbon; but it was not until 1394 that the
-magistrates deliberated on the propriety of erecting a building at the
-public expense, expressly as a brothel. Ten years later we find the
-inhabitants lamenting that their wives and daughters were endangered
-by the want of such a place, and in 1424 it was established. A tax was
-levied on the women to assist in defraying the cost, and fines were
-imposed for misconduct.
-
-In Italy licensed brothels were very numerous. There was one at
-Mantua, and Venice was the very sink of prostitution. In 1421 the
-government enlisted women to this service to guard the virtue of the
-other classes. A matron was placed over them, who governed them,
-received their gains, and made a monthly division of profits. The names
-of several women, the most notorious and beautiful of the Venetian
-courtezans, are preserved by Nicolo Daglioni. A very small sum was paid
-to them by their patrons.
-
-In Valencia a public brothel, on a colossal scale, existed towards the
-end of the fifteenth century. It resembled a little town surrounded
-with walls, and had a single gate; in front of this stood a gibbet for
-criminals. Near this was an office, where a man stood who addressed
-all who entered, and said, that if they would deposit what valuables
-they had with him, he would return them safely as they came out; but
-if they refused and were robbed within, he was not responsible. The
-wall inclosed four or five streets of little houses, inhabited by girls
-dressed in brilliant habiliments of velvet and silk. Three or four
-hundred of them were usually in attendance. They received only a small
-sum for their favours. Whether this system was then general in Spain we
-know not, but it is certain that common prostitutes abounded. Servants
-appear to have been hired for this purpose, for Philippe II., in 1575,
-in order to check the ravages of immorality, ordered that no female
-domestics under forty years of age should be hired by men. A decree of
-1623 required that in all cities throughout the kingdom public brothels
-should be abolished.
-
-In Geneva there was a “Queen of the Prostitutes,” elected by the civic
-magistrates, who took an oath of office, and undertook to govern
-all the women engaged in her occupation. At Schelstadt a man was
-commissioned to a similar duty, and very strict rules were imposed on
-the population.
-
-We have seen that in many places prostitution became a source of
-revenue, and might enlarge our details and multiply our examples; but
-it would be tedious to cite the laws of France, Spain, Italy, and
-Germany on the subject. They varied much in different times, but offer
-little interest.
-
-The legislator, however, has not contented himself at all times with
-dividing the prostitute class from other classes of females, with
-shutting them up in separate quarters, or even confining them in houses
-of which he kept the key. In some cases he obliged them to assume a
-peculiar costume, or at least a conspicuous badge of infamy. They
-always endeavoured to resist or elude the restrictions laid upon them,
-and, feeling deeply the humiliation of such compulsion, sought by all
-means to evade it. The first regulation of this kind for the city of
-Paris is mentioned by the chronicler Geoffrey. He says, that the Queen
-of Louis VII. going one day to church, met a woman gorgeously attired,
-and, deceived by her appearance, gave her, “according to custom,”
-the kiss of peace. She was a court prostitute; and when the royal
-lady heard this, she complained to her husband, who ordered that no
-mantles should in future be worn by prostitutes. From time to time new
-edicts on this subject appeared. One of 1360 forbade them to wear any
-embroidery, any gold or silver buttons, any pearls, or any trimmings
-of gray fur. In 1415 and 1419 golden and gilded zones were prohibited
-to them, as well as silver buckles to their shoes. The very fashion
-of their dress was afterwards regulated. These devices to distinguish
-prostitutes from respectable females were speedily imitated. An
-_aiguillette_ of a certain colour, hung from the shoulder, was most
-generally adopted in France. In some towns silk was prohibited to them.
-
-The Bishop of Rhodes, in 1307, forbade them to wear mantles, veils,
-amber necklaces, or rings of gold, while the popes of Rome followed
-the example. The laws of Mantua obliged prostitutes when they appeared
-in the streets to cover the rest of their clothes with a short white
-cloak, and wear a badge on their breasts. At Bergamo the cloak was
-yellow; in Parma, white; in Milan, at first, black woollen, and then
-black silk. If disobedient, they might be fined, and, in case of a
-second offence, publicly exposed, and whipped. Any one might strip
-the garments off any girl he met in the streets illegally attired. In
-London a similar distinction was imposed on them, and at Strasburgh
-a sugar-loaf bonnet was invented for their use. In Spain, besides
-prohibitions concerning dress, they were forbidden the use of coaches
-and litters, as well as prayer-carpets or cushions in the churches;
-even a hackney-carriage was not allowed to be hired by them.
-
-The acts of legislation in France were almost exclusively police
-regulations. Forced to tolerate the prostitute class, the law
-endeavoured, by watching, restraining, shaming, and insulting it, to
-render its occupation so infamous as to terrify persons from seeking
-it as a means of livelihood. It does not seem that in France, during
-the middle ages, legislation ever passed this limit or went beyond
-the action of police. In Italy, however, and in Spain, this was not
-the case. The Roman law had left many vestiges, which have never, in
-reality, disappeared; the ecclesiastical prerogative was powerful,
-and disposed to be active. Local statutes existed in great abundance,
-and the combination of these authorities gave rise to a jurisdiction
-full of details: profuse, sometimes strange, always subtle, in parts
-inconsistent, and laboriously commented upon by a numerous school of
-jurists--a jurisprudence which elevated itself above simple measures of
-security and municipal rules, and instituted for prostitutes a civil
-and social statute of their own.
-
-Ulpian says that a woman is a prostitute not only when she frequents
-regular brothels, but when she visits cabarets, or any other places,
-where she is careless of her honour. She is a prostitute who yields
-herself for base purposes to all men; but she who has connection only
-with one or two is not. Octavenus, however, thinks, more justly, that
-she is a prostitute who gives up her person in common, whether she
-receive money or not.
-
-The lawgivers of the middle ages were not accustomed to insist on
-perfect or precise definitions. They liked to subtilize over terms.
-Some held Ulpian’s limited view to be correct; others, with Octavenus,
-declared that any woman yielding to the solicitations of several men,
-even without being paid, was a prostitute. The Roman law defined
-prostitution to be the reception of numerous libertines. But how many?
-inquired St. Jerome. This threw divisions among the theorists. Some
-declared 40 men to be enough, some insisted on 60, others on 70; while
-a few, carrying extravagance to its utmost limits, asserted that no
-woman was a prostitute who had not delivered up her person to at least
-3000 persons. While these ridiculous disputes engaged attention, the
-corruption of manners went on.
-
-It is just to the wisdom of that age, however, to remark, that these
-discussions of the casuists appeared no less ridiculous to contemporary
-statesmen than to us; while the general public idea of prostitution was
-habitual debauch for vile purposes, whether mercenary or otherwise.
-
-Some theorists, nevertheless, insisted that the nature of a hireling
-was inseparable from that of a prostitute. On this account the name
-_meretrix_ had by the Latins been given to a woman of this class; but
-this view led to consequences which the wise legislator would not
-accept. If any female accepting a reward for her dishonour was to be
-publicly enumerated among professional harlots, many, from a single
-offence, must, under compulsion, follow a life of systematic vice.
-Others argued that two or three repetitions of this infamous sale would
-justify the title being applied; but this is a point on which writers
-have never agreed. Consequently, a long controversy arose upon the
-three conditions in dispute: what amount of publicity--what number of
-vicious connections--what kind of venality--was sufficient to stamp a
-woman with the name and character of a common prostitute.
-
-Rabuteaux describes her as one who, under constraint, or by her own
-will, abandons herself, without choice, without passion, without even
-the impulse of the grossest lust, to an unchaste course of life. By
-want of choice he means the absence of a preference for the individual,
-by which, he adds, a forbearing judgment extenuates the offence of
-immorality. If, he insists, there be any choice of persons, there may
-be libertinism, there may be debauch, there may be scandal, there may
-be vice, but there is not prostitution in the true sense of the word.
-It applies to “sacred prostitution,” whether gratuitous or venal,
-which was an unblushing and indiscriminate sacrifice of chastity; to
-that which the barbarous hospitality of savages, whether on the rivers
-of Lapland or in the deserts of Africa, gave up a woman to every
-guest; and to that legal kind in civilized countries which sold itself
-promiscuously for hire.
-
-Such is M. Rabuteaux’s idea. We differ from him. Prostitution appears
-to us the application to a vile purpose of that which was designed for
-honourable uses; and the mere satisfaction of animal lust is in itself
-the vilest object. There may exist in a woman’s mind, even when most
-debauched, a preference for some, an aversion to others; but she is no
-less a prostitute, if she abandon herself viciously, whether to one or
-many.
-
-While these theories divided the opinions of lawgivers, legislation on
-the subject was extremely difficult. They were forced to be contented
-with what they thought imperfect proof; and, to fix the infamy of a
-woman, accepted evidence from witnesses, even those accomplices in sin
-who, of all others, have lost the right to accuse. A female who chose
-the night for the period of her orgies; who, as a wanderer, without
-a companion to protect her, entered house after house; who waited
-on revellers in a place of entertainment; might be registered among
-common prostitutes. A legitimate suspicion, also, attached to her who
-received the visits of many young men; and, above all, who, in light or
-darkness, frequented a public school.
-
-These women, when once consigned legally to the prostitute class,
-gained, in the middle ages, a right which they could not otherwise
-assert. The Roman laws adopted by the jurisprudence of that period
-allowed her to have a legal claim to payment when she prostituted her
-body, and the reason assigned was founded on a strange and subtle
-distinction of terms. “The courtesan’s vocation,” said Ulpian, “is
-infamous, but the wages of it are not; the act is shameful, but not the
-reward which is in prospect when the act is committed.”
-
-The Spanish law was still more favourable to her. When a man paid in
-advance, and she refused to submit according to her promise, he could
-not demand his money back. On one side she received a legitimate
-emolument; on the other, he was guilty of immoral turpitude which the
-law would not recognise. The code of Alphonso also permitted this
-interpretation; some commentators, however, allowing that the woman had
-a right to revoke the promise of yielding her person, but was bound
-to restore the amount of hire she had received. Long and vigorous
-controversies arose among the theologians when this was referred to
-them. It was also disputed in France, whether the prostitute could
-enforce payment when she had sold herself and an avaricious person
-refused to reward her. An imposing list of authorities is arrayed on
-either side.
-
-Another question long debated was the use to which such gains could
-lawfully be applied. Alphonso the Wise, on the authority of Isaiah,
-forbade priests to receive offerings from such a source. Baldæus and
-others insisted that the church could not accept taxes from public
-women; but this by many was repudiated, as contrary to the principle
-that the wages of prostitution were lawfully acquired. The Spanish
-law allowed money of this kind to be given in alms, and the public
-opinion recognised the right to dispose of it by testament, though
-several popes attempted to decree a contrary usage. If, then, they
-could dispose of their gains as they pleased, could they inherit
-property? They could, but under limitations. In Savoy it appears that
-legacies to prostitutes made by soldiers who had not quitted service
-more than a year were null and void. In Spain no woman of this class
-could inherit to the disadvantage of the testator’s relatives in a
-direct or collateral line. Many authorities only admitted the brother
-of the deceased to this right; but an exception was made when it was a
-daughter who succeeded to such property, or when the woman was herself
-married. A mother, however, could disinherit her daughter for leading
-a vicious life, but lost this privilege if she had been the accomplice
-of her immorality. The father had equal authority, but with one
-curious limitation. When, said the law, a father has sought to marry
-his daughter, and endowed her sufficiently, if she, against his will,
-refuses to marry and becomes a prostitute, he may cut her off; but
-if he have opposed her marriage until she reached the age of 25, and
-become a libertine, he cannot refuse to bequeath her his property. In
-the duchy of Asota, in Piedmont, a similar regulation was established;
-but the age was fixed at 29, and the woman, on every opportunity to
-marry, was bound to present herself before her father and demand his
-consent. If he refused it, he was not allowed to punish her when, at
-30, she became a harlot.
-
-The church, in those ages, made it a pious act to marry a prostitute,
-and absolved from their sins all who did so. In France a woman of this
-class might, at a very ancient period, save a criminal from death, by
-inducing him to espouse her, and Farnacius relates an anecdote which
-shows this custom to have existed in Spain. In a city, which he does
-not name, a young man mounted on an ass was being conducted to the
-scaffold. A courtezan was struck by his beauty, offered him his life if
-he would become her husband. He refused. The temptation was not strong
-enough to induce him to accept such a wife. He merely answered, “Let
-us move on,” and reached the place of execution. Meanwhile, however,
-an account of the incident had reached the king, and he, admiring the
-youth’s courage, pardoned him. From this we may learn that though the
-church consecrated such a marriage with peculiar grace, public opinion
-considered it infamous.
-
-The jurisprudence of the middle ages introduced new principles, and
-these unions became more rare. Many doctors of law announced that they
-were contrary to the sacred code.
-
-In Spain, where concubinage was legally recognised, men of rank
-were forbidden to take as concubines slaves, whether born in actual
-bondage or emancipated, dancers, servants of taverns, go-betweens,
-or prostitutes. It was disputed whether the children of these women
-could be legitimatized by subsequent marriage. It was decided that
-they could, though with more difficulty than others, and their mothers
-became amenable to the laws against adultery.
-
-Persecution in all barbarous ages and countries has endeavoured to
-perform the task of teaching and reclaiming mankind. The members of
-the venal sisterhood have, more than any others, experienced the harsh
-effects of this species of legislation. The law sought to withdraw
-them from vice by shutting from them every approach to virtue, to
-reform their minds by forbidding them the society of honest persons,
-to elevate them from their degradation by adding to their infamy. It
-refused to receive them as witnesses, even when violence was done upon
-their persons; though more liberal jurists cried out amid the clamour
-of intolerant bigotry, that the protection of justice should attend
-even the vilest prostitutes in the vilest dens of her resort; but the
-spirit of the times was vindictive, and because society was corrupt
-and base, it was most unsparing in its cruelty towards the victims of
-debasement and corruption.
-
-In spite of every one of these rude devices of a rude society to banish
-immorality to habitations of its own, by badges, quarters, distinct
-costumes, and even separate laws, prostitutes swarmed in every city
-of Europe, and still more in its innumerable camps. Armies were then
-undisciplined bands of adventurers, and pillage was the soldier’s
-chief purpose. Xenophon tells that the nations of Persia, Asia Minor,
-and India, were accompanied on their marches by their women and their
-children, to defend whom they fought with more courage; and Athenæus
-describes Chareas, causing a band of beautiful courtezans to dance
-before his phalanxes to the tune of flutes and psalteries. Two thousand
-prostitutes were driven from the camp of Scipio Africanus; and so, in
-the middle ages, every army drew in its train numbers of public women.
-Three hundred were with the army which laid siege to St. Jean d’Acre
-in 1189, and during the whole of the crusades the Christian armies
-were followed by them. Many times the leaders endeavoured to check
-this debauchery. Some of the girls were flogged. Sometimes the man who
-was found with one of them was obliged to allow her to strip him to
-his shirt, and lead him with a rope through the camp. On the plains
-of Perretola, after the defeat of the Florentines, in 1325, public
-dances were executed by prostitutes for the amusement of the army. In
-all parts of Europe similar profligacy distinguished the camp; and
-long after we find Jeanne d’Arc, when reviewing the army, chastised
-with her sword several prostitutes whom she detected among the ranks.
-Marshal Strozzi, with a ferocity worthy of that period, drowned 800
-of them in the Loire. When the Duke of Alva invaded Flanders, there
-accompanied his army “400 courtezans on horseback, beautiful and grand
-as princesses, and 800 others on foot.” These were for the pleasure of
-10,000 men, all veterans.
-
-Prostitution was authorized and disciplined, not only in the camps but
-in the palaces of those days. From the eleventh century to that of
-Francis I., a regular community of public women was attached to the
-court.
-
-We have already noticed the Queen of Louis VII. kissing one of them on
-her way to church; and we find Charlemagne ordering his palace to be
-cleared of them. At the Council of Nantes, in 660, it was complained
-that the concubines of the nobility, instead of remaining at home,
-thronged to public assemblies; but the seraglios of these lords, in
-the ninth century, were places of prostitution. The German law imposed
-a fine of six sous on a man who committed violence on a female in the
-principal or royal “gynecées,” but only three in any other. It was
-formerly the custom to send to one of these retreats a woman convicted
-of adultery; but this was at length forbidden, lest it should simply
-allow her an opportunity to repeat the offence. Sometimes they were
-only the harems of the proprietor, sometimes brothels. William IX., of
-Poitou, established in the eleventh century an abbey for prostitutes,
-where he added to his profligacy the crime of sacrilege, giving the
-harlots the titles of abbess and prioress, and parodying every sacred
-rite. The orgies of his palace, and indeed of all others of that age,
-are indescribable.
-
-The title of King of the Prostitutes was given to the officer who
-presided over the royal brothels. In Paris, in Normandy, and in
-Burgundy, we find this functionary. Under the kings of France he
-enjoyed a high rank and many privileges; and associated with him was
-a woman who governed the prostitutes, and punished them with whipping
-when they offended. In England, also, the palace and the mansions
-of the nobles contained small brothels. In Henry VIII.’s palace was
-a room, with an inscription over the door, “Chamber of the King’s
-Prostitutes.”
-
-Thus, throughout the world, there was, in the middle ages, profligacy
-and corruption, which rose to its height at the period which preceded
-the Reformation. From their chief places of resort in royal palaces
-prostitutes spread over the whole of society, invading the church,
-the hearth, following the camp, dividing the privileges of the wife,
-and ever debauching both sexes by their companionship. Rods, prisons,
-gallows, chains, pillories, tortures, served in no way to prevent
-or even to discourage them; badges and restrictions proved equally
-futile; but it is agreeable to find some relief to this dark spectacle
-of demoralization. In the age of primitive Christianity religious
-men endeavoured to reclaim from vice those whom they found making a
-trade of it. We cannot stay to dwell on the sincere apostleship which
-laboured, especially in the East, and was followed by fathers and
-hermits from the desert. Stories of conversions of this kind fill
-the legends of the time, and earnest attempts were made to offer an
-asylum to the unhappy women who had abandoned themselves to profligacy.
-We have noticed Theodora, the imperial harlot of Rome, collecting
-500 prostitutes in a palace on the Bosphorus; but her impure hand
-could not perform well the offices of charity, and she applied force
-to fill her asylum. Many of the girls, therefore, who were shut up
-in her magnificent and luxurious prison, found their confinement
-insupportable, and committed suicide to escape it. In 1198 two Parisian
-priests established a nunnery for repentant women, and thirty years
-afterwards the House of the “Daughters of God” was instituted, and
-these efforts were rewarded with much genuine success. Two centuries
-passed without many enterprises of the sort being undertaken; but in
-the fifteenth century an association of public women was formed to
-exchange their base gains for those of piety and virtue.
-
-In 1489 all the prostitutes of Amiens, animated by a sudden awaking of
-remorse, applied for a place of retreat, where they might bury their
-shame, and renew their honesty. This was granted, and several others
-were established, the inmates of which wore white garments.
-
-In several other parts of France, and generally in Europe, the
-religious orders made attempts to recall some of the abandoned class
-of females, to redeem the virtue of their sex, and, as they laboured
-with sincerity, many of their enterprises were successful. But, on the
-whole, prostitution still increased, and, the Reformation broke over a
-state of society demoralized to the very core[90].
-
-
-OF PROSTITUTION IN SPAIN.
-
-Few nations have been described in more various ways and in more
-contradictory terms than the Spaniards. In the pages of one writer,
-we find them represented as in all things a great example of virtue,
-morality, and uncorrupted manners; in another, they are pictured as the
-very embodiment of vice and degradation. We have been at much pains to
-deduce from the history, from the achievements, and from the actual
-state of Spain, as these are set forth by innumerable authorities, a
-just opinion of its national characteristics, and the sketch we shall
-offer is the result.
-
-In that country we have to divide class from class before we can fairly
-view its manners. On the one hand we have a peasantry ill-taught, and
-educated to servility; then a trading body, with another employed
-in professions; and thirdly, a large order of nobles, degenerated
-altogether from its ancient splendour, but preserving nevertheless all
-the pride, all the indolence, all the sensuality, which characterized
-it in the age of extended conquest and prosperous commerce. Upon all
-these classes time has left traces, and the influence of their history
-has been remarkably strong. A rich soil, a warm climate, an abundance
-of precious minerals--these circumstances have been by no means without
-their effect. The Roman Catholic religion, an army of priests, an
-arbitrary government, and the habit of respecting persons more than
-principles--these have a still more distinct impression on the national
-character. A literature once illustrious but now dead, an empire once
-splendid but now perished, a commerce once magnificent but now decayed,
-a wealth once gorgeous and now turned to poverty, arts once noble
-and now degraded--in these we find an index to the Spanish national
-character. There is nothing virgin in the country, there is nothing
-progressive, there is nothing with hope: all the glory of Spain belongs
-to the past. The present is a wreck, and the future is a blank.
-
-The manners of Spain present none of that simple purity which we find
-in Switzerland. Every influence to which the people are subject tends
-to corrupt them. Young women who stand at their windows, and see with
-delight the flagellants go by, lashing themselves until the blood
-splashes under their whips, cannot possess much dignity of mind. Yet
-such are the spectacles which in Spain have been made familiar and
-favourite to the populace. There is throughout Spanish society an
-effort to appear better than they are, which in itself is an unfailing
-indication of impurity. Men dare not when in company take any improper
-liberties with women, even those whom they might be able privately
-to seduce. On the stage they hoot a piece, which in France, or even
-England, would not be regarded as in the slightest degree indelicate.
-Nevertheless, in their retired rooms, ladies who are thus prudish
-before the world, will suffer approaches gross enough, will amuse
-themselves with obscene pictures, will pardon readily equivocal jokes,
-and listen to songs of the worst indecency. Nor will they object to
-behold the fandango danced, though, whatever some tolerant travellers
-may say, it is proverbially obscene.
-
-In many parts of the country, and especially in Seville, the ancient
-national customs are still preserved, and young girls are always
-when in the street accompanied by a duenna. In Madrid, where manners
-have undergone a change, this is no longer the case; but in the more
-primitive cities it is more prevalent. The guardianship of such a
-companion, however, by no means implies absolutely a respectable
-character, for common prostitutes, when they do walk abroad, are often
-accompanied by old women who attract notice to them, and frequently
-engage visitors to their places of resort.
-
-The actual intercourse of the sexes in public is reserved, except with
-respect to conversation. The gossip at a Tertullia, described by some
-tourists as delightful, is characterized by English ladies not at
-all inclined to satirize Spanish manners as very far from that which
-women in good society among us are accustomed to hear. Children who
-appear fresh from the nursery indulge in remarks which to many appear
-positively obscene. The intellectual standard among them is low. Ladies
-have been known who, with all the pride of an hereditary title, could
-scarcely write their own names.
-
-Good wives and good mothers are nevertheless very abundant in Spain.
-It has produced heroines of every kind, from the intriguers of the
-Camarilla to the defenders of a city. When “in love,” the Spanish woman
-is exceedingly full of passion, and, carrying a knife, she occasionally
-employs it to revenge a slight. These essential characteristics of
-female manners are, however, gradually yielding under what we may term
-the common law of society in Europe. Madrid is assimilating itself to
-Paris, and Paris to London; so that as time progresses the peculiar
-features wear off, and statistics alone may at some future period form
-the measure of a people’s morality.
-
-In the rural parts women share with men the heaviest labours of the
-field. They may be observed as you pass along the highways, staggering
-under the weight of enormous burdens; but this is a circumstance
-attaching to poverty in all parts of the world, not to any nation in
-particular. It is among the upper and middle classes in Spain, though
-in many other countries the contrary is true, that women wear most
-strongly a national characteristic appearance. In Madrid and the other
-fashionable cities you are surprised by the vast number of women who
-crowd the streets. They have no domestic occupations; they trouble
-themselves little with the nurture or education of their children; they
-devolve on hirelings the management of their household affairs; and
-they relieve themselves from ennui by sauntering through the public
-places, dressed with the minutest elegance, carrying their fans, and
-bargaining on it, by every possible species of coquetry, for admiration
-from the passers by.
-
-A Spanish woman is a natural coquette, and when married cannot abandon
-the habit familiarly known as flirtation. This gives rise to jealousy
-on the husband’s part, which produces infinite misery.
-
-Marriage is held in law a solemn and irrevocable contract. It is under
-many legal regulations, and subject to the authority of the Roman
-Catholic Church. In the hands of the clergy, indeed, there is vested a
-prodigious arbitrary power, which they are careful to exercise, lest it
-should become obsolete by disuse. They may still be seen interfering
-in matrimonial affairs; and a glance at the manners of the Spaniards
-some centuries ago will show that the clerical power has not decreased.
-
-Public morality was carefully guarded under the rule of the Visigoths,
-only to be tolerated during the Middle Ages, since which time it has
-been at one time lax, at another severely regulated: at the present day
-we find it in a strange state of confusion.
-
-In the year 586-601, the king of the Visigoths of Spain forbade
-prostitution in a most absolute manner under pain of severe punishment.
-
-The daughter and the wife born of free parents, convicted of having
-delivered themselves over to abandonment, received for the first
-offence three hundred blows with a stick and were ignominiously
-driven from the city; a relapse was punished with the same corporal
-punishment, after which the culprit was handed over to a poor person,
-who was obliged to employ her in performing the most menial offices.
-If the parents were convicted of being accomplices and of having
-participated in the gain derived by their daughter’s prostitution, each
-one received one hundred blows. The slave who gave herself up publicly
-to libertinage received three hundred blows, and when she was sent back
-to her master, her head was shaved, and she was banished from the city
-or sold in a place from whence she could not return. The master who
-refused to submit to these stipulations of the law received in public
-fifty blows with a stick or a whip, and the slave became the property
-of some poor man pointed out by the king or the judge, under condition
-of never being seen in the city again. If the master had participated
-in the debauchery of his slave, that is if he had reaped any profit, he
-received the same chastisement as the culprit.
-
-This decree, made especially to repress prostitution in the cities,
-applied equally to women of ill fame who infested the boroughs, the
-villages, and the country at large.
-
-This was at the commencement of the seventh century, and such were the
-severities of the laws passed by the king of the barbarians, Recard by
-name. The power of the Visigoths was broken a hundred years afterwards
-by the Arabs. The conquered fled to the hilly country, taking refuge in
-the mountains of the Asturias; but what laws were in force amongst them
-we do not know--we only know that the manners of the age were shameful.
-Perpetual wars, the capture and consequent pillage of villages, the
-license of the soldiery, helped to constitute a state of things not at
-all favourable for the developement of female chastity. The Christians
-and the Mussulmans held in captivity the women taken in battle and
-treated them as slaves.
-
-The Arabs were soon in their turn conquered by the Moors, and, as
-the struggle was less bloody, the two people mingled and exercised a
-mutual influence over one another; but the influence of the Arabs was
-more direct. “The loose manners of the East,” says M. Guardia, “and
-the luxury ever prevalent amongst orientals, were impalpably engrafted
-on the austerer habits of the Christians. Chivalry was found to be
-perfectly compatible with debauchery.” The corruption of manners made
-rapid strides. Prostitution reappeared in all its forms; nor was it, as
-amongst the Arabs, hampered by municipal restrictions or fettered by
-arbitrary and severe legislation.
-
-In the fifteenth century the old regulations were resuscitated, and
-immorality found itself once more compelled to bow to the dicta of
-priests. Nevertheless these rigorous measures proved that the remedy
-was worse than the evil. Secret debauchery took the place of public
-libertinage, and clandestine prostitution increased accordingly.
-
-In the year 1552, Charles V. promulgated an edict against the
-keepers of houses of ill fame, considerably augmenting the existing
-punishments. Four years later this law was confirmed by Philip II.
-
-The sequel, however, proves that laws were powerless against public
-corruption. Immorality is buoyant and contagious, and never so
-mischievous as when it is hidden.
-
-The end of the fifteenth century witnessed a reform. Prostitution came
-to be regarded as a branch of the public administration, and placed
-under severe laws and precise regulations.
-
-About 1623, the health of the community began to be considered, and
-hygienic measures were introduced. This was a great step, and one
-rendered the more necessary by reason of the terrible ravages committed
-by lues venerea, which at this epoch assumed the form of a terrible
-epidemic.
-
-Three quarters of a century elapsed, and the subject was carefully
-studied, for in 1704 the council decided that the mayors of towns
-could arrest and imprison immodest women, who showed themselves in
-crowds upon the public promenades, and became an object of scandal
-and disorder. But these coercive measures often repeated were without
-effect. Soon the law was found to be powerless against corruption.
-
-Since this epoch, public morality has been lax and openly disregarded.
-The provinces imitated the example of the capital. At the end of the
-eighteenth century an attempt was made to legislate, but nothing came
-of it. In 1822, the Cortes passed a Bill relating to public health,
-which, in point of fact, was nothing more or less than to establish
-houses of ill fame and recognise their existence. This fell to the
-ground through the opposition of a physician named Garcia.
-
-In 1853, the population of Madrid was estimated at 270,000. These
-figures include the floating portion, which is not insignificant.
-Every woman who chooses to prostitute herself for money is perfectly
-at liberty to do so; she has to render no account of her conduct, no
-authorisation of any sort is necessary. The police give no passes nor
-is there any registry. Under these circumstances statistics are next
-to an impossibility. Not only does the law tolerate and acknowledge
-prostitution, but it actually appears to cherish and foster it, by
-permitting the grossest disorder, and by placing no obstacle in the
-way of the incessant progress of debauchery. Local authority confines
-itself to noticing only the most flagrant occurrences--such as a too
-great number of women in the promenades and public thoroughfares,
-or when a large number of men amongst the soldiers in garrison fall
-victims to the ravages of syphilis. It follows from such a state of
-things that the hospitals are gorged with sufferers, and frequently do
-not suffice to contain all those who wish to enter. The consequence
-is that this disease takes the most alarming forms, and does serious
-injury to the public health.
-
-We cannot possibly make anything like a correct estimate of the number
-of women who live by prostitution in Madrid, although some manuscript
-notes furnished to M. Guardia, place it at about one thousand. This
-may only be an approximate calculation, and it is clearly putting
-it at its minimum rather than its maximum. Two hundred of these are
-kept women; though we are inclined to believe this much below the
-actual numbers, as manners are very loose in Madrid, and the habits
-of Spaniards incline in a singular degree to concubinage. Probably
-six hundred women live in houses of ill fame, the keepers of which
-exercise the most absolute authority over the unfortunates that come
-into their power. In every one of these houses one finds an indefinite
-number of young women, which varies from eight to ten. The woman who
-keeps the place lodges and dresses them. In many of these places
-there are only two or three resident women, for there are also houses
-of appointment and convenience. If the number of indoor pensioners is
-limited, those who walk about the streets are like locusts or the sand
-of the sea-shore, next to innumerable. They have their abode, perhaps,
-in their own families, or else they return to their lodgings. Most of
-these public women are either milliners, seamstresses, laundresses,
-and pastrycooks, or employed in the manufacture of tobacco. The people
-who keep houses of ill fame find it to their interest to preserve the
-health of their lodgers, which they are not, as a rule, negligent of,
-but yet it is a fact that syphilis is prevalent in Spain to a frightful
-extent. The authorities are at no pains to prevent its ramification,
-and the climate is only too favourable for its growth and extension.
-We divide the women who live by prostitution in Madrid into three
-classes: 1st, Those who are kept; 2nd, Those who live in houses of
-ill fame; and 3rdly, Those who are free, and merely make use of the
-above-mentioned houses for a short time. Within this latter category
-we must include about three hundred prostitutes, who constitute the
-lowest grade and infest the worst parts of the capital. These have been
-recruited perhaps from all classes, having sunk lower and lower, until
-every vestige of shame and modesty having totally disappeared, they
-traffic for the bare means of subsistence and submit to any and every
-degradation to obtain it. They even exercise their avocation in the
-streets and public places. On the other hand, prostitution has plenty
-of places of resort, such as cafés, public houses, and refreshment
-rooms.
-
-The police are fully empowered to take into custody any woman guilty of
-an open breach of the law, although they may not interfere with her for
-plying her trade, or we might, with some justice, say her profession.
-Sometimes the magisterial authorities banish them from Madrid, thus
-getting rid of the most dangerous characters, who, however, like black
-sheep in the provincial flocks, only serve to carry corruption into
-districts hitherto uncontaminated.
-
-There is in Madrid a hospital for foundlings, but the fecundity of
-Spanish prostitutes is not considerable. This is an asylum for every
-child found in the streets or brought by mothers who wish to get rid of
-their children. On an average it receives annually from 4500 to 5000
-infants. It was founded in the sixteenth century by charitable people.
-
-
-AMSTERDAM.
-
-One is astonished--exclaim MM. Schneevooght (first physician at
-the hospital of Amsterdam), Van Frigt (assistant surgeon to the
-same hospital and the syphilitic dispensary), Van Oordt (student in
-the Parisian hospitals)--one is astonished that in a country where
-legislation adapts itself to the exigencies of modern times, among a
-people signalized by a practical genius, an enlightened administration
-has only very lately adopted the only measures to check the scourge of
-prostitution.
-
-In Holland religious scruples have yielded before considerations of a
-higher nature. The Government of the Netherlands has at last decided
-to leave to the _Communes_ the power of preventing by regulation the
-sad consequences of free and unrestrained prostitution. Supervision,
-independantly of the services which it renders to the public health,
-assists to prevent the extension of the evil of which we write.
-
-It is easy to suppose that the capital of Holland offers peculiar
-facilities for the growth of this vice, which always flourishes in
-commercial and maritime cities, and more especially when the two are
-combined.
-
- In 1851 1852 1855
- The municipal population
- was 221,111 240,669 250,304
- Floating 3,532 5,687 7,357
- Military 881 1,030 793
-
-The number of strangers that come here, the mariners that commerce
-attracts, the luxury that reigns among the upper classes, the number of
-young men of good family, who are condemned to a life of celibacy by
-inadequate means, unite to relax the morals of the Dutch.
-
-Even now the municipal authorities recoil before the difficulties
-thrown in their way by the independent spirit of the people, who do not
-like restrictions imposed by authority, however salutary they may be.
-
-A curious book which appeared in 1648 relates an edict published in
-1506, by virtue of which only agents of the municipal police were
-allowed to open and keep disorderly houses and in certain designated
-quarters.
-
-In 1789 a commission of health was convoked, and strict precautions
-taken to guard against infection. It followed from this that 177 women
-were doctored in one year, a number nearly double that of the year
-before.
-
-The author of a book about medicine, which appeared in Amsterdam in
-1820, complained bitterly of the depravity of manners which led to the
-decrease of marriages, and of the great number of prostitutes who day
-and night frequented the streets and other public places to attract
-passengers by indecent gestures and immodest proposals: more than 800
-were known to the police, of which about 200 lived in tolerated houses.
-
-Coming back to modern times, during the year 1850 we find there were in
-Amsterdam 764 illegitimate births, among 21,365 unmarried inhabitants,
-between 16 and 30 years, of the male sex, and among 25,207 of the
-female sex. At the same time there were twenty disorderly houses and
-400 prostitutes not inscribed, but simply known to the police.
-
-There is a society in Amsterdam for rescuing fallen women who wish to
-lead a new life. It is called the Sternbeck Asylum, and is productive
-of great good.
-
-To allude to the insignificant part played by the police is to avow the
-insufficiency of the hygienic department.
-
-Although the girls in the tolerated houses are supposed to be compelled
-to submit to examination, any inspection, in reality, is voluntary on
-their part. Unfortunately there are a vast number of quacks in the
-city, who only prolong and aggravate disease, instead of curing it.
-There is a hospital for venereal affections, with two wards, one with
-24 beds for the men, the other with 50 beds for the women, which are
-all at the service of those affected with syphilis. Besides this there
-is a syphilitic dispensary, where gratuitous attendance may be obtained.
-
-Syphilis has increased very much lately among the soldiers in garrison.
-For instance take the subjoined figures, extending over five years:
-
- 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856
- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
- 87 94 199 156 182
-
-All women must be inscribed, whether living in houses or by themselves.
-Disorderly houses are under the supervision of the police. The keeper
-of one of these houses may not change his residence, under penalty of
-a fine of 7 florins and the loss of his licence, without communicating
-with the authorities, and loose women must be provided with a license.
-The regulations are very much the same all over the country, at
-Utrecht, Haarlem, &c.
-
-
-BELGIUM.
-
-In the year 1856 the floating population of Brussels and its suburbs
-was 260,080, to which the garrison contributed 2414. In the same year
-the total registration of prostitutes, according to the law in their
-respect provided, numbered 638; these were divided into “filles de
-maison” and “éparses.” Although the police regulations are remarkably
-stringent, their effect upon public morality is absolutely nil,
-although it must be admitted that their _surveillance_ has a beneficial
-effect upon the public health. Prostitutes in Brussels, disgusted by
-the exercise of municipal power, fly without the walls, and withdraw
-to St. Josse, which, with other extra-mural spots, is much infested
-with them. The same state of things is observable, more or less, in
-Antwerp, Bruges, Ostend, Ghent, Mons, Liege, and Namur. By the Belgian
-regulations the circulation of prostitutes in the streets after sundown
-is prohibited; women under twenty-one may not be inscribed, and the
-medical visitation takes place twice a week by the divisional surgeon,
-and whenever else he may please by the superintending officer. All the
-éparses and third-class filles de maison are seen at the dispensary,
-and the first and second classes of the latter order at their
-domiciles. The éparses may secure this privilege by payment of an extra
-franc per visit.
-
-The tariff of duties payable by houses and women is as follows:--
-
-Every first-class maison de passe pays 25 francs per month.
-
-Every second-class maison de passe pays 15 francs per month.
-
-Every third-class maison de passe pays 5 francs per month.
-
-Every first class “maison de débauche” pays 60 to 78 francs monthly,
-according to the number of its authorized occupants--from 6 to 10--and
-2 francs extra for each such additional person.
-
-Every such second-class house pays 20 to 32 francs for from 3 to 7
-women, and 1 franc extra for every additional.
-
-Every such third-class house pays from 8 to 16 francs for from 2 to 7
-women, and 1 franc extra for each additional.
-
-Every first-class fille éparse pays on each inspection 40 centimes.
-
-Every second-class fille éparse pays on each inspection 30 centimes.
-
-Every third-class fille éparse pays on inspection 15 centimes.
-
-Upon punctuality for four successive visits these payments are
-returned, for inexactitude they are doubled.
-
-Directly a male military patient is taken into hospital he is minutely
-questioned by the surgeon who attends him as to the exact locality
-of the house wherein he thinks he was infected, and the appearance
-of the woman. She is soon arrested; and if the result of the medical
-examination should prove her diseased, she is placed on the police
-surgeon’s list and sent to hospital, where she is restrained for some
-time from spreading contagion.
-
-
-HAMBURG.
-
-Hamburg, from its peculiar situation and the extent of its commerce,
-may be considered one of the great centres of trade at present existing
-in the world, and for that reason it deserves more than a cursory
-glance or a casual notice.
-
-Documents drawn up during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries
-relating to public women are still in a state of preservation.
-
-There is a Code Municipal for the city of Hamburg (1292), which
-contains the most ancient regulations of this description.
-
-The 17th, 18th, 19th, and 30th of this code regulates in detail the
-costume of women of ill-fame and the districts where they are allowed
-to dwell. Their number is not chronicled, but it appears to have been
-considerable.
-
-The contractors or speculators in women were by successive enactments
-heavily taxed in 1562: the sum fixed for each woman was from 75 talents
-to the extraordinary sum of 569; but this is explained by an urgent
-want on the part of the municipality.
-
-The provisions of the ancient code were maintained up to 1603, when
-laws of unexampled rigour were passed. Brothels were closed, women
-and their paramours were publicly exposed, and, as far as possible,
-outlawed.
-
-In order to describe the state of prostitution in the 19th century we
-must call the attention of our readers to an enactment of the year
-1807: it is of some length, and we have only extracted briefly from it.
-
-1. Every person who lodges women must send to the pretor’s office
-a list of the names of people living there, with their age, their
-birthplace, and the time of their entering the establishment.
-
-2. When a new girl arrives she must be presented at the office.
-
-3. When a woman leaves, the office must be informed of the fact in
-writing, and her new abode pointed out.
-
-4. The landlord or landlady must particularly impress upon the lodgers
-not to have connection with men having a contagious malady.
-
-5. When a woman discovers herself to be infected she must intimate
-the circumstance to her landlord, and abstain from practising her
-avocation, under pain of severe punishment.
-
-6. The employer who makes the lodger infringe this regulation subjects
-himself to imprisonment and the pillory.
-
-11. The landlord must look carefully after the health of his lodgers,
-who must submit to a surgical examination by the municipal physician
-every fifteen days, and follow his advice punctiliously.
-
-17. Landlords are forbidden to attract foreign women by false promises
-who have not yet been debauched.
-
-18. The same penalties are inflicted by the law upon a brothel-keeper
-who prevents a repentant woman from leaving her course of living.
-
-19. Intoxicated men are not to be robbed, but to pay simply the charge
-put down in the general tariff.
-
-A short time afterwards the French occupied the city, when this edict
-was repealed and another substituted in its place in the year 1811.
-
-In 1834 the position of women and brothels was regulated, an account of
-which may be seen in the blue book.
-
-It will be nothing new if we remark that marriage seems to be on the
-decrease in every populous city, and especially in Hamburg, as we had
-occasion to notice before.
-
-In 1825 and 1826, among 208 marriages one can count no less than 108
-women accouched three or four months after marriage.
-
-We subjoin a table of illegitimate births in proportion to legitimate
-marriages:--
-
- Years. Legitimate Natural
- Children. Children.
-
- 1701--1715 16 81
- 1780--1790 11 1
- 1790--1800 9 1
- 1800--1811 7 1
- and from 1836--1846 one in five.
-
-There are many foreign women in Hamburg, for among 512 women inscribed
-at the prefecture in 1846, 101 only were born in the city. Many girls
-are, in point of fact, known prostitutes, though not positively known
-as such to the authorities, for they must have the consent of their
-parents before they can be inscribed, which gives a larger number of
-strangers, who are fettered by no such restrictions.
-
-Holstein, Prussia, and above all Brunswick and Hanover, contribute more
-than any other countries. Austria and France are unrepresented.
-
-At Hamburg a woman who is in want of money may make more by a single
-act of indiscretion than by an entire week of labour.
-
-It may be interesting to state the ages of the women inscribed in 1844
-at the office of police:--
-
- 16 women were less than 20
- 401 „ „ from 20 to 30
- 74 „ „ 30 to 40
- 11 „ „ 40 to 50
- ---
- Total 502
-
-The police regulations to prevent young girls not yet twenty from
-abandoning themselves are, as these statistics prove, totally
-insufficient.
-
-The Hamburg women are generally, thanks to their strong constitutions,
-healthy and robust. It is remarkable that the public women possess
-better teeth than the rest of the feminine population.
-
-Syphilis is not so virulent as in former times or in some other cities,
-and is, as the annexed hospital returns evidence, upon the decline
-amongst men.
-
- In 1843 there were 355 men infected.
- 1844 „ 335 „
- 1845 „ 316 „
-
-The way in which women of ill-fame at Hamburg end their career offers
-nothing remarkable: some marry, some adopt different professions,
-sufficiently lowly; they sell flowers, for instance, they keep
-cabarets, and not often houses of evil repute, a very small number
-become domestic servants, and some die in prison, where they have been
-sent to expiate an offence against the laws.
-
-Registered women may accost persons of the male sex neither by day nor
-night, may show no light in their rooms unless behind drawn curtains,
-nor receive men under twenty years of age, nor be in the streets
-unaccompanied after 11 P.M., under penalties, both to herself and
-the landlord of the house she lives in, of from two to eight days’
-imprisonment on bread and water diet. She is also strictly forbidden,
-when out of doors, by any speech or gesture to indicate her object.
-
-The examination with the speculum, which takes place at home twice
-a week, is conducted by a staff of three medical officers and an
-inspector of police, who sign the bill of health or remit the
-individual to the hospital forthwith, as the case may be.
-
-Marriage seems to be on the decline in Hamburg, for in 1840 there
-was only one marriage among every one hundred of the population.
-
-
-PRUSSIA--GERMANY.
-
-Although education is almost compulsory in Prussia, it fails most
-egregiously to produce that which it ought to be the object of
-education and knowledge to obtain. Female chastity marks more closely
-than any other thing the moral condition of society. They may go
-through an entire course of scholastic discipline, but the regulation
-of the passions is more the result of home influence than of reading
-and writing, or Latin and Greek, inculcated and taught by educational
-sergeants or clergymen in primary schools and gymnasia. It is no
-uncommon event in the family of a respectable tradesman in Berlin to
-find upon his breakfast-table a young child, of which, whoever may be
-the father, he has no doubt at all about the maternal grandfather.
-Such accidents are so common that they are regarded, if not with
-indifference, as mere youthful indiscretions. In 1837 the number of
-females in the Prussian population between the beginning of their 16th
-year, and the end of their 45th year--that is within child-breeding
-age--was 2,983,146. The number of illegitimates born in the same year
-was 39,501, so that 1 in every 75 of the whole of the females of an
-age to bear children had been the mother of an illegitimate child. The
-unsettled military life of every Prussian on his entrance into the
-world as a man, inculcates habits of frivolity and thoughtlessness, and
-is peculiarly calculated to form the character of the young man for
-evil rather than for good.
-
-
-BERLIN.
-
-Berlin, the richest and most important city in Germany, possesses a
-population of 300,000 inhabitants.
-
-In a city like this, containing a far-famed and numerously attended
-university, a very large manufacturing business, and a numerous
-garrison, we may very justly expect to find prostitution in a
-flourishing condition; for money engenders habits of luxury, and luxury
-is the forerunner and the parent of vice.
-
-At Berlin, during the middle ages, prostitution laboured under
-many restrictions. Documents bearing upon this epoch show us that
-prostitutes were confined to certain houses, in specified streets, and
-compelled, by command of the authorities, to wear a particular costume.
-
-The first “_maison de joie_” was erected about the end of the 15th
-century, privileged by the corporation, and taxed to some extent.
-
-Those prostitutes who infringed the rules imposed upon them were
-flogged and expelled from the city. But they were nevertheless under
-the protection of the authorities, who, in point of fact, looked
-upon them as belonging to the city, and forming a species of public
-property. Whosoever assaulted a courtezan was punished as a disturber
-of the public peace.
-
-There were certain bath-houses at this time, which were much frequented
-by the richer part of the people and women of station, who gave
-themselves up to clandestine debauchery, which, if it was discovered
-by the police, subjected the participators in it to the severest
-punishment, of which banishment from the city formed the chief part. It
-is recounted in an old chronicle that, in 1322, an ambassador of the
-Archbishop of Mayence was killed by the common people for proposing to
-a bourgeoise to accompany him to one of these bathing establishments.
-
-Concubinage was regarded as common prostitution, and absolutely
-forbidden. A law was passed, that people living together without having
-been united by the laws of the church, should be banished from Berlin.
-
-Besides those prostitutes put under the protection of the authorities,
-and called “demoiselles de la ville,” there were others called nomad
-or wandering women. They were equally notorious, and were also under
-control. They went from market to market, and from fair to fair, to
-give themselves up to fornication.
-
-The Reformation changed all this. Severe moral principles made way
-among the people. A religious fervour commenced a war against that
-which had always been regarded with toleration, or at least a certain
-degree of forbearance, up to this time. They went so far as to look
-upon celibacy as a vice, and did all they could to compel bachelors
-to marry, by banishing all accessories of, and temptations to,
-debauchery. A sort of proscription was organized against loose women,
-and, in a short time, the city was nearly cleared of them. This was
-very laudable, no doubt, and highly praiseworthy from a strictly
-puritanical point of view, but its professors soon discovered that such
-an artificial state of things could not long hold together. Adultery
-increased enormously, clandestine prostitution was the order of the
-day, and infants were exposed continually in the public streets. This
-caused the most austere to come round to more moderate views: not only
-was the ancient state of things re-established, but, as the number of
-prostitutes did not suffice to satisfy the wants of the population, it
-was considered necessary to augment it, and this was accordingly done.
-
-Calvinistic ideas, that is, rigid Protestantism, and common sense, have
-always struggled together in Germany, and the authorities have had the
-greatest trouble to regulate a necessary evil--the one of which we are
-treating. The practical views of the administration were fought against
-up to 1855, when a fixed system was established.
-
-During the whole of this time the public health was entirely neglected,
-which one can partially understand, for syphilis did not make many
-ravages during the 16th century. It was not until the 17th that the
-necessity for checking its progress made itself felt. The first
-regulation bearing upon this scourge appeared in 1700. A medical visit
-was ordered every fifteen days; women found to be tainted were at once
-sent to the hospital, and, when cured, sent to a prison or workhouse,
-where they laboured until they had paid off the cost of curing their
-illness.
-
-The moral condition of Berlin in 1717 was sad in the extreme. The
-houses of correction were not sufficient to hold the prisoners
-committed to them, clandestine debauchery had reached its height, and,
-to remedy this deplorable state of things, it was found necessary to
-increase the number of tolerated houses, the number of which, in a
-very little time, increased to an alarming extent. At the end of the
-seven years’ war, more than a thousand houses of this nature might have
-been counted in the city, each containing on an average nine women.
-These houses were divided into three distinct classes, the lowest of
-which accommodated ruffians and blackguards of every description. The
-prostitutes were there dressed commonly, and like working people. The
-houses of the second category were devoted to the artizans and the
-middle classes. Those of the third class, were, of course, devoted to
-the rich, and contained women well dressed, and in every way qualified
-to seduce from the paths of virtue.
-
-In 1796 another attempt was made to reduce the number of prostitutes,
-but like all former attempts of the same nature, it proved ineffectual
-on account of the augmentation of secret vice. This was at the end of
-the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century; and caused syphilis to
-increase very much, and the old regulations were put in force from 1815
-to 1829.
-
-In 1844 the respectable inhabitants of Berlin clamoured loudly for
-the suppression of houses of ill fame; and the government, in spite
-of the remonstrances of the police, listened to the petitioners, and,
-in 1845, all houses of this nature were closed, and the girls sent
-back to their homes, or some other place that they indicated outside
-the Prussian territory. This accomplished, the consequences very soon
-made themselves felt, and the Puritans, who were at the bottom of
-the measure, were compelled to confess that their precipitancy and
-ill-advised legislation were productive only of the worst effects.
-Clandestine prostitution developed enormously, syphilis extended
-its ramifications, and, after ten years, it was found necessary to
-re-establish tolerated houses.
-
-The garrison suffered dreadfully from disease; so much so, indeed, that
-General Wrangel solicited the Minister of the Interior to put things on
-their old footing.
-
-Illegitimate births terrified statisticians by their frequency.
-
-Let us consider the number of natural births during three different
-periods. The first period shall indicate the births during the time
-that prostitution was tolerated and spread equally over the city. The
-second when it was confined to certain streets, and the third during
-the suppression.
-
- Years. Illegitimate Legitimate
- Births. Births.
-
- 1st period, 1838-9, 1840-1 5,652 34,450
- 2nd „ 1842-3, 4, 5 10,175 54,696
- 3rd „ 1847-8, 9 5,053 26,782
-
-The proportion of illegitimate births to legitimate, in the first
-period, is one to seven; in the second, one to five; in the third, one
-to six.
-
-When prostitution was tolerated, the number of prostitutes did not vary
-very much; for instance:
-
- In 1792 there were in Berlin 269;
- „ 1796 „ „ 257;
-
-of which 190 lived in 54 tolerated houses, and 67 in lodgings.
-
-In 1808 there were 433 in lodgings; of which 230 were spread over 50
-houses, and 203 lived in lodgings. Besides this there were about 467,
-who gave themselves up to clandestine prostitution. The population was
-at this time 150,000: it was during the occupation of the French.
-
-In 1810 there were 165 prostitutes spread over 44 houses.
-
-In 1819 there were 311 prostitutes, 198 in houses, and 113 in lodgings.
-
-In 1837 there were 258 prostitutes spread over 34 houses.
-
-In 1844 there were 287 prostitutes spread over 26 houses, and 18 in
-lodgings.
-
-In 1849 the number of prostitutes of all classes in Berlin was
-estimated at 10,000.
-
-There is a provision common to Berlin and some other towns, that the
-keeper of a licensed house must defray the cost of curing any person
-whose contraction of venereal disease in his house can be established.
-
-Dr. Behrend is of opinion that besides the 10,000 prostitutes known
-to the authorities that we have before alluded to, there are 8000
-clandestine ones.
-
-It may be interesting to English readers to know that the price of
-admission to a certain class of tolerated houses in Berlin is 6_d._ for
-which a cup of coffee is given, the use of a private room for fifteen
-minutes 3_s._, for thirty minutes 5_s._, and those prices include the
-company of one of the women, who receives one-third for herself.
-
-
-AUSTRIA.
-
-In Austria public brothels are not tolerated by the police, and public
-women are sent into the houses of correction; but this legislative
-enactment will not convey a true idea to a foreigner of the actual
-state of morality throughout the country. Strangers, and those whom for
-want of a better designation we will term closet moralists, who draw
-their conclusions from _primâ facie_ evidence, would be inclined to
-consider the territory governed by the house of Hapsburg almost, if not
-entirely, free from vice, because the streets of the capital and other
-towns are almost free from the spectacles that disfigure the _pavé_
-in other well-known places of cosmopolitan pilgrimage and resort. But
-we shall prove the reverse to be the case not only in Vienna, but
-throughout the kingdom.
-
-Austria is an amalgamation of conquered countries which require an
-enormous standing army to keep in subjection, hence it very naturally
-follows that the moral sense is deadened in many districts to an
-alarming extent; and this is the invariable result of military
-despotism, for the sense of morality which is essentially the result of
-education, is never so acute as in free and well-governed countries.
-
-The extent and population of the different states that comprise the
-Austrian empire is thus estimated in the official reports of 1851.
-
- --------------------------------------+---------------------
- | Area |
- Provinces. | in Sq. | Population,
- | Miles. | 1851.
- --------------------------------------+--------+------------
- German--Austria, Archduchy | 15,052 | 2,390,376
- ---- Tyrol, Principality | 10,981 | 859,700
- ---- Styria, Duchy | 8,670 | 1,006,971
- Sclavonian--Illyria, Kingdom | 10,960 | 1,291,196
- ---- Bohemia, Kingdom | 20,203 | 4,409,900
- ---- Moravia and Silesia, Margravate | 10,239 | 2,238,424
- ---- Dalmatia, Kingdom | 5,067 | 393,715
- Magyar--Hungary, with Sclavonia, &c., | |
- and Croatia, Kingdom | 89,040 | 10,158,939
- ---- Transylvania, Grand Principality | 21,390 | 2,073,737
- ---- Military frontier | 15,179 | 1,009,109
- Polish--Galicia and Bukovina, Kingdom | 33,538 | 4,936,303
- Italian--Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom | 17,511 | 5,007,472
- +--------+------------
- Total |257,830 | 35,776,842
- --------------------------------------+--------+------------
-
-In the capital itself, the lowest and most moderate computation
-allows the number of prostitutes to be 15,000. These are under police
-supervision, although they are not licensed. The officers of justice
-have the power of making domiciliary visits, and enter their dwellings
-at any hour of the day or night. If they are discovered in the
-streets after a certain hour they may be apprehended, and this to a
-great extent prevents that parade and ostentation that is observable
-in most European cities of any size and note. We are informed on
-reliable authority (Wilde) that almost one in every two children born
-in Vienna is “illegitimate,” which evidences very clearly that the
-more restrictions you place upon public immorality, so much the more
-do you increase private vice; from 1830 to 1837, the proportion of
-illegitimate to legitimate births was as ten to twelve in Vienna. In
-Austria registers of births, deaths, and marriages, are kept by each
-minister of the church for his parish, and also by the Jewish Rabbi
-for those of their own persuasion. The register of births records
-the year, month, and day of birth, the number of the house in which
-the birth occurred, the name of the child and its sex, and whether
-it be born in wedlock or illegitimate, the names and surnames of the
-parents, their religion and the names and surnames and condition of the
-sponsors. In the case of illegitimate children the name of the father
-cannot be entered unless he acknowledges the paternity. The register
-of marriages records the year, month, and day of the marriage, the
-place of solemnization, the names and surnames of the parties, their
-religion, age, and whether single or widowed, and the names, surnames,
-and condition of the witnesses.
-
-If a woman makes an application to the lying-in hospital and states her
-poverty, she is simply asked are you legitimately or illegitimately
-with child. The success of her suit depends in a great measure upon
-her reply, for if she says I am pregnant illegitimately she is admitted
-on the spot, sometimes in the fifth or sixth month of her pregnancy,
-generally in the seventh. They present her with an imperial livery to
-wear, carefully preserving her old clothes until she departs. After
-delivery she has to nurse her own child, sometimes another’s, and
-when she goes away she gets a bonus of five shillings, thus actually
-receiving a premium for losing her virtue. For the two first months
-of its existence the child is nurtured by its mother, it is then sent
-into the country at the public expense; and if a male it is always
-welcome in an Austrian peasant’s family, for if they can rear it to
-eighteen years of age, it is rendered up to the conscription instead
-of the eldest son of its adopted father. Education is very general in
-Austria. The law of 1821 enacts that no male shall enter the marriage
-state who is not able to read, write, and understand casting up
-accounts. This is a serious restriction to connubial bliss amongst
-the industrial classes; but the law is still more arbitrary, it makes
-these qualifications as it were indispensable to a man’s existence.
-It further says, no master of any trade shall without paying a heavy
-penalty employ workmen who are not able to read and write, and that
-small books of moral tendency shall be published and distributed at the
-lowest possible price to all the Emperor’s subjects.
-
-Mr. McGregor says, “The provisions of this law appear to me to be
-pretty generally put in force, for I have nowhere in Austria met with
-any one under thirty years of age who was not able to read and write,
-and I have found cheap publications, chiefly religious and moral
-tracts, almanacks, very much like ‘Poor Richard’s,’ containing, with
-tables of the month, moon’s age, sun’s rising and setting, the fasts,
-feasts, holidays, markets, and fairs in the Empire, and opposite to
-the page of each month appropriate advice relative to husbandry and
-rural economy, with moral sayings and suitable maxims. The spirit of
-elementary instruction, if not the most enlightened, inculcates at
-every step, morality, the advantage of a virtuous life, the evil of
-vice, and the misery consequent on crime.” Works of art are subjected
-like books to the censors, who are unremitting in the enforcement of
-their political, moral, and religious restrictions.
-
-
-MODERN ROME.
-
-Mortification of the flesh is one of the first principles of the Romish
-faith, and a stranger would expect to find any laxity of morals
-amongst the inhabitants of the eternal city severely punished; but in
-point of fact prostitution is tolerated and regulated in Rome, although
-there does not exist any special act relating to it.
-
-In the Middle Ages many vices stained the fame of Rome; but it is of
-the present day that we are about to write. The Romish system has
-produced the following results, according to M. Felix Jacquot, who
-lived at Rome for four years on purpose to study the morality and the
-health of Italy.
-
-1st. Not being able to confine prostitution to certain houses, it has
-spread itself among families.
-
-2nd. Clandestine prostitution, which is most prevalent at Rome,
-has there produced the evils that it always engenders, houses of
-accommodation, seduction at home, and the extension of syphilis.
-
-It is extremely probable that, as there are no standing regulations
-relative to prostitution, perhaps a sort of arbitrary power is vested
-in the police which opens the door to innumerable evils.
-
-There exist at Rome five forms of clandestine prostitution: let us
-begin with the street walkers.
-
-Street walker is the only name that can be given to those ignoble
-creatures that prostitute themselves in the evening and during the
-night, at the corners of the streets and in the dark angles of
-the public squares near the cathedral of St. Peter, and under the
-colonnades of Bernin, where the French soldiery are so often infected.
-The street walker was not much known at Rome before the revolution of
-1849. She is the result of disorder, and the occupation of Rome by the
-French gives vitality to her existence. Some of these wretches will
-infect ten or even twenty men in one night, who have recourse to them
-to satisfy their brutal cravings and bestial desires.
-
-We have to treat, secondly, of houses of ill-fame; but there is little
-to be said about them; they do not differ in any respect from those to
-be found in other cities. The dangers of frequenting them are precisely
-the same. Syphilis acquires new virulence by being fostered by the
-inmates, who are recruited from amongst innocent and inexperienced
-girls belonging to families in the city.
-
-Thirdly, there are houses where the girls neither live nor sleep,
-but where they are sure to be found during certain hours of the day.
-The women dine there, and only return to their families at night.
-These houses are not numerous, probably there are not more than
-six or seven in the whole city. To escape the watchfulness of the
-police, these change their locale; whilst one or two close others
-open, so that there is no diminution of the evil. They rather affect
-quiet localities: the steep hilly streets little frequented, such
-as the rampart of the capitol behind the church of _St. Joseph des
-Menuisiers_, or those quarters where strangers who come to pass a
-season at Rome instal themselves. There are not many women, as a rule,
-in these houses; generally six and seldom more than eight. They are
-frequented by young girls, and notoriously by married women. As so
-many men are obliged to remain bachelors when they take orders, a
-vast number of women are compelled, against their will, to embrace a
-life of celibacy. Then, in a country without industry and with very
-little agriculture, the lower classes have positively no resources to
-marry upon. There is a disinclination, also, amongst all classes in
-Rome to have children without possessing the means to educate them as
-they should be educated. There is quite a passion amongst the ladies
-in Rome to get married, and they put every art into requisition to
-effect their end. An irreproachable character is one of the means
-employed by young unmarried ladies. But once married everything is
-changed, and their reserve ceases. This change is to be attributed to
-too much exclusiveness and the restraint imposed on naturally strong
-and libidinous instincts; at any rate it is a well-established fact at
-Rome that marriage is productive of the worst passions and the most
-scandalous intrigues.
-
-These houses are subject to no visits of the sanitary police. If the
-authorities are cognisant of their existence they take no notice
-unless the neighbours complain of such immodest residents in their
-immediate vicinity. Their existence depends in a great measure upon
-the lowest members of the police force, whose secrecy is often bought
-by large bribes. If money is refused them, these fellows complain
-to their superiors, and the extermination of the offending house of
-accommodation generally ensues.
-
-It is no uncommon thing in England and France to hear the clamour of
-drunken men and women issuing from those houses--the noise of bacchanal
-lyrics mingled with oaths and curses, the immodesty of the women
-joining with the blasphemy of the men; but in Italy it is different.
-There is a sort of dignity amongst the Italians even in the midst of
-their debauchery. An anonymous denunciation before the clergy of the
-parish or the justices that a man was drunk, will often expose the
-denounced individual to punishment.
-
-The hospital of San Giacomo is set apart for syphilitic maladies, and
-there the women are treated by the physicians, but unfortunately too
-late.
-
-Gay women are to be placed in the fourth category. Under this name we
-include all those who make the sale of their charms a profession. Some
-are mistresses to foreigners and to natives, and transmit infection
-from one to the other; the others receive the first comer for a certain
-stipulated sum. There are a few, however, who only receive those that
-are known to them or who are well introduced. This is a measure of
-personal safety; by it they elude the danger of infection, and escape
-from the supervision of the police.
-
-Syphilis is very prevalent in Rome, more so than in France; and the
-influence of the climate is much felt in accelerating the approach and
-increasing the virulence of the disease.
-
-Fifthly. Prostitution in families is one of the most deplorable results
-of the non-toleration of open houses of ill fame.
-
-This actually goes on under the eyes of the parents; the mother will
-introduce you to her daughter, and the little brothers will provide you
-with a ladder to enter the house with.
-
-The love of the _far niente_ is so strong amongst the Italians that
-labour, when it can be obtained, is odious to them. “La travailleuse,”
-says M. Jacquot, “chaude encore des baisers adultères sera bien reçue
-dans l’alcôve conjugale, si elle apporte un bon pécule au bout de la
-semaine;” and he adds with indignation, “for a long time I refused to
-believe in the existence of such ignominy, to-day I am only too well
-convinced.”
-
-An honest woman will on no account be seen in the streets after dark,
-and a servant will not go into the city from the suburbs after the day
-has disappeared.
-
-The city of Rome contains 150,000 people; and nourishes, lodges, and
-takes care of more than 4000 poor people, infirm people, old people,
-orphans, foundlings, etc., without reckoning assistance given at their
-own houses to those who require it. There are different hospitals too:
-the Trinity of the Pelerins, the deaf and dumb asylum, the madhouse,
-etc. Nearly 22,000 necessitous are relieved every year. The hospital
-of St. Roch gives admittance to women with child without asking their
-name or condition, without inquiring whether or not they are married.
-Women in a good position, who wish to conceal the fruits of a culpable
-amour, can receive every attention by paying 3 scudi (or about 4_s._
-6_d._ of our money) a month. The child is taken to the _Pia casa di
-Santo-Spirito_. Both men and women when discharged from hospital are so
-weak that they cannot pursue their avocations. When this is the case
-they are received into the refuge for convalescents, called the Trinity
-of the Pelerins, that we have had occasion to refer to before. This
-hospital has received six hundred thousand inmates since the year 1625.
-
-As things are at present constituted at Rome there is little more to
-be said respecting it, but we cannot conclude without expressing our
-admiration of the numerous charitable establishments that one finds
-there. Every infirmity is cared for with no sparing hand, and the
-defenceless and the destitute are not deserted by the state and the
-charity of private individuals.
-
-
-TURIN.
-
-Turin is as important in every way as Rome, and deserves considerable
-attention. Its population, if we include the floating inhabitants, is
-more than 150,000.
-
-Almost up to the present day, that is, until very lately, the
-supervision of the police was very imperfectly exercised, and the
-propagation of disease was the inevitable result. In 1855, M. Ratazzi,
-Minister of the Interior, wishing to establish a better organization,
-asked Doctor Sperino, well known in the world of letters for his works
-upon syphilis, to conceive a project bearing upon this important
-department of the public health.
-
-These new ordonnances established a reform not only in Turin, but
-throughout the kingdom.
-
-The public women who were visited before 1856 were at Turin 180; since
-a scrupulous supervision has been established, the number is increased
-to 750. When we compare these figures, we shall see how much this
-department of the sanitary police was neglected, and how necessary and
-efficacious the measures suggested by M. Sperino were. This is proved
-in a better way still by the notable diminution of disease among the
-garrison. When the _surveillance_ of prostitution is badly exercised
-the disastrous results can escape the notice of the government, but the
-registry kept of the soldiers who go into hospital is an index always
-to be relied on.
-
-After a long time, a hospital specially devoted to venereal diseases
-has sprung up in Turin, called the _Syphilocome_. Tainted women
-are here treated gratuitously. They also receive women sent from
-the provinces. Married women not prostitutes, who are nursing their
-children, are received here in chambers set apart for them. In 1856 the
-number of admissions was 1661. A similar institution is about to be
-erected at Genoa.
-
-Prostitutes are now inscribed on the registers, and they must renew
-their licence annually. The cost of the licence in the first instance,
-and the cost of renewal, is
-
- For prostitutes belonging to f. c.
- tolerated houses 2 0
- For free women of the 1st class 2 0
- „ 2nd „ 1 0
- „ 3rd „ 0 60
-
-The 88th article of the fifth section of the new regulations says, “The
-cost of the visits of the physicians made to independent prostitutes at
-their own houses is 1 f. 50 c., and those attached to different houses
-is fixed at--
-
- For those in houses of the f. c.
- 1st class 1 0
- For those independent, who
- come to the sanitary office,
- of the 1st class 1 0
- „ 2nd „ 0 50
- „ 3rd „ gratis.
-
-In the third class we only include the destitute.”
-
-Art. 89. All the taxes imposed upon prostitutes and upon the chiefs
-of houses of tolerance must be paid to the director of the sanitary
-office, and are devoted to paying the numerous expenses attendant upon
-the supervision of prostitution.
-
-Article 40 of the third section.--The heads of houses of tolerance must
-not, in any case, oppose the visits of the agents of police, by day or
-night, when the said visits are deemed necessary for the interests of
-public security.
-
-41. The number of prostitutes in each house is fixed by the police.
-
-49. In houses of the first class, three-fourths of the fixed price goes
-to the master, the other fourth to the prostitute.
-
-50. The masters of houses of all kinds must pay to the officer of
-inspection, besides the tax for sanitary visits made to prostitutes
-living in the house, an annual sum, fixed as follows:
-
-For houses in the first category, that is, where prostitutes have a
-fixed abode,
-
- 1st class 400f.
- 2nd „ 200f.
- 3rd „ 100f.
-
-For houses coming within the second category, that is, where
-independent prostitutes go to exercise their calling,
-
- 1st class 100f.
- 2nd „ 60f.
- 3rd „ 40f.
-
-Payments for sanitary visits must be made every fifteen days, and the
-latter tax three months in advance; at the moment of inscription the
-woman is subjected to the first sanitary visit.
-
-Women in houses of ill fame must not present themselves at the windows
-or stand in the doorway. Every immoral provocation on the part of the
-keeper is absolutely forbidden. All servants in these houses under
-forty-five shall be inspected by the doctors.
-
-Every woman found in any of these houses without being furnished with
-a licence, and without being inscribed, shall be considered as giving
-herself up to clandestine prostitution.
-
-The master of the house, in this case, shall have his licence
-suspended, or altogether taken away from him.
-
-The police give every assistance in their power to those prostitutes
-who wish to quit their way of living.
-
-Houses of ill fame are to be closed at certain hours determined by the
-police.
-
-The rules passed in 1857 are very strict, and place loose women
-completely in the power of the police, without whose sanction they
-can do nothing. As long as they remain prostitutes they are in a
-complete state of servitude; but this severe supervision is productive
-of beneficial results, as far as the curtailing of the extension of
-syphilis goes; and, after all, this should be the main consideration
-with every legislator upon this much-vexed question.
-
-
-BERNE.
-
-The peculiar customs of the Swiss during the middle ages give an
-unusual character to the immorality of this country. In the canton of
-Berne, it was the ordinary custom of the young men to make nocturnal
-visits in troops to the girls of their acquaintance, generally living
-in the same village. These visits were made for the purpose of
-contracting intimate relations, and usually succeeded in doing so. Thus
-intrigue almost invariably preceded marriage, and it was no unusual
-thing for the christening of the first-born to take place immediately
-after the marriage of its parents.
-
-“The inconstancy of the human heart,” says M. D’Erlach, “explains why
-young women often changed their lovers;” so men could go from one girl
-to another for years without any restriction or interruption on the
-part of the police.
-
-The use of the bath was established during the middle ages, and
-although first erected for sanitary reasons it degenerated, as in
-Germany, into a rendezvous for immoral purposes, during the sixteenth
-and seventeenth centuries. These baths were taken in common, and
-this promiscuous bathing, and the peculiar dress worn, promoted the
-lasciviousness both of men and women.
-
-About the end of the fifteenth century the demoralization of the
-people of Berne had reached its height, when the Emperor Sigismund
-visited it on his return to Rome. In 1528 the clergy, in spite of their
-professions, their oaths, and their precepts, surpassed every other
-class by the most scandalous profligacy. Amongst the houses of ill-fame
-one had acquired a shameful ascendancy. At the end of the invasion of
-the Republic by the French this tolerated house was established at No.
-13, Rue de l’Arsenal, and it was frequented by all the great men of the
-day. It was afterwards moved, and placed opposite a church very much
-frequented by the people. Towards the end of the Helvetian Republic,
-it was once more translated, on account of the scandal its position
-occasioned, but it was finally closed in 1828 by a decree of the State
-Council. Until then there was not a single article of any sort against
-these places--not a law that bore even remotely upon houses of ill fame.
-
-Notwithstanding the closing of this house, several others have sprung
-up in retired districts under the name of public baths, and are
-unmolested by the police, who tacitly acknowledge the fact of their
-existence and acquiesce in it. The girls in these establishments are
-engaged under various pretexts; some are supposed to be employed in the
-kitchen, some take care of the baths, some are housemaids, and look
-after the bed-rooms--an occupation, it is to be presumed, that most of
-them find congenial; sometimes they are imagined to be on a visit to
-the people of the house, at others they are relatives. The keeper of
-the house employs his own physician to look after the health of the
-girls; and these are obliged to report to the police if any of them are
-found infected, when the police make a personal visit, not generally
-conducive to the advancement of the interests of the master of the
-house.
-
-Besides the women inhabiting these houses, which are not numerous,
-there may be 170 or 200 other prostitutes. These appear on the
-register, and are under the eye of the police.
-
-There are belonging to certain families in the city, and exercising no
-profession, from 50 to 70 women.
-
-Living in the city without their families, under the pretext of a
-profession, but without one, 120 to 130.
-
-“These,” says M. D’Erlach, “are our prostitutes, such as one meets in
-the streets, the squares, &c. As in other towns, they, by their looks,
-by their provoking deportment, by their dress, and by their glaring
-colours, endeavour to arrest attention, and entice the passers-by into
-places where beds may be obtained, or into those public baths which are
-well known to harbour prostitutes.”
-
-Another class of prostitutes is formed by those who actually have a
-profession, but unhappily one not sufficiently lucrative to enable
-them to exist. These, driven by the exigencies of their position, seek
-in prostitution that which their profession denies them. Among this
-class we see milliners, dressmakers, shop-girls, and servants. At Berne
-the household servants send the greatest number of prostitutes into
-this category. The reason is, that nine-tenths of them come from the
-country, and are placed in hotels, public-houses, tobacco-shops, &c.,
-and, inexperienced, easily fall a prey to the temptations held out to
-them.
-
-A few words concerning the places of rendezvous may be instructive. The
-girls in a certain position who have a profession of some sort, and
-have no locality adapted for meeting their lovers, have recourse to
-the public baths. In these baths each chamber has two bathing places:
-often the rooms communicate with one another by little doors, which
-facilitates the commerce of the sexes, about which the keeper of the
-baths is profoundly ignorant.
-
-The legislature, as regards sanitary regulations, is mute. The only
-thing that can be done is to arrest the girls when it can be proved
-that they are infected, and they are then sent to prison.
-
-We subjoin some extracts from the law of the 4th June, 1852, respecting
-drinking-houses and other analogous establishments:--
-
-“Art. 37. The authorities of police and their servants can, in the
-exercise of their functions, open at any hour of the day or night the
-inns and other like establishments.
-
-“Art. 39. In cases particularly urgent and important, the Executive
-Council is authorized to shut any inn or analogous establishment.
-
-“Art. 55. The innkeeper must not permit in his house any infraction of
-the existing police regulations.”
-
-Innkeepers are further forbidden to allow certain rooms in their houses
-to be used for immoral purposes.
-
-
-THE CITY OF PARIS.
-
-From time immemorial the immorality of the city of Paris has been
-proverbial. Every historian, no matter what period of Parisian
-history he may have been describing, has dwelt more or less on the
-characteristic profligacy of the French nation. Yet all documents
-relating to the middle ages must be received with some diffidence, as
-they were chiefly drawn up by ecclesiastics, whose interest it has
-often proved to distort facts and falsify statistics. Nevertheless,
-the levity of the French people has always been a matter for comment
-amongst the inhabitants of other countries; and although we may not
-find much to instruct us in the papers relative to prostitution in
-former times among the Parisians, there is much to be relied upon which
-is not altogether uninteresting.
-
-The first document which we possess upon the number of prostitutes in
-Paris was drawn up about the year 1762. “This document,” says M. Parent
-Duchatelet, “is not much known. We found the MS. in the archives of the
-Prefecture, with other papers relating to prostitution.” It contains
-a memoir presented anonymously to the lieutenant of police of that
-period. It is written very carefully, and with great sagacity, showing
-a profound knowledge of the subject of which it treats. The writer
-estimates the number of prostitutes exercising their profession in the
-city of Paris at 25,000. A few years later, another writer, alluding to
-the same subject, reckons the number of all classes upon the pavement
-of Paris at 20,000; but neither of these give the sources from whence
-they derived their calculation.
-
-The celebrated M. Boucher places the number of prostitutes before the
-Revolution at 30,000. These figures are, however, supposed to include
-gay women of every kind--actresses, shop-girls, manufacturing women,
-and public women, openly known as such.
-
-It is easy to see that there is a great uncertainty in this calculation
-of the number of prostitutes before the Revolution, but in the year
-1802, Fouché, then Minister of Police, having an idea of erecting
-dispensaries in every city in France, estimated, in speaking of Paris,
-that it actually did contain 30,000 public women.
-
-Eight years later, in 1810, the Police Minister demanded from
-his subordinate officer an approximate estimate of the number of
-prostitutes in the city; and the return furnished to him places the
-number at 18,000, of whom one-half were kept-women. In 1825 the author
-of the “Biographie des Commissaires de Police” was of opinion that the
-actual number did not exceed 15,000.
-
-It was not until after the administration of Baron Pasquier, and
-especially since 1816, that any reliable documents were prepared. The
-researches were executed with great care, and every woman who practised
-with sufficient publicity was placed on the returns.
-
-According to M. Duchatelet, the total number of prostitutes inscribed
-on the register
-
- in 1812 was 15,523
- 1813 20,113
- 1814 22,866
- 1815 22,249
- 1816 26,226
- 1817 28,953
- 1818 31,042
- 1819 31,280
- 1820 32,957
- 1821 34,966
- 1822 34,831
- 1823 32,510
- 1824 31,845
- 1825 31,483
- 1826 29,948
- 1827 29,663
- 1828 31,956
- 1829 34,118
- 1830 36,337
- 1831 39,128
- 1832 42,699
-
-(This is amalgamating the monthly inscriptions during the entire year.)
-
-This calculation extends over 21 years, and the author declares the
-numbers to be reliable. It is extremely interesting to the statistician
-to notice the fluctuations of vice during different periods of a
-country’s history. In 1815 it will be perceived that the number
-sensibly diminishes, but it increases gradually and regularly from
-1816 to 1822, a time at which the inscriptions are augmented by more
-than 2900. In 1827 they are again lowered, only to be considerably
-increased in 1830. These oscillations must arrest attention, but
-it is incontestable that prostitution has advanced with rapid and
-irresistible strides during each successive year that has succeeded,
-and to prove such to be the fact we accept from the same authority a
-table indicating the number of women inscribed on the registers within
-the following 22 years, which will bring us up to 1854, when there is a
-monthly average of 4200.
-
-The total number of women inscribed on the register
-
- in 1833 was 44,676
- 1834 45,382
- 1835 45,759
- 1836 45,811
- 1837 46,584
- 1838 47,881
- 1839 47,630
- 1840 47,153
- 1841 46,635
- 1842 46,089
- 1843 45,846
- 1844 46,340
- 1845 47,559
- 1846 49,915
- 1847 51,422
- 1848 51,298
- 1849 50,015
- 1850 52,291
- 1851 52,918
- 1852 51,620
- 1853 50,614
- 1854 50,790
-
-(It must be understood that the registry is repeated every month.)
-
-It has been asserted that Paris was the rendezvous of all debauched
-women in France, and that out of every ten thousand immodest women
-in the kingdom nine thousand at least are to be looked for in the
-capital. “Not only,” wrote Restif de Bretonne, “will you find in
-Paris ‘Lyonnaises, Picardes, Champenoises, Normandes, Provencales,
-Languedociennes,’ &c., but foreigners, Germans, Swiss, Poles, Saxons,
-Spaniards, Italians, and even English, have resorted there, so that we
-may even denominate Paris the worst place in Europe.”
-
-At the time that Restif wrote, it may be almost supposed that Parisians
-were not to be found among the prostitutes of the capital.
-
-Among 12,707 women inscribed at Paris since April 1816, up to April
-1831--that is to say, during 15 years--24 were not able to tell what
-country they were born in, 31 came from different countries foreign to
-Europe, 451 belonged to European countries foreign to France, 12,201
-were born in French departments.
-
- Among the 31 strangers to Europe were--
-
- 18 Americans.
- 11 Africans.
- 2 Asiatics.
-
-During the years 1845 to 1854 Great Britain contributed 56 women to
-swell the ranks of the prostitutes in Paris, of which
-
- London sent 30
- Bristol 1
- Brighton 3
- Liverpool 1
- Southampton 1
- Sundry Villages 14
- Ireland 4
- Scotland 2
- --
- Total 56
-
-From the 16th March, 1816, up to the 31st April, 1831, the total number
-of girls inscribed on the registers has been 12,607, of which Paris has
-furnished 4469, the chief towns 6939, and the others have come from
-various places. These statistics we consider sufficient to prove the
-fact of the emigration of prostitutes to Paris.
-
-It has been supposed that almost all prostitutes are natural children.
-That this is not the case is abundantly proved by a careful analysis by
-M. Duchatelet, in which he evidences the contrary; out of 1183 children
-born in Paris not quite one-fourth were illegitimate.
-
-The list of the professions practised at one time by women who have
-subsequently become prostitutes is alarming, from its extensiveness,
-including as it does no less than six hundred distinct trades,
-among which we perceive seamstresses, those in the linen trade,
-breeches-makers, flannel-waistcoat makers, glovers, upholstresses
-or tapestry-makers, darners and menders, strap-makers, botchers,
-milliners, embroideresses, gauze-workers, flowerists, feather-makers,
-those that colour or illuminate, knitters, lace-makers, fringe-makers,
-rope-makers, furriers, wool-workers, hair-weavers, machinists,
-cotton-spinners, silk-weavers, gold and silver gauze veil-makers,
-shawl-makers, bonnet-makers, and innumerable others; indeed, every
-trade may truly be said to be adequately represented in this social
-congress for the propagation of vice. There are also those who have
-once been much better off. For instance: seven had been shopkeepers
-in a very respectable way of business, three were midwives, one an
-artist, six were musicians and gave lessons on the harp and the piano,
-sixteen had been actresses in Paris and the provinces, and three (this
-is a very rare case, and an exception to the general rule,) possessed
-an income of 200 francs, of 500, and even 1000. It is not easy to
-determine what inducement a life of prostitution could hold out to
-these women.
-
-The total number of women whose professions were known amounts to 3120.
-
-The returns go far to evidence the evil effects of sedentary
-occupations upon the morals of young girls; then the fluctuations in
-the demand for labour are continually throwing the operatives out of
-work, and as a means of existence they naturally resort to prostitution
-to obtain a livelihood.
-
-To show the extent to which education has spread amongst this class,
-we give the number of those who signed the register well, of those who
-signed badly, and of those who could not sign at all, out of 4470 girls
-born and brought up in Paris.
-
- Those who could not sign 2332
- Those who signed badly 1780
- Those who signed well, and sometimes
- very well 110
- And of those who possessed no indication
- to show what they were 248
- ----
- Total 4470
-
-Ignorance is the prevailing characteristic of the “femmes galantes”
-generally throughout the world, and we find it so in France, which
-is rather singular when we consider how comprehensive the scheme of
-education is in that country.
-
-As far as religion goes, they are usually deficient in the knowledge of
-the most simple articles of belief. Sometimes they are fanatical to a
-degree, and always superstitious. This being the case, it will not seem
-wonderful that they always receive the rites of the Church on their
-deathbeds with the greatest confidence, satisfaction, and delight.
-
-It is very well known that soldiers and sailors have a way of tattooing
-themselves on the chest, the arms, and sometimes the legs. The
-inscriptions are often of great size, and elaborately executed. One
-man will have a battle delineated on his skin, or the likeness of his
-sweetheart, but this of course depends upon his turn of mind. This
-habit has been adopted in Paris by those prostitutes who live in the
-houses frequented by the military. It may in the first instance have
-originated from a desire on their part to ingratiate themselves with
-their admirers. At all events, from whatever cause it may have arisen,
-it is now an established custom. Women occasionally have been seen in
-the hospital with as many as thirty lovers imprinted on the throat, the
-breast and other parts of the body, although it is customary for them
-to remove a lover who has been succeeded by one more favoured, and the
-means had recourse to, to effect this, are often prejudicial to the
-health of the girl in a fatal degree. They will not hesitate to employ
-sulphuric acid, which is as likely as not to raise an ulcer which has
-in very many cases ended in the death of the sufferer. Strange to say,
-the figures and inscriptions are rarely, if ever, immodest or indecent.
-
-The shibboleth of this class is always “Vive la bagatelle!” When not
-actually engaged in the pursuits their avocation entails upon them,
-they seldom do anything. Their existence, if not altogether dreamy and
-inane, is certainly one marked rather by lassitude and inertness than
-energy and briskness. They are perpetually the prey of an irresistible
-craving after excitement, which devours them, and the morning and
-afternoon not unfrequently serves only to recruit the nerves shattered
-by the excesses of the night before. Reading is not a pastime with
-them, although some may frequently be found with books in their hands.
-
-Most prostitutes pass under false names, and they even go so far as to
-change their names whenever they have an inclination to do so.
-
- * * * * *
-
-The names that the better class are fondest of are:--
-
- Aumale
- Zulma
- Calliope
- Irma
- Zélie
- Amanda
- Pamela
- Modeste
- Natalie
- Sidonia
- Olympia
- Flora
- Thalia
- Artemisia
- Armande
- Leocadia
- Octavia
- Malvina
- Virginia
- Azelina
- Ismeria
- Lodoiska
- Palmira
- Aspasia
- Lucrece
- Clara
- Angelina
- Flavia
- Celina
- Emily
- Reine
- Anais
- Delphini
- Fanny.
-
-The lower class do not, as may be supposed, possess so refined a taste
-as their more elevated sisters. We subjoin some of the most popular to
-be found in their vocabulary:--
-
- Roussellette
- Collette
- Boulotte
- Mourette
- La Ruelle
- La Roche
- La Courtille
- La Picarde
- Faux Cul
- La Bancale
- La Blonde
- La Provençale
- Belle-Cuisse
- Belle-Lambe
- Le Bœuf
- Brunette
- Bouquet
- Louchon
- Mignarde
- Poil-ras
- Poillong
- Peloton
- Cocote
- Bourdonneuse.
-
-Leaving this subject, let us touch upon another which deserves our
-attention. Every prostitute has a lover; he is generally selected
-from among the law students, medical students, or young barristers,
-for their minds being cultivated and their address easy, the woman is
-charmed by an intellectual superiority she can never hope to attain
-to. A great number of prostitutes of course recruit for lovers among
-the shop-boys and tradesmen of the city. They become so ardently
-attached to them that they will submit to almost any indignity. The
-“Paillasson” may be the greatest tyrant in his small way that ever had
-the power of lording it over another, but no diminution of her regard
-or passion will result from his ill-treatment. A great number of young
-men in Paris have no visible means of existence, but a prostitute
-will, in most instances, not only keep her lover out of the proceeds
-of her prostitution, but clothe, feed, and even lodge him herself.
-In fact it is more a madness than a passion. They will put up with
-anything,--wounds, curses, blows, all are forgiven and forgotten.
-
-Introducing houses, and houses of accommodation are tolerated by the
-Parisian police, for it is found impossible, and perhaps impolitic, to
-suppress them. The refuse of the city, both men and women, are confined
-by the police to the lowest quarters of the city, that they may be
-under the immediate control of the authorities. So that the vilest and
-most abandoned women are allowed to mingle with thieves, ruffians, and
-malefactors of every description in a particular locality, instead of
-infesting other parts of the city.
-
-[Illustration: SCENE IN THE GARDENS OF “CLOSERIE DES LILAS.” PARIS.]
-
-The rank and title of “_Dame de Maison_,” or keeper of a house of
-ill-fame, being the highest pinnacle of a prostitute’s career, and the
-acme of their ambition, of course renders such a position a matter of
-much envy and anticipation to them. We can divide this class into four
-distinct divisions--
-
-1st. Those who have, so to say, gone through the world, having been
-kept by officers in the army, or men of property, who, perhaps, are
-thrown over by their _ci-devant_ admirers, and possessing some money,
-establish themselves in this way as a means of making a livelihood and
-obtaining a provision for their declining years.
-
-2nd. Those old prostitutes who have exercised some economy during their
-youth, and are thus placed in a position to live somewhat at their
-ease.
-
-3rd. Old servants and confidential women who have lived in the
-service of keepers of houses of ill-fame, who have an agreement with
-their mistress to take her business or succeed her on her death or
-bankruptcy. These women have a knowledge of the places where they have
-lived, and know perfectly well how to manage the girls who resort to
-these houses, and thoroughly understand the men who visit them.
-
-4th. The fourth class is composed of women who have never been
-prostitutes, who often are married and have children. The appetite of
-gain has launched them in this career. It is to keep a furnished house
-that they have taken in prostitutes, or having set up a public-house
-they entertain loose women to make men come there.
-
-There are in Paris some families who have kept prostitutes for several
-generations, having positively no other source of revenue than the
-keeping of introducing houses or houses of ill-fame. One sees the
-mother exercising her profession in one quarter of the city and her
-daughter in another. The daughters succeed their mother, the nieces
-their aunt, etc., but in general this is very rare, one not being able
-to indicate more than six families of this description.
-
-There are some conditions which these people must subscribe to, and
-which offer some guarantee to the authorities for the good management
-of the house. To begin with: they must not be too young, lest they
-are unable to possess sufficient authority over the women under their
-jurisdiction; twenty-five is generally the lowest age, experience
-teaches us, at which a woman can become a safe manager of an immoral
-house. As a rule, licences are refused to those who have never been
-prostitutes.
-
-Force, vigour, energy both of mind and body are requisite to a
-keeper of a house of ill-fame, as well as a habit of commanding, and
-something of a masculine manner. If to these qualities they join good
-antecedents, if they have not been taken before a justice of the peace,
-if they are honest, if they do not favour clandestine debauchery, if
-they are unaccustomed to get intoxicated, if they know how to read
-and write, if while they were prostitutes they had not a tendency to
-infringe the regulations, the authorisation they ask for is not refused
-them; but unhappily it is found too late, that licences are given to
-women who are unable to, or certainly do not, carry out these wholesome
-conditions and necessary stipulations. The desire to possess this
-coveted distinction, and pass from the condition of a simple prostitute
-to that of “dame de maison” often fills young women with the greatest
-anxiety, as they do not very well know how to invest their money, and
-they often embark in this career in a speculative manner causing their
-enterprise to end in bankruptcy and failure; this fills the authorities
-with great trouble and they are extremely particular in giving
-licences, frequently only giving a fourth-class one when the party
-applying for it could easily set up a first-class establishment.
-
-Certain speculators will often furnish a house, and place a woman in it
-for immoral purposes, who will encourage other women, and it becomes a
-house of ill-fame; other intriguing women will also club together and
-establish a house of this sort, and install one of their creatures. Now
-these installed women are not really and truly, from their subordinate
-position, to be called “dames de maison” for if they do not every week
-pay so much money to the speculators who have employed them, they are
-instantly turned out and some one else comes in their place. It is easy
-to see that this system does not give them much authority over the
-women who live in their houses, and through whose instrumentality and
-prostitution the money is made. Without authority disorder must ensue,
-and then the police have to interfere. There were--
-
- In 1824 -- 163 of these houses in Paris.
- „ 1831 -- 209 „ „
- „ 1832 -- 220 „ „
-
-On the 1st of January, 1852, there were 1246 women in these houses. On
-the 1st of December there were 1316, but making allowance for those
-incarcerated, either for some offence or for illness, we find the
-number reduced to about 1005 active women. There were--
-
- In 1842 -- 193 tolerated houses in Paris.
- „ 1847 -- 177 „ „
- „ 1852 -- 152 „ „
-
-In which latter year these houses contained 1005 girls.
-
-In 1854, Paris contained 140 tolerated houses in which 1009 women
-existed.
-
-In the suburbs there were--
-
- In 1842 -- 36 of these houses.
- „ 1847 -- 53 „ „
- „ 1852 -- 65 „ „
-
-In 1852 the number of girls living in them was 417.
-
-In 1854 there were 64 houses containing 493 women.
-
-The number of these tolerated houses, it will be seen, does not
-fluctuate or change very largely, with the exception of those existing
-in the suburbs, in which in ten years, that is to say from 1842 to
-1852, the number was increased by 29. We have shown that the summit of
-a prostitute’s ambition is generally to keep a house of ill-fame, and
-such being the case it is only wonderful that the number of such houses
-is not larger than it is.
-
-A vast deal of prostitution goes on in the small smoking shops, the
-low public-houses, the brandy shops, and the wine houses. These
-refuges exist all over Paris, they are innumerable, but one finds
-them collected especially at those points where the workmen and the
-industrial classes meet together, such as the larger barriers, nearly
-all the outside boulevards, those of the Hospital and the Temple, the
-“Rue Fromenteau” and neighbouring places, the streets that touch the
-large bridges, etc.
-
-So far back as 1818, the commissioners of the police consulted about
-this evil, and the necessity for suppressing it; for not only did it
-encourage secret vice and defeat the ends of the authorities, but it
-was a source of drunkenness and fighting, and indeed of all sorts of
-disorders.
-
-In December, 1851, a decree was promulgated by Louis Napoleon which has
-had some effect in reducing the evil, for several drinking shops have
-been closed since then for offences against the decree.
-
-It may be interesting to know that frequently girls take a dislike to
-their revolting avocation, and return voluntarily to their parents.
-From the 1st January, 1821, to the 30th December, 1827, 254 girls whose
-names were erased from the registers were taken back by their friends,
-who promised to provide them with the means of subsistence, and gave
-guarantees for their good conduct. Amongst this number--
-
- 133 were reclaimed by the mother only.
- 72 „ „ the father only.
- 22 „ „ the mother and father together.
- 22 „ „ their brothers.
- 9 „ „ their sisters.
- 5 „ „ an aunt.
- 2 „ „ an uncle.
-
-Each of these girls had been inscribed during the following time--
-
- 120 from 1 to 6 months
- 37 more than 6 months
- 16 „ 1 year
- 55 „ 2 years
- 9 „ 3 years
- 6 „ 7 years
- 8 „ 8 years
- 3 „ 9 years
- ---
- Total--254
-
-The sanitary regulations in Paris are beneficial to the community
-at large in the highest degree. Physicians are appointed by the
-prefecture, who make periodical visits, generally twice a month, for
-the purpose of ascertaining the state of the health of their numerous
-clients. If they should discover one infected, she is immediately sent
-to the hospital.
-
-In the foregoing pages we have endeavoured to give a brief exposé of
-the dark side of the brilliant volatile city of Paris. Such a subject
-gives ample scope for volumes, but the nature of this work confines us
-to dry facts and statistics.
-
-
-PROSTITUTION IN LONDON.[91]
-
-The liberty of the subject is very jealously guarded in England, and
-so tenacious are the people of their rights and privileges that the
-legislature has not dared to infringe them, even for what by many
-would be considered a just and meritorious purpose. Neither are the
-magistracy or the police allowed to enter improper or disorderly
-houses, unless to suppress disturbances that would require their
-presence in the most respectable mansion in the land, if the aforesaid
-disturbances were committed within their precincts. Until very lately
-the police had not the power of arresting those traders, who earned an
-infamous livelihood by selling immoral books and obscene prints. It is
-to the late Lord Chancellor Campbell that we owe this salutary reform,
-under whose meritorious exertions the disgraceful trade of Holywell
-Street and kindred districts has received a blow from which it will
-never again rally.
-
-If the neighbours choose to complain before a magistrate of a
-disorderly house, and are willing to undertake the labour, annoyance,
-and expense of a criminal indictment, it is probable that their
-exertions may in time have the desired effect; but there is no summary
-conviction, as in some continental cities whose condition we have
-studied in another portion of this work.
-
-To show how difficult it is to give from any data at present before the
-public anything like a correct estimate of the number of prostitutes
-in London, we may mention (extracting from the work of Dr. Ryan) that
-while the Bishop of Exeter asserted the number of prostitutes in London
-to be 80,000, the City Police stated to Dr. Ryan that it did not exceed
-7000 to 8000. About the year 1793 Mr. Colquhoun, a police magistrate,
-concluded, after tedious investigations, that there were 50,000
-prostitutes in this metropolis. At that period the population was one
-million, and as it is now more than double we may form some idea of the
-extensive ramifications of this insidious vice.
-
-In the year 1802, when immorality had spread more or less all over
-Europe, owing to the demoralizing effects of the French Revolution, a
-society was formed, called “The Society for the Suppression of Vice,”
-of which its secretary, Mr. Wilberforce, thus speaks:--
-
-“The particular objects to which the attention of this Society is
-directed are as follow, viz.--
-
-“1. The prevention of the profanation of the Lord’s day.
-
-“2. Blasphemous publications.
-
-“3. Obscene books, prints, etc.
-
-“4. Disorderly houses.
-
-“5. Fortunetellers.”
-
-When speaking of the third division a report of the Society says--
-
-“In consequence of the renewed intercourse with the Continent,
-incidental to the restoration of peace, there has been a great influx
-into the country of the most obscene articles of every description, as
-may be inferred from the exhibition of indecent snuff-boxes in the shop
-windows of tobacconists. These circumstances having tended to a revival
-of this trade the Society have had occasion within the last twelve
-months to resort to five prosecutions, which have greatly tended to the
-removal of that indecent display by which the public eye has of late
-been too much offended.”
-
-Before the dissolution of the Bristol Society for the Suppression of
-Vice, its secretary, Mr. Birtle, wrote (1808) to London the following
-letter:--
-
-“Sir,--The Bristol Society for the Suppression of Vice being about to
-dissolve, and the agents before employed having moved very heavily, I
-took my horse and rode to Stapleton prison to inquire into the facts
-contained in your letter. Inclosed are some of the drawings which I
-purchased in what they call their market, without the least privacy
-on their part or mine. They wished to intrude on me a variety of
-devices in bone and wood of the most obscene kind, particularly those
-representing a crime “_inter Christianos non nominandum_,” which they
-termed the _new fashion_. I purchased a few, but they are too bulky for
-a letter. This market is held before the door of the turnkey every day
-between the hours of ten and twelve.”
-
-At the present day the police wage an internecine war with these
-people, who generally go about from fair to fair to sell indecent
-images, mostly imported from France; but this traffic is very much on
-the decline, if it is not altogether extinguished.
-
-The reports of the Society for the Suppression of Vice are highly
-interesting, and may be obtained gratis on application at the Society’s
-chambers.
-
-Another Society was instituted in May 1835, called “The London Society
-for the Protection of Young Females, and Prevention of Juvenile
-Prostitution.” We extract a few passages from its opening address.
-
-“The committee cannot avoid referring to the present dreadfully immoral
-state of the British metropolis. No one can pass through the streets
-of London without being struck with the awfully depraved condition of
-a certain class of the youth of both sexes at this period (1835). Nor
-is it too much to say that in London crime has arrived at a frightful
-magnitude; nay, it is asserted that nowhere does it exist to such an
-extent as in this highly-favoured city. Schools for the instruction of
-youth in every species of theft and immorality are here established *
-* * * *. It has been proved that 400 individuals procure a livelihood
-by trepanning females from eleven to fifteen years of age for the
-purposes of prostitution. Every art is practised, every scheme is
-devised, to effect this object, and when an innocent child appears in
-the streets without a protector, she is insidiously watched by one of
-those merciless wretches and decoyed under some plausible pretext to an
-abode of infamy and degradation. No sooner is the unsuspecting helpless
-one within their grasp than, by a preconcerted measure, she becomes a
-victim to their inhuman designs. She is stripped of the apparel with
-which parental care or friendly solicitude had clothed her, and then,
-decked with the gaudy trappings of her shame, she is compelled to
-walk the streets, and in her turn, while producing to her master or
-mistress the wages of her prostitution, becomes the ensnarer of the
-youth of the other sex. After this it is useless to attempt to return
-to the path of virtue or honour, for she is then watched with the
-greatest vigilance, and should she attempt to escape from the clutches
-of her seducer she is threatened with instant punishment, and often
-barbarously treated. Thus situated she becomes reckless, and careless
-of her future course. It rarely occurs that one so young escapes
-contamination; and it is a fact that numbers of these youthful victims
-imbibe disease within a week or two of their seduction. They are then
-sent to one of the hospitals under a fictitious name by their keepers,
-or unfeelingly turned into the streets to perish; and it is not an
-uncommon circumstance that within the short space of a few weeks the
-bloom of health, of beauty, and of innocence gives place to the sallow
-hue of disease, of despair, and of death.
-
-“This fact will be appreciated when it is known that in three of the
-largest hospitals in London within the last eight years (that is to
-say, from 1827 to 1835), there have not been less than 2700 cases of
-disease arising from this cause in children from eleven to sixteen
-years of age.”
-
-Léon Faucher, commenting on this, exclaims with astonishment, mixed
-with indignation, “Deux mille sept cents enfants visités par cette
-horrible peste avant l’âge de la puberté! Quel spectacle que celui-là
-pour un peuple qui a des entrailles! Et comment éprouver assez de
-pitié pour les victimes, assez d’indignation contre les bourreaux!” A
-Frenchman, looking at the way in which his own illustrious country is
-governed, would very naturally exclaim against the authorities for not
-taking steps to prevent so much crime and misery, but he forgets that
-although a system may work well in France, it is no criterion of its
-excellent working among a nation totally dissimilar in their habits and
-disposition to his own.
-
-All French writers have the profoundest horror of our social economics.
-MM. Duchatelet, Richelot and Léon Faucher, whom we have just quoted,
-all unite in condemning our system of blind and wilful toleration.
-They do not understand the temper of the nation, which would never
-allow the State to legislate upon this subject. But, nevertheless, we
-must confess that the profligacy of the metropolis of England, if not
-so patent and palpable as that of some continental cities we have had
-occasion to refer to, is perhaps as deeply rooted, and as impossible
-to eradicate. The legislature, by refusing to interfere, have tacitly
-declared the existence of prostitutes to be a necessary evil, the
-suppression of which would produce alarming and disastrous effects upon
-the country at large. When any case more than usually flagrant occurs
-it falls within the jurisdiction of the Society for the Suppression of
-Vice, and the law is careful to punish anything that can be construed
-into a misdemeanour or a felony. In cold climates, as in hot climates,
-we have shown that the passions are the main agents in producing the
-class of women that we have under consideration, but in temperate
-zones the animal instinct is less difficult to bridle and seldom
-leads the female to abandon herself to the other sex. It is a vulgar
-error, and a popular delusion, that the life of a prostitute is as
-revolting to herself, as it appears to the moralist sternly lamenting
-over the condition of the fallen; but, on the contrary, investigation
-and sedulous scrutiny lead us to a very different conclusion. Authors
-gifted with vivid imaginations love to pourtray the misery that
-is brought upon an innocent and confiding girl by the perfidy and
-desertion of her seducer. The pulpit too frequently echoes to clerical
-denunciation and evangelical horror, until those unacquainted with the
-actual facts tremble at the fate of those whose terrible lot they are
-taught rather to shudder at than commiserate. Women who in youth have
-lost their virtue, often contrive to retain their reputation; and even
-when this is not the case, frequently amalgamate imperceptibly with the
-purer portion of the population and become excellent members of the
-community. The love of woman is usually pure and elevated. But when
-she devotes her affections to a man who realizes her ideal, she does
-not hesitate to sacrifice all she holds dear, for his gratification,
-ignoring her own interest and her own inclination. Actuated by a
-noble abnegation of self, she derives a melancholy pleasure from
-the knowledge that she has utterly given up all she had formerly so
-zealously guarded, and she feels that her love has reached its grand
-climacteric, when, without the slightest pruriency of imagination
-to urge her on to the consummation, without the remotest vestige of
-libidinous desire to prompt her to self-immolation, without a shadow of
-meretricious feeling lurking within her, she abandons her person beyond
-redemption to the idol she has set up in the highest place in her soul.
-This heroic martyrdom is one of the causes, though perhaps not the
-primary or most frequently occurring, of the stream of immorality
-that insidiously permeates our social system. The greatest, and one
-equally difficult to combat, is the low rate of wages that the female
-industrial classes of this great city receive, in return for the most
-arduous and wearisome labour. Innumerable cases of prostitution through
-want, solely and absolutely, are constantly occurring, and this will
-not be wondered at when it is remembered that 105 women in England and
-Wales are born to every 100 males, which number is further augmented by
-the dangers to which men are exposed by their avocations, and also in
-martial service by sea and land. Again, so great are the inducements
-held out by men of lax morality and loose principles that procuresses
-find entrapping girls into their abodes a most lucrative and profitable
-trade. Some are even brought up from their earliest infancy by their
-pseudo-protectors with the full intention that they shall embark in
-the infamous traffic as soon as their age will permit them to do so
-remuneratively. A revolting and horrible case exemplifying the truth
-of this statement came under our notice some short time back. We were
-examining a girl, who gave the following replies to the questions put
-to her.
-
-“My name is Ellen, I have no other. Yes, I sometimes call myself by
-various names, but rarely keep to one longer than a month or two. I was
-never baptized that I know of; I don’t know much about religion, though
-I think I know the difference between right and wrong. I certainly
-think it is wrong to live as I am now doing. I often think of it in
-secret, and cry over it, but what can I do? I was brought up in the
-country and allowed to run about with some other children. We were not
-taught anything, not even to read or write; twice I saw a gentleman
-who came down to the farm, and he kissed me and told me to be a good
-girl. Yes, I remember these things very well. I was about eleven the
-last time he came, and two years after I was sent up to town, carefully
-dressed and placed in a large drawing-room. After I had been there some
-time a gentleman came in with the person I had been sent to, and I
-directly recognized him as the one I had seen in the country. For the
-first time in my life I glanced at a looking-glass that hung on the
-wall, they being things we never saw in the country, and I thought the
-gentleman had changed his place and was standing before me, we were so
-alike. I then looked at him steadily for a few moments, and at last
-took his hand. He said something to me which I don’t remember, and
-which I did not reply to. I asked him, when he had finished speaking,
-if he was my father. I don’t know why I asked him. He seemed confused,
-and the lady of the house poured out some wine and gave me, after that
-I don’t know what happened.”
-
-This may be a case of rare occurrence, but it is not so morally
-impossible as at first it appears.
-
-In 1857, according to the best authorities, there were 8600 prostitutes
-known to the police, but this is far from being even an approximate
-return of the number of loose women in the metropolis. It scarcely
-does more than record the circulating harlotry of the Haymarket and
-Regent Street. Their actual numerical strength is very difficult to
-compute, for there is an amount of oscillatory prostitution it is easy
-to imagine, but impossible to substantiate. One of the peculiarities of
-this class is their remarkable freedom from disease. They are in the
-generality of cases notorious for their mental and physical elasticity.
-Syphilis is rarely fatal. It is an entirely distinct race that suffer
-from the ravages of the insidious diseases that the licence given
-to the passions and promiscuous intercourse engender. Young girls,
-innocent and inexperienced, whose devotion has not yet bereft them of
-their innate modesty and sense of shame, will allow their systems to
-be so shocked, and their constitutions so impaired, before the aid of
-the surgeon is sought for, that when he does arrive his assistance is
-almost useless.
-
-We have before stated (p. 211) the assumed number of prostitutes in
-London to be about 80,000, and large as this total may appear, it
-is not improbable that it is below the reality rather than above
-it. One thing is certain--if it be an exaggerated statement--that
-the real number is swollen every succeeding year, for prostitution
-is an inevitable attendant upon extended civilization and increased
-population.
-
-We divide prostitutes into three classes. First, those women who are
-kept by men of independent means; secondly, those women who live in
-apartments, and maintain themselves by the produce of their vagrant
-amours, and thirdly, those who dwell in brothels.
-
-The state of the first of these is the nearest approximation to the
-holy state of marriage, and finds numerous defenders and supporters.
-These have their suburban villas, their carriages, horses, and
-sometimes a box at the opera. Their equipages are to be seen in the
-park, and occasionally through the influence of their aristocratic
-friends they succeed in obtaining vouchers for the most exclusive
-patrician balls.
-
-Houses in which prostitutes lodge are those in which one or two
-prostitutes occupy private apartments; in most cases with the
-connivance of the proprietor. These generally resort to night-houses,
-where they have a greater chance of meeting with customers than they
-would have were they to perambulate the streets.
-
-Brothels are houses where speculators board, dress, and feed women,
-living upon the farm of their persons. Under this head we must include
-introducing houses, where the women do not reside, but merely use the
-house as a place of resort in the daytime. Married women, imitating the
-custom of Messalina, whom Juvenal so vividly describes in his Satires,
-not uncommonly make use of these places. A Frenchwoman in the habit of
-frequenting a notorious house in James Street, Haymarket, said that
-she came to town four or five times in the week for the purpose of
-obtaining money by the prostitution of her body. She loved her husband,
-but he was unable to find any respectable employment, and were she not
-to supply him with the necessary funds for their household expenditure
-they would sink into a state of destitution, and anything, she added,
-with simplicity, was better than that. Of course her husband connived
-at what she did. He came to fetch her home every evening about ten
-o’clock. She had no children. She didn’t wish to have any.
-
-It must not be supposed that if some, perhaps a majority of them,
-eventually become comparatively respectable, and merge into the ocean
-of propriety, there are not a vast number whose lives afford matter
-for the most touching tragedies,--whose melancholy existence is one
-continual struggle for the actual necessaries of life, the occasional
-absence of which entails upon them a condition of intermittent
-starvation. A woman who has fallen like a star from heaven, may flash
-like a meteor in a lower sphere, but only with a transitory splendour.
-In time her orbit contracts, and the improvidence that has been her
-leading characteristic through life now trebles and quadruples the
-misery she experiences. To drown reflection she rushes to the gin
-palace, and there completes the work that she had already commenced
-so inauspiciously. The passion for dress, that distinguished her
-in common with her sex in former days, subsides into a craving for
-meretricious tawdry, and the bloom of health is superseded by ruinous
-and poisonous French compounds and destructive cosmetics. A hospital
-surgeon gave us the following description of the death of a French
-lorette, who at a very juvenile age had been entrapped and imported
-into this country. She had, according to her own statement, been born
-in one of the southern departments. When she was fourteen years old,
-the agent of some English speculator in human beings came into their
-neighbourhood and proposed that Anille should leave her native country
-and proceed to England, where he said there was a great demand for
-female domestic labour, which was much better paid for on the other
-side of the Channel. The proposition was entertained by the parents,
-and eagerly embraced by the girl herself, who soon afterwards, in
-company with several other girls, all deluded in a similar manner, were
-leaving the shores of their native country for a doubtful future in
-one with the language of which they were not even remotely acquainted.
-On their arrival their ruin was soon effected, and for some years
-they continued to enrich the proprietors of the house in which they
-resided, all the time remitting small sums to their families abroad,
-who were unwittingly and involuntarily existing upon the proceeds of
-their daughters’ dishonour, and rejoicing in such unexpected success.
-After a while Anille was sent adrift to manage for herself. Naturally
-of a refined and sensitive disposition, she felt her position keenly,
-which induced a sadness almost amounting to hypochondria to steal over
-her, and although very pretty, she found this a great obstacle in the
-way of her success. She knew not how to simulate the hollow laugh or
-the reckless smile of her more volatile companions, and her mind became
-more diseased day by day, until she found it impracticable to think of
-endeavouring to hurl off the morbidity that had taken possession of
-her very soul. At last she fell a victim to a contagious disorder, the
-neglect of which ultimately necessitated her removal to the hospital.
-When there, she was found to be incurable; an operation was performed
-upon her but without success. She bore her illness with childish
-impatience, continually wishing for the end, and often imploring me
-with tearful eyes by the intervention of science to put an end to her
-misery. One afternoon, as usual, I came to see her. She exclaimed the
-moment she perceived me, I am cheerful to-day. May I not recover; I
-suffer no pain. But her looks belied her words; her features were
-frightfully haggard and worn; her eyes, dry and bloodshot, had almost
-disappeared in their sockets, and her general appearance denoted the
-approach of him she had been so constantly invoking. Unwrapping some
-bandages, I proceeded to examine her, when an extraordinary change came
-over her, and I knew that her dissolution was not far distant. Her
-mind wandered, and she spoke wildly and excitedly in her own language.
-After a while she exclaimed, “J’ignore où je suis. C’en est fait.” An
-expression of intense suffering contracted her emaciated features.
-“Je n’en puis plus,” she cried, and adding, after a slight pause, in
-a plaintive voice, “Je me meurs,” her soul glided impalpably away,
-and she was a corpse. As a pendant to these remarks, I extract an
-expressive passage from an old book. “There are also women (like birds
-of passage) of a migratory nature, who remove after a certain time from
-St. James’s and Marylebone end of the town to Covent Garden, then to
-the Strand, and from thence to St. Giles and Wapping; from which latter
-place they frequently migrate much further, even to New South Wales.
-Some few return in seven years, some in fourteen, and some not at all.
-During their stay here, like birds they make their nests upon feathers,
-some higher, some lower than others. At first they generally build
-them on the first-floor, afterwards on the second, and then up in the
-cock-loft and garrets, from whence they generally take to the open air,
-and become ambulatory and noctivagous, and as their price grows less,
-their wandering increases, when many perish from the inclemency of the
-weather, and others take their flight abroad.”[92]
-
-
-_Seclusives, or those that live in Private Houses and Apartments._
-
-Two classes of prostitutes come under this denomination--first, kept
-mistresses, and secondly, prima donnas or those who live in a superior
-style. The first of these is perhaps the most important division of the
-entire profession, when considered with regard to its effects upon the
-higher classes of society. Laïs, when under the protection of a prince
-of the blood; Aspasia, whose friend is one of the most influential
-noblemen in the kingdom; Phryne, the chère amie of a well-known officer
-in the guards, or a man whose wealth is proverbial on the Stock
-Exchange and the city,--have all great influence upon the tone of
-morality extant amongst the set in which their distinguished protectors
-move, and indeed the reflex of their dazzling profligacy falls upon
-and bewilders those who are in a lower condition of life, acting as an
-incentive to similar deeds of licentiousness though on a more limited
-scale. Hardly a parish in London is free from this impurity. Wherever
-the neighbourhood possesses peculiar charms, wherever the air is
-purer than ordinary, or the locality fashionably distinguished, these
-tubercles on the social system penetrate and abound. Again quoting
-from Dr. Ryan, although we cannot authenticate his statements--“It is
-computed, that 8,000,000_l._ are expended annually on this vice in
-London alone. This is easily proved: some girls obtain from twenty to
-thirty pounds a week, others more, whilst most of those who frequent
-theatres, casinos, gin palaces, music halls, &c., receive from ten to
-twelve pounds. Those of a still lower grade obtain about four or five
-pounds, some less than one pound, and many not ten shillings. If we
-take the average earnings of each prostitute at 100_l._ per annum,
-which is under the amount, it gives the yearly income of eight millions.
-
-“Suppose the average expense of 80,000 amounts to 20_l._ each,
-1,600,000_l._ is the result. This sum deducted from the earnings leaves
-6,400,000_l._ as the income of the keepers of prostitutes, or supposing
-5000 to be the number, above 1000_l._ per annum each--an enormous
-income for men in such a situation to derive when compared with the
-resources of many respectable and professional men.”
-
-Literally every woman who yields to her passions and loses her virtue
-is a prostitute, but many draw a distinction between those who live
-by promiscuous intercourse, and those who confine themselves to one
-man. That this is the case is evident from the returns before us. The
-metropolitan police do not concern themselves with the higher classes
-of prostitutes; indeed, it would be impossible, and impertinent as
-well, were they to make the attempt. Sir Richard Mayne kindly informed
-us that the latest computation of the number of public prostitutes was
-made on the 5th of April, 1858, and that the returns then showed a
-total of 7261.
-
-It is frequently a matter of surprise amongst the friends of a
-gentleman of position and connection that he exhibits an invincible
-distaste to marriage. If they were acquainted with his private affairs
-their astonishment would speedily vanish, for they would find him
-already to all intents and purposes united to one who possesses charms,
-talents, and accomplishments, and who will in all probability exercise
-the same influence over him as long as the former continue to exist.
-The prevalence of this custom, and the extent of its ramifications is
-hardly dreamed of, although its effects are felt, and severely. The
-torch of Hymen burns less brightly than of yore, and even were the
-blacksmith of Gretna still exercising his vocation, he would find his
-business diminishing with startling rapidity year by year.
-
-It is a great mistake to suppose that kept mistresses are without
-friends and without society; on the contrary, their acquaintance,
-if not select, is numerous, and it is their custom to order their
-broughams or their pony carriages and at the fashionable hour pay
-visits and leave cards on one another.
-
-They possess no great sense of honour, although they are generally more
-or less religious. If they take a fancy to a man they do not hesitate
-to admit him to their favour. Most kept women have several lovers
-who are in the habit of calling upon them at different times, and as
-they are extremely careful in conducting these amours they perpetrate
-infidelity with impunity, and in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred
-escape detection. When they are unmasked, the process, unless the man
-is very much infatuated, is of course summary in the extreme. They are
-dismissed probably with a handsome douceur and sent once more adrift.
-They do not remain long, however, in the majority of cases, without
-finding another protector.
-
-A woman who called herself Lady ---- met her admirer at a house in
-Bolton Row that she was in the habit of frequenting. At first sight
-Lord ---- became enamoured, and proposed _sur le champ_, after a little
-preliminary conversation, that she should live with him. The proposal
-with equal rapidity and eagerness was accepted, and without further
-deliberation his lordship took a house for her in one of the terraces
-overlooking the Regent’s Park, allowed her four thousand a year, and
-came as frequently as he could, to pass his time in her society. She
-immediately set up a carriage and a stud, took a box at the opera
-on the pit tier, and lived, as she very well could, in excellent
-style. The munificence of her friend did not decrease by the lapse of
-time. She frequently received presents of jewelry from him, and his
-marks of attention were constant as they were various. The continual
-contemplation of her charms instead of producing satiety added fuel to
-the fire, and he was never happy when out of her sight. This continued
-until one day he met a young man in her _loge_ at the opera, whom she
-introduced as her cousin. This incident aroused his suspicions, and he
-determined to watch her more closely. She was surrounded by spies, and
-in reality did not possess one confidential attendant, for they were
-all bribed to betray her. For a time, more by accident than precaution
-or care on her part, she succeeded in eluding their vigilance, but at
-last the catastrophe happened; she was surprised with her paramour in
-a position that placed doubt out of the question, and the next day his
-lordship, with a few sarcastic remarks, gave her her _congé_ and five
-hundred pounds.
-
-These women are rarely possessed of education, although they undeniably
-have ability. If they appear accomplished you may rely that it is
-entirely superficial. Their disposition is volatile and thoughtless,
-which qualities are of course at variance with the existence of
-respectability. Their ranks too are recruited from a class where
-education is not much in vogue. The fallacies about clergymen’s
-daughters and girls from the middle classes forming the majority of
-such women are long ago exploded; there may be some amongst them, but
-they are few and far between. They are not, as a rule, disgusted with
-their way of living; most of them consider it a means to an end, and in
-no measure degrading or polluting. One and all look forward to marriage
-and a certain state in society as their ultimate lot. This is their
-bourne, and they do all in their power to travel towards it.
-
-“I am not tired of what I am doing,” a woman once answered me, “I
-rather like it. I have all I want, and my friend loves me to excess.
-I am the daughter of a tradesman at Yarmouth. I learned to play the
-piano a little, and I have naturally a good voice. Yes, I find these
-accomplishments of great use to me; they are, perhaps, as you say, the
-only ones that could be of use to a girl like myself. I am three and
-twenty. I was seduced four years ago. I tell you candidly I was as
-much to blame as my seducer; I wished to escape from the drudgery of
-my father’s shop. I have told you they partially educated me; I could
-cypher a little as well, and I knew something about the globes; so I
-thought I was qualified for something better than minding the shop
-occasionally, or sewing, or helping my mother in the kitchen and other
-domestic matters. I was very fond of dress, and I could not at home
-gratify my love of display. My parents were stupid, easy-going old
-people, and extremely uninteresting to me. All these causes combined
-induced me to encourage the addresses of a young gentleman of property
-in the neighbourhood, and without much demur I yielded to his desires.
-We then went to London, and I have since that time lived with four
-different men. We got tired of one another in six months, and I was
-as eager to leave him as he was to get rid of me, so we mutually
-accommodated one another by separating. Well, my father and mother
-don’t exactly know where I am or what I am doing, although if they had
-any penetration they might very well guess. Oh, yes! they know I am
-alive, for I keep them pleasantly aware of my existence by occasionally
-sending them money. What do I think will become of me? What an absurd
-question. I could marry to-morrow if I liked.”
-
-This girl was a fair example of her class. They live entirely for
-the moment, and care little about the morrow until they are actually
-pressed in any way, and then they are fertile in expedients.
-
-We now come to the second class, or those we have denominated prima
-donnas. These are not kept like the first that we have just been
-treating of, although several men who know and admire them are in
-the habit of visiting them periodically. From these they derive a
-considerable revenue, but they by no means rely entirely upon it for
-support. They are continually increasing the number of their friends,
-which indeed is imperatively necessary, as absence and various causes
-thin their ranks considerably. They are to be seen in the parks, in
-boxes at the theatres, at concerts, and in almost every accessible
-place where fashionable people congregate; in fact in all places
-where admittance is not secured by vouchers, and in some cases, those
-apparently insuperable barriers fall before their tact and address.
-At night their favourite rendezvous is in the neighbourhood of the
-Haymarket, where the hospitality of Mrs. Kate Hamilton is extended
-to them after the fatigues of dancing at the Portland Rooms, or
-the excesses of a private party. Kate’s may be visited not only
-to dissipate ennui, but with a view to replenishing an exhausted
-exchequer; for as Kate is careful as to who she admits into her
-rooms--men who are able to spend, and come with the avowed intention
-of spending, five or six pounds, or perhaps more if necessary--these
-supper-rooms are frequented by a better set of men and women than
-perhaps any other in London. Although these are seen at Kate’s they
-would shrink from appearing at any of the cafés in the Haymarket, or
-at the supper-rooms with which the adjacent streets abound, nor would
-they go to any other casino than Mott’s. They are to be seen between
-three and five o’clock in the Burlington Arcade, which is a well known
-resort of cyprians of the better sort. They are well acquainted with
-its Paphian intricacies, and will, if their signals are responded to,
-glide into a friendly bonnet shop, the stairs of which leading to
-the cœnacula or upper chambers are not innocent of their well formed
-“bien chaussée” feet. The park is also, as we have said, a favourite
-promenade, where assignations may be made or acquaintances formed.
-Equestrian exercise is much liked by those who are able to afford
-it, and is often as successful as pedestrian, frequently more so. It
-is difficult to say what position in life the parents of these women
-were in, but generally their standing in society has been inferior.
-Principles of lax morality were early inculcated, and the seed that has
-been sown has not been slow to bear its proper fruit.
-
-[Illustration: A NIGHT HOUSE.--KATE HAMILTON’S.]
-
-It is true that a large number of milliners, dress-makers, furriers,
-hat-binders, silk-binders, tambour-makers, shoe-binders, slop-women,
-or those who work for cheap tailors, those in pastry-cooks, fancy
-and cigar shops, bazaars, servants to a great extent, frequenters of
-fairs, theatres, and dancing-rooms, are more or less prostitutes and
-patronesses of the numerous brothels London can boast of possessing;
-but these women do not swell the ranks of the class we have at
-present under consideration. More probably they are the daughters of
-tradesmen and of artizans, who gain a superficial refinement from
-being apprenticed, and sent to shops in fashionable localities,
-and who becoming tired of the drudgery sigh for the gaiety of the
-dancing-saloons, freedom from restraint, and amusements that are not in
-their present capacity within their reach.
-
-Loose women generally throw a veil over their early life, and you
-seldom, if ever, meet with a woman who is not either a seduced
-governess or a clergyman’s daughter; not that there is a word of truth
-in such an allegation--but it is their peculiar whim to say so.
-
-To show the extent of education among women who have been arrested by
-the police during a stated period, we print the annexed table, dividing
-the virtuous criminals from the prostitutes.
-
-
-DEGREE OF EDUCATION AMONGST PROSTITUTES.
-
- DEGREE OF INSTRUCTION amongst Prostitutes compared with the Degree of
- Instruction among Women not Prostitutes, arrested for breaking various
- laws (London). The City not included.
-
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- PERIODS--taking 10,000 | Degree of Instruction amongst virtuous women brought
- in each period. Total of women | up in the Police Courts for various offences during the
- arrested of both classes 405·362.| years elapsing from 1837 to 1854 inclusive.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- | |Not able |Able to read |Knowing |Very
- | |to read |only, or read|how to | well
- | |or write.|and write |read and | instructed.
- | | |imperfectly. |write well.|
- ---------------------------------+--------+---------+-------------+-----------+-------------
- 1st period 6 years 1837-42 | 10,000 | 4,813 | 4,838 | 327 | 22
- 2nd „ 6 „ 1843-48 | 10,000 | 4,167 | 5,534 | 279 | 20
- 3rd „ 6 „ 1849-54 | 10,000 | 2,802 | 1,972 | 209 | 17
- ---------------------------------+--------+---------+-------------+-----------+-------
- 1st period 9 years 1837-45 | 10,000 | 4,570 | 5,098 | 312 | 20
- 2nd „ 9 „ 1846-54 | 10,000 | 3,247 | 6,504 | 320 | 19
- ---------------------------------|
- Total period 18 „ 1837-54 | 10,000 | 3,861 | 5,851 | 268 | 20
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- PERIODS--taking 10,000 in each | Degree of Instruction among Prostitutes similarly
- period. Total of women arrested | arrested.
- of both classes 405·362. |
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- | |Not able |Able to read |Knowing |Very
- | |to read |only, or read|how to | well
- | |or write.|and write |read and | instructed.
- | | |imperfectly. |write well.|
- ---------------------------------+--------+---------+-------------+-----------+-------------
- 1st period 6 years 1837-42 | 10,000 | 4,524 | 5,031 | 432 | 13
- 2nd „ 6 „ 1843-48 | 10,000 | 3,672 | 5,893 | 425 | 10
- 3rd „ 6 „ 1849-54 | 10,000 | 2,305 | 7,444 | 212 | 39
- ---------------------------------+--------+---------+-------------+-----------+-------
- 1st period 9 years 1837-45 | 10,000 | 4,109 | 5,424 | 455 | 12
- 2nd „ 9 „ 1846-54 | 10,000 | 2,821 | 6,910 | 236 | 33
- ---------------------------------|
- Total period 18 „ 1837-54 | 10,000 | 3,498 | 6,129 | 351 | 22
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-This table shows us that public women are a little less illiterate
-than those who together with them form the most infamous part of the
-population. But we must remember that this is hardly a fair criterion
-of the education of all the prostitutes, or of prostitutes as a class,
-because we have only summed up those who were arrested for some crime
-or offence, so we may justly suppose them to have been the worst of
-their class in every respect.
-
-We see however that of the total number of women arrested during a
-period of 18 years, there were in every 10,000--
-
- 3,498 not knowing how to read or write.
- 6,129 able to read only, or read and write badly.
- 351 able to read and write well.
- 22 educated in a superior manner.
- ------
- 10,000
-
-We next come to the consideration of convives, or those who live in
-the same house with a number of others, and we will commence with
-those who are independent of the mistress of the house. These women
-locate themselves in the immediate vicinity of the Haymarket, which at
-night is their principal scene of action, when the hospitable doors
-of the theatres and casinos are closed. They are charged enormously
-for the rooms they occupy, and their landlords defend themselves
-for their extortionate demands, by alleging that, as honesty is
-not a leading feature in the characters of their lodgers, they are
-compelled to protect their own interest by exacting an exorbitant
-rent. A drawing-room floor in Queen Street, Windmill Street, which is
-a favourite part on account of its proximity to the Argyll Rooms, is
-worth three, and sometimes four pounds a-week, and the other _étages_
-in proportion. They never stay long in one house, although some will
-remain for ten or twelve months in a particular lodging. It is their
-principle to get as deeply into debt as they are able, and then to
-pack up their things, have them conveyed elsewhere by stealth, and
-defraud the landlord of his money. The houses in some of the small
-streets in the neighbourhood of Langham Place are let to the people who
-underlet them for three hundred a-year, and in some cases at a higher
-rental. This class of prostitutes do not live together on account
-of a gregarious instinct, but simply from necessity, as their trade
-would necessarily exclude them from respectable lodging-houses. They
-soon form an acquaintance with the girls who inhabit the same house,
-and address one another as “my dear,” an unmeaning, but very general
-epithet, an hour or two after their first meeting. They sometimes
-prefer the suburbs to reside in, especially while Cremorne is open;
-but some live at Brompton and Pimlico all the year round. One of their
-most remarkable characteristics is their generosity, which perhaps is
-unparalleled by the behaviour of any others, whether high or low in the
-social scale. They will not hesitate to lend one another money if they
-have it, whether they can spare it or not, although it is seldom that
-they can, from their innate recklessness and acquired improvidence.
-It is very common, too, for them to lend their bonnets and their
-dresses to their friends. If a woman of this description is voluble
-and garrulous, she is much sought after by the men who keep the cafés
-in the Haymarket, to sit decked out in gorgeous attire behind the
-counters, so that by her interesting appearance and the _esprit_ she
-displays, the _habitués_ of those places, but more usually those who
-pay only a casual visit, may be entrapped into purchasing some of the
-wares and fancy articles that are retailed at ten times their actual
-value. In order to effect this they will exert all their talents, and
-an inexperienced observer would imagine that they indeed entertain some
-feeling of affection or admiration for their victim, by the cleverness
-with which they simulate its existence. The man whose vanity leads
-him to believe that he is selected by the beautiful creature who
-condescends to address him, on account of his personal appearance,
-would be rather disgusted if he were to perceive the same blandishments
-lavished upon the next comer, and would regret the ten shillings he
-paid with pleasure for a glove-box, the positive market value of which
-is hardly one-fifth of the money he gave for it.
-
-There is a great abandonment of everything that one may strictly
-speaking denominate womanly. Modesty is utterly annihilated, and shame
-ceases to exist in their composition. They all more or less are given
-to habits of drinking.
-
-“When I am sad I drink,” a woman once said to us. “I’m very often sad,
-although I appear to be what you call reckless. Well! we don’t fret
-that we might have been ladies, because we never had a chance of that,
-but we have forfeited a position nevertheless, and when we think that
-we have fallen, never to regain that which we have descended from,
-and in some cases sacrificed everything for a man who has ceased to
-love and deserted us, we get mad. The intensity of this feeling does
-wear off a little after the first; but there’s nothing like gin to
-deaden the feelings. What are my habits? Why, if I have no letters
-or visits from any of my friends, I get up about four o’clock, dress
-(”_en dishabille_“) and dine; after that I may walk about the streets
-for an hour or two, and pick up any one I am fortunate enough to meet
-with, that is if I want money; afterwards I go to the Holborn, dance a
-little, and if any one likes me I take him home with me, if not I go
-to the Haymarket, and wander from one café to another, from Sally’s
-to the Carlton, from Barn’s to Sam’s, and if I find no one there I
-go, if I feel inclined, to the divans. I like the Grand Turkish best,
-but you don’t as a rule find good men in any of the divans. Strange
-things happen to us sometimes: we may now and then die of consumption;
-but the other day a lady friend of mine met a gentleman at Sam’s, and
-yesterday morning they were married at St. George’s, Hanover Square.
-The gentleman has lots of money, I believe, and he started off with her
-at once for the Continent. It is very true this is an unusual case; but
-we often do marry, and well too; why shouldn’t we, we are pretty, we
-dress well, we can talk and insinuate ourselves into the hearts of men
-by appealing to their passions and their senses.”
-
-This girl was shrewd and clever, perhaps more so than those of her rank
-in the profession usually are; but her testimony is sufficient at once
-to dissipate the foolish idea that ought to have been exploded long
-ago, but which still lingers in the minds of both men and women, that
-the harlot’s progress is short and rapid, and that there is no possible
-advance, moral or physical; and that once abandoned she must always be
-profligate.
-
-Another woman told us, she had been a prostitute for two years; she
-became so from necessity; she did not on the whole dislike her way of
-living; she didn’t think about the sin of it; a poor girl must live;
-she wouldn’t be a servant for anything; this was much better. She was a
-lady’s maid once, but lost her place for staying out one night with the
-man who seduced her; he afterwards deserted her, and then she became
-bad. She was fonder of dress than anything. On an average she had a new
-bonnet once a week, dresses not so often; she liked the casinos, and
-was charmed with Cremorne; she hated walking up and down the Haymarket,
-and seldom did it without she wanted money very much. She liked the
-Holborn better than the Argyll, and always danced.
-
-
-_Board Lodgers._
-
-Board lodgers are those who give a portion of what they receive to the
-mistress of the brothel in return for their board and lodging. As we
-have had occasion to observe before, it is impossible to estimate the
-number of brothels in London, or even in particular parishes, not only
-because they are frequently moving from one district to another, but
-because our system so hates anything approaching to _espionage_, that
-the authorities do not think it worth their while to enter into any
-such computation. From this it may readily be understood how difficult
-the task of the statistician is. Perhaps it will be sufficient to say
-that these women are much more numerous than may at first be imagined;
-although those who give the whole of what they get in return for their
-board, lodging, and clothes are still more so. In Lambeth there are
-great numbers of the lowest of these houses, and only very recently
-the proprietors of some eight or ten of the worst were summoned before
-a police magistrate, and the parish officers who made the complaint
-bound over to prosecute at the sessions. It is much to be regretted
-that in dealing with such cases the method of procedure is not more
-expeditious and less expensive. Let us take for example one of the
-cases we have been quoting. A man is openly accused of keeping a
-ruffianly den filled with female wretches, destitute of every particle
-of modesty and bereft of every atom of shame, whose actual occupation
-is to rob, maltreat, and plunder the unfortunate individuals who so
-far stultify themselves as to allow the decoys to entrap them into
-their snares, let us hope, for the sake of humanity, while in a state
-of intoxication or a condition of imbecility. Very well; instead of
-an easy inexpensive process, the patriotic persons who have devoted
-themselves to the exposure of such infamous rascality, find themselves
-involved in a tedious criminal prosecution, and in the event of failure
-lay themselves open to an action. Mysterious disappearances, Waterloo
-Bridge tragedies, and verdicts of found drowned, are common enough in
-this great city. Who knows how many of these unfathomable affairs may
-have been originated, worked out, and consummated in some disgusting
-rookery in the worst parts of our most demoralized metropolitan
-parishes; but it is with the better class of these houses we are
-more particularly engaged at present. During the progress of these
-researches, we met a girl residing at a house in a street running out
-of Langham Place. Externally the house looked respectable enough; there
-was no indication of the profession or mode of life of the inmates,
-except that, from the fact of some of the blinds being down in the
-bed rooms, you might have thought the house contained an invalid. The
-rooms, when you were ushered in, were well, though cheaply furnished;
-there were coburg chairs and sofas, glass chandeliers, and handsome
-green curtains. The girl with whom we were brought into conversation
-was not more than twenty-three; she told us her age was twenty, but
-statements of a similar nature, when made by this class, are never to
-be relied on. At first she treated our inquiries with some levity, and
-jocularly inquired what we were inclined to stand, which we justly
-interpreted into a desire for something to drink; we accordingly
-“stood” a bottle of wine, which had the effect of making our informant
-more communicative. What she told us was briefly this. Her life was
-a life of perfect slavery, she was seldom if ever allowed to go out,
-and then not without being watched. Why was this? Because she would
-“cut it” if she got a chance, they knew that very well, and took very
-good care she shouldn’t have much opportunity. Their house was rather
-popular, and they had lots of visitors; she had some particular friends
-who always came to see her. They paid her well, but she hardly ever got
-any of the money. Where was the odds, she couldn’t go out to spend it?
-What did she want with money, except now and then for a drain of white
-satin. What was white satin? Where had I been all my life to ask such
-a question? Was I a dodger? She meant a parson. No; she was glad of
-that, for she hadn’t much idea of them, they were a canting lot. Well,
-white satin, if I must know, was gin, and I couldn’t say she never
-taught me anything. Where was she born? Somewhere in Stepney. What did
-it matter where; she could tell me all about it if she liked, but she
-didn’t care. It touched her on the raw--made her feel too much. She was
-’ticed when she was young, that is, she was decoyed by the mistress
-of the house some years ago. She met Mrs. ---- in the street, and the
-woman began talking to her in a friendly way. Asked her who her father
-was (he was a journeyman carpenter), where he lived, extracted all
-about her family, and finally asked her to come home to tea with her.
-The child, delighted at the making the acquaintance of so kind and so
-well-dressed a lady, willingly acquiesced, without making any demur,
-as she never dreamt of anything wrong, and had not been cautioned by
-her father. She had lost her mother some years ago. She was not brought
-direct to the house where I found her? Oh! no. There was a branch
-establishment over the water, where they were broken in as it were.
-How long did she remain there? Oh! perhaps two months, maybe three;
-she didn’t keep much account how time went. When she was conquered and
-her spirit broken, she was transported from the first house to a more
-aristocratic neighbourhood. How did they tame her? Oh! they made her
-drunk and sign some papers, which she knew gave them great power over
-her, although she didn’t exactly know in what the said power consisted,
-or how it might be exercised. Then they clothed her and fed her well,
-and gradually inured her to that sort of life. And now, was there
-anything else I’d like to know particularly, because if there was, I’d
-better look sharp about asking it, as she was getting tired of talking,
-she could tell me. Did she expect to lead this life till she died?
-Well she never did, if I wasn’t going to preachify. She couldn’t stand
-that--anything but that.
-
-I really begged to apologize if I had wounded her sensibility; I wasn’t
-inquiring from a religious point of view, or with any particular
-motive. I merely wished to know, to satisfy my own curiosity.
-
-Well, she thought me a very inquisitive old party, anyhow. At any rate,
-as I was so polite she did not mind answering my questions. Would she
-stick to it till she was a stiff ’un? She supposed she would; what else
-was there for her? Perhaps something might turn up; how was she to
-know? She never thought she would go mad; if she did, she lived in the
-present, and never went blubbering about as some did. She tried to be
-as jolly as she could; where was the fun of being miserable?
-
-This is the philosophy of most of her sisterhood. This girl possessed
-a talent for repartee, which accomplishment she endeavoured to exercise
-at my expense, as will be perceived by the foregoing, though for many
-reasons I have adhered to her own vernacular. That her answers were
-true, I have no reason to question, and that this is the fate of very
-many young girls in London, there is little doubt; indeed, the reports
-of the Society for the Protection of Young Females sufficiently prove
-it. Female virtue in great cities has innumerable assailants, and the
-moralist should pity rather than condemn. We are by no means certain
-that meretricious women who have been in the habit of working before
-losing their virtue, at some trade or other, and are able to unite the
-two together, are conscious of any annoyance or a want of self-respect
-at being what they are. This class have been called the “amateurs,” to
-contradistinguish them from the professionals, who devote themselves to
-it entirely as a profession. To be unchaste amongst the lower classes
-is not always a subject of reproach. The commerce of the sexes is so
-general that to have been immodest is very seldom a bar to marriage.
-The depravity of manners amongst boys and girls begins so very
-early, that they think it rather a distinction than otherwise to be
-unprincipled. Many a shoeblack, in his uniform and leathern apron, who
-cleans your boots for a penny at the corners of the streets, has his
-sweetheart. Their connection begins probably at the low lodging-houses
-they are in the habit of frequenting, or, if they have a home, at the
-penny gaffs and low cheap places of amusement, where the seed of so
-much evil is sown. The precocity of the youth of both sexes in London
-is perfectly astounding. The drinking, the smoking, the blasphemy,
-indecency, and immorality that does not even call up a blush is
-incredible, and charity schools and the spread of education do not seem
-to have done much to abate this scourge. Another very fruitful source
-of early demoralization is to be looked for in the quantities of penny
-and halfpenny romances that are sold in town and country. One of the
-worst of the most recent ones is denominated, “Charley Wag, or the New
-Jack Shepherd, a history of the most successful thief in London.” To
-say that these are not incentives to lust, theft, and crime of every
-description is to cherish a fallacy. Why should not the police, by act
-of Parliament, be empowered to take cognizance of this shameful misuse
-of the art of printing? Surely some clauses could be added to Lord
-Campbell’s Act, or a new bill might be introduced that would meet the
-exigencies of the case, without much difficulty.
-
-Men frequent the houses in which women board and lodge for many
-reasons, the chief of which is secrecy; they also feel sure that the
-women are free from disease, if they know the house, and it bears an
-average reputation for being well conducted. Men in a certain position
-avoid publicity in their amours beyond all things, and dread being
-seen in the neighbourhood of the Haymarket or the Burlington Arcade at
-certain hours, as their professional reputation might be compromised.
-Many serious, demure people conceal the iniquities of their private
-lives in this way.
-
-If Asmodeus were loquacious, how interesting and anecdotical a
-scandal-monger he might become!
-
-Another woman told me a story, varying somewhat from that of the first
-I examined, which subsequent experience has shown me is slightly
-stereotyped. She was the victim of deliberate cold-blooded seduction;
-in course of time a child was born; up to this time her seducer had
-treated her with affection and kindness, but he now, after presenting
-her with fifty pounds, deserted her. Thrown on her own resources, as
-it were, she did not know what to do; she could not return to her
-friends, so she went into lodgings at a very small rental, and there
-lived until her money was expended. She then supported herself and
-her child by doing machine-work for a manufacturer, but at last bad
-times came, and she was thrown out of work; of course the usual amount
-of misery consequent on such a catastrophe ensued. She saw her child
-dying by inches before her face, and this girl, with tears in her eyes,
-assured me she thanked God for it. “I swear,” she added, “I starved
-myself to nourish it, until I was nothing but skin and bone, and little
-enough of that; I knew from the first, the child must die, if things
-didn’t improve, and I felt they wouldn’t. When I looked at my little
-darling I knew well enough he was doomed, but he was not destined
-to drag on a weary existence as I was, and I was glad of it. It may
-seem strange to you, but while my boy lived, I couldn’t go into the
-streets to save his life or my own--I couldn’t do it. If there had been
-a foundling-hospital, I mean as I hear there is in foreign parts, I
-would have placed him there, and worked somehow, but there wasn’t, and
-a crying shame it is too. Well, he died at last, and it was all over.
-I was half mad and three parts drunk after the parish burying, and I
-went into the streets at last; I rose in the world--(here she smiled
-sarcastically)--and I’ve lived in this house for years, but I swear
-to God I haven’t had a moment’s happiness since the child died, except
-when I’ve been dead drunk or maudlin.”
-
-Although this woman did not look upon the death of her child as a crime
-committed by herself, it was in reality none the less her doing; she
-shunned the workhouse, which might have done something for her, and
-saved the life, at all events, of her child; but the repugnance evinced
-by every woman who has any proper feeling for a life in a workhouse or
-a hospital, can hardly be imagined by those who think that, because
-people are poor, they must lose all feeling, all delicacy, all
-prejudice, and all shame.
-
-Her remarks about a foundling-hospital are sensible; in the opinion of
-many it is a want that ought to be supplied. Infanticide is a crime
-much on the increase, and what mother would kill her offspring if she
-could provide for it in any way?
-
-The analysis of the return of the coroners’ inquests held in London,
-for the five years ending in 1860, shows a total of 1130 inquisitions
-on the bodies of children under two years of age, all of whom had been
-murdered. The average is 226 yearly.
-
-Here we have 226 children killed yearly by their parents: this either
-shows that our institutions are defective, or that great depravity
-is inherent amongst Englishwomen. The former hypothesis is much more
-likely than the latter, which we are by no means prepared to indorse.
-This return, let it be understood, does not, indeed cannot, include the
-immense number of embryo children who are made away with by drugs and
-other devices, all of whom we have a right to suppose would have seen
-the light if adequate provision could have been found for them at their
-birth.
-
-A return has also been presented to Parliament, at the instance of Mr.
-Kendal, M.P., from which we find that 157,485 summonses in bastardy
-cases were issued between the years 1845 and 1859 inclusive, but
-that only 124,218 applications against the putative fathers came on
-for hearing, while of this number orders for maintenance were only
-made in 107,776 cases, the remaining summonses, amounting to 15,981,
-being dismissed. This latter fact gives a yearly average of 1,141
-illegitimate children thrown back on their wretched mothers. These
-statistics are sufficiently appalling, but there is reason to fear
-that they only give an approximate idea of the illegitimate infantile
-population, and more especially of the extent to which infanticide
-prevails.
-
-
-_Those who live in Low Lodging Houses._
-
-In order to find these houses it is necessary to journey eastwards, and
-leave the artificial glitter of the West-end, where vice is pampered
-and caressed. Whitechapel, Wapping, Ratcliff Highway, and analogous
-districts, are prolific in the production of these infamies. St.
-George’s-in-the-East abounds with them, kept, for the most part, by
-disreputable Jews, and if a man is unfortunate enough to fall into
-their clutches he is sure to become the spoil of Israel. We may,
-however, find many low lodging-houses without penetrating so far into
-the labyrinth of east London. There are numbers in Lambeth; in the
-Waterloo Road and contiguous streets; in small streets between Covent
-Garden and the Strand, some in one or two streets running out of Oxford
-Street. There is a class of women technically known as “bunters,”
-who take lodgings, and after staying some time run away without
-paying their rent. These victimise the keepers of low lodging-houses
-successfully for years. A “bunter,” whose favourite promenade,
-especially on Sundays, was the New Cut, Lambeth, said “she never paid
-any rent, hadn’t done it for years, and never meant to. They was mostly
-Christ-killers, and chousing a Jew was no sin; leastways, none as she
-cared about committing. She boasted of it: had been known about town
-this ever so long as Swindling Sal. And there was another, a great
-pal of her’n, as went by the name of Chousing Bett. Didn’t they know
-her in time? Lord bless me, she was up to as many dodges as there was
-men in the moon. She changed places, she never stuck to one long; she
-never had no things for to be sold up, and, as she was handy with her
-mauleys, she got on pretty well. It took a considerable big man, she
-could tell me, to kick her out of a house, and then when he done it she
-always give him something for himself, by way of remembering her. Oh!
-they had a sweet recollection of her, some on ’em. She’d crippled lots
-of the ---- crucifiers.” “Did she never get into a row?” “Lots on ’em,
-she believed me. Been quodded no end of times. She knew every beak as
-sot on the cheer as well as she knew Joe the magsman, who, she _might_
-say, wor a very perticaler friend of her’n.” “Did he pay her well?”
-
-This was merely a question to ascertain the amount of remuneration that
-she, and others like her, were in the habit of receiving; but it had
-the effect of enraging her to a great extent. My informant was a tall,
-stout woman, about seven-and-twenty, with a round face, fat cheeks,
-a rather wheezy voice, and not altogether destitute of good looks.
-Her arms were thick and muscular, while she stood well on her legs,
-and altogether appeared as if she would be a formidable opponent in a
-street-quarrel or an Irish row.
-
-“Did he pay well? Was I a-going to insult her? What was I asking her
-sich a ’eap of questions for? Why, Joe was good for a ---- sight more
-than she thought I was!--“polite.” Then she was sorry for it, never
-meant to be. Joe worn’t a five-bobber, much less a bilker, as she’d
-take her dying oath I was.” “Would she take a drop of summut?” “Well,
-she didn’t mind if she did.”
-
-An adjournment to a public-house in the immediate vicinity, where
-“Swindling Sal” appeared very much at home, mollified and appeased her.
-
-[Illustration: THE NEW CUT.--EVENING.]
-
-The “drop of summut short, miss,” was responded to by the young lady
-behind the bar by a monosyllabic query, “Neat?” The reply being in
-the affirmative, a glass of gin was placed upon the marble counter,
-and rapidly swallowed, while a second, and a third followed in quick
-succession, much, apparently, to the envy of a woman in the same
-compartment, who, my informant told me in a whisper, was “Lushing
-Lucy,” and a stunner--whatever the latter appellation might be worth.
-But the added “Me an’ ’er ’ad a rumpus,” was sufficient to explain the
-fact of their not speaking.
-
-“What do you think you make a week?” at last I ventured to ask.
-
-“Well, I’ll tell yer,” was the response: “one week with another I makes
-nearer on four pounds nor three--sometimes five. I ’ave done eight and
-ten. Now Joe, as you ’eered me speak on, he does it ’ansome, he does:
-I mean, you know, when he’s in luck. He give me a fiver once after
-cracking a crib, and a nice spree me an’ Lushing Loo ’ad over it.
-Sometimes I get three shillings, half-a-crown, five shillings, or ten
-occasionally, accordin’ to the sort of man. What is this Joe as I talks
-about? Well, I likes your cheek, howsomever, he’s a ’ousebreaker. I
-don’t do anything in that way, never did, and shant; it aint safe, it
-aint. How did I come to take to this sort of life? It’s easy to tell. I
-was a servant gal away down in Birmingham. I got tired of workin’ and
-slavin’ to make a livin’, and getting a ---- bad one at that; what o’
-five pun’ a year and yer grub, I’d sooner starve, I would. After a bit
-I went to Coventry, cut Brummagem, as we calls it in those parts, and
-took up with the soldiers as was quartered there. I soon got tired of
-them. Soldiers is good--soldiers is--to walk with and that, but they
-don’t pay; cos why, they aint got no money; so I says to myself, I’ll
-go to Lunnon, and I did. I soon found my level there. It is a queer
-sort of life, the life I’m leading, and now I think I’ll be off. Good
-night to yer. I hope we’ll know more of one another when we two meets
-again.”
-
-When she was gone I turned my attention to the woman I have before
-alluded to. “Lushing Loo” was a name uneuphemistic, and calculated to
-prejudice the hearer against the possessor. I had only glanced at her
-before, and a careful scrutiny surprised me, while it impressed me in
-her favour. She was lady-like in appearance, although haggard. She was
-not dressed in flaring colours and meretricious tawdry. Her clothes
-were neat, and evidenced taste in their selection, although they were
-cheap. I spoke to her; she looked up without giving me an answer,
-appearing much dejected. Guessing the cause, which was that she had
-been very drunk the night before, and had come to the public-house to
-get something more, but had been unable to obtain credit, I offered
-her half-a-crown, and told her to get what she liked with it. A new
-light came into her eyes; she thanked me, and, calling the barmaid,
-gave her orders, with a smile of triumph. Her taste was sufficiently
-aristocratic to prefer pale brandy to the usual beverage dispensed in
-gin-palaces. A “drain of pale,” as she termed it, invigorated her.
-Glass after glass was ordered, till she had spent all the money I gave
-her. By this time she was perfectly drunk, and I had been powerless to
-stop her. Pressing her hand to her forehead, she exclaimed, “Oh, my
-poor head!” I asked what was the matter with her, and for the first
-time she condescended, or felt in the humour to speak to me. “My
-heart’s broken,” she said. “It has been broken since the twenty-first
-of May. I wish I was dead; I wish I was laid in my coffin. It won’t
-be long first. I am doing it. I’ve just driven another nail in, and
-‘Lushing Loo,’ as they call me, will be no loss to society. Cheer up;
-let’s have a song. Why don’t you sing?” she cried, her mood having
-changed, as is frequently the case with habitual drunkards, and a
-symptom that often precedes delirium tremens. “Sing, I tell you,” and
-she began,
-
- The first I met a cornet was
- In a regiment of dragoons,
- I gave him what he didn’t like,
- And stole his silver spoons.
-
-When she had finished her song, the first verse of which is all I can
-remember, she subsided into comparative tranquillity. I asked her to
-tell me her history.
-
-“Oh, I’m a seduced milliner,” she said, rather impatiently; “anything
-you like.”
-
-It required some inducement on my part to make her speak, and overcome
-the repugnance she seemed to feel at saying any thing about herself.
-
-She was the daughter of respectable parents, and at an early age had
-imbibed a fondness for a cousin in the army, which in the end caused
-her ruin. She had gone on from bad to worse after his desertion, and at
-last found herself among the number of low transpontine women. I asked
-her why she did not enter a refuge, it might save her life.
-
-“I don’t wish to live,” she replied. “I shall soon get D. T., and then
-I’ll kill myself in a fit of madness.”
-
-Nevertheless I gave her the address of the secretary of the Midnight
-Meeting Association, Red Lion Square, and was going away when a young
-Frenchmen entered the bar, shouting a French song, beginning
-
- Vive l’amour, le vin, et le tabac,
-
-and I left him in conversation with the girl, whose partiality for the
-brandy bottle had gained her the suggestive name I have mentioned above.
-
-The people who keep the low lodging-houses where these women live, are
-rapacious, mean, and often dishonest. They charge enormously for their
-rooms in order to guarantee themselves against loss in the event of
-their harbouring a “bunter” by mistake, so that the money paid by their
-honest lodgers covers the default made by those who are fraudulent.
-
-Dr. Ryan, in his book on prostitution, puts the following extraordinary
-passage, whilst writing about low houses:--
-
-“An _enlightened medical gentleman_ assured me that near what is called
-the Fleet Ditch almost every house is the lowest and most infamous
-brothel. There is an aqueduct of large dimensions, into which murdered
-bodies are precipitated by bullies and discharged at a considerable
-distance into the Thames, without the slightest chance of recovery.”
-
-Mr. Richelot quotes this with the greatest gravity, and adduces it as a
-proof of the immorality and crime that are prevalent to such an awful
-extent in London. What a pity the enlightened medical gentleman did not
-affix his name to this statement as a guarantee of its authenticity!
-
-When speaking of low street-walkers, the same author says:--
-
-“These truly unfortunate creatures are closely watched whilst walking
-the streets, so that it is impossible for them to escape, and if they
-attempt it, the spy, often a female child, hired for the purpose, or
-a bully, or procuress, charges the fugitive with felony, as escaping
-with the clothes of the brothel-keeper, when the police officer on duty
-immediately arrests the delinquent, and takes her to the station-house
-of his division, but more commonly gives her up to the brothel-keeper,
-who rewards him. This inhuman and infamous practice is of nightly
-occurrence in this metropolis. When the forlorn, unfortunate wretch
-returns to her infamous abode, she is maltreated and kept nearly naked
-during the day, so that she cannot attempt to run away. She is often
-half starved, and at night sent again into the streets as often as she
-is disengaged, while all the money she receives goes to her keeper
-whether male or female. This is not an exaggerated picture, but a fact
-attested by myself. I have known a girl, aged fifteen years, who in one
-night knew twelve men, and produced to her keeper as many pounds.”
-
-“Paucis horis, hæ puellæ sex vel septem hominibus congruunt, lavant et
-bibunt post singulum alcoholis paululum (vulgo brandy vel gin) et dein
-paratæ sunt aliis.”
-
-With what a vivid imagination the writer of these striking paragraphs
-must have been gifted. The Arabian Nights and the Tales of the Genii
-that are so charmingly improbable, are really matter of fact in
-comparison. If we multiply 12 by 365, what is the result? We never
-took such interest in arithmetic before: 12 × 365 = 4380. This total
-of course represents pounds; why, it is nearly equal to the salary
-of a puisne judge! But perhaps the young lady whose interesting age
-is fifteen, is not so fortunate every night. Let us reduce it by one
-half; 4380 ÷ 2 = 2190. Two thousand one hundred and ninety pounds
-per annum is a very handsome income; and after such a calculation,
-can we wonder that a meretricious career is alluring and attractive
-to certain members of the fair sex, especially when “hæ puellæ” make
-it “paucis horis?” So lucrative a speculation cannot be included in
-the category of those who are “kept nearly naked during the day, and
-often half starved.” We suggest this on our own responsibility, for
-we have not been an “eye-witness” of such precocious profligacy; but
-we make the suggestion because it is something like nigger-keeping in
-the Southern States of America. A full-grown, hearty negro is a flesh
-and blood equivalent for a thousand or two thousand dollars. If he
-were “larruped” and bullied, he would perhaps die, or at any rate not
-work so well, and a loss to his owner would ensue that Pompey’s massa
-would not be slow to discover. By parity of reasoning the white slave
-of England must also be treated well, or it naturally follows that she
-will not be so productive, and the 12_l._ received from as many men in
-a few hours, may dwindle to as many shillings, gleaned with difficulty
-in a great number of hours.
-
-Dr. Michael Ryan evidently possesses an extensive acquaintance among
-remarkable men. Let us examine the statement of “my informant, a truly
-moral character, a respectable citizen, the father of a family,” who
-gives the following account of bullies:--
-
-“Two acquaintances of his, men of the world” (we submit with all
-humility that truly moral characters, respectable citizens, and fathers
-of families ought to be more select in their acquaintance, for birds of
-a feather, &c.), “were entrapped in one of the Parks by two apparently
-virtuous females, about twenty years of age, who were driving in a pony
-phaeton, to accompany them home to a most notoriously infamous square
-in this metropolis. All was folly and debauchery till the next morning.
-But when the visitors were about to depart, they were sternly informed
-they must pay more money. They replied they had no more, but would
-call again, when their vicious companions yelled vociferously. Two
-desperate-looking villains, accompanied by a large mastiff, now entered
-the apartment and threatened to murder the delinquents if they did
-not immediately pay more money. A frightful fight ensued. The mastiff
-seized one of the assaulted by the thigh, and tore out a considerable
-portion of the flesh. The bullies were, however, finally laid
-prostrate: the assailed forced their way into the street through the
-drawing-room windows; a crowd speedily assembled, and on learning the
-nature of the murderous assault, the mob attacked the house and _nearly
-demolished it before the police arrived_” (where _were_ the police?).
-“The injured parties effected their escape during the commotion.”
-
-What a surprising adventure! Haroun Alraschid would have had it written
-in letters of gold. The man of the world, who had a considerable
-portion of the flesh torn out of his leg by the terrible mastiff, must
-have been the model of an athlete to effect his escape and punish his
-bully after such a catastrophe, more particularly as he jumped out of
-the drawing-room window. Then that mob, that ferocious mob that nearly
-demolished the house before the police arrived! Mob more terrible than
-any that the faubourgs St. Antoine or St. Jacques could furnish during
-a bread riot in Paris, to harry the government, and erect barricades.
-What a horror truly moral characters must entertain of apparently
-virtuous females driving pony phaetons in the Parks! A little further
-on the same respectable citizen informs us, in addition, “that in a
-certain court near another notoriously profligate square, which was
-pulled down a few years ago, several skeletons were found under the
-floor, on which inquests were held by the coroner.” What ghastly ideas
-float through the mind and obscure the mental vision of that father of
-a family!
-
-That rows and disturbances often take place in disorderly houses, is
-not to be denied. A few isolated instances of men being attacked or
-robbed when drunk may be met with; but that there are houses whose
-keepers systematically plunder and murder their frequenters our
-experience does not prove, nor do we for an instant believe it to be
-the case. Foreigners who write about England are only too eager to meet
-with such stories in print, and they transfer them bodily with the
-greatest glee to their own pages, and parade them as being of frequent
-occurrence, perhaps nightly, in houses of ill fame.
-
-Prostitutes of a certain class do not hesitate to rob drunken men, if
-they think they can do so with safety. If they get hold of a gentleman
-who would not like to give the thief in charge, and bring the matter
-before the public, they are comparatively safe.
-
-
-_Sailors’ Women._
-
-Many extraordinary statements respecting sailors’ women have at
-different times been promulgated by various authors; and from what has
-gone forth to the world, those who take an interest in such matters
-have not formed a very high opinion of the class in question.
-
-The progress of modern civilization is so rapid and so wonderful, that
-the changes which take place in the brief space of a few years are
-really and truly incredible.
-
-That which ten, fifteen, or twenty years might have been said with
-perfect truth about a particular district, or an especial denomination,
-if repeated now would, in point of fact, be nothing but fiction of the
-grossest and most unsubstantial character. Novelists who have never
-traversed the localities they are describing so vividly, or witnessed
-the scenes they depict with such graphic distinctness, do a great deal
-more to mislead the general public than a casual observer may at first
-think himself at liberty to believe.
-
-The upper ten thousand and the middle-classes as a rule have to combat
-innumerable prejudices, and are obliged to reject the traditions of
-their infancy before they thoroughly comprehend the actual condition of
-that race of people, which they are taught by immemorial prescription
-to regard as immensely inferior, if not altogether barbarous.
-
-It is necessary to make these prefatory remarks before declaring that
-of late years everything connected with the industrious classes has
-undergone as complete a transformation as any magic can effect upon
-the stage. Not only is the condition of the people changed, but they
-themselves are as effectually metamorphosed. I shall describe the
-wonders that have been accomplished in a score or two of years in and
-about St. Giles’s by a vigilant and energetic police-force, better
-parochial management, schools, washhouses, mechanics’ institutes,
-and lodging-houses that have caused to disappear those noisome,
-pestilential sties that pigs would obstinately refuse to wallow in.
-
-The spread of enlightenment and education has also made itself visible
-in the increased tact and proficiency of the thief himself; and
-this is one cause of the amelioration of low and formerly vicious
-neighbourhoods. The thief no longer frequents places where the police
-know very well how to put their hands upon him. Quitting the haunts
-where he was formerly so much at home and at his ease, he migrates
-westwards, north, south, anywhere but the exact vicinity you would
-expect to meet him in. Nor is the hostility of the police so much
-directed against expert and notorious thieves. They of course do not
-neglect an opportunity of making a capture, and plume themselves when
-that capture is made, but they have a certain sort of respect for a
-thief who is professionally so; who says, “It is the way by which I
-choose to obtain my living, and were it otherwise I must still elect
-to be a thief, for I have been accustomed to it from my childhood. My
-character is already gone, no one would employ me, and, above all, I
-take a pride in thieving skilfully, and setting your detective skill at
-defiance.”
-
-It is indeed the low petty thief, the area-sneak, and that _genus_ that
-more especially excites the spleen, and rouses the ire of your modern
-policeman. The idle, lazy scoundrel who will not work when he can
-obtain it at the docks and elsewhere, who goes cadging about because
-his own inherent depravity, and naturally base instincts deprive him
-of a spark of intelligence, an atom of honest feeling, to point to a
-better and a different goal. Emigration is as a thing unexisting to
-them; they live a life of turpitude, preying upon society; they pass
-half their days in a prison, and they die prematurely unregretted and
-unmourned.
-
-Whitechapel has always been looked upon as a suspicious, unhealthy
-locality. To begin, its population is a strange amalgamation of Jews,
-English, French, Germans, and other antagonistic elements that must
-clash and jar, but not to such an extent as has been surmised and
-reported. Whitechapel has its theatres, its music-halls, the cheap
-rates of admission to which serve to absorb numbers of the inhabitants,
-and by innocently amusing them soften their manners and keep them out
-of mischief and harm’s way.
-
-The Earl of Effingham, a theatre in Whitechapel Road, has been lately
-done up and restored, and holds three thousand people. It has no boxes;
-they would not be patronized if they were in existence. Whitechapel
-does not go to the play in kid-gloves and white ties. The stage of the
-Effingham is roomy and excellent, the trap-work very extensive, for
-Whitechapel rejoices much in pyrotechnic displays, blue demons, red
-demons, and vanishing Satans that disappear in a cloud of smoke through
-an invisible hole in the floor. Great is the applause when gauzy nymphs
-rise like so many Aphrodites from the sea, and sit down on apparent
-sunbeams midway between the stage and the theatrical heaven.
-
-The Pavilion is another theatre in the Whitechapel Road, and perhaps
-ranks higher than the Effingham. The Pavilion may stand comparison,
-with infinite credit to itself and its architect, with more than one
-West-end theatre. People at the West-end who never in their dreams
-travel farther east than the dividend and transfer department of
-the Bank of England in Threadneedle Street, have a vague idea that
-East-end theatres strongly resemble the dilapidated and decayed Soho
-in Dean Street, filled with a rough, noisy set of drunken thieves
-and prostitutes. It is time that these ideas should be exploded.
-Prostitutes and thieves of course do find their way into theatres and
-other places of amusement, but perhaps if you were to rake up all the
-bad characters in the neighbourhood they would not suffice to fill the
-pit and gallery of the Pavilion.
-
-On approaching the play-house, you observe prostitutes standing outside
-in little gangs and knots of three or four, and you will also see
-them inside, but for the most part they are accompanied by their men.
-Sergeant Prior of the H division, for whose services I am indebted to
-the courtesy of Superintendent White, assured me that when sailors
-landed in the docks, and drew their wages, they picked up some women to
-whom they considered themselves married pro tem., and to whom they gave
-the money they had made by their last voyage. They live with the women
-until the money is gone, (and the women generally treat the sailors
-honourably). They go to sea again, make some more, come home, and
-repeat the same thing over again. There are perhaps twelve or fifteen
-public-houses licensed for music in St. George’s Street and Ratcliff
-Highway: most of them a few years ago were thronged, now they can
-scarcely pay their expenses; and it is anticipated that next year many
-of them will be obliged to close.
-
-This is easily accounted for. Many sailors go further east to the K
-division, which includes Wapping, Bluegate, &c.; but the chief cause,
-the _fons et origo_ of the declension is simply the institution of
-sailors’ savings banks. There is no longer the money to be spent that
-there used to be. When a sailor comes on shore, he will probably go to
-the nearest sailors’ home, and place his money in the bank. Drawing
-out again a pound or so, with which he may enjoy himself for a day or
-two, he will then have the rest of his money transmitted to his friends
-in the country, to whom he will himself go as soon as he has had his
-fling in town; so that the money that used formerly to be expended in
-one centre is spread over the entire country, ergo and very naturally
-the public-house keepers feel the change acutely. To show how the
-neighbourhood has improved of late years, I will mention that six or
-eight years ago the Eastern Music Hall was frequented by such ruffians
-that the proprietor told me he was only too glad when twelve o’clock
-came, that he might shut the place up, and turn out his turbulent
-customers, whose chief delight was to disfigure and ruin each other’s
-physiognomy.
-
-Mr. Wilton has since then rebuilt his concert-room, and erected a
-gallery that he sets apart for sailors and their women. The body of the
-hall is filled usually by tradesmen, keepers of tally-shops, &c., &c.
-
-And before we go further a word about tally-shops. Take the New
-Road, Whitechapel, which is full of them. They present a respectable
-appearance, are little two-storied houses, clean, neat, and the owners
-are reputed to have the Queen’s taxes ready when the collectors call
-for them. The principle of the tally business is this:--A man wants
-a coat, or a woman wants a shawl, a dress, or some other article of
-feminine wearing apparel. Being somewhat known in the neighbourhood,
-as working at some trade or other, the applicant is able to go to the
-tally-shop, certain of the success of his or her application.
-
-She obtains the dress she wishes for, and agrees to pay so much a week
-until the whole debt is cleared off. For instance, the dress costs
-three pounds, a sum she can never hope to possess in its entirety.
-Well, five shillings a week for three months will complete the sum
-charged; and the woman by this system of accommodation is as much
-benefited as the tallyman.
-
-The British Queen, a concert-room in the Commercial Road, is a
-respectable, well-conducted house, frequented by low prostitutes, as
-may be expected, but orderly in the extreme, and what more can be
-wished for? The sergeant remarked to me, if these places of harmless
-amusement were not licensed and kept open, much evil would be sown
-and disseminated throughout the neighbourhood, for it may be depended
-something worse and ten times lower would be substituted. People of
-all classes must have recreation. Sailors who come on shore after
-a long cruise _will_ have it; and, added the sergeant, we give it
-them in a way that does no harm to themselves or anybody else. Rows
-and disturbances seldom occur, although, of course, they may be
-expected now and then. The dancing-rooms close at twelve--indeed their
-frequenters adjourn to other places generally before that hour, and
-very few publics are open at one. I heard that there had been three
-fights at the Prussian Eagle, in Ship Alley, Wellclose Square, on the
-evening I visited the locality; but when I arrived I saw no symptoms of
-the reported pugnacity of the people assembled, and this was the only
-rumour of war that reached my ears.
-
-Ship Alley is full of foreign lodging-houses. You see written on a
-blind an inscription that denotes the nationality of the keeper and the
-character of the establishment; for instance _Hollandsche lodgement_,
-is sufficient to show a Dutchman that his own language is spoken, and
-that he may have a bed if he chooses.
-
-That there are desperate characters in the district was sufficiently
-evidenced by what I saw when at the station-house. Two women, both
-well-known prostitutes, were confined in the cells, one of whom had
-been there before no less than _fourteen times_, and had only a few
-hours before been brought up charged with nearly murdering a man with
-a poker. Her face was bad, heavy, and repulsive; her forehead, as well
-as I could distinguish by the scanty light thrown into the place by the
-bulls-eye of the policeman, was low; her nose was short and what is
-called pudgy, having the nostrils dilated; and she abused the police
-for disturbing her when she wished to go to sleep, a thing, from what
-I saw, I imagined rather difficult to accomplish, as she had nothing
-to recline upon but a hard sort of locker attached to the wall, and
-running all along one side and at the bottom of the cell.
-
-The other woman, whose name was O’Brien, was much better looking than
-her companion in crime; her hand was bandaged up, and she appeared
-faint from loss of blood. The policeman lifted her head up, and asked
-her if she would like anything to eat. She replied she could drink some
-tea, which was ordered for her. She had met a man in a public-house
-in the afternoon, who was occupied in eating some bread and cheese.
-In order to get into conversation with him, she asked him to give her
-some, and on his refusing she made a snatch at it, and caught hold of
-the knife he was using with her right hand, inflicting a severe wound:
-notwithstanding the pain of the wound, which only served to infuriate
-her, she flew at the man with a stick and beat him severely over the
-head, endangering his life; for which offence she was taken by the
-police to the station-house and locked up.
-
-There are very few English girls who can be properly termed sailors’
-women; most of them are either German or Irish. I saw numbers of
-German, tall brazen-faced women, dressed in gaudy colours, dancing and
-pirouetting in a fantastic manner in a dancing-room in Ratcliff Highway.
-
-It may be as well to give a description of one of the dancing-rooms
-frequented by sailors and their women.
-
-Passing through the bar of the public-house you ascend a flight of
-stairs and find yourself in a long room well lighted by gas. There
-are benches placed along the walls for the accommodation of the
-dancers, and you will not fail to observe the orchestra, which is
-well worthy of attention. It consists, in the majority of cases, of
-four musicians, bearded shaggy-looking foreigners, probably Germans,
-including a fiddle, a cornet, and two fifes or flutes. The orchestra
-is usually penned up in a corner of the room, and placed upon a dais
-or raised desk, to get upon which you ascend two steps; the front is
-boarded up with deal, only leaving a small door at one end to admit the
-performers, for whose convenience either a bench is erected or chairs
-supplied. There is a little ledge to place the music on, which is as
-often as not embellished with pewter pots. The music itself is striking
-in the extreme, and at all events exhilarating in the highest degree.
-The shrill notes of the fifes, and the braying of the trumpet in very
-quick time, rouses the excitement of the dancers, until they whirl
-round in the waltz with the greatest velocity.
-
-I was much struck by the way in which the various dances were executed.
-In the first place, the utmost decorum prevailed, nor did I notice the
-slightest tendency to indecency. Polkas and waltzes seemed to be the
-favourites, and the steps were marvellously well done, considering
-the position and education of the company. In many cases there was
-an exhibition of grace and natural ease that no one would have
-supposed possible; but this was observable more amongst foreigners
-than English. The generality of the women had not the slightest idea
-of dancing. There was very little beauty abroad that night, at least
-in the neighbourhood of Ratcliff Highway. It might have been hiding
-under a bushel, but it was not patent to a casual observer. Yet I must
-acknowledge there was something prepossessing about the countenances
-of the women, which is more than could be said of the men. It might
-have been a compound of resignation, indifference, and recklessness,
-through all of which phases of her career a prostitute must go; nor is
-she thoroughly inured to her vocation until they have been experienced,
-and are in a manner mingled together. There was a certain innate
-delicacy about those women, too, highly commendable to its possessors.
-It was not the artificial refinement of the West-end, nothing of the
-sort, but genuine womanly feeling. They did not look as if they had
-come there for pleasure exactly, they appeared too business-like for
-that; but they did seem as if they would like, and intended, to unite
-the two, business and pleasure, and enjoy themselves as much as the
-circumstances would allow. They do not dress in the dancing-room, they
-attire themselves at home, and walk through the streets in their ball
-costume, without their bonnets, but as they do not live far off this
-is not thought much of. I remarked several women unattached sitting by
-themselves, in one place as many as half-a-dozen.
-
-The faces of the sailors were vacant, stupid, and beery. I could not
-help thinking one man I saw at the Prussian Eagle a perfect Caliban
-in his way. There was an expression of owlish cunning about his
-heavy-looking features that, uniting with the drunken leer sitting on
-his huge mouth, made him look but a “very indifferent monster.”
-
-I noticed a sprinkling of coloured men and a few thorough negroes
-scattered about here and there.
-
-The sergeant chanced to be in search of a woman named Harrington, who
-had committed a felony, and in the execution of his duty he was obliged
-to search some notorious brothels that he thought might harbour the
-delinquent.
-
-We entered a house in Frederick Street (which is full of brothels,
-almost every house being used for an immoral purpose). But the object
-of our search was not there, and we proceeded to Brunswick Street, more
-generally known in the neighbourhood and to the police as “Tiger Bay;”
-the inhabitants and frequenters of which place are very often obliged
-to enter an involuntary appearance in the Thames police court. Tiger
-Bay, like Frederick Street, is full of brothels and thieves’ lodging
-houses. We entered No. 6, accompanied by two policemen in uniform, who
-happened to be on duty at the entrance to the place, as they wished
-to apprehend a criminal whom they had reason to believe would resort
-for shelter, after the night’s debauch, to one of the dens in the Bay.
-We failed to find the man the police wanted, but on descending to the
-kitchen, we discovered a woman sitting on a chair, evidently waiting up
-for some one.
-
-“That woman,” said the sergeant, “is one of the lowest class we have;
-she is not only a common prostitute herself, and a companion of
-ruffians and thieves, but the servant of prostitutes and low characters
-as debased as herself, with the exception of their being waited upon by
-her.”
-
-We afterwards searched two houses on the opposite side of the way. The
-rooms occupied by the women and their sailors were larger and more
-roomy than I expected to find them. The beds were what are called
-“fourposters,” and in some instances were surrounded with faded,
-dirty-looking, chintz curtains. There was the usual amount of cheap
-crockery on the mantel-pieces, which were surmounted with a small
-looking-glass in a rosewood or gilt frame. When the magic word “Police”
-was uttered, the door flew open, as the door of the robbers’ cave swung
-back on its hinges when Ali Baba exclaimed “Sesame.” A few seconds were
-allowed for the person who opened the door to retire to the couch, and
-then our visual circuit of the chamber took place. The sailors did not
-evince any signs of hostility at our somewhat unwarrantable intrusion,
-and we in every case made our exit peacefully, but without finding
-the felonious woman we were in search of; which might cause sceptical
-people to regard her as slightly apocryphal, but in reality such was
-not the case, and in all probability by this time justice has claimed
-her own.
-
-A glance at the interior of the Horse and Leaping Bar concluded our
-nocturnal wanderings. This public-house is one of the latest in the
-district, and holds out accommodation for man and beast till the small
-hours multiply themselves considerably.
-
-Most of the foreign women talk English pretty well, some excellently,
-some of course imperfectly; their proficiency depending upon the length
-of their stay in the country. A German woman told me the following
-story:--
-
-“I have been in England nearly six years. When I came over I could not
-speak a word of your language, but I associated with my own countrymen.
-Now I talk the English well, as well as any, and I go with the British
-sailor. I am here to-night in this house of dancing with a sailor
-English, and I have known him two week. His ship is in docks, and will
-not sail for one month from this time I am now speaking. I knew him
-before, one years ago and a half. He always lives with me when he come
-on shore. He is nice man and give me all his money when he land always.
-I take all his money while he with me, and not spend it quick as some
-of your English women do. If I not to take care, he would spend all
-in one week. Sailor boy always spend money like rain water; he throw
-it into the street and not care to pick it up again, leave it for
-crossing-sweeper or errand-boy who pass that way. I give him little
-when he want it; he know me well and have great deal confidence in me.
-I am honest, and he feel he can trust me. Suppose he have twenty-four
-pound when he leave his ship, and he stay six week on land, he will
-spend with me fifteen or twenty, and he will give me what left when he
-leave me, and we amuse ourself and keep both ourself with the rest. It
-very bad for sailor to keep his money himself; he will fall into bad
-hands; he will go to ready-made outfitter or slop-seller, who will sell
-him clothes dreadful dear and ruin him. I know very many sailors--six,
-eight, ten, oh! more than that. They are my husbands. I am not married,
-of course not, but they think me their wife while they are on shore.
-I do not care much for any of them; I have a lover of my own, he is
-waiter in a lodging and coffee house; Germans keep it; he is German and
-he comes from Berlin, which is my town also. I is born there.”
-
-Shadwell, Spitalfields, and contiguous districts are infested with
-nests of brothels as well as Whitechapel. To attract sailors, women and
-music must be provided for their amusement. In High Street, Shadwell,
-there are many of these houses, one of the most notorious of which is
-called The White Swan, or, more commonly, Paddy’s Goose; the owner of
-which is reported to make money in more ways than one. Brothel-keeping
-is a favourite mode of investing money in this neighbourhood. Some
-few years ago a man called James was prosecuted for having altogether
-thirty brothels; and although he was convicted, the nuisance was by no
-means in the slightest degree abated, as the informer, by name Brooks,
-has them all himself at the present time.
-
-There are two other well-known houses in High Street, Shadwell--The
-Three Crowns, and The Grapes, the latter not being licensed for dancing.
-
-Paddy’s Goose is perhaps the most popular house in the parish. It is
-also very well thought of in high quarters. During the Crimean war,
-the landlord, when the Government wanted sailors to man the fleet,
-went among the shipping in the river, and enlisted numbers of men. His
-system of recruiting was very successful. He went about in a small
-steamer with a band of music and flags, streamers and colours flying.
-All this rendered him popular with the Admiralty authorities, and made
-his house extensively known to the sailors, and those connected with
-them.
-
-Inspector Price, under whose supervision the low lodging-houses in
-that part of London are placed, most obligingly took me over one of
-the lowest lodging-houses, and one of the best, forming a strange
-contrast, and both presenting an admirable example of the capital
-working of the most excellent Act that regulates them. We went into
-a large room, with a huge fire blazing cheerily at the furthest
-extremity, around which were grouped some ten or twelve people, others
-were scattered over various parts of the room. The attitudes of most
-were listless; none seemed to be reading; one was cooking his supper;
-a few amused themselves by criticising us, and canvassing as to the
-motives of our visit, and our appearance altogether. The inspector was
-well known to the keeper of the place, who treated him with the utmost
-civility and respect. The greatest cleanliness prevailed everywhere.
-Any one was admitted to this house who could command the moderate
-sum of threepence. I was informed those who frequented it were, for
-the most part, prostitutes and thieves. That is thieves and their
-associates. No questions were asked of those who paid their money
-and claimed a night’s lodging in return. The establishment contained
-forty beds. There were two floors. The first was divided into little
-boxes by means of deal boards, and set apart for married people, or
-those who represented themselves to be so. Of course, as the sum paid
-for the night’s lodging was so small, the lodgers could not expect
-clean sheets, which were only supplied once a week. The sheets were
-indeed generally black, or very dirty. How could it be otherwise? The
-men were often in a filthy state, and quite unaccustomed to anything
-like cleanliness, from which they were as far as from godliness. The
-floors and the surroundings were clean, and highly creditable to the
-management upstairs; the beds were not crowded together, but spread
-over the surface in rows, being a certain distance from one another.
-Many of them were already occupied, although it was not eleven o’clock,
-and the house is generally full before morning. The ventilation was
-very complete, and worthy of attention. There were several ventilators
-on each side of the room, but not in the roof--all were placed in the
-side.
-
-The next house we entered was more aristocratic in appearance. You
-entered through some glass doors, and going along a small passage
-found yourself in a large apartment, long and narrow, resembling a
-coffee-room. The price of admission was precisely the same, but the
-frequenters were chiefly working men, sometimes men from the docks,
-respectable mechanics, &c. No suspicious characters were admitted by
-the proprietor on any pretence, and he by this means kept his house
-select. Several men were seated in the compartments reading newspapers,
-of which there appeared to be an abundance. The accommodation was very
-good, and everything reflected great credit upon the police, who seem
-to have the most unlimited jurisdiction, and complete control over the
-low people and places in the East-end of London.
-
-Bluegate fields is nothing more or less than a den of thieves,
-prostitutes, and ruffians of the lowest description. Yet the police
-penetrate unarmed without the slightest trepidation. There I witnessed
-sights that the most morbid novelist has described, but which have been
-too horrible for those who have never been on the spot to believe. We
-entered a house in Victoria Place, running out of Bluegate, that had
-no street-door, and penetrating a small passage found ourselves in a
-kitchen, where the landlady was sitting over a miserable coke fire;
-near her there was a girl, haggard and woe-begone. We put the usual
-question, Is there any one upstairs? And on being told that the rooms
-were occupied, we ascended to the first floor, which was divided into
-four small rooms. The house was only a two-storied one. The woman of
-the place informed me, she paid five shillings a-week rent, and charged
-the prostitutes who lodged with her four shillings a-week for the
-miserable apartments she had to offer for their accommodation; but as
-the shipping in the river was very slack just now, times were hard with
-her.
-
-The house was a wretched tumble-down hovel, and the poor woman
-complained bitterly that her landlord would make no repairs. The
-first room we entered contained a Lascar, who had come over in some
-vessel, and his woman. There was a sickly smell in the chamber, that
-I discovered proceeded from the opium he had been smoking. There was
-not a chair to be seen; nothing but a table, upon which were placed a
-few odds-and-ends. The Lascar was lying on a palliasse placed upon the
-floor (there was no bedstead), apparently stupefied from the effects
-of the opium he had been taking. A couple of old tattered blankets
-sufficed to cover him. By his bedside sat his woman, who was half
-idiotically endeavouring to derive some stupefaction from the ashes
-he had left in his pipe. Her face was grimy and unwashed, and her
-hands so black and filthy that mustard-and-cress might have been sown
-successfully upon them. As she was huddled up with her back against
-the wall she appeared an animated bundle of rags. She was apparently a
-powerfully made woman, and although her face was wrinkled and careworn,
-she did not look exactly decrepit, but more like one thoroughly broken
-down in spirit than in body. In all probability she was diseased;
-and the disease communicated by the Malays, Lascars, and Orientals
-generally, is said to be the most frightful form of lues to be met
-with in Europe. It goes by the name of the Dry ----, and is much
-dreaded by all the women in the neighbourhood of the docks. Leaving
-this wretched couple, who were too much overcome with the fumes of
-opium to answer any questions, we went into another room, which should
-more correctly be called a hole. There was not an atom of furniture in
-it, nor a bed, and yet it contained a woman. This woman was lying on
-the floor, with not even a bundle of straw beneath her, wrapped up in
-what appeared to be a shawl, but which might have been taken for the
-dress of a scarecrow feloniously abstracted from a corn-field, without
-any very great stretch of the imagination. She started up as we kicked
-open the door that was loose on its hinges, and did not shut properly,
-creaking strangely on its rusty hinges as it swung sullenly back.
-Her face was shrivelled and famine-stricken, her eyes bloodshot and
-glaring, her features disfigured slightly with disease, and her hair
-dishevelled, tangled, and matted. More like a beast in his lair than
-a human being in her home was this woman. We spoke to her, and from
-her replies concluded she was an Irishwoman. She said she was charged
-nothing for the place she slept in. She cleaned out the water-closets
-in the daytime, and for these services she was given a lodging gratis.
-
-The next house we entered was in Bluegate Fields itself. Four women
-occupied the kitchen on the ground-floor. They were waiting for their
-men, probably thieves. They had a can of beer, which they passed from
-one to the other. The woman of the house had gone out to meet her
-husband, who was to be liberated from prison that night, having been
-imprisoned for a burglary three years ago, his term of incarceration
-happening to end that day. His friends were to meet at his house and
-celebrate his return by an orgie, when all of them, we were told, hoped
-to be blind drunk; and, added the girl who volunteered the information,
-“None of ’em didn’t care dam for police.” She was evidently
-anticipating the happy state of inebriety she had just been predicting.
-
-One of the houses a few doors off contained a woman well known to the
-police, and rather notorious on account of her having attempted to
-drown herself three times. Wishing to see her, the inspector took me to
-the house she lived in, which was kept by an Irishwoman, the greatest
-hypocrite I ever met with. She was intensely civil to the inspector,
-who had once convicted her for allowing three women to sleep in one
-bed, and she was fined five pounds, all which she told us with the most
-tedious circumstantiality, vowing, as “shure as the Almighty God was
-sitting on his throne,” she did it out of charity, or she wished she
-might never speak no more. “These gals,” she said, “comes to me in the
-night and swears (as I knows to be true) they has no place where to
-put their heads, and foxes they has holes, likewise birds of the air,
-which it’s a mortial shame as they is better provided for and against
-than them that’s flesh and blood Christians. And one night I let one
-in, when having no bed you see empty I bundled them in together. Police
-they came and I was fined five pounds, which I borrowed from Mrs.
-Wilson what lives close to--five golden sovereigns, as I’m alive, and
-they took them all, which I’ve paid back two bob a week since, and I
-don’t owe no one soul not a brass farthing, which it’s all as thrue as
-Christ’s holiness, let alone his blessed gospel.” The woman we came
-to see was called China Emma, or by her intimate associates Chaney
-Emm. She was short in stature, rather stout, with a pale face utterly
-expressionless; her complexion was blonde. There was a look almost of
-vacuity about her, but her replies to my questions were lucid, and
-denoted that she was only naturally slow and stupid.
-
-“My father and mother,” she said, “kept a grocer’s shop in Goswell
-Street. Mother died when I was twelve years old, and father took to
-drinking. In three years he lost his shop, and in a while killed
-himself, what with the drink and one thing and another. I went to live
-with a sister who was bad, and in about a year she went away with a
-man and left me. I could not get any work, never having been taught
-any trade or that. One day I met a sailor, who was very good to me. I
-lived with him as his wife, and when he went away drew his half-pay.
-I was with him for six years. Then he died of yellow fever in the
-West Indies, and I heard no more of him. I know he did not cut me,
-for one of his mates brought me a silver snuff-box he used to carry
-his quids in, which he sent me when he was at his last. Then I lived
-for a bit in Angel Gardens; after that I went to Gravel Lane; and now
-I’m in Bluegate Fields. When I came here I met with a Chinaman called
-Appoo. He’s abroad now, but he sends me money. I got two pounds from
-him only the other day. He often sends me the needful. When he was
-over here last we lived in Gregory’s Rents. I’ve lived in Victoria
-Place and New Court, all about Bluegate. Appoo only used to treat
-me badly when I got drunk. I always get drunk when I’ve a chance to.
-Appoo used to tie my legs and arms and take me into the street. He’d
-throw me into the gutter, and then he’d throw buckets of water over me
-till I was wet through; but that didn’t cure; I don’t believe anything
-would; I’d die for the drink; I must have it, and I don’t care what I
-does to get it. I’ve tried to kill myself more nor once. I have fits
-at times--melancholy fits--and I don’t know what to do with myself.
-I wish I was dead, and I run to the water and throw myself in; but
-I’ve no luck; I never had since I was a child--oh! ever so little. I’s
-always picked out. Once I jumped out of a first-floor window in Jamaica
-Place into the river, but a boatman coming by hooked me up, and the
-magistrate give me a month. The missus here (naming the woman who kept
-the place) wants me to go to a refuge or home, or something of that.
-P’raps I shall.”
-
-The Irishwoman here broke in, exclaiming--
-
-“And so she shall. I’ve got three or four poor gals into the refuge,
-and I’ll get Chaney Emm, as shure as the Almighty God’s sitting on his
-throne.” (This was a favourite exclamation of hers.) “I keeps her very
-quiet here; she never sees no one, nor tastes a drop of gin, which she
-shouldn’t have to save her blessed life, if it were to be saved by
-nothink else; leastways, it should be but a taste. It’s ruined her has
-drink. When she got the money Appoo sent her the other day or two back,
-I took it all, and laid it out for her, but never a drop of the crater
-passed down Chaney Emm’s lips.”
-
-This declaration of the avaricious old woman was easily credible,
-except the laying out the money for her victim’s advantage. The gin,
-in all probability, if any had been bought, had been monopolized in
-another quarter, where it was equally acceptable. As to the woman’s
-seeing no one, the idea was preposterous. The old woman’s charity, as
-is commonly the case, began at home, and went very little further. If
-she were excluded from men’s society she must have been much diseased.
-
-I find the women who cohabit with sailors are not, as a body,
-disorderly, although there may be individuals who habitually give
-themselves up to insubordination. I take them to be the reverse of
-careful, for they are at times well off, but at others, through
-their improvidence and the slackness of the shipping, immersed in
-poverty. The supply of women is fully equal to the demand; but as
-the demand fluctuates so much I do not think the market can be said
-to be overstocked. They are unintelligent and below the average of
-intellectuality among prostitutes, though perhaps on a par with the men
-with whom they cohabit.
-
-
-_Soldiers’ Women._
-
-The evil effects of the want of some system to regulate prostitution in
-England, is perhaps more shown amongst the army than any other class.
-Syphilis is very prevalent among soldiers, although the disease is not
-so virulent as it was formerly. That is, we do not see examples of the
-loss of the palate or part of the cranium, as specimens extant in our
-museums show us was formerly the case. The women who are patronized by
-soldiers are, as a matter of course, very badly paid; for how can a
-soldier out of his very scanty allowance, generally little exceeding a
-shilling a day, afford to supply a woman with means adequate for her
-existence? It follows from this state of things, that a woman may,
-or more correctly must, be intimate with several men in one evening,
-and supposing her to be tainted with disease, as many men as she may
-chance to pick up during the course of her peregrinations, will be
-incapacitated from serving her Majesty for several weeks.
-
-The following quotation from Mr. Acton’s book will suffice to show what
-I mean. He is speaking of a particular regiment.
-
-“In 1851, Dr. Gordon, surgeon to the 57th, read a paper before the
-Surgical Society of Ireland, in which he states, (see ‘Dublin Medical
-Press,’ February 26th, 1851,) that during the year ending 31st March,
-1850, the following number, out of an average strength of 408 men, were
-treated for venereal diseases in the head-quarters hospital--
-
- “Number admitted 113
- Number of days in hospital 2519
- Amount of soldiers’ pay £136 10 9
-
-“At the first blush, the economist would be apt to imagine that a
-very large sum of money is lost to the state annually by the inroads
-of syphilis. It is but fair to state that this is not the case, as
-tenpence a day is stopped from each man’s pay while he is in hospital,
-so that about five-sixths of his wages are recovered. The actual
-loss to the country is his time, which, however, during peace, is
-non-productive.
-
-“From the statistical reports on the sickness, mortality, and
-invaliding among the troops in the United Kingdom, the Mediterranean,
-and British America, presented to Parliament some years ago (1839), it
-would appear that syphilis is a fatal enemy to the British soldier.
-
- “Total cases during seven and a quarter years 8,072
- Total aggregate strength for do. 44,611
- Annual mean strength for ditto 6,153
-
-“Thus 181 per 1000, or about one man in five appear to have been
-attacked.
-
-“Let us compare this with the following statistics extracted from a
-report on army diseases from 1837 to 1847.
-
-“Aggregate strength:
-
- Cavalry 54,374
- Foot-guards 40,120
- Infantry 160,103
- -------
- Total 254,597
-
-“Extent of venereal disease:
-
- Cavalry 11,205
- Foot-guards 10,043
- Infantry 44,435
- ------
- Total 65,683
- Deaths 17
-
-“Number of men per 1000 of strength admitted during ten years:
-
- “Cavalry 206
- Foot-guards 250
- Infantry 277
-
-“This report was drawn up by Dr. Balfour and Sir Alexander Tulloch,
-and the reason that a distinction is made between the line and the
-foot-guards, is that the line contains a large number of recruits and
-men returning from foreign service, whereas in the foot-guards, there
-is usually a much greater proportion of soldiers who have arrived at
-maturity, on the one hand, and who, on the other, have not served in
-foreign climates. As these circumstances were likely to have affected
-the amount of sickness and mortality, the returns of the two classes
-were kept distinct and separate in preparing the tables.
-
-“Few infected soldiers escape notice, as health inspections are made
-once a week, which is the general rule in the service. If a soldier is
-found at inspection to be labouring under disease, he is reported for
-having concealed it to his superior officer, who orders him punishment
-drill on his discharge from hospital. In order to induce him to apply
-early for relief, the soldier is told that if he do so, he may probably
-be only a few days instead of several weeks under treatment.
-
-“It is contrary to the rules of the service, to treat men out of
-hospital; even were it otherwise, the habits of the soldier, and the
-accommodation in barracks, would not favour celerity of cure.”[93]
-
-In the brigade of Guards, though the average of syphilis primitiva is
-heavy, as above stated, only 11 per cent. of the cases are followed by
-secondary symptoms, which, however, follow 33 per cent. of the cases in
-the line. Dr. Balfour says a mild mercurial system is usually pursued
-in the army; and indeed mercury by many surgeons is held absolutely
-necessary for hard, or Hunterian chancres.
-
-A woman was pointed out to me in a Music Hall in Knightsbridge, who
-my informant told me he was positively assured had only yesterday
-had two buboes lanced; and yet she was present at that scene of
-apparent festivity, contaminating the very air, like a deadly upas
-tree, and poisoning the blood of the nation, with the most audacious
-recklessness. It is useless to say that such things should not be.
-They exist, and they will exist. The woman was nothing better than a
-paid murderess, committing crime with impunity. She was so well known
-that she had obtained the soubriquet of the “hospital” as she was so
-frequently an inmate of one, and as she so often sent others to a
-similar involuntary confinement.
-
-Those women who, for the sake of distinguishing them from the
-professionals, I must call amateurs, are generally spoken of as
-“Dollymops.” Now many servant-maids, nurse-maids who go with children
-into the Parks, shop girls and milliners who may be met with at the
-various “dancing academies,” so called, are “Dollymops.” We must
-separate these latter again from the “Demoiselle de Comptoir,” who is
-just as much in point of fact a “Dollymop,” because she prostitutes
-herself for her own pleasure, a few trifling presents or a little money
-now and then, and not altogether to maintain herself. But she will
-not go to casinos, or any similar places to pick up men; she makes
-their acquaintance in a clandestine manner: either she is accosted in
-the street early in the evening as she is returning from her place of
-business to her lodgings, or she carries on a flirtation behind the
-counter, which, as a matter of course, ends in an assignation.
-
-Soldiers are notorious for hunting up these women, especially
-nurse-maids and those that in the execution of their duty walk in the
-Parks, when they may easily be accosted. Nurse-maids feel flattered
-by the attention that is lavished upon them, and are always ready to
-succumb to the “scarlet fever.” A red coat is all powerful with this
-class, who prefer a soldier to a servant, or any other description of
-man they come in contact with.
-
-This also answers the soldier’s purpose equally well. He cannot afford
-to employ professional women to gratify his passions, and if he were
-to do so, he must make the acquaintance of a very low set of women,
-who in all probability will communicate some infectious disease to
-him. He feels he is never safe, and he is only too glad to seize the
-opportunity of forming an intimacy with a woman who will appreciate
-him for his own sake, cost him nothing but the trouble of taking her
-about occasionally, and who, whatever else she may do, will never by
-any chance infect. I heard that some of the privates in the Blues and
-the brigade of Guards often formed very reprehensible connections with
-women of property, tradesmen’s wives, and even ladies, who supplied
-them with money, and behaved with the greatest generosity to them,
-only stipulating for the preservation of secrecy in their intrigues.
-Of course numbers of women throng the localities which contain the
-Knightsbridge, Albany Street, St. George’s, Portman, and Wellington
-Barracks in Birdcage Walk. They may have come up from the provinces;
-some women have been known to follow a particular regiment from place
-to place, all over the country, and have only left it when it has been
-under orders for foreign service.
-
-A woman whom I met with near the Knightsbridge barracks, in one of the
-beer-houses there, told me she had been a soldiers’ woman all her life.
-
-“When I was sixteen,” she said, “I went wrong. I’m up’ards of thirty
-now. I’ve been fourteen or fifteen years at it. It’s one of those
-things you can’t well leave off when you’ve once took to it. I was
-born in Chatham. We had a small baker’s shop there, and I served the
-customers and minded the shop. There’s lots of soldiers at Chatham, as
-you know, and they used to look in at the window in passing, and nod
-and laugh whenever they could catch my eye. I liked to be noticed by
-the soldiers. At last one young fellow, a recruit, who had not long
-joined I think, for he told me he hadn’t been long at the depot, came
-in and talked to me. Well, this went on, and things fell out as they
-always do with girls who go about with men, more especially soldiers,
-and when the regiment went to Ireland, he gave me a little money
-that helped me to follow it; and I went about from place to place,
-time after time, always sticking to the same regiment. My first man
-got tired of me in a year or two, but that didn’t matter. I took up
-with a sergeant then, which was a cut above a private, and helped me
-on wonderful. When we were at Dover, there was a militia permanently
-embodied artillery regiment quartered with us on the western heights,
-and I got talking to some of the officers, who liked me a bit. I was a
----- sight prettier then than I am now, you may take your dying oath,
-and they noticed me uncommon; and although I didn’t altogether cut
-my old friends, I carried on with these fellows all the time we were
-there, and made a lot of money, and bought better dresses and some
-jewellery, that altered me wonderful. One officer offered to keep me
-if I liked to come and live with him. He said he would take a house
-for me in the town, and keep a pony carriage if I would consent; but
-although I saw it would make me rise in the world, I refused. I was
-fond of my old associates, and did not like the society of gentlemen;
-so, when the regiment left Dover, I went with them, and I remained with
-them till I was five-and-twenty. We were then stationed in London,
-and I one day saw a private in the Blues with one of my friends, and
-for the first time in my life I fell in love. He spoke to me, and I
-immediately accepted his proposals, left my old friends, and went to
-live in a new locality, among strangers; and I’ve been amongst the
-Blues ever since, going from one to the other, never keeping to one
-long, and not particler as long as I get the needful. I don’t get
-much,--very little, hardly enough to live upon. I’ve done a little
-needlework in the day-time. I don’t now, although I do some washing and
-mangling now and then to help it out. I don’t pay much for my bed-room,
-only six bob a week, and dear at that. It ain’t much of a place. Some
-of the girls about here live in houses. I don’t; I never could abear
-it. You ain’t your own master, and I always liked my freedom. I’m not
-comfortable exactly; it’s a brutal sort of life this. It isn’t the sin
-of it, though, that worries me. I don’t dare think of that much, but I
-do think how happy I might have been if I’d always lived at Chatham,
-and married as other women do, and had a nice home and children; that’s
-what I want, and when I think of all that, I do cut up. It’s enough to
-drive a woman wild to think that she’s given up all chance of it. I
-feel I’m not respected either. If I have a row with any fellow, he’s
-always the first to taunt me with being what he and his friends have
-made me. I don’t feel it so much now. I used to at first. One dovetails
-into all that sort of thing in time, and the edge of your feelings, as
-I may say, wears off by degrees. That’s what it is. And then the drink
-is very pleasant to us, and keeps up our spirits; for what could a
-woman in my position do without spirits, without being able to talk and
-blackguard and give every fellow she meets as good as he brings?”
-
-It is easy to understand the state of mind of this woman, who had
-a craving after what she knew she never could possess, but which
-the maternal instinct planted within her forced her to wish for.
-This is one of the melancholy aspects of prostitution. It leads to
-nothing--marriage of course excepted; the prostitute has no future. Her
-life, saving the excitement of the moment, is a blank. Her hopes are
-all blighted, and if she has a vestige of religion left in her, which
-is generally the case, she must shudder occasionally at what she has
-merited by her easy compliance when the voice of the tempter sounded so
-sweetly.
-
-The happy prostitute, and there is such a thing, is either the
-thoroughly hardened, clever infidel, who knows how to command men and
-use them for her own purposes; who is in the best set both of men and
-women; who frequents the night-houses in London, and who in the end
-seldom fails to marry well; or the quiet woman who is kept by the man
-she loves, and who she feels is fond of her; who has had a provision
-made for her to guard her against want, and the caprice of her paramour.
-
-The sensitive, sentimental, weak-minded, impulsive, affectionate girl,
-will go from bad to worse, and die on a dunghill or in a workhouse.
-A woman who was well known to cohabit with soldiers, of a masculine
-appearance but good features, and having a good-natured expression, was
-pointed out to me as the most violent woman in the neighbourhood. When
-she was in a passion she would demolish everything that came in her
-way, regardless of the mischief she was doing. She was standing in the
-bar of a public-house close to the barracks talking to some soldiers,
-when I had an opportunity of speaking to her. I did not allow it to
-pass without taking advantage of it. I told her I had heard she was
-very passionate and violent.
-
-“Passionate!” she replied; “I believe yer. I knocked my father down and
-well-nigh killed him with a flat-iron before I wor twelve year old. I
-was a beauty then, an I aint improved much since I’ve been on my own
-hook. I’ve had lots of rows with these ’ere sodgers, and they’d have
-slaughter’d me long afore now if I had not pretty near cooked their
-goose. It’s a good bit of it self-defence with me now-a-days, I can
-tell yer. Why, look here; look at my arm where I was run through with a
-bayonet once three or four years ago.”
-
-She bared her arm and exhibited the scar of what appeared to have once
-been a serious wound.
-
-“You wants to know if them rowses is common. Well, they is, and it’s no
-good one saying they aint, and the sodgers is such ---- cowards they
-think nothing of sticking a woman when they’se riled and drunk, or
-they’ll wop us with their belts. I was hurt awful onst by a blow from a
-belt; it hit me on the back part of the head, and I was laid up weeks
-in St. George’s Hospital with a bad fever. The sodger who done it was
-quodded, but only for a drag,[94] and he swore to God as how he’d do
-for me the next time as he comed across me. We had words sure enough,
-but I split his skull with a pewter, and that shut him up for a time.
-You see this public; well, I’ve smashed up this place before now; I’ve
-jumped over the bar, because they wouldn’t serve me without paying for
-it when I was hard up, and I’ve smashed all the tumblers and glass, and
-set the cocks agoing, and fought like a brick when they tried to turn
-me out, and it took two peelers to do it; and then I lamed one of the
-bobbies for life by hitting him on the shin with a bit of iron--a crow
-or summet, I forget what it was. How did I come to live this sort of
-life? Get along with your questions. If you give me any of your cheek,
-I’ll ---- soon serve you the same.”
-
-It may easily be supposed I was glad to leave this termagant, who was
-popular with the soldiers, although they were afraid of her when she
-was in a passion. There is not much to be said about soldiers’ women.
-They are simply low and cheap, often diseased, and as a class do
-infinite harm to the health of the service.
-
-
-_Thieves’ Women._
-
-The metropolis is divided by the police into districts, to which
-letters are attached to designate and distinguish them. The
-head-quarters of the F division are at Bow Street, and the jurisdiction
-of its constabulary extends over Covent Garden, Drury Lane, and St.
-Giles’s, which used formerly to be looked upon as most formidable
-neighbourhoods, harbouring the worst characters and the most desperate
-thieves.
-
-Mr. Durkin, the superintendent at Bow Street, obligingly allowed an
-intelligent and experienced officer (sergeant Bircher) to give me any
-information I might require.
-
-Fifteen or twenty years ago this locality was the perpetual scene of
-riot and disorder. The public-houses were notorious for being places
-of call for thieves, pickpockets, burglars, thieving prostitutes,
-hangers-on (their associates), and low ruffians, who rather than work
-for an honest livelihood preferred scraping together a precarious
-subsistence by any disreputable means, however disgraceful or criminal
-they might be. But now this is completely changed. Although I patrolled
-the neighbourhood on Monday night, which is usually accounted one of
-the noisiest in the week, most of the public houses were empty, the
-greatest order and decorum reigned in the streets, and not even an
-Irish row occurred in any of the low alleys and courts to enliven the
-almost painful silence that everywhere prevailed. I only witnessed one
-fight in a public-house in St. Martin’s Lane. Seven or eight people
-were standing at the bar, smoking and drinking. A disturbance took
-place between an elderly man, pugnaciously intoxicated, who was further
-urged on by a prostitute he had been talking to, and a man who had
-the appearance of being a tradesman in a small way. How the quarrel
-originated I don’t know, for I did not arrive till it had commenced.
-The sergeant who accompanied me was much amused to observe among those
-in the bar three suspicious characters he had for some time “had his
-eye on.” One was a tall, hulking, hang dog-looking fellow; the second
-a short, bloated, diseased, red-faced man, while the third was a
-common-looking woman, a prostitute and the associate of the two former.
-The fight went on until the tradesman in a small way was knocked head
-over heels into a corner, when the tall, hulking fellow obligingly ran
-to his rescue, kindly lifted him up, and quietly rifled his pockets.
-The ecstasy of the sergeant as he detected this little piece of sharp
-practice was a thing to remember. He instantly called my attention to
-it, for so cleverly and skilfully had it been done that I had failed to
-observe it.
-
-When we resumed our tour of inspection, the sergeant, having mentally
-summed up the three suspicious characters, observed: “I first
-discovered them in Holborn three nights ago, when I was on duty in
-plain clothes. I don’t exactly yet know rightly what their little game
-is; but it’s either dog-stealing or ‘picking up.’ This is how they
-do it. The woman looks out for a ‘mug,’ that is a drunken fellow, or
-a stupid, foolish sort of fellow. She then stops him in the street,
-talks to him, and pays particular attention to his jewellery, watch,
-and every thing of that sort, of which she attempts to rob him. If
-he offers any resistance, or makes a noise, one of her bullies comes
-up, and either knocks him down by a blow under the ear, or exclaims:
-‘What are you talking to my wife for?’ and that’s how the thing’s done,
-sir, that’s exactly how these chaps do the trick. I found out where
-they live yesterday. It’s somewhere down near Barbican, Golden Lane;
-the name’s a bad, ruffianly, thievish place. They are being watched
-to-night, although they don’t know it. I planted a man on them.” Two
-women were standing just outside the same public. They were dressed in
-a curious assortment of colours, as the low English invariably are, and
-their faces had a peculiar unctuous appearance, somewhat Israelitish,
-as if their diet from day to day consisted of fried fish and dripping.
-The sergeant knew them well, and they knew him, for they accosted him.
-“One of these women,” he said, “is the cleverest thief out. I’ve known
-her twelve years. She was in the first time for robbing a public. I’ll
-tell you how it was. She was a pretty woman--a very pretty woman--then,
-and had been kept by a man who allowed her 4_l._ a week for some time.
-She was very quiet too, never went about anywhere, never knocked about
-at night publics or any of those places; but she got into bad company,
-and was in for this robbery. She and her accomplices got up a row in
-the bar, everything being concerted before hand; they put out the
-lights, set all the taps running, and stole a purse, a watch, and some
-other things; but we nabbed them all, and, strange to say, one of the
-women thieves died the next day from the effects of drink. All these
-women are great gluttons, and when they get any money, they go in for
-a regular drink and debauch. This one drank so much that it positively
-killed her slick off.”
-
-At the corner of Drury Lane I saw three women standing talking
-together. They were innocent of crinoline, and the antiquity of their
-bonnets and shawls was really wonderful, while the durability of the
-fabric of which they were composed was equally remarkable. Their
-countenances were stolid, and their skin hostile to the application
-of soap and water. The hair of one was tinged with silver. They were
-inured to the rattle of their harness; the clank of the chains pleased
-them. They had _grown grey_ as prostitutes.
-
-I learnt from my companion that “that lot was an inexpensive luxury;
-it showed the sterility of the neighbourhood. They would go home with
-a man for a shilling, and think themselves well paid, while sixpence
-was rather an exorbitant amount for the temporary accommodation their
-vagrant amour would require.”
-
-There were a good many of them about. They lived for the most part in
-small rooms at eighteen pence, two shillings, and half-a-crown a week,
-in the small streets running out of Drury Lane.
-
-We went down Charles Street, Drury Lane, a small street near the Great
-Mogul public-house. I was surprised at the number of clean-looking,
-respectable lodging-houses to be seen in this street, and indeed in
-almost every street thereabouts. Many of them were well-ventilated,
-and chiefly resorted to by respectable mechanics. They are under the
-supervision of the police, and the time of a sergeant is wholly taken
-up in inspecting them. Visits are made every day, and if the Act of
-Parliament by the provisions of which they are allowed to exist, and
-by which they are regulated, is broken, their licences are taken away
-directly. Some speculators have several of these houses, and keep a
-shop as well, full of all sorts of things to supply their lodgers.
-
-There is generally a green blind in the parlour window, upon which
-you sometimes see written, Lodgings for Travellers, 3_d._ a night;
-or, Lodgings for Gentlemen; or, Lodgings for Single Men. Sometimes
-they have Model Lodging-house written in large black letters on a
-white ground on the wall. There are also several little shops kept
-by general dealers, in contiguity, for the use of the inmates of the
-lodging-houses, where they can obtain two pennyworth of meat and “a
-haporth” of bread, and everything else in proportion.
-
-There are a great number of costermongers about Drury Lane and that
-district, and my informant assured me that they found the profession
-very lucrative, for the lower orders, and industrial classes don’t
-care about going into shops to make purchases. They infinitely prefer
-buying what they want in the open street from the barrow or stall of a
-costermonger.
-
-What makes Clare Market so attractive, too, but the stalls and barrows
-that abound there.
-
-There are many flower-girls who are sent out by their old gin-drinking
-mothers to pick up a few pence in the street by the sale of their
-goods. They begin very young, often as young as five and six, and go on
-till they are old enough to become prostitutes, when they either leave
-off costermongering altogether, or else unite the two professions. They
-are chiefly the offspring of Irish parents, or cockney Irish, as they
-are called, who are the noisiest, the most pugnacious, unprincipled,
-and reckless part of the population of London. There is in Exeter
-Street, Strand, a very old established and notorious house of ill-fame,
-called the ----, which the police says is always honestly and orderly
-conducted. Married women go there with their paramours, for they are
-sure of secrecy, and have confidence in the place. It is a house
-of accommodation, and much frequented; rich tradesmen are known to
-frequent it. They charge ten shillings and upwards for a bed. A man
-might go there with a large sum of money in his pocket, and sleep in
-perfect security, for no attempt would be made to deprive him of his
-property.
-
-There is a coffee-house in Wellington Street, on the Covent Garden side
-of the Lyceum Theatre, in fact adjoining the playhouse, where women may
-take their men; but the police cannot interfere with it, because it is
-a coffee-house, and not a house of ill-fame, properly so called. The
-proprietor is not supposed to know who his customers are. A man comes
-with a woman and asks for a bed-room; they may be travellers, they may
-be a thousand things. A subterranean passage, I am told, running under
-the Lyceum connects this with some supper-rooms on the other side of
-the theatre, which belongs to the same man who is proprietor of the
-coffee and chop house.
-
-We have before spoken of “dress-lodgers:” there are several to be seen
-in the Strand. Any one who does not understand the affair, and had
-not been previously informed, would fail to observe the badly-dressed
-old hag who follows at a short distance the fashionably-attired young
-lady, who walks so gaily along the pavement, and who only allows
-the elasticity of her step to subside into a quieter measure when
-stopping to speak to some likely-looking man who may be passing. If her
-overtures are successful she retires with her prey to some den in the
-vicinity.
-
-The watcher has a fixed salary of so much per week, and never loses
-sight of the dress-lodger, for very plain reasons. The dress-lodger
-probably lives some distance from the immoral house by whose owner she
-is employed. She comes there in the afternoon badly dressed, and has
-good things lent her. Now if she were not watched she might decamp.
-She might waste her time in public-houses; she might take her dupes to
-other houses of ill-fame, or she might pawn the clothes she has on,
-for the keeper could not sue her for a debt contracted for immoral
-purposes. The dress-lodger gets as much money from her man as she can
-succeed in abstracting, and is given a small percentage on what she
-obtains by her employer. The man pays usually five shillings for the
-room. Many prostitutes bilk their man; they take him into a house, and
-then after he has paid for the room leave him. The dupe complains to
-the keeper of the house, but of course fails to obtain any redress.
-
-I happened to see an old woman in the Strand, who is one of the most
-hardened beggars in London. She has two children with her, but one she
-generally disposes of by placing her in some doorway. The child falls
-back on the step, and pretends to be asleep or half-frozen with the
-cold. Her naturally pale face gives her a half-starved look, which
-completes her pitiable appearance. Any gentleman passing by being
-charitably inclined may be imposed upon and induced to touch her on
-the shoulder. The child will move slowly and rub her eyes, and the
-man, thoroughly deceived, gives her an alms and passes on, when the
-little deceiver again composes herself to wait for the next chance.
-This occurred while I was looking on; but unfortunately for the child’s
-success the policeman on the beat happened to come up, and she made her
-retreat to a safer and more convenient locality.
-
-Many novelists, philanthropists, and newspaper writers have dwelt much
-upon the horrible character of a series of subterranean chambers or
-vaults in the vicinity of the Strand, called the Adelphi Arches. It is
-by no means even now understood that these arches are the most innocent
-and harmless places in London, whatever they might once have been. A
-policeman is on duty there at night, expressly to prevent persons who
-have no right or business there from descending into their recesses.
-
-They were probably erected in order to form a foundation for the
-Adelphi Terrace. Let us suppose there were then no wharves, and no
-embankments, consequently the tide must have ascended and gone inland
-some distance, rendering the ground marshy, swampy, and next to
-useless. The main arch is a very fine pile of masonry, something like
-the Box tunnel on a small scale, while the other, running here and
-there like the intricacies of catacombs, looks extremely ghostly and
-suggestive of Jack Sheppards, Blueskins, Jonathan Wilds, and others of
-the same kind, notwithstanding they are so well lighted with gas. There
-is a doorway at the end of a vault leading up towards the Strand, that
-has a peculiar tradition attached to it. Not so very many years ago
-this door was a back exit from a notorious coffee and gambling house,
-where parties were decoyed by thieves, blacklegs, or prostitutes, and
-swindled, then drugged, and subsequently thrown from this door into the
-darkness of what must have seemed to them another world, and were left,
-when they came to themselves, to find their way out as best they could.
-
-My attention was attracted, while in these arches, by the cries and
-exclamations of a woman near the river, and proceeding to the spot I
-saw a woman sitting on some steps, before what appeared to be a stable,
-engaged in a violent altercation with a man who was by profession a
-cab proprietor--several of his vehicles were lying about--and who, she
-vehemently asserted, was her husband. The man declared she was a common
-woman when he met her, and had since become the most drunken creature
-it was possible to meet with. The woman put her hand in her pocket and
-brandished something in his face, which she triumphantly said was her
-marriage-certificate. “That,” she cried, turning to me, “that’s what
-licks them. It don’t matter whether I was one of Lot’s daughters afore.
-I might have been awful, I don’t say I wasn’t, but I’m his wife, and
-this ’ere’s what licks ’em.”
-
-I left them indulging in elegant invectives, and interlarding their
-conversation with those polite and admirable metaphors that have
-gained so wide-spread a reputation for the famous women who sell fish
-in Billingsgate; and I was afterwards informed by a sympathising
-bystander, in the shape of a stable-boy, that the inevitable result of
-this conjugal altercation would be the incarceration of the woman, by
-the husband, in a horse-box, where she might undisturbed sleep off the
-effects of her potations, and repent the next day at her leisure. “Neo
-dulces amores sperne puer.”
-
-Several showily-dressed, if not actually well-attired women, who
-are to be found walking about the Haymarket, live in St. Giles’s
-and about Drury Lane. But the lowest class of women, who prostitute
-themselves for a shilling or less, are the most curious and remarkable
-class in this part. We have spoken of them before as growing grey in
-the exercise of their profession. One of them, a woman over forty,
-shabbily dressed, and with a disreputable, unprepossessing appearance,
-volunteered the following statement for a consideration of a spirituous
-nature.
-
-“Times is altered, sir, since I come on the town. I can remember
-when all the swells used to come down here-away, instead of going to
-the Market; but those times is past, they is, worse luck, but, like
-myself, nothing lasts for ever, although I’ve stood my share of wear
-and tear, I have. Years ago Fleet Street and the Strand, and Catherine
-Street, and all round there was famous for women and houses. Ah! those
-were the times. Wish they might come again, but wishing’s no use, it
-ain’t. It only makes one miserable a thinking of it. I come up from
-the country when I was quite a gal, not above sixteen I dessay. I come
-from Dorsetshire, near Lyme Regis, to see a aunt of mine. Father was a
-farmer in Dorset, but only in a small way--tenant farmer, as you would
-say. I was mighty pleased, you may swear, with London, and liked being
-out at night when I could get the chance. One night I went up the area
-and stood looking through the railing, when a man passed by, but seeing
-me he returned and spoke to me something about the weather. I, like a
-child, answered him unsuspectingly enough, and he went on talking about
-town and country, asking me, among other things, if I had long been
-in London, or if I was born there. I not thinking told him all about
-myself; and he went away apparently very much pleased with me, saying
-before he went that he was very glad to have made such an agreeable
-acquaintance, and if I would say nothing about it he would call for me
-about the same time, or a little earlier, if I liked, the next night,
-and take me out for a walk. I was, as you may well suppose, delighted,
-and never said a word. The next evening I met him as he appointed, and
-two or three times subsequently. One night we walked longer than usual,
-and I pressed him to return, as I feared my aunt would find me out;
-but he said he was so fatigued with walking so far, he would like to
-rest a little before he went back again; but if I was very anxious he
-would put me in a cab. Frightened about him, for I thought he might be
-ill, I preferred risking being found out; and when he proposed that
-we should go into some house and sit down I agreed. He said all at
-once, as if he had just remembered something, that a very old friend
-of his lived near there, and we couldn’t go to a better place, for
-she would give us everything we could wish. We found the door half
-open when we arrived. ‘How careless,’ said my friend, ‘to leave the
-street-door open, any one might get in.’ We entered without knocking,
-and seeing a door in the passage standing ajar we went in. My friend
-shook hands with an old lady who was talking to several girls dispersed
-over different parts of the room, who, she said, were her daughters.
-At this announcement some of them laughed, when she got very angry and
-ordered them out of the room. Somehow I didn’t like the place, and not
-feeling all right I asked to be put in a cab and sent home. My friend
-made no objection and a cab was sent for. He, however, pressed me to
-have something to drink before I started. I refused to touch any wine,
-so I asked for some coffee, which I drank. It made me feel very sleepy,
-so sleepy indeed that I begged to be allowed to sit down on the sofa.
-They accordingly placed me on the sofa, and advised me to rest a little
-while, promising, in order to allay my anxiety, to send a messenger to
-my aunt. Of course I was drugged, and so heavily I did not regain my
-consciousness till the next morning. I was horrified to discover that I
-had been ruined, and for some days I was inconsolable, and cried like a
-child to be killed or sent back to my aunt.
-
-“When I became quiet I received a visit from my seducer, in whom I had
-placed so much silly confidence. He talked very kindly to me, but I
-would not listen to him for some time. He came several times to see
-me, and at last said he would take me away if I liked, and give me a
-house of my own. Finally, finding how hopeless all was I agreed to his
-proposal, and he allowed me four pounds a week. This went on for some
-months, till he was tired of me, when he threw me over for some one
-else. There is always as good fish in the sea as ever came out of it,
-and this I soon discovered.
-
-“Then for some years--ten years, till I was six-and-twenty,--I went
-through all the changes of a gay lady’s life, and they’re not a few,
-I can tell you. I don’t leave off this sort of life because I’m in a
-manner used to it, and what could I do if I did? I’ve no character;
-I’ve never been used to do anything, and I don’t see what employment
-I stand a chance of getting. Then if I had to sit hours and hours all
-day long, and part of the night too, sewing or anything like that, I
-should get tired. It would worrit me so; never having been accustomed,
-you see, I couldn’t stand it. I lodge in Charles Street, Drury Lane,
-now. I did live in Nottingham Court once, and Earls Street. But, Lord,
-I’ve lived in a many places you wouldn’t think, and I don’t imagine
-you’d believe one half. I’m always a-chopping and a-changing like
-the wind as you may say. I pay half-a-crown a week for my bed-room;
-it’s clean and comfortable, good enough for such as me. I don’t think
-much of my way of life. You folks as has honour, and character, and
-feelings, and such, can’t understand how all that’s been beaten out
-of people like me. I don’t feel. _I’m used to it._ I did once, more
-especial when mother died. I heard on it through a friend of mine, who
-told me her last words was of me. I did cry and go on then ever so,
-but Lor’, where’s the good of fretting? I arn’t happy either. It isn’t
-happiness, but I get enough money to keep me in victuals and drink, and
-it’s the drink mostly that keeps me going. You’ve no idea how I look
-forward to my drop of gin. It’s everything to me. I don’t suppose I’ll
-live much longer, and that’s another thing that pleases me. I don’t
-want to live, and yet I don’t care enough about dying to make away with
-myself. I arn’t got that amount af feeling that some has, and that’s
-where it is I’m kinder ’fraid of it.”
-
-This woman’s tale is a condensation of the philosophy of sinning. The
-troubles she had gone through, and her experience of the world, had
-made her oblivious of the finer attributes of human nature, and she had
-become brutal.
-
-I spoke to another who had been converted at a Social Evil Meeting, but
-from a variety of causes driven back to the old way of living.
-
-The first part of her story offered nothing peculiar. She had been on
-the town for fifteen years, when a year or so ago she heard of the
-Midnight Meeting and Baptist Noel. She was induced from curiosity
-to attend; and her feelings being powerfully worked upon by the
-extraordinary scene, the surroundings, and the earnestness of the
-preacher, she accepted the offer held out to her, and was placed in a
-cab with some others, and conveyed to one of the numerous metropolitan
-homes, where she was taken care of for some weeks, and furnished with
-a small sum of money to return to her friends. When she arrived at
-her native village in Essex, she only found her father. Her mother
-was dead; her sister at service, and her two brothers had enlisted
-in the army. Her father was an old man, supported by the parish; so
-it was clear he could not support her. She had a few shillings left,
-with which she worked her way back to town, returned to her old haunts,
-renewed her acquaintance with her vicious companions, and resumed her
-old course of life.
-
-I don’t insert this recital as a reflection upon the refuges and homes,
-or mean to asperse the Midnight Meeting movement, which is worthy of
-all praise. On the contrary, I have much pleasure in alluding to the
-subject and acknowledging the success that has attended the efforts of
-the philanthropic gentlemen associated with the Rev. Mr. Baptist Noel.
-
-I have already described the condition of low and abandoned women in
-Spitalfields, Whitechapel, Wapping, and Shadwell, although I have not
-touched very closely upon those who cohabit with thieves and other
-desperate characters, whose daily means of obtaining a livelihood
-exposes them to the penalties the law inflicts upon those who infringe
-its provisions. Their mode of living, the houses they inhabit, and the
-way in which they pass their time, does not very materially differ from
-that of other prostitutes, with this exception, they are not obliged to
-frequent casinos, dancing-rooms, and other places of popular resort,
-to make acquaintances that may be of service to them in a pecuniary
-way, although they do make use of such places for the purposes of
-robbery and fraud. Some women of tolerably good repute--that is, who
-are regarded as knowing a good set of men, who have admission to the
-night-houses in Panton Street and the Haymarket--I am informed, are
-connected with thieves. The night-houses and supper-rooms in the
-neighbourhood of the Haymarket are for the most part in the hands of a
-family of Jews. Kate Hamilton’s in Princes Street, Leicester Square,
-belongs to one of this family. She is given a per centage on all the
-wine that she sells during the course of the evening, and as she
-charges twelve shillings a bottle for Moselle and sparkling wines, it
-may readily be supposed that her profits are by no means despicable.
-Lizzie Davis’s, Sams’s, Sally’s, and, I believe, the Carlton, also
-belong to this family. One of these Jews, I am told, was some few
-years back imprisoned for two years on a charge of manslaughter. He
-was proprietor of a brothel in the vicinity of Drury Lane, and the
-manslaughter occurred through his instrumentality on the premises.
-I have been informed by the police that some of the proprietors of
-these night-houses are well-known receivers of stolen goods, and
-the assertion is easily credible. To exemplify this I will relate a
-story told me by a sergeant of the H division. Some two years ago a
-robbery was committed by a “snoozer,” or one of those thieves who
-take up their quarters at hotels for the purpose of robbery. The
-robbery was committed at an hotel in Chester. The thief was captured,
-and the Recorder sentenced him to be imprisoned. This man was a
-notorious thief, and went under the _soubriquet_ of American Jack.
-He was said to have once been in a very different position. He was
-polished in his manners, and highly accomplished. He could speak
-three or four languages with facility, and was a most formidable and
-dexterous thief, causing much apprehension and trouble to the police.
-After being incarcerated for a few weeks he contrived in a clever
-manner to make his escape from one of the London prisons; it was
-supposed by the connivance of his gaolers, who were alleged to have
-been bribed by his friends without. Be this as it may, he effected
-his liberation, and was successfully concealed in London until the
-hue and cry was over, and then shipped off to Paris. But the night
-after he escaped he perpetrated the most audacious robbery. He was
-dressed by his friends, and having changed his prison attire went to
-B---- Hotel, a well-known place, not far from the Freemasons Tavern,
-where, singularly enough, the Recorder of Chester, who had sentenced
-him, chanced to be staying. American Jack had the presumption to
-enter into conversation with the Recorder, who fancied he had seen
-his face before, but could not recollect where. The visitors had not
-long retired to bed before American Jack commenced operations. He was
-furnished by his accomplice with a highly-finished instrument for
-housebreaking, which, when inserted in the lock, would pass through and
-grasp the key on the inside. This done, it was easy to turn the key
-and open the door. The thief actually broke into sixteen or seventeen
-rooms that night, and made his exit before daybreak loaded with booty
-of every description. The proprietors of the hotel would offer no
-reward, as they feared publicity. The Recorder of Chester, when the
-robbery was discovered, remembered that the person he had conversed
-with the night before was the man he had convicted and sentenced at
-the assizes. He repaired to Bow Street with his information, and the
-police were put on the scent; but it is well known if no reward is
-offered for the apprehension of an eminent criminal the police are not
-so active as they are when they have a monetary inducement to incite
-them to action. It was imagined that American Jack had taken refuge
-with his friends near the Haymarket. A waiter who had been discharged
-from one of the night-houses was known slightly to a sergeant of
-police, who interrogated him on the subject. This waiter confessed
-that he could point out the whereabouts of the thief, and would do so
-for twenty pounds, which reward no one concerned in the matter would
-offer; and, as I have already stated, the criminal soon after made
-his escape to Paris, where he continued to carry on his depredations
-with considerable skill, until one day he mixed himself up in a great
-jewel robbery, and was apprehended by the _gensdarmes_, and sent to the
-galleys for some time, where he is now languishing.
-
-This little history is suggestive--why should not Parliament vote every
-year a small sum of money to form a “Detective and Inquiry Fund,” from
-which the Commissioners of Police at Whitehall and Old Jewry might
-offer rewards for the capture of offenders? Some spur and inducement
-surely might be given to our detectives, who take a great deal of
-trouble, and, if unsuccessful, are almost always out of pocket through
-their researches.
-
-Cannot Sir Richard Mayne and Mr. Daniel Whittle Harvey improve on this
-idea?
-
-The police enter the night-houses every evening to see if spirits are
-sold on the premises; but as there are bullies at all the doors, and
-a code of signals admirably concerted to convey intelligence of the
-approach of the officers to those within, everything is carefully
-concealed, and the police are at fault. They might if they chose detect
-the practices they very well know are commonly carried on; but they
-either are not empowered to go to extremities, or else they do not find
-it their interest so to do. I have heard, I know not with what truth,
-that large sums of money are paid to the police to insure their silence
-and compliance; but until this is established it must be received
-with hesitation, though circumstances do occur that seem strongly to
-corroborate such suspicions. The women who cohabit with thieves are
-not necessarily thieves themselves, although such is often the case.
-Most pickpockets make their women accomplices in their misdeeds,
-because they find their assistance so valuable to them, and indeed
-for some species of theft almost indispensable. There are numbers
-of young thieves on the other side of the water, and almost all of
-them cohabit with some girl or other. The depravity of our juvenile
-thieves is a singular feature in their character. It is not exactly
-a custom that they follow, but rather an inherent depravity on their
-part. They prefer an idle luxurious life, though one also of ignominy
-and systematic dishonour, to one of honesty and labour; and this is
-the cause of their malpractices, perhaps inculcated at first by the
-force of evil example and bad bringing up, and invigorated every day by
-independence brought about by the liberty allowed them, the consequence
-of parental neglect.
-
-It is of course difficult to give the stories of any of these women,
-as they would only criminate themselves disagreeably by confessing
-their delinquencies; and it is not easy to pitch upon a thieves’ woman
-without she is pointed out by the police, and even then she would deny
-the imputation indignantly.
-
-
-_Park Women, or those who frequent the Parks at night and other retired
-places._
-
-Park women, properly so called, are those degraded creatures, utterly
-lost to all sense of shame, who wander about the paths most frequented
-after nightfall in the Parks, and consent to any species of humiliation
-for the sake of acquiring a few shillings. You may meet them in Hyde
-Park, between the hours of five and ten (till the gates are closed)
-in winter. In the Green Park, in what is called the Mall, which is a
-nocturnal thoroughfare, you may see these low wretches walking about
-sometimes with men, more generally alone, often early in the morning.
-They are to be seen reclining on the benches placed under the trees,
-originally intended, no doubt, for a different purpose, occasionally
-with the head of a drunken man reposing in their lap. These women are
-well known to give themselves up to disgusting practices, that are
-alone gratifying to men of morbid and diseased imaginations. They
-are old, unsound, and by their appearance utterly incapacitated from
-practising their profession where the gas-lamps would expose the
-defects in their personal appearance, and the shabbiness of their
-ancient and dilapidated attire. I was told that an old woman, whose
-front teeth were absolutely wanting, was known to obtain a precarious
-livelihood by haunting the by-walks of Hyde Park, near Park Lane. The
-unfortunate women that form this despicable class have in some cases
-been well off, and have been reduced to their present condition by
-a variety of circumstances, among which are intemperance, and the
-vicissitudes natural to their vocation. I questioned one who was in the
-humour to be communicative, and she gave the subjoined replies to my
-questions:--
-
-“I have not always been what I now am. Twenty years ago I was in a
-very different position. Then, although, it may seem ludicrous to
-you, who see me as I now am, I was comparatively well off. If I were
-to tell you my history it would be so romantic you would not believe
-it. If I employ a little time in telling you, will you reward me for
-my trouble, as I shall be losing my time in talking to you? I am not
-actuated by mercenary motives exactly in making this request, but my
-time is my money, and I cannot afford to lose either one or the other.
-Well, then, I am the daughter of a curate in Gloucestershire. I was
-never at school, but my mother educated me at home. I had one brother
-who entered the Church. When I was old enough I saw that the limited
-resources of my parents would not allow them to maintain me at home
-without seriously impairing their resources, and I proposed that I
-should go out as a governess. At first they would not hear of it; but I
-persisted in my determination, and eventually obtained a situation in
-a family in town. Then I was very pretty. I may say so without vanity
-or ostentation, for I had many admirers, among whom I numbered the only
-son of the people in whose house I lived. I was engaged to teach his
-two sisters, and altogether I gave great satisfaction to the family.
-The girls were amiable and tractable, and I soon acquired an influence
-over their generous dispositions that afforded great facilities for
-getting them on in their studies. My life might have been very happy
-if an unfortunate attachment to me had not sprung up in the young man
-that I have before mentioned, which attachment I can never sufficiently
-regret was reciprocated by myself.
-
-“I battled against the impulse that constrained me to love him, but
-all my efforts were of no avail. He promised to marry me, which in
-an evil hour I agreed to. He had a mock ceremony performed by his
-footman, and I went into lodgings that he had taken for me in Gower
-Street, Tottenham Court Road. He used to visit me very frequently
-for the ensuing six months, and we lived together as man and wife.
-At the expiration of that time he took me to the sea-side, and we
-subsequently travelled on the Continent. We were at Baden when we
-heard of his father’s death. This didn’t trouble him much. He did not
-even go to England to attend the funeral, for he had by his conduct
-offended his father, and estranged himself from the remainder of his
-family. Soon letters came from a solicitor informing him that the
-provisions of the will discontinued the allowance of five hundred a
-year hitherto made to him, and left him a small sum of money sufficient
-to buy himself a commission in the army, if he chose to do so. This
-course he was strongly advised to take, for it was urged that he might
-support himself on his pay if he volunteered for foreign service. He
-was transported with rage when this communication reached him, and he
-immediately wrote for the legacy he was entitled to, which arrived in
-due course. That evening he went to the gaming table, and lost every
-farthing he had in the world. The next morning he was a corpse. His
-remains were found in a secluded part of the town, he having in a fit
-of desperation blown his brains out with a pistol. He had evidently
-resolved to take this step before he left me, if he should happen to be
-unfortunate, for he left a letter in the hands of our landlady to be
-delivered to me in the event of his not returning in the morning. It
-was full of protestations of affection for me, and concluded with an
-avowal of the fraud he had practised towards me when our acquaintance
-was first formed, which he endeavoured to excuse by stating his
-objections to be hampered or fettered by legal impediments.
-
-“When I read this, I somewhat doubted the intensity of the affection
-he paraded in his letter. I had no doubt about the fervour of my own
-passion, and for some time I was inconsolable. At length, I was roused
-to a sense of my desolate position, and to the necessity for action,
-by the solicitations and importunity of my landlady, and I sold the
-better part of my wardrobe to obtain sufficient money to pay my bills,
-and return to England. But fate ordered things in a different manner.
-Several of my husband’s friends came to condole with me on his untimely
-decease; among whom was a young officer of considerable personal
-attractions, who I had often thought I should have liked to love, if
-I had not been married to my friend’s husband. It was this man who
-caused me to take the second fatal step I have made in my life. If I
-had only gone home, my friends might have forgiven everything. I felt
-they would, and my pride did not stand in my way, for I would gladly
-have asked and obtained their forgiveness for a fault in reality very
-venial, when the circumstances under which it was committed are taken
-into consideration.
-
-“Or I might have represented the facts to the family; and while
-the mother mourned the death of her son, she must have felt some
-commiseration for myself.
-
-“The officer asked me to live with him, and made the prospect he held
-out to me so glittering and fascinating that I yielded. He declared
-he would marry me with pleasure on the spot, but he would forfeit a
-large sum of money, that he must inherit in a few years if he remained
-single, and it would be folly not to wait until then. I have forgotten
-to mention that I had not any children. My constitution being very
-delicate, my child was born dead, which was a sad blow to me, although
-it did not seem to affect the man I regarded as my husband. We soon
-left Baden and returned to London, where I lived for a month very
-happily with my paramour, who was not separated from me, as his leave
-of absence had not expired. When that event occurred he reluctantly
-left me to go to Limerick, where his regiment was quartered. There
-in all probability he formed a fresh acquaintance, for he wrote to
-me in about a fortnight, saying that a separation must take place
-between us, for reasons that he was not at liberty to apprise me of,
-and he enclosed a cheque for fifty pounds, which he hoped would pay my
-expences. It was too late now to go home, and I was driven to a life
-of prostitution, not because I had a liking for it, but as a means of
-getting enough money to live upon. For ten years I lived first with one
-man then with another, until at last I was infected with a disease,
-of which I did not know the evil effects if neglected. The disastrous
-consequence of that neglect is only too apparent now. You will be
-disgusted, when I tell you that it attacked my face, and ruined my
-features to such an extent that I am hideous to look upon, and should
-be noticed by no one if I frequented those places where women of my
-class most congregate; indeed, I should be driven away with curses and
-execrations.”
-
-This recital is melancholy in the extreme. Here was a woman endowed
-with a very fair amount of education, speaking in a superior manner,
-making use of words that very few in her position would know how to
-employ, reduced by a variety of circumstances to the very bottom of a
-prostitute’s career. In reply to my further questioning, she said she
-lived in a small place in Westminster called Perkins’ Rents, where for
-one room she paid two shillings a week. The Rents were in Westminster,
-not far from Palace-yard. She was obliged to have recourse to her
-present way of living to exist; for she would not go to the workhouse,
-and she could get no work to do. She could sew, and she could paint in
-water-colours, but she was afraid to be alone. She could not sit hours
-and hours by herself, her thoughts distracted her, and drove her mad.
-She added, she once thought of turning Roman Catholic, and getting
-admitted into a convent, where she might make atonement for her way of
-living by devoting the remainder of her life to penitence, but she was
-afraid she had gone too far to be forgiven. That was some time ago. Now
-she did not think she would live long, she had injured her constitution
-so greatly; she had some internal disease, she didn’t know what it was,
-but a hospital surgeon told her it would kill her in time, and she had
-her moments, generally hours, of oblivion, when she was intoxicated,
-which she always was when she could get a chance. If she got ten
-shillings from a drunken man, either by persuasion or threats, and she
-was not scrupulous in the employment of the latter, she would not come
-to the Park for days, until all her money was spent; on an average,
-she came three times a week, or perhaps twice; always on Sunday, which
-was a good day. She knew all about the Refuges. She had been in one
-once, but she didn’t like the system; there wasn’t enough liberty, and
-too much preaching, and that sort of thing; and then they couldn’t
-keep her there always; so they didn’t know what to do with her. No one
-would take her into their service, because they didn’t like to look at
-her face, which presented so dreadful an appearance that it frightened
-people. She always wore a long thick veil, that concealed her features,
-and made her interesting to the unsuspicious and unwise. I gave her
-the money I promised her, and advised her again to enter a Refuge,
-which she refused to do, saying she could not live long, and she would
-rather die as she was. As I had no power to compel her to change her
-determination, I left her, lamenting her hardihood and obstinacy. I
-felt that she soon would be--
-
- “One more unfortunate,
- Weary of breath,
- Rashly importunate,
- Gone to her death.”
-
-In the course of my peregrinations I met another woman, commonly
-dressed in old and worn-out clothes; her face was ugly and mature; she
-was perhaps on the shady side of forty. She was also perambulating
-the Mall. I knew she could only be there for one purpose, and I
-interrogated her, and I believe she answered my queries faithfully. She
-said:--
-
-“I have a husband, and seven small children, the eldest not yet able to
-do much more than cadge a penny or so by cater-wheeling and tumbling
-in the street for the amusement of gents as rides outside ’busses. My
-husband’s bedridden, and can’t do nothink but give the babies a dose of
-‘Mother’s Blessing’ (that’s laudanum, sir, or some sich stuff) to sleep
-’em when they’s squally. So I goes out begging all day, and I takes
-in general one of the kids in my arms and one as runs by me, and we
-sell hartifishal flowers, leastways ’olds ’em in our ’ands, and makes
-believe cos of the police, as is nasty so be as you ’as nothink soever,
-and I comes hout in the Parks, sir, at night sometimes when I’ve ’ad a
-bad day, and ain’t made above a few pence, which ain’t enough to keep
-us as we should be kep. I mean, sir, the children should have a bit of
-meat, and my ole man and me wants some blue ruin to keep our spirits
-up; so I’se druv to it, sir, by poverty, and nothink on the face of
-God’s blessed earth, sir, shou’dn’t have druv me but that for the poor
-babes must live, and who ’as they to look to but their ’ard-working but
-misfortunate mother, which she is now talking to your honour, and won’t
-yer give a poor woman a hap’ny, sir? I’ve seven small children at home,
-and my ’usban’s laid with the fever. You won’t miss it, yer honour,
-only a ’apny for a poor woman as ain’t ’ad a bit of bread between
-her teeth since yesty morning. I ax yer parding,” she exclaimed,
-interrupting herself--“I forgot I was talking to yourself. I’s so used
-though to this way of speaking when I meant to ax you for summut I
-broke off into the old slang, but yer honour knows what I mean: ain’t
-yer got even a little sixpence to rejoice the heart of the widow?”
-
-“You call yourself a widow now,” I said, “while before you said you
-were married and had seven children. Which are you?”
-
-“Which am I? The first I toll you’s the true. But Lor’, I’s up to
-so many dodges I gets what you may call confounded; sometimes I’s
-a widder, and wants me ’art rejoiced with a copper, and then I’s a
-hindustrious needle-woman thrown out of work and going to be druv into
-the streets if I don’t get summut to do. Sometimes I makes a lot of
-money by being a poor old cripple as broke her arm in a factory, by
-being blowed hup when a steam-engine blowed herself hup, and I bandage
-my arm and swell it out hawful big, and when I gets home, we gets in
-some lush and ’as some frens, and goes in for a reglar blow-hout, and
-now as I have told yer honour hall about it, won’t yer give us an ’apny
-as I observe before?”
-
-It is very proper that the Parks should be closed at an early hour,
-when such creatures as I have been describing exist and practise their
-iniquities so unblushingly. One only gets at the depravity of mankind
-by searching below the surface of society; and for certain purposes
-such knowledge and information are useful and beneficial to the
-community. Therefore the philanthropist must overcome his repugnance
-to the task, and draw back the veil that is thinly spread over the
-skeleton.
-
-
-THE DEPENDANTS OF PROSTITUTES.
-
-Having described the habits, &c., of different classes of prostitutes,
-I now come to those who are intimately connected with, and dependant
-upon, them. This is a very numerous class, and includes “Bawds,” or
-those who keep brothels, the followers of dress lodgers, keepers of
-accommodation houses, procuresses, pimps, and panders, fancy men, and
-bullies.
-
-_Bawds._--The first head in our classification is “Bawds.” They may
-be either men or women. More frequently they are the latter, though
-any one who keeps an immoral house, or bawdy-house, as it is more
-commonly called, is liable to that designation. Bawdy-houses are of
-two kinds. They may be either houses of accommodation, or houses in
-which women lodge, are boarded, clothed, &c., and the proceeds of whose
-prostitution goes into the pocket of the bawd herself, who makes a very
-handsome income generally by their shame.
-
-We cannot have a better example of this sort of thing than the
-bawdy-houses in King’s Place, St. James’s, a narrow passage leading
-from Pall Mall opposite the “Guards Club” into King Street, not far
-from the St. James’s theatre. These are both houses of accommodation
-and brothels proper. Men may take their women there, and pay so much
-for a room and temporary accommodation, or they may be supplied with
-women who live in the house. The unfortunate creatures who live in
-these houses are completely in the power of the bawds, who grow fat
-on their prostitution. When they first came to town perhaps they were
-strangers, and didn’t know a soul in the place, and even now they would
-have nowhere to go to if they were able to make their escape, which is
-a very difficult thing to accomplish, considering they are vigilantly
-looked after night and day. They have nothing fit to walk about the
-streets in. They are often in bed all day, and at night dressed up in
-tawdry ball costumes. If they ever do go out on business, they are
-carefully watched by one of the servants: they generally end when their
-charms are faded by being servants of bawds and prostitutes, or else
-watchers, or perhaps both.
-
-There are houses in Oxendon Street too, where women are kept in this
-way.
-
-A victim of this disgraceful practice told me she was entrapped when
-she was sixteen years old, and prostituted for some time to old men,
-who paid a high price for the enjoyment of her person.
-
-“I was born at Matlock in Derbyshire,” she began; “father was a
-stonecutter, and I worked in the shop, polishing the blocks and things,
-and in the spring of ’51 we heard of the Great Exhibition. I wished
-very much to go to London, and see the fine shops and that, and father
-wrote to an aunt of mine, who lived in London, to know if I might come
-and stay a week or two with her to see the Exhibition. In a few days
-a letter came back, saying she would be glad to give me a room for
-two or three weeks and go about with me. Father couldn’t come with me
-because of his business, and I went alone. When I arrived, aunt had
-a very bad cold, and couldn’t get out of bed. Of course, I wanted to
-go about and see things, for though I didn’t believe the streets were
-paved with gold, I was very anxious to see the shops and places I’d
-heard so much about. Aunt said when she was better she’d take me, but
-I was so restless I would go by myself. I said nothing to aunt about
-it, and stole out one evening. I wandered about for some time, very
-much pleased with the novelty. The crowds of people, the flaring gas
-jets, and everything else, all was so strange and new, I was delighted.
-At last I lost myself, and got into some streets ever so much darker
-and quieter. I saw one door in the middle of the street open, that is
-standing a-jar. Thinking no harm, I knocked, and hearing no sound, and
-getting no answer, I knocked louder, when some one came and instantly
-admitted me, without saying a word. I asked her innocently enough where
-I was, and if she would tell me the way to Bank Place. I didn’t know
-where Bank Place was, whether it was in Lambeth, or Kensington, or
-Hammersmith, or where; but I have since heard it is in Kensington. The
-woman who let me in, and to whom I addressed my questions, laughed at
-this, and said, ‘Oh! yes, I wasn’t born yesterday.’ But I repeated,
-‘Where am I, and what am I to do?’
-
-“She told me to ‘ax,’ and said she’d heard that before.
-
-“I suppose I ought to tell you, before I go further,” she explained,
-“that ‘ax’ meant ask, or find out.
-
-“Just then a door opened, and an old woman came out of a room which
-seemed to me to be the parlour. ‘Come in, my dear,’ she exclaimed, ‘and
-sit down.’ I followed her into the room, and she pulled out a bottle
-of gin, asking me if I would have a drop of something short, while she
-poured out some, which I was too frightened to refuse. She said, ‘I
-likes to be jolly myself and see others so. I’m getting on now. Ain’t
-what I was once. But as I says I likes to be jolly, and I always is. A
-old fiddle, you know, makes the best music.
-
-“‘Market full, my dear,’ she added, pushing the wine-glass of gin
-towards me. ‘Ah! I s’pose not yet; too arly, so it is. I’s glad you’ve
-dropped in to see a body. I’ve noticed your face lots of times, but
-I thought you was one of Lotty’s girls, and wouldn’t condescend to
-come so far up the street, though, why one part should be better nor
-another, I’m sure, I can’t make out.’
-
-“‘Really you must make a mistake,’ I interposed. ‘I am quite a stranger
-in London; indeed I have only been three days in town. The fact is, I
-lost myself this evening, and seeing your door open, I thought I would
-come in and ask the way.’
-
-“Whilst I was saying this, the old woman listened attentively. She
-seemed to drink in every word of my explanation, and a great change
-came over her features.
-
-“‘Well, pet,’ she replied, ‘I’m glad you’ve come to my house. You must
-excuse my taking you for some one else; but you are so like a gal I
-knows, one Polly Gay, I couldn’t help mistaking you. Where are you
-staying?’
-
-“I told her I was staying with my aunt in Bank Place.
-
-“‘Oh! really,’ she exclaimed; ‘well, that is fortunate, ’pon my word,
-that is lucky. I’m gladder than ever now you came to my shop--I mean
-my house--cos I knows your aunt very well. Me an’ ’er’s great frens,
-leastways was, though I haven’t seen her for six months come next
-Christmas. Is she’s took bad, is she? Ah! well, it’s the weather, or
-somethink, that’s what it is; we’re all ill sometimes; and what is
-it as is the matter with her? Influenzy, is it? Now, Lor’ bless us,
-the influenzy! Well, you’ll stay with me to-night; you’s ever so far
-from your place. Don’t say No; you must, my dear, and we’ll go down to
-aunt’s to-morrow morning arly; she’ll be glad to see me, I know. She
-always was fond of her old friends.’
-
-“At first I protested and held out, but at last I gave in to her
-persuasion, fully believing all she told me. She talked about my
-father, said she hadn’t the pleasure of knowing him personally, but
-she’d often heard of him, and hoped he was quite well, more especially
-as it left her at that time. Presently she asked if I wasn’t tired, and
-said she’d show me a room up-stairs where I should sleep comfortable no
-end. When I was undressed and in bed, she brought me a glass of gin and
-water hot, which she called a night-cap, and said would do me good. I
-drank this at her solicitation, and soon fell into a sound slumber. The
-‘night-cap’ was evidently drugged, and during my state of insensibility
-my ruin was accomplished. The next day I was wretchedly ill and weak,
-but I need not tell you what followed. My prayers and entreaties were
-of no good, and I in a few days became this woman’s slave, and have
-remained so ever since; though, as she has more than one house, I am
-occasionally shifted from one to the other. The reason of this is very
-simple. Suppose the bawd has a house in St. James’s and one in Portland
-Place. When I am known to the habitués of St. James’s, I am sent as
-something new to Portland Place, and so on.”
-
-If I were to expatiate for pages on bawds, I don’t think I could give
-a better idea than this affords. Their characteristics are selfishness
-and avariciousness, combined with want of principle and the most
-unblushing effrontery.
-
- * * * * *
-
-_Followers of Dress-Lodgers._--I have spoken before of dress-lodgers,
-and I now come to those women who are employed by the keepers of the
-brothels in which the dress-lodgers live, to follow them when they are
-sent into the streets to pick up men. They are not numerous. They are
-only seen in the Strand and about the National Gallery. This species
-of vice is much magnified by people who have vivid imaginations. It
-might have assumed larger dimensions, but at the present time it has
-very much decreased. They follow the dress-lodgers for various reasons,
-which I have mentioned already. For the sake of perspicuity and
-putting things in their proper sequence, I may be excused for briefly
-recapitulating them. If they were not closely watched, they might,
-imprimis, make their escape with all the finery they have about them,
-which of course they would speedily dispose of for its market value
-to the highest-bidding Jew, and then take lodgings and set up on their
-own account. These unfortunate dress-lodgers are profoundly ignorant of
-the English law. If they were better acquainted with its provisions,
-they would know very well that the bawds would have no legal claim
-against them for money, board, or clothes, for if the bawds could
-prove any consideration, it would be an immoral one, and consequently
-bad in law. But the poor creatures think they are completely in the
-wretch’s power, and dare not move hand or foot, or call their _hair_
-their own. Instances have been known of bawds cutting off the hair of
-their lodgers when it became long, and selling it if it was fine and
-beautiful for thirty shillings and two pounds.
-
-There is a dress-lodger who perambulates the Strand every night, from
-nine, or before that even, till twelve or one, who is followed by the
-inseparable old hag who keeps guard over her to prevent her going into
-public-houses and wasting her time and money, which is the second
-reason for her being watched, and to see that she does not give her
-custom to some other bawdy-house, which is the third reason.
-
-This follower is a woman of fifty, with grey hair, and all the
-peculiarities of old women, among which is included a fondness for gin,
-which weakness was mainly instrumental in enabling me to obtain from
-her what I know about herself and her class. She wore no crinoline, and
-a dirty cotton dress. Her bonnet was made of straw, with a bit of faded
-ribbon over it by way of trimming, fully as shabby and discreditable as
-the straw itself.
-
-She told me by fits and starts, and by dint of cross questioning, the
-subjoined particulars.
-
-“They call me ‘Old Stock;’ why I shan’t tell you, though I might easy,
-and make you laugh too, without telling no lies; but it ain’t no matter
-of your’n, so we’ll let it be. They do say I’m a bit cracky, but that’s
-all my eye. I’m a drunken old b---- if you like, but nothing worser
-than that. I was once the swellest woman about town, but I’m come down
-awful. And yet it ain’t awful. I sometimes tries to think it is, but I
-can’t make it so. If I did think it awful I shouldn’t be here now; I
-couldn’t stand it. But the fact is life’s sweet, and I don’t care how
-you live. It’s as sweet to the w----, as it is to the hempress, and
-mebbe it’s as sweet to me as it is to you. Yes, I was well known about
-some years ago, and I ain’t got bad features now, if it wasn’t for the
-wrinkles and the skin, which is more parchmenty than anything else, but
-that’s all along of the drink. I get nothing in money for following
-this girl about, barring a shilling or so when I ask for it to get
-some liquor. They give me my grub and a bed, in return for which in
-the day-time I looks after the house, when I ain’t drunk, and sweeps,
-and does the place up, and all that. Time was when I had a house of my
-own, and lots of servants, and heaps of men sighing and dying for me,
-but now my good looks are gone, and I am what you see me. Many of the
-finest women, if they have strong constitutions, and can survive the
-continual racket, and the wear and tear of knocking about town, go on
-like fools without making any provision for themselves, and without
-marrying, until they come to the bad. They are either servants, or what
-I am, or if they get a little money given them by men, they set up as
-bawdy-house-keepers. I wish to God I had, but I don’t feel what I am.
-I’m past that ever so long, and if you give me half a crown, or five
-bob, presently, you’ll make me jolly for a week. Talking of giving a
-woman five bob reminds me of having fivers (5_l._ notes) given me.
-I can remember the time when I would take nothing but paper; always
-tissue, nothing under a flimsy. Ah! gay women see strange changes;
-wonderful ups and downs, I can tell you. We, that is me and Lizzie, the
-girl I’m watching, came out to night at nine. It’s twelve now, ain’t
-it? Well; what do ye think we’ve done? We have taken three men home,
-and Lizzie, who is a clever little devil, got two pound five out of
-them for herself, which ain’t bad at all. I shall get something when we
-get back. We ain’t always so lucky. Some nights we go about and don’t
-hook a soul. Lizzie paints a bit too much for decent young fellows
-who’ve got lots of money. They aren’t our little game. We go in more
-for tradesmen, shop-boys, commercial travellers, and that sort, and men
-who are a little screwy, and although we musn’t mention it, we hooks a
-white choker now and then, coming from Exeter Hall. Medical students
-are sometimes sweet on Lizzie, but we ain’t in much favour with the
-Bar. Oh! I know what a man is directly he opens his mouth. Dress too
-has a great deal to do with what a man is--tells you his position
-in life as it were. ‘Meds’ ain’t good for much; they’re larky young
-blokes, but they’ve never much money, and they’re fond of dollymopping.
-But talk of dollymopping--lawyers are the fellows for that. Those
-chambers in the Inns of Court are the ruin of many a girl. And they
-are so convenient for bilking, you’ve no idea. There isn’t a good woman
-in London who’d go with a man to the Temple, not one. You go to Kate’s,
-and take a woman out, put her in a cab, and say you were going to take
-her to either of the Temples, which are respectable and decent places
-when compared to the other inns which are not properly Inns of Court,
-except Gray’s Inn and Lincoln’s Inn, and she’d cry off directly. I mean
-Barnard’s Inn, and Thavies’ Inn, and New Inn, and Clement’s Inn, and
-all those. I’ve been at this sort of work for six or seven years, and I
-suppose I’ll die at it. I don’t care if I do. It suits me. I’m good for
-nothing else.”
-
-I gave her some money in return for her story, and wished her good
-night. What she says about women who have once been what is called
-“swell,” coming down to the sort of thing I have been describing,
-is perfectly true. They have most of them been well-known and much
-admired in their time; but every dog has its day. They have had theirs,
-and neglected to make hay while the sun was shining. Almost all the
-servants of bawds and prostitutes have fallen as it were from their
-high estate into the slough of degradation and comparative despair.
-
-As I have before stated, there are very few dress-lodgers now who
-solicit in the streets, and naturally few followers of dress-lodgers
-whose condition does not afford anything very striking or peculiar,
-except as evidencing the vicissitudes of a prostitute’s career, and the
-end that very many of them arrive at.
-
- * * * * *
-
-_Keepers of Accommodation Houses._--Those who gain their living by
-keeping accommodation houses, or what the French call _maisons de
-passé_, are of course to be placed in the category of the people who
-are dependant on prostitutes, without whose patronage they would lose
-their only means of support.
-
-When you speak of bawds you in a great measure describe this class
-also, for their avocations are the same, and the system they exist
-upon very similar. The bawds keep women in their houses, and the
-others let out their rooms to chance comers, and any one who chooses
-to take them. The keepers are generally worn-out prostitutes, who have
-survived their good looks and settled down, as a means of gaining a
-livelihood; in Oxenden Street and similar places an enormous amount of
-money is made by these people. The usual charge for rooms of course
-varies according to the height and the size of the room engaged. A
-first-floor room is worth seven or ten shillings, then the rooms on the
-second-floor are five shillings, and three shillings, and so on. The
-average gains of keepers of accommodation houses in Oxenden Street and
-James Street, Haymarket, are from two pounds to ten pounds a night;
-the amount depending a good deal on the popularity of the house, its
-connection with women, its notoriety amongst men, and its situation.
-More money is made by bawdy-house keepers, but then the expenses are
-greater. A story is told of a celebrated woman who kept a house of
-ill-fame in the neighbourhood of May Fair. The several inmates of her
-establishment were dilatory on one occasion, and she gave vent to her
-anger and disappointment by exclaiming, “Twelve o’clock striking. The
-house full of noblemen, and not a ---- girl painted yet.” I introduce
-this anecdote merely to exemplify what I have been advancing, namely,
-that the best brothels in London, such as Mrs. C--’s in Curzon Street,
-and others that I could mention, are frequented by men who have plenty
-of money at their command, and spend it freely.
-
-A Mrs. J--, who kept a house in James Street, Haymarket, where
-temporary accommodation could be obtained by girls and their paramours,
-made a very large sum of money by her house, and some time ago bought a
-house somewhere near Camberwell with her five-shilling pieces which she
-had the questionable taste to call “Dollar House.” A woman who kept a
-house in one of the small streets near the Marylebone Road told me she
-could afford to let her rooms to her customers for eighteen pence for a
-short time, and three and sixpence for all night, and she declared she
-made money by it, as she had a good many of the low New Road women, and
-some of those who infest the Edgware Road, as well as several servants
-and dress-makers, who came with their associates. She added, she was
-saving up money to buy the house from her landlord, who at present
-charged her an exorbitant rent, as he well knew she could not now
-resist his extortionate demands. If he refused to sell it, she should
-go lower down in the same street, for she was determined before long to
-be independant.
-
-When we come to touch upon clandestine prostitution we shall have
-occasion to condemn these houses in no measured terms, for they
-offer very great facilities for the illicit intercourse of the not
-yet completely depraved portion of the sexes, such as sempstresses,
-milliners, servant girls, etc., etc., who only prostitute themselves
-occasionally to men they are well acquainted with, for whom they may
-have some sort of a partiality--women who do not lower themselves in
-the social scale for money, but for their own gratification. They
-become, however, too frequently insensibly depraved, and go on from
-bad to worse, till nothing but the _pavé_ is before them. The ruin of
-many girls is commenced by reading the low trashy wishy-washy cheap
-publications that the news-shops are now gorged with, and by devouring
-the hastily-written, immoral, stereotyped tales about the sensualities
-of the upper classes, the lust of the aristocracy, and the affection
-that men about town--noble lords, illustrious dukes, and even princes
-of the blood--are in the habit of imbibing for maidens of low degree
-“whose face is their fortune,” shop girls--dressmakers--very often
-dressmakers and the rest of the tribe who may perhaps feel flattered by
-reading about absurd impossibilities that their untutored and romantic
-imaginations suggest may, during the course of a life of adventure,
-happen to themselves. Well, they wait day after day, and year after
-year for the duke or the prince of the blood, perfectly ready to
-surrender their virtue when it is asked for, until they open their
-eyes, regard the duke and the prince of the blood as apocryphal or
-engaged to somebody else more fortunate than themselves, and begin to
-look a little lower, and favourably receive the immodest addresses of a
-counter-jumper, or a city clerk, or failing those a ruffianly pot-boy
-may realize their dreams of the ideal; at all events, they are already
-demoralized by the trash that has corrupted their minds, and perfectly
-willing at the first solicitation to put money into the pockets of the
-keepers of accommodation houses.
-
- * * * * *
-
-_Procuresses, Pimps, and Panders._--Procuresses are women who in most
-cases possess houses of their own, where they procure girls for men
-who employ them. These establishments are called “Introducing Houses,”
-and are extremely lucrative to the proprietors. There are also men
-who go about for these people, finding out girls, and bringing them
-to the houses, where they may meet with men. The procuresses who keep
-introducing houses often take in women to lodge and board. But they
-are quite independant, and must be well-known about town, and kept by
-some one, or the procuress, if she is, comparatively speaking, in any
-position, will not receive them.
-
-To show how the matter is accomplished let us suppose an introducing
-house of notoriety and good report in its way, somewhere in the
-neighbourhood of St. George’s Road, Pimlico, a district which, I may
-observe, is prolific in loose women. A well-known professional man, a
-wealthy merchant, an M.P., or a rich landed proprietor, calls upon the
-lady of the house, orders some champagne, and enters into conversation
-about indifferent matters, until he is able delicately to broach the
-object he has in view. He explains that he wishes to meet with a quiet
-lady whose secrecy he can rely upon, and whom he can trust in every
-possible way. He would like her, we will imagine, to be vivacious,
-witty, and gay.
-
-The lady of the house listens complacently, and replies that she
-knows some one who exactly answers the description the amorous M.P.
-has given, and says that she will send a message to her at once if he
-wishes, but he must take his chance of her being at home; if she is
-out, an appointment will be made for the next day. In the mean time a
-messenger is despatched to the lady in question, who in all probability
-does not reside at any great distance; perhaps in Stanley Street, or
-Winchester Street, which streets everybody knows are contiguous to
-St. George’s Road, and inhabited by beauty that ridicules decorum
-and laughs at the virtuous restrictions that are highly conducive to
-a state of single blessedness and a condition of old-maidism. Some
-more champagne is ordered and consumed, every bottle of which costs
-the consumer fifteen shillings, making a profit to the vendor of at
-least seventy per cent. When the lady arrives, the introduction takes
-place, and the matter is finally arranged as far as the introducer is
-concerned. The woman so introduced generally gives half the money she
-obtains from the man to the keeper of the house for the introduction.
-
-Sometimes these women will write to men who occupy a high position in
-society, who are well-known at the clubs, and are reputed to be well
-off, saying that they have a new importation in their houses from
-the country that may be disposed of for a pecuniary consideration of
-perhaps fifty or a hundred pounds. This amount of course is readily
-paid by men who are in search of artificial excitement, and the
-negotiation is concluded without any difficulty. A woman is usually
-seduced five or six times. By that I mean she is represented as a
-maid, and imposed upon men as a virgin, which fabrication, as it
-is difficult to disprove, is believed, more especially if the girl
-herself be well instructed, and knows how to carry out the fraud. The
-Burlington Arcade is a well-known resort of women on the long winter
-afternoons, when all the men in London walk there before dinner.
-
-It is curious to notice how the places of meeting and appointment have
-sprung up and increased within the last few years. Not many years
-ago Kate Hamilton, if I am not misinformed, was knocking about town.
-Lizzie Davis’s has only been open a year or two. Barns’s very recently
-established, and the Oxford and Cambridge last season. The Café Riche
-three years ago used to be called Bignell’s Café. Sams’s I believe is
-the oldest of the night-houses about the Haymarket. The Café Royal,
-or Kate’s, is the largest and the most frequented, but is not now so
-select as it used formerly to be. Mott’s, or the Portland Rooms, used
-to be the most fashionable dancing place in London, and is now in very
-good repute. Formerly only men in evening dress were admitted; now this
-distinction is abolished, and every one indiscriminately admitted.
-This is beginning to have its effect, and in all likelihood Mott’s
-will in a short time lose its prestige. It is always so with places of
-this description. Some peculiarity about the house, or some clever and
-notorious woman, presiding over its destinies, makes it famous; when
-these vanish or subside, then the place goes down gradually, and some
-other rival establishment takes its place.
-
-Loose women, as I have before asserted, very often marry, and
-sometimes, as often as not, marry well. The other day one of the most
-well-known women about town, Mrs. S--, was married to a German count;
-a few weeks ago Agnes W-- married a member of an old Norfolk family,
-who settled three thousand a year upon her. This case will most likely
-come before the public, as the family, questioning his sanity, mean
-to take out a writ of _de lunatico inquirendo_, when the facts will
-be elicited by counsel in a court of law. Indeed, so little was the
-gentleman himself satisfied with the match that a week after marriage
-he advertised his wife in the newspapers, saying he would not be
-held responsible for her further debts. These out of many others. A
-frequenter of the night-houses will notice many changes in the course
-of the year, although some well-known face will turn up now and then.
-The habitué may miss the accustomed laugh and unabashed impudence
-of the “nun,” who always appeared so fascinating and piquante in
-her little “Jane Clarke” bonnet, and demure black silk dress. The
-“nun” may be far away with her regiment in Ireland, or some remote
-part of England; for be it known that ladies are attached to the
-service as well as men, and the cavalry rejoices more than the line
-in the softening influences of feminine society. Amongst the little
-scandals of the night, it may be rumoured within the sacred precincts
-of the Café Royal by “Suppers” of the Admiralty, who has obtained
-that soubriquet by his known unwillingness to stand these midnight
-banquets, that the “Baby” was seen at the Holborn with a heightened
-colour, rather the production of art than nature; _ergo_, the “Baby”
-is falling off, which remark it is fortunate for “Suppers” the Baby
-does not overhear. Billy Valentine, of her Majesty’s “horse and saddle”
-department of the Home Office, as is his usual custom, may be seen at
-Coney’s, exchanging a little quiet chaff with “Poodle,” whose hair is
-more crimped than ever, while the “Poodle” is dexterously extracting
-a bottle of Moselle out of him for the benefit of the establishment.
-There is a woman of very mature age who goes about from one night-house
-to another with her betting book in her hand, perhaps “cadging” for
-men. Then there is Madame S. S.--, who plays the piano in different
-places, and Dirty Dick, who is always in a state of intoxication; but
-who, as he spends his money freely, is never objected to.
-
-But the night-houses are carrying me away from my subject.
-
-Pimps are frequently spoken of, and pimping is a word very generally
-used, but I doubt very much whether many of them exist, at least of
-the male gender. The women do most of the pimping that is requisite
-to carry on the amours of London society, and pander is a word that
-merges into the other, losing any distinctive significancy that it may
-possess for the eyes of a lexicographer. A woman when she introduces a
-man to a woman is literally pimping for him, or what I have said about
-keepers of introducing houses must apply generally to the panders and
-the pimps. I may add a story I heard of a bully attached to a brothel,
-who on one occasion acting as a pimp, went into the streets to pick up
-a woman who was required for the purposes of the establishment. He went
-some way without success, and at last met a “wandering beauty of the
-night,” whom he solicited; she yielded to his entreaties, and followed
-him to his brothel. When they reached the light in the passage she
-raised her veil, when he was as horrified as a man in his position
-and with his feelings could be to perceive that he had brought his
-own sister to an immoral house: he had not seen her for some years.
-His profligacy had killed his father, had brought him to his present
-degraded position, and in a great measure occasioned his sister’s fall
-and way of living.
-
-Ex uno--the proverb says--a lesson may be taught a great many.
-
- * * * * *
-
-_Fancy-men._--Fancy-men are an extremely peculiar class, and are highly
-interesting to those who take an interest in prostitutes and their
-associates. They are--that is the best of them--tolerably well-dressed
-and well-looking, and sufficiently gentlemanly for women to like to be
-seen about with them. I am now speaking of those who cohabit with the
-best women about town.
-
-Parent Duchatelet discourses at some length on this subject, and treats
-it with great perspicuity and succinctness. He asserts that it is a
-common thing for many law students and medical students to be kept,
-or semi-supported, by loose women in Paris. This is a state of things
-that I need hardly say is never observed in England. Yet there is a
-class who throw all their self-respect into the background, and allow
-themselves to be partially maintained by loose women who have imbibed a
-partiality for them. They frequent the night-houses in Panton Street,
-and often hook gentlemen out of several sovereigns, or by tossing them
-for champagne make them pay for several bottles in the course of the
-evening. By this it may be readily understood that they are in league
-with the proprietor of the establishment; and that this is undeniably
-the case in one instance I will unhesitatingly declare. It may be
-so in others, but I am not prepared to say so. I need not mention
-the name of the house for obvious reasons, but any one who has the
-slightest knowledge of the subject will be obliged, if he values his
-veracity, to corroborate my statement. The best, or the aristocracy
-of fancy-men, are for the most part on the turf. They bet when they
-have money to bet with, and when they have not they endeavour, without
-scruple, to procure it from their mistresses, who never hesitate a
-moment in giving it them if they have it, or procuring it for them by
-some means, however degrading such means may be. A fancy-man connected
-with a prostitute who is acquainted with a good set of men will, as the
-evening advances, be seen in one of the night-houses in Panton Street.
-His woman will come in perhaps about one o’clock, accompanied by one or
-two men. Whilst they are talking and drinking he will come up and speak
-to the woman, as if she was an old flame of his, and she will treat him
-in the same manner, though more as a casual acquaintance. In the course
-of time he will get into conversation with her men, and they, taking
-him for a gentleman, will talk to him in a friendly manner. After a
-while he will propose to toss them for a bottle of champagne or a
-Moselle cup. Then the swindling begins. The fancy-man has an infallible
-recipe for winning. He has in his hand a cover for the half-crown he
-tosses with, which enables him to win, however the piece falls. It
-is a sort of “heads I win, tails you lose,” a principle with which
-schoolboys of a speculative disposition bother their friends. Sometimes
-the proprietor of the house will come up and begin to talk to them,
-ask them to step upstairs to have supper, and get them into a room
-where the victim may be legged more quietly, and more at their leisure.
-The proprietor then says that he must in his turn “stand” a bottle of
-champagne, but the fancy-man, pretending to be indignant, interposes,
-and exclaims, “No, let’s toss;” so they toss. The fancy-man loses the
-toss, pays the proprietor at once with money, with which he has been
-previously supplied, and the man is more completely gulled than ever.
-He may be some man in the service up in town on leave for a short
-while, and determined as long as he stays to go in for some fun, no
-doubt well supplied with money, and careless how he spends it. He would
-be very irate if he discovered how he was being robbed, and in all
-likelihood smash the place up, and the fancy-man into the bargain, for
-people are not very scrupulous as to what they do in the night-houses.
-But the affair is managed so skilfully that he loses his four or five
-pounds at tossing or at some game or other with equanimity, and without
-a murmur, for he thinks it is his luck which happens to be adverse, and
-never dreams for one instant that his adversary is not playing on the
-“square.” The rows that take place in the night-houses never find their
-way into the papers. It isn’t the “little game” of the proprietors to
-allow them, and the police, if they are called in, are too well bribed
-to take any further notice, without they are particularly requested. I
-was told of a disturbance that took place in one of the night-houses
-in Panton Street, not more than a year ago, which for brutality and
-savage ferocity I should think could not be equalled by a scalping
-party of North American Red Indians.
-
-Two gentlemen had adjourned there after the theatre, and were quietly
-drinking some brandy and soda when a woman, with a very large
-crinoline, came in and went up to one of them, whom we will call A.
-She asked him for something to drink, and he, perceiving she was very
-drunk already, chaffed her a little. Angry at his _persiflage_, she
-leant over and seized his glass, which she threw into a corner of the
-room, smashing it to atoms, and spilling its contents. While doing so
-her crinoline flew into the air, and A. put out his hand to keep it
-down. She immediately began to slang him and abuse him immoderately,
-declaring that he attempted to take indecent liberties with her, and
-attempting finally to strike him he good-humouredly held her hands;
-but she got more furious every moment, and at last he had to push
-her down rather violently into a chair. A man who was sitting at an
-opposite table commented upon this in an audible and offensive manner,
-which excessively annoyed A., who however at first took no notice of
-his conduct. Presently he handed the woman over to one of the waiters,
-who with some difficulty turned her out. Then the man who had before
-spoken said, “D--d plucky thing, by Jove, to strike a woman.” A. made
-some reply to this, and the other man got up, when A. flew at him and
-knocked him down. Two waiters ran up and seized A. by either arm,
-when the man got up from his recumbent position and struck A., while
-he was being retained by the waiters, a tremendous blow in the face,
-which speedily covered him with blood. A., exerting all his strength,
-liberated himself, and rushed at the coward, knocking him over a table,
-jumping over after him, seizing his head and knocking it against the
-floor in a frightful manner. The door porters were then called in, and
-A. with great difficulty turned out. A.’s friend had been waiting his
-opportunity, which had not yet come. When A. was at the door the man
-he had knocked down raised himself up. A.’s friend seized him by the
-collar and by one of his legs, and threw him with all his force along
-the table, which was covered with glass. The velocity with which he was
-thrown drove everything before him until he fell down on the top of the
-broken glass in a corner stunned and bleeding. His assailant then put
-his head down and charged like a battering-ram through the opposing
-throng, throwing them right and left, till he joined his friend in the
-street.
-
-Many low betting-men are partially kept by prostitutes--men who
-frequent Bride Lane and similar places, who, when out of luck, fall
-back upon their women. Many thieves, too, are fancy-men, and almost
-all the ruffians who go about “picking up,” as the police call it,
-which I have explained before to be a species of highway robbery.
-The prostitute goes up to a man, and while she is talking to him the
-ruffians come up and plunder him. If the victim is drunk so much the
-better. Most low prostitutes have their fancy-men, such as waiters at
-taverns, labourers--loose characters, half thieves half loafers. It is
-strange that such baseness should find a place in a man, but experience
-proves what I have said to be true; and there are numbers of men in
-the metropolis who think nothing of being kept by a prostitute on the
-proceeds of her shame and her disgrace.
-
- * * * * *
-
-_Bullies._--Bullies are men attached to brothels and bawdy-houses; but
-this remark must not be understood to apply to houses of a superior
-description, for it would not pay them to extort money from their
-customers, as they have a character and a reputation to support.
-
-The bullies attached to low bawdy-houses are ostensibly kept to
-perform the functions of door-keepers, but in reality to prevent men
-from going away without paying enough money; they are in many cases
-a necessary precaution against “bilking,” or going away without
-paying anything. If a well-dressed man went into an immoral house in
-Spitalfields, Whitechapel, or Shadwell, he would assuredly be robbed,
-but not maltreated to any greater extent than was absolutely requisite
-to obtain his money, and other valuables he might chance to have about
-him, at the time the depredation was committed.
-
-A man a little tipsy once found himself, he hardly knew how, on the
-transpontine side of Waterloo Bridge, not far from Stamford Street.
-It was past twelve, and on being accosted by a woman, he half
-unconsciously followed her to her rooms in Stamford Street, which were
-situated about half-way down, near Duke Street, Blackfriars. When
-upstairs he sent the servant out for some brandy and soda-water, and
-not having enough silver gave her half-a-sovereign for that purpose,
-telling her to bring him the change. She soon returned with a bottle
-of brandy, which she said cost eight shillings, and two bottles of
-soda-water, and keeping one shilling for herself, told him she had
-no change to give him: he put up with this extortion, for he was too
-tipsy to make any resistance. The time passed quickly, and he spent two
-or three hours in her society, until the soda-water somewhat sobered
-him, when he put on his hat and declared his intention of going away.
-The woman sprang up to stop him, and placed her back against the door,
-meantime calling some one with all her might. Being a strong powerful
-man, he seized her by the arm and flung her on a sofa. Opening the
-door, he heard some one rapidly coming up stairs; he rushed back to the
-room and laid hold of a chair, which he threw at the advancing figure;
-it missed it, but had the effect of causing it to retreat. Chair after
-chair followed until the room was nearly denuded of its furniture, the
-woman being all the time too frightened to take any part in the affray.
-The man next took the poker in one hand the lamp in the other, and
-began to descend the stairs, which he did with some difficulty, as the
-chairs rather impeded his progress. He had no doubt his adversary was
-waiting for him at the bottom, and it was evident that it was there the
-real struggle would take place. He descended very cautiously until he
-was very near the end of the stairs, when he saw a tall strongly-built
-man awaiting him with a bludgeon in his hand. The gentleman carefully,
-in the short space he had, reconnoitred the exit to the street by
-throwing the light of the lamp full into the passage. The bully finding
-he was discovered began to curse and make demonstrations of hostility,
-but remained where he was, as he was possessed of the best position.
-The gentleman when he was within three or four steps of the ground,
-hurled the lamp with all his force at the bully, striking him on the
-forehead. The lamp was smashed to atoms, and everything directly
-plunged in darkness. After this he ran in the direction of the door,
-but he found the chain up: while he was unfastening this as well as
-he could in the dark, he heard his antagonist picking himself up and
-muttering threats of vengeance. In a moment or two he began to grope
-his way towards the door, but fortunately the gentleman had succeeded
-in undoing the chain, and flinging the door wide open, he emerged into
-the street and began to run in the direction of the Waterloo Road as
-fast as he could. He made his escape; but if he had not had presence of
-mind, and been strong and powerful enough to fight with the bully, the
-result might have been very different.
-
-A man who would be a bully at a bawdy-house would stick at nothing.
-During the daytime they either sleep or lounge about smoking a short
-pipe, or go to the pawn-shops for the women, or else to the public for
-gin.
-
-The men who used to keep the Cocoa Tree in St. James’s Street were
-two brothers, who, when they were young, held a position of no great
-importance in their mother’s house, which was nothing more than a house
-of ill fame. They might have degenerated into something of the same
-sort, but they had a certain amount of talent and opportunities, and
-once being possessed of this gambling house, which was famous enough in
-its day, they made money quickly enough.
-
-It is not men though, who have been amongst these scenes when they are
-young, who take to this sort of life. It is generally returned convicts
-or gaol birds, who look upon themselves as victims, and get desperate,
-and do not care very much what they do as long as they can have an easy
-time of it and enough to eat and drink.
-
-Sometimes, if they watch their opportunity, they may become proprietors
-of bawdy-houses themselves. Great events spring from little causes;
-and good management and a good locality will always make a bawdy-house
-remunerative; but bullies generally have no energy, and are wanting in
-administrative capability, and more often than not die of disease and
-excess in the gutter.
-
-The Argyle Rooms were once a small public-house called the “Hall of
-Rome,” where _tableaux vivants_ and _poses plastiques_ found a home and
-an audience; but energy and a combination of causes have made it the
-first casino in London.
-
-A bully in a house in one of the streets near the Haymarket, who was
-loafing about a public-house, told me in return for some spirits I paid
-for, that he was a ticket-of-leave man--“he didn’t mind saying it, why
-should he? he’d got his ticket-of-leave, he had, and he’d show it me in
-two twos.
-
-“When he comed back from Norfolk Island, which he’d been sent to for a
-term of seven years, he knew no one in town, his pals mostly was lagged
-by police, and his most hintimit friend was hanged by mistake at the
-Old Bailey--he knew it was by mistake, as his friend was hincapable of
-such an act without he was riled extraordinary. Well, he took to the
-bullying dodge, which paid. He couldn’t work, it wornt in his natur,
-and he took to bullying, kindly--it suited him, it just did, and that
-was all about it.”
-
-The bullies are the lowest ruffians going, and will not mind doing any
-act of iniquity, although they stand in great dread of the police, and
-generally manage matters so as to keep out of their clutches.
-
-
-CLANDESTINE PROSTITUTES.
-
-The next division of our subject is clandestine prostitution, whose
-ramifications are very extensive. In it we must include: 1. Female
-operatives; 2. Maid-servants, all of whom are amateurs, as opposed
-to professionals, or as we have had occasion to observe before, more
-commonly known as “Dollymops”; 3. Ladies of intrigue, who see men to
-gratify their passions; and 4. Keepers of houses of assignation, where
-the last-mentioned class may carry on their amours with secresy.
-
-This in reality I regard as the most serious side of prostitution. This
-more clearly stamps the character of the nation. A thousand and one
-causes may lead to a woman’s becoming a professional prostitute, but if
-a woman goes wrong without any very cogent reason for so doing, there
-must be something radically wrong in her composition, and inherently
-bad in her nature, to lead her to abandon her person to the other sex,
-who are at all times ready to take advantage of a woman’s weakness and
-a woman’s love.
-
-There is a tone of morality throughout the rural districts of England,
-which is unhappily wanting in the large towns and the centres of
-particular manufactures. Commerce is incontestably demoralizing. Its
-effects are to be seen more and more every day. Why it should be so,
-it is not our province to discuss, but seduction and prostitution,
-in spite of the precepts of the Church, and the examples of her
-ministers, have made enormous strides in all our great towns within
-the last twenty years. Go through the large manufacturing districts,
-where factory-hands congregate, or more properly herd together, test
-them, examine them, talk to them, observe for yourself, and you will
-come away with the impression that there is room for much improvement.
-Then cast your eye over the statistics of births and the returns of
-the Registrar-General, and compare the number of legitimate with
-illegitimate births. Add up the number of infanticides and the number
-of deaths of infants of tender years--an item more alarming than any.
-Goldsmith has said that “honour sinks when commerce long prevails,”
-and a truer remark was never made, although the animus of the poet was
-directed more against men than women.
-
- * * * * *
-
-_Female Operatives._--When alluding casually to this subject before, I
-enumerated some of the trades that supplied women to swell the ranks
-of prostitution, amongst which are milliners, dress-makers, straw
-bonnet-makers, furriers, hat-binders, silk-winders, tambour-workers,
-shoe-binders, slop-women, or those who work for cheap tailors, those in
-pastry-cook, fancy and cigar-shops, bazaars, and ballet-girls.
-
-I have heard it asserted in more than one quarter, although of course
-such assertions cannot be authenticated, or made reliable, for want
-of data, that one out of three of all the female operatives in London
-are unchaste, and in the habit of prostituting themselves when
-occasion offers, either for money, or more frequently for their own
-gratification.
-
-I met a woman in Fleet Street, who told me that she came into the
-streets now and then to get money not to subsist upon, but to supply
-her with funds to meet the debts her extravagance caused her to
-contract. But I will put her narrative into a consecutive form.
-
-“Ever since I was twelve,” she said, “I have worked in a printing
-office where a celebrated London morning journal is put in type and
-goes to press. I get enough money to live upon comfortably; but then I
-am extravagant, and spend a great deal of money in eating and drinking,
-more than you would imagine. My appetite is very delicate, and my
-constitution not at all strong. I long for certain things like a woman
-in the family way, and I must have them by hook or by crook. The fact
-is the close confinement and the night air upset me and disorder my
-digestion. I have the most expensive things sometimes, and when I can,
-I live in a sumptuous manner, comparatively speaking. I am attached
-to a man in our office, to whom I shall be married some day. He does
-not suspect me, but on the contrary believes me to be true to him, and
-you do not suppose that I ever take the trouble to undeceive him. I am
-nineteen now, and have carried on with my ‘typo’ for nearly three years
-now. I sometimes go to the Haymarket, either early in the evening,
-or early in the morning, when I can get away from the printing; and
-sometimes I do a little in the day-time. This is not a frequent
-practice of mine; I only do it when I want money to pay anything. I am
-out now with the avowed intention of picking up a man, or making an
-appointment with some one for to-morrow or some time during the week.
-I always dress well, at least you mayn’t think so, but I am always
-neat, and respectable, and clean, if the things I have on ain’t worth
-the sight of money that some women’s things cost them. I have good feet
-too, and as I find they attract attention, I always parade them. And
-I’ve hooked many a man by showing my ankle on a wet day. I shan’t think
-anything of all this when I’m married. I believe my young man would
-marry me just as soon if he found out I went with others as he would
-now. I carry on with him now, and he likes me very much. I ain’t of
-any particular family; to tell the truth, I was put in the workhouse
-when I was young, and they apprenticed me. I never knew my father or my
-mother, although ‘my father was, as I’ve heard say, a well-known swell
-of capers gay, who cut his last fling with great applause;’ or, if you
-must know, I heard that he was hung for killing a man who opposed him
-when committing a burglary. In other words, he was ‘a macing-cove what
-robs,’ and I’m his daughter, worse luck. I used to think at first, but
-what was the good of being wretched about it? I couldn’t get over for
-some time, because I was envious, like a little fool, of other people,
-but I reasoned, and at last I did recover myself, and was rather glad
-that my position freed me from certain restrictions. I had no mother
-whose heart I shou’d break by my conduct, or no father who could
-threaten me with bringing his grey hairs with sorrow to the grave.
-I had a pretty good example to follow set before me, and I didn’t
-scruple to argue that I was not to be blamed for what I did. Birth is
-the result of accident. It is the merest chance in the world whether
-you’re born a countess or a washerwoman. I’m neither one nor t’other;
-I’m only a mot who does a little typographing by way of variety. Those
-who have had good nursing, and all that, and the advantages of a sound
-education, who have a position to lose, prospects to blight, and
-relations to dishonour, may be blamed for going on the loose, but I’ll
-be hanged if I think that priest or moralist is to come down on me with
-the sledge-hammer of their denunciation. You look rather surprised at
-my talking so well. I know I talk well, but you must remember what a
-lot has passed through my hands for the last seven years, and what a
-lot of copy I’ve set up. There is very little I don’t know, I can tell
-you. It’s what old Robert Owen would call the spread of education.”
-
-I had to talk some time to this girl before she was so communicative;
-but it must be allowed my assiduity was amply repaid. The common
-sense she displayed was extraordinary for one in her position; but, as
-she said, she certainly had had superior opportunities, of which she
-had made the most. And her arguments, though based upon fallacy, were
-exceedingly clever and well put. So much for the spread of education
-amongst the masses. Who knows to what it will lead?
-
-The next case that came under my notice was one of a very different
-description. I met a woman in Leadenhall Street, a little past the
-India House, going towards Whitechapel. She told me, without much
-solicitation on my part, that she was driven into the streets by want.
-Far from such a thing being her inclination, she recoiled from it with
-horror, and had there been no one else in the case, she would have
-preferred starvation to such a life. I thought of the motto Vergniaud
-the Girondist wrote on the wall of his dungeon in his blood, “Potius
-mori quam fœdari,” and I admired the woman whilst I pitied her. It
-is easy to condemn, but even vice takes the semblance of virtue when
-it has a certain end in view. Every crime ought to be examined into
-carefully in order that the motive that urged to the commission may be
-elicited, and that should be always thrown into the scale in mitigation
-or augmentation of punishment.
-
-Her father was a dock labourer by trade, and had been ever since he
-came to London, which he did some years ago, when there was great
-distress in Rochdale, where he worked in a cotton factory; but being
-starved out there after working short time for some weeks, he tramped
-with his daughter, then about fourteen, up to town, and could get
-nothing to do but work in the docks, which requires no skill, only a
-good constitution, and the strength and endurance of a horse. This
-however, as every one knows, is a precarious sort of employment, very
-much sought after by strong, able-bodied men out of work. The docks are
-a refuge for all Spitalfields and the adjacent parishes for men out of
-work, or men whose trade is slack for a time. Some three weeks before I
-met her, the girl’s father had the misfortune to break his arm and to
-injure his spine by a small keg of spirits slipping from a crane near
-to which he was standing. They took him to the hospital, where he then
-was. The girl herself worked as a hat-binder, for which she was very
-indifferently paid, and even that poor means of support she had lost
-lately through the failure of the house she worked for. She went to
-see her father every day, and always contrived to take him something,
-if it only cost twopence, as a mark of affection on her part, which
-he was not slow in appreciating, and no doubt found his daughter’s
-kindness a great consolation to him in the midst of his troubles. She
-said, “I tried everywhere to get employment, and I couldn’t. I ain’t
-very good with my needle at fine needlework, and the slopsellers won’t
-have me. I would have slaved for them though, I do assure you, sir;
-bad as they do pay you, and hard as you must work for them to get
-enough to live upon, and poor living, God knows, at that. I feel very
-miserable for what I’ve done, but I was driven to it; indeed I was,
-sir. I daren’t tell father, for he’d curse me at first, though he might
-forgive me afterwards: for though he’s poor, he’s always been honest,
-and borne a good name; but now--I can’t help crying a bit, sir. I ain’t
-thoroughly hardened yet, and it’s a hard case as ever was. I do wish I
-was dead and there was an end of everything, I am so awfully sad and
-heart-broken. If it don’t kill me, I suppose I shall get used to it in
-time. The low rate of wages I received has often put it into my head to
-go wrong; but I have always withstood the temptation, and nothing but
-so many misfortunes and trials coming together could ever have induced
-me to do it.”
-
-This, I have every reason to believe, was a genuine tale of distress
-told with all simplicity and truth, although everything that a woman
-of loose morals says must be received with caution, and believed under
-protest.
-
-Ballet-girls have a bad reputation, which is in most cases well
-deserved. To begin with their remuneration--it is very poor. They get
-from nine to eighteen shillings. Columbine in the pantomime gets five
-pounds a week, but then hers is a prominent position. Out of these nine
-to eighteen shillings they have to find shoes and petticoats, silk
-stockings, etc., etc., so that the pay is hardly adequate to their
-expenditure, and quite insufficient to fit them out and find them in
-food and lodging. Can it be wondered at, that while this state of
-things exists, ballet-girls should be compelled to seek a livelihood by
-resorting to prostitution?
-
-Many causes may be enumerated to account for the lax morality of our
-female operatives. Among the chief of which we must class--
-
-1. Low wages inadequate to their sustenance.
-
-2. Natural levity and the example around them.
-
-3. Love of dress and display, coupled with the desire for a sweetheart.
-
-4. Sedentary employment, and want of proper exercise.
-
-5. Low and cheap literature of an immoral tendency.
-
-6. Absence of parental care and the inculcation of proper precepts. In
-short, bad bringing up.
-
- * * * * *
-
-_Maid-Servants._--Maid-servants seldom have a chance of marrying,
-unless placed in a good family, where, after putting by a little money
-by pinching and careful saving, the housemaid may become an object of
-interest to the footman, who is looking out for a public-house, or when
-the housekeeper allies herself to the butler, and together they set up
-in business. In small families, the servants often give themselves up
-to the sons, or to the policeman on the beat, or to soldiers in the
-Parks; or else to shopmen, whom they may meet in the streets. Female
-servants are far from being a virtuous class. They are badly educated
-and are not well looked after by their mistresses as a rule, although
-every dereliction from the paths of propriety by them will be visited
-with the heaviest displeasure, and most frequently be followed by
-dismissal of the most summary description, without the usual month’s
-warning, to which so much importance is usually attached by both
-employer and employed.
-
-Marylebone was lately characterised by one of its vestrymen as being
-one of the seven black parishes in London. Half the women it is
-asserted who are sent from the workhouse, and have situations procured
-for them by the parochial authorities, turn out prostitutes. I have
-no means of corroborating the truth of this declaration, but it has
-been made and sent forth to the world through the medium of the public
-press, though I believe it has been partially contradicted by one of
-the workhouse authorities; however this may be, there can be no doubt
-that the tone of morality among servant-maids in the metropolis is low.
-I will not speak in the superlative--I merely characterise it as low. I
-had an opportunity of questioning a maid-of-all-work, a simple-minded,
-ignorant, uneducated, vain little body, as strong physically as a
-donkey, and thoroughly competent to perform her rather arduous duties,
-for the satisfactory performance of which she received the munificent
-remuneration of eight pounds annually, including her board and lodging.
-
-She said: “I came from Berkshire, sir, near Windsor; father put me to
-service some years ago, and I’ve been in London ever since. I’m two and
-twenty now. I’ve lived in four or five different situations since then.
-Are followers allowed? No, sir, missus don’t permit no followers. No, I
-ain’t got no perleeceman. Have I got a young man? Well, I have; he’s in
-the harmy, not a hoffisser, but a soldier. I goes out along of him on
-Sundays, leastways on Sunday afternoons, and missus she lets me go to
-see a aunt of mine, as I says lives at Camberwell, only between you and
-me, sir, there ain’t no aunt, only a soldier, which he’s my sweetheart,
-as I says to you before, sir.”
-
-Maid-servants in good families have an opportunity of copying their
-mistress’s way of dressing, and making themselves, attractive to
-men of a higher class. It is a voluntary species of sacrifice on
-their part. A sort of suicidal decking with flowers, and making
-preparations for immolation on the part of the victim herself.
-Flattered by the attention of the eldest son, or some friend of his
-staying in the house, the pretty lady’s maid will often yield to soft
-solicitation. Vanity is at the bottom of all this, and is one of the
-chief characteristics of a class not otherwise naturally vicious. The
-housemaids flirt with the footmen, the housekeeper with the butler,
-the cooks with the coachmen, and so on; and a flirtation often begun
-innocently enough ends in something serious, the result of which may be
-to blight the prospect of the unfortunate woman who has been led astray.
-
-There are book-hawkers, who go about the country, having first filled
-their wallets from the filthy cellars of Holywell Street, sowing the
-seeds of immorality; servants in country houses will pay, without
-hesitation large prices for improper books. This denomination of evil,
-I am glad to say, is much on the decrease now, since the Immoral
-Publications Act has come into operation.
-
-Maid-servants live well, have no care or anxiety, no character worth
-speaking about to lose, for the origin of most of them is obscure, are
-fond of dress, and under these circumstances it cannot be wondered that
-they are as a body immoral and unchaste.
-
- * * * * *
-
-_Ladies of Intrigue and Houses of Assignation._--The reader will find
-more information about “ladies of intrigue” in the annals of the
-Divorce Court and the pages of the _Causes Célèbres_ than it is in my
-power to furnish him with. By ladies of intrigue we must understand
-married women who have connection with other men than their husbands,
-and unmarried women who gratify their passion secretly.
-
-There is a house in Regent Street, I am told, where ladies, both
-married and unmarried, go in order to meet with and be introduced
-to gentlemen, there to consummate their libidinous desires. This
-sort of clandestine prostitution is not nearly so common in England
-as in France and other parts of the Continent, where chastity and
-faithfulness among married women are remarkable for their absence
-rather than their presence. As this vice is by no means common or a
-national characteristic, but rather the exception than the rule, it can
-only expect a cursory notice at our hands.
-
-An anecdote was told me illustrative of this sort of thing that may not
-be out of place here.
-
-A lady of intrigue, belonging to the higher circles of society, married
-to a man of considerable property, found herself unhappy in his
-society, and after some time unwillingly came to the conclusion that
-she had formed an alliance that was destined to make her miserable.
-Her passions were naturally strong, and she one day resolved to
-visit a house that one of her female acquaintances had casually
-spoken about before her some little time before. Ordering a cab, she
-drove to the house in question, and went in. There was no necessity
-for her to explain the nature of her business, or the object with
-which she called. That was understood. She was shown into a handsome
-drawing-room, beautifully fitted up, for the house was situated in
-one of the best streets in May Fair, there to await the coming of her
-unknown paramour. After waiting some little time the door opened, and
-a gentleman entered. The curtains of the room were partially drawn
-round the windows, and the blinds were pulled down, which caused a “dim
-religious light” to pervade the apartment, preventing the lady from
-seeing distinctly the features of her visitor. He approached her, and
-in a low tone of voice commenced a conversation with her about some
-indifferent subject.
-
-She listened to him for a moment, and then with a cry of astonishment
-recognized her husband’s voice. He, equally confused, discovered that
-he had accidentally met in a house of ill-fame the wife whom he had
-treated with unkindness and cruelty, and condemned to languish at
-home while he did as he chose abroad. This strange rencontre had a
-successful termination, for it ended in the reconciliation of husband
-and wife, who discovered that they were mutually to blame.
-
-From the Divorce Court emanate strange revelations, to which the press
-gives publicity. It reveals a state of immorality amongst the upper
-and middle classes that is deplorable; but although this unveils the
-delinquencies of ladies of intrigue, they are not altogether the class
-we have under discussion. Those who engross our attention are ladies
-who, merely to satisfy their animal instincts, intrigue with men whom
-they do not truly love. But though we could multiply anecdotes and
-stories, it is not necessary to do more than say, they are a class far
-from numerous, and scarcely deserve to form a distinctive feature in
-the category of prostitution in London.
-
-
-COHABITANT PROSTITUTES.
-
-The last head in our classification is “Cohabitant Prostitutes,” which
-phrase must be understood to include--
-
-1. Those whose paramours cannot afford to pay the marriage fees. This
-is a very small and almost infinitesimal portion of the community, as
-banns now cost so very little, that it is next to an absurdity to say
-“a man and woman” cannot get married because they have not money enough
-to pay the fees consequent upon publishing the banns, therefore this
-class is scarcely deserving of mention.
-
-2. Those whose paramours do not believe in the sanctity of the ceremony.
-
-There may be a few who make their religious convictions an objection to
-marriage, but you may go a very long journey before you will be able to
-discover a man who will conscientiously refuse to marry a woman on this
-ground. Consequently we may dismiss these with a very brief allusion.
-
-3. Those who have married a relative forbidden by law. We know
-that people will occasionally marry a deceased wife’s sister,
-notwithstanding the anathemas of mother church are sure to be hurled
-at them. Yet ecclesiastical terrors may have weight with a man who has
-conceived an affection for a sister-in-law, for whom he will have to
-undergo so many penalties.
-
-Perhaps parliamentary agitation may soon legitimatize these
-connections, and abolish this heading from our category of Cohabitant
-Prostitution.
-
-4. Those who would forfeit their income by marrying,--as officers’
-widows in receipt of pensions, and those who hold property only while
-unmarried.
-
-This class is more numerous than any of those we have yet mentioned,
-but it offers nothing sufficiently striking or peculiar to induce us to
-dwell longer upon it, as it explains itself.
-
-5. Those whose paramours object to marry them for pecuniary or family
-reasons. This is a subject upon which it has been necessary to dilate;
-for it includes all the lorettes in London, and the men by whom
-they are kept. By lorettes, I mean those I have before touched upon
-as prima donnas, who are a class of women who do not call going to
-night-houses in Panton Street walking the Haymarket, and feel much
-insulted if you so characterize their nocturnal wanderings. The best
-women go to three or four houses in Panton Street, where the visitors
-are more select than in the other places, where the door porters are
-less discriminating. Sometimes women who are violent, and make a
-disturbance, are kept out of particular houses for months.
-
-Of course, the visits of kept women are made by stealth, as the men who
-keep them would not countenance their going to such places. Perhaps
-their men are out of town, and they may then go with comparative safety.
-
-Women who are well kept, and have always been accustomed to the society
-of gentlemen, have an intense horror of the Haymarket women, properly
-so called, who promenade the pavement in order to pick up men.
-
-And in reality there is a greater distinction between the two classes
-than would at first appear. Even if a good sort of woman has been
-thrown over by her man, and is in want of money, she will not pick up
-any one at a night-house who may solicit her; on the contrary, she will
-select some fellow she has a liking for: while, on the other hand, the
-Haymarket women will pick up any low wretch who she thinks will pay
-her. She will not even object to a foreigner, though all the best women
-have a great dislike to low foreigners.
-
-Were I to dwell longer upon this subject it is clear I should merely
-be recapitulating what I have already said in a former portion of this
-work.
-
- * * * * *
-
-The following narrative was given me by a girl I met in the Haymarket,
-when in search of information regarding the prostitution of the
-West-end of London. Her tale is the usual one of unsuspecting innocence
-and virtue, seduced by fraud and violence. The victim of passion became
-in time the mistress of lust, and sank from one stage to another,
-until she found herself compelled to solicit in the streets to obtain a
-livelihood. She was about twenty-one years of age, beneath the ordinary
-height, and with a very engaging countenance. She appeared to be a
-high-spirited intelligent girl, and gave her sad tale with unaffected
-candour and modesty.
-
-
-NARRATIVE OF A GAY WOMAN AT THE WEST END OF THE METROPOLIS.
-
-“I was born in the county of ----, in England, where my father was an
-extensive farmer, and had a great number of servants. I have three
-brothers and one younger sister. I was sent to a boarding school at
-B----, where I was receiving a superior education, and was learning
-drawing, music, and dancing. During the vacations, and once every
-quarter, I went home and lived with my parents, where one of my chief
-enjoyments was to ride out on a pony I had, over the fields, and in the
-neighbourhood, and occasionally to go to M----, a few miles distant.
-On these occasions we often had parties of ladies and gentlemen; when
-some of the best people in the district visited us. I had one of the
-happiest homes a girl could have.
-
-“When I was out riding one day at M----, in passing through the town,
-my pony took fright, and threatened to throw me off, when a young
-gentleman who was near rode up to my assistance. He rode by my side
-till we came to a hotel in town, when we both dismounted. Leaving the
-horses with the hostlers, we had some refreshment. I took out my purse
-to pay the expenses, but he would not let me and paid for me. We both
-mounted and proceeded towards my home. On his coming to the door of the
-house, I invited him to come in, which he did. I introduced him to my
-papa and mamma, and mentioned the kind service he had done to me. His
-horse was put up in our stables, and he remained for some time, and had
-supper with us, when he returned to M----. He was very wealthy, resided
-in London, and only visited M---- occasionally with his servants.
-
-“I was then attending a boarding-school at B----, and was about fifteen
-years of age. A few days after this I left home and returned to B----.
-We corresponded by letter for nearly twelve months.
-
-“From the moment he rode up to me at M---- I was deeply interested
-in him, and the attachment increased by the correspondence. He also
-appeared to be very fond of me. He sometimes came and visited me at
-home during my school holidays for the next twelve months. One day in
-the month of May--in summer--he came to our house in his carriage, and
-we invited him to dinner. He remained with us for the night, and slept
-with one of my brothers. We were then engaged to each other, and were
-to be married, so soon as I was eighteen years of age.
-
-“The next day he asked my parents if I might go out with him in his
-carriage. My mamma consented. She asked if any of our servants would go
-with us, but he thought there was no occasion for this, as his coachman
-and footman went along with us. We proceeded to B---- Railway Station.
-He left his carriage with the coachman and footman, and pressed me to
-go with him to London. He pretended to my parents he was only going out
-for a short drive. I was very fond of him, and reluctantly consented to
-go with him to London.
-
-“He first brought me to Simpson’s hotel in the Strand, where we had
-dinner, then took me to the opera. We went to Scott’s supper rooms
-in the Haymarket. On coming out we walked up and down the Haymarket.
-He then took me to several of the cafés, where we had wine and
-refreshments. About four o’clock in the morning he called a Hansom, and
-drove me to his house; and there seduced me by violence in spite of my
-resistance. I screamed out, but none of the servants in the house came
-to assist me. He told his servants I was his young wife he had just
-brought up from the country.
-
-“I wanted to go home in the morning, and began to cry, but he would not
-let me go. He said I must remain in London with him. I still insisted
-on going home, and he promised to marry me. He then bought me a watch
-and chain, rings and bracelets, and presented me with several dresses.
-After this I lived with him in his house, as though I had been his
-wife, and rode out with him in his brougham. I often insisted upon
-being married. He promised to do so, but delayed from time to time. He
-generally drove out every day over the finest streets, thoroughfares,
-and parks of the metropolis; and in the evenings he took me to the
-Argyle Rooms and to the Casino at Holborn. I generally went there
-very well dressed, and was much noticed on account of my youthful
-appearance. We also went to the fashionable theatres in the West-end,
-and several subscription balls.
-
-[Illustration: THE HAYMARKET.--MIDNIGHT.]
-
-“I often rode along Rotten Row with him, and along the drives in
-Hyde Park. We also went to the seaside, where we lived in the best
-hotels.
-
-“This lasted for two years, when his conduct changed towards me.
-
-“One evening I went with him to the Assembly Rooms at Holborn to a
-masked ball. I was dressed in the character of a fairy queen. My hair
-was in long curls hanging down my back.
-
-“He left me in the supper-room for a short time, when a well-dressed
-man came up to me. When my paramour came in he saw the young man
-sitting by my side speaking to me. He told him I was his wife, and
-inquired what he meant by it, to which he gave no reply. He then asked
-me if I knew him. I replied no. He asked the gentleman to rise, which
-he did, apologising for his seating himself beside me, and thereby
-giving offence. On the latter showing him his card, which I did not
-see, they sat down and had wine together.
-
-“We came out of the supper-room, and we had a quarrel about the matter.
-We walked up and down the ball-room for some time, and at last drove
-home.
-
-“When we got home he quarrelled again with me, struck me, and gave me
-two black eyes. I was also bruised on other parts of the body, and
-wanted to leave him that night, but he would not let me.
-
-“In the morning we went out as usual after breakfast for a drive.
-
-“Next evening we went to the Casino at Holborn. Many of the gentlemen
-were staring at me, and he did not like it. I had on a thick Maltese
-veil to conceal my blackened eyes.
-
-“The gentleman who had accosted me the previous night came up and spoke
-to me and my paramour (whom we shall call S.), and had some wine with
-us. He asked the reason I did not raise my veil. S. said because I did
-not like to do it in this place. The gentleman caught sight of my eyes,
-and said they did not look so brilliant as the night before.
-
-“S. was indignant, and told him he took great liberty in speaking of
-his wife in this manner. The other remarked that no one could help
-noticing such a girl, adding that I was too young to be his wife, and
-that he should not take me to such a place if he did not wish me to be
-looked at. He told him he ought to take better care of me than to bring
-me there.
-
-“When we got home we had another quarrel, and he struck me severely on
-the side.
-
-“We did not sleep in the same bed that night. On coming down stairs
-to breakfast next morning I was taken very ill, and a medical man
-was sent for. The doctor said I was in a fever, and must have had a
-severe blow or a heavy fall. I was ill and confined to my bed for
-three months. He went out every night and left me with a nurse and
-the servants, and seldom returned till three or four o’clock in the
-morning. He used to return home drunk; generally came into my bedroom
-and asked if I was better; kissed me and went downstairs to bed.
-
-“When I got well he was kind to me, and said I looked more charming
-than ever. For three or four months after he took me out as usual.
-
-“The same gentleman met me again in the Holborn one night while S. had
-gone out for a short time, leaving me alone. He came up and shook hands
-with me, said he was happy to see me, and wished me to meet him. I told
-him I could not. S. was meanwhile watching our movements. The gentleman
-asked me if I was married, when I said that I was. He admired my rings.
-Pointing to a diamond ring on his finger, he asked me if I would like
-it. I said no. He said your rings are not so pretty. I still refused
-it; but he took the ring off his finger and put it on one of mine, and
-said, ‘See how well it looks,’ adding, ‘Keep it as a memento; it may
-make you think of me when I am far away.’ He told me not to mention it
-to my husband.
-
-“Meantime S. was watching me, and came up when the man had gone away,
-and asked what he had been saying to me. I told him the truth, that the
-same man had spoken to me again. He asked me what had passed between
-us, and I told him all, with the exception of the ring.
-
-“He noticed the ring on my finger, and asked me where I had got it. I
-declined at first to answer. He then said I was not true to him, and if
-I would not tell him who gave me the ring he would leave me. I told him
-the man had insisted on my having it.
-
-“He thereupon rushed along the room after him, but did not find him. On
-coming back he insisted on my going home without him.
-
-“He took me outside to his brougham, handed me in it, and then left me.
-I went home and sat in the drawing-room till he returned, which was
-about three o’clock in the morning. He quarrelled with me again for
-not being true to him. I said I was, and had never left his side for a
-moment from the time I rose in the morning till I lay down at night.
-
-“I then told him I would go home and tell my friends all about it, and
-he was afraid.
-
-“Soon after he said to me he was going out of town for a week, and
-wished me to stop at home. I did not like to remain in the house
-without a woman, and wished to go with him. He said he could not allow
-me, as he was to be engaged in family matters.
-
-“He was absent for a week. I remained at home for three nights, and was
-very dull and wearied, having no one to speak to. I went to my bedroom,
-washed and dressed, ordered the carriage to be got ready, and went to
-the Holborn. Who should I see there but this gentleman again. He was
-astonished to see me there alone; came up and offered me his arm.
-
-“I told him I was wearied at home in the absence of S., and came
-out for a little relaxation. He then asked to see me home, which I
-declined. I remained till the dancing was nearly over. He got into the
-brougham with me and drove to Sally’s, where we had supper, after which
-he saw me home. He bade me ‘good-bye,’ and said he hoped to see me at
-the Holborn again some other night.
-
-“Meantime S. had been keeping watch over me, it appears, and heard of
-this. When he came home he asked me about it. I told him. He swore the
-gentleman had connexion with me. I said he had not. He then hit me in
-the face and shook me, and threatened to lock me up. After breakfast he
-went out to walk, and I refused to go with him.
-
-“When he had gone away I packed up all my things, told the servant to
-bring a cab, wrote a note and left it on the table. I asked the cabman
-if he knew any nice apartments a long way off from C----, where I was
-living. He drove me to Pimlico, and took me to apartments in ---- where
-I have ever since resided.
-
-“When I went there I had my purse full of gold, and my dresses and
-jewellery, which were worth about 300_l._
-
-“One evening soon after I went to the Holborn and met my old friend
-again, and told him what had occurred. He was astonished, and said he
-would write to my relations, and have S. pulled up for it.
-
-“After this he saw me occasionally at my lodgings, and made me presents.
-
-“He met S. one day in the City, and threatened to write to my friends
-to let them know how I had been treated.
-
-“I still went to the Holborn occasionally. One evening I met S., who
-wished me to go home with him again, but I refused, after the ill-usage
-he had given me.
-
-“I generally spent the day in my apartments, and in the evening went to
-the Argyle, until my money was gone. I now and then got something from
-the man who had taken my part; but he did not give me so much as I had
-been accustomed to, and I used to have strange friends against my own
-wish.
-
-“Before I received them I had spouted most of my jewellery, and some of
-my dresses. When I lived with S. he allowed me 10_l._ a week, but when
-I went on the loose I did not get so much.
-
-“After I had parted with my jewellery and most of my clothes I walked
-in the Haymarket, and went to the Turkish divans, ‘Sally’s,’ and other
-cafés and restaurants.
-
-“Soon after I became unfortunate, and had to part with the remainder of
-my dresses. Since then I have been more shabby in appearance, and not
-so much noticed.”
-
-
-CRIMINAL RETURNS.
-
-It is very interesting to philanthropists and people who take an
-interest in seeing human nature improved, and to those who wish to see
-crime decrease, to notice the fluctuations of crime, its increase, its
-decrease, or its being stationary, especially among different classes.
-
-Through the kindness of Sir Richard Mayne, and the obliging courtesy of
-Mr. Yardley, of the Metropolitan Police-Office, Whitehall, I am enabled
-to show the number of disorderly prostitutes taken into custody during
-the years 1850 to 1860. Mr. Yardley supplied me with the criminal
-returns of the Metropolitan Police for the last ten years, from which I
-have extracted much valuable and interesting information, besides what
-I have just mentioned.
-
-
-NUMBER OF DISORDERLY PROSTITUTES taken into Custody during the years
-1850 to 1860, and their Trades.
-
- 1850 2,502
- 1851 2,573
- 1852 3,750
- 1853 3,386
- 1854 3,764
- 1855 3,592
- 1856 4,303
- 1857 5,178
- 1858 4,890
- 1859 4,282
- 1860 3,734
-
-After some search I have been enabled to give the trades and
-occupations of those women.
-
- 74 were Hatters and trimmers.
- 418 „ Laundresses.
- 646 „ Milliners, &c.
- 400 „ Servants.
- 249 „ Shoemakers.
- 58 „ Artificial flower-makers.
- 215 „ Tailors.
- 33 „ Brushmakers.
- 42 „ Bookbinders.
- 8 „ Corkcutters.
- 7 „ Dyers.
- 2 „ Fishmongers.
- 8 „ General and marine-store dealers.
- 24 „ Glovers.
- 18 „ Weavers.
-
-The remainder described themselves as having no trade or occupation.
-
-In ten years then 41,954 disorderly women, who had given themselves
-up to prostitution, either for their own gratification, because they
-were seduced, or to gain a livelihood, were arrested by the police.
-The word disorderly is vague, but I should think it is susceptible of
-various significations. In one case it may mean drunkenness, in another
-assaulting the police, in others an offence of a felonious nature may
-be intended, while in a fourth we may understand a simple misdemeanour,
-all subjecting the offender, let it be borne in mind, to a fine or
-incarceration.
-
-Now, 41,954 is an enormous total for ten years. In an unreflective
-mood I should be inclined to say that prostitutes, taken collectively,
-were most abandoned, reckless, and wicked; but it is apparent, after a
-minute’s study, that they must not be taken collectively. This forty
-odd thousand should be understood to represent, for the most part, the
-very dregs, the lowest, most unthinking, and vilest of the class.
-
-We must look for them in the East, in Whitechapel, in Wapping, in
-transpontine dens and holes, amongst sailors’ and soldiers’ women.
-In the Haymarket there is not much drunkenness, and the police are
-seldom interfered with. If a man, with whom a woman is walking, is
-drunk, and makes an assault upon the police, the woman will content
-herself with the innocent, and comparatively harmless amusement of
-knocking off the policeman’s hat, afterwards propelling it gracefully
-with her foot along the pavement. This pastime is of rather frequent
-occurrence in nocturnal street rows, and always succeeds in infusing
-a little comic element into the affray. Amongst the disorderly women
-of loose habits we see that milliners largely preponderate; 646 in ten
-years, who have broken the laws in some way, enables us to form, by
-comparison, a vague idea of the number of milliners, dressmakers, &c.,
-who resort to prostitution; for if so many were disorderly, the number
-of well-behaved ones must be very large.
-
-Another curious item is laundresses, of whom there were 418 in
-the hands of the police. Either the influence of their trade is
-demoralizing in the extreme; or they are underpaid, or else there are
-large numbers of them; I incline to the latter supposition.
-
-That there should have been only 400 servants is rather a matter of
-surprise than otherwise, for they are exposed to great temptations, and
-form a very numerous body.
-
-In our next statistics we are able to be more precise than in the
-former ones. Peculiar facilities are afforded prostitutes for
-committing larcenies from the person, and there are annually some
-hundreds taken into custody, and some few convicted. Only the other
-day I was passing through Wych Street, on my way from New Inn with a
-friend, and it so happened that we were instrumental in protecting
-a gentleman from the rapacity of some men and women of infamous
-character, by whom he had been entrapped.
-
-In Wych Street there are five or six houses, contiguous to one another,
-that are nothing more or less than the commonest brothels. The keepers
-of these places do not in the least endeavour to conceal the fact of
-their odious occupation; at almost all hours of the day, and till
-twelve o’clock at night one may perceive the women standing at their
-doorways in an undress costume, lascivious and meretricious in its
-nature. Although they do not actually solicit the passer-by with words,
-they do with looks and gestures.
-
-It might have been a little after twelve o’clock, when, as I was
-passing one of these houses, a gentleman, with his coat off, and
-without his hat, rushed out of the doorway and ran up the street. He
-held a small clasp-knife in his hand, which from his manner I guessed
-he would not hesitate to use if hard pressed. He was in an instant
-followed by a pack of men and women, perhaps four or five of each sex,
-in full cry. They were nearing him, when he turned suddenly round and
-doubled upon them, which manœuvre brought him in my direction. I saw,
-when near enough, that he was intoxicated. Directly he perceived me
-he implored my protection, saying, “For God’s sake keep those fellows
-off.” The noise attracted the attention of a policeman at the end of
-the street, who came up to see what the origin of the disturbance was,
-and the crowd fell back at his appearance.
-
-The gentleman said he went into one of the houses to get a cigar, when
-he was set upon by some women, who attempted to rob him. Although
-drunk he was able to put his hand in his pocket and take out a small
-clasp-knife he always carried about with him. He brandished this in
-their faces, when some bullies descended from the upper regions, and
-the victim fortunately effected his escape into the street.
-
-This man might have been robbed and subsequently drugged, without much
-fear of discovery, for the subjoined statistics will prove that such
-outrages are of frequent occurrence in the metropolis.
-
-
-LARCENIES from the PERSON by Prostitutes, during the years 1850 to 1860.
-
- Larcenies. Convicted. Total loss.
-
- 1850 684 116 £1,814
- 1851 640 98 1,890
- 1852 639 97 2,095
- 1853 605 112 1,578
- 1854 607 119 2,019
- 1855 688 96 3,017
- 1856 780 94 2,668
- 1857 854 79 2,928
- 1858 777 39 2,370
- 1859 681 93 1,743
- 1860 692 39 1,936
-
-The first thing that strikes us in looking at these figures is the
-small amount of convictions that followed arrest. For instance in
-1850 out of 684 arrested only 116 were convicted. Yet we must not
-forget the difficulty of proving a charge of this description, and
-the unwillingness of men to prosecute. It is only natural that a man
-should have a repugnance to appear in public and mix himself up in a
-disgraceful affair of this sort. Any one who cared for his character
-and reputation would at once refuse, and in this repugnance we must
-look for the cause of the escape of so many offenders.
-
-Whenever an occurrence of this sort takes place in a brothel, one would
-imagine the police would have some grounds for prosecuting the keeper
-for harbouring thieves and persons who habitually break the public
-peace, but the criminal returns of the metropolitan police, from which
-we have before quoted, do not give one reason to think so.
-
-Let us examine the number of arrests for keeping common brothels,
-during the last ten years.
-
-
-NUMBER of PERSONS taken into custody for keeping Common Brothels,
-during the years 1850 to 1860.
-
- Females. Males. Total.
- 1850 4 4 = 8
- 1851 12 5 17
- 1852 4 6 10
- 1853 9 3 12
- 1854 none.
- 1855 6 4 10
- 1856 12 7 19
- 1857 6 8 14
- 1858 10 8 18
- 1859 9 9 18
- 1860 12 5 17
- ---
- 143
-
-The largest number (19) was in 1856, while in 1854 there were none at
-all. But we have already drawn attention to the difficulty the police
-have in dealing with these cases.
-
-Of those arrested:
-
- 1 was a clerk,
- 1 „ sailor,
- 13 were servants,
- 3 „ tailors,
- 1 was a printer,
- 1 was a sawyer,
- 1 „ interpreter,
- 1 „ cabinet-maker,
- 1 „ brass-founder,
- 1 „ green-grocer,
- 1 „ butcher,
- 2 were milliners,
- 3 „ laundresses,
- 9 „ labourers,
- 2 „ smiths,
- 6 „ carpenters,
- 3 „ general and marine store-dealers,
- 1 was a carver and gilder,
- 4 were shoemakers,
- 2 „ watch-makers,
- 2 „ painters,
- 3 „ bricklayers.
-
-The rest were of no trade or occupation, and depended for a livelihood
-solely upon this disgraceful means of subsistence.
-
-It is odd to see butchers, printers, tailors, carpenters,
-brass-founders, interpreters, bricklayers, and cabinet-makers combining
-this with their own legitimate trades, and if this is a common thing
-among the trades, how wide-spread the evil must be, for we have
-only an average of about 12 arrests annually, and this very small
-amount, with the perhaps light punishment awarded the offender by the
-sitting magistrate, or if committed by the judge, is evidently purely
-insufficient and ineffectual to act as a deterrent to others holding
-the same demoralizing views, and practising the same odious profession.
-
-A few pages back, while commenting upon crime amongst bawds and
-prostitutes, we took the liberty of criticising some remarks of Dr.
-Ryan’s about the prevalence of murder in immoral houses. The best proof
-presumptive he could have adduced in support of his theory he utterly
-neglected to bring forward. I mean the returns of the metropolitan
-police of the number of persons reported to them annually as missing.
-
-This return, so enormous, so mysterious, so startling, is certainly
-very alarming before it is analysed. But when with the eye of
-reflection we calmly and dispassionately look at it, our alarm
-diminishes as rapidly as it was excited.
-
-
-NUMBER OF PERSONS reported to the Police as lost or missing, and the
-number found and restored by the Police, during the years 1841 to 1860.
-
- Reported lost Restored by
- or Missing. the Police.
-
- 1841 1,000 560
- 1842 1,179 623
- 1843 1,218 623
- 1844 1,111 543
- 1845 2,201 1,000
- 1846 2,489 1,082
- 1847 2,216 1,111
- 1848 1,866 1,009
- 1849 1,473 994
- 1850 2,204 1,137
- 1851 1,876 928
- 1852 2,103 1,049
- 1853 2,034 900
- 1854 2,286 941
- 1855 2,178 964
- 1856 2,371 1,084
- 1857 2,171 1,198
- 1858 2,409 1,264
- 1859 2,374 1,054
- 1860 2,515 1,164
-
-For twenty years the number of persons reported lost, stolen, strayed,
-and missing has been steadily increasing.
-
- In 1841 it was 1,000
- „ 1851 1,876
- „ 1860 2,515
-
-Of which
-
- In 1841 560 were restored by the police.
- „ 1851 928 „ „
- „ 1860 1,164 „ „
-
-Now unscrupulous statisticians and newsmongers would not hesitate to
-say that the “Fleet Ditch” Dr. Ryan is so fond of might unfold a tale
-that would elucidate the mystery.
-
-It is surprising that in these enlightened days such monstrosities
-should be listened to.
-
-How many, I should like to know, disappear from home and enlist in the
-army? How many run away to sea, and how many commit suicide?
-
-A little reflection shows us that the tales of murder in immoral houses
-are only bugbears conjured up by moralists to frighten children. Not
-designedly perhaps, but more through ignorance than anything else.
-
-Perhaps the number of suicides committed annually in London may be of
-some use in reducing the number of lost and missing.
-
-
-NUMBER OF SUICIDES committed during the years 1841 to 1860.
-
- Year. Suicides committed. Year. Suicides committed.
- 1841 139 1851 120
- 1842 134 1852 109
- 1843 112 1853 131
- 1844 155 1854 118
- 1845 144 1855 116
- 1846 162 1856 127
- 1847 152 1857 154
- 1848 100 1858 90
- 1849 131 1859 180
- 1850 140 1860 104
-
-I find also that the number of suicides prevented by the police, or
-otherwise, is on an average nearly equal to the actual number of
-suicides committed.
-
-Many attempted suicides may not be genuine attempts; for we often hear
-in the police courts of people endeavouring to make the public believe
-they wished to destroy themselves, with the sole object of exciting
-sympathy and drawing attention to their case. However, it is difficult
-to distinguish, and it is clear there are annually many unhappy
-wretches who do make away with their lives, and also numbers who are
-providentially prevented.
-
-Rape is a crime that has not fluctuated to any great extent during
-the last ten years. I see that in 1850 there were 22 arrests for this
-offence, and the same number in 1860. Most of the prisoners were in
-a low station in life; 17 in 1850 only being able to read, or read
-and write imperfectly, and 15 in 1860 were in the same unintellectual
-position. In 1855, 21 individuals were given in charge, 16 of whom were
-imperfectly instructed. It must be remembered that not all those who
-were charged were convicted, or even committed for trial, because the
-charge of rape is one easy to trump up, and it requires very sound and
-unconflicting evidence to bring the charge home.
-
-Concealing the births of infants is a crime I am glad to perceive
-of more frequent occurrence, than feloniously attempting to procure
-abortion; for of two evils it is better the less preponderate.
-
- Concealing Feloniously attempting
- Year. Birth of their to procure
- Infants. Abortion.
- 1850 12 1
- 1855 10 1
- 1860 17 0
-
-
-In 1860 there were 2 cases of abduction, and in 1850 none at all; but
-in the latter year there were 61 cases of indecently exposing the
-person, which offence had in 1860 attained the dimensions of 103, three
-only, of which number were females, in the former instance eight.
-
-Of course it is only natural to expect that as the population of the
-empire increases, crime also will increase; and will more especially
-show its hideous and unwelcome visage in the metropolis, the centre of
-a vast and densely-populated kingdom. Where masses of men congregate,
-there disorder, dissension, and crime will have a place. We have to
-thank an efficient police force for keeping them within reasonable
-dimensions.
-
-I have already adverted to the difficulty experienced in even
-approximating to the actual number of prostitutes existing; but the
-magisterial authorities are enabled to catalogue and number those who
-are known to the police and those living in brothels.
-
-The subjoined table will be found extremely interesting:
-
- -------------------+-------------------------------------
- | Number known to the Police.
- +------+------------+-----------------
- Division | | | Who walk
- and | | | the Streets.
- Local Name. |Total.|Well dressed+--------+--------
- | | who live in| Well | All
- | | Brothels. |dressed.| others.
- -------------------+------+------------+--------+--------
- A or Whitehall | None.| None. | None. | None.
- B or Westminster | 469 | 177 | 17 | 275
- C or St. James | 208 | 58 | 150 |
- D or St. Mary’bone | 428 | 143 | 133 | 152
- E or Holborn | 511 | 173 | 58 | 280
- F or Covent Garden | 428 | 50 | 204 | 174
- G or Finsbury | 225 | 24 | 33 | 168
- H or Whitechapel | 811 | 73 | 82 | 656
- K or Stepney | 1015 | | 310 | 705
- L or Lambeth | 657 | 147 | 207 | 303
- M or Southwark | 661 | 53 | 140 | 468
- N or Islington | 441 | 90 | 136 | 215
- P or Camberwell | 222 | 44 | 96 | 82
- R or Greenwich | 570 | 172 | 124 | 274
- S or Hampstead | 331 | 14 | 56 | 261
- T or Kensington | 97 | | 5 | 92
- V or Wandsworth | 187 | 14 | 40 | 133
- -------------------+------+------------+--------+--------
- Totals |7,261 | 1,232 | 1,791 | 4,238
- -------------------+------+------------+--------+--------
-
-This is the latest return that the authorities at Whitehall are in
-possession of. It will be seen that the largest number of prostitutes
-are in Stepney; but the prostitution in this district, it would appear,
-is of a low description, and mostly ambulatory, as no evidence of any
-women living in brothels is given in the return.
-
-The registered increase since 1857, is in most districts absolutely
-nothing, whilst the decrease in many localities contrasts very
-favourably indeed with the increase. For instance:--
-
- -----------------------------+----------------------------
- Increase since last return, | Decrease since last return,
- made in July, 1857. | made in July, 1857.
- -----------------------------+----------------------------
- A None | A None
- B | B 55
- C | C 110
- D | D 98
- E | E 35
- F | F 52
- G | G 124
- H | H 992
- K | K 50
- L | L 145
- M | M 6
- N | N 4
- P | P 6
- R 169 | R
- S 100 | S
- T | T 9
- V | V 22
- --- | -----
- Total 269 | 1,708
- -----------------------------+----------------------------
-
-The police have thought it necessary to make special arrangements in
-special localities, to prevent disorder and enforce the law.
-
-
-SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS of POLICE made, and at what places, to prevent
-disorder and enforce the law.
-
- ------------------+-----------------------------
- Division and Local|
- Name. |
- ------------------+
- A or Whitehall |Cockspur Street--an additional
- | constable occasionally. St.
- | James’s, Green, and Hyde
- | Parks--additional constables
- | during summer months.
- ------------------+------------------------------
- C--St. James |Regent Street, Waterloo Place,
- | Quadrant, Haymarket, and
- | Coventry Street--four additional
- | constables (and sometimes
- | more) from 3 P.M. to
- | 3 A.M., daily.
- ------------------+-------------------------------------
- D--St. Marylebone |Oxford Street, Edgeware Road.
- | Harrow Road, and Paddington
- | Green--one additional
- | constable from 7 P.M. to 6
- | A.M., daily. Regent’s Park
- | and Bayswater Road--two
- | additional constables from 9
- | A.M. to 6 A.M., following
- | day. Portland Place--an
- | additional constable from 10
- | P.M. to 6 A.M.
- ------------------+-------------------------------------
- E--Holborn | Lower Regent Street and Portland
- | Place--one additional
- | constable from 7 P.M. to 10
- | P.M.; one ditto from 7 P.M.
- | till 2 A.M.; two additional
- | constables from 10 P.M. till
- | 2 A.M., and a sergeant in
- | plain clothes.
- ------------------+-------------------------------------
- F--Covent Garden | Strand--a sergeant, and occasionally
- | constables. Long
- | Acre--a constable frequently.
- ------------------+-------------------------------------
- H--Whitechapel | St. George’s Street and High
- | Street, Whitechapel--a constable,
- | and a short beat, each
- | place.
- ------------------+-------------------------------------
- L--Lambeth | Waterloo Road, Herbert’s Buildings,
- | and Granby Street--an
- | additional sergeant and two
- | constables patrolling.
- ------------------+-------------------------------------
- S--Hampstead |Regent’s Park--an additional
- | constable to patrol. Primrose
- | Hill--two additional constables
- | for eight hours after
- | Park constables go off duty.
- ------------------+-------------------------------------
-
-
-COMPARATIVE RETURN of the NUMBER of PROSTITUTES known to the Police,
-at four different periods, within the last seventeen years.
-
- Division and Local| In | In | In | In
- Name. | 1841| 1850| 1857| 1858
- ------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----
- A or Whitehall | | | |
- B „ Westminster | | 660| 524| 469
- C „ St. James’s | | 390| 318| 208
- D „ St. Marylebone| | 429| 526| 428
- E „ Holborn | | 461| 546| 511
- F „ Covent Garden | | 698| 480| 428
- G „ Finsbury | | 320| 349| 225
- H „ Whitechapel | | 474| 1803| 811
- K „ Stepney | | 827| 965| 1015
- L „ Lambeth | | 854| 802| 657
- M „ Southwark | | 531| 667| 661
- N „ Islington | | 457| 445| 441
- P „ Camberwell | | 152| 228| 222
- R „ Greenwich | | 288| 401| 570
- S „ Hampstead | | 216| 231| 331
- T „ Kensington | | 92| 106| 97
- V „ Wandsworth | | 157| 209| 187
- ------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----
- Totals | 6598| 7006| 8600| 7261
- ------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----
-
- NOTE.--The total number only for 1841 can now be given.
-
-These are the only statistics relative to prostitution that I have
-been able to procure--indeed I may almost say they are the only
-ones procurable; and for them I am indebted to the courtesy of the
-authorities at Whitehall, who, during my researches, have most kindly
-afforded me every facility that I could wish for.
-
-I dare say that few things contribute so much to the spread of
-immorality as the sale of indecent and obscene prints and books,
-which were until lately so widely disseminated over the country by
-book-hawkers and the filthy traders of Holywell Street. Even now this
-trade is not entirely suppressed, although the police restrictions are
-rigorous, and the punishments awarded severe.
-
-
-Selling obscene prints and exposing for sale:--
-
- In the year 1850 1
- „ „ 1851 4
- „ „ 1852 0
- „ „ 1853 0
- „ „ 1854 1
- „ „ 1855 0
- „ „ 1856 5
- „ „ 1857 4
- „ „ 1858 0
- „ „ 1859 3
- „ „ 1860 4
- --
- 22
-
-Recently a man called Dugdale, who has grown grey in this disgusting
-occupation, was brought before a magistrate for selling obscene prints,
-and also sending some to customers in the country. The magistrate
-committed him for trial, when he was sent to prison for two years.
-
-It is always more or less interesting to know the extent of instruction
-among criminals, and with that idea in view I have put together the
-annexed table, in which I have included all the offences that bear
-directly and remotely upon the subject I am treating.
-
-As regards the man Dugdale, and the sale of immoral publications,
-obscene prints, &c., a long account of the prisoner’s antecedents was
-given in the newspaper reports. He had been engaged in this infamous
-and diabolical traffic nearly forty years, and had spent a great number
-of them in prison at various times; tons weight of obscene books,
-pictures, and plates had been seized upon his premises, and he was well
-known to be the principal instrument for the dissemination of this sort
-of pollution all over the country. The prosecution was instituted by
-the meritorious Society for the Suppression of Vice. The judge made a
-few brief but impressive observations upon the inconceivable enormity
-of the prisoner’s offence, and the whole course of his life, which
-he said had been one of vice, wickedness, infamy, and villainy, the
-real extent of which words would fail to describe. From the records
-of public proceedings for years past the Court had a knowledge of the
-prisoner’s previous history, and it would be a waste of words and the
-public time to say any thing further to such a person. He was liable
-to three years’ hard-labour, but, considering his age, the Court would
-refrain from going to extremity, but in the discharge of their duty
-to society and the rising generation they felt bound to pass upon him
-a severe sentence, which was that he be kept to hard labour for two
-years.
-
-
-TABLE SHOWING THE DEGREE OF INSTRUCTION OF THE PERSONS TAKEN INTO
-CUSTODY DURING A PERIOD OF TEN YEARS--1850 TO 1860.
-
- ------------------------------------+------+------+--------+------------+--------+------------
- | | | | Read only, | |
- | | |Neither |or Read and |Read and| Superior
- | | |Read nor| Write | Write |Instruction.
- OFFENCES. |Years.|Total.| Write. |imperfectly.| well. |
- ------------------------------------+------+------+--------+------------+--------+------------
- Concealing births of their infants | From | 167| 28 | 124 | 15 |
- Feloniously attempting to procure 1850 | | | | |
- abortion | to | 9| | 3 | 4 | 2
- Rape | 1860.| 324| 44 | 226 | 97 | 1
- Disorderly Prostitutes | |41,914| 10,134 | 30,921 | 784 | 75
- Indecently exposing the person | | 1,155| 129 | 785 | 212 | 26
- Keeping common Brothels | | 143| 22 | 81 | 40 |
- Selling and exposing obscene prints | | 22| | 16 | 6 |
- for sale | | | | | |
- ------------------------------------+------+------+--------+------------+--------+------------
-
-Whilst I am dilating upon statistics it may not be inappropriate to
-refer to certain figures and facts relating to the Midnight Meeting
-movement.
-
-By the courtesy of Mr. Theophilus Smith, secretary to the Midnight
-Meeting movement, I have been furnished with the general statistical
-results.
-
-20 meetings have been held.
-
-4,000 friendless young women heard the gospel.
-
-23,000 Scripture cards, books, tracts, and Mr. Noel’s address at the
-second meeting circulated.
-
- 89 females restored to friends.
- 75 placed in service.
- 81 in homes.
- 1 set up in business.
- 2 emigrated.
- 6 married.
- 1 sent to France.
- 1 to Holland.
- 1 to New-York.
- 30 left homes after a short residence.
- ---
- 287
-
-Of this number (287) very many (upwards of thirty) have given evidence
-of a change of heart.
-
- 56 restored at Liverpool.
- 50 „ Manchester.
- 130 „ Edinburgh.
- 30 „ Dundee.
- 35 „ Dublin.
- 17 „ Cardiff.
- 10 „ Ramsgate.
- ---
- 358
-
-A total of 645, besides a large number who through the influence of the
-movement have given up a life of sin, and sought a way of escape for
-themselves. The committee have heard of many.
-
-I append a list of the metropolitan homes and refuges.
-
-1. British Penitent Female Refuge. Cambridge Heath, Hackney, N.E.
-
-2. Female Temporary Home. 218, Marylebone Road, N.W.
-
-3. Guardian Society. 12, North side of Bethnal Green, N.E.
-
-4. Home for Friendless Young Females of Good Character. 17, New Ormond
-Street, W.C.
-
-5. Home for Penitent Females. White Lion Street, Islington, N.
-
-6. Lock Asylum. Westbourne Green, Paddington.
-
-7. London Diocesan Penitentiary. Park House, Highgate, N.
-
-8. London Female Dormitory. 9, Abbey Road, St. John’s Wood.
-
-9. London Female Penitentiary. 166, Pentonville Road, N.
-
-10. London Female Preventive and Reformatory Institution. 200, Euston
-Road, N.W., and 18, Cornwall Place, Holloway Road, N.
-
-11. London Society for Protection of Young Females. Asylum, Tottenham,
-N.; Office, 28, New Broad Street, E.C.
-
-12. Magdalen Hospital. 115, Blackfriars Road, S.
-
-13. Refuge for the Destitute. Manor House, Dalston, N.E.
-
-14. Society for the Rescue of Young Women and Children. There are five
-homes; the office at 11, Poultry, E.C.
-
-15. South London Institution.
-
-16. St. Marylebone Female Protection Society. 157, Marylebone Road, N.W.
-
-17. St. James’ Home. Whetstone, Finchley Common, W.
-
-18. Trinity Home. 9, Portland Road, Portland Place, W.
-
-19. Westminster Female Refuge. 44, Vincent Square, S.W.
-
-From February 1860 to February 1861, by contributions and collections
-the Society, it appears from the balance sheet, received 2,924_l._
-7_s._ 4_d._
-
-
-TRAFFIC IN FOREIGN WOMEN.
-
-One of the most disgraceful, horrible and revolting practices (not
-even eclipsed by the slave-trade), carried on by Europeans is the
-importation of girls into England from foreign countries to swell the
-ranks of prostitution. It is only very recently that the attention of
-Mr. Tyrrwhit, at the Marlborough Police Court, was drawn to the subject
-by Mr. Dalbert, agent to the “Society for the Protection of Women and
-Children.”
-
-It is asserted that women are imported from Belgium, and placed
-in houses of ill-fame, where they are compelled to support their
-keepers in luxury and idleness by the proceeds of their dishonour.
-One house in particular was mentioned in Marylebone; but the state
-of the law respecting brothels is so peculiar that great difficulty
-is experienced in extricating these unfortunate creatures from their
-dreadful position. If it were proved beyond the suspicion of a doubt,
-that they were detained against their will, the Habeas Corpus Act might
-be of service to their friends, but it appears they are so jealously
-guarded, that all attempts to get at them have hitherto proved futile,
-although there is every reason to believe that energetic measures
-will be taken by the above-mentioned Society to mitigate the evil and
-relieve the victims.
-
-As this traffic is clandestine, and conducted with the greatest
-caution, it is impossible to form any correct idea of its extent. There
-are numbers of foreign women about, but it is probable that many of
-them have come over here of their own free-will, and not upon false
-pretences or compulsion. One meets with French, Spanish, Italian,
-Belgian, and other women.
-
-The complaint made before the metropolitan magistrate a short while
-since was in favour of Belgian women. But the traffic is not confined
-to them alone. It would appear that the unfortunate creatures are
-deluded by all sorts of promises and cajolery, and when they arrive
-in this country are, in point of fact, imprisoned in certain houses
-of ill-fame, whose keepers derive considerable emolument from their
-durance. They are made to fetter themselves in some way or other to the
-trepanner, and they, in their simple-mindedness, consider their deed
-binding, and look upon themselves, until the delusion is dispelled, as
-thoroughly in the power of their keepers.
-
-English women are also taken to foreign parts by designing speculators.
-The English are known to congregate at Boulogne, at Havre, at Dieppe,
-at Ostend, and other places. It is considered lucrative by the keepers
-of bawdy-houses at these towns to maintain an efficient supply of
-English women for their resident countrymen: and though the supply is
-inadequate to the demand, great numbers of girls are decoyed every
-year, and placed in the “Maisons de passé,” or “Maisons de joie,”
-as they are sometimes called, where they are made to prostitute
-themselves. And by the farm of their persons enable their procurers to
-derive considerable profit.
-
-An Englishwoman told me how she was very nearly entrapped by a foreign
-woman. “I met an emissary of a French bawdy-house,” she said, “one
-night in the Haymarket, and, after conversing with her upon various
-subjects, she opened the matter she had in hand, and, after a little
-manœuvring and bush-beating, she asked me if I would not like to go
-over to France. She specified a town, which was Havre. ‘You will get
-lots of money’, she added, and further represented ‘that I should have
-a very jolly time of it.’ ‘The money you make will be equally divided
-between yourself and the woman of the house, and when you have made
-as much as you want, you may come back to England and set up a café or
-night-house, where your old friends will be only too glad to come and
-see you. You will of course get lots of custom, and attain a better
-future than you can now possibly hope for. You ought to look upon me
-as the greatest friend you have, for I am putting a chance in your way
-that does not occur every day, I can tell you. If you value your own
-comfort, and think for a moment about your future, you cannot hesitate.
-I have an agreement in my pocket, duly drawn up by a solicitor, so you
-may rely upon its being all on the square, and if you sign this--’
-
-“‘To-night?’ I asked.
-
-“‘Yes, immediately. If you sign this, I will supply you with some money
-to get what you want, and the day after to-morrow you shall sail for
-Havre. Madame ---- is a very nice sort of person, and will do all in
-her power to make you happy and comfortable, and indeed she will allow
-you to do exactly as you please.’”
-
-Fortunately for herself my informant refused to avail herself of
-the flattering prospect so alluringly held out to her. The bait was
-tempting enough, but the fish was too wary.
-
-Now let us hear the recital of a girl who, at an early age, had been
-incarcerated in one of these “Maisons de passé.” She is now in England,
-has been in a refuge, and by the authorities of the charity placed in
-an occupation which enables her to acquire a livelihood sufficient to
-allow her to live as she had, up to that time, been accustomed to. Her
-story I subjoin:--
-
-“When I was sixteen years old, my father, who kept a public-house in
-Bloomsbury, got into difficulties and became bankrupt. I had no mother,
-and my relations, such as they were, insisted upon my keeping myself in
-some way or other. This determination on their part thoroughly accorded
-with my own way of thinking, and I did not for an instant refuse to do
-so. It then became necessary to discover something by which I could
-support myself. Service suggested itself to me and my friends, and we
-set about finding out a situation that I could fill. They told me I was
-pretty, and as I had not been accustomed to do anything laborious, they
-thought I would make a very good lady’s maid. I advertised in a morning
-paper, and received three answers to my advertisement. The first I went
-to did not answer my expectations, and the second was moderately good;
-but I resolved to go to the third, and see the nature of it before
-I came to any conclusion. Consequently I left the second open, and
-went to the third. It was addressed from a house in Bulstrode-street,
-near Welbeck-street. I was ushered into the house, and found a foreign
-lady waiting to receive me. She said she was going back to France,
-and wished for an English girl to accompany her, as she infinitely
-preferred English to French women. She offered me a high salary, and
-told me my duties would be light; in fact by comparing her statement
-of what I should have to do with that of the others I had visited, I
-found that it was more to my advantage to live with her than with them.
-So after a little consultation with myself, I determined to accept her
-offer. No sooner had I told her so than she said in a soft tone of
-voice--
-
-“‘Then, my dear, just be good enough to sign this agreement between us.
-It is merely a matter of form--nothing more, _ma chère_.”
-
-“I asked her what it was about, and why it was necessary for me to sign
-any paper at all?
-
-“She replied, ‘Only for our mutual satisfaction. I wish you to remain
-with me for one year, as I shall not return to England until then.
-And if you hadn’t some agreement with me, to bind you as it were to
-stay with me, why, _mon Dieu!_ you might leave me directly--oh! _c’est
-rien_. You may sign without fear or trembling.’
-
-“Hearing this explanation of the transaction, without reading over the
-paper which was written on half a sheet of foolscap, (for I did not
-wish to insult or offend her by so doing,) I wrote my name.
-
-“She instantly seized the paper, held it to the fire for a moment or
-two to dry, and folding it up placed it in her pocket.
-
-“She then requested me to be ready to leave London with her on the
-following Thursday, which allowed me two days to make my preparations
-and to take leave of my friends, which I did in very good spirits, as
-I thought I had a very fair prospect before me. It remained for what
-ensued to disabuse me of that idea.
-
-“We left the St. Katherine’s Docks in the steamer for Boulogne, and
-instead of going to an hotel, as I expected, we proceeded to a private
-house in the Rue N-- C--, near the Rue de l’Ecu. I have farther to tell
-you that three other young women accompanied us. One was a housemaid,
-one was a nursery governess, and the other a cook. I was introduced to
-them as people that I should have to associate with when we arrived
-at Madame’s house. In fact they were represented to be part of the
-establishment; and they, poor things, fully believed they were,
-being as much deluded as myself. The house that Madame brought us
-to was roomy and commodious, and, as I afterwards discovered, well,
-if not elegantly, furnished. We were shown into very good bedrooms,
-much better than I expected would be allotted to servants; and when
-I mentioned this to Madame, and thanked her for her kindness and
-consideration, she replied with a smile:--
-
-“‘Did I not tell you how well you would be treated? we do these things
-better in France than they do in England.’
-
-“I thanked her again as she was going away, but she said, ‘_Tais toi,
-Tais toi_,’ and left me quite enchanted with her goodness.”
-
-I need not expatiate on what subsequently ensued. It is easy to imagine
-the horrors that the poor girl had to undergo. With some difficulty she
-was conquered and had to submit to her fate. She did not know a word of
-the language, and was ignorant of the only method she could adopt to
-insure redress. But this she happily discovered in a somewhat singular
-manner. When her way of living had become intolerable to her, she
-determined to throw herself on the generosity of a young Englishman who
-was in the habit of frequenting the house she lived in, and who seemed
-to possess some sort of affection for her.
-
-She confessed her miserable position to him, and implored him to
-protect her or point out a means of safety. He at once replied, “The
-best thing you can do is to go to the British Consul and lay your
-case before him. He will in all probability send you back to your own
-country.” It required little persuasion on her part to induce her
-friend to co-operate with her. The main thing to be managed was to
-escape from the house. This was next to impossible, as they were so
-carefully watched. But they were allowed occasionally, if they did not
-show any signs of discontent to go out for a walk in the town. The
-ramparts surrounding the “_Haute Ville_” were generally selected by
-this girl as her promenade, and when this privilege of walking out was
-allowed her, she was strictly enjoined not to neglect any opportunity
-that might offer itself. She arranged to meet her young friend there,
-and gave him notice of the day upon which she would be able to go out.
-If a girl who was so privileged chanced to meet a man known to the
-_Bonne_ or attendant as a frequenter of the house, she retired to a
-convenient distance or went back altogether. The plot succeeded, the
-consul was appealed to and granted the girl a passport to return to
-England, also offering to supply her with money to pay her passage
-home. This necessity was obviated by the kindness of her young English
-friend, who generously gave her several pounds, and advised her to
-return at once to her friends.
-
-Arrived in England, she found her friends reluctant to believe the
-tale she told them, and found herself thrown on her own resources.
-Without a character, and with a mind very much disturbed, she found
-it difficult to do anything respectable, and at last had recourse to
-prostitution;--so difficult is it to come back to the right path when
-we have once strayed from it.
-
-Perhaps it is almost impossible to stop this traffic; but at any
-rate the infamous wretches who trade in it may be intimidated by
-publicity being given to their acts, and the indignation of the public
-being roused in consequence. What can we imagine more dreadful than
-kidnapping a confiding unsuspecting girl, in some cases we may say
-child, without exaggeration, for a girl of fifteen is not so very far
-removed from those who come within the provisions of the Bishop of
-Oxford’s Act? I repeat, what can be more horrible than transporting a
-girl, as it were, by false representations from her native land to a
-country of strangers, and condemning her against her will to a life of
-the most revolting slavery and degradation, without her having been
-guilty of any offence against an individual or against the laws of the
-land?
-
-It is difficult to believe that there can be many persons engaged in
-this white slave-trade, but it is undeniably true.
-
-It is not a question for the legislature; for what could Parliament
-do? The only way to decrease the iniquity is to widely disseminate the
-knowledge of the existence of such infamy, that those whom it most
-nearly concerns, may be put upon their guard, and thus be enabled to
-avoid falling into the trap so cunningly laid for them.
-
-Much praise is due to those benevolent societies who interest
-themselves in these matters, and especially to that which we have
-alluded to more than once--“The Society for the Protection of Women and
-Children,” over which Lord Raynham presides.
-
-Much good may be done by this means, and much misery prevented. The
-mines of Siberia, with all their terrors, would be preferred--even with
-the knout in prospective--by these poor girls, were the alternative
-proffered them, to the wretched life they are decoyed into leading. For
-all their hopes are blasted, all their feelings crushed, their whole
-existence blighted, and their life rendered a misery to them instead
-of a blessing and a means of rational enjoyment.
-
-The idea of slavery of any kind is repulsive to the English mind;
-but when that slavery includes incarceration, and mental as well as
-physical subjection to the dominant power by whom that durance is
-imposed, it becomes doubly and trebly repugnant. If it were simply
-the deprivation of air and exercise, or even the performance of the
-most menial offices, it might be borne with some degree of resignation
-by the sufferer, however unmerited the punishment. But here we have
-a totally different case: no offence is committed by the victim,
-but rather by nature, for what is her fault, but being pretty and
-a woman? For this caprice of the genius of form who presided over
-her birth she is condemned to a life of misery, degradation, and
-despair; compelled to receive caresses that are hateful to her, she
-is at one moment the toy of senile sensuality, and at others of
-impetuous juvenility, both alike loathsome, both alike detestable. If
-blandishments disgust her, words of endearment only make her state of
-desolation more palpable; while profusions of regard serve to aggravate
-the poignancy of her grief, all around her is hollow, all artificial
-except her wretchedness. When to this is added ostracism--banishment
-from one’s native country--the condition of the unfortunate woman is
-indeed pitiable, for there is some slight consolation in hearing one’s
-native language spoken by those around us, and more especially to the
-class from which these girls are for the most part taken. We must add
-“_pour comble d’injustice_,” that there is no future for the girl,
-no reprieve, no hope of mercy, every hope is gone from the moment the
-prison tawdry is assumed. The condemnation is severe enough, for it is
-for life. When her beauty and her charms no longer serve to attract
-the libidinous, she sinks into the condition of a servant to others
-who have been ensnared to fill her place. Happiness cannot be achieved
-by her at any period of her servitude; there must always be a restless
-longing for the end, which though comparatively quick in arriving is
-always too tardy.
-
-The mind in time in many cases becomes depraved, and the hardness of
-heart that follows this depravity often prevents the girl from feeling
-as acutely as she did at first. To these religion is a dead letter,
-which is a greater and additional calamity. But to be brief, the
-victim’s whole life from first to last is a series of disappointments,
-combined with a succession of woes that excite a shudder by their
-contemplation, and which may almost justify the invocation of Death:--
-
- “Death, Death, oh amiable lovely death!
- Thou odoriferous stench! sound rottenness!
- Arise forth from the couch of lasting night,
- Thou hate and terror to prosperity,
- And I will kiss thy detestable bones;
- And put my eyeballs in thy vaulty brows;
- And ring these fingers with thy household worms;
- And stop this gap of breath with fulsome dust,
- And be a carrion monster like thyself;
- Come, grin on me; and I will think thou smil’st,
- And kiss thee as thy wife! Misery’s love,
- O, come to me!”
-
- SHAKESPERE, _King John_, Act iii. Scene 4.
-
-
-
-
-THIEVES AND SWINDLERS.
-
-
-INTRODUCTION.
-
-In tracing the geography of a river it is interesting to go to its
-source, possibly a tiny spring in the cleft of a rock in some mountain
-glen. You follow its windings, observing each tributary which flows
-into its gathering flood until it discharges its waters into the sea.
-We proceed in a similar manner to treat of the thieves and swindlers of
-the metropolis.
-
-Thousands of our felons are trained from their infancy in the bosom of
-crime; a large proportion of them are born in the homes of habitual
-thieves and other persons of bad character, and are familiarized with
-vice from their earliest years; frequently the first words they lisp
-are oaths and curses. Many of them are often carried to the beershop or
-gin palace on the breast of worthless drunken mothers, while others,
-clothed in rags, run at their heels or hang by the skirts of their
-petticoats. In their wretched abodes they soon learn to be deceitful
-and artful, and are in many cases very precocious. The greater number
-are never sent to school; some run idle about the streets in low
-neighbourhoods: others are sent out to beg throughout the city; others
-go out with their mothers and sit beside their stalls; while others
-sell a handful of matches or small wares in our public thoroughfares.
-
-One day, in going down a dark alley in the Borough, near Horsemonger
-Lane Gaol, we saw a little boy--an Irish cockney, who had been tempted
-to steal by other boys he was in the habit of associating with. He was
-stripped entirely naked, and was looking over a window on the first
-floor with a curious grin on his countenance. His mother had kept his
-clothes from him that day as a punishment for stealing, and to prevent
-him getting out of the house while she went out to her street-stall.
-
-In our brief sketch of the criminals of the metropolis, we have in the
-outset directed our attention to the sneaks or common thieves--by far
-the larger number of our criminal population--from whose ranks the
-expert pickpockets and the ingenious and daring burglars in most cases
-emerge. We have treated of the incipient stage of thieving, when the
-child of five or six years of age steals an apple, or an orange, or a
-handful of nuts from a stall, or an old pair of boots from a shop door,
-and then traced the after-stages of more daring crime.
-
-There are thousands of neglected children loitering about the low
-neighbourhoods of the metropolis, and prowling about the streets,
-begging and stealing for their daily bread. They are to be found in
-Westminster, Whitechapel, Shoreditch, St. Giles’s, New Cut, Lambeth,
-the Borough, and other localities. Hundreds of them may be seen leaving
-their parents’ homes and low lodging-houses every morning sallying
-forth in search of food and plunder. They are fluttering in rags and
-in the most motley attire. Some are orphans and have no one to care
-for them; others have left their homes and live in lodging-houses
-in the most improvident manner, never thinking of to-morrow; others
-are sent out by their unprincipled parents to beg and steal for a
-livelihood; others are the children of poor but honest and industrious
-people, who have been led to steal through the bad companionship
-of juvenile thieves. Many of them have never been at a day-school
-nor attended a Sunday or ragged-school, and have had no moral or
-religious instruction. On the contrary, they have been surrounded by
-the most baneful and degrading influences, and have been set a bad
-example by their parents and others with whom they came in contact,
-and are shunned by the honest and industrious classes of society. The
-chief agencies which have tended to ameliorate their condition are
-the ragged-schools, where they receive sound secular and religious
-instruction; the shoeblacks’ brigades, where they are trained in habits
-of honest industry; and the juvenile reformatories, which have been
-instituted for their moral and social elevation.
-
-Many of them are hungry, and have no food to eat nor money to purchase
-it, and readily steal when they find a suitable opportunity. Not having
-received the benefit of a sound moral training, they have not the
-conscientious scruples possessed by the children of honest parents;
-their only care is to avoid being detected in their felonies. When they
-successfully steal some article from a stall or shop-door, or rifle a
-till by entering the shop, they are congratulated on their expertness
-by their companions, and enjoy a larger share of plunder.
-
-The public streets of the metropolis are regarded by these ragged
-little felons and the children of honest industrious parents in a
-very different aspect. The latter walk the streets with their eyes
-sparkling with wonder and delight at the beautiful and grand sights of
-the metropolis. They are struck with the splendour of the shops and the
-elegance and stateliness of the public buildings, and with the dense
-crowds of people of various orders, and trains of vehicles thronging
-the streets. These little ragged thieves walk along the streets with
-very different emotions. They, too, in their own way, enjoy the sights
-and sounds of London. Amid the busy crowds many of them are to be seen
-sitting in groups on the pavement or loitering about in good-humour and
-merriment; yet ever and anon their keen roguish eyes sparkle as they
-look into the windows of the confectioners’, bakers’, and greengrocers’
-shops, at the same time keeping a sharp eye on the policeman as he
-passes on his beat.
-
-These juvenile thieves find an ample field for plunder at the stalls
-and shop-doors in Whitechapel, Shoreditch, Edgeware Road, and similar
-localities, where many articles are exposed for sale, which can be
-easily disposed of to some of the low fences. In this manner thousands
-of our felons are trained to be expert and daring in crime, and are
-frequently tried and convicted before the Police Courts.
-
-This is the main source of the habitual felons of the metropolis. As
-these boys and girls grow up they commence a system of sneaking thefts
-over the metropolis, some purloining in shops, others gliding into
-areas and lobbies on various pretences, stealing articles from the
-kitchen, and when opportunity occurs carrying off the plate.
-
-As these young felons advance in years they branch off into three
-different classes, determined partly by their natural disposition and
-personal qualities, and partly by the circumstances in which they are
-placed. Many of them continue through life to sneak as common thieves,
-others become expert pickpockets, and some ultimately figure as
-burglars.
-
-A vast number of juvenile thieves as they grow up continue to carry
-on a system of petty felonies over the metropolis, and reside in the
-lowest neighbourhoods. Some pretend to sell laces and small wares to
-get a pretext to call at the houses of labouring people and tradesmen,
-and to go down the areas and enter the lobbies in fashionable streets.
-In addition to the paltry profits arising from these sales they get
-a livelihood by begging, and as a matter of course do not scruple to
-steal when they can find an opportunity.
-
-These common thieves are of both sexes, and of various ages, and are
-often characterized by mental imbecility and low cunning. Many of them
-are lazy in disposition and lack energy both of body and mind. They go
-out daily in vast shoals over the metropolis picking up a miserable and
-precarious livelihood, sometimes committing felonies in the houses they
-visit of considerable value.
-
-The pickpockets are of various ages and of different degrees of
-proficiency, from the little ragged urchin in St. Giles’s stealing
-a handkerchief at the tail of a gentleman’s coat, to the elegantly
-dressed and expert pickpocket promenading in the West-end and attending
-fashionable assemblies. Some are dressed as mechanics, others as
-clerks, some as smart business men, and others in fashionable attire.
-They are to be found on all public occasions, some of them clumsy and
-timid, others daring and most expert. Many of them continue to pursue
-this class of felonies in preference to any other. They receive a
-considerable accession to their numbers by young women, frequently
-servants who have been seduced, and cohabit with burglars, pickpockets,
-and others, and who are trained to this infamous profession, and in
-many cases are shoplifters.
-
-Many are trained to commit housebreaking and burglaries from fourteen
-to fifteen years of age. Boys are occasionally employed to enter
-through fanlights and windows, and to assist otherwise in plundering
-dwellings and shops. Some of them commit burglaries of small value in
-working neighbourhoods, where comparatively little ingenuity and skill
-are required, others plunder shops and warehouses and fashionable
-dwellings, which is generally done with greater care and ingenuity, and
-where the booty is often of higher value.
-
-In addition to the three classes we have named, the common thief, the
-pickpocket, and the burglar, there is another class of low ruffians who
-frequently cohabit with low women and prostitutes, and commit highway
-robberies. They often follow these degraded females on the streets,
-and attack persons who accost them, believing them to be prostitutes.
-At other times they garotte men on the street at midnight, or in the
-by-streets in the evening, and plunder them with violence. This class
-of persons are generally hardened in crime, and many of them are
-returned convicts.
-
-The habitual crime of the female portion of the community is in most
-cases associated with prostitution. We learn from statistics collected
-by the metropolitan constabulary for 1860, that there are nearly 7000
-open prostitutes or street-walkers in London, three fourths of whom we
-have reason to believe are addicted to stealing. While many of these
-belong to our native-born felon population, a large proportion have
-been seduced from the ranks of honest and industrious people in London,
-or have come up from the provinces, while a few of them are from the
-Continent.
-
-We believe that the most effective means of checking the crime of the
-metropolis is to have an efficient machinery of ragged schools in those
-low neighbourhoods, where neglected children are to be found, similar
-to the ragged school in George’s Yard, and to train them in honest
-employment, as in the shoeblack brigades or industrial schools.
-
-We learn from the statistics of the constabulary of the metropolis that
-juvenile crime has been considerably reduced within the past ten years.
-Several of our police inspectors have laboured with untiring industry
-to reform the lodging-houses and to introduce cleanliness and decency,
-where immorality and filth formerly prevailed. And noble exertions have
-been made by Christian societies to illumine these dark localities with
-the light of Christian truth.
-
-Yet much still remains to be done. And it is a problem worthy of our
-highest and wisest statesmen to consider whether adequate means to
-elevate this abandoned class are to be provided by voluntary effort, or
-by the paternal care of our Government from the public treasury.
-
-It is far easier to train the young in virtuous and industrious habits,
-than to reform the grown-up felon who has become callous in crime,
-and it is besides far more profitable to the State. To neglect them
-or inadequately to attend to their welfare gives encouragement to the
-growth of this dangerous class. On the other hand how noble the aim,
-to adopt wise and vigorous measures to provide for these children of
-adversity and misfortune, and to transform them into useful members of
-society!
-
-Our national reformatories are very useful in reclaiming those
-juveniles who have fallen into crime; but ragged schools efficiently
-conducted would be of still higher value--as prevention is better than
-cure. In providing those noble machineries by voluntary effort, or by
-the State, we would wisely act as the minister of Divine Providence,
-and would thereby promote the best interests and prosperity of our
-country.
-
-We have also endeavoured to give a cursory sketch of the swindlers
-of the metropolis, who are generally of a different class from our
-felon population. They consist of persons embezzling the property
-of their employers; of sharpers plundering their dupes by tricks at
-card-playing, skittles, or otherwise; and of rogues abstracting the
-property of the public by false pretences. Many of these formerly
-belonged to the ranks of the honest and industrious working and
-middle-classes, and not a few of them are well connected, and have
-lived in fashionable society. By improvidence, extravagance, or
-dissipation, they have squandered their means, and have now basely
-adopted a course of systematic dishonesty rather than lead an
-industrious life. Some of them have led a fast life in the metropolis,
-and are persons of ruined fortune. Others are indolent in disposition,
-and carry on a subtle system of public robbery rather than pursue some
-honest occupation or calling.
-
-It may throw considerable light on the crime of London to look to
-the criminal statistics of the Metropolitan Police Force. We find a
-statement of those who were apprehended or proceeded against in the
-year ending 29th September, 1860.
-
-Under the class of persons proceeded against on indictment there are:--
-
- Known thieves 813
- Prostitutes 159
- Suspected characters 1,440
- -----
- 2,412
-
-Under the class of persons proceeded against summarily there are:--
-
- Known thieves 2,850
- Prostitutes 7,381
- Vagrants, tramps, &c. 2,888
- Suspicious characters 7,044
- Habitual drunkards 3,661
- ------
- 23,824
-
-A number of these parties have appeared repeatedly before the Police
-Courts during the year.
-
-In the return for the month of September, 1860, we find the following
-statement of depredators, offenders, and suspected persons at large
-within the districts of the police:--
-
- Known thieves and depredators 2,906
- Prostitutes 6,881
- Suspicious characters 1,770
- Vagrants and tramps 1,461
- ------
- In all, 3,018
-
-The average number of persons roaming as thieves over the metropolis
-committing depredations may be safely estimated at from 12,000 to
-15,000; a huge army living on the industry of the community.
-
- The amount of property abstracted
- in the metropolitan districts for the
- year 1860 £62,095
- Ditto ditto in the City 9,508
- -------
- £71,603
-
-This does not give the full amount of the depredations committed by the
-robbers of the metropolis, as many felonies are not included in the
-police returns.
-
-In writing this account of the state of crime in London, we have
-received valuable assistance throughout from the city and metropolitan
-police force. We have to acknowledge our obligations generally to Sir
-Richard Mayne and Mr. Yardley at Scotland Yard, and specially to Mr.
-Jones, of Tower Street Police Station, Lambeth, for information on
-common thieves; to Mr. Whyte of Marylebone Station on skeleton-key
-and attic thieves; to Serjeant McVitti of Hoxton; Mr. Ackrill of
-Fleet Street, and Mr. Jones of Tower Street on pickpockets; to
-Inspector Foulger of the City police; Mr. Knight, of Fleet Street, and
-Serjeant Potter of Paddington Station on burglars, forgers, magsmen
-and skittle-sharps; to Mr. Brennan on coiners; to Inspector Broad
-of Spitalfields Station on highway robbers; to Inspector Hunt on
-embezzlers; to Mr. Stubbs on swindlers; and to numerous other officers
-of the city and metropolitan police for their generous and cordial aid.
-
-
-
-
-THE SNEAKS, OR COMMON THIEVES.
-
-
-The common thief is not distinguished for manual dexterity and
-accomplishment, like the pickpocket or mobsman, nor for courage,
-ingenuity, and skill, like the burglar, but is characterized by low
-cunning and stealth--hence he is termed the _Sneak_, and is despised by
-the higher classes of thieves.
-
-There are various orders of Sneaks--from the urchin stealing an apple
-at a stall, to the man who enters a dwelling by the area or an attic
-window and carries off the silver plate.
-
-In treating of the various classes of common thieves and their
-different modes of felony, we shall first treat of the juvenile thieves
-and their delinquencies, and notice the other classes in their order,
-according to the progressive nature and aggravation of their crime.
-
-_Street-stalls._--In wandering along Whitechapel we see ranges of
-stalls on both sides of the street, extending from the neighbourhood of
-the Minories to Whitechapel church. Various kinds of merchandize are
-exposed to sale. There are stalls for fruit, vegetables, and oysters.
-There are also stalls where fancy goods are exposed for sale--combs,
-brushes, chimney-ornaments, children’s toys, and common articles of
-jewellery. We find middle-aged women standing with baskets of firewood,
-and Cheap Johns selling various kinds of Sheffield cutlery, stationery,
-and plated goods.
-
-It is an interesting sight to saunter along the New Cut, Lambeth, and
-to observe the street stalls of that locality. Here you see some old
-Irish woman, with apples and pears exposed on a small board placed on
-the top of a barrel, while she is seated on an upturned bushel basket
-smoking her pipe.
-
-Alongside you notice a deal board on the top of a tressel, and an Irish
-girl of 18 years of age seated on a small three-legged stool, shouting
-in shrill tones “Apples, fine apples, ha’penny a lot!”
-
-You find another stall on the top of two tressels, with a larger
-quantity of apples and pears, kept by a woman who sits by with a child
-at her breast.
-
-In another place you see a costermonger’s barrow, with large green
-and yellow piles of fruit of better quality than the others, and a
-group of boys and girls assembled around him as he smartly disposes of
-pennyworths to the persons passing along the street.
-
-Outside a public-house you see a young man, humpbacked, with a basket
-of herrings and haddocks standing on the pavement, calling “Yarmouth
-herrings--three a-penny!” and at the door of a beershop with the sign
-of the “Pear Tree” we find a miserable looking old woman selling
-cresses, seated on a stool with her feet in an old basket.
-
-As we wander along the New Cut during the day, we do not see so many
-young thieves loitering about; but in the evening when the lamps are
-lit, they steal forth from their haunts, with keen roguish eye, looking
-out for booty. We then see them loitering about the stalls or mingling
-among the throng of people in the street, looking wistfully on the
-tempting fruit displayed on the stalls.
-
-These young Arabs of the city have a very strange and motley
-appearance. Many of them are only 6 or 7 years of age, others 8 or 10.
-Some have no jacket, cap, or shoes, and wander about London with their
-ragged trowsers hung by one brace; some have an old tattered coat, much
-too large for them, without shoes and stockings, and with one leg of
-the trowsers rolled up to the knee; others have on an old greasy grey
-or black cap, with an old jacket rent at the elbows, and strips of the
-lining hanging down behind; others have on an old dirty pinafore; while
-some have petticoats. They are generally in a squalid and unwashed
-condition, with their hair clustered in wild disorder like a mop, or
-hanging down in dishevelled locks,--in some cases cropped close to the
-head.
-
-Groups of these ragged urchins may be seen standing at the corners of
-the streets and in public thoroughfares, with blacking-boxes slung on
-their back by a leathern belt, or crouching in groups on the pavement;
-or we may occasionally see them running alongside of omnibuses, cabs,
-and hansoms, nimbly turning somersaults on the pavement as they scamper
-along, and occasionally walking on their hands with their feet in the
-air in our fashionable streets, to the merriment of the passers-by.
-Most of them are Irish cockneys, which we can observe in their features
-and accent--to which class most of the London thieves belong. They are
-generally very acute and ready-witted, and have a knowing twinkle in
-their eye which exhibits the precocity of their minds.
-
-As we ramble along the New Cut in the dusk, mingled in the throng on
-the crowded street, chiefly composed of working people, the young
-ragged thieves may be seen stealing forth: their keen eye readily
-recognizes the police-officers proceeding in their rounds, as well as
-the detective officers in their quiet and cautious movements. They
-seldom steal from costermongers, but frequently from the old women’s
-stalls. One will push an old woman off her seat--perhaps a bushel
-basket, while the others will steal her fruit or the few coppers lying
-on her stall. This is done by day as well as by night, but chiefly in
-the dusk of the evening.
-
-They generally go in a party of three or four, sometimes as many as
-eight together. Watching their opportunity, they make a sudden snatch
-at the apples or pears, or oranges or nuts, or walnuts, as the case may
-be, then run off, with the cry of “stop thief!” ringing in their ears
-from the passers-by. These petty thefts are often done from a love of
-mischief rather than from a desire for plunder.
-
-When overtaken by a police-officer, they in general readily go with
-him to the police-station. Sometimes the urchin will lie down in the
-street and cry “let me go!” and the bystanders will take his part. This
-is of frequent occurrence in the neighbourhood of the New-cut and the
-Waterloo-road--a well-known rookery of young thieves in London.
-
-By the petty thefts at the fruit-stalls they do not gain much
-money--seldom so much as to get admittance to the gallery of the
-Victoria Theatre, which they delight to frequent. They are particularly
-interested in the plays of robberies, burglaries, and murders performed
-there, which are done in melodramatic style. There are similar
-fruit-stalls in the other densely populated districts of the metropolis.
-
-In the Mile-end-road, and New North-road, and occasionally in
-other streets in different localities of London, common jewellery
-is exposed for sale, consisting of brooches, rings, bracelets,
-breast-pins, watch-chains, eye-glasses, ear-rings and studs, &c. There
-are also stalls for the sale of china, looking-glasses, combs, and
-chimney-ornaments. The thefts from these are generally managed in this
-way:--
-
-One goes up and looks at some trifling article in company with
-his associates. The party in charge of the stall--generally a
-woman--knowing their thieving propensity, tells them to go away; which
-they decline to do. When the woman goes to remove him, another boy
-darts forward at the other end of the stall and steals some article of
-jewellery, or otherwise, while her attention is thus distracted.
-
-These juvenile thieves are chiefly to be found in Lucretia-street,
-Lambeth; Union-street, Borough-road; Gunn-street, and Friars-street,
-Blackfriars-road; also at Whitechapel, St. Giles’s, Drury-lane, Somers
-Town, Anderson Grove, and other localities.
-
-The statistics connected with this class of felonies will be given when
-we come to treat on “Stealing from the doors and windows of shops.”
-
-_Stealing from the Tills._--This is done by the same class of boys,
-generally by two or three, or more, associated together. It is
-committed at any hour of the day, principally in the evening, and
-generally in the following way: One of the boys throws his cap into the
-shop of some greengrocer or other small dealer, in the absence of the
-person in charge; another boy, often without shoes or stockings, creeps
-in on his hands and knees as if to fetch it, being possibly covered
-from without by some of the boys standing beside the shop-door, who
-is also on the look-out. Any passer-by seeing the cap thrown in would
-take no particular notice in most cases, as it merely appears to be a
-thoughtless boyish frolic. Meantime the young rogue within the shop
-crawls round the counter to the till, and rifles its contents.
-
-If detected, he possibly says, “Let me go; I have done nothing. That
-boy who is standing outside and has just run away threw in my bonnet,
-and I came to fetch it.” When discovered by the shopkeeper, the boy
-will occasionally be allowed to get away, as the loss may not be known
-till afterwards.
-
-Sometimes one of these ragged urchins watches a favourable opportunity
-and steals from the till while his comrade is observing the movements
-of the people passing by and the police, without resorting to the
-ingenious expedient of throwing in the cap.
-
-The shop tills are generally rifled by boys, in most cases by two or
-more in company; this is only done occasionally. It is confined chiefly
-to the districts where the working classes reside.
-
-In some cases, though rarely, a lad of 17 or 19 years of age or
-upwards, will reach his hand over the counter to the till, in the
-absence of the person in charge of the shop.
-
-These robberies are not very numerous, and are of small collective
-value.
-
-_Stealing from the Doors and Windows of Shops._--In various shopping
-districts of London we see a great variety of goods displayed for sale
-at the different shop-doors and windows, and on the pavement in front
-of the shops of brokers, butchers, grocers, milliners, &c.
-
-Let us take a picture from the New-cut, Lambeth. We observe many
-brokers’ shops along the street, with a heterogenous assortment of
-household furniture, tables, chairs, looking-glasses, plain and
-ornamental, cupboards, fire-screens, &c., ranged along the broad
-pavement; while on tables are stores of carpenters’ tools in great
-variety, copper-kettles, brushes, and bright tin pannikins, and other
-articles.
-
-We see the dealer standing before his door, with blue apron, hailing
-the passer-by to make a purchase. Upon stands on the pavement at each
-side of his shop-door are cheeses of various kinds and of different
-qualities, cut up into quarters and slices, and rashers of bacon lying
-in piles in the open windows, or laid out on marble slabs. On deal
-racks are boxes of eggs, “fresh from the country,” and white as snow,
-and large pieces of bacon, ticketed as of “fine flavour,” and “very
-mild.”
-
-Alongside is a milliner’s shop with the milliner, a smart young woman,
-seated knitting beneath an awning in front of her door. On iron and
-wooden rods, suspended on each side of the door-way, are black and
-white straw bonnets and crinolines, swinging in the wind; while on
-the tables in front are exposed boxes of gay feathers, and flowers of
-every tint, and fronts of shirts of various styles, with stacks of
-gown-pieces of various patterns.
-
-A green-grocer stands by his shop with a young girl of 17 by his side.
-On each side of the door are baskets of apples, with large boxes of
-onions and peas. Cabbages are heaped at the front of the shop, with
-piles of white turnips and red carrots.
-
-Over the street is a furniture wareroom. Beneath the canvas awning
-before the shop are chairs of various kinds, straw-bottomed and seated
-with green or puce-coloured leather, fancy looking-glasses in gilt
-frames, parrots in cages, a brass-mounted portmanteau, and other
-miscellaneous articles. An active young shopman is seated by the
-shop-door, in a light cap and dark apron--with newspaper in hand.
-
-Near the Victoria Theatre we notice a second-hand clothes store. On
-iron rods suspended over the doorway we find trowsers, vests, and coats
-of all patterns and sizes, and of every quality dangling in the wind;
-and on small wooden stands along the pavement are jackets and coats of
-various descriptions. Here are corduroy jackets, ticketed “15_s._ and
-16_s._ made to order.” Corduroy trowsers warranted “first rate,” at
-7_s._ 6_d._ Fustian trowsers to order for 8_s._ 6_d._; while dummies
-are ranged on the pavement with coats buttoned upon them, inviting us
-to enter the shop.
-
-In the vicinity we see stalls of workmen’s iron tools of various
-kinds--some old and rusty, others bright and new.
-
-Thefts are often committed from the doors and windows of these shops
-during the day, in the temporary absence of the person in charge. They
-are often seen by passers-by, who take no notice, not wishing to attend
-the police court, as they consider they are insufficiently paid for it.
-
-The coat is usually stolen from the dummy in this way: one boy is
-posted on the opposite side of the street to see if a police-officer
-is in sight, or a policeman in plain clothes, who might detect the
-depredation. Another stands two or three yards from the shop. The third
-comes up to the dummy, and pretends to look at the quality of the coat
-to throw off the suspicion of any bystander or passer-by. He then
-unfastens the button, and if the shopkeeper or any of his assistants
-come out, he walks away. If he finds that he is not seen by the people
-in the shop, he takes the coat off the dummy and runs away with it.
-
-If seen, he will not return at that time, but watches some other
-convenient opportunity. When the young thief is chased by the
-shopkeeper, his two associates run and jostle him, and try to trip him
-up, so as to give their companion an opportunity of escaping. This
-is generally done at dusk, in the winter time, when thieving is most
-prevalent in those localities.
-
-In stealing a piece of bacon from the shop-doors or windows, they wait
-till the shopman turns his back, when they take a piece of bacon or
-cheese in the same way as in the case alluded to. This is commonly done
-by two or more boys in company.
-
-Handkerchiefs at shop-doors are generally stolen by one of the boys and
-passed to another who runs off with it. When hotly chased, they drop
-the handkerchief and run away.
-
-These young thieves are the ragged boys formerly noticed, varying from
-9 to 14 years of age, without shoes or stockings. Their parents are of
-the lowest order of Irish cockneys, or they live in low lodging-houses,
-where they get a bed for 2_d._ or 3_d._ a night, with crowds of others
-as destitute as themselves.
-
-There are numbers of young women of 18 years of age and upwards, Irish
-cockneys, belonging to the same class, who steal from these shop-doors.
-They are poorly dressed, and live in some of the lowest streets in
-Surrey and Middlesex, but chiefly in the Borough and the East end.
-Some of them are dressed in a clean cotton dress, shabby bonnet and
-faded shawl, and are accompanied by one or more men, costermongers
-in appearance. They steal rolls of printed cotton from the outside
-of linen drapers’ shops, rolls of flannel, and of coarse calico,
-hearthrugs and rolls of oilskin and table-covers; and from brokers’
-shops they carry off rolls of carpet, fenders, tire-irons, and other
-articles, exposed in and around the shop-door. The thefts of these
-women are of greater value than those committed by the boys. They
-belong to the felon-class and are generally expert thieves.
-
-The mode in which they commit these thefts is by taking advantage of
-the absence of the person in charge of the shop, or when his back is
-turned. It is done very quickly and dexterously, and they are often
-successful in carrying away articles such as those named without any
-one observing them.
-
-Another class of Sneaks, who steal from the outsides of shops, are
-women more advanced in life than those referred to,--some middle-aged
-and others elderly. Some of them are thieves, or the companions of
-thieves, and others are the wives of honest, hard-working mechanics
-and labouring men, who spend their money in gin and beer at various
-public-houses.
-
-These persons go and look over some pieces of bacon or meat outside of
-butchers’ shops; they ask the price of it, sometimes buy a small piece
-and steal a large one, but more frequently buy none. They watch the
-opportunity of taking a large piece which they slip into their basket
-and carry to some small chandler’s shop in a low neighbourhood, where
-they dispose of it at about a fourth of its value.
-
-We have met some thieves of this order, basket in hand, returning from
-Drury Lane, who were pointed out to us by a detective officer.
-
-The mechanics’ and labourers’ wives in many cases leave their homes in
-the morning for the purpose of purchasing their husband’s dinner. They
-meet with other women fond of drink like themselves. They meet, for
-example, outside the “Plumb Tree,” or such-like public-house, and join
-their money together to buy beer or gin. After partaking of it, they
-leave the house, and remain for some time outside conversing together.
-They again join their money and return to the public-house, and have
-some additional liquor: leave the house and separate. Some of them join
-with other parties fond of liquor as they did with the former. One says
-to the other: “I have no money, otherwise we would have a drop of gin.
-I have just met Mrs. So-and-so, and spent nearly all my money.” The
-other may reply: “I have not much to get the old man’s dinner, but we
-can have a quartern of gin.” After getting the liquor, they separate.
-The tradesman’s wife, finding that she has spent nearly the whole of
-her money, goes to a cheesemonger’s or butcher’s shop, and steals a
-piece of meat, or bacon, for the purpose of placing it before her
-husband for dinner, perhaps selling the remainder of the booty at shops
-in low neighbourhoods, or to lodging-houses.
-
-Such cases frequently occur, and are brought before the police-courts.
-
-These persons sometimes steal flat-irons for ironing clothes at the
-brokers’ shop-doors, which they carry to other pawnbrokers if not
-detected. At other times they take them to the leaving-shop of an
-unlicensed pawnbroker. On depositing them, they get a small sum of
-money. These leaving-shops are in the lowest localities, and take in
-articles pawnbrokers would refuse. They are open on Sundays, and at
-other times when no business is done in pawnbrokers’ shops.
-
-These shops are well known to the police, and give great assistance to
-these Sneaks in disposing of their stolen property.
-
-A considerable number of depredations are committed at the doors of
-shoemakers’ shops. They are committed by women of the lower orders, of
-all ages, some of them very elderly. They come up to the door as tho’
-they were shopping, attired generally in an old bonnet and faded shawl.
-The shoes are hanging inside the door, suspended from an iron rod by a
-piece of string, and are sometimes hanging on a bar outside the shop.
-
-These parties are much of the same order of thieves already described,
-possibly many of them the mothers and some the grandmothers of the
-ragged boys referred to. The greater number of them are Irish cockneys.
-They come up to the shop-door generally in the afternoon, as if
-to examine the quality of the shoes or boots, but seldom make any
-purchase. They observe how the articles are suspended and the best
-mode of abstracting them. They return in the dusk of the evening and
-steal them.
-
-The shops from which these robberies are committed are to be
-found in Lambeth-walk, New-cut, Lower Marsh, Lambeth, Tottenham
-Court-road, Westminster, Drury-lane, the neighbourhood of St. Giles’s,
-Petticoat-lane, Spitalfields, Whitecross-street, St. Luke’s, and other
-localities.
-
-Small articles are occasionally taken from shop windows in the winter
-evenings, by means of breaking a pane of glass in a very ingenious way.
-These thefts are committed at the shops of confectioners, tobacconists,
-and watchmakers, &c., in the quiet by-streets.
-
-Sometimes they are done by the younger ragged-boys, but in most cases
-by lads of 14 and upwards, belonging to the fraternity of London
-thieves.
-
-In the dark winter evenings we may sometimes see groups of these ragged
-boys, assembled around the windows of a small grocery-shop, looking
-greedily at the almond-rock, lollipops, sugar-candy, barley-sugar,
-brandy-balls, pies, and tarts, displayed in all their tempting
-sweetness and in all their gaudy tints. They insert the point of
-a knife or other sharp instrument into the corner or side of the
-pane, then give it a wrench, when the pane cracks in a semicircular
-starlike form around the part punctured. Should a piece of glass large
-enough to admit the hand not be sufficiently loosened, they apply the
-sharp instrument at another place in the pane, when the new cracks
-communicate with the rents already made; on applying a sticking-plaster
-to the pane, the piece readily adheres to it, and is abstracted. The
-thief inserts his hand through an opening in the window, seizes a
-handful of sweets or other goods, and runs away, perhaps followed by
-the shopman in full chase. These thieves are termed star-glazers.
-
-Such petty robberies are often committed by elder lads at the windows
-of tobacconists, when cigars and pipes are frequently stolen.
-
-They cut the pane in the manner described, and sometimes get a younger
-boy to commit the theft, while they get the chief share of the plunder,
-without having exposed themselves to the danger of being arrested
-stealing the property.
-
- The number of felonies of goods, &c., exposed
- to sale in the Metropolitan districts
- for 1860 1671
- Ditto ditto in the City 133
- ----
- 1804
-
- Value of goods thereby stolen in the
- Metropolitan districts £1487
- Ditto ditto in the City 35
- -----
- £1522
-
-_Stealing from Children._--Children are occasionally sent out by their
-mothers, with bundles of washing to convey to different persons,
-or they may be employed to bring clothes from the mangle. They are
-sometimes met by a man, at other times by a woman, who entices them
-to go to a shop for a halfpenny or a penny worth of sweets, meanwhile
-taking care they leave their parcels or bundle, which they promise to
-keep for them till they return. On their coming out of the shop, they
-find the party has decamped, and seldom any clue can be got of them, as
-they may belong to distant localities of the metropolis.
-
-In other cases they go up to the children, when they are proceeding on
-their way, with a bundle or basket, and say: “You are going to take
-these things home. Do you know where you are going to take them?” The
-child being taken off her guard may say. She is carrying them to Mrs.
-So-and-so, of such a street. They will then say. “You are a good girl,
-and are quite right. Mrs. So-and-so sent me for them, as she is in a
-hurry and is going out.” The child probably gives her the basket or
-bundle, when the thief absconds. A case of this kind occurred in the
-district of Marylebone about six months ago.
-
-A girl was going with two silk-dresses to a lady in Devonshire-street,
-when she was met by a young woman, who said she was a servant of the
-lady, and was sent to get the dresses done or undone, and was very
-glad she had met her. The woman was an entire stranger to the lady.
-The larceny was detected on the Saturday night, and the lady was put
-to great inconvenience, as she had not a dress to go out with on the
-Sunday. Robberies of clothes sent out to be mangled, and of articles
-of linen are very common. Milliners often send young girls errands who
-are not old enough to see through the tricks of these parties prowling
-about the metropolis.
-
-These larcenies are generally committed by vagrants decently dressed,
-and too lazy to work, who go sneaking about the streets and live in
-low neighbourhoods, such as St. Giles’s, Drury-lane, Short’s-gardens,
-Queen-street, and the Borough. They are in most cases committed in the
-evening, though sometimes during the day.
-
-_Child Stripping._--This is generally done by females, old debauched
-drunken hags who watch their opportunity to accost children passing in
-the streets, tidily dressed with good boots and clothes. They entice
-them away to a low or quiet neighbourhood for the purpose, as they say,
-of buying them sweets, or with some other pretext. When they get into a
-convenient place, they give them a halfpenny or some sweets, and take
-off the articles of dress, and tell them to remain till they return,
-when they go away with the booty.
-
-This is done most frequently in mews in the West-end, and at
-Clerkenwell, Westminster, the Borough, and other similar localities.
-These heartless debased women sometimes commit these felonies in the
-disreputable neighbourhoods where they live, but more frequently in
-distant places, where they are not known and cannot be easily traced.
-This mode of felony is not so prevalent in the metropolis as formerly.
-In most cases, it is done at dusk in the winter evenings, from 7 to 10
-o’clock.
-
- Number of larcenies from children in
- the Metropolitan districts for 1860 87
- Ditto ditto in the City 10
- --
- 97
-
- Value of property thereby stolen in the
- Metropolitan districts £65 0
- Ditto ditto in the City 5 10
- -------
- £70 10
-
-_Stealing from Drunken Persons._--There is a very common low class of
-male thieves, who go prowling about at all times of the day and night
-for this purpose.
-
-They loiter about the streets and public-houses to steal from drunken
-persons, and are called “Bug-hunters” and “mutchers.” You see many
-of them lounging about gin-palaces in the vicinity of the Borough,
-near St. George’s church. We have met them there in the course of
-our rambles over the metropolis, and at Whitechapel and St. Giles’s.
-They also frequent the Westminster-road, the vicinity of the Victoria
-Theatre, Shoreditch, and Somers Town. These low wretches are of
-all ages, and many of them have the appearance of bricklayers’,
-stone-masons’, and engineers’ labourers. They pretend they are
-labourers out of work, and are forward in intruding themselves on the
-notice of persons entering those houses, and expect to be treated to
-liquor, though entire strangers to them.
-
-They are not unfrequently so rude as to take the pewter-pot of another
-person from the bar, and pass it round to their comrades, till they
-have emptied the contents. If remonstrated with, they return insulting
-language, and try to involve the person in a broil.
-
-You occasionally find them loafing about the tap-rooms. They watch for
-drunken people, whom they endeavour to persuade to treat them. They
-entice him to go down some court or slum, where they strip him of his
-watch, money, or other valuables he may have on his person. Or they
-sometimes rob him in the public-house; but this seldom occurs, as they
-are aware it would lead to detection. They prefer following him out of
-the public-house. Many of these robberies are committed in the public
-urinals at a late hour at night.
-
-These men have often abandoned women who cohabit with them, and assist
-them in these low depredations. They frequently dwell in low courts
-and alleys in the neighbourhood of gin-palaces, have no settled mode
-of life, and follow no industrious calling--living as loafers and low
-ruffians.
-
-Some of them have wives, who go out washing and charing to obtain a
-livelihood for their children and themselves, as well as to support
-their brutal husbands, lazzaroni of the metropolis.
-
-This class of persons are in the habit of stealing lead from houses,
-and copper boilers from kitchens and wash-houses.
-
-There is another class of thieves, who steal from drunken persons,
-usually in the dusk of the evening, in the following manner: Two women,
-respectably dressed, meet a drunken man in the street, stop him and ask
-him to treat them. They adjourn to the bar of a public-house for the
-purpose of getting some gin or ale. While drinking at the bar, one of
-the women tries to rob him of his watch or money. A man who is called a
-“stickman,” an accomplice and possibly a paramour of hers, comes to the
-bar a short time after them. He has a glass of some kind of liquor, and
-stands beside them. Some motions and signs pass between the two females
-and this man. If they have by this time secured the booty, it is passed
-to the latter, who, thereupon slips away, with the stolen articles in
-his possession.
-
-In some cases, when the property is taken from the drunken man, one
-of the women on some pretext steps to the door and passes it to the
-“stickman” standing outside, who then makes off with it. In other cases
-these robberies are perpetrated in the outside of the house, in some
-by-street.
-
-Sometimes the man quickly discovers his loss, and makes an outcry
-against the women; when the “stickman” comes up and asks, “what is
-the matter?” the man may reply, “these two women have robbed me.”
-The stickman answers “I’ll go and fetch a policeman.” The property is
-passed to him by the women, and he decamps. If a criminal information
-is brought against the females, the stolen goods are not found in their
-possession, and the case is dropped.
-
-These women seldom or never allow drunken men to have criminal
-connection with them, but get their living by this base system of
-plunder. They change their field of operation over the metropolis,
-followed by the sneaking “stickman.”
-
-Some of these females have been known in early life to sell oranges in
-the street.
-
-The “stickman” during the day lounges about the parlours in quiet
-public-houses where thieves resort, and the women during the day are
-sometimes engaged in needlework,--some of the latter have a fair
-education, which they may have learned in prison, and others are very
-illiterate.
-
-Though respectable in dress and appearance, they generally belong to
-the felon class of Irish cockneys, with few exceptions.
-
-They are to be found in Lisson-grove, Leicester-square, Portland-town,
-and other localities.
-
-Females in respectable positions in society occasionally take too much
-intoxicating liquor, and are waylaid by old women, gin-drinkers, who
-frequent public-houses in low neighbourhoods. They introduce themselves
-to the inebriated woman as a friend, to see her to some place of safety
-until she has recovered from the effects of her dissipation,--she may
-have been lying on the pavement, and unable to walk. They lift her up
-by the hand, and steal the gold ring from her finger.
-
-At other times they take her into some by-court or street in low
-neighbourhoods, where doors may frequently be seen standing open;
-they rob her in some of these dark passages of her money, watch, and
-jewellery, and sometimes carry off her clothes.
-
-If seen by persons in the neighbourhood, it is winked at, and no
-information given, as they generally belong to the same unprincipled
-class.
-
-There is another low class of women who prowl about the streets at
-midnight, watching for any respectable-looking person who may be
-passing the worse of liquor. If they notice a drunken man, one comes
-and enters into conversation with him, and while thus engaged, another
-woman steps up, touches him under the chin, or otherwise distracts his
-attention. The person who first accosted him, with her companion, then
-endeavours to pick his pockets and plunder him of his property. A case
-of this kind occurred near the Marble Arch in August 1860.
-
-They have many ingenious ways of distracting the attention of their
-victim, some of them very obscene and shameless.
-
-They take care to see that no policeman is in sight, and generally
-endeavour to find out if the person they intend to victimize has
-something to purloin.
-
-They may ask him for change, or solicit a few coppers to get beer, or
-inquire what o’clock it is, to see if he is in possession of a watch
-or money. They abstract the money from the pocket, or snatch the watch
-from the swivel, which they are adroit in breaking.
-
-Such persons are often seen at midnight in the neighbourhood of
-Bloomsbury and Oxford-street, the Strand, Lower Thames-street, and
-other localities.
-
-The most of those engaged in this kind of robbery in Oxford-street come
-from the neighbourhood of St. Giles’s and Lisson-grove.
-
- The number of felonies from drunken
- persons which occurred in the Metropolitan
- districts for 1860 were 221
- Ditto ditto in the City 10
- ---
- 231
-
- The value of property thereby stolen in
- the Metropolitan districts £867
- Ditto ditto in the City 40
- ----
- £907
-
-_Stealing Linen, &c. exposed to dry._ This is generally done by
-vagrants in the suburbs of the metropolis, from 7 to 11 o’clock in the
-evening; when left out all night, it is often done at midnight.
-
-Linen and other clothes are frequently left hanging on lines or spread
-out on the grass in yards at the back of the house. Entrance is
-effected through the street-doors which may have been left open, or
-by climbing over the wall. In many cases these felonies are committed
-by middle-aged women. If done by a man, he is generally assisted by a
-female who carries off the property; were he seen carrying a bundle of
-clothes, he would be stopped by a vigilant officer, and be called to
-give an account of it, which would possibly lead to his detection.
-
-These felonies generally consist of sheets, counterpanes, shirts,
-table-covers, pinafores, towels, stockings, and such-like articles.
-
-When any of them are marked, the female makes it her business to
-pick out the marks, in case it might lead to their detection. Such
-robberies are often traced by the police through the assistance of the
-pawnbrokers.
-
-They are very common where there are gardens at the back of the house,
-such as Kensall Green, Camden Town, Kensington, Battersea, Clapham,
-Peckham, and Victoria Park.
-
-The clothes are generally disposed of at pawnbrokers or the
-leaving-shops, commonly called “Dolly Shops.” They leave them there
-for a small sum of money, and get a ticket. If they return for them
-in the course of a week, they are charged 3_d._ a shilling interest.
-If they do not return for them in seven days, they are disposed of to
-persons of low character. These wretches at the leaving-shops manage
-to get them into the hands of parties who would not be likely to give
-information--the articles, from their superior quality, being generally
-understood to be stolen.
-
-These felonies are also committed by the female Sneaks who call at
-gentlemen’s houses, selling small wares, or on some other similar
-errand. When they find the door open and a convenient opportunity, they
-often abstract the linen and other clothes from the lines, and dispose
-of them in the manner referred to.
-
-They are also stolen by ragged juvenile thieves, who get into the yards
-by climbing over the wall. This is occasionally done in the Lambeth
-district, in the dusk of the evening, or early in the morning, and
-is effected in this way:--Some time previously they commence some
-boyish game, about half a dozen of them together. They then pretend
-to quarrel, when one boy will take the other’s cap off his head and
-place it on the garden wall. Another boy lifts him up to fetch it--the
-object being to reconnoitre the adjacent grounds, and see if there are
-any clothes laid out to dry, as well as to find out the best mode of
-stealing them.
-
-When they discover clothes in a yard, they come back at dusk, or at
-midnight, and carry them off the lines.
-
-They take the stolen property to the receiver’s, after having divided
-the clothes among the party. Some will go off in one direction, and
-others in another to get them disposed of, which is done to prevent
-suspicion on the part of the police.
-
-The receiving-houses are opened to them at night, as these low people
-are very greedy of gain. Sometimes they convey the stolen property to
-their lodgings, at other times they lodge it in concealment till the
-next day. These clothes are occasionally of trifling value, at other
-times worth several pounds, which on being sold bring the thief a very
-poor return--scarcely the price of his breakfast--the lion’s share of
-the spoil being given to the unprincipled receiver.
-
-They are often encouraged to commit these thefts by wretches in the low
-lodging-houses, who are aware of their midnight excursions.
-
- Number of felonies of linen, &c., exposed
- to dry in the Metropolitan districts for
- 1860 236
- Ditto ditto for the City 0
- ---
- 236
-
- Value of property thereby abstracted
- in the Metropolis £150
-
-_Robberies from Carts and other Vehicles._--There are many depredations
-committed over the metropolis from carts, carriers’ waggons, cabs,
-railway vans, and other vehicles. Many of those people have the
-appearance of porters at a warehouse, and are a peculiar order.
-
-At one time they may have been porters at warehouses, or connected
-with railways, or carmen to large commercial firms. Some have corduroy
-or moleskin jacket and trowsers, and cloth cap; others have a plain
-frock-coat and cap.
-
-Many of the robberies from carts are done by the connivance of the
-carters. They are sent by business establishments to dispose of goods
-over the metropolis; some of them are connected with the worst class
-of thieves. They connive with those men in stealing their employers’
-property, and in rifling other carts, carry the booty away in their
-own, and always manage to secure a part of the prize.
-
-These carters take thieves occasionally to railway stations to assist
-them with their work, and when an opportunity occurs, carry off goods
-from the railway platform, such as bales of bacon, cheese, bags of
-nails, boxes of tin and copper, and travellers’ luggage, which they
-dispose of to marine-store dealers and at chandlers’ shops. The wearing
-apparel in the trunks they sell at second-hand shops, kept by Jews
-and others in low neighbourhoods, such as Petticoat-lane, Lambeth,
-Westminster, and the Borough of Southwark.
-
-Many carts are rifled by persons who represent themselves as hawkers or
-costermongers--men who have no steady industrious mode of livelihood,
-and are usually in the company of prostitutes and thieves of the worst
-description. The carter may have occasion to call at a city house, and
-to leave his horse and cart in the street, when they steal a whip,
-coat, or horsecloth, the reins from off the horse, or any portable
-article they can lay their hands on.
-
-Numbers of hay, straw, and store carmen frequently steal a truss of
-hay, or clover, or straw, from their employer’s cart, and dispose of
-it to some person who has a horse, or pony, or donkey, for a small sum
-of money. These dishonest practices are carried on to a far greater
-extent than the public are aware of, as it is only occasionally they
-are brought to public notice.
-
-Robberies from cabs and carriages are sometimes effected in the
-following way: They follow the cab or vehicle with a horse and cart,
-driving along in its wake--two or three thieves generally in the cart.
-One of them jumps on the spring of the conveyance while the driver is
-sitting in front of his vehicle, pulls down the trunk or box, and slips
-it into the cart, then drives away with the booty.
-
-At other times they run up, and leap on the spring of the conveyance
-while the driver is proceeding along with his back toward them; lower
-the trunk or other article from the roof, and walk off with it. These
-trunks sometimes contain money, silver plate, and other valuable
-property.
-
-These depredations are always done at night, by experienced thieves,
-and generally in the winter season. They are common in the fashionable
-squares of the West-end, at the East-end, toward the Commercial-road
-and St. George’s-in-the-East, at Ratcliffe Highway, the City, the
-Borough of Southwark, and Lambeth, along the docks, and at the railway
-stations around the metropolis.
-
-There are a number of laundresses residing at Chelsea, Uxbridge,
-Hampstead, Holloway, and other districts in the suburbs, who wash large
-quantities of clothes for the gentry and nobility in the fashionable
-streets and squares of the metropolis. After washing and dressing the
-linen, they pack it up in large wicker baskets, and generally convey it
-in their own carts to the residences of the owners.
-
-A class of people are frequently on the look-out for these carts to
-plunder them of their linen. The carts are under the management of a
-man or a woman. The thieves follow the vehicle to a quiet street, one
-puts his shoulder under a basket while the other cuts the cord which
-attaches it to the cart, when both make off with the stolen property.
-
-These thieves reside over London in low districts, such as St. Giles’s
-and Shoreditch, and are occasionally brought before the police courts.
-
-There is a class of robberies from gentlemen’s carriages about the
-West-end of the metropolis. In going to the Opera, West-end theatres,
-or other fashionable places of amusement, the gentleman frequently
-leaves his valuable overcoat or cloak in the carriage. These thieves
-follow the conveyance to some quiet street leading to the stables where
-the vehicle is to remain till the gentleman returns from his evening’s
-amusement. They let down the window of the carriage and carry off any
-article which is left. The theft is nimbly committed while the vehicle
-is on its way to the stables, or when it is returning to the Opera, and
-is done chiefly by young men, experienced thieves. They live in the low
-neighbourhoods already referred to.
-
-There is a good deal of this mode of thieving carried on in the
-West-end of London during the winter season.
-
- Number of larcenies from carts and other
- vehicles in the Metropolitan district for
- 1860 286
- Ditto, ditto, in the City 79
- ---
- 365
-
- Value of property thereby stolen in
- the Metropolis £1075
- Ditto, ditto, in the City 370
- ----
- £1445
-
-_Stealing Lead from House-tops, Copper from Kitchens, and Workmen’s
-Tools, &c. in Dwelling-houses._--Of late this mode of thieving has
-been extensively carried on over the metropolis, chiefly at unoccupied
-houses. In some cases, a key is obtained by the thief, respectable
-in appearance, from the gentleman who lets the house, without his
-accompanying him to the empty dwelling, when he takes the opportunity
-of stealing the copper boiler from the washing-house, and the lead pipe
-from the butt or cistern. He passes the stolen property to some of his
-associates, and returns the key of the dwelling.
-
-This is a peculiar class who make a livelihood by going round empty
-houses in different districts on similar errands. They do not give
-their name and address, are strangers in the neighbourhood, and cannot
-be easily tracked out by the police.
-
-Lead is frequently stolen from the housetops, by the loafing ruffians,
-we have before described, who lounge about public-houses, robbing
-drunken men, and occasionally by boys. Sometimes these robberies are
-committed by plumbers’ workmen and others engaged in repairing the
-houses.
-
-Lead in most cases is stolen from those dwellings which are under
-repair, or have been unoccupied for some time. When a house is
-repaired, it frequently happens the roofs of the adjoining occupied
-houses are stripped and carried off by unprincipled workmen.
-
-These depredations are often committed by the workmen themselves, or
-by their connivance. At other times they are done by persons climbing
-low walls, and clambering up spouts to the roof, and cutting up the
-sheet lead. This is usually done under night by two or more in company;
-sometimes, though rarely, by boys. One keeps a look-out to see there is
-no person near to detect them. This person is termed a “crow.” If any
-one should be near, the “crow” gives a signal, and they decamp. Before
-commencing their depredations, they generally look out for the means of
-escape, seldom returning the same way they mounted the roof. They make
-their way out in another direction. If hard pressed, they sometimes
-hide themselves on the roof behind chimneys, or lie down in gutters
-or cisterns or any other likely place of concealment. These felonies
-are often done by bricklayers’ labourers (Irish cockneys) during the
-winter, and in many cases, as we have said, with the connivance of the
-workmen engaged in repairing the houses.
-
-There is another class of persons who engage in lead-stealing from
-the roofs of houses. They were formerly in the service of builders,
-plumbers, or carpenters, but are out of employment. They go to their
-late employer’s customers, under the pretext that they were sent by
-him to repair the roof, and meanwhile plunder the sheet lead, which
-they generally roll up, convey down, and carry off by means of their
-accomplices, who are hovering in the neighbourhood. They have the
-appearance and dress of industrious workmen, and may have been lately
-seen employed in houses in the neighbourhood, so that they are more
-likely to deceive the unsuspecting people who admit them into their
-dwellings. This kind of lead-stealing has been lately of very frequent
-occurrence in the metropolis.
-
-Copper is frequently stolen from the boilers in the kitchens and
-wash-houses by the same parties. Sometimes they enter by the area
-door or the window, which is left open. At other times they climb
-the garden wall at the back of the house, and enter by a window,
-left unfastened. They take the copper out of the brickwork in the
-wash-house, or from the kitchen, roll it up and carry it away. This
-is generally done in unoccupied houses. Sweeps employed cleaning the
-chimneys sometimes take away copper in like manner in their soot-bags.
-
-In houses under repair, as well as in unfinished houses, they steal
-carpenters’ tools, planes, saws, ploughs, squares, hammers, &c., left
-by the workmen.
-
-They obtain access to the house by climbing over the wooden enclosure
-or over garden walls. This is generally done in the evening, between
-the hours of 9 and 12, and frequently by discharged workmen.
-
-In many cases they are stopped on the way with the tools in their
-possession. If a proper account is not given, it often leads to the
-detection of the robbery, which generally puts a stop for the time to
-such depredations in that neighbourhood.
-
-The stolen tools are taken to pawnbrokers or receiving-shops, and sold
-at an under price. In some cases the pawnbroker gives notice to the
-police, but in these other shops, this is seldom or never done.
-
-The thieves generally go to some house where no watchman is employed.
-
- The number of larcenies of tools, lead,
- glass, &c. from empty or unfinished houses
- in the Metropolitan districts for 1860, 472
- Ditto, ditto, from the City 22
- ---
- 494
-
- Value of the property thereby abstracted
- in the Metropolis £462 0
- Ditto, ditto, in the City 7 10
- --------
- £469 10
-
-_Robberies by False Keys._--There are many robberies committed in
-the metropolis by means of false keys, generally between the hours
-of seven and nine o’clock in the evening. After nine o’clock they
-would be considered burglaries. This class of robberies is generally
-committed by thieves of experience, and frequently, before depredations
-are committed, persons call at the house in the daytime, who take
-particular notice of the lock of the street-door, to know the key
-which opens it, whether a Bramah, Chubb, or other lock. These persons
-are termed “putters up of robberies,” and supply the thieves with the
-requisite information, when they come in the evening and enter the
-house. In many cases they get clear off with the booty.
-
-The houses entered are frequently respectable lodging-houses, or houses
-occupied by one family where there is likely to be no children about
-the upper rooms. In the case of entering these dwellings they make
-their way to the bed-rooms above, their chief object being to steal
-the jewellery and dressing-case left on the dressing-table, often of
-great value. They also take clothes out of the drawers, and other
-articles. On coming out they often put on some of the apparel, such as
-an overcoat, and fill the pockets with stolen property.
-
-In houses in the West-end, single gentlemen, such as government clerks,
-officers in the army, and others, are often out dining in the evening,
-or at the clubs; and as the servant is generally engaged downstairs at
-this time, the thief is frequently not obstructed.
-
-To elude suspicion from the police constables in the street they often
-have a carpet-bag to carry off the booty. If they meet one of them near
-the house, they generally ask him some question, such as the way to
-some street, to take him off his guard.
-
-A case of this kind occurred early this year at the West-end, where
-four men were engaged in a robbery. On their arriving at the corner
-of the street where the felony was committed they found two policemen
-there. They stepped up to them, and conversed for some time, when
-the constables left, having no suspicion, from their respectable
-appearance. Two of the thieves crossed the street to a house opposite.
-Meanwhile their movements were narrowly watched by a keen-eyed
-detective, who knew the parties, three of the four being returned
-convicts. Having arrived at the door of the house, they endeavoured
-to gain an entrance, which, after trying several keys, they effected.
-The other two confederates had taken up a position opposite the house,
-being what is termed “look-out,” or outside men.
-
-In a short time the two who had entered the house came out and closed
-the door behind them. They were perceived to have some bulky articles
-in their possession. The other two men remained for a few minutes in
-their place on the opposite side of the street, when they followed
-their companions. When at a short distance from the house, they
-rejoined them, and the property was divided among them. This was done
-in the dusk in the quiet street.
-
-The detective officer saw two of the parties with Inverness capes, and
-carrying umbrellas in their hand they did not have before they entered
-the house. He went up to them, told them who he was, and arrested one
-of them; the other was captured a few yards off by another officer
-when in the act of throwing off the Inverness cape. The other two,
-meanwhile, escaped. On conducting the two men to the police-station
-the two capes were taken from them, and in their pockets were found a
-number of skeleton keys, a wax-taper, and silent lights, along with
-various small articles, evidently part of the robbery which had just
-been committed.
-
-Two hours after this a gentleman drove up in a cab to the
-police-station, and gave information of the robbery, when he identified
-the articles taken from the prisoners as his property. The two
-thieves were tried at the sessions, and sentenced to six years’ penal
-servitude. One of the two confederates who escaped was apprehended by
-the same detective, found guilty, and sentenced to the same punishment,
-which broke up a gang of thieves who had infested the neighbourhood for
-several months, and occasioned great alarm.
-
-Robberies from gentlemen’s houses by means of false keys are generally
-put up by some person acquainted with the house, and who may have
-frequented it under some pretext, such as by courting the servant girl,
-or by being acquainted with some of the men-servants. They rifle the
-valuables from wardrobes and drawing-rooms, such as watches, rings,
-purses, clothes, &c.
-
-Attic thieves chiefly aim at abstracting jewels from ladies’ bed-rooms,
-generally on the second floor; but this class of skeleton-key thieves
-frequently carry away bundles of stolen goods, and are not so
-fastidious in their choice.
-
-An instance of a skeleton-key robbery from a gentleman’s house occurred
-lately at the West-end of the metropolis. The two thieves had engaged
-a cab to carry off the stolen property (the driver of the cab being a
-confederate), and drove up to the house next door to where the robbery
-was to be committed. They were seen to leave the cab, to go up to the
-door of the house, to apply the key to the door, and to walk in. About
-ten minutes after, they left the house, and walked to the cab with
-large parcels in their hands, when it drove swiftly away.
-
-On that evening the butler of the house discovered that the whole
-of his master’s clothes had been stolen from his wardrobe, and his
-dressing-case, with costly articles, his gold watch and chain, and the
-whole of his linen. Information was given to a detective officer, who
-in two days after traced the robbery to two well-known thieves, one of
-them being singularly expert in the use of skeleton keys.
-
-The manner in which it was detected was very ingenious, and reflected
-high credit on the officer.
-
-On visiting a public-house near Tottenham Court-road, one Saturday
-night, he saw a middle-aged, intelligent man, like a respectable
-mechanic, conversing with a person at the bar over a pint of
-half-and-half. The sharp eye of the detective observed the former
-with a neckerchief which corresponded with one of the articles of
-this stolen property. The suspicion of the officer was aroused, and
-he followed him late at night, and saw where he resided. On the next
-morning he went with two officers to his house, and found him in bed
-with his paramour, and arrested him for the robbery. On searching his
-house a handkerchief was found marked with the crest of the nobleman
-to whom the property belonged. On a farther search a quantity of other
-articles were found belonging to this robbery.
-
-On his paramour getting out of bed she was perceived by the detective
-to conceal something under her petticoats. On being asked to produce
-it, she denied having anything. On being searched, another handkerchief
-was found on her person, bearing the nobleman’s crest. This man was
-afterwards identified as one of the two persons who were seen to enter
-the house where the robbery was committed, and to leave with the cab.
-He was tried at the Sessions, and sentenced to seven years’ penal
-servitude. This man had for some time been well known to the police,
-and was suspected of committing a series of large robberies, but he
-was so dexterous in executing his felonies that his movements had not
-previously been traced.
-
- Number of felonies in the Metropolitan
- districts for 1860 by means of false
- keys 247
- Ditto, ditto, in the City 17
- ---
- 264
-
- Value of property thereby abstracted in
- Metropolitan districts £1,840
- Ditto, ditto, in the City 160
- ------
- £2,000
-
-_Robberies by Lodgers._--Robberies are frequently committed by lodgers
-in various parts of the metropolis, in low as well as in middle-class
-localities.
-
-A great many of these are committed in low neighbourhoods, by abandoned
-women, frequently young. They commit depredations in their own room,
-or in other rooms in the house in which they lodge, by entering open
-doors, or by turning the key when the door is locked, while the parties
-are out. Many of these are done by prostitutes of the lowest order,
-who sometimes steal the linen, bedding, wearing-apparel, and other
-property, and pawn or sell it.
-
-Robberies of this kind are sometimes perpetrated by mechanics’ wives,
-addicted to dissipated habits, who steal similar articles from
-dwelling-houses. Sometimes they are done by servants out of place,
-driven to steal by poverty and destitution; at other times by sewing
-girls, often toiling from 4 in the morning to 10 o’clock at night for
-about 8_d._ a day--many of whom commit suicide rather than resort to
-prostitution; and occasionally by clerks and shopmen--fast young men,
-when in poverty and distress; and by betting-men and skittle-sharps.
-
-In March, 1861, two known prostitutes, lodging together in a house in
-Charlotte-street, were brought before the Lambeth police court for a
-felony committed in the room in which they lodged. They abstracted
-knives and forks, plates and spoons, along with two chairs, rifling
-the apartment of nearly all it contained. They were convicted and
-sentenced, the one to three months’, and the other to six months’,
-imprisonment--the latter having been previously convicted.
-
-Another felony occurred lately in Isabella-street, Lambeth, where a
-mechanic’s wife stole the bed-clothes and the feathers out of a bed in
-the house in which she lodged. Her husband was glad to pay the amount
-to prevent criminal prosecution.
-
-There are many felonies committed by persons lodging in coffee-houses
-and hotels, some of them of considerable value. The hotel thieves
-assume the manner and air of gentlemen, dress well, and live in high
-style. They lodge for an evening or two in some fashionable hotel,
-frequently near the railway stations. They get up at night, when the
-house is quiet and business suspended, and commit robberies in the
-house. They have an ingenious mode of opening the doors, though locked
-in the inner side, by inserting a peculiar instrument and turning round
-the key. They go stealthily into the rooms, and abstract silver plate,
-articles of jewellery, watches, money, and other valuables.
-
-These persons usually leave early in the morning, before the other
-gentlemen get up. Some of them are young, and others are middle-aged.
-They have generally some acquaintance with commercial transactions, and
-conduct themselves like active business men. They are birds of passage,
-and do not reside long in any one locality, as they would become known
-to the police.
-
-A very extensive robbery of this kind occurred some time ago at a
-fashionable hotel in the metropolis, near the Great Northern Railway,
-to the amount of 700_l._ or 800_l._ The thief was apprehended at York,
-and committed for trial.
-
- Number of felonies in the Metropolitan
- districts for 1860, committed by lodgers 1,375
- Ditto, ditto, in the City 83
- -----
- 1458
-
- Value of property thereby abstracted in
- the Metropolitan districts £3,643
- Ditto, ditto, in the City 144
- ------
- £3,787
-
-_Robberies by Servants._--There are a great number of felonies
-committed by servants over the metropolis, many of which might be
-prevented by prudent precautions on the part of their employers. On
-this subject we would wish to speak with discrimination. We are aware
-that many honest and noble-minded servants are treated with injustice
-by the caprice and bad temper of their employers, and many a poor girl
-is without cause dismissed from her situation, and refused a proper
-certificate of character. Being unable to get another place, she is
-often driven with reluctance from poverty and destitution to open
-prostitution on the street. On the other hand, many of our employers
-foolishly and thoughtlessly receive male and female servants into their
-service without making a proper inquiry into their previous character.
-
-Many felonies are committed by domestic female servants who have been
-only a month or six weeks in service. Some of them steal tea, sugar,
-and other provisions, which are frequently given to acquaintances or
-relatives out of doors. Others occasionally abstract linen and articles
-of wearing-apparel, or plunder the wardrobe of gold bracelets, rings,
-pearl necklace, watch, chain, or other jewellery, or of muslin and
-silk dresses and mantles, which they either keep in their trunk, or
-otherwise dispose of.
-
-Female domestic servants are often connected with many of the
-felonies committed in the metropolis. Two of the female servants in a
-gentleman’s family are sometimes courted by two smart dressed young
-men, bedecked with jewellery, who visit them at the house occasionally.
-One of them may call by himself on a certain evening, and after sitting
-with them for some time in the kitchen, may pretend that he is going
-upstairs to the front door on some errand, such as to bring in some
-liquor. He goes alone, and opens the door to his companion whom he had
-arranged to meet him, and who may be hovering in the street. He admits
-him into the house to rifle the rooms in the floors above. Meantime
-he comes in with the liquor, and proceeds down stairs, and remains
-there for some time to occupy the attention of the servants until his
-companion has plundered the house of money, jewels, or other property.
-
-On other occasions two young men may remain downstairs with the
-servants, while a third party is committing a robbery in the apartments
-above.
-
-Some respectable-looking young women, in the service of middle-class
-and fashionable families, are connected with burglars, and have been
-recommended to their places through their influence, or that of their
-acquaintances. Some of these females are usually not a fortnight or a
-month in service before a heavy burglary is committed in the house, and
-will remain for two or three months longer to prevent suspicion. They
-will then take another similar place in a gentleman’s family, remain
-several months there, and by their conduct ingratiate themselves into
-the good graces of the master and mistress, when another burglary is
-committed through their connivance. The booty is shared between them
-and the thieves.
-
-Some continue this system for a considerable time, as their employers
-have no suspicion of their villainy. They are often Irish cockneys,
-connected with the thieves, and have been trained with them from their
-infancy. They generally aim at stealing the silver plate, clothes, and
-other valuables. In these robberies they are always ready to give the
-“hue and cry” when a depredation has been committed.
-
-There are often instances of these robberies brought before the
-police-courts and sessions, where the dishonesty of many servants is
-brought to light.
-
-There are many felonies committed by the male servants in gentlemen’s
-families; some of them of considerable value. Numbers of these are
-occasioned by betting on the part of the butlers, who have the charge
-of the plate. They go and bet on different horses, and pawn a certain
-quantity of plate which has not the crest of their employer on it, and
-expect to be able to redeem it as soon as they have got money when the
-horse has won. He may happen to lose. He bets again on some other horse
-he thinks will win--perhaps bets to a considerable amount, and thinks
-he will be able to redeem his loss; he again possibly loses his bet.
-His master is perhaps out of town, not having occasion to use the plate.
-
-On his coming home there may be a dinner-party, when the plate is
-called for. The butler absconds, and part of the plate is found to be
-missing. Information is given to the police; some pawnbroker may be
-so honourable as to admit the plate is in his possession. The servant
-is apprehended, convicted, and sentenced possibly to penal servitude.
-Cases of this kind occasionally occur, and are frequently caused by
-such betting transactions.
-
-Robberies occasionally are perpetrated by servants in shops and
-warehouses, clerks, warehousemen, and others, of money and goods of
-various kinds.
-
-A remarkable case of robbery by a servant occurred lately. A young
-man, employed by a locksmith, near the West-end of the metropolis, was
-frequently sent to gentlemen’s houses on his master’s business to pick
-locks. In many of the houses where he was employed, money and other
-property was found missing. He went to pick a lock at a jeweller’s
-shop. After he was gone, the jeweller found a beautiful gold chain
-missing. As his son was a fast young man, he was afraid to charge the
-young locksmith with the robbery. Meantime the latter was sent to
-other houses, and in those places articles were found missing, and
-servants in the families were discharged on suspicion of committing the
-robberies.
-
-He went to a solicitor’s office to pick the locks of some boxes
-containing title-deeds and money. From one of the boxes, which he did
-not require to open, he stole 100_l._, and locked it up again. The head
-clerk was then away on business for several days. On his return he
-found that one of the boxes in the office had been opened and 100_l._
-had been abstracted.
-
-Information was given to Bow-street police office by the solicitor,
-who offered 5_l._ as a reward to any one who would give information
-regarding the robbery. Meantime he stated he would give no one into
-custody. His clerks had been with him a long time. He had one man
-employed in the office to pick some locks, but as he belonged to
-a respectable firm, he did not believe it to be him. Meantime the
-solicitor discharged his general clerks. His confidential clerk was so
-indignant at this, that he gave in his resignation.
-
-One of the most accomplished detective officers of the Bow-street
-police resolved to ferret out the matter. It was arranged the
-journeyman locksmith was to be sent to a certain house to pick a lock
-in an apartment where some money was placed which had been marked. The
-detective watched his movements from the next room. On this occasion
-also, he not only picked the lock as requested, but picked other locks
-in the room, and carried off part of the money which was marked.
-
-When he went downstairs, he was detained till it was ascertained if the
-money had been tampered with. On inspecting it, part was missing. He
-was taken into custody, and the money got on his person. On searching
-his house a waggon load of stolen property was found, belonging to
-a series of robberies he had committed in the houses he visited,
-amounting in value to 200_l._ All the charges against him were not
-investigated. He was tried for nine acts of robbery at Clerkenwell,
-convicted, and sentenced to six years’ penal servitude. He was one of
-the finest locksmiths in the world, and received from his employer
-higher wages than the other workmen in the establishment.
-
- Number of cases of felony by servants
- in the Metropolitan dists. for 1860, 1,790
- Ditto, ditto, in the City 199
- -----
- 1,989
-
- Value of property thereby abstracted in
- the Metropolitan districts £13,015
- Ditto, ditto, in the City 612
- -------
- £13,627
-
-_Area and Lobby Sneaks._--This is a large, and variegated class of
-thieves, ranging from the little ragged boy of six years of age, to the
-old woman of threescore and ten. Some are hanging in rags and tatters
-in pitiable condition; others have a respectable appearance likely to
-disarm suspicion. Some are ignorant and obtuse; others are intelligent,
-and have got a tolerable education. Some are skulking and timid; others
-are so venturesome as to enter dwelling-houses through open windows,
-and conceal themselves in closets, waiting a favourable opportunity to
-skulk off, unobserved, with plunder.
-
-Numbers of little ragged boys sneak around the areas of dwellings,
-where respectable tradesmen reside, as well as in the fashionable
-streets of the metropolis. We may see them loitering about half-naked,
-or fluttering in shreds and patches, sometimes alone, at other times
-in small bands, looking with skulking eye into the areas, as they move
-along. They are not permitted to beg at the houses, and some of them
-have no ostensible errand to visit those localities, and are hunted
-away by the police. During the day they generally sneak in the thorough
-fares and quiet by-streets of London.
-
-A few days ago we saw one of them skulking along Blackfriars-road. He
-was about 13 years of age, and had on an old ragged coat, much too
-large for him, hanging over his back in tatters, with a string to
-fasten it round his waist, and a pair of old trowsers and gray cap. He
-had the air of an old man, as he lazily walked along, and looked a very
-pitiable object. On seeing us eying him with curiosity, he suddenly
-laid aside his mendicant air, and with sharp keen eye and startled
-attitude, appeared to take us for a police officer in undress. We
-looked over our shoulder, as we moved on, and saw him stand for a time
-looking after us, when he resumed his former downcast appearance, and
-sauntered slowly along looking eagerly into the areas as he passed. He
-appeared to us a very good type of the young area sneak.
-
-These area-divers go down into the areas, and open the safes where
-provisions are kept, such as roast and boiled beef, butter and bread,
-and fish, and carry off the spoil. If the door is open, they enter the
-kitchen, and steal anything they can find, such as clothes, wet and dry
-linen, and sometimes a copper kettle, and silver spoons; or they will
-take the blacking-brushes from the boothouse. Nothing comes amiss.
-
-There is another class of area sneaks who make their daily calls at
-gentlemen’s houses, ask the servants when they come in contact with
-them if they have any kitchen-stuff to sell, or old clothes or glass
-bottles. Should they not find the servant in the kitchen, they try to
-make their way to the butler’s pantry, which generally adjoins the
-kitchen, and carry off the basket of plate.
-
-These parties are men from 20 years of age and upwards.
-
-There is a class of women who go down the areas, under pretence of
-selling combs, stay-laces, boot-laces, and other trifling commodities.
-When they find a stealthy opportunity, many of them carry off articles
-from the kitchen, similar to those just described. These people are of
-all ages, some young, others tottering with old age. They generally
-belong to London, and go their regular rounds over the streets and
-squares. Many of them live in Westminster, St. Giles’s and Kent-street
-in the Borough.
-
-There are other sneaks who enter the lobbies of houses, and commit
-robberies, chiefly in the West-end districts. These persons are of
-the same class, with the area sneak, but perhaps a step higher in the
-thievish profession. Their depredations are generally committed in
-the morning between 7 and 8, when servants are busily engaged dusting
-furniture and sweeping the hall and rooms. These thieves are then seen
-loitering about watching a favourable opportunity to steal.
-
-The mode of stealing is the same in the passages of the houses of
-middle class people, and the entry halls of the elegant mansions of
-the gentry and aristocracy. Some of these thieves are men respectably
-dressed while others are in more shabby condition. They are young and
-middle aged. You may see them in those quiet localities, generally
-in dark clothing, having the appearance of respectable mechanics, or
-warehousemen. Others are like men who hang about the streets to run
-messages and assist men-servants.
-
-They walk into the house, and pilfer any article they can find, such as
-articles of clothing, umbrellas, and walking-canes. Sometimes they take
-a coat off the knob and whip it under the breast of their coat, or put
-it on over their own. They frequently carry off a bundle of clothes,
-and sell them to some receiver of stolen property.
-
-Such robberies are frequent in the neighbourhood of Brompton, Chelsea,
-Pimlico, Paddington, Stepney, Hackney, Bayswater, Camberwell, the
-Kent-road, and other similar districts.
-
-The lobby sneaks are the same class of persons as those who enter
-the areas, and contrive to get a livelihood in this way. They live
-in various parts of London, such as the dirty slums, alleys, and
-by-streets of Covent-garden, Drury-lane, and St. Giles’s, Somers Town,
-Westminster, the Borough, Whitechapel, and Walworth Common, and other
-similar neighbourhoods.
-
-Sometimes these men are seen in public-houses with large sums of money,
-no doubt got from the disposal of their plunder; and at other times
-lounge in low coffee-houses, without even the scanty means of paying
-for their bed, and are scarcely able to pay a penny for a cup of
-coffee. They often have to ask assistance from their companions, though
-a few days previous they may have been seen in possession of handfuls
-of cash.
-
-They are usually unmarried, and live an uncomfortable, homeless life;
-often cohabiting with a low class of women, miserably clad, and
-generally wretched in appearance.
-
-Middle aged and elderly women are occasionally engaged in sneaking
-depredations from the dwelling-houses of labouring men. An old woman
-may observe a child standing at her mother’s door, and ask if her
-mother is in. When the child answers, “No,” she will say, “I will mind
-the house, while you go and get a halfpenny worth of sweets,” giving
-the little girl a halfpenny. On the child’s return the woman has
-decamped carrying away with her money, or any other portable article
-she may have found in the house. This is the class of women we have
-noticed stealing from the shops of the butchers and cheesemongers.
-
-It is a strange fact, that many of these common thieves, engaged in
-paltry sneaking thefts, have a more desperate and criminal appearance
-than most of the daring burglars and highwaymen. Their soft and timid
-natures feel more poignant misery in their debased and anxious life
-than the more stern and callous ruffians of a higher class, engaged in
-more extraordinary adventures.
-
-Another class of larcenies in dwelling-houses are committed _by means
-of false messages_.
-
-This is a very ingenious mode of thieving, and is done by means of
-calling at the house, and stating to the servants that they are sent
-from respectable firms in the neighbourhood for some article of dress
-to be repaired, or for lamps, fenders, glasses, or decanters to be
-mended, with other pretences of various descriptions.
-
-Their object is to get the absence of the servant from the hall. While
-the servant is upstairs, telling a man has called sent by such and such
-a firm, they walk into the dining-room on the first floor, and abstract
-any articles of plate that may be exposed, silver-mounted inkstands,
-books, or other property. If they don’t succeed in this, and see no
-article of value, they will return to the hall, and clear the passages
-of the coats hanging on the knobs, and the umbrellas and walking-sticks
-from the stand, while an accomplice is generally outside to receive
-the property. Should the servant come down too soon, while he has only
-got a short distance off, no property is found upon his person. They
-seldom take hats, as these could be easily detected.
-
-They have an endless variety of ingenious expedients to effect this
-object. A case of this kind occurred in the district of Marylebone a
-short time ago, where a gentleman was in quest of a lady’s maid, and
-advertised in the ‘Times’ newspaper, and at the same time answered a
-number of advertisements by anonymous persons. The next day his house
-was thronged by a number of people anxious to obtain the situation.
-
-After all had left, a purse containing a large amount of money was
-missing, consisting partly of bank-notes; when he gave information to
-the police. Some days after, through the admirable ingenuity and tact
-of a detective officer at Marylebone, a person was traced out in the
-locality of Edgware-road, as having been guilty of the felony, and
-the stolen purse was found on her person. Her apprehension led to the
-discovery, that she had been pursuing a system of robberies of this
-description over various parts of the metropolis, for twelve months
-previously. She was sentenced to three years’ penal servitude, and
-while in Millbank Penitentiary, committed suicide about three months
-after.
-
-These felonies abound chiefly in the west-end of the metropolis,
-in the neighbourhood of Belgravia, Russell and Bedford-squares,
-Oxford-square, Gloucester-square, Seymour-street, Hyde Park-street,
-Gloucester-terrace, and other fashionable localities. They are often
-committed by servants of worthless character out of situation, also
-by lads of respectable appearance, sent out by trainers of thieves,
-who often begin their despicable life in this manner, and advance to
-picking of pockets and burglary.
-
- Number of larcenies in the Metropolitan
- districts for the year 1860, by doors being
- left open and by false messages 2,986
- Ditto, ditto, in the City 535
- -----
- 3,521
-
- Value of property thereby abstracted in
- the Metropolitan district £9,904
- Ditto, ditto, in the City 724
- -------
- £10,628
-
-_Stealing by Lifting up Windows or Breaking Glass._--Area-sneaks
-frequently lift up the kitchen windows to steal. Sometimes they
-cannot reach the articles through the iron bars, and have recourse to
-an ingenious expedient to effect their object. They tie two sticks
-together, and attach a hook to the end, and seize hold of any articles
-they can find and draw them through the bars; they frequently leave
-their sticks behind them, which are found by the police.
-
-There is generally an iron fastening in the centre of the window frame.
-The thief inserts a small thin knife or other sharp instrument in the
-opening of the frame, and forces back the iron catch. In some instances
-a fastening or clasp in the inner side of the window is pushed back by
-means of breaking a pane of glass. These robberies are often committed
-in dwelling-houses in Queen-street, Mitre-street, and Webber-street,
-near Blackfriars-road; in Tower-street, Waterloo-road, and similar
-localities--generally by a man and a young lad. This young lad is
-employed to enter the window of the house to be robbed, which in these
-localities is often a front parlour. The window is drawn up softly, not
-to excite any alarm.
-
-The man generally keeps watch while the lad enters the house, perhaps
-at the corner of the street, when both decamp with the property.
-
-In some instances they break the glass in the same way that
-star-glazers do at shop-windows, as already described. This is done
-either at the front or the back window. They prefer the back window
-if there is a ready access to it. These robberies are committed in
-occupied houses as well as in houses while the inmates are absent for a
-few days. They steal money, trinkets, linen, or anything that is easily
-carried off.
-
-Similar robberies are perpetrated by two or more persons at the
-West-end fashionable houses by the area or back windows, when they
-steal money, jewels, mantelpiece clocks, clothes, linen, and other
-property.
-
-Sometimes they enter by cutting the window with a diamond. These
-felonies are often of considerable value.
-
-The parlour windows are sometimes lifted up by young thieves in the
-morning, when plate is laid on the table for breakfast; the servant
-frequently leaves the dining-room window open for ventilation, when
-they effect an entrance in this way:--one throws a cap into the area by
-way of joke, or through the window into the room; another mounts the
-railings and enters the window. Should any of the inmates detect him,
-he will say that “a lad had thrown his cap into the house, and he came
-in to fetch it.” If not disturbed, he carries off the silver plate,
-and often returns through the window with the plunder without being
-observed. These thieves take any article easily carried off, such as
-wearing apparel, work-boxes, or fancy clocks, and are generally Irish
-cockneys; they are to be found in considerable numbers in the vicinity
-of King’s-cross, Waterloo-road, and other localities. They abstract any
-valuable property they find lying about, but their chief object is to
-get the silver plate.
-
-There are few cases of larceny from back bedroom windows, as the
-servants and inmates are generally hovering about after breakfast. This
-is sometimes effected, though rarely, by the connivance of the servants.
-
-At other times these robberies from the house are committed by means of
-breaking a pane of glass, when the thieves undo the fastening of the
-window and effect an entrance. This is often perpetrated during the
-temporary absence of the inmates.
-
-The statistics in this class of robberies will be given when we come to
-treat on “Attic or Garret Thieves.”
-
-_Attic or Garret Thieves._--These are generally the most expert thieves
-in the metropolis. Their mode of operation is this:--They call at a
-dwelling-house with a letter, or have communication with some of the
-servants, for the purpose of discovering the best means of access, and
-to learn how the people in the house are engaged and the time most
-suitable for the depredation. They generally come to plunder the house
-in the evening, when one or two of their accomplices loiter about,
-watching the movements of the police, the other meanwhile proceeding to
-the roof of the house.
-
-These attic robberies are generally effected through unoccupied
-houses--perhaps by the house next door, or some other on the same side
-of the street. They pass through the attic to the roof, and proceed
-along the gutters and coping to the attic window of the house to be
-robbed. They unfasten the attic window by taking the pane of glass
-out, or pushing the fastening back, and enter the dwelling. This is
-generally done about 7 or 8 o’clock in the evening, when the family are
-at dinner--the servants being engaged between the dining-room on the
-first floor and the kitchen below, serving up the dinner.
-
-The thieves proceed to the bedroom on the second floor, and force open
-the wardrobe with a short jemmy which they carry, and try to find the
-jewel-case and any other articles of value. Their object is generally
-to get valuable jewels.
-
-The dining-room is on the first floor, so that they have often full
-scope for their operations without being seen or obstructed, while the
-inmates are engaged below. They return the same way through the attic
-window on the roof, run along the gutters, and escape by the same house
-through which they entered.
-
-A very remarkable robbery of this kind occurred in the beginning of
-1861 at Loundes-square, where the thieves entered through an attic and
-obtained jewels to the amount of 3,000_l._
-
-On their return from the dwelling-house, it being a very windy night,
-a hat belonging to one of them was blown from the house-top upon one
-of the slanting roofs he could not reach, which afterwards led to his
-detection. A short time previously it was in the hands of a hatter for
-certain repairs, when he inserted a paper marked with his name within
-it. The thief was arrested, tried, and got ten years’ penal servitude.
-
-Some get to the roof by means of a ladder placed outside an unfinished
-house, or house under repair, and steal in the same manner.
-
-An ingenious attempt at a jewel robbery occurred lately by means of a
-cab drawing up with a lady before a dwelling-house. The cabman, who
-was evidently in collusion with the thieves, dismounted, rang the
-bell, and told the butler who answered the door, that a lady wished
-to see him. On his coming to the cab, it being about ten or fifteen
-yards from the street-door, he was kept in conversation by a female.
-Meantime he observed a respectable-looking man steal into the house
-from the street, while thus engaged. He left the cab without taking any
-notice of what he saw, and entered the house, when the cab drove off at
-a rapid rate, which convinced him that there was something wrong. He
-made his way up into the bedroom on the second floor, and found a man
-of respectable appearance concealed in the apartment. An officer was
-called and the man was searched. There was found on his person a jemmy,
-a wax taper, and silent lights. He was taken into custody; but no trace
-of the cabman or woman could be found. He was afterwards committed for
-the offence.
-
-These attic thieves generally live in Hackney-road and Kingsland-road.
-On one occasion a gang was discovered in a furnished house in
-Russell-square. They generally have apartments in respectable
-neighbourhoods to avoid suspicion, and have servants to attend them,
-who assist in disposing of the stolen property. The best attic thieves
-reside in Hackney and Kingsland-roads, and many are to be found in
-the neighbourhood of Shoreditch church; a few of them are known to
-be residing in Waterloo-road, but not of so high a class as in the
-localities referred to.
-
-The women connected with them have an abundance of jewellery; they
-live in high style, with plenty of cash, but not displayed to any
-great extent at the time any robbery is committed, as it would excite
-suspicion.
-
-Many of them have a very gentleman-like appearance, and none but a
-detective officer would know them. When brought before the police
-courts for these felonies, it is usual to have constables brought from
-all the districts to see them and make them known, which very much
-annoys them.
-
-They generally succeed in making off with their booty, and are seldom
-caught. Their robberies are skilfully planned, in the same experienced
-careful manner in which burglaries are effected. They have gone through
-all grades of thieving from their infancy--through sneaking and picking
-pockets.
-
-This is a late system of robbery, and has been carried on rather
-extensively over the west end of the metropolis.
-
- Number of larcenies from dwelling-houses,
- by lifting up windows, breaking
- glass, and by attic windows through empty
- houses, for 1800 515
- Ditto, ditto, in the City 14
- ---
- 529
-
- Value of property thereby abstracted in
- Metropolitan districts for 1860 £3,962
- Ditto, ditto, in the City 18
- ------
- £3,980
-
-
-A VISIT TO THE ROOKERY OF ST. GILES AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD.
-
-In company with a police officer we proceeded to the Seven Dials,
-one of the most remarkable localities in London, inhabited by
-bird-fanciers, keepers of stores of old clothes and old shoes,
-costermongers, patterers, and a motley assemblage of others, chiefly of
-the lower classes. As we stood at one of the angles in the centre of
-the Dials we saw three young men--burglars--loitering at an opposite
-corner of an adjoining dial. One of them had a gentlemanly appearance,
-and was dressed in superfine black cloth and beaver hat. The other
-two were attired as mechanics or tradesmen. One of them had recently
-returned from penal servitude, and another had undergone a long
-imprisonment.
-
-Leaving the Seven Dials and its dingy neighbourhood, we went to
-Oxford Street, one of the first commercial streets in London, and
-one of the finest in the world. It reminded us a good deal of the
-celebrated Broadway, New York, although the buildings of the latter
-are in some places more costly and splendid, and some of the shops
-more magnificent. Oxford Street is one of the main streets of London,
-and is ever resounding with the din of vehicles, carts, cabs, hansoms,
-broughams, and omnibuses driving along. Many of the shops are spacious
-and crowded with costly goods, and the large windows of plate-glass,
-set in massive brass frames, are gaily furnished with their various
-articles of merchandise.
-
-On the opposite side of the street we observed a jolly,
-comfortable-looking, elderly man, like a farmer in appearance, not
-at all like a London sharper. He was standing looking along the
-street as though he were waiting for some one. He was a magsman (a
-skittle-sharp), and no doubt other members of the gang were hovering
-near. He appeared to be as cunning as an old fox in his movements,
-admirably fitted to entrap the unwary.
-
-A little farther along the street we saw a fashionably-dressed man
-coming towards us, arm in arm with his companion, among the throng of
-people. They were in the prime of life, and had a respectable, and even
-opulent appearance. One of them was good-humoured and social, as though
-he were on good terms with himself and society in general; the other
-was more callous and reserved, and more suspicious in his aspect. Both
-were bedecked with glittering watch chains and gold rings. They passed
-by a few paces, when the more social of the two, looking over his
-shoulder, met our eye directed towards him, turned back and accosted
-us, and was even so generous as to invite us into a gin-palace near by,
-which we courteously declined. The two magsmen (card-sharpers) strutted
-off, like fine gentlemen, along the street on the outlook for their
-victims.
-
-Here we saw another young man, a burglar, pass by. He had an engaging
-appearance, and was very tasteful in his dress, very unlike the rough
-burglars we met at Whitechapel, the Borough, and Lambeth.
-
-Leaving Oxford Street we went along Holborn to Chancery Lane, chiefly
-frequented by barristers and attorneys, and entered Fleet Street, one
-of the main arteries of the metropolis, reminding us of London in the
-olden feudal times, when the streets were crowded together in dense
-masses, flanked with innumerable dingy alleys, courts, and by-streets,
-like a great rabbit-warren. Fleet Street, though a narrow, business
-street, with its traffic often choked with vehicles, is interesting
-from its antique, historical, and literary associations. Elbowing our
-way through the throng of people, we pass through one of the gloomy
-arches of Temple Bar, and issue into the Strand, where we saw two
-pickpockets, young, tall, gentlemanly men, cross the street from St.
-Clement’s Church and enter a restaurant. They were attired in a suit
-of superfine black cloth, cut in fashionable style. They entered an
-elegant dining-room, and probably sat down to costly viands and wines.
-
-Leaving the Strand, we went up St. Martin’s Lane, a narrow street
-leading from the Strand to the Seven Dials. We here saw a young man, an
-expert burglar, of about twenty-four years of age and dark complexion,
-standing at the corner of the street. He was well dressed, in a dark
-cloth suit, with a billicock hat. One of his comrades was taken from
-his side about three weeks ago on a charge of burglary.
-
-Entering a beershop in the neighbourhood of St. Giles, close by the
-Seven Dials, we saw a band of coiners and ringers of changes. One of
-them, a genteel-looking, slim youth is a notorious coiner, and has
-been convicted. He was sitting quietly by the door over a glass of
-beer, with his companion by his side. One of them is a moulder; another
-was sentenced to ten years’ penal servitude for coining and selling
-base coin. A modest-looking young man, one of the gang, was seated by
-the bar, also respectably dressed. He is generally supposed to be a
-subordinate connected with this coining band, looking out, while they
-are coining, that no officers of justice are near, and carrying the bag
-of base money for them when they go out to sell it to base wretches in
-small quantities at low prices. Five shillings’ worth of base money
-is generally sold for tenpence. “_Ringing the changes_” is effected
-in this way:--A person offers a good sovereign to a shopkeeper to be
-changed. The gold piece is chinked on the counter, or otherwise tested,
-and is proved to be good. The man hastily asks back and gets the
-sovereign, and pretends that he has some silver, so that he does not
-require to change it. On feeling his pocket he finds he does not have
-it, and returns a base piece of money resembling it, instead of the
-genuine gold piece.
-
-We returned to Bow Street, and saw three young pickpockets proceeding
-along in company, like three well-dressed costermongers, in dark cloth
-frock-coats and caps.
-
-Being desirous of having a more thorough knowledge of the people
-residing in the rookery of St. Giles, we visited it with Mr. Hunt,
-inspector of police. We first went to a lodging-house in George Street,
-Oxford Street, called the Hampshire-Hog Yard. Most of the lodgers were
-then out. On visiting a room in the garret we saw a man, in mature
-years, making artificial flowers; he appeared to be very ingenious, and
-made several roses before us with marvellous rapidity. He had suspended
-along the ceiling bundles of dyed grasses of various hues, crimson,
-yellow, green, brown, and other colours to furnish cases of stuffed
-birds. He was a very intelligent man and a natural genius. He told us
-strong drink had brought him to this humble position in the garret, and
-that he once had the opportunity of making a fortune in the service of
-a nobleman. We felt, as we looked on his countenance, and listened to
-his conversation, he was capable of moving in a higher sphere of life.
-Yet he was wonderfully contented with his humble lot.
-
-We visited Dyott House, George Street, the ancient manor-house of St.
-Giles-in-the-Fields, now fitted up as a lodging-house for single men.
-The kitchen, an apartment about fifteen feet square, is surrounded with
-massive and tasteful panelling in the olden style. A large fire blazing
-in the grate--with two boilers on each side--was kept burning night
-and day to supply the lodgers with hot water for their tea and coffee.
-Some rashers of bacon were suspended before the fire, with a plate
-underneath. There was a gas-light in the centre of the apartment, and
-a dial on the back wall. The kitchen was furnished with two long deal
-tables and a dresser, with forms to serve as seats. There were about
-fifteen labouring men present, most of them busy at supper on fish,
-and bread, and tea. They were a very mixed company, such as we would
-expect at a London lodging-house, men working in cab-yards assisting
-cabmen, some distributing bills in the streets, one man carrying
-advertizing boards, and others jobbing at anything they can find to do
-in the neighbourhood. This house was clean and comfortable, and had
-the appearance of being truly a comfortable poor man’s home. It was
-cheerful to look around us and to see the social air of the inmates.
-One man sat with his coat off, enjoying the warmth of the kitchen; a
-boy was at his tea, cutting up dried fish and discussing his bread and
-butter. A young man of about nineteen sat at the back of the apartment,
-with a very sinister countenance, very unlike the others. There was
-something about him that indicated a troubled mind. We also observed a
-number of elderly men among the party, some in jackets, and others in
-velvet coats, with an honest look about them.
-
-When the house was a brothel, about fifteen years ago, an unfortunate
-prostitute, named Mary Brothers, was murdered in this kitchen by a man
-named Connell, who was afterwards executed at Newgate for the deed. He
-had carnal connexion with this woman some time before, and he suspected
-that she had communicated to him the venereal disease with which he was
-afflicted. In revenge he took her life, having purchased a knife at a
-neighbouring cutler’s shop.
-
-We were introduced to the landlady, a very stout woman, who came up
-to meet us, candle in hand, as we stood on the staircase. Here we saw
-the profile of the ancient proprietor of the house, carved over the
-paneling, set, as it were, in an oval frame. In another part of the
-staircase we saw a similar frame, but the profile had been removed or
-destroyed. Over the window that overlooks the staircase there are three
-figures, possibly likenesses of his daughters; such is the tradition.
-The balustrade along the staircase is very massive and tastefully
-carved and ornamented. The bed-rooms were also clean and comfortable.
-
-The beds are furnished with a bed-cover and flock bed, with sufficient
-warm and clean bedding, for the low charge of 2_s._ a week, or 4_d._
-a night. The first proprietor of the house is said to have been a
-magistrate of the city, and a knight or baronet.
-
-Leaving George Street we passed on to Church Lane, a by-street in the
-rear of New Oxford Street, containing twenty-eight houses. It was
-dark as we passed along. We saw the street lamps lighted in Oxford
-Street, and the shop-windows brilliantly illumined, while the thunder
-of vehicles in the street broke on our ear, rolling in perpetual
-stream. Here a very curious scene presented itself to our view. From
-the windows of the three-storied houses in Church Lane were suspended
-wooden rods with clothes to dry across the narrow street,--cotton
-gowns, sheets, trousers, drawers, and vests, some ragged and patched,
-and others old and faded, giving a more picturesque aspect to the
-scene, which was enhanced by the dim lights in the windows, and the
-groups of the lower orders of all ages assembled below, clustered
-around the doorways, and in front of the houses, or indulging in
-merriment in the street. Altogether the appearance of the inhabitants
-was much more clean and orderly than might be expected in such a
-low locality. Many women of the lower orders, chiefly of the Irish
-cockneys, were seated, crouching with their knees almost touching
-their chin, beside the open windows. Some men were smoking their pipes
-as they stood leaning against the walls of their houses, whom from
-their appearance we took to be evidently out-door labourers. Another
-labouring man was seated on the sill of his window, in corduroy
-trousers, light-gray coat and cap, with an honest look of good-humour
-and industry. Numbers of young women, the wives of costermongers,
-sat in front of their houses in the manner we have described, clad
-in cotton gowns, with a general aspect of personal cleanliness and
-contentment. At the corners of the streets, and at many of the
-doorways, were groups of young costermongers, who had finished their
-hard day’s work, and were contentedly chatting and smoking. They
-generally stood with their hands in their breeches pockets. Most of
-these people are Irish, or the children of Irish parents. The darkness
-of the street was lighted up by the street lamps as well as by the
-lights in the windows of two chandlers’ shops and one public-house. At
-one of the chandlers’ shops the proprietor was standing by his door
-with folded arms as he looked good-humouredly on his neighbours around
-his shop-door. We also saw some of the young Arabs bareheaded and
-barefooted, with their little hands in their pockets, or squatted on
-the street, having the usual restless, artful look peculiar to their
-tribe.
-
-Here a house was pointed out to us, No. 21, which was formerly let
-at a rent of 25_l._ per annum to a publican that resided in the
-neighbourhood. He let the same in rooms for 90_l._ a year, and these
-again receive from parties residing in them upwards of 120_l._ The
-house is still let in rooms, but they are occupied, like all others in
-the neighbourhood, by one family only.
-
-At one house as we passed along we saw a woman selling potatoes, at the
-window, to persons in the street. On looking into the interior we saw a
-cheerful fire burning in the grate and some women sitting around it. We
-also observed several bushel baskets and sacks placed round the room,
-filled with potatoes, of which they sell a large quantity.
-
-In Church Lane we found two lodging-houses, the kitchens of which
-are entered from the street by a descent of a few steps leading
-underground to the basement. Here we found numbers of people clustered
-together around several tables, some reading the newspapers, others
-supping on fish, bread, tea, and potatoes, and some lying half asleep
-on the tables in all imaginable positions. These, we were told, had
-just returned from hopping in Kent, had walked long distances, and were
-fatigued.
-
-On entering some of these kitchens, the ceiling being very low, we
-found a large fire burning in the grate, and a general air of comfort,
-cleanliness, and order. Such scenes as these were very homely and
-picturesque, and reminded us very forcibly of localities of London in
-the olden time. In some of them the inmates were only half dressed, and
-yet appeared to be very comfortable from the warmth of the apartment.
-Here we saw a number of the poorest imbeciles we had noticed in the
-course of our rambles through the great metropolis. Many of them were
-middle-aged men, others more elderly, very shabbily dressed, and some
-half naked. There was little manliness left in the poor wretches as
-they squatted drearily on the benches. The inspector told us they were
-chiefly vagrants, and were sunk in profound ignorance and debasement,
-from which they were utterly unable to rise.
-
-The next kitchen of this description we entered was occupied by
-females. It was about fifteen feet square, and belongs to a house with
-ten rooms, part of which is occupied as a low lodging-house. Here we
-found five women seated around a table, most of them young, but one
-more advanced in life. Some of them were good-looking, as though they
-had been respectable servants. They were busy at their tea, bread, and
-butcher’s meat. On the table stood a candle on a small candlestick.
-They sat in curious positions round the table, some of them with an
-ample crinoline. One sat by the fire with her gown drawn over her
-knees, displaying her white petticoat. As we stood beside them they
-burst out in a titter which they could not suppress. On looking round
-we observed a plate-rack at the back of the kitchen, and, as usual in
-these lodging-houses, a glorious fire burning brightly in the grate.
-An old chest of drawers, surmounted with shelves, stood against the
-wall. The girls were all prostitutes and thieves, but had no appearance
-of shame. They were apparently very merry. The old woman sat very
-thoughtful, looking observant on, and no doubt wondering what errand
-could have brought us into the house.
-
-We then entered another dwelling-house. On looking down the stairs we
-saw a company of young women, from seventeen to twenty-five years of
-age. A rope was hung over the fireplace, with stockings and shirts
-suspended over it, and clothes were drying on a screen. A young woman,
-with her hair netted and ornamented, sat beside the fire with a green
-jacket and striped petticoat with crinoline. Another good-looking young
-woman sat by the table dressed in a cotton gown and striped apron, with
-coffee-pot in hand, and tea-cups before her. Some pleasant-looking
-girls sat by the table with their chins leaning on their hands, smiling
-cheerfully, looking at us with curiosity. Another coarser featured
-dame lolled by the end of the table with her gown drawn over her head,
-smirking in our countenance; and one sat by, her shawl drawn over her
-head. Another apparently modest girl sat by cutting her nails with
-a knife. On the walls around the apartment were suspended a goodly
-assortment of bonnets, cloaks, gowns, and petticoats.
-
-Meantime an elderly little man came in with a cap on his head and
-a long staff in his hand, and stood looking on with curiosity. On
-the table lay a pack of cards beside the bowls, cups, and other
-crockery-ware. Some of the girls appeared as if they had lately been
-servants in respectable situations, and one was like a quiet genteel
-shop girl. They were all prostitutes, and most of them prowl about at
-night to plunder drunken men. As we looked on the more interesting
-girls, especially two of them, we saw the sad consequences of one
-wrong step, which may launch the young and thoughtless into a criminal
-career, and drive them into the dismal companionship of the most lewd
-and debased.
-
-We then went to Short’s Gardens, and entered a house there. On the
-basement underground we saw a company of men, women, and children of
-various ages, seated around the tables, and by the fire. The men and
-women had mostly been engaged in hopping, and appeared to be healthy,
-industrious, and orderly. Until lately thieves used to lodge in these
-premises.
-
-As we entered Queen Street we saw three thieves, lads of about fourteen
-years of age, standing in the middle of the street as if on the outlook
-for booty. They were dressed in black frock-coats, corduroy, and
-fustian trousers, and black caps. Passing along Queen Street, which is
-one of the wings of the Dials, we went up to the central space between
-the Seven Dials. Here a very lively scene presented itself to our
-view; clusters of labouring men, and a few men of doubtful character,
-in dark shabby dress, loitered by the corners of the surrounding
-streets. We also saw groups of elderly women standing at some of the
-angles, most of them ragged and drunken, their very countenances the
-pictures of abject misery. The numerous public-houses in the locality
-were driving a busy traffic, and were thronged with motley groups of
-people of various grades, from the respectable merchant and tradesman
-to the thief and the beggar.
-
-Bands of boys and girls were gamboling in the street in wild frolic,
-tumbling on their head with their heels in the air, and shouting in
-merriment, while the policeman was quietly looking on in good humour.
-
-Around the centre of the Dials were bakers’ shops with large
-illuminated fronts, the shelves being covered with loaves, and the
-baker busy attending to his customers. In the window was a large
-printed notice advertising the “best wheaten bread at 6_d._” a loaf. A
-druggist’s shop was invitingly adorned with beautiful green and purple
-jars, but no customers entered during the time of our stay.
-
-At the corner of an opposite dial was an old clothes store, with a
-large assortment of second-hand garments, chiefly for men, of various
-kinds, qualities, and styles, suspended around the front of the
-shop. There were also provision shops, which were well attended with
-customers. The whole neighbourhood presented an appearance of bustle
-and animation, and omnibuses and other vehicles were passing along in a
-perpetual stream.
-
-The most of the low girls in this locality do not go out till late
-in the evening, and chiefly devote their attention to drunken men.
-They frequent the principal thoroughfares in the vicinity of Oxford
-Street, Holborn, Farringdon Street, and other bustling streets. From
-the nature of their work they are of a migratory character. The most
-of the men we saw in the houses we visited belong to the labouring
-class, men employed to assist in cleaning cabs and omnibuses, carriers
-of advertising boards, distributors of bills, patterers, chickweed
-sellers, ballad singers, and persons generally of industrious habits,
-along with a few of doubtful character. They are willing to work, but
-will steal rather than want.
-
-The lodging-house people here have not been known of late years to
-receive stolen property, and the inhabitants generally are steadily
-rising in habits of decency, cleanliness, and morality.
-
-The houses we visited in George Street, and the streets adjacent, were
-formerly part of the rookery of St. Giles-in-the-Fields, celebrated as
-one of the chief haunts of redoutable thieves and suspicious characters
-in London. Deserted as it comparatively is now, except by the labouring
-poor vagrants and low prostitutes, it was once the resort of all
-classes, from the proud noble to the beggar picking up a livelihood
-from door to door.
-
-We have been indebted to Mr. Hunt, inspector of the lodging-houses of
-this district, for fuller information regarding the rookery of St.
-Giles and its inhabitants twenty years ago, before a number of these
-disreputable streets were removed to make way for New Oxford Street.
-We quote from a manuscript nearly in his own words:--“The ground
-covered by the Rookery was enclosed by Great Russell Street, Charlotte
-Street, Broad Street, and High Street, all within the parish of St.
-Giles-in-the-Fields. Within this space were George Street (once Dyott
-Street), Carrier Street, Maynard Street, and Church Street, which ran
-from north to south, and were intersected by Church Lane, Ivy Lane,
-Buckeridge Street, Bainbridge Street, and New Street. These, with an
-almost endless intricacy of courts and yards crossing each other,
-rendered the place like a rabbit-warren.
-
-“In Buckeridge Street stood the ‘Hare and Hounds’ public-house,
-formerly the ‘Beggar in the Bush;’ at the time of which I speak (1844)
-kept by the well-known and much-respected Joseph Banks (generally
-called ‘Stunning Joe’), a civil, rough, good-hearted Boniface. His
-house was the resort of all classes, from the aristocratic marquis to
-the vagabond whose way of living was a puzzle to himself.
-
-“At the opposite corner of Carrier Street stood Mother Dowling’s, a
-lodging-house and provision shop, which was not closed nor the shutters
-put on for several years before it was pulled down, to make way for
-the improvements in New Oxford Street.... The shop was frequented by
-vagrants of every class, including foreigners, who, with moustache,
-well-brushed hat, and seedy clothes--consisting usually of a frock-coat
-buttoned to the chin, light trousers, and boots gaping at each lofty
-step--might be seen making their way to Buckeridge Street to regale
-upon cabbage, which had been boiled with a ferocious pig’s head or a
-fine piece of salt beef. From 12 to 1 o’clock at midnight was chosen by
-these ragged but proud gentlemen from abroad as the proper time for a
-visit to Mrs. Dowling’s.
-
-“Most of the houses in Buckeridge Street were lodging-houses for
-thieves, prostitutes, and cadgers. The charge was fourpence a night in
-the upper rooms, and threepence in the cellars, as the basements were
-termed. If the beds were occupied six nights by the same parties, and
-all dues paid, the seventh night (Sunday) was not charged for. The
-rooms were crowded, and paid well. I remember seeing fourteen women
-in beds in a cellar, each of whom paid 3_d._ a night, which, Sunday
-free, amounted to 21_s._ per week. The furniture in this den might
-have originally cost the proprietor 7_l._ or 8_l._ At the time I last
-visited it, it was not worth more than 30_s._
-
-“Both sides of Buckeridge Street abounded in courts, particularly the
-north side, and these, with the connected backyards and low walls
-in the rear of the street, afforded an easy escape to any thief
-when pursued by officers of justice. I remember on one occasion, in
-1844, a notorious thief was wanted by a well-known criminal-officer
-(Restieaux). He was known to associate with some cadgers who used
-a house in the rear of Paddy Corvan’s, near Church Street, and was
-believed to be in the house when Restieaux and a serjeant entered it.
-They went into the kitchen where seven male and five female thieves
-were seated, along with several cadgers of the most cunning class. One
-of them made a signal, indicating that some one had escaped by the
-back of the premises, in which direction the officers proceeded. It
-was evident the thief had gone over a low wall into an adjoining yard.
-The pursuers climbed over, passed through the yards and back premises
-of eleven houses, and secured him in Jones Court. There were about
-twenty persons present at the time of the arrest, but they offered no
-resistance to the constables. It would have been a different matter had
-he been apprehended by strangers.
-
-“In Bainbridge Street, one side of which was nearly occupied by the
-immense brewery of Meux & Co., were found some of the most intricate
-and dangerous places in this low locality. The most notorious of these
-was Jones Court, inhabited by coiners, utterers of base coin, and
-thieves. In former years a bull terrier was kept here, which gave an
-alarm on the appearance of a stranger, when the coining was suspended
-till the course was clear. This dog was at last taken away by Duke
-and Clement, two police officers, and destroyed by an order from a
-magistrate.
-
-“The houses in Jones Court were connected by roof, yard, and cellar
-with those in Bainbridge and Buckeridge streets, and with each other
-in such a manner that the apprehension of an inmate or refugee in one
-of them was almost a task of impossibility to a stranger, and difficult
-to those well acquainted with the interior of the dwellings. In one of
-the cellars was a large cesspool, covered in such a way that a stranger
-would likely step into it. In the same cellar was a hole about two
-feet square, leading to the next cellar, and thence by a similar hole
-into the cellar of a house in Scott’s Court, Buckeridge Street. These
-afforded a ready means of escape to a thief, but effectually stopped
-the pursuers, who would be put to the risk of creeping on his hands and
-knees through a hole two feet square in a dark cellar in St. Giles’s
-Rookery, entirely in the power of dangerous characters. Other houses
-were connected in a similar manner. In some instances there was a
-communication from one back window to another by means of large spike
-nails, one row to hold by, and another for the feet to rest on, which
-were not known to be used at the time we refer to.
-
-“In Church Street were several houses let to men of an honest but poor
-class, who worked in omnibus and cab-yards, factories, and such other
-places as did not afford them the means of procuring more expensive
-lodgings. Their apartments were clean, and their way of living frugal.
-
-“Other houses of a less reputable character were very numerous. One
-stood at the corner of Church Street and Lawrence Street, occupied by
-the most infamous characters of the district. On entering the house
-from Lawrence Lane, and proceeding upstairs, you would find on each
-floor several rooms connected by a kind of gallery, each room rented by
-prostitutes. These apartments were open to those girls who had fleeced
-any poor drunken man who had been induced to accompany them to this
-den of infamy. When they had plundered the poor dupe, he was ejected
-without ceremony by the others who resided in the room; often without a
-coat or hat, sometimes without his trousers, and occasionally left on
-the staircase naked as he was born. In this house the grossest scenes
-of profligacy were transacted. In pulling it down a hole was discovered
-in the wall opening into a timber-yard which fronted High Street--a
-convenient retreat for any one pursued.
-
-“Opposite to this was the “Rose and Crown” public-house, resorted to
-by all classes of the light-fingered gentry, from the mobsman and
-his “Amelia” to the lowest of the street thieves and his “Poll.” In
-the tap-room might be seen Black Charlie the fiddler, with ten or a
-dozen lads and lasses enjoying the dance, and singing and smoking over
-potations of gin-and-water, more or less plentiful according to the
-proceeds of the previous night--all apparently free from care in their
-wild carousals. The cheek waxed pale when the policeman opened the door
-and glanced round the room, but when he departed the merriment would be
-resumed with vigour.
-
-“The kitchens of some houses in Buckeridge Street afforded a specimen
-of life in London rarely seen elsewhere even in London, though some in
-Church Lane do so now on a smaller scale. The kitchen, a long apartment
-usually on the ground-floor, had a large coke fire, along with a sink,
-water-tap, one or two tables, several forms, a variety of saucepans,
-and other cooking utensils, and was lighted with a gas jet. There in
-the evenings suppers were discussed by the cadgers an alderman might
-almost have envied--rich steaks and onions, mutton and pork chops,
-fried potatoes, sausages, cheese, celery, and other articles of fare,
-with abundance of porter, half-and-half, and tobacco.
-
-“In the morning they often sat down to a breakfast of tea, coffee,
-eggs, rashers of bacon, dried fish, fresh butter, and other good
-things which would be considered luxuries by working people, when each
-discussed his plans for the day’s rambles, and arranged as to the
-exchange of garments, bandages, &c., considered necessary to prevent
-recognition in those neighbourhoods recently worked.
-
-“Their dinners were taken in the course of their rounds, consisting
-generally of the best of the broken victuals given them by the
-compassionate, and were eaten on one of the door-steps of some
-respectable street, after which they would resort to some obscure
-public-house or beer-shop in a back street or alley to partake of some
-liquor.
-
-“Heaps of good food were brought home and thrown on a side-table,
-or into a corner, as unfit to be eaten by those “professional”
-cadgers,--food which thousands of the working men of London would have
-been thankful for. It was given to the children who visited these
-lodging-houses. The finer viands, such as pieces of fancy bread, rolls,
-kidneys, mutton and lamb, the gentlemen of the establishment reserved
-for their own more fastidious palates.
-
-[Illustration: BOYS EXERCISING AT TOTHILL FIELDS PRISON.]
-
-“On Sundays many of the cadgers staid at home till night. They spent
-the day at cards, shove-halfpenny, tossing, and other amusements.
-Sometimes five or six shillings were staked on the table among a
-party of about ten of them at cards, although coppers were the usual
-stakes.... The life of a cadger is not in many instances a life of
-privation. I do not speak (says Mr. Hunt) of the really distressed, to
-whose wants too little attention is sometimes paid. I allude to beggars
-by profession, who prefer a life of mendicancy to any other. There are
-among them sailors, whose largest voyage has been to Tothill Fields
-prison, or to Gravesend on a pleasure trip. Cripples with their arms in
-slings, or feet, swathed in blood-stained rags, swollen to double the
-size, who may be seen dancing when in their lodging at their evening
-revels. You may see poor Irish with from five to thirty sovereigns in a
-bag hung round their necks or in the waistband of their trousers; women
-who carry hired babes, or it may be a bundle of clothing resembling a
-child, on their back and breast, and other such-like impostors.
-
-“Between Buckeridge Street and Church Lane stood Ivy Lane, leading from
-George Street to Carrier Street, communicating with the latter by a
-small gateway. Clark’s Court was on its left, and Rats’ Castle on its
-right. This castle was a large dirty building occupied by thieves and
-prostitutes, and boys who lived by plunder. On the removal of these
-buildings, in 1845, the massive foundations of an hospital were found,
-which had been built in the 12th century by Matilda, Queen of Henry the
-First, daughter of Malcolm King of Scotland, for persons afflicted with
-leprosy.
-
-“At this place criminals were allowed a bowl of ale on their way from
-Newgate to Tyburn.
-
-“Maynard Street and Carrier Street were occupied by costermongers and
-a few thieves and cadgers. George Street, part of which still stands,
-consisted of lodging-houses for tramps, thieves, and beggars, together
-with a few brothels.”
-
-From George Street to High Street runs a mews called Hampshire-Hog
-Yard, where there is an old established lodging-house for single men,
-poor but honest.
-
-The portion of the rookery now remaining, consisting of Church Lane,
-with its courts, a small part of Carrier Street, and a smaller portion
-of one side of Church Street, is now more densely crowded than when
-Buckeridge Street and its neighbourhood were in existence. The old
-Crown public-house in Church Lane, formerly the resort of the most
-notorious cadgers, was in 1851 inhabited by Irish people, where
-often from twelve to thirty persons lodged in a room. At the back of
-this public-house is a yard, on the right-hand side of which is an
-apartment then occupied by thirty-eight men, women, and children, all
-lying indiscriminately on the floor.
-
-Speaking of other houses in this neighbourhood in 1851, Mr. Hunt
-states: “I have frequently seen as many as sixteen people in a room
-about twelve feet by ten, these numbers being exceeded in larger rooms.
-Many lay on loose straw littered on the floor, their heads to the wall
-and their feet to the centre, and decency was entirely unknown among
-them.”
-
-Now, however, the district is considerably changed, the inhabitants are
-rapidly rising in decency, cleanliness, and order, and the Rookery of
-St. Giles will soon be ranked among the memories of the past.
-
-
-NARRATIVE OF A LONDON SNEAK, OR COMMON THIEF.
-
-The following narrative was given us by a convicted thief, who has for
-years wandered over the streets of London as a ballad singer, and has
-resided in the low lodging-houses scattered over its lowest districts.
-He was a poor wretched creature, degraded in condition, of feeble
-intellect, and worthless character, we picked up in a low lodging
-house in Drury Lane. He was shabbily dressed in a pair of old corduroy
-trousers, old brown coat, black shabby vest, faded grey neckerchief, an
-old dark cap and peak, and unwashed shirt. For a few shillings he was
-very ready to tell us the sad story of his miserable life.
-
-“I was born at Abingdon, near Oxford, where my father was a bricklayer,
-and kept the N----n public-house. He died when I was fourteen years of
-age; I was sent to school and was taught to read, but not to write.
-At this time I was a steady, well-conducted boy. At fourteen years of
-age I went to work with my uncle, a basket-maker and rag merchant in
-Abingdon, and lived with my mother. I wrought there for three years,
-making baskets and cutting willows for them. I left my uncle then, as
-he had not got any more work for me to do, and was living idle with
-my mother. At this time I went with a Cheap John to the fairs, and
-travelled with him the whole of that season. He was a Lancashire man,
-between fifty and sixty years of age, and had a woman who travelled the
-country with him, but I do not think they were married. He was a tall,
-dark-complexioned man, and was a ‘duffer,’ very unprincipled in his
-dealings. He sold cutlery, books, stationery, and hardware.
-
-“When we were going from one fair to another, we would stop on the road
-and make a fire, and steal fowls and potatoes, or any green-stuff that
-was in season. We sometimes travelled along with gipsies, occasionally
-to the number of fifty or sixty in a gang. The gipsies are a curious
-sort of people, and would not let you connect with any of them unless
-they saw you were to remain among them.
-
-“I assisted Cheap John in the markets when selling his goods, and
-handed them to the purchasers.
-
-“The first thing I ever pilfered was a pair of boots and a handkerchief
-from a drunken man who lay asleep at a fair in Reading, in Berks. He
-was lying at the back of a booth and no one near him. This was about
-dusk in September. I pawned the boots at Windsor on the day of a fair
-for 3_s._, and sold the handkerchief for 1_s._
-
-“I was about seventeen years of age when I went with Cheap John, and
-remained with him about thirteen weeks, when I left, on account of a
-row I had with him. I liked this employment very well, got 2_s._ in the
-pound for my trouble, and sometimes had from 1_l._ to 25_s._ a week.
-But the fairs were only occasional, and the money I earned was very
-precarious.
-
-“I left Cheap John at Windsor, and came to Slough with a horse-dealer,
-where I left him. He gave me 2_s._ for assisting him. I then came up
-to London, where I have lived ever since in the lodging-houses in the
-different localities. I remember on coming to this great city I was
-much astonished at its wonders, and every street appeared to me like
-a fair. On coming to London I had no money, and had not any friend to
-assist me. I went to Kensington workhouse, and got a night’s lodging,
-and lived for about a fortnight at different workhouses in London. They
-used to give the lodgers a piece of bread at night, and another in the
-morning, and a night’s lodging on straw and boards.
-
-“I then went out singing ballads in the streets of London, and could
-get at an average from 2_s._ to 2_s._ 6_d._ a night, but when the
-evenings were wet, I could not get anything. In the winter I sang in
-the daytime, and in summer I went out in the evening. I have wandered
-in this way over many of the streets and thoroughfares of London. I
-sing in Marylebone, Somers Town, Camden Town, Paddington, Whitecross
-Street, City, Hammersmith, Commercial Road, and Whitechapel, and
-live at different lodgings, and make them my home as I move along. I
-sing different kinds of songs, sentimental and comic; my favourites
-are ‘Gentle Annie,’ ‘She’s reckoned a good hand at it,’ ‘The Dandy
-Husband,’ ‘The Week’s Matrimony,’ ‘The Old Woman’s Sayings,’ and
-‘John Bull and the Taxes.’ I often sing ‘The Dark-eyed Sailor,’ and
-‘The Female Cabin Boy.’ For many years now I have lived by singing in
-the public street, sometimes by myself, at other times with a mate. I
-occasionally beg in Regent Street and Bond Street on the ‘fly,’ that
-is, follow people passing along, and sometimes in Oxford Street and
-Holborn. Sometimes I get a little job to do from people at various
-kinds of handiwork, such as turning the wheel to polish steel, and
-irons, &c., and do other kinds of job work. When hard up I pick pockets
-of handkerchiefs, by myself or with one or two mates. [In the course
-of our interview we saw he was very clumsy at picking pockets.] I
-sometimes go out with the young dark-complexioned lad you saw down
-stairs, who is very clever at pocket picking, and has been often
-convicted before the criminal courts.
-
-“I have spent many years living in the low lodging-houses of London.
-The worst I ever saw was in Keat Street, Whitechapel, about nine years
-ago, before they were reformed and changed. Numbers were then crowded
-into the different rooms, and the floors were littered with naked
-people of all ages, and of both sexes, men and women, and boys and
-girls sleeping alongside indiscriminately. It was very common to see
-young boys and girls sleeping together. The conversations that passed
-between them, and the scenes that were transacted, were enough to
-contaminate the morals of the young.
-
-“In the morning they used to go to their different haunts over the
-city, some begging, and others thieving.
-
-“On Sunday evenings the only books read were such as ‘Jack Sheppard,’
-‘Dick Turpin,’ and the ‘Newgate Calendar’ they got out of the
-neighbouring libraries by depositing 1_s._ These were read with much
-interest; the lodgers would sooner have these than any other books. I
-never saw any of them go to church on Sundays. Sometimes one or two
-would go to the ragged-school, such as the one in Field Lane near
-Smithfield.
-
-“It often happened a man left his wife, and she came to the
-lodging-house and got a livelihood by begging. Some days she would
-glean 2_s._ or 3_s._, and at other times would not get a halfpenny.
-
-“The thieves were seldom in the lodging-house, except to meals and at
-bedtime. They lived on better fare than the beggars. The pickpocket
-lives better than the sneaking thief, and the pickpocket is thought
-more of in the lodging-houses and prisons than the beggar.
-
-“The lowest pickpockets often lived in these low lodging-houses, some
-of them young lads, and others middle-aged men. The young pickpockets,
-if clever, soon leave the lodging-houses and take a room in some
-locality, as at Somers Town, Marylebone, the Burgh, Whitechapel, or
-Westminster. The pickpockets in lodging-houses, for the most part, are
-stockbuzzers, _i.e._, stealers of handkerchiefs.
-
-“I have often seen the boys picking each others’ pockets for diversion
-in the lodging-houses, many of them from ten to eleven years of age.
-
-“There are a great number of sneaks in the lodging-houses. Two of them
-go out together to the streets, one of them keeps a look-out while the
-other steals some article, shoes, vest, or coat, &c., from the shop
-or stall. I sometimes go out with a mate and take a pair of boots at
-a shop-door and sell them to the pawnbroker, or to a labouring man
-passing in the street.
-
-“Sometimes I have known the lodgers make up a packet of sawdust and
-put in a little piece of tobacco to cover an opening, leaving only the
-tobacco to be seen looking through, and sell it to persons passing by
-in the street as a packet of tobacco.
-
-“When I am hard up I have gone out and stolen a loaf at a baker’s shop,
-or chandler’s shop, and taken it to my lodging. I have often stolen
-handkerchiefs, silk and cambric, from gentlemen’s pockets.
-
-“I once stole a silver snuff-box from a man’s coat-pocket, and on one
-occasion took a pocket-book with a lot of papers and postage stamps. I
-burnt the papers and sold the stamps for about 1_s._ 6_d._
-
-“I never had clothes respectable enough to try purses and watches,
-and did not have nerve for it. I have seen young thieves encouraged
-by people who kept the lodging-houses, such as at Keat Street,
-Whitechapel, and at the Mint. They would ask the boys if they had
-anything, and wish them to sell it to them, which was generally done
-at an under-price. In these lodging-houses some lived very well, and
-others were starving. Some had steaks and pickles, and plenty of drink,
-porter and ale, eggs and bacon, and cigars to smoke. Some of the
-poorest go out and get a pennyworth of bread, halfpennyworth of tea,
-halfpennyworth of butter, and halfpennyworth of sugar, and perhaps not
-have a halfpenny left to pay for their lodging at night. When they do
-get money they often go out and spend it in drink, and perhaps the next
-night are starving again.
-
-“I have been tried for stealing a quart pot and a handkerchief, at
-Bagnigge Wells police station, and was taken to Vine Street police
-station for stealing 2_s._ 6_d._ from a drunken woman respectably
-dressed. I took it out of her hand, and was seen by a policeman, who
-ran after me and overtook me, but the woman refused to prosecute me,
-and I was discharged. I was also brought before Marylebone police-court
-for begging.
-
-“In my present lodging I am pretty comfortable. We spend our evenings
-telling tales and conversing to each other on our wanderings, and
-playing at games, such as ‘hunt the slipper.’ I have often been in
-great want, and have been driven to steal to get a livelihood.”
-
-
-
-
-PICKPOCKETS AND SHOPLIFTERS.
-
-
-In tracing the pickpocket from the beginning of his career, in most
-cases we must turn our attention to the little ragged boys living
-by a felon’s hearth, or herding with other young criminals in a low
-lodging-house, or dwelling in the cold and comfortless home of drunken
-and improvident parents. The great majority of the pickpockets of
-the metropolis, with few exceptions, have sprung from the dregs of
-society--from the hearths and homes of London thieves--so that they
-have no reason to be proud of their lineage. Fifteen or twenty years
-ago many of those accomplished pickpockets, dressed in the highest
-style of fashion, and glittering in gold chains, studs, and rings,
-who walk around the Bank of England and along Cheapside, and our busy
-thoroughfares, were poor ragged boys walking barefooted among the dark
-and dirty slums and alleys of Westminster and the Seven Dials, or
-loitering among the thieves’ dens of the Borough and Whitechapel.
-
-Step by step they have emerged from their rags and squalor to a higher
-position of physical comfort, and have risen to higher dexterity and
-accomplishment in their base and ignoble profession.
-
-We say there are a few exceptions to the general rule, that the most
-of our habitual thieves have sprung from the loins of felon parents.
-We blush to say that some have joined the ranks of our London thieves,
-and are living callous in open crime, who were trained in the homes of
-honest and industrious parents, and were surrounded in early life with
-all those influences which are fitted to elevate and improve the mind.
-But here our space forbids us to enlarge.
-
-The chief sources whence our pickpockets spring are from the low
-lodging-houses--from those dwellings in low neighbourhoods, where their
-parents are thieves, and where improvident and drunken people neglect
-their children, such as Whitechapel, Shoreditch, Spitalfields, New Cut,
-Lambeth, the Borough, Clerkenwell, Drury Lane, and other localities.
-Many of them are the children of Irish parents, costermongers,
-bricklayers’ labourers, and others. They often begin to steal at six
-or seven years of age, sometimes as early as five years, and commit
-petty sneaking thefts, as well as pick handkerchiefs from gentlemen’s
-pockets. Many of these ragged urchins are taught to steal by their
-companions, others are taught by trainers of thieves, young men and
-women, and some middle-aged convicted thieves. They are learned to
-be expert in this way. A coat is suspended on the wall with a bell
-attached to it, and the boy attempts to take the handkerchief from
-the pocket without the bell ringing. Until he is able to do this with
-proficiency he is not considered well trained. Another way in which
-they are trained is this: The trainer--if a man--walks up and down the
-room with a handkerchief in the tail of his coat, and the ragged boys
-amuse themselves abstracting it until they learn to do it in an adroit
-manner. We could point our finger to three of these execrable wretches,
-who are well known to train schools of juvenile thieves--one of them,
-a young man at Whitechapel; another, a young woman at Clerkenwell; and
-a third, a middle-aged man residing about Lambeth Walk. These base
-wretches buy the stolen handkerchiefs from the boys at a paltry sum.
-We have also heard of some being taught to pick pockets by means of an
-effigy; but this is not so well authenticated.
-
-Great numbers of these ragged pickpockets may be seen loitering about
-our principal streets, ready to steal from a stall or shop-door when
-they find an opportunity. During the day they generally pick pockets
-two or three in a little band, but at dusk a single one can sometimes
-do it with success. They not only steal handkerchiefs of various
-kinds, but also pocketbooks from the tails of gentlemen’s coats. We
-may see them occasionally engaged at this work on Blackfriars Bridge
-and London Bridge, also along Bishopsgate, Shoreditch, Whitechapel,
-Drury Lane, and similar localities. They may be seen at any hour of
-the day, but chiefly from 10 to 2 o’clock. They are generally actively
-on the look-out on Saturday evening in the shopping streets where the
-labouring people get their provisions in for the Sunday. At this early
-stage the boys occasionally pick pockets, and go about cadging and
-sneaking (begging and committing petty felonies).
-
-The next stage commences--we shall say--about fourteen years of age,
-when the stripling lays aside his rags, and dresses in a more decent
-way, though rather shabby. Perhaps in a dark or gray frock-coat, dark
-or dirty tweed trousers, and a cap with peak, and shoes. At this time
-many of them go to low neighbourhoods, or to those quieter localities
-where the labouring people reside, and pick the pockets of the wives
-and daughters of this class of persons; others steal from gentlemen
-passing along thoroughfares, while a few adroit lads are employed by
-men to steal from ladies’ pockets in the fashionable streets of the
-metropolis.
-
-These young thieves seldom commit their depredations in the localities
-where they are known, but prowl in different parts of the metropolis.
-They are of a wandering character, changing from one district to
-another, and living in different lodging-houses--often leaving their
-parent’s houses as early as ten years of age. Sometimes they are driven
-by drunken loafing parents to steal, though in most cases they leave
-their comfortless homes and live in lodging-houses.
-
-When they have booty, they generally bring it to some person to dispose
-of, as suspicion would be aroused if they went to sell or pawn it
-themselves. In some cases they give it to the trainer of thieves, or
-they take it to some low receiving house, where wretches encourage
-them in stealing; sometimes to low coffee-houses, low hairdressers or
-tailors, who act as middle-men to dispose of the property, generally
-giving them but a small part of the value.
-
-In the event of their rambling to a distant part of London, they
-sometimes arrange to get one of their number to convey the stolen
-goods to these parties. At other times they dispose of them to low
-wretches connected with the lodging-houses, or other persons in
-disreputable neighbourhoods.
-
-At this time many of them cohabit with girls in low lodging-houses;
-many of whom are older than themselves, and generally of the felon
-class.
-
-These lads frequently steal at the “tail” of gentlemen’s coats, and
-learn the other modes of picking pockets.
-
-Stealing the handkerchief from the “tail” of a gentleman’s coat in the
-street is generally effected in this way. Three or four usually go
-together. They see an old gentleman passing by. One remains behind,
-while the other two follow up close beside him, but a little behind.
-The one walking by himself behind is the looker out to see if there are
-any police or detectives near, or if any one passing by or hovering
-around is taking notice of them. One of the two walking close by the
-gentleman adroitly picks his pocket, and coils the handkerchief up in
-his hand so as not to be seen, while the other brings his body close to
-him, so as not to let his arm be seen by any passer by.
-
-If the party feel him taking the handkerchief from his pocket, the
-thief passes it quickly to his companion, who runs off with it. The
-looker-out walks quietly on as if nothing had occurred, or sometimes
-walks up to the gentleman and asks him what is the matter, or pretends
-to tell him in what direction the thief has run, pointing him to a very
-different direction from the one he has taken.
-
-They not only abstract handkerchiefs but also pocketbooks from the tail
-of gentlemen’s coats, or any other article they can lay their fingers
-on.
-
-This is the common way in which the coat-pocket is picked when the
-person is proceeding along the street. Sometimes it happens that one
-thief will work by himself, but this is very seldom. In the case of a
-person standing, the coat-tail pocket is picked much in the same manner.
-
-These boys in most cases confine themselves to stealing from the
-coat-pocket on the streets, but in the event of a crowd on any
-occasion, they are so bold as to steal watches from the vest-pocket.
-This is done in a different style, and generally in the company of two
-or three in this manner: One of them folds his arms across his breast
-in such a way that his right hand is covered with his left arm. This
-enables him to use his hand in an unobserved way, so that he is thereby
-able to abstract the watch from the vest-pocket of the gentleman
-standing by his side.
-
-A police-officer informed us, that when at Cremorne about a
-fortnight ago, a large concourse of people was assembled to see the
-female acrobat, termed the “Female Blondin,” cross the Thames on a
-rope suspended over the river, he observed two young men of about
-twenty-four years of age, and about the middle height, respectably
-dressed, whom he suspected to be pickpockets. They went up to a smart
-gentlemanly man standing at the riverside looking eagerly at the Female
-Blondin, then walking the rope over the middle of the river. As his
-attention was thus absorbed, the detective saw these two men go up to
-him. One of them placed himself close on the right hand side of him,
-and putting his right arm under his left, thus covered his right hand,
-and took the watch gently from the pocket of the gentleman’s vest. The
-thief made two attempts to break the ring attached to the watch, termed
-the “bowl” or swivel, with his finger and thumb.
-
-After two ineffective endeavours he bent it completely round, and yet
-it would not break. He then left the watch hanging down in front of the
-vest, the gentleman meanwhile being unaware of the attempted felony.
-The detective officer took both the thieves into custody. They were
-brought before the Westminster police-court and sentenced each to three
-months’ imprisonment for an attempt to steal from the person.
-
-The same officer informed us that about a month or six weeks ago, in
-the same place, on a similar occasion, he observed three persons, a
-man, a boy, and a woman, whom he suspected to be picking pockets.
-The man was about twenty-eight years of age, rather under the middle
-size. The woman hovered by his side. She was very good-looking, about
-twenty-four years of age, dressed in a green coloured gown, Paisley
-shawl, and straw bonnet trimmed with red velvet and red flowers. The
-man was dressed in a black frock-coat, brown trousers, and black hat.
-The boy, who happened to be his brother, was about fourteen years old,
-dressed in a brown shooting-coat, corduroy trousers, and black cap
-with peak. The boy had an engaging countenance, with sharp features
-and smart manner. The officer observed the man touch the boy on the
-shoulder and point him towards an old lady. The boy placed himself on
-her right side, and the man and woman kept behind. The former put his
-left hand into the pocket of the lady’s gown and drew nothing from
-it, then left her and went about two yards farther; there he placed
-himself by other two ladies, tried both their pockets and left them
-again. He followed another lady and succeeded in picking her pocket of
-a small sum of money and a handkerchief. The officer took them all to
-the police station with the assistance of another detective officer,
-when they were committed for trial at Clerkenwell sessions. The man
-was sentenced to ten years’ penal servitude, the boy to two months’
-hard labour, and three months in a reformatory, and the woman was
-sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, with hard labour, in the House of
-Correction at Westminster.
-
-It appeared, in the course of the evidence at the trial, that this
-man had previously been four years in penal servitude, and since his
-return had decoyed his little brother from a situation he held, for the
-purpose of training him to pick pockets, having induced him to rob his
-employer before leaving service.
-
-The _scarf pin_ is generally taken from the breast in this way. The
-thief generally has a handkerchief in his hand, pretending to wipe
-his nose, as he walks along the street. He then places his right
-hand across the breast of the person he intends to rob, bringing his
-left hand stealthily under his arm. This conceals his movements from
-the eyes of the person. With the latter hand he snatches out the pin
-from the scarf. It is sometimes done with the right hand, at other
-times with the left, according to the position of the person, and
-is generally done in the company of one or more. The person robbed
-is rarely aware of the theft. Should he be aware, or should any one
-passing by have observed the movement, the pin got from the scarf is
-suddenly passed into the hands of the other parties, when all of them
-suddenly make off in different directions soon to meet again in some
-neighbouring locality.
-
-At other times the thief drives the person with a push, in the street,
-bringing his hands to his breast as if he had stumbled against him, at
-the same time adroitly laying hold of the pin. This is done in such a
-way that the person is seldom aware of the robbery until he afterwards
-finds out the loss of the article.
-
-The _trousers pocket_ is seldom picked on the public street, as this
-is an operation of considerable difficulty and danger. It is not easy
-to slip the hand into the trousers pocket without being felt by the
-person attempted to be robbed. This is generally done in crowds where
-people are squeezed together, when they contrive to do it in this way:
-They cut up the trousers with a knife or other sharp instrument, lay
-open the pocket, and adroitly rifle the money from it; or they insert
-the fingers or hand into it in a push, often without being observed,
-while the person’s attention is distracted, possibly by some of the
-accomplices or stalls. They often occasion a disturbance in crowds, and
-create a quarrel with people near them, or have sham fights with each
-other, or set violently on the person they intend to rob. Many rough
-expedients are occasionally had recourse to, to effect this object.
-
-Sometimes the pocket is picked in a crowd by means of laying hold
-of the party by the middle as if they had jostled against him, or
-by pressing on his back from behind, while the fingers or hand are
-inserted into the pocket of his trousers to snatch any valuables, money
-or otherwise, contained therein.
-
-This mode of stealing is sometimes done by one person, at other times
-by the aid of accomplices. It is most commonly done in the manner now
-described.
-
-By dint of long experience and natural skill, some attain great
-perfection in this difficult job, and accomplish their object in the
-most clever and effective manner. They are so nimble and accomplished
-that they will accost a gentleman in the street, and while speaking to
-him, and looking him in the face, will quietly insert their hand into
-his vest pocket and steal his watch.
-
-In a crowd, the pin is sometimes stolen with dexterity by a person
-from behind inserting his hand over the shoulder. Sometimes the watch
-is stolen by a sudden snatch at the guard, when the thief runs off
-with his booty. This is not so often done in the thoroughfares, as
-it is attended with great danger of arrest. It is oftener done in
-quiet by-streets, or by-places, where there are many adjacent courts
-and alleys intersecting each other, through which the thief has an
-opportunity of escaping.
-
-These are the various modes by which gentlemen’s pockets are generally
-picked.
-
-A lady’s pocket is commonly picked by persons walking by her side, who
-insert their hand gently into the pocket of her gown. This is often
-effected by walking alongside of the lady, or by stopping her in the
-street, asking the way to a particular place, or inquiring if she is
-acquainted with such and such a person. When the thief is accomplished,
-he can abstract the purse from her pocket in a very short space of
-time: but if he is not so adroit, he will detain her some time longer,
-asking further questions till he has completed his object. This is
-often done by a man and a woman in company.
-
-A lady generally carries her gold or silver watch in a small pocket
-in front of her dress, possibly under one of the large flounces. It
-is often stolen from her by one or two, or even three persons, one of
-the thieves accosting her in the street in the manner described. They
-seldom steal the guard, but in most cases contrive to break the ring or
-swivel by which it is attached. Let us suppose that two pickpockets, a
-man and a woman, were to see a lady with a watch in the public street;
-they are possibly walking arm-in-arm; they make up to her, inquire the
-way to a particular place, and stand in front of her. One of them would
-ask the way while the other would meantime be busy picking her pocket.
-If they succeed, they walk off arm-in-arm as they came.
-
-Sometimes two or three men will go up to a lady and deliberately snatch
-a parcel or reticule-bag from her hand or arm, and run off with it.
-
-At other times a very accomplished pickpocket may pick ladies’ pockets
-without any accomplices, or with none to cover his movements.
-
-Walking along Cheapside one day, toward the afternoon, we observed a
-well-dressed, good-looking man of about thirty years of age, having
-the appearance of a smart man of business, standing by the side of
-an elderly looking, respectably dressed lady at a jeweller’s window.
-The lady appeared to belong to the country, from her dress and
-manner, and was absorbed looking into the window at the gold watches,
-gold chains, lockets, pins, and other trinkets glittering within.
-Meantime the gentleman also appeared to be engrossed looking at these
-articles beside her, while crowds of people were passing to and fro
-in the street, and the carts, cabs, omnibuses, and other vehicles
-were rumbling by, deadening the footsteps of the passers by. Our eye
-accidentally caught sight of his left hand drooping by his side in the
-direction of the lady’s pocket. We observed it glide softly in the
-direction of her pocket beneath the edge of her shawl with all the
-fascination of a serpent’s movement. While the hand lay drooping, the
-fingers sought their way to the pocket. From the movement we observed
-that the fingers had found the pocket, and were seeking their way
-farther into the interior. The person was about to plunge his hand to
-abstract the contents, when we instinctively hooked his wrist with
-the curve of our walking-stick and prevented the robbery. With great
-address and tact he withdrew his hand from the lady’s pocket, and his
-wrist from our grasp, and walked quietly away. Meantime a group of
-people had gathered round about us, and a gentleman asked if we had
-observed a pocket picked. We said nothing, but whispered to the lady,
-who stood at the window unaware of the attempted felony, that we had
-prevented her pocket being picked, and had just scared a thief with his
-hand in her pocket, then walked over to the other side of the street
-and passed on.
-
-The more accomplished pickpockets are very adroit in their movements.
-A young lady may be standing by a window in Cheapside, Fleet Street,
-Oxford Street, or the Strand, admiring some beautiful engraving.
-Meantime a handsomely dressed young man, with gold chain and moustache,
-also takes his station at the window beside her, apparently admiring
-the same engraving. The young lady stands gazing on the beautiful
-picture, with her countenance glowing with sentiment, which may be
-enhanced by the sympathetic presence of the nice looking young man by
-her side, and while her bosom is thus throbbing with romantic emotion,
-her purse, meanwhile, is being quietly transferred to the pocket of
-this elegantly attired young man, whom she might find in the evening
-dressed as a rough costermonger, mingling among the low ruffians at the
-Seven Dials or Whitechapel, or possibly lounging in some low beershop
-in the Borough.
-
-There are various ranks of pickpockets, from the little ragged boy,
-stealing the handkerchief from a gentleman’s coat pocket, to the
-fashionable thief, promenading around the Bank, or strolling, arm in
-arm, with his gentlemanly looking companion along Cheapside.
-
-The swell-mob are to be seen all over London, in crowded thoroughfares,
-at railway stations, in omnibuses and steamboats. You find them
-pursuing their base traffic in the Strand, Fleet Street, Holborn,
-Parliament Street, and at Whitehall, over the whole of the metropolis,
-and they are to be seen on all public occasions looking out for plunder.
-
-Some commence their work at 8 and 9 in the morning, others do
-not rise till 11 or 12. They are generally seen about 11 or 12
-o’clock--sometimes till dusk. Some work in the evening, and not
-during the day, while others are out during the day, and do nothing
-in the evening. In times of great public excitement, when crowds are
-assembled, such as at the late fire at London Bridge, when those great
-warehouses were burnt down--they are in motion from the lowest to the
-highest. They are generally as busy in summer time as in the winter.
-When the gentry and nobility have retired to their country-seats in
-the provinces, crowds of strangers and tourists are pouring into the
-metropolis every day.
-
-They often travel into the country to attend races such as Ascot,
-the Derby at Epsom, and others in the surrounding towns. They go to
-the Crystal Palace, where the cleverest of them may be frequently
-seen, also to Cremorne, the Zoological Gardens Regent’s Park, the
-theatres, operas, ball-rooms, casinos, and other fashionable places of
-amusement--sometimes to the great crowds that usually assemble at Mr.
-Spurgeon’s new Tabernacle.
-
-They also occasionally make tours in different parts of the United
-Kingdom and to Paris, and along the railways in all directions.
-
-The most accomplished pickpockets reside at Islington, Hoxton,
-Kingsland Road, St. Luke’s, the Borough, Camberwell, and Lambeth, in
-quiet, respectable streets, and occasionally change their lodging if
-watched by the police.
-
-They have in most cases been thieves from their cradle; others are
-tradesmen’s sons and young men from the provinces, who have gone into
-dissipated life and adopted this infamous course. These fast men are
-sometimes useful as stalls, though they rarely acquire the dexterity of
-the native-born, trained London pickpocket.
-
-There are a few foreign pickpockets, French and others. Some of
-them are bullies about the Haymarket. There are also some German
-pickpockets, but the foreigners are principally French. As a general
-rule, more of the latter are engaged in swindling, than in picking
-pockets. Some of the French are considered in adroitness equal to the
-best of the English. There are also a few Scotch, but the great mass
-are Irish cockneys, which a penetrating eye could trace by their look
-and manner. Many of them have a restless look, as if always in dread of
-being taken, and generally keep a sharp look-out with the side of their
-eye as they walk along.
-
-They differ a good deal in appearance. The better class dress very
-fashionably; others in the lower class do not dress so well. The more
-dexterous they are, they generally dress in higher style, to get among
-the more respectable and fashionable people. Some of the female
-pickpockets also dress splendidly, and have been heard to boast of
-frequently stealing from 20_l._ to 30_l._ a-day in working on ladies’
-pockets. They are sometimes as adroit as the men in stealing ladies’
-purses, and are less noticed lingering beside them on the streets, by
-the shop-windows, and in places of public resort.
-
-Yet, though well dressed, there is a peculiarity about the look of most
-of the male and female pickpockets. The countenance of many of them is
-suspicious to a penetrating eye. Many of them have considerable mental
-ability, and appear to be highly intelligent.
-
-The most dexterous pickpockets generally average from twenty to
-thirty-five years of age, when many of them become depressed in spirit,
-and “have the steel taken out of them” with the anxiety of the life
-and the punishments inflicted on them in the course of their criminal
-career. The restlessness and suspense of their life have the effect
-of dissipation upon a good many of them, so that, though generally
-comparatively temperate in the use of intoxicating liquors, they may be
-said to lead a fast life.
-
-Some of them take a keen bold look, full into your countenance; others
-have a sneaking, suspicious, downcast appearance, showing that all is
-not right within.
-
-They dress in various styles; sometimes in the finest of superfine
-black cloth; at other times in fashionable suits, like the first
-gentlemen in the land, spangled with jewellery. Some of them would pass
-for gentlemen--they are so polite in their address. Others appear like
-a mock-swell, vulgar in their manner--which is transparent through
-their fine dress, and are debased in their conversation, which is at
-once observed when they begin to speak.
-
-The female pickpockets dress in fashionable attire; sometimes in black
-satin dresses and jewellery. Some of them are very lady-like, though
-they have sprung originally from the lowest class. You may see very
-beautiful women among them, though vulgar in their conversation. The
-females are often superior in intellect to the men, and more orderly in
-their habits. They are seldom married, but cohabit with pickpockets,
-burglars, resetters, and other infamous characters. Their paramour is
-frequently taken from them, and they readily go with another man in the
-same illicit manner.
-
-They are passionately fond of their fancy man in most cases; yet very
-capricious--so much so that they not unfrequently leave the man
-they cohabit with for another sweetheart, and afterwards go back to
-their old lover again, who is so easy in his principles that he often
-welcomes her, especially if she is a good worker--that is, an expert
-pickpocket.
-
-The greater part of these women have sprung from the class of Irish
-cockneys; others have been domestic servants and the daughters of
-labourers, low tradesmen, and others. This gives us a key to many of
-these house robberies, done with the collusion of servants--a kind
-of felony very common over the metropolis. These are not the more
-respectable genteel class of servants, but the humbler order, such as
-nursery girls and females in tradesmen’s families. Many of them have
-come from the country, or from labouring people’s families over the
-working neighbourhoods of the metropolis. They are soon taught to steal
-by the men they cohabit with, but seldom acquire the dexterity of the
-thief who has been younger trained. They seldom have the acuteness,
-tact, and dexterity of the latter.
-
-They live very expensively on the best of poultry, butcher-meat,
-pastry, and wines, and some of them keep their pony and trap; most
-of them are very improvident, and spend their money foolishly on
-eating and drinking--though few of them drink to excess,--on dress,
-amusements, and gambling.
-
-They do not go out every day to steal, but probably remain in the house
-till their money is nearly spent, when they commence anew their system
-of robbery to fill their purse.
-
-The female pickpockets often live with the burglars. They have their
-different professions which they pursue. When the one is not successful
-in the one mode of plunder, they often get it in the other, or the
-women will resort to shoplifting. They must have money in either of
-these ways. The women do not resort to prostitution, though they may be
-of easy virtue with those they fancy. Some of them live with cracksmen
-in high style, and have generally an abundance of cash.
-
-Female pickpockets are often the companions of skittlesharps, and
-pursue their mode of livelihood as in the case of cohabiting with
-burglars. Their age averages from sixteen to forty-five.
-
-The generality of the pickpockets confine themselves to their own
-class of robberies. Others betake themselves to card-sharping and
-skittle-sharping, while a few of the more daring eventually become
-dexterous burglars.
-
-In their leisure hours they frequently call at certain beershops and
-public-houses, kept possibly by some old “pals” or connexions of the
-felon class, at King’s Cross, near Shoreditch Church, Whitechapel, the
-Elephant and Castle, and Westminster, and are to be seen dangling about
-these localities.
-
-Some of the swell-mobsmen have been well-educated men, and at one time
-held good situations; some have been clerks; others are connected with
-respectable families, led away by bad companions, until they have
-become the dregs of society, and after having been turned out of their
-own social circle, have become thieves. They are not generally so
-adroit as the young trained thief, though they may be useful to their
-gangs in acting as stalls.
-
-Many of them are intelligent men, and have a fund of general
-information which enables them to act their part tolerably well when in
-society.
-
-
-OMNIBUS PICKPOCKETS.
-
-The most of this class of thieves are well-dressed women, and go out
-one or two together, sometimes three. They generally manage to get to
-the farthest seats in the interior of the omnibus, on opposite sides of
-the vehicle, next to the horses. As the lady passengers come in, they
-eye them carefully, and one of them seats herself on the right side of
-the lady they intend to plunder. She generally manages to throw the
-bottom of her cape or shawl over the lap of the lady, and works with
-her hand under it, so as to cover her movement.
-
-Her confederate is generally sitting opposite to see that no one is
-noticing. In abstracting from a lady’s pocket, the female thief has
-often to cut through the dress and pocket, which she does with a
-pocket-knife, pair of scissors, or other sharp instrument. So soon
-as she has secured the purse, or other booty, she and her companion
-leave the omnibus on the earliest opportunity, often in their hurry
-giving the conductor more than his fare, which creates suspicion, and
-frequently leads to their detection. Experienced conductors often
-inquire of the passengers on such occasions if they have lost anything,
-and if they find they have, they give chase to the parties to apprehend
-them.
-
-It often happens the thief follows a lady into an omnibus from seeing
-the lady take out her purse perhaps in some shop. If she could not pick
-her pocket in the street, she contrives to go into an omnibus, and do
-it there. These robberies are committed in all parts of London. They
-generally work at some distance from where they live, so that they are
-not easily traced if detected at the time.
-
-They invariably give false names and false addresses, when taken
-into custody. The same women who pick ladies’ pockets in the street,
-perpetrate these felonies in omnibuses, and often travel by railway,
-pursuing this occupation--sometimes two women together, sometimes one
-along with a man.
-
-Sometimes gentlemen’s pockets are picked in omnibuses by male
-pickpockets, who also steal from the lady passengers when they find a
-suitable opportunity, especially at dusk.
-
-
-RAILWAY PICKPOCKETS.
-
-This is the same class of persons who pick pockets on the public street
-as already described. They often visit the various railway stations,
-and are generally smartly dressed as they linger there--some of them
-better than others. Some of the females are dressed like shopkeepers’
-wives, others like milliners, varying from nineteen to forty years
-of age, mostly from nineteen to twenty-five; some of them attired in
-cotton gowns, others in silks and satins.
-
-At the railway stations they are generally seen moving restlessly about
-from one place to another, as if they did not intend to go by any
-particular railway train. There is an unrest about the most of them
-which to a discerning eye would attract attention.
-
-They seldom take the train, but dangle among the throng around the
-ticket office, or on the platform beside the railway carriages on the
-eve of the train starting off, as well as when the train arrives. When
-they see ladies engaged in conversation, they go up to them and plant
-themselves by their side, while the others cover their movements. There
-generally are two, sometimes three of them in a party. They place
-themselves on the right hand side of the ladies, next to their pocket,
-and work with the left hand. When the ladies move, the thieves walk
-along with them.
-
-The female pickpockets generally carry a reticule on their right arm
-so as to take off suspicion, and walk up to the persons at the railway
-station, and inquire what time the train starts to such a place, to
-detain them in conversation, and to keep them in their company.
-
-The older female thieves generally look cool and weary, the younger
-ones are more restless and suspicious in their movements. They
-sometimes go into first and second class waiting-rooms and sit by the
-side of any lady they suppose to be possessed of a sum of money, and
-try to pick her pocket by inserting their hand, or by cutting it with
-a knife or other sharp instrument. They generally insert the whole
-hand, as the ladies’ pockets are frequently deep in the dress. They
-often have a large cape to cover their hands, and pick the pocket while
-speaking to the lady, or sitting by her side. The young pickpockets are
-generally the most expert.
-
-They seldom take the brooch from the breast, but confine themselves to
-picking pockets.
-
-After they take the purse, they generally run to some by-place and
-throw it away, so that it cannot be identified; sometimes they put it
-into a watercloset, at other times drop it down an area as they pass
-along.
-
-After taking the purse, the thief hands it to her companion, and they
-separate and walk away, and meet at some place appointed.
-
-They occasionally travel with the trains to the Crystal Palace
-and other places in the neighbourhood of London, and endeavour to
-plunder the passengers on the way. Frequently they take longer
-excursions--especially during the summer--journeying from town to town,
-and going to races and markets, agricultural shows, or any places where
-there is a large concourse of people. Unless they are detected at the
-time they pick the pocket, they seldom leave any suspicion behind them,
-as they take care to lodge in respectable places, where no one would
-suspect them, and have generally plenty of money.
-
-A considerable number of the male thieves also attend the railway
-stations, and pick pockets in the railway trains. They are generally
-well dressed, and many of them have an Inverness cape, often of a dark
-colour, and sometimes they carry a coat on their arm to hide their
-hand. There are commonly two or more of them together--sometimes women
-accompanying them. They are the same parties we have already so fully
-described, who commit such felonies in the streets, thoroughfares, and
-places of public resort in the metropolis, and their movements are in a
-great measure the same.
-
- Number of felonies by picking pockets
- in the Metropolitan dists. for 1860 1,498
- Ditto, ditto, in the City 380
- -----
- 1,878
-
- Value of property thereby abstracted in
- the Metropolitan districts £5,819
- Ditto, ditto, in the City 375
- ------
- £6,194
-
-
-SHOPLIFTERS.
-
-There is a class of women who visit the shops in various parts of the
-metropolis, sometimes two and at other times three together. They
-vary their dress according to the locality they visit. Sometimes you
-find them dressed very respectably, like the wives of people in good
-circumstances in life; at other times, they appear like servants. They
-often wear large cloaks, or shawls, and are to be found of different
-ages, from 14 to 60. They generally call into shops at busy times, when
-there are many persons standing around the counter, and will stand
-two or three together. They ask a look of certain articles, and will
-possibly say, after they have inspected them, that they do not suit
-them; they will say they are too high in price, or not the article
-they want, or not the proper colour. They will likely ask to see some
-other goods, and keep looking at the different articles until they get
-a quantity on the counter. When the shopman is engaged getting some
-fresh goods from the window, or from the shelves, one of them generally
-contrives to slip something under her cloak or shawl, while the other
-manages to keep his attention abstracted. Sometimes they carry a bag
-or a basket, and set it down on the counter, and while the shopman is
-busy, they will get some article and lay it down behind their basket,
-such as a roll of ribbons, or a half dozen of gloves, or other small
-portable goods. While the shopman’s back is turned, or his attention
-withdrawn, it is hidden under their shawl or cloak. We frequently find
-the skirt of their dress lined from the pocket downward, forming a
-large repository all around the dress, with an opening in front, where
-they can insert a small article, which is not observed in the ample
-crinoline. In stealing rolls of silk, or other heavier goods, they
-conceal them under their arm. Women who engage in shoplifting sometimes
-pick pockets in the shops. They get by the side of a lady engaged
-looking over articles, and under pretence of inspecting goods in the
-one hand, pick their pockets with the other.
-
-We find more of these people living in the east end and on the Surrey
-side than in the west end of the metropolis. A great many live in the
-neighbourhood of Kingsland Road and Hackney Road. Some of them cohabit
-with burglars, others with magsmen (skittle-sharps).
-
-We find ladies in respectable position occasionally charged with
-shoplifting.
-
-Respectably dressed men frequently go into the shops of drapers
-and others early in the morning, or at intervals during the day, or
-evening, to look at the goods, and often manage to abstract one or two
-articles, and secrete them under their coats. They frequently take a
-bundle of neckties, a parcel of gloves, or anything that will go in a
-small compass, and perhaps enter a jeweller’s shop, and in this way
-abstract a quantity of jewellery. On going there, they will ask a sight
-of some articles; the first will not suit them, and they will ask to
-look at more. When the shopman is engaged, they will abstract some gold
-rings or gold pins, or other property, sometimes a watch. Occasionally
-they will go so far as to leave a deposit on the article, promising to
-call again. They do this to prevent suspicion. After they are gone, the
-shopman may find several valuables missing.
-
-Sometimes they will ring the changes. On entering the shop they will
-bring patterns of rings and other articles in the window, which they
-have got made as facsimiles from metal of an inferior quality. On
-looking at the jewellery they will ring the changes on the counter, and
-keep turning them over, and in so doing abstract the genuine article
-and leave the counterfeit in its place.
-
-The statistics applicable to this class of felonies are comprised under
-those given when treating on “stealing from the doors and windows of
-shops.”
-
-
-A VISIT TO THE DENS OF THIEVES IN SPITALFIELDS AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD.
-
-One afternoon, in company with a detective officer, we visited
-Spitalfields, one of the most notorious rookeries for infamous
-characters in the metropolis. Leaving Whitechapel, we went up a narrow
-alley called George Yard, where we saw four brothels of a very low
-description, the inmates being common thieves. On proceeding a little
-farther along the alley we passed eight or nine lodging-houses. Most
-of the lodgers were out prowling over the various districts of the
-metropolis, some picking pockets, others area-sneaking.
-
-On entering into a public-house in another alley near Union Street, we
-came to one of the most dangerous thieves’ dens we have visited in the
-course of our rambles. As we approached the door of the house, we saw
-a dissipated looking man stealthily whispering outside the door to the
-ruffian-looking landlord, who appeared to be a fighting man, from his
-large coarse head and broken nose. The officer by our side hinted to
-us that the latter was a fence, or receiver of stolen property, and
-was probably speaking to his companion on some business of this nature.
-As we went forward they sneaked away, the one through a neighbouring
-archway, and the other into his house. We followed the latter into the
-public house, and found two or three brutal-looking men loafing about
-the bar. We passed through a small yard behind the house, where we
-found a number of fighting dogs chained to their kennels. Some were
-close to our feet as we passed along, and others, kept in an outhouse
-beside them, could almost snap at our face. We went to another outhouse
-beyond, where between thirty and forty persons were assembled round
-a wooden enclosure looking on, while some of their dogs were killing
-rats. They consisted of burglars, pickpockets, and the associates of
-thieves, along with one or two receivers of stolen property. Many of
-them were coarse and brutal in their appearance, and appeared to be
-in their element, as they urged on their dogs to destroy the rats,
-which were taken out one after another from a small wooden box. These
-men apparently ranged from twenty-two to forty years of age. Many of
-them had the rough stamp of the criminal in their countenances, and
-when inflamed with strong drink, would possibly be fit for any deed
-of atrocious villainy. Some of the dogs were strong and vigorous, and
-soon disposed of the rats as they ran round the wooden enclosure,
-surrounded by this redoubtable band of ruffians, who made the rafters
-ring with merriment when the dog caught hold of his prey, or when the
-rat turned desperate on its adversary. During the brief space of time
-we were present, a slim little half-starved dog killed several rats.
-When the rat was first let loose it was very nimble and vigorous in its
-movements, and the little dog kept for a time at a respectful distance,
-as the former was ready to snap at it. Sometimes the rat made as though
-it was to leap over the wooden fence to get away from the dog, but a
-dozen rough hands were ready to thrust it back. After it had got nearly
-exhausted with its ineffectual struggles to get away, the little dog
-seized it by the throat and worried it; when another rat was brought
-out to take its place, and another dog introduced to this brutal sport.
-
-This is one of the most dangerous thieves’ dens we have seen in London.
-Were any unfortunate man to be inveigled into it in the evening, or at
-midnight, when the desperadoes who haunt it are inflamed with strong
-drink, he would be completely in their power, even were he the bravest
-soldier in the British service, and armed with a revolver. Were he
-to fight his way desperately through the large ferocious gang in this
-outhouse, the fighting-dogs in the yard might be let loose on him, and
-were he to cleave his way through them, he would have to pass through
-the public-house frequented by similar low characters.
-
-Leaving this alley, we proceeded to Fashion Street, and entered a
-skittle-ground attached to a low beershop, where we saw another gang of
-thieves, to the number of about twelve. Some of them, though in rough
-costermonger’s dress, or in the dress of mechanics, are fashionable
-pickpockets, along with thieves of a coarser and lower description,
-who push against people in crowds, and snatch away their watches and
-property. One of them, a tall athletic young man, was pointed out
-to us as a very expert pickpocket. He was dressed in a dark frock
-coat, dark trousers and cap, and was busy hurling the skittleball
-with great violence. On our standing by for a little, he slouched
-his cap sulkily over his eyes and continued at his game. He had an
-intelligent countenance, but with a callous, bronze-like forbidding
-expression. Some of his companions were standing at the other end of
-the skittle-ground engaged in the sport, while the rest of his “pals”
-sat on a seat alongside and looked on, occasionally eyeing us with
-considerable curiosity. Some of them were very expert thieves.
-
-In passing through Church Lane we met two young lads dressed like
-costermongers, and a young woman by their side in a light dirty
-cotton dress and black bonnet. They were pointed out to us as those
-base creatures who waylay, decoy, and plunder drunken men at night.
-We proceeded to Wentworth Street, and entered a large lodging-house
-of a very motley class of people, consisting of men working at the
-docks, prostitutes, and area-sneaks. We called at a house in George
-Street, principally occupied by females from eighteen to thirty years
-of age, all prostitutes. In Thrall Street we entered a lodging-house
-where we saw about thirty persons of both sexes, and of different
-ages, assembled, consisting chiefly of area-sneaks and pickpockets.
-Here we saw one prostitute, with a remarkably beautiful child on her
-knee, seated at her afternoon meal. In the tap-room of a public-house
-in Church Street we found a large party of thieves, consisting of
-burglars, pickpockets, and area-sneaks, along with several resetters,
-one of them a Jew. On the walls of the room were pictures of notorious
-pugilists, Tom Cribb and others. Several of them had the appearance
-of pugilists, in their bloated and bruised countenances, and most of
-them had a rough aspect, which we found to be a general characteristic
-of the Whitechapel thieves, as well as of most of the thieves we saw
-in the Borough, and at Lambeth. Two of the resetters, who appeared to
-be callous, politic men, sneaked off upon our seating ourselves beside
-them. One of the band, as we found on similar occasions, stood between
-us and the door flourishing a large clasp knife. We sat for some time
-over a glass of ale, and he slunk off to a corner and resumed his seat,
-finding his bullying attitude was of no avail. The Jewish resetter was
-very social and communicative as he sat on the table. The more daring
-of the band were also frank and good-humoured.
-
-Being desirous to gain a more intimate acquaintance with the haunts of
-the London thieves, we were brought into communication with Mr. Price,
-inspector of the lodging-houses of this district, who accompanied us on
-several visits over the neighbourhood, one of the chief rookeries of
-thieves in London.
-
-Before setting out on our inspection he gave us the following
-information:--
-
-About twenty years ago a number of narrow streets, thickly populated
-with thieves, prostitutes, and beggars, were removed when New
-Commercial Street was formed, leading from Shoreditch in the direction
-of the London Docks, leaving a wide space in the midst of a densely
-populated neighbourhood, which is favourable to its sanatory condition,
-and might justly be considered one of the lungs of the metropolis.
-The rookery in Spitalfields we purposed to visit is comprised within
-a space of about 400 square yards. It is bounded by Church Street
-Whitechapel, East Brick Lane, and West Commercial Street, and contains
-800 thieves, vagabonds, beggars, and prostitutes, a large proportion of
-whom may be traced to the old criminal inhabitants of the now extinct
-Essex Street and old Rose Lane.
-
-For instance, a man and woman lived for many years in George Yard,
-Whitechapel, a narrow, dirty, and overcrowded street leading from
-Whitechapel into Wentworth Street. The man was usually seen among
-crowds of thieves, gambling and associating with them. As his family
-increased, in the course of time he took a beershop and lodging-house
-for thieves in Thrall Street. His family consisted of three boys and
-three girls. His wife usually addressed the young thieves as they left
-her lodging-house in the morning, in the hearing of her own children,
-in this manner; “Now, my little dears, do the best you can, and may God
-bless you!”
-
-The following is a brief account of their children:--
-
-The eldest son married a girl whose father died during his
-transportation. He and his wife gained their living by thieving, and
-were frequently in custody. At last he connected himself with burglars,
-was tried, convicted, and sentenced to six years’ penal servitude. He
-is now at Gibraltar, ten months of his sentence being unexpired. His
-wife has been left with three young children; since his transportation
-she has been frequently in custody for robbing drunken men, and has
-had an illegitimate child since her husband left. Her eldest daughter
-was taken from her about twelve months ago by Mr. Ashcroft, secretary
-of the Refuge Aid Society, and placed in a refuge in Albert Street,
-Mile End New Town, where the Society maintains her. The girl is eleven
-years of age, and appeared pleased that she was taken away from her
-filthy abode and bad companions in George Street. The second son has
-been repeatedly in custody for uttering base coin, and was at last
-convicted and transported for four years. The eldest daughter married a
-man, who also was transported, and is now a returned convict. She was
-apprehended, convicted, and sentenced to four years’ penal servitude.
-While in Newgate jail, she was delivered of twins, and received a
-reprieve, and has since been in custody for shoplifting.
-
-We went with the inspector to Lower Keat Street, and entered a
-lodging-house there. Most of the inmates were male thieves, from twelve
-to nineteen years of age and upwards. The husband of the woman who
-keeps the house is a returned convict, and has been in custody for
-receiving stolen property from her lodgers.
-
-We entered another lodging-house in this street, haunted by thieves
-of a lower class. An old woman was here employed as a deputy or
-servant, who formerly lived in Kent-street in the Borough, and kept a
-public-house there, a resort of thieves. She lived with a man there
-for twenty years and upwards, keeping a brothel, and was then and is
-now an old fence. We found a number of low thieves in the house at the
-time of our visit. The landlord has been in custody for having stolen
-handkerchiefs in his possession, with the marks taken out.
-
-Opposite to this house is a public-house resorted to by thieves.
-
-We then went to Lower George Street, where we entered a registered
-lodging-house. In three rooms we saw about ninety persons of both sexes
-and of various ages, many of them thieves and vagrants. This house is
-not used as a brothel, but some of the lodgers cohabit together as man
-and wife, which is common in these low neighbourhoods.
-
-We went to a lodging-house in Flower-and-Dean Street, the keeper of
-which has been recently in prison for receiving from his lodgers. We
-saw a number of wretched mendicants here. One man had his leg bound up
-with rags. Many of the inmates gain their livelihood by begging, and
-others by thieving. Few honest persons reside here.
-
-We next went to a brothel in Wentworth Street, kept by a woman, a
-notorious character. She has been repeatedly in custody for robbing
-drunken men, and her husband is now in prison for felony. She is a
-strong coarse-looking woman, with her countenance bearing marked
-traces of unbridled passion,--the type of person we would expect as
-the keeper of a low brothel. She had been stabbed on the cheek a few
-days previously by another woman, and bore the scar of the fresh wound
-at the time of our visit. The rooms of her house were wretchedly
-furnished, suitable to the low orgies transacted in this foul abode.
-One or two withered prostitutes were lounging about the kitchen.
-
-We passed on to a lodging-house of a very different description,
-occupied by industrious honest working people, which we shall describe
-afterwards when we treat of an after-visit.
-
-In this locality we visited the elderly woman living in this
-neighbourhood whom we have referred to as having blessed the young
-thieves. She had a very plausible condoling manner, as she sat with
-her two daughters by her side--one a young auburn-haired girl of about
-fourteen, with engaging countenance and handsome form, plainly but
-neatly dressed; the other, an ordinary-looking young woman, with a
-child in her arms.
-
-We made another visit to this rookery with the inspector of police, and
-made a more minute survey of this remarkable district.
-
-We went into a lodging-house in George Yard. The kitchen was about
-35 feet in length, and had originally consisted of two rooms, the
-partition between them being removed. There was a fire-place in each; a
-group of people, men, lads, and boys were ranged along the long tables,
-many of them labourers at the docks.
-
-The boys were better dressed than the wild young Arabs of the city,
-some of them in dark and brown coats and tartan and black caps. They
-sat on the forms along the sides of the tables, or lolled on seats by
-the fire. The apartments were papered, and ornamented with pictures.
-A picture of the Great Eastern steamship set in a frame was suspended
-over the mantelpiece; one boy sat with his head bound up, and another
-with his jacket off, and his white shirt sleeves exposed. The inmates
-consisted of beggars and dock-labourers seated around the ample
-kitchen, some busy at their different meals, and others engaged in
-conversation, which was suspended on our entrance. At the door we saw
-the deputy, a young man decently dressed. On our former visit we saw
-an old man with an ample unshorn beard, who works during the day as a
-crossing-sweeper. He had when young been engaged in seafaring life, and
-has now become an admirable picture of Fagin the Jew, as pictured by
-Charles Dickens. The beds are let here at 3_d._ a night. The people who
-usually lodge here are crossing-sweepers, bonepickers, and shoeblacks,
-&c.
-
-We entered a house in Wentworth Street, and passed through a chandler’s
-shop into the kitchen, which is about 31 feet in length and 15 in
-breadth. There we found, as is usual in those lodging houses, a large
-fire blazing in the grate. The room had a wooden floor, and clothes
-were suspended on lines beneath the rafters. There were two large
-boilers on each side of the fire to supply the lodgers with hot water
-for coffee or tea. Tables were ranged around the wall on each side, and
-a motley company were seated around them. Numbers of them were busy at
-supper--coffee, bread, fish, and potatoes. An elderly man sat in the
-corner of the room cobbling a pair of old shoes with a candle nearly
-burned to the socket placed before him. Groups of elderly women were
-also clustered around the benches, some plainly but decently dressed,
-others in dirty tattered skirts and shabby shawls, with careworn,
-melancholy countenances. Some were middle-aged women, apparently the
-wives of some of the labourers there. A young man sat by their side, a
-respectable mechanic out of work.
-
-Two young lads, vagrants, sat squatted by the fire, one of them
-equipped in dirty tartan trowsers, a shabby black frock-coat sadly
-torn, and brown bonnet. The other sat in his moleskin trowsers and
-shirt. At one of the tables several young women were seated at their
-tea, some good-looking, others very plain, with coarse features. An
-elderly woman, the servant of the establishment, stood by the fire with
-a towel over her bare brown arm.
-
-The tables around were covered with plates, cups, and other crockery;
-caps, jackets, and other articles of dress.
-
-While in this street the musical band of the ragged school at George
-Yard passed by, with the teacher at their head, and many of the
-scholars clustered around them, with other juveniles and people of the
-district. Knots of people were assembled in the streets as we passed
-along.
-
-We entered several other lodging-houses in this locality, occupied by
-beggars, dock-labourers, prostitutes, and thieves, ballad-singers, and
-patterers of the lowest class.
-
-We went into a house in George Street. The kitchen was also very large,
-about 36 feet long and 24 feet broad, and had two blazing fires to warm
-the apartment and cook the food. Tables were ranged round the room as
-in the other lodging-houses alluded to. There were about twenty-two
-people here, chiefly young of both sexes. There was one middle-aged
-bald-headed man among them. Many of them were sad and miserable. A
-young good-looking girl, not apparently above seventeen years of age,
-sat by the fire with a child in her arms. Many of the young women had a
-lowering countenance and dissipated look. Some of the young lads had a
-more pleasing appearance, dressed as costermongers.
-
-The long tables were strewed with plates and bowls, cups and saucers.
-Some young men sat by reading the newspapers, others smoking their pipe
-and whiffing clouds of smoke around them. Some young women were sewing,
-others knitting; some busy at their supper, others lying asleep,
-crouching with their arms on the tables.
-
-On going into another lodging-house we saw a number of people of both
-sexes, and of various ages, similar to those described. There we saw
-a woman about thirty, also engaged knitting, and another reading
-Reynolds’ Miscellany. A number of young lads of about seventeen years
-were smoking their pipe; another youth, a pickpocket, was reading a
-volume he had got from a neighbouring library. Most of the persons here
-were prostitutes, pickpockets, and sneaks. There were about fifteen
-present, chiefly young people.
-
-On passing through Flower-and-Dean Street we saw a group of young lads
-and girls, all of them thieves, standing in the middle of the street.
-
-We passed into another lodging-house, and entered the kitchen, which
-is about 30 feet long and 18 feet broad. A large fire was burning
-in the grate. On the one side of the kitchen were tables and forms,
-and the people seated around them at supper on bread and herring, tea
-and coffee. There were a number of middle-aged women among them. On
-the other side of the kitchen were stalls as in a coffee-shop. We saw
-several rough-looking men here. There was a rack on the wall covered
-with plates, ranged carefully in order. The tables were littered with
-heaps of bottles, jugs, books, bonnets, baskets, and shirts, like a
-broker’s shop.
-
-An old gray-headed man sat at one of the tables with his hand on his
-temples, a picture of extreme misery, his trowsers old, greasy, and
-ragged, an old shabby ragged coat, and a pair of old torn shoes. His
-face was furrowed with age, care, and sorrow; his breast was bare, and
-his head bald in front. He had a long gray beard. His arms were thin
-and skinny, and the dark blue veins looked through the back of his
-hands. He was a poor vagrant, and told us he was eighty-eight years
-of age. There were about forty persons present of both sexes, and of
-various ages; many of them young, and others very old.
-
-We passed on to Lower Keat Street, and on going into a low
-lodging-house there we saw a number of young prostitutes, pickpockets,
-and sneaks.
-
-We visited another lodging-house of the lowest description, belonging
-to an infamous man whom we have already referred to. We were shown
-upstairs to a large room filled with beds, by a coarse-featured
-hideous old hag, with a dark moustache. Her hair was gray, and her
-face seamed and scarred with dark passions, as she stood before us
-with her protruding breasts and bloated figure. Her eyes were dark and
-muddy. She had two gold rings on one of her fingers, and was dressed
-in a dirty light cotton gown, sadly tattered, a red spotted soiled
-handkerchief round her neck, and a dirty light apron, almost black.
-On observing us looking at her, she remarked, “I am an old woman, and
-am not so young as I have been. Instead of enjoying the fruit of my
-hard-wrought life, some other person has done it.”
-
-On examining one of the beds in the room, we found the bedding to
-consist of two rugs, two sheets and a flock bed, with a pillow and
-pillow case, let at 3_d._ a night. This house is registered for thirty
-lodgers. Young and middle-aged women, the lowest prostitutes, and
-thieves frequent this house; some with holes cut with disease into
-their brow. D----bl----n B----ll is the proprietor of this infamous
-abode. We saw him as we passed through the house: a sinister-looking,
-middle-aged man, about 5 feet 7 inches in height. On leaving the house,
-the old hag stood at the foot of the stair, with a candle in her hand,
-a picture of horrid misery.
-
-In this locality we went into another infamous lodging-house, a haunt
-of prostitutes and thieves, mostly young. There was a very interesting
-boy here, respectably dressed, with a dark eye and well-formed placid
-countenance, a pickpocket. He told us his parents were dead, and he
-had no friends and no home. He did not show any desire to leave his
-disreputable life. Several of them were seated at their supper on
-herrings, plaice, butter, bread, and coffee.
-
-We visited several of the more respectable lodging-houses in George
-Yard, to have a more complete view of the dwellings of the poor in this
-locality. We entered one lodging-house, and passed into the kitchen, 33
-feet long by 18 feet broad. There were tables and forms planted round
-the room, as in the other lodging-houses noticed, and on the walls
-were shelves for crockery ware. There was a sink in the corner of the
-kitchen for washing the dishes, and a gasburner in the centre of the
-apartment. The kitchen was well ventilated at the windows. There was
-a large fire burning, with a boiler on each side of the fire-place.
-Over the mantelpiece was a range of bright coffee and tea pots. Coats
-were hung up on pegs against the wall, and a fender before the fire.
-Decent-looking men were seated around, some smoking, some writing,
-others eating a plain, but comfortable supper, others lounging on
-the seat, exhausted with the labours of the day. In out-houses were
-ample washing accommodation, and water-closets. Attached to this
-lodging-house was a reading-room. We went to the bed-rooms, and saw
-the accommodation and furniture. There were iron bedsteads with flock
-mattress and bed; on each bed were two sheets, one blanket, and a
-coverlet, a pillow-case, and a pillow. The bed-rooms were ventilated by
-a flue.
-
-There is here accommodation for eighty-nine persons at 3_d._ a night,
-and there are on an average sixty lodgers each night. The rector of
-Christ Church visits and supplies the lodgers with tracts and religious
-services. A register is kept of all the people who lodge here. In this
-house Karls was apprehended, concerned with another party in the murder
-of Mrs. Halliday at Kingswood Rectory.
-
-We visited another lodging-house in the same neighbourhood. The
-kitchen was large, with spacious windows in front. There was a large
-fireplace, with boiler and oven with a large hot plate. The lodgers
-had a respectable appearance--some in blue guernseys, and others in
-respectable dark dresses. There was also a reading-room here, with a
-dial over the mantelpiece. Some of the men were reading, and others
-engaged in writing. There was accommodation for washing, water-closets,
-and excellent beds. This house belongs to the same proprietor as the
-one already described. It is closed at 12 o’clock, while the others are
-kept open all night, and is generally frequented by respectable lodgers.
-
-We also inspected another lodging-house in Thrall Street of a superior
-kind, where beds are to be had at 3-1/2_d._ a night. There are two
-superior lodging-houses of the same character, kept by Mr. Wilmot and
-Mr. Argent, in Thrall Street and Osborne Place, at 3-1/2_d._ and 4_d._
-a night.
-
-We thus find that alongside those low lodging-houses and brothels,
-in the very bosom of that low neighbourhood, there are respectable
-lodging-houses of different gradations in price and position, where
-working-people and strangers can be accommodated at 3_d._, 3-1/2_d._,
-and 4_d._ a night, in which decency, cleanliness, and morality prevail.
-
-In the course of our visits to Spitalfields we found two institutions
-of high value and special interest--a ragged school and a reformatory
-for young women. The ragged school was instituted by the Rev. Hugh
-Allen, the incumbent of St. Jude’s, in 1853. There are at present
-350 ragged children of both sexes attending it, averaging from four
-to fifteen years of age. They are taught by Mr. Holland, a most
-intelligent and devoted teacher, who is exercising a powerful influence
-for good in that dark and criminal locality.
-
-A female reformatory was lately instituted by the Rev. Mr. Thornton,
-the present incumbent of St. Jude’s, who labours with unwearied energy
-in this district. This asylum is in Wentworth Street, and is fitted to
-accommodate eighteen persons.
-
-
-NARRATIVE OF A PICKPOCKET.
-
-The following recital was given us by a young man who had till lately
-been an adroit pickpocket in various districts of London, but has now
-become a patterer for his livelihood. He is about the middle height,
-of sallow complexion, with a rich dark, penetrating eye, a moustache
-and beard. He is a man of tolerably good education, and has a most
-intelligent mind, well furnished with reading and general information.
-At the time we met him, he was rather melancholy and crushed in
-spirit, which he stated was the result of repeated imprisonments,
-and the anxiety and suspense connected with his wild criminal life,
-and the heavy trials he has undergone. The woman who cohabits with
-him was then in one of the London prisons, and he was residing in a
-low lodging-house in the west end of the metropolis. While giving us
-several exciting passages in his narrative, his countenance lightened
-up with intense interest and adventurous expression, though his general
-mien was calm and collected. As we endeavoured to inspire him with hope
-in an honest career, he mournfully shook his head as he looked forward
-to the difficulties in his path. He was then shabbily dressed in a
-dark frock-coat, dark trousers, and cap. We give his narrative almost
-verbatim:--
-
-“I was born in a little hamlet, five miles from Shrewsbury, in the
-county of Shropshire, in October 1830, and am now thirty-one years of
-age. My father was a Wesleyan minister, and died in 1854, after being
-subject to the yellow jaundice for five or six years, during which time
-he was not able to officiate. My mother was a Yorkshire woman, and her
-father kept a shoemaker’s shop in the town of Full Sutton. I had two
-brothers, one of them older and the other younger than I, and a sister
-two years younger.
-
-“I went to school to learn to write and cipher, and had before this
-learned to read at home with my father and mother. We had a very happy
-home, and very strict in the way of religion. I believe that my father
-would on no account tolerate such a thing as stopping out after nine
-o’clock at night, and have heard my mother often say that all the time
-she was wedded to him, she never had known him the worse of liquor. My
-father had family worship every night between 8 and 9 o’clock, when the
-curtains were drawn over the windows, the candle was lighted, and each
-of the children was taught to kneel separately at prayer. After reading
-the Bible and half an hour’s conversation, each one retired to their
-bed. In the morning my father would get up and attend to a small pony
-he had, and when I was very young we had a stout girl who milked the
-cow and did the dairy and household work. The house we lived in was my
-grandfather’s property, but being a man very fond of money, my father
-paid him the rent as if he had been a stranger.
-
-“There were two acres of land attached to the house, as nearly as I can
-recollect; about half an acre was kept in cultivation as a garden, and
-the other was tilled and set apart for the pony and cow.
-
-“Our people were much respected in the neighbourhood. If there were any
-bickerings among the neighbours, they came to my father to settle them,
-and anything he said they generally yielded to without a murmur. In
-the winter time, when work was slack among the poor labouring people,
-though my father had little himself to give, he got money from others
-to distribute among those who were the most deserving. I lived very
-happy and comfortable at home, but always compelled, though against my
-own inclination, to go twice to service on the Sunday, and twice during
-the week (Tuesday and Friday). I always seemed to have a rebellious
-nature against these religious services, and they were a disagreeable
-task to me, though my father took more pains with me than with my
-brothers and sister. I always rebelled against this in my heart, though
-I did not display it openly.
-
-“I was a favourite with my father, perhaps more so than any of the
-others. For example, if Wombwell’s menagerie would come to Shrewsbury
-for a short time, he would have taken me instead of my brothers to
-visit it, and would there speak of the wonders of God and of his
-handiwork in the creation of animals. Everything that he said and did
-was tinged with religion, and religion of an ascetic argumentative
-turn. It was a kind of religion that seemed to banish eternally other
-sects from happiness and from heaven.
-
-“My mind at this time was injured by the narrow religious prejudices
-I saw around me. We often had ministers to dinner and supper at our
-house, and always after their meals the conversation would be sure
-to turn into discussions on the different points of doctrine. I can
-recollect as well now as though it were yesterday the texts used on
-the various sides of the question, and the stress laid on different
-passages to uphold their arguments. At this time I would be sitting
-there greedily drinking in every word, and as soon as they were gone
-I would fly to the Bible and examine the different texts of Scripture
-they had brought forward, and it seemed to produce a feeling in my
-mind that any religious opinions could be plausibly supported by it.
-The arguments on these occasions generally hinged on two main points,
-predestination and election. My father’s opinions were those of the
-Wesleyan creed, the salvation of all through the blood of Christ.
-
-“These continual discussions seemed to steel my heart completely
-against religion. They caused me to be very disobedient and unruly,
-and led to my falling out with my grandfather, who had a good deal of
-property that was expected to come to our family. Though I was young,
-he bitterly resented this. In 1839 he was accidentally drowned, and it
-was found when his will was opened that I was not mentioned in it. The
-whole of his property was left to my father, with the exception of four
-houses, which he had an interest in till my brothers and sister arrived
-at the age of twenty-one. Again the property that was left to my father
-for the whole of his life he had no power to will away at his death, as
-it went to a distant relative of my grandfather’s.
-
-“This was the first cause of my leaving home. It seemed to rankle in
-my boyish mind that I was a black sheep, something different from my
-brothers and sister.
-
-“After being several times spoken to by my father about my quarrelsome
-disposition with my brothers and sister, I threatened, young as I was,
-to burn the house down the first opportunity I got. This threat, though
-not uttered in my father’s hearing, came to his ear, and he gave me a
-severe beating for it, the first time he ever corrected me. This was
-in the summer of 1840, in the end of May. I determined to leave home,
-and took nothing away but what belonged to me. I had four sovereigns of
-pocket money, and the suit of clothes I had on and a shirt. I walked
-to Shrewsbury and took the coach to London. When I got to London I had
-neither friend nor acquaintance. I first put up in a coffee-shop in
-the Mile End Road, and lodged there for seven weeks, till my money was
-nearly all spent.
-
-“During this time my clothes had been getting shabby and dirty, having
-no one to look after me. After being there for seven weeks I went to a
-mean lodging-house at Field Lane, Holborn. There I met with characters
-I had never seen before, and heard language that I had not formerly
-heard. This was about July, 1840, and I was about ten years of age the
-ensuing October. I stopped there about three weeks doing nothing. At
-the end of that time I was completely destitute.
-
-“The landlady took pity on me as a poor country boy who had been well
-brought up, and kept me for some days longer after my money was done.
-During these few days I had very little to eat, except what was given
-me by some of the lodgers when they got their own meals. I often
-thought at that time of my home in the country, and of what my father
-and mother might be doing, as I had never written to them since the day
-I had first left my home.
-
-“I sometimes was almost tempted to write to them and let them know the
-position I was in, as I knew they would gladly send me up money to
-return home, but my stubborn spirit was not broke then. After being
-totally destitute for two or three days, I was turned out of doors, a
-little boy in the great world of London, with no friend to assist me,
-and perfectly ignorant of the ways and means of getting a living in
-London.
-
-“I was taken by several poor ragged boys to sleep in the dark arches
-of the Adelphi. I often saw the boys follow the male passengers when
-the halfpenny boats came to the Adelphi stairs, _i.e._, the part of
-the river almost opposite to the Adelphi Theatre. I could not at first
-make out the meaning of this, but I soon found they generally had one
-or two handkerchiefs when the passengers left. At this time there was a
-prison-van in the Adelphi arches, without wheels, which was constructed
-different from the present prison-van, as it had no boxes in the
-interior. The boys used to take me with them into the prison-van. There
-we used to meet a man my companions called ‘Larry.’ I knew him by no
-other name for the time. He used to give almost what price he liked
-for the handkerchiefs. If they refused to give them at the price he
-named, he would threaten them in several ways. He said he would get
-the other boys to drive them away, and not allow them to get any more
-handkerchiefs there. If this did not intimidate them, he would threaten
-to give them in charge, so that at last they were compelled to take
-whatever price he liked to give them.
-
-“I have seen handkerchiefs, I afterwards found out to be of the value
-of four or five shillings, sold him lumped together at 9_d._ each.
-
-“The boys, during this time, had been very kind to me, sharing what
-they got with me, but always asking why I did not try my hand, till
-at last I was ashamed to live any longer upon the food they gave me,
-without doing something for myself. One of the boys attached himself
-to me more than the others, whom we used to call Joe Muckraw, who
-was afterwards transported, and is now in a comfortable position in
-Australia.
-
-“Joe said to me, that when the next boat came in, if any man came out
-likely to carry a good handkerchief, he would let me have a chance at
-it. I recollect when the boat came in that evening: I think it was the
-last one, about nine o’clock. I saw an elderly gentleman step ashore,
-and a lady with him. They had a little dog, with a string attached
-to it, that they led along. Before Joe said anything to me, he had
-‘fanned’ the gentleman’s pocket, _i.e._, had felt the pocket and knew
-there was a handkerchief.
-
-“He whispered to me, ‘Now Dick, have a try,’ and I went to the old
-gentleman’s side, trembling all the time, and Joe standing close to me
-in the dark, and went with him up the steep hill of the Adelphi. He had
-just passed an apple-stall there, Joe still following us, encouraging
-me all the time, while the old gentleman was engaged with the little
-dog. I took out a green ‘kingsman,’ (handkerchief) next in value to a
-black silk handkerchief. (They are used a good deal as neckerchiefs by
-costermongers). The gentleman did not perceive his loss. We immediately
-went to the arches and entered the van where Larry was, and Joe said
-to him ‘There is Dick’s first trial, and you must give him a “ray” for
-it,’ _i.e._ 1_s._ 6_d._ After a deal of pressing, we got 1_s._ for it.
-
-“After that I gained confidence, and in the course of a few weeks I
-was considered the cleverest of the little band, never missing one
-boat coming in, and getting one or two handkerchiefs on each occasion.
-During the time we knew there were no boats coming we used to waste
-our money on sweets, and fruits, and went often in the evenings to the
-Victoria Theatre, and Bower Saloon, and other places. When we came out
-at twelve, or half-past twelve at night, we went to the arches again,
-and slept in the prison-van. This was the life I led till January, 1841.
-
-“During that month several men came to us. I did not know, although I
-afterwards heard they were brought by ‘Larry’ to watch me, as he had
-been speaking of my cleverness at the ‘tail,’ _i.e._, stealing from
-the tails of gentlemen’s coats, and they used to make me presents.
-It seemed they were not satisfied altogether with me, for they did
-not tell me what they wanted, nor speak their mind to me. About the
-middle of the month I was seized by a gentleman, who caught me with his
-handkerchief in my hand. I was taken to Bow Street police-station, and
-got two months in Westminster Bridewell.
-
-“I came out in March, and when outside the gate of Westminster
-Bridewell, there was a cab waiting for me, and two of the men standing
-by who had often made me presents and spoken to me in the arches.
-They asked me if I would go with them, and took me into the cab. I
-was willing to go anywhere to better myself, and went with them to
-Flower-and-Dean Street, Brick Lane, Whitechapel. They took me to their
-own home. One of them had the first floor of a house there, the other
-had the second. Both were living with women, and I found out shortly
-afterwards that these men had lately had a boy, but he was transported
-about that time, though I did not know this then. They gave me plenty
-to eat, and one of the women, by name ‘Emily,’ washed and cleansed me,
-and I got new clothes to put on. For three days I was not asked to do
-anything, but in the meantime they had been talking to me of going with
-them, and having no more to do with the boys at the Adelphi, or with
-the ‘tail,’ but to work at picking ladies’ pockets.
-
-“I thought it strange at first, but found afterwards that it was
-more easy to work on a woman’s pocket than upon a man’s, for this
-reason:--More persons work together, and the boy is well surrounded by
-companions older than himself, and is shielded from the eyes of the
-passers-by; and, besides, it pays better.
-
-“It was on a Saturday, in company with three men, I set out on an
-excursion from Flower-and-Dean Street along Cheapside. They were young
-men, from nineteen to twenty-five years of age, dressed in fashionable
-style. I was clothed in the suit given me when I came out of prison, a
-beaver-hat, a little surtout-coat and trousers, both of black cloth,
-and a black silk necktie and collar, dressed as a gentleman’s son. We
-went into a pastry-cook’s shop in St. Paul’s Churchyard about half-past
-two in the afternoon, and had pastry there, and they were watching the
-ladies coming into the shop, till at last they followed one out, taking
-me with them.
-
-“As this was my first essay in having anything to do in stealing from
-a woman, I believe they were nervous themselves, but they had well
-tutored me during the two or three days I had been out of prison.
-They had stood against me in the room while Emily walked to and fro,
-and I had practised on her pocket by taking out sometimes a lady’s
-clasp purse, termed a ‘portemonnaie,’ and other articles out of her
-pocket, and thus I was not quite ignorant of what was expected of me.
-One walked in front of me, one on my right hand, and the other in the
-rear, and I had the lady on my left hand. I immediately ‘fanned’ her
-(felt her pocket), as she stopped to look in at a hosier’s window,
-when I took her purse and gave it to one of them, and we immediately
-went to a house in Giltspur Street. We there examined what was in the
-purse. I think there was a sovereign, and about 17_s._, I cannot speak
-positively how much. The purse was thrown away, as is the general rule,
-and we went down Newgate Street, into Cheapside, and there we soon got
-four more purses that afternoon, and went home by five o’clock, P.M.
-I recollect how they praised me afterwards that night at home for my
-cleverness.
-
-“I think we did not go out again till the Tuesday, and that and the
-following day we had a good pull. It amounted to about 19_l._ each.
-They always take care to allow the boy to see what is in the purse,
-and to give him his proper share equal with the others, because he is
-their sole support. If they should lose him, they would be unable to
-do anything till they got another. Out of my share, which was about
-19_l._, I bought a silver watch and a gold chain, and about this time
-I also bought an overcoat, and carried it on my left arm to cover my
-movements.
-
-“A few weeks after this we went to Surrey Gardens, and I got two purses
-from ladies. In one of them were some French coins and a ring, that
-was afterwards advertised as either lost or stolen in the garden. We
-did very well that visit, and were thinking of going again, when I
-was caught in Fleet Street, and they had no means of getting me away,
-though they tried all they could to secure my escape. They could not do
-it without exposing themselves to too much suspicion. I was sentenced
-to three months’ imprisonment in Bridge Street Bridewell, Blackfriars,
-termed by the thieves the Old Horse.
-
-“This was shortly before Christmas, 1840. During my imprisonment I did
-not live on the prison diet, but was kept on good rations supplied
-to me through the kindness of my comrades out of doors bribing the
-turnkeys. I had tea of a morning, bread and butter, and often cold
-meat. Meat and all kinds of pastry was sent to me from a cook-shop
-outside, and I was allowed to sit up later than other prisoners. During
-the time I was in prison for these three months I learned to smoke, as
-cigars were introduced to me.
-
-“When I came out we often used to attend the theatres, and I have
-often had as many as six or seven ladies’ purses in the rear of the
-boxes during the time they were coming out. This was the time when
-the pantomimes were in their full attraction. It is easier to pick a
-female’s pocket when she has several children with her to attract her
-attention than if she were there by herself.
-
-“We went out once or twice a week, sometimes stopt in a whole week,
-and sallied out on Sunday. I often got purses coming down the steps at
-Spitalfields’ Church. I believe I have done so hundreds of times. This
-church was near to us, and easily got at.
-
-“We went to Madame Tussaud’s, Baker Street, and were pretty lucky
-there. At this time we hired horses and a trap to go down to Epsom
-races, but did not take any of the women with us.
-
-“I was generally employed working in the streets rather than at places
-of amusement, &c., and was in dread that my father or some of my
-friends might come and see me at some of these.
-
-“When at the Epsom races, shortly after the termination of the race for
-the Derby, I was induced, much against my will, to turn my hand upon
-two ladies as they were stepping into a carriage, and was detected by
-the ladies. There was immediately an outcry, but I was got away by two
-of my comrades. The other threw himself in the way, and kept them back;
-was taken up on suspicion, committed for trial, and got four months’
-imprisonment.
-
-“I kept with the other men, and we got another man in his place. When
-his time was expired they went down to meet him, and he did not go out
-for some time afterwards--for nearly a fortnight. After that we went
-out, and had different degrees of luck, and one of the men was seized
-with a decline, and died at Brompton in the hospital. Like the other
-stalls, he usually went well-dressed, and had a good appearance. His
-chief work was to guard me and get me out of difficulty when I was
-detected, as I was the support of the band.
-
-“About this time, as nearly as I can recollect, when I was two months
-over thirteen years of age, I first kept a woman. We had apartments,
-a front and back room of our own. She was a tall, thin, genteel girl,
-about fifteen years of age, and very good-looking. I often ill-used her
-and beat her. She bore it patiently till I carried it too far, and at
-last she left me in the summer of 1844. During the time she was with
-me--which lasted for nine or ten months--I was very fortunate, and was
-never without 20_l._ or 30_l._ in my pocket, while she had the same in
-hers. I was dressed in fashionable style, and had a gold watch and gold
-guard.
-
-“Meantime I had been busy with these men, as usual going to Cheapside,
-St. Paul’s Churchyard, and Fleet Street. In the end of the year 1844 I
-was taken up for an attempt on a lady in St. Martin’s Lane, near Ben
-Caunt’s. The conviction was brought against me from the City, and I got
-six months in Tothill-fields Prison.
-
-“This was my first real imprisonment of any length. At first I was
-a month in Tothill Fields, and afterwards three months in the City
-Bridewell, Blackfriars, where I had a good deal of indulgence, and did
-not feel the imprisonment so much. The silent system was strict, and
-being very wilful, I was often under punishment. It had such an effect
-on me, that for the last six weeks of my imprisonment I was in the
-infirmary. The men came down to meet me when my punishment expired, and
-I again accompanied them to their house.
-
-“During the time I had been in prison they had got another boy, but
-they said they would willingly turn him away or give him to some other
-men; but I, being self-willed, said they might keep him. I had another
-reason for parting with them. When I went to prison I had property
-worth a good deal of money. On coming out I found they had sold it, and
-they never gave me value for it. They pretended it was laid out in my
-defence, which I knew was only a pretext.
-
-“Before I was imprisoned my girl had parted from me, which was the
-beginning of my misfortunes.
-
-“I would not go to work with them afterwards. I had a little money, and
-at a public-house I met with two men living down Gravel Lane, Ratcliffe
-Highway. I went down there, and commenced working with two of them
-on ladies’ pockets, but in a different part of the town. We went to
-Whitechapel and the Commercial Road; but had not worked six weeks with
-them before I was taken up again, and was tried at Old Arbour Square,
-and got three months’ imprisonment at Coldbath Fields. If I thought
-Tothill Fields was bad, I found the other worse.
-
-“When I got out I had no one to meet me, and thought I would work by
-myself. It was about this time I commenced to steal gentlemen’s watches.
-
-“The first I took was from the fob of a countryman in Smithfield on a
-market day. It was a silver watch, which we called a ‘Frying Pan.’ It
-had not a guard, but an old chain and seals. It fetched me about 18_s._
-I took off one of the seals which was gold, which brought me as much
-as the watch, if not more. I sold it to a man I was acquainted with in
-Field Lane, where I first lodged, after leaving the coffee-shop when
-I first came to London, and where the landlady gave me several nights’
-lodging gratuitously. I repaid her the small sum due her for her former
-kindness to me.
-
-“I lodged there, and shortly after cohabited with another female.
-She was a big stout woman, ten years older than I; well-made, but
-coarse-featured. I did not live with her long--only three or four
-months. I was then only fifteen years of age. During that time I
-always worked by myself. Sometimes she would go out with me, but she
-was no help to me. I looked out for crowds at fairs, at fires, and on
-any occasion where there was a gathering of people, as at this time I
-generally confined myself to watches and pins from men.
-
-“I was not so lucky then, and barely kept myself in respectability. My
-woman was very extravagant, and swallowed up all I could make. I lived
-with her about four months, when I was taken up in Exmouth Street,
-Clerkenwell, and got four months’ imprisonment in Coldbath Fields
-Prison.
-
-“When my sentence was expired she came to meet me at the gate of the
-prison, and we remained together only two days, when I heard reports
-that she had been unfaithful to me. I never charged her with it, but
-ran away from her.
-
-“When I left her I went to live in Charles Street, Drury Lane. I
-stopped there working by myself for five or six months, and got
-acquainted with a young woman who has ever since been devoted to me.
-She is now thirty-three years of age, but looks a good deal older than
-she is, and is about the middle height. We took a room and furnished
-it. I soon got acquainted with some of the swell-mob at the Seven
-Dials, and went working along with three of them upon the ladies’
-purses again. At this time I was a great deal luckier with them than
-I had been since I had left Tothill-fields Prison. I worked with them
-till April 1847, visiting the chief places of public resort, such
-as the Surrey Gardens, Regent’s Park, Zoological Gardens, Madame
-Tussaud’s, the Colosseum, and other places. Other two comrades and I
-were arrested at the Colosseum for picking a lady’s pocket. We were
-taken to Albany Street station-house, and the next day committed for
-trial at the sessions. I had twelve months’ imprisonment for this
-offence, and the other two got four years’ penal servitude, on account
-of previous convictions. I had only summary convictions, which were not
-produced at the trial.
-
-“At this time summary convictions were not brought against a prisoner
-committed for trial.
-
-“We were frequently watched by the police and detectives, who followed
-our track, and were often in the same places of amusement with us.
-We knew them as well as they knew us, and often eluded them. Their
-following us has often been the means of our doing nothing on many of
-these occasions, as we knew their eye was upon us.
-
-“I came out of prison three or four days before the gathering of the
-Chartists on Kennington Common. My female friend met me as I came out.
-
-“I went to this gathering on 10th April, 1848, along with other three
-men. I took several ladies’ purses there, amounting to 3_l._ or
-4_l._, when we saw a gentleman place a pocketbook in the tail of his
-coat. Though I had done nothing at the tail for a long time, it was too
-great a temptation, and I immediately seized it. There was a bundle
-of bank-notes in it--7 ten-pound notes, 2 for twenty pounds, and 5
-five-pound notes. We got from the fence or receiver 4_l._ 10_s._ for
-each of the 5_l._, 8_l._ 10_s._ for the tens, and 18_l._ for the 20_l._
-notes.
-
-“The same afternoon I took a purse in Trafalgar Square with about
-eighteen sovereigns in it. I kept walking in company with the same men
-till the commencement of 1849, when I was taken ill and laid up with
-rheumatism. I lost the use of my legs in a great measure, and could not
-walk, and paid away my money to physicians. Before I got better, such
-articles as we had were disposed of, though my girl helped me as well
-as she could.
-
-“In the early part of 1849, when I was not able to go out and do
-anything, Sally, who cohabited with me, went out along with another
-girl and commenced stealing in omnibuses. She was well-dressed, and had
-a respectable appearance. I did not learn her to pick pockets, and was
-averse to it at first, as I did not wish to bring her into danger. I
-think she was trained by my pals. She was very clever, and supported me
-till I was able to go out again. I had to walk with a crutch for some
-time, but gradually got better and stronger. Some time after that I got
-into a row at the Seven Dials, and was sent for a month to Westminster
-prison for an assault.
-
-“When I came out I was sorry to find that Sally was taken up and
-committed for trial for an omnibus robbery, and had got six months’
-imprisonment at Westminster. This was in 1850. I succeeded very well
-during the time she was in prison in picking ladies’ pockets during the
-time of the Great Exhibition at Hyde Park.
-
-“When she came out, I had nearly 200_l._ by me. I did not go out for
-some time, and soon made the money fly, for I was then a cribbage
-player, and would stake as much as 2_l._ or 3_l._ on a game.
-
-“In the end of the year 1851 I was pressed for the first time to have a
-hand at a crack in the City along with other two men. I was led through
-their representations to believe they were experienced burglars, but
-found afterwards, if they _were_ experienced they were not very clever.
-Though they got a plan, they blundered in the execution of it in
-getting into the place, and went into the wrong room, so that they had
-to get thro’ another wall, which caused us to be so late that it was
-gray in the morning before we got away; and we did not find so much as
-we expected.
-
-“At the back of the premises we cut our way into the passage, and,
-according to the directions given to us in the plan that had been
-drawn, we had to go up to the second floor, and enter a door there.
-We found nothing in the room we had entered but neckties and collars,
-which would not have paid us for bringing them away. We then had to
-work our way through a back wall, before we got into the apartment
-where the silks were stored. They cut through the brick wall very
-cleverly. We had all taken rum to steady our nerve before we went to
-the work.
-
-“We had gone up the wrong staircase, which was the cause of our having
-to cut through the wall. There was only one man that slept in the
-house, and he was in a room on the basement. We at last, after much
-labour and delay, got into the right room, pressed the bolt back,
-and found we could get away by the other staircase. We got silks,
-handkerchiefs, and other drapery goods, and had about 18_l._ each after
-disposing of them--which was about two-thirds of their value. We had a
-cab to carry away the things for us to the ‘fence’ who received them.
-
-“We went to another burglary at Islington, and made an entrance into
-the house, but were disturbed, and ran away over several walls and
-gardens.
-
-“We attempted a third burglary in the City. As usual we had a plan of
-it through a man that had been at work there, who put it up for us.
-This was a shop in which there were a great many Geneva watches. We
-got in at this time by the back window, and went upstairs. We were
-told that the master went away at 11 o’clock. On this occasion he
-had remained later than usual, looking over his business books. On
-seeing us, he made an outcry and struggled with us. Assistance came
-immediately. Two policemen ran up to the house. In the scramble with
-the man in the house, we tried to make for the door. The police could
-not get in, as the door was bolted. We were determined to make a rush
-out. I undid the chain and drew back the bolt. I got away, and had fled
-along two or three streets, when I was stunned by a man who carried
-a closed umbrella. Hearing the cry of ‘Stop thief!’ he drew out the
-umbrella, and I fell as I was running. I was thereupon taken back by
-one of the police, and found both of the others in custody. We were
-committed for trial next day, and sent to Newgate in the meantime for
-detention.
-
-“My former convictions were not brought against me. My two companions
-had been previously at Newgate, and were sentenced the one to ten
-years’ and the other to seven years’ penal servitude, while I got
-eighteen months’ imprisonment in Holloway prison. I was the younger of
-the party, and had no convictions. I never engaged in a burglary after
-this. At this time I was twenty-two or twenty-three years of age.
-
-“I came out of prison in 1853, and was unnerved for some time, though
-my health was good. This was the effect of the solitary confinement.
-
-“When I came out, I wrote home for the first time since I had been in
-London, and received a letter back, stating that my father was dead
-after an illness of several years, and that I was to come home, adding
-that if I required money, they would send it me. Besides, there were
-several things they were to give me, according to my father’s wishes.
-
-“I went home, and had thoughts of stopping there. My mother was not in
-such good position as I expected, the property left by my grandfather
-having gone to a distant relative at my father’s death. She was and is
-still in receipt of a weekly sum from the old Wesleyan fund for the
-benefit of the widows of ministers.
-
-“I went home in the end of 1853, and had the full intention of stopping
-there, though I promised to Sally to be back in a few weeks. I soon got
-tired of country life, though my relations were very kind to me, and
-after remaining seven weeks at home, came back to London again about
-the commencement of 1854, and commenced working by myself at stealing
-watches and breast-pins. I did not work at ladies’ pockets, unless I
-had comrades beside me. I went and mingled in the crowds by myself.
-
-“In the end of 1854 I got another six months’ imprisonment at Hicks’s
-Hall police court, and was sent to Coldbath-Fields, and was told that
-if I ever came again before the criminal authorities, I would be
-transported.
-
-“I came out in 1855, and have done very little since; acting
-occasionally as a stall to Sally in omnibuses, and generally carrying a
-portmanteau or something with me. I would generally sit in the omnibus
-on the opposite side to her, and endeavour to keep the lady, as well
-as I could, engaged in conversation, while she sat on her right hand.
-She got twelve months for this in 1855, and during the time she was
-in Westminster prison I first commenced pattering in the streets. I
-did not again engage in thieving till the time of the illumination for
-the peace in 1856. In Hyde Park on this occasion I took a purse from
-a lady, containing nine sovereigns and some silver; and was living on
-this money when Sally was discharged at the expiry of her sentence.
-
-“When she came out, I told her what I had been doing, and found she was
-much altered, and seemed to have a great disinclination to go out any
-more. She did not go for some time. I made a sufficient livelihood by
-pattering in the streets for nearly two years, when I got wet several
-times, and was laid up with illness again. She then became acquainted
-with a woman who used to go on a different game, termed shoplifting.
-While the one kept the shopman engaged, the other would purloin a piece
-of silk, or other goods. At this time she took to drink. I found out
-after this she often got things, and sold them, before she came home,
-on purpose to get drink. News came to me one day that she had been
-taken up and committed for trial at Marylebone police court. I paid the
-counsel to plead her case, and she was acquitted.
-
-“I then told her if she was not satisfied with what I was doing as
-patterer, that I would commence my former employment. So I did for some
-time during last year, till I had three separate remands at the House
-of Detention, Clerkenwell. The policeman got the stolen property, but
-was so much engrossed taking me, he had lost sight of the prosecutor,
-who was never found, and I got acquitted.
-
-“On this occasion I told Sally I would never engage in stealing again,
-and I have kept my word. I know if I had been tried at this time, and
-found guilty, I should have been transported.
-
-“I have since then got my living by pattering in the streets. I earn
-my 2_s._, or 2_s._ 6_d._ in an hour, or an hour and a half in the
-evening, and can make a shift.
-
-“For six or seven years, when engaged in picking pockets, I earned
-a good deal of money. Our house expenses many weeks would average
-from 4_l._ to 5_l._, living on the best fare, and besides, we went to
-theatres, and places of amusement, occasionally to the Cider Cellars,
-and the Coal Hole.
-
-“The London pickpockets are acquainted generally with each other, and
-help their comrades in difficulty. They frequently meet with many of
-the burglars. A great number of the women of pickpockets and burglars
-are shoplifters, as they require to support themselves when their men
-are in prison.
-
-“A woman would be considered useless to a man if she could not get him
-the use of counsel, and keep him for a few days after he comes out,
-which she does by shoplifting, and picking pockets in omnibuses, the
-latter being termed ‘Maltooling.’
-
-“I have associated a good deal with the pickpockets over London, in
-different districts. You cannot easily calculate their weekly income,
-as it is so precarious, perhaps one day getting 20_l._, or 30_l._,
-and another day being totally unsuccessful. They are in general very
-superstitious, and if anything cross them, they will do nothing. If
-they see a person they have formerly robbed, they expect bad luck, and
-will not attempt anything.
-
-“They are very generous in helping each other when they get into
-difficulty, or trouble, but have no societies, as they could not be
-kept up. Many of them may be in prison five or six months of the year;
-some may get a long penal servitude, or transportation; or they may
-have the steel taken out of them, and give up this restless, criminal
-mode of life.
-
-“They do not generally find stealing gentlemen’s watches so profitable
-as picking ladies’ pockets, for this reason, that the purse can be
-thrown away, some of the coins changed, and they may set to work again
-immediately; whereas, when they take a watch, they must go immediately
-to the fence with it: it is not safe to keep it on their person. A good
-silver watch will now bring little more than 25_s._, or 30_s._, even
-if the watch has cost 6_l._ A good gold watch will not fetch above
-4_l._ I have worked for two or three hours, and have got, perhaps, six
-different purses during that time, the purses I threw away, so that the
-robbery may not be traced. Suppose you take a watch, and you place it
-in your pocket, while you have also your own watch, if you happen to be
-detected, you are taken and searched, and there being a second watch
-found on you, the evidence is complete against you.
-
-“The trousers-pockets are seldom picked, except in a crowd. It is
-almost impossible to do this on any other occasion, such as when
-walking in the street. A prostitute may occasionally do it, pattering
-with her fingers about a man’s person when he is off his guard.
-
-“I believe a large number of the thieves of London come from the
-provinces, and from the large towns, such as Leeds, Birmingham,
-Sheffield, Manchester, and Liverpool; from Birmingham especially, more
-than any other town in England. There are no foreigners pickpockets in
-London so far as I know. The cleverest of the native London thieves, in
-general, are the Irish cockneys.
-
-“I never learned any business or trade, and never did a hard day’s work
-in my life, and have to take to pattering for a livelihood. When men in
-my position take to an honest employment, they are sometimes pointed
-out by some of the police as having been formerly convicted thieves,
-and are often dismissed from service, and driven back into criminal
-courses.
-
-“I am a sceptic in my religious opinions, which was a stumbling-block
-in the way of several missionaries, and other philanthropic men
-assisting me. I have read Paine, and Volney, and Holyoake, those
-infidel writers, and have also read the works of Bulwer, Dickens, and
-numbers of others. It gives a zest to us in our criminal life, that
-we do not know how long we may be at liberty to enjoy ourselves. This
-strengthens the attachment between pickpockets and their women, who,
-I believe, have a stronger liking to each other, in many cases, than
-married people.”
-
-
-
-
-HORSE AND DOG STEALERS.
-
-
-_Horse-stealing._--These robberies are not so extensive as they used to
-be in the metropolitan districts. They are generally confined to the
-rural districts, where horses are turned out to graze on marshes and in
-pasture-fields. Horses are stolen by a low unprincipled class of men,
-who travel the country dealing in them, who are termed “horse coupers,”
-and sometimes by the wandering gipsies and tinkers. They journey from
-place to place, and observe where there is a good horse or pony, and
-loiter about the neighbourhood till they get an opportunity to steal
-it. This is generally done in the night time, and in most cases by one
-man.
-
-After removing it from the park, they take it away by some by-road,
-or keep it shut up in a stable or outhouse till the “hue and cry”
-about the robbery has settled down. They then trim it up, and alter
-the appearance as much as possible, and take it to some market at a
-distance, and sell it--sometimes at an under price. This is their
-general mode of operation. Sometimes they proceed to London, and
-dispose of it at Smithfield market. The party that steals it, does not
-generally take it to the market, but leaves it in a quiet stable at
-some house by the way, till he meets with a low horse-dealer. The thief
-is often connected with horse-dealers, but may not himself be one.
-
-Some Londoners are in the habit of stealing horses. These often
-frequent the Old Kent-road, and are dressed as grooms or stablemen.
-They are of various ages, varying from twenty to sixty years.
-The person who sells the horses gets part of the booty from the
-horse-stealer.
-
-The mode of stealing by gipsies is somewhat similar. They pitch their
-tents on some waste ground by the roadside, or on the skirt of a wood,
-and frequently steal a horse when they get an opportunity. One will
-take it away who has been keeping unobserved within the tent, and the
-rest will remain encamped in the locality as if nothing had happened.
-They may remove it to a considerable distance, and get it into the
-covert of a wood, such as Epping Forest, or some secluded spot, and
-take the first opportunity to sell it.
-
-Another class of persons travel about the country, dealing in
-small wares as Cheap Johns, who occasionally steal horses, or give
-information to abandoned characters who steal them.
-
-These robberies of horses are generally committed in rural districts,
-and are seldom done in the metropolis, as horses are in general looked
-after, or locked up in stables. They are occasionally stolen in the
-markets in and around the metropolis, such as Smithfield and the new
-market at Islington.
-
-Sometimes horses in carts, and cabs, and other vehicles are removed by
-thieves in the streets of the metropolis; but this is only done for
-a short time until they have rifled the goods. So soon as they have
-secured them, they leave the horse and vehicle, which come into the
-hands of the police, and are restored to the owner.
-
-The horses stolen are generally light and nimble, such as those used in
-phaetons and light conveyances, and not for heavy carts or drays.
-
-These robberies are detected in various ways. For example, sometimes a
-valuable horse is offered for sale at a reduced price in some market,
-which excites suspicion. At other times the appearance of the person
-selling the horse is not consistent with the possession of such an
-animal. On some occasions these robberies are detected by the police
-from descriptions forwarded from station to station, and are stopped on
-the highway.
-
-Horse-stealers generally take the horses through backroads, and never
-pass through tollbars, if they can avoid it, as they could be traced.
-The keeper of the toll might give information to the police, and give a
-clue to the way they had gone.
-
-London thieves have been known to go considerable distances into the
-country to steal horses--after having learned that horses could easily
-be taken away. These robberies are generally committed in the spring
-and summer, when horses are turned out to grass.
-
- Number of cases of horse-stealing in the
- metropolitan districts for 1860 23
- Ditto ditto in the City 0
- --
- 23
-
- Value of property thereby abstracted in
- the metropolitan districts £649
-
-_Dog-stealing._--These robberies are generally committed by
-dog-fanciers and others who confine their attention to this class of
-felonies. They are persons of a low class, dressed variously, and are
-frequently followed by women. They steal fancy dogs ladies are fond
-of--spaniels, poodles, and terriers, sporting dogs, such as setters and
-retrievers, and also Newfoundland dogs. These robberies are generally
-committed by men of various ages, but seldom by boys. Their mode of
-operation is this:--In prowling over the metropolis, when they see a
-handsome dog with a lady or gentleman they follow it and see where the
-person resides. So soon as they have ascertained this they loiter about
-the house for days with a piece of liver prepared by a certain process,
-and soaked in some ingredient which dogs are uncommonly fond of. They
-are so partial to it they will follow the stranger some distance in
-preference to following their master. The thieves generally carry small
-pieces of this to entice the dog away with them, when they seize hold
-of it in a convenient place, and put it into a bag they carry with them.
-
-Another method of decoying dogs is by having a bitch in heat. When
-any valuable dog follows it is picked up and taken home, when they
-wait for the reward offered by the owner to return it, generally from
-1_l._ to 5_l._ The loss of the dog may be advertized in the Times or
-other newspapers, or by handbills circulated over the district, when
-some confederate of the thief will negociate with the owner for the
-restoration of the dog. Information is sent if he will give a certain
-sum of money, such as 1_l._, 2_l._, or 5_l._ the dog will be restored,
-if not it will be killed. This is done to excite sympathy.
-
-Some dogs have been known to be stolen three or four times, and taken
-back to their owner by rewards. Sometimes when they steal dogs they
-fancy, they keep them and do not return them to the owner.
-
-There is a class termed dog-receivers, or dog-fanciers, who undertake
-to return stolen dogs for a consideration. These parties are connected
-with the thieves, and are what is termed “in the ring,” that is, in
-the ring of thieves. Dogs are frequently restored by agencies of this
-description. These parties receive dogs and let the owners have them
-back for a certain sum of money, while they receive part of the price
-shared with the thief.
-
-Dog-stealing is very prevalent, particularly in the West-end of the
-metropolis, and is rather a profitable class of felony. These thieves
-reside at the Seven Dials, in the neighbourhood of Belgravia, Chelsea,
-Knightsbridge, and low neighbourhoods, some of them men of mature years.
-
-They frequently pick up dogs in the street when their owners are not
-near. But their general mode is to loiter about the houses and entice
-them away in the manner described. Sometimes they belong to the felon
-class, sometimes not. They are often connected with bird-fanciers,
-keepers of fighting-dogs, and persons who get up rat matches.
-
-Some of those stolen are sent to Germany, where English dogs are sold
-at a high price.
-
- Number of cases of dog-stealing in the
- metropolitan districts for 1860 15
- Ditto ditto in the City 1
- --
- 16
-
- Value of property thereby abstracted in
- the metropolitan districts £134
-
-
-
-
-HIGHWAY ROBBERS.
-
-
-The highway robbers of the present day are a very different set from
-the bold reckless brigands who infested the metropolis and the highways
-in its vicinity in former times. There was a bold dash in the old
-highwaymen, the Dick Turpins and Claud Du Vals of that day, not to be
-found in the thieves of our time, whether they lived in the rookeries
-of St. Giles’s, Westminster, and the Borough, nestling securely amid
-dingy lanes and alleys, densely-clustered together, where it was unsafe
-for even a constable to enter; or whether they roamed at large on
-Blackheath and Hounslow Heath, or on Wimbledon Common, and Finchley
-Common, accosting the passing traveller pistol in hand, with the stern
-command, ‘Stand and deliver.’
-
-The highwaymen of our day are either the sneaking thieves we have
-described, who adroitly slip their hands into your pockets, or low
-coarse ruffians who follow in the wake of prostitutes, or garotte
-drunken men in the midnight street, or strike them down by brutal
-violence with a life-preserver or bludgeon.
-
-These felonies are generally committed in secluded spots and
-by-streets, or in the suburbs of the metropolis. Many robberies
-are committed on the highway by _snatching with violence from the
-person_. These are generally done in the dusk, and rarely during the
-day. When committed early in the evening, they are done in secluded
-places, intersected with lanes and alleys, where the thieves have a
-good opportunity to escape, such as in the Borough, Spitalfields,
-Shoreditch, Whitechapel, Drury-lane, West-minster, and similar
-localities. These are often done by one person, at other times by two
-or more in company, and generally by young men from nineteen years
-and upwards. The mode of effecting it is this. They see a person
-respectably dressed walking along the street, with a silver or gold
-chain, who appears to be off his guard. One of them as he passes by
-makes a snatch at it, and runs down one of the alleys or along one of
-the by-streets.
-
-Sometimes the thief breaks the chain with a violent wrench. At other
-times the swivel, or ring of the watch may give way; or a piece of the
-guard breaks off. The thief occasionally fails to get the watch. In
-these cases he can seldom be identified, because the party may not have
-had his eye on him, and may lose his presence of mind; and the thief
-may have vanished swiftly out of his sight.
-
-Should the person to whom the watch belongs run after him, his
-companions often try to intercept him, and with this view throw
-themselves in his way. The thief is seldom caught at the time, unless
-he is pursued by some person passing by, who has seen him commit the
-robbery, or who may have heard the cry, “Stop thief.”
-
-These felonies are committed by men living in low neighbourhoods, who
-are generally known thieves; and are in most cases done during some
-disturbance in the street, or in a crowd, or upon a person the worse of
-liquor.
-
-In September, 1859, Thomas Dalton, alias Thomas Davis, a stout-made
-man of about thirty years of age, and 5 ft. 6 inches high, in company
-with another man, went to the regatta at Putney, near London, when
-Dalton snatched the watch of Mr. Friar, formerly the ballet-master
-at Vauxhall-gardens. Mr. Friar, being aware of the robbery, suddenly
-seized hold of both the men, when they wrestled with him. The other man
-got away, but he retained his hold of Dalton. On a policeman coming
-up Dalton dropped the watch. He was committed to the Surrey Sessions,
-tried on 15th September, 1859, and sentenced to ten years’ penal
-servitude.
-
-Dalton was one of five prisoners tried at the Central Criminal Court
-in December, 1847, for the murder of Mr. Bellchambers, at Westminster,
-having beaten in his brains with an iron bar in Tothill-street,
-Westminster during the night. Dalton was then acquitted. Sales, one of
-the parties charged, was found guilty and hanged at Newgate.
-
-They were seen in the company of the deceased in a public-house in
-Orchard-street, Westminster on the night of the murder, and had
-followed him out and robbed him of his money, watch, and seals. Dalton
-had been several times in custody, for being concerned with other
-persons in plate robberies; sneaking down into areas and opening the
-doors by means of skeleton keys, and carrying off the plate. One of the
-thieves went, dressed as a butcher, with an ox’s tail, pretending the
-lady of the house had ordered it. While the servant went upstairs he
-put the plate into a basket he carried with him, and carried it away.
-
-On the 23rd of March, 1850, he was in custody with other three
-notorious housebreakers for attempting to steal plate in Woburn-square
-by skeleton keys along with other four thieves, when he was found
-guilty and got three months’ imprisonment. One of them opened an area
-gate about 10 o’clock in the morning, carrying a green-baize cloth
-containing three French rolls. Finding the servant in the kitchen,
-cleaning the plate, he told her he had brought the French rolls from
-the baker. The servant, who was an intelligent shrewd person, refused
-to go upstairs to her mistress. Meantime two detective officers, who
-had been on the look-out, arrested the four thieves and prevented the
-robbery.
-
-On the 6th February, 1854, he was tried at Westminster, for snatching
-a watch from a gentleman in Parliament-street, while her Majesty was
-proceeding to open the Houses of Parliament. The gentleman feeling the
-snatch at his watch laid hold of Dalton, when he threw it down an area
-in front of the Treasury buildings.
-
-As we have already said, Dalton was afterwards sentenced to
-transportation.
-
-Another remarkable case of highway robbery took place several years
-ago by a man of the name of George Morris. He was above five feet
-nine inches high, stout made, with dark whiskers, and of gentlemanly
-appearance. He snatched a watch from a man near the Surrey Theatre.
-Immediately on seizing hold of the watch he ran round St. George’s
-Circus into the Waterloo-road, with the cry of stop thief ringing
-in his ears. In running down Waterloo-road he threw himself down
-intentionally into a heap of dirt in the street, when several people
-who were chasing him, and also a policeman, stumbled over him. He
-then got up as they lay on the ground and run down a turning called
-Webber-row, down Spiller’s-court, and got over a closet, then mounted
-the roof of some low cottages, and jumped off this into the garden at
-the other side belonging to lofty houses there under repair. Finding a
-crowd of people and the police close at his heels in the garden below,
-and being exceedingly nimble, he ran up the ladder like lightning,
-to the roof of the house. As the policemen were about to follow him
-he took hold of the ladder and threw it back, preventing all further
-chase. He disappeared from the top of this house and got to the roof
-of the Magdalen Institution, and would have made his escape but for
-the prompt exertions of the police. Some of them ran into a builder’s
-yard and got several ladders and climbed up at different parts of the
-building and pursued him on the roof of the house--between the chapel
-and the governor’s house. He stood at bay, and threatened to kill the
-first policeman who approached him, and kept them at defiance for
-half-an-hour.
-
-Meantime several other policemen had mounted the back part of the
-chapel by means of a ladder, unperceived by Morris, while the others
-were keeping him in conversation. On seeing them approach he found all
-hope of escape was vain, and surrendered himself into the hands of the
-officers. He was tried at the Central Criminal Court, and sentenced to
-transportation for ten years.
-
-Not long before he had assaulted a woman in the Westminster-road.
-There was a cry for the police, and he ran down Duke-street,
-Westminster-road. On turning the corner of the street he popped into a
-doorway. This was in the dusk of the evening. His pursuers ran past,
-thinking he had gone into one of the adjoining streets. As soon as
-they had passed by he was seen to come out and coolly walk back, as if
-nothing had occurred. A neighbour who had seen this gave him into the
-custody of the police about half-an-hour afterwards, and he was fined
-40_s._ for assaulting the woman.
-
-About this time a woman complained to a policeman at the Surrey Theatre
-that a tall, gentlemanly man had picked her pocket. The constable told
-her he had seen a well-known thief go into a neighbouring coffee-shop
-dressed in black. He took the woman over, and she immediately said
-that was not the man. She was not able to identify him, as he had
-turned his coat inside out. The coat he had on was black in the inside,
-and white on the exterior, and could be put on upon either side. He had
-in the meantime changed the coat, and the woman was thereby unable to
-recognize him. This enabled him on this occasion to escape the ends of
-justice.
-
-Highway robberies are also effected by garotting. These are done in
-similar localities at dusk, frequently in foggy nights at certain
-seasons of the year, and seldom in the summer time. They are generally
-done in the by-streets, and in the winter time. A ruffian walks up and
-throws his arm round the neck of a person who has a watch, or whom he
-has noticed carrying money on his person. One man holds him tightly
-by the neck, and generally attacks from behind, or from the side. The
-garotter tries to get his arm under his chin, and presses it back,
-while with the other hand he holds his neck firmly behind. He does it
-so violently the man is almost strangled, and is unable to cry out.
-He holds him in this position perhaps for a minute or two, while his
-companions, one or more, rifle his pockets of his watch and money.
-
-Should the person struggle and resist he is pressed so severely by the
-neck that he may be driven insensible. When the robbery is effected
-they run off. In general they seize a man when off his guard, and
-it may be some time before he recovers his presence of mind. These
-are generally a different class of men from the persons who snatch
-the watch-chain. They have more of the bull-dog about them, and are
-generally strong men, and brutal in disposition. Many of them are
-inveterate thieves, returned convicts, ruffians hardened in crime.
-Their average age is from twenty-five and upwards, and they reside in
-low infamous neighbourhoods. Most of these depredations are committed
-in the East-end of the metropolis, such as Whitechapel and its
-neighbourhood, or the dark slums in the Borough.
-
-A remarkable case of garotting occurred in the metropolis in July,
-1856. Two men went to a jeweller’s shop in Mark Lane during the day,
-when the street was thronged with people. One of them was stout-made,
-about five feet six inches high, of dark complexion, and about
-forty-five years of age. The other, named James Hunter, alias Connell,
-was about five feet ten inches high, of robust frame, with dark
-whiskers, dressed in the first of fashion. One of the thieves kept
-watch outside while the other slipped in and laid hold, in the absence
-of the jeweller, of a lot of valuable jewellery. The shopman, who
-happened to be in the back parlour, ran into the shop and seized him.
-On seeing this his companion came in from the street to assist him,
-knocked the shopman down and gave him a severe wound on the head, when
-both hastily made their escape. One of them was taken when he had got
-a small distance off with some of the jewellery on his person, such as
-watches, rings, brooches, &c., but the other got away. This robbery was
-daringly done in the very middle of the day, near to the Corn Exchange,
-while in the heat of business. One of the robbers was taken and tried
-at the Central Criminal Court in July, 1856, and sentenced to ten
-years’ transportation, having been previously convicted for felony.
-
-From information received by the police, James Hunter alias Clifford
-alias Connell, the other person concerned in this robbery, was taken
-afterwards. A good-looking young applewoman swore distinctly he was
-one of those parties. In running away he had thrown down her stand of
-apples, and also threw her down when she for a short time had seized
-hold of him.
-
-He was tried at the Central Criminal Court in August 1856, the
-following sessions, when the prisoner’s counsel proved an alibi by
-calling his convicted confederate as a witness. His two sisters also
-swore he was in their house at Lambeth Walk on the day the robbery
-occurred, and had dinner and tea with his mother, who was an honest and
-respectable woman.
-
-Other robberies are perpetrated _by brutal violence with a
-life-preserver or bludgeon_. It is usually done by one or more brutal
-men following a woman. The men are generally from thirty to forty
-years of age--some older--carrying a life-preserver or bludgeon. This
-is termed “swinging the stick,” or the “bludgeon business.” The woman
-walks forward, or loiters about, followed by the men, who are hanging
-in the rear. She walks as if she was a common prostitute, and is often
-about twenty-six or thirty years of age. She picks up a man in the
-street, possibly the worse of liquor; she enters into conversation,
-and decoys him to some quiet, secluded place, and may there allow him
-to take liberties with her person, but not to have carnal connection.
-Meantime she robs him of his watch, money, or other property, and at
-once makes off.
-
-In some instances she is pursued by the person, who may have discovered
-his loss; when he is met by one of the men, who runs up, stops him,
-and inquires the direction to some part of London, or to some street,
-or will ask what he has been doing with his wife, and threaten to
-punish him for indecent conduct to her. During this delay the woman may
-get clear away. In some cases a quarrel arises, and the victim is not
-only plundered of his money, but severely injured by a life-preserver
-or bludgeon.
-
-Cases of this kind occasionally occur in the East-end and the suburbs
-of London. These women and men are generally old thieves, and, when
-convicted, are often sentenced to transportation, being in most cases
-well known to the police.
-
-Sometimes these robberies are committed by men without the connivance
-of women, as in a case which occurred in Drury Lane in August last,
-when a man was decoyed by several men from sympathy to accompany a
-drunken man to a public-house, and was violently robbed.
-
-In the month of July 1855 a woman stopt a man in the London-road,
-Southwark, one evening about twelve o’clock at night, and stole his
-watch. The party immediately detected the robbery, and laid hold of
-her. Upon this two men came up to her rescue, struck him in the face,
-and cut his cheek. They then gave him another severe blow on the head,
-and knocked him down senseless, while calling out for the police.
-
-A policeman came up at this juncture, and laid hold of Taylor, one of
-the men, and took him into custody with a life-preserver in his hand.
-Taylor was tried on 20th August, 1855, at the Central Criminal Court,
-and was sentenced to fourteen years’ penal servitude.
-
-Highway robberies by the pistol are seldom committed, though
-occasionally such instances do occur. These are seldom committed by
-professional thieves, as they generally manage to effect their object
-by picking pockets, and in the modes we have just described.
-
-The old rookeries of thieves are no longer enveloped in mystery as
-formerly. They are now visited by our police inspectors and constables,
-and kept under strict surveillance. Our daily press brings the
-details of our modern highway-men and other thieves clearly to the
-light of day; and their deeds are no longer exaggerated by fictitious
-embellishments and exaggerations. Our railways and telegraphs, postal
-communications and currency arrangements, have put an end to mounted
-highwaymen, such as Dick Turpin and Tom King. Were such to appear
-now, they would furnish a rare piece of sport to our bold and adroit
-detectives, and would speedily be arrested.
-
- Number of felonies by highway robbery in
- the metropolitan districts for 1860 21
- Ditto ditto in the City 1
- --
- 22
-
- Value of property thereby abstracted in
- the metropolitan districts £98 0
- Ditto ditto in the City 2 10
- --------
- £100 10
-
-
-A RAMBLE AMONG THE THIEVES’ DENS IN THE BOROUGH.
-
-Leaving the police-office at Stones-end, along with a
-detective-officer, we went one afternoon to Gunn Street, a narrow
-by-street off the Borough Road, inhabited by costermongers, burglars,
-and pickpockets.
-
-Here one of the most daring gangs of burglars and pickpockets in London
-met our eye, most of them in the dress of costermongers. A professional
-pickpocket, a well-attired young man, was seated on a costermonger’s
-barrow. He was clothed in a black cloth coat, vest, and trousers, and
-shining silk hat, and was smoking a pipe, with two or three “pals”
-by his side. It was then about seven o’clock, P. M., and as clear as
-mid-day. About forty young men, ranging from seventeen to thirty-five
-years of age, were engaged around a game of “pitch and toss,” while
-others were lounging idle in the street.
-
-We went forward through the crowd, and stood for some time alongside.
-At first they may have fancied we were come to arrest one or more of
-them, and were evidently prepared to give us a warm reception. On
-seeing us standing by smiling, they recovered their good-humour, and
-most of them continued to cluster together, but numbers sneaked off to
-their houses out of sight.
-
-Here we saw a tall, robust man, with a dissipated and ruffian look,
-smoking a long pipe, who had been an accomplice in an atrocious
-midnight murder.
-
-He had narrowly escaped the gallows by turning Queen’s evidence on
-his companions. He is a determined burglar. We could observe from the
-brutal, resolute, bull-dog look of the man that he was fit for any
-deed of heartless villany when inflamed with strong drink.
-
-Three burglars stood in the middle of the crowd, who soon after left
-it and entered a beershop in the street. One of them was dressed like
-a respectable mechanic. He was rather beneath the middle height,
-stout-made, with his nose injured and flattened, possibly done in some
-broil. Another was more brutal in appearance, and more degraded. The
-third burglar was not so resolute in character, and appeared to be an
-associate of the band.
-
-Ten of the persons present had been previously convicted of robberies.
-The greater part, if not the whole of them, were thieves, or associates
-of thieves.
-
-We next directed our way to the Mint, a well-known harbour of
-low characters, passing knots of thieves at the corners of the
-different streets as we proceeded along. Some were sneaks, and others
-pickpockets. In the neighbourhood of the Mint we found a number of
-children gamboling in the streets. One in particular arrested our
-attention, an interesting little girl of about five years of age,
-with a sallow complexion, but most engaging countenance, radiant with
-innocence and hope. Other sweet little girls were playing by her side,
-possibly the children of some of the abandoned men and women of the
-locality. How sad to think of these young innocents exposed to the
-contamination of bad companionships around them, and to the pernicious
-influence of the bad example of their parents!
-
-We went into Evans’s lodging-house, noted as a haunt for thieves.
-Passing through a group of young women who stood at the doorway, we
-went downstairs to an apartment below and saw about a dozen of young
-lads and girls seated around a table at a game of cards. One of these
-youths was a notorious pickpocket, though young in years, and had twice
-escaped out of Horsemonger Lane gaol. We were informed there was not a
-fourth of the persons present who usually frequent the house. After the
-first panic was over the young people resumed their game, some looking
-slyly at us, as if not altogether sure of our object. Others were lying
-extended on the benches along the side of the room. As we were looking
-on this curious scene the women in the flat above had followed us down
-and were peering from the staircase into the apartment to try and learn
-the object of our visit. As we left the house we took a glance over our
-shoulder and saw them standing at the door, following our movements.
-
-We bent our steps to Kent Street and entered a beershop there. There
-were a number of thieves and “smashers” (utterers of base coin)
-hovering round the bar. The “smashers” were ordinary-looking men and
-women of the lower orders. We saw a party of thieves in the adjoining
-tap-room, and seated ourselves for a short time among them. One of them
-was a dexterous swell-mobsman, who has been several times convicted
-and imprisoned. A dark-complexioned little man, about twenty-one years
-of age, an utterer of base coin, was lounging in the seat beside us.
-The swell-mobsman was evidently the leading man among them. He was a
-good-looking fair-haired youth, about twenty years of age, smart and
-decided in his movements, and with a good appearance, very unlike
-a criminal. He occasionally dresses in high style, in a superfine
-black suit, with white hat and crape, and occasionally drives out in
-fashionable vehicles.
-
-We also visited Market Street, a narrow by-street off the Borough
-Road, a well-known rookery of prostitutes. A great number of simple,
-thoughtless young girls, from various parts of London and the country,
-leave their homes and settle down here and live on prostitution. Here
-we saw an organist performing in the street, surrounded by a dense
-crowd of young prostitutes, middle-aged women, and children of the
-lower class. Two young women, one with her face painted, and the other
-a slender girl about seventeen, with an old crownless straw bonnet on
-her head, and with the crown of it in one hand, and a stick in the
-other, were dancing in wild frolic to the strains of the organ, amid
-the merriment of the surrounding crowd, and to the evident amazement of
-the poor minstrel, while other rough-looking young dames were skipping
-gaily along the street.
-
-In a brothel in this street an atrocious crime was perpetrated a few
-days ago by George Philips, a young miscreant, termed the Jew-boy, who
-resided there. A sailor, recently returned from India, happened to
-enter this foul den. The inmates consisted of the Jew-boy’s sister,
-a common prostitute, who cohabited with Richard Pitts, a well-known
-burglar, recently sentenced to transportation for ten years, another
-prostitute named Irish Julia, and this young villain, the Jew. After
-remaining for some time the sailor told them he was to leave their
-company. On hearing this, Philips’s sister told her brother to stab him
-to the heart. He instantly took out a knife from his pocket, opened
-it, and stabbed the sailor beneath the collar-bone. After committing
-this atrocious crime he coolly wiped the knife on the cuff of his
-guernsey, at the same time stating, if the sailor had not got enough he
-would give him the other end of the knife. The sailor fell, apparently
-mortally wounded, and was removed to St. Thomas’s Hospital.
-
-His sister, on seeing what her brother had done by her order,
-desperately seized a bottle of laudanum in the room, and drank off part
-of the contents, and still lies in a precarious state.
-
-In this portion of Market Street we understand every house, from
-basement to attic, is occupied by prostitutes and thieves.
-
-We entered an adjoining public-house, where three of these young women
-followed us to the bar, anxious to know the object of our visiting
-the district. They called for a pint of stout, which they drank off
-heartily, and stood loitering beside us to hear our conversation, so
-that they might have something to gossip about to their companions. The
-girl who frolicked in the street with the old bonnet was one of them,
-and had now laid this aside. She was fair-haired, and good-looking, but
-was very foolish and immodest in her movements. One of her companions
-was taller and more robust, but her conduct showed she was debased in
-her character, and lost to all sense of propriety. The other girl was
-tall and dark-eyed, and more quiet and calculating in her manner as she
-stood, in a light cotton dress, silently leaning against the door-post.
-
-One evening in September, about eight o’clock, we took another ramble
-over the criminal district of the Borough.
-
-As we went along Kent Street the lamps were lit, and the shops in the
-adjoining streets were illuminated with their flaring gas lights. On
-passing St. George’s church we saw a crowd collected around a drunken
-middle-aged Irishwoman. It was one of those motley scenes one often
-meets in the streets of London. Young people and middle-aged, old women
-and children were clustered together, some well-dressed, others in
-mechanics’ dress, begrimed with dust and sweat, and others hanging in
-rags and tatters. They were collected around this woman, who stood on
-the pavement, while the mass were gathered in the street, many of them
-looking on anxiously with eyes and mouth open, others grinning with
-delight, and some with sinister countenance, while she gesticulated
-wildly, yet in good humour, in a strong Irish accent, amid the applause
-of the auditory.
-
-We could not hear the subject of her oration. On our coming up to her
-and remaining for a short time, curious to know the nature of the
-comedy, the woman went away, followed by part of the crowd, when she
-appeared to take her station again in the midst of them. We had no time
-to lose, and passed on.
-
-On our proceeding farther into Kent Street, a good-looking girl,
-evidently belonging to the lower orders, stood in a doorway, with
-beaming smile, and beckoned us to enter. She had accosted us in like
-manner in the light of open day on our previous visit to Kent Street,
-while another young woman, of her own age and size, apparently her
-sister, stood by her side. As on the former occasion we did not trust
-ourselves to these syren sisters, but again passed on, notwithstanding
-urgent solicitations to enter.
-
-Farther along the street we saw a small group of men and boys--thieves
-and utterers of base coin. A young woman of about twenty-five years
-of age stood among them, who was a common prostitute and expert
-thief, although we could scarcely have known this from her heavy,
-stupid-looking countenance, which was bloated and dissipated. One of
-the group was a burglar. He was under the middle size, pockpitted, and
-had a callous, daring look about him. We had time to study the lines of
-his face. They soon divined our purpose, and skulked off in different
-directions, as we found the generality of such persons to do in the
-course of our visits. The men were of different ages, varying from
-seventeen to thirty, dressed similar to costermongers.
-
-We bent our way to St. George’s New Town, a by-street off Kent Street.
-On turning the corner from Kent Street, leading into St. George’s New
-Town, we saw a cluster of men and women, varying in age from seventeen
-to forty, also dressed like those just described. Most of them were
-convicted thieves.
-
-We then came back to Mint Street, leading out of High Street in the
-Borough to Southwark Bridge Road, which, as we have said, is very low
-and disreputable.
-
-Leaving Mint Street and its dark, disreputable neighbourhood, we
-directed our way to Norfolk Street, a very narrow street, leading
-into Union Street in the Borough. This locality is much infested with
-pickpockets and also with “dragsmen,” _i. e._ those persons who steal
-goods or luggage from carts and coaches. At one corner of this street
-we saw no less than seven or eight persons clustered together, several
-of them convicted thieves. They were dressed similar to those in the
-low neighbourhoods already described.
-
-We then went into Little Surrey Street, Borough Road, where we entered
-a beershop. Here we found four men, from twenty-five to thirty-five
-years of age--expert burglars. One of them appeared to be a mechanic.
-He told us he was an engraver. This was the same burglar, with his nose
-flattened, we had seen on the previous occasion referred to. He was an
-intelligent, determined man, and acted as the head of the gang. The
-other two were the companions we had seen with him in Gunn Street. All
-of them were rather under the middle size. They were now better dressed
-than formerly, and apparently on the eve of setting out to commit
-some felony. They appeared trimmed up in working order. A prostitute,
-connected with them, with her eye blackened, stood by the bar. She was
-also well-attired, and ready to accompany them. Burglars of this class
-often have a woman to go before them, to carry their housebreaking
-tools, to the house they intend to enter, as they might be arrested
-on the way with the tools in their own possession. The woman was
-tolerably good-looking, and on setting out, was possibly getting primed
-with gin. The engraver has been convicted several times for picking
-pockets as well as for burglary. The other two are convicted burglars.
-There was a man of about forty years of age seated beside them in the
-beershop, whom we learned was in a decline. The burglars are often
-liberal in supporting the invalids connected with them, and the latter
-lend a subordinate hand occasionally in their nefarious work, such
-as in assisting to dispose of the stolen property. One of their old
-“pals” died lately, and the burglars in his neighbourhood raised a
-subscription between them to defray his funeral expenses.
-
-We proceeded to Market Street, Borough Road, where we had on the
-former occasion observed the scene of merriment with the organist and
-the young girls. But the street had now a very different appearance.
-Instead of the locality ringing with the light-hearted merriment and
-buffoonery of the young girls and groups of children, the dark pall of
-night was stretched over it. At every door as we passed we saw a female
-standing on the outlook for persons to enter their dens of prostitution
-and crime. They solicited us in whispers to enter, or tapped us gently
-on the shoulder, or seized us by the skirts of the coat. Some of them
-were young and good-looking, while others were old and bloated. We
-looked into several of the houses as we went along, and saw numbers
-of young prostitutes in their best attire, seated by the tables, or
-lolling on the seats. This part of Market Street is one of the lowest
-rookeries of prostitutes and thieves in London. Many a young girl has
-been ruined by entering these low brothels. She may have been a servant
-out of place, or she may have left her home in the metropolis, and
-betaken herself here to a life of infamy.
-
-These prostitutes assist to maintain the burglars, pickpockets, and
-other thieves, when they are not successful in their lawless calling.
-Some of them are well-dressed and remarkably good-looking. They
-occasionally come home with men in cabs from the different theatres,
-and rob them in their dwellings, and turn them unceremoniously into the
-street, but do not strip them of their clothing. When their cash is
-done, they wish their company no longer.
-
-In other low districts in the vicinity of Kent Street, prostitutes have
-been convicted for stealing the clothes of the unfortunates who have
-entered their dismal abodes.
-
-Leaving Market Street and the alleys and slums of that locality
-behind us, we went along Newington Causeway, a far brighter and more
-salubrious scene. This is a wide business street, and one of the main
-streets on the Surrey side of the river, where, especially in the
-evenings, a good deal of shopping is carried on.
-
-The south side of Newington Causeway, from Horsemonger Lane gaol to the
-Elephant and Castle, is crowded with shops, the street being lit up
-nearly as clear as day. There are several splendid gin-palaces in this
-locality, generally crowded with motley groups of people of various
-ranks and pursuits; and milliners’ shops, with their windows gaily
-furnished with ladies’ bonnets of every hue and style, and ribbons
-of every tint; and drapers’ shops with cotton gown pieces, muslins,
-collars, and gloves of every form and colour. There are many boot-
-and shoe-shops, with assortments of fancy shoes as well as plain.
-Upholsterers’ shops, with carpets and rugs of every pattern, and
-chemists, with their gay-coloured jars, flaming like globes of red,
-blue, green, and yellow fire. The street is filled with incessant tides
-of mechanics, tradesmen’s wives, milliners, dressmakers, and others,
-going shopping or returning from their daily toil; and many respectable
-people take their evening’s walk along this cheerful and bustling
-thoroughfare, which is a favourite place for promenading.
-
-In walking along we noticed many young men and women in respectable
-attire. Here we saw some young, genteel milliners and dressmakers,
-and girls from other places of business, returning to their homes or
-lodgings, at the close of the day, and taking an occasional glance at
-the shop windows, as they passed along. By their side we saw apparently
-some married women, out shopping with a new bonnet, or other article
-of dress, carefully wrapt up. In another part of the street we saw a
-shopman making love to a pretty girl, with clustering ringlets, who
-looked serenely upon him as he stood bareheaded outside the door of a
-drapery establishment.
-
-Among the busy throng of people passing to and fro we observed two
-young women, pickpockets, dressed in brown cloaks, like milliners, and
-in fancy bonnets, passing quietly along. A person who did not know
-them personally, could not have detected their criminal character. On
-following them a short way, they passed over to the other side of the
-street. From their features and from the similarity of their dress
-we could have guessed them to be sisters. They were apparently about
-twenty-five years of age.
-
-As is generally the case with such persons, on being noticed they
-separated on the other side of the street to prevent our following
-their movements. One went off in one direction, and the other in
-another; but meantime they had probably arranged to meet each other
-when out of the officer’s sight.
-
-The Borough is chiefly the locality of labouring people and small
-shopkeepers--the masses of the people--and has low neighbourhoods in
-many of the by-streets, infested by the dangerous classes. It contains
-specimens of almost all kinds of thieves, from the lowest to the most
-expert, though for the most part few of the swells reside here. Many of
-them prefer to live about the Kingsland Road.
-
-They occasionally leave their own dwellings in other parts of the city,
-and come here, and live retired to be away from the surveillance of the
-police of their own district.
-
-There are some expert “cracksmen” (burglars) here, dressed in
-fashionable style, who indulge in potations of brandy and champagne,
-and the best of liquors. In their appearance there is little or no
-trace of their criminal character. They have the look of sharp business
-men. They commit burglaries at country mansions, and sometimes at shops
-and warehouses, often extensive, and generally contrive to get safely
-away with their booty.
-
-These crack burglars generally live in streets adjoining the New
-Kent Road and Newington Causeway, and groups of them are to be seen
-occasionally at the taverns beside the Elephant and Castle, where they
-regale themselves luxuriously on the choicest wines, and are lavish
-of their gold. From their superior manner and dress few could detect
-their real character. One might pass them daily in the street, and not
-be able to recognize them.
-
-
-
-
-HOUSEBREAKERS AND BURGLARS.
-
-
-The expert burglar is generally very ingenious in his devices, and
-combines manual dexterity with courage. In his own sphere the burglar
-in manual adroitness equals the accomplished pickpocket, while in
-personal daring he rivals our modern ruffians of the highway, who
-perpetrate garotte robberies, or plunder their victims with open
-violence.
-
-Many of our London burglars have been trained from their boyhood. Some
-are the children of convicted thieves; some have for a time lived as
-sneaks, committing petty felonies when residing in low lodging-houses;
-others are the children of honest parents, mechanics and tradesmen, led
-into bad company, and driven into criminal courses.
-
-In treating of sneaks we alluded to the area-sneak, and lobby-sneak,
-watching a favourable opportunity and darting into the kitchen and
-pantry, and sometimes entering the apartments on the first floor and
-stealing the plate. We alluded to the lead-stealer finding his way to
-the house-top, and to the attic-thief adroitly slipping downstairs to
-the apartments below, and carrying away valuables, jewellery, plate,
-and money. Here we see the points of transition, from the petty felon
-to the daring midnight robber plundering with violence.
-
-We shall in the outset offer a few general remarks on the manner in
-which housebreaking and burglaries are effected in London, and then
-proceed to a more detailed account of the various modes pursued in the
-different districts.
-
-_Breaking into houses, shops, and warehouses_ is accomplished in
-various ways, such as picking the locks with skeleton keys; inserting
-a thin instrument between the sashes and undoing the catch of the
-windows, which enables the thieves to lift up the under sash; getting
-over the walls at the back, and breaking open a door or window which
-is out of sight of the street, or other public place; lifting the
-cellar-flap or area-grating; getting into an empty house next door,
-or a few doors off, and passing from the roof to that of the house
-they intend to rob; entering by an attic-window, or trap-door, and if
-there are neither window nor door on the roof, taking off some of the
-tiles and entering the house. Sometimes the thieves will make an entry
-through a brick wall in an adjoining building, or climb the waterspout
-to get in at the window. These are the general modes of breaking into
-houses.
-
-Sometimes when doors are fastened with a padlock outside, and no
-other lock on the door, thieves will get a padlock as near like it
-as possible. They will then break off the proper lock, one of them
-will enter the house, and an accomplice will put on a lock as like
-it as possible to deceive the police, while one or more inside will
-meantime pack up the goods. Sometimes a well-dressed thief waylays a
-servant-girl going out on errands in the evening, professes to fall
-in love with her, and gets into her confidence, till she perhaps
-admits him into the house when her master and mistress are out. Having
-confidence in him she shows him over the house, and informs him where
-the valuables are kept. If the house is well secured, so that there
-will be difficulty of breaking in by night, he manages to get an
-accomplice inside to secrete himself till the family has gone to bed,
-when he admits one or more of his companions into the house. They pack
-up all they can lay hold of, such as valuables and jewels. On such
-occasions there is generally one on the outlook outside, who follows
-the policeman unobserved, and gives the signal to the parties inside
-when it is safe to come out.
-
-In warehouses one of the thieves frequently slips in at closing-time,
-when only a few servants are left behind, and are busy shutting up.
-He secretes himself behind goods in the warehouse, and when all have
-retired for the night, and the door locked, he opens it and lets in his
-companions to pack up the booty. Should it consist of heavy goods, they
-generally have a cart to take it away. They are sometimes afraid to
-engage a cabman unless they can get him to connive at the theft, and,
-besides, the number of the cab can be taken. They get the goods away in
-the following manner. If consisting of bulky articles, such as cloth,
-silks, &c., they fill large bags, similar to sacks, and get as much as
-they think the cart can conveniently hold, placed near the door. When
-the policeman has passed by on his round, the watch stationed outside
-gives the signal; the door is opened, the cart drives up, and four or
-five sacks are handed into it by two thieves in about a minute, when
-the vehicle retires. It is loaded and goes off sooner than a gentleman
-would take his carpet-bag and portmanteau into a cab when going to a
-railway-station. The cart proceeds with the driver in one way, while
-the thieves walk off in a different direction. They close the outer
-door after them when they enter a shop or warehouse, most of which have
-spring locks. When the policeman comes round on his beat he finds the
-door shut, and there is nothing to excite his suspicion. The cart is
-never seen loitering at the door above a couple of minutes, and does
-not make its appearance on the spot till the robbery is about to be
-committed, when the signal is given.
-
-Lighter goods, such as jewellery, or goods of less bulk, are generally
-taken away in carpet bags in time to catch an early train, often about
-five or six o’clock, and the robbers being respectably-dressed, and
-in a neighbourhood where they are not known, pass on in most cases
-unmolested. Sometimes they pack up the goods in hampers, as if they
-were going off to some railway-station. When there is no one sleeping
-on the premises, and when they have come to learn where the party
-lives who keeps the keys, they watch him home at night after locking
-up, and set a watch on his house, that their confederates may not be
-disturbed when rifling the premises. If they are to remove the goods in
-the morning they do it about an hour before the warehouse is usually
-opened, so that the neighbours are taken off their guard, supposing
-the premises are opened a little earlier than usual in consequence of
-being busy. Sometimes they stand and see the goods taken out, and pay
-no particular attention to it. In the event of the person who keeps
-the keys coming up sooner than usual, the man keeping watch hastens
-forward and gives the signal to his companions, if they have not left
-the warehouse.
-
-It often happens when they have got an entry into a house, they
-have to break their way into the apartments in the interior to
-reach the desired booty, such as wrenching open an inner door with a
-small crowbar they term a jemmy, cutting a panel out of a door, or a
-partition, with a cutter similar to a centrebit, which works with two
-or three knives; this is done very adroitly in a short space of time,
-and with very little noise. At other times, when on the floor above,
-they cut through one or more boards in the flooring, and frequently cut
-panes of glass in the windows with a knife or awl.
-
-They get information as to the property in warehouses from porters
-and others unwittingly by leading them into conversation regarding
-the goods on the premises, the silks they have got, &c., and find out
-the part of the premises where they are to be found. Sometimes they
-go in to inspect them on the pretence of looking at some articles of
-merchandise.
-
-It occasionally happens servants are in league with thieves, and give
-them information as to the hour when to come, and the easiest way to
-break in. Sometimes servants basely admit the thieves into the premises
-to steal, and give them impressions of the keys, which enables them to
-make other keys to enter the house. Thieves sometimes take a blank key
-without wards, cover it with wax, work it in the keyhole against the
-wards of the lock, and by that means the impression is left in the wax.
-They then take it home and make a similar key. When looking into the
-lock they frequently strike a match on the doorway, and pretend to be
-lighting a pipe or cigar, which prevents passers by suspecting their
-object.
-
-These are the general modes of housebreaking and burglary over the
-metropolis, but in order that we may have a more vivid and thorough
-conception of the subject, we shall give a more graphic detail of these
-felonies. We shall first advert to breaking into shops and warehouses,
-and then proceed to describe burglaries in various parts of the
-metropolis.
-
-It frequently occurs that a thief enters a warehouse, or large
-shop, and secretes himself behind some goods, or in the cellar, or
-up the chimney. This could be done at any hour of the day, but is
-frequently managed when the servants or shopmen are out dining at
-mid-day, or towards evening, when the places of business are about to
-be closed. The thief may be respectably dressed, or not, according
-to the nature of the place of business. A person may call with some
-fictitious message, and keep one or more of the servants or shopmen in
-conversation while a confederate could meantime slip into the shop or
-warehouse, and if detected would seldom be suspected of being connected
-with this party. They sometimes hover for days in the neighbourhood
-of shops and warehouses they intend to plunder, and watch the most
-favourable opportunity to effect this object.
-
-Towards evening when the servants are all gone, and the place of
-business closed, the rest of his companions come to the spot,
-consisting of one or more men, a woman being occasionally employed.
-While they are aware that one of their gang is secreted on the
-premises, as a precaution they sometimes knock at the door or ring the
-bell to ascertain if the servants or shopmen are gone. Should they be
-lingering in the premises, arranging the goods, engaged with their
-business-books, accounts, or otherwise, they ask for Mr. So-and-so, or
-have some other fictitious message.
-
-On the departure of the people belonging to the shop, the thief inside
-generally opens the door to his companions on the given signal, when
-they proceed to rifle the premises of Manchester goods, cottons, silks,
-shawls, satins, or otherwise, and to store them into large bags they
-bring with them, which they place beside the door, when filled, to be
-conveniently carried away. They wrench open the desks, money-drawers,
-and other lockfasts with a jemmy, chisel, or screw-driver, as well as
-any doors which may be locked, occasionally using the cutter and saw,
-or other tools, and pierce through brick and other partition walls with
-an auger or other instrument. In many cases the doors of the apartments
-in warehouses are left open so that the thief has free access to the
-property.
-
-Meantime a man or woman is watching outside while the thieves are
-busy plundering within, keeping a special look-out for the policeman
-proceeding on his beat. They have many ingenious expedients to decoy
-him away, by conversation or otherwise. The policeman is generally from
-fifteen to twenty minutes in going round his beat, so that they have
-ample time to carry off the booty.
-
-While the thieves are busy collecting their spoil, the door is shut
-with a spring lock, or fastened with a padlock by means of a key they
-may have made for the purpose, so that the policeman has no suspicion
-of what is passing within. The former frequently remain for several
-hours on the premises, while a person outside is keeping watch, waiting
-to hear their signal when they have got the booty packed and ready.
-Should the coast be clear outside, notice is conveyed to the cart or
-cab, loitering somewhere in the vicinity, or which drives up at a
-certain hour, when the door opens. The plunder is quickly handed into
-the vehicle, which drives smartly away. The door is then shut, and the
-robbers walk off, possibly in a different direction to that in which
-the conveyance is gone.
-
-Burglaries from _jewellers’ shops_ are frequently effected by means
-of skeleton keys, or otherwise, by one or more men. A woman often
-carries the tools to the shop, and keeps watch. So soon as a favourable
-opportunity occurs they unlock the door and enter the premises, while
-a man or woman watches outside, the woman perhaps walking along the
-street as though she were a common prostitute, or familiarly accosting
-the policeman or other persons she meets, and decoying them away
-from the shop. In some cases, when she has not succeeded in getting
-the policeman away, she pretends to fall down in a fit, when he has
-possibly to take her to the nearest surgeon. Sometimes the woman feigns
-to be drunk, and is taken to the police station, which takes him off
-his beat. In the meanwhile the parties inside, with jemmy, chisel, saw,
-or other tools, and with silent lights and taper or dark lantern, break
-open the glass cases and boxes, and steal gold and silver watches, gold
-chains, brooches, pins, and other jewellery, which they deposit in a
-small carpet-bag, as well as rifle money from the desk.
-
-Jewellers’ shops are sometimes entered by the thief getting into an
-unoccupied house next door, or two or three houses off, and proceeding
-along the roofs to the attic or roof of the house to be robbed, and
-going in by the attic window, or removing a few of the slates. The
-thieves then go downstairs and cut their way through the door or
-partition, and effect an entry into the shop.
-
-Most of the robberies in jewellers’ shops have of late years been
-committed by means of false keys, or by cutting out a hole in the door
-or shutter with a cutter, which is done in a short space of time, and
-when the instrument is moistened it makes very little noise. This hole
-is covered with a piece of paper painted of the same colour as the
-door, and is pasted on, which prevents the police having any suspicion.
-
-Sometimes jewellers’ shops are entered by persons lodging in the floor
-above, or having access to it, and then cutting through the flooring
-and descending into the jeweller’s shop by means of a rope-ladder they
-attach to the floor. At other times they are entered by cutting through
-the solid brick wall at the back of the shop.
-
-Several years ago a very remarkable burglary took place at Mr.
-Acutt’s large linen-drapery establishment in the Westminster Road.
-About four o’clock in the morning the policeman on duty heard a man
-give the signal at a shop-door. The constable believing thieves to be
-on the premises sprung his rattle, roused up the inmates, and got the
-assistance of several other constables. When they entered the shop they
-found upwards of 30_l._ worth of silks and satins, and other valuables
-packed up in bundles ready to be carried off. They found two thieves
-who had gained an entrance by getting over some closets, scaling a wall
-by means of the rain-spout, and walking along a high wall about nine
-inches thick. They then removed the sky-light at the back, and let
-themselves down into the shop by a rope-ladder. By this means they got
-into the shop of Mr. Acutt.
-
-On being scared by the police they jumped from one house to another,
-eight feet apart, over a height of about fifty feet, and there
-concealed themselves behind a stack of chimneys. Several policeman
-mounted to the roofs, but could not find them; and no one would venture
-to leap to the adjoining houses, whither the thieves had gone. An
-inspector of police ordered two men in plain clothes to be on the
-watch, believing they must be concealed somewhere on the housetops.
-
-About eight o’clock in the morning a man of the name of Fitzgerald
-was out in a back court of an adjoining house washing himself, when
-the thieves came down by a spout twenty feet long communicating with
-the water cistern. On getting down one of them jumped on the back of
-Fitzgerald. He shouted out “murder and police,” when two constables
-came up and took both of the thieves into custody.
-
-On the trial it was said the prisoners’ women had given several pounds
-to bribe this man, and he pretended he could not identify them, and
-they were acquitted. They have since been transported for other
-burglaries.
-
-One of them was a man of thirty years of age, about five feet nine
-inches high, slim made, with a most daring countenance. The other
-was of middle stature, about twenty-six years of age, with pleasing
-appearance.
-
-Another burglary took place in a silk warehouse in Cheapside in 1842.
-The burglars were admitted into an adjoining carpet warehouse by one of
-the warehousemen on a Saturday night, and broke through a brick-wall
-eight or nine inches thick, and made an entry into the silk warehouse.
-They did not steal any carpets, as they were too bulky. Goods were
-seen to be taken away by a cab on the Sunday afternoon. The padlock was
-meantime secure on the outdoor, so that the police had no suspicion.
-
-The robbery was discovered on the Monday morning, when it was found
-from 1500_l._ to 2000_l._ had been carried off, and that a 100_l._ bank
-note had also been taken from the desk of the carpet warehouse.
-
-Soon after the foreman of the latter business establishment absconded,
-and has not since been heard of, and there is strong suspicion he had
-connived with the burglars.
-
- Number of cases of breaking into shops,
- &c., in the Metropolitan districts for
- 1860 104
- Ditto ditto in the City 20
- ---
- 124
-
- Value of property thereby abstracted in
- the Metropolitan districts £1,899 0
- Ditto ditto in the City 461 10
- ---------
- £2,360 10
-
-We shall now treat of the _burglaries_ in the metropolis, commencing
-with the lower, and proceeding to notice the higher burglars, termed
-the “cracksmen.”
-
-Burglaries in the working districts of the metropolis are effected in
-various ways--by one man mounting the shoulders of another and getting
-into a first-floor window, similar to acrobats, by climbing over walls
-leading to the rear of premises, cutting or breaking a pane of glass,
-and then unfastening the catch; or by pushing back the catch of the
-window with a sharp instrument, or by cutting a panel of a door with
-a sharp tool, such as an American “auger.” Frequently they force the
-lock of the door with a jemmy. The lower class of burglars who have not
-proper tools sometimes use a screw-driver instead of a jemmy. In the
-forcing of the locks of drawers or boxes, in search of property, they
-use a small chisel with a fine edge, and occasionally an old knife.
-
-There are frequently three persons employed in these burglaries--two to
-enter a house, and one to keep watch outside, to see that there is no
-person passing likely to detect. This man is generally termed a “crow.”
-Sometimes a woman, called a “canary,” carries the tools, and watches
-outside.
-
-These low burglars carry off a booty of such small value that they are
-necessitated frequently to commit depredations. They steal male and
-female wearing apparel, and small articles of plate or jewellery, such
-as teaspoons or a watch.
-
-They are from seventeen years of age and upwards, and reside in the
-Borough, Whitechapel, St. Giles, Shoreditch, and other low localities.
-
-There is another kind of burglary committed by persons concealing
-themselves on the premises, which is often done in public-houses. The
-parties enter before the house is closed, by concealing themselves
-in the coal-cellar, skittle-ground, or other place where they are
-unobserved by those in charge of the house. These burglaries are done
-by low people, with whose previous mode of living the police are
-generally not acquainted. Very frequently they steal cigars, money in
-the till or on the shelves of the bar, left to give change to customers
-in the morning. There is another mode of entering public-houses, by
-the cellar flaps from the pavement in front of the house, or by going
-through the fanlight, and stealing property as before described, and
-returning the same way, sometimes letting themselves out by the front
-door, which has often a spring lock.
-
-These burglaries are generally done at midnight, or between 1 and 5
-o’clock.
-
-There is a higher class of burglaries committed at fashionable
-residences over the metropolis, and at the mansions of the gentry and
-nobility, many of them in the West-end districts.
-
-The houses to be robbed are carefully watched for several weeks,
-sometimes for months, before the burglary is attempted. The thieves
-take great precautions in such cases. They glean information secretly
-as to the inmates of the house; where they sleep, and where valuable
-property is kept. Sometimes this is done by watching the lights over
-the house for successive nights. These burglaries are often “put up” by
-the persons who execute them. They frequently get some of their more
-engaging companions to court one of the servant girls, give her small
-presents, and gain her favour, with the ultimate object of gaining
-access to the house and plundering it. At other times, though more
-rarely, they endeavour to become acquainted with the male servants of
-the house--the butler, valet, coachman, or groom. Sometimes they try to
-learn from the servants through other parties becoming acquainted with
-them, if they cannot succeed themselves. At other times they gather
-information from tradesmen who are called to the house on jobbing work,
-such as painters, plumbers, glaziers, bell-hangers, tinsmiths, and
-others, some of whom live near the burglars in low neighbourhoods, or
-are frequently to be seen in the evenings in their company. We can
-point our finger at three of these base wretches. One of them lives in
-Whitefriars, Fleet Street, another in Tottenham-court Road, and a third
-in Newell Street, Wardour Street, Oxford Street. These three persons
-get up many of the burglaries in the West-end and other parts of the
-metropolis, where they have work to do, when they find a suitable
-place. Some of them have put up burglaries for thirteen or fourteen
-years, and none of them have been detected, though suspected by the
-police. They never have a hand in the burglaries themselves, but secure
-a part of the booty. These “putters up” are from thirty to thirty-five
-years of age, and one of them has been convicted of a felony.
-
-If the burglars cannot enter by the back of the premises, they go
-to the first-floor window in front, where there are no shutters. It
-matters not whether it be public or not; they will enter in a couple of
-minutes the premises by cutting the glass and undoing the catch.
-
-The dwelling-houses in the West-end have often been entered by the
-first-floor window; and servants have many times been wrongfully
-charged with these burglaries, and lost their places in consequence.
-
-Burglars generally leave their haunts to plunder about twelve o’clock
-at midnight, often driving up in a cab to a short distance from the
-spot where the burglary is to be attempted; but they frequently do
-not enter the house till one or two in the morning. In general, they
-take some liquor, such as gin and brandy, to keep up their spirits, as
-they call it. The one who is to watch outside generally takes up his
-position first, and the others follow. This is arranged so that the
-persons who enter--generally two, sometimes three--should not be seen
-by the policeman or others near the house.
-
-When the latter come up, and find their companion at his post, and see
-the coast clear, they instantly proceed to enter the house, in front or
-behind, by the door or windows. Expert burglars go separate, to avoid
-suspicion.
-
-On entering the house, they go about the work very cautiously and
-quietly, taking off their shoes, some walking in their stockings, and
-others with India-rubber overalls. If disturbed they very seldom leave
-their shoes or boots behind them.
-
-Their chief object is to get plate, jewellery, cash, and other
-valuables. The drawing-room is usually on the first-floor in front;
-sometimes the whole of the first-floor is a drawing-room. They often
-find valuables in the drawing-room. They search parlour, kitchen, and
-pantry, and even open the servant’s workbox for her small savings.
-
-When they cannot get enough jewellery and plate they carry off wearing
-apparel. They often take money in the drawing-room from writing-desks
-and ladies work-boxes. Experienced burglars do not spare time and
-trouble to look well for their plunder.
-
-This is the general course adopted on entering a dwelling-house. In
-entering a shop, if they can find sufficient money to satisfy them,
-they do not carry off bulky property, but if there is no money in the
-desk or tills they rifle the goods, if they are of value.
-
-In West-end robberies there are often two good cracksmen, one to keep
-watch outside, while another is busy at his work of plunder within.
-The person outside has to be on the alert, as he has generally to keep
-watch over an experienced officer, and to let his companions know when
-it is safe for them to work or to come out.
-
-When a catch is in the centre of the window it is opened with a knife.
-If there should be one on each side they will cut a pane of glass in
-less than fifteen seconds, and undo them. The burglars seldom think of
-carrying a diamond with them, but generally cut the glass with a knife,
-as the starglazers do.
-
-The shutters behind the window frame are often cut with what the
-burglars term a cutter. It cuts with two knives, with a centrebit
-stock, and makes a hole sufficiently large to admit the burglar’s arm.
-
-When the shutters are opened there are often iron bars to guard the
-window. The burglars tie a piece of strong cord or rope about two of
-the bars, and insert a piece of wood about a foot in length between
-this rope, and twist the wood. The bar is thereby bent sufficient to
-allow them to enter, or it gives way in the socket. These bars are
-sometimes forced asunder by a small instrument called a jack, by which
-a worm worked by a small handle displaces them. The rope and stick are
-used when they have not a jack. The latter can be conveniently carried
-in the trousers pocket.
-
-Woodwork, such as shutters, doors, and partitions, is often cut in late
-years with the cutter, instead of the jemmy, as the former is a more
-effective tool, and makes an opening more expeditiously. With this
-instrument a door or shutter can be pierced sufficiently large to
-admit the arm in a few minutes.
-
-A brick wall requires more time. If there are no persons within
-hearing, an opening can be made sufficiently large for a man to pass
-through, in an hour. If there are people near the apartment, it
-requires to be more softly done, and frequently occupies two or three
-hours, even when done by an expert burglar. They generally pierce one
-brick with an auger, and displace it; after the first brick is out,
-they work with a jemmy, and take the mortar out, then pierce a brick on
-the other side of the wall.
-
-Burglars cannot pick Chubb’s patent locks. The best way to secure
-premises where no person sleeps is to have a good patent lock on the
-outer door, with an iron bar outside fastened by a patent Chubb lock.
-This acts with double safety. If they break it off on the outside, the
-policeman easily detects it when he comes round on his beat, which he
-is sure to do before they have got the other lock opened, and this
-prevents them getting in that way. If they break in from the roof, or
-from the back, by cutting round the lock of an inside door, they do
-not get the outside door opened, and cannot get away any bulky goods.
-By this means the warehouse is more safe than if it were fastened any
-other way.
-
-Common locks on doors are so easily picked by thieves that no warehouse
-ought to be left fastened in this way, unless there is a watchman over
-it.
-
-Some cracksmen have what is called a petter-cutter, that is, a cutter
-for iron safes; an instrument made similar to a centrebit, in which
-drills are fixed. They fasten this into the keyhole by a screw with a
-strong pressure outside. The turning part is so fixed that the drills
-cut a piece out over the keyhole sufficiently large to get to the wards
-of the lock. They then pull the bolt of the lock back and open the door.
-
-Chubb’s locks on iron safes are now made drill proof, so that they
-cannot be pierced.
-
-Any person sleeping in a room, with valuable property in his
-possession, ought to have a chain on the door, like a street-door
-chain, as the common locks are so easily picked, and the masked thief,
-with dark lantern, can creep into the room without being heard. The
-rattling of the chain is sure to awaken the person sleeping.
-
-Expert burglars are generally equipped with good tools. They have a
-jemmy, a cutter, a dozen of betties, better known as picklocks, a jack
-to remove iron bars, a dark lantern or a taper and some silent lights,
-and a life-preserver, and sometimes have a cord or rope with them,
-which can be easily converted into a rope ladder. A knife is often used
-in place of a chisel for opening locks, drawers, or desks. They often
-carry masks on their face, so that they might not be identified. The
-dark lantern is very small, with oil and cotton wick, and sometimes
-only shows a light about the size of a shilling, so that the reflection
-is not seen on the street without. Burglars often use the jemmy in
-place of picklocks. When they go out with their tools, they usually
-carry them wrapped up with list, so that they can throw them away
-without making a noise, should a policeman stop them, or attempt to
-arrest them. These are easily carried in the coat pocket, as they are
-not bulky. There are parties--sometimes old convicts--who lend tools
-out on hire.
-
-When discovered by the inmates they are generally disposed to make
-their escape rather than to fight, and try to avoid violence unless
-hotly pursued. If driven to extremity, they are ready to use the
-life-preserver, jemmy, or other weapon.
-
-Sometimes they carry a life-preserver of a peculiar style, consisting
-of a small ball attached to a piece of gut, that fastens round the
-wrist. With this instrument, easily carried in the palm of the hand,
-they can strike the persons who oppose them senseless, and severely
-injure them.
-
-In going up and down stairs, they often creep up not in the centre but
-the side of the stair, to avoid being heard, as it is apt to creak
-beneath the footstep, and they generally take off their shoes to move
-more stealthily along.
-
-They often use the cutter to make an opening in the middle of the panel
-sufficiently large to admit the arm, to undo locks or bolts they cannot
-reach outside.
-
-Sometimes when the key is inside, and the door locked, they open it
-with a small pair of plyers; others use a long piece of wire, with a
-hoop put through the keyhole to lay hold of the bowl of the key. When
-the hook is fastened in it, they can as easily undo the lock as if they
-turned the key from the inside. Some burglars prefer the wire, others
-use the plyers. They generally prefer the cutter to the centre-bit in
-removing any woodwork. It resembles the centre-bit, but takes a much
-larger piece out, and does so more speedily. The cutter costs from
-15_s._ to 1_l._ In the absence of a cutter, they sometimes work with a
-couple of gimlets and a knife, but this requires more time and makes
-more noise, though not sufficient to disturb the inmates of the house,
-if used expertly.
-
-At the back of the house they enter through the kitchen window on the
-basement, or by the parlour window above it on the first floor, or by
-the window of the staircase alongside of the latter.
-
-If experienced burglars, they listen at the doors of the apartments,
-and know by the breathing in general if the inmates are sound asleep.
-They sometimes begin their operations by going up to the highest
-floor, and work their way down, carrying off the plunder. After having
-finished what they call their work, they await the signal from the
-“watch” set outside. These signals are sometimes given by one or more
-coughs; some give a whistle, or sing a certain song, or tap on the door
-or shutter, or make a particular cry, understood between the parties.
-
-Should the plunder be bulky, they will have a cart or a cab, or a
-costermonger’s barrow, ready on a given signal to carry it away. They
-in general wait for the time when the police are changed, if the
-inmates are not getting up, sometimes coming out at the front door, but
-oftener at the back.
-
-A remarkable case of burglary was committed in a dwelling-house in
-a fashionable square in the West-end about twelve months ago, and
-was effected in this manner. One day a well-dressed young man passed
-by an area and took special notice of the cook, who happened to be
-looking out of the window. Another day the same young man in passing
-by accosted this servant, and made an appointment to meet her on a
-certain occasion to go out to walk. This correspondence lasted for a
-short time, when the young man was invited to tea at the house, to
-spend a social evening. He was accompanied by a “pal” of his, a young
-Frenchman, who courted the housemaid, while the other made love to the
-cook. During their visit to the house, the family being then absent,
-one of the young men pretended to be very unwell, and thought a walk in
-the garden at the back of the house would be beneficial to him, and was
-accompanied there by one of the servant girls.
-
-Meanwhile the housemaid and her friend had adjourned to one of the
-upper rooms. It was proposed by the Frenchman that his lady-love should
-partake of some gin or brandy as refreshment, to which she consented.
-He went out for the purpose of purchasing it, while she went down
-stairs to the kitchen. On his going out he left the front-door open, by
-which one of his confederates, a third party, entered the house, and
-passed upstairs, broke open several lockfasts, and stole the whole of
-the plate.
-
-The Frenchman, meanwhile, returned with the liquor, and went downstairs
-to the kitchen, where he made merry with his fair lady and her
-companions. When they were seated regaling themselves over this liquor
-the door-bell rang. One of the girls went to the door and found no
-person there. This was a signal agreed on between the thieves. One
-of the young men still pretending to feel unwell proposed to go home
-with his companion, promising to call on a future occasion, when they
-would be able to spend a more comfortable evening than they had done on
-account of his illness.
-
-One of the servants, on going upstairs after their departure, found the
-plate stolen. Information was given to the police, when these agreeable
-young men and their unknown friend were found to belong to a gang of
-most expert thieves. They were tried at Westminster Sessions for this
-offence, and sentenced to three years’ penal servitude.
-
-About eighteen months ago, two desperate burglars attempted to enter a
-fashionable dwelling-house at Westbourne Park, Paddington, belonging
-to a merchant in the City. One of them was a tall, raw-boned, muscular
-man, of about twenty-five years of age, dressed in a blue frock coat,
-dark cord trousers, black vest and beaver hat. The other was a man
-of thirty years of age, short and stout, nearly similarly attired.
-The first had the appearance of a blacksmith, with a determined
-countenance; the other had a more pleasing aspect, yet resolute. They
-were armed with a long chisel and heavy crowbar.
-
-They got over several walls, and came up along the back to this
-dwelling-house in the centre of these villas, situated on the edge of
-the Great Western Railway. On reaching the garden they went direct to
-the window of the dining-room on the ground-floor.
-
-As there had been several burglaries committed in the neighbourhood of
-those villas about this time, an experienced and able detective officer
-was sent out to watch.
-
-While the detective, a tall, powerful, resolute man, was sitting alone
-in the dusk under a tree in an adjoining garden, and another criminal
-officer was stationed a short distance off, at about two o’clock in the
-morning the former officer heard the shutters crash in the windows of
-an adjoining house nearly in front of where he stood. The burglars had
-approached so softly he did not hear their footsteps, and was not aware
-of their presence till then. On hearing this noise he drew close to
-the house, and was seen by one of the thieves--the shortest one called
-Jack. The detective officer immediately sprung his rattle, rushed on
-this man and seized him. His companion on this ran from the end of the
-house and struck the officer across the back with a heavy crowbar. By
-a sudden movement of his body the latter partially avoided the force
-of the blow. Had it struck him on the head it would have killed him on
-the spot; and being a strong muscular man he knocked the shorter man
-down with a heavy walking-stick he had in his hand, and at the same
-time rushed on his taller companion, seized him by the throat, and
-endeavoured to wrench the iron bar from his grasp.
-
-The other burglar had meantime made his escape into an adjoining
-garden, and was captured, after a desperate struggle, by the other
-criminal officer, who had come up.
-
-During the scuffle between the officers and burglars the proprietor of
-the house, in a panic, threw up his bedroom window looking into the
-garden at the back of the house, and, without giving any call, fired
-off a pistol. He did this to alarm the neighbourhood, not being aware
-that the officers were so near him, and supposing that the burglars
-were in his house.
-
-The other burglar was secured after a determined struggle, and both
-were with difficulty conveyed to the Marylebone police station by five
-strong officers. They were next day taken before the magistrates, and
-charged with attempting to enter this house, and with assaulting the
-officers in the execution of their duty. They were sentenced to three
-months each in Clerkenwell prison, with hard labour for the former
-offence, and with a similar punishment for the latter.
-
-About two years ago a burglary was committed in Charles Street,
-Gloucester Terrace, Paddington, opposite the Cleveland Arms, by two
-men and a woman. One of the men was about forty-six years of age, an
-old desperate burglar, who had been twice transported, and was then
-on ticket-of-leave. Shortly before, he had been apprehended in St.
-George’s burying-ground, at the rear of some houses in the Bayswater
-road, with a screw-driver, jemmy, and dark lantern, when he was
-sentenced to three months’ imprisonment as a rogue and vagabond.
-
-He was a stout man, with very bushy whiskers, of a coarse appearance.
-The other was a young man about nineteen, dressed as a mechanic, of
-a cheerful countenance, with brown hair and moustache. The woman was
-about twenty-three years of age, short and stout, with an engaging
-appearance.
-
-During the night, they had forced open an iron grating in front of a
-house in Charles Street, Paddington, and had let themselves down into
-the area. They bored three holes with a centre-bit in the door of the
-house, then cut the panel, and put their arm through, and undoing
-the fastening of the door, got into the kitchen. From this they went
-up to a door leading to the staircase, which was locked. They cut
-several holes with the centre-bit, and made an opening in this door in
-like manner. They then went upstairs to the first-floor, and stole a
-quantity of wearing apparel, and some jewellery, such as rings, studs,
-&c., and also a watch.
-
-The inmates were sleeping at the top of the house, and had not been
-disturbed by these operations. The property rifled amounted to about
-15_l._
-
-One of the burglars left his hat behind him and a pair of old boots.
-The detective officer sent after them knew the hat to belong to this
-old-returned convict; went to Lisson Grove and arrested both the men,
-who happened to be together, and found part of the wearing apparel upon
-them. The remaining part of the property was traced as having been
-pledged by the woman, who was also apprehended. They were committed for
-trial for the burglary, and tried at the Old Bailey. The old man being
-an inveterate offender was sentenced to fifteen years’ penal servitude;
-the others, who had been previously convicted, to four years’; and the
-girl to twelve months’ imprisonment.
-
-In the month of October, 1850, a burglary was committed by three men
-in the Regent’s Park, which attracted considerable attention. One of
-them, named William Dyson, called the Galloway Doctor, was five feet
-six inches high, pockpitted, with pale face and red whiskers, and
-about thirty-two years of age; James Mahon, alias Holmsdale, five feet
-ten inches high, was robust in form, and aged thirty-four years; John
-Mitchell was five feet six inches high, stout made, with a pug nose,
-and aged forty years. They entered the house of Mr. Alford, an American
-merchant, in Regent’s Park, at two o’clock in the morning. They climbed
-over a back wall into the garden, and got in through a back parlour
-window by pushing back the catch with a knife. They then forced the
-shutters open with a jemmy, got into the back-parlour where the butler
-was lying asleep, and unlocked the door to go through the house, as
-it was known that Mr. Alford was very wealthy. When they got on the
-staircase one of their feet slipped, which awoke the butler, who jumped
-up, and seized Dyson and Mahon, and wrestled with them, at the same
-time alarming the other inmates of the house. He was knocked down by a
-blow from a life-preserver, on which the burglars made their escape by
-jumping out of the back-parlour window again. The butler, on getting
-up, seized his fowling-piece, which lay loaded beside him, and told
-them as they were running away to stop, or he would fire upon them. He
-fired, and shot Mitchell in the back near the shoulder with goose shot,
-as he was getting over a back wall to make his escape.
-
-The police, on hearing the report of the gun, came up and secured
-Holmsdale and Dyson in the garden, when they were taken to Marylebone
-police office.
-
-Soon after an anonymous letter was sent to the police-station of the M
-division stating there was a man in Surrey Street, Blackfriars Road,
-lying in bed in a certain house, who had been shot in the back when
-attempting a burglary in Regent’s Park. He had on a woman’s nightcap
-and nightgown, so that if any one went into the room they would fancy
-him to be a female. Inspector Berry of the M division went to the above
-house, and found Mitchell in bed in female disguise. He was taken into
-custody, and made to dress in his own clothes. On examining them there
-were holes in his fustian frock-coat where the shot had passed through.
-He was taken to Marylebone police court and put alongside the other
-two prisoners, and identified as having been seen in the neighbourhood
-of the Regent’s Park on the morning before the burglary was committed.
-He had been seen by the police to leave a notorious public-house
-frequented by burglars, at the Old Mint in the Borough. They were
-committed at the Central Criminal Court, tried on 25th November, 1850,
-convicted, and sentenced to be transported for life. Holmsdale having
-been previously transported for ten years, and Mitchell and Dyson also
-having been formerly convicted.
-
-We took the particulars of the following burglary from the lips of a
-man who was a few years ago one of the most experienced and expert
-burglars in the metropolis, and give it as an instance of the ingenuity
-and daring of this class of London brigands:--
-
-In the year 1850 a burglary was attempted to be committed at a
-furrier’s at the corner of Regent Street near Oxford Street by
-three cracksmen. One of them, Henry Edgar, was about five feet seven
-inches high, of fair complexion, with large features, brown hair, and
-gentlemanly appearance, dressed in elegant style, with jewellery,
-rings, and chain, and frilled shirt. A second party, Edward Edgar
-Blackwell, was the son of a respectable cutler in Soho, about five feet
-two inches high, of fair complexion, teeth out in front, with sullen
-look, also fashionably dressed, though inferior to the other. The third
-person was slim made, about five feet six inches high, dark complexion,
-with dark whiskers and genteel appearance, a gentle, but keen dark eye,
-and elegantly dressed.
-
-They went to a public-house between ten and eleven o’clock, when the
-two former went back into a yard with the pretence of going to the
-water-closet. The publican did not miss them. The house was closed at
-twelve o’clock, and they were not discovered. The third party went
-out to give them their signals at the time formerly arranged between
-them. He did not give them any signal, but they, being impatient and
-accustomed to the work, thought they would try it themselves. They
-went up by a fire-escape, and got on to the parapet of the furrier’s
-house, at the corner of Regent Street. Here they cut two panes of
-glass in a garret window, with a knife, at the same time removing the
-division between them. The servant going to bed in the dark, discovered
-the two men. Giving no alarm, she went down stairs to her master. The
-master came up, with two loaded pistols in his hand, presented them at
-the garret-window, telling them if they attempted to escape he would
-shoot them. Edward Edgar Blackwell was so frightened that he lost his
-presence of mind, and fell from the parapet into the yard, a height
-of three storeys, and was killed on the spot. Henry Edgar, being more
-courageous, made a desperate leap to the top of a house in Regent
-Street, and got through a trap-door, and made his way into a second
-floor front in Argyle Street, where people were sleeping, and alarmed
-them. To prevent their taking him, he leaped from a second floor
-window. Some people, passing-by, saw him jump from the window, and gave
-information to the police. He was, thereupon, arrested, and conveyed in
-a cab, with the dead body of his “pal,” to Vine Street police station.
-
-It was afterwards ascertained that his ankle was dislocated, and he
-was removed to Middlesex Hospital, where he was watched eight hours
-by successive policemen. His friends were allowed to see him, and
-by ingenious means one of them contrived to effect his escape. They
-conveyed him from the hospital in a cab to Green Street, Friars Street,
-Blackfriars Road; then removed him in a cab to the Commercial Road
-near Whitechapel. Soon after, his companions took a house for him in
-Corbett’s Place, Spitalfields, when he was given into the hands of
-the police by a brother of one of his “pals,” who went to Vine Street
-station, and lodged information. He was arrested before he could lay
-his hand on his pistols, committed for trial, and sentenced to penal
-servitude.
-
-We give the following as an illustration of the ingenuity and
-perseverance of the cracksmen of the metropolis--
-
-A burglary was committed some years since, at a warehouse in the City,
-where the premises were securely fastened in front, and the servants
-were let out by a strong door at the back, secured by three strong
-locks. There was no one sleeping on the premises. The burglars had
-first to make keys to get through the outer door into the premises, and
-had then to get a key to a patent lock for an iron door into a private
-counting-house. They made another key for a very strong safe which,
-when opened, had a recess at the bottom enclosed with folding doors
-also secured by a patent lock. Before they got to the booty they had to
-make six keys of patent locks.
-
-Not satisfied with this, they made a key for the patent lock of another
-iron door, leading to another portion of the premises where there was a
-second iron safe.
-
-They were occupied four months getting the whole of these keys to fit,
-and had to watch favourable opportunities when the police were absent
-from that portion of their beat.
-
-The thieves, during the night, carried off two iron boxes containing
-railway-shares, bills, and similar property to the extent of
-13,000_l._, besides other valuable articles.
-
-Through the ingenuity of certain police-officers employed to trace the
-robbery, the whole of the scrip and documents were recovered while
-certain unprincipled Jews were negotiating to purchase them.
-
-Some burglars, after they have secured valuable booty, do not attempt
-another burglary for a time. Others go out the very next night, and
-commit other depredations, as they are avaricious for money. Some of
-them lose it by keeping it loosely in the house, or placing it in the
-bank, when the women they cohabit with reap the benefit. These females
-often try to induce them to save money and place it in their name in
-the bank, so that if their paramour gets apprehended, they have the
-pleasure of spending his ill-gotten wealth.
-
-Some cracksmen succeed occasionally in rifling large quantities of
-valuable property or money. In such instances they live luxuriously,
-and spend large sums on pleasure, women, wine, and gambling. Some
-of them keep their females in splendid style, and live in furnished
-apartments in quiet respectable streets. Others are afraid to keep
-women, as the latter are frequently the cause of their being brought to
-justice.
-
-There are some old burglars at present, keeping cabs, omnibuses, and
-public houses, whose wealth has been secured chiefly from plunder
-they have rifled from premises with their own hands, or received from
-burglars since they have abandoned their midnight work. They had the
-self-command to abandon their criminal courses after a time, while the
-most of the others have been more shortsighted. Some of these persons,
-though abounding in wealth, receive stolen goods, and are ready to open
-their houses at any hour of the night.
-
-There are great numbers of expert cracksmen known to the police in
-different parts of the metropolis. Many of these reside on the Surrey
-side, about Waterloo Road and Kent Road, in the Borough, Hackney
-and Kingsland Roads, and other localities. Some of them have a fine
-appearance, and are fashionably dressed, and would not be known, except
-by persons personally acquainted with them.
-
-A number of most expert cracksmen belonging to the felon class of
-Irish cockneys, have learned no trade, and have no fixed occupation.
-Others come to their ranks who have been carpenters and smiths,
-brass-finishers, shoemakers, mechanics, and even tailors. Sometimes
-fast young men have taken to this desperate mode of life. Some
-pickpockets, daring in disposition, or driven to extremity have become
-burglars. In a short time they learn to use their tools with great
-expertness; great numbers have been trained by a few leading burglars;
-some are as young as sixteen or seventeen years; others as old as forty
-or forty-five--incorrigible old convicts.
-
-Tools are secretly made for them in London, Sheffield, Manchester,
-Birmingham, and other places. Some burglars keep a set of fine tools of
-considerable value. Others have indifferent instruments, and are not so
-expert.
-
-They find very convenient agents in some of the cab-drivers of the
-metropolis, who for a piece of money are very ready to assist in
-conveying them at night to the neighbourhood of the houses where they
-perpetrate their burglaries, and in carrying off the stolen property,
-and some of the employers of these cab-drivers are as willing to
-receive it at an underprice.
-
-They have no difficulty in finding unprincipled people to open their
-houses to receive the stolen property temporarily or otherwise. There
-are many houses of well-known receivers; then there are hundreds of low
-public-houses, beer-shops, coffee-shops, brothels, and other places
-of bad character, where they can leave it for a few hours, or for
-days, placing one of their gang in the house for a time, until they
-have arranged with the receivers to purchase it. There are certain
-well-known beer-shops and public-houses where the burglars meet
-with the receivers. They meet them in beer-shops in the purlieus of
-Whitechapel, and in the quieter public-houses and splendid gin-palaces
-of the West-end.
-
-There are a number of French burglars in London, who are as ingenious,
-daring, and expert as the English. There are also some Germans and a
-few Italians, but who are not considered so clever.
-
-Few of the cracksmen in the metropolis are married--though some are.
-They often live with prostitutes, or with servants, and other females
-they have seduced. Some have children whom they send to school, but
-many of them have none. They frequently train up some of their boys to
-enter the fanlights or windows, and to assist them in their midnight
-villanies.
-
-While most of the burglars are city-trained, a number come from
-Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, and Bristol. These
-occasionally work with the London thieves, and the London thieves go
-occasionally to the provinces to work with them. This is done in the
-event of their being well known to the police.
-
-For example, a gang of Liverpool thieves might know a house there
-where valuable property could be conveniently reached. Their being in
-the neighbourhood might excite suspicion. Under these circumstances
-they sometimes send to thieves they are acquainted with in London,
-who proceed thither and plunder the house. Sometimes, in similar
-circumstances, the London burglars get persons from the provinces to
-commit robberies in the metropolis--both parties sharing in the booty.
-In a place where they are not known, they do it themselves.
-
-[Illustration: CELL, WITH PRISONER AT “CRANK-LABOUR,” IN THE SURREY
-HOUSE OF CORRECTION.]
-
-The burglars in our day are not in general such desperate men as those
-in former times. They are better known to the police than formerly,
-and are kept under more strict surveillance. Many of the cracksmen have
-been repeatedly subjected to prison discipline, and have their spirits
-in a great measure subdued. The crime of our country is not so bold
-and open as in the days of the redoubtable men whose dark deeds are
-recorded in the Newgate Calendar. It has assumed more subtle forms,
-instead of bold swagger and defiance--and has more of the secret,
-restless, and deceitful character of our great arch-enemy.
-
- Number of burglaries in the Metropolitan
- districts for 1860 192
- Ditto ditto in the City 12
- ---
- 204
-
- Value of property abstracted in the Metropolitan
- districts £2,852
- Ditto ditto in the City 332
- ------
- £3,184
-
-
-NARRATIVE OF A BURGLAR.
-
-The following narrative was given us by an expert burglar and returned
-convict we met one evening in the West-end of the metropolis. For a
-considerable number of years he had been engaged in a long series of
-burglaries connected with several gangs of thieves, and had been so
-singularly cunning and adroit in his movements he had never been caught
-in the act of plunder; but was at last betrayed into the hands of the
-police by one of his confederates, who had quarrelled with him while
-indulging rather freely in liquor. He was often employed as a putter up
-of burglaries in various parts of the metropolis, and was generally an
-outsider on the watch while some of his pals were rifling the house.
-We visited him at his house in one of the gloomiest lanes in a very
-low neighbourhood, inhabited chiefly by thieves and prostitutes, and
-took down from his lips the following recital. In the first part of his
-autobiography he was very frank and candid, but as he proceeded became
-more slow and calculating in his disclosures. We hinted to him he was
-“timid.” “No,” he replied, “I am not timid, but I am cautious, which
-you need not be surprised at.” He was then seated by the fire beside
-his paramour, a very clever woman, whose history is perhaps as wild and
-romantic as his own. He is a slim-made man, beneath the middle size,
-with a keen dark intelligent eye, and about thirty-six years of age.
-He is good-looking, and very smart in his movements, and was in the
-attire of a well-dressed mechanic.
-
-“I was born in the city of London in the year 1825. My father was
-foreman to a coach and harness-maker in Oxford Street. My mother,
-before her marriage, was a milliner. They had eleven children, and
-I was the youngest but two. I had six brothers and four sisters. My
-father had a good salary coming in to support his family, and we lived
-in comfort and respectability up to his death. He died when I was only
-about eight years old. My mother was left with eleven children, with
-very scanty means. Having to support so large a family she soon after
-became reduced in circumstances. My eldest brother was subject to fits,
-and died at the age of twenty-four years. He occupied my father’s place
-while he lived. My second brother went to work at the same shop, but
-got into idle and dissipated habits, and was thrown out of employment.
-He afterwards got a situation in a lacemaker’s shop, and had to leave
-for misconduct. He then went to a druggist’s, and had to leave for the
-same cause. After this he got a situation as potman to a public-house,
-which completed his ruin. He took every opportunity to lead his younger
-brothers astray instead of setting us a good example.
-
-“My brother next to him in age did not follow his bad courses, but
-I was not so fortunate. I went to school at Mr. Low’s, Harp Alley,
-Farringdon Street, but I did not stay there long. At nine years of
-age I was sent out to work, to help to support myself. I went to work
-at cotton-winding, and only got 3_s._ a week. I sometimes worked all
-night, and had 9_d._ for it, in addition to my 3_s._, and often gained
-3_s._ a week besides the six days’ wages. I was very happy then to
-think I could earn so much money, being so young. At this time I was
-only nine years of age. My brother tried to tempt me to pilfer from
-my master, but he failed then. I afterwards got a better situation at
-a trunkmaker’s in the City. There my mistress and young master took
-a liking to me. I was earning 7_s._ a week, and was only ten years
-of age. At this time my brother succeeded in tempting me to rob my
-employers after I had been two months in their service. I carried off
-wearing apparel and silver plate to the value of several pounds, which
-my brother disposed of, while he only gave me a few halfpence. I was
-suspected to be the thief, and was discharged in consequence. I got
-another situation in a bookbinder’s shop, and was not eleven years old
-then. My brother did not succeed for two or three months to get me to
-plunder my master, although he often tried to prevail on me to do so.
-My master had no plate to lose.
-
-“I used to take out boards of books; one night my brother met me
-coming from the binder’s with a truck loaded with books, stopt me, and
-pretended to be very kind by giving me money to go and buy a pie at a
-pie-shop. When I came out I found the books were gone and the truck
-empty. My brother was standing at the door waiting me, but he had
-companions who meantime emptied the truck of the whole of the contents.
-I told him he must know who had taken them, but he told me he did not.
-He desired me to say to my master that a strange man had sent me to get
-a pie for him and one for myself, and when I came back the books and
-the man had both disappeared. He told me if I did not say this I would
-get myself into trouble and him too. I went and told my master the tale
-my brother had told me. He sent for a policeman, and tried to frighten
-me to tell the truth. I would not alter from what I had told him,
-though he tried very hard to get me to do so. He kept me till Saturday
-night and discharged me, but endeavoured in the meanwhile to get me to
-unfold the truth, so I was thrown out of employment again.
-
-“I then went to work at the blacking trade, and had a kinder master
-than ever. My wages were 7_s._ a week. I then made up my mind that
-my brother should not tempt me to steal another time. I was in this
-situation a year and nine months before my brother succeeded in
-inducing me to commit another robbery. My master was very kind and
-generous to me, increased my wages from 7_s._ to 16_s._ a week as I was
-becoming of more service to him.
-
-“We made the blacking with sugar-candy and other ingredients. I was the
-only lad introduced into the apartment where the blacking was made and
-the sugar-candy was kept. My brother tempted me to bring him a small
-quantity of sugar-candy at first. I did so, and he threatened to let
-my mother know if I did not fetch more. At first I took home 7lbs. of
-candy, and at last would carry off a larger quantity. I used to get a
-trifle of money from my brother for this. Being strongly attached to
-him, up to this time he had great influence over me.
-
-“One day, after bringing him a quantity of sugar-candy, I watched him
-to see where he sold it. He went into a shop in the City where the
-person retailed sweets. After he came out of the shop I went in and
-asked the man in the shop if he would buy some from me, as I was the
-brother of the young man who had just called in, and had got him the
-sugar-candy. He told me he would buy as much as I liked to bring.
-
-“I used to bring large quantities to him, generally in the evening,
-and carried it in a bag. The sugar-candy I should have mixed in the
-blacking I laid aside till I had an opportunity of carrying it to the
-receiver. My master continued to be very fond of me, and had strong
-confidence in me until I got a young lad into the shop beside me, who
-knew what I had been doing, and informed him of my conduct. He wanted
-to get me discharged, as he thought he would get my situation, which he
-did. He told my master I was plundering him; but my master would not
-believe him until he pointed out a low coffee-house where I used to go,
-which was frequented by bad characters. My master came into this den
-of infamy one evening when I was there, and persuaded me to come away
-with him, which I did. He told me he would forget all I was guilty of,
-if I would keep better company and behave myself properly in future. I
-conducted myself better for about a week, but I had got inveigled into
-bad company through my brother. These lads waited about my employer’s
-premises for me at meal-times and at night. At last they prevailed on
-me again to go to the same coffee-house. The young lad I had got into
-the shop beside me soon found means to acquaint my master. He came to
-see me in the coffee-house again; but I had been prevailed on to drink
-that evening, and was the worse of intoxicating liquor, although I was
-not fourteen years of age. My master tried all manner of kind means to
-persuade me to leave that house, but I would not do so, and insulted
-him for his kindness.
-
-“On the following morning he paid a visit to my mother’s house while I
-was at breakfast. My mother and he tried to persuade me to go back and
-finish my week’s work, but I was too proud, and would not go back. He
-then paid my mother my fortnight’s wages, and said if I would attend
-church twice each week he would again take me back into his service. I
-never attended any church at all, for I had then got into bad habits,
-and cared no more about work.
-
-“I lived at home with my mother for a short time, and she was very kind
-to me, and gave me great indulgence. She wished me to remain at home
-with her to assist in her business as a greengrocer, and used to allow
-me from 1_s._ to 1_s._ 3_d._ of pocket-money a day. My old companions
-still followed me about, and prevailed on me to go to the Victoria
-Theatre. On one of these occasions I was much struck with the play of
-Oliver Twist. I also saw Jack Sheppard performed there, and was much
-impressed with it.
-
-“Soon after this I left my mother’s house, and took lodgings at the
-coffee-house, where my master found me, and engaged in an open criminal
-career. About this time ladies generally carried reticules on their
-arm. My companions were in the habit of following them and cutting the
-strings, and carrying them off. They sometimes contained a purse with
-money and other property. I occasionally engaged in these robberies for
-about three months. Sometimes I succeeded in getting a considerable sum
-of money; at other times only a few shillings.
-
-“I was afterwards prevailed on to join another gang of thieves, expert
-shoplifters. They generally confined themselves to the stationers’
-shops, and carried off silver pencil-cases, silver and gold mounted
-scent-bottles, and other articles, and I was engaged for a month at
-this.
-
-“Being well-dressed, I would go into a shop and price an article of
-jewellery, or such like valuable, and after getting it in my hand would
-dart out of the shop with it. I carried on this system occasionally,
-and was never apprehended, and became very venturesome in robbery.
-
-“I was then about sixteen years of age. A young man came from sea of
-the name of Philip Scott, who had in former years been a playmate of
-mine. He requested me to go to one of the theatres with him, when Jack
-Sheppard was again performed. We were both remarkably pleased with the
-play, and soon after determined to try our hand at housebreaking.
-
-“He knew of a place in the City where some plate could be got at. We
-went out one night with a screw-driver and a knife to plunder it.
-I assisted him in getting over a wall at the back of the house. He
-entered from a back-window by pushing the catch back with a knife.
-He had not been in above three quarters of an hour when he handed me
-a silver pot and cream-jug from the wall. I conveyed these to the
-coffee-shop in which we lodged, when we afterwards disposed of them.
-The young man was well acquainted with this house, as his father was
-often employed jobbing about it.
-
-“After this I cohabited with a female, but my ‘pal’ did not, although
-we lived in the same house.
-
-“Soon after we committed another burglary in the south-side of the
-metropolis, by entering the kitchen window of a private house at the
-back. I watched while my comrade entered the house. He cut a pane of
-glass out, and drew the catch back. After gathering what plate he could
-find lying about, he went up-stairs and got some more plate. We sold
-this to a receiver in Clerkenwell for about 9_l._ 18_s._ From this
-house we also carried off some wearing apparel. Each of us took three
-shirts, two coats and an umbrella.
-
-“Some time after this we made up our minds to try another burglary in
-the city. We secreted ourselves in a brewer’s yard beside the house we
-intended to plunder, about eight o’clock in the evening, before it was
-shut up. We cut a panel out of a shutter in the dining-room window on
-the first floor, but were disturbed when attempting this robbery. I ran
-off and got away. My companion was not so fortunate; he was captured,
-and got several months’ imprisonment.
-
-“A week after I joined two other burglars. We resolved to attempt a
-burglary in a certain shop in the East-end of the metropolis. There
-happened to be a dog in the shop. As usual I kept watch outside,
-while the other two entered from the first-floor window, which had no
-shutters. So soon as they got in the dog barked. They cut the dog’s
-throat with a knife, and began to plunder the shop of pencil cases,
-scent-bottles, postage-stamps, &c., and went up-stairs, and carried
-off pieces of plate. The inmates of the house slept in the upper part
-of the house. The property when brought to the receiver sold for about
-42_l._
-
-“Another burglary was committed by us at a haberdasher’s shop in the
-West-end. While I kept watch, the other two climbed to the top of a
-warehouse at the back of the shop, wrenched open the window on the
-roof, and having tied a rope to an iron bar, they lowered themselves
-down, broke open the desks and till, and got a considerable sum
-of money, nearly all in silver. They then went to the first-floor
-drawing-room window over the shop, and entered. The door of this room
-being locked, they cut out a panel, put their arm through and forced
-back the lock. They found only a small quantity of plate along with
-a handsome gold watch and chain. The few articles of plate sold for
-38_s._, and the watch and chain for 7_l._ 15_s._
-
-“The thieves entered about one o’clock at midnight, and went out about
-a quarter past five in the morning.
-
-“These are the only jobs I did with these two men, until my comrade
-came out of prison, when we commenced again. We committed burglaries
-in different parts of London, at silk-mercers, stationers’ shops, and
-dwelling-houses--some of considerable value; in others the booty was
-small.
-
-“In these burglaries numbers of other parties were engaged with
-us--some of them belonging to the Borough, others to St. Giles’s,
-Golden Lane, St. Luke’s, and other localities.
-
-“In 1850 I took a part in a burglary in a shop in the south-side of
-the metropolis along with two other parties. One went inside, and the
-others were on the watch without. We got access to the shop by the
-back-yard of a neighbouring public-house, which is usually effected
-in this way. One person goes to the bar, and gets into conversation
-with the barmaid, while one or more of their ‘pals’ takes a favourable
-opportunity of slipping back into the yard or court behind the house.
-This is often done about a quarter of an hour, or half an hour, before
-the house is shut up. The party who kept the barmaid in conversation,
-would go to the back of the house, and assist the other burglar who
-was to enter the house in getting over the wall. So soon as this is
-effected, his other ‘pal’ comes out again. If the wall can be easily
-climbed, the party who enters lurks concealed in the water-closet, or
-some of the outhouses, till the time of effecting the burglary.
-
-“The house intended to be entered is sometimes five or six houses away
-from this public-house, and sometimes the next house to it.
-
-“When all is ready, the outside man gives the signal. The signal given
-from the front, such as a cough or otherwise, can be heard by his
-confederate behind the house. On hearing it the latter begins his work.
-In this instance the burglar entered the premises by cutting open the
-shutters of a window in the first floor to the back. He then cut a
-pane of glass, and removed the catch, and went down stairs into the
-shop, and took from a desk about 60_l._ in money, with several valuable
-snuff-boxes and other articles. He had to wait till the morning before
-he could get out. The police seemed to have a suspicion that all was
-not right, but he got out of the shop about the time when the police
-were changed.
-
-“I was connected with another burglary, committed in the same year
-in the West-end in a linendraper’s shop. It was entered from a
-public-house in the same manner as in the one described. The same
-person was engaged inside, while the others were stationed outside.
-The signal to begin work was given about one o’clock. He had first
-to remove an iron bar at the first floor landing window to the back,
-which he did with his jack. (The bars had been seen in the day-time,
-and we brought this instrument to remove them.) He removed the bar in
-ten minutes, cut a pane of glass, and removed the two catches. By this
-means he effected an entry into the house, and to his surprise found
-the drawing-room was left unlocked. He proceeded there, and got nearly
-a whole service of plate. After he had gathered the plate up, he made
-his way toward the shop, cutting through the door which intercepted
-him. He went to the desk and found 72_l._ in silver money, and 12_l._
-in gold. He also packed up half a dozen of new shirts and half a dozen
-of silk handkerchiefs.
-
-“He was ready to come out of the house, but a coffee-stall being
-opposite, and the policeman taking his coffee there, the outside man
-could not give him the signal for some time. To the great surprise of
-the burglar in the shop, he heard the servant coming down stairs, when
-he opened the door, and rushed suddenly out, while the policeman was on
-the kerb near by. He bade the policeman good morning as he passed along
-with two large bundles in his hands.
-
-“He had not gone fifty yards round the corner of the street, before the
-servant appeared at the door and asked the policeman as to the person
-who had just come out. Along with other two constables he gave chase to
-the burglar, but, being an active, athletic man, he effected his escape.
-
-“I was engaged with two others in another burglary in the West-end
-soon afterwards. Three persons were engaged in it: one to enter, and
-other two ‘pals’ to keep watch. We got access to the house by a mews,
-and got on the top of a wall, when I gave the end of a rope to my
-companion to hold by while he slid down on the other side. The house
-was entered at the kitchen window by removing two narrow bars with the
-jack, and sliding back the catch. There was no booty to be found in
-the kitchen. On going up-stairs our ‘pal’ got several pieces of plate,
-and other articles. On coming down into the shop, he got a quantity of
-receipt-stamps with a few postage-stamps.
-
-“The putter up of this robbery was a connection of the people of the
-house.
-
-“I was connected with another burglary in the south-side of the
-metropolis. A man who frequented a public-house there put up a burglary
-in a stationer’s shop. Two persons were engaged in it, and got access
-to the premises to be plundered from the public-house. He then climbed
-several walls, and got access to the shop by a fanlight from behind.
-Here we found a large sum of money in gold and silver, which had been
-deposited in a bureau, some plate, and other articles. His ‘pal’ went
-to him at half past three, and gave him the signal. He came out soon
-after, and had only gone a short distance off when he heard a call for
-the police, and the rattle of the policeman was sprung.
-
-“After a desperate struggle with two constables, he was arrested and
-taken to the station, with the stolen property in his possession.
-He was tried and found guilty of committing the burglary, and for
-assaulting the constables by cutting and wounding them, and was
-sentenced to fourteen years’ transportation, having been four times
-previously convicted.
-
-“I have been engaged in many depredations from 1840 to 1851, many of
-which were ‘put up’ by myself.
-
-“In the year 1851 I was transported several years for burglary. I
-returned home on a ticket of leave in 1854, and was sent back in the
-following year for harbouring an escaped convict. I returned home in
-1858, at the expiry of my sentence, and since that time have abandoned
-my former criminal life.”
-
-
-NARRATIVE OF ANOTHER BURGLAR.
-
-One evening as we had occasion to be in a narrow dark by-street in
-St. Giles’s, we were accosted by a burglar--a returned convict whom
-we had met on a former occasion in the course of our rambles. We had
-repeatedly heard of this person as one of the most daring thieves in
-the metropolis, and were on the look-out for him at the very time
-when he fortunately crossed our path. He is a fair-complexioned man,
-of thirty-two years of age, about 5 feet 2 inches in height, slim
-made, with a keen grey eye. He was dressed in dark trousers, brown
-vest, and a grey frock coat buttoned up to the chin, and a cap drawn
-over his eyes. We hesitated at first as to whether this little man
-was capable of executing such venturesome feats; when he led us along
-the dark street to an adjoining back-court, took off his shoes and
-stockings, and ran up a waterspout to the top of a lofty house, and
-slid down again with surprising agility. Before we parted that evening,
-he was recommended to us by another burglar, a returned convict, and
-by another most intelligent young man, whom we are sorry to say has
-been a convicted criminal. He afterwards paid us a visit, when we were
-furnished with the following recital:--
-
-“I was born in the parish of St. Giles’s in the Fields, in the year
-1828. My father was a soldier in the British service; after his
-discharge he lived for some time in the neighbourhood of St. Giles’s.
-He was an Irishman from the county of Limerick. My mother belonged
-to Cork. My eldest sister was married to a plasterer in London; my
-second sister has been sentenced to four years, and another sister to
-five years’ transportation, both for stealing watches on different
-occasions. I have another sister, who lately came out of prison after
-eighteen months’ imprisonment, and is now living an honest life.
-
-“I was never sent by my parents to school, but have learned to read
-a little by my own exertions; I have no knowledge of writing and
-arithmetic. I was sent out to get my living at ten years of age by
-selling oranges in the streets in a basket, and was very soon led into
-bad company. I sometimes played at pitch and toss, which trained me to
-gamble, and I often lost my money by this means.
-
-“I often remained out all night, and slept in the dark arches of
-the Adelphi on straw along with some other boys--one of them was a
-pickpocket who learned me to steal. It was not long before I was
-apprehended and committed at the Middlesex Assizes, and received six
-months’ imprisonment.
-
-“At this time I learned to swim, and was remarkably expert at it:
-when the tide was out I often used to swim across the Thames for
-sport. I continued to pick pockets occasionally for two years,
-and was at one time remanded for a week on a criminal charge and
-afterwards discharged. I used to take ladies’ purses by myself, and
-stole handkerchiefs, snuff-boxes, and pocketbooks from the tails of
-gentlemen’s coats.
-
-“I left my home on the expiry of my six months’ imprisonment for
-stealing a pocketbook. My parents would gladly have taken me back, but
-I would not go. At this time I associated with a number of juvenile
-thieves. I had a good suit of clothes, which had been purchased before
-I went to prison, and having a respectable appearance I took to
-shop-lifting. I worked at this about seven months, when I was arrested
-for stealing a coat at a shop in the Borough Road, and was sentenced to
-three months in Brixton Prison.
-
-“When I got out of prison I went to St. Giles’s and cohabited with a
-prostitute. I was then about seventeen years of age. She was a fair
-girl, about five feet three inches in height, inclined to be stout,--a
-very handsome girl, about seventeen years of age. Her people lived
-in Tottenham Court Road, and were very respectable. She had been led
-astray before I met her, through the bad influence of another girl,
-and was a common prostitute. She was very kind-hearted. She was not
-long with me when I engaged with other two persons in a housebreaking
-in the West-end of the metropolis. On the basement of the house we
-intended to plunder was a counting-house, while the upper floors were
-occupied by the family as a dwelling-house. Our chief object was to get
-to the counting-house, which could be entered from the back. Our mode
-of entering was this.--At one o’clock in the morning, one of the party
-was set to watch in the street, to give us the signal when no one was
-near--a young man was on the watch, while I and another climbed up by a
-waterspout to the roof of the counting-house. There was no other way of
-getting in but by cutting the lead off the house and making an opening
-sufficient for us to pass through.
-
-“The signal was given to enter the house, but at this time the
-policeman saw our shadow on the roof and sprung his rattle. The party
-who was keeping watch and my ‘pal’ on the roof both got away, but I
-hurt myself in getting down from the house-top to the street. I was
-apprehended and lodged in prison, and was tried at Middlesex Assizes
-and sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment.
-
-“So soon as the time was expired, I met with another gang of burglars,
-more expert than the former. At this time I lived at Shoreditch, in
-the East-end of the metropolis. Four of us were associated together,
-averaging from twenty-two to twenty-three years of age. We engaged
-in a burglary in the City. It was hard to do. I was one of those
-selected to enter the shop; we had to climb over several walls before
-we reached the premises we intended to plunder. We cut through a panel
-of the back door. On finding my way into the shop I opened the door to
-my companions. We packed up some silks and other goods, and remained
-there very comfortable till the change of the policeman in the morning,
-when a cart was drawn up to the door, and the outside man gave us
-the signal. We drew the bolts and brought out the bags containing the
-booty, put them into the cart, and closed the door after us. We drove
-off to our lodgings, and sent for a person to purchase the goods. We
-got a considerable sum by this burglary, which was divided among us.
-I was then about twenty-two years of age. Our money was soon expended
-in going to theatres and in gambling, and besides we lived very
-expensively on the best viands, with wines and other liquors.
-
-“We perpetrated another burglary in the West-end. Three of us were
-engaged in it; one was stationed to watch, while I and another pal had
-to go in. We entered an empty house by skeleton-keys, and got into the
-next house; we lifted the trap off and got under the roof, and found
-an under-trap was fastened inside. We knew we could do nothing without
-the assistance of an umbrella. My comrade went down to our pal on the
-watch, and told him to buy an umbrella from some passer-by, the night
-being damp and rainy. We purchased one from a man in the vicinity for
-2_s._; my comrade brought it up to me under the roof. Having cut away
-several lathes, I made an opening with my knife in the plaster, and
-inserted the closed umbrella through it, and opened it with a jerk,
-to contain the falling wood and plaster. I broke some of the lathes
-off, and tore away some of the mortar, which fell in the umbrella.
-We effected an entry into the house from the roof. On going over the
-apartments we did not find what we expected; after all our trouble we
-only got 35_l._, some trinkets, and one piece of plate.
-
-“Burglars become more expert at their work by experience. Many of them
-are connected with some of the first mechanics in the metropolis.
-Wherever a patent lock can be found they frequently get a key to fit
-it. In this way even Chubbs and Bramahs can be opened, as burglars
-endeavour to get keys of this description of locks. They sometimes give
-5_l._ for the impression of a single key, and make one of the same
-description, which serves for the same size of such locks on other
-occasions. An experienced burglar thereby has more facilities to open
-locks--even those which are patented.
-
-“I was connected with two pals in another burglary in a dwelling-house
-at the West-end. It was arranged that I should enter the house. I was
-lifted to the top of a wall about sixteen feet high, at the back of
-the premises, and had to come down by the ivy which grew on the garden
-wall; I had to get across another wall. The ivy was very thick, so
-that I had to cut part of it away to allow me to get over. I entered
-the house by the window without difficulty, having removed the catch in
-the middle with my knife. On a dressing-table in one of the bedrooms I
-found a gold watch, ring and chain, with 3_l._ 15_s._ in money, and a
-brace of double-barrelled pistols, which I secured. In the drawing-room
-I found some desert-spoons, a punch-ladle, and other pieces of silver
-plate--I looked to them to see they had the proper mark of silver; I
-found them to be silver, and folded them up carefully and put them
-into my pocket. On looking into some concealed drawers in a cabinet I
-found a will and other papers, which I knew were of no use to me; I put
-them back in their place and did not destroy any of them. I also found
-several articles of jewellery, and a few Irish one-pound notes. I put
-them all carefully in my pocket and came to the front-door. The signal
-was given that the cab was ready; I went out, drew the door close after
-me, and went away with the booty.
-
-“I entered about half-past eleven o’clock at night, and came out
-at half-past two o’clock. I saw a servant-girl sleeping in the
-back-kitchen, and two young ladies in a back-parlour. I did not go up
-to the top-floors, but heard them snoring. They awoke and spoke two or
-three times, which made me be careful.
-
-“I went along the passage very softly, in case I should have awakened
-the two young ladies in the back parlour as well as the servant in the
-kitchen. All was so quiet that the least sound in the world would have
-disturbed them.
-
-“I opened the door gently, and came out when the signal was given by my
-comrades. It was a cold, wet morning, which was favourable to us, as
-no one was about the street to see us, and the policeman was possibly,
-as on similar occasions, standing in some corner smoking his pipe. I
-jumped into the cab along with my two pals, and went to Westminster.
-The booty amounted to a considerable sum, which was divided among us.
-We spent the next three or four weeks very merrily along with our
-girls. On this occasion we gave the cabman two sovereigns for his
-trouble, whether the burglary came off or not, and plenty of drink.
-
-“A short time after, a person came up to me with whom I had associated,
-and played cards over some liquor in the West-end. He was a young man
-out of employment. He thus accosted me, ‘Jim, how are you getting on?’
-I answered, ‘Pretty well.’ He asked me if I had any job on hand. I
-said I had not. I inquired if he had anything for me to do. He said
-he would give me a turn at the house of an old mistress of his. He
-told me the dressing-case with jewels lay in a back room on a table,
-but cautioned me to be very careful the butler did not see me, as he
-was often going up and down stairs. Two of us resolved to plunder the
-house. My companion was on the outside to watch, while I had to enter
-the house.
-
-“I got in with a skeleton key while they were at supper, and got up
-the stairs without any one observing me. On going to the back room
-I was disturbed by a young lady coming up stairs. I ran up to the
-second floor above to hide myself, and found a bed in the apartment.
-I concealed myself underneath the bed, when the lady and her servant
-came into the room with a light. They closed the door and pulled the
-curtains down, when the lady began to undress in presence of the
-servant. The servant began to wash her face and neck. The lady was a
-beautiful young creature. While lying under the bed I distinctly saw
-the maid put perfume on the lady’s under linen. She then began to dress
-and decorate herself, and told the servant she was going out to her
-supper. She said she would not be home till two or three o’clock in
-the morning, and did not wish the servant to remain up for her, but to
-leave the lamp burning. As soon as she and the waiting-maid had left
-the room, I got out of my hiding-place, and on looking around saw but
-a small booty, consisting of a small locket and gold chain; a gold
-pencil-case, and silver thimble. As I was returning down stairs with
-them in my pocket to get to the first floor back, I got possession of a
-case of jewels, which I thought of great value. I returned to the hall,
-and came out about twelve o’clock without any signal from my comrade.
-
-“On taking the jewels to a person who received such plunder, he told
-us they were of small value, and were not brilliants and emeralds as
-we fancied. They were set in pure gold of the best quality, and only
-brought us 22_l._
-
-“To look at them we fancied they would have been worth a much higher
-sum, and were sadly disappointed.
-
-“Soon after we resolved on another burglary in the West-end. One kept
-watch without while two of us entered the house by a grating underneath
-the shop window, and descended into the kitchen by a rope. We got a
-signal to work. The first thing we did was to lift up the kitchen
-window. When we got in we pulled the kitchen window down, drew down the
-blind, and lighted our taper. We looked round and saw nothing worth
-removing. We went to the staircase to get into the shop. As we were
-wrenching open a chest of drawers, a big cat which happened to be in
-the room was afraid of us. We got pieces of meat out of the safe and
-threw them to the cat. The animal was so excited that it jumped up on
-the mantelpiece, and broke a number of ornaments. This disturbed an
-old gentleman in the first-floor front. He called out to his servant,
-‘John, there is somebody in the house.’ We had no means of getting the
-door open, and had to go out by the window. The old gentleman came
-down stairs in his nightgown with a brace of pistols, just as we were
-going out of the window. He fired, but missed us. I jumped so hastily
-that I hurt my bowels, and was conveyed by my companions in a cab to
-Westminster, and lay there for six weeks in an enfeebled condition. My
-money was spent, and as my young woman could not get any, my companions
-said you had better have a meeting of our “pals.” A friendly meeting
-was held, and they collected about 8_l._ to assist me.
-
-“When I recovered, to my great loss, my companion was taken on account
-of a job he had been attempting in Regent’s Park. He was committed to
-the Old Bailey, tried, and transported for life. He was a good pal of
-mine, and for a time I supported his wife and children. On another
-occasion, I and another comrade met a potman at the West-end. He asked
-us for something to drink, as he said he was out of work. We did so,
-and also gave him something to eat. We entered into conversation with
-him. He told us about a house he lately served in, and said there could
-be a couple of hundreds got there or more before the brewer’s bill was
-paid. We found out when the brewer’s bill was to be paid. We asked the
-man where this money was kept. He told us that we would find it in the
-second-floor back.
-
-“We made arrangements as to the night when we would go. Three of us
-went out as usual. We found the lady of the house and her daughter
-serving at the bar. We had to pass the bar to go upstairs. There was
-a row got up in the tap-room with my companions. While the landlady
-ran in to see what was the matter, and the daughter ran out for the
-policeman, I slipped upstairs, and got into the room. The policeman
-knew one of my companions when he came in, and at once suspected there
-was some design. He asked if there had been any more besides these
-two. The landlady said there was another. I was coming down stairs
-with the cash-box when I heard this conversation. The constable asked
-leave to search the house. I ran with the cash-box up the staircase,
-and looked in the back room to see if there was any place to get away,
-but there was none. I took the cash-box up to the front garret, and was
-trying to break it open, but in the confusion I could not.
-
-“I fled out of the garret window and got on the roof to hide from the
-policeman. My footsteps were observed on the carpet and on the gutters
-as I went out and slipped in the mud on the roof. I intended to throw
-the cash-box to my companions, but they gave me the signal to get away.
-I had just time to take my boots off, when another constable came out
-of the garret window of the other house. I had no other alternative but
-to get along the roof where they could not follow me, and besides I was
-much nimbler than they. I went to the end of the row of houses, and did
-not go down the garret window near me. Seeing a waterspout leading to a
-stable-yard, I slipt down it, and climbed up another spout to the roof
-of the stable. I lay there for five hours till the police changed.
-
-“I managed to get down and went into the stable-yard, when the
-stable-man cried out, ‘Hollo! here he is.’ I saw there was no
-alternative but to fight for it. I had a jemmy in my pocket. He laid
-hold of me, when I struck him on the face with it, and he fell to
-the ground. I fled to the door, and came out into the main street,
-returned into Piccadilly, and passed through the Park gates. On coming
-home to Westminster I found one of my comrades had not come home. We
-sent to the police-station, and learned he was there. We sent him some
-provisions, and he gave us notice in a piece of paper concealed in some
-bread that I should keep out of the way as the police were after me,
-which would aggravate his case.
-
-“I then went to live at Whitechapel. Meantime some clever detectives
-were on my track, from information they received from the girls we
-used to cohabit with. We heard of this from a quarter some would not
-suspect. He told us to keep out of the way, and that he would let
-us know should he get any further information. At last my companion
-was committed for trial, tried, and sentenced to seven years’
-transportation. I did not join in any other burglary for some time
-after this, as the police were vigilantly looking for me. I kept
-myself concealed in the house of a cigar-maker in Whitechapel.
-
-“Another pal and I went one evening to a public-house in Whitechapel.
-My pal was a tall, athletic young fellow, of about nineteen years,
-handsomely dressed, with gold ring and pin, intelligent and daring. We
-had gone in to have a glass of rum-and-water, when we saw a sergeant
-belonging to a regiment of the line sitting in front of the bar. He
-asked us if we would have anything to drink. We said we would. He
-called for three glasses of brandy-and-water, and asked my companion if
-he would take a cigar. He did so. The sergeant said he was a fine young
-man, and would make an excellent soldier. On this he pulled out a purse
-of money and looked at the time on his gold watch. My comrade looked
-to me and gave me a signal, at the same time saying to the soldier,
-‘Sergeant, I’ll ‘list.’ He took the shilling offered him, and pretended
-to give him his name and address, giving a false alias, so that he
-should not be able to trace him.
-
-“He called for half a pint of rum and water, and put down the shilling
-he received, from the sergeant. We took him into the bagatelle-room,
-and tried to get him to play with us, as we had a number of counterfeit
-sovereigns and forged cheques about us. He would not play except for a
-pint of half-and-half. On this he left us, and went in the direction
-of the barracks in Hyde Park. My comrade said to me, ‘We shall not
-leave him till we have plundered him.’ I was then the worse for
-liquor. We followed him. When he reached the Park gates I whispered
-to my companion that I would garotte him if he would assist me. He
-said he would. On this I sprung at his neck. Being a stronger man than
-I, he struggled violently. I still kept hold of him until he became
-senseless. My companion took his watch, his pocket-book, papers, and
-money, consisting of some pieces of gold, and a 5_l._ note. We sold the
-gold watch and chain for 8_l._
-
-“Along with my pal, I went into a skittle-ground in the City to have a
-game at skittles by ourselves, when two skittle-sharps who knew us well
-quarrelled with us about the game. My companion and I made a bet with
-them, which we lost, chiefly owing to my fault, which irritated him. He
-said, ‘Never mind; there is more money in the world, and we will have
-it ere long, or they shall have us.’ One of the skittle-sharps said
-to us insultingly, ‘Go and thieve for more, and we will play you.’
-On this we got angry at them. My pal took up his life-preserver, and
-struck the skittle-sharp on the head.
-
-“A policeman was sent for to apprehend him. I put the life-preserver
-in the fire as the door was shut on us, and we could not get away.
-On the policeman coming in my pal was to be given in charge by the
-landlord and landlady of the house. The skittle-sharp who had been
-struck rose up bleeding, and said to the landlord and landlady, ‘What
-do you know of the affair? Let us settle the matter between ourselves.’
-The policeman declined to interfere. We took brandy-and-water with the
-skittle-sharps, and parted in the most friendly terms.
-
-“One day we happened to see a gentleman draw a pocket-book out of
-his coat-pocket, and relieve a poor crossing-sweeper with a piece
-of silver. He returned it into his pocket. I said to my pal, ‘Here
-is a piece of money for us.’ I followed after him and came up to
-him about Regent’s Park, put my hand into his coat-pocket, seized
-the pocket-book, and passed it to my comrade. An old woman who kept
-an apple-stall had seen me; and when my back was turned went up and
-told the gentleman. The latter followed us until he saw a policeman,
-while I was not aware of it; being eager to know the contents of
-the pocket-book I had handed to my comrade, he being at the time in
-distress. We went into a public-house to see the contents, and called
-for a glass of brandy-and-water. We found there were three 10_l._ notes
-and a 5_l._ note, and two sovereigns, with some silver. The policeman
-meantime came in and seized my hand, and at the same time took the
-pocket-book from me before I had time to prevent him.
-
-“The gentleman laid hold of my companion, but was struck to the ground
-by the latter. He then assisted to rescue me from the policeman. By the
-assistance of the potman and a few men in the taproom, they overpowered
-me, but my comrade got away. I was taken to the police court and
-committed for trial, and was afterwards tried and sentenced to seven
-years transportation.
-
-“On one occasion, after my return from transportation, I and a
-companion of mine met a young woman we were well acquainted with who
-belonged to our own class of Irish cockneys. She was then a servant in
-a family next door to a surgeon. She asked us how we were getting on,
-and treated us to brandy. We asked her if we could rifle her mistress’s
-house, when she said she was very kind to her, and she would not
-permit us to hurt a hair of her head or to take away a farthing of her
-property. She told us there was a surgeon who lived next door--a young
-man who was out at all hours of the night, and sometimes all night. She
-informed us there was nobody in the house but an old servant who slept
-up stairs in a garret.
-
-“The door opened by a latch-key, and when the surgeon was out the gas
-was generally kept rather low in the hall. We watched him go out one
-evening at eleven o’clock, applied a key to the door, and entered the
-house. The young woman promised to give us the signal when the surgeon
-came in. We had not been long in when we heard the signal given. I got
-under the sofa in his surgical room; the gas used to burn there all
-night while he was out. My companion was behind a chest of drawers
-which stood at a small distance from the wall. As the surgeon came in I
-saw him take his hat off, when he sat down on the sofa above me.
-
-“As he was taking his boots off, he bent down and saw one of my feet
-under the sofa. He laid hold of it, and dragged me from under the sofa.
-He was a strong man, and kneeled on my back with my face turned to
-the floor. I gave a signal to my companion behind him, who struck him
-a violent blow on the back, not to hurt him, but to stun him, which
-felled him to the floor. I jumped up and ran out of the door with my
-companion. He ran after us and followed us through the street while I
-ran in my stockings. Our female friend, the servant, had the presence
-of mind and courage to run into the house and get my boots. She carried
-them into the house of her employer, and then looked out and gave the
-alarm of ‘Thieves!’ We got a booty of 43_l._
-
-“One night I went to an Irish penny ball in St. Giles’s, and had a
-dance with a young Irish girl of about nineteen years of age. This
-was the first time she saw me. I was a good dancer, and she was much
-pleased with me. She was a beautiful and handsome girl--a costermonger,
-and a good dancer. We went out and had some intoxicating liquor, which
-she had not been used to. She wished me to make her a present of a
-white silk handkerchief, with the shamrock, rose, and thistle on it,
-and a harp in the middle, which I could not refuse her. She gave me
-in exchange a green handkerchief from her neck. We corresponded after
-this for some time. She did not know then that I was a burglar and
-thief. She asked me my occupation, and I told her I was a pianoforte
-maker. One night I asked her to come out with me to go to a penny Irish
-ball. I kept her out late, and seduced her. She did not go back to her
-friends any more, but cohabited with me.
-
-“One night after this we went to a public singing-room, and I got
-jealous by her taking notice of another young man. I did not speak to
-her that night about it. Next morning I told her it was better that she
-should go home to her friends, as I would not live with her any more.
-
-“She cried over it, and afterwards went home. Her friends got her a
-situation in the West-end as a servant, but she was pregnant at the
-time with a child to me. She was not long in service before her young
-master fell in love with her, and kept her in fashionable style, which
-he has continued to do ever since. She now lives in elegant apartments
-in the West-end, and her boy, my son, is getting a college education. I
-do not take any notice of them now.
-
-“One night on my return from transportation I met two old associates.
-They asked me how I was, and told me they were glad to see me. They
-inquired how I was getting on. I told them I was not getting along very
-well. They asked me if I was associated with any one. I told them I was
-not, and was willing to go out with them to a bit of work. These men
-were burglars, and wished me to join them in plundering a shop in the
-metropolis. I told them I did not mind going with them. They arranged
-I should enter the shop along with another ‘pal,’ and the other was to
-keep watch. On the night appointed for the work we met an old watchman,
-and asked him what o’clock it was. One of our party pretended to be
-drunk, and said he would treat him to two or three glasses of rum.
-Meantime I and my companion entered the house by getting over a back
-wall and entering a window there by starring the glass, and pulling
-the catch back. When we got in we did not require to break open any
-lockfast. We packed up apparel of the value of 60_l._ We remained in
-the shop till six o’clock, when the change of officers took place. The
-door was then unbolted--a cab was drawn up to the shop. I shut the door
-and went off in one direction on foot, while one ‘pal’ went off in a
-cab, and the other to the receiver at Whitechapel.
-
-“I have been engaged in about eighteen burglaries besides other
-depredations, some of them in fashionable shops and dwelling-houses in
-the West-end. Some of them have been effected by skeleton keys, others
-by climbing waterspouts, at which I am considered to be extraordinary
-nimble, and others by obtaining an entry through the doors or windows.
-I have been imprisoned seven times in London and elsewhere, and have
-been twice transported. Altogether I have been in prison for about
-fourteen years.
-
-“My first wife died broken-hearted the second time I was transported.
-Since I came home this last time I have lived an honest, industrious
-life with my second wife and family.”
-
-
-
-
-PROSTITUTE THIEVES.
-
-
-On taking up this subject, although it is treated comprehensively in
-another part of this work, we found it impossible to draw an exact
-distinction between prostitution and the prostitute thieves. Even at
-the risk of a little repetition we now give a short resumé of the whole
-subject, dwelling particularly on the part more especially in our
-province--the Prostitute Thieves of London.
-
-The prostitution of the metropolis, so widely ramified like a deadly
-upas tree over the length and breadth of its districts, may be divided
-into four classes, determined generally by the personal qualities,
-bodily and mental, of the prostitute, by the wealth and position of the
-person who supports her, and by the localities in which she resides and
-gains her ignoble livelihood.
-
-The first class consists of those who are supported by gentlemen in
-high position in society, wealthy merchants and professional men,
-gentry and nobility, and are kept as _seclusives_.
-
-The second class consists of the better educated and more genteel
-girls, who live in open prostitution, some of them connected with
-respectable middle-class families.
-
-The third class is composed of domestic servants and the daughters of
-labourers, mechanics, and others in the humbler walks in life.
-
-The fourth class comprises old worn-out prostitutes sunk in poverty and
-debasement.
-
-We may take each class of prostitutes and illustrate it in the order
-set down, extending our field of observation over the wide districts
-of the metropolis; or we may select several leading districts as
-representatives of the whole, and proceed in more minute detail. We
-adopt the latter plan, as it presents us with a fuller and more graphic
-view of the subject.
-
-The first class consists of young ladies, in many cases well-educated
-and well-connected, such as the daughters of professional men,
-physicians, lawyers, clergymen, and military officers, as well as
-of respectable farmers, merchants, and other middle-class people,
-and governesses; also of many persons possessed of high personal
-attractions--ballet-girls, milliners, dressmakers and shop-girls,
-chambermaids and table-maids in aristocratic families or at first-class
-hotels. Many of them are brought from happy homes in the provinces
-to London by fashionable villains, military or civilian, and basely
-seduced, and kept to minister to their lust. Others are seduced in the
-metropolis while residing with their parents, or when pursuing their
-avocations in shops, dwelling-houses, or hotels.
-
-Many a young lady from the provinces has been entrapped by wealthy
-young men, frequently young military officers, who have met them at
-ball-rooms, where they may have shone in all the beauty of health and
-innocence, the darlings of their home, the pride of their parents’
-hearts, and the “cynosure of every eye,” or these fashionable rakes may
-have got introduced to their families, and been shown marked kindness.
-But in return they entice the poor girls from their parents, dishonour
-them, and destroy the peace of their homes for ever.
-
-Many young ladies possessing fair accomplishments are also entrapped
-in the metropolis--at the Argyle Rooms, Holborn Assembly-room, and
-other fashionable resorts. In many cases pretty young girls, servants
-in noblemen’s families, barmaids, waiting-maids in hotels, and
-chambermaids, may have attracted the attention of gay gentlemen who had
-induced them to cohabit with them, or to live in apartments provided
-for them, where they are kept in grand style. Some are maintained at
-the rate of 800_l._ a year, keep a set of servants, drive out in their
-brougham, and occasionally ride in Rotten Row. Others are supported at
-still greater expense.
-
-As a general rule they do not live in the same house with the
-gentleman, though sometimes they do. Such women are often kept by
-wealthy merchants, officers in the army, members of the House of
-Commons and House of Peers, and others in high life.
-
-As a rule gay ladies keep faithful to the gentlemen who support them.
-Many of them ride in Rotten Row with a groom behind them, attend the
-theatres and operas, and go to Brighton, Ramsgate, and Margate, and
-over to Paris.
-
-When the young women they fancy are not well educated, tutors and
-governesses are provided to train them in accomplishments, to enable
-them to move with elegance and grace in the drawing-room, or to travel
-on the Continent. They are taught French, music, drawing, and the
-higher accomplishments.
-
-Sometimes these girls belong to the lower orders of society, and may
-have been selected for their beauty and fascination. The daughter of
-a labouring man, a beautiful girl, is kept by a gentleman in high
-position at St. John’s Wood at the rate of 800_l._ a year. She has
-now received a lady’s education, rides in Rotten Row, has a set of
-servants, moves in certain fashionable circles, keeps aloof from the
-gaiety of the Haymarket, and lives as though she were a married woman.
-
-Let us take another illustration. A young girl was brought up to London
-several years ago by a military man. He kept her for three weeks, and
-then left her in a coffee-shop in Panton Street as a dressed lodger.
-She has since been kept at Chelsea by a gentleman in a Government
-situation, and occasionally drives out in her chaise with her groom
-behind. She frequents the Argyle Rooms and the cafés, the Carlton
-supper-rooms, and Sally’s. She was brought away from the provinces when
-she was seventeen, and is now about twenty-five years of age.
-
-These females are kept from ages varying from sixteen and upwards, and
-live chiefly in the suburbs of the metropolis--Brompton, Chelsea, St.
-John’s Wood, Haverstock Hill, and on the Hampstead Road.
-
-This class of ladies are often kept by elderly men, military, naval, or
-otherwise, some of them having wives and families. In such cases the
-former sometimes have a younger fancy-man. They visit him by private
-arrangement, and keep it very quiet. Occasionally such things do come
-to light, and the elderly gentlemen part with them.
-
-They dress very expensively in silks, satins, and muslins, in most
-fashionable style, glittering with costly jewellery, perhaps of the
-value of 150_l._, like the first ladies in the land. Sometimes they
-become intemperate, and are abandoned by their paramours, and in the
-course of a short time pawn their jewels and fine dresses, and betake
-themselves to prostitution in the Waterloo Road, and ultimately go with
-the most degraded labouring men for a few coppers.
-
-Many of them are very unfortunate, and are discarded by the gentlemen
-who support them on the slightest caprice, perhaps to give way to some
-other young woman. To secure his object he occasionally maltreats
-her, and attempts to create a misunderstanding between them, or he
-absents himself from her for a time, meantime taking care to introduce
-some person stealthily into her company to ensnare her, and find some
-pretext to abandon her, so that her friends may have no ground for an
-action at law against him.
-
-In some instances these females after having run their fashionable
-career, get married; in others they may have managed to save some money
-to provide for the future. But in too many cases they are heartlessly
-abandoned by the men who formerly supported them, and glide down
-step by step into lower degradation, till many of them come to the
-workhouse, or the hospital, or to some secluded garret, or it may be
-rush into a suicide’s grave. Volumes might be written on this tragical
-theme, where fact would far transcend the heart-rending recitals of
-fiction.
-
-Having briefly adverted to the higher order of prostitutes, kept as
-seclusives by men of wealth, high station, and title, we shall now
-turn our attention to the open prostitutes who traverse the streets
-of the metropolis for their livelihood. With this view, we shall not
-treat first of the lower order of prostitutes, and proceed to the
-higher, but keeping in mind the principle with which we started--the
-progressive downward nature of crime,--we shall commence at the higher
-order of prostitutes, and afterwards notice the more debased. At the
-same time we shall select several of the more prominent localities
-as a sample of the whole districts of this vast metropolis. We shall
-notice the Haymarket, Bishopgate Street, and Waterloo Road, the Parks,
-Westminster, and Ratcliff Highway. We shall first advert to
-
-
-THE PROSTITUTES OF THE HAYMARKET.
-
-A stranger on his coming to London, after visiting the Crystal Palace,
-British Museum, St. James’s Palace, and Buckingham Palace, and other
-public buildings, seldom leaves the capital before he makes an evening
-visit to the Haymarket and Regent Street. Struck as he is with the
-dense throng of people who crowd along London Bridge, Fleet Street,
-Cheapside, Holborn, Oxford Street, and the Strand, perhaps no sight
-makes a more striking impression on his mind than the brilliant gaiety
-of Regent Street and the Haymarket. It is not only the architectural
-splendour of the aristocratic streets in that neighbourhood, but
-the brilliant illumination of the shops, cafés, Turkish divans,
-assembly halls, and concert rooms, and the troops of elegantly dressed
-courtesans, rustling in silks and satins, and waving in laces,
-promenading along these superb streets among throngs of fashionable
-people, and persons apparently of every order and pursuit, from the
-ragged crossing-sweeper and tattered shoe-black to the high-bred
-gentleman of fashion and scion of nobility.
-
-Not to speak of the first class of kept women, who are supported by
-men of opulence and rank in the privacy of their own dwellings, the
-whole of the other classes are to be found in the Haymarket, from
-the beautiful girl with fresh blooming cheek, newly arrived from the
-provinces, and the pale, elegant, young lady from a milliner’s shop in
-the aristocratic West-end, to the old, bloated women who have grown
-grey in prostitution, or become invalid through venereal disease.
-
-We shall first advert to the highest class who walk the Haymarket,
-which in our general classification we have termed the second class of
-prostitutes.
-
-They consist of the better educated and more genteel girls, some of
-them connected with respectable middle-class families. We do not say
-that they are well-educated and genteel, but either well-educated or
-genteel. Some of these girls have a fine appearance, and are dressed
-in high style, yet are poorly educated, and have sprung from an humble
-origin. Others, who are more plainly dressed, have had a lady’s
-education, and some are not so brilliant in their style, who have come
-from a middle-class home. Many of these girls have at one time been
-milliners or sewing girls in genteel houses in the West-end, and have
-been seduced by shopmen, or by gentlemen of the town, and after being
-ruined in character, or having quarrelled with their relatives, may
-have taken to a life of prostitution; others have been waiting maids
-in hotels, or in service in good families, and have been seduced by
-servants in the family, or by gentlemen in the house, and betaken
-themselves to a wild life of pleasure. A considerable number have come
-from the provinces to London, with unprincipled young men of their
-acquaintance, who after a short time have deserted them, and some of
-them have been enticed by gay gentlemen of the West-end, when on their
-provincial tours. Others have come to the metropolis in search of work,
-and been disappointed. After spending the money they had with them,
-they have resorted to the career of a common prostitute. Others have
-come from provincial towns, who had not a happy home, with a stepfather
-or stepmother. Some are young milliners and dressmakers at one time in
-business in town, but being unfortunate, are now walking the Haymarket.
-In addition to these, many of them are seclusives turned away or
-abandoned by the persons who supported them, who have recourse to a gay
-life in the West-end. There are also a considerable number of French
-girls, and a few Belgian and German prostitutes who promenade this
-locality. You see many of them walking along in black silk cloaks or
-light grey mantles--many with silk paletots and wide skirts, extended
-by an ample crinoline, looking almost like a pyramid, with the apex
-terminating at the black or white satin bonnet, trimmed with waving
-ribbons and gay flowers. Some are to be seen with their cheeks ruddy
-with rouge, and here and there a few rosy with health. Many of them
-looking cold and heartless; others with an interesting appearance.
-We observe them walking up and down Regent Street and the Haymarket,
-often by themselves, one or more in company, sometimes with a gallant
-they have picked up, calling at the wine-vaults or restaurants to get
-a glass of wine or gin, or sitting down in the brilliant coffee-rooms,
-adorned with large mirrors, to a cup of good bohea or coffee. Many of
-the more faded prostitutes of this class frequent the Pavilion to meet
-gentlemen and enjoy the vocal and instrumental music over some liquor.
-Others of higher style proceed to the Alhambra Music Hall, or to the
-Argyle Rooms, rustling in splendid dresses, to spend the time till
-midnight, when they accompany the gentlemen they may have met there
-to the expensive supper-rooms and night-houses which abound in the
-neighbourhood.
-
-In the course of the evening, we see many of the girls proceeding with
-young and middle aged, and sometimes silver-headed frail old men, to
-Oxenden Street, Panton Street, and James Street, near the Haymarket,
-where they enter houses of accommodation, which they prefer to going
-with them to their lodgings. Numbers of French girls may be seen in
-the Haymarket, and the neighbourhood of Tichbourne Street and Great
-Windmill Street, many of them in dark silk paletots and white or dark
-silk bonnets, trimmed with gay ribbons and flowers, or walking up
-Regent Street in the neighbourhood of All Souls’ Church, Langham Place,
-and Portland Place, or coming down Regent Street to Waterloo Place and
-Pall Mall, and hovering near the palatial mansions or the Clubs; or
-they might be seen decoying gents to their apartments in Queen Street,
-off Regent’s Quadrant, from which locality they were lately forcibly
-ejected by the police. Most of these French girls have bullies, or what
-they term by a softer term ‘fancy men,’ who cohabit with them. These
-base wretches live on the prostitution of these miserable girls,--hang
-as loafers in their houses or about the streets, and many of them, as
-we might expect, are gamblers and swindlers. Several of them, we blush
-to say, are political refugees, exiles for fighting at the barricades
-of Paris, for the liberty of their country; while they live here with
-courtesans in the purlieus of Haymarket, in the most infamous and
-degrading of all bondage.
-
-The generality of the girls of the Haymarket have no bullies, but
-live in furnished apartments--one or more--in various localities
-of the metropolis. Many live in Dean Street, Soho, Gerrard Street,
-Soho, King Street, Soho, and Church Street, Soho, in Tennison Street,
-Waterloo Road, at Pimlico and Chelsea, several of the streets leading
-into Fitzroy Square, and other neighbourhoods, and pay a weekly rent
-varying from seven shillings to a guinea, which has to be regularly
-paid on the day it is due. In many cases little forbearance is shown
-by their heartless landladies. Many of these girls have gentlemen who
-statedly visit them at their lodgings, some of whom are married men.
-Most of them are very thoughtless and extravagant, with handfuls of
-money to-day, and in poverty and miserable straits to-morrow, driven to
-the necessity of pawning their dresses. Hence there are many changes
-in their life. At one time they are in splendid dress, and at another
-time in the humblest attire; occasionally they are assisted by men who
-are interested in them, and restored to their former position, when
-they get their clothes out of the hands of the pawnbroker. Their living
-is very precarious, and many of them are occasionally exposed to
-privation, degradation, and misery, as they are very improvident. They
-are frequently treated to splendid suppers in the Haymarket and its
-vicinity, where they sit surrounded with splendour, partaking of costly
-viands amid lascivious smiles; but the scene is changed when you follow
-them to their own apartments in Soho or Chelsea, where you find them
-during the day, lolling drowsily on their beds, in tawdry dress, and in
-sad dishabille, with dishevelled hair, seedy-looking countenance, and
-muddy, dreary eyes--their voices frequently hoarse with bad humour and
-misery.
-
-Large sums of money are spent in luxurious riot in the Haymarket; but
-it has not been so much frequented by the gentry and nobility for
-several years past, although considerable numbers are to be seen in the
-summer and winter seasons.
-
-Strange midnight scenes were wont to be seen occasionally in Queen
-Street, Regent Street, where the French girls reside. Let us take an
-illustration. Some fast man--young or middle aged--goes with them to
-the cafés and music halls, perhaps proceeds to the supper rooms, and
-after an expensive supper, retires with them to their domicile in Queen
-Street. Meantime their bully keeps out of sight, or sneaks behind the
-bed-room door. In many cases, not contented with the half-guinea or
-guinea given them, their usual hire for prostitution, they demand more
-money from their victim. On his declining to give it, they refuse to
-submit to his pleasure, and will not return him his money. The bully is
-then called up, and the silly dupe is probably unceremoniously turned
-out of doors.
-
-There are few felonies committed by this class of prostitutes, as
-such an imputation would be fatal to their mode of livelihood in this
-district, where they are generally known, and can be easily traced.
-
-The second class of prostitutes, who walk the Haymarket--the third
-class in our classification--generally come from the lower orders of
-society. They consist of domestic servants of a plainer order, the
-daughters of labouring people, and some of a still lower class. Some of
-these girls are of a very tender age--from thirteen years and upwards.
-You see them wandering along Leicester Square, and about the Haymarket,
-Tichbourne Street, and Regent Street. Many of them are dressed in a
-light cotton or merino gown, and ill-suited crinoline, with light
-grey, or brown cloak, or mantle. Some with pork-pie hat, and waving
-feather--white, blue, or red; others with a slouched straw-hat. Some
-of them walk with a timid look, others with effrontery. Some have a
-look of artless innocence and ingenuousness, others very pert, callous,
-and artful. Some have good features and fine figures, others are
-coarse-looking and dumpy, their features and accent indicating that
-they are Irish cockneys. They prostitute themselves for a lower price,
-and haunt those disreputable coffee-shops in the neighbourhood of the
-Haymarket and Leicester Square, where you may see the blinds drawn
-down, and the lights burning dimly within, with notices over the door,
-that “beds are to be had within.”
-
-Many of those young girls--some of them good-looking--cohabit with
-young pickpockets about Drury Lane, St. Giles’s, Gray’s Inn Lane,
-Holborn, and other localities--young lads from fourteen to eighteen,
-groups of whom may be seen loitering about the Haymarket, and often
-speaking to them. Numbers of these girls are artful and adroit thieves.
-They follow persons into the dark by-streets of these localities, and
-are apt to pick his pockets, or they rifle his person when in the
-bedroom with him in low coffee-houses and brothels. Some of these
-girls come even from Pimlico, Waterloo Road, and distant parts of the
-metropolis, to share in the spoils of fast life in the Haymarket.
-They occasionally take watches, purses, pins, and handkerchiefs from
-their silly dupes who go with them into those disreputable places, and
-frequently are not easily traced, as many of them are migratory in
-their character.
-
-The third and lowest class of prostitutes in the Haymarket--the fourth
-in our classification--are worn-out prostitutes or other degraded
-women, some of them married, yet equally degraded in character.
-
-These faded and miserable wretches skulk about the Haymarket,
-Regent Street, Leicester Square, Coventry Street, Panton Street and
-Piccadilly, cadging from the fashionable people in the street and from
-the prostitutes passing along, and sometimes retire for prostitution
-into dirty low courts near St. James’ Street, Coventry Court, Long’s
-Court, Earl’s Court, and Cranbourne Passage, with shop boys, errand
-lads, petty thieves, and labouring men, for a few paltry coppers. Most
-of them steal when they can get an opportunity. Occasionally a base
-coloured woman of this class may be seen in the Haymarket and its
-vicinity, cadging from the gay girls and gentlemen in the streets. Many
-of the poor girls are glad to pay her a sixpence occasionally to get
-rid of her company, as gentlemen are often scared away from them by
-the intrusion of this shameless hag, with her thick lips, sable black
-skin, leering countenance and obscene disgusting tongue, resembling a
-lewd spirit of darkness from the nether world.
-
-Numbers of the women kept by the wealthy and the titled may
-occasionally be seen in the Haymarket, which is the only centre in the
-metropolis where all the various classes of prostitutes meet. They
-attend the Argyle Rooms and the Alhambra, and frequently indulge in
-the gaieties of the supper rooms, where their broughams are often seen
-drawn up at the doors. In the more respectable circles they may be
-regarded with aversion, but they here reign as the prima-donnas over
-the fast life of the West-end.
-
-Occasionally genteel and beautiful girls in shops and workrooms in
-the West-end, milliners, dressmakers, and shop girls, may be seen
-flitting along Regent Street and Pall Mall, like bright birds of
-passage, to meet with some gentleman _on the sly_, and to obtain a few
-quickly-earned guineas to add to their scanty salaries. Sometimes a
-fashionable young widow, or beautiful young married woman, will find
-her way in those dark evenings to meet with some rickety silver-headed
-old captain loitering about Pall Mall. Such things are not wondered at
-by those acquainted with high life in London.
-
-We now come to take a survey of the general state of prostitution
-which prevails over the metropolis, having Bishopgate, Shoreditch, and
-Waterloo Road more particularly in our eye as a sample of the other
-districts. These prostitutes in general reside in the dingy lanes
-and courts off the main streets in these localities, and have small
-bed-rooms poorly furnished, for which they pay four shillings and
-upwards a-week. They live in disreputable houses, occupied from the
-basement to the attics by prostitutes--some young, others more elderly;
-some living alone, others cohabiting with some low wretch of a man, a
-“tail” pickpocket, labourer, or low mechanic.
-
-The prostitutes of these localities generally belong to the third
-and fourth class. The better educated and more genteel girls who
-live by prostitution in most cases go to the Haymarket. Numbers may
-occasionally be seen in the neighbourhood of the Bank of England, at
-Islington, near the Angel tavern, in the City Road, New North Road,
-Paddington, at the Elephant and Castle, and other localities; though
-in most cases they only come out occasionally _on the sly_, and are
-engaged in shops, factories, warerooms, and workrooms, during the
-day, or secluded in their houses, supported by tradesmen, mechanics,
-shopmen, clerks, or others, and only live partially by prostitution.
-
-We shall refer to the two classes of open prostitutes generally to
-be seen over the various districts of the metropolis, such as those
-residing in the disreputable neighbourhoods we have mentioned.
-Some of the better class have the appearance of girls who serve in
-coffee-houses, barmaids, and servants, and others of the lower orders.
-Numbers of them are good-looking and tolerably well dressed. Some have
-been ironing girls, and others have sold small wares on the streets,
-and been engaged in similar employment.
-
-Many of these unfortunate girls have redeeming traits in their
-character. Some are kind-hearted and honest, and not a few are even
-generous and self-denying. The great mass, however, are unprincipled
-and base, ever ready to take an advantage when an opportunity occurs.
-The vast majority of them are thieves, similar to the third class we
-have sketched in the Haymarket. They not only steal from the persons
-they meet on the street under the dark cloud of night in by-streets and
-courts, but take men to their houses, and plunder them. They rifle the
-pockets of those who go for a short time with them, and steal their
-gold pins, watches, and money. This is generally done in low houses of
-accommodation. They frequently decamp with the clothes of their victim,
-who has taken a bed with them for the night, and leave him in a strange
-house in a state of nudity. Married men frequently get into this sad
-predicament, but the matter is in most cases hushed up. When it does
-get abroad, the party robbed, to screen his profligacy from his wife
-and relatives, pretends in many cases that he has been drugged.
-
-These prostitutes, some of them good-looking and handsome, often accost
-men in the street, retire with them into some by-lane or by-street, and
-patter about their pockets, while they encourage him to use indecent
-freedoms with their persons; and while they inflame his passions, rifle
-his pockets, and decamp with his money. This is frequently done in
-cases where the man does not have carnal connection with them.
-
-They are generally dressed in a light cotton or merino gown, a light or
-brown mantle, a straw bonnet trimmed with gaudy ribbons and flowers,
-and sometimes with a pork-pie hat and white or red feather.
-
-Some of these girls in those lower localities have better traits in
-their character than many of the more brilliant-dressed girls in the
-Haymarket, and are sometimes better looking. Not a few of them are very
-sedate, and will not go with any man whom they do not like. But there
-are many others more unscrupulous.
-
-When they meet a man the worse of liquor, they decoy him into a brothel
-and get his money from him, when they try to get up a quarrel with
-him, and run off crying out they are ill-used by the man. They do this
-frequently where they do not allow the drunken man to have carnal
-dealings with them--not from a lustful purpose, but to get his money or
-other property.
-
-These girls are fifteen years of age and upwards. Some of them,
-if good-looking, get married, and are rescued from the jaws of
-prostitution. Others linger on for a time with shattered constitutions,
-wasted by grief, want, anxiety, and irregular life, and glide into
-premature graves. Others are sheltered in workhouses, while a
-considerable number become withered or brutal, and degenerate into the
-lowest class of abandoned women.
-
-We come now to treat of the lowest class of prostitutes--those old
-women of the town who prowl about the thoroughfares and main streets,
-chiefly in the evenings and at midnight. They are often dressed in
-a shabby, dirty cotton skirt, faded dark bonnet, and old shoes;
-some bloated, dissipated, and brutal in appearance; others pale and
-wasted by want and suffering. Many of them resort to “bilking” for a
-livelihood, that is, they inveigle persons to low houses of bad fame,
-but do not allow them to have criminal dealings with them. Possibly
-the bodies of some may be covered with dreadful disease, which they
-take care to conceal. While in these houses they often indulge in
-the grossest indecencies, too abominable to be mentioned, with old
-grey-headed men on the very edge of the grave. Many of these women
-are old convicted thieves of sixty years of age and upwards. Strange
-to say, old men and boys go with these withered crones, and sometimes
-fashionable gentlemen on a lark are to be seen walking arm in arm
-with them, and even to enter their houses. Few of these old women are
-married, though many of them cohabit with low coarse fellows, who wink
-at their conduct, and live on the proceeds of their obscenities.
-
-For example, in Granby Street, Waterloo Road, there were orgies
-occasionally indulged in by such women, with persons having the
-appearance of gentlemen, too abominable to be mentioned.
-
-These belong to the same class of degraded women who walk the
-Haymarket, and whom we have described as the most abandoned of their
-sex, who go about cadging and occasionally prostituting themselves to
-boys and degraded labouring men. They live in the lowest neighbourhoods
-in the east end of the metropolis, such as Lower Whitecross Street,
-Wentworth Street, and the low by-streets in Spitalfields, and in the
-lowest slums and by-streets about the New Cut, Drury Lane, Westminster,
-and other low localities, with dirty, low fellows, dock-labourers,
-bricklayers’ labourers, and labourers at the workyards and wharfs.
-
-They are in general too ugly to come out during the day with their
-unwashed slatternly dress, and in the evenings are often seen prowling
-as cadgers about the streets, and even in the dead of night waylaying
-and plundering drunken men; sometimes sneaking about alone, at other
-times two in company, and occasionally with a young simple girl by
-their side to screen their villainy.
-
-They often resort to prostitution in the dark by-streets and courts
-with the boys and men who resort to them, which is seldom or never done
-by the younger girls, except by a few outcast or debased creatures
-among them, who might justly be comprised in the lowest class.
-
-We now have to notice the “picking-up” women, who generally cohabit
-with pickpockets, burglars, clerks, shopmen, and others. Their
-object is to get liquor and money from persons as though they were
-prostitutes, without resorting to prostitution. For example, we see
-two well-dressed young women in the attire of milliners or dressmakers
-proceeding along the City Road in the direction of the Angel tavern,
-Islington. They see a gentleman pass, and cast a wistful look at him.
-He returns the glance. They walk on a short distance, and look round.
-The gentleman in many cases turns round likewise. He will then get a
-nod or bow from one of them. They will walk slowly, and look round
-again. On his going up to them, they will enter into conversation.
-They ask the gentleman to treat them, if he should not first offer
-to do so. They will then proceed to a gin-palace, where he will give
-them possibly a glass of wine. He will ask one of them where she
-lives. She will perhaps reply: “I am afraid to tell you. If you were
-to come to my house, it might come to the knowledge of my husband, and
-he would nearly kill me;” adding “I don’t mind seeing you again, and
-we will then get better acquainted!” Ultimately it may be arranged
-to go to some place which she has chanced to know, for the purpose of
-prostitution, leaving the other young woman to wait for her outside.
-The gentleman will then possibly give a sum of money. She will either
-say it is not sufficient, and will not allow him to have connection
-with her, or she may say she cannot allow him for certain reasons;
-or she may make an excuse that she requires to go down-stairs on a
-pressing errand for a moment, or to speak to the landlady, when she
-decamps. Sometimes robbing him of his watch, or purse, in addition to
-the sum he gave her.
-
-If he should raise an alarm the occupier of the house will request him
-to give her a sum of money for the use of the room, and if there is any
-objection made to pay it, he receives ill-treatment and is turned into
-the street.
-
-On other occasions a young woman will pretend she is unmarried, and
-will, in a similar ingenious way, endeavour to get money from parties
-she meets in the street, and try to escape in a similar way, without
-allowing him to have connection with her. She frequently manages to
-steal his watch and to rifle his pockets while he may be off his guard.
-
-The object of these women is to get the wages of prostitution and an
-opportunity of stealing, without incurring the anger of their paramour
-by prostituting their bodies to other men. It happens occasionally they
-are outwitted, as their schemes are beginning to be pretty well known.
-Their pretexts are sometimes evaded, and cases occur where they yield
-to prostitution rather than give back the money they have received,
-which classes them among prostitutes and thieves. Some women resort to
-this as a shift in case of necessity, while others pursue it as a mode
-of livelihood in different localities of London.
-
-These persons are to be found over the chief districts of the
-metropolis; miserable, poorly-dressed females, as well as
-respectable-looking young women. Some of the poorer sort are to be
-found about Shoreditch, Whitechapel, Lambeth, and the Borough. Others
-of the better sort, in appearance, are to be met with in the City Road,
-New North Road, King’s Cross, and Paddington.
-
- * * * * *
-
-_Hired Prostitutes._--There are a number of female prostitutes kept by
-Jewesses and English women of low character. These girls are dressed
-in good style, in silks and light muslin and cotton dresses, with
-their hair put up in ringlets or in fancy nets. They are mostly from
-seventeen to twenty-two years of age, some younger and others older,
-some with false hair and ringlets. The brothels we refer to are chiefly
-about the West-end. There is often a cigar-shop attached to them, and
-the best looking girls are generally found standing by the doors, or
-ogling through the windows to decoy the passers-by into their infamous
-dens. Some of these girls have been prostitutes from their girlhood,
-and belong to the lowest class in society, their mothers having been
-prostitutes before them. Several have been in these houses for a
-considerable number of years, who have kept their appearance better
-than other prostitutes who have had a more changeable and precarious
-mode of livelihood. Strange to say, some look nearly as young and as
-fresh as they did ten years ago.
-
-You seldom see the old execrable hags who keep these houses loitering
-about the doors or standing at the windows. They generally keep out
-of sight, but are sometimes to be seen peering through the edge of
-the window-blinds, which are generally drawn down, in the first floor
-above; or you may occasionally see them in the back parlour, skulking
-about. They are often very stout, and look like matrons in the maturity
-of life. They take gentlemen into their houses during the day as well
-as during the evening, but mostly in the evening.
-
-The girls are then dressed in gaudy finery, with shining head-dresses
-and jewellery glittering on their breast over their light dresses. Yet
-there is a low vulgarity in their appearance which repels and disgusts;
-they look, in many cases, so sensual and debased. They use no art to
-conceal the life they are leading, as some other prostitutes do, who
-try so far to screen the baseness of their profligacy.
-
-They generally keep old female servants they call “slaveys” to do the
-drudgery work of the house. These degraded women live in the house
-with them, wash their clothes, get their meals ready, clean their
-boots, brush their clothes, run errands for them out of doors, and show
-gentlemen into the bed-rooms.
-
-There is often a man in these brothels, a paramour of the old bawd,
-who is a loafer about the house, and is occasionally employed to act
-as a bully. These men are in general rough-looking men, dressed in
-black shabby clothes, and in many cases look more degraded than common
-thieves. Some are dissipated and pale, others are bloated, their faces
-covered with pimples and blotches.
-
-As we pass along Wych Street, Strand, in the dark evenings, we see
-several of the brothels we refer to. There the cigar shops are lit up,
-and the girls are arrayed in their best attire, and beaming their most
-inviting smiles to entrap the unwary. We may see brilliant lights in
-the rooms on the flat above through chinks in the shutters and blinds,
-where orgies are nightly transacted too gross and disgusting to mention.
-
-Brothels of the same kind are to be found in Exeter Street and Chandos
-Street, Strand, and other localities of the metropolis.
-
-These girls occasionally walk the Strand and Holborn to decoy gentlemen
-into their dwellings. They generally belong to the third class of
-prostitutes and the lowest class of society. Some may have come down
-through dissipation from the second class, and have formerly been in
-better positions. They do not steal from persons when sober, as they
-could be so easily detected, and as this would injure the brothel; but
-they occasionally pilfer from drunken men, where they are able to do it
-with impunity. Some of them occasionally get as much money as many of
-the more genteel girls in the Haymarket.
-
-They never take clothes from the gentlemen who enter their houses,
-but occasionally give him rough treatment should he enter their house
-without plenty of money in his purse.
-
-They chiefly confine their pilfering depredations to drunken men. As
-they walk in the evenings along the crowded thoroughfares lighted up by
-the street lamps, and the bright illumination of the shop windows, the
-“slaveys” walk frequently at a short distance behind them, to see that
-they do not receive gentlemen without the knowledge of the keepers of
-the brothel, and to watch that they do not run away with the clothes.
-The slaveys are paid something additional for every gentleman the girls
-go with, which stimulates them to look better after them, and promotes
-the selfish ends of the execrable old bawd who hires them.
-
- * * * * *
-
-_Park Women._--There are three kinds of women who usually resort to the
-parks. We find numbers of kept women of the highest class maintained by
-persons in high life, such as have been governesses, ladies-maids, and
-the daughters of respectable tradesmen and others, promenading in Hyde
-Park. They live in fashionable style at Brompton and other localities.
-In summer they come to the park about half-past five or six in the
-afternoon. There are not so many in the winter time, when the season
-is cold, and the landscape faded. While gentlemen and ladies are taking
-their evening’s ride, these ladies often walk along Rotten Row as far
-as Kensington Gardens, and frequently have a little pet dog, with a
-ribbon or string attached to it.
-
-These females are dressed in the most fashionable and expensive style,
-in silk and satin dresses, with expensive shawls, mantles, or paletots,
-and have light muslin dresses in summer. On such occasions there are
-great numbers of fashionable gentlemen riding on horseback and walking
-along the side of the drive.
-
-There are a great many seats placed on the grass at Rotten Row in
-the summer, where these ladies sit and talk with gentlemen. They are
-generally from eighteen to twenty-four years of age, in the full bloom
-of life and beauty. The gentlemen consist of blooming youths and old
-tottering gallants of sixty, civilians and military, professional men,
-gentry, and nobility.
-
-These ladies sit chatting together with hundreds of people seated
-around them in this gay promenade. Many assignations are thus made
-as to when and where to meet. They are sometimes seated close by the
-Serpentine under the trees in the dusk of the summer evenings, and
-middle-aged gentlemen--sometimes elderly--often come and meet them, and
-sit and converse beside them under the starlit gloom of the park, with
-few persons near them.
-
-There is another class of females who visit the parks, consisting of
-servants and the daughters of labouring men and poor mechanics. In
-general, they are poorly educated, but respectably dressed, and belong,
-according to our classification, to the third class of prostitutes.
-They generally come out in the evening for the purpose of prostitution.
-Many of them are fresh-looking, averaging in age from fifteen to
-twenty-five, and are to be found all over the park, chiefly from
-Stanhope Gate to Victoria Gate, where they sit on the seats with men
-of respectable appearance--tradesmen and others. These females often
-use indecent liberties with gentlemen without having connexion with
-them. This is done in the evening from dusk up to the time of shutting
-the park, and during this sensual excitement robberies are frequently
-effected by the women of purses, watches, pins, and other property.
-Information is sometimes given to the police, but these felonies
-are often concealed by the persons plundered, as they are ashamed
-to make it known. Many of these dupes are married men, who would be
-sadly disgraced were the news to come to the ears of their wives and
-families.
-
-A third class of females who attend the parks are the lowest old
-prostitutes, dissipated, debased wretches, from twenty-five to fifty
-year’s of age. They generally frequent the Lovers’ Walk, from Grosvenor
-Gate to the statue of Achilles, and are to be seen in other parts of
-the park near the Marble Arch.
-
-They are miserably dressed, many of them having barely rags to cover
-their wretchedness. They are utterly shameless in their habits. We
-find them dressed in a dirty cotton gown, nearly black, an old faded
-ragged shawl and tattered old boots, with scarcely a sole to them. Some
-are blotched in appearance; others are pale, shrivelled, and haggard,
-miserable spectacles.
-
-They may sometimes be seen sitting on the settles in the parks from
-dusk till the time of closing the gates of the park. These women
-indulge in the same obscene practices as the girls we have already
-mentioned, with a lower class of people, such as gentlemen’s servants,
-labouring men, and low mechanics, and sometimes have connexion with
-them in the park. On such occasions, these filthy hags are busy rifling
-the pockets of their victims.
-
- * * * * *
-
-_Soldiers’ Women._--There is only one class of prostitutes termed
-soldiers’ women, who live in Westminster. They chiefly reside in the
-courts leading out of Orchard Street, St. Ann Street, Old Pye Street,
-New Pye Street, Castle Lane, Gardener’s Lane, York Street, and Blue
-Anchor Yard. They are from sixteen to thirty years of age, and several
-even older. Some have been in the streets for seventeen years and
-upwards. They live in the greatest poverty, covered with rags and
-filth, and many of them covered with horrid sores, and eruptions on
-their body, arms, and legs, presenting in many cases a revolting
-appearance. Many of them have not the delicacy of females, and live
-as pigs in a sty. This is not exaggeration. On the officers of police
-entering their houses, they often find them in a state of nudity. They
-have no feeling of shame, and conduct themselves with the greatest
-indifference. Two of them generally occupy a room. They often take two
-other lodgers into their room, and lie on the floor. Their furniture
-consists of an old deal table, one or two old rickety chairs, a few
-broken cups and saucers, a wooden table, a wash-hand basin and chamber
-utensil, and an old shattered bedstead with scarcely any bedding.
-These rooms--generally about ten feet square--are let under the name
-of furnished apartments, and there is generally a deputy employed to
-collect the rents of the house. These girls pay on an average 3_s._
-6_d._ or 4_s._ of weekly rent. Many of them pay 8_d._ or 10_d._ for the
-room per day, as the landladies do not trust them a week’s rent. They
-often come home drunk about twelve or one o’clock at midnight.
-
-They generally get up in the morning about eight or nine o’clock. If
-they have any coppers they get in something to eat. Food is seldom
-seen in their cupboards, as they generally have only enough for the
-occasion. After they have had their breakfast--a cup of tea or coffee
-and bread--they chat with each other over the past night’s adventures,
-and pass the time till evening.
-
-In the middle of the day they sometimes wash their skirt, the only
-decent garment many of them have--their under clothing being a tissue
-of rags--starch and iron it, and get it ready towards the evening, when
-they wash themselves and sally forth again.
-
-In the evening, most of them go to some low public-house, and sit in
-company with soldiers, who drink and carouse with them. The soldiers
-who sit with them generally belong to the Foot Guards, Scots Fusileers,
-Coldstream, and Grenadier Guards.
-
-The Life Guardsmen do not generally associate with this class. If a
-stray soldier of the line in other regiments should happen to come on a
-furlough to this district, some of the prostitutes decoy him to their
-house, and get money from him professedly for prostitution. They slip
-out of the room while he is asleep in bed, and spend the money they
-have got with the Foot Guards. Sometimes they bring one of the Foot
-Guards to bully him out of the room. They treat civilians in a similar
-manner.
-
-Some of them dress and go out and walk with the soldiers during the
-day, but this is seldom. In general they do not go out till the evening
-at dusk.
-
-In some instances the soldiers remain absent in the evening, and manage
-to avoid the patrols, and stop carousing with these girls till the
-public-houses close at four o’clock in the morning, when they go with
-these prostitutes to their dens, and often remain the whole of next
-day--sometimes remaining for a fortnight with them.
-
-Some of these females are young, strong, healthy girls. When they
-have been for some years in this mode of life, they become dissipated
-in appearance, and their constitution is often broken up by their
-irregular wild life. The younger girls keep themselves more reserved
-for a time, but the bad example of the others very soon induces them to
-abandon themselves to all kinds of dissipation.
-
-If a young woman is so unfortunate as to come among them and to keep
-herself reserved, the others bully her out of it, unless she go to the
-same excess of dissipation as themselves.
-
-Their mode of stealing is to get people to their houses, where they
-plunder them. A sober man seldom thinks of going to their infamous
-abodes. In most cases the persons who go are the worse for liquor. On
-their way home they go into a public-house with the girls, after which
-they accompany them to their room, where they get some more liquor.
-
-The companions of a girl may see her coming home with a man, and may
-suppose him, from his appearance, to have money. They come into the
-house, and get a portion of the drink. In some instances the drunken
-person gives the woman money to go out for drink, when she decamps, and
-gets some of the prostitutes in the adjoining room to bully him out of
-the place. In other instances the girls wait their time till he goes to
-sleep, when they plunder him.
-
-There are seldom fastenings on their doors, which are never locked.
-There is an understanding between parties in the same house, and some
-persons in the adjoining rooms enter while the man is in bed, and carry
-away his clothes and money. He cannot accuse the girl in the room, as
-she is lying in bed beside him.
-
-In some cases the girl disappears during the night, and leaves the man
-naked in the room. She may remove to some other neighbourhood if the
-booty is of value, and live in some other part of Westminster. The dupe
-is seldom or never able to identify her, as he may have been much the
-worse for liquor while in her company.
-
-These prostitutes chiefly look out for drunken men, whom they decoy
-to their houses, and afterwards plunder. They prowl along Parliament
-Street and Whitehall Place, and other streets in the vicinity. A great
-number of them go as far as Knightsbridge, where there are concert
-rooms. They loiter about these localities till these places close, and
-are to be seen about the doors of those public-houses where persons
-resort after leaving the concert rooms. When they pick up a drunken man
-they bring him home in the manner already described.
-
-Many of these girls come from different parts of the country, and have
-formerly been servants in town. A good number have been orphans left
-without friends, and have been basely seduced. The relatives of some
-have taken them home into the provinces, but they have come back again
-to London.
-
-The police constables often find as many as four girls in one small
-room at night--two lying on a miserable bed, and two lying on the hard
-floor, with scarcely any covering but their petticoat thrown over them.
-Two soldiers are frequently found lying in the room with them, or one
-is seen lying between two girls.
-
-It is surprising that any soldiers, however poor, who have an ordinary
-regard to decency, should lie down among such heaps of filthy rags; far
-less should we expect such base and unmanly conduct from the Queen’s
-Foot Guards, when we look to the fine appearance and manly bearing of
-many of them on parade. It kindles our indignation when we learn that
-not a few of those poor degraded females were formerly in the service
-of respectable families, and were there seduced and driven to open
-prostitution by some of these unprincipled soldiers, who still add to
-their villainy the despicable crime of basely plundering the poor girls
-they have ruined of the wretched earnings of their dishonour and crime.
-
-To the honour of the regiments of Foot Guards, we are happy to say
-there are many noble and excellent men in their ranks, who reflect
-high credit on our army by their exemplary character, and who are as
-benevolent in heart as they are brave on the battle-field. Some of
-these go to the other side of the street to avoid meeting with their
-fellow-soldiers when associated with degraded women. The others we
-refer to are heartless ruffians in their conduct, and a disgrace to the
-British service.
-
- * * * * *
-
-_Sailors’ Women._--There are two classes of prostitutes termed sailors’
-women to be found in Ratcliff Highway, near the London Docks, at the
-east end of the metropolis. These belong to the third and fourth
-classes in our classification of the prostitutes of London.
-
-The better of the two classes are generally composed of younger
-and more respectable-looking girls, most of them residing in the
-neighbourhood, others coming from a distance. The generality of them
-reside in the Highway and in Palmer’s Folly, Albert Square, Albert
-Street, Seven Star Alley, and other adjacent streets and alleys. A few
-strange girls come occasionally from the Surrey side, such as Kent
-Street and other localities in the Borough, and remain for a few
-days only, as they may have committed some depredation in their own
-district, and wish to be away for a short time from the surveillance
-of the police. In like manner some of the girls residing in the
-neighbourhood of Ratcliff Highway, when they have plundered a sailor,
-leave the locality for a short time, till the ship to which he belonged
-has set sail, when they return again. There are a number of very
-good-looking girls of this class, most of them Irish cockneys. There
-are also a few German and Dutch prostitutes who frequent the Highway
-who live in Albert Street. These foreign girls do not have bullies
-or fancy men. Some of them are good looking, and some are not. They
-generally frequent the German and Dutch music and dancing saloons in
-Ratcliff Highway. Both of them attend the public-house with the Swedish
-flag. This class of girls frequents the various saloons in the Highway.
-They do not generally steal money or watches when they are well paid,
-and but few steal the sailor’s clothes.
-
-They dress tolerably well, in silk and merino gowns with crinolines,
-and bonnets gaily attired with flowers and ribbons. Many of them have
-velvet stripes across the breast and back of their gowns, and large
-brooches with the portrait of a sailor encased in them. They generally
-lay their hair back in front in the French style.
-
-Some of them have fancy men, and others have not. Their fancy men in
-many cases are watermen, but being lazy in inclination they hang about
-as loafers, and live on the prostitution and crime of the girls they
-cohabit with. These females take their dupes to their own houses or
-into low coffee-houses and brothels, or other houses of accommodation.
-Some of them allow the sailors to have connexion with them; others who
-cohabit with watermen and others, pretend to be prostitutes, and allow
-men to take indecent liberties with them, but seldom or never allow
-them to proceed farther.
-
-There is another class of prostitutes to be found in Ratcliff Highway,
-more dissipated and abandoned than those we have noticed. They reside
-in or near Bluegate Fields, Angel Gardens, and other streets and lanes
-in that neighbourhood. Many of them have a robust, coarse, masculine
-frame, some of them with great protruding breasts. A few of the same
-class come from a distance, followed by a low, brutal man. The latter
-are termed “cross-girls.” They pick up a sailor, take him into some
-dark by-street as if for the purpose of prostitution, get all the money
-they can from him, and seldom allow carnal connexion. If possible, so
-soon as they have effected their purpose, they run away; this is termed
-“bilking.”
-
-The rough-looking prostitutes of this class seldom attend the music
-saloons, as they would be far outshone in personal appearance by the
-younger girls of the other class referred to. We see them late in the
-evening skulking about the dark lanes, or patrolling the streets, on
-the watch for drunken sailors, whom they take into low coffee-houses
-and beer-shops, and sometimes drug by putting snuff, or other
-ingredients--sometimes laudanum--in his liquor. They look out for
-north country sea-captains and sailors just come ashore, and sometimes
-visit their ships lying in the river, at King James’s Stair, Wapping,
-Ratcliff Gross, Horseferry, Regent’s Canal Dock, Stone Stairs, or New
-Crane Stairs, Shadwell.
-
-Some of these brutal women have bullies, convicted thieves, who are
-sometimes dressed as sailors; some of them are river pirates, and from
-their childhood have led a criminal life.
-
-The average age of these prostitutes is from twenty to thirty-four.
-Many are slovenly dressed, and very dissipated, and callous in
-appearance. Some of them are women of colour, whom we have seen brought
-to the police station at King David’s Lane, charged with plundering
-coloured sailors of their money and clothes.
-
- Number of felonies in the metropolitan
- districts, by prostitutes, during
- 1860 692
- Ditto, ditto, in the City 102
- ---
- 794
-
- Value of property thereby abstracted in
- the metropolitan districts £2,651
- Ditto, ditto, in the City 323
- ------
- £2,974
-
-
-
-
-FELONIES ON THE RIVER THAMES.
-
-
-There are a great number of robberies of various descriptions committed
-on the Thames by different parties. These depredations differ in value,
-from the little ragged mudlark stealing a piece of rope or a few
-handfuls of coals from a barge, to the lighterman carrying off bales of
-silk several hundred pounds in value. When we look to the long lines
-of shipping along each side of the river, and the crowds of barges and
-steamers that daily ply along its bosom, and the dense shipping in its
-docks, laden with untold wealth, we are surprised at the comparatively
-small aggregate amount of these felonies.
-
-
-THE MUDLARKS.
-
-They generally consist of boys and girls, varying in age from eight
-to fourteen or fifteen; with some persons of more advanced years. For
-the most part they are ragged, and in a very filthy state, and are a
-peculiar class, confined to the river. The parents of many of them are
-coalwhippers--Irish cockneys--employed getting coals out of the ships,
-and their mothers frequently sell fruit in the street. Their practice
-is to get between the barges, and one of them lifting the other up will
-knock lumps of coal into the mud, which they pick up afterwards; or
-if a barge is ladened with iron, one will get into it and throw iron
-out to the other, and watch an opportunity to carry away the plunder in
-bags to the nearest marine-storeshop.
-
-They sell the coals among the lowest class of people for a few
-halfpence. The police make numerous detections of these offences. Some
-of the mudlarks receive a short term of imprisonment, from three weeks
-to a month, and others two months with three years in a reformatory.
-Some of them are old women of the lowest grade, from fifty to sixty,
-who occasionally wade in the mud up to the knees. One of them may be
-seen beside the Thames Police-office, Wapping, picking up coals in the
-bed of the river, who appears to be about sixty-five years of age. She
-is a robust woman, dressed in an old cotton gown, with an old straw
-bonnet tied round with a handkerchief, and wanders about without shoes
-and stockings. This person has never been in custody. She may often be
-seen walking through the streets in the neighbourhood with a bag of
-coals on her head.
-
-In the neighbourhood of Blackfriars Bridge clusters of mudlarks of
-various ages may be seen from ten to fifty years, young girls and old
-women, as well as boys.
-
-They are mostly at work along the coal wharves where the barges
-are lying aground, such as at Shadwell and Wapping, along Bankside,
-Borough; above Waterloo Bridge, and from the Temple down to St. Paul’s
-Wharf. Some of them pay visits to the City Gasworks, and steal coke and
-coal from their barges, where the police have made many detections.
-
-As soon as the tide is out they make their appearance, and remain till
-it comes in. Many of them commence their career with stealing rope or
-coals from the barges, then proceed to take copper from the vessels,
-and afterwards go down into the cabins and commit piracy.
-
-These mudlarks are generally strong and healthy, though their clothes
-are in rags. Their fathers are robust men. By going too often to the
-public-house they keep their families in destitution, and the mothers
-of the poor children are glad to get a few pence in whatever way they
-can.
-
-
-SWEEPING BOYS.
-
-This class of boys sail about the river in very old boats, and go on
-board empty craft with the pretext of sweeping them. They enter barges
-of all descriptions, laden with coffee, sugar, rice, and other goods,
-and steal anything they can lay their hands on, often abstracting
-headfasts, ropes, chains, &c. In some instances they cut the bags and
-steal the contents, and dispose of the booty to marine-store-dealers.
-They are generally very ragged and wretched in appearance, and if
-pursued take to the water like a rat, splashing through the mud, and
-may be seen doing so when chased by the police. In general they are
-expert swimmers. Their ages range from twelve to sixteen. They are
-dressed similar to the other ragged boys over the metropolis. The
-fathers of most of them are coalwhippers, but many of them are orphans.
-They are strong, healthy boys, and some of them sleep in empty barges,
-others in low lodging-houses at 3_d._ a night. Some live in empty houses,
-and many of them have not had a shirt on for six months, and their rags
-are covered with vermin.
-
-In the summer many sleep in open barges, and often in the winter, when
-they cover themselves with old mats, sacks, or tarpaulins. Their bodies
-are inured to this inclement life. They never go to church, and few of
-them have been to school.
-
-Two little boys of this class, the one nine and the other eleven
-years of age, lived for six months on board an old useless barge at
-Bermondsey, and for other five months in an old uninhabited house, and
-had not a clean shirt on during all that time. At night they covered
-themselves with old mats and sacks, their clothes being in a wretched
-state. Seeing them in this neglected condition, an inspector of police
-took them into custody and brought them before a magistrate, with
-the view to get them provided for. The magistrate sent them to the
-workhouse for shelter.
-
-These boys are of the same class with the mudlarks before referred to,
-but are generally a few years older.
-
-
-SELLERS OF SMALL WARES.
-
-Felonies are occasionally committed by boys who go on board vessels
-with baskets containing combs, knives, laces, &c., giving them in
-exchange for pieces of rope, sometimes getting fat and bones from the
-cooks. In many instances the owners are robbed by the crew giving away
-ropes belonging to the ship for such wares. These parties occasionally
-pilfer any small article they see lying about the ship, sometimes
-carrying off watches when they have an opportunity. They generally try
-to get on board foreign vessels about to sail, so that when robberies
-are committed the parties do not remain to prosecute them, and the
-thieves are consequently discharged.
-
-They are generally from fourteen to eighteen years of age, and many
-of them reside with their parents in Rosemary Lane and other low
-neighbourhoods about the East-end.
-
-This is a peculiar class of boys who confine their attention to the
-ships, barges, and coasting vessels, and do not commit felonies in
-other parts of the metropolis.
-
-
-LABOURERS ON BOARD SHIP, &C.
-
-These men are employed to discharge cargoes on board steam vessels
-arriving from the coast, and also foreign vessels. They are frequently
-detected pilfering by the police, and secreting about their clothes
-small quantities of tallow, coffee, sugar, meat, and other portable
-goods. These parties abstract articles from the hold, but do not go
-down into the cabins. They have ample opportunity of breaking open some
-of the boxes and packages, and of extracting part of the contents. As
-they have no facility to get large quantities on shore, they confine
-themselves to petty pilfering. Most of their booty is kept for their
-own consumption, unless they succeed in carrying off a large quantity,
-which rarely occurs. In these cases they dispose of it at a chandler’s
-shop.
-
-
-DREDGEMEN OR FISHERMEN.
-
-These are men who are in the habit of coming out early in the morning,
-as the tide may suit, for the purpose of dredging from the bed of the
-river coals which are occasionally spilled in weighing when being
-transferred into the barges. If these parties are not successful in
-getting coals there, they invariably go alongside of a leaded barge
-and carry off coals and throw a quantity of mud over them, to make it
-appear as if they had got them from the bed of the river. The police
-have made numerous detections. Some have been imprisoned, and others
-have been transported. The same class of men go alongside of vessels
-and steal the copper funnels and ropes, and go to the nearest landing
-place to sell them to marine-store-dealers, who are always in readiness
-to receive anything brought to them. The doors are readily opened to
-them, early and late.
-
-To deceive the police these unprincipled dealers have carts calling
-every morning at their shops to take away the metals and other goods
-they may have bought during the previous day and night.
-
-
-SMUGGLING.
-
-Numerous articles of contraband goods are smuggled by seamen on
-their arrival from foreign ports, such as tobacco, liquors, shawls,
-handkerchiefs, &c.
-
-Several years ago an officer in the Thames police was on duty at five
-in the morning. While rowing by the Tower he saw in the dusk two
-chimney sweeps in a boat leaving a steam vessel, having with them two
-bags of soot. He boarded the boat along with two officers, and asked
-them if they had anything in their possession liable to Custom-house
-duty. They answered they had not. Upon searching the bags of soot he
-found several packages of foreign manufactured tobacco, weighing 48lbs.
-The parties were arrested and taken to the police station, and were
-fined 100_l._ each, or six months’ imprisonment. Not being able to pay,
-they were imprisoned.
-
-These two sweeps had no doubt carried on this illegal traffic for some
-time, being employed on the arrival of the boats to clean the funnels
-and the flues of the boilers.
-
-Some time ago a sailor came ashore late at night at the Shadwell Dock,
-who had just arrived from America. According to the usual custom he was
-searched, when several pounds of tobacco were found concealed about his
-person. He was tried at the police court, and sentenced to pay a small
-fine.
-
-In July, 1858, about midnight, a police constable was passing East
-Lane, Bermondsey, when he saw a bag at the top of a street, containing
-something rather bulky, which aroused his suspicions. On proceeding
-farther he saw a man carrying another bag up the street from a boat in
-the river. He got the assistance of another constable, and apprehended
-the man carrying the bag, and also the waterman that conveyed it
-ashore. The two bags were found to contain 229 lbs. of Cavendish
-tobacco. Both persons were detained in the Thames police station, and
-taken before a magistrate at Southwark police court. Prosecution was
-ordered by the Board of Customs, and both were fined 100_l._ each, and
-in default sentenced to six months’ imprisonment. Being unable to pay
-the fine, they suffered imprisonment.
-
-In February, 1860, information was given to an inspector of the
-Thames police of a smuggling traffic which was being carried on in
-the Shadwell Basin, London Docks, from an American vessel named the
-Amazon. The steward was in the practice of carrying the tobacco about
-a certain hour in the morning from the vessel through a private gate
-at the Shadwell Basin. Vigilant watch was kept over this gate by the
-inspector, with the assistance of a constable. About eight o’clock
-in the morning he saw a man coming up who answered the description
-given him. He followed him into a tobacconist’s shop in King David
-Lane, Shadwell. The officer on going in saw a carpet bag handed over
-the counter. He seized it, and brought the man with him to the police
-station. A communication was then made to the Board of Customs, who
-sent an officer to the Thames police station. On making search on board
-the ship, they found about two cwt. of tobacco. The man was tried, and
-sentenced to pay a fine of 100_l._, or suffer six months’ imprisonment.
-
-
-FELONIES BY LIGHTERMEN.
-
-Numerous depredations are perpetrated by lightermen, employed to
-navigate barges by the owners of various steam-vessels in the river
-or in the docks, and are intrusted with valuable cargoes, the value
-varying from 20_l._ to 20,000_l._ They have been assisted in these
-robberies by persons little suspected by the public, but well known to
-the police.
-
-They have got cargoes from vessels in the wharves, or docks, to convey
-for trans-shipment and delivery along different parts of the river,
-and manage on their way to abstract part of the cargo they are in
-charge of. Sometimes these robberies are effected on the way, sometimes
-when they are waiting outside the dock for the tide to go in. When
-they have not such articles on board their own barges, they remove
-cargoes from other craft while the crew may be on shore at supper, or
-otherwise. Sometimes they carry away articles about their person, such
-as tobacco, brandy, wine, opium, tea, &c.
-
-They occasionally steal an empty barge, and go alongside of another
-barge as if they were legally employed to put the cargo into another
-craft, and turn the barge into some convenient place, where they may
-have a cart or van in readiness to remove the property. Sometimes they
-have a cab for this purpose. Two days often elapse before the police
-get information of these robberies.
-
-In one instance a barge was taken up Bow Creek, with about twenty
-bundles of whalebone and twenty bags of saltpetre, which were conveyed
-away in a van to the city. The police traced the booty to a marine
-store-dealer. The value of the property was 400_l._ Two well-known
-thieves were tried for the robbery, but were acquitted.
-
-In April, 1858, Thomas Turnbull and Charles Turnbull, brothers, both
-lightermen and notorious river thieves, were charged with a robbery
-from two barges at Wapping. Two lightermen were in charge of two barges
-laden, the one with lac dye, and the other with cases of wire, near
-to the entrance of the London Docks. These men having gone on shore
-for refreshment, the two thieves rowed an empty barge alongside the
-two barges, and took one chest of lac dye from one of them, and a
-case of wire card from the other, in value about 25_l._ They took the
-barge with the stolen property over to Rotherhithe, and landed at the
-Elephant Stairs, where it was conveyed away in a cart. The property
-was never recovered, but the police, after making great exertions,
-got sufficient evidence to convict the parties, who were sentenced to
-eighteen months each at the Central Criminal Court.
-
-These unprincipled lightermen could get a good livelihood by honest
-labour, varying from 30_s._ to 2_l._ a week; but they are dissipated
-and idle in their habits, and resort to thieving. They often spend
-their time in dancing and concert-rooms, and are to be seen at the
-Mahagony Bar at Close Square and Paddy’s Goose, Ratcliffe Highway.
-They generally cohabit with prostitutes. They are a different class
-of men from the tier-rangers, or river pirates, who also live
-with prostitutes. The lightermen’s women are generally smart and
-well-dressed, and do not belong to the lowest order as those of the
-tier-rangers do. The ages of this class of thieves generally range from
-twenty to thirty years.
-
-
-THE RIVER PIRATES.
-
-This class of robberies is committed among the shipping on both sides
-of the river, from London Bridge to Greenhithe, but is most prevalent
-from London Bridge to the entrance of the West India Dock. The
-depredations are committed in the docks as well as on the river, but
-not so much in the former, as they are better protected. Robberies in
-the docks are generally done in the daytime. In the river, the chief
-object the thieves have in view is to enter the vessel at midnight, as
-they know that when vessels arrive the seamen are often fatigued and
-worn out, and they get a favourable opportunity of getting on board
-and stealing. They steal from all classes of vessels, but chiefly from
-brigs and barges. They take any boat from the shore and go on board the
-vessels, as if they were seamen, being dressed as watermen and seamen.
-When they get on board they go to the cabin or forecastle. Their chief
-object is to secure wearing apparel and money. Watches are often to be
-found hanging up in the cabin, and clothes are also to be found there.
-In the forecastle the clothes are generally contained in a bag hanging
-up by the side or bow of the ship. After they have effected their
-purpose they row ashore and turn the boat adrift.
-
-There is another mode of stealing they adopt. They get on board the
-ships as if they belonged to some of them, and represent they belong
-to a certain ship in a line of vessels commonly called a “tier.” They
-proceed to the forecastle, where if they find no one moving about, they
-go down and plunder. If they are seen by any of the crew they pretend
-they belong to some other ship, and ask if this ship is named so and
-so. They then say they cannot get on board their own ship, and wish the
-crew to allow them to remain for the night.
-
-In many instances the stolen property is found on their person, such
-as coats, vests, trousers, boots, &c., and their own clothes are left
-behind. They are generally from eighteen to thirty years of age, and
-are powerful athletic men.
-
-These robberies are greatly on the decrease, owing to the vigilance of
-the police.
-
-Several years ago there was a cry of police between twelve and two
-o’clock midnight on board a vessel lying in Union Tier, Wapping. The
-crew of a police galley proceeded to the spot, and ascertained that two
-thieves had been on board a vessel there, and had concealed themselves
-somewhere in it, or in the barges alongside. After searching some time
-they discovered a notorious river thief in one of the barges. He was a
-stout made man, about five feet nine inches in height, and twenty-two
-years of age. A desperate struggle ensued between him and the police.
-He struck the inspector with a heavy iron bar on the back a very severe
-blow, which rendered him henceforth unfit for active duty. The pirate
-resisted with great desperation, and defied the police for some time.
-
-At last they drew their cutlasses, and succeeded in taking him. He
-was brought to the police station, convicted, and sentenced to three
-months’ imprisonment. He was afterwards indicted for the assault on the
-inspector, and sentenced to fifteen months’ hard labour. Since that
-time he has been transported twice for similar offences.
-
-A few years since several river pirates were suspected of being on
-board a vessel at Bermondsey, where they had stolen a silver watch
-from the cabin. One of the gang was detected by the crew of the vessel
-and detained. The crew shouted out for the police, when three of their
-pals drew up to the side of the vessel in a small boat, representing
-themselves to be policemen, with numbers chalked on their coats. The
-captain of the vessel gave the man into their custody, and handed
-over the watch to one of them. Next morning the captain went to the
-police-station to see if the party was there. It was then the police
-heard of the robbery, when it was found the supposed officers and the
-thief were a party of river pirates who had infested the river for a
-long time. As the ship was just setting sail the case was dropped.
-
-Some time ago three constables went on duty at midnight in consequence
-of a number of midnight robberies having been committed all over the
-river, especially at Deptford, from the ships lying there. They went
-out in a private boat in plain clothes. On getting to Deptford they
-proceeded up the creek. After remaining there in the dusk about an hour
-they heard a loud knocking, and suspected that some one was taking the
-copper from the bottom of a vessel lying there.
-
-The constables drew up to the vessel with their boat, and found two
-men with a quantity of copper in a boat, with chisels and a chopper
-they had been using. They arrested them, and were coming out of the
-creek with the two boats when they discovered two other notorious river
-thieves climbing down the chains of a vessel lying alongside the wharf.
-They had been down in the forecastle, and having disturbed the crew
-were making their escape when the officers saw them.
-
-The officers thereupon made for the vessel, and succeeded in
-apprehending them, and took them into their boat after a desperate
-resistance.
-
-The first two were convicted and sentenced, one to three months, and
-the other to six months’ imprisonment, and the latter were sentenced to
-three months each in Maidstone gaol.
-
-The Commissioners of Police rewarded the constables with a gratuity for
-their vigilance and gallant conduct.
-
-Many of these tier-rangers or river pirates have a ruffianly
-appearance, and generally live with prostitutes, on both sides of the
-river, at St. George’s, Bluegate-fields, the Borough, and Bermondsey.
-
-They confine themselves to robberies on the river, and are frequently
-transported by the time they are thirty years of age. Occasionally a
-returned convict comes back for a time, when he generally resumes his
-former villanies, and is again sent abroad.
-
-These tier-rangers in most cases have sprung from the ranks of the
-mudlarks, and step by step have advanced further in crime, until they
-have become callous brutal ruffians, living as brigands on the sides of
-the river.
-
- Number of felonies, &c., on the river
- Thames in the metropolitan districts for
- 1860 203
-
- Value of property abstracted thereby £712
-
-
-NARRATIVE OF A MUDLARK.
-
-The following narrative was given us by a mudlark we found on a float
-on the river Thames at Millwall, to the eastward of Ratcliffe Highway.
-He was then engaged, while the tide was in, gathering chips of wood
-in an old basket. We went to the river side along with his younger
-brother, a boy of about eleven years of age, we saw loitering in the
-vicinity. On our calling to him, he got the use of a boat lying near,
-and came toward us with alacrity. He was an Irish lad of about thirteen
-years of age, strong and healthy in appearance, with Irish features and
-accent. He was dressed in a brown fustian coat and vest, dirty greasy
-canvas trousers roughly-patched, striped shirt with the collar folded
-down, and a cap with a peak.
-
-“I was born in the county of Kerry in Ireland in the year 1847, and am
-now about thirteen years of age. My father was a ploughman, and then
-lived on a farm in the service of a farmer, but now works at loading
-ships in the London docks. I have three brothers and one sister. Two
-of my brothers are older than I. One of them is about sixteen, and
-the other about eighteen years of age. My eldest brother is a seaman
-on board a screwship, now on a voyage to Hamburg; and the other is a
-seaman now on his way to Naples. My youngest brother you saw beside
-me at the river side. My sister is only five years of age, and was
-born in London. The rest of the family were all born in Ireland. Our
-family came to London about seven years ago, since which time my
-father has worked at the London Docks. He is a strong-bodied man of
-about thirty-four years of age. I was sent to school along with my
-elder brothers for about three years, and learned reading, writing,
-and arithmetic. I was able to read tolerably well, but was not so
-proficient in writing and arithmetic. One of my brothers has been about
-three years, and the other about five years at sea.
-
-“About two years ago I left school, and commenced to work as a mudlark
-on the river, in the neighbourhood of Millwall, picking up pieces of
-coal and iron, and copper, and bits of canvas on the bed of the river,
-or of wood floating on the surface. I commenced this work with a little
-boy of the name of Fitzgerald. When the bargemen heave coals to be
-carried from their barge to the shore, pieces drop into the water among
-the mud, which we afterwards pick up. Sometimes we wade in the mud to
-the ancle, at other times to the knee. Sometimes pieces of coal do not
-sink, but remain on the surface of the mud; at other times we seek for
-them with our hands and feet.
-
-“Sometimes we get as many coals about one barge as sell for 6_d._ On
-other occasions we work for days, and only get perhaps as much as
-sells for 6_d._ The most I ever gathered in one day, or saw any of my
-companions gather, was about a shilling’s worth. We generally have a
-bag or a basket to put the articles we gather into. I have sometimes
-got so much at one time, that it filled my basket twice--before
-the tide went back. I sell the coals to the poor people in the
-neighbourhood, such as in Mary Street and Charles Street, and return
-again and fill my bag or basket and take them home or sell them to the
-neighbours. I generally manage to get as many a day as sell for 8_d._
-
-“In addition to this, I often gather a basket of wood on the banks of
-the river, consisting of small pieces chipped off planks to build the
-ships or barges, which are carried down with the current and driven
-ashore. Sometimes I gather four or five baskets of these in a day. When
-I get a small quantity they are always taken home to my mother. When
-successful in finding several basketfuls, I generally sell part of them
-and take the rest home. These chips or stray pieces of wood are often
-lying on the shore or among the mud, or about the floating logs; and
-at other times I seize pieces of wood floating down the river a small
-distance off; I take a boat lying near and row out to the spot and pick
-them up. In this way I sometimes get pretty large beams of timber. On
-an average I get 4_d._ or 6_d._ a-day by finding and selling pieces of
-wood; some days only making 2_d._, and at other times 3_d._ We sell the
-wood to the same persons who buy the coals.
-
-“We often find among the mud, in the bed of the river, pieces of iron;
-such as rivets out of ships, and what is termed washers and other
-articles cast away or dropped in the iron-yards in building ships and
-barges. We get these in the neighbourhood of Limehouse, where they
-build boats and vessels. I generally get some pieces of iron every day,
-which sells at 1/4_d._ a pound, and often make 1_d._ or 2_d._ a-day,
-sometimes 3_d._, at other times only a farthing. We sell these to the
-different marine store dealers in the locality.
-
-“We occasionally get copper outside Young’s dock. Sometimes it is new
-and at other times it is old. It is cut from the side of the ship when
-it is being repaired, and falls down into the mud. When the pieces are
-large they are generally picked up by the workmen; when small they do
-not put themselves to the trouble of picking them up. The mudlarks wade
-into the bed of the river and gather up these and sell them to the
-marine store dealer. The old copper sells at 1-1/2_d._ a pound, the new
-copper at a higher price. I only get copper occasionally, though I go
-every day to seek for it.
-
-“Pieces of rope are occasionally dropped or thrown overboard from the
-ships or barges and are found embedded in the mud We do not find much
-of this, but sometimes get small pieces. Rope is sold to the marine
-store dealers at 1/2_d._ a pound. We also get pieces of canvas, which
-sells at 1/2_d._ a pound. I have on some occasions got as much as three
-pounds.
-
-“We also pick up pieces of fat along the river-side. Sometimes we
-get four or five pounds and sell it at 3/4_d._ a pound at the marine
-stores; these are thrown overboard by the cooks in the ships, and after
-floating on the river are driven on shore.
-
-“I generally rise in the morning at six o’clock, and go down to the
-river-side with my youngest brother you saw beside me at the barges.
-When the tide is out we pick up pieces of coal, iron, copper, rope and
-canvas. When the tide is in we pick up chips of wood. We go upon logs,
-such as those you saw me upon with my basket, and gather them there.
-
-“In the winter time we do not work so many hours as in the summer;
-yet in winter we generally are more successful than in the long days
-of summer. A good number of boys wade in summer who do not come in
-winter on account of the cold. There are generally thirteen or fourteen
-mudlarks about Limehouse in the summer, and about six boys steadily
-there in the winter, who are strong and hardy, and well able to endure
-the cold.
-
-“The old men do not make so much as the boys because they are not so
-active; they often do not make more than 6_d._ a day while we make
-1_s._ or 1_s._ 6_d._
-
-“Some of the mudlarks are orphan boys and have no home. In the
-summer time they often sleep in the barges or in sheds or stables or
-cow-houses, with their clothes on. Some of them have not a shirt,
-others have a tattered shirt which is never washed, as they have no
-father nor mother, nor friend to care for them. Some of these orphan
-lads have good warm clothing; others are ragged and dirty, and covered
-with vermin.
-
-“The mudlarks generally have a pound of bread to breakfast, and a pint
-of beer when they can afford it. They do not go to coffee-shops, not
-being allowed to go in, as they are apt to steal the men’s ‘grub.’ They
-often have no dinner, but when they are able they have a pound of bread
-and 1_d._ worth of cheese. I never saw any of them take supper.
-
-“The boys who are out all night lie down to sleep when it is dark, and
-rise as early as daylight. Sometimes they buy an article of dress, a
-jacket, cap, or pair of trousers from a dolly or rag-shop. They got a
-pair of trousers for 3_d._ or 4_d._, an old jacket for 2_d._, and an
-old cap for 1/2_d._ or 1_d._ When they have money they take a bed in a low
-lodging-house for 2_d._ or 3_d._ a night.
-
-“We are often chased by the Thames’ police and the watermen, as the
-mudlarks are generally known to be thieves. I take what I can get as
-well as the rest when I get an opportunity.
-
-“We often go on board of coal barges and knock or throw pieces of coal
-over into the mud, and afterwards come and take them away. We also
-carry off pieces of rope, or iron, or anything we can lay our hands on
-and easily carry off. We often take a boat and row on board of empty
-barges and steal small articles, such as pieces of canvas or iron,
-and go down into the cabins of the barges for this purpose, and are
-frequently driven off by the police and bargemen. The Thames’ police
-often come upon us and carry off our bags and baskets with the contents.
-
-“The mudlarks are generally good swimmers. When a bargeman gets hold of
-them in his barge on the river, he often throws them into the river,
-when they swim ashore and then take off their wet clothes and dry them.
-They are often seized by the police in boats, in the middle of the
-river, and thrown overboard, when they swim to the shore. I have been
-chased twice by a police galley.
-
-“On one occasion I was swimming a considerable way out in the river
-when I saw two or three barges near me, and no one in them. I leaped
-on board of one and went down into the cabin, when some of the Thames’
-police in a galley rowed up to me. I ran down naked beneath the deck
-of the barge and closed the hatches, and fastened the staple with a
-piece of iron lying near, so that they could not get in to take me.
-They tried to open the hatch, but could not do it. After remaining for
-half-an-hour I heard the boat move off. On leaving the barge they rowed
-ashore to get my clothes, but a person on the shore took them away, so
-that they could not find them. After I saw them proceed a considerable
-distance up the river I swam ashore and got my clothes again.
-
-“One day, about three o’clock in the afternoon, as I was at Young’s
-Dock, I saw a large piece of copper drop down the side of a vessel
-which was being repaired. On the same evening, as a ship was coming out
-of the docks, I stripped off my clothes and dived down several feet,
-seized the sheet of copper and carried it away, swimming by the side of
-the vessel. As it was dark, I was not observed by the crew nor by any
-of the men who opened the gates of the dock. I fetched it to the shore,
-and sold it that night to a marine store dealer.
-
-“I have been in the habit of stealing pieces of rope, lumps of coal,
-and other articles for the last two years; but my parents do not know
-of this. I have never been tried before the police court for any
-felony.
-
-“It is my intention to go to sea, as my brothers have done, so soon as
-I can find a captain to take me on board his ship. I would like this
-much better than to be a coal-heaver on the river.”
-
-
-
-
-RECEIVERS OF STOLEN PROPERTY.
-
-
-When we look to the number of common thieves prowling over the
-metropolis--the thousands living daily on beggary, prostitution, and
-crime--we naturally expect to find extensive machineries for the
-receiving of stolen property. These receivers are to be found in
-different grades of society, from the keeper of the miserable low
-lodging-houses and dolly shops in Petticoat Lane, Rosemary Lane, and
-Spitalfields, in the East-end, and Dudley Street and Drury Lane in the
-West-end of the metropolis, to the pawnbroker in Cheapside, the Strand,
-and Fleet Street, and the opulent Jews of Houndsditch and its vicinity,
-whose coffers are said to be overflowing with gold.
-
- * * * * *
-
-_Dolly Shops._--As we walk along Dudley Street, near the Seven
-Dials,--the Petticoat Lane of the West-end,--a curious scene presents
-itself to our notice. There we do not find a colony of Jews, as in
-the East-end, but a colony of Irish shopkeepers, with a few cockneys
-and Jews intermingled among them. Dudley Street is a noted mart for
-old clothes, consisting principally of male and female apparel, and
-second-hand boots and shoes.
-
-We pass by several shops without sign boards--which by the way is
-a characteristic of this strange by-street--where boots and shoes,
-in general sadly worn, are exposed on shelves under the window, or
-carefully ranged in rows on the pavement before the shop. We find a
-middle-aged or elderly Irishman with his leathern apron, or a young
-Irish girl brushing shoes at the door, in Irish accent inviting
-customers to enter their shop.
-
-We also observe old clothes stores, where male apparel is suspended
-on wooden rods before the door, and trousers, vests, and coats of
-different descriptions, piled on chairs in front of the shop, or
-exposed in the dirty unwashed windows, while the shopmen loiter before
-the door, hailing the customers as they pass by.
-
-Alongside of these we see what is more strictly called dolly or leaving
-shops,--the fertile hot-beds of crime. The dolly shop is often
-termed an unlicensed pawn-shop. Around the doorway, in some cases of
-ordinary size, in others more spacious, we see a great assortment of
-articles, chiefly of female dress, suspended on the wall,--petticoats,
-skirts, stays, gowns, shawls, and bonnets of all patterns and sizes,
-the gowns being mostly of dirty cotton, spotted and striped; also
-children’s petticoats of different kinds, shirt-fronts, collars,
-handkerchiefs, and neckerchiefs exposed in the window. As we look into
-these suspicious-looking shops we see large piles of female apparel,
-with articles of men’s dress heaped around the walls, or deposited in
-bundles and paper packages on shelves around the shop, with strings of
-clothes hung across the apartment to dry, or offered for sale. We find
-in some of the back-rooms, stores of shabby old clothes, and one or
-more women of various ages loitering about.
-
-In the evening these dolly shops are dimly lighted, and look still more
-gloomy and forbidding than during the day.
-
-Many of these people buy other articles besides clothes. They are
-in the habit of receiving articles left with them, and charge 2_d._
-or 3_d._ a shilling on the articles, if redeemed in a week. If not
-redeemed for a week, or other specified time, they sell the articles,
-and dispose of them, having given the party a miserably small sum,
-perhaps only a sixth or eighth part of their value. These shops are
-frequented by common thieves, and by poor dissipated creatures living
-in the dark slums and alleys in the vicinity, or residing in low
-lodging-houses. The persons who keep them often conceal the articles
-deposited with them from the knowledge of the police, and get punished
-as receivers of stolen property. Numbers of such cases occur over the
-metropolis in low neighbourhoods. For this reason the keepers of these
-shops are often compelled to remove to other localities.
-
-The articles they receive, such as old male and female wearing apparel,
-are also resetted by keepers of low coffee-houses and lodging-houses,
-and are occasionally bought by chandlers, low hairdressers, and others.
-
-They also receive workmen’s tools of an inferior quality, and cheap
-articles of household furniture, books, &c., from poor dissipated
-people, beggars, and thieves; many of which would be rejected by the
-licensed pawnbrokers.
-
-They are frequently visited by the wives and daughters of the poorest
-labouring people, and others, who deposit wearing apparel, or
-bed-linen, with them for a small piece of money when they are in want
-of food, or when they wish to get some intoxicating liquor, in which
-many of them indulge too freely. They are also haunted by the lowest
-prostitutes on like errands. The keepers of dolly shops give more
-indulgence to their regular customers than they do to strangers. They
-charge a less sum from them, and keep their articles longer before
-disposing of them.
-
-It frequently occurs that these low traders are very unscrupulous, and
-sell the property deposited with them, when they can make a small piece
-of money thereby.
-
-There is a pretty extensive traffic carried on in the numerous
-dolly-shops scattered over the metropolis, as we may find from the
-extensive stores heaped up in their apartments, in many cases in such
-dense piles as almost to exclude the light of day, and from the groups
-of wretched creatures who frequent them--particularly in the evenings.
-
-The principal trade in old clothes is in the East-end of the
-metropolis--in Rosemary Lane, Petticoat Lane, and the dark by-streets
-and alleys in the neighbourhood, but chiefly at the Old Clothes
-Exchange, where huge bales are sold in small quantities to crowds
-of traders, and sent off to various parts of Scotland, England, and
-Ireland, and exported abroad. The average weekly trade has been
-estimated at about 1,500_l._
-
-_Pawnbrokers, &c._--A great amount of valuable stolen property passes
-into the hands of pawnbrokers and private receivers. The pawnbrokers
-often give only a third or fourth of the value of the article deposited
-with them, which lies secure in their hands for twelve months.
-
-A good many of them deal honestly in their way, and are termed
-respectable dealers; but some of them deal in an illegal manner, and
-are punished as receivers. Many of those who are reputed as the most
-respectable pawnbrokers, receive stolen plate, jewellery, watches, &c.
-
-When _plate_ is stolen, it is sometimes carried away on the night
-of the robbery in a cab, or other conveyance, to the house of the
-burglars. Some thieves take it to a low beershop, where they lodge for
-the night; others to coffee-shops; others to persons living in private
-houses, pretending possibly to be bootmakers, watchmakers, copper-plate
-printers, tailors, marine store-dealers, &c. Such parties are private
-receivers well-known to the burglars. The doors of their houses are
-opened at any time of the night.
-
-Burglars frequently let them know previously when they are going to
-work, and what they expect to get, and the crucible or silver pot
-is kept ready on a slow fire to receive the silver plate, sometimes
-marked with the crest of the owner. Within a quarter of an hour a large
-quantity is melted down. The burglar does not stay to see the plate
-melted, but makes his bargain, gets his money, and goes away.
-
-These private receivers have generally an ounce and a quarter for
-their ounce of silver, and the thief is obliged to submit, after he
-has gone into the house. The former are understood in many cases to
-keep quantities of silver on hand before they sell it to some of the
-refiners, or other dealers, who give them a higher price for it,
-generally 4_s._ 10_d._ per ounce. The burglar himself obtains only from
-3_s._ 6_d._ to 4_s._ an ounce.
-
-The receivers we refer to--well-known to the cracksmen of the
-metropolis--live at White Hart Yard, Catharine Street, Strand; Vinegar
-Yard, Catharine Street, Strand; Russell Street, Covent Garden; Gravel
-Lane; Union Street; Friars Street, Blackfriars’ Road; Oakley Street,
-Westminster Road; Eagle Street, Holborn; King Street, Seven Dials;
-Wardour Street, Oxford Street; Tottenham Place, Tottenham Court Road;
-Upper Afton Place, Newport Market; George’s Street, Hampstead Road;
-Clarendon Street, Somers Town; Philip’s Buildings, Somers Town;
-New North-Place and Judd Street, Gray’s Inn Road; Red Lion Street,
-Clerkenwell; Wilderness Row, Clerkenwell; Golden Lane; Banner Street;
-Banner Row; Long Alley; Tim Street; Middlesex Street, Whitechapel;
-Brick Lane, Whitechapel; Halfmoon Passage, Union Street, Spitalfields;
-Whitechapel Road; Commercial Road; Rosemary Lane, and other localities.
-
-These persons receive plate, silk, satins, and other valuable booty.
-
-There are also several refiners in different parts of the metropolis
-who generally have silver pots or crucibles on the fire ready to melt
-whatever plate may be taken in. Some of them are German Jews, others
-are English people.
-
-These furnaces are generally in a small workshop or parlour at the back
-of the shop. These receivers profess to sell jewellery, lace, and other
-articles, which are exposed in the shop windows. They are licensed to
-buy gold and silver, and offer to give fair value for precious stones.
-
-The _jewellery_ stolen is taken to these same fences and sold at
-less than a third of its value. The names are then erased, and the
-articles are taken to pieces, and sold to different jewellers over the
-metropolis. Stolen bank notes and jewellery are often sent abroad by
-these fences to avoid detection.
-
-The following prices are generally received from the fences for stolen
-bank-notes:--
-
- For a £5 bank-note, from £4 to £4 10_s._
- „ 10 do. „ £8 15_s._ to £9.
- „ 20 do. about £16 10_s._
- „ 50 do. „ £35.
-
-As the notes rise in value they give a smaller proportionate sum for
-them, as they may have more trouble in getting them exchanged.
-
-_Silks and satins_, and such like goods, are often conveyed to the
-fence in a cab on the night or morning the robbery is effected; the
-dealer generally gets previous notice, and expects to receive them.
-
-In addition to the watch set at the house where the robbery is to be
-committed, there is often a watch stationed near the house of the
-receiver to look after the movements of the policeman in his locality.
-One of the burglars goes in the cab direct from the shop or warehouse
-where the robbery has been committed to the house of the receiver, and
-possibly at a short distance from the house gets a quiet signal from
-the watch as to whether it is safe to approach. If not, he can make a
-detour with the cab, and come back a little afterwards when the coast
-is clear. The burglar and the cabman remove the bags of goods into the
-house of the receiver, when the vehicle drives off. The driver of the
-cab is generally paid according to the value of the booty.
-
-Sometimes these goods are taken to a coffee-house, where the people are
-acquainted with the burglars, and where one of the burglars remains
-till the booty is sold and removed, or otherwise disposed of. The
-fence, who has got notice of the plunder from some of the thieves,
-often comes and takes it away himself. The keeper of the coffee-house
-is well paid for his trouble.
-
-Silks and satins are generally sold to the fence at 1_s._ a yard,
-whatever the quality of the fabric. Silk handkerchiefs of excellent
-quality are sold at 1_s._ each; good broadcloth from 4_s._ to 5_s._ a
-yard, possibly worth from 1_l._ 1_s._ to 1_l._ 5_s._; neckties, sold
-in the shops from 1_s._ 6_d._ to 2_s._ each, are given away for 4_d._
-to 6_d._ each; kid-gloves, worth from 2_s._ to 3_s._ 6_d._, are sold
-at 6_d._ a pair; and women’s boots, worth from 6_s._ 6_d._ to 10_s._
-6_d._, are given for 2_s._
-
-Silks and satins of the value of 4,500_l._ have been sold for 515_l._,
-the chief proportion of the spoil thus coming into the hands of the
-unprincipled receiver.
-
-Numerous cases of receiving stolen property are tried at our
-police-courts and sessions, as well as at the Old Bailey. We shall only
-adduce one illustration.
-
-Some time ago a bale of goods was stolen from a passage in a warehouse
-in the City. The case was put in the hands of the police. They were
-a peculiar class of goods. Information was given to persons in that
-line of business. A few weeks after it was ascertained that the stolen
-property had been offered for sale by a person who produced a sample.
-They were ultimately traced to a place in the City, not far distant
-from where they had been stolen. They were seized by two officers of
-police. The man who was selling them was an agent, and had no hand in
-the robbery. He would not give up the name of the person who had sent
-them to him. He was taken into custody, and he and the goods were sent
-to the police station.
-
-Seeing the dilemma in which he was placed, this man, when in custody,
-stated that he had received the goods from a well-known Jewish dealer,
-who was thereupon arrested. On searching his premises the officers
-found a great part of the booty of twelve burglaries, and of three
-other robberies, one of them being a quantity of jewellery of great
-value, the whole of the property amounting to from 2000_l._ to 3000_l._
-
-He was tried, convicted, and sentenced to fourteen years’
-transportation.
-
-From the statistics of the metropolitan police we find the number of
-houses of bad character, which may be used to receive stolen property,
-to be as follows:--
-
- 163 houses of receivers of stolen goods.
- 255 public-houses. }
- 103 beer-shops. } The resort of thieves
- 154 coffee-shops. } and prostitutes.
- 101 other suspected }
- houses. }
- 1,706 brothels and houses of ill-fame.
- 361 tramps’ lodging-houses.
- -----
- 2,843
-
-
-NARRATIVE OF A RETURNED CONVICT.
-
-We give the following brief autobiography of a person who has recently
-returned from one of our penal settlements, having been transported
-for life. In character he is very different from the generality of
-our London thieves, having hot African blood in his veins and being
-a man of passionate, unbridled character. He was formerly a daring
-highway robber. He was introduced to us accidentally in Drury-lane, by
-a Bow-street police officer, who occasionally acts as a detective. On
-this occasion the latter displayed very little tact and discretion,
-which made it exceedingly difficult for us to get from him even the
-following brief tale:--
-
-“I was born in a tent at Southampton, on the skirts of a forest, among
-the gipsies, my father and mother being of that stock of people. We
-had generally about seven or eight tents in our encampment, and were
-frequently in the forest between Surrey and Southampton. The chief
-of our gang, termed the gipsey king, had great influence among us.
-He was then a very old, silver-headed man, and had a great number of
-children. I learned when a boy to play the violin, and was tolerably
-expert at it. I went to the public-houses and other dwellings in the
-neighbourhood, with three or four other gipsey boys, who played the
-triangle and drum, as some of the Italian minstrels do. We went during
-the day and often in the evening. At other times we had amusement
-beside the tents, jumping, running, and single-stick, and begged from
-the people passing by in the vehicles or on foot.
-
-“During the day some of the men of our tribe went about the district,
-and looked out over the fields for horses which would suit them, and
-came during the night and stole them away. They never carried away
-horses from the stables. They generally got their booty along the
-by-roads, and took them to the fairs in the neighbourhood and sold
-them, usually for about 10_l._ or 12_l._ The horses they stole were
-generally light and nimble, such as might be useful to themselves. They
-disfigured them by putting a false mark on them, and by clipping their
-mane and tail. When a horse is in good order they keep it for a time
-till it becomes more thin and lank, to make it look older. They let
-the horse generally go loose on the side of a road at a distance from
-their encampment, till they have an opportunity to sell it; and it is
-generally placed alongside one or two other horses, so that it is not
-so much observed. The same person who steals it frequently takes it to
-the fair to be sold.
-
-“The gipsies are not so much addicted to stealing from farms as is
-generally supposed. They are assisted in gaining a livelihood by their
-wives and other women going over the district telling fortunes. Some of
-them take to hawking for a livelihood. This is done by boys and girls,
-as well as old men and women. They sell baskets, brushes, brooms, and
-other articles.
-
-“I spent my early years wandering among the gipsies till I was thirteen
-years of age, and was generally employed going about the country with
-my violin, along with some of my brothers.
-
-“My father died when I was about six years of age. A lady in
-Southampton, of the Methodist connexion, took an interest in my
-brothers and me, and we settled there with our mother, and afterwards
-learned coach-making. I lived with my mother in Southampton for five or
-six years. My brothers were well-behaved, industrious boys, but I was
-wild and disobedient.
-
-“The first depredation I committed was when thirteen years old. I
-robbed my mother of a box of old-fashioned coins and other articles,
-and went to Canterbury, where I got into company with prostitutes and
-thieves. The little money I had was soon spent.
-
-“After this I broke the window of a pawnbroker’s shop as a cart was
-passing by, put my hand through the broken pane of glass, and carried
-off a bowl of gold and silver coins, and ran off with them and made my
-way to Chatham.
-
-“Some time after this I was, one day at noon, in the highway between
-Chatham and Woolwich, when I saw a carriage come up. The postillion was
-driving the horses smartly along. A gentleman and lady were inside,
-and the butler and a female servant were on the seat behind. I leaped
-on the back of the conveyance as it was driving past, and took away
-the portmanteau with the butler’s clothes, and carried it off to the
-adjoining woods. I sold them to a Jew at Southampton for 3_l._ or 4_l._
-
-“Shortly after I came up to London, and became acquainted with a gang
-of young thieves in Ratcliffe Highway. I lived in a coffee-house there
-for about eighteen months. The boys gained their livelihood picking
-gentlemen’s pockets, at which I soon became expert. After this I joined
-a gang of men, and picked ladies’ pockets, and resided for some time at
-Whitechapel.
-
-[Illustration:
-
- COMPARTMENT ON THE SIDE FOR VISITORS. COMPARTMENT ON THE SIDE FOR PRISONERS.
-
-FRIENDS VISITING PRISONERS.]
-
-“Several years after I engaged with some other men in highway
-robbery. I recollect on one occasion we learned that a person was in
-the habit of going to one of the City banks once a week for a large sum
-of money--possibly to pay his workmen. He was generally in the habit
-of calling at other places in town on business, and carried the money
-with him in a blue serge bag. We followed him from the bank to several
-places where he made calls, until he came to a quiet by-street, near
-London bridge. It was a dark wintry night, and very stormy. I rushed
-upon him and garotted him, while one of my companions plundered him
-of his bag. He was a stout old man, dressed like a farmer. I was then
-about twenty-two years of age.
-
-“At this time I went to music and dancing saloons, and played on my
-violin.
-
-“Soon after I went to a fair at Maidstone with several thieves,
-all young men like myself. One of us saw a farmer in the market, a
-robust middle-aged man, take out his purse with a large sum of money.
-We followed him from the market. I went a little in advance of my
-companions for a distance of sixteen miles, till we came to a lonely
-cross turning surrounded with woods. The night happened to be dark. I
-went up to him and seized him by the leg, and pulled him violently off
-his horse, and my companions came up to assist me. While he lay on the
-ground we rifled his pockets of a purse containing about 500_l._ and
-some silver money. He did not make very much resistance and we did not
-injure him. We came back to London and shared the booty among us.
-
-“About the time of the great gathering of the Chartists on Kennington
-Common, in 1848, I broke into a pawnbroker’s shop in the metropolis,
-and stole jewellery to the amount of 2,000_l._, consisting of watches,
-rings, &c., and also carried off some money. I sold the jewels to a
-Jewish receiver for about 500_l._ I was arrested some time after, and
-tried for this offence, and sentenced to transportation for life.
-
-“I returned from one of the penal settlements about a year ago, and
-have since led an honest life.”
-
-
-
-
-COINING.
-
-
-This class of felonies is as prevalent as ever in the metropolis, and
-is carried on in many of the low neighbourhoods.
-
-It is generally effected in this way. Take a shilling, or other
-sterling coin, scour it well with soap and water; dry it, and then
-grease it with suet or tallow; partly wipe this off, but not wholly.
-Take some plaster of Paris, and make a collar either of paper or tin.
-Pour the plaster of Paris on the piece of coin in the collar or band
-round it. Leave it until it sets or hardens, when the impression will
-be made. You turn it up and the piece sticks in the mould. Turn the
-reverse side, and you take a similar impression from it; then you have
-the mould complete. You put the pieces of the mould together, and then
-pare it. You make a channel in order to pour the metal into it in a
-state of fusion, having the neck of the channel as small as possible.
-The smaller the channel the less the imperfection in the “knerling.”
-
-You make claws to the mould, so that it will stick together while you
-pour the metal into it. But before doing so, you must properly dry it.
-If you pour the hot metal into it when damp, it will fly in pieces.
-This is the general process by which counterfeit coin is made. When you
-have your coin cast, there is a “gat,” or piece of refuse metal, sticks
-to it. You pair this off with a pair of scissors or a knife--generally
-a pair of scissors--then you file the edges of the coin to perfect the
-“knerling.”
-
-The coin is then considered finished, except the coating. At this time
-it is of a bluish colour, and not in a state fit for circulation, as
-the colour would excite suspicion.
-
-You get a galvanic battery with nitric acid and sulphuric acid,
-a mixture of each diluted in water to a certain strength. You
-then get some cyanide and attach a copper wire to a screw of the
-battery. Immerse that in the cyanide of silver when the process of
-electro-plating commences.
-
-The coin has to pass through another process. Get a little lampblack
-and oil, and make it into a sort of composition, “slumming” the
-coin with it. This takes the bright colour away, and makes it fit
-for circulation. Then wrap the coins up separately in paper so as
-to prevent them rubbing. When coiners are going to circulate them,
-they take them up and rub each piece separately. The counterfeit
-coin will then have the greatest resemblance to genuine coin, if
-well-manufactured.
-
-While this is the general mode by which it is made, a skilful
-artificer, or keen-eyed detective can trace the workmanship of
-different makers.
-
-Counterfeit coin is manufactured by various classes of
-people--costermongers, mechanics, tailors, and others--and is generally
-confined to the lower classes of various ages. Girls of thirteen years
-of age sometimes assist in making it.
-
-It is made in Westminster, Clerkenwell, the Borough, Lambeth, Drury
-Lane, the Seven Dials, Lisson Grove, and other low neighbourhoods of
-the metropolis, at all hours of the day and night.
-
-There are generally two persons engaged in making it--sometimes four.
-In nine cases out of ten, men and women are employed in it together.
-The man generally holds the mould with an iron clamp, that is an iron
-hook doubled in the shape of plyers or tongues to prevent the heat from
-burning their hands. The women generally pour the metal into it. One
-person could make the coin alone, but this would be too tedious. While
-engaged in this work, they fasten the doors of their room or dwelling,
-and have generally a person on the look-out they term a “crow,” in case
-the officers of justice should make their appearance, and detect them
-in the act.
-
-The officers make a simultaneous rush into the house after having
-forced open the door with a blow from a sledge-hammer, so as to detect
-the parties in the very act of coining. On such occasions the men
-endeavour to destroy the mould, while the women throw the counterfeit
-coin into the fire, or into the melted metal, which effectually injures
-it. This is done to prevent the officers getting these articles into
-their possession, as evidence against them.
-
-The coiners frequently throw the hot metal at the officers, or the
-acids they use in their coining processes, or they attempt to strike
-them with a chair or stool, or other weapon that comes in their way. In
-most cases they resist until they are overpowered and secured.
-
-Counterfeit coin is generally made of Britannia metal spoons and other
-ingredients, and very seldom of pewter pots, though formerly this was
-the case.
-
-Sometimes four impressions are cast from each mould at the same
-instant; in other cases two or three. If too near each other the
-powerful heat of the metal in casting half-crowns or crowns would make
-the mould fly. Hence there must be spaces between each impression.
-Smaller coins, such as sixpences or shillings, can be placed nearer
-each other in the mould. On each occasion when they cast the coin they
-blow the dust off the mould to keep it perfectly clear, so as not to
-injure in the slightest degree the impression. When the latter is
-imperfect a new mould must be made. The coiner can use the same mould
-again in less than a minute to make other counterfeit coins.
-
-Sometimes a quart basinful is made on a single occasion; at other times
-a very small quantity only.
-
-The coiners have agents at different public-houses to dispose of their
-counterfeit coin, and some of them stand in the street to sell it.
-Sometimes it is sold to their private agents in their own dwellings,
-or sent out to parties who purchase it from them. The latter parties
-generally pay 1_d._ for a shilling’s worth. Then these agents sell
-it to the utterers for 2_d._ a shilling, 3_d._ for two shillings,
-3-1/2_d._ for a half-crown, and 4_d._ a crown. Some coiners charge
-5_d._ for five shillings’ worth.
-
-The detection of counterfeit coin in the metropolis is under the able
-management of Mr. Brennan, a skilful and experienced public officer,
-who keeps a keen surveillance over this department of crime.
-
-In 1855 Mr. Brennan, along with Inspector Bryant of G division, and
-other officers, went to the neighbourhood of Kent Street for the
-purpose of apprehending a person of the name of Green, better known by
-the cognomen of “Charcoal.” The street door was open, and the officers
-proceeded to the top floor up a winding staircase. The house consisted
-of three floors. On passing upstairs they were met by three men on the
-top landing, very robust, their ages averaging from twenty-four to
-thirty-six. One of them, named Brown, was a noted Devonshire wrestler,
-and a powerful-bodied man.
-
-These men attempted to force their way down. Mr. Brennan manfully
-resisted and tried to keep them up, and force them back into the room.
-Brown leaped over him while struggling with the other two. On Mr.
-Brennan’s son and Inspector Bryant coming up to his assistance, the
-other two men were arrested and secured in the yard.
-
-A third man came out of the room and was passing by Mr. Brennan, and in
-doing so hit him on the head with a saucepan, and forced him against
-the staircase window. His son came up to his assistance, when he struck
-this new assailant on the arm with a crowbar, and partially disabled
-him. At this time the frame of the staircase window gave way, and he
-fell into the court.
-
-One of the men in the house jumped from the window of the staircase
-on the roof of a shed, and fell right through it, and was followed
-by Constable Neville of the G division, who jumped after him and
-secured him. The former was a man of about five feet eight inches
-high, powerfully built. Other two men were beat back into the room and
-secured along with two women. Five out of a party of seven men were
-arrested, and the other two effected their escape. The officers only
-expected to see one man and a woman coining in this house.
-
-After they succeeded in forcing the two men back into the room, the man
-named “Charcoal” struggled desperately, and used every effort to smash
-the mould. They found sufficient fragments of it as evidence against
-them that they had been making half-crowns, shillings, and sixpences,
-besides a large quantity of counterfeit coin.
-
-The officers were obliged to remain in the house and yard until they
-sent to the police station for additional assistance. The prisoners
-were tried at the Old Bailey and sentenced to various terms of
-imprisonment, from six months to fourteen years. The Recorder from the
-bench recommended to Mr. Brennan a compensation of 10_l._ for the manly
-and efficient part he had acted on this trying occasion.
-
-In 1845 Mr. Brennan received information that a man who resided at
-Bath Place, Old Street Road, was making counterfeit coin. This house
-consisted of two rooms, the one above the other. Mr. Brennan went
-there, accompanied by Sergeant Cole of the G division, leaving a police
-constable at the end of the court. He broke open the door with a
-sledge-hammer, and attempted to run upstairs, and was met at the door
-by the coiner, who tried to rush back into the room, when the former
-seized him by a leathern apron he had on. In the struggle both he and
-Mr. Brennan were hurled down to the bottom of the staircase, a distance
-of eleven steps. The officer was severely injured on the back of the
-head, and the coiner’s knee struck against his belly, yet this brave
-officer, though severely injured, kept hold of the coiner.
-
-At this time Cole was struggling with the coiner’s wife and daughter,
-while their bull-dog seized him by the leg of his trousers. The dog
-kept hold of him for about twenty-five minutes. Latterly the three
-parties were secured.
-
-Meanwhile the constable whom he had left at the end of the court heard
-the disturbance, and entered and assisted in securing the prisoners.
-
-The woman was tall and masculine in appearance, and the girl was
-thirteen years of age.
-
-On securing this desperate coiner Mr. Brennan proceeded upstairs, and
-found four galvanic batteries in full play, and about five hundred
-pieces of counterfeit coin in various stages of manufacture--crowns,
-half-crowns, shillings, and sixpences. The prisoner was committed to
-Newgate for trial. His wife was acquitted, she having acted under his
-direction. He was sentenced to fifteen years’ transportation. The girl
-was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for the exceedingly active
-part she had taken in the affair.
-
-Mr. Brennan on this occasion was severely injured in his gallant
-struggle.
-
-Several years ago Mr. Brennan went to apprehend a man of the name of
-Morris near Westminster. The street-door of the house, which consisted
-of three stories, was shut, but was suddenly burst open by the blow of
-a sledge-hammer. On running up to the top floor he found his hat struck
-against something, and found there was a flap let down over the “well”
-of the staircase, which was dreadfully armed with iron spikes of about
-three or four inches long, and about the same distance apart, and it
-seemed utterly impossible to force it up.
-
-The man meantime effected his escape through the roof, and ran along
-the roofs and jumped a depth of twenty-five feet on the roof of a shed,
-and was much injured. He was carried away by his friends to Birmingham,
-and kept in an hospital till he recovered. He then left London for two
-years.
-
-Afterwards he made his appearance in the neighbourhood of Kent Street
-in the Borough, where Mr. Brennan went to apprehend him, assisted by
-several other officers. He paid him a visit at seven o’clock on a
-winter’s evening. The coiner was sitting in the middle of the floor
-making half-crowns. One of the windows of the house was open. On
-hearing the officers approach he jumped clean out of the window on
-the back of an officer who was stationed there to watch--the height
-of one story. Mr. Brennan followed him as he ran off without his coat
-along some adjoining streets, and caught sight of him passing through
-a back door that led into some gardens. Here he fled into a house, the
-floor of which went down a step. There was a bed in the room with three
-children in it. Mr. Brennan missed his footing, and fell across the
-bed, and narrowly escaped injuring one of the children by the fall. The
-father and mother of the children were standing at the fire. The man
-stepped forward to the officer and was about to use violence, when Mr.
-Brennan told him who he was and his errand, which quieted him.
-
-Meantime Mr. Brennan tripped up the coiner as he was endeavouring to
-escape, and threw him on the floor, secured him and put him into a
-cab, where a low mob, which had meantime gathered in this disreputable
-neighbourhood, tried to rescue the coiner from the hands of the
-officers. They threw brickbats, stones, and other missiles to rescue
-the prisoner.
-
-While the officers were conveying him to the police-station this coiner
-while handcuffed endeavoured to throw himself in a fit of frantic
-passion beneath the wheels of a waggon to destroy himself, but was
-prevented by the officers. When in Horsemonger Gaol he refused for a
-time to take any food.
-
-He was tried at the Old Bailey, and sentenced to thirty years’
-transportation for coining and assaulting the officers in the execution
-of their duty.
-
- Number of cases of coining in the metropolitan
- districts for 1860 6
- Ditto ditto in the City 0
- --
- 6
-
- Number of cases of putting or uttering
- base coin, &c., in the metropolitan districts 616
-
-
-FORGERS.
-
-Forgery is the fraudulent making or altering a written instrument, to
-the detriment of another person. To constitute a forgery it is not
-necessary that the whole instrument should be fictitious. Making an
-insertion, alteration, or erasure, on any material part of a genuine
-document, by which any of the lieges may be defrauded; the insertion of
-a false signature to a true instrument, or a real signature to a false
-one, or the altering of the date of a bill after acceptance, are all
-forgeries. There are different classes of these. For example, there are
-forgeries of bank notes, of cheques, of acceptances, wills, and other
-documents.
-
-_Bank Notes._--There are many forgeries of Bank of England notes,
-executed principally at Birmingham. In the engraving and general
-appearance the counterfeit so closely resembles the genuine note,
-that an inexperienced eye might be easily deceived. The best way to
-detect them is carefully to look to the water-mark embossed in the
-paper, which is not like a genuine note. When the back of the former is
-carefully inspected, the water-mark will be found to be indented, or
-pressed into the paper. The paper of a forged note is generally of a
-darker colour than a good one. To take persons off their guard, forgers
-frequently make the notes very dirty, so as to give them the appearance
-of a much-worn good note. They are frequently uttered by pretended
-horse-dealers, in fairs and markets, and at hotels and public-houses
-by persons who pretend to be travellers, and who order goods from
-tradespeople in the provincial towns, and pay them with forged notes.
-This is often done before banking-hours on the Monday, when they might
-be detected, but by this time the person who may have offered them has
-left the town. This is the common way of putting them off in London
-and the other towns in England. Sometimes they utter them by sending a
-woman, dressed as a servant, to a public-house or to a tradesman for
-some article, and in this manner get them exchanged--perhaps giving the
-address of her master as residing in the vicinity, which is sure to be
-false. Tradesmen are frequently taken off their guard by this means,
-and give an article, often of small value, with the change in return
-for a note. They sometimes do not discover it to be false till several
-days afterwards, when it is taken to the bank and detected there.
-
-An experienced banking clerk or a keen-eyed detective, accustomed to
-inspect such notes, know them at once. It sometimes happens they are
-so well executed that they pass through provincial banks, and are not
-detected till they come to the Bank of England.
-
-They generally consist of 5_l._ or 10_l._ notes, and are given to
-agents who sell them to the utterer, and the makers are not known to
-them. Knowingly to have in our possession a forged bank note, without a
-lawful excuse, the proof of which lies on the party charged, or to have
-forging instruments in our possession, is a criminal offence.
-
-There are also forged notes of provincial banks, but these are not so
-numerous as those of the Bank of England. The provincial banks have
-generally colours and engine-turned engraving on their notes. Some have
-a portion of the note pink, green, or other colours, more difficult and
-expensive to forge than the Bank of England note, which is on plain
-paper with an elaborate water-mark.
-
-Numerous cases occur before the criminal courts, where utterers of
-forged notes are convicted and punished.
-
-A case of this kind was tried at Guildhall, in October, 1861. A
-marine-store dealer in Lower Whitecross-street was charged with
-feloniously uttering two forged Bank of England notes for 5_l._ and
-10_l._, with the intent to defraud Mr. Crouch, the proprietor of the
-“Queen’s Head” tavern, in Whitecross Street.
-
-The store-dealer had waited on him to get them exchanged. Mr. Crouch
-paid them to his distiller, who took them to the Bank of England, when
-they were sent back, detected as forgeries.
-
-The prisoner was committed to Newgate.
-
-Many forged notes of the Bank of England are now in circulation. They
-may be detected by wetting them, when the water-mark disappears. The
-vignette is often clumsily engraved. In other respects the forgery is
-cleverly executed.
-
-_Cheques._--A cheque is a draft or order on a banker, by a person
-who has money in the bank, directing the banker to pay the sum named
-therein to the bearer or the person named in the cheque, which must be
-signed by the drawer. Cheques are generally payable to the bearer, but
-sometimes made payable to the person who is named therein. The place
-of issue must be named, and the check must bear the date of issue. A
-_crossed_ cheque has the name of a banker written across the face of
-it, and must be paid through that banker. If presented by any other
-person it is not paid without rigid inquiry. The word banker includes
-any person, corporation, or Joint-Stock Company, acting as bankers.
-
-The form of the cheque is seldom forged; it is generally the signature.
-Sometimes the body of the cheque that contains the genuine signature
-is forged. For instance, in a cheque for eight pounds the letter “y”
-may be added to the word “eight,” which makes it “eighty;” and a
-cypher appended to the figure “8” making it “80,” to correspond with
-the writing. The forms of cheques are frequently obtained by means of
-a forged order, such as A knowing B to have an account at a bank, A
-writes a letter to the banker purporting to come from B, asking for
-a cheque-book, which the banker frequently sends on the faith of the
-letter being genuine. Sometimes cheque-books are stolen by burglars and
-other thieves who enter business premises. By some device they get the
-signature of a person who has money in that bank, and forge it to the
-stolen cheques. It has been known for forgers who wanted to obtain
-money from a bank, to go to a solicitor whom they knew kept a bank
-account. One of them would instruct the solicitor to enter an action
-against one of his confederates for a pretended debt. After proceedings
-had been instituted the party would pay the amount claimed to the
-solicitor; and his companion, who had given instructions in reference
-to the action, then goes and gets a cheque for the amount, and by
-that means obtains the genuine signature, and is enabled to insert a
-facsimile of it in forged cheques. By this means he obtains money from
-the bank. Cases of this kind very frequently occur.
-
-Sometimes forgeries are done by clerks and others who have an
-opportunity of getting the signature of their employer. They forge his
-name, or alter the body of the cheque. In many commercial houses the
-body of the cheque is filled up by the confidential clerk and taken to
-the head of the firm, who signs it. These forgeries are sometimes for a
-small sum, at other times for a large amount.
-
-Several cases of uttering forged cheques were lately tried before the
-police-courts.
-
-A respectable-looking young woman, who described herself as a domestic
-servant, was brought before the Lord Mayor, charged with uttering a
-cheque for 5_l._ 18_s._, purporting to be signed by Mr. W. P. Bennett,
-with intent to defraud a banking firm in London. She had recently been
-on a visit to London, and had been lent a small sum of money by another
-servant in town, along with some dresses, amounting to 10_s._ 6_d._
-
-On the 30th October the latter young woman received a letter from the
-prisoner, enclosing a forged cheque, and at the same time stating that
-a young man with whom she had been keeping company had died, and had
-given her this cheque to get cashed. If the servant could not get away
-to get the cheque cashed, the prisoner wished her to lend her what she
-was able, to go to the young man’s funeral. On presenting the cheque at
-the banker’s the forgery was discovered.
-
-It appeared from the evidence that the prisoner had been lodging in the
-same house with Mr. Bennett, whose signature she forged.
-
-A young man of respectable appearance residing in the neighbourhood of
-Fleet Street, was tried at Guildhall lately, charged with uttering a
-cheque for 6_l._, well knowing the same to be a forgery. He had gone
-to the landlord of a public-house in Essex Street, Bouverie Street,
-and asked him to cash it. It was drawn by Josiah Evans in favour of
-C. B. Bennett, Esq., and indorsed by the latter. The cheque was on Sir
-Benjamin Hayward, Bart., & Co., of Manchester. When presented at the
-bank, it was returned with a note stating that no such person had an
-account there, and they did not know any of the names. The criminal was
-then arrested, and committed for trial.
-
-_Forged Acceptance._--A bill of exchange is a mercantile contract
-written on a slip of paper, whereby one person requests another to pay
-money on his account to a third person at the time therein specified.
-The person who draws the bill is termed the drawer, the party to whom
-it is addressed before acceptance is called the drawee--afterwards
-the acceptor. The party for whom it is drawn is termed the payee, who
-indorses the bill, and is then styled the indorser, and the party to
-whom he transfers it is called the indorsee. The person in possession
-of the bill is termed the holder.
-
-An acceptance is an engagement to pay the bill, the person writing
-the word accepted across the bill with his name under it. This may be
-_absolute_ or _qualified_. An _absolute_ acceptance is an engagement
-to pay the bill according to its request. A _qualified_ acceptance
-undertakes to do it conditionally.
-
-Bills are either inland or foreign. The inland bill is on one piece of
-paper; foreign bills generally consist of three parts called a “set;”
-so that should the bearer lose one, he may receive payment for the
-other. Each part contains a condition that it shall be paid provided
-the others are unpaid. These bills require to have a stamp of proper
-value to make them valid.
-
-Forgeries of bills seldom consist of the whole bill, but either the
-acceptor’s signature, or that of the drawer, or the indorser. Sometimes
-the contents of the bill is altered to make it payable earlier.
-
-These forgeries are not so numerous, and are frequently done by parties
-who get the bills in a surreptitious way. It often happens that one
-party draws the bill in another name, forging the acceptance, and
-passes it to a third party who is innocent of the forgery. If the
-person who forged the acceptance, pays the money to the bank where the
-bill is payable when it is due, the forgery is not detected. When he is
-not able to pay in the money it is discovered. It happens in this way:
-A B and C are commercial men, A stands well in the commercial world;
-B draws a bill in his name, and without his knowledge. The name of A
-being good, the bill passes to C without any suspicion. If B can meet
-it at the time it is due, A does not know that his name has been used.
-
-If the bill is not paid at the proper time, C takes it to A, and thus
-discovers the forgery.
-
-_Forged Wills._--A will is a written document in which the testator
-disposes of his property after his death. It is not necessary that
-it should be written on stamped paper, as no stamp duty is required
-till the death of the testator, when the will is proved in court in
-the district where he resided. The essentials are that it should be
-legible, and so intelligible, that the testator’s intention can be
-clearly understood.
-
-If the will is not signed by the testator, it must be signed by some
-other person by his direction, and in his presence; two or more
-witnesses being present who must attest that the will was signed, and
-the signature acknowledged by the testator in their presence.
-
-No will is valid unless signed at the foot of the page, or at the end
-by the testator, or by some other person in his presence, and by his
-direction. Marriage revokes a will previously made.
-
-A codicil is a supplement, or addition to the will, altering some
-part, or making an addition. It may be written on the same document,
-or on another paper, and folded up with the original instrument. There
-can only be one will, yet there may be a number of codicils attached
-to it, and the last is equally binding as the first, if they are not
-contradictory.
-
-Forgeries of wills are generally done by relations, who get a
-fictitious will prepared in their favour contrary to the genuine will.
-On the death of the supposed testator, the forged will is put forth as
-the genuine one, and the other is destroyed.
-
-All parties expecting property on the death of a relative or friend,
-and finding none, should be careful to have the signatures of the
-witnesses examined, to test whether they are genuine; and also the
-signature of the testator.
-
-Every will can be seen at the district court, where they are proved,
-on the payment of a shilling. Such an examination is the only likely
-method of detecting the forgery.
-
-There are several other classes of forgery in addition to those already
-noticed, such as forging certificates of character, and bills of lading.
-
-A case of the latter kind was recently tried at Guildhall. A merchant,
-near the Haymarket, and an artist also in the West-end, were arraigned
-with having feloniously forged and altered certain bills of lading;
-one of these represented ten casks of alkali amounting to the value of
-84_l._, and another, twenty-six casks of alkali worth 140_l._, with the
-intention of defrauding certain merchants in London. All the bills of
-lading were with one exception to a certain extent genuine, that is,
-were filled up in the first instance. But after being signed by the
-wharfinger, they were altered by the introduction of words and figures,
-to represent a larger quantity of goods than had been shipped. The
-prisoners were committed for trial.
-
- Number of cases of forgery in the metropolitan
- districts for the year 1860 27
- Ditto ditto in the City 20
- --
- 47
-
- Amount of loss thereby in the metropolitan
- districts £254
- Ditto ditto in the City 736
- ----
- £990
-
-
-
-
-CHEATS.
-
-
-EMBEZZLERS.
-
-This is the crime of a servant appropriating to his own use the money
-or goods received by him on account of his master, and is perpetrated
-in the metropolis by persons both in inferior and superior positions.
-
-Were a party to advance money or goods to an acquaintance or friend,
-for which the latter did not give a proper return, the case would be
-different, and require to be sued for in a civil action.
-
-Embezzlement is often committed by journeymen bakers entrusted by
-their employers with quantities of bread to distribute to customers
-in different parts of the metropolis, by brewer’s draymen delivering
-malt liquors, by carmen and others engaged in their various errands. A
-case of this kind occurred recently. A carman in the service of a coal
-merchant in the West-end was charged with embezzling 6_l._ 1_s._ 6_d._
-He had been in the habit of going out with coals to customers, and was
-empowered to receive the money, but had gone into a public-house on his
-return, got intoxicated, and lost the whole of his cash. He was tried
-at Westminster Police Court, and sentenced to pay a fine of 10_l._ with
-costs. This crime is frequent among this class. The chief inducements
-which lead to it are the habits of drinking, prevalent among them,
-gambling in beer-shops, attending music-saloons, such as the Mogul,
-Drury Lane, and Paddy’s Goose, Ratcliffe Highway, and attending running
-matches. Their pay is not sufficient to enable them to indulge in those
-habits, and this leads them to commit the crime of embezzlement.
-
-Persons in trade frequently send out their shopmen to receive orders,
-and obtain payment for goods supplied to families at their residence,
-and are occasionally entrusted with goods on stalls. In June, 1861, a
-respectable-looking young man, was placed at the bar of the Southwark
-Police Court, charged with having embezzled 39_l._, the property of
-a bookselling firm in the Strand. He had been entrusted with a stall
-where he sold books and newspapers, and was called to account for
-the receipts daily. One day he neglected to send 8_l._, the receipts
-of the previous Saturday, and for other seven days he had given no
-proper count and reckoning. He admitted the neglect, and confessed he
-had appropriated the money. He was paid at the rate of 1_l._ 10_s._ a
-month, which with commission amounted to about 6_l._ or 7_l._
-
-A clerk and salesman in the service of a draper in Camberwell, was
-charged with embezzling various sums of money belonging to his
-employer. It was his duty each night to account for the goods he
-disposed of, and the money he received. One morning he went out with
-a quantity of goods, and did not return at the proper time, when his
-employer found him in a beershop in the Blackfriars Road. On asking
-him what had become of the goods, he replied he had left them at a
-public-house in the Borough, which was untrue. In the account-book
-found upon him it was ascertained that he had received several sums of
-money he had not accounted for.
-
-A robbery by a young man of this class was very ingeniously detected a
-few weeks ago, and brought before the Marlborough Police Court.
-
-A shopman to a cheesemonger in Oxford Street was charged with stealing
-money from the till. He had been in his employer’s service for ten
-months, and served at the counter along with three other shopmen. The
-cheesemonger having found a considerable deficiency in his receipts
-suspected his honesty, especially as he was in the habit of attending
-places of amusement, and indulging in other extravagances he knew were
-beyond his means. He marked three half-crowns, and put them in the till
-to which the young man had access. Soon after he saw the latter put
-in his hand, and take out a piece of money. He made an excuse to send
-the shopman out for a moment, and on examining the till, missed one
-of the marked pieces of money. He thereupon gave information to the
-police, and again placed money in the till similarly marked, leaving
-a police-officer on the watch. The shopman was again detected, he was
-then arrested, and taken to the police-station.
-
-Many young men of this class are wretchedly paid by their employers,
-and have barely enough to maintain them and keep them in decent
-clothing. Many of them spend their money foolishly on extravagant
-dress, or associating with girls, attending music-saloons, such as
-Weston’s, in Holborn; the Pavilion, near the Haymarket; Canterbury
-Hall; the Philharmonic, Islington; and others. Some frequent the
-Grecian Theatre, City Road, and other gay resorts, and are led into
-crime. In one season eighteen girls were known to have been seduced
-by fast young men, and to become prostitutes through attending
-music-saloons in the neighbourhood of Tottenham Court Road.
-
-Embezzlements are occasionally committed by females of various classes.
-Some of them, by fraudulent representations, obtain goods from various
-tradesmen, consisting of candles, soap, sugar, as on account of their
-customers. Some women of a higher class, such as dressmakers, and
-others, are entrusted with merinos, silks, satins, and other drapery
-goods which they embezzle.
-
-A young married woman was lately tried at Guildhall, on a charge of
-disposing of a quantity of silk entrusted to her. It appeared from
-the evidence of the salesman of the silk manufacturer, that this
-female applied to him for work, at same time producing a written
-recommendation, purporting to come from a person known by the firm.
-Materials to the value of 5_l._ 15_s._ were given her to be wrought up
-into an article of dress. On applying for it at the proper time, he
-found she had sold the materials, and had left her lodging. While the
-work was supposed to be in progress, the firm had also given her 2_l._
-13_s._, on partial payment. She pleaded poverty as the cause of her
-embezzling the goods.
-
-Parties connected with public societies occasionally embezzle the money
-committed to their charge. The secretary of a friendly society in the
-east-end, was brought before the Thames Police Court, charged with
-embezzling various sums of money he had received on account of the
-society. The secretary of another friendly society on the Surrey side,
-was lately charged at Southwark Police Court with embezzling upwards
-of 100_l._ This society has branches in all parts of the kingdom, but
-the central office is in the metropolis. The secretary had been in
-their service for upwards of two years, at a fixed salary. It was his
-duty to receive contributions from the country, and town members; and
-to account for the same to the treasurer. He recently absconded, when
-large defalcations were discovered amounting to upwards of 100_l._
-
-A considerable number of embezzlements are committed by commercial
-travellers, and by clerks in lawyers’ offices, banks, commercial firms,
-and government offices. Some of them of great and serious amounts.
-
-Tradesmen and others in the middle class, and some respectable
-labouring men, and mechanics, place their sons in counting-houses, or
-other establishments superior to their own position; these foolishly
-try to maintain the appearance of their fellow-clerks who have ampler
-pecuniary means. This often leads to embezzling the property of the
-employer or firm.
-
-Crimes of this class are occasionally committed by lawyers’ clerks, who
-are in many cases wretchedly paid, as well as by some who have handsome
-salaries. Numerous embezzlements are also perpetrated in commercial
-firms, by their servants; some of them to the value of many thousand
-pounds.
-
-A commercial traveller was lately brought up at the Mansion House,
-charged with embezzlement. It appears he travelled for a firm in
-the City, and had been above ten years in their service at a salary
-of 1_l._ 1_s._ per day. It was his duty to take orders and collect
-accounts as they became due. Some days he received from the customers
-certain sums and afterwards paid a less amount to the firm, keeping the
-rest of the money in his hands, which he appropriated. Another day he
-received a sum of money he never accounted for. He was committed for
-trial.
-
-An embezzlement was committed by a cashier to a commercial firm in the
-City. It appeared from the evidence, he had been in the service of his
-employers for ten years, and kept the petty cash-book; with an account
-of all sums paid. He had to account for the amounts given him as petty
-cash, and for disbursements whenever he should be called.
-
-From the extravagant style in which he was living, which reached
-the ear of the firm, their suspicions were aroused, and one of them
-asked him to bring his books into the counting-house, and render the
-customary account of the petty cash. His employer discovered the
-balance of some of the pages did not correspond with the balance
-brought forward, and asked the cashier to account for it; when he
-acknowledged that he had appropriated the difference to his own use.
-
-Several items were then pointed out, ranging over a number of months,
-in which he had plundered his employers of several hundred pounds.
-This was effected in a very simple way; by carrying the balance of the
-cash in hand to the top of next page 100_l._ less than it was on the
-preceding page, and by calling the disbursements when his employers
-checked the accounts, 100_l._ more than they really were.
-
-The books of commercial firms are frequently falsified in other modes,
-to effect embezzlements.
-
-These defalcations often arise from fast life, extravagant habits,
-and gambling. Many fashionable clerks in lawyers’ offices, banks, and
-Government offices, frequent the Oxford and Alhambra music halls,
-the West-end theatres, concerts, and operas. They attend the Holborn
-Assembly-room and the Argyle Rooms, and are frequently to be seen
-at masked balls, and at Cremorne Gardens during the season. They
-occasionally indulge in midnight carousals in the Turkish divans and
-supper-rooms. Some Government clerks have high salaries, and keep a
-mistress in fashionable style, with brougham and coachman, and footman;
-others maintain their family in a style their salary is unable to
-support, all of which lead them step by step to embezzlement and ruin.
-
- Number of cases of embezzlement in the
- Metropolitan districts for 1860 223
- Ditto ditto in the City 70
- ---
- 293
-
- Value of money and property abstracted
- thereby in the Metropolitan districts-- £5,271
- Ditto ditto in the City 2,660
- ------
- £7,931
-
-
-MAGSMEN, OR SHARPERS.
-
-This is a peculiar class of unprincipled men, who play tricks with
-cards, skittles, &c. &c., and lay wagers with the view of cheating
-those strangers who may have the misfortune to be in their company.
-
-Their mode of operation is this: There are generally three of them in
-a gang--seldom or never less. They go out together, but do not walk
-beside each other when they are at work. One may be on the one side of
-the street, and the other two arm-in-arm on the other. They generally
-dress well, and in various styles, some are attired as gentlemen,
-others as country farmers. In one gang, a sharper is dressed as a
-coachman in livery, and in another they have a confederate attired as a
-parson, and wearing green spectacles.
-
-Many of them start early in the morning from the bottom of Holborn
-Hill, and branch off in different directions in search of dupes.
-They frequent Fleet Street, Oxford Street, Strand, Regent Street,
-Shoreditch, Whitechapel, Commercial Road, the vicinity of the railway
-stations, and the docks. They are generally to be seen wandering about
-the streets till four o’clock in the afternoon, unless they have
-succeeded in picking up a stranger likely to be a victim. They visit
-the British Museum, St. Paul’s, Westminster Abbey, and the Crystal
-Palace, &c., and on market days attend the fairs.
-
-The person who walks the street in front of the gang, is generally the
-most engaging and social; the other two keep in sight, and watch his
-movements. As the former proceeds along he keenly observes the persons
-passing. If he sees a countryman or a foreigner pass who appears to
-have money, or a person loitering by a shop-window, he steps up to him
-and probably enters into conversation regarding some object in sight.
-
-For instance, in passing Somerset House in the Strand, he will go
-up to him and ask what noble building that is, hinting at the same
-time that he is a stranger in London. It frequently occurs that the
-individual he addresses is also a stranger in London. Having entered
-into conversation, the first object he has in view is to learn from
-the person the locality to which he belongs. The sharp informs him he
-has some relation there, or knows some person in the town or district.
-(Many of the magsmen have travelled a good deal, and are acquainted
-with many localities, some of them speak several foreign languages.) He
-may then represent that he has a good deal of property, and is going
-back to this village to give so much money to the poor. It sometimes
-occurs in the course of conversation he proposes to give the stranger
-a sum of money to distribute among the poor of his district, as he is
-specially interested in them, and may at the same time produce his
-pocket-book, with a bundle of flash notes. This may occur in walking
-along the street. He will then propose to enter a beer-shop, or
-gin-palace to have a glass of ale or wine. They go in accordingly. When
-standing at the bar, or seated in the parlour, one of his confederates,
-enters, and calls for a glass of liquor.
-
-This party appears to be a total stranger to his companion. He soon
-enters as it were casually into conversation, and they possibly speak
-of their bodily strength. A bet is made that one of them cannot throw a
-weight as many yards as the other. They make a wager, and the stranger
-is asked to go with them as a referee, to decide the bet. They may call
-a cab, and adjourn to some well-known skittle-alley. On going there
-they find another confederate, who also pretends to be unacquainted
-with the others. One of the two who made the wager as to throwing the
-weight may pace the skittle-ground to find its dimensions, and pretend
-it is not long enough.
-
-They will then possibly propose to have a game at skittles, and will
-bet with each other that they will throw down the pins in so many
-throws.
-
-The sharp who introduced the stranger, and assumes to be his friend,
-always is allowed to win, perhaps from 5_s._ to 10_s._, or more, as the
-case may be. He plays well, and the other is not so good. Up to this
-time the intended victim has no hand in the game. Another bet is made,
-and the stranger is possibly induced to join in it with his agreeable
-companion, and it is generally arranged that he wins the first time.
-
-He is persuaded to bet for a higher amount by himself, and not in
-partnership, which he loses, and continues to do so every time till he
-has lost all he possessed.
-
-He is invariably called out to the bar by the man who introduced him
-to the house, when they have a glass together, and in the meantime the
-others escape.
-
-The sharp will say to the victim after staying there a short time, “I
-believe these men not to be honest; I’ll go and see where they have
-gone, and try and get your money back.” He goes out with the pretence
-of looking after them, and walks off. The victim proceeds in search of
-them, and finds they have decamped leaving him penniless.
-
-They have a very ingenious mode of finding out if the person they
-accost has money in his pocket. This is done after he is introduced
-into the public-house when getting a glass of ale. The second
-confederate comes in invariably. The two magsmen begin to converse as
-to the money they have with them. One pretends he has so much money,
-which the other will dispute. They possibly appear to get very angry,
-and one of them makes a bet that he can produce more money than any in
-the company. They then take out their cash, and induce the stranger
-to do so, to find which of them has got the highest amount. They thus
-learn how much money he has in his possession.
-
-When they find he has a sufficient sum, they adjourn to a house they
-are accustomed to use for the purpose of paying the sum lost by the
-wager. It generally happens the stranger has most, and wins the bet.
-
-On arriving at this house they wish a stamped receipt for the cash.
-Being a stranger he is asked as a security to leave something as a
-deposit till he returns. At the same time this sharp takes out a bag of
-money containing medals instead of sovereigns, or a pocket-book with
-flash notes.
-
-He soon comes back with a receipt stamp, but a dispute invariably
-arises whether it will do. He suggests that some one else should go and
-get one. The stranger is urged to go for one. In the same manner he
-leaves money on the table as a security that he will return.
-
-He may not know where to get the receipt stamp, and one of them
-proposes to accompany him. They walk along some distance together, when
-this man will say, “I don’t much like these two men you have left your
-money with; do you know them?” He will then advise him to go back, and
-see if his cash is all right. On his return he finds them both gone,
-and his money has also disappeared.
-
-We shall now notice several of the tricks they practise to delude their
-victims.
-
-[Illustration: LIBERATION OF PRISONERS FROM COLDBATH FIELDS HOUSE OF
-CORRECTION.]
-
-_The Card tricks._--These are not often practised in London but
-generally at racecourses and country fairs, or where any pastime is
-going on. Only three cards are used. There is one picture card along
-with two others. They play with them generally on the ground or on
-their knee. There are always several persons in a gang at this game.
-One works the cards, shuffling them together, and then deals them on
-the ground. They bet two to one no one will find the picture card (the
-Knave, King, or Queen). One of the confederates makes a bet that he can
-find it, and throws down a sovereign or half-sovereign, as the case
-may be.
-
-He picks up one of the cards, which will be the picture card, or the
-one they propose to find. The sharp dealing the cards bets that no
-one will find the same card again. Some simpleton in the crowd will
-possibly bet from 1_l._ to 10_l._ that he can find it. He picks up
-a card, which is not the picture card and cannot be, as it has been
-secretly removed from the pack, and another card has been substituted
-in its place.
-
-_Skittles._--They generally depend on the ability of one of their
-gang when engaged in this game, so that he shall be able to take the
-advantage when wanted. When they bet and find their opponent is expert,
-he is expected to be able to beat him. In every gang there is generally
-one superior player. He may pretend to play indifferently for a time,
-but has generally superior skill, and wins the bet.
-
-_Thimble and Pea._--It is done in this way. There are three thimbles
-and a pea. These are generally worked by a man dressed as a countryman,
-with a smock-frock, at country fairs, race-courses, and other places
-without the metropolitan police district. They commence by working the
-pea from one thimble to another, similar to the card trick, and bet in
-the same way until some person in the company--not a confederate--will
-bet that he can find the pea. He lifts up one of the thimbles and
-ascertains that it is not there. Meantime the pea has been removed. It
-is secreted under the thumb nail of the sharp, and is not under either
-of the thimbles.
-
-_The Lock._--While the sharps are seated in a convenient house with
-their dupe, a man, a confederate of theirs, may come in, dressed as
-a hawker, offering various articles for sale. He will produce a lock
-which can be easily opened by a key in their presence. He throws the
-lock down on the table and bets any one in the room they cannot open
-it. One of his companions will make a bet that he can open it. He takes
-it up, opens it easily, and wins the wager.
-
-He will show the stranger how it is opened; after which, by a swift
-movement of his hand, he substitutes another similar lock in its place
-which cannot be opened. The former is induced possibly to bet that he
-is able to open it.
-
-The lock is handed to him; he thinks it is the same and tries to open
-it, but does not succeed, and loses his wager.
-
-There are various other tricks somewhat of a similar character, on
-which they lay wagers and plunder their dupes. They have a considerable
-number of moves with cards, and are ever inventing new dodges or
-“pulls” as they term them.
-
-They chiefly confine themselves on most occasions to the tricks we have
-noticed. Sometimes, however, they play at whist, cribbage, roulette,
-loo, and other card games, and manage to get the advantage in many
-ways. One of them will look at the cards of his opponent when playing,
-and will telegraph to some of the others by various signs and motions,
-understood among themselves, but unintelligible to a stranger.
-
-The same sharpers who walk the streets of London attend country fairs
-and race-courses, in different dress and appearance, as if they had no
-connexion with each other.
-
-It often happens one of them is arrested for these offences and is
-remanded. Before the expiry of the time his confederates generally
-manage to see the dupe, and restore his property on the condition he
-shall keep out of the way and allow the case to drop. The female who
-cohabits with him, or possibly his wife, may call on him for this
-purpose, and give him part or the whole of his money.
-
-Their ages average from twenty to sixty years. Many of them are married
-and have families; others cohabit with well-dressed women--pickpockets
-and shoplifters.
-
-Some are in better condition than others. They are occasionally
-shabbily dressed and in needy condition; at other times in most
-respectable attire--some appear as men of fashion.
-
-They are generally very heartless in plundering their dupes.
-Not content with stripping him of the money he may have on his
-person--sometimes a large sum--they try to get the cash he has
-deposited in the bank, and strip him of his watch and chain, leaving
-him without a shilling in his pocket.
-
-There is no formal association between the several gangs, yet from
-their movements there appears to be an understanding between them. For
-example, if a certain gang has plundered a victim in Oxford Street, it
-will likely remove to another district for a time, and another party of
-magsmen will take their place.
-
-Magsmen are of various grades. Some are broken-down tradesmen, others
-have been brokers and publicans and french-polishers, while part of
-their number are convicted felons. Numbers of them are betting-men and
-attend races; indeed most of them are connected with this disreputable
-class. Many of them reside in the neighbourhood of Waterloo Road and
-King’s Cross, and in quiet streets over the metropolis.
-
-They are frequently brought before the police-courts, charged with
-conspiracy with intent to defraud; but the matter is in general
-secretly arranged with the prosecutor, and the case is allowed to drop.
-
-Sometimes when the sharps cannot manage to defraud the strangers they
-meet with, they snatch their money from them with violence.
-
-In the beginning of November, 1861, two sharps were brought before the
-Croydon police-court, charged with being concerned, with others not in
-custody, in stealing 116_l._, the property of a baker, residing in the
-country.
-
-As the prosecutor, a young man, was going along a country road he met
-one of the sharps and a man not in custody. At this time there were
-four men on the road playing cards. He remained for a few minutes
-looking at them. The man who was the companion of the sharp asked him
-to accompany him to a railway hotel, and ordered a glass of ale for
-himself.
-
-A man not in custody then asked a sharp to lend him some money, saying
-he would get him good security; upon which the latter offered to lend
-him the sum of 50_l._ at five per cent. interest. On the stranger being
-represented to this person as a friend, he offered to lend him as
-large a sum of money as he could produce himself, to show that he was
-a respectable and substantial person. The sharp then told the baker to
-go home and get 100_l._ and he would lend him that sum. He did so, one
-of the sharps accompanying him nearly all the way to his house. The
-dupe returned with a 10_l._ note. They told him it was not enough, and
-wished him to leave it in their hands and to bring 100_l._ He went out
-leaving the 10_l._ on the table as security for his coming back with
-more money.
-
-He returned with 100_l._ in bank notes and gold and counted it out on
-the table. The sharp pretended then to be willing to lend 100_l._ at
-five per cent., but added that he must have a stamped receipt. The dupe
-left his money on the table covered with his handkerchief, and went out
-to get a stamp, and on his return found the sharps and his money had
-disappeared.
-
-A few days after, the victim happening to be in London, saw one of them
-in the street, and gave him into custody.
-
-A few weeks ago three skittle-sharps, well-dressed men, were brought
-before the Southwark police court, charged with robbing a country
-waiter of 40_l._ in Bank of England notes. It appeared from the
-evidence, that the prosecutor met a man in High Street, Southwark, on
-an afternoon, who offered to show him the way to the Borough Road.
-They entered a public-house on the way, when the other prisoners came
-in. One of them pulled out a number of notes, and said he had just
-come into possession of a fortune. It was suggested, in the course of
-conversation, they should go to another house to throw a weight, and
-the prosecutor was to go and see they had fair play.
-
-They accordingly went to another house, but instead of throwing the
-weight, skittles were introduced, and they played several games. The
-prosecutor lost a sovereign, which was all the money he had with
-him. One of the sharps bet 20_l._ that the waiter could not produce
-60_l._ within three hours. He accepted the bet and went with two of
-them to Blackheath, and returned to the public house with the money,
-amounting to 40_l._ in bank notes and 20_l._ in gold. They went to the
-skittle-ground, when one of them snatched the notes out of his hand,
-and they all decamped.
-
-They were apprehended that night by Mr. Jones, detective at Tower
-Street station.
-
-The statistics of this class of crime will be given when we come to
-treat of swindlers.
-
-
-SWINDLERS.
-
-Swindling is carried on very extensively in the metropolis in different
-classes of society, from the young man who strolls into a coffeehouse
-in Shoreditch or Bishopsgate, and decamps without paying his night’s
-lodging, to the fashionable rogue who attends the brilliant assemblies
-in the West-end. It occurs in private life and in the commercial world
-in different departments of business. Large quantities of goods are
-sent from the provinces to parties in London, who give orders and are
-entirely unknown to those who send them, and fictitious references are
-given, or references to confederates in town connected with them.
-
-We select a few illustrations of various modes of swindling which
-prevail over the metropolis.
-
-A young man calls at a coffeehouse, or hotel, or a private lodging, and
-represents that he is the son of a gentleman in good position, or that
-he is in possession of certain property, left him by his friends, or
-that he has a situation in the neighbourhood, and after a few days or
-weeks decamps without paying his bill, perhaps leaving behind him an
-empty carpet bag, or a trunk, containing a few articles of no value.
-
-An ingenious case of swindling occurred in the City some time since.
-A fashionably attired young man occupied a small office in White Lion
-Court, Cornhill, London. It contained no furniture, except two chairs
-and a desk. He obtained a number of bracelets from different jewellers,
-and quantities of goods from different tradesmen to a considerable
-amount, under false pretences. He was apprehended and tried before the
-police court, and sentenced to twelve months’ imprisonment with hard
-labour.
-
-At the time of his arrest he had obtained possession of a handsome
-residence at Abbey Wood, Kent, which was evidently intended as a place
-of reference, where no doubt he purposed to carry on a profitable
-system of swindling.
-
-Swindlers have many ingenious modes of obtaining goods, sometimes to
-a very considerable amount, from credulous tradesmen, who are too
-often ready to be duped by their unprincipled devices. For example,
-some of them of respectable or fashionable appearance may pretend they
-are about to be married, and wish to have their house furnished. They
-give their name and address, and to avoid suspicion may even arrange
-particulars as to the manner in which the money is to be paid. A case
-of this kind occurred in Grove Terrace, where a furniture-dealer
-was requested to call on a swindler by a person who pretended to be
-his servant, and received directions to send him various articles
-of furniture. The goods were accordingly sent to the house. On a
-subsequent day the servant called on him at his premises, with a
-well-dressed young lady, whom she introduced as the intended wife of
-her employer, and said they had called to select some more goods. They
-selected a variety of articles, and desired they should be added to the
-account. One day the tradesman called for payment, and was told the
-gentleman was then out of town, but would call on him as soon as he
-returned. Soon after he made another call at the house, which he found
-closed up, and that he had been heartlessly duped. The value of the
-goods amounted to 58_l._ 18_s._ 4_d._
-
-Swindling is occasionally carried on in the West-end in a bold and
-brilliant style by persons of fashionable appearance and elegant
-address. A lady-like person who assumed the name of Mrs. Gordon, and
-sometimes Mrs. Major Gordon, and who represented her husband to be
-in India, succeeded in obtaining goods from different tradesmen and
-mercantile establishments at the West-end to a great amount, and gave
-references to a respectable firm as her agents. Possessing a lady-like
-appearance and address, she easily succeeded in obtaining a furnished
-residence at St. John’s Wood, and applied to a livery stable-keeper for
-the loan of a brougham, hired a coachman, and got a suit of livery for
-him, and appeared in West-end assemblies as a lady of fashion. After
-staying about a fortnight at St. John’s Wood she left suddenly, without
-settling with any of her creditors. She addressed a letter to each of
-them, requesting that their account should be sent to her agents, and
-payment would be made as soon as Captain Gordon’s affairs were settled.
-She expressed regret that she had been called away so abruptly on
-urgent business.
-
-She was usually accompanied by a little girl, about eleven years of
-age, her daughter, and by an elderly woman, who attended to domestic
-duties.
-
-She was afterwards convicted at Marylebone police court, under the name
-of Mrs. Helen Murray, charged with obtaining large quantities of goods
-from West-end tradesmen by fraudulent means.
-
-A considerable traffic in commercial swindling in various forms is
-carried on in London. Sometimes fraudulently under the name of another
-well-known firm; at other times under the name of a fictitious firm.
-
-A case of this kind was tried at the Liverpool assizes, which
-illustrates the fraudulent system we refer to. Charles Howard and John
-Owen were indicted for obtaining goods on false pretences. In other
-counts of their indictment they were charged with having conspired with
-another man named Bonar Russell--not in custody--with obtaining goods
-under false pretences. The prosecutor Thomas Parkenson Luthwaite, a
-currier at Barton in Westmoreland, received an order by letter from
-John Howard and Co. of Droylesden, near Manchester, desiring him to
-send them a certain quantity of leather, and reference was given as to
-their respectability. The prosecutor sent the leather and a letter by
-post containing the invoice. The leather duly arrived at Droylesden;
-but the police having received information gave notice to the railway
-officials to detain it, until they got further knowledge concerning
-them. Howard and Russell went to the station, but were told they could
-not get the leather, as there was no such firm as Howard and Co. at
-Droylesden. Howard replied that there was--that he lived there. It was
-subsequently arranged that the goods should be delivered, on the party
-producing a formal order. On the next day, Owen came with a horse and
-cart to Droylesden station, and asked for the goods, at the same time
-producing his order.
-
-They were delivered to him, when he put them in his cart and drove off.
-Two officers of police in plain clothes accosted him, and asked for a
-ride in his cart which he refused. The officers followed him, and found
-he did not go to Droylesden, but to a house at Hulme near Manchester,
-as he had been directed. This house was searched, and Howard and
-Russell were arrested. Howard having been admitted to bail, did not
-appear at the trial.
-
-On farther inquiries it was found there was no such firm as John
-Howard and Co. at Droylesden, but that Howard and Russell had taken a
-house there which was not furnished, and where they went occasionally
-to receive letters addressed to Howard and Co., Droylesden. Owen was
-acquitted; Howard was found guilty of conspiracy with intent to defraud.
-
-A number of cases occur where swindlers attempt to cheat different
-societies in various ways. Two men were tried at the police court a few
-days ago for unlawfully attempting to cheat and defraud a loan society
-to obtain 5_l._ The prisoners formed part of a gang of swindlers,
-who operated in this way:--Some of them took a house for the purpose
-of giving references to others, who applied to loan societies for an
-advance of money, and produced false receipts for rent and taxes.
-They had carried on this system for years, and many of them had been
-convicted. Some of the gang formerly had an office in Holborn, where
-they defrauded young men in search of situations by getting them to
-leave a sum of money as security. They were tried and convicted on this
-charge.
-
-There is another heartless system of base swindling perpetrated by a
-class of cheats, who pretend to assist parties in getting situations,
-and hold out flaming inducements through advertisements in the
-newspapers to working men, servants, clerks, teachers, clergymen, and
-others; and contrive to get a large income by duping the public.
-
-A swindler contrived to obtain sums of 5_s._ each in postage stamps, or
-post-office orders, from a large number of people, under pretence of
-obtaining situations for them as farm bailiffs. An advertisement was
-inserted in the newspaper, and in reply to the several applicants,
-a letter was returned, stating that although the applicant was among
-the leading competitors another party had secured the place. At the
-same time another attempt was made to inveigle the dupe, under the
-pretence of paying another fee of 5_s._, with the hope of obtaining a
-similar situation in prospect. The swindler intimated that the only
-interest he had in the matter was the agent’s fee, charged alike to the
-employer and the employed, and generally paid in advance. He desired
-that letters addressed to him should be directed to 42, Sydney Street,
-Chorlton-upon-Medlock. He had an empty house there, taken for the
-purpose, with the convenience of a letter-box in the door into which
-the postman dropped letters twice a day. A woman came immediately after
-each post and took them away.
-
-On arresting the woman, the officers found in her basket 87 letters,
-44 of them containing 5_s._ in postage stamps, or a post-office order
-payable to the swindler himself. Nearly all the others were letters
-from persons at a distance from a post office, who were unable to remit
-the 5_s._, but promised to send the money when they got an opportunity.
-
-On a subsequent day, 120 letters were taken out of the letter-box, most
-of them containing a remittance. This system had been in operation
-for a month. One day 190 letters were delivered by one post. It was
-estimated that no fewer than 3000 letters had come in during the
-month, most of them enclosing 5_s._; and it is supposed the swindler
-had received about 700_l._, a handsome return for the price of a few
-advertisements in newspapers, a few lithographed circulars, a few
-postage-stamps, and a quarter of a year’s rent of an empty house.
-
-Another case of a similar kind, occurred at the Maidstone assizes.
-Henry Moreton, aged 43, a tall gentlemanly man, and a young woman aged
-19 years, were indicted for conspiring to obtain goods and money by
-false pretences. The name given by the male prisoner was known to be an
-assumed one. It was stated that he was well connected and formerly in a
-good position in society.
-
-At the trial, a witness deposed that an advertisement had appeared in
-a Cornish newspaper, addressed to Cornish miners, stating they could
-be sent out to Australia by an English gold-mining company, and would
-be paid 20_l._ of wages per month, to commence on their arrival at the
-mines. The advertisement also stated that if 1_s._ or twelve postage
-stamps were sent to Mr. Henry Moreton, Chatham, a copy of the stamped
-agreement and full particulars as to the company, would be given.
-
-The prisoner was arrested, and 41 letters found in his possession,
-addressed to “Mr. H. Moreton, Chatham:” 25 of the letters contained
-twelve postage stamps each and some of them had 1_s._ inside. It was
-ascertained the female cohabited with him. It appeared that he had
-pawned 482 stamps on the 14th February, for 1_l._ 15_s._, 289 on the
-21st, for 1_l._, and 744 on another day.
-
-Eighty-two letters came in one day chiefly from Ireland and Cornwall.
-
-On searching a box in his room they found a large quantity of Irish and
-Cornish newspapers, many of them containing the advertisement referred
-to.
-
-He was found guilty, and was sentenced to hard labour for fifteen
-months. The young woman was acquitted.
-
-The judge, in passing sentence, observed that the prisoner had been
-convicted of swindling poor people, and his being respectably connected
-aggravated the case.
-
-We give the following illustration of an English swindler’s adventures
-on the Continent.
-
-A married couple were tried at Pau, on a charge of swindling. The
-husband represented himself to be the son of a colonel in the English
-army and of a Neapolitan princess. His wife pretended to be the
-daughter of an English general. They said they were allied to the
-families of the Dukes of Norfolk, Leinster, and Devonshire. They
-came in a post-chaise to the Hotel de France, accompanied by several
-servants, lived in the style of persons of the highest rank, and run
-up a bill of 6000 francs. As the landlord declined to give credit
-for more, they took a château, which they got fitted up in a costly
-way. They paid 2500 francs for rent, and were largely in debt to the
-butcher, tailor, grocer, and others. The lady affected to be very
-pious, and gave 895 francs to the abbé for masses.
-
-An English lady who came from Brussels to give evidence, stated that
-her husband had paid 50,000 francs to release them from a debtors’
-prison at Cologne, as he believed them to be what they represented. It
-was shown at the trial that they had received letters from Lord Grey,
-the King of Holland, and other distinguished personages. They were
-convicted of swindling, and condemned to one year’s imprisonment, or to
-pay a fine of 200 francs.
-
-On hearing the sentence the woman uttered a piercing cry and fainted
-in her husband’s arms, but soon recovered. They were then removed to
-prison.
-
-The assumption of a variety of names, some of them of a high-sounding
-and pretentious character, is resorted to by swindlers giving orders
-for goods by letter from a distance--an address is also assumed of a
-nature well calculated to deceive: as an instance, we may mention that
-an individual has for a long period of time fared sumptuously upon the
-plunder obtained by his fraudulent transactions, of whose aliases and
-pseudo residences the following are but a few:--
-
-Creighton Beauchamp Harper; the Russets, near Edenbridge.
-
-Beauchamp Harper; Albion House, Rye.
-
-Charles Creighton Beauchamp Harper; ditto.
-
-Neanberrie Harper, M. N. I.; The Broadlands, Winchelsea.
-
-Beauchamp Harper; Halden House, Lewes.
-
-R. E. Beresford; The Oaklands, Chelmsford.
-
-The majority of these residencies existed only in the imagination of
-this indefatigable cosmopolite. In some cases he had christened a
-paltry tenement let at the rent of a few shillings per week “House;”
-a small cottage in Albion Place, Rye, being magnified into “Albion
-House.” When an address is assumed having no existence, his plan is to
-request the postmaster of the district to send the letters, &c., to
-his real address--generally some little distance off--a similar notice
-also being given at the nearest railway station. The goods ordered are
-generally of such a nature as to lull suspicion, viz., a gun, as “I am
-going to a friend’s grounds to shoot and I want one immediately;” “a
-silver cornet;” “two umbrellas, one for me and one for Mrs. Harper;” “a
-fashionable bonnet with extra strings, young looking, for Mrs. Harper;”
-“white lace frock for Miss Harper, immediately;” “a violet-coloured
-velvet bonnet for my sister,” &c., &c., &c., ad infinitum.
-
-A person, pretending to be a German baron, some time ago ordered and
-received goods to a large amount from merchants in Glasgow. It was
-ascertained he was a swindler. He was a man of about forty years
-of age, 5 feet 8 inches high, and was accompanied by a lady about
-twenty-five years of age. They were both well-educated people, and
-could speak the English language fluently.
-
-A fellow, assuming the name of the Rev. Mr. Williams, pursued a
-romantic and adventurous career of swindling in different positions
-in society, and was an adept in deception. On one occasion, by
-means of forged credentials, he obtained an appointment as curate in
-Northamptonshire, where he conducted himself for some time with a most
-sanctimonious air. Several marriages were celebrated by him, which
-were apparently satisfactorily performed. He obtained many articles of
-jewellery from firms in London, who were deceived by his appearance and
-position. He wrote several modes of handwriting, and had a plausible
-manner of insinuating himself into the good graces of his victims.
-
-He died a very tragical death. Having been arrested for swindling he
-was taken to Northampton. On his arrival at the railway station there,
-he threw himself across the rails and was crushed to death by the train.
-
-There is a mode of extracting money from the unwary, practised by a
-gang of swindlers by means of _mock auctions_. They dispose of watches,
-never intended to keep time, and other spurious articles, and have
-confederates, or decoys, who pretend to bid for the goods at the
-auctions, and sometimes buy them at an under price; but they are by
-arrangement returned soon after, and again offered for sale.
-
-We have been favoured with some of the foregoing particulars by the
-officials of Stubbs’ Mercantile Offices; the courtesy of the secretary
-having also placed the register of that extensive establishment at our
-service.
-
- Number of cases of fraud and conspiracy
- with intent to defraud in the Metropolitan
- districts for 1860 325
- Ditto ditto in the City 51
- ---
- 376
- Value of property thereby abstracted in
- the Metropolitan district £3,443
- Ditto ditto in the City 2,429
- ------
- £5,872
-
-
-
-
-BEGGARS AND CHEATS.
-
-
-In primitive times beggars were recognised as a legitimate component
-part in the fabric of society. Socially, and apart from state
-government, there were, during the patriarchal period, three states of
-the community, and these were the landowners, their servants, and the
-dependants of both--beggars. There was no disgrace attached to the name
-of beggar at this time, for those who lived by charity were persons who
-were either too old to work or were incapacitated from work by bodily
-affliction. This being the condition of the beggars of the early ages,
-it was considered no less a sacred than a social duty to protect them
-and relieve their wants. Many illustrious names, both in sacred and
-profane history, are associated with systematic mendicancy, and the
-very name of “beggar” has derived a sort of classic dignity from this
-circumstance. Beggars are frequently mentioned with honour in the Old
-Testament; and in the New, one of the most touching incidents in our
-Lord’s history has reference to “a certain beggar named Lazarus, which
-was laid at the rich man’s gate.” Nor must it be forgotten that the
-father of poetry, the immortal Homer, was a beggar and blind, and went
-about singing his own verses to excite charity. The name of Belisarius
-is more closely associated with the begging exploits ascribed to him
-than with his great historical conquests. “Give a halfpenny to a poor
-man” was as familiar a phrase in Latin in the old world as it is to-day
-in the streets of London. It would be tedious to enumerate all the
-instances of honourable beggary which are celebrated in history, or
-even to glance at the most notable of them; it will be enough for the
-purpose we have in view if I direct attention to the aspects of beggary
-at a few marked periods of history.
-
-It will be found that imposture in beggary has invariably been the
-offspring of a high state of civilization, and has generally had its
-origin in large towns. When mendicancy assumes this form it becomes
-a public nuisance, and imperatively calls for prohibitive laws. The
-beggar whose poverty is not real, but assumed, is no longer a beggar in
-the true sense of the word, but a cheat and an impostor, and as such
-he is naturally regarded, not as an object for compassion, but as an
-enemy to the state. In all times, however, the real beggar--the poor
-wretch who has no means of gaining a livelihood by his labour, the
-afflicted outcast, the aged, the forsaken, and the weak--has invariably
-commanded the respect and excited the compassion of his more fortunate
-fellow-men. The traces of this consideration for beggars which we
-find in history are not a little remarkable. In the early Saxon times
-the relief of beggars was one of the most honourable duties of the
-mistress of the house. Our beautiful English word “lady” derives its
-origin from this practice. The mistress of a Saxon household gave
-away bread with her own hand to the poor, and thence she was called
-“_lef day_” or bread giver, which at a later period was rendered into
-_lady_. A well-known incident in the life of Alfred the Great shows
-how sacred a duty the giving of alms was regarded at that period. In
-early times beggary had even a romantic aspect. Poets celebrated the
-wanderings of beggars in so attractive a manner that great personages
-would sometimes envy the condition of the ragged mendicant and imitate
-his mode of life. James V. of Scotland was so enamoured of the life of
-the gaberlunzie man that he assumed his wallet and tattered garments,
-and wandered about among his subjects begging from door to door, and
-singing ballads for a supper and a night’s lodging. The beggar’s
-profession was held in respect at that time, for it had not yet become
-associated with imposture; and as the country beggars were also
-ballad-singers and story-tellers, their visits were rather welcome than
-otherwise. It must also be taken into account that beggars were not
-numerous at this period.
-
-It would appear that beggars first began to swarm and become
-troublesome and importunate shortly after the Reformation. The
-immediate cause of this was the abolition and spoliation of the
-monasteries and religious houses by Henry VIII. Whatever amount of
-evil they may have done, the monasteries did one good thing--they
-assisted the poor and provided for many persons who were unable to
-provide for themselves. When the monasteries were demolished and their
-revenues confiscated, these dependent persons were cast upon the world
-to seek bread where they could find it. As many of them were totally
-unaccustomed to labour, they had no resource but to beg. The result was
-that the country was soon overrun with beggars, many of whom exacted
-alms by violence and by threats. In the course of the next reign we
-hear of legislative enactments for the suppression of beggary. The
-first efforts in this direction wholly failed to abate the nuisance,
-and more stringent acts were passed. In the reign of Charles II.
-begging had become so profitable that a great many Irish came over to
-this country to pursue it as a trade.
-
-The evil then became so intolerable that a royal proclamation was
-issued, specially directed to check the importation of beggars from
-Ireland. It is intituled “A Proclamation for the speedy rendering away
-of the Irishe Beggars out of this Kingdome into their owne Countrie and
-for the Suppressing and Ordering of Rogues and Vagabonds according to
-the Laws,” which recites that: “Whereas this realme hath of late been
-pestered with great numbers of Irishe beggars who live here idly and
-dangerously, and are of ill example to the natives of this kingdome;
-and, whereas the multitude of English rogues and vagabonds doe much
-more abound than in former tymes--some wandering and begging under the
-colour of soldiers and mariners, others under the pretext of impotent
-persons, whereby they become a burthen to the good people of the land,
-all which happeneth by the neglect of the due execution of the lawes,
-formerly with great providence made, for relief of the true poore and
-indigent, and for the punishment of sturdy rogues and vagabonds; for
-the reforming therefore of soe great a mischiefe, and to prevent the
-many dangers which will ensue by the neglect thereof, the king, by
-the advice of his privy council and of his judges, commands that all
-the laws and statutes now in force for the punishment of rogues and
-vagabonds be duly putt in execution; and more particularly that all
-Irishe beggars, which now are in any part of this kingdome, wandering
-or begging, under what pretence soever, shall forthwith depart this
-realme and return to their owne countries, and there abide.” And it
-is further directed that all such beggars “shall be conveyed from
-constable to constable to Bristoll, Mynhead, Barstable, Chester,
-Lyrepool, Milford-haven, and Workington, or such of them as shall be
-most convenient.”
-
-We see by this that the state of mendicancy in 1629, was very much what
-it is now, and that the artifices and dodges resorted to at that period
-were very similar to, and in many cases, exactly the same, as the more
-modern impostures which I shall have to expose in the succeeding pages.
-
-
-THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE POOR LAWS.
-
-An Act passed in 1536 (27 Henry VIII. c. 25) is the first by which
-voluntary charity was converted into compulsory payment. It enacts that
-the head officers of every parish to which the impotent or able-bodied
-poor may resort under the provisions of the Act of 1531, shall receive
-and keep them, so that none shall be compelled to beg openly. The
-able-bodied were to be kept to constant labour, and every parish making
-default, was to forfeit 20_s._ a month. The money required for the
-support of the poor, was to be collected partly by the head officers
-of corporate towns and the churchwardens of parishes, and partly
-was to be derived from collections in the churches, and on various
-occasions where the clergy had opportunities for exhorting the people
-to charity. Alms-giving beyond the town or parish was prohibited on
-forfeiture of ten times the amount given. A “sturdy beggar” was to be
-whipped the first time he was detected in begging; to have his right
-ear cropped for the second offence; and if again guilty of begging
-was to be indicted for “wandering, loitering, and idleness,” and if
-convicted was “to suffer execution of death as a felon and an enemy of
-the Commonwealth.” The severity of this act prevented its execution,
-and it was repealed by 1 Edward VI. c. 3 (1547). Under this statute,
-every able-bodied person who should not apply himself to some honest
-labour, or offer to serve for even meat and drink, was to be taken for
-a vagabond, branded on the shoulder and adjudged a slave for two years
-to any one who should demand him, to be fed on bread and water and
-refuse meat and made to work by being beaten, chained, or otherwise
-treated. If he ran away during the two years, he was to be branded on
-the cheek and adjudged a slave for life, and if he ran away again he
-was to suffer death as a felon. If not demanded as a slave he was to be
-kept to hard labour on the highway in chains. The impotent poor were to
-be passed to their place of birth or settlement from the hands of one
-parish constable to those of another.
-
-The statute was repealed three years afterwards and that of 1531 was
-revived. In 1551 an Act was passed which directed that a book should
-be kept in every parish containing the names of the householders and
-of the impotent poor; that collectors of alms should be appointed who
-should “gently ask every man and woman what they of their charity
-will give weekly to the relief of the poor.” If any one able to give
-should refuse, or discourage others from giving, the ministers and
-churchwardens were to exhort him, and failing of success, the bishop
-was to admonish him on the subject. This Act, and another made to
-enforce it, which was passed in 1555, were wholly ineffectual, and in
-1563 it was re-enacted (5 Elizabeth c. 3), with the addition that any
-person able to contribute and refusing should be cited by the bishop to
-appear at the next sessions before the justices, where if he would not
-be persuaded to give, the justices were to tax him according to their
-discretion, and on his refusal he was to be committed to gaol until the
-sum taxed should be paid, with all arrears.
-
-The next statute on the subject, which was passed in 1572 (14 Eliz. c.
-5), shows how ineffectual the previous statutes had been. It enacted
-that all rogues, vagabonds and sturdy beggars, including in this
-description “all persons whole and mighty in body, able to labour,
-not having land or master, nor using any lawful merchandise, craft or
-mystery, and all common labourers, able in body, loitering and refusing
-to work for such reasonable wage as is commonly given,” should “for the
-first offence be grievously whipped and burned through the gristle of
-the right ear with a hot iron of the compass of an inch about;” for the
-second should be deemed felons; and for the third should suffer death
-as felons without benefit of clergy.
-
-For the relief and sustentation of the aged and impotent poor, the
-justices of the peace within their several districts were “by their
-good discretion” to tax and assess all the inhabitants dwelling
-therein. Any one refusing to contribute was to be imprisoned until he
-should comply with the assessment. By the statutes 39 of Elizabeth,
-c. 3 and 4 (1598), every able-bodied person refusing to work for the
-ordinary wages was to be “openly whipped until his body should be
-bloody, and forthwith sent from parish to parish, the most strait way
-to the parish where he was born, there to put himself to labour as a
-true subject ought to do.”
-
-The next Act, the 43 Elizabeth, c. 2, has been in operation from the
-time of its enactment in 1601 to the present day. A change in the mode
-of administration was, however, effected by the Poor Law Amendment Act
-(4 and 5 Wm. IV. c. 76) which was passed in 1834. During that long
-period many abuses crept into the administration of the laws relating
-to the poor, so that in practice their operation impaired the character
-of the most numerous class, and was injurious to the whole country. In
-its original provisions the Act of Elizabeth directed the overseers
-of the poor in every parish to “take order for setting to work the
-children of all such parents as shall not be thought able to maintain
-their children,” as well as all such persons as, having no means to
-maintain them, use no ordinary trade to get their living by. For this
-purpose they were empowered to raise weekly, or otherwise, by “taxation
-of every inhabitant, parson, vicar, and other; and of every occupier
-of lands, houses, tithes, mines, &c., such sums of money as they shall
-require for providing a sufficient stock of flax, hemp, wool and other
-ware, or stuff to set the poor on work; and also competent sums for
-relief of lame, blind, old and impotent persons, and for putting out
-children as apprentices.” Power was given to the justices to send to
-the house of correction or common gaol all persons who would not work.
-The churchwardens and overseers were further empowered to build poor
-houses at the charge of the parish for the reception of the impotent
-poor only. The justices were further empowered to assess all persons of
-sufficient ability for the relief and maintenance of their children,
-grandchildren, and parents. The parish officers were also empowered to
-bind as apprentices any children who should be chargeable to the parish.
-
-These simple provisions were in course of time greatly perverted, and
-many abuses were introduced into the administration of the poor law.
-One of the most mischievous practices was that which was established
-by the justices for the county of Berks in 1795, when, in order to
-meet the wants of the labouring population, caused by the high price
-of provisions, an allowance in proportion to the number of his family
-was made out of the parish fund to every labourer who applied for
-relief. This allowance fluctuated with the price of the gallon loaf of
-second flour, and the scale was so adjusted as to return to each family
-the sum which in given number of loaves would cost beyond the price
-in years of ordinary abundance. This plan was conceived in a spirit
-of benevolence; but the readiness with which it was adopted in all
-parts of England clearly shows the want of sound views on the subject.
-Under the allowance system the labourer received a part of his means
-of subsistence in the form of a parish gift, and as the fund out of
-which it was provided was raised from the contributions of those who
-did not employ labourers, as well as of those who did, their employers
-being able in part to burthen others with the payment for their labour
-had a direct interest in perpetuating the system. Those who employed
-labourers looked upon the parish contribution as part of the fund out
-of which they were to be paid, and accordingly lowered their rate of
-wages. The labourers also looked on the fund as a source of wage. The
-consequence was, that the labourer looked to the parish, and as a
-matter of right, without any regard to his real wants, and he received
-the wages of his labour as only one and a secondary source of the means
-of subsistence. His character as a labourer became of less value, his
-value as a labourer being thus diminished, under the combined operation
-of these two causes.
-
-In 1832 a commission was appointed by the Crown, under whose direction
-inquiries were made through England and Wales, and the actual condition
-of the labouring classes in every parish was ascertained, with the view
-of showing the evils of the existing practice and of suggesting some
-remedy.
-
-The labour of this inquiry was great; but in a short time a report
-was presented by the commissioners, which explained the operation of
-the law as administered, with its effects upon different classes, and
-suggested remedial measures. This report was presented in 1834, and was
-followed by the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act (4 and 5 Wm. IV.
-c. 76) in August of the same year. This Act was again amended by the 7
-and 8 Victoria, c. 101 (9th August 1844).
-
-The chief provisions of this law are the appointment of a central
-board of three commissioners in London for the general superintendence
-and control of all bodies charged with the management of funds for
-the relief of the poor. There are nine assistant commissioners; each
-of whom has a district; the assistant commissioners are appointed
-by and removable by the commissioners; and the whole is under the
-direction of the President of the Poor Law Board. The administration
-of relief to the poor is under the control of the commissioners, who
-make rules and regulations for the purpose. They are empowered to
-order workhouses to be built, hired, altered, or enlarged, with the
-consent of a majority of a board of guardians. They have the power
-of uniting several parishes for the purposes of a more effective and
-economical administration of poor relief, but so that the actual
-charge in respect to its own poor is defrayed by each parish. These
-united parishes or unions are managed by Boards of Guardians, annually
-elected by the rate-payers of the various parishes; but the masters
-of the workhouses and other paid officers are under the orders of the
-commissioners, and removable by them. The system of paying wages partly
-out of poor-rates is discontinued, and, except in ordinary cases, of
-which the commissioners are the judges, the relief is only to be given
-to able-bodied persons, or to their families, within the walls of the
-workhouse.
-
-A glance at some of the clauses of the Act 7 and 8 Victoria will show
-the present condition of the machinery of the Poor Law, as regards the
-latest reforms.
-
-Chapter 101, sect. 12, empowers the Poor Law Commissioners to prescribe
-the duties of the masters to whom poor children may be apprenticed, and
-the terms and conditions of the indentures of apprenticeship: and no
-poor children are in future to be apprenticed by the overseers of any
-parish included in any union, or subject to a Board of Guardians under
-the provisions of the 4 and 5 Wm. IV. c. 76; but it is declared to be
-lawful for the guardians of such union or parish to bind poor children
-apprentices. The 13th section abolishes so much of the 43 Eliz., c. 2,
-and of the 8 and 9 William III. c. 3, and of all other Acts, as compels
-any person to receive any poor child as an apprentice.
-
-The 14th and following sections make some new regulations as to the
-number of votes of owners of property and rate-payers in the election
-of guardians and in other cases where the consent of the owners and
-rate-payers is required for any of the purposes of the 4 and 5 Wm. IV.
-c. 76.
-
-The 18th section empowers the commissioners, having due regard to the
-relative population or circumstances of any parish, included in a
-union, to alter the number of guardians to be elected for such parish
-without such consent as is required by the Act of William.
-
-This section also empowers the commissioners to divide parishes which
-have more than 20,000 inhabitants, according to the census then last
-published, into wards for the purpose of electing guardians, and to
-determine the number of guardians to be elected for each ward.
-
-The 25th section provides that so long as any woman’s husband is
-beyond the seas, or in custody of the law, or in confinement in a
-licensed house or asylum as a lunatic or idiot, all relief given to
-such a woman, or to her child or children, shall be given in the same
-manner, and subject to the same conditions as if she was a widow; but
-the obligation or liability of the husband in respect of such relief
-continues as before.
-
-The 26th section empowers the guardians of a parish or union to give
-relief to widows under certain conditions, who at the time of their
-husband’s death were resident with them in some place other than the
-parish of their legal settlement, and not situated in any union in
-which such parish is comprised.
-
-The 32nd section provides that the commissioners may combine parishes
-and unions in England for the audit of accounts. By the 40th section
-the commissioners may, subject to certain restrictions there mentioned,
-combine unions or parishes not in union, or such parishes and unions,
-into school districts for the management of any class or classes of
-infant poor not above the age of 16 years, being chargeable to any such
-parish or union, or who are deserted by their parents, or whose parent,
-or surviving parent, or guardians are consenting to the placing of such
-children in the school of such district.
-
-By the 41st section the commissioners are empowered to declare
-parishes, or unions, or parishes and unions within the district of the
-metropolitan police, or the city of London, &c., to be combined into
-districts for the purpose of founding and managing asylums for the
-temporary relief and setting to work therein of destitute homeless poor
-who are not charged with any offence, and who may apply for relief, or
-become chargeable to the poors’ rates within any such parish or union.
-
-
-STATISTICS OF THE POOR LAWS.
-
-The salaries and expenses of the commissioners for carrying into
-execution the Poor Law Acts in England and Ireland amount to about
-56,000_l._
-
-The following statements will show the number of paupers, and the
-amounts expended in relieving their wants at various periods since the
-year 1783.
-
- The average sum expended for the years 1783,
- 1784, and 1785, was £1,912,241
- 1801 4,017,871
- 1811 6,656,105
- 1821 6,959,249
- 1831 6,798,888
- 1832 7,036,969
- 1833 6,790,799
- 1834 6,317,254
- 1835 5,526,418
- 1836 4,717,630
- 1837 4,044,741
- 1838 4,123,604
- 1839 4,421,714
- 1840 4,576,965
- 1841 4,760,929
- 1842 4,911,498
- 1843 5,208,027
- 1844 4,976,093
- 1860 5,454,964
-
-Number of indoor and outdoor paupers relieved during the following
-years:
-
- Paupers. Proportion per cent.
- to Population.
- 1803 1,040,716 12
- 1815 1,319,851 13
- 1832 1,429,356 9
- 1844 1,477,561 9·3
- 1860 844,633 4·3
-
-In the last report of the Poor Law Board (that for 1860) it is stated
-that for twenty-two years preceding the Poor Law Amendment Act in
-1834 the average annual disbursement for the relief of the poor
-was 6,505,037_l._, while for the subsequent 25 years it has only
-been 5,169,073_l._, the supposed annual saving by the new law being
-1,335,964_l._ The average annual cost of the new union-workhouses has
-been about 200,000_l._, and the salaries of the paid Union-officers
-about 600,000_l._
-
-The strikes of 1860 told severely upon the returns. On July 1st, 1860,
-there were 1,751 able-bodied men receiving relief more than on the same
-day of the previous year. On new year’s day of 1860 there were 40,972
-more persons of all classes in receipt of relief than on the first day
-of the preceding year. There were 6,720 more able-bodied men in receipt
-of relief, and 7,026 more able-bodied women.
-
-
-REPORT OF THE POOR LAW BOARD (1860).
-
-The usual statistics of this report show that in the year 1860 the sum
-of 5,454,964_l._ was expended for the relief of the poor in England and
-Wales, being at the rate per head of the estimated population, of 5_s._
-6_d._ The net annual value of the rateable property at the present time
-(1860) is 71 millions.
-
-The inefficiency of the Poor Law to meet the wants of the destitute in
-times of great and prevailing distress has been demonstrated over and
-over again, and at no period more pointedly and decisively than during
-the year 1860. On this subject we subjoin the remarks of a writer in
-the _Times_ (Feb. 11, 1861). “It is an admitted and notorious fact,
-that after a fortnight’s frost the police courts were besieged by
-thousands who professed to be starving; the magistrates and officers
-of the court undertook the office of almoners in addition to their
-other laborious duties; the public poured in their contributions as
-they would for the victims of a terrible disaster; for a time we had in
-a dozen places a scene that rather took one back to the indiscriminate
-dole before the convent door, or the largess flung by the hand among
-the crowd at a royal progress than to an institution or custom of
-this sensible age. To some it naturally occurred that the Poor Law
-ought to have dispensed with this extraordinary exhibition; to others
-that no law could meet the emergency.... It was the saturnalia if
-not of mendicancy, at least of destitution. The police stood aside
-while beggars possessed the thoroughfares on the sole plea of an
-extraordinary visitation. There was a fortnight’s frost, so it was
-allowable to one class to hold a midnight fair on the Serpentine, and
-to another to insist on being maintained at the expense of the public.
-Was all this right and proper? We had thought that the race of sturdy
-vagrants and valiant beggars was extinct, or at least that they dared
-no longer show themselves. But here they were in open day like the
-wretches which are said to emerge out of darkness on the day of a
-revolution.... When such is the fact, and when it is now admitted by
-all to have been not only exceptional, but highly exceptionable, we
-may leave others to find out the right shoulders on which the blame
-should be laid. For our part we hold that a Poor Law ought to be as
-proof against a long frost, or any other general visitation--and there
-are many more serious--as a ship ought to be against a storm, or an
-embankment against an inundation.”
-
-On the occasion here referred to the Poor Law gave relief to 23,000;
-but sent away 17,000 empty-handed, who would have starved but for the
-open-handed charity of the public, dispensed in the most liberal spirit
-by the metropolitan magistrates.
-
-Mendicancy has always increased to an alarming extent after a war, and
-during the time of war, if it has been protracted. There is no doubt
-that the calamities of war reduce many respectable persons to want; but
-at the same time the circumstances which attend a period of commotion
-and trouble always afford opportunities to impostors. Mendicancy had
-reached a fearful pitch during the last great war with France; and in
-1816, the year after the battle of Waterloo, the large towns were so
-infested by beggars of every description that it was deemed necessary
-to appoint a select committee of the House of Commons to consider what
-could be done to abate the nuisance. The report of this committee
-furnishes some interesting particulars of the begging impostures of the
-time and of the gains of beggars.
-
-
-STREET BEGGARS IN 1816.
-
-It was clearly proved that a man with a dog got 30_s._ in one day.
-
-Two houses in St. Giles’s frequented by from 200 to 300 beggars. It
-was proved that each beggar made on an average from 3_s._ to 5_s._ a
-day. They had grand suppers at midnight, and drank and sang songs until
-day-break.
-
-A negro beggar retired to the West Indies, with a fortune of 1,500_l._
-
-The value of 15_s._ 20_s._ and 30_s._ found upon ordinary street
-beggars. They get more by begging than they can by work; they get so
-much by begging that they never apply for parochial relief.
-
-A manufacturer in Spitalfields stated that there were instances of his
-own people leaving profitable work for the purpose of begging.
-
-It was proved that many beggars paid 50_s._ a week for their board.
-
-Beggars stated that they go through 40 streets in a day, and that it is
-a poor street that does not yield 2_d._
-
-Beggars are furnished with children at houses in Whitechapel and
-Shoreditch; some who look like twins.
-
-A woman with twins who never grew older sat for ten years at the corner
-of a street.
-
-Children let out by the day, who carried to their parents 2_s._ 6_d._ a
-day as the price paid by the persons who hired them.
-
-A little boy and a little girl earned 8_s._ a day. An instance is
-stated of an old woman who kept a night school for instructing children
-in the street language, and how to beg.
-
-The number of beggars infesting London at this time (1816) was computed
-to be 16,000, of which 6,300 were Irish. We glean further from the
-report respecting them.
-
-It appears by the evidence of the person who contracts for carrying
-vagrants in and through the county of Middlesex, that he has passed as
-many as 12,000 or 13,000 in a year; but no estimate can be formed from
-that, as many of them are passed several times in the course of the
-year. And it is proved that these people are in the course of eight or
-ten days in the same situation; as they find no difficulty in escaping
-as soon as they are out of the hands of the Middlesex contractor.
-
-A magistrate in the office at Whitechapel, thinks there is not one who
-is not worthless.
-
-The rector of Saint Clement Danes describes them as living very well,
-especially if they are pretty well maimed, blind, or if they have
-children.
-
-Beggars scarify their feet to make the blood come; share considerable
-sums of money, and get scandalously drunk, quarrel, and fight, and
-one teaches the other the mode of extorting money; they are the worst
-of characters, blasphemous and abusive; when they are detected as
-impostors in one parish they go into another.
-
-They eat no broken victuals; but have ham, beef, &c.
-
-Forty or fifty sleep in a house, and are locked in lest they should
-carry anything away, and are let out in the morning all at once.
-
-Tear their clothes for an appearance of distress.
-
-Beggars assemble in a morning, and agree what route each shall take.
-At some of the houses, the knives and forks chained to the tables, and
-other articles chained to the walls.
-
-
-MENDICANT PENSIONERS.
-
-Some who have pensions as soldiers or sailors were among those who
-apply by letters for charity; one sailor who had lost a leg is one of
-the most violent and desperate characters in the metropolis.
-
-Among beggars of the very worst class there are about 30 Greenwich
-pensioners, who have instruments of music, and go about in parties.
-
-A marine who complained that he had but 7_l._ a year pension, said he
-could make a day’s work in an hour in any square in London.
-
-A pensioner who had 18_l._ a year from Chelsea, when taken up for
-begging had bank-notes concealed in his waistcoat, and on many of that
-description frequently 8_s._ 10_s._ or 12_s._ are found, that they have
-got in a day.
-
-Chelsea pensioners beg in all directions at periods between the
-receipts of their pensions.
-
-A Chelsea pensioner who receives 1_s._ 6_d._ a day is one of the most
-notorious beggars who infest the town.
-
-A Greenwich pensioner of 7_l._ a year, gets from 5_s._ to 10_s._ for
-writing begging letters.
-
-
-BEGGING LETTER WRITERS IN 1816.
-
-Some thousand applications by letters are made for charity to ladies,
-noblemen, and gentlemen in the metropolis; two thousand on an average
-were within the knowledge of one individual who was employed to make
-inquiries. Several persons subsist by writing letters; one woman
-profits by the practice, who receives a guinea a week as a legacy from
-a relation, and has laid out 200_l._ in the funds. Letters have been
-written by the same person in five or six different hands.
-
-Persons who write begging letters are called twopenny-post beggars.
-
-A man who keeps a school writes begging letters for 2_d._ each.
-
- * * * * *
-
-These extracts, culled here and there from a voluminous report, will
-suffice to give an idea of the state of mendicancy in the metropolis at
-the beginning of the century. The public were so shocked and startled
-by the systematic impostures that were brought to light that an effort
-was made to protect the charitable by means of an organized system of
-inquiry into the character, and condition of all persons who were found
-begging. The result of this effort was the establishment in 1818 of the
-now well-known
-
-
-MENDICITY SOCIETY.
-
-The object of this Society was to protect noblemen, gentlemen, and
-other persons accustomed to dispense large sums in charity from being
-imposed upon by cheats and pretenders, and at the same time to provide,
-on behalf of the public, a police system, whose sole and special
-function should be the suppression of mendicancy.
-
-The plan of the Society is as follows:--The subscribers receive printed
-tickets from the Society, and these they give to beggars instead of
-money. The ticket refers the beggar to the Society’s office, and
-there his case is enquired into. If he be a deserving person relief
-is afforded him from funds placed at the disposal of the Society by
-its subscribers. If he is found to be an impostor he is arrested and
-prosecuted at the instance of the Society. Governors of this Society
-may obtain tickets for distribution at any time. The annual payment of
-one guinea constitutes the donor a governor, and the payment of ten
-guineas at one time, or within one year, a governor for life. A system
-of inquiry into the merits of persons who are in the habit of BEGGING
-BY LETTER has been incorporated with the Society’s proceedings, and
-the following persons are entitled to refer such letters to the office
-for investigation, it being understood that the eventual grant of
-relief rests with the subscriber sending the case:--
-
- I. All contributors to the general funds of the Society to the amount
- of twenty guineas.
-
- II. All contributors to the general funds of the Society to the amount
- of ten guineas, and who also subscribe ONE GUINEA annually.
-
- III. All subscribers of two guineas and upwards per annum.
-
-So successful have been the efforts of this Society in protecting the
-charitable from the depredations of begging-letter writers and other
-mendicants, that now almost every public man whose prominent position
-marks him out for their appeals, contributes to the Society, either
-by subscriptions or donation. The Queen herself is the Patron; the
-President is the Marquis of Westminster, and among the Vice-Presidents
-may be counted three dukes, three marquises, eight earls, one viscount,
-a bishop, and a long list of lords and members of parliament.
-Altogether the Society has about 2,400 subscribers, whose donations
-and subscriptions range from 100_l._ and 50_l._ to 2_l._ and 1_l._ The
-total amount of the Society’s income for 1860 was 3,913_l._ 14_s._
-2_d._, of which 3,010_l_ 13_s._ 9_d._ was derived from subscriptions
-and donations, the remainder being derived from legacies, interest on
-stock and the profits of the Society’s works. The expenditure for the
-same year was 3,169_l._ 16_s._ 10_d._, and the amount expended in the
-relief of mendicants, 906_l._ 9_s._
-
-The meals given in 1860 to persons who were found to be deserving were
-42,192.
-
-The unregistered cases (that is, those not thought to require a special
-investigation) were 4,224, and the registered cases 430.
-
-The vagrants apprehended were 739; of whom 350 were convicted.
-
-The following Table sets forth the whole of the cases that came under
-the notice of the Society in 1860.
-
- Number of registered cases in 1860 430
- Of which there appeared to belong--
- To parishes in London 151
- Country 142
- Ireland 82
- Scotland 0
- Wales 8
- France 2
- East Indies 7
- West Indies 2
- America 1
- Italy 5
- Africa 1
- China 1
- Switzerland 2
- Germany 2
- Poland 1
- Unknown 7
- -- 430
-
-
-Alleged causes of distress.
-
- Want of employment 395
- Age and infirmity 1
- Failure in business 1
- Foreigners and others desirous of returning
- home 22
- Sickness and accidents 2
- Want of clothing 3
- Loss of stock, tools, &c. 1
- Loss of character 1
- Loss of relations and friends by death,
- desertion, imprisonment, &c. 4
- -- 430
-
-The various cases were disposed of as follows:--
-
- Referred to London parishes; most of whom
- were admitted into workhouses, or obtained
- relief through the interference of the Society,
- some being previously relieved with money,
- food, and clothing 15
- Relieved with clothing and sent to their respective
- parishes 9
- Provided with situations, clothing, tools, goods,
- or other means of effectually supporting
- themselves 8
- New apprehended cases by the Society’s constables
- during 1860: a large number of whom
- were committed by the magistrates as vagrants;
- others were referred to the Society,
- and sent to work, the men at the mill, and
- stone-breaking, and the women at oakum-picking;
- and several were assisted with the
- means of returning home 376
- Proved on investigation to be undeserving 4
- Employed at the mill and oakum picking (not
- apprehended cases) 1
- Placed in hospitals and assisted with clothing 4
- Relieved weekly, where distress appeared temporary,
- and clothes, blankets, shoes, &c.
- given 13
- ---
- Total 430
-
-The following Table exhibits a statement of the Society’s proceedings
-from the first year of its formation to the year 1860:--
-
- Years. Cases registered. Vagrants Meals given.
- committed.
- 1818 3,284 385 16,827
- 1819 4,682 580 33,013
- 1820 4,546 359 46,407
- 1821 2,339 324 28,542
- 1822 2,235 287 22,232
- 1823 1,493 193 20,152
- 1824 1,441 195 25,396
- 1825 1,096 381 19,600
- 1826 833 300 22,972
- 1827 806 403 35,892
- 1828 1,284 786 21,066
- 1829 671 602 26,286
- 1830 848 -- 105,488
- 1831 1,285 -- 79,156
- 1832 1,040 -- 73,315
- 1833 624 -- 37,074
- 1834 1,226 652 30,513
- 1835 1,408 1,510 84,717
- 1836 946 1,004 68,134
- 1837 1,087 1,090 87,454
- 1838 1,041 873 155,348
- 1839 1,055 962 110,943
- 1840 706 752 113,502
- 1841 997 1,119 195,625
- 1842 1,233 1,306 128,914
- 1843 1,148 1,018 167,126
- 1844 1,184 937 174,229
- 1845 1,001 868 165,139
- 1846 980 778 148,569
- 1847 910 625 239,171
- 1848 1,161 979 148,661
- 1849 1,043 905 64,251
- 1850 787 570 94,106
- 1851 1,150 900 102,140
- 1852 658 607 67,985
- 1853 419 354 62,788
- 1854 332 326 52,212
- 1855 235 239 52,731
- 1856 325 293 49,806
- 1857 354 358 54,074
- 1858 329 298 43,836
- 1859 364 305 40,256
- 1860 430 350 42,192
- ------ ------ ---------
- 51,016 24,773 3,357,834
-
-
-Total number of apprehended cases in 1860:--
-
- Committed 350
- Discharged 389
- --- 739
-
- Non-registered cases during the year 4,224
- Registered cases 430
- ----- 4,654
-
-I will now give a few examples of the cases which ordinarily come under
-the notice of the Society.
-
-
-A DESERVING CASE.
-
-A. L. and her sister, the one a widow, 70, the other a single woman,
-55, applied for relief under the following circumstances. They had
-for many years been supporting themselves by making children’s
-leather-covered toy balls, at one time earning a comfortable living;
-but their means were reduced from time to time by the introduction of
-India-rubber and gutta-percha, until at last five pence per dozen was
-all they could obtain for their labour; and it required both to apply
-themselves for many hours to earn that small amount; still, to avoid
-the workhouse, they toiled on, until the destruction of Messrs. Payne’s
-toy warehouse in Holborn, which threw them entirely out of work, and
-reduced them to absolute want. It was thus they were found in the
-winter having been frequently without food, fire, or candle, nearly
-perishing with cold, and in fear of being turned into the streets for
-arrears of rent. Inquiry having been instituted as to their character,
-which was found to be exceedingly good, they were relieved for three
-months with money and food weekly, besides bedding and clothing being
-given to them from the Society’s stores.
-
-
-ANOTHER.
-
-E. W., the applicant, a widow of a journeyman carpenter, who, in
-consequence of his protracted illness and want of employment, was at
-the time of his death destitute, and in her confinement at the time
-she was visited by the Society. She had three young children incapable
-of contributing to their own support, and the parish officers in
-consequence were relieving her with a trifle weekly; but she was in a
-very low state for want of nourishment. The referee expressed it as
-his opinion that she was a very deserving woman, and that on two or
-three occasions he had afforded her assistance, and had much pleasure
-in recommending her case. Assistance was in consequence given her for
-several weeks, for which she appeared very grateful.
-
-
-AN IMPOSTOR.
-
-J. C. This man, who has been seventeen times apprehended by the
-Society’s constables, and as many more by the police, was taken into
-custody for begging. He is an old man, and his age usually excites the
-sympathy of the public; but he is a gross impostor, and for the last
-fifteen years has been about the streets, imposing upon the benevolent.
-He has been convicted of stealing books, newspapers, and on one
-occasion an inkstand from a coffee house. His appeals to the benevolent
-in the streets are very pertinacious, and persons frequently give him
-money for the purpose of getting rid of him. He had, when last taken
-into custody, 2_l._ 9_s._ 4_d._ secreted about his person, part in
-his stockings, which he stated had been given to him to enable him to
-leave the country, and a variety of what he represented to be original
-verses was found in his possession and produced before the magistrate,
-to whom he appealed to sympathise with a poor author. “Pray, sir,” said
-he, “look at my verses; you will find that they are such as would be
-written by a man of scholastic attainments; they breathe a sentiment
-of love and charity, and of generosity to the poor; they are of
-scientific interest, and fit for the perusal of royalty.” His sentence
-to a month’s imprisonment only evidently surprised him, for which he
-thanked the magistrate; but he continued in a suppressed tone of voice:
-“But, sir, what about my money?” On being informed that, on account of
-his age, it should be returned to him when his time of imprisonment
-expired, he indulged in a rhapsody of delight, but begged that his
-emotion might not be misconstrued. “It is not the love of money, sir,”
-addressing the magistrate, “that moves me thus; it is a far higher
-feeling; I have an affectionate heart, sir,--it is gratitude.”
-
-
-ANOTHER IMPOSTOR.
-
-E. M. C. This man applied for relief during the severity of the
-winter of 1860-1, representing himself as in much distress for want
-of employment; that he had a wife ill at home, confined to her bed,
-and having been for a long time out of work, his three children were
-wanting food. Work was accordingly given to him at the Society’s mill,
-and he was supplied with food for the immediate wants of his family,
-pending inquiry into the truthfulness of his story. It was found that
-he was a single man, who, for deceptive purposes, had adopted the name
-of a woman with whom he was living, and who had separated from her
-husband but a short time previously, and was tutoring her children in
-all imaginable kinds of vice. It was also ascertained that the police
-had strict orders to watch the man’s movements, for he was known as an
-associate of characters of the worst description. He was consequently
-discharged from the Society’s works, with a caution against applying to
-the benevolent for their sympathy in the future.
-
- * * * * *
-
-The following is the case of a person who applied for charity by
-letter, whose case was found to be a deserving one:--
-
-J. W. A middle-aged man of creditable appearance, who had for many
-years obtained a livelihood for himself and family (consisting of his
-wife and six children) as a clerk and salesman to a respectable firm,
-being thrown out of his situation through his employer’s embarrassed
-circumstances, became gradually reduced to destitution, and therefore
-made application for assistance to a subscriber to the Society. It
-appeared upon investigation that he had been most regular in his
-attention to his duties, strictly honest, industrious, and sober,
-and just at the time of the inquiry it fortunately happened that he
-procured another situation, but was hampered with trifling debts
-which he incurred while out of employment, which it was necessary to
-discharge, as well as procure suitable clothing. His character having
-proved satisfactory, the subscriber applied to directed a handsome
-donation to be appropriated to his assistance, whereby he was enabled
-to overcome his difficulties. He showed himself most grateful for the
-assistance.
-
-I shall now, by way of contrast, give the case of two beggars by
-letter, who were found to be rank impostors:--
-
-H. G. This man and his wife have been known to the Society for
-many years as two of the most persevering and impudent impostors
-that ever came under its cognizance. The man, although possessing
-considerable ability, and having a respectable situation as a clerk
-in a public institution, had become such an habitual drunkard as to
-be quite reckless as to what false representations he put forth to
-obtain charitable assistance; and finding himself detected in his
-various fabricated tales of distress, had the impudence to apply to a
-subscriber by letter, wherein he represented that his wife had died
-after several months’ severe affliction, which upon inquiry turned
-out untrue, his wife being alive and well, and they were living
-together at the very time the letter was written. Notwithstanding he
-was thus foiled in his endeavours to impose, a few weeks afterwards
-the wife had the assurance to send a letter to another subscriber,
-craving assistance on account of the death of her husband, and in
-order to carry out the deception she dressed herself in widow’s weeds.
-The gentleman applied to, however, having some misgivings as to her
-representations, fortunately forwarded her appeal to the Society, where
-it was ascertained that her husband was also alive and well.
-
-
-A WELL-EDUCATED BEGGAR.
-
-J. R. P. F. A man about 45 years of age, the son of a much respected
-clergyman in Lancashire, who had received a good classical education,
-and was capable of gaining an excellent livelihood, applied to various
-persons for aid, in consequence, as he said, of being in great distress
-through want of a situation. He carefully selected those gentlemen who
-were well acquainted with, and respected, his father, some of whom,
-mistrusting his representations, forwarded the letters to the Mendicity
-Society for inquiry, which proved the applicant to be a most depraved
-character, who had been a source of great trouble to his parents for
-many years, they having provided him with situations (as teacher
-in various respectable establishments) from time to time, and also
-furnished him with means of clothing himself respectably; but on every
-occasion he remained in his employment but a very short time, before he
-gave way to his propensity to drink, and so disgraced himself that his
-employers were glad to get rid of him; whereupon he made away with his
-clothing to indulge his vicious propensity.
-
-I will now proceed to give an account of the beggars of London, as they
-have come under my notice in the course of the present inquiry.
-
-
-BEGGING-LETTER WRITERS.
-
-Foremost among beggars, by right of pretension to blighted prospects
-and correct penmanship, stands the Begging-Letter Writer. He is the
-connecting link between mendicity and the observance of external
-respectability. He affects white cravats, soft hands, and filbert
-nails. He oils his hair, cleans his boots, and wears a portentous
-stick-up collar. The light of other days of gentility and comfort casts
-a halo of “deportment” over his well-brushed, white-seamed coat, his
-carefully darned black-cloth gloves, and pudgy gaiters. He invariably
-carries an umbrella, and wears a hat with an enormous brim. His once
-raven hair is turning grey, and his well-shaved whiskerless cheeks
-are blue as with gunpowder tattoo. He uses the plainest and most
-respectable of cotton pocket-handkerchiefs, and keeps his references as
-to character in the most irreproachable of shabby leather pocket-books.
-His mouth is heavy, his under-lip thick, sensual, and lowering, and
-his general expression of pious resignation contradicted by restless,
-bloodshot eyes, that flash from side to side, quick to perceive the
-approach of a compassionate-looking clergyman, a female devotee, or a
-keen-scented member of the Society for the Suppression of Mendicity.
-
-Among the many varieties of mendacious beggars, there is none
-so detestable as this hypocritical scoundrel, who, with an
-ostentatiously-submissive air, and false pretence of faded fortunes,
-tells his plausible tale of undeserved suffering, and extracts from the
-hearts and pockets of the superficially good-hearted their sympathy and
-coin. His calling is a special one, and requires study, perseverance,
-and some personal advantages. The begging-letter writer must write a
-good hand, speak grammatically, and have that shrewd perception of
-character peculiar to fortune-tellers, horoscopists, cheap-jacks, and
-pedlars. He “must read and write, and cast accounts;” have an intuitive
-knowledge of the “nobility and landed gentry;” be a keen physiognomist,
-and an adept at imitation of handwritings, old documents, quaint
-ancient orthography, and the like. He must possess an artistic eye
-for costume, an unfaltering courage, and have tears and hysterics at
-immediate command.
-
-His great stock-in-trade is his register. There he carefully notes down
-the names, addresses, and mental peculiarities of his victims, and the
-character and pretence under which he robbed them of their bounty. It
-would not do to tell the same person the same story _twice_, as once
-happened to an unusually audacious member of the fraternity, who had
-obtained money from an old lady for the purpose of burying his wife,
-for whose loss he, of course, expressed the deepest grief. Confident in
-the old lady’s kindness of heart and weakness of memory, three months
-after his bereavement he again posted himself before the lady’s door,
-and gave vent to violent emotion.
-
-“Dear me!” thought the old lady, “there’s that poor man who lost his
-wife some time ago.” She opened the window, and, bidding the vagabond
-draw nearer, asked him what trouble he was in at present.
-
-After repeated questioning the fellow gurgled out, “That the wife
-of his bosom, the mother of his children, had left him for that
-bourne from which no traveller returns, and that owing to a series of
-unprecedented and unexpected misfortunes he had not sufficient money to
-defray the funeral expenses, and--”
-
-“Oh, nonsense!” interrupted the old lady. “You lost your wife a quarter
-of a year ago. You couldn’t lose her twice; and as to marrying again,
-and losing again in that short time, it is quite impossible!”
-
-I subjoin some extracts from a Register kept by a begging-letter
-writer, and who was detected and punished:--
-
- _Cheltenham._ _May 14, 1842._
-
- REV. JOHN FURBY.--Springwood Villa.--Low Church.--Fond of
- architecture--Dugdale’s Monastica--Son of architect--Lost his life in
- the “Charon,” U.S. packet--£2, and suit of clothes--Got reference.
-
- MRS. BRANXHOLME.--Clematis Cottage--Widow--Through Rev. Furby, £3 and
- prayer-book.
-
- _Gloucester._ _May 30._
-
- MRS. CAPTAIN DANIELS.-- ---- Street.--Widow--Son drowned off Cape, as
- purser of same ship, “The Thetis”--£5 and old sea-chest. N.B.: Vamosed
- next day--Captain returned from London--Gaff blown in county paper.
- Mem.: Not to visit neighbourhood for four years.
-
- _Lincoln._ _June 19._
-
- ANDREW TAGGART.-- ---- street.--Gentleman--Great abolitionist of slave
- trade--As tradesman from U.S., who had lost his custom by aiding slope
- of fugitive female slave--By name Naomi Brown--£5. N.B.: To work him
- again, for he is good.
-
- _Grantham._ _July 1._
-
- CHARLES JAMES CAMPION.--Westby House.--Gentleman--Literary--Writes
- plays and novels--As distant relative of George Frederick Cooke, and
- burnt-out bookseller--£2 2_s._ N.B.: Gave me some of his own books to
- read--Such trash--· Cadger in one--No more like cadger than I’m like
- Bobby Peel--Went to him again on 5th--Told him thought it wonderful,
- and the best thing out since Vicar of Wakefield--Gave me £1 more--Very
- good man--To be seen to for the future.
-
- _Huntingdon._ _July 15._
-
- MRS. SIDDICK.-- ---- Street.--Widow--Cranky--Baptist--As member of
- persuasion from persecution of worldly-minded relatives--£10--Gave
- her address in London--Good for a £5 every year--Recognized
- inspector--Leave to-night.
-
-There are, of course, many varieties of the begging-letter writer;
-but although each and all of them have the same pretensions to former
-respectability, their mode of levying contributions is entirely
-different. There are but few who possess the versatility of their
-great master--Bampfylde Moore Carew; and it is usual for every member
-of the fraternity to chalk out for himself a particular “line” of
-imposition--a course of conduct that renders him perfect in the part
-he plays, makes his references and certificates continually available,
-and prevents him from “jostling” or coming into collision with others
-of his calling who might be “on the same lay as himself, and spoil his
-game!” Among the many specimens, one of the most prominent is the
-
-
-DECAYED GENTLEMAN.
-
-The conversation of this class of mendicant is of former greatness,
-of acquaintance among the nobility and gentry of a particular
-county--always a distant one from the scene of operations--of hunting,
-races, balls, meets, appointments to the magistracy, lord-lieutenants,
-contested elections, and marriages in high life. The knowledge of the
-things of which he talks so fluently is gleaned from files of old
-county newspapers. When at fault, or to use his own phrase, “pounded,”
-a ready wit, a deprecating shrug, and a few words, such as, “Perhaps
-I’m mistaken--I used to visit a good deal there, and was introduced
-to so many who have forgotten me now--my memory is failing, like
-everything else”--extricate him from his difficulty, and increase his
-capital of past prosperity and present poverty. The decayed gentleman
-is also a great authority on wines--by right of a famous sample--his
-father “laid down” in eighteen eleven, “the comet year you know,” and
-is not a little severe upon his past extravagance. He relishes the
-retrospection of the heavy losses he endured at Newmarket, Doncaster,
-and Epsom in “forty-two and three,” and is pathetic on the subject
-of the death of William Scott. The cause of his ruin he attributes
-usually to a suit in the Court of Chancery, or the “fatal and
-calamitous Encumbered Irish Estates Bill.” He is a florid impostor,
-and has a jaunty sonorous way of using his clean, threadbare, silk
-pocket-handkerchief, that carries conviction even to the most sceptical.
-
-It is not uncommon to find among these degraded mendicants one who
-has really been a gentleman, as far as birth and education go, but
-whose excesses and extravagances have reduced him to mendicity. Such
-cases are the most hopeless. Unmindful of decent pride, and that true
-gentility that rises superior to circumstance, and finds no soil upon
-the money earned by labour, the lying, drunken, sodden wretch considers
-work “beneath him;” upon the shifting quicksands of his own vices
-rears an edifice of vagabond vanity, and persuades himself that, by
-forfeiting his manhood, he vindicates his right to the character of
-gentleman.
-
-The letters written by this class of beggar generally run as follows.
-My readers will, of course, understand that the names and places
-mentioned are the only portions of the epistles that are fictitious.
-
- “_Three Mermaids Inn, Pond Lane._
- _April--, 18  ._
-
- “SIR, or MADAM,
-
- “Although I have not the honour to be personally acquainted with
- you, I have had the advantage of an introduction to a member of your
- family, Major Sherbrook, when with his regiment at Malta; and my
- present disadvantageous circumstances emboldens me to write to you,
- for the claims of affliction upon the heart of the compassionate
- are among the holiest of those kindred ties that bind man to his
- fellow-being.
-
- “My father was a large landed proprietor at Peddlethorpe, ----shire.
- I, his only son, had every advantage that birth and fortune could
- give me claim to. From an informality in the wording of my father’s
- will, the dishonesty of an attorney, and the rapacity of some of my
- poor late father’s distant relatives, the property was, at his death,
- thrown into Chancery, and for the last four years I have been reduced
- to--comparatively speaking--starvation.
-
- “With the few relics of my former prosperity I have long since parted.
- My valued books, and, I am ashamed to own, my clothes, are gone. I am
- now in the last stage of destitution, and, I regret to say, in debt
- to the worthy landlord of the tavern from which I write this, to the
- amount of eight and sixpence. My object in coming to this part of the
- country was to see an old friend, whom I had hoped would have assisted
- me. We were on the same form together at Rugby--Mr. Joseph Thurwood of
- Copesthorpe. Alas! I find that he died three months ago.
-
- “I most respectfully beg of you to grant me some trifling assistance.
- As in my days of prosperity I trust my heart was never deaf to
- the voice of entreaty, nor my purse closed to the wants of the
- necessitous; so dear sir, or madam, I hope that my request will not be
- considered by you as impertinent or intrusive.
-
- “I have the honour to enclose you some testimonials as to my character
- and former station in society; and trusting that the Almighty Being
- may never visit you with that affliction which it has been His
- all-wise purpose to heap on me, I am
-
- “Your most humble and
- “Obliged servant,
- “FREDERICK MAURICE STANHOPE,
-
- “Formerly of Stanhope House, ----shire.”
-
-
-THE BROKEN-DOWN TRADESMAN
-
-is a sort of retail dealer in the same description of article as the
-decayed gentleman. The unexpected breaking of fourteen of the most
-respectable banking-houses in New York, or the loss of the cargoes of
-two vessels in the late autumnal gales, or the suspension of payment
-of Haul, Strong, and Chates, “joined and combined together with the
-present commercial crisis, has been the means of bringing him down to
-his present deplorable situation,” as his letter runs. His references
-are mostly from churchwardens, bankers, and dissenting clergymen, and
-he carries about a fictitious set of books--day-book, ledger, and
-petty-cash-book, containing entries of debts of large amounts, and
-a dazzling display of the neatest and most immaculate of commercial
-cyphering. His conversation, like his correspondence, is a queer jumble
-of arithmetic and scripture. He has a wife whose appearance is in
-itself a small income. She folds the hardest-working-looking of hands
-across the cleanest of white aprons, and curtseys with the humility
-of a pew-opener. The clothes of the worthy couple are shabby, but
-their persons and linen are rigorously clean. Their cheeks shine with
-yellow soap, as if they were rasped and bee’s-waxed every morning.
-The male impostor, when fleecing a victim, has a habit of washing his
-hands “with invisible soap and imperceptible water,” as though he were
-waiting on a customer. The wedded pair--and, generally, they are really
-married--are of congenial dispositions and domestic turn of mind, and
-get drunk, and fight each other, or go half-price to the play according
-to their humour. It is usually jealousy that betrays them. The husband
-is unfaithful, and the wife “peaches;” through her agency the police
-are put upon the track, and the broken-down tradesman is committed. In
-prison he professes extreme penitence, and has a turn for scriptural
-quotation, that stands him in good stead.
-
-On his release he takes to itinerant preaching, or political lecturing.
-What becomes of him after those last resources it is difficult to
-determine. The chances are that he again writes begging letters, but
-“on a different lay.”
-
-
-THE DISTRESSED SCHOLAR
-
-is another variety of the same species, a connecting link between the
-self-glorification of the decayed gentleman and the humility of the
-broken-down tradesman. He is generally in want of money to pay his
-railway-fare, or coach-hire to the north of England, where he has a
-situation as usher to an academy--or he cannot seek for a situation for
-want of “those clothes which sad necessity has compelled him to part
-with for temporary convenience.” His letters, written in the best small
-hand, with the finest of upstrokes and fattest of downstrokes, are
-after this fashion:
-
- “_Star Temperance Coffee House_,
- “_Gravel Walk_.
-
- “SIR, or MADAM,
-
- “I have the honour to lay my case before you, humbly entreating your
- kind consideration.
-
- “I am a tutor, and was educated at St. ----’s College, Cambridge.
- My last situation was with the Rev. Mr. Cross, Laburnum House, near
- Dorking. I profess English, Latin, Greek, mathematics, and the higher
- branches of arithmetic, and am well read in general literature,
- ancient and modern. ‘Rudem esse omnino in nostris poetis est
- inertissimæ signitiæ signum.’
-
- “I am at present under engagement to superintend the scholastic
- establishment of Mr. Tighthand of the classical and commercial academy
- ----, Cumberland, but have not the means of defraying the expenses
- of my journey, nor of appearing with becoming decency before my new
- employer and my pupils.
-
- “My wardrobe is all pledged for an amount incommensurate with its
- value, and I humbly and respectfully lay my case before you, and
- implore you for assistance, or even a temporary accommodation.
-
- “I am aware that impostors, armed with specious stories, often
- impose on the kind-hearted and the credulous. ‘Nervi atque artus est
- sapientiæ--non temere credere.’ I have therefore the honour to forward
- you the enclosed testimonials from my former employers and others as
- to my character and capacity.
-
- “That you may never be placed in such circumstances as to compel you
- to indite such an epistle as the one I am at present penning is my
- most fervent wish. Rely upon it, generous sir--or madam--that, should
- you afford me the means of gaining an honourable competence, you shall
- never have to repent your timely benevolence. If, however, I should be
- unsuccessful in my present application, I must endeavour to console
- myself with the words of the great poet. ‘Ætas ipsa solatium omnibus
- affert,’ or with the diviner precept: ‘And this too shall pass away.’
-
- “I have, sir--or madam--the honour to be
-
- “Your humble and obedient servant,
-
- “HORACE HUMM.”
-
-A gracefully flourished swan, with the date in German text on his left
-wing, terminates the letter.
-
-
-THE KAGGS FAMILY.
-
-This case of cleverly organized swindling fell beneath the writer’s
-personal observation.
-
-In a paved court, dignified with the name of a market, leading into
-one of the principal thoroughfares of London, dwelt a family whom,
-from fear of an action for libel which, should they ever read these
-lines, they would assuredly bring, I will call Kaggs. Mr. Kaggs, the
-head of the family, had commenced life in the service of a nobleman.
-He was a tall, portly man, with a short nose, broad truculent mouth,
-and a light, moist eye. His personal advantages and general conduct
-obtained him promotion, and raised him from the servants’ hall to the
-pantry. When he was thirty years of age, he was butler in the family
-of a country gentleman, whose youngest daughter fell in love, ran away
-with, and--married him. The angry father closed his doors against
-them, and steeled his heart to the pathetic appeals addressed to him
-by every post. Mr. Kaggs, unable to obtain a character from his last
-place, found himself shut out from his former occupation. His wife gave
-promise of making an increase to the numbers of the family, and to use
-Mr. Kaggs’s own pantry vernacular, “he was flyblown and frostbitten
-every joint of him.”
-
-It was then that he first conceived the idea of making his wife’s birth
-and parentage a source of present income and provision for old age. She
-was an excellent penwoman, and for some months had had great practice
-in the composition of begging letters to her father. Mr. Kaggs’s
-appearance being martial and imposing, he collected what information
-he could find upon the subject, and passed himself off for a young
-Englishman of good family, who had been an officer in the Spanish army,
-and served “under Evans!” Mrs. Kaggs’s knowledge of the county families
-stood them in good stead, and they begged themselves through England,
-Scotland, and Wales, and lived in a sort of vulgar luxury, at no cost
-but invention, falsehood, and a ream or so of paper.
-
-It was some few years ago that I first made their acquaintance. Mrs.
-Kaggs had bloomed into a fine elderly woman, and Mr. Kaggs’s nose and
-stomach had widened to that appearance of fatherly responsibility and
-parochial importance that was most to be desired. The wife had sunk
-to the husband’s level, and had brought up her children to tread in
-the same path. Their family, though not numerous, was a blessing to
-them, for each child, some way or other, contrived to bring in money.
-It was their parents’ pride that they had given their offspring a
-liberal education. As soon as they were of an age capable of receiving
-instruction, they were placed at a respectable boarding-school, and,
-although they only stayed in it one half-year, they went to another
-establishment for the next half-year, and so managed to pick up a good
-miscellaneous education, and at the same time save their parents the
-cost of board and lodging.
-
-James Julian Kaggs, the eldest and only son, was in Australia, “doing
-well,” as his mamma would often say--though in what particular business
-or profession was a subject on which she preserved a discreet silence.
-As I never saw the young man in question, I am unable to furnish any
-information respecting him.
-
-Catherine Kaggs, the eldest daughter, was an ugly and vulgar girl,
-on whom a genteel education and her mother’s example of elegance
-and refinement had been thrown away. Kitty was a sort of Cinderella
-in the family, and being possessed of neither tact nor manner to
-levy contributions on the charitable, was sentenced to an out-door
-employment, for which she was well fitted. She sold flowers in the
-thoroughfare, near the market.
-
-The second daughter, Betsey, was the pride of her father and mother,
-and the mainstay of the family. Tall, thin, and elegant, interesting
-rather than pretty, her pale face and subdued manners, her long
-eyelashes, soft voice, and fine hands, were the very requisites for the
-personation of beggared gentility and dilapidated aristocracy. Mrs.
-Kaggs often said, “That poor Kitty was her father’s girl, a Kaggs all
-over--but that Bessie was a Thorncliffe (her own maiden name) and a
-lady every inch!”
-
-The other children were a boy and girl of five and three years old, who
-called Mrs. Kaggs “Mamma,” but who appeared much too young to belong to
-that lady in any relation but that of grand-children. Kitty, the flower
-girl, was passionately fond of them, and “Bessie” patronized them in
-her meek, maidenly way, and called them her dear brother and sister.
-
-In the height of the season Miss Bessie Kaggs, attired in shabby black
-silk, dark shawl, and plain bonnet, would sally forth to the most
-aristocratic and fashionable squares, attended by her father in a white
-neck-cloth, carrying in one hand a small and fragile basket, and in
-the other a heavy and respectable umbrella. Arrived at the mansion of
-the intended victim, Miss Bessie would give a pretentious knock, and
-relieve her father of the burthen of the fragile basket. As the door
-opened, she would desire her parent, who was supposed to be a faithful
-retainer, to wait, and Mr. Kaggs would touch his hat respectfully and
-retire meekly to the corner of the square, and watch the placards in
-the public-house in the next street.
-
-“Is Lady ---- within?” Miss Betsey would inquire of the servant.
-
-If the porter replied that his lady was out, or that she could not
-receive visitors, except by appointment, Miss Betsey would boldly
-demand pen, ink, and paper, and sit down and write, in a delicate,
-lady’s hand, to the following effect:--
-
-“Miss Thirlbrook presents her compliments to the Countess of ----, and
-most respectfully requests the honour of enrolling the Countess’s name
-among the list of ladies who are kindly aiding her in disposing of a
-few necessaries for the toilette.
-
-“Miss Thirlbrook is reduced to this extreme measure from the sad
-requirements of her infirm father, formerly an officer in his Majesty’s
---d Regiment, who, from a position of comfort and affluence, is now
-compelled to seek aid from the charitable, and to rely on the feeble
-exertions of his daughter: a confirmed cripple and valetudinarian, he
-has no other resource.
-
-“The well-known charity of the Countess of ---- has induced Miss
-Thirlbrook to make this intrusion on her time. Miss T. will do
-herself the honour of waiting upon her ladyship on Thursday, when she
-_earnestly entreats_ the favour of an interview, or an inspection of
-the few articles she has to dispose of.”
-
-_Monday._
-
-This carefully concocted letter--so different from the usual
-appeals--containing no references to other persons as to character or
-antecedents, generally had its effect, and in a few days Miss Betsey
-would find herself tête-à-tête with the Countess ----.
-
-On entering the room she would make a profound curtsey, and, after
-thanking her ladyship for the honour, would open the fragile basket,
-which contained a few bottles of scent, some fancy soaps, ornamental
-envelopes, and perforated note-papers.
-
-“Sit down, Miss Thirlbrook,” the Countess would open the conversation.
-“I see the articles. Your note, I think, mentioned something of your
-being in less fortunate----”
-
-Miss Betsey would lower her eyelashes and bend her head--not _too_
-deferentially, but as if bowing to circumstances for her father--her
-dear father’s sake--for this was implied by her admirably concealed
-histrionic capability.
-
-The lady would then suggest that she had a great many claims upon her
-consideration, and would delicately inquire into the pedigree and
-circumstances of Lieutenant Thirlbrook, formerly of his Majesty’s --d
-Regiment.
-
-Miss Betsey’s replies were neither too ready nor too glib. She suffered
-herself to be drawn out, but did not advance a statement, and so
-established in her patroness’s mind the idea that she had to deal
-with a very superior person. The sum of the story of this interesting
-scion of a fallen house was, that her father was an old Peninsular
-officer--as would be seen by a reference to the Army List (Miss Betsey
-had found the name in an old list); that he had left the service
-during the peace in 1814; that a ruinous lawsuit, arising from railway
-speculations, and an absconding agent, had reduced them to--to--to
-their present position--and that six years ago, an old wound--received
-at Barossa--had broken out, and laid her father helpless on a sick
-bed. “I know that these articles,” Betsey would conclude, pointing to
-the fancy soaps and stationery, “are not such perhaps as your ladyship
-is accustomed to; but if you would kindly aid me by purchasing some
-of them--if ever so few--you would materially assist us; and I hope
-that--that we should not prove--either undeserving or ungrateful.”
-
-When, as sometimes happened, ladies paid a visit to Lieut. Thirlbrook,
-everything was prepared for their reception with a dramatic regard
-for propriety. The garret was made as clean and as uncomfortable
-as possible. Mr. Kaggs was put to bed, and the purpled pinkness of
-his complexion toned down with violet powder and cosmetics. A white
-handkerchief, with the Thirlbrook crest in a corner, was carelessly
-dropped upon the coverlid. A few physic bottles, an old United Service
-paper, and a ponderous Bible lay upon a ricketty round table beside
-him. Mrs. Kaggs was propped up with pillows in an arm-chair near the
-fireplace, and desired to look rheumatic and resigned. Kitty was sent
-out of the way; and the two children were dressed up in shabby black,
-and promised plums if they would keep quiet. Miss Betsey herself, in
-grey stuff and an apron, meek, mild, and matronly beyond her years,
-glided about softly, like a Sister of Mercy connected with the family.
-
-My readers must understand that Mr. Kaggs was the sole tenant of the
-house he lived in, though he pretended that he only occupied the
-garrets as a lodger.
-
-During the stay of the fashionable Samaritans Lieut. Thirlbrook--who
-had received a wound in his leg at Barossa, under the Duke--would say
-but little, but now and then his mouth would twitch as with suppressed
-pain. The visitors were generally much moved at the distressing
-scene. The gallant veteran--the helpless old lady--the sad and silent
-children--and the ministering angel of a daughter, were an impressive
-spectacle. The ladies would promise to exert themselves among their
-friends, and do all in their power to relieve them.
-
-“Miss Thirlbrook,” they would ask, as Miss Betsey attended them to the
-street-door, “those dear children are not your brother and sister, are
-they?”
-
-Betsey would suppress a sigh, and say, “They are the son and daughter
-of my poor brother, who was a surgeon in the Navy--they are orphans. My
-brother died on the Gold Coast, and his poor wife soon followed him.
-She was delicate, and could not bear up against the shock. The poor
-things have only us to look to, and we do for them what little lies in
-our power.”
-
-This last stroke was a climax. “She never mentioned them before!”
-thought the ladies. “What delicacy! What high feeling! These are not
-common beggars, who make an exaggerated statement of their griefs.”
-
-“Miss Thirlbrook, I am sure you will pardon me for making the offer;
-but those dear children upstairs do not look strong. I hope you will
-not be offended by my offering to send them a luncheon now and then--a
-few delicacies--nourishing things--to do them good.”
-
-Miss Betsey would curtsey, lower her eyelids, and say, softly, “They
-_are not_ strong.”
-
-“I’ll send my servant as soon as I get home. Pray use this trifle for
-the present,” (the lady would take out her purse,) “and good morning,
-Miss Thirlbrook. I must shake hands with you. I consider myself
-fortunate in having made your acquaintance.”
-
-Betsey’s eyes would fill with tears, and as she held the door open,
-the expression of her face would plainly say: “Not only for myself, oh
-dear and charitable ladies, but for my father--my poor father--who was
-wounded, at Barossa, in the leg--do I thank you from the depths of a
-profoundly grateful heart.”
-
-When the basket arrived, Miss Betsey would sit down with her worthy
-parents and enjoy whatever poultry or meat had not been touched; but
-anything that had been cut, anything “second-hand,” that dainty and
-haughty young lady would instruct her sister Kitty to give to the poor
-beggars.
-
-This system of swindling could not, of course, last many years,
-and when the west end of London became too hot to hold them, the
-indefatigable Kaggses put an advertisement into the _Times_ and
-_Morning Post_, addressed to the charitable and humane, saying that “a
-poor, but respectable family, required a small sum to enable them to
-make up the amount of their passage to Australia, and that they could
-give the highest references as to character.”
-
-The old certificates were hawked about, and for more than two years
-they drove a roaring trade in money, outfits, and necessaries for a
-voyage. Mr. Kaggs, too, made a fortunate hit. He purchased an old
-piano, and raffled it at five shillings a head. Each of his own family
-took a chance. At the first raffle Miss Betsey won it, at the second,
-Miss Kitty, on the third, Mr. Kaggs, on the fourth, his faithful
-partner, and on the fifth and last time, a particular friend of Miss
-Kitty’s, a young lady in the green-grocery line. This invaluable piece
-of furniture was eventually disposed of by private contract to a dealer
-in Barret’s Court, Oxford Street, and, a few days after, the Kaggs
-family really sailed for Melbourne, and I have never since heard of
-them.
-
- * * * * *
-
-Among the begging-letter fraternity there are not a few persons who
-affect to be literary men. They have at one time or another been
-able to publish a pamphlet, a poem, or a song--generally a patriotic
-one, and copies of these works--they always call them “works”--they
-constantly carry about with them to be ready for any customer who
-may turn up. I have known a notable member of this class of beggars
-for some years. He was introduced to me as a literary man by an
-innocent friend who really believed in his talent. He greeted me as
-a brother craftsman, and immediately took from the breast-pocket of
-his threadbare surtout a copy of one of his works. “Allow me,” he
-said, “to present you with my latest work; it is dedicated, you will
-perceive, to the Right Honourable the Earl of Derby--here is a letter
-from his lordship complimenting me in the most handsome terms;” and
-before I could look into the book, the author produced from a well-worn
-black pocket-book a dirty letter distinguished by a large red seal.
-Sure enough it was a genuine letter beginning “The Earl of Derby
-presents his compliments,” and going on to acknowledge the receipt
-of a copy of Mr. Driver’s work. Mr. Driver--I will call my author
-by that name--produced a great many other letters, all from persons
-of distinction, and the polite terms in which they were expressed
-astonished me not a little. I soon, however, discovered the key to
-all this condescension. The work was a political one, glorifying the
-Conservative party, and abounding with all sorts of old-fashioned Tory
-sentiments. The letters Mr. Driver showed me were of course all from
-tories. The “work” was quite a curiosity. It was called a political
-novel. It had for its motto, “Pro Rege, Lege, Aris et Focis,” and the
-dedication to the Right Honourable the Earl of Derby was displayed over
-a whole page in epitaph fashion. At the close of our interview Mr.
-Driver pointed out to me that the price of the work was two shillings.
-Understanding the hint, I gave him that amount, when he called for pen
-and ink, and wrote on the fly leaf of the work, “To ---- ----, Esq.,
-with the sincere regards of the author.--J. Fitzharding Driver.” On
-looking over the book--it was a mere paper-covered pamphlet of some
-hundred pages--I found that the story was not completed. I mentioned
-this to Mr. Driver the next time I met him, and he explained that he
-meant to go to press--that was a favourite expression of his--to go to
-press with the second volume shortly. Ten years, however, have elapsed
-since then, and Mr. Driver has not yet gone to press with his second
-volume. The last time I met him he offered me the original volume
-as his “last new work,” which he presumed I had never seen. He also
-informed me that he was about to publish a patriotic song in honour of
-the Queen. Would I subscribe for a copy--only three-and-sixpence--and
-he would leave it for me? Mr. Driver had forgotten that I had
-subscribed for this very song eight years previously. He showed me
-the selfsame MS. of the new national anthem, which I had perused so
-long ago. The paper had become as soft and limp and dingy as a Scotch
-one-pound note, but it had been worth a good many one-pound notes
-to Mr. Fitzharding Driver. Mr. Driver has lived upon this as yet
-unpublished song, and that unfinished political novel, for ten years
-and more. I have seen him often enough to know exactly his _modus
-operandi_. Though practically a beggar Mr. Driver is no great rogue.
-Were you to dress him well, he might pass for a nobleman. As it is,
-in his shabby genteel clothes he looks a broken-down swell. And so in
-fact he is. In his young days he had plenty of money, and went the pace
-among the young bloods of Bond Street. Mr. Driver’s young days were
-the days of the Regent. He drove a dashing phaeton-and-four then, and
-lounged and gambled, and lived the life of a man about town. He tells
-you all that with great pride, and also how he came to grief, though
-this part of the story is not so clear. There is no doubt that he had
-considerable acquaintance among great people in his prosperous days. He
-lives now upon his works, and the public-house parlours of the purlieus
-of the west-end serve him as publishing houses. He is a great political
-disputant, and his company is not unwelcome in those quarters. He
-enters, takes his seat, drinks his glass, joins in the conversation,
-and, as he says himself, shows that he is a man of parts. In this way
-he makes friends among the tradesmen who visit these resorts. They
-soon find out that he is poor, and an author, and moved both to pity
-and admiration, each member of the company purchases a copy of that
-unfinished political novel, or subscribes for that new patriotic song,
-which I expect will yet be in the womb of the press when the crack of
-doom comes. I think Mr. Driver has pretty well used up all the quiet
-parlours of W. district by this time. Not long ago I had a letter from
-him enclosing a prospectus of a new work to be entitled “Whiggery,
-or the Decline of England,” and soliciting a subscription to enable
-him to go to press with the first edition. I have no doubt that every
-conservative member of both houses of Parliament has had a copy of that
-prospectus. Mr. Fitzharding Driver will call at their houses for an
-answer, and some entirely out of easy charity, and others from a party
-feeling of delight at the prospect of the Whigs being abused in a book
-even by this poor beggar, will send him down half-crowns, and enable
-the poor wretch to eat and drink for a few months longer. On more than
-one occasion while I have known him, Mr. Driver has been on the point
-of “being well off again,” to use his own expression. His behaviour
-under the prospect was characteristic of the man, his antecedents,
-and his mode of life. He touched up his seedy clothes, had some
-cotton-velvet facings put to his threadbare surtout, revived his hat,
-mounted a pair of shabby patent-leather boots, provided himself with a
-penny cane, adorned with an old silk tassel, and appeared each day with
-a flower in his button-hole. In addition to these he had sewn into the
-breast of his surtout a bit of parti-coloured ribbon to look like a
-decoration. In this guise he came up to me at the Crystal Palace one
-day, and appeared to be in great glee. His ogling and mysterious manner
-puzzled me. Judge of my astonishment when this hoary, old, tottering,
-toothless beggar informed me, with many self-satisfied chuckles, that a
-rich widow, “a fine dashing woman, sir,” had fallen in love with him,
-and was going to marry him. The marriage did not come off, the pile is
-worn away from the velvet facings, the patent-leather boots have become
-mere shapeless flaps of leather, the old broad-brimmed hat is past the
-power of reviver, and the Bond Street buck of the days of the Regent
-now wanders from public-house to public-house selling lucifer-matches.
-He still however carries with him a copy of his “work,” the limp and
-worn MS. of his anthem, and the prospectus of “Whiggery, or the Decline
-of England.” These and the letters from distinguished personages stand
-him in better stead than the lucifer-matches, when he lights upon
-persons of congenial sympathies.
-
-
-ADVERTISING BEGGING-LETTER WRITERS.
-
-Among many begging-letter writers who appealed to sentiment, the most
-notorious and successful was a man of the name of Thomas Stone, alias
-Stanley, alias Newton. He had been in early life transported for
-forgery, and afterwards was tried for perjury; and when his ordinary
-methods of raising money had been detected and exposed, he resorted to
-the ingenious expedient of sending an advertisement to the _Times_, of
-which the following is a copy:--
-
- “To the Charitable and Affluent.
-
- “At the eleventh hour a young and most unfortunate lady is driven by
- great distress to solicit from those charitable and humane persons
- who ever derive pleasure from benevolent acts, some little _pecuniary
- assistance_. The advertiser’s condition is almost hopeless, being,
- alas! friendless, and reduced to the last extremity. The smallest aid
- would be most thankfully acknowledged, and the fullest explanation
- given. Direct Miss T. C. M., Post-office, Great Randolph St., Camden
- New Town.”
-
-This touching appeal was read by a philanthropic gentleman, who sent
-the advertiser 5_l._, and afterwards 1_l._ more, to which he received
-a reply in the following words:--
-
- “SIR,--I again offer my gratitude for your charitable kindness. I
- am quite unable to speak the promptings of my heart for your great
- goodness to me, an entire stranger, but you may believe me, sir, I am
- very sincerely thankful. You will, I am sure, be happy to hear I have
- paid the few trifling demands upon me, and also obtained sufficient of
- my wearing apparel to make a decent appearance; but it has swallowed
- up the whole of your generous bounty, or I should this day have moved
- to the Hampstead Road, where a far more comfortable lodging has been
- offered me, and where, sir, if you would condescend to call I would
- cheerfully and with pleasure relate my circumstances in connexion
- with my past history, and I do hope you might consider me worthy of
- your further notice. But it is my earnest desire to support myself
- and my dearest child by my own industry. As I mentioned before, I
- have youth and health, and have received a good education, but alas!
- I fear I shall have a great difficulty in obtaining employment such
- as I desire, for I have fallen! I am a mother, and my dear poor boy
- is the child of sin. But I was deceived--cruelly deceived by a base
- and heartless villain. A licence was purchased for our marriage; I
- believed all; my heart knew no guile; the deceptions of the world I
- had scarcely ever heard of; but too soon I found myself destroyed
- and lost, the best affections of my heart trampled upon, and myself
- infamous and disgraced. But I did not continue to live in sin. Oh no!
- I despised and loathed the villain who so deceived me. Neither have
- I received, nor would I, one shilling from him. I think I stated in
- my first letter I am the daughter of a deceased merchant; such is the
- case; and had I some friends to interest themselves for me, I do think
- it would be found I am entitled to some property; however, it would
- be first necessary to explain personally every circumstance, and to
- you, sir, I would unreservedly explain all. And oh! I do earnestly
- hope you would, after hearing my sad tale, think there was some little
- palliation of my guilt.
-
- “In answer to the advertisement I had inserted, I received many offers
- of assistance, but they contained overtures of such a nature that I
- could not allow myself to reply to any of them. You, sir, have been
- my best friend, and may God bless you for your sympathy and kindness.
- I am very desirous to remove, but cannot do so without a little money
- in my pocket. Your charity has enabled me to provide all I required,
- and paid that which I owed, which has been a great relief to my mind.
- I hope and trust that you will not think me covetous or encroaching
- upon your goodness, in asking you to assist me with a small sum
- further, for the purpose named. Should you, however, decline to do so,
- believe me, I should be equally grateful; and it is most painful and
- repugnant to my feelings to ask, but I know not to whom else to apply.
- Entreating your early reply, however it may result, and with every
- good wish, and the sincerest and warmest acknowledgments of my heart,
- believe, sir, always your most thankful and humble servant,
-
- “FRANCES THORPE.
-
- “Please direct T. C. M., Post-office, Crown Street, Gray’s Inn Road.”
-
-With the same sort of tale, varying the signature to Fanny Lyons, Mary
-Whitmore, and Fanny Hamilton, &c., Mr. Stone continued to victimize the
-public, until the Society for the Suppression of Mendicity laid him
-by the heels. He was committed for trial at Clerkenwell Sessions, and
-sentenced to transportation for seven years.
-
-I must content myself with these few specimens of the begging-letter
-impostors; it would be impossible to describe every variety. Sometimes
-they are printers, whose premises have been destroyed by fire; at
-others, young women who have been ruined by noblemen and are anxious to
-retrieve themselves; or widows of naval officers who have perished in
-action or by sickness. There was a long run upon “aged clergymen, whose
-sands of life were fast running out,” but the fraud became so common
-that it was soon “blown.”
-
-The greatest blow that was ever struck at this species of imposition
-was the establishment of the Begging-Letter Department by the Society
-for the Suppression of Mendicity. In the very first case they
-investigated they found the writer--who had penned a most touching
-letter to a well-known nobleman--crouching in a fireless garret in
-one of the worst and lowest neighbourhoods of London. This man was
-discovered to be the owner and occupier of a handsomely-furnished house
-in another part of the town, where his wife and family lived in luxury.
-The following is a specimen of a most artful begging letter from
-America.
-
- _Ellicot’s Mills, Howard Co., Maryland,
- United States_,
-
- _June_ 6, 1859.
-
- “MY DEAREST FRIEND,
-
- “Why--why have you not written, and sent me the usual remittances?
- Your silence has caused me the greatest uneasiness. Poor dear
- Frederick is dying and we are in the extremest want. The period to
- hear from you has past some time, and no letter. It is very strange!
- What can it mean?
-
- “In a short time your poor suffering son will be at rest. I shall then
- trouble you no more; but--oh! I beseech you, do not permit your poor
- son to die in want. I have expended my last shilling to procure him
- those little necessaries he must and shall have. Little did I think
- when, long, long years ago, I deserted all, that you might be free and
- happy, that you would fail me in this terrible hour of affliction--but
- you have not--I know you have not. You must have sent, and the letter
- miscarried. Your poor dying son sends his fondest love. Poor dear
- fellow!--he has never known a father’s care; still, from a child,
- he has prayed for, revered, and loved you--he is now going to his
- Father in heaven, and, when he is gone my widowed heart will break.
- When I look back upon the long past, although broken-hearted and
- crushed to the earth, yet I cannot tutor my heart to regret it, for
- I dearly loved you. Yes, and proved it, dearest friend, by forsaking
- and fleeing with my poor fatherless boy to this strange and distant
- land, that you might be free and happy with those so worthy of you;
- and, believe me when I say, that your happiness has been my constant
- prayer. In consequence of poor dear Frederick’s sickness we are in
- the greatest distress and want. I have been compelled to forego all
- exertion, and attend solely upon him; therefore, do, I pray you, send
- me, without an instant’s delay, a 10_l._ note. I must have it, or I
- shall go mad. Your poor suffering boy must not die in misery and want.
- Send the money by return mail, and send a Bank of England note, for I
- am now miles away from where I could get a draught cashed. I came here
- for the benefit of poor dear Frederick, but I fear it has done him no
- good. We are now among strangers, and in the most abject distress,
- and unless you send soon, your afflicted unoffending boy will starve
- to death. I can no longer bear up against poverty, sickness, and your
- unkindness; but you must have sent; your good, kind heart would not
- permit you to let us die in want. God bless you, and keep you and
- yours. May you be supremely happy! Bless you! In mercy send soon, for
- we are in extremest want.
-
- “Remaining faithfully,
- “Your dearest friend,
- “KATE STANLEY.
-
- “Pay the postage of your letter to me, or I shall not be able to
- obtain it, for I am selling everything to live.”
-
-The above affecting letter was received by the widow of a London
-merchant six months after his death. The affair was investigated and
-proved to be an imposture. The moral character of Mr. ---- had been
-irreproachable. American begging-letter writers read the obituaries in
-English newspapers and ply their trade, while the loss of the bereaved
-relatives of the man whose memory they malign is recent.
-
-
-ASHAMED BEGGARS.
-
-By the above title I mean those tall, lanthorn-jawed men, in seedy
-well-brushed clothes, who, with a ticket on their breasts, on which
-a short but piteous tale is written in the most respectable of
-large-hand, and with a few boxes of lucifer-matches in their hands,
-make no appeal by word of mouth, but invoke the charity of passers-by
-by meek glances and imploring looks--fellows who, having no talent
-for “patter,” are gifted with great powers of facial pathos, and make
-expression of feature stand in lieu of vocal supplication. For some
-years I have watched a specimen of this class, who has a regular “beat”
-at the west end of London. He is a tall man, with thin legs and arms,
-and a slightly-protuberant stomach. His “costume” (I use the word
-advisedly, for he is really a great actor of pantomime,) consists of an
-old black dress-coat, carefully buttoned, but left sufficiently open
-at the top to show a spotlessly white shirt, and at the bottom, to
-exhibit an old grey waistcoat; and a snowy apron, which he wears after
-the fashion of a Freemason, forgetting that real tradesmen are never
-seen in their aprons except behind the counter. A pair of tight, dark,
-shabby trousers, black gaiters without an absent button, and heavy
-shoes of the severest thickness, cover his nether man. Round his neck
-is a red worsted comforter, which neatly tied at the throat, descends
-straight and formally beneath his coat, and exhibits two fringed ends,
-which fall, in agreeable contrast of colour, over the before-mentioned
-apron. I never remember seeing a beggar of this class without an apron
-and a worsted comforter--they would appear to be his stock-in-trade, a
-necessary portion of his outfit; the white apron to relieve the sombre
-hue of his habiliments, and show up their well-brushed shabbiness; the
-scarlet comforter to contrast with the cadaverous complexion which
-he owes to art or nature. In winter the comforter also serves as an
-advertisement that his great-coat is gone.
-
-The man I am describing wears a “pad” round his neck, on which is
-written--
-
- Kind Friends and Christian Brethren!
- I was once a
- Respectable Tradesman,
- doing a Good Business;
- till Misfortune reduced me to
- this Pass!
- Be kind enough to Buy
- some of the Articles I offer,
- and you will confer a
- Real Charity!
-
-In his hands, on which he wears scrupulously-darned mittens, he carries
-a box or two of matches, or a few quires of note-paper or envelopes,
-and half-a-dozen small sticks of sealing-wax. He is also furnished
-with a shabby-genteel looking boy of about nine years old, who wears
-a Shakesperian collar, and the regulation worsted comforter, the ends
-of which nearly trail upon the ground. The poor child, whose features
-do not in the least resemble the man’s, and who, too young to be his
-son, is too old to be his grandson, keeps his little hands in his large
-pockets, and tries to look as unhappy and half-starved as he can.
-
-But the face of the beggar is a marvellous exhibition! His acting is
-admirable! Christian resignation and its consequent fortitude are
-written on his brow. His eyes roll imploringly, but no sound escapes
-him. The expression of his features almost pronounces, “Christian
-friend, purchase my humble wares, for _I scorn to beg_. I am starving,
-but tortures shall not wring the humiliating secret from my lips.” He
-exercises a singular fascination over old ladies, who slide coppers
-into his hand quickly, as if afraid that they shall hurt his feelings.
-He pockets the money, heaves a sigh, and darts an abashed and grateful
-look at them that makes them feel how keenly he appreciates their
-delicacy. When the snow is on the ground he now and then introduces a
-little shiver, and with a well-worn pocket-handkerchief stifles a cough
-that he intimates by, a despairing dropping of his eyelids, is slowly
-killing him.
-
-
-THE SWELL BEGGAR.
-
-A singular variety of this sort of mendicant used to be seen some years
-ago in the streets of Cambridge. He had been a gentleman of property,
-and had studied at one of the colleges. Race-courses, billiard-tables,
-and general gambling had reduced him to beggary; but he was too proud
-to ask alms. As the “Ashamed Beggar” fortifies himself with a “pad,”
-this swell-beggar armed himself with a broom. He swept a crossing.
-His clothes--he always wore evening-dress--were miserably ragged and
-shabby; his hat was a broken Gibus, but he managed to have good and
-fashionable boots; and his shirt collar, and wrist-bands were changed
-every day. A white cambric handkerchief peeped from his coat-tail
-pocket, and a gold eye-glass dangled from his neck. His hands were
-lady-like; his nails well-kept; and it was impossible to look at him
-without a mingled feeling of pity and amusement.
-
-His plan of operations was to station himself at his crossing at
-the time the ladies of Cambridge were out shopping. His antics were
-curiously funny. Dangling his broom between his fore-finger and thumb,
-as if it were a light umbrella or riding-whip, he would arrive at his
-stand, and look up at the sky to see what sort of weather might be
-expected. Then tucking the broom beneath his arm he would take off his
-gloves, fold them together and put them into his coat-pockets, sweep
-his crossing carefully, and when he had finished, look at it with
-admiration. When ladies crossed, he would remove his broken hat, and
-smile with great benignity, displaying at the same time a fine set
-of teeth. On wet days his attentions to the fair sex knew no bounds.
-He would run before them and wipe away every little puddle in their
-path. On receiving a gratuity, which was generally in silver, he would
-remove his hat and bow gracefully and gratefully. When gentlemen walked
-over his crossing he would stop them, and, holding his hat in the true
-mendicant fashion, request the loan of a shilling. With many he was a
-regular pensioner. When a mechanic or poor-looking person offered him a
-copper, he would take it, and smile his thanks with a patronising air,
-but he never took off his hat to less than sixpence. He was a jovial
-and boastful beggar, and had a habit of jerking at his stand-up collar,
-and pulling at his imperial coxcombically. When he considered his day’s
-work over, he would put on his gloves, and, dangling his broom in his
-careless elegant way, trip home to his lodging. He never used a broom
-but one day, and gave the old ones to his landlady. The undergraduates
-were kind to him, and encouraged his follies; but the college dons
-looked coldly on him, and when they passed him he would assume an
-expression of impertinent indifference _as if he cut them_. I never
-heard what became of him. When I last saw him he looked between forty
-and fifty years of age.
-
-
-CLEAN FAMILY BEGGARS.
-
-Clean Family Beggars are those who beg or sing in the streets, in
-numbers varying from four to seven. I need only particularize one
-“gang” or “party,” as their appearance and method of begging will do as
-a sample of all others.
-
-Beggars of this class group themselves artistically. A broken-down
-looking man, in the last stage of seediness, walks hand-in-hand with
-a pale-faced, interesting little girl. His wife trudges on his other
-side, a baby in one arm; a child just able to walk steadies itself
-by the hand that is disengaged; two or three other children cling
-about the skirts of her gown, one occasionally detaching himself or
-herself--as a kind of rear or advanced guard from the main body--to cut
-off stragglers and pounce upon falling halfpence, or look piteously
-into the face of a passer-by. The clothes of the whole troop are in
-that state when seediness is dropping into rags; but their hands
-and faces are perfectly clean--their skins literally shine--perhaps
-from the effect of a plentiful use of soap, _which they do not wash
-off before drying themselves with a towel_. The complexions of the
-smaller children, in particular, glitter like sandpaper, and their
-eyes are half-closed, and their noses corrugated, as with constant and
-compulsory ablution. The baby is a wonderful specimen of washing and
-getting-up of ornamental linen. Altogether, the Clean Family Beggars
-form a most attractive picture for quiet and respectable streets, and
-“pose” themselves for the admiration of the thrifty matrons, who are
-their best supporters.
-
-Sometimes the children of the Clean Family Beggars sing--sometimes the
-father “patters.” This morning a group passed my window, who both sang
-and “pattered.” The mother was absent, and the two eldest girls knitted
-and crochetted as they walked along. The burthen of the song which the
-children shrieked out in thin treble, was,
-
- “And the wild flowers are springing on the plain.”
-
-The rest of the words were undistinguishable. When the little ones had
-finished, the man, who evidently prided himself upon his powers of
-eloquence, began, in a loud, authoritative, oratorical tone:--
-
-“My dear friends,--It is with great pain, and affliction, and trouble,
-that I present myself and my poo--oor family before you, in this
-wretched situation, at the present moment; but what can I do? Work I
-cannot obtain, and my little family ask me for bread! Yes, my dear
-friends--my little family ask me for bread! Oh, my dear friends,
-conceive what your feelin’s would be, if, like me, at the present
-moment your poo--oor dear children asked for bread, and you had it
-not to give them! What then could you do? God send, my dear friends,
-that no individual, no father of a family, nor mother, nor other
-individual, _with_ children, will ever, or ever may be drove to do
-what--or, I should say, that which I am now a-doing of, at the present
-moment. If any one in this street, or in the next, or in any of the
-streets in this affluent neighbourhood, had found theirselves in the
-situation, in which I was placed this morning, it would be hard to
-say what they could, or would have done; and I assure you, my dear
-friends,--yes, I assure you, from my heart, that it is very possible
-that many might have been drove to have done, or do worse, than what
-I am a doing of, for the sake of my poo--oor family, at the present
-moment, if they had been drove, by suffering, as I and my poo--oor wife
-have been the morning of this very day. My wife, my kind friends, is
-now unfortunately ill through unmerited starvation, and is ill a-bed,
-from which, at the present moment, she cannot rise. Want we have known
-together, my dear friends, and so has our poo--oor family, and baby,
-only eight months old. God send, my dear friends, that none of you, and
-none of your dear babes, and families, that no individual, which now is
-listening to my deep distress, at the present moment, may ever know the
-sufferin’s to which we have been reduced, is my fervent prayer! All I
-want to obtain is a meal’s victuals for my poo--oor family!”
-
-(Here the man caught my eye, and immediately shifted his ground.)
-
-“You will ask me, my dear friends,” he continued, in an argumentative
-manner, “you will ask me how and why it is, and what is the reason,
-which I cannot obtain work? Alas! my dear friends, it is unfortunately
-so at the present moment. I am a silk-weaver in Bethnal Green, by
-trade, and the noo International Treaty with France, which Mr.
-Cobden--” (here he kept his eye on me, as if the political reason were
-intended for my especial behoof)--“which _Mr. Cobden_, my dear friends,
-was depooted to go to the French emperor, Louis Napoleon, to agree
-upon, betwixt this country and France, which the French manufacturers
-sends goods into this country, without paying no dooty, and undersells
-the native manufacturers, though, my dear friends, our workmanship
-is as good, and English silk as genuine as French, I do assure you.
-Leastways, there is no difference, except in pattern, and, through the
-neglect of them as ought to look after it better, that is, to see we
-had the best designs; for design is the only thing--I mean design and
-pattern--in which they can outdo us; and also, my dear friends, ladies
-as go to shops will ask for foreign goods--it is more to their taste
-than English, at the present moment; and so it is, that many poo--oor
-families at Bethnal Green and Spitalfields--and Coventry likewise,
-is redooced to the situation which I myself--that is, to ask your
-charity--am a doing of--at the present moment.”
-
-I gave a little girl a penny, and the man, still fixing me with his
-eye, continued--
-
-“You will ask me, my dear friends, praps, how it is that I do not apply
-to the parish? why not to get relief for myself, my de--ar wife, and
-little family? My kind friends, you do not know the state in which
-things is with the poor weavers of Bethnal Green, and, at the present
-moment, Spitalfields likewise. It comes of the want of knowledge of
-the real state of this rich and ’appy country, its material prosperity
-and resources, which you, at this end of the town, can form no idea
-of. There is now sixteen or seventeen thousand people out of work.
-Yes, my dear friends, in about two parishes, there is sixteen or
-seventeen thousand individuals--I mean, of course, counting their
-poo--oor families and all, which at the present moment, cannot obtain
-bread. Oh, my dear friends, how grateful ought you be to God that you
-and your dear families, are not out of work, and can obtain a meal’s
-victuals, and are not like the sufferin’ weavers of Bethnal Green--and
-Spitalfields, and Coventry likewise, through the loss of trade; for, my
-dear friends, if you were like me, forced to what I am doing now at the
-present moment, &c., &c., &c.”
-
-
-NAVAL AND MILITARY BEGGARS
-
-are most frequently met with in towns situated at some distance from
-a seaport or a garrison. As they are distinct specimens of the same
-tribe, they must be separately classified. The more familiar nuisance
-is the
-
-
-TURNPIKE SAILOR.
-
-This sort of vagabond has two lays, the “merchant” lay, and the
-“R’yal Navy” lay. He adopts either one or the other according to
-the exigencies of his wardrobe, his locality, or the person he is
-addressing. He is generally the offspring of some inhabitant of the
-most notorious haunts of a seaport town, and has seldom been at sea,
-or when he has, has run away after the first voyage. His slang of
-seamanship has been picked up at the lowest public-houses in the
-filthiest slums that offer diversion to the genuine sailor.
-
-When on the “merchant lay” his attire consists of a pair of tattered
-trousers, an old guernsey-shirt, and a torn straw-hat. One of his
-principal points of “costume” is his bare feet. His black silk
-handkerchief is knotted jauntily round his throat after the most
-approved models at the heads of penny ballads, and the outsides of
-songs. He wears small gold earrings, and has short curly hair in the
-highest and most offensive state of glossy greasiness. His hands and
-arms are carefully tattooed--a foul anchor, or a long-haired mermaid
-sitting on her tail and making her toilette, being the favourite
-cartoons. In his gait he endeavours to counterfeit the roll of a true
-seaman, but his hard feet, knock-knees, and imperceptibly acquired
-turnpike-trot betray him. His face bears the stamp of diabolically low
-cunning, and it is impossible to look at him without an association
-with a police-court. His complexion is coarse and tallowy, and has none
-of the manly bronze that exposure to the weather, and watching the
-horizon give to the real tar.
-
-I was once walking with a gentleman who had spent the earlier portion
-of his life at sea, when a turnpike sailor shuffled on before us. We
-had just been conversing on nautical affairs, and I said to him--
-
-“Now, there is a brother sailor in distress; of course you will give
-him something?”
-
-“_He_ a sailor!” said my friend, with great disgust. “Did you see him
-spit?”
-
-The fellow had that moment expectorated.
-
-I answered that I had.
-
-“He spit to wind’ard!” said my friend.
-
-“What of that?” said I.
-
-“A regular landsman’s trick,” observed my friend. “A real sailor never
-spits to wind’ard. _Why, he could’nt._”
-
-We soon passed the fellow, who pulled at a curl upon his
-forehead, and began in a gruff voice, intended to convey the
-idea of hardships, storms, shipwrecks, battles, and privations.
-“God--bless--your--’onors--give--a--copper--to--a--poor--sailor--
-as--hasn’t--spliced--the--main--jaw--since--the--day--’fore--
-yesterday--at--eight--bells--God--love--yer--’onors--do!--I--
-avent--tasted--sin’--the--day--’fore--yesterday--so--drop--a--
-cop--poor--seaman--do.”
-
-My friend turned round and looked the beggar full in the face.
-
-“What ship?” he asked, quickly.
-
-The fellow answered glibly.
-
-“What captain?” pursued my friend.
-
-The fellow again replied boldly, though his eyes wandered uneasily.
-
-“What cargo?” asked my inexorable companion.
-
-The beggar was not at fault, but answered correctly.
-
-The name of the port, the reason of his discharge, and other questions
-were asked and answered; but the man was evidently beginning to be
-embarrassed. My friend pulled out his purse as if to give him something.
-
-“What are you doing here?” continued the indefatigable inquirer. “Did
-you leave the coast for the purpose of trying to find a ship _here_?”
-(We were in Leicester.)
-
-The man stammered and pulled at his useful forelock to get time to
-collect his thoughts and invent a good lie.
-
-“He had a friend in them parts as he thought could help him.”
-
-“How long since you were up the Baltic?”
-
-“Year--and--a--arf,--yer--’onor.”
-
-“Do you know Kiel?”
-
-“Yes,--yer--’onor.”
-
-“D’ye know the ‘British Flag’ on the quay there?”
-
-“Yes,--yer--’onor.”
-
-“Been there often?”
-
-“Yes,--yer--’onor.”
-
-“Does Nick Johnson still keep it?”
-
-“Yes,--yer--’onor.”
-
-“Then,” said my friend, after giving vent to a strong opinion as to the
-beggar’s veracity, “I’d advise you to be off quickly, for there’s a
-policeman, and if I get within hail of him I shall tell him you’re an
-impostor. There’s no such house on the quay. Get out, you scoundrel!”
-
-The fellow shuffled off, looking curses, but not daring to express them.
-
-On the “R’yal Navy” lay, the turnpike sailor assumes different
-habiliments, and altogether a smarter trim. He wears coarse blue
-trousers symmetrically cut about the hips, and baggy over the foot. A
-“jumper,” or loose shirt of the same material, a tarpaulin hat, with
-the name of a vessel in letters of faded gold, is struck on the back
-of his neck, and he has a piece of whipcord, or “lanyard” round his
-waist, to which is suspended a jack-knife, which if of but little
-service in fighting the battles of his country has stood him in good
-stead in silencing the cackling of any stray poultry that crossed his
-road, or in frightening into liberality the female tenant of a solitary
-cottage. This “patter,” or “blob,” is of Plymouth, Portsmouth, Cawsen’
-Bay, Hamoaze--ships paid off, prize-money, the bo’sen and the first
-le’tenant. He is always an able-bodied, never an ordinary seaman, and
-cannot get a ship “becos” orders is at the Hadmiralty as no more isn’t
-to be put into commission. Like the fictitious merchant-sailor he calls
-every landsman “your honour,” in accordance with the conventional rule
-observed by the jack tars in nautical dramas. He exhibits a stale plug
-of tobacco, and replaces it in his jaw with ostentatious gusto. His
-chief victims are imaginative boys fresh from “Robinson Crusoe,” and
-“Tales of the Ocean,” and old ladies who have relatives at sea. For
-many months after a naval battle he is in full force, and in inland
-towns tells highly-spiced narratives of the adventures of his own ship
-and its gallant crew in action. He is profuse in references to “the
-cap’en,” and interlards his account with, “and the cap’en turns round,
-and he says to me, he says--” He feels the pulse of his listener’s
-credulity through their eyes, and throws the hatchet with the
-enthusiasm of an artist. “When we boarded ’em,” I heard one of these
-vagabonds say--“oh, when we boarded ’em!” but it is beyond the power of
-my feeble pen to relate the deeds of the turnpike true blue, and his
-ship and its gallant, gallant crew, when they boarded ’em, I let him
-run out his yarn, and then said, “I saw the account of the action in
-the papers, but they said nothing of boarding. As I read it, the enemy
-were in too shallow water to render that manœuvre possible; but that
-till they struck their flag, and the boats went out to take possession,
-the vessels were more than half a mile apart.”
-
-This would have posed an ordinary humbug, but the able-bodied liar
-immediately, and with great apparent disgust, said, “The papers! the
-noo--o--o--s-papers! d----n the noo--o--o--s--papers. You don’t believe
-what they says, sure_ly_. Look how they sarved out old Charley Napier.
-Why, sir, _I was there, and I ought to know_.”
-
-At times the turnpike sailor roars out a song in praise of British
-valour by sea; but of late this “lay” has been unfrequent. At others
-he borrows an interesting-looking little girl, and tying his arm up in
-a sling, adds his wounds and a motherless infant to his other claims
-upon the public sympathy. After a heavy gale and the loss of several
-vessels, he appears with a fresh tale and a new suit of carefully
-chosen rags. When all these resources fail him he is compelled to turn
-merchant, or “duffer,” and invests a small capital in a few hundred
-of the worst, and a dozen or two of the very best, cigars. If he be
-possessed of no capital he steals them. He allows his whiskers to grow
-round his face, and lubricates them in the same liberal manner as his
-shining hair. He buys a pea-coat, smart waistcoat, and voluminous
-trousers, discards his black neckerchief for a scarlet one, the ends
-of which run through a massive ring. He wears a large pair of braces
-over his waistcoat, and assumes a half-foreign air, as of a mariner
-just returned from distant climes. He accosts you in the streets
-mysteriously, and asks you if you want “a few good cigars?” He tells
-you they are smuggled, that he “run” them himself, and that the
-“Custom-’us horficers” are after him. I need hardly inform my reader
-that the cigar he offers as a sample is excellent, and that, should he
-be weak enough to purchase a few boxes he will not find them “according
-to sample.” Not unfrequently, the cigar-“duffer” lures his victim to
-some low tavern to receive his goods, where in lieu of tobacco, shawls,
-and laces, he finds a number of cut-throat-looking confederates, who
-plunder and illtreat him.
-
-It must not be forgotten that at times a begging sailor may be met, who
-has really been a seaman, and who is a proper object of benevolence.
-When it is so, he is invariably a man past middle age, and offers for
-sale or exhibition a model of a man-of-war or a few toy yachts. He has
-but little to say for himself, and is too glad for the gift of a pair
-of landsmen’s trousers to trouble himself about their anti-nautical
-cut. In fact, the real seaman does not care for costume, and is as
-frequently seen in an old shooting-coat as a torn jacket; but despite
-his habiliments, the true salt oozes out in the broad hands that dangle
-heavily from the wrists, as if wanting to grip a rope or a handspike;
-in the tender feet accustomed to the smooth planks of the deck, and in
-the settled, far-off look of the weather-beaten head, with its fixed
-expression of the aristocracy of subordination.
-
-In conclusion, a real sailor is seldom or never seen inland, where he
-can have no chance of employment, and is removed from the sight of the
-sea, docks, shipmates, and all things dear and familiar to him. He
-carries his papers about him in a small tin box, addresses those who
-speak to him as “sir” and “marm,” and never as “your honour” or “my
-lady;” is rather taciturn than talkative, and rarely brags of what he
-has seen, or done, or seen done. In these and all other respects he is
-the exact opposite of the turnpike sailor.
-
-
-STREET CAMPAIGNERS.
-
-Soldier beggars may be divided into three classes: those who really
-have been soldiers and are reduced to mendicancy, those who have been
-ejected from the army for misconduct, and those with whom the military
-dress and bearing are pure assumptions.
-
-The difference between these varieties is so distinct as to be easily
-detected. The first, or soldier proper, has all the evidence of drill
-and barrack life about him; the eye that always “fronts” the person
-he addresses; the spare habit, high cheekbones, regulation whisker,
-stiff chin, and deeply-marked line beneath from ear to ear. He carries
-his papers about him, and when he has been wounded or seen service,
-is modest and retiring as to his share of glory. He can give little
-information as to the incidents of an engagement, except as regards
-the deeds of his own company, and in conversation speaks more of the
-personal qualities of his officers and comrades than of their feats of
-valour. Try him which way you will he never will confess that he has
-killed a man. He compensates himself for his silence on the subject of
-fighting by excessive grumbling as to the provisions, quarters, &c.,
-to which he has been forced to submit in the course of his career. He
-generally has a wife marching by his side--a tall strapping woman, who
-looks as if a long course of washing at the barracks had made her half
-a soldier. Ragged though he be, there is a certain smartness about the
-soldier proper, observable in the polish of his boots, the cock of his
-cap, and the disposition of the leather strap under his lower lip. He
-invariably carries a stick, and when a soldier passes him, casts on him
-an odd sort of look, half envying, half pitying, as if he said, “Though
-you are better fed than I, you are not so free!”
-
-The soldier proper has various occupations. He does not pass all his
-time in begging: he will hold a horse, clean knives and boots, sit as
-a model to an artist, and occasionally take a turn at the wash-tub.
-Begging he abhors, and is only driven to it as a last resource.
-
-If my readers would inquire why a man so ready to work should not be
-able to obtain employment, he will receive the answer that universally
-applies to all questions of hardship among the humbler classes--the
-vice of the discharged soldier is intemperance.
-
-The second sort of soldier-beggar is one of the most dangerous and
-violent of mendicants. Untamable even by regimental discipline,
-insubordinate by nature, he has been thrust out from the army to prey
-upon society. He begs but seldom, and is dangerous to meet with after
-dark upon a lonely road, or in a sequestered lane. Indeed, though he
-has every right to be classed among those who will not work, he is not
-thoroughly a beggar, but will be met with again, and receive fuller
-justice at our hands, in the, to him, more congenial catalogue of
-thieves.
-
-The third sort of street campaigner is a perfect impostor, who being
-endowed, either by accident or art, with a broken limb or damaged
-feature, puts on an old military coat, as he would assume the dress
-of a frozen-out gardener, distressed dock-yard labourer, burnt-out
-tradesman, or scalded mechanic. He is imitative, and in his time plays
-many parts. He “gets up” his costume with the same attention to detail
-as the turnpike sailor. In crowded busy streets he “stands pad,” that
-is, with a written statement of his hard case slung round his neck,
-like a label round a decanter. His bearing is most military; he keeps
-his neck straight, his chin in, and his thumbs to the outside seams of
-his trousers; he is stiff as an embalmed preparation, for which, but
-for the motion of his eyes, you might mistake him. In quiet streets and
-in the country he discards his “pad” and begs “on the blob,” that is,
-he “patters” to the passers-by, and invites their sympathy by word of
-mouth. He is an ingenious and fertile liar, and seizes occasions such
-as the late war in the Crimea and the mutiny in India as good distant
-grounds on which to build his fictions.
-
-I was walking in a high-road, when I was accosted by a fellow dressed
-in an old military tunic, a forage-cap like a charity boy’s, and
-tattered trousers, who limped along barefoot by the aid of a stick. His
-right sleeve was empty, and tied up to a button-hole at his breast, _à
-la_ Nelson.
-
-“Please your honour,” he began, in a doleful exhausted voice, “bestow
-your charity on a poor soldier which lost his right arm at the glorious
-battle of Inkermann.”
-
-I looked at him, and having considerable experience in this kind of
-imposition, could at once detect that he was “acting.”
-
-“To what regiment did you belong?” I asked.
-
-“The Thirty --, sir.”
-
-I looked at his button and read Thirty --
-
-“I haven’t tasted bit o’ food, sir, since yesterday at half-past four,
-and then a lady give me a cruster bread,” he continued.
-
-“The Thirty --!” I repeated. “I knew the Thirty --. Let me see--who
-was the colonel?”
-
-The man gave me a name, with which I suppose he was provided.
-
-“How long were you in the Thirty --?” I inquired.
-
-“Five year, sir.”
-
-“I had a schoolfellow in that regiment, Captain Thorpe, a tall man with
-red whiskers--did you know him?”
-
-“There was a captain, sir, with large red whiskers, and I think his
-name was Thorpe; but he warn’t captain of my company, so I didn’t know
-for certain,” replied the man, after an affected hesitation.
-
-“The Thirty -- was one of the first of our regiments that landed, I
-think?” I remarked.
-
-“Yes, your honour, it were.”
-
-“You impudent impostor!” I said; “the Thirty -- did not go out till the
-spring of ’55. How dare you tell me you belonged to it?”
-
-The fellow blenched for a moment, but rallied and said, “I didn’t like
-to contradict your honour for fear you should be angry and wouldn’t
-give me nothing.”
-
-“That’s very polite of you,” I said, “but still I have a great mind to
-give you into custody. Stay; tell me who and what you are, and I will
-give you a shilling and let you go.”
-
-He looked up and down the road, measured me with his eye, abandoned the
-idea of resistance, and replied:
-
-“Well, your honour, if you won’t be too hard on a poor man which finds
-it hard to get a crust anyhow or way, I don’t mind telling you I never
-was a soldier.” I give his narrative as he related it to me.
-
-“I don’t know who my parents ever was. The fust thing as I remember was
-the river side (the Thames), and running in low tide to find things. I
-used to beg, hold hosses, and sleep under dry arches. I don’t remember
-how I got any clothes. I never had a pair of shoes or stockings till I
-was almost a man. I fancy I am now nearly forty years of age.
-
-“An old woman as kep a rag and iron shop by the water-side give me a
-lodging once for two years. We used to call her ‘Nanny;’ but she turned
-me out when she caught me taking some old nails and a brass cock out of
-her shop; I was hungry when I done it, for the old gal gi’ me no grub,
-nothing but the bare floor for a bed.
-
-“I have been a beggar all my life, and begged in all sorts o’ ways and
-all sorts o’ lays. I don’t mean to say that if I see anything laying
-about handy that I don’t mouch it (_i. e._ steal it). Once a gentleman
-took me into his house as his servant. He was a very kind man; I had a
-good place, swell clothes, and beef and beer as much as I liked; but I
-couldn’t stand the life, and I run away.
-
-“The loss o’ my arm, sir, was the best thing as ever happen’d to me:
-it’s been a living to me; I turn out with it on all sorts o’ lays, and
-it’s as good as a pension. I lost it poaching; my mate’s gun went off
-by accident, and the shot went into my arm, I neglected it, and at
-last was obliged to go to a orspital and have it off. The surgeon as
-ampitated it said that a little longer and it would ha’ mortified.
-
-“The Crimea’s been a good dodge to a many, but it’s getting stale; all
-dodges are getting stale; square coves (_i. e._, honest folks) are so
-wide awake.”
-
-“Don’t you think you would have found it more profitable, had you taken
-to labour or some honester calling than your present one?” I asked.
-
-“Well, sir, p’raps I might,” he replied; “but going on the square is so
-dreadfully confining.”
-
-
-FOREIGN BEGGARS.
-
-These beggars appeal to the sympathies as “strangers”--in a foreign
-land, away from friends and kindred, unable to make their wants known,
-or to seek work, from ignorance of the language.
-
-In exposing the shams and swindles that are set to catch the unwary,
-I have no wish to check the current of real benevolence. Cases of
-distress exist, which it is a pleasure and a duty to relieve. I
-only expose the “dodges” of the beggar by profession--the beggar by
-trade--the beggar who lives by begging, and nothing else, except, as in
-most cases, where he makes the two ends of idleness and self-indulgence
-meet,--by thieving.
-
-Foreign beggars are generally so mixed up with political events, that
-in treating of them, it is more than usually difficult to detect
-imposition from misfortune. Many high-hearted patriots have been
-driven to this country by tyrants and their tools, but it will not do
-to mistake every vagabond refugee for a noble exile, or to accept as
-a fact that a man who cannot live in his own country, is necessarily
-persecuted and unfortunate, and has a claim to be helped to live in
-this.
-
-The neighbourhood of Leicester Square is, to the foreign political
-exile, the foreign political spy, the foreign fraudulent tradesman,
-the foreign escaped thief, and the foreign convict who has served his
-time, what, in the middle-ages, sanctuary was to the murderer. In
-this modern Alsatia--happily for us, guarded by native policemen and
-detectives of every nation in the world--plots are hatched, fulminating
-powder prepared, detonating-balls manufactured, and infernal machines
-invented, which, wielded by the hands of men whose opinions are so far
-beyond the age in which they live, that their native land has cast them
-out for ever; are destined to overthrow despotic governments, restore
-the liberty of the subject, and, in a wholesale sort of way, regenerate
-the rights of man.
-
-Political spies are the monied class among these philanthropic
-desperadoes. The political regenerators, unless furnished with means
-from some special fund, are the most miserable and abject. Mr.
-Thackeray has observed that whenever an Irishman is in difficulties he
-always finds another Irishman worse off than himself, who talks over
-creditors, borrows money, runs errands, and makes himself generally
-useful to his incarcerated fellow-countryman. This observation will
-apply equally to foreigners.
-
-There is a timid sort of refugee, who lacking the courage to arrive
-at political eminence or cash, by means of steel, or poison, is a
-hanger-on of his bolder and less scrupulous compatriot. This man, when
-deserted by his patron, is forced to beg. The statement that he makes
-as to his reasons for leaving the dear native land that the majority of
-foreigners are so ready to sing songs in praise of, and to quit, must
-be, of course, received with caution.
-
-
-THE FRENCH BEGGAR.
-
-My reader has most likely, in a quiet street, met a shabby little man,
-who stares about him in a confused manner, as if he had lost his way.
-As soon as he sees a decently-dressed person he shuffles up to him, and
-taking off a “casquette” with considerably more brim than body, makes a
-slight bow, and says in a plaintive voice. “Parlez Français, m’sieu?”
-
-If you stop and, in an unguarded moment, answer “Oui,” the beggar takes
-from his breast-pocket a greasy leather book, from which he extracts
-a piece of carefully folded paper, which he hands you with a pathetic
-shrug.
-
-The paper, when opened, contains a small slip, on which is written in a
-light, foreign hand--
-
-“You are requested to direct the bearer to the place to which he
-desires to go, as he cannot speak English!”
-
-The beggar then, with a profusion of bows, points to the larger paper.
-
-“Mais, m’sieu, ayez la bonté de lire. C’est Anglais.”
-
-The larger paper contains a statement in French and English, that the
-bearer Jean Baptiste Dupont is a native of Troyes, Champagne, and a
-fan-maker by trade; that paralysis in the hand has deprived him of the
-power of working; that he came to England to find a daughter, who had
-married an Englishman and was dwelling in Westminster, but that when he
-arrived he found they had parted for Australia; that he is fifty-two
-years of age, and is a deserving object of compassion, having no means
-of returning to Troyes, being an entire stranger to England, and having
-no acquaintances or friends to assist him.
-
-This statement is without any signature, but no sooner have you read
-it than the beggar, who would seem to have a blind credence in the
-efficacy of documents, draws from his pocket-book a certificate of
-birth, a register of marriage, a passport, and a permission to embark,
-which, being all in a state of crumpled greasiness, and printed and
-written in French, so startles and confounds the reader, that he drops
-something into the man’s hand and passes on.
-
-I have been often stopped by this sort of beggar. In the last case
-I met with I held a long talk with the man--of course, in his own
-language, for he will seldom or never be betrayed into admitting that
-he has any knowledge of English.
-
-“Parlez Français, m’sieu?”
-
-“Yes, I do,” I answered. “What do you want?”
-
-“Deign, monsieur, to have the bounty to read this paper which I have
-the honour to present to monsieur.”
-
-“Oh, never mind the papers!” I said, shortly. “Can’t you speak English?”
-
-“Alas, monsieur, no!”
-
-“Speak French, then!”
-
-My quick speaking rather confused the fellow, who said that he was
-without bread, and without asylum; that he was a tourneur and ebeniste
-(turner, worker in ebony and ivory, and cabinet-maker in general) by
-trade, that he was a stranger, and wished to raise sufficient money to
-enable him to return to France.
-
-“Why did you come over to England?” I asked.
-
-“I came to work in London,” he said, after pretending not to understand
-my question the first time.
-
-“Where?” I inquired.
-
-At first I understood him to answer Sheffield, but I at last made out
-that he meant Smithfield.
-
-“What was your master’s name?”
-
-“I do not comprehend, monsieur--if monsieur will deign to read--”
-
-“You comprehend me perfectly well; don’t pretend that you don’t--that
-is only shuffling (tracasserie).
-
-“The name of my master was Johnson.”
-
-“Why did you leave him?” I inquired.
-
-“He is dead, monsieur.”
-
-“Why did you not return to France at his death?” was my next question.
-
-“Monsieur, I tried to obtain work in England,” said the beggar.
-
-“How long did you work for Mr. Johnson?”
-
-“There was a long time, monsieur, that--”
-
-“How long?” I repeated. “How many years?”
-
-“Since two years.”
-
-“And did you live in London two years, and all that time learn to speak
-no English?”
-
-“Ah, monsieur, you embarrass me. If monsieur will not deign to aid me,
-it must be that I seek elsewhere--”
-
-“But tell me how it was you learnt no English,” I persisted.
-
-“Ah, monsieur, my comrades in the shop were all French.”
-
-“And you want to get back to France?”
-
-“Ah, monsieur, it is the hope of my life.”
-
-“Come to me to-morrow morning at eleven o’clock--there is my address.”
-I gave him the envelope of a letter. “I am well acquainted with the
-French Consul at London Bridge, and at my intercession I am sure
-that he will get you a free passage to Calais; if not, and I find he
-considers your story true, I will send you at my own expense. Good
-night!”
-
-Of course the man did not call in the morning, and I saw no more of him.
-
-
-DESTITUTE POLES.
-
-It is now many years since the people of this country evinced a strong
-sympathy for Polish refugees. Their gallant struggle, compulsory
-exile, and utter national and domestic ruin raised them warm friends
-in England; and committees for the relief of destitute Poles, balls
-for the benefit of destitute Poles, and subscriptions for the relief
-of the destitute Poles were got up in every market-town. Shelter and
-sustenance were afforded to many gentlemen of undoubted integrity,
-who found themselves penniless in a strange land, and the aristocracy
-fêted and caressed the best-born and most gallant. To be a Pole, and
-in distress, was almost a sufficient introduction, and there were few
-English families who did not entertain as friend or visitor one of
-these unfortunate and suffering patriots.
-
-So excellent an opportunity for that class of foreign swindlers
-which haunt roulette-tables, and are the pest of second-rate hotels
-abroad, was of course made use of. Crowds of adventurers, “got up”
-in furs, and cloaks, and playhouse dresses, with padded breasts and
-long moustachios, flocked to England, and assuming the title of count,
-and giving out that their patrimony had been sequestered by the
-Emperor of Russia, easily obtained a hearing and a footing in many
-English families, whose heads would not have received one of their own
-countrymen except with the usual credentials.
-
-John Bull’s partiality for foreigners is one of his well-known
-weaknesses; and valets, cooks, and couriers in their masters clothes,
-and sometimes with the titles of that master whom they had seen shot
-down in battle, found themselves objects of national sympathy and
-attention. Their success among the fair sex was extraordinary; and many
-penniless adventurers, with no accomplishments beyond card-sharping,
-and a foreign hotel waiter’s smattering of continental languages,
-allied themselves to families of wealth and respectability. All,
-of course, were not so fortunate; and after some persons had been
-victimized, a few inquiries made, and the real refugee gentlemen and
-soldiers had indignantly repudiated any knowledge of the swindlers or
-their pretensions, the pseudo-Polish exiles were compelled to return
-to their former occupations. The least able and least fortunate were
-forced to beg, and adopted exactly the same tactics as the French
-beggar, except that instead of certificates of birth, and passports, he
-exhibited false military documents, and told lying tales of regimental
-services, Russian prisons, and miraculous escapes.
-
-The “destitute Pole” is seldom met with now, and would hardly have
-demanded a notice if I had not thought it right to show how soon the
-unsuccessful cheat or swindler drops down into the beggar, and to what
-a height the “Polish fever” raged some thirty years ago. It would be
-injustice to a noble nation if I did not inform my reader that but few
-of the false claimants to British sympathy were Poles at all. They were
-Russians, Frenchmen, Hungarians, Austrians, Prussians, and Germans of
-all sorts.
-
-The career of one fellow will serve to show with what little ingenuity
-the credulous can be imposed on. His real name is lost among his
-numerous aliases, neither do I know whether he commenced life as a
-soldier, or as a valet; but I think it probable that he had combined
-those occupations and been regimental servant to an officer. He came to
-London in the year 1833 under the name of Count Stanislas Soltiewski,
-of Ostralenka; possessed of a handsome person and invulnerable
-audacity, he was soon received into decent society, and in 1837 married
-a lady of some fortune, squandered her money, and deserted her. He then
-changed his name to Levieczin, and travelled from town to town, giving
-political lectures at town-halls, assembly-rooms, and theatres. In 1842
-he called himself Doctor Telecki, said he was a native of Smolensk, and
-set up a practice in Manchester, where he contracted a large amount
-of debts. From Manchester he eloped with one of his patients, a young
-lady to whom he was married in 1845, in Dublin, in which place he
-again endeavoured to practise as a physician. He soon involved himself
-in difficulties, and quitted Dublin, taking with him funds which
-had been entrusted to him as treasurer of a charitable institution.
-He left his second wife, and formed a connexion with another woman,
-travelled about, giving scientific lectures, and sometimes doing feats
-of legerdemain. He again married a widow lady who had some four or
-five hundred pounds, which he spent, after which he deserted her. He
-then became the scourge and terror of hotel-keepers, and went from
-tavern to tavern living on every luxury, and, when asked for money,
-decamping, and leaving behind him nothing but portmanteaus filled with
-straw and bricks. He returned to England and obtained a situation in
-a respectable academy as a teacher of French and the guitar. Here he
-called himself Count Hohenbreitenstein-Boitzenburg.
-
-Under this name he seduced a young lady, whom he persuaded he could
-not marry on account of her being a Protestant, and of his being a
-Count of the Holy Roman Empire in the pontifical degree. By threatening
-exposure he extracted a large sum of money from her friends, with
-which he returned to London, where he lived for some time by begging
-letters, and obtaining money on various false pretences. His first
-wife discovered him, and he was charged with bigamy, but owing to
-some technical informality was not convicted. He then enlisted in the
-87th regiment, from which he shortly after deserted. He became the
-associate of thieves and the prostitutes who live in the neighbourhood
-of Waterloo Road. After being several times imprisoned for petty
-thefts he at length earned a miserable living by conjuring in low
-public-houses, where he announced himself as the celebrated Polish
-professor of legerdemain, Count Makvicz.
-
-He died in August, 1852, and, oddly enough, in a garret in Poland
-Street, Oxford Street.
-
-Of modern Polish swindlers and beggars, the most renowned is Adolphus
-Czapolinski. This “shabby genteel man of military appearance”--I quote
-the daily papers,--“has been several times incarcerated, has again
-offended, and been again imprisoned. His fraudulent practices were
-first discovered in 1860.” The following is from the _Times_, of June
-the 5th of that year:--
-
-“BOW STREET.--A military-looking man, who said his name was Lorenzo
-Noodt, and that he had served as captain in one of our foreign legions
-during the Crimean war, was brought before Mr. Henry on a charge of
-attempting to obtain money by false and fraudulent pretences from the
-Countess of Waldegrave.”
-
-Mr. George Granville Harcourt (the husband of Lady Waldegrave), deposed:
-
-“I saw the prisoner to-day at my house in Carlton Gardens, where he
-called by my request in reference to a letter which Lady Waldegrave had
-received from him. It was a letter soliciting charitable contributions,
-and enclosing three papers. The first purported to be a note from
-Lady Stafford, enclosing a post-office order for 3_l._ I know her
-ladyship’s handwriting, and this is like it, but I cannot say whether
-it is genuine. The second is apparently a note from Colonel Macdonald,
-sending him a post-office order for 4_l._ on the part of the Duke
-of Cambridge. The third is a note purporting to be written by the
-secretary of the Duke d’Aumale. This note states that the duke approves
-this person’s departure for Italy, and desires his secretary to send
-him 5_l._ We were persuaded that it could not be genuine, in the first
-place, as we have the honour of being intimate with the Duke d’Aumale.
-We perfectly well knew that he would not say to this individual, or to
-any one else, that he approved his departure for Italy; in the second
-place, there are mistakes in the French which render it impossible that
-the duke’s secretary should have written it; in the third place, the
-name is not that of the secretary, though resembling it. Under all the
-circumstances, I took an opportunity of asking both the secretary and
-the Duke d’Aumale whether they had any knowledge of this communication,
-and they stated that they knew nothing of it. The duke said that it was
-very disagreeable to him that he should be supposed to be interfering
-to forward the departure of persons to Italy, which would produce an
-impression that he was meddling in the affairs of that country. I wrote
-to the prisoner to call on me, in order to receive back his papers. At
-first another man called, but on his addressing me in French I said,
-‘You are an Italian, not a German. I want to see the captain himself.’
-To-day the prisoner called. I showed the papers, and asked him if they
-were the letters he had received, and if he had received the money
-referred to in those letters. To both questions he replied in the
-affirmative. The officer Horsford, with whom I had communicated in the
-meanwhile, was in the next room. I called him in, and he went up to
-Captain Noodt, telling him he was his prisoner. He asked why? Horsford
-replied, for attempting to obtain money by means of a forged letter.
-He then begged me not to ruin him, and said that the letter was not
-written by him.”
-
-The prisoner’s letter to Lady Waldegrave was then read as follows:--
-
- “MILADY COUNTESS,
-
- “I am foreigner, but have the rank of captain by my service under
- English colours in the Crimean war, being appointed by her Majesty’s
- brevet. I have struggled very hard, after having been discharged from
- the service, but, happily, I have been temporarily assisted by some
- persons of distinction, and the Duke of Cambridge. To-day, milady
- Countess, I have in object to ameliorate or better my condition,
- going to accept service in Italian lawful army, where by the danger
- I may obtain advancement. Being poor, I am obliged to solicit of my
- noble patrons towards my journey. The Duc d’Aumale, the Marchioness
- of Stafford, &c., kindly granted me their contributions. Knowing your
- ladyship’s connexion with those noble persons, I take the liberty of
- soliciting your ladyship’s kind contribution to raise any funds for my
- outfit and journey. In ‘appui’ of my statements I enclose my captain’s
- commission and letters, and, in recommending myself to your ladyship’s
- consideration, I present my homage, and remain,
-
- “Your humble servant,
-
- “CAPTAIN L. B. NOODT.”
-
-The letter of the pretended secretary was as follows:--
-
- “MONSIEUR LE CAPITAINE,
-
- “Son altesse Monseigneur le Duc d’Aumale approuve votre départ pour
- l’Italie, et pour vous aider dans la dépense de votre voyage m’a
- chargé de vous transmettre 5_l._, ci inclus, que vous m’obligerez de
- m’en accuser la reception.
-
- “Agréez, monsieur le capitaine, l’assurance de ma consideration
- distinguée.
-
- “Votre humble serviteur,
-
- “CHS. COULEUVRIER, Sec.”
-
-The prisoner, _who appeared much agitated_, acknowledged the dishonesty
-of his conduct, but appealed to the pity of Mr. Harcourt, saying that
-he had suffered great hardships, and had been driven to this act by
-want. _It was sad that an officer bearing the Queen’s commission should
-be so humiliated._ The letter was not written by himself, but by a
-Frenchman who led him into it.
-
-Mr. Henry said he had brought the humiliation on himself. He must
-be well aware that the crime of forgery was punished as severely in
-his own country as here. The prisoner should have the opportunity
-of producing the writer of the letter, or of designating him to the
-police. On the recommendation to mercy of Mr. Harcourt, he was only
-sentenced to one month’s imprisonment.
-
-On July the 9th he was brought up to Marlborough Street by Horsford,
-the officer of the Mendicity Society, charged with obtaining by false
-and fraudulent pretences the sum of 3_l._ from Lady Stafford. Since his
-imprisonment it had been discovered that his real name was Adolphus
-Czapolinski, and that he was a Pole. The real Captain Noodt was in a
-distant part of the kingdom, and Czapolinski had obtained surreptitious
-possession of his commission, and assumed his name. The indefatigable
-Mr. Horsford had placed himself in communication with the secretary of
-the Polish Association, who had known the prisoner (Czapolinski) for
-twenty-five years. It would seem that in early life he had been engaged
-under various foreign powers, and in 1835 he came to this country and
-earned a scanty maintenance as a teacher of languages; that he was
-addicted to drinking, begging, and thieving, and upon one occasion,
-when usher in a school, he robbed the pupils of their clothes, and
-even fleeced them of their trifling pocket-money. While in the House
-of Detention he had written to Captain Wood, the secretary of the
-Mendicity Society, offering to turn approver. The letter in question
-ran thus:--
-
- “SIR,--Permit me to make you a request, which is, not to press your
- prosecution against me, and I most solemnly promise you that for
- this favour all my endeavours will be to render you every assistance
- for all the information you should require. I was very wrong to not
- speak to you when I was at your office, but really I was not guilty
- of this charge, because the letter containing the post-office order
- was delivered to Captain Noodt. I was only the messenger from Lady
- Stafford.
-
- “Look, Captain Wood, I know much, and no one can be so able to render
- you the assistance and information of all the foreigners than me.
- Neither any of your officers could find the way; but if you charge
- me to undertake to find I will, on only one condition--that you will
- stop the prosecution. The six weeks of detention were quite sufficient
- punishment to me for the first time; and let it be understood that for
- your condescension to stop the prosecution all my services shall be at
- your orders, whenever you shall require, without any remuneration. My
- offers will be very advantageous to you under every respect. Send any
- of your clerks to speak with me to make my covenant with you, and you
- will be better convinced of my good intentions to be serviceable to
- you.
-
- “I am, &c.,
-
- “A. CZAPOLINSKI.”
-
-He was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment and hard labour.
-
-Czapolinski is one of the most extraordinary of the beggars of the
-present day. He raises money both by personal application and by
-letter. He has been known to make from 20_l._ to 60_l._ per day. He
-is a great gambler, and has been seen to lose--and to pay--upwards of
-100_l._ at a gambling house in the neighbourhood of Leicester Square in
-the course of a single night and morning.
-
-
-HINDOO BEGGARS
-
-Are those spare, snake-eyed Asiatics who walk the streets, coolly
-dressed in Manchester cottons, or chintz of a pattern commonly used for
-bed-furniture, to which the resemblance is carried out by the dark,
-polished colour of the thin limbs which it envelopes. They very often
-affect to be converts to the Christian religion, and give away tracts;
-with the intention of entrapping the sympathy of elderly ladies. They
-assert that they have been high-caste Brahmins, but as untruth, even
-when not acting professionally, is habitual to them, there is not the
-slightest dependence to be placed on what they say. Sometimes, in the
-winter, they “do shallow,” that is, stand on the kerb-stone of the
-pavement, in their thin, ragged clothes, and shiver as with cold and
-hunger, or crouch against a wall and whine like a whipped animal;
-at others they turn out with a small, barrel-shaped drum, on which
-they make a monotonous noise with their fingers, to which music they
-sing and dance. Or they will “stand pad with a fakement,” _i. e._
-wear a placard upon their breasts, that describes them as natives of
-Madagascar, in distress, converts to Christianity, anxious to get to
-a seaport where they can work their passage back. This is a favourite
-artifice with Lascars--or they will sell lucifers, or sweep a crossing,
-or do anything where their picturesque appearance, of which they are
-proud and conscious, can be effectively displayed. They are as cunning
-as they look, and can detect a sympathetic face among a crowd. They
-never beg of soldiers, or sailors, to whom they always give a wide
-berth as they pass them in the streets.
-
-From the extraordinary mendacity of this race of beggars--a mendacity
-that never falters, hesitates, or stumbles, but flows on in an
-unbroken stream of falsehood,--it is difficult to obtain any reliable
-information respecting them. I have, however, many reasons for
-believing that the following statement, which was made to me by a very
-dirty and distressed Indian, is moderately true. The man spoke English
-like a cockney of the lowest order. I shall not attempt to describe the
-peculiar accent or construction which he occasionally gave to it.
-
-“My name is Joaleeka. I do not know where I was born. I never knew
-my father. I remember my mother very well. From the first of my
-remembrance I was at Dumdum, where I was servant to a European
-officer--a great man--a prince--who had more than a hundred servants
-beside me. When he went away to fight, I followed among others--I was
-with the baggage. I never fought myself, but I have heard the men
-(Sepoys) say that the prince, or general, or colonel, liked nothing so
-well as fighting, except tiger-hunting. He was a wonderful man, and his
-soldiers liked him very much. I travelled over a great part of India
-with Europeans. I went up country as far as Secunderabad, and learned
-to speak English very well--so well that, when I was quite a young
-man, I was often employed as interpreter, for I caught up different
-Indian languages quickly. At last I got to interpret so well that I
-was recommended to ----, a great native prince who was coming over to
-England. I was not his interpreter, but interpreter to his servants. We
-came to London. We stopped in an hotel in Vere-street, Oxford-street.
-We stayed here some time. Then my chief went over to Paris, but he
-did not take all his servants with him. I stopped at the hotel to
-interpret for those who remained. It was during this time that I formed
-a connexion with a white woman. She was a servant in the hotel. I broke
-my caste, and from that moment I knew that it would not do for me to go
-back to India. The girl fell in the family-way, and was sent out of the
-house. My fellow-servants knew of it, and as many of them hated me, I
-knew that they would tell my master on his return. I also knew that by
-the English laws in England I was a free man, and that my master could
-not take me back against my will. If I had gone back, I should have
-been put to death for breaking my caste. When my master returned from
-France, he sent for me. He told me that he had heard of my breaking my
-caste, and of the girl, but that he should take no notice of it; that
-I was to return to Calcutta with him, where he would get me employment
-with some European officer; that I need not fear, as he would order his
-servants to keep silent on the subject. I salaamed and thanked him,
-and said I was his slave for ever; but at the same time I knew that he
-would break his word, and that when he had me in his power, he would
-put me to death. He was a very severe man about caste. I attended to
-all my duties as before, and all believed that I was going back to
-India--but the very morning that my master started for the coast, I ran
-away. I changed my clothes at the house of a girl I knew--not the same
-one as I had known at the hotel, but another. This one lived at Seven
-Dials. I stopped in-doors for many days, till this girl, who could
-read newspapers, told me that my master had sailed away. I felt very
-glad, for though I knew my master could not force me to go back with
-him, yet I was afraid for all that, for he knew the King and the Queen,
-and had been invited by the Lord Mayor to the City. I liked England
-better than India, and English women have been very kind to me. I
-think English women are the handsomest in the world. The girl in whose
-house I hid, showed me how to beg. She persuaded me to turn Christian,
-because she thought that it would do me good--so I turned Christian. I
-do not know what it means, but I am a Christian, and have been for many
-years. I married that girl for some time. I have been married several
-times. I do not mean to say that I have ever been to church as rich
-folks do; but I have been married without that. Sometimes I do well,
-and sometimes badly. I often get a pound or two by interpreting. I am
-not at all afraid of meeting any Indian who knew me, for if they said
-anything I did not like, I should call out “Police!” I know the law
-better than I did. Every thing is free in England. You can do what you
-like, if you can pay, or are not found out. I do not like policemen.
-After the mutiny in 1857 I did very badly. No one would look at a poor
-Indian then--much less give to him. I knew that the English would put
-it down soon, because I know what those rascals over there are like.
-I am living now in Charles Street, Drury Lane. I have been married to
-my present wife six years. We have three children and one dead. My
-eldest is now in the hospital with a bad arm. I swept a crossing for
-two years; that was just before the mutiny. All that knew me used to
-chaff me about it, and call me Johnny Sepoy. My present wife is Irish,
-and fought two women about it. They were taken to Bow-street by a
-policeman, but the judge would not hear them. My wife is a very good
-wife to me, but she gets drunk too often. If it were not for that, I
-should like her better. I ran away from her once, but she came after
-me with all the children. Sometimes I make twelve shillings a week. I
-could make much more by interpreting, but I do not like to go among the
-nasty natives of my country. I believe I am more than fifty years of
-age.”
-
-
-NEGRO BEGGARS.
-
-The negro beggar so nearly resembles the Hindoo that what I have said
-of one, I could almost say of the other. There are, however, these
-points of difference. The negro mendicant, who is usually an American
-negro, never studies the picturesque in his attire. He relies on
-the abject misery and down-trodden despair of his appearance, and
-generally represents himself as a fugitive slave--with this exception,
-his methods of levying contributions are precisely the same as his
-lighter-skinned brother’s.
-
-Some years ago it was a common thing to see a negro with tracts in his
-hand, and a placard upon his breast, upon which was a wood-cut of a
-black man, kneeling, his wrists heavily chained, his arms held high
-in supplication, and round the picture, forming a sort of proscenium
-or frame, the words: “Am I not a man and a brother?” At the time that
-the suppression of the slave trade created so much excitement, this
-was so excellent a “dodge” that many white beggars, fortunate enough
-to possess a flattish or turned-up nose, _dyed themselves black_
-and “stood pad” as real Africans. The imposture, however, was soon
-detected and punished.
-
-There are but few negro beggars to be seen now. It is only common
-fairness to say that negroes seldom, if ever, shirk work. Their only
-trouble is to obtain it. Those who have seen the many negroes employed
-in Liverpool, will know that they are hard-working, patient, and, too
-often, underpaid. A negro will sweep a crossing, run errands, black
-boots, clean knives and forks, or dig, for a crust and a few pence.
-The few impostors among them are to be found among those who go about
-giving lectures on the horrors of slavery, and singing variations on
-the “escapes” in that famous book ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin.’ Negro servants
-are seldom read of in police reports, and are generally found to give
-satisfaction to their employers. In the east end of London negro
-beggars are to be met with, but they are seldom beggars by profession.
-Whenever they are out of work they have no scruples, but go into the
-streets, take off their hats, and beg directly.
-
-I was accosted by one in Whitechapel, from whom I obtained the
-following statement:--
-
-“My father was a slave, so was my mother. I have heard my father say
-so. I have heard them tell how they got away, but I forget all about
-it. It was before I was born. I am the eldest son. I had only one
-brother. Three years after his birth my mother died. My father was
-a shoe-black in New York. He very often had not enough to eat. My
-brother got a place as a servant, but I went out in the streets to
-do what I could. About the same time that my father, who was an old
-man, died, my brother lost his place. We agreed to come to England
-together. My brother had been living with some Britishers, and he had
-heard them say that over here niggers were as good as whites; and that
-the whites did not look down on them and illtreat them, as they do in
-New York. We went about and got odd jobs on the quay, and at last we
-hid ourselves in the hold of a vessel, bound for Liverpool. I do not
-know how long we were hid, but I remember we were terribly frightened
-lest we should be found out before the ship got under weigh. At last
-hunger forced us out, and we rapped at the hatches; at first we were
-not heard, but when we shouted out, they opened the hatches, and took
-us on deck. They flogged us very severely, and treated us shamefully
-all the voyage. When we got to Liverpool, we begged and got odd jobs.
-At last we got engaged in a travelling circus, where we were servants,
-and used to ride about with the band in beautiful dresses, but the
-grooms treated us so cruelly that we were forced to run away from that.
-I forget the name of the place that we were performing at, but it was
-not a day’s walk from London. We begged about for some time. At last,
-my brother--his name is Aaron--got to clean the knives and forks at a
-slap-bang (an eating-house) in the city. He was very fortunate, and
-used to save some bits for me. He never takes any notice of me now. He
-is doing very well. He lives with a great gentleman in Harewood-square,
-and has a coat with silver buttons, and a gold-laced hat. He is very
-proud, and I do not think would speak to me if he saw me. I don’t know
-how I live, or how much I get a week. I do porter’s work mostly, but I
-do anything I can get. I beg more than half the year. I have no regular
-lodging. I sleep where I can. When I am in luck, I have a bed. It costs
-me threepence. At some places they don’t care to take a man of colour
-in. I sometimes get work in Newgate-market, carrying meat, but not
-often. Ladies give me halfpence oftener than men. The butchers call me
-‘Othello,’ and ask me why I killed my wife. I have tried to get aboard
-a ship, but they won’t have me. I don’t know how old I am, but I know
-that when we got to London, it was the time the Great Exhibition was
-about. I can lift almost any weight when I have had a bit of something
-to eat. I don’t care for beer. I like rum best. I have often got drunk,
-but never when I paid for it myself.”
-
- * * * * *
-
-The following cases of genuine distress fell under my notice. My
-readers will observe the difference of tone, the absence of clap-trap,
-and desire to enlarge upon a harrowing fact of those unfortunates who
-have been reduced to beggary, compared with the practised shuffle and
-conventional whine of the mendicant by profession.
-
-I was standing with a friend at the counter of a tavern in Oxford
-Street, when a man came in and asked me to help him with a penny.
-
-I saw at a glance that he was a workman at some hard-working trade. His
-face was bronzed, and his large, hard hands were unmistakably the hands
-of a labourer. He kept his eyes fixed on me as he spoke, and begged
-with a short pipe in his mouth.
-
-I asked him if he would have some beer?
-
-“Thank ye, sir, I don’t want beer so much as I want a penny loaf. I
-haven’t tasted since morn, and I’m not the man I was fifteen year ago,
-and I feel it.”
-
-“Will you have some bread-and-cheese and beer?” I asked.
-
-“Thank ye, sir; bread-and-cheese and beer, and thank ye, sir; for I’m
-beginning to feel I want something.”
-
-I asked the man several questions, and he made the following
-statement:--
-
-“I’m a miner, sir, and I’ve been working lately five mile from
-Castleton in Darbyshire. Why did I leave it? Do you want me to tell the
-truth, now--the real truth? Well then I’ll tell you the real truth.
-I got drunk--you asked me for the real truth, and now you’ve got it.
-I’ve been a miner all my life, and been engaged in all the great public
-works. I call a miner a man as can sink a shaft in anything, barring
-he’s not stopped by water. I’ve got a wife and two children. I left
-them at Castleton. They’re all right. I left them some money. I’ve
-worked in eighteen inches o’ coal. I mean in a chamber only eighteen
-inches wide. You lay on your side and pick like this. (Here he threw
-himself on the floor, and imitated the action of a coal-miner with his
-pick.) I’ve worked under young Mr. Brunel very often. He were not at
-all a gentleman unlike you, sir, only he were darker. My last wages
-was six shilling a-day. I expect soon to be in work again, for I know
-lots o’ miners in London, and I know where they want hands. I could
-get a bed and a shilling this minute if I knew where my mates lived;
-but to-day, when I got to the place where they work, they’d gone home,
-and I couldn’t find out in what part of London they lived. We miners
-always assist each other, when we’re on the road. I’ve worked in lead
-and copper, sir, as well as coal, and have been a very good man in my
-time. I am just forty year old, and I think I’ve used myself too much
-when I were young. I knows the Cornish mines well. I’m sure to get work
-in the course of the week, for I’m well known to many on ’em up at
-Notting Hill. I once worked in a mine where there were a pressure of
-fifty pound to the square foot of air. You have to take your time about
-everything you do there--you can’t work hard in a place like that.
-Thank you, sir, much obliged to you.”
-
-One evening in the parish of Marylebone an old man who was selling
-lucifer-matches put his finger to his forehead, and offered me a box.
-“Ha’penny a box, sir,” he said.
-
-I told him to follow me; an old woman also accompanied us. He made the
-following statement:--
-
-“My name is John Wood--that’s my wife. I am sixty-five years of age;
-she’s seventy-five--ten years older than I am. I kept a shop round
-this street, sir, four-and-twenty years. I’ve got a settlement in this
-parish, but we neither of us like to go into the union--they’d separate
-us, and we like to be together for the little time we shall be here.
-The reason we went to the bad was, I took a shop at Woolwich, and the
-very week I opened it, I don’t know how many hundred men were not
-discharged from the Arsenal and Dockyard. I lost £350 there; after that
-we tried many things; but everything failed. This is not a living. I
-stood four hours last night, and took twopence-ha’penny. We lodge in
-Warde’s Buildings. We pay one and ninepence a-week. We’ve got sticks of
-our own,--that is a bed, and a table. We are both of us half-starved.
-It is hard--very hard. I’m as weak as a rat, and so is my wife. We’ve
-tried to do something better, but we can’t. If I could get some of the
-folks that once knew me to assist me, I might buy a few things, and
-make a living out of them. We’ve been round to ’em to ask ’em, but they
-don’t seem inclined to help us. People don’t, sir, when you’re poor. I
-used to feel that myself one time, but I know better now. Good night,
-sir, and thank you.”
-
-In the same neighbourhood I saw an elderly man who looked as if he
-would beg of me if he dared. I turned round to look at him, and saw
-that his eyes were red as if with crying, and that he carried a rag in
-his hand with which he kept dabbing them. I gave him a few pence.
-
-“Thank you, sir,” he said; “God bless you. Excuse me, sir, but my eyes
-is bad--I suffer from the erysipelas--that is what brought me to this.
-Kindness rather overcomes me--I’ve not been much used to it of late.”
-
-He made the following statement:
-
-“I have been a gentleman’s servant, sir, but I lost my place through
-the erysipelas. I was mad with it, and confined in Bedlam for four
-years. The last place I was in service at was Sir H---- H----’s
-(he mentioned the name of an eminent banker). Sir H---- was very
-kind to me. I clean his door-plate now, for which I get a shilling
-a-week--that’s all the dependence I have now. The servants behave bad
-to me. Sir H---- said that I was to go into the kitchen now and then;
-but they never give me anything. I don’t get half enough to eat, and
-it makes me very weak. I’m weak enough naturally, and going without
-makes me worse. I lodge over in Westminster. I pay threepence a-night,
-or eighteenpence a-week. There are three others in the same room as
-me. I hold horses sometimes, and clean knives and forks when I can
-get it to do; but people like younger men than me to do odd jobs. I
-can’t do things quick enough, and I’m so nervous that I ain’t handy. I
-can go into the workhouse, and I think I shall in the winter; but the
-confinement of it is terrible to me. I’d like to keep out of it if I
-can. My shilling a-week don’t pay my rent, and I find it very hard to
-get on at all. Nobody can tell what I go through. I suppose I must go
-into the workhouse at last. They’re not over kind to you when you’re
-in. Every day the first thing I try to get is the threepence for my
-lodging. I pay nightly, then I don’t have anything to pay on Sundays. I
-don’t know any trade; gentlemen’s servants never do. I used to have the
-best of everything when I was in service. God bless you, sir, and thank
-you. I’m very much obliged to you.”
-
-
-DISASTER BEGGARS.
-
-This class of street beggars includes shipwrecked mariners, blown-up
-miners, burnt-out tradesmen, and lucifer droppers. The majority of
-them are impostors, as is the case with all beggars who pursue begging
-pertinaciously and systematically. There are no doubt genuine cases to
-be met with, but they are very few, and they rarely obtrude themselves.
-Of the shipwrecked mariners I have already given examples under the
-head of Naval and Military Beggars. Another class of them, to which
-I have not referred, is familiar to the London public in connection
-with rudely executed paintings representing either a shipwreck, or
-more commonly the destruction of a boat by a whale in the North Seas.
-This painting they spread upon the pavement, fixing it at the corners,
-if the day be windy, with stones. There are generally two men in
-attendance, and in most cases one of the two has lost an arm or a
-leg. Occasionally both of them have the advantage of being deprived
-of either one or two limbs. Their misfortune so far is not to be
-questioned. A man who has lost both arms, or even one, is scarcely in
-a position to earn his living by labour, and is therefore a fit object
-for charity. It is found, however, that in most instances the stories
-of their misfortunes printed underneath their pictures are simply
-inventions, and very often the pretended sailor has never been to sea
-at all. In one case which I specially investigated, the man had been a
-bricklayer, and had broken both his arms by falling from a scaffold.
-He received some little compensation at the time, but when that was
-spent he went into the streets to beg, carrying a paper on his breast
-describing the cause of his misfortune. His first efforts were not
-successful. His appearance (dressed as he was in workman’s clothes) was
-not sufficiently picturesque to attract attention, and his story was of
-too ordinary a kind to excite much interest. He had a very hard life of
-it for some length of time; for, in addition to the drawback arising
-from the uninteresting nature of his case, he had had no experience in
-the art of begging, and his takings were barely sufficient to procure
-bread. From this point I will let him tell his own story:--
-
-
-A SHIPWRECKED MARINER.
-
-“I had only taken a penny all day, and I had had no breakfast, and I
-spent the penny in a loaf. I was three nights behind for my lodging,
-and I knew the door would be shut in my face if I did not take home
-sixpence. I thought I would go to the workhouse, and perhaps I
-might get a supper and a lodging for that night. I was in Tottenham
-Court-road by the chapel, and it was past ten o’clock. The people were
-thinning away, and there seemed no chance of anything. So says I to
-myself I’ll start down the New Road to the work’ouse. I knew there
-was a work’ouse down that way, for I worked at a ’ouse next it once,
-and I used to think the old paupers looked comfortable like. It came
-across me all at once, that I one time said to one of my mates, as we
-was sitting on the scaffold, smoking our pipes, and looking over the
-work’ouse wall, ‘Jem, them old chaps there seems to do it pretty tidy;
-they have their soup and bread, and a bed to lie on, and their bit o’
-baccy, and they comes out o’ a arternoon and baskes in the sun, and
-has their chat, and don’t seem to do no work to hurt ’em.’ And Jem he
-says, ‘it’s a great hinstitooshin, Enery,’ says he, for you see Jem was
-a bit of a scollard, and could talk just like a book. ‘I don’t know
-about a hinstitooshin, Jem,’ says I, ‘but what I does know is that a
-man might do wuss nor goe in there and have his grub and his baccy
-regular, without nought to stress him, like them old chaps.’ Somehow
-or other that ’ere conversation came across me, and off I started to
-the work’ouse. When I came to the gate I saw a lot of poor women and
-children sitting on the pavement round it. They couldn’t have been
-hungrier than me, but they were awful ragged, and their case looked
-wuss. I didn’t like to go in among them, and I watched a while a
-little way off. One woman kep on ringing the bell for a long time, and
-nobody came, and then she got desperate, and kep a-pulling and ringing
-like she was mad, and at last a fat man came out and swore at her and
-drove them all away. I didn’t think there was much chance for me if
-they druv away women and kids, and such as them, but I thought I would
-try as I was a cripple, and had lost both my arms. So I stepped across
-the road, and was just agoing to try and pull the bell with my two poor
-stumps when some one tapped me on the shoulder. I turned round and saw
-it was a sailor-like man, without ne’er an arm like myself, only his
-were cut off short at the shoulder. ‘What are you agoing to do?’ says
-he. ‘I was agoing to try and ring the work’ouse bell,’ says I. ‘What
-for?’ says he. ‘To ask to be took in,’ says I. And then the sailor man
-looks at me in a steady kind of way, and says, ‘Want to get into the
-work’ouse, and you got ne’er an arm? You’re a infant,’ says he. ‘If you
-had only lost one on ’em now, I could forgive you, but--’ ‘But surely,’
-says I, ‘it’s a greater misfortune to lose two nor one; half a loaf’s
-better nor no bread, they say.’ ‘You’re a infant,’ says he again. ‘One
-off aint no good; both on ’em’s the thing. Have you a mind to earn a
-honest living,’ says he, quite sharp. ‘I have,’ says I; ‘anything for
-a honest crust.’ ‘Then,’ says he, ‘come along o’ me.’ So I went with
-the sailor man to his lodging in Whitechapel, and a very tidy place
-it was, and we had beefsteaks and half a gallon o’ beer, and a pipe,
-and then he told me what he wanted me to do. I was to dress like him
-in a sailor’s jacket and trousers and a straw ’at, and stand o’ one
-side of a picture of a shipwreck, vile he stood on the ’tother. And I
-consented, and he learned me some sailors’ patter, and at the end of
-the week he got me the togs, and then I went out with him. We did only
-middlin the first day, but after a bit the coppers tumbled in like
-winkin’. It was so affectin’ to see two mariners without ne’er an arm
-between them, and we had crowds round us. At the end of the week we
-shared two pound and seven shillings, which was more nor a pound than
-my mate ever did by his self. He always said it was pilin’ the hagony
-to have two without ne’er an arm. My mate used to say to me, ‘Enery, if
-your stumps had only been a trifle shorter, we might ha’ made a fortun
-by this time; but you waggle them, you see, and that frightens the old
-ladies.’ I did well when Trafalgar Jack was alive. That was my mate,
-sir; but he died of the cholera, and I joined another pal who had a
-wooden leg; but he was rough to the kids, and got us both into trouble.
-How do I mean rough to the kids? Why, you see, the kids used to swarm
-round us to look at the pictur just like flies round a sugar-cask, and
-that crabbed the business. My mate got savage with them sometimes, and
-clouted their heads, and one day the mother o’ one o’ the brats came up
-a-screaming awful and give Timber Bill, as we called him, into custody,
-and he was committed for a rogue and vagabond. Timber Bill went into
-the nigger line arterwards and did well. You may have seen him, sir.
-He plays the tambourine, and dances, and the folks laugh at his wooden
-leg, and the coppers come in in style. Yes, I’m still in the old line,
-but it’s a bad business now.”
-
-
-BLOWN-UP MINERS.
-
-These are simply a variety of the large class of beggars who get their
-living in the streets, chiefly by frequenting public-houses and whining
-a tale of distress. The impostors among them--and they are by far the
-greater number--do not keep up the character of blown-up miners all the
-year round, but time the assumption to suit some disaster which may
-give colour to their tale. After a serious coal-mine accident “blown-up
-miners” swarm in such numbers all over the town that one might suppose
-the whole of the coal-hands of the north had been blown south by one
-explosion. The blown-up miner has the general appearance of a navvy;
-he wears moleskin trousers turned up nearly to the knees, a pair of
-heavy-laced boots, a sleeved waistcoat, and commonly a shapeless felt
-hat of the wide-awake fashion. He wears his striped shirt open at the
-neck, showing a weather-browned and brawny chest. The state of his
-hands and the colour of his skin show that he has been accustomed to
-hard work, but his healthy look and fresh colour give the lie direct to
-his statement that he has spent nearly the whole of his life in working
-in the dark many hundred feet beneath the surface of the earth. Many
-of them do not pretend that they have been injured by the explosion of
-the mine, but only that they have been thrown out of work. These are
-mostly excavators and bricklayers’ labourers, who are out of employ in
-consequence of a stoppage of the works on which they have been engaged,
-or more often, as I have proved by inquiry, in consequence of their
-own misconduct in getting drunk and absenting themselves from their
-labour. These impostors are easily detected. If you cross-question them
-as to the truth of their stories, and refer to names and places which
-they ought to be acquainted with if their representations were genuine,
-they become insolent and move away from you. There are others, however,
-who are more artful, and whose tales are borne out by every external
-appearance, and also by a complete knowledge of the places whence they
-pretend to have come. These men, though sturdy and horny-fisted, have
-a haggard, pallid look, which seems to accord well with the occupation
-of the miner. They can converse about mining operations, they describe
-minutely the incidents of the accident by which they suffered, and they
-have the names of coal-owners and gangsmen ever ready on their tongues.
-In addition to this they bare some part of their bodies--the leg or
-the arm--and show you what looks like a huge scald or burn. These are
-rank impostors, denizens of Wentworth-street and Brick-lane, and who
-were never nearer to Yorkshire than Mile-end gate in their lives.
-Having met with one or two specimens of “real” distressed miners, I
-can speak with great certainty of the characteristics which mark out
-the impostor. For many years past there has always been an abundance
-of work for miners and navigators; indeed the labour of the latter has
-often been at a premium; cases of distress arise among them only from
-two causes--ill-health and bodily disaster. If they are in health and
-found begging it is invariably during a long journey from one part of
-the country to another. The look and manner of these miners forbids
-the idea of their being systematic mendicants or impostors. They want
-something to help them on the road, and they will be as grateful for
-a hunck of bread and cheese as for money. If you cross-question these
-men they never show an uncomfortable sense of being under examination,
-but answer you frankly as if you were merely holding a friendly
-conversation with them. Miners are very charitable to each other, and
-they think it no shame to seek aid of their betters when they really
-need it. Of the device called the “scaldrum dodge,” by which beggars of
-this class produce artificial sores, I shall have to treat by-and-bye.
-
-
-BURNT-OUT TRADESMEN.
-
-With many begging impostors the assumption of the “burnt-out tradesman”
-is simply a change of character to suit circumstances; with others it
-is a fixed and settled rôle. The burnt-out tradesman does not beg in
-the streets by day; he comes out at night, and his favourite haunts
-are the private bars of public-houses frequented by good company. In
-the day-time he begs by a petition, which he leaves at the houses of
-charitable persons with an intimation that he will call again in an
-hour. In the evening he is made up for his part. He lurks about a
-public-house until he sees a goodly company assembled in the private
-bar, and then, when the “gents,” as he calls them, appear to be getting
-happy and comfortable, he suddenly appears among them, and moves them
-by the striking contrast which his personal appearance and condition
-offers to theirs. Like many others of his class he has studied human
-nature to some purpose, and he knows at a glance the natures with
-which he has to deal. Noisy and thoughtless young men, like clerks
-and shopmen, he avoids. They are generally too much occupied with
-themselves to think of him or his misfortunes; and having had no
-experience of a responsible position, the case of a reduced tradesman
-does not come home to them. A quiet and sedate company of middle-aged
-tradesmen best suits his purpose. They know the difficulties and
-dangers of trade, and maybe there are some of them who are conscious
-that ruin is impending over themselves. To feeling men of this class
-it is a terrible shock to see a man, who has once been well-to-do
-like themselves, reduced to get a living by begging. The burnt-out
-tradesman’s appearance gives peculiar force to his appeal. He is
-dressed in a suit of black, greasy and threadbare, which looks like the
-last shreds of the dress suit which he wore on high days and holidays,
-when he was thriving and prosperous. His black satin stock, too, is
-evidently a relict of better days. His hat is almost napless; but it is
-well brushed--indicating care and neatness on the part of its owner.
-His shoes are mere shapeless envelopes of leather, but the uppers are
-carefully polished, and the strings neatly tied. When the burnt-out
-tradesman enters a bar he allows his appearance to have its due effect
-before he opens his mouth, or makes any other demonstration whatever.
-In this he seems to imitate the practice of the favourite comedian,
-who calculates upon being able to bespeak the favour of his audience
-by merely showing his face. The beggar, after remaining motionless
-for a moment, to allow the company fully to contemplate his miserable
-appearance, suddenly and unexpectedly advances one of his hands, which
-until now has been concealed behind his coat, and exposes to view a box
-of matches. Nothing can surpass the artistic skill of this mute appeal.
-The respectable look, and the poor, worn clothes, first of all--the
-patient, broken-hearted glance accompanied by a gentle sigh--and then
-the box of matches! What need of a word spoken. Can you not read the
-whole history? Once a prosperous tradesman, the head of a family,
-surrounded by many friends. Now, through misfortune, cast out of house
-and home, deserted by his friends, and reduced to wander the streets
-and sell matches to get his children bread. Reduced to sell paltry
-matches! he who was in a large way once, and kept clerks to register
-his wholesale transactions! It is seldom that this artist requires to
-speak. No words will move men who can resist so powerful an appeal.
-When he does speak he does not require to say more than--“I am an
-unfortunate tradesman, who lost everything I possessed in the world by
-a disastrous fire--” Here the halfpence interrupt his story, and he has
-no need to utter another word, except to mutter his humble thanks.
-
-There are a great many beggars of this class, and they nearly all
-pursue the same method. They are most successful among tradesmen of
-the middle class, and among the poor working people. One of them told
-me that the wives of working men were, according to his experience,
-the most tender-hearted in London. “The upper classes, the swells,
-aint no good,” he said; “they subscribe to the Mendicity Society,
-and they thinks every beggar an imposture. The half-and-half swells,
-shopmen and the likes, aint got no hearts, and they aint got no money,
-and what’s the good. Tradesmen that aint over well off have a fellow
-feeling; but the workmen’s wives out a-marketing of a Saturday night
-are no trouble. They always carries coppers--change out of sixpence or
-a something--in their hands, and when I goes in where they are a havin’
-their daffies--that’s drops o’ gin, sir--they looks at me, and says,
-‘Poor man!’ and drops the coppers, whatever it is, into my hand, and
-p’raps asks me to have a half-pint o’ beer besides. They’re good souls,
-the workmen’s wives.”
-
-There is a well-known beggar of this class who dresses in a most
-unexceptionable manner. His black clothes are new and glossy, his hat
-and boots are good, and to heighten the effect he wears a spotless
-white choker. He is known at the west end by the name of the “Bishop
-of London.” His aspect is decidedly clerical. He has a fat face, a
-double chin, his hat turns up extensively at the brim, and, as I have
-said, he wears a white neck-cloth. When he enters a bar the company
-imagine that he is about to order a bottle of champagne at least; but
-when he looks round and produces the inevitable box of matches, the
-first impression gives way either to compassion or extreme wonder. So
-far as my experience serves me, this dodge is not so successful as the
-one I have just described. A person with the most ordinary reasoning
-powers must know that a man who possesses clothes like those need not
-be in want of bread; but if the power of reasoning were universally
-allotted to mankind, there would be a poor chance for the professional
-beggar. There never was a time or place in which there were not to
-be found men anxious to avoid labour, and yet to live in ease and
-enjoyment, and there never was a time in which other men were not, from
-their sympathy, their fears, or their superstition, ready to assist the
-necessitous, or those who appeared to be so, and liable to be imposed
-upon or intimidated, according as the beggar is crafty or bold.
-
-As a rule the burnt-out tradesmen whom I have described are impostors,
-who make more by begging than many of those who relieve them earn
-by hard and honest labour. The petitions which they leave at houses
-are very cleverly drawn out. They are generally the composition of
-the professional screevers, whose practices I shall have to describe
-by-and-by. They have a circumstantial account of the fire by which the
-applicant “lost his all,” and sometimes furnish an inventory of the
-goods that were destroyed. They are attested by the names of clergymen,
-churchwardens, and other responsible persons, whose signatures are
-imitated with consummate art in every variety of ink. Some specimens
-of these petitions and begging letters will be found under the head of
-“Dependants of Beggars.”
-
-
-LUCIFER DROPPERS.
-
-The lucifer droppers are impostors to a man--to a boy--to a girl. Men
-seldom, if ever, practise this “dodge.” It is children’s work; and the
-artful way in which boys and girls of tender years pursue it, shows
-how systematically the seeds of mendicancy and crime are implanted in
-the hearts of the young Arab tribes of London. The artfulness of this
-device is of the most diabolical kind; for it trades not alone upon
-deception, but upon exciting sympathy with the guilty at the expense
-of the innocent. A boy or a girl takes up a position on the pavement
-of a busy street, such as Cheapside or the Strand. He, or she--it is
-generally a girl--carries a box or two of lucifer matches, which she
-offers for sale. In passing to and fro she artfully contrives to get
-in the way of some gentleman who is hurrying along. He knocks against
-her and upsets the matches which fall in the mud. The girl immediately
-begins to cry and howl. The bystanders, who are ignorant of the trick,
-exclaim in indignation against the gentleman who has caused a poor girl
-such serious loss, and the result is that either the gentleman, to
-escape being hooted, or the ignorant passers by, in false compassion,
-give the girl money. White peppermint lozenges are more often used than
-lucifers. It looks a hopeless case, indeed, when a trayful of white
-lozenges fall in the mud.
-
-
-BODILY AFFLICTED BEGGARS.
-
-Beggars who excite charity by exhibiting sores and bodily deformities
-are not so commonly to be met with in London as they were some years
-ago. The officers of the Mendicity Society have cleared the streets
-of nearly all the impostors, and the few who remain are blind men
-and cripples. Many of the blind men are under the protection of a
-Society, which furnishes them with books printed in raised type which
-they decipher by the touch. Others provide their own books, and are
-allowed to sit on door steps or in the recesses of the bridges without
-molestation from the police. It has been found on inquiry that these
-afflicted persons are really what they appear to be--poor, helpless,
-blind creatures, who are totally incapacitated from earning a living,
-and whom it would be heartless cruelty to drive into the workhouse,
-where no provision is made for their peculiar wants.
-
-The bodily afflicted beggars of London exhibit seven varieties. 1.
-Those having real or pretended sores, vulgarly known as the “Scaldrum
-Dodge.” 2. Having swollen legs. 3. Being crippled, deformed, maimed,
-or paralyzed. 4. Being blind. 5. Being subject to fits. 6. Being in a
-decline. 7. “Shallow Coves,” or those who exhibit themselves in the
-streets, half-clad, especially in cold weather.
-
-First, then, as to those having real or pretended sores. As I have
-said, there are few beggars of this class left. When the officers of
-the Mendicity Society first directed their attention to the suppression
-of this form of mendicancy, it was found that the great majority of
-those who exhibit sores were unmitigated impostors. In nearly all the
-cases investigated the sores did not proceed from natural causes, but
-were either wilfully produced or simulated. A few had lacerated their
-flesh in reality; but the majority had resorted to the less painful
-operation known as the “Scaldrum Dodge.” This consists in covering a
-portion of the leg or arm with soap to the thickness of a plaister, and
-then saturating the whole with vinegar. The vinegar causes the soap
-to blister and assume a festering appearance, and thus the passer-by
-is led to believe that the beggar is suffering from a real sore. So
-well does this simple device simulate a sore that the deception is
-not to be detected even by close inspection. The “Scaldrum Dodge” is
-a trick of very recent introduction among the London beggars. It is a
-concomitant of the advance of science and the progress of the art of
-adulteration. It came in with penny postage, daguerreotypes, and other
-modern innovations of a like description. In less scientific periods
-within the present century it was wholly unknown; and sores were
-produced by burns and lacerations which the mendicants inflicted upon
-themselves with a ruthless hand. An old man who has been a beggar all
-his life, informed me that he had known a man prick the flesh of his
-leg all over, in order to produce blood and give the appearance of an
-ulcerous disease. This man is a cripple and walks about upon crutches,
-selling stay laces. He is now upwards of seventy years of age. At my
-solicitation he made the following statement without any apparent
-reserve.
-
-
-SEVENTY YEARS A BEGGAR.
-
-“I have been a beggar ever since I was that high--ever since I could
-walk. No, I was not born a cripple. I was thirty years of age before
-I broke my leg. That was an accident. A horse and cart drove over me
-in Westminster. Well; yes I was drunk. I was able-bodied enough before
-that. I was turned out to beg by my mother. My father, I’ve heard, was
-a soldier; he went to Egypt, or some foreign part, and never came back.
-I never was learnt any trade but begging, and I couldn’t turn my hand
-to nothing else. I might have been learnt the shoemaking; but what was
-the use? Begging was a better trade then; it isn’t now though. There
-was fine times when the French war was on. I lived in Westminster then.
-A man as they called Copenhagen Jack, took a fancy to me, and made me
-his valet. I waited upon, fetched his drink, and so forth. Copenhagen
-Jack was a captain; no not in the army, nor in the navy neither. He
-was the captain of the Pye-Street beggars. There was nigh two hundred
-of them lived in two large houses, and Jack directed them. Jack’s word
-was law, I assure you. The boys--Jack called them his boys, but there
-was old men among them, and old women too--used to come up before the
-captain every morning before starting out for the day, to get their
-orders. The captain divided out the districts for them, and each man
-took his beat according to his directions. It was share and share
-alike, with an extra for the captain. There was all manner of “lays;”
-yes, cripples and darkies. We called them as did the blind dodge,
-darkies,--and “shakers” them as had fits,--and shipwrecked mariners,
-and--the scaldrum dodge, no; that’s new; but I know what you mean. They
-did the real thing then--scrape the skin off their feet with a bit of
-glass until the blood came. Those were fine times for beggars. I’ve
-known many of ’em bring in as much as thirty shillings a day, some
-twenty, some fifteen. If a man brought home no more than five or six
-shillings, the captain would enter him, make a note of him, and change
-his beat. Yes, we lived well. I’ve known fifty sit down to a splendid
-supper, geese and turkeys, and all that, and keep it up until daylight,
-with songs and toasts. No; I didn’t beg then; but I did before, and
-I did after. I begged after, when the captain came to misfortune.
-He went a walking one day in his best clothes, and got pressed, and
-never came back, and there was a mutiny among them in Pye-Street, and
-I nearly got murdered. You see, they were jealous of me, because the
-captain petted me. I used to dress in top-boots and a red coat when I
-waited on the captain. It was his fancy. Romancing? I don’t know what
-you mean. Telling lies, oh! It’s true by ----. There’s nothing like it
-nowadays. The new police and this b---- Mendicity Society has spoilt it
-all. Well, they skinned me; took off my fine coat and boots, and sent
-me out on the orphan lay in tatters. I sat and cried all day on the
-door steps, for I was really miserable now my friend was gone, and I
-got lots of halfpence, and silver too, and when I took home the swag,
-they danced round me and swore that they would elect me captain if I
-went on like that; but there was a new captain made, and when they had
-their fun out, he came and took the money away, and kicked me under
-the table. I ran away the next day, and went to a house in St. Giles’s,
-where I was better treated. There was no captain there; the landlord
-managed the house, and nobody was master but him. There was nigh a
-hundred beggars in that house, and some two or three hundred more in
-the houses next it. The houses are not standing now. They were taken
-down when New Oxford-street was built; they stood on the north side.
-Yes; we lived well in St. Giles’s--as well as we did in Westminster.
-I have earned 8, 10, 15, ay, 30 shillings a day, and more nor that
-sometimes. I can’t earn one shilling now. The folks don’t give as they
-did. They think every body an imposture now. And then the police won’t
-let you alone. No; I told you before, I never was anything else but a
-beggar. How could I? It was the trade I was brought up to. A man must
-follow his trade. No doubt I shall die a beggar, and the parish will
-bury me.”
-
-
-HAVING SWOLLEN LEGS.
-
-Beggars who lie on the pavement and expose swollen legs, are very
-rarely to be met with now. The imposture has been entirely suppressed
-by the police and the officers of the Mendicity Society. This is one
-of the shallowest of all the many “dodges” of the London beggars.
-On reflection any one, however slightly acquainted with the various
-forms of disease, must know that a mere swelling cannot be a normal or
-chronic condition of the human body. A swelling might last a few days,
-or a week; but a swelling of several years’ standing is only to be
-referred to the continued application of a poisonous ointment, or to
-the binding of the limb with ligatures, so as to confine the blood and
-puff the skin.
-
-
-CRIPPLES.
-
-Various kinds of cripples are still to be found, begging in the streets
-of London. As a rule the police do not interfere with them, unless they
-know them to be impostors. A certain number of well-known cripples
-have acquired a sort of prescriptive right to beg where they please.
-The public will be familiar with the personal appearance of many of
-them. There is the tall man on crutches, with his foot in a sling, who
-sells stay laces; the poor wretch without hands, who crouches on the
-pavement and writes with the stumps of his arms; the crab-like man
-without legs, who sits strapped to a board, and walks upon his hands;
-the legless man who propels himself in a little carriage, constructed
-on the velocipede principle; the idiotic-looking youth, who “stands
-pad with a fakement,” shaking in every limb as if he were under the
-influence of galvanism. These mendicants are not considered to be
-impostors, and are allowed to pursue begging as a regular calling.
-I cannot think, however, that the police exercise a wise discretion
-in permitting some of the more hideous of these beggars to infest
-the streets. Instances are on record of nervous females having been
-seriously frightened, and even injured, by seeing men without legs or
-arms crawling at their feet. A case is within my own knowledge, where
-the sight of a man without legs or arms had such an effect upon a lady
-in the family way that her child was born in all respects the very
-counterpart of the object that alarmed her. It had neither legs nor
-arms. This occurrence took place at Brighton about eleven years ago.
-I have frequently seen ladies start and shudder when the crab-like
-man I have referred to has suddenly appeared, hopping along at their
-feet. I am surprised that there is no home or institution for cripples
-of this class. They are certainly deserving of sympathy and aid; for
-they are utterly incapacitated from any kind of labour. Impostors are
-constantly starting up among this class of beggars; but they do not
-remain long undetected. A man was lately found begging, who pretended
-that he had lost his right arm. The deception at the first glance was
-perfect. His right sleeve hung loose at his side, and there appeared to
-be nothing left of his arm but a short stump. On being examined at the
-police office, his arm was found strapped to his side, and the stump
-turned out to be a stuffing of bran. Another man simulated a broken
-leg by doubling up that limb and strapping his foot and ankle to his
-thigh. Paralysis is frequently simulated with success until the actor
-is brought before the police surgeon, when the cheat is immediately
-detected.
-
-
-A BLIND BEGGAR.
-
-A blind beggar, led by a dog, whom I accosted in the street, made
-the following voluntary statement. I should mention that he seemed
-very willing to answer my questions, and while he was talking kept
-continually feeling my clothes with his finger and thumb. The object of
-this, I fancy, must have been to discover whether I was what persons of
-his class call a “gentleman” or a poor man. Whether he had any thoughts
-of my being an officer I cannot say.
-
-“I am sixty years of age: you wouldn’t think it, perhaps, but I am.
-No, I was not born blind; I lost my sight in the small-pox, five and
-twenty years ago. I have been begging on the streets eighteen years.
-Yes, my dog knows the way home. How did I teach him that? why, when I
-had him first, the cabmen and busmen took him out to Camden Town, and
-Westminster, and other places, and then let him go. He soon learnt to
-find his way home. No, he is not the dog I had originally; that one
-died; he was five and twenty years old when he died. Yes, that was a
-very old age for a dog. I had this one about five years ago. Don’t get
-as much as I used to do? No, no, my friend. I make about a shilling
-a-day, never--scarcely never--more, sometimes less--a good deal less;
-but some folks are very kind to me. I live at Poole’s-place, Mount
-Pleasant. There are a good many engineers about there, and their wives
-are very kind to me; they have always a halfpenny for me when I go that
-way. I have my beats. I don’t often come down this way (Gower-street),
-only once a month. I always keep on this side of Tottenham Court-road;
-I never go over the road; my dog knows that. I am going down there,”
-(pointing); “that’s Chenies-street. Oh, I know where I am: next turning
-to the right is Alfred-street, the next to the left is Francis-street,
-and when I get to the end of that the dog will stop; but I know as well
-as him. Yes, he’s a good dog, but never the dog I used to have; he used
-always to stop when there was anybody near, and pull when there was
-nobody. He was what I call a steady dog, this one is young and foolish
-like; he stops sometimes dead, and I goes on talking, thinking there is
-a lady or gentleman near; but it’s only other dogs that he’s stopping
-to have a word with. No, no, no, sir.” This he said when I dropped some
-more coppers into his hat, having previously given him a penny. “I
-don’t want that. I think I know your voice, sir; I’m sure I’ve heard
-it before. No! ah, then I’m mistaken.” Here again he felt my coat and
-waistcoat with an inquiring touch: apparently satisfied, he continued,
-“I’ll tell you, sir, what I wouldn’t tell to every one; I’ve as nice a
-little place at Mount Pleasant as you would desire to see. You wouldn’t
-think I was obliged to beg if you saw it. Why, sir, I beg many times
-when I’ve as much as sixteen shillings in my pocket; leastwise not in
-my pocket, but at home. Why you see, sir, there’s the winter months
-coming on, and I lays by what I can against the wet days, when I can’t
-go out. There’s no harm in that, sir. Well, now, sir, I’ll tell you:
-there’s a man up there in Sussex-street that I know, and he said to me
-just now, as I was passing the public house, ‘Come in, John, and have a
-drop of something.’ ‘No, thank ye,’ says I, ‘I don’t want drink; if you
-want to give me anything give me the money.’ ‘No,’ says he, ‘I won’t
-do that, but if you come in and have something to drink I’ll give you
-sixpence.’ Well, sir, I wouldn’t go. It wouldn’t do, you know, for the
-likes of me, a blind man getting his living by begging, to be seen in
-a public-house; the people wouldn’t know, sir, whether it was my money
-that was paying for it or not. I never go into a public-house; I has my
-drop at home. Oh, yes, I am tired--tired of it; but I’ll tell you, sir,
-I think I’ll get out of it soon. Do you know how that is, sir? Well,
-I think I shall get on to Day and Martin’s Charity in October; I’m
-promised votes, and I’m in hopes this time. God bless you, sir.”
-
-There was for many years in the city a blind man with a dog, who was
-discovered to be a rank impostor. The boys found it out long before
-the police did. They used to try and take the money out of the little
-basket that the dog carried in his mouth, but they never succeeded. The
-moment a boy approached the basket the blind man ran at him with his
-stick, which proved, of course, that the fellow could see. Some of my
-readers may recollect seeing in the papers an account of a respectable
-young girl who ran away from her home and took up with this blind man.
-She cohabited with him, in fact, and it was found that they lived in
-extravagance and luxury on the blind beggar’s daily takings.
-
-
-BEGGARS SUBJECT TO FITS
-
-are impostors, I may say, wholly without exception. Some of them are
-the associates and agents of thieves, and fall down in the street
-in assumed fits in order to collect a crowd and afford a favourable
-opportunity to the pickpockets, with whom they are in league. The
-simulation of fits is no mean branch of the beggar’s art of deception.
-The various symptoms--the agitation of the muscles, the turning up of
-the whites of the eyes, the pallor of the face and the rigidity of
-the mouth and jaw--are imitated to a nicety; and these symptoms are
-sometimes accompanied by copious frothing at the mouth. I asked Mr.
-Horsford, of the Mendicity Society, how this was done, and received
-the laconic answer--“Soap.” And this brought to my memory that I had
-once seen an actor charge his mouth with a small piece of soap to
-give due _vraissemblance_ to the last scene of _Sir Giles Overreach_.
-I was shown an old woman who was in the habit of falling down in
-assumed fits simply to get brandy. She looked very aged and poor, and
-I was told she generally had her fits when some well-dressed gentleman
-was passing with a lady on his arm. She generally chose the scene of
-her performance close to the door of a public-house, into which some
-compassionate person might conveniently carry her. She was never heard
-to speak in her fits except to groan and mutter “brandy,” when that
-remedy did not appear to suggest itself to those who came to her aid.
-An officer said to me, “I have known that old woman have so many fits
-in the course of the day that she has been found lying in the gutter
-dead drunk from the effect of repeated restoratives. She has been
-apprehended and punished over and over again, but she returns to the
-old dodge the minute she gets out. She is on the parish; but she gets
-money as well as brandy by her shamming.”
-
-I have heard that there are persons who purposely fall into the
-Serpentine in order to be taken to the receiving-house of the Humane
-Society, and recovered with brandy. One man repeated the trick so often
-that at last the Society’s men refused to go to his aid. It is needless
-to say that he soon found his way out of the water unaided, when he saw
-that his dodge was detected.
-
-
-BEING IN A DECLINE.
-
-No form of poverty and misfortune is better calculated to move the
-hearts of the compassionate than this. You see crouching in a corner,
-a pale-faced, wan young man, apparently in the very last stage of
-consumption. His eyes are sunk in his head, his jaw drops, and you can
-almost see his bones through his pallid skin. He appears too exhausted
-to speak; he coughs at intervals, and places his hand on his chest
-as if in extreme pain. After a fit of coughing he pants pitifully,
-and bows his head feebly as if he were about to die on the spot. It
-will be noticed, however, as a peculiarity distinguishing nearly all
-these beggars, that the sufferers wear a white cloth bound round their
-heads overtopped by a black cap. It is this white cloth, coupled with
-a few slight artistic touches of colour to the face, that produces
-the interesting look of decline. Any person who is thin and of sallow
-complexion may produce the same effect by putting on a white night-cap,
-and applying a little pink colour round the eyes. It is the simple rule
-observed by comedians, when they make up for a sick man or a ghost.
-These beggars are all impostors; and they are now so well known to the
-police that they never venture to take up a fixed position during the
-day, but pursue their nefarious calling at night at public-houses and
-other resorts where they can readily make themselves scarce should an
-officer happen to spy them out.
-
-
-“SHALLOW COVES.”
-
-This is the slang name given to beggars who exhibit themselves in the
-streets half clad, especially in cold weather. There are a great many
-of these beggars in London, and they are enabled to ply their trade
-upon the sympathies of the public with very little check, owing to
-the fact that they mostly frequent quiet streets, and make a point
-of moving on whenever they see a policeman approaching. A notorious
-“shallow cove,” who frequents the neighbourhood of the Strand and St.
-Martin’s Lane, must be well known to many of my readers. His practice
-is to stand at the windows of bakers and confectioners, and gaze with
-an eager famished look at the bread and other eatables. His almost
-naked state, his hollow, glaring eye, like that of a famished dog, his
-long thin cheek, his matted hair, his repeated shrugs of uneasiness
-as if he were suffering from cold or vermin, present such a spectacle
-of wretchedness as the imagination could never conceive. He has no
-shirt, as you can see by his open breast; his coat is a thing of mere
-shreds; his trousers, torn away in picturesque jags at the knees, are
-his only other covering, except a dirty sodden-looking round-crowned
-brown felt hat, which he slouches over his forehead in a manner which
-greatly heightens his aspect of misery. I was completely taken in when
-I first saw this man greedily glaring in at a baker’s window in St.
-Martin’s Lane. I gave him twopence to procure a loaf, and waited to see
-him buy it, anxious to have the satisfaction of seeing him appease such
-extreme hunger as I had never--I thought--witnessed before. He did not
-enter the shop with the alacrity I expected. He seemed to hesitate,
-and presently I could see that he was casting stealthy glances at me.
-I remained where I was, watching him; and at last when he saw I was
-determined to wait, he entered the shop. I saw him speak to the woman
-at the counter and point at something; but he made no purchase, and
-came out without the bread, which I thought he would have devoured
-like a wolf, when he obtained the money to procure it. Seeing me still
-watching him, he moved away rapidly. I entered the shop, and asked if
-he had bought anything. “Not he, he don’t want any bread,” said the
-mistress of the shop, “I wish the police would lock him up, or drive
-him away from here, for he’s a regular nuisance. He pretends to be
-hungry, and then when people give him anything, he comes in here and
-asks if I can sell him any bits. He knows I won’t, and he don’t want
-’em. He is a regular old soldier, he is, sir.”
-
-I received confirmation of this account from Mr. Horsford, who said
-that the fellow had been sent to prison at least thirty times. The
-moment he gets out he resorts to his old practices. On one occasion,
-when he was taken, he had thirteen shillings in his pocket,--in
-coppers, sixpences and threepenny and fourpenny bits. Softhearted old
-ladies who frequent the pastry-cooks are his chief victims.
-
-“Shallow coves” have recently taken to Sunday begging. They go round
-the quiet streets in pairs, and sing psalm tunes during church hours.
-They walk barefooted, without hats, and expose their breasts to show
-that they have no under clothing.
-
-The “shallow cove” is a very pitiable sight in winter, standing half
-naked, with his bare feet on the cold stones. But give him a suit of
-clothes and shoes and stockings, and the next day he will be as naked
-and as wretched-looking as he is to-day. Nakedness and shivers are his
-stock in trade.
-
-
-FAMISHED BEGGARS.
-
-The famished beggars, that is, those who “make up” to look as if they
-were starving, pursue an infinite variety of dodges. The most common of
-all is to stand in some prominent place with a placard on the breast,
-bearing an inscription to the effect that the beggar is “starving,” or
-that he has “a large family entirely dependent upon him.” The appeal
-is sometimes made more forcible by its brevity, and the card bears the
-single word, “Destitute.” In every case where the beggar endeavours
-to convey starvation by his looks and dress it may be relied upon
-that he is an impostor, a lazy fellow, who prefers begging to work,
-because it requires less exertion and brings him more money. There are
-some, however,--blind men and old persons--who “stand pad,” that is
-to say, beg by the exhibition of a written or printed paper, who are
-not impostors; they are really poor persons who are incapacitated from
-work, and who beg from day to day to earn a living. But these beggars
-do not get up an appearance of being starved, and indeed some of them
-look very fat and comfortable.
-
-The beggars who chalk on the pavement “I am starving,” in a round
-scholastic hand, are not of this class. It does not require much
-reflection to discern the true character of such mendicants. As I have
-frequently had occasion to observe, the man who begs day after day, and
-counts his gains at the rate of from twelve to twenty shillings a week,
-cannot be starving. You pass one of these beggars in the morning, and
-you hear the coppers chinking on the pavement as they are thrown to him
-by the thoughtless or the credulous; you pass him again in the evening,
-and there is still the inscription “I am starving.” This beggar adds
-hypocrisy to his other vices. By his writing on the pavement he would
-give you to understand that he is too much ashamed to beg by word of
-mouth. As he crouches beside his inscription he hides his head. The
-writing, too, is a false pretence. “I am starving” is written in so
-good a hand that you are led to believe that the wretch before you has
-had a good education, that he has seen better days, and is now the
-victim of misfortune, perhaps wholly undeserved. It should be known,
-however, that many of these beggars cannot write at all; they could not
-write another sentence except “I am starving” if it were to save their
-lives. There are persons who teach the art of writing certain sentences
-to beggars, but their pupils learn to trace the letters mechanically.
-This is the case with the persons who draw in coloured chalk on the
-pavement. They can draw a mackerel, a broken plate, a head of Christ,
-and a certain stereotyped sea-view with a setting sun, but they cannot
-draw anything else, and these they trace upon a principle utterly
-unknown to art. There is one beggar of this class who frequents the
-King’s-Cross end of the New Road, who writes his specimens backwards,
-and who cannot do it any other way. He covers a large flag-stone with
-“copies” in various hands, and they are all executed in the true
-“copper-plate” style. They are all, however, written backwards.
-
-The distinction made by the magistrates and the police between those
-who draw coloured views and those who merely write “I am starving”
-in white chalk, exhibits a nicety of discrimination which is not a
-little amusing. When the officers of the Mendicity Society first began
-to enforce their powers with rigour (in consequence of the alarming
-increase of mendicancy) they arrested these flag-stone artists with
-others. The magistrates, however, showed an unwillingness to commit
-them, and at length it was laid down as a rule that these men should
-not be molested unless they obstructed a thoroughfare or created a
-disturbance. This decision was grounded upon the consideration that
-these street artists did some actual work for the money they received
-from the public; they drew a picture and exhibited it, and might
-therefore be fairly regarded as pursuing an art. So the chalkers of
-mackerel were placed in the category of privileged street exhibitors.
-The “I am starving” dodge, however, has been almost entirely suppressed
-by the persevering activity of Mr. Horsford and his brother officers of
-the Mendicity Society.
-
-One of the latest devices of famished beggars which has come under my
-notice I shall denominate
-
-
-THE CHOKING DODGE.
-
-A wretched-looking man, in a state of semi-nudity, having the
-appearance of being half starved and exhausted, either from want
-of food or from having walked a long way, sat down one day on the
-door-step of the house opposite mine. I was struck by his wretched
-and forlorn appearance, and particularly by his downcast looks. It
-seemed as if misery had not only worn him to the bone, but had crushed
-all his humanity out of him. He was more like a feeble beast, dying
-of exhaustion and grovelling in the dust, than a man. Presently he
-took out a crust of dry bread and attempted to eat it. It was easy
-to see that it was a hard crust, as hard as stone, and dirty, as if
-it had lain for some days in the street. The wretch gnawed at it as
-a starved dog gnaws at a bone. The crust was not only hard, but the
-beggar’s jaws seemed to want the power of mastication. It seemed as
-if he had hungered so long that food was now too late. At length he
-managed to bite off a piece; but now another phase of his feebleness
-was manifested--he could not swallow it. He tried to get it down, and
-it stuck in his throat. You have seen a dog with a bone in his throat,
-jerking his head up and down in his effort to swallow: that was the
-action of this poor wretch on the door-step. I could not but be moved
-by this spectacle, and I opened the window and called to the man. He
-took no heed of me. I called again. Still no heed; misery had blunted
-all his faculties. He seemed to desire nothing but to sit there and
-choke. I went over to him, and, tapping him on the shoulder, gave him
-twopence, and told him to go to the public house and get some beer to
-wash down his hard meal. He rose slowly, gave me a look of thanks, and
-went away in the direction of the tavern. He walked more briskly than I
-could have conceived possible in his case, and something prompted me to
-watch him. I stood at my door looking after him, and when he got near
-the public-house he turned round. I knew at once that he was looking
-to see if I were watching him. The next minute he turned aside as if
-to enter the public-house. The entrance stood back from the frontage
-of the street, and I could not tell, from where I stood, whether he
-had gone into the house or not. I crossed to the other side, where I
-could see him without being noticed. He had not entered the house, but
-was standing by the door. When he had stood there for a few minutes he
-peeped out cautiously, and looked down the street towards the place
-where he had left me. Being apparently satisfied that all was right, he
-emerged from the recess and walked on. I was now determined to watch
-him further. I had not long to wait for conclusive evidence of the
-imposture which I now more than suspected. The man walked slowly along
-until he saw some persons at a first-floor window, when he immediately
-sat down on a door-step opposite and repeated the elaborate performance
-with the hard crust which I have already described. This I saw him do
-four times before he left the street, in each case getting money. It is
-needless to say that this fellow was a rank impostor. One of his class
-was apprehended some time ago--it might have been this very man--and no
-less than seven shillings were found upon him. These men frequent quiet
-bye-streets, and never, or rarely, beg in the busy thoroughfares. I
-will give another case, which I shall call
-
-
-THE OFFAL-EATER.
-
-The most notable instance of this variety of the famished beggars which
-has come under my notice is that of a little old man who frequents the
-neighbourhood of Russell-square. I have known him now for two years,
-and I have seen him repeat his performance at least a score of times.
-The man has the appearance of a cutler. He wears a very old and worn,
-but not ragged, velveteen coat with large side pockets, a pair of
-sailor’s blue trousers a good deal patched, a very, very bad pair of
-shoes, and a chimney-pot hat, which seems to have braved the wind and
-rain for many years, been consigned to a dust-bin, and then recovered
-for wear. He is below the average height, and appears to be about
-seventy years of age. This little old man makes his appearance in my
-street about eleven o’clock in the forenoon. He walks down the pavement
-listlessly, rubbing his hands and looking about him on every side in a
-vacant bewildered manner, as if all the world were strange to him, and
-he had no home, no friend, and no purpose on the face of the earth.
-Every now and then he stops and turns his face towards the street,
-moving himself uneasily in his clothes, as if he were troubled with
-vermin. All this time he is munching and mumbling some food in a manner
-suggestive of a total want of teeth. As he pauses he looks about as if
-in search of something. Presently you see him pick up a small piece
-of bread which has been thrown out to the sparrows. He wipes it upon
-his velveteen coat and begins to eat it. It is a long process. He will
-stand opposite your window for full ten minutes mumbling that small
-piece of bread, but he never looks up to inspire compassion or charity;
-he trusts to his pitiful mumblings to produce the desired effect, and
-he is not disappointed. Coppers are flung to him from every window,
-and he picks them up slowly and listlessly, as if he did not expect
-such aid, and scarcely knew how to apply it. I have given him money
-several times, but that does not prevent him from returning again and
-again to stand opposite my windows and mumble crusts picked out of the
-mud in the streets. One day I gave him a lump of good bread, but in an
-hour after I found him in an adjacent street exciting charity in the
-usual way. This convinced me that he was an artful systematic beggar,
-and this impression was fully confirmed on my following him into a low
-beer-shop in St. Giles’s and finding him comfortably seated with his
-feet up in a chair, smoking a long pipe, and discussing a pot of ale.
-He knew me in a moment, dropped his feet from the chair, and tried to
-hide his pipe. Since that occasion he has never come my way.
-
-
-PETTY TRADING BEGGARS.
-
-This is perhaps the most numerous class of beggars in London. Their
-trading in such articles as lucifers, boot-laces, cabbage-nets, tapes,
-cottons, shirt-buttons, and the like, is in most cases a mere “blind”
-to evade the law applying to mendicants and vagrants. There are very
-few of the street vendors of such petty articles as lucifers and
-shirt-buttons who can make a living from the profits of their trade.
-Indeed they do not calculate upon doing so. The box of matches, or the
-little deal box of cottons, is used simply as a passport to the resorts
-of the charitable. The police are obliged to respect the trader, though
-they know very well that under the disguise of the itinerant merchant
-there lurks a beggar.
-
-Beggars of this class use their trade to excite compassion and obtain
-a gift rather than to effect a sale. A poor half-clad wretch stands by
-the kerb exposing for sale a single box of matches, the price being
-“only a halfpenny.” A charitable person passes by and drops a halfpenny
-or a penny into the poor man’s hand, and disdains to take the matches.
-In this way a single box will be sufficient for a whole evening’s
-trading, unless some person should insist upon an actual “transaction,”
-when the beggar is obliged to procure another box at the nearest
-oilman’s. There are very few articles upon which an actual profit is
-made by legitimate sale. Porcelain shirt-buttons, a favourite commodity
-of the petty trading beggars, would not yield the price of a single
-meal unless the seller could dispose of at least twenty dozen in a day.
-Cottons, stay-laces, and the like, can now be obtained so cheaply at
-the shops, that no one thinks of buying these articles in the streets
-unless it be in a charitable mood. Almost the only commodities in which
-a legitimate trade is carried on by the petty traders of the streets
-are flowers, songs, knives, combs, braces, purses, portmonnaies. The
-sellers of knives, combs, &c., are to a certain extent legitimate
-traders, and do not calculate upon charity. They are cheats, perhaps,
-but not beggars. The vendors of flowers and songs, though they really
-make an effort to sell their goods, and often realize a tolerable
-profit, are nevertheless beggars, and trust to increase their earnings
-by obtaining money without giving an equivalent. A great many children
-are sent out by their parents to sell flowers during the summer and
-autumn. They find their best market in the bars of public-houses,
-and especially those frequented by prostitutes. If none else give
-prostitutes a good character, the very poor do. “I don’t know what
-we should do but for them,” said an old beggar-woman to me one day.
-“They are good-hearted souls--always kind to the poor. I hope God will
-forgive them.” I have had many examples of this sympathy for misfortune
-and poverty on the part of the fallen women of the streets. A fellow
-feeling no doubt makes them wondrous kind. They know what it is to be
-cast off, and spurned, and despised; they know, too, what it is to
-starve, and, like the beggars, they are subject to the stern “move on”
-of the policeman.
-
-The relations which subsist between the prostitutes and the beggars
-reveal some curious traits. Beggars will enter a public-house because
-they see some women at the bar who will assist their suit. They offer
-their little wares to some gentlemen at the bar, and the women will
-say, “Give the poor devil something,” or “buy bouquets for us,” or if
-the commodity should be laces or buttons, they say, “Don’t take the
-poor old woman’s things; give her the money.” And the gentlemen, just
-to show off, and appear liberal, do as they are told. Possibly, but
-for the pleading of their gay companions, they would have answered
-the appeal with a curse and gruff command to begone. I once saw an
-old woman kiss a bedizened prostitute’s hand, in real gratitude for
-a service of this kind. I don’t know that I ever witnessed anything
-more touching in my life. The woman, who a few minutes before had been
-flaunting about the bar in the reckless manner peculiar to her class,
-was quite moved by the old beggar’s act, and I saw a tear mount in her
-eye and slowly trickle down her painted cheek, making a white channel
-through the rouge as it fell. But in a moment she dashed it away, and
-the next was flaunting and singing as before. Prostitutes are afraid to
-remain long under the influence of good thoughts. They recal their days
-of innocence, and overpower them with an intolerable sadness--a sadness
-which springs of remorse. The gay women assume airs of patronage
-towards the beggars, and as such are looked up to; but a beggar-woman,
-however poor, and however miserable, if she is conscious of being
-virtuous, is always sensible of her superiority in that respect. She is
-thankful for the kindness of the “gay lady,” and extols her goodness of
-heart; but she pities while she admires, and mutters as a last word,
-“May God forgive her.” Thus does one touch of nature make all the world
-akin, and thus does virtue survive all the buffets of evil fortune to
-raise even a beggar to the level of the most worthy, and be a treasure
-dearer and brighter than all the pleasures of the world.
-
-The sellers of flowers and songs are chiefly boys and young girls. They
-buy their flowers in Covent Garden, when the refuse of the market is
-cleared out, and make them up into small bouquets, which they sell for
-a penny. When the flower season is over they sell songs--those familiar
-productions of Ryle, Catnach and company, which, it is said, the great
-Lord Macaulay was wont to collect and treasure up as collateral
-evidences of history. Some of the boys who pursue this traffic are
-masters of all the trades that appertain to begging. I have traced one
-boy, by the identifying mark of a most villanous squint, through a
-career of ten years. When I first saw him he was a mere child of about
-four years of age. His mother sent him with a ragged little girl (his
-sister) into public-house bars to beg. Their diminutive size attracted
-attention and excited charity. By-and-by, possibly in consequence of
-the interference of the police, they carried pennyworths of flowers
-with them, at other times matches, and at others halfpenny sheets of
-songs. After this the boy and the girl appeared dressed in sailor’s
-costume, (both as boys,) and sung duets. I remember that one of the
-duets, which had a spoken part, was not very decent; the poor children
-evidently did not understand what they said; but the thoughtless people
-at the bar laughed and gave them money. By-and-by the boy became too
-big for this kind of work, and I next met him selling fuzees. After
-the lapse of about a year he started in the shoe-black line. His
-station was at the end of Endell Street, near the baths; but as he did
-not belong to one of the regularly organized brigades, he was hunted
-about by the police, and could not make a living. On the death of the
-crossing-sweeper at the corner he succeeded to that functionary’s
-broom, and in his new capacity was regarded by the police as a useful
-member of society. The last time I saw him he was in possession of
-a costermonger’s barrow selling mackerel. He had grown a big strong
-fellow, but I had no difficulty in identifying the little squinting
-child, who begged, and sold flowers and songs in public-house bars,
-with the strong loud-lunged vendor of mackerel. I suppose this young
-beggar may be said to have pursued an honourable career, and raised
-himself in the world. Many who have such an introduction to life finish
-their course in a penal settlement.
-
-There are not a few who assume the appearance of petty traders for the
-purpose of committing thefts, such as picking a gentleman’s pocket when
-he is intoxicated, and slinking into parlours to steal bagatelle balls.
-Police spies occasionally disguise themselves as petty traders. There
-is a well-known man who goes about with a bag of nuts, betting that
-he will tell within two how many you take up in your hand. This man
-is said to be a police spy. I have not been able to ascertain whether
-this is true or not; but I am satisfied that the man does not get
-his living by his nut trick. In the day-time he appears without his
-nuts, dressed in a suit of black, and looking certainly not unlike a
-policeman in mufti.
-
-Among the petty trading beggars there are a good many idiots and
-half-witted creatures, who obtain a living--and a very good one too--by
-dancing in a grotesque and idiotic manner on the pavement to amuse
-children. Some of them are not such idiots as they appear, but assume a
-half-witted appearance to give oddness to their performance, and excite
-compassion for their misfortune. The street boys are the avengers of
-this imposition upon society.
-
-The idiot performer has a sad life of it when the boys gather about
-him. They pull his clothes, knock off his hat, and pelt him with lime
-and mud. But this persecution sometimes redounds to his advantage; for
-when the grown-up folks see him treated thus, they pity him the more.
-These beggars always take care to carry something to offer for sale.
-Halfpenny songs are most commonly the merchandise.
-
-The little half-witted Italian man who used to go about grinding an
-organ that “had no inside to it,” as the boys said, was a beggar of
-this class, and I really think he traded on his constant persecution by
-the _gamins_. Music, of course, he made none, for there was only one
-string left in his battered organ; but he always acted so as to convey
-the idea that the boys had destroyed his instrument. He would turn away
-at the handle in a desperate way, as if he were determined to spare no
-effort to please his patrons; but nothing ever came of it but a feeble
-tink-a-tink at long intervals. If his organ could at any time have been
-spoiled, certainly the boys might have done it; for their great delight
-was to put stones in it, and batter in its deal back with sticks. I am
-informed that this man had a good deal more of the rogue than of the
-fool in his composition. A gentleman offered to have his organ repaired
-for him; but he declined; and at length when the one remaining string
-gave way he would only have that one mended. It was his “dodge” to
-grind the air, and appear to be unconscious that he was not discoursing
-most eloquent music.
-
-Tract-selling in the streets is a line peculiar to the Hindoos. I find
-that the tracts are given to them by religious people, and that they
-are bought by religious people, who are not unfrequently the very same
-persons who provided the tracts. Very few petty trading beggars take
-to tract-selling from their own inspiration; for in good sooth it does
-not pay, except when conducted on the principle I have just indicated.
-Some find it convenient to exhibit tracts simply to evade the law
-applying to beggars and vagrants; but they do not use them if they
-can procure a more popular article. In these remarks it is very far
-from my intention to speak of “religious people” with any disrespect.
-I merely use the expression “religious people” to denote those who
-employ themselves actively and constantly in disseminating religious
-publications among the people. Their motives and their efforts are most
-praiseworthy, and my only regret is that their labours are not rewarded
-by a larger measure of success.
-
-
-AN AUTHOR’S WIFE.
-
-In the course of my inquiry into the habits, condition, and mode of
-life of the petty trading beggars of London, I met with a young woman
-who alleged that the publications she sold were the production of her
-husband. I encountered her at the bar of a tavern, where I was occupied
-in looking out for “specimens” of the class of beggars, which I am now
-describing. She entered the bar modestly and with seeming diffidence.
-She had some printed sheets in her hand. I asked her what they were.
-She handed me a sheet. It was entitled the _Pretty Girls of London_.
-It was only a portion of the work, and on the last page was printed
-“to be continued.” “Do you bring this out in numbers?” I asked. “Yes,
-sir,” she replied, “it is written by my husband, and he is continuing
-it from time to time.” “Are you then his publisher?” I inquired. “Yes,
-sir, my husband is ill a-bed, and I am obliged to go out and sell his
-work for him?” I looked through the sheet, and I saw that it was not a
-very decent work. “Have you ever read this?” I enquired. “Oh yes, sir,
-and I think it’s very clever; don’t you think so, sir?” It certainly
-was written with some little ability, and I said so; but I objected to
-its morality. Upon which she replied, “But it’s what takes, sir.” She
-sold several copies while I was present, at twopence each; but one or
-two gave her fourpence and sixpence. As she was leaving I made further
-inquiries about her husband. She said he was an author by profession,
-and had seen better days. He was very ill, and unable to work. I asked
-her, to give me his address as I might be of some assistance to him.
-This request seemed to perplex her; and at length she said, she was
-afraid her husband would not like to see me; he was very proud. I have
-since ascertained that this author’s pretty little wife is a dangerous
-impostor. She lives, or did live at the time I met her, at the back of
-Clare Market, with a man (not her husband) who was well known to the
-police as a notorious begging-letter writer. He was not the author of
-anything but those artful appeals, with forged signatures, of which
-I have given specimens under the heading of “Screevers.” I was also
-assured by an officer that the pretended author’s wife had on one
-occasion been concerned in decoying a young man to a low lodging near
-Lincoln’s Inn Fields, where the unsuspecting youth was robbed and
-maltreated.
-
-
-DEPENDANTS OF BEGGARS.
-
-The dependants of beggars may be divided into screevers proper; i.e.,
-writers of “slums and fakements” for those who live by “screeving,”
-and referees, or those who give characters to professional beggars
-when references are required. Beggars are generally born and bred to
-the business. Their fathers and mothers were beggars before them, and
-they have an hereditary right to the calling. The exceptions to this
-rule are those who have fallen into mendicancy, and follow it from
-necessity, and those who have flown to it in a moment of distress, and
-finding it more lucrative than they supposed, adopted it from choice.
-Hence it follows that the majority are entirely destitute of education;
-and by education I mean the primary arts of reading and writing. Where
-there is demand there is supply, and the wants of mendicants who
-found their account in “pads,” and “slums,” and “fakements,” created
-“screevers.”
-
-The antecedents of the screever are always more or less--and generally
-more--disreputable. He has been a fraudulent clerk imprisoned for
-embezzlement; or a highly-respected treasurer to a philanthropic
-society, who has made off with the funds entrusted to him; or a petty
-forger, whose family have purchased silence, and “hushed up” a scandal;
-or, more frequently, that most dangerous of convicts, the half-educated
-convict--who has served his time or escaped his bonds.
-
-Too proud to beg himself, or, more probably, too well known to the
-police to dare face daylight; ignorant of any honest calling, or too
-idle to practise it; without courage to turn thief or informer; lazy,
-dissolute, and self-indulgent, the screever turns his little education
-to the worst of purposes, and prepares the forgery he leaves the more
-fearless cadger to utter.
-
- * * * * *
-
-The following are specimens of the screever’s work, copied from the
-original documents in the possession of Mr. Horsford, of the Mendicity
-Society:--
-
- “Parish of Battersea;
- County of Surrey.
-
- “This memorial sheweth that Mr. Alexander Fyfe, a native of Port
- Glasgow N.B. and for several years carrying on the business of a
- NURSERY and SEEDSMAN in this parish, became security for his son
- in law Andrew Talfour of Bay st. Port Glasgow who in October last
- privately disposed of his effects and absconded to the colonies,
- leaving his wife and six children totally unprovided for and the
- said Mr. Alexander Fyfe responsible for the sum of £1350. the sudden
- reverse of fortune together with other domestic afflictions so preyed
- on the mind of Mr. Fyfe that he is now an inmate of a LUNATIC ASYLUM.
-
- “The said Mr. Fyfe together with his family have hitherto maintained
- the character of HONESTY and INDUSTRY in consideration of which I
- have been earnestly solicited by a few Benevolent persons to draw up
- this statement on behalf of the bereaved family. I have therefore
- taken on myself the responsibillity of so doing trusting those whom
- Providence has given the means will lend their timely aid in rescuing
- a respectable family from the ruin that inevitably awaits them.
-
- “GIVEN under my Hand at the VESTRY in the aforesaid parish of
- Battersea and County of Surrey this Twenty-Fourth day of February in
- the year of Our Lord 1851.”
-
- John Thomas Freeman, £3
- Vestry Clerk,
-
- J. S. Jenkinson £5 0 0
- Vicar of Battersea.
- Watson and Co. £5
- John Forster & Co. £5
- Revd. J. Twining 2 2
- Alderman J. Humphery 5
- Sir George Pollock 5
-
- Southlands.
- £.
- Henry Mitton 2
- Wm. Downs 2
- Oak wharf.
- Mrs. Broadley Wilson 1
- Sir Henry B. Houghton £5
- Mrs. Adm^l Colin Campbell 1 1
- Col. J. Mc Donall £5 paid.
- Anonymous 2
- Mrs. Col. Forbes £3
- Col. W. Mace paid 5
- P. H. Gillespie 5
- Minister of the Scotch Church
- Battersea Rise
- 3d March /51
- Messrs. Moffat, Gillespie & Co. 5 pd.
-
-My readers will perceive that the above document is written in a
-semi-legal style, with a profuse amount of large capitals, and minute
-particularity in describing localities, though here and there an
-almost ostentatious indifference exists upon the same points. Thus
-we are told that the parish of Battersea is in the county of Surrey,
-and that Port Glasgow is in North Britain, while on the other hand we
-are only informed that the absconding Andrew Talfour, of Bay Street,
-Port Glasgow, N.B., made off to the _colonies_, which, considering
-the vast extent of our colonial possessions, is vague, to say the
-least of it. It must also be allowed that, the beginning the word
-“benevolent” in the second paragraph with a capital B is equally to
-the credit of the writer’s head and heart. It is odd that after having
-spelt “responsible” so correctly, the writer should have indulged
-a playful fancy with “responsibi_ll_ity;” but perhaps trifling
-orthographical lapses may be in keeping with the assumed character of
-vestry-clerk. Critically speaking, the weak point of this composition
-is its punctuation; its strong point the concluding paragraph, “the
-GIVEN under my hand at the VESTRY,” which carries with it the double
-weight of a royal proclamation, and the business-like formality of an
-Admiralty contract; but the composition and caligraphy are trifles--the
-real genius lies in the signatures.
-
-I wish my readers could see the names attached to this “Memorial” as
-they lay before me. The first, “J. S. Jenkinson,” is written in the
-most clerical of hands; “Watson and Co.” is round and commercial; “John
-Forster & Co.” the same; the “Revd J. Twining” scholarly and easy;
-“Alderman J. Humphery” stiff and upright. These names are evidently
-copied from the Red Book and Directory; some are purely fictitious;
-many are cleverly executed forgeries.
-
-The ingenuity of the concocter and compiler--of the sympathiser with
-the woes of Mr. Alexander Fyfe of Port Glasgow, N.B.--was exercised
-in vain. The imposture was detected; he was taken to a police-court,
-condemned, and sentenced.
-
-Here is the case of another unfortunate Scotchman from the pen of the
-same gifted author. The handwriting, the wording, the capitals, and
-the N.B.’s, are identical with those of the warm-hearted vestry-clerk
-of Battersea.
-
- “These are to certify that Mr. Alexr. Malcolm Ship-Owner and General
- Merchant, was on his passage from FRASERBURGH. ABERDEENSHIRE. N.B.
- on the night of the 3d. inst when his vessel the Susan and Mary of
- Fraserburgh laden with Corn was run down by a “steamer name unknown”
- the Crew consisting of Six persons narrowly escaping with their lives.
-
- “Mr. Malcolm sustained a loss of property by the appalling event to
- the amount of £370. and being a person of exemplary character with a
- numerous family entirely depending upon him for support his case has
- excited the greatest sympathy, it has therefore been proposed by a few
- of his friends to enter into a subscription on his behalf with a view
- of raising by voluntary contributions a sufficient sum to release him
- from his present embarrassed situation.
-
- “I have known him for several years a constant trader to this wharf,
- and consider him worthy of every sympathy.”
-
- Leith and Glasgow Wharf} Joseph Adams £5 0 0
- London May 6th. 1847 } Geo. Carroll 5
- A. Nichol & Sons pd. 5
- P. Laurie 5
- Vivian & Sons 3
- J. H. Petty 2 pd
- Messrs. Drummond £5 pd.
- Cranford Colvin & Co. £3
- Baring Brothers 5
- Curries & Co. 3
- Jono. Price 5 5
- Reid, Irving & Co. £5
-
-The signatures attached to this are imitations of the handwriting of
-various firms, each distinct, individual, and apparently genuine.
-
-The next “screeve” takes the form of a resolution at a public meeting:--
-
- “Notting-Hill, District
- Parish of Kensington
- August 6th, 1857
-
- “The Gentry and Clergy of this neighbourhood will no doubt remember
- that the late Mr. Edward Wyatt, (for many years a respectable
- tradesman in this parish) died in embarrassed circumstances in 1855,
- leaving a Widow and Seven Children totally unprovided for, the eldest
- of whom a fine Girl 19 years of age having been a Cripple from her
- Birth has received a liberal education and is considered a competent
- person to superintend a SEMINARY for the tuition of young females
- which would materially assist her Mother in supporting a numerous
- family.
-
- “A meeting was convened on Monday evening the 3rd inst (the Revd J. P.
- Gall, Incumbent of St. Johns, in the Chair) when it was unanimously
- proposed to enter into a subscription with a view of raising by
- voluntary contributions the sum of £40 in order to establish the
- afflicted girl in this praiseworthy undertaking, I have been
- instructed by the Parochial Authorities to draw up this statement and
- therefore take upon myself the responsibility of so doing knowing the
- case to be one meriting sympathy.
-
- “Signed
- By order of the Chairman
- Reuben Green
- Vestry Clerk”
-
- Subscriptions received }
- at the Meeting, }
- £11 13 6 }
-
- Revd J. P. Gill £1 0 0
- Mrs. W. Money 10 0 pd
- Chushington £1
- Mrs Coventry paid 10/
- J. & W. S. Huntley }
- Addison Terrace } pd 1 1
- Notting Hill }
- Mrs. Cribb pd 5 0
- The Misses Shorland 7 6
- Mrs Harris 5 0
- Miss Hall Lansdowne Crescent 10/
- W. Atkinson pd 5 0
- Thos Jacomb 5 0
- Miss J. Robertson paid 5 0
- The Misses Howard 5 0
-
-The above letter is written in a better style than those preceding
-it. Great talent is exhibited in the imitations of “lady’s-hand.”
-The signatures “Mrs. Coventry,” “Mrs. Cribb,” “The Misses Howard,”
-and “Mrs. Harris” (surely this screever must have been familiar with
-the works of Dickens), are excellently done, but are surpassed by
-the clever execution of the letters forming the names, “The Misses
-Shorland” and “Miss Hall Lansdowne Crescent,” which are masterpieces of
-feminine caligraphy.
-
-The following note was sent to its address, accompanied by a memorial
-in one of the House of Commons envelopes, but the faulty grammar,
-so unlike the style in which a member of Parliament ought to write,
-betrayed it.
-
- “Committee Room No. 3
- House of Commons
-
- “Mr. J. Whatman presents his respectful compliments to the Revd. W.
- Smith Marriott at the earnest request of the poor families (whose
- case will be fully explained on perusal of the accompanying document
- in the bearer’s possession), begs to submit it for that gentlemen’s
- charitable consideration.
-
- “The persons whom this concerns are natives of Cranbrook Gondhurst,
- Brenchley &c and bears unexceptionable characters, they have the
- honor of knowing Mr. Marriott at Worsmorden and trust he will add his
- signature to the list of subscribers, for which favour they will feel
- grateful.
-
- “J. Whatman takes more than ordinary interest in this case having a
- knowledge of its authenticity, he therefore trusts that the motives
- which actuates him in complying with the request will be deemed a
- sufficient apology.
-
- Friday Evening
- May 28, 1858”
-
- “This Memorial sheweth that Mr. Henry Shepherd a General Carrier
- from EWELL, CHEAM, SUTTON &c. to LONDON VIA Mitchem, Morden, Tooting
- and Clapham, was returning home on the Evening of Thursday the 26th
- inst when near the Elephant and Castle, his Horse took fright at
- a Band of street Musicians and ran off at a furious pace, the Van
- coming in contact with a Timber carriage was dashed to pieces, the
- Animal received such injuries as caused its death, and Mr. SHEPHERD
- endeavouring to save the property entrusted to his care for delivery
- had his Right Leg fractured and is now an inmate of GUYS HOSPITAL.
-
- “On further investigation We find his loss exceeds £70. and knowing
- him to be an Industrious, Honest man, with a large family depending
- upon his exertions for support We earnestly beg leave to recommend
- his case to the notice of the Gentry and Clergy of his neighbourhood,
- trusting their united Donations in conjunction with our mutual
- assistance will release a deserving family from their present
- unfortunate position in life.
-
- “GIVEN under Our }
- Hands this 30th day of } £
- August in the Year of } William Harmer 2
- Our Lord 1858” }
-
- Geo. Stone Ewell £2
- Sir Geo. L. Glyn 2 2
- F. Gosling 2 2
- Revd W. H. Vernon £1
- Morton Stubbs 1 1
- Sutton
- Edmund Antrobus £2 2
- pd to Bearer
- 2d/9th/58
- W. R. G. Farmer £2 2
- pd.
- Revd. R. Bouchier £2 pd.
-
-My readers must admire the ingenuity of this letter. The _VIA_ Mitchem
-looks so formal and convincing. The grouping of the circumstances--the
-“local colouring,” as the critics would call it, which contributed
-to the ruin of the ill-fated general carrier Henry Shepherd--is
-excellent.--“Near the Elephant and Castle his horse took fright at a
-band of street musicians.” What more natural? “Ran off at a furious
-pace. The van, coming in contact with a timber carriage, was _dashed to
-pieces_. The Animal,” not the horse--that would have been tautological,
-and Animal with a capital A. “The Animal received such injuries as
-_caused its death_, and Mr. Shepherd, endeavouring to save the property
-entrusted to his care--.” Admirable man! Devoted carrier!--leaving
-his van to smash--his horse to perish as they might, that the goods
-confided to him might receive no hurt. “... endeavouring to save
-the property entrusted to his care for delivery, had his _right leg
-fractured_, and is now an inmate of Guy’s Hospital.”
-
-This is as well conceived and carried out as Sheridan’s pistol-bullet
-that misses its mark, “strikes a bronze Hercules in the mantel-piece,
-glances off through the window, and wounds the postman who was coming
-to the door with a double letter from Northamptonshire!”
-
-The word “Paid” and its abbreviation pd. is scattered here and there
-artistically among the subscriptions. A small note in a different hand,
-in a corner of the last page shows the fate of industry and talent
-misapplied. It runs:--
-
- “Taken from Thos. Shepherd, Sept. 13. Mansion House. Lord Mayor Sir A.
- Carden. Committed for 3 months.
-
- “J. W. HORSFORD.”
-
-The last instance I shall cite is peculiar, from the elaborate nature
-of the deception, and from containing a forgery of the signature of
-Lord Brougham. The screever, in this case, has taken a regularly
-printed Warrant, Execution, or Distress for Rent, filled it up with the
-name of Mrs. Julia Thompson, &c., and placed an imaginary inventory to
-a fictitious seizure. The word “Patent” is spelt “Pattent,” which might
-be allowable in a broker’s man, but when “Ewer” is written “Ure,” I
-think he is too hard upon the orthography peculiar to the officers of
-the Sheriff of Middlesex, particularly as it is evident from the rest
-of the filling-in of the form that the error is intentional. Not only
-law but science is invoked in aid of this capital case of sham real
-distress. “Pleuro-Pneumonia” looks veterinary and veracious enough to
-carry conviction to the hearts of the most sceptical.
-
- ~ Removing any goods off the premises to avoid a distress or any
- person aiding, assisting, or concealing the same, will subject
- themselves to double the value of such effects so removed or
- concealed, or suffer imprisonment in the House of Correction, there
- to be kept to hard labour without Bail or Mainprize for Six Months,
- pursuant to the Act 11th George 2nd.
-
- Sold by G. H. Beckford, Law Stationer, 122, Chancery Lane.~
-
-
- “TAKE NOTICE, That by the authority and on the behalf of your
- Landlord, Thos. Young, I have this Sixteenth day of April in the year
- of Our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six distrained the
- several goods and chattels specified in the Schedule or Inventory
- hereinunder written in
-
- 19 Praed Street
- in the Parish of
-
- Paddington in the County of Middlesex, for Twenty-nine pounds, being
- Twelve Months and arrears Rent due to the said Mr. Thos. Young
-
- at Ninth Febry last
-
- and if you shall not pay the said Twelve Months and Arrears Rent so
- due and in arrear as aforesaid together with the costs and charges
- of this distress or replevy the said goods and chattels within five
- days from the date hereof I shall cause the said goods and chattels to
- be appraised and sold, pursuant to the statute in that case made and
- provided.
-
- “Given under my hand the day and year above written.
-
- “J. W. RUSSELL.
-
- “Sworn Broker, &c.
-
- “To Mrs. Julia Thompson.”
-
- The Schedule or Inventory above referred to:--
-
- Mahogany Drawers
- Mahogany Dining Tables
- Six Mahogany Seated Chairs
- Two Arm Do. Do.
- One Eight-Day clock
- Six Oil Paintings Gilt Frames
- One Large Pier Glass
- Carpet and Hearthrug
- Fender and Fire-irons
- Quantity of Chimney Ornaments
- Six Kitchen Chairs
- One Long Table Deal
- One Large Copper Boiler
- Two Copper Kettles
- Pattent Mangle
- One Large Water Butt
- Two Washing Tubs
- 1-1/2 Doz. of Knifes and Forkes
- Quantity of Earthenware &c. &c.
- Two Feather Beds & Bedding
- One Flock Do Do.
- Two Mahogany Bedsteads
- One French Do
- Washhand stand Ure &c.
- Two Hair Mattresses
- Three Bedroom Chairs
- One set of Bedroom Carpeting
- Staircase Carpeting, Brass Rods &c.
- One Milch Cow
- One Cart Mare
- One Dung Cart
- One Wheelbarrow
- Three Cwt. of Hay
- Quantity of Manure
- And Sundry Dairy Utensils
- &c. &c. &c.
-
-On the back of this legal document is written:
-
- “This memorial sheweth that Mrs. Julia Thompson, widow, Cowkeeper and
- Dairywoman has since the demise of her husband which took place in
- 1849 supported a family consisting of six children by the assistance
- of a small Dairy the Pleuro-Pneumonia a disease Among Cattle has
- prevailed in the neighbourhood for several weeks during which time
- she has lost five Milch Cows estimated at £75. „ „ which will end in
- her entire ruin unless aided by the Hands of the Benevolent whose
- Donations in conjunction with Our mutual assistance will We trust
- enable Mrs. Thompson to realize some part of her lost property to
- follow her Business As before.
-
- H. Peters £3 3 0
- April 17th, 1856
- Chaplin & Horne £2
- Mrs. Gore 1
- Revd J. W. Buckley 2
- Revd John Miles 1
- Mrs. J. Shaw 2 paid
- C. Lushington 3 3
- W. H. Ormsby 2
- C. Molyneux 1
- Miss Ferrers 2 paid
- W. Emmitt 2 2
- Anonymous 2 0
- Misses Gregg 2 2
- Miss Browne 1
- J. B. White & Bros 3 pd
- Thos Slater 2
- W. T. Bird 2 pd.
- Miss Hamilton 3 paid
- Revd. J. A. Toole 2 paid
- Mr. Hopgood 2 Paid
- A Friend to the Widow 3 3
- Paid to Mr. Pegg
- Richd Green £2 pd
- Revd A. M. Campbell 3
- W. P. France 1
- W. M. N. Reilly 2 2
- Mrs. Forbes 2 pd
- R. Gurney 1
- J. Spurling 2 pd
- Geo. R. Ward 1
- Miss Brown 2
- Mrs Needham 2 Paid
- Mr Davidson £2
- Mrs. H. Scott Waring 3 3
- Mrs Hall 1 1
- Saml. Venables 2
- Revd. A. Taylor 1
- Revd. H. V. Le Bas 1
- Thomas Bunting 2 pd.
- Mrs & Miss Vullamy 3
- Revd. C. Smalley 5
- Miss Smalley 3
- Lord Brougham 2”
-
-The two most notorious “screevers” of the present day are Mr. Sullivan
-and Mr. Johnson of Westminster, or as he is proud of being called,
-“Johnson the Schemer.”
-
-
-REFEREES
-
-are generally keepers of low lodging-houses, brothels, &c., or small
-tradesmen who supply thieves and beggars with chandlery, &c. When
-applied to for the character of any of their friends and confederates,
-they give them an excellent recommendation--but are careful not to
-_overdo_ it. With that highest sort of artfulness that conceals
-artfulness, they know when to stop, and seldom or never betray
-themselves by saying too much.
-
-“Mrs. Simmons!” said one of them in answer to an application for
-character--“ah, yes, sir, I known her a good many years, and a very
-honest, hard-working, industrious, sober sort of a person I always
-knowed her to be, at least as far as _I_ see--I never see nothing wrong
-in the woman for _my_ part. The earliest-uppest, and downest-latest
-woman I ever see, and well she need be, with that family of hers--nine
-on ’em, and the eldest girl a idiot. When first I knew her, sir, her
-husband was alive, and then Susan--that’s the idiot, sir, were a babe
-in arms--her husband was a bad man to her, sir--the way that man drunk
-and spent his money among all the lowest girls and corner-coves was
-awful to see,--I mean by corner-coves them sort of men who is always a
-standing at the corners of the streets and chaffing respectable folks a
-passing by--we call them corner-coves about here; but as to poor Mrs.
-Simmons, sir, that husband of hers _tret_ her awful--though he’s dead
-and gone now, poor man, and perhaps I have no right to speak ill on the
-dead. He had some money with her too--two hundred pound I heard--her
-father was a builder in a small way--and lived out towards Fulham--a
-very deserving woman I always found her, sir, and I have helped her
-a little bit myself, not much of course, for my circumstances would
-not allow of it; I’ve a wife and family myself--and I have often been
-wishful I could help her more, but what can a man do as has to pay
-his rent and taxes, and bring up his family respectable? When her last
-baby but two had the ring-worm we helped her now and then with a loaf
-of bread--poor thing--it ran right through the family, that ring-worm
-did--six on ’em had it at the same time, she told us--and then they
-took the measles--the most unluckiest family in catching things as goes
-about I never saw--but as to Mrs. Simmons herself, sir, poor thing--a
-more hard-workinger and honester woman I never, &c., &c., &c.”
-
-
-DISTRESSED OPERATIVE BEGGARS.
-
-All beggars are ingenious enough to make capital of public events.
-They read the newspapers, judge the bent of popular sympathy, and
-decide on the “lay” to be adopted. The “Times” informs its readers
-that two or three hundred English navigators have been suddenly turned
-adrift in France. The native labourers object to the employment of
-aliens, and our stalwart countrymen have been subjected to insult
-as well as privation. The beggar’s course is taken; he goes to
-Petticoat Lane, purchases a white smock frock, a purple or red plush
-waistcoat profusely ornamented with wooden buttons, a coloured cotton
-neckerchief, and a red nightcap. If procurable “in the Lane,” he also
-buys a pair of coarse-ribbed grey worsted-stockings, and boots whose
-enormous weight is increased by several pounds of iron nails in their
-thick soles; even then he is not perfect, he seeks a rag and bottle
-and old iron shop--your genuine artist-beggar never asks for what is
-new, he prefers the worn, the used, the ragged and the rusty--and
-bargains for a spade. The proprietor of the shop knows perfectly well
-that his customer requires an article for show, not service, and they
-part with a mutual grin, and the next day every street swarms with
-groups of distressed navigators. Popular feeling is on their side, and
-halfpence shower round them. Meanwhile the poor fellows for whom all
-this generous indignation is evoked are waiting in crowds at a French
-port till the British Consul passed them over to their native soil as
-paupers.
-
-The same tactics are pursued with manufactures. Beggars read the list
-of patents, and watch the effect of every fresh discovery in mechanics
-on the operatives of Lancashire and Yorkshire. A new machine is
-patented. So many hands are thrown out of work. So many beggars, who
-have never seen Lancashire, except when on the tramp, are heard in
-London. A strike takes place at several mills, pretended “hands” next
-day parade the streets. Even the variability of our climate is pressed
-into the “cadging” service; a frost locks up the rivers, and hardens
-the earth, rusty spades and gardening tools are in demand, and the
-indefatigable beggar takes the pavement in another “fancy dress.” Every
-social shipwreck is watched and turned to account by these systematic
-land-wreckers, who have reduced false signals to a regular code, and
-beg by rule and line and chart and compass.
-
-
-STARVED-OUT MANUFACTURERS
-
-parade in gangs of four and five, or with squalid wives and a few
-children. They wear paper-caps and white aprons with “bibs” to them, or
-a sort of cross-barred pinafore, called in the manufacturing districts
-a “chequer-brat.” Sometimes they make a “pitch,” that is, stand face
-to face, turning their backs upon a heartless world, and sing. The
-well-known ditty of
-
- “We are all the way from Manches-ter
- And we’ve got no work to do!”
-
-set to the tune of, “Oh let us be joyful,” was first introduced by
-this class of beggars. Or they will carry tapes, stay-laces, and
-papers of buttons, and throw imploring looks from side to side, and
-beg by implication. Or they will cock their chins up in the air, so as
-to display the unpleasantly prominent apples in their bony throats,
-and drone a psalm. When they go out “on the blob,” they make a long
-oration, not in the Lancashire or Yorkshire dialects, but in a cockney
-voice, of a strong Whitechapel flavour. The substance of the speech
-varies but slightly from the “patter” of the hand-loom weaver; indeed,
-the Nottingham “driz” or lace-man, the hand on strike, the distressed
-weaver, and the “operative” beggar, generally bear so strong a
-resemblance to each other, that they not only look like but sometimes
-positively _are_ one and the same person.
-
-
-UNEMPLOYED AGRICULTURISTS and FROZEN-OUT GARDENERS
-
-are seen during a frost in gangs of from six to twenty. Two gangs
-generally “work” together, that is, while one gang begs at one end of
-a street, a second gang begs at the other. Their mode of procedure
-their “programme,” is very simple. Upon the spades which they carry
-is chalked “frozen-out!” or “starving!” and they enhance the effect
-of this “slum or fakement,” by shouting out sturdily “frozen out,”
-“We’re all frozen-out!” The gardeners differ from the agriculturists
-or “navvies” in their costume. They affect aprons and old straw hats,
-their manner is less demonstrative, and their tones less rusty and
-unmelodious. The “navvies” roar; the gardeners squeak. The navvies’
-petition is made loud and lustily, as by men used to work in clay and
-rock; the gardeners’ voice is meek and mild, as of a gentle nature
-trained to tend on fruits and flowers. The young bulky, sinewy beggar
-plays navvy; the shrivelled, gravelly, pottering, elderly cadger
-performs gardener.
-
-There can be no doubt that in times of hardship many honest labourers
-are forced into the streets to beg. A poor hard-working man, whose
-children cry to him for food, can feel no scruple in soliciting
-charity,--against such the writer of these pages would urge nothing;
-all credit to the motive that compels them unwillingly to ask alms; all
-honour to the feeling that prompts the listener to give. It is not the
-purpose of the author of this work to write down every mendicant an
-impostor, or every almsgiver a fool; on the contrary, he knows how much
-real distress, and how much real benevolence exist, and he would but
-step between the open hand of true charity, and the itching palm of the
-professional beggar, who stands between the misery that asks and the
-philanthropy that would relieve.
-
-The winter of 1860-61 was a fine harvest for the “frozen out”
-impostors, some few of whom, happily, reaped the reward of their
-deserts in the police-courts. Three strong hearty men were brought up
-at one office; they said that they were starving, and they came from
-Horselydown; when searched six shillings and elevenpence were found
-upon them; they reiterated that they were starving and were out of
-work, on which the sitting magistrate kindly provided them with both
-food and employment, by sentencing them to seven days’ hard labour.
-
-The “profits” of the frozen-out gardener and agriculturist are very
-large, and generally quadruples the sum earned by honest labour. In
-the February of 1861, four of these “distressed navvies” went into
-a public-house to divide the “swag” they had procured by one day’s
-shouting. Each had a handkerchief filled with bread and meat and
-cheese. They called for pots of porter and drank heartily, and when the
-reckoning was paid and the spoils equally divided, the share of each
-man was seven shillings.
-
-The credulity of the public upon one point has often surprised me.
-A man comes out into the streets to say that he is starving, a few
-halfpence are thrown to him. If really hungry he would make for the
-nearest baker’s shop; but no, he picks up the coppers, pockets them,
-and proclaims again that he is starving, though he has the means of
-obtaining food in his fingers. Not that this obvious anachronism stops
-the current of benevolence or the chink of coin upon the stones--the
-fainting, famished fellow walks leisurely up the street, and still
-bellows out in notes of thunder, “I am starving!” If one of my readers
-will try when faint and exhausted to produce the same tone in the
-open air, he will realize the impossibility of shouting and starving
-simultaneously.
-
-
-HAND-LOOM WEAVERS AND OTHERS DEPRIVED OF THEIR LIVING BY MACHINERY.
-
-As has been before stated, the regular beggar seizes on the latest
-pretext for a plausible tale of woe. Improvements in mechanics, and
-consequent cheapness to the many, are usually the causes of loss to the
-few. The sufferings of this minority is immediately turned to account
-by veteran cadgers, who rush to their wardrobes of well-chosen rags,
-attire themselves in appropriate costume, and ply their calling with
-the last grievance out. When unprovided with “patter,” they seek the
-literati of their class, and buy a speech; this they partly commit
-to memory, and trust to their own ingenuity to improvise any little
-touches that may prove effective. Many “screevers, slum-scribblers, and
-fakement-dodgers” eke out a living by this sort of authorship. Real
-operatives seldom stir from their own locality. The sympathy of their
-fellows, their natural habits, and the occasional relief afforded by
-the parish bind them to their homes, and the “distressed weaver” is
-generally a spurious metropolitan production. The following is a copy
-of one of their prepared orations:
-
- “My kind Christian Friends,
-
- “We are poor working-men from ---- which cannot obtain bread by
- our labour, owing to the new alterations and inventions which the
- master-manufacturers have introduced, which spares them the cost of
- employing hands, and does the work by machinery instead. Yes, kind
- friends, machinery and steam-engines now does the work, which formerly
- was done by our hands and work and labour. Our masters have turned us
- off, and we are without bread and knowing no other trade but that
- which we was born and bred to, we are compelled to ask your kind
- assistance, for which, be sure of it, we shall be ever grateful. As
- we have said, masters now employs machinery and steam-engines instead
- of men, forgetting that steam-engines have no families of wives or
- children, and consequently are not called on to provide for them. We
- are without bread to put into our mouths, also our wives and children
- are the same. Foreign competition has drove our masters to this step,
- and we working-men are the sufferers thereby. Kind friends, drop your
- compassion on us: the smallest trifle will be thankfully received, and
- God will bless you for the relief you give to us. May you never know
- what it is to be as we are now, drove from our work, and forced to
- come out into the streets to beg your charity from door to door. Have
- pity on us, for our situation is most wretched. Our wives and families
- are starving, our children cry to us for bread, and we have none to
- give them. Oh, my friends, look down on us with compassion. We are
- poor working-men, weavers from ---- which cannot obtain bread by our
- labour owing to the new inventions in machinery, which, &c. &c. &c.”
-
-In concluding this section of our work, I would commend to the notice
-of my readers the following observations on alms-giving:--
-
-The poor will never cease from the land. There always will be
-exceptional excesses and outbreaks of distress that no plan could have
-provided against, and there always will be those who stand with open
-palm to receive, in the face of heaven, our tribute of gratitude for
-our own happier lot. Yet there is a duty of the head as well as of
-the heart, and we are bound as much to use our reason as to minister
-of our abundance. The same heaven that has rewarded our labours, and
-filled our garners or our coffers, or at least, given us favour in
-the sight of merchants and bankers, has given us also brains, and
-consequently a charge to employ them. So we are bound to sift appeals,
-and consider how best to direct our benevolence. Whoever thinks that
-charity consists in mere giving, and that he has only to put his hand
-in his pocket, or draw a check in favour of somebody who is very much
-in want of money, and looks very grateful for favours to be received,
-will find himself taught better, if not in the school of adversity,
-at least by many a hard lesson of kindness thrown away, or perhaps
-very brutishly repaid. As animals have their habits, so there is a
-large class of mankind whose single cleverness is that of representing
-themselves as justly and naturally dependent on the assistance of
-others, who look paupers from their birth, who seek givers and forsake
-those who have given as naturally as a tree sends its roots into new
-soil and deserts the exhausted. It is the office of reason--reason
-improved by experience--to teach us not to waste our own interest and
-our resources on beings that will be content to live on our bounty, and
-will never return a moral profit to our charitable industry. The great
-opportunities or the mighty powers that heaven may have given us, it
-never meant to be lavished on mere human animals who eat, drink and
-sleep, and whose only instinct is to find out a new caterer when the
-old one is exhausted.
-
-
-
-
-APPENDIX.
-
-
-MAPS AND TABLES
-
-ILLUSTRATING THE CRIMINAL STATISTICS OF EACH OF THE COUNTIES OF ENGLAND
-AND WALES IN 1851.
-
-
- PAGE
- MAP SHOWING THE DENSITY OF THE POPULATION 451
- Table of ditto 452
-
- MAP SHOWING THE INTENSITY OF CRIMINALITY 455
- Table of ditto 456
-
- MAP SHOWING THE INTENSITY OF IGNORANCE 459
- Table of ditto 460
- Table of Ignorance among Criminals 462
- Table of Relative Degrees of Criminality 464
- Comparative Educational Tables 465
-
- MAP SHOWING THE NUMBER OF ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN 467
- Table of ditto 468
-
- MAP SHOWING THE NUMBER OF EARLY MARRIAGES 471
- Table of ditto 472
-
- MAP SHOWING THE NUMBER OF FEMALES 475
- Table of ditto 476
-
- MAP SHOWING COMMITTALS FOR RAPE 477
- Table of ditto 479
-
- MAP SHOWING COMMITTALS FOR CARNALLY ABUSING GIRLS 481
- Table of ditto 482
-
- MAP SHOWING COMMITTALS FOR DISORDERLY HOUSES 485
- Table of ditto 486
-
- MAP SHOWING CONCEALMENT OF BIRTHS 489
- Table of ditto 490
-
- MAP SHOWING ATTEMPTS AT MISCARRIAGE 493
- Table of ditto 494
-
- MAP SHOWING ASSAULTS WITH INTENT 497
- Table of ditto 498
-
- MAP SHOWING COMMITTALS FOR BIGAMY 499
- Table of ditto 500
-
- MAP SHOWING COMMITTALS FOR ABDUCTION 501
- Table of ditto 502
-
- MAP SHOWING THE CRIMINALITY OF FEMALES 503
- Table of ditto 504
-
-[Illustration: MAP SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PERSONS TO EVERY 100 ACRES; OR
-THE DENSITY OF THE POPULATION IN EACH OF THE COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND
-WALES in 1851
-
-⁂ The counties printed _black_ are those in which the Population is
-_above_ the average density.
-
-The counties left _white_ are those in which the Population is _below_
-the average density.
-
-The average has been calculated from the last returns of the
-Registrar-General. ]
-
-
-TABLE SHOWING THE DENSITY OF THE POPULATION IN THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES
-IN ENGLAND AND WALES IN 1851.
-
- --------------+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------------------+
- | Dimensions. | Houses. |
- +------+----------+---------+-----------+---------+---------+---------+----------+
- | | | Number | Number | Number | Total | Total | Increase |
- |Square| Statute | of | of | of | Number | Number | of |
- COUNTIES. |Miles.| Acres. |Inhabited|Uninhabited| Houses | of | of | Houses |
- | | | Houses. | Houses. |Building.| Houses, | Houses, |per cent.,|
- | | | | | | 1851. | 1841. | 1841-51. |
- --------------+------+----------+---------+-----------+---------+---------+---------+----------+
- Bedford | 465 | 297,632| 25,694 | 676 | 126 | 26,496| 22,877| 15.8 |
- Berks | 741 | 473,920| 39,462 | 1,563 | 211 | 41,236| 39,660| 4.0 |
- Bucks | 725 | 463,880| 29,217 | 1,103 | 89 | 30,409| 28,860| 5.4 |
- Cambridge | 838 | 536,313| 38,773 | 1,777 | 204 | 40,754| 35,799| 13.8 |
- Chester | 1014 | 649,050| 79,849 | 4,248 | 756 | 84,853| 75,103| 13.0 |
- Cornwall | 1336 | 854,770| 68,214 | 4,528 | 353 | 73,095| 71,913| 1.6 |
- Cumberland | 1515 | 969,490| 36,771 | 1,531 | 238 | 38,540| 37,160| 3.7 |
- Derby | 1036 | 663,180| 52,482 | 2,411 | 423 | 55,316| 49,477| 1.2 |
- Devon | 2557 | 1,636,450| 99,104 | 6,016 | 765 | 105,885| 102,424| 3.4 |
- Dorset | 980 | 627,220| 34,771 | 1,554 | 218 | 36,543| 35,400| 3.2 |
- Durham | 1062 | 679,530| 68,989 | 3,030 | 595 | 72,614| 61,940| 17.2 |
- Essex | 1530 | 979,000| 68,383 | 3,353 | 364 | 72,100| 65,570| 10.0 |
- Gloucester | 1235 | 790,470| 78,385 | 4,961 | 393 | 83,739| 79,953| 4.7 |
- Hereford | 850 | 543,800| 20,453 | 983 | 69 | 21,505| 21,119| 1.8 |
- Hertford | 626 | 400,350| 33,954 | 1,189 | 214 | 35,357| 32,687| 8.2 |
- Hunts | 379 | 242,250| 12,472 | 641 | 62 | 13,175| 11,676| 12.8 |
- Kent | 1519 | 972,240| 108,386 | 5,516 | 1290 | 115,192| 101,717| 13.3 |
- Lancaster | 1746 | 1,117,260| 356,436 | 17,453 | 3470 | 377,359| 322,148| 17.1 |
- Leicester | 799 | 511,340| 49,968 | 1,599 | 198 | 51,765| 49,470| 4.6 |
- Lincoln | 2600 | 1,663,850| 79,667 | 3,394 | 579 | 83,640| 74,138| 12.8 |
- Middlesex | 280 | 179,590| 242,798 | 12,213 | 3276 | 258,287| 222,443| 16.1 |
- Monmouth | 507 | 324,310| 32,901 | 1,473 | 183 | 34,557| 30,099| 4.8 |
- Norfolk | 2019 | 1,292,300| 91,143 | 3,312 | 449 | 94,904| 88,378| 7.4 |
- Northampton | 1011 | 646,810| 43,945 | 1,478 | 238 | 45,661| 42,358| 7.8 |
- Northumberland| 1821 | 1,165,430| 47,509 | 2,060 | 384 | 49,953| 55,337| 10.8[95]|
- Nottingham | 822 | 525,800| 59,427 | 1,481 | 267 | 61,175| 57,611| 6.2 |
- Oxford | 730 | 467,230| 34,922 | 1,323 | 105 | 36,350| 34,151| 6.4 |
- Rutland | 152 | 97,500| 4,961 | 153 | 18 | 5,132| 4,899| 4.8 |
- Salop | 1351 | 864,360| 48,842 | 2,184 | 112 | 51,138| 50,131| 2.0 |
- Somerset | 1606 | 1,028,090| 87,776 | 5,090 | 396 | 93,252| 90,947| 2.6 |
- Southampton | 1591 | 1,018,550| 74,588 | 3,471 | 617 | 78,676| 69,807| 12.7 |
- Stafford | 1150 | 736,290| 120,501 | 4,526 | 962 | 125,989| 107,941| 16.7 |
- Suffolk | 1436 | 918,760| 69,479 | 3,098 | 424 | 73,001| 67,050| 8.9 |
- Surrey | 741 | 474,480| 109,453 | 5,717 | 1663 | 116,838| 101,121| 15.6 |
- Sussex | 1419 | 907,920| 59,308 | 2,220 | 609 | 62,137| 58,506| 6·2 |
- Warwick | 887 | 567,930| 98,323 | 4,609 | 977 | 103,909| 90,868| 14·4 |
- Westmorland | 759 | 485,990| 11,247 | 530 | 94 | 11,871| 11,783| 0·8 |
- Wilts | 1356 | 8,060| 49,061 | 2,223 | 171 | 51,455| 49,918| 3·1 |
- Worcester | 718 | 9,710| 52,055 | 2,753 | 362 | 55,170| 49,371| 11·8 |
- York | 5733 | 3,669,510| 358,694 | 16,469 | 3244 | 378,417| 341,147| 10·9 |
- Travelling | | | | | | | | |
- North Wales | 3194 | 2,044,160| 83,091 | 3,720 | 522 | 87,333| 85,847| 8·5 |
- South Wales | 4231 | 2,707,840| 119,507 | 5,269 | 844 | 125,620| 115,822| 1·7 |
- +------+----------+---------+-----------+---------+---------+---------+----------+
- TOTAL FOR } | | | | | | | | |
- ENGLAND AND} |57,067|36,522,615|3,280,961| 152,898 | 26,534 |3,460,393|3,144,626| 10·0 |
- WALES } | | | | | | | | |
- --------------+------+----------+---------+-----------+---------+---------+---------+----------+
-
- +------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------
- | Population, 1851. | Density.
- +---------+---------+-----------+-----------+----------+----------+-------+-------+---------
- | | | | | Increase | No. of | No. of| No. of| No. of
- | | | Total | Total | of | Persons | acres | acres | Persons
- | Males. | Females.|Population,|Population,|Population| to each |to each|to each| to each
- | | | 1851. | 1841. |per cent.,|100 acres.|Person.| House.|Inhabited
- | | | | | 1841-51. | | | | House.
- +---------+---------+-----------+-----------+----------+----------+-------+-------+---------
- | 62,420| 67,369| 129,789 | 112,378 | 16 | 43.5 | 2.3 | 11.2 | 5.1
- | 99,227| 99,927| 199,154 | 189,227 | 5 | 41.7 | 2.4 | 11.5 | 5.0
- | 70,784| 72,886| 143,670 | 138,248 | 4 | 31.3 | 3.2 | 15.2 | 4.9
- | 95,505| 96,351| 191,856 | 169,638 | 13 | 35.8 | 2.8 | 13.1 | 4.9
- | 206,715| 216,723| 423,438 | 368,115 | 15 | 65.2 | 1.5 | 7.6 | 5.3
- | 171,979| 184,683| 356,662 | 343,265 | 4 | 41.7 | 2.4 | 11.6 | 5.2
- | 96,106| 99,381| 195,487 | 177,807 | 10 | 20.0 | 5.0 | 25.1 | 5.3
- | 129,379| 131,328| 260,707 | 239,791 | 9 | 40.0 | 2.5 | 11.9 | 5.0
- | 271,579| 300,628| 572,207 | 534,883 | 6 | 34.5 | 2.9 | 15.4 | 5.7
- | 85,816| 91,781| 177,597 | 167,689 | 6 | 28.6 | 3.5 | 17.1 | 5.1
- | 206,666| 204,866| 411,532 | 325,854 | 26 | 62.5 | 1.6 | 9.3 | 5.9
- | 172,161| 171,755| 343,916 | 320,605 | 7 | 34.5 | 2.9 | 13.5 | 5.0
- | 198,122| 221,353| 419,475 | 395,533 | 6 | 53.0 | 1.9 | 9.4 | 5.3
- | 49,694| 49,418| 99,112 | 96,515 | 3 | 18.2 | 5.5 | 25.3 | 4.8
- | 86,331| 87,632| 173,963 | 162,394 | 7 | 43.5 | 2.3 | 11.3 | 5.1
- | 29,984| 30,336| 60,320 | 55,565 | 9 | 25.0 | 4.0 | 18.3 | 4.8
- | 308,115| 311,092| 619,207 | 540,275 | 14 | 63.6 | 1.6 | 8.4 | 5.7
- |1,005,627|1,058,286| 2,063,913 | 1,696,377 | 22 | 200.0 | .5 | 2.9 | 5.8
- | 115,295| 119,643| 234,938 | 220,263 | 7 | 45.4 | 2.2 | 9.9 | 4.7
- | 201,027| 199,239| 400,266 | 356,226 | 12 | 23.8 | 4.2 | 19.9 | 5.0
- | 885,614|1,010,096| 1,895,710 | 1,582,538 | 20 | 1059.0 | .09 | .7 | 7.9
- | 92,095| 85,070| 177,165 | 150,544 | 17 | 55.5 | 1.8 | 9.3 | 5.4
- | 210,360| 223,443| 433,803 | 404,971 | 7 | 33.3 | 3.0 | 13.6 | 4.8
- | 106,533| 107,251| 213,784 | 198,518 | 7 | 33.3 | 3.0 | 14.1 | 4.9
- | 149,158| 154,377| 303,535 | 265,636 | 13 | 25.6 | 3.9 | 23.3 | 6.3
- | 144,428| 150,010| 294,438 | 270,535 | 9 | 55.5 | 1.8 | 8.6 | 5.0
- | 85,449| 84,837| 170,286 | 163,216 | 4 | 37.0 | 2.7 | 12.8 | 4.9
- | 12,270| 12,002| 24,272 | 23,151 | 5 | 25.0 | 4.0 | 19.0 | 4.9
- | 122,022| 122,997| 245,019 | 241,685 | 1 | 28.6 | 3.5 | 16.9 | 5.0
- | 216,716| 239,521| 456,237 | 448,793 | 2 | 43.5 | 2.3 | 11.0 | 5.2
- | 199,834| 202,199| 402,033 | 348,298 | 13 | 38.4 | 2.6 | 12.9 | 5.3
- | 320,394| 310,112| 630,506 | 528,867 | 20 | 83.3 | 1.2 | 5.8 | 5.2
- | 165,267| 170,724| 335,991 | 314,467 | 7 | 37.0 | 2.7 | 12.5 | 4.8
- | 325,155| 359,650| 684,805 | 586,816 | 17 | 144.0 | .7 | 4.0 | 6.3
- | 166,828| 172,600| 339,428 | 302,081 | 12 | 37·0 | 2·7 | 14·6 | 5·7
- | 235,263| 244,716| 479,979 | 408,814 | 18 | 83·3 | 1·2 | ·54| 4·9
- | 29,064| 29,316| 58,380 | 56,609 | 3 | 12·0 | 8·3 | 40·9 | 5·2
- | 118,839| 122,164| 241,003 | 242,772 | 0·7 | 27·7 | 3·6 | 16·8 | 4·9
- | 126,739| 132,023| 258,762 | 230,387 | 13 | 55·5 | 1·8 | 8·5 | 5·0
- | 886,845| 901,922| 1,788,767 | 1,582,977 | 13 | 48·7 | 2·5 | 9·7 | 4·9
- | | | | 5,016 | | | | |
- | 200,538| 203,622| 404,160 | 388,106 | 4 | 19· | 5·1 | 23·2 | 4·9
- | 300,645| 306,851| 607,496 | 528,849 | 14 | 22·2 | 4·5 | 21·5 | 5·1
- +---------+---------+-----------+-----------+----------+----------+-------+-------+-------
- | | | | | | | | |
- |8,762,588|9,160,180|17,922,768 |15,804,294 | 13 | 49·7 | 2·0 | 10·5 | 5·5
- | | | | | | | | |
- +---------+---------+-----------+-----------+----------+----------+-------+-------+-------
-
-
- LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE ORDER OF THE DENSITY OF THEIR POPULATION, AS
- SHOWN BY THE NUMBER OF PERSONS TO EVERY 100 ACRES.
-
-_Counties above the Average._
-
- Middlesex 1059·0
- Lancaster 200·0
- Surrey 144·0
- Stafford 83·3
- York, West Riding 83·3
- Chester 65·2
- Kent 63·6
- Durham 62·5
- Worcester 55·5
- Warwick 83·3
- Nottingham 55·5
- Monmouth 55·5
- Gloucester 53·0
- Average for England and Wales 49·7
-
-_Counties below the Average._
-
- Leicester 45·4
- Bedford 43·5
- Hertford 43·5
- Somerset 43·5
- Berks 41·7
- Cornwall 41·7
- Derby 40·0
- Southampton 38·4
- Oxford 37·0
- Suffolk 37·0
- Sussex 37·0
- Cambridge 35·8
- Devon 34·5
- Essex 34·5
- Norfolk 33·3
- Northampton 33·3
- York, East Riding 33·3
- Bucks 31·3
- Dorset 28·6
- Shropshire 28·6
- Wilts 27·7
- Northumberland 25·6
- Huntingdon 25·0
- Rutland 25·0
- Lincoln 23·8
- South Wales 22·2
- Cumberland 20·0
- North Wales 19·6
- Hereford 18·2
- York, North Riding 15·2
- Westmorland 12·0
-
-
- COMPARISON OF THE DENSITY OF THE POPULATION
- IN 1841 and 1851.
-
- ---------------------------------------+-------+-------
- | 1841. | 1851.
- ---------------------------------------+-------+-------
- _Agricultural Counties._ | |
- | |
- Lincoln | 21·7 | 23·8
- Rutland | 22·7 | 25·0
- Huntingdon | 25·0 | 25·0
- Cambridge | 30·3 | 35·8
- Essex | 35·7 | 34·5
- Sussex | 32·2 | 37·0
- Hereford | 20·8 | 18·2
- | |
- _Agricultural and Sub-Manufacturing_ | |
- _Counties._ | |
- | |
- Westmorland | 11·6 | 12·0
- Norfolk | 32·2 | 33·3
- Suffolk | 33·3 | 37·0
- Hertford | 40·0 | 43·5
- Bedford | 37·0 | 43·5
- Buckingham | 33·3 | 31·3
- Northampton | 31·2 | 33·3
- Oxford | 34·4 | 37·0
- Berks | 34·4 | 41·7
- Hants | 47·6 | 38·4
- Wilts | 30·3 | 27·7
- Dorset | 27·7 | 28·6
- Somerset | 41·6 | 43·5
- Devon | 32·2 | 34·5
- | |
- _Sub-Agricultural and Sub-Manufacturing_| |
- _County._ | |
- | |
- Gloucester | 55·5 | 26·1
- | |
- _Manufacturing Counties._ | |
- | |
- Lancaster | 166·6 | 200·0
- Yorkshire | 42·6 | 48·7
- Chester | 58·8 | 65·2
- Nottingham | 47·6 | 55·5
- Leicester | 43·0 | 45·4
- Warwick | 71·4 | 83·3
- Worcester | 52·6 | 55·5
- | |
- | |
- | |
-
- +-------------------------------------------+--------+--------
- | | 1841. | 1851.
- +-------------------------------------------+--------+--------
- | | |
- | _Mining Counties._ | |
- | | |
- |Durham | 47·6 | 62·5
- |Cornwall | 41·6 | 41·7
- | | |
- | _Manufacturing and Sub-Mining Counties._ | |
- | | |
- |Derby | 41·6 | 40·0
- |Stafford | 71·4 | 83·3
- | | |
- | _Agricultural and Sub-Mining Counties._ | |
- | | |
- |Shropshire | 28·5 | 28·6
- |North Wales | 19·3 | 19·6
- |South Wales | 19·0 | 22·2
- | | |
- |_Sub-Agricultural and Sub-Mining Counties._| |
- | | |
- |Northumberland | 21·2 | 25·6
- |Cumberland | 18·5 | 20·0
- |Monmouth | 43·0 | 55·5
- | | |
- | _Metropolitan County._ | |
- | | |
- |Middlesex | 1000·0 | 1059·0
- | | |
- | _Sub-Metropolitan Counties._ | |
- | | |
- |Surrey | 125·0 | 144·0
- |Kent | 55·5 | 63·6
- | | |
- |-------------------------------------------+--------+--------
- |
- | Note.--An _Agricultural_ county has _more_ than 10 per
- | cent., and a _Sub-Agricultural_ county _less_ than 10 per
- | cent. of its population employed in agriculture.
- |
- | A _Manufacturing_ county has _more_ than 15 per cent.,
- | and a _Sub-Manufacturing_ county _less_ than 15 per cent.
- | of its population employed in manufacture.
- |
- | A _Mining_ county has _more_ than 5 per cent., and a
- | _Sub-Mining_ county _less_ than 5 per cent. of its
- | population employed in mining.
-
-
-[Illustration: MAP SHOWING THE NUMBER OF THE CRIMINAL OFFENDERS TO
-EVERY 10,000 OF THE POPULATION; OR THE INTENSITY OF THE CRIMINALITY IN
-EACH COUNTY OF ENGLAND AND WALES.
-
-⁂ The counties printed _black_ are those in which the number of
-Criminals is _above_ the average.
-
-The counties left _white_ are those in which the number of Criminals is
-_below_ the average.
-
-The average has been calculated from the returns for the last ten
-years. ]
-
-
- TABLE SHOWING THE CRIMINALITY OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES IN ENGLAND AND
- WALES IN THE UNDERMENTIONED YEARS.
-
- ----------------+------------+----------------------------------------------------------------
- | Average |
- COUNTIES. | Population | Total number of Persons committed for Trial or Bailed.
- | from +-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
- | 1841-50. | 1841. | 1842. | 1843. | 1844. | 1845. | 1846. | 1847. | 1848. |
- ----------------+------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
- Bedford | 121,083 | 191 | 229 | 202 | 188 | 155 | 185 | 178 | 204 |
- Berks | 194,763 | 306 | 333 | 328 | 287 | 260 | 250 | 335 | 360 |
- Bucks | 140,959 | 287 | 277 | 313 | 280 | 286 | 283 | 315 | 310 |
- Cambridge | 180,747 | 240 | 241 | 257 | 297 | 239 | 276 | 255 | 244 |
- Chester | 395,919 | 943 | 1086 | 1018 | 777 | 688 | 767 | 871 | 1070 |
- Cornwall | 349,991 | 295 | 282 | 301 | 269 | 272 | 280 | 341 | 272 |
- Cumberland | 186,762 | 151 | 115 | 109 | 138 | 118 | 147 | 120 | 130 |
- Derby | 250,249 | 277 | 322 | 322 | 279 | 186 | 277 | 214 | 264 |
- Devon | 554,738 | 687 | 716 | 740 | 715 | 720 | 721 | 949 | 924 |
- Dorset | 172,736 | 284 | 241 | 252 | 203 | 218 | 225 | 307 | 287 |
- Durham | 368,787 | 215 | 266 | 300 | 376 | 203 | 249 | 279 | 334 |
- Essex | 332,363 | 647 | 758 | 710 | 596 | 554 | 602 | 603 | 689 |
- Gloucester | 407,504 | 1236 | 1252 | 1186 | 1071 | 929 | 884 | 1092 | 1042 |
- Hereford | 97,813 | 245 | 259 | 238 | 230 | 226 | 158 | 212 | 270 |
- Hertford | 168,178 | 319 | 338 | 265 | 271 | 244 | 243 | 291 | 348 |
- Hunts | 57,942 | 62 | 68 | 68 | 79 | 88 | 81 | 89 | 104 |
- Kent | 585,249 | 962 | 1155 | 977 | 911 | 831 | 815 | 889 | 1020 |
- Lancaster | 1,881,261 | 3987 | 4497 | 3677 | 2893 | 2852 | 3072 | 3456 | 3778 |
- Leicester | 227,621 | 466 | 492 | 509 | 481 | 328 | 358 | 335 | 346 |
- Lincoln | 378,246 | 349 | 507 | 563 | 542 | 389 | 419 | 506 | 504 |
- Middlesex | 1,740,814 | 3586 | 4094 | 4260 | 4027 | 4440 | 4641 | 5175 | 4856 |
- Monmouth | 164,093 | 364 | 264 | 261 | 278 | 196 | 217 | 282 | 298 |
- Norfolk | 419,463 | 666 | 808 | 782 | 788 | 642 | 720 | 751 | 689 |
- Northampton | 206,496 | 342 | 346 | 270 | 294 | 302 | 270 | 243 | 307 |
- Northumberland | 284,777 | 226 | 245 | 290 | 294 | 189 | 169 | 189 | 201 |
- Nottingham | 282,584 | 329 | 374 | 353 | 348 | 267 | 286 | 343 | 364 |
- Oxford | 166,751 | 323 | 334 | 328 | 296 | 309 | 228 | 299 | 296 |
- Rutland | 23,711 | 14 | 48 | 39 | 23 | 28 | 26 | 41 | 52 |
- Salop | 243,352 | 416 | 470 | 534 | 449 | 308 | 227 | 267 | 305 |
- Somerset | 452,515 | 991 | 1148 | 967 | 1039 | 873 | 701 | 774 | 888 |
- Southampton | 377,040 | 677 | 702 | 676 | 517 | 619 | 608 | 737 | 728 |
- Stafford | 579,686 | 1059 | 1485 | 1175 | 885 | 717 | 851 | 1028 | 1120 |
- Suffolk | 325,336 | 482 | 527 | 585 | 630 | 407 | 471 | 505 | 495 |
- Surrey | 635,917 | 923 | 1017 | 867 | 941 | 942 | 958 | 1315 | 1296 |
- Sussex | 320,944 | 539 | 550 | 493 | 409 | 409 | 468 | 522 | 546 |
- Warwick | 444,558 | 1046 | 1003 | 1045 | 894 | 769 | 799 | 998 | 1257 |
- Westmoreland | 57,494 | 33 | 39 | 44 | 24 | 46 | 74 | 33 | 47 |
- Wilts | 241,887 | 506 | 548 | 464 | 432 | 379 | 436 | 502 | 465 |
- Worcester | 244,574 | 566 | 609 | 679 | 603 | 563 | 535 | 620 | 681 |
- York | 1,686,461 | 1895 | 2598 | 2304 | 1691 | 1417 | 1560 | 1794 | 2036 |
- North Wales | 396,161 | 251 | 279 | 294 | 283 | 269 | 220 | 307 | 332 |
- South Wales | 568,430 | 377 | 387 | 546 | 514 | 426 | 350 | 471 | 590 |
- +------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
- TOTAL FOR | | | | | | | | | |
- ENGLAND | | | | | | | | | |
- AND WALES |16,918,458 |27,760 |31,309 |29,591 |26,542 |24,303 |25,107 |28,833 |30,349 |
- ================+============+=======+=======+=======+=======+=======+=======+=======+=======+
-
- ----------------+-----------+-----------+--------------+----------------
- | | | | Number of
- | | | Proportion | Criminals to
- +-------+-------+ Total for | Average | to the | every 10,000 of
- | 1849. | 1850. | 10 years. | per Year. | Population. | Population.
- +-------+-------+-----------+-----------+--------------+----------------
- | 162 | 161 | 1,855 | 185 | 1 in 654 | 15·2
- | 358 | 318 | 3,135 | 313 | „ 622 | 16·0
- | 287 | 242 | 2,880 | 288 | „ 489 | 20·4
- | 309 | 302 | 2,660 | 266 | „ 679 | 14·7
- | 861 | 900 | 8,981 | 898 | „ 440 | 22·6
- | 277 | 226 | 2,815 | 281 | „ 1245 | 8·0
- | 159 | 146 | 1,333 | 133 | „ 1404 | 7·1
- | 245 | 255 | 2,641 | 264 | „ 947 | 10·5
- | 893 | 807 | 7,872 | 787 | „ 704 | 14·1
- | 326 | 190 | 2,533 | 253 | „ 682 | 14·6
- | 321 | 358 | 2,901 | 290 | „ 1271 | 7·8
- | 587 | 631 | 6,377 | 638 | „ 520 | 19·1
- | 1063 | 920 | 10,675 | 1067 | „ 381 | 26·1
- | 242 | 252 | 2,332 | 233 | „ 419 | 23·8
- | 318 | 315 | 2,952 | 295 | „ 570 | 17·5
- | 93 | 90 | 822 | 82 | „ 706 | 14·1
- | 980 | 958 | 9,598 | 960 | „ 609 | 16·4
- | 3290 | 3340 | 34,842 | 3484 | „ 539 | 18·5
- | 299 | 300 | 3,914 | 391 | „ 582 | 17·1
- | 529 | 528 | 4,836 | 484 | „ 781 | 12·8
- | 3861 | 3732 | 42,672 | 4267 | „ 407 | 24·5
- | 370 | 433 | 2,963 | 296 | „ 554 | 18·0
- | 633 | 705 | 7,184 | 718 | „ 584 | 17·1
- | 327 | 248 | 2,949 | 295 | „ 699 | 14·2
- | 261 | 283 | 2,347 | 235 | „ 1211 | 8·2
- | 341 | 325 | 3,330 | 333 | „ 848 | 11·8
- | 303 | 252 | 2,968 | 297 | „ 591 | 17·8
- | 35 | 27 | 333 | 33 | „ 718 | 13·9
- | 347 | 307 | 3,630 | 363 | „ 670 | 14·9
- | 885 | 754 | 9,020 | 902 | „ 501 | 19·9
- | 751 | 686 | 6,701 | 670 | „ 562 | 17·7
- | 1009 | 1053 | 10,382 | 1038 | „ 558 | 17·9
- | 537 | 472 | 5,111 | 511 | „ 636 | 15·7
- | 1109 | 1030 | 10,398 | 1040 | „ 611 | 16·3
- | 502 | 480 | 4918 | 492 | „ 652 | 15·3
- | 910 | 880 | 9601 | 960 | „ 463 | 21·6
- | 57 | 70 | 467 | 47 | „ 1223 | 8·1
- | 452 | 386 | 4570 | 457 | „ 529 | 18·9
- | 653 | 607 | 6116 | 612 | „ 399 | 25·0
- | 2022 | 1915 | 19,232 | 1923 | „ 876 | 11·4
- | 338 | 316 | 2889 | 289 | „ 1370 | 7·2
- | 514 | 613 | 4788 | 479 | „ 1186 | 8·4
- +-------+-------+-----------+-----------+--------------+-------------
- | | | | | |
- | | | | | |
- |27,816 |26,813 | 278,423 | 27,842 | „ 607 | 16·4
- +=======+=======+===========+===========+==============+=============
-
-
- LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE ORDER OF THEIR CRIMINALITY, AS SHOWN BY THE
- NUMBER OF CRIMINALS TO EVERY 10,000 OF THE POPULATION.
-
-_Counties above the Average in Crime._
-
- Gloucester 26·1
- Worcester 25·0
- Middlesex 24·5
- Hereford 23·8
- Chester 22·6
- Warwick 21·6
- Bucks 20·4
- Somerset 19·9
- Essex 19·1
- Wilts 18·9
- Lancaster 18·5
- Monmouth 18·0
- Stafford 17·9
- Oxford 17·8
- Southampton 17·7
- Hertford 17·5
- Leicester 17·1
- Norfolk 17·1
- Average for all England and Wales 16·4
-
-_Counties above the Average in Crime._
-
- Kent 16·4
- Surrey 16·3
- Berks 16·0
- Suffolk 15·7
- Sussex 15·3
- Bedford 15·2
- Salop 14·9
- Cambridge 14·7
- Dorset 14·6
- Northampton 14·2
- Devon 14·1
- Rutland 13·9
- Lincoln 12·8
- Nottingham 11·8
- York 11·4
- Derby 10·5
- South Wales 8·4
- Northumberland 8·2
- Westmorland 8·1
- Cornwall 8·0
- Durham 7·8
- North Wales 7·2
- Cumberland 7·1
-
-
-THE YEARS OF CRIME.
-
- -------------------+------------+-------------+----------
- | | | Number of
- | Number of | | Criminals
- Years. | Criminal | Population. | to every
- | Offenders. | | 10,000
- | | | people.
- -------------------+------------+-------------+----------
- 1811 | 5,337 | 10,150,615 | 5·2
- 1812 | 6,576 | 10,332,441 | 6·3
- 1813 | 7,164 | 10,515,267 | 6·8
- 1814 | 6,390 | 10,689,093 | 5·9
- 1815 | 7,818 | 10,881,919 | 7·3
- 1816 | 9,091 | 11,064,745 | 8·2
- 1817 | 13,932 | 11,247,571 | 11·5
- 1818 | 13,567 | 11,430,397 | 11·8
- 1819 | 14,254 | 11,613,223 | 12·2
- 1820 | 13,710 | 11,796,049 | 11·6
- +------------+-------------+----------
- Total for 10 years | 97,839 | 109,630,320 |
- +------------+-------------+
- Average ditto. | 9,783 | 10,963,032 | 8·9
- +------------+-------------+----------
- 1821 | 13,115 | 11,978,875 | 10·9
- 1822 | 12,241 | 12,170,706 | 10·0
- 1823 | 12,263 | 12,362,537 | 9·9
- 1824 | 13,698 | 12,554,368 | 10·9
- 1825 | 14,437 | 12,746,199 | 11·3
- 1826 | 16,164 | 12,938,030 | 12·5
- 1827 | 17,924 | 13,129,861 | 13·6
- 1828 | 16,564 | 13,321,692 | 12·4
- 1829 | 18,675 | 13,531,523 | 13·8
- 1830 | 18,107 | 13,705,354 | 13·2
- +------------+-------------+----------
- Total for 10 years | 153,188 | 128,421,145 |
- +------------+-------------+
- Average ditto | 15,318 | 12,842,114 | 11·9
- +------------+-------------+----------
- 1831 | 19,647 | 13,897,187 | 14·1
- 1832 | 20,829 | 14,098,142 | 14·7
- 1833 | 20,072 | 14,299,097 | 14·0
- 1834 | 22,451 | 14,500,052 | 15·4
- 1835 | 20,731 | 14,701,007 | 14·1
- 1836 | 20,984 | 14,901,962 | 14·1
- 1837 | 23,612 | 15,102,917 | 15·6
- 1838 | 23,094 | 15,303,872 | 15·1
- 1839 | 24,443 | 15,504,827 | 15·7
- 1840 | 27,187 | 15,705,782 | 17·3
- +------------+-------------+----------
- Total in 10 years | 223,050 | 148,114,825 |
- +------------+-------------+
- Average ditto | 22,305 | 14,811,482 | 15·0
- +------------+-------------+----------
- 1841 | 27,750 | 15,914,148 | 17·4
- 1842 | 31,309 | 16,115,010 | 19·4
- 1843 | 29,591 | 16,315,872 | 18·1
- 1844 | 26,542 | 16,516,734 | 16·0
- 1845 | 24,303 | 16,717,596 | 14·5
- 1846 | 25,107 | 16,918,458 | 14·9
- 1847 | 28,833 | 17,119,320 | 16·8
- 1848 | 30,349 | 17,320,182 | 17·5
- 1849 | 27,816 | 17,521,044 | 15·9
- 1850 | 26,813 | 17,721,906 | 15·1
- +------------+-------------+----------
- Total for 10 years | 278,413 | 168,180,270 |
- +------------+-------------+
- Average ditto | 27,841 | 16,818,027 | 16·5
- +------------+-------------+----------
-
-[Illustration: MAP SHOWING THE NUMBER WHO SIGNED THE MARRIAGE REGISTER
-WITH MARKS IN EVERY 100 PERSONS MARRIED; OR THE INTENSITY OF IGNORANCE
-IN EACH COUNTY OF ENGLAND AND WALES.
-
-⁂ The counties printed _black_ are those in which the number who signed
-the Marriage Register with Marks is _above_ the Average.
-
-The counties left _white_ are those in which the number who signed the
-Marriage Register with Marks is _below_ the Average.
-
-The Average has been calculated for the ten years from 1839 to 1848. ]
-
-
-TABLE SHOWING THE IGNORANCE OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES IN ENGLAND AND
-WALES, DEDUCED FROM THE NUMBER WHO SIGNED THE MARRIAGE REGISTER WITH
-MARKS IN THE UNDERMENTIONED YEARS.
-
- ---------------+----------+------------------------------------------------------
- | Average | Number of Males and Females who signed
- |Annual No.| the Marriage Register with Marks.
- COUNTIES. |of Persons+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
- | married, | 1839. | 1840. | 1841. | 1842. | 1843. | 1844. |
- | 1839-48. | | | | | | |
- ---------------+----------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
- Bedford | 1,850 | 1,112 | 1,148 | 956 | 921 | 1,028 | 1,110 |
- Berks | 2,588 | 1,036 | 1,131 | 1,061 | 1,063 | 1,111 | 1,079 |
- Bucks | 1,920 | 979 | 1,008 | 820 | 918 | 882 | 918 |
- Cambridge | 2,784 | 1,269 | 1,372 | 1,495 | 1,389 | 1,281 | 1,330 |
- Chester | 5,160 | 2,343 | 2,510 | 2,350 | 2,096 | 2,366 | 2,403 |
- Cornwall | 4,894 | 2,150 | 2,148 | 2,128 | 2,312 | 2,284 | 2,141 |
- Cumberland | 2,072 | 470 | 563 | 527 | 539 | 506 | 500 |
- Derby | 3,652 | 1,521 | 1,490 | 1,321 | 1,061 | 1,351 | 1,455 |
- Devon | 8,678 | 2,603 | 1,817 | 2,744 | 2,971 | 2,995 | 3,055 |
- Dorset | 2,358 | 725 | 930 | 785 | 852 | 449 | 945 |
- Durham | 5,770 | 1,900 | 2,083 | 2,001 | 1,830 | 1,771 | 1,825 |
- Essex | 4,228 | 1,964 | 2,215 | 2,103 | 2,062 | 2,110 | 2,157 |
- Gloucester | 6,918 | 2,329 | 2,541 | 2,347 | 2,197 | 2,393 | 2,277 |
- Hereford | 1,268 | 462 | 463 | 522 | 548 | 609 | 516 |
- Hertford | 1,976 | 1,189 | 1,045 | 1,057 | 954 | 1,083 | 1,038 |
- Hunts | 904 | 391 | 465 | 453 | 446 | 439 | 413 |
- Kent | 8,094 | 2,431 | 2,382 | 2,476 | 2,488 | 2,556 | 2,502 |
- Lancaster | 34,068 | 16,411 | 15,793 | 16,096 | 14,626 | 17,820 | 19,850 |
- Leicester | 3,460 | 1,494 | 1,504 | 1,281 | 1,189 | 1,416 | 1,505 |
- Lincoln | 5,530 | 1,944 | 2,209 | 2,174 | 2,082 | 1,959 | 1,998 |
- Middlesex | 31,590 | 5,134 | 5,569 | 5,242 | 5,045 | 5,416 | 6,141 |
- Monmouth | 2,562 | 1,646 | 1,697 | 1,283 | 1,091 | 1,110 | 1,228 |
- Norfolk | 6,042 | 2,485 | 2,772 | 2,514 | 2,832 | 2,816 | 2,901 |
- Northampton | 3,194 | 1,338 | 1,489 | 1,377 | 1,220 | 1,404 | 1,441 |
- Northumberland | 4,094 | 1,149 | 1,264 | 1,108 | 965 | 1,013 | 811 |
- Nottingham | 4,168 | 1,715 | 1,724 | 1,645 | 1,642 | 1,742 | 1,953 |
- Oxford | 2,316 | 826 | 961 | 951 | 957 | 929 | 889 |
- Rutland | 216 | 115 | 92 | 125 | 99 | 97 | 69 |
- Salop | 3,180 | 1,647 | 1,568 | 1,497 | 1,533 | 1,392 | 1,496 |
- Somerset | 6,226 | 2,300 | 2,608 | 2,705 | 2,643 | 2,654 | 2,643 |
- Southampton | 5,768 | 1,614 | 1,801 | 2,049 | 1,959 | 1,910 | 1,977 |
- Stafford | 8,292 | 3,886 | 4,045 | 3,552 | 3,065 | 3,335 | 3,937 |
- Suffolk | 4,738 | 2,173 | 2,353 | 2,342 | 2,057 | 2,124 | 2,304 |
- Surrey | 10,374 | 2,128 | 2,260 | 2,180 | 2,129 | 2,205 | 2,185 |
- Sussex | 4,268 | 1,452 | 1,480 | 1,400 | 1,364 | 1,443 | 1,427 |
- Warwick | 6,494 | 1,512 | 2,470 | 2,294 | 2,052 | 2,415 | 2,516 |
- Westmorland | 780 | 195 | 191 | 177 | 185 | 193 | 225 |
- Wilts | 3,236 | 1,495 | 1,603 | 1,550 | 1,487 | 1,522 | 1,527 |
- Worcester | 5,536 | 3,201 | 3,098 | 2,934 | 2,588 | 2,528 | 2,974 |
- York | 26,664 | 11,439 | 11,899 | 10,726 | 10,503 | 11,099 | 12,970 |
- North Wales | 5,164 | 3,028 | 3,022 | 2,999 | 2,925 | 2,694 | 2,737 |
- South Wales | 8,152 | 4,382 | 4,532 | 4,378 | 4,093 | 4,190 | 4,617 |
- +----------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
- Total for | | | | | | | |
- England | | | | | | | |
- and Wales | 261,340 |100,616 |104,335 | 99,634 | 94,996 |101,235 |107,985 |
- ===============+==========+========+========+========+========+========+========+
-
- ------------------------------------+---------+--------+--------------+----------
- | | |No. of Persons| Per Cent.
- |Total for| Annual | who signed | above and
- +--------+--------+--------+--------+10 years.|Average.| with Marks in| below the
- | 1845. | 1846. | 1847. | 1848. | | | every 100 | Average.
- | | | | | | | married. |
- +--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+--------+--------------+----------
- | 1,095 | 1,124 | 957 | 1,003 | 10,454 | 1,045 | 56 | †40·0
- | 1,070 | 1,137 | 1,118 | 1,164 | 10,970 | 1,097 | 42 | † 5·0
- | 975 | 1,074 | 906 | 999 | 9,479 | 948 | 49 | †22·5
- | 1,471 | 1,398 | 1,213 | 1,328 | 13,546 | 1,355 | 45 | †12·5
- | 2,777 | 2,608 | 2,121 | 2,503 | 24,017 | 2,408 | 46 | †15·0
- | 2,338 | 2,407 | 2,102 | 2,146 | 22,156 | 2,216 | 45 | †12·5
- | 581 | 647 | 520 | 350 | 5,203 | 520 | 25 | *37·5
- | 1,642 | 1,544 | 1,382 | 1,377 | 14,144 | 1,414 | 39 | * 2·5
- | 3,312 | 3,224 | 2,782 | 1,981 | 27,484 | 2,748 | 32 | *20·0
- | 1,033 | 905 | 941 | 923 | 8,488 | 849 | 36 | *10·0
- | 2,375 | 2,378 | 2,376 | 2,327 | 20,866 | 2,087 | 36 | *10·0
- | 2,246 | 2,163 | 1,977 | 1,963 | 20,960 | 2,096 | 50 | †25·0
- | 2,578 | 2,698 | 2,215 | 2,304 | 23,879 | 2,388 | 35 | *12·5
- | 598 | 576 | 424 | 488 | 5,206 | 521 | 41 | † 2·5
- | 1,153 | 1,102 | 947 | 1,013 | 10,581 | 1,058 | 54 | †35·0
- | 434 | 466 | 438 | 440 | 4,385 | 439 | 49 | †22·5
- | 2,944 | 2,855 | 2,569 | 2,481 | 25,684 | 2,568 | 32 | *20·0
- | 22,177 | 20,709 | 16,588 | 18,161 | 178,231 | 17,823 | 52 | †30·0
- | 1,518 | 1,579 | 1,329 | 1,441 | 14,256 | 1,426 | 41 | † 2·5
- | 2,232 | 2,166 | 2,159 | 2,436 | 21,359 | 2,136 | 39 | * 2·5
- | 6,456 | 6,163 | 5,666 | 5,433 | 56,265 | 5,627 | 18 | *55·0
- | 1,722 | 1,982 | 1,720 | 1,574 | 15,053 | 1,505 | 59 | †47·5
- | 3,120 | 2,964 | 2,783 | 2,855 | 28,042 | 2,804 | 46 | †15·0
- | 1,504 | 1,467 | 1,253 | 1,332 | 13,825 | 1,383 | 43 | † 7·5
- | 1,214 | 1,244 | 1,190 | 1,328 | 11,286 | 1,129 | 28 | *30·0
- | 2,000 | 1,834 | 1,635 | 1,760 | 17,650 | 1,765 | 42 | † 5·0
- | 831 | 880 | 869 | 843 | 8,936 | 894 | 39 | * 2·5
- | 73 | 99 | 152 | 118 | 1,039 | 104 | 49 | †22·5
- | 1,428 | 1,544 | 1,532 | 1,661 | 15,298 | 1,530 | 48 | †20·0
- | 2,598 | 2,632 | 2,183 | 2,360 | 25,326 | 2,533 | 41 | † 2·5
- | 2,181 | 2,185 | 2,019 | 1,875 | 19,570 | 1,957 | 34 | *15·0
- | 5,091 | 4,920 | 6,423 | 5,263 | 43,517 | 4,352 | 52 | †30·0
- | 2,436 | 2,389 | 2,325 | 2,354 | 22,857 | 2,286 | 48 | †20·0
- | 2,473 | 2,451 | 2,134 | 2,039 | 22,184 | 2,218 | 21 | *47·5
- | 1,594 | 1,534 | 1,512 | 1,371 | 14,577 | 1,458 | 34 | *15·0
- | 2,670 | 2,958 | 2,870 | 2,855 | 24,612 | 2,461 | 38 | * 5·0
- | 237 | 321 | 220 | 135 | 2,079 | 208 | 27 | *32·5
- | 1,685 | 1,642 | 1,481 | 1,528 | 15,520 | 1,552 | 48 | †20·0
- | 3,744 | 4,192 | 1,871 | 1,643 | 28,773 | 2,877 | 52 | †30·0
- | 13,395 | 12,688 | 11,797 | 11,930 | 118,446 | 11,845 | 44 | †10·0
- | 2,916 | 3,219 | 2,904 | 1,951 | 28,395 | 2,840 | 55 | †37·5
- | 4,978 | 5,565 | 4,703 | 4,811 | 46,249 | 4,625 | 57 | †42·5
- +--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+--------+--------------+----------
- | | | | | | | |
- | | | | | | | |
- |118,894 |117,633 |104,306 |105,937 |1,050,907|105,091 | 40 |
- +========+========+========+========+=========+========+==============+==========
-
-
- LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE ORDER OF THEIR IGNORANCE, AS SHOWN BY THE
- NUMBER WHO SIGNED THE MARRIAGE REGISTER WITH MARKS IN EVERY 100
- PERSONS MARRIED.
-
-_Counties above the Average, or most Ignorant._
-
- Monmouth 59
- South Wales 57
- Bedford 56
- North Wales 55
- Hertford 54
- Lancaster 52
- Stafford 52
- Worcester 52
- Essex 50
- Bucks 49
- Hunts 49
- Rutland 49
- Salop 48
- Suffolk 48
- Wilts 48
- Chester 46
- Norfolk 46
- Cambridge 45
- Cornwall 45
- York 44
- Northampton 43
- Berks 42
- Nottingham 42
- Hereford 41
- Leicester 41
- Somerset 41
-
-
-_Counties below the Average, or least Ignorant._
-
- Derby 39
- Lincoln 39
- Oxford 39
- Warwick 38
- Dorset 36
- Durham 36
- Gloucester 35
- Southampton 34
- Sussex 34
- Devon 32
- Kent 32
- Northumberland 28
- Westmorland 27
- Cumberland 25
- Surrey 21
- Middlesex 18
-
- Average for England and Wales 40
-
-
- THE CRIME AND IGNORANCE OF THE SEVERAL COUNTIES COMPARED.
-
- | Percentage above and below
- | the Average.
- +-------------+--------+---------
- | | In No. |In No. of
- | In No. |signing |Criminals
- |of Criminals.|Register|unable to
- | | with |read and
- _Counties having great_ | | Marks. | write.
- _Crime and great Ignorance._ +-------------+--------+---------
- | | |
- Worcester | †52·4 | †36·0 | † 8·5
- Chester | †37·8 | †15·0 | † 9·4
- Hereford | †45·1 | † 2·5 | †41·5
- Bucks | †24·4 | †22·5 | † 6·9
- Somerset | †21·3 | † 2·5 | † 7·2
- Essex | †16·4 | †25·0 | †24·2
- Lancaster | †12·8 | †30·0 | †22·0
- Hertford | † 6·7 | †35·0 | †29·8
- Norfolk | † 4·2 | †15·0 | †19·1
- | | |
- _Counties having little _ | | |
- _Crime and little_ | | |
- _Ignorance._ | | |
- | | |
- Cumberland | *56·7 | *37·5 | *15·4
- Westmorland | *50·6 | *32·5 | *38·6
- Northumberland | *50·0 | *30·0 | *19·1
- Derby | *36·0 | * 2·5 | *23·5
- Lincoln | *22·0 | * 2·5 | *14·8
- Devon | *14·0 | *20·0 | *12·9
- Sussex | * 6·7 | *15·0 | * 4·0
- Surrey | * ·6 | *47·5 | *13·8
- | | |
- _Counties having great _ | | |
- _Crime, and in which the_ | | |
- _Ignorance Tests_ | | |
- _are contradictory._ | | |
- | | |
- Warwick | †31·7 | * 5·0 | † 9·7
- Wilts | †15·2 | †20·0 | *20·4
- Monmouth | † 9·7 | †47·0 | *12·2
- Stafford | † 9·1 | †30·0 | * 3·4
- Leicester | † 4·2 | † 2·5 | *11·6
- | | |
- _Counties having great Crime_| | |
- _and little Ignorance._ | | |
- | | |
- Gloucester | †59·1 | *12·5 | *11·9
- Middlesex | †49·4 | *55·0 | *21·7
- Oxford | † 8·5 | * 2·5 | * ·9
- Southampton | † 7·9 | *15·0 | *13·5
- | | |
- _Counties having little _ | | |
- _Crime and great Ignorance._ | | |
- | | |
- North Wales | *56·1 | †37·5 | †20·4
- South Wales | *48·7 | †42·5 | †14·7
- Hants | *14·0 | †22·5 | † 1·9
- Northampton | *13·4 | † 7·5 | † 1·5
- Salop | * 9·1 | †20·0 | †25·8
- Bedford | * 7·3 | †40·0 | †28·3
- Suffolk | * 4·2 | †20·0 | † 8·1
- | | |
- _Counties having little_ | | |
- _Crime,and in which the_ | | |
- _Ignorance_Tests are_ | | |
- _contradictory._ | | |
- | | |
- Durham | *51·8 | *10·0 | † 1·5
- Cornwall | *51·2 | †12·5 | * 6·9
- York | *30·5 | †10·0 | * 8·5
- Nottingham | *28·0 | † 5·0 | * 5·6
- Berks | *21·4 | † 5·0 | * 4·7
- Rutland | *15·2 | †22·5 | * 2·5
- Cambridge | *10·3 | †12·5 | * 2·5
- Dorset | *10·0 | *10·0 | † 4·7
- Kent | | *20·0 | † 6·3
-
-
-TABLE SHOWING THE AMOUNT OF IGNORANCE AMONGST THE CRIMINALS IN THE
-DIFFERENT COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES IN THE UNDERMENTIONED YEARS.
-
- ---------------+--------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
- COUNTIES. |Average Annual|
- | Number | Number of Criminals who could
- | of Criminals | neither read nor write.
- | from +-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
- | 1839-1848. | 1839. | 1840. | 1841. | 1842. | 1843. | 1844. |
- ---------------+--------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
- | | | | | | | |
- Bedford | 181 | 39 | 72 | 90 | 110 | 80 | 81 |
- Berks | 313 | 103 | 121 | 97 | 113 | 48 | 75 |
- Bucks | 285 | 89 | 107 | 87 | 112 | 113 | 91 |
- Cambridge | 249 | 79 | 65 | 90 | 78 | 80 | 77 |
- Chester | 904 | 285 | 370 | 334 | 333 | 336 | 259 |
- Cornwall | 294 | 81 | 95 | 82 | 80 | 82 | 65 |
- Cumberland | 130 | 39 | 30 | 26 | 45 | 37 | 41 |
- Derby | 263 | 74 | 48 | 66 | 92 | 77 | 61 |
- Devon | 755 | 143 | 154 | 146 | 144 | 204 | 235 |
- Dorset | 258 | 84 | 107 | 96 | 75 | 95 | 73 |
- Durham | 260 | 70 | 33 | 56 | 88 | 96 | 138 |
- Essex | 638 | 213 | 297 | 302 | 295 | 290 | 219 |
- Gloucester | 1067 | 326 | 322 | 370 | 414 | 330 | 211 |
- Hereford | 229 | 102 | 120 | 121 | 107 | 107 | 83 |
- Hertford | 288 | 147 | 133 | 146 | 119 | 98 | 111 |
- Hunts | 77 | 20 | 33 | 21 | 22 | 26 | 27 |
- Kent | 942 | 348 | 251 | 353 | 371 | 330 | 301 |
- Lancaster | 3462 | 1143 | 1391 | 1556 | 1947 | 1423 | 992 |
- Leicester | 419 | 141 | 159 | 135 | 141 | 137 | 135 |
- Lincoln | 458 | 117 | 119 | 99 | 133 | 131 | 134 |
- Middlesex | 4230 | 927 | 882 | 980 | 800 | 1033 | 933 |
- Monmouth | 272 | 83 | 94 | 112 | 73 | 79 | 67 |
- Norfolk | 727 | 285 | 266 | 258 | 308 | 284 | 290 |
- Northampton | 291 | 96 | 92 | 118 | 111 | 92 | 90 |
- Northumberland | 214 | 24 | 57 | 45 | 58 | 75 | 96 |
- Nottingham | 333 | 104 | 108 | 91 | 102 | 112 | 115 |
- Oxford | 308 | 113 | 134 | 106 | 99 | 117 | 84 |
- Rutland | 29 | 4 | -- | 1 | 11 | 13 | 8 |
- Salop | 367 | 136 | 176 | 182 | 173 | 215 | 164 |
- Somerset | 935 | 281 | 410 | 352 | 363 | 333 | 360 |
- Southampton | 664 | 215 | 207 | 188 | 186 | 159 | 126 |
- Stafford | 1017 | 233 | 271 | 324 | 465 | 313 | 304 |
- Suffolk | 511 | 187 | 201 | 184 | 188 | 195 | 198 |
- Surrey | 1026 | 315 | 320 | 274 | 300 | 223 | 233 |
- Sussex | 498 | 173 | 173 | 176 | 191 | 143 | 111 |
- Warwick | 959 | 293 | 396 | 403 | 363 | 392 | 267 |
- Westmorland | 41 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 3 |
- Wilts | 462 | 132 | 145 | 146 | 127 | 116 | 100 |
- Worcester | 594 | 169 | 275 | 244 | 250 | 242 | 204 |
- York | 1878 | 553 | 572 | 531 | 776 | 621 | 444 |
- North Wales | 274 | 84 | 110 | 92 | 122 | 116 | 107 |
- South Wales | 435 | 108 | 136 | 135 | 138 | 174 | 188 |
- +--------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
- TOTAL FOR | | | | | | | |
- ENGLAND | 27,542 | 196 | 9058 | 9220 | 10,128| 9173 | 7901 |
- AND WALES | | | | | | | |
- +--------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
-
- +-------+-------+-------+-------+---------+---------+----------------+----------------
- | | |No. of Criminals|Per Cent. above
- | |Average | who can | and below the
- |Total for| Number | neither read | Average.
- +-------+-------+-------+-------+10 years.|per Year.| nor write |† denotes above.
- | 1845. | 1846. | 1847. | 1848. | | | in every 100. |* „ below.
- +-------+-------+-------+-------+---------+---------+----------------+----------------
- | | | | | | | |
- | 64 | 66 | 64 | 79 | 745 | 74 | 40·8 | †28·3
- | 79 | 88 | 100 | 127 | 951 | 95 | 30·3 | * 4·7
- | 95 | 89 | 105 | 82 | 970 | 97 | 34·0 | † 6·9
- | 69 | 78 | 75 | 81 | 772 | 77 | 30·9 | * 2·5
- | 230 | 296 | 336 | 371 | 3,150 | 315 | 34·8 | † 9·4
- | 90 | 89 | 125 | 86 | 875 | 87 | 29·6 | * 6·9
- | 21 | 46 | 32 | 37 | 354 | 35 | 26·9 | *15·4
- | 53 | 63 | 41 | 64 | 642 | 64 | 24·3 | *23·5
- | 211 | 248 | 307 | 295 | 2,087 | 209 | 27·7 | *12·9
- | 83 | 64 | 93 | 84 | 864 | 86 | 33·3 | † 4·7
- | 66 | 78 | 97 | 120 | 842 | 84 | 32·3 | † 1·5
- | 188 | 242 | 254 | 224 | 2,524 | 252 | 39·5 | †24·2
- | 210 | 235 | 293 | 276 | 2,987 | 299 | 28·0 | *11·9
- | 96 | 64 | 112 | 115 | 1,027 | 103 | 45·0 | †41·5
- | 90 | 82 | 121 | 148 | 1,195 | 119 | 41·3 | †29·8
- | 32 | 14 | 21 | 36 | 252 | 25 | 32·4 | † 1·9
- | 301 | 267 | 305 | 368 | 3,195 | 319 | 33·8 | † 6·3
- | 1023 | 1097 | 1283 | 1389 | 13,444 | 1344 | 38·8 | †22·0
- | 87 | 96 | 66 | 82 | 1,179 | 118 | 28·1 | *11·6
- | 112 | 125 | 136 | 137 | 1,243 | 124 | 27·1 | *14·8
- | 1230 | 1177 | 1280 | 1322 | 10,564 | 1056 | 24·9 | *21·7
- | 34 | 45 | 81 | 95 | 763 | 76 | 27·9 | *12·2
- | 254 | 271 | 293 | 247 | 2,756 | 276 | 37·9 | †19·1
- | 107 | 86 | 56 | 93 | 941 | 94 | 32·3 | † 1·5
- | 44 | 45 | 49 | 57 | 550 | 55 | 25·7 | *19·1
- | 79 | 88 | 95 | 106 | 1,000 | 100 | 30·0 | * 5·6
- | 93 | 64 | 90 | 73 | 973 | 97 | 31·5 | * ·9
- | 12 | 8 | 15 | 17 | 89 | 9 | 31·0 | * 2·5
- | 104 | 89 | 112 | 119 | 1,470 | 147 | 40·0 | †25·8
- | 298 | 224 | 266 | 313 | 3,200 | 320 | 34·1 | † 7·2
- | 153 | 193 | 213 | 194 | 1,834 | 183 | 27·5 | *13·5
- | 212 | 263 | 354 | 387 | 3,126 | 313 | 30·7 | * 3·4
- | 113 | 159 | 159 | 179 | 1,763 | 176 | 34·4 | † 8·1
- | 223 | 218 | 348 | 340 | 2,824 | 282 | 27·4 | *13·8
- | 97 | 151 | 136 | 168 | 1,519 | 152 | 30·5 | * 4·0
- | 237 | 234 | 324 | 440 | 3,349 | 335 | 34·9 | † 9·7
- | 11 | 20 | 5 | 9 | 78 | 8 | 19·5 | *38·6
- | 85 | 101 | 118 | 104 | 1,174 | 117 | 25·3 | *20·4
- | 210 | 195 | 229 | 232 | 2,250 | 225 | 34·5 | † 8·5
- | 378 | 453 | 528 | 619 | 5,475 | 547 | 29·1 | * 8·5
- | 81 | 79 | 126 | 136 | 1,053 | 105 | 38·3 | †20·4
- | 183 | 108 | 187 | 240 | 1,593 | 159 | 36·5 | †14·7
- +-------+-------+-------+-------+---------+---------+----------------+----------------
- | | | | | | | |
- | 7438 | 7698 | 9050 | 9691 | 87,553 | 8755 | 31·8 |
- | | | | | | | |
- +-------+-------+-------+-------+---------+---------+----------------+----------------
-
-
-CRIMINALS, AS SHOWN BY THE NUMBER OF PERSONS WHO COULD NEITHER READ NOR
-WRITE IN EVERY 100 CRIMINALS.
-
-_Counties above the Average._
-
- Hereford 45·0
- Hertford 41·3
- Bedford 40·8
- Salop 40·0
- Essex 39·5
- Lancaster 38·8
- North Wales 38·3
- Norfolk 37·9
- South Wales 36·5
- Warwick 34·9
- Chester 34·8
- Worcester 34·5
- Suffolk 34·4
- Somerset 34·1
- Bucks 34·0
- Kent 33·8
- Dorset 33·3
- Hunts 32·4
- Durham 32·3
- Northampton 32·3
- ----
- Average for England and Wales 31·8
-
-_Counties below the Average._
-
- Oxford 31·5
- Rutland 31·0
- Cambridge 30·9
- Stafford 30·7
- Sussex 30·5
- Berks 30·3
- Nottingham 30·0
- Cornwall 29·6
- York 29·1
- Leicester 28·1
- Gloucester 28·0
- Monmouth 27·9
- Devon 27·7
- Southampton 27·5
- Surrey 27·4
- Lincoln 27·1
- Cumberland 26·9
- Northumberland 25·7
- Wilts 25·3
- Middlesex 24·9
- Derby 24·3
- Westmorland 19·5
-
-
- THE COUNTIES ARRANGED CRIMINALLY AND TOPOGRAPHICALLY (_to show the
- local association of crime_).
-
- DIVISION I.--_Northern, Welsh, and Cornish Counties._
-
- No. of
- Criminals
- in 10,000.
- Cumberland 7·1
- Durham 7·8
- Westmorland 8·1
- Northumberland 8·2
- North Wales 7·2
- South Wales 8·4
- Cornwall 8·0
-
- DIVISION II.--_York and N. Midland Counties._
-
- York 11·4
- Derby 10·5
- Nottingham 11·8
- Lincoln 12·8
- Rutland 13·9
-
- DIVISION III.--_S. Midland & Eastern Counties._
-
- Hunts 14·1
- Northampton 14·2
- Cambridge 14·7
- Bedford 15·2
- Suffolk 15·7
- Norfolk 17·1
- Essex 19·1
- Oxford 17·8
- Herts 17·5
- Bucks 20·4
-
- DIVISION IV.--_South Eastern and South Western._
-
- Berks 12·9
- Devon 14·1
- Dorset 14·8
- Sussex 15·3
- Surrey 16·3
- Kent 16·4
- Hants 17·7
- Wilts 18·9
- Somerset 19·9
- Monmouth 18·0
-
- DIVISION V.--_Western and North Western._
-
- Shropshire 14·9
- Leicestershire 17·1
- Stafford 17·9
- Lancaster 18·5
- Chester 22·6
- Warwick 21·6
- Hereford 23·8
- Worcester 25·0
- Gloucester 26·1
-
-DIVISION VI.--_Metropolitan._
-
- Middlesex 24·5
-
- The Northern, Welsh, and Cornish Counties range in criminality from
- 7·1 to 8·4 in 10,000.
-
- York and the N. Midland Counties, from 11·4 to 13·9.
-
- The S. Midland and Eastern Counties, from 14·1 to 20·4.
-
- The S. Eastern and S. Western, from 12·9 to 19·9.
-
- The Western and N. Western, from 14·9 to 26·1.
-
- The Metropolitan, 24·5.
-
- TABLE SHOWING THE RELATIVE CRIMINALITY AND IGNORANCE
- OF THE SEVERAL COUNTIES, ARRANGED ACCORDING
- TO THE OCCUPATION OF THEIR INHABITANTS.
- +------------------------------------+-------------------+-----------------+
- | |No. of Criminals |No. of Persons |
- | |in every |who signed with |
- | |10,000 of Pop. |Marks in every |
- | | |100 married. |
- + +-------------------+-----------------+
- | _Agricultural Counties._ | | |
- | | | |
- | Lincoln | 12 | 39 |
- | Rutland | 13 | 49 |
- | Huntingdon | 14 | 49 |
- | Cambridge | 14 | 45 |
- | Essex | 19 | 50 |
- | Sussex | 15 | 34 |
- | Hereford | 23 | 41 |
- | | | |
- |_Agricultural and Sub-Manufacturing_| | |
- |_Counties._ | | |
- | | | |
- | Westmorland | 8 | 27 |
- | Norfolk | 17 | 46 |
- | Suffolk | 15 | 48 |
- | Hertford | 17 | 54 |
- | Bedford | 15 | 56 |
- | Buckingham | 20 | 49 |
- | Northampton | 14 | 43 |
- | Oxford | 17 | 39 |
- | Berks | 12 | 42 |
- | Hants | 17 | 34 |
- | Wilts | 18 | 48 |
- | Dorset | 14 | 36 |
- | Somerset | 19 | 41 |
- | | | |
- | _Sub-Agricul. and Sub-Manufact._ | | |
- | _County._ | | |
- | | | |
- | Gloucester | 26 | 35 |
- | | | |
- | _Manufacturing Counties._ | | |
- | | | |
- | Lancaster | 18 | 52 |
- | Yorkshire | 11 | 44 |
- | Chester | 22 | 46 |
- | Nottingham | 11 | 42 |
- | Leicester | 17 | 41 |
- | Warwick | 21 | 38 |
- | Worcester | 25 | 52 |
- | | | |
- | _Mining Counties._ | | |
- | | | |
- | Durham | 7 | 36 |
- | Cornwall | 8 | 45 |
- | | | |
- | _Manufacturing and Sub-Mining_ | | |
- | _Counties._ | | |
- | | | |
- | Derby | 10 | 39 |
- | Stafford | 17 | 52 |
- | | | |
- | _Agricultural and Sub-Mining_ | | |
- | _Counties._ | | |
- | | | |
- | Salop | 14 | 48 |
- | North Wales | 7 | 55 |
- | South Wales | 8 | 57 |
- | | | |
- | _Sub-Agricultural and_ | | |
- | _Sub-Mining Counties._ | | |
- | | | |
- | Northumberland | 8 | 28 |
- | Cumberland | 7 | 25 |
- | Monmouth | 18 | 59 |
- | | | |
- | _Metropolitan County._ | | |
- | | | |
- | Middlesex | 24 | 18 |
- | | | |
- | _Sub-Metropolitan Counties._ | | |
- | | | |
- | Surrey | 16 | 21 |
- | Kent | 16 | 32 |
-
-For definition of Agricultural, Manufacturing, and Mining Counties, see
-Table of Density of Population, No. 37.
-
-[Illustration: TABLE SHOWING THE RELATIVE DEGREES OF CRIMINALITY AND
-IGNORANCE IN THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES IN ENGLAND AND WALES.
-
-THE AVERAGE TAKEN FOR TEN YEARS.
-
-_The thin line represents Ignorance. The thick line represents Crime._]
-
-
-EDUCATION OF CRIMINALS (ENGLAND AND WALES).
-
- TABLE SHOWING THE DEGREES OF INSTRUCTION OF PERSONS OF ALL AGES
- COMMITTED TO PRISON FROM 1839 TO 1848.
-
- ------+---------+------------+----------+------------+------------+--------
- Years.|Unable to| Able to | Able to | Superior |Instruction |
- | read or | read and | read and |Instruction.| could | Total.
- | write. | write | write | | not be |
- | |imperfectly.| well. | |ascertained.|
- ------+---------+------------+----------+------------+------------+--------
- 1839 | 8,196 | 13,071 | 2462 | 78 | 636 | 24,443
- 1840 | 9,058 | 15,109 | 2253 | 101 | 666 | 27,187
- 1841 | 9,220 | 15,732 | 2053 | 26 | 629 | 27,760
- 1842 | 10,128 | 18,260 | 2121 | 69 | 731 | 31,309
- 1843 | 9,173 | 17,045 | 2371 | 140 | 862 | 29,591
- 1844 | 7,901 | 15,735 | 2165 | 111 | 639 | 26,542
- 1845 | 7,438 | 14,179 | 2037 | 89 | 560 | 24,303
- 1846 | 7,698 | 14,942 | 1936 | 85 | 446 | 25,107
- 1847 | 9,050 | 16,980 | 2245 | 82 | 476 | 28,833
- 1848 | 9,691 | 17,111 | 2984 | 81 | 482 | 30,349
- ------+---------+------------+----------+------------+------------+--------
-
-
- TABLE SHOWING THE CENTESIMAL DEGREES OF INSTRUCTION OF PERSONS OF ALL
- AGES COMMITTED TO PRISON FROM 1839 TO 1848.
-
- ------+---------+------------+----------+------------+------------
- Years.|Unable to| Able to | Able to | Superior |Instruction
- | read or | read and | read and |Instruction.| could
- | write. | write | write | | not be
- | |imperfectly.| well. | |ascertained.
- ------+---------+------------+----------+------------+------------
- 1839 | 33·53 | 53·48 | 10·07 | 0·32 | 2·60
- 1840 | 33·32 | 55·57 | 8·29 | 0·37 | 2·45
- 1841 | 33·21 | 56·67 | 7·40 | 0·45 | 2·27
- 1842 | 32·35 | 58·32 | 6·77 | 0·22 | 2·34
- 1843 | 31·00 | 57·60 | 8·02 | 0·47 | 2·91
- 1844 | 29·77 | 59·28 | 8·42 | 0·42 | 2·41
- 1845 | 30·61 | 58·34 | 8·38 | 0·37 | 2·30
- 1846 | 30·66 | 59·51 | 7·71 | 0·34 | 1·78
- 1847 | 31·39 | 58·89 | 7·79 | 0·28 | 1·65
- 1848 | 31·93 | 56·38 | 9·83 | 0·27 | 1·59
- ------+---------+------------+----------+------------+------------
-
-⁂ “The instruction of the offenders,” say the Criminal Returns of
-1848, “has been without much variation, exhibiting, on a comparison
-of the last ten years, a _decreased_ proportion of those entirely
-uninstructed;” and it may be added a corresponding _increase_ of those
-who are able to read and write imperfectly.
-
-
- THE STATE OF EDUCATION AND DENSITY OF THE POPULATION IN THE SEVERAL
- COUNTIES COMPARED.
-
- ---------------+-------------------+----------------+-------------------
- | Percentage | | Percentage
- | above and below | | above and below
- | the Average. | | the Average.
- _Counties_ +---------+---------+ _Counties_ +---------+---------
- _having great_ | In No. |In No. of| _having little_| In No. |In No. of
- _Ignorance_ | signing | Persons | _Ignorance_ | signing | Persons
- _and great_ | register| to 100 | _and great_ | register| to 100
- _density of_ | with | Acres. | _density of_ | with | Acres.
- _Population._ | Marks. | | _Population._ | Marks. |
- +---------+---------+----------------+---------+---------
- Monmouth | †47 | † 9 | Middlesex | *55 | †2030
- Lancaster | †30 | †270 | Surrey | *47 | † 189
- Stafford | †30 | † 72 | Kent | *20 | † 28
- Worcester | †30 | † 13 | Gloucester | *12 | † 6
- Chester | †15 | † 31 | Durham | *10 | † 21
- Nottingham | †5 | † 12 | Warwick | * 5 | † 70
- |
- _Counties having little Ignorance_ |_Counties having great Ignorance_
- _and little density of Population._|_and little density of Population._
- |
- Cumberland | *37 | *59 | South Wales | †42 | *55
- Westmorland | *32 | *75 | Bedford | †40 | *12
- Northumb | *30 | *48 | North Wales | †37 | *60
- Devon | *20 | *30 | Hertford | †35 | *12
- Sussex | *15 | *25 | Essex | †25 | *29
- Southampton | *15 | *20 | Bucks | †22 | *37
- Dorset | *10 | *43 | Hunts | †22 | *49
- Oxford | * 2 | *26 | Rutland | †22 | *49
- Lincoln | * 2 | *51 | Salop | †20 | *42
- Derby | * 2 | *20 | Suffolk | †20 | *26
- | Wilts | †20 | *44
- | Norfolk | †15 | *32
- | Cambridge | †12 | *28
- | Cornwall | †12 | *16
- | York | †10 | * 2
- | Northampton | † 7 | *33
- | Berks | † 5 | *15
- | Hereford | † 2 | *63
- | Leicester | † 2 | * 7
- | Somerset | † 2 | *10
-
-⁂ The rule appears to be, that those counties are the _most_ ignorant
-in which the population is the _least_ dense.
-
-
- THE CRIME AND DENSITY OF THE POPULATION OF THE SEVERAL COUNTIES
- COMPARED.
-
- ---------------+--------------------+----------------+--------------------
- | Percentage | | Percentage
- | above and below | | above and below
- | the Average. | | the Average.
- _Counties_ +---------+----------+ _Counties_ +----------+---------
- _having great_ | |In No. of| _having great_ | |In No. of
- _Crime_ |In Number | Persons | _Crime_ |In Number | Persons
- _and great_ | of | to 100 | _and little_ | of | to 100
- _density of_ |Criminals.| Acres. | _density of_ |Criminals.| Acres.
- _Population._ | | | _Population._ | |
- +----------+---------+----------------+----------+---------
- Gloucester | †59·1 | † 6·4 | Hereford | †45·1 | *63·4
- Worcester | †52·4 | † 13·3 | Bucks | †24·4 | *37·0
- Middlesex | †49·4 | †2030·8 | Somerset | †21·3 | *10·9
- Chester | †37·8 | † 31·2 | Essex | †16·4 | *29·6
- Warwick | †31·7 | † 70·0 | Wilts | †15·2 | *44·1
- Lancaster | †12·8 | † 270·6 | Oxford | † 8·5 | *26·8
- Monmouth | † 9·7 | † 9·9 | Southampton | † 7·9 | *20·7
- Stafford | † 9·1 | † 72·2 | Hertford | † 6·7 | *12·5
- | Leicester | † 4·2 | * 7·4
- | Norfolk | † 4·2 | *32·6
-
- _Counties having little Crime and_ | _Counties having little Crime and_
- _little density of Population._ | _great density of Population._
- |
- Cumberland | *56·7 | *59·6 |Durham | *51·8 | † 21·9
- North Wales | *56·1 | *60.4 |Nottingham | *28·0 | † 12·7
- Cornwall | *51·2 | *16·3 |Surrey | * ·6 | †189·7
- Westmorland | *50·6 | *75·9 |Kent | | † 28·0
- Northumb | *50·0 | *48·1 |
- South Wales | *48·7 | *55·1 |
- Derby | *36·0 | *20·9 |
- York | *30·5 | * 2·0 |
- Lincoln | *22·0 | *51·7 |
- Berks | *21·4 | *15·5 |
- Hunts | *14·0 | *49·9 |
- Devon | *14·0 | *30·0 |
- Rutland | *15·2 | *49·9 |
- Northampton | *13·4 | *33·4 |
- Cambridge | *10·3 | *28·2 |
- Dorset | *10·0 | *43·1 |
- Salop | * 9·1 | *42·9 |
- Bedford | * 7·3 | *12·3 |
- Sussex | * 6·7 | *25·0 |
- Suffolk | * 4·2 | *26·6 |
-
-⁂ The rule appears to be, that those counties are the least criminal in
-which the population is the least dense.
-
-N.B. The † prefixed to a number denotes that it is _above_, the * that
-it is _below_ the average by the percentage which it expresses.
-
-[Illustration: MAP SHOWING THE NUMBER OF ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN IN EVERY
-1000 BIRTHS, IN EACH COUNTY OF ENGLAND AND WALES.
-
-⁂ The counties printed _black_ are those in which the number of
-Illegitimate Births is _above_ the Average.
-
-The counties left _white_ are those in which the number of Illegitimate
-Births is _below_ the Average.
-
-The Average is taken for four years (as long as the returns will allow).
-
-_The Average for all England and Wales is 67 in every 1000._]
-
-
-A TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF ILLEGITIMATE BIRTHS IN ENGLAND AND WALES
-IN THE UNDERMENTIONED YEARS.
-
-⁂ _The average is calculated for as long a series of years as the
-returns of the Registrar General will permit._
-
- --------------+--------------+-----------------------------------------+
- | | |
- | | Number of Illegitimate Births |
- | Total Number +---------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
- COUNTIES. | of Birth for | Average | | | | |
- | 4 Years, from|per Year.| 1845. | 1846. | 1847. | 1848. |
- | 1845-48. | | | | | |
- --------------+--------------+---------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
- Bedford | 17,384 | 4,346 | 355 | 349 | 302 | 338 |
- Berks | 23,195 | 5,799 | 463 | 472 | 438 | 470 |
- Bucks | 17,984 | 4,496 | 328 | 329 | 296 | 306 |
- Cambridge | 25,546 | 6,386 | 441 | 407 | 442 | 404 |
- Chester | 51,396 | 12,599 | 1188 | 1190 | 1064 | 1072 |
- Cornwall | 45,017 | 11,254 | 576 | 537 | 515 | 508 |
- Cumberland | 23,541 | 5,885 | 647 | 641 | 629 | 638 |
- Derby | 32,295 | 8,074 | 672 | 670 | 674 | 610 |
- Devon | 64,802 | 16,200 | 789 | 889 | 758 | 837 |
- Dorset | 20,529 | 5,132 | 364 | 331 | 309 | 366 |
- Durham | 54,916 | 13,729 | 804 | 821 | 812 | 859 |
- Essex | 41,356 | 10,339 | 588 | 673 | 590 | 634 |
- Gloucester | 49,444 | 12,361 | 811 | 855 | 720 | 767 |
- Hereford | 10,984 | 2,746 | 273 | 305 | 254 | 263 |
- Hertford | 21,590 | 5,397 | 402 | 414 | 368 | 367 |
- Hunts | 8,179 | 2,045 | 116 | 100 | 80 | 98 |
- Kent | 73,836 | 18,459 | 1015 | 1008 | 976 | 995 |
- Lancaster | 293,023 | 73,256 | 5929 | 5897 | 5477 | 5384 |
- Leicester | 29,512 | 7,378 | 640 | 624 | 531 | 536 |
- Lincoln | 49,546 | 12,386 | 843 | 845 | 773 | 821 |
- Middlesex | 217,523 | 54,381 | 2048 | 2254 | 2201 | 2298 |
- Monmouth | 21,995 | 5,499 | 247 | 266 | 253 | 309 |
- Norfolk | 52,387 | 13,097 | 1424 | 1440 | 1295 | 1336 |
- Northampton | 27,674 | 6,918 | 440 | 420 | 395 | 411 |
- Northumberland| 37,523 | 9,381 | 668 | 678 | 715 | 679 |
- Nottingham | 35,244 | 8,811 | 895 | 827 | 775 | 736 |
- Oxford | 20,886 | 5,221 | 368 | 468 | 386 | 361 |
- Rutland | 2,825 | 706 | 52 | 34 | 30 | 45 |
- Salop | 25,899 | 6,475 | 676 | 658 | 593 | 632 |
- Somerset | 53,509 | 13,377 | 903 | 860 | 796 | 830 |
- Southampton | 46,726 | 11,681 | 704 | 711 | 688 | 709 |
- Stafford | 77,972 | 19,493 | 1240 | 1283 | 1409 | 1433 |
- Suffolk | 42,055 | 10,514 | 937 | 950 | 849 | 846 |
- Surrey | 81,968 | 20,492 | 855 | 911 | 930 | 915 |
- Sussex | 38,454 | 9,613 | 657 | 669 | 695 | 626 |
- Warwick | 58,938 | 14,734 | 779 | 835 | 830 | 879 |
- Westmorland | 7,073 | 1,793 | 179 | 147 | 149 | 149 |
- Wilts | 29,008 | 7,252 | 521 | 549 | 485 | 469 |
- Worcester | 40,561 | 10,140 | 768 | 885 | 512 | 553 |
- York | 231,444 | 57,861 | 4266 | 4317 | 4030 | 4106 |
- North Wales | 43,268 | 10,817 | 872 | 854 | 830 | 832 |
- South Wales | 72,188 | 18,047 | 1407 | 1256 | 1271 | 1300 |
- +--------------+---------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
- Total for | 2,219,170 | 554,792 |38,241 |38,259 |36,125 |36,747 |
- England and | | | | | | |
- Wales | | | | | | |
- --------------+--------------+---------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
-
- +--------+---------+----------+------------+---------------
- | | | | | Per Cent.
- | | | | | above and
- + Total | |Proportion| Number of | below the
- | for 4 | Average | to all |Illegitimate| Average.
- | Years. |per Year.| Births, | in every |† denotes above
- | | |1 in every|1000 Births.|* „ below
- +--------+---------+----------+------------+---------------
- | 1,344 | 336 | 12·9 | 77 | †14·9
- | 1,843 | 461 | 12·5 | 79 | †17·9
- | 1,259 | 315 | 14·2 | 70 | †4·4
- | 1,694 | 423 | 15·0 | 66 | *1·5
- | 4,514 | 1128 | 11·3 | 89 | †32·8
- | 2,136 | 534 | 21·0 | 47 | *29·8
- | 2,555 | 639 | 9·2 | 108 | †61·2
- | 2,626 | 656 | 12·2 | 81 | †20·9
- | 3,273 | 818 | 19·7 | 50 | *25·3
- | 1,370 | 342 | 14·9 | 66 | *1·5
- | 3,296 | 824 | 16·3 | 60 | *10·4
- | 2,485 | 621 | 16·6 | 60 | *10·4
- | 3,153 | 788 | 15·6 | 64 | *4·5
- | 1,095 | 274 | 10·0 | 100 | †49·2
- | 1,551 | 388 | 13·9 | 72 | †7·4
- | 394 | 98 | 20·7 | 48 | *28·3
- | 3,994 | 998 | 14·8 | 54 | *19·4
- | 22,687 | 5672 | 12·9 | 77 | †14·9
- | 2,331 | 583 | 12·6 | 79 | †17·9
- | 3,282 | 820 | 15·0 | 66 | *1·5
- | 8,801 | 2200 | 24·7 | 40 | *40·3
- | 1,075 | 269 | 20·4 | 49 | *26·8
- | 5,495 | 1374 | 9·5 | 105 | †56·7
- | 1,666 | 416 | 16·6 | 60 | *10·4
- | 2,740 | 685 | 13·6 | 73 | †8·9
- | 3,233 | 808 | 10·9 | 91 | †35·8
- | 1,583 | 396 | 13·1 | 76 | †13·4
- | 161 | 40 | 17·5 | 56 | *16·4
- | 2,559 | 640 | 10·1 | 99 | †47·7
- | 3,389 | 847 | 15·7 | 63 | *6·0
- | 2,812 | 703 | 16·6 | 60 | *10·4
- | 5,365 | 1341 | 14·5 | 69 | †3·0
- | 3,582 | 895 | 11·7 | 85 | †26·8
- | 3,611 | 903 | 22·6 | 44 | *34·3
- | 2,647| 662 | 14·5 | 68 | †1·5
- | 3,323| 831 | 17·7 | 56 | *16·4
- | 624| 156 | 11·3 | 87 | †29·8
- | 2,024| 506 | 14·3 | 69 | †3·0
- | 2,718| 679 | 14·9 | 66 | *1·5
- | 16,619| 4155 | 13·9 | 71 | †6·0
- | 3,388| 847 | 12·7 | 78 | †16·4
- | 5,234| 1308 | 13·7 | 72 | †7·4
- +--------+---------+----------+------------+---------------
- |149,642 |37,410 | 14·8 | 67 |
- | | | | |
- | | | | |
- +--------+---------+----------+------------+---------------
-
-
- LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE ORDER OF THEIR ILLEGITIMATE BIRTHS, AS SHOWN
- BY THE NUMBER OF ILLEGITIMATES IN EVERY 1000 CHILDREN BORN.
-
-_Counties above the Average._
-
- Cumberland 108
- Norfolk 105
- Hereford 100
- Salop 99
- Nottingham 91
- Chester 89
- Westmorland 87
- Suffolk 85
- Derby 81
- Berks 79
- Leicester 79
- North Wales 78
- Lancaster 77
- Bedford 77
- Oxford 76
- Northumberland 73
- Hertford 72
- South Wales 72
- York 71
- Bucks 70
- Wilts 69
- Stafford 69
- Sussex 68
-
-_Counties below the Average._
-
- Cambridge 66
- Dorset 66
- Lincoln 66
- Worcester 66
- Gloucester 64
- Somerset 63
- Southampton 60
- Northampton 60
- Essex 60
- Durham 60
- Warwick 56
- Rutland 56
- Kent 54
- Devon 50
- Monmouth 49
- Hunts 48
- Cornwall 47
- Surrey 44
- Middlesex 40
- ---
- Average for England and Wales 67
-
-
- THE EARLY MARRIAGES AND THE INCREASE OF THE POPULATION
- IN EACH COUNTY COMPARED.
- ----------------------------+--------------+------------------------+
- | | Annual No. of |
- | Rate of |Early Marriages in every|
- _Counties in which the_ | Increase of | 1000 Marriages, from |
- _Increase of the _ |the Population| 1844-48. |
- _Population and the_ | from +------------------------+
- _number of Early_ | 1841 to 1851 | Among | Among |
- _Marriages are both_ | per cent. | Males. | Females. |
- _above the Average._ +--------------+-----------+------------+
- Lancaster | 22 | 50 | 139 |
- Stafford | 20 | 62 | 176 |
- Bedford | 16 | 109 | 235 |
- Chester | 15 | 54 | 151 |
- |
- _Counties in which the Increase of the Population and the_ |
- _number of Early Marriages are both below the Average._ |
- |
- Northumberland | 13 | 39 | 124 |
- Southampton | 13 | 25 | 118 |
- Cumberland | 10 | 33 | 105 |
- Gloucester | 6 | 42 | 104 |
- Devon | 6 | 22 | 82 |
- Rutland | 5 | 36 | 128 |
- Cornwall | 4 | 32 | 131 |
- North Wales | 4 | 27 | 77 |
- Hereford | 3 | 17 | 79 |
- Westmorland | 3 | 32 | 128 |
- Salop | 1 | 29 | 95 |
- |
- _Counties in which the Increase of the Population and the_ |
- _Early Marriages among Females are above the Average and_ |
- _those among Males below it._ |
- Durham | 26 | 35 | 142 |
- Kent | 14 | 46 | 140 |
- |
- _County in which the Increase of the Population and Early_ |
- _Marriages among Females are below the Average, and those_ |
- _among Males above it._ |
- Warwick | 18 | 46 | 131 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
-
-
- +----------------------------+--------------+--------------------------
- | | | Annual No. of
- |_Counties in which the_ | Rate of |Early Marriages in every
- |_Increase of the Population_| Increase of | 1000 Marriages, from
- |_is below_ |the Population| 1844-48.
- +_the Average, and_ | from +-------------------------
- |_the number of_ | 1841 to 1851 | Among | Among
- |_Early Marriages is_ | per cent. | Males. | Females.
- +_above it._ +--------------+------------+------------
- |Cambridge | 13 | 73 | 227
- |Worcester | 13 | 56 | 151
- |York | 13 | 57 | 187
- |Hunts | 9 | 99 | 336
- |Nottingham | 9 | 60 | 158
- |Derby | 9 | 46 | 138
- |Essex | 7 | 57 | 204
- |Hertford | 7 | 75 | 210
- |Norfolk | 7 | 50 | 148
- |Suffolk | 7 | 52 | 1623
- |Northampton | 7 | 71 | 190
- |Leicester | 7 | 79 | 179
- |Berks | 5 | 148 | 143
- |Bucks | 4 | 94 | 743
- |Oxford | 4 | 46 | 151
- |Wilts | 0·7 | 68 | 164
- |
- | _Counties in which the Increase of Population is above the_
- | _Average, and the number of Early Marriages is below it._
- |Middlesex | 20 | 18 | 85
- |Surrey | 17 | 16 | 91
- |Monmouth | 17 | 28 | 105
- |South Wales | 14 | 30 | 82
- |
- | _Counties in which the Increase of the Population and the_
- | _Early Marriages among Males are below the Average and_
- | _those among Females above it._
- |Lincoln | 12 | 39 | 153
- |Sussex | 12 | 38 | 160
- |
- | _Counties in which the Increase of the Population and Early_
- | _Marriages among Females is below the Average and those_
- | _among Males above it._
- |Somerset | 2 | 47 | 112
- |Dorset | 6 | 47 | 125
-
-[Illustration: MAP SHOWING THE NUMBER OF EARLY MARRIAGES AMONGST MALES
-IN EVERY 1000 MARRIAGES, IN EACH COUNTY OF ENGLAND AND WALES.
-
-⁂ The counties printed _black_ are those in which the number of
-Improvident Marriages is _above_ the Average.
-
-The counties left _white_ are those in which the number of Improvident
-Marriages is _below_ the Average.
-
-The Average is taken for five years (as long as the returns will allow).
-
-_The Average for all England and Wales is 43 in 1,000._]
-
-
-TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF EARLY MARRIAGES OF MALES AND FEMALES IN THE
-SEVERAL COUNTIES FOR THE UNDERMENTIONED YEARS.
-
-⁂ _The returns of the Registrar do not admit of the average being
-calculated from a longer series of years._
-
- ------------------+---------+---------------------------------------------------------
- | Annual | Number of Early Marriages.
- | Average +--------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
- COUNTIES. |Number of| | | | |
- |Marriages| 1844. | 1845. | 1846. | 1847. |
- | from | | | | |
- | 1844-48.|-----+--------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+-------+
- | |Males| Females|Males|Females|Males|Females|Males|Females|
- ------------------+---------+-----+--------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+-------+
- Bedford | 960 | 102 | 237 | 103 | 216 | 108 | 238 | 115 | 221 |
- Berks | 1,322 | 52 | 186 | 61 | 182 | 62 | 201 | 74 | 204 |
- Bucks | 974 | 66 | 181 | 66 | 175 | 87 | 196 | 76 | 179 |
- Cambridge | 1,428 | 115 | 324 | 89 | 308 | 112 | 349 | 96 | 311 |
- Chester | 2,764 | 153 | 393 | 175 | 427 | 154 | 455 | 132 | 372 |
- Cornwall | 2,510 | 86 | 312 | 84 | 348 | 80 | 334 | 86 | 313 |
- Cumberland | 1,060 | 31 | 88 | 54 | 145 | 28 | 133 | 23 | 94 |
- Derby | 1,954 | 86 | 276 | 76 | 243 | 104 | 289 | 82 | 270 |
- Devon | 4,574 | 84 | 324 | 95 | 352 | 104 | 367 | 97 | 401 |
- Dorset | 1,209 | 62 | 155 | 64 | 161 | 46 | 130 | 57 | 166 |
- Durham | 3,137 | 82 | 353 | 110 | 468 | 118 | 463 | 124 | 462 |
- Essex | 2,154 | 125 | 454 | 133 | 436 | 116 | 415 | 123 | 411 |
- Gloucester | 3,568 | 133 | 350 | 162 | 378 | 180 | 414 | 114 | 340 |
- Hereford | 648 | 15 | 47 | 10 | 61 | 11 | 60 | 14 | 47 |
- Hertford | 1,009 | 86 | 218 | 77 | 229 | 83 | 227 | 68 | 193 |
- Hunts | 455 | 77 | 370 | 41 | 91 | 29 | 110 | 42 | 94 |
- Kent | 4,339 | 98 | 584 | 112 | 614 | 128 | 659 | 108 | 567 |
- Lancaster | 18,785 | 831 | 2310 |1040 | 2729 |1005 | 2784 | 773 | 2330 |
- Leicester | 1,827 | 160 | 330 | 168 | 359 | 150 | 321 | 125 | 277 |
- Lincoln | 2,862 | 112 | 393 | 115 | 430 | 82 | 453 | 110 | 417 |
- Middlesex | 16,859 | 249 | 1262 | 360 | 1477 | 329 | 1606 | 322 | 1428 |
- Monmouth | 1,395 | 28 | 119 | 38 | 149 | 43 | 147 | 44 | 157 |
- Norfolk | 3,189 | 164 | 467 | 173 | 448 | 158 | 472 | 144 | 444 |
- Northampton | 1,648 | 109 | 317 | 136 | 354 | 112 | 326 | 110 | 287 |
- Northumberland | 2,161 | 68 | 219 | 79 | 283 | 98 | 310 | 97 | 255 |
- Nottingham | 2,204 | 148 | 369 | 133 | 365 | 139 | 365 | 113 | 302 |
- Oxford | 1,154 | 53 | 172 | 52 | 190 | 56 | 156 | 51 | 163 |
- Rutland | 164 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 16 | 4 | 14 | 11 | 34 |
- Salop | 1,596 | 36 | 144 | 32 | 118 | 62 | 165 | 52 | 151 |
- Somerset | 3,159 | 144 | 375 | 159 | 328 | 166 | 385 | 116 | 319 |
- Southampton | 3,085 | 77 | 370 | 81 | 414 | 100 | 370 | 67 | 304 |
- Stafford | 4,807 | 215 | 634 | 278 | 818 | 285 | 835 | 391 | 1045 |
- Suffolk | 2,453 | 115 | 367 | 133 | 401 | 139 | 420 | 123 | 394 |
- Surrey | 5,550 | 84 | 485 | 90 | 523 | 108 | 532 | 86 | 536 |
- Sussex | 2,231 | 83 | 320 | 98 | 355 | 95 | 411 | 72 | 345 |
- Warwick | 3,650 | 130 | 383 | 158 | 437 | 175 | 482 | 176 | 502 |
- Westmorland | 436 | 10 | 44 | 11 | 40 | 22 | 80 | 17 | 64 |
- Wilts | 1,681 | 117 | 265 | 108 | 294 | 134 | 308 | 99 | 246 |
- Worcester | 2,796 | 151 | 421 | 201 | 583 | 254 | 604 | 93 | 272 |
- York | 14,399 | 828 | 2586 | 934 | 2868 | 841 | 2774 | 747 | 2649 |
- North Wales | 2,643 | 75 | 200 | 75 | 186 | 65 | 224 | 67 | 207 |
- South Wales | 4,337 | 113 | 280 | 118 | 377 | 141 | 417 | 129 | 345 |
- +---------+-----+--------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+-------+
- Total for England | | | | | | | | | |
- & Wales |139,146 |5515 |17,410 |6287 |19,376 |6313 |20,001 |5566 |18,118 |
- ------------------+---------+-----+--------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+-------+
-
- --------------+---------------+--------------+--------------+----------------+---------------
- | | | | |Per Cent. above
- +-------------+ Total | Average |Proportion to | Number of |and below the
- | | for 5 years. | per year. |all Marriages,| early Marriages| Average.
- | 1848. | | | 1 in every | to every 1000. |† denotes above
- | | | | | |* „ below
- +-----+-------+-------+-------+-----+--------+------+-------+------+---------+------+--------
- |Males|Females| Males |Females|Males| Females| Males|Females| Males| Females | Males| Females
- +-----+-------+-------+-------+-----+--------+------+-------+------+---------+------+--------
- | 96 | 218 | 524 | 1,130 | 105 | 226 | 9·1 | 4·2 | 109 | 235 | †153 | †74
- | 70 | 171 | 319 | 944 | 64 | 189 | 20·6 | 6·9 | 48 | 143 | †12 | †6
- | 67 | 213 | 362 | 944 | 72 | 189 | 13·5 | 5·1 | 74 | 194 | †72 | †44
- | 115 | 328 | 527 | 1,620 | 105 | 324 | 13·6 | 4·4 | 73 | 227 | †70 | †68
- | 136 | 446 | 750 | 2,093 | 150 | 419 | 18·4 | 6·5 | 54 | 151 | †25 | †12
- | 68 | 341 | 404 | 1,648 | 81 | 330 | 30·9 | 7·6 | 32 | 131 | *25 | *3
- | 38 | 97 | 174 | 557 | 35 | 111 | 30·2 | 9·5 | 33 | 105 | *23 | *22
- | 109 | 275 | 457 | 1,353 | 91 | 271 | 21·4 | 7·2 | 46 | 138 | †7 | †2
- | 124 | 430 | 504 | 1,874 | 101 | 375 | 45·2 | 12·1 | 22 | 82 | *49 | *39
- | 57 | 147 | 286 | 759 | 57 | 152 | 21·2 | 7·9 | 47 | 125 | †9 | *7
- | 115 | 489 | 549 | 2,235 | 110 | 447 | 28·5 | 7·0 | 35 | 142 | *19 | †5
- | 121 | 462 | 618 | 2,178 | 124 | 436 | 17·3 | 4·9 | 57 | 202 | †33 | †50
- | 163 | 372 | 752 | 1,854 | 150 | 371 | 23·7 | 9·6 | 42 | 104 | *2 | *23
- | 7 | 42 | 57 | 257 | 11 | 51 | 58·9 | 12·7 | 17 | 79 | *60 | *41
- | 68 | 192 | 382 | 1,059 | 76 | 212 | 13·2 | 4·7 | 75 | 210 | †74 | †56
- | 37 | 102 | 226 | 767 | 45 | 153 | 10·1 | 2·9 | 99 | 336 | †130 | †149
- | 128 | 625 | 574 | 3,049 | 115 | 610 | 37·7 | 7·1 | 26 | 140 | *40 | †4
- |1100 | 2864 | 4749 |13,017 | 950 | 2603 | 19·7 | 7·2 | 50 | 139 | †16 | †3
- | 124 | 347 | 727 | 1,634 | 145 | 327 | 12·6 | 5·5 | 79 | 179 | †84 | †33
- | 138 | 509 | 557 | 2,202 | 111 | 440 | 25·7 | 6·5 | 39 | 153 | *9 | †13
- | 286 | 1437 | 1546 | 7,210 | 309 | 1442 | 54·5 | 11·6 | 18 | 85 | *58 | *37
- | 44 | 165 | 197 | 737 | 39 | 147 | 35·7 | 9·4 | 28 | 105 | *35 | *22
- | 164 | 504 | 803 | 2,335 | 161 | 467 | 19·8 | 6·8 | 50 | 146 | †16 | †81
- | 119 | 281 | 586 | 1,565 | 117 | 313 | 14·0 | 5·2 | 71 | 190 | †65 | †41
- | 77 | 278 | 419 | 1,345 | 84 | 269 | 24·5 | 8·0 | 39 | 124 | *9 | *81
- | 130 | 341 | 663 | 1,742 | 133 | 348 | 16·5 | 6·3 | 60 | 158 | †40 | †17
- | 57 | 196 | 269 | 877 | 54 | 175 | 21·3 | 6·5 | 46 | 151 | †7 | †12
- | 6 | 33 | 28 | 107 | 6 | 21 | 27·3 | 7·8 | 36 | 128 | *16 | *5
- | 55 | 177 | 237 | 755 | 47 | 151 | 33·9 | 10·5 | 29 | 95 | *33 | *30
- | 159 | 371 | 744 | 1,778 | 149 | 356 | 21·2 | 8·8 | 47 | 112 | †9 | *17
- | 70 | 367 | 395 | 1,825 | 79 | 365 | 39·0 | 8·4 | 25 | 118 | *42 | *13
- | 319 | 907 | 1488 | 4,239 | 298 | 848 | 16·1 | 5·6 | 62 | 176 | †44 | †30
- | 128 | 420 | 638 | 2,002 | 128 | 400 | 19·1 | 6·1 | 52 | 163 | †21 | †21
- | 70 | 462 | 438 | 2,538 | 88 | 508 | 63·0 | 10·9 | 16 | 91 | *63 | *25
- | 79 | 356 | 427 | 1,787 | 85 | 357 | 26·2 | 6·2 | 38 | 160 | *12 | †19
- | 212 | 597 | 851 | 2,401 | 170 | 480 | 21·4 | 7·6 | 46 | 131 | †7 | *3
- | 8 | 50 | 68 | 278 | 14 | 56 | 31·1 | 7·7 | 32 | 128 | *25 | *5
- | 115 | 282 | 573 | 1,395 | 115 | 279 | 14·6 | 6·0 | 68 | 164 | †58 | †21
- | 89 | 240 | 788 | 2,120 | 158 | 424 | 17·6 | 6·5 | 56 | 151 | †30 | †12
- | 794 | 2619 | 4144 |13,496 | 829 | 2699 | 17·3 | 5·3 | 57 | 187 | †33 | †39
- | 79 | 211 | 361 | 1,028 | 72 | 206 | 36·7 | 12·8 | 27 | 77 | *37 | *43
- | 150 | 372 | 651 | 1,791 | 130 | 358 | 33·3 | 12·1 | 30 | 82 | *30 | *39
- +-----+-------+-------+-------+-----+--------+------+-------+------+---------+------+--------
- | | | | | | | | | | | |
- |6091 |19,336 |29,772 |94,241 |5954 |18,848 | 23·3 | 7·3 | 43 | 135 | |
- +-----+-------+-------+-------+-----+--------+------+-------+------+---------+------+--------
-
-
- LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE ORDER OF THEIR EARLY MARRIAGES, AS SHOWN BY
- THE NUMBER OF MARRIAGES, UNDER TWENTY-ONE YEARS OF AGE, IN EVERY 1000
- MARRIAGES.
-
-AMONGST MALES.
-
- _Counties above_ | _Counties below_ |
- _the Average._ | _the Average._ |
- | |
- Bedford 109 | Gloucester 42 |
- Hunts 99 | Lincoln 39 |
- Leicester 79 | Northumb. 39 |
- Hertford 75 | Sussex 38 |
- Bucks 74 | Rutland 36 |
- Cambridge 73 | Durham 35 |
- Northamp. 71 | Cumberland 33 |
- Wilts 68 | Cornwall 32 |
- Stafford 62 | Westmor. 32 |
- Nottingham 60 | S. Wales 30 |
- Essex 57 | Salop 29 |
- York 57 | Monmouth 28 |
- Worcester 56 | N. Wales 27 |
- Chester 54 | Kent 26 |
- Suffolk 52 | Southamp. 25 |
- Lancaster 50 | Devon 22 |
- Norfolk 50 | Middlesex 18 |
- Berks 48 | Hereford 17 |
- Dorset 47 | Surrey 16 |
- Somerset 47 | -- |
- Derby 46 | Average for |
- Oxford 46 | England |
- Warwick 46 | and Wales 43 |
-
-AMONGST FEMALES.
-
- _Counties above_ | _Counties below_ |
- _the Average._ | _the Average._ |
-
- Huntingdon 336 | Warwick 131 |
- Bedford 235 | Cornwall 131 |
- Cambridge 227 | Westmor. 128 |
- Hertford 210 | Rutland 128 |
- Essex 204 | Dorset 125 |
- Bucks 194 | Northumb. 124 |
- Northamp. 190 | Southamp. 118 |
- York 187 | Somerset 112 |
- Leicester 179 | Monmouth 105 |
- Stafford 176 | Cumberland 105 |
- Wilts 164 | Gloucester 104 |
- Suffolk 162 | Shropshire 95 |
- Sussex 160 | Surrey 91 |
- Nottingham 158 | Middlesex 85 |
- Lincoln 153 | Devon 82 |
- Oxford 151 | S. Wales 82 |
- Chester 151 | Hereford 79 |
- Worcester 151 | N. Wales 77 |
- Norfolk 148 | --- |
- Berks 143 | Average for |
- Durham 142 | England |
- Kent 140 | and Wales 135 |
- Lancaster 139 |
- Derby 138 |
-
-⁂ The rule is, that where the greatest number of males marry at
-an early age, the greatest number of females do so likewise--the
-exceptions being Dorset, Somerset, and Warwick, among the males, and
-Sussex, Lincoln, Durham, and Kent among the females.
-
-††† There are, on an average, rather more than 3 females married at an
-early age to every male.
-
- -----------------------------------------------------------
- THE ILLEGITIMATE BIRTHS AND EARLY MARRIAGES IN THE SEVERAL
- († denotes _plus_.) COUNTIES COMPARED. (* denotes _minus_.)
- --------------------------+--------------------------------
- |Percent. above & below the Aver.
- |--------------------------------
- _Counties in which the_ | In No. |In No. of Early
- _Illegitimate Births_ | of | Marriages.
- _and the Early_ | Illegitimate +-------+---------
- _Marriages are both_ | Births. | Among | Among
- _above the Average._ | |Males. |Females.
- +--------------+-------+---------
- Norfolk | †56 | † 16 | †81
- Nottingham | †35 | † 40 | †17
- Suffolk | †26 | † 21 | †17
- Suffolk | †26 | † 21 | †17
- Suffolk | †26 | † 21 | †21
- Derby | †20 | † 7 | † 2
- Chester | †32 | † 25 | †12
- Leicester | †17 | † 84 | †33
- Berks | †17 | † 12 | † 6
- Lancaster | †14 | † 16 | † 3
- Bedford | †14 | †153 | †74
- Oxford | †13 | † 7 | †12
- Hertford | † 7 | † 74 | †56
- York | † 6 | † 33 | †39
- Bucks | † 4 | † 72 | †44
- Stafford | † 3 | † 44 | †30
- Wilts | † 3 | † 58 | †21
-
- _Counties in which the Illegitimate Children and Early_
- _Marriages are both below the Average._
-
- Middlesex | *40 | *58 | *37
- Surrey | *34 | *63 | *25
- Cornwall | *29 | *25 | * 3
- Monmouth | *26 | *35 | *22
- Devon | *25 | *49 | *39
- Rutland | *16 | *16 | * 5
- Southampton | *10 | *42 | *13
- Gloucester | * 4 | * 2 | *23
-
- _Counties in which the Illegitimate Children and Early_
- _Marriages among Males are both below the Average,_
- _and those among Females above it._
-
- Kent | *19 | *40 | † 4
- Durham | *10 | *19 | † 5
- Lincoln | * 1 | * 9 | †13
-
- _Exceptional County._
-
- Sussex | † 1 | *12 | †19
-
- _Counties in which the Illegitimate Births are above_
- _the Average and the Early Marriages below it._
-
- +--------------+-------+---------
- Cumberland | †61 | *23 | *22
- Hereford | †49 | *60 | *41
- Salop | †47 | *33 | *30
- Westmorland | †29 | *25 | * 5
- North Wales | †16 | *37 | *43
- Northumberland | † 8 | * 9 | *81
- South Wales | † 7 | *30 | *39
-
- ⁂ In the majority of these counties some peculiar
- form of courtship (as “night courtship” and “bundling”)
- prevails.
-
- _Counties in which the Illegitimate Children are below the_
- _Average, and the Early Marriages above it._
-
- Hunts | *28 | †130 | †149
- Northampton | *10 | † 65 | † 41
- Essex | *10 | † 33 | † 50
- Worcester | * 1 | † 30 | † 12
- Cambridge | * 1 | † 70 | † 68
-
- _Counties in which the Illegitimate Children and the Early_
- _Marriages among Females are both below the Average,_
- _and those among Males above it._
-
- Warwick | *16 | †7 | * 3
- Somerset | * 6 | †9 | *17
- Dorset | * 1 | †9 | * 7
-
-⁂ The rule appears to be, that in those counties in which there are
-the greatest number of Early Marriages, there are (_generally_) the
-greatest number of Illegitimate Children, and _vice versâ_.
-
-[Illustration: MAP SHOWING THE NUMBER OF FEMALES TO EVERY 100 MALES IN
-EACH OF THE COUNTIES OF ENGLAND & WALES.
-
-⁂ The counties printed _black_ are those in which the proportion of
-Females to Males is _above_ the Average.
-
-The counties left _white_ are those in which the proportion of Females
-to Males is _below_ the Average.
-
-_The Average for all England and Wales is 105 Females to every 100
-Males._]
-
-
-TABLE SHOWING THE PROPORTION OF FEMALES TO MALES IN THE DIFFERENT
-COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES.
-
- ----------------+-----------------------+----------+------------
- | 1851. | | Proportion
- | | | per Cent.
- |-----------+-----------+ Number | above and
- | | |of Females| below the
- COUNTIES. | | | to every | Average.
- | Male | Female |100 Males.| † denotes
- |Population.|Population.| | above.
- | | | | * below.
- ----------------+-----------+-----------+----------+------------
- Bedford | 62,420 | 67,369 | 108 | †2·9
- Berks | 99,227 | 99,927 | 101 | *3·8
- Bucks | 70,784 | 72,886 | 103 | *1·9
- Cambridge | 95,505 | 96,351 | 101 | *3·8
- Chester | 206,715 | 216,723 | 105 |
- Cornwall | 171,979 | 184,683 | 107 | †1·9
- Cumberland | 96,106 | 99,381 | 103 | *1·9
- Derby | 129,379 | 131,328 | 101 | *3·8
- Devon | 271,579 | 300,628 | 111 | †5·7
- Dorset | 85,816 | 91,781 | 107 | †1·9
- Durham | 206,666 | 204,866 | 99 | *5·7
- Essex | 172,161 | 171,755 | 100 | *4·8
- Gloucester | 198,122 | 221,353 | 112 | †6·7
- Hereford | 49,694 | 49,418 | 99 | *5·7
- Hertford | 86,331 | 87,632 | 102 | *2·9
- Hunts | 29,984 | 30,336 | 101 | *3·8
- Kent | 308,115 | 311,092 | 101 | *3·8
- Lancaster | 1,005,627 | 1,058,286 | 105 |
- Leicester | 115,295 | 119,643 | 104 | *1·0
- Lincoln | 201,027 | 199,239 | 99 | *5·7
- Middlesex | 885,614 | 1,010,096 | 114 | †8·6
- Monmouth | 92,095 | 85,070 | 92 | *12·4
- Norfolk | 210,360 | 223,443 | 106 | †1·0
- Northampton | 106,533 | 107,251 | 101 | *3·8
- Northumberland | 149,158 | 154,377 | 103 | *1·9
- Nottingham | 144,428 | 150,010 | 104 | *1·0
- Oxford | 85,449 | 84,837 | 99 | *5·7
- Rutland | 12,270 | 12,002 | 98 | *6·7
- Salop | 122,022 | 122,997 | 101 | *3·8
- Somerset | 216,716 | 239,521 | 111 | †5·7
- Southampton | 199,834 | 202,199 | 101 | *3·8
- Stafford | 320,394 | 310,112 | 97 | *7·6
- Suffolk | 165,267 | 170,724 | 103 | *1·9
- Surrey | 325,155 | 359,650 | 111 | †5·7
- Sussex | 166,828 | 172,600 | 103 | *1·9
- Warwick | 235,263 | 244,716 | 104 | *1·0
- Westmorland | 29,064 | 29,316 | 101 | *3·8
- Wilts | 113,839 | 122,164 | 103 | *1·9
- Worcester | 126,739 | 132,023 | 104 | *1·0
- York | 886,845 | 901,922 | 102 | *2·9
- North Wales | 200,538 | 203,622 | 102 | *2·9
- South Wales | 300,645 | 306,851 | 102 | *2·9
- +-----------+-----------+----------+------------
- TOTAL FOR | | | |
- ENGLAND AND | 8,762,588 | 9,160,180 | 105 |
- WALES | | | |
-
-
- LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE ORDER OF THEIR PROPORTION OF FEMALE TO MALE
- POPULATION, AS SHOWN BY THE NUMBER OF FEMALES TO EVERY 100 MALES.
-
-COUNTIES ABOVE THE AVERAGE.
-
- Middlesex 114
- Gloucester 112
- Devon 111
- Somerset 111
- Surrey 111
- Bedford 108
- Cornwall 107
- Dorset 107
- Norfolk 106
- ---
- Average for England
- & Wales 105
-
-COUNTIES BELOW THE AVERAGE.
-
- Chester 105
- Lancaster 105
- Leicester 104
- Nottingham 104
- Warwick 104
- Worcester 104
- Bucks 103
- Cumberland 103
- Northumb. 103
- Suffolk 103
- Sussex 103
- Wilts 103
- Hertford 102
- York 102
- North Wales 102
- South Wales 102
- Berks 101
- Cambridge 101
- Derby 101
- Hunts 101
- Kent 101
- Northampton 101
- Salop 101
- Southampton 101
- Westmorland 101
- Essex 100
- Durham 99
- Hereford 99
- Lincoln 99
- Oxford 99
- Rutland 98
- Stafford 97
- Monmouth 92
-
-
-THE EXCESS OF FEMALES AND ILLEGITIMATE BIRTHS COMPARED.
-
- -------------------+---------------------+-------------------+---------------------
- | Percentage | | Percentage
- | above and below | | above and below
- | the Average. | | the Average.
- | † denotes above | | † denotes above
- | and * below. |_Counties in_ | and * below.
- _Counties in_ | |_which the_ |
- _which the_ +--------+------------+_Number of Females_+--------+------------
- _Number of Females_| In No. | In No. |_is above and of_ | In No. | In No.
- _and Illegitimate_ | of | of |_the Illegitimate_ | of | of
- _Births_ |Females |Illegitimate|_Births_ |Females |Illegitimate
- _are both above_ | to | Births. |_is below_ | to | Births.
- _the Average._ | Males. | |_the Average._ | Males. |
- +--------+------------+ +--------+------------
- Bedford | † 3 | †14 | Middlesex | † 8 | *40
- Norfolk | † 1 | †56 | Gloucester | † 6 | * 4
- | Devon | † 5 | *25
- | Surrey | † 5 | *34
- | Somerset | † 5 | * 6
- | Cornwall | † 2 | *29
- | Dorset | † 1 | * 1
- |
- _Counties in which the Number of_ |_Counties in which the Number of_
- _Females and Illegitimate Births_ |_Females is below the Average and_
- _are both below the Average._ |_the Illegitimate Births above it._
- |
- Monmouth | *12 | *26 | Stafford | * 7 | † 3
- Rutland | * 6 | *16 | Oxford | * 5 | †13
- Lincoln | * 5 | * 1 | Hereford | * 5 | †49
- Durham | * 5 | *10 | Westmorland | * 3 | †29
- Essex | * 4 | *10 | Salop | * 3 | †47
- Hunts | * 3 | *28 | Derby | * 3 | †20
- Northampton | * 3 | *10 | Berks | * 3 | †17
- Kent | * 3 | *19 | York | * 2 | † 6
- Cambridge | * 3 | * 1 | Hertford | * 2 | † 7
- Southampton | * 3 | *10 | South Wales | * 2 | † 7
- Warwick | * 1 | *16 | North Wales | * 2 | † 6
- Worcester | * 1 | * 1 | Northumb. | * 1 | † 8
- | Cumberland | * 1 | †61
- | Wilts | * 1 | † 3
- | Suffolk | * 1 | †26
- | Bucks | * 1 | † 4
- | Nottingham | * 1 | †35
- | Leicester | * 1 | †17
- | Sussex | * 1 | † 1
- | Lancaster | .. | †14
- | Chester | .. | †32
-
- ⁂ The rule appears to be, that in those counties in which
- the number of females, in proportion to the males, is the _smallest_,
- the number of illegitimate births is the _greatest_, and where
- it is the _greatest_, the illegitimate births are the _smallest_.
-
-[Illustration: MAP SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PERSONS COMMITTED FOR RAPE IN
-EVERY 10,000,000 OF THE POPULATION, IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES OF ENGLAND
-AND WALES.
-
-⁂ The counties printed _black_ are those in which the number committed
-for Rape is _above_ the Average.
-
-The counties left _white_ are those in which the number committed for
-Rape is _below_ the Average.
-
-The Average has been calculated for the ten years from 1841 to 1850.
-
- _The Average for all England and Wales is 68 in every 10,000,000 People._
- _Monmouth (the highest) 171 „ „ _
- _Nottingham (the lowest) 28 „ „ _
-]
-
-
-TABLE SHOWING THE CRIMINALITY OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND
-WALES WITH REGARD TO RAPE.
-
- ----------------+----------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
- | | |
- | Average | Total Number Committed for Rape. |
- COUNTIES. |Population+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
- | from | | | | | | | | | | |
- | 1841-50. |1841.|1842.|1843.|1844.|1845.|1846.|1847.|1848.|1849.|1850.|
- ----------------+----------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
- Bedford | 121,083| 2 | 2 | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. | 1 | 1 | 1 |
- Berks | 194,763| 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .. | .. | .. | 3 | 1 | 2 |
- Bucks | 140,959| 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 2 | .. | 2 | .. | 5 | 2 |
- Cambridge | 180,747| 1 | .. | .. | .. | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
- Chester | 395,919| 1 | 9 | 7 | 6 | .. | 7 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 6 |
- Cornwall | 349,991| 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | .. | 5 | 2 | 2 |
- Cumberland | 186,762| .. | .. | .. | 3 | .. | 2 | .. | .. | 2 | .. |
- Derby | 250,249| .. | .. | 5 | 2 | .. | 2 | 1 | .. | 1 | 1 |
- Devon | 554,738| 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 4 | .. | 5 |
- Dorset | 172,736| .. | 1 | 3 | .. | 2 | .. | 1 | 1 | .. | 1 |
- Durham | 368,787| 2 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
- Essex | 332,363| 2 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
- Gloucester | 407,504| .. | 1 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
- Hereford | 97,813| .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 | 1 | 2 | .. | 1 | .. |
- Hertford | 168,178| .. | 6 | .. | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
- Hunts | 57,942| 1 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 | 1 |
- Kent | 585,249| 1 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
- Lancaster | 1,881,261| 8 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 4 | 9 |
- Leicester | 227,621| 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | .. | 2 | 1 | .. | 4 | 1 |
- Lincoln | 378,246| .. | 1 | 2 | 1 | .. | .. | 3 | 4 | .. | 2 |
- Middlesex | 1,740,814| 9 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 11 | 9 |
- Monmouth | 164,093| 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 1 | .. | 1 | 5 |
- Norfolk | 419,463| 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 9 |
- Northampton | 206,496| 3 | .. | 1 | 2 | 3 | .. | .. | 1 | 2 | 4 |
- Northumberland | 284,777| 1 | .. | 6 | 3 | .. | 1 | 2 | .. | 3 | .. |
- Nottingham | 282,584| .. | 1 | 2 | 1 | .. | 1 | .. | 1 | 1 | 1 |
- Oxford | 166,751| 1 | .. | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
- Rutland | 23,711| .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. |
- Salop | 243,352| .. | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .. | .. | 5 |
- Somerset | 452,515| 2 | .. | 3 | 6 | .. | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
- Southampton | 377,040| 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
- Stafford | 579,686| 6 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 17 | 13 |
- Suffolk | 325,336| 1 | 3 | 2 | .. | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
- Surrey | 635,917| .. | 1 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
- Sussex | 320,944| 5 | 4 | 2 | .. | 3 | 2 | .. | .. | 1 | .. |
- Warwick | 444,558| .. | 5 | 1 | 4 | .. | .. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
- Westmorland | 57,494| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 4 | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Wilts | 241,887| 3 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
- Worcester | 244,574| 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 1 | .. | 3 | 3 |
- York | 1,686,461| 5 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 15 | 15 |
- North Wales | 396,161| 3 | 2 | .. | .. | 2 | .. | 1 | 2 | .. | 2 |
- South Wales | 568,430| .. | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
- +----------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
- Total for |16,918,458| 78 |118 |127 |127 | 86 |139 | 97 |124 |121 |137 |
- England | | | | | | | | | | | |
- and Wales | | | | | | | | | | | |
-
- +-------+---------+-------------+----------------
- | | |No. committed| Proportion per
- | Total | | annually for| Cent above and
- + for 10| Annual |Rape in every| below the Aver.
- | years.| Average.| 10,000,000 |† denotes above.
- | | | Persons. |* „ below.
- +-------+---------+-------------+----------------
- | 8 | ·8 | 66 | *2·9
- | 12 | 1·2 | 62 | *8·8
- | 22 | 2·2 | 156 | †129·4
- | 10 | 1·0 | 55 | *19·1
- | 50 | 5·0 | 126 | †85·3
- | 24 | 2·4 | 68 |
- | 7 | ·7 | 37 | *45·6
- | 12 | 1·2 | 48 | *29·4
- | 27 | 2·7 | 49 | *27·9
- | 9 | ·9 | 52 | *23·5
- | 47 | 4·7 | 127 | †86·8
- | 42 | 4·2 | 126 | †85·3
- | 28 | 2·8 | 69 | †1·5
- | 5 | ·5 | 51 | *25·0
- | 24 | 2·4 | 143 | †110·3
- | 3 | ·3 | 52 | *23·5
- | 35 | 3·5 | 60 | *11·8
- | 94 | 9·4 | 50 | *26·5
- | 16 | 1·6 | 70 | †2·9
- | 13 | 1·3 | 34 | *50·0
- | 115 | 11·5 | 66 | *2·9
- | 29 | 2·9 | 177 | †145·6
- | 39 | 3·9 | 93 | †36·8
- | 15 | 1·5 | 73 | †7·4
- | 16 | 1·6 | 56 | *17·6
- | 8 | ·8 | 28 | *58·8
- | 15 | 1·5 | 90 | †32·4
- | 2 | ·2 | 84 | †23·5
- | 15 | 1·5 | 62 | *8·8
- | 26 | 2·6 | 57 | *16·2
- | 29 | 2·9 | 77 | †13·2
- | 81 | 8·1 | 140 | †105·9
- | 20 | 2·0 | 61 | *10·3
- | 35 | 3·5 | 55 | *19·1
- | 17 | 1·7 | 53 | *22·1
- | 19 | 1·9 | 43 | *36·8
- | 4 | ·4 | 70 | †2·9
- | 23 | 2·3 | 95 | †39·7
- | 24 | 2·4 | 9 | †44·1
- | 102 | 10·2 | 60 | *11·8
- | 12 | 1·2 | 30 | *55·9
- | 20 | 2·0 | 35 | *48·5
- +-------+---------+-------------+----------------
- |1154 | 115·4 | 68 |
- | | | |
- | | | |
-
-⁂ The proportionate number of persons perpetrating this crime has been
-calculated with reference to the _entire_ population, instead of the
-_male part of it only_, as at the first glance might seem necessary,
-males only being capable of committing the above offence. But it
-was found, on examination, that the intensity of the criminality in
-the several counties in this respect was influenced by the relative
-number of females. Monmouth contains the greatest number of males
-in proportion to females; so that, were the male population alone
-considered, the criminality of that county in the above respect would
-be considerably decreased. But the fact of there being more rapes in
-Monmouth than elsewhere would appear to be owing to the very excess of
-males over females in that county; the average, therefore, has been
-calculated from the entire population.
-
-
- LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE ORDER OF THEIR CRIMINALITY WITH REGARD TO
- RAPE, AS SHOWN BY THE NUMBER COMMITTED FOR THIS OFFENCE IN EVERY
- 10,000,000 OF THE POPULATION.
-
-_Counties above the Average._
-
- Monmouth 177
- Bucks 156
- Hertford 143
- Stafford 140
- Durham 127
- Chester 126
- Essex 126
- Worcester 98
- Wilts 95
- Norfolk 93
- Oxford 90
- Rutland 84
- Southamp. 77
- Northamp. 73
- Leicester 70
- Westmor. 70
- Gloucester 69
- ---
- Average for
- England
- and Wales 68
-
-_Counties below the Average._
-
- Cornwall 68
- Bedford 66
- Middlesex 66
- Berks 62
- Salop 62
- Suffolk 61
- Kent 60
- York 60
- Somerset 57
- Northumb. 56
- Cambridge 55
- Surrey 55
- Sussex 53
- Dorset 52
- Hunts 52
- Hereford 51
- Lancaster 50
- Devon 49
- Derby 48
- Warwick 43
- Cumberland 37
- S. Wales 35
- Lincoln 34
- N. Wales 30
- Nottingham 28
-
-
- THE CRIME OF RAPE COMPARED WITH THE NUMBER OF ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN
- IN EACH COUNTY.
- ---------------+---------------------+----------------+---------------------
- | Percentage | | Percentage
- | above and below | | above and below
- | the Average. | | the Average.
- | † denotes above. | | † denotes above.
- _Counties in_ | * „ below. | _Counties in_ | * „ below.
- _which the_ +--------+------------+ _which the_ |+--------+-----------
- _Number of_ | In | In No. | _Number of_ | In | In No.
- _Rapes and the_| Number | of | _Rapes is_ | Number | of
- _Number of_ | of |Illegitimate| _above and the_| of |Illegitimate
- _Illegitimate_ | Rapes. | Births. | _Number of_ | Rapes. | Births.
- _Births are_ | | | _Illegitimate_ | |
- _both above_ | | | _Births below_ | |
- _the Average._ +--------+------------+_the Average._ +--------+------------
- Bucks | †129·4 | † 4·4 | Monmouth | †145·6 | *26·8
- Hertford | †110·3 | † 7·4 | Durham | † 86·8 | *10·4
- Stafford | †105·9 | † 3·0 | Essex | † 85·3 | *10·4
- Chester | † 85·3 | †32·8 | Worcester | † 44·1 | * 1·5
- Wilts | † 39·7 | † 3·0 | Rutland | † 23·5 | *16·4
- Norfolk | † 36·8 | †56·7 | Southampton | † 13·2 | *10·4
- Oxford | † 32·4 | †13·4 | Northampton | † 7·4 | *10·4
- Leicester | † 2·9 | †17·9 | Gloucester | † 1·5 | * 4·5
- Westmorland | † 2·9 | †29·8 |
- _Counties in which the Number of_ |_Counties in which the Number of_
- _Rapes and the Number of_ |_Rapes is below and the Number_
- _Illegitimate Births are both_ |_of Illegitimate Births above the_
- _below the Average._ |_Average._
- Lincoln | *50·0 | * 1·5 | Nottingham | *58·8 | †35·8
- Warwick | *36·8 | *16·4 | North Wales | *55·9 | †16·4
- Devon | *27·9 | *25·3 | South Wales | *48·5 | † 7·4
- Hunts | *23·5 | *28·3 | Cumberland | *45·6 | †61·2
- Dorset | *23·5 | * 1·5 | Derby | *29·4 | †20·9
- Surrey | *19·1 | *34·3 | Lancaster | *26·5 | †14·9
- Cambridge | *19·1 | * 1·5 | Hereford | *25·0 | †49·2
- Somerset | *16·2 | * 6·0 | Sussex | *22·1 | † 1·5
- Kent | *11·8 | *19·4 | Northumb. | *17·6 | † 8·9
- Middlesex | * 2·9 | *40·3 | York | *11·8 | † 6·0
- Cornwall | * | *29·8 | Suffolk | *10·3 | †26·8
- | | | Salop | * 8·8 | †47·7
- | | | Berks | * 8·8 | †17·9
- | | | Bedford | * 2·9 | †14·9
-
-⁂ The rule appears to be, that the crime of Rape is (in the majority
-of cases) the _least_ where the number of Illegitimate Children is the
-_greatest_.
-
-
- THE CRIME OF RAPE COMPARED WITH THE RELATIVE
- NUMBER OF FEMALES TO MALES IN EACH COUNTY.
- ----------------+---------------------+----------------+--------------------
- | Percentage | | Percentage
- | above and below | | above and below
- | the Average. | | the Average.
- | † denotes above. | | † denotes above.
- _Counties in_ | * „ below. | _Counties in_ | * „ below.
- _which the_ +--------+------------+ _which the_ |+--------+----------
- _Number of_ | In | In No. | _Number of_ | In | In No.
- _Rapes and_ | Number | of | _Rapes is_ | Number | of
- _the Number_ | of | Females | _above and_ | of | Females
- _of Females are_| Rapes. | to Males. | _the Number of_| Rapes. | to Males.
- _both above_ | | | _Females below_| |
- _the Average._ +--------+------------+ _the Average._ +--------|+----------
- Norfolk | †36·8 | †1·0 | Monmouth | †145·6 | *12·4
- Gloucester | † 1·5 | †6·7 | Bucks | †129·4 | * 1·9
- _Counties in which the Number of_ | Hertford | †110·3 | * 2·9
- _Rapes and the Number of Females_ | Stafford | †105·9 | * 7·6
- _are both below the Average._ | Durham | † 86·8 | * 5·7
- Nottingham | *58·8 | *1·0 | Chester | † 85·3 | *
- North Wales | *55·9 | *2·9 | Essex | † 85·3 | * 4·8
- Lincoln | *50·0 | *5·7 | Worcester | † 44·1 | * 1·0
- South Wales | *48·5 | *2·9 | Wilts | † 39·7 | * 1·9
- Cumberland | *45·6 | *1·9 | Oxford | † 32·4 | * 5·7
- Warwick | *36·8 | *1·0 | Rutland | † 23·5 | * 6·7
- Derby | *29·4 | *3·3 | Southampton | † 13·2 | * 3·8
- Lancaster | *26·5 | * | Northampton | † 7·4 | * 3·8
- Hereford | *25·0 | *5·7 | Leicester | † 2·9 | * 1·0
- Hunts | *23·5 | *3·8 | Westmorland | † 2·9 | * 3·8
- Sussex | *22·1 | *1·9 | _Counties in which the Number of_
- Cambridge | *19·1 | *3·8 | _Rapes is below and the Number_
- Northumb. | *17·6 | *1·9 | _of Females above the Average._
- York | *11·8 | *2·9 | Devon | *27·9 | † 5·7
- Kent | *11·8 | *3·8 | Dorset | *23·5 | † 1·9
- Suffolk | *10·3 | *1·9 | Surrey | *19·1 | † 5·7
- Salop | * 8·8 | *3·8 | Somerset | *16·2 | † 5·7
- Berks | * 8·8 | *3·8 | Middlesex | * 2·9 | † 8·6
- | | | Bedford | * 2·9 | † 2·9
- | | | Cornwall | * | † 1·9
-
-
-⁂ The rule appears to be, that the number of Rapes is the _greatest_ in
-those counties where the number of Females is the _least_.
-
-[Illustration: MAP SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PERSONS COMMITTED FOR CARNALLY
-ABUSING GIRLS BETWEEN THE AGE OF TEN AND TWELVE YEARS IN EVERY
-10,000,000 OF THE POPULATION, IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND
-WALES.
-
-⁂ The counties printed _black_ are those in which the number committed
-for this offence is _above_ the Average.
-
-The counties left _white_ are those in which the number committed for
-the same offence is _below_ the Average.
-
-The Average has been calculated for the ten years from 1841 to 1850.
-
- _The Average for all England and Wales is 3 in every 10,000,000 People._
- _Westmoreland (the highest) 17 „ „ _
-]
-
-
-TABLE SHOWING THE CRIMINALITY OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND
-WALES WITH REGARD TO CARNALLY ABUSING GIRLS BETWEEN THE AGE OF 10 AND
-12 YEARS.
-
- | Average |
- |Population | Total number committed for carnally abusing girls
- COUNTIES. | from | between the age of 10 and 12 years.
- | 1841-50. +--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
- | | 1841. | 1842. | 1843. | 1844. | 1845. | 1846. | 1847. |
- ---------------+-----------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
- Bedford | 121,083 | | | | | | | |
- Berks | 194,763 | | | 1 | | | | |
- Bucks | 140,959 | | | | | | | 2 |
- Cambridge | 180,747 | | | 1 | | | | |
- Chester | 395,919 | | | | 2 | | 1 | |
- Cornwall | 349,991 | | | | | 1 | | |
- Cumberland | 186,762 | | | | | | | |
- Derby | 250,249 | | | | | | | |
- Devon | 554,738 | | | | | | | |
- Dorset | 172,736 | | | | | | | |
- Durham | 368,787 | | | | | | | |
- Essex | 332,363 | | | | | | 1 | |
- Gloucester | 407,504 | 1 | | | | | | |
- Hereford | 97,813 | | | | | | | |
- Hertford | 168,178 | | | | 1 | | | |
- Hunts | 57,942 | | | | | | | |
- Kent | 585,249 | | | 2 | 1 | 1 | | 1 |
- Lancaster | 1,881,261 | | | | | | 1 | |
- Leicester | 227,621 | | | | | | | |
- Lincoln | 378,246 | | | | | | | |
- Middlesex | 1,740,814 | | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
- Monmouth | 164,093 | | | | | | | |
- Norfolk | 419,463 | | | | | | | |
- Northampton | 206,496 | | | | | | | |
- Northumberland | 284,777 | | | | | | | |
- Nottingham | 282,584 | | | | | | | |
- Oxford | 166,751 | | | | | | | |
- Rutland | 23,711 | | | | | | | |
- Salop | 243,352 | | | | | | | |
- Somerset | 452,515 | 1 | | | 1 | | | |
- Southampton | 377,040 | | | | | | | |
- Stafford | 579,686 | | | | | | | |
- Suffolk | 325,336 | | | | | | | |
- Surrey | 635,917 | | 1 | | | | | |
- Sussex | 320,944 | | | | | | | |
- Warwick | 444,558 | | | | | | | |
- Westmorland | 57,494 | 1 | | | | | | |
- Wilts | 241,887 | | | | 1 | | | |
- Worcester | 244,574 | | | | 1 | | 1 | |
- York | 1,686,461 | 1 | | 1 | | | | |
- North Wales | 396,161 | | | | | | | |
- South Wales | 568,430 | | | | | | | |
- ---------------+-----------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
- Total for |16,918,458 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
- England |
- and Wales |
- ---------------+-----------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
-
- | | | | Proportion per
- | Total | Annual | No. committed |Cent. above and
- | for 10|Average.| annually in | below the Aver.
- +--------+--------+--------+ years.| |every 10,000,000|† denotes above.
- | 1848. | 1849. | 1850. | | | Persons. |* „ below.
- +--------+--------+--------+-------+--------+----------------+------------------
- | | | | | | | †100·0
- | | | | 1 | ·1 | 5 | †66·7
- | | | | 2 | ·2 | 14 | †366·7
- | | | | 1 | ·1 | 6 | †100·0
- | | | | 3 | ·3 | 8 | †166·7
- | | | | 1 | ·1 | 3 |
- | | | | | | | †100·0
- | | | | | | | †100·0
- | | | | | | | *100·0
- | | | | | | | *100·0
- | | | | | | | *100·0
- | | | | 1 | ·1 | 3 |
- | | | 1 | 2 | ·2 | 5 | †66·7
- | | | | | | | *100·0
- | | | | 1 | ·1 | 6 | †100·0
- | | | | | | | *100·0
- | 3 | | | 8 | ·8 | 14 | †366·7
- | 1 | 2 | | 4 | ·4 | 2 | *33·3
- | | | 1 | 1 | ·1 | 4 | †33·3
- | | 1 | | 1 | ·1 | 3 |
- | 1 | 2 | | 14 | 1·4 | 8 | †166·7
- | | | | | | | *100·0
- | | | | | | | *100·0
- | 1 | | | 1 | ·1 | 5 | †66·7
- | | | | | | | *100·0
- | | | | | | | *100·0
- | | | | | | | *100·0
- | | | | | | | *100·0
- | | | | | | | *100·0
- | | 1 | | 3 | ·3 | 7 | †133·3
- | | 1 | | 1 | ·1 | 3 |
- | | | | | | | *100·0
- | | | | | | | *100·0
- | 1 | 1 | | 3 | ·3 | 5 | †66·7
- | | | | | | | *100·0
- | | | | | | | *100·0
- | | | | 1 | ·1 | 17 | †466·7
- | | | | 1 | ·1 | 4 | †33·3
- | 2 | | | 4 | ·4 | 16 | †433·3
- | | | | 2 | ·2 | 1 | *66·7
- | | | | | | | *100·0
- | | | | | | | *100·0
- +--------+--------+--------+-------+--------+----------------+------------------
- | 9 | 8 | 2 | 56 | 5·6 | 3 |
- +--------+--------+--------+-------+--------+----------------+------------------
-
-⁂ The proportionate number of persons perpetrating the above crime has
-been calculated with reference to the entire population, instead of
-the male part of it only, as at the first glance might seem necessary,
-males only being capable of committing the above offence. But it was
-found, on examination, that the intensity of the criminality in the
-several counties in this respect was influenced by the relative number
-of females (see comparative table below); the average, therefore, has
-been calculated from the entire population.
-
-
- LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE ORDER OF THEIR CRIMINALITY WITH REGARD TO
- CARNALLY ABUSING GIRLS BETWEEN THE AGE OF 10 AND 12 YEARS, AS SHOWN
- BY THE NUMBER COMMITTED FOR THIS OFFENCE IN EVERY 10,000,000 OF THE
- POPULATION.
-
-_Counties above the Average._
-
- Westmor. 17
- Worcester 16
- Kent 14
- Bucks 14
- Middlesex 8
- Chester 8
- Somerset 7
- Cambridge 6
- Hertford 6
- Surrey 5
- Gloucester 5
- Berks 5
- Northamp. 5
- Leicester 4
- Wilts 4
- --
- Average for
- England
- and Wales 3
-
-_Counties below the Average._
-
- Cornwall 3
- Essex 3
- Lincoln 3
- Southamp. 3
- Lancaster 2
- York 1
- Bedford
- Cumberland
- Derby
- Devon
- Dorset
- Durham
- Hereford
- Hunts
- Monmouth
- Norfolk
- Northumb.
- Nottingham
- Oxford
- Rutland
- Salop
- Stafford
- Suffolk
- Sussex
- Warwick
- N. Wales
- S. Wales
-
-
- THE CRIME OF RAPE COMPARED WITH THAT OF CARNALLY ABUSING
- CHILDREN IN EACH COUNTY.
- -----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------
- | Percentage | | Percentage
- |above and below | |above and below
- | the Average. | | the Average.
- _Counties in_ |† denotes above.|_Counties in_ |† denotes above.
- _which the_ |* „ below. |_which the_ |* „ below.
- _Number of_ +----------------+_Number of_ +----------------
- _Rapes and the_ | In | In No. |_Rapes is above_| In | In No.
- _Number of Cases_|Number |of Cases|_and the Number_|Number |of Cases
- _of Carnal_ | of | of |_of Cases of_ | of | of
- _Abuse are both_ |Rapes. | Carnal |_Carnal Abuse_ |Rapes. | Carnal
- _above the_ | | Abuse. |_is below the_ | | Abuse.
- _Average._ +-------+--------+_Average._ +-------+--------
- | | | | |
- Bucks | †129·4| †366·7 | Monmouth | †145·6| *100·0
- Hertford | †110·3| †100·0 | Stafford | †105·9| *100·0
- Chester | † 85·3| †166·7 | Durham | † 86·8| *100·0
- Worcester | † 44·1| †433·3 | Essex | † 85·3| *
- Wilts | † 39·7| † 33·3 | Norfolk | † 36·8| *100·0
- Northampton | † 7·4| † 66·7 | Oxford | † 32·4| *100·0
- Leicester | † 2·9| † 33·3 | Rutland | † 23·5| *100·0
- Westmorland | † 2·9| †466·6 | Southampton | † 13·2| *
- Gloucester | † 1·5| † 66·7 |
- _Counties in which the No. of_ |_Counties in which the No. of_
- _Rapes and the No. of Cases_ | _Rapes is below and the No. of_
- _of Carnal Abuse are both below_| _Cases of Carnal Abuses above_
- _the Aver._ | _the Aver._
- Nottingham | *58·8 | *100·0 | Surrey | *19·1 | † 66·7
- North Wales | *55·9 | *100·0 | Cambridge | *19·1 | †100·0
- Lincoln | *50·0 | * | Somerset | *16·2 | †133·3
- South Wales | *48·5 | *100·0 | Kent | *11·8 | †355·7
- Cumberland | *45·6 | *100·0 | Berks | * 8·8 | † 66·7
- Warwick | *36·8 | *100·0 | Middlesex | * 2·9 | †166·7
- Derby | *29·4 | *100·0 |
- Devon | *27·9 | *100·0 |
- Lancaster | *26·5 | * 33·3 |
- Hereford | *25·0 | *100·0 |⁂ The rule appears to be,
- Hunts | *23·5 | *100·0 |that where the Number of
- Dorset | *23·5 | *100·0 |Rapes is the _greatest_, the Number
- Sussex | *22·1 | *100·0 |of Cases of Carnally Abusing
- Northumb. | *17·6 | *100·0 |Children is (generally speaking)
- York | *11·8 | * 66·7 |the greatest also; and _vice_
- Suffolk | *10·3 | *100·0 |_versâ_, where the Rapes are the
- Salop | * 8·8 | *100·0 |least, the carnal abuse of Children
- Bedford | * 2·9 | *100·0 |is the _least_ likewise.
- Cornwall | * | * |
-
-
- THE CRIME OF CARNALLY ABUSING CHILDREN COMPARED WITH THE NUMBER OF
- FEMALES TO MALES IN EACH COUNTY.
-
- | Percentage | | Percentage
- | above and below | | above and below
- | the Average. | | the Average.
- _Counties in_ | † denotes above. |_Counties in_ | † denotes above.
- _which the Carnal_ | * „ below. |_which the Carnal_ | * „ below.
- _Abuse of_ +-------------------+_Abuse of_ +-------------------
- _Children and_ | In No. | In No. |_Children is_ | In No. | In No.
- _the Number of_ |of Cases | of |_above, and the_ |of Cases | of
- _Females to Males_ | of | Females |_Number of Females_| of | Females
- _are both above_ | Carnal | to |_to Males below_ | Carnal | to
- _the Average._ | Abuse. | Males. |_the Average._ | Abuse. | Males.
- -------------------+---------+---------+-------------------+---------+---------
- Middlesex | †166·7 | †8·6 |Westmorland | †466·6 | *3·8
- Somerset | †133·3 | †5·7 |Worcester | †433·3 | *1·0
- Gloucester | † 66·7 | †6·7 |Bucks | †366·7 | *1·9
- Surrey | † 66·7 | †5·7 |Kent | †366·7 | *3·8
- _Counties in which the Carnal_ |Cambridge | †100·0 | *3·8
- _Abuse of Children and the No._ |Chester | †166·7 | *
- _of Females to Males are both_ |Hertford | †100·0 | *2·9
- _below the Average._ |Berks | † 66·7 | *3·8
- South Wales | *100·0 | * 2·9 |Northampton | † 66·7 | *3·8
- North Wales | *100·0 | * 2·9 |Leicester | † 33·3 | *1·0
- Warwick | *100·0 | * 1·0 |Wilts | † 33·3 | *1·9
- Sussex | *100·0 | * 1·9 |_Counties in which the Carnal_
- Suffolk | *100·0 | * 1·9 |_Abuse of Children is below and_
- Stafford | *100·0 | * 7·6 |_the No. of Females to Males_
- Salop | *100·0 | * 3·8 |_above the Average._
- Rutland | *100·0 | * 6·7 |Norfolk | *100·0 | †1·0
- Oxford | *100·0 | * 5·7 |Dorset | *100·0 | †1·9
- Nottingham | *100·0 | * 1·0 |Devon | *100·0 | †5·7
- Northumb. | *100·0 | * 1·9 |Bedford | *100·0 | †2·9
- Monmouth | *100·0 | *12·4 |Cornwall | * | †1·9
- Hunts | *100·0 | * 3·8 |
- Hereford | *100·0 | * 5·7 |
- Durham | *100·0 | * 5·7 |
- Derby | *100·0 | * 3·8 |
- Cumberland | *100·0 | * 1·9 | ⁂ The rule appears to be,
- York | * 66·7 | * 2·9 |that the crime of Carnally
- Lancaster | * 33·3 | * |Abusing is (generally speaking)
- Southampton | * | * 3·8 |the _greatest_ in those Counties
- Lincoln | * | * 5·7 |where the number of Females is
- Essex | * | * 4·8 |the _least_.
-
-[Illustration: MAP SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PERSONS COMMITTED FOR KEEPING
-DISORDERLY HOUSES IN EVERY 10,000,000 OF THE POPULATION, IN THE SEVERAL
-COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES.
-
-⁂ The counties printed _black_ are those in which the number of persons
-committed for keeping disorderly houses is _above_ the Average.
-
-The counties left _white_ are those in which the number of persons
-committed for keeping disorderly houses is _below_ the Average.
-
-The Average is calculated for 10 years.
-
-The counties having no number affixed to them are those in which there
-have been no committals for the above offence during the last 10 years.
-
- _The Average for England and Wales is 79 in every 10,000,000 of the Population._
- _ „ Middlesex (the highest) is 296 „ „ _
-]
-
- TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PERSONS COMMITTED FOR KEEPING DISORDERLY HOUSES
- IN THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES FOR THE UNDERMENTIONED YEARS.
-
- | | |
- | Average | |
- |Population| Number Committed for keeping Disorderly Houses. |
- COUNTIES. | from +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
- | 1841-50. |1841.|1842.|1843.|1844.|1845.|1846.|1847.|1848.|1849.|1850.|
- ------------------+----------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
- Bedford | 121,083 | | | | | | | | | | |
- Berks | 194,763 | 4 | 4 | | 1 | | | | | | |
- Bucks | 140,959 | | | | | | | | | | |
- Cambridge | 180,747 | | | | | | 4 | | | | |
- Chester | 395,919 | 4 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
- Cornwall | 349,991 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
- Cumberland | 186,762 | 7 | 1 | 1 | | | | 2 | | | |
- Derby | 250,249 | | | | 2 | | | | | | |
- Devon | 554,738 | 2 | 3 | 1 | | | | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
- Dorset | 172,736 | 3 | | | | | | | 1 | | 1 |
- Durham | 368,787 | | 3 | | | | | 2 | | | 14 |
- Essex | 332,363 | | 2 | | | | | | | | |
- Gloucester | 407,504 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 2 | | 1 | | | |
- Hereford | 97,813 | 3 | | 2 | 2 | | | 1 | 2 | | |
- Hertford | 168,178 | | | | | 4 | | | | | |
- Hunts | 57,942 | | | | 2 | | | | | 1 | 1 |
- Kent | 585,249 | | 1 | | | | 2 | | | | |
- Lancaster |1,881,261 | 85 | 55 | 45 | 27 | 24 | 16 | 14 | 32 | 42 | 4 |
- Leicester | 227,621 | | | | | | 2 | | | 1 | |
- Lincoln | 378,246 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | | 7 | 1 | 7 | 3 | |
- Middlesex |1,740,814 | 36 | 67 | 31 | 114 | 37 | 31 | 51 | 42 | 79 | 27 |
- Monmouth | 164,093 | | | | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | |
- Norfolk | 419,463 | | | | 2 | | | | | 1 | 1 |
- Northampton | 206,496 | 8 | 5 | 2 | | | | | 1 | 1 | 1 |
- Northumberland | 284,777 | | | | | | 1 | 1 | | | 13 |
- Nottingham | 282,584 | | | | | | | | | | |
- Oxford | 166,751 | | 1 | | | | 1 | | | | |
- Rutland | 23,711 | | | | | | | | | | |
- Salop | 243,352 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | |
- Somerset | 452,515 | 7 | | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | | | 1 | 1 |
- Southampton | 377,040 | | | | 1 | 2 | | 1 | | | 8 |
- Stafford | 579,686 | 1 | 2 | | | 2 | | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
- Suffolk | 325,336 | | | | | | | | | | 1 |
- Surrey | 635,917 | | 1 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 3 | | | | |
- Sussex | 320,944 | 2 | | 1 | | | | | | | |
- Warwick | 444,558 | 2 | 6 | | 1 | | 2 | 4 | | | |
- Westmorland | 57,494 | | | | | | | | 2 | | |
- Wilts | 241,887 | | 1 | | | | 1 | | 1 | | 5 |
- Worcester | 244,574 | 1 | 3 | 11 | | | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
- York |1,686,461 | 21 | 3 | 21 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 6 |
- North Wales | 396,161 | | | | 1 | 1 | | | | | |
- South Wales | 568,430 | | | | | | | | | | |
- ------------------+----------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
- Total for England | | | | | | | | | | | |
- and Wales |16,918,458| 198 | 186 | 145 | 187 | 86 | 84 | 99 | 190 | 148 | 93|
- ------------------+----------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
-
- | | | No. committed | Proportion per
- | | |annually in every| Cent above and
- |Total | Annual | 10,000,000 | below the Aver.
- +for 10|Average.| of the |† denotes above.
- |Years.| | Population. |* „ below.
- +------+--------+-----------------+----------------
- | | | | *100·0
- | | ·9 | 46 | *41·8
- | 9 | | | *100·0
- | 4 | ·4 | 22 | *72·2
- | 33 | 3·3 | 83 | †5·1
- | 38 | 3·8 | 109 | †38·0
- | 11 | 1·1 | 59 | *25·3
- | 2 | ·2 | 8 | *89·9
- | 16 | 1·6 | 29 | *63·3
- | 5 | ·5 | 29 | *63·3
- | 19 | 1·9 | 52 | *34·2
- | 2 | ·2 | 6 | *92·4
- | 24 | 2·4 | 59 | *25·3
- | 10 | 1·0 | 102 | †29·1
- | 4 | ·4 | 24 | *69·6
- | 4 | ·4 | 70 | *11·4
- | 3 | ·3 | 5 | *93·7
- | 344 | 34·4 | 183 | †131·6
- | 3 | ·3 | 13 | *83·5
- | 26 | 2·6 | 69 | *12·7
- | 515 | 51·5 | 296 | †274·7
- | 6 | ·6 | 37 | *53·2
- | 4 | ·4 | 10 | *87·3
- | 18 | 1·8 | 87 | †10·1
- | 15 | 1·5 | 53 | *32·9
- | | | | *100·0
- | 2 | ·2 | 12 | *84·8
- | | | | *100·0
- | 5 | ·5 | 21 | *73·4
- | 18 | 1·8 | 40 | *49·4
- | 12 | 1·2 | 32 | *59·5
- | 17 | 1·7 | 29 | *63·3
- | 1 | ·1 | 3 | *96·2
- | 24 | 2·4 | 38 | *51·9
- | 3 | ·3 | 9 | *88·6
- | 15 | 1·5 | 34 | *57·0
- | 2 | ·2 | 35 | *55·7
- | 8 | ·8 | 33 | *58·2
- | 26 | 2·6 | 106 | †34·2
- | 85 | 8·5 | 50 | *36·7
- | 2 | ·2 | 5 | *93·7
- | | | | *100·0
- +------+--------+-----------------+-----------------
- | | | |
- | 1335 | 133·5 | 79 |
- +------+--------+-----------------+-----------------
-
-
- LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE ORDER OF THEIR BROTHELS, AS SHOWN BY THE
- NUMBER OF PERSONS COMMITTED FOR KEEPING DISORDERLY HOUSES IN EVERY
- 10,000,000 OF THE POPULATION.
-
-_Counties above the Average._
-
- Middlesex 296
- Lancaster 183
- Cornwall 109
- Worcester 106
- Hereford 102
- Northampton 87
- Chester 83
-
- ---
- Average for England
- and Wales 79
-
-_Counties below the Average._
-
- Hunts 70
- Lincoln 69
- Gloucester 59
- Cumberland 59
- Northumberland 53
- Durham 52
- York 50
- Berks 46
- Somerset 40
- Surrey 38
- Monmouth 37
- Westmorland 35
- Warwick 34
- Wilts 33
- Southampton 32
- Devon 29
- Dorset 29
- Stafford 29
- Hertford 24
- Cambridge 22
- Salop 21
- Leicester 13
- Oxford 12
- Norfolk 10
- Sussex 9
- Derby 8
- Essex 6
- Kent 5
- North Wales 5
- Suffolk 3
- Bedford 0
- Bucks 0
- Nottingham 0
- Rutland 0
- South Wales 0
-
-
-THE NUMBER OF DISORDERLY HOUSES COMPARED WITH THE NUMBER OF
-ILLEGITIMATE BIRTHS IN EACH COUNTY.
-
- -------------------------------------------+-----------------------
- | Percentage above
- | and below the
- | Average.
- | † denotes above.
- | * „ below.
- +-----------------------
- | In No. | In No.
- _Counties in which the Number of_ | of | of
- _Disorderly Houses and the Number of_ |Disorderly|Illegitimate
- _Illegitimate Children are both above the_ | Houses. | Children.
- _Average._ +----------+------------
- | |
- Lancaster | †131· | †14
- Hereford | † 29· | †49
- Chester | † 5· | †32
-
- _Counties in which the Number of Disorderly Houses and the_
- _Number of Illegitimate Children are both below the Average._
-
- Rutland | *100· | *16
- Kent | * 93· | *19
- Essex | * 92· | *10
- Cambridge | * 72· | * 1
- Dorset | * 63· | * 1
- Devon | * 63· | *25
- Southampton | * 59· | *10
- Warwick | * 57· | *16
- Monmouth | * 53· | *26
- Surrey | * 51· | *34
- Somerset | * 49· | * 6
- Durham | * 34· | *10
- Gloucester | * 25· | * 4
- Lincoln | * 12· | * 1
- Hunts | * 11· | *28
-
- ⁂ The rule appears to be, that the number of Disorderly
- Houses is the _least_ in those Counties where the number of
- Illegitimate Births is the _greatest_, and, _vice versâ_, the _greatest_
- where the Illegitimates are the _least_.
-
-
- _Counties in which the Number of Disorderly_
- _Houses is above and the Number_
- _of Illegitimate Children below the_
- _Average._
-
- Lancaster | †131· | †14 |
- Middlesex | †274· | *40 |
- Cornwall | † 38· | *29 |
- Worcester | † 34· | * 1 |
- Northampton | † 10· | *10 |
-
- _Counties in which the Number of Disorderly Houses is below_
- _and the Number of Illegitimate Children above the Average._
-
- South Wales | *100· | † 7 |
- Nottingham | *100· | †35 |
- Bucks | *100· | † 4 |
- Bedford | *100· | †14 |
- Suffolk | * 96· | †26 |
- North Wales | * 93· | † 6 |
- Derby | * 89· | †20 |
- Sussex | * 88· | † 1 |
- Norfolk | * 87· | †56 |
- Oxford | * 84· | †13 |
- Leicester | * 83· | †17 |
- Salop | * 73· | †47 |
- Hertford | * 69· | † 7 |
- Stafford | * 63· | † 3 |
- Wilts | * 58· | † 3 |
- Westmorland | * 55· | †29 |
- Berks | * 41· | †17 |
- York | * 36· | † 6 |
- Northumberland | * 32· | † 8 |
- Cumberland | * 25· | †61 |
-
-[Illustration: MAP SHOWING THE NUMBER OF CASES OF CONCEALING THE BIRTHS
-OF INFANTS IN EVERY 10,000 ILLEGITIMATE BIRTHS, IN EACH COUNTY OF
-ENGLAND & WALES.
-
-⁂ The counties printed _black_ are those in which the number of cases
-is _above_ the Average.
-
-The counties left _white_ are those in which the number of cases is
-_below_ the Average.
-
-The Average is taken for the last ten years.
-
- _The Average for all England and Wales is 17 in every 10,000 illegitimate births._
- _„ „ Surrey (the highest) 39 „ „ _
- _„ „ Huntingdon and Rutland (the lowest) 0 „ „ _
-]
-
-
-TABLE SHOWING THE CRIMINALITY OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND
-WALES WITH REGARD TO THE CONCEALMENT OF THE BIRTHS OF INFANTS.
-
- | | |
- | Average | |
- |Yearly No. of| |
- COUNTIES. | Illegitimate+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
- | Births. |1841.|1842.|1843.|1844.|1845.|1846.|1847.|1848.|1849.|1850.|
- ------------------+-------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
- Bedford | 336 | ... | ... | ... | 1 | ... | ... | ... | ... | 1 | ... |
- Berks | 461 | ... | ... | ... | 2 | 2 | ... | ... | 1 | 3 | 2 |
- Bucks | 315 | ... | ... | 1 | ... | ... | ... | 1 | ... | ... | 1 |
- Cambridge | 423 | ... | ... | ... | 2 | 1 | ... | ... | 1 | 3 | ... |
- Chester | 1128 | 3 | 2 | 2 | ... | ... | 1 | ... | 3 | ... | 5 |
- Cornwall | 534 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ... | ... | 4 | 1 |
- Cumberland | 639 | ... | ... | ... | 1 | 1 | ... | 1 | 1 | ... | 1 |
- Derby | 656 | ... | 2 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 1 | 1 | 4 |
- Devon | 818 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ... | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
- Dorset | 342 | 1 | 1 | ... | ... | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
- Durham | 824 | ... | 1 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | ... | ... |
- Essex | 621 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | ... | ... | 4 | 1 |
- Gloucester | 788 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | ... | 4 | 5 | ... | 3 | 2 |
- Hereford | 274 | 1 | ... | ... | ... | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ... | ... |
- Hertford | 388 | 2 | ... | ... | ... | ... | 1 | 1 | ... | 1 | ... |
- Hunts | 98 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
- Kent | 998 | 2 | ... | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 5 | ... | 3 | 2 |
- Lancaster | 5672 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 |
- Leicester | 583 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ... | 1 | ... | ... | 2 | 2 | 1 |
- Lincoln | 820 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 1 | ... | 2 | 1 | 4 |
- Middlesex | 2200 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 4 |
- Monmouth | 269 | 1 | ... | 2 | ... | 2 | ... | ... | ... | 3 | ... |
- Norfolk | 1374 | ... | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 3 | ... |
- Northampton | 416 | ... | ... | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | ... | ... | ... |
- Northumberland | 685 | 1 | ... | ... | 2 | ... | ... | ... | 1 | 1 | ... |
- Nottingham | 808 | ... | 1 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 1 | 2 |
- Oxford | 396 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 1 | ... | ... | ... | ... |
- Rutland | 40 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
- Salop | 640 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ... | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
- Somerset | 847 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ... | 3 | 1 | 2 |
- Southampton | 703 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2 | ... | 2 |
- Stafford | 1341 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
- Suffolk | 895 | 3 | ... | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
- Surrey | 903 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
- Sussex | 662 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ... |
- Warwick | 831 | 1 | ... | 1 | 1 | 1 | ... | 1 | 4 | ... | 2 |
- Westmorland | 156 | ... | ... | 1 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 2 | 1 |
- Wilts | 506 | ... | ... | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ... |
- Worcester | 679 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | ... | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
- York | 4155 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 5 |
- North Wales | 847 | ... | ... | 2 | 2 | ... | 1 | ... | 1 | 2 | 1 |
- South Wales | 1308 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ... | 3 | 4 |
- ------------------+-------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
- Total for England | | | | | | | | | | | |
- and Wales | 37,410 | 51 | 49 | 66 | 87 | 53 | 78 | 65 | 60 | 75 | 66 |
- ------------------+-------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
-
- | | | No. committed | Proportion per
- | | |for concealments |Cent. above and
- | Total| Annual | in every 10,000 |below the Aver.
- +for 10|Average.| Illegitimate |† denotes above.
- |Years.| | Births. |* „ below.
- +---------------+-----------------+----------------
- | 2 | ·2 | 6 | *64·7
- | 10 | 1·0 | 22 | †29·5
- | 3 | ·3 | 10 | *41·2
- | 7 | ·7 | 17 | .....
- | 16 | 1·6 | 54 | *17·6
- | 16 | 1·6 | 30 | †76·9
- | 5 | ·5 | 8 | *52·9
- | 8 | ·8 | 12 | *29·4
- | 23 | 2·3 | 28 | †64·8
- | 10 | 1·0 | 29 | †70·6
- | 19 | 1·9 | 23 | †35·3
- | 16 | 1·6 | 26 | †53·0
- | 22 | 2·2 | 28 | †64·8
- | 7 | ·7 | 26 | †53·0
- | 5 | ·5 | 13 | *23·5
- | ... | ... | ... | *100·0
- | 22 | 2·2 | 22 | †29·5
- | 50 | 5·0 | 9 | *47·1
- | 11 | 1·1 | 19 | †11·8
- | 23 | 2·3 | 28 | †64·8
- | 54 | 5·4 | 25 | †47·1
- | 8 | ·8 | 30 | †76·9
- | 21 | 2·1 | 15 | *11·8
- | 9 | ·9 | 22 | †29·5
- | 5 | ·5 | 7 | *58·8
- | 4 | ·4 | 5 | *70·6
- | 1 | ·1 | 3 | *82·4
- | ... | ... | ... | *100·0
- | 19 | 1·9 | 14 | *17·6
- | 16 | 1·6 | 19 | †11·8
- | 26 | 2·6 | 37 | †117·7
- | 23 | 2·3 | 17 | .....
- | 20 | 2·0 | 22 | †29·5
- | 35 | 3·5 | 39 | †129·5
- | 16 | 1·6 | 24 | †41·2
- | 11 | 1·1 | 13 | *23·5
- | 4 | ·4 | 26 | †53·0
- | 9 | ·9 | 18 | †4·1
- | 17 | 1·7 | 25 | †47·1
- | 49 | 4·9 | 12 | *29·4
- | 9 | ·9 | 11 | *35·3
- | 19 | 1·9 | 15 | *11·8
- +------+--------+-----------------+----------------
- | | | |
- | 650 | 65·0 | 17 |
- +------+--------+-----------------+----------------
-
-
- LIST OF COUNTIES, IN THE ORDER OF THEIR CRIMINALITY WITH REGARD TO THE
- CONCEALMENT OF THE BIRTHS OF INFANTS, AS SHOWN BY THE NUMBER COMMITTED
- FOR THIS OFFENCE IN EVERY 10,000 ILLEGITIMATE BIRTHS.
-
-_Counties above the Average._
-
- Surrey 39
- Southampton 37
- Cornwall 30
- Monmouth 30
- Dorset 29
- Devon 28
- Gloucester 28
- Lincoln 28
- Essex 26
- Hereford 26
- Westmorland 26
- Middlesex 25
- Worcester 25
- Sussex 24
- Durham 23
- Berks 22
- Kent 22
- Northampton 22
- Suffolk 22
- Leicester 19
- Somerset 19
- Wilts 18
-
-_Counties below the Average._
-
- Cambridge 17
- Stafford 17
- Norfolk 15
- South Wales 15
- Chester 14
- Salop 14
- Hertford 13
- Warwick 13
- Derby 12
- York 12
- North Wales 11
- Bucks 10
- Lancaster 9
- Cumberland 8
- Northumberland 7
- Bedford 6
- Nottingham 5
- Oxford 3
- Hunts O
- Rutland O
-
- Average for England and Wales 17
-
-
-THE ATTEMPTS AT CONCEALING THE BIRTHS OF INFANTS AND ILLEGITIMATE
-BIRTHS COMPARED.
-
- | Percentage above
- | and below the
- | Average.
- | † denotes above.
- | * „ below.
- +------------------------
- | In No. of | In No.
- _Counties in which the Number of cases_ | Cases of | of
- _of Concealing Births and Number of_ |Concealing |Illegitimate
- _Illegitimate Births are both above the_ | Births. | Births.
- _Average._ +-----------+------------
- Hereford | †53·0 | †49·2
- Westmorland | †53·0 | †29·8
- Sussex | †41·2 | † 1·5
- Berks | †29·5 | †17·9
- Suffolk | †29·5 | †26·8
- Leicester | †11·8 | †17·9
- Wilts | † 4·1 | † 3·0
- The Average for the whole of the | |
- above Counties is | †29·4 | †131·4
-
- (The Number of cases of Concealing Births is 22 in every
- 10,000 Illegitimate Births, and the Number of Illegitimate
- Births 88 in every 1000 Births.)
-
- _Counties in which the No. of cases of Concealing Births and
- No. of Illegitimate Births are both below the Average._
-
- Rutland | * ---- | * 1·5
- Hunts | * 23·5 | *16·5
- Warwick | *100·0 | *28·3
- Cambridge | *100·0 | *16·4
- The Average for the whole of the | |
- above Counties is | * 23·5 | *13·4
-
- (The Number of cases of Concealing Births is 13 in every
- 10,000 Illegitimate Births, and the Number of Illegitimate
- Births 58 in every 1000 Births.)
-
- | Percentage above
- | and below the
- | Average.
- | † denotes above.
- | * „ below.
- +------------------------
- | In No. |In No.
- | of Cases |of
- _Counties in which the Number of cases_ | of |Illegitimate
- _of Concealing Births is above the_ | Concealing|Births.
- _Average and the Number of Illegitimate_ | Births. |
- _Births below it._ +-----------+------------
- Surrey | †129·5 | *34·3
- Southampton | †117·7 | *10·4
- Cornwall | † 76·9 | *29·8
- Monmouth | † 76·9 | *26·8
- Dorset | † 70·6 | * 1·5
- Devon | † 64·8 | *25·3
- Gloucester | † 64·8 | * 4·5
- Lincoln | † 64·8 | * 1·5
- Essex | † 53·0 | *10·4
- Middlesex | † 47·1 | *40·3
- Worcester | † 47·1 | * 1·5
- Durham | † 35·3 | *10·4
- Kent | † 29·5 | *19·4
- Northampton | † 29·5 | *10·4
- Somerset | † 11·8 | * 6·0
- The Average for the above Counties is | † 58·9 | *20·9
- |
- (The Number of cases of Concealing Births is 27 in every
- 10,000 Illegitimate Births, and the Number of Illegitimate
- Births 53 in every 1000 Births.)
-
- _Counties in which the No. of cases of Concealing Births is
- below the Average and the No. of Illegitimate Births above it._
- Oxford | *82·4 | †13·4
- Nottingham | *70·6 | †35·8
- Bedford | *64·7 | †14·9
- Northumberland | *58·8 | † 8·9
- Cumberland | *52·9 | †61·2
- Lancaster | *47·1 | †14·9
- Bucks | *29·5 | † 4·4
- North Wales | *35·3 | †16·4
- York | *29·4 | † 6·0
- Derby | *29·4 | †20·9
- Hertford | *23·5 | † 7·4
- Salop | *17·6 | †47·7
- Chester | *17·6 | †32·8
- South Wales | *11·8 | † 7·4
- Norfolk | *11·8 | †56·7
- Stafford | *---- | † 3·0
- The Average for the whole of the | |
- above Counties is | *29·4 | †17·9
-
- (The Number of cases of Concealing Births is 12 in every
- 10,000 Illegitimate Births, and the Number of Illegitimate
- Births 79 in every 1000 Births.)
-
-[Illustration: MAP SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PROVED CASES OF ATTEMPTING TO
-PROCURE THE MISCARRIAGE OF WOMEN IN EVERY 10,000 ILLEGITIMATE BIRTHS,
-IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES.
-
-⁂ The counties printed _black_ are those in which the cases are _above_
-the Average.
-
-The counties left _white_ are those in which the number of cases is
-_below_ the Average.
-
-The Average is calculated for ten years.
-
- _The Average for England and Wales is 1 in every 10,000 illegitimate births._
- _ „ „ Sussex (the highest) 6 „ „ „ _
-]
-
-
-TABLE SHOWING THE CRIMINALITY OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND
-WALES, WITH REGARD TO THE ATTEMPTS TO PROCURE THE MISCARRIAGE OF WOMEN.
-
- | | Total number committed for attempting
- | Average | to procure the miscarriage of women.
- COUNTIES. |Yearly No. of+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
- |Illegitimate | | | | | | |
- | Births. | 1841. | 1842. | 1843. | 1844. | 1845. | 1846. |
- -----------------+-------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
- Bedford | 336 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Berks | 461 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 |
- Bucks | 315 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Cambridge | 423 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Chester | 1128 | .. | 2 | 1 | .. | .. | .. |
- Cornwall | 534 | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. |
- Cumberland | 639 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Derby | 656 | .. | .. | 2 | .. | .. | .. |
- Devon | 818 | .. | .. | .. | 3 | .. | .. |
- Dorset | 342 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Durham | 824 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Essex | 621 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Gloucester | 788 | .. | 1 | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Hereford | 274 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Hertford | 388 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Hunts | 98 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Kent | 998 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Lancaster | 5672 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Leicester | 583 | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. | 1 |
- Lincoln | 820 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Middlesex | 2200 | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. | .. |
- Monmouth | 269 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Norfolk | 1374 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 |
- Northampton | 416 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Northumberland | 685 | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. | .. |
- Nottingham | 808 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 |
- Oxford | 396 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Rutland | 40 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Salop | 640 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Somerset | 847 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Southampton | 703 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Stafford | 1341 | 1 | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. |
- Suffolk | 895 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Surrey | 903 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Sussex | 662 | .. | .. | 4 | .. | .. | .. |
- Warwick | 831 | .. | 1 | 1 | 1 | .. | .. |
- Westmorland | 156 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Wilts | 506 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Worcester | 679 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- York | 4155 | 2 | 1 | 2 | .. | 1 | .. |
- North Wales | 847 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- South Wales | 1308 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- -----------------+-------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
- Total for England| | | | | | | |
- and Wales | 37,410 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 4 |
-
- | | |No. committed| Proportion per
- | Total | Annual | annually in | Cent. above and
- +-------+-------+-------+-------+ for 10|Average.| every 10,000|below the Aver.
- | | | | | Years.| | Illegitimate|† denotes above.
- | 1847. | 1848. | 1849. | 1850. | | | Births. |* „ below.
- +-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+--------+-------------+----------------
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 | ·1 | 2 | †100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | 3 | ·3 | 3 | †200·0
- | .. | 1 | .. | .. | 2 | ·2 | 4 | †300·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | 2 | ·2 | 3 | †200·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | 3 | ·3 | 4 | †300·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 | ·1 | 1 | ....
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | 1 | .. | .. | .. | 1 | ·1 | 3 | †200·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | 1 | .. | .. | 1 | ·1 | 0·2 | †80·0
- | .. | .. | .. | 1 | 3 | ·3 | 5 | *400·0
- | .. | .. | 1 | .. | 1 | ·1 | 1 | ....
- | .. | .. | .. | 1 | 2 | ·2 | 0·9 | *10·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 | ·1 | 0·7 | *30·0
- | .. | .. | 1 | 1 | 2 | ·2 | 5 | †400·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 | ·1 | 1 | ....
- | .. | .. | 1 | 1 | 3 | ·3 | 4 | †300·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | 2 | ·2 | 1 | ....
- | .. | 1 | .. | .. | 1 | ·1 | 1 | ....
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | 4 | ·4 | 6 | †500·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | 3 | ·3 | 4 | †300·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | 6 | ·6 | 1 | ....
- | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | 1 | .. | .. | .. | 1 | ·1 | 0·8 | *20·0
- +-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+--------+-------------+----------------
- | | | | | | | |
- | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 44 | 4·4 | 1 |
-
-
- LIST OF COUNTIES, IN THE ORDER OF THEIR CRIMINALITY WITH REGARD TO
- ATTEMPTING TO PROCURE THE MISCARRIAGE OF WOMEN, AS SHOWN BY THE NUMBER
- COMMITTED FOR THIS OFFENCE IN EVERY 10,000 ILLEGITIMATE BIRTHS.
-
-_Counties above the Average._
-
- Sussex 6
- Leicester 5
- Northampton 5
- Devon 4
- Nottingham 4
- Warwick 4
- Cornwall 4
- Chester 3
- Derby 3
- Hertford 3
- Berks 2
-
-_Counties below the Average._
-
- York 1
- Stafford 1
- Gloucester 1
- Lincoln 1
- Northumb. 1
- Suffolk 1
- Middlesex 0·9
- S. Wales 0·8
- Norfolk 0·7
- Lancaster 0·2
- Bedford 0
- Bucks 0
- Cambridge 0
- Cumberland 0
- Dorset 0
- Durham 0
- Essex 0
- Hereford 0
- Hunts 0
- Kent 0
- Monmouth 0
- Oxford 0
- Rutland 0
- Salop 0
- Somerset 0
- Southamp. 0
- Surrey 0
- Westmor. 0
- Wilts 0
- Worcester 0
- N. Wales 0
-
-Average for England and Wales 1
-
-
- THE CONCEALMENT OF THE BIRTHS OF INFANTS AND THE ATTEMPTS TO PROCURE
- THE MISCARRIAGE OF WOMEN COMPARED.
-
- | Percentage | | Percentage
- | above and below | | above and below
- | the Average. | | the Average.
- | † denotes above. | | † denotes above.
- _Counties in which_ | * „ below. |_Counties in which_ | * „ below.
- _the Concealment_ +-----------+------------+_the Concealment_ +-----------+------------
- _of Births_ | In No. of | In No. |_of Births is above_ | In No. of | In No.
- _and attempts to_ |Concealment| of Attempts|_the Average,_ |Concealment| of Attempts
- _procure Miscarriage_| of | at |_and the attempts to_| of | at
- _are both_ | Births. |Miscarriage |_procure Miscarriage_| Births. |Miscarriage
- _above the Average._ | | |_below it._ | |
- +-----------+------------+ +-----------+------------
- Cornwall | †76·9 | †300·0 |Surrey | †129·5 | *100·0
- Devon | †64·8 | †300·0 |Southampton | †117·7 | *100·0
- Sussex | †41·2 | †500·0 |Monmouth | † 76·9 | *100·0
- Berks | †29·5 | †100·0 |Dorset | † 70·6 | *100·0
- Northampton | †29·5 | †400·0 |Gloucester | † 64·8 | * ----
- Leicester | †11·8 | †400·0 |Lincoln | † 64·8 | * ----
- The Average for | | |Essex | † 53·0 | *100·0
- the whole of | | |Hereford | † 53·0 | *100·0
- the above | | |Westmorland | † 53·0 | *100·0
- Counties is | †41·1 | †300·0 |Middlesex | † 47·1 | * 10·0
- (The Number of cases of Concealing |Worcester | † 47·1 | *100·0
- Births is 24, and of Attempts |Durham | † 35·3 | *100·0
- at Miscarriage 4 in every |Kent | † 29·5 | *100·0
- 10,000 Illegitimate Births.) |Suffolk | † 29·5 | * ----
- |Somerset | † 11·8 | *100·0
- |Wilts | † 4·1 | *100·0
- _Counties in which the Concealment_ |The Average for | |
- _of Births and Attempts to procure_ | the whole of | |
- _Miscarriage are both below the_ | the above | |
- _Average._ | Counties is | † 53·0 | * 60·0
- Rutland | *100·0 | *100·0 |(The Number of cases of Concealing
- Hunts | *100·0 | *100·0 |Births is 26, and Attempts
- Oxford | * 82·4 | *100·0 |at Miscarriage 0·4 in every 10,000
- Bedford | * 64·7 | *100·0 |Illegitimate Births.)
- Northumb. | * 58·8 | * ---- |
- Cumberland | * 52·9 | *100·0 |
- Lancaster | * 47·1 | * 80·0 |_Counties in which the Concealment_
- Bucks | * 41·2 | *100·0 |_of Births is below the Average,_
- North Wales | * 35·3 | *100·0 |_and the Attempts to procure Miscarriage_
- York | * 29·4 | * ---- |_above it._
- Salop | * 17·6 | *100·0 |Nottingham | * 70·6 | †300·0
- South Wales | * 11·8 | * 20·0 |Derby | * 29·4 | †200·0
- Norfolk | * 11·8 | * 30·0 |Warwick | * 23·5 | †300·0
- Stafford | * ---- | * ---- |Hertford | * 23·5 | †200·0
- Cambridge | * ---- | *100·0 |Chester | * 17·6 | †200·0
- The Average for | | |The Average for | |
- the whole of | | | the whole of | |
- the above | | | the above | |
- Counties is | * 29·4 | * 30·0 | Counties is | * 29·4 | †200·0
- (The Number of cases of Concealing | (The Number of cases of Concealing
- Births is 14, and Attempts |Births is 12, and Attempts
- at Miscarriage 0·7 in every 10,000 |at Miscarriage 3 in every 10,000
- Illegitimate Births.) |Illegitimate Births.)
-
-
-THE ATTEMPTS TO PROCURE THE MISCARRIAGE OF WOMEN AND ILLEGITIMATE
-BIRTHS COMPARED.
-
- | Percentage
- | above and below
- | the Average.
- _Counties in_ | † denotes above.
- _which the Number_ | * „ below.
- _of cases of Attempts_+---------------+---------------
- _at Miscarriage_ | In No. | In No.
- _and Number_ | of Attempts |of Illegitimate
- _of Illegitimate_ |at Miscarriage | Births.
- _Births are_ | |
- _both above the_ | |
- _Average._ +---------------+---------------
- Sussex | †500·0 | † 1·5
- Leicester | †400·0 | †17·9
- Nottingham | †300·0 | †35·8
- Chester | †200·0 | †32·8
- Derby | †200·0 | †20·9
- Hertford | †200·0 | † 7·4
- Berks | †100·0 | †17·9
- The Average for | |
- the whole of | |
- the above | |
- Counties is | †300·0 | †20·9
- (The number of cases of Attempts
- at Miscarriage is 4 in
- 10,000 Illegitimate Births, and
- Number of Illegitimate Births 81
- in every 1000 Births.)
- _Counties in which the cases of Attempts_
- _at Miscarriage and Number_
- _of Illegitimate Births are both_
- _below the Average._
- Cambridge | *100·0 | * 1·5
- Dorset | *100·0 | * 1·5
- Durham | *100·0 | *10·4
- Essex | *100·0 | *10·4
- Hunts | *100·0 | *28·3
- Kent | *100·0 | *19·4
- Monmouth | *100·0 | *26·8
- Rutland | *100·0 | *16·4
- Somerset | *100·0 | * 6·0
- Southampton | *100·0 | *10·4
- Surrey | *100·0 | *34·3
- Worcester | *100·0 | * 1·5
- Middlesex | * 10·0 | *40·3
- Lincoln | * ---- | * 1·5
- Gloucester | * ---- | * 4·5
- The Average for | |
- the whole of | |
- the above | |
- Counties is | * 60·0 | * 19·4
- (The Number of cases of Attempts
- at Miscarriage is ·4 in
- every 10,000 Illegitimate Births,
- and Number of Illegitimate Births
- 54 in every 1000 Births.)
-
- | Percentage
- | above and below
- | the Average.
- _Counties in_ | † denotes above.
- _which the cases_ | * „ below.
- _of Attempts at_ +---------------+---------------
- _Miscarriage are_ | In No. | In No.
- _above the Average_ | of Attempts |of Illegitimate
- _and the_ |at Miscarriage | Births.
- _Number of _ | |
- _Illegitimate Births _| |
- _below it._ +---------------+---------------
- Northampton | †400·0 | *10·4
- Devon | †300·0 | *25·3
- Warwick | †300·0 | *16·4
- Cornwall | †300·0 | *29·8
- The Average for | |
- the whole of | |
- the above | |
- Counties is | †300·0 | *20·9
- (The Number of cases of Attempts
- at Miscarriage is 4 in
- every 10,000 Illegitimate Births,
- and Number of Illegitimate Births
- 53 in every 1000 Births.)
-
-
- _Counties in which the cases of Attempts_
- _at Miscarriage are below_
- _the Average and the Number of_
- _Illegitimate Births above it._
- Bedford | *100·0 | †14·9
- Bucks | *100·0 | † 4·4
- Cumberland | *100·0 | †61·2
- Hereford | *100·0 | †49·2
- Oxford | *100·0 | †13·4
- Salop | *100·0 | †47·7
- Westmorland | *100·0 | †29·8
- Wilts | *100·0 | † 3·0
- North Wales | *100·0 | †16·4
- Lancaster | * 80·0 | †14·9
- Norfolk | * 30·0 | †56·7
- South Wales | * 20·0 | † 7·4
- Suffolk | * ---- | †26·8
- Northumb. | * ---- | † 8·9
- Stafford | * ---- | † 3·0
- York | * ---- | † 6·0
- The Average for | |
- the whole of | |
- the above | |
- Counties is | * 40·0 | †16·4
- (The Number of cases of Attempts
- at Miscarriage is ·6 in
- every 10,000 Illegitimate Births,
- and Number of Illegitimate Births
- 78 in every 1000 Births.)
-
-[Illustration: MAP SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PERSONS COMMITTED FOR
-ASSAULTS, WITH INTENT TO RAVISH AND CARNALLY ABUSE, IN EVERY 1,000,000
-OF THE POPULATION, IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES OF ENGLAND & WALES.
-
-⁂ The counties printed _black_ are those in which the number committed
-for this offence is _above_ the Average.
-
-The counties left _white_ are those in which the number committed for
-the same offence is _below_ the Average.
-
-The Average has been calculated for the ten years, from 1841 to 1850.
-
- _The Average for all England and Wales is 83 in every 1,000,000 people._
- _„ „ Worcester (the highest) 139 „ „ _
- _„ „ South Wales (the lowest) 33 „ „ _
-]
-
-
-TABLE SHOWING THE CRIMINALITY OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND
-WALES, WITH REGARD TO ASSAULTS WITH INTENT TO RAVISH AND CARNALLY ABUSE.
-
- | | Total Number Committed for Assaults, with |
- | Average | intent to Ravish and Carnally Abuse. |
- COUNTIES. |Population+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
- | 1841-50. | | | | | | | | | | |
- | |1841|1842|1843|1844|1845|1846|1847|1848|1849|1850|
- -----------------+----------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
- Bedford | 121,083| .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .. |
- Berks | 194,763| 1 | .. | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
- Bucks | 140,959| .. | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | .. | 1 | 1 | 1 | .. |
- Cambridge | 180,747| 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | .. | 2 | .. | 2 |
- Chester | 395,919| 7 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
- Cornwall | 349,991| 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | .. | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
- Cumberland | 186,762| 1 | .. | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | .. | .. | 2 | 3 |
- Derby | 250,249| 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | .. | 1 | 1 | 1 |
- Devon | 554,738| 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 3 |
- Dorset | 172,736| .. | .. | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | .. | 1 | .. | .. |
- Durham | 368,787| 1 | 3 | 7 | .. | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
- Essex | 332,363| 2 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | .. |
- Gloucester | 407,504| 6 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 3 | .. | 6 | 5 |
- Hereford | 97,813| 1 | .. | .. | .. | .. | 2 | .. | 4 | .. | 1 |
- Hertford | 168,178| .. | .. | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | .. | 2 |
- Hunts | 57,942| 1 | .. | 1 | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Kent | 585,249| 3 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 11 |
- Lancaster | 1,881,261| 13 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 26 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 11 | 6 |
- Leicester | 227,621| 2 | 5 | 4 | .. | 4 | 3 | .. | .. | 1 | 4 |
- Lincoln | 378,246| 2 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 3 | .. | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
- Middlesex | 1,740,814| 14 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 6 | 20 | 8 | 11 |
- Monmouth | 164,093| 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | .. | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
- Norfolk | 419,463| 3 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
- Northampton | 206,496| .. | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
- Northumberland | 284,777| 1 | .. | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | .. | 1 | .. |
- Nottingham | 282,584| 1 | 1 | .. | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | .. | .. | .. |
- Oxford | 166,751| .. | 4 | .. | 2 | .. | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
- Rutland | 23,711| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Salop | 243,352| 1 | 3 | 5 | .. | .. | .. | 2 | 3 | .. | .. |
- Somerset | 452,515| 5 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
- Southampton | 377,040| 2 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 1 |
- Stafford | 579,686| 4 | 7 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 11 |
- Suffolk | 325,336| 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .. | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
- Surrey | 635,917| 2 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
- Sussex | 320,944| .. | 7 | 1 | .. | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 4 |
- Warwick | 444,558| 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 8 |
- Westmorland | 57,494| .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. | 1 | 2 | 1 | .. |
- Wilts | 241,887| 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | .. | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
- Worcester | 244,574| 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
- York | 1,686,461| 16 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 12 | 19 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 14 |
- North Wales | 396,161| 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 4 |
- South Wales | 568,430| 1 | 1 | .. | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
- -----------------+----------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
- Total for England|16,918,458|118 |141 |158 |167 |123 |164 |131 |133 |112 |122 |
- and Wales | | | | | | | | | | | |
-
- | | | No. | Percentage
- |Total for| Annual |Committed |above and below
- +10 Years.|Average.| Annually | the Average.
- | | | in every |† denotes above.
- | | |1,000,000.|* „ below.
- +---------+--------+----------+----------------
- | 6 | 0·6 | 50 | *39·3
- | 13 | 1·3 | 67 | *19·2
- | 13 | 1·3 | 92 | †10·8
- | 14 | 1·4 | 77 | * 7·2
- | 46 | 4·6 | 116 | †39·8
- | 23 | 2·3 | 66 | *20·5
- | 15 | 1·5 | 80 | * 3·6
- | 12 | 1·2 | 48 | *42·2
- | 35 | 3·5 | 63 | *24·7
- | 13 | 1·3 | 75 | * 9·6
- | 26 | 2·6 | 71 | *14·5
- | 28 | 2·8 | 84 | † 1·2
- | 37 | 3·7 | 91 | † 9·6
- | 8 | 0·8 | 82 | * 1·2
- | 13 | 1·3 | 78 | * 6·0
- | 3 | 0·3 | 52 | *37·4
- | 62 | 6·2 | 106 | †27·7
- | 162 | 16·2 | 87 | † 4·8
- | 23 | 2·3 | 101 | †21·7
- | 29 | 2·9 | 80 | * 3·6
- | 111 | 11·1 | 64 | *22·9
- | 17 | 1·7 | 104 | †25·3
- | 50 | 5·0 | 119 | †43·4
- | 21 | 2·1 | 102 | †22·9
- | 16 | 1·6 | 56 | *32·5
- | 10 | 1·0 | 36 | *56·6
- | 17 | 1·7 | 102 | †22·9
- | 1 | 0·1 | 42 | *49·4
- | 14 | 1·4 | 58 | *30·1
- | 51 | 5·1 | 115 | †38·6
- | 40 | 4·0 | 106 | †27·7
- | 58 | 5·8 | 101 | †21·7
- | 18 | 1·8 | 56 | *32·5
- | 38 | 3·8 | 60 | *27·7
- | 32 | 3·2 | 100 | †20·5
- | 41 | 4·1 | 92 | †10·8
- | 5 | 0·5 | 87 | † 4·8
- | 28 | 2·8 | 116 | †39·8
- | 34 | 3·4 | 139 | †67·5
- | 136 | 13·6 | 81 | * 2·4
- | 32 | 3·2 | 81 | * 2·4
- | 18 | 1·8 | 33 | *60·2
- +---------+--------+----------+----------------
- | 1369 | 137·0 | 83 |
- | | | |
-
-
- LIST OF COUNTIES, IN THE ORDER OF THEIR CRIMINALITY WITH REGARD TO
- ASSAULTS WITH INTENT TO RAVISH AND CARNALLY ABUSE, AS SHOWN BY THE
- NUMBER COMMITTED FOR THIS OFFENCE IN EVERY 1,000,000 OF THE POPULATION.
-
-_Counties above the Average._
-
- Worcester 139
- Norfolk 119
- Chester 116
- Wilts 116
- Somerset 115
- Kent 106
- Southampton 106
- Monmouth 104
- Northampton 102
- Oxford 102
- Stafford 101
- Leicester 101
- Sussex 100
- Warwick 92
- Bucks 92
- Gloucester 91
- Lancaster 87
- Westmorland 87
- Essex 84
-
-_Counties below the Average._
-
- Hereford 82
- York 81
- North Wales 81
- Lincoln 80
- Cumberland 80
- Hertford 78
- Cambridge 77
- Dorset 75
- Durham 71
- Berks 67
- Cornwall 66
- Middlesex 64
- Devon 63
- Surrey 60
- Salop 58
- Suffolk 56
- Northumberland 56
- Hunts 52
- Bedford 50
- Derby 48
- Rutland 42
- Nottingham 36
- South Wales 33
-
-Average for England and Wales 83
-
-[Illustration: MAP SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PERSONS COMMITTED FOR BIGAMY
-IN EVERY 100,000 MARRIAGES, IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND
-WALES.
-
-⁂ The counties printed _black_ are those in which the number committed
-for this offence is _above_ the average.
-
-The counties left _white_ are those in which the number committed for
-the same offence is _below_ the average.
-
-The average is calculated for the ten years, from 1841 to 1850.
-
- _The average for all England and Wales is 59 in every 100,000 Marriages._
- _ „ „ Chester (the highest) 259 „ „ _
-]
-
-
-TABLE SHOWING THE CRIMINALITY OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND
-WALES WITH REGARD TO BIGAMY.
-
- | Average | Total Number committed for Bigamy. |
- | Marriages | |
- COUNTIES. |for 10 years,+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
- | from | | | | | | | | | | |
- | 1830-48. |1841|1842|1843|1844|1845|1846|1847|1848|1849|1850|
- -----------------+-------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
- Bedford | 925 | 1 | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. |
- Berks | 1,294 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .. | .. | .. | 2 | 1 | .. | .. |
- Bucks | 960 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Cambridge | 1,392 | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 | 1 |
- Chester | 2,580 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 6 | 9 | 8 |
- Cornwall | 2,447 | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. |
- Cumberland | 1,036 | 2 | .. | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | .. | 1 | 2 | .. |
- Derby | 1,826 | .. | 1 | .. | .. | .. | 3 | .. | .. | .. | 2 |
- Devon | 4,339 | 1 | .. | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | .. |
- Dorset | 1,174 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. |
- Durham | 2,885 | .. | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
- Essex | 2,114 | 2 | .. | 1 | 2 | .. | 1 | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Gloucester | 3,459 | 2 | 1 | 5 | .. | .. | 1 | .. | 3 | 2 | .. |
- Hereford | 634 | 1 | .. | 1 | .. | .. | .. | 1 | 1 | .. | .. |
- Hertford | 988 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Hunts | 452 | .. | .. | 2 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Kent | 4,047 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | .. | 1 | 1 |
- Lancaster | 17,034 | 13 | 11 | 35 | 19 | 20 | 27 | 29 | 19 | 19 | 20 |
- Leicester | 1,730 | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Lincoln | 2,765 | .. | .. | 1 | 4 | .. | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
- Middlesex | 15,795 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 16 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 11 |
- Monmouth | 1,281 | .. | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .. | .. | .. | 2 | 2 |
- Norfolk | 3,021 | .. | 1 | 3 | 2 | .. | 1 | .. | 2 | 1 | 2 |
- Northampton | 1,597 | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Northumberland | 2,047 | .. | 1 | .. | 1 | .. | 3 | 1 | 1 | .. | .. |
- Nottingham | 2,084 | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. | 3 | 1 | .. | .. | .. |
- Oxford | 1,158 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Rutland | 158 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Salop | 1,590 | 2 | 1 | .. | 1 | .. | 1 | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Somerset | 3,113 | 1 | 2 | 1 | .. | 1 | 1 | .. | 1 | 1 | 1 |
- Southampton | 2,884 | .. | .. | 2 | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. | 2 |
- Stafford | 4,146 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
- Suffolk | 2,369 | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. |
- Surrey | 5,187 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 8 |
- Sussex | 2,134 | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 | 1 | .. | 2 | .. | .. |
- Warwick | 3,247 | 3 | 1 | 2 | .. | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
- Westmorland | 390 | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. |
- Wilts | 1,618 | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 | 1 | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Worcester | 2,769 | .. | .. | 3 | .. | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
- York | 13,332 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 9 | 13 |
- North Wales | 2,582 | .. | 1 | 1 | .. | 2 | .. | .. | 2 | 1 | 1 |
- South Wales | 4,076 | 1 | .. | 1 | .. | 1 | .. | 1 | 1 | 2 | .. |
- -----------------+-------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
- Total for England| 130,670 | 50 | 65 |107 | 69 | 62 | 82 | 84 | 88 | 83 | 82 |
- and Wales | | | | | | | | | | | |
-
- | | |No. committed| Percentage
- |Total for| Annual | Annually |above and below
- +10 Years.|Average.| in every | the Average.
- | | | 100,000 |† denotes above.
- | | | Marriages. |* „ below.
- +---------+--------+-------------+----------------
- | 3 | 0·3 | 32 | * 45·8
- | 7 | 0·7 | 54 | * 8·5
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | 3 | 0·3 | 22 | * 62·7
- | 67 | 6·7 | 259 | †338·9
- | 2 | 0·2 | 8 | * 86·4
- | 13 | 1·3 | 125 | † 11·2
- | 6 | 0·6 | 33 | * 44·1
- | 14 | 1·4 | 32 | * 45·8
- | 1 | 0·1 | 9 | * 4·8
- | 28 | 2·8 | 97 | † 64·4
- | 6 | 0·6 | 28 | * 52·5
- | 14 | 1·4 | 40 | * 32·2
- | 4 | 0·4 | 63 | † 6·8
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | 2 | 0·2 | 44 | * 25·4
- | 21 | 2·1 | 52 | * 11·9
- | 212 | 21·2 | 124 | †110·2
- | 1 | 0·1 | 6 | * 89·8
- | 14 | 1·4 | 51 | * 13·6
- | 102 | 10·2 | 65 | † 10·2
- | 10 | 1·0 | 78 | † 32·2
- | 12 | 1·2 | 39 | * 33·9
- | 1 | 0·1 | 6 | * 89·8
- | 7 | 0·7 | 34 | * 42·4
- | 5 | 0·5 | 24 | * 59·3
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | 5 | 0·5 | 31 | * 47·5
- | 9 | 0·9 | 29 | * 50·9
- | 5 | 0·5 | 17 | * 71·2
- | 19 | 1·9 | 46 | * 22·0
- | 2 | 0·2 | 8 | * 86·4
- | 43 | 4·3 | 83 | † 40·7
- | 4 | 0·4 | 19 | * 67·8
- | 20 | 2·0 | 62 | † 5·1
- | 2 | 0·2 | 51 | * 13·6
- | 2 | 0·2 | 12 | * 79·7
- | 12 | 1·2 | 43 | * 27·1
- | 79 | 7·9 | 59 | * . ..
- | 8 | 0·8 | 31 | * 47·5
- | 7 | 0·7 | 17 | * 71·2
- +---------+--------+-------------+----------------
- | 772 | ·2 | 59 |
- | | | |
-
-
- LIST OF COUNTIES, IN THE ORDER OF THEIR CRIMINALITY WITH REGARD TO
- BIGAMY, AS SHOWN BY THE NUMBER COMMITTED FOR THIS OFFENCE IN EVERY
- 100,000 MARRIAGES.
-
-_Counties above the Average._
-
- Chester 259
- Cumberland 125
- Lancaster 124
- Durham 97
- Surrey 83
- Monmouth 78
- Middlesex 65
- Hereford 63
- Warwick 62
-
-_Counties below the Average._
-
- York 59
- Berks 54
- Kent 52
- Lincoln 51
- Westmorland 51
- Stafford 46
- Hunts 44
- Worcester 43
- Gloucester 40
- Norfolk 39
- Northumberland 34
- Derby 33
- Devon 32
- Bedford 32
- North Wales 31
- Salop 31
- Somerset 29
- Essex 28
- Nottingham 24
- Cambridge 22
- Sussex 19
- South Wales 17
- Southampton 17
- Wilts 12
- Dorset 9
- Cornwall 8
- Suffolk 8
- Leicester 6
- Northampton 6
- Bucks 0
- Hertford 0
- Oxford 0
- Rutland 0
-
-Average for England and Wales 59
-
-[Illustration: MAP SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PERSONS COMMITTED FOR
-ABDUCTION IN EVERY 10,000,000 OF THE MALE POPULATION, IN THE SEVERAL
-COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES.
-
-⁂ The counties printed _black_ are those in which the number committed
-for this offence is _above_ the average.
-
-The counties left _white_ are those in which the number committed for
-the same offence is _below_ the average.
-
-The average is calculated for the ten years, from 1841 to 1850.
-
- _The Average for all England and Wales is 3 in every 10,000,000 of the Male Population._
-
- _ „ „ Nottingham and Bucks (the highest) 14 each „ „ _
-]
-
-
-TABLE SHOWING THE CRIMINALITY OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND
-WALES WITH REGARD TO ABDUCTION.
-
- | | |
- | Average | Total Number committed for Abduction. |
- COUNTIES. | Male |_________________________________________________|
- | Population| | | | | | | | | | |
- | 1841-50. |1841|1842|1843|1844|1845|1846|1847|1848|1849|1850|
- | | | | | | | | | | | |
- __________________|___________|____|____|____|____|____|____|____|____|____|____|
- | | | | | | | | | | | |
- Bedford | 58,372 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Berks | 97,055 | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Bucks | 69,226 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .1 | .. | .. | .. |
- Cambridge | 89,762 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 |
- Chester | 193,728 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Cornwall | 168,854 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Cumberland | 91,199 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Derby | 124,224 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Devon | 263,055 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Dorset | 82,998 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Durham | 183,956 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Essex | 166,255 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Gloucester | 192,960 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Hereford | 48,985 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Hertford | 83,264 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Hunts | 28,761 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Kent | 291,219 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 |
- Lancaster | 917,922 | 1 | 6 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Leicester | 111,629 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Lincoln | 189,768 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Middlesex | 815,107 | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. |
- Monmouth | 85,564 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Norfolk | 202,811 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Northampton | 102,853 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Northumberland | 139,028 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 |
- Nottingham | 138,413 | 2 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Oxford | 83,290 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Rutland | 11,937 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Salop | 121,316 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Somerset | 216,177 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Southampton | 186,661 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Stafford | 294,120 | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. | 1 | .. | 1 | .. | .. |
- Suffolk | 159,561 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Surrey | 303,083 | .. | 1 | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. | .. |
- Sussex | 157,915 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Surrey | 303,083 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Warwick | 217,569 | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 |
- Westmorland | 28,680 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Wilts | 119,528 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- Worcester | 119,808 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- York | 835,816 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- North Wales | 196,064 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- South Wales | 279,818 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
- __________________|___________|____|____|____|____|____|____|____|____|____|____|
- | | | | | | | | | | | |
- Total for England | 8,270,087 | 3 | 7 | .. | 4 | .. | 1 | 2 | 2 | .. | 4 |
- and Wales | | | | | | | | | | | |
-
- | | |No. |
- | Total | |committed |
- | for | |Annually | Percentage above
- | 10 |Annual |in every | and below the Average.
- | Years.|Average.|10,000,000| † denotes above.
- | | |Males. | * „ below.
- |_______|________|__________|_______________________
- | | | |
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | 1 | ·1 | 10 | †233·3
- | 1 | ·1 | 14 | †366·7
- | 1 | ·1 | 11 | †266·7
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | 1 | .1 | 3 | *....
- | 7 | ·7 | 8 | †166·7
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | 2 | ·2 | 2 | *133·3
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | 1 | ·1 | 7 | †133·3
- | 2 | ·2 | 14 | †366·7
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | 3 | ·3 | 10 | †233·3
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | 2 | ·2 | 7 | †133·3
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | 2 | ·2 | 9 |†200·0
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- | .. | .. | .. | *100·0
- |_______|________|__________|_______
- | | | |
- | 23 | 2·3 | 3 |
- | | | |
-
-
- LIST OF COUNTIES, IN THE ORDER OF THEIR CRIMINALITY WITH REGARD TO
- ABDUCTION, AS SHOWN BY THE NUMBER COMMITTED FOR THIS OFFENCE IN EVERY
- 10,000,000 OF THE MALE POPULATION.
-
-_Counties above the Average._
-
- Nottingham 14
- Bucks 14
- Cambridge 11
- Stafford 10
- Berks 10
- Warwick 9
- Lancaster 8
- Northumberland 7
- Surrey 7
-
-_Counties below the Average._
-
- Kent 3
- Middlesex 2
- Bedford 0
- Chester 0
- Cornwall 0
- Cumberland 0
- Derby 0
- Devon 0
- Dorset 0
- Durham 0
- Essex 0
- Gloucester 0
- Hereford 0
- Hertford 0
- Hunts 0
- Leicester 0
- Lincoln 0
- Monmouth 0
- Norfolk 0
- Northampton 0
- Oxford 0
- Rutland 0
- Salop 0
- Somerset 0
- Southampton 0
- Suffolk 0
- Sussex 0
- Westmorland 0
- Wilts 0
- Worcester 0
- York 0
- North Wales 0
- South Wales 0
-
-Average for England and Wales 3
-
-[Illustration: MAP SHOWING THE CRIMINALITY OF FEMALES IN EVERY 100,000
-OF THE FEMALE POPULATION, IN EACH COUNTY OF ENGLAND AND WALES.
-
-⁂ The counties printed _black_ are those in which the number of
-Criminal Females is _above_ the average.
-
-The counties left _white_ are those in which the number of Criminal
-Females is _below_ the average.
-
-The average is taken for the last 10 years.
-
- _The Average for all England and Wales is 62 in every 100,000 of the Female Population._
- _ „ „ Middlesex (the highest) 110 „ „ _
- _ „ „ Derby (the lowest) 23 „ „ _
-]
-
-
-TABLE SHOWING THE RELATIVE AMOUNT OF FEMALE AND MALE CRIMINALITY IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES OF
-ENGLAND AND WALES.
-
-† denotes above the average, * below it.
-
- | Average | Number of Female Criminals in each year. |
- COUNTIES. | Female | |
- |Population,| |
- | 1841-50. |----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
- | |1841|1842|1843|1844|1845|1846|1847|1848|1849|1850|
- -----------------+-----------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
- Bedford | 62,711 | 11| 36| 22| 20| 15| 20| 21| 22| 17| 19|
- Berks | 97,708 | 45| 55| 43| 44| 42| 37| 55| 43| 52| 39|
- Bucks | 71,732 | 20| 23| 31| 17| 25| 21| 22| 21| 27| 16|
- Cambridge | 90,985 | 29| 28| 33| 42| 34| 20| 44| 32| 34| 44|
- Chester | 202,190 | 195| 171| 170| 147| 139| 183| 197| 209| 169| 184|
- Cornwall | 181,137 | 61| 67| 75| 56| 62| 67| 78| 68| 69| 46|
- Cumberland | 95,563 | 39| 39| 38| 40| 37| 36| 37| 34| 36| 43|
- Derby | 126,025 | 21| 26| 34| 33| 28| 47| 24| 25| 27| 25|
- Devon | 291,683 | 171| 194| 177| 151| 184| 184| 206| 226| 224| 193|
- Dorset | 89,738 | 46| 34| 42| 41| 33| 35| 51| 53| 61| 38|
- Durham | 184,931 | 46| 57| 58| 65| 40| 55| 61| 72| 45| 82|
- Essex | 166,108 | 82| 85| 99| 89| 75| 89| 65| 75| 64| 64|
- Gloucester | 214,544 | 193| 221| 224| 198| 178| 190| 204| 188| 188| 148|
- Hereford | 48,828 | 64| 49| 45| 38| 39| 34| 52| 52| 44| 45|
- Hertford | 84,914 | 35| 34| 24| 27| 30| 21| 28| 30| 29| 23|
- Hunts | 29,181 | 7| 8| 10| 15| 19| 14| 12| 18| 15| 10|
- Kent | 294,029 | 161| 183| 147| 156| 151| 161| 171| 182| 200| 167|
- Lancaster | 963,338 | 927| 947| 847| 689| 698| 826| 882| 902| 819| 950|
- Leicester | 115,991 | 56| 69| 55| 56| 30| 61| 49| 37| 38| 41|
- Lincoln | 188,477 | 74| 100| 86| 92| 71| 78| 106| 87| 91| 72|
- Middlesex | 926,007 | 869| 989| 980| 948|1102|1118|1176|1223| 945| 882|
- Monmouth | 78,528 | 63| 51| 53| 77| 41| 46| 67| 64| 78| 97|
- Norfolk | 216,652 | 112| 127| 117| 127| 101| 120| 143| 78| 100| 89|
- Northampton | 103,642 | 45| 38| 25| 34| 47| 41| 32| 38| 24| 38|
- Northumb. | 145,749 | 54| 52| 66| 77| 46| 43| 50| 44| 64| 83|
- Nottingham | 144,171 | 38| 49| 43| 51| 42| 45| 64| 33| 37| 34|
- Oxford | 82,461 | 46| 48| 52| 37| 44| 43| 41| 35| 34| 31|
- Rutland | 11,774 | 6| 4| 7| 3| 3| 4| 7| 10| 4| 2|
- Salop | 122,035 | 80| 75| 89| 84| 73| 48| 62| 65| 61| 59|
- Somerset | 236,337 | 172| 166| 136| 160| 143| 150| 141| 145| 159| 134|
- Southampton | 190,379 | 102| 127| 124| 93| 115| 94| 137| 115| 120| 120|
- Stafford | 285,566 | 179| 190| 197| 175| 161| 188| 221| 176| 189| 193|
- Suffolk | 165,775 | 77| 80| 68| 92| 66| 77| 82| 57| 76| 74|
- Surrey | 332,838 | 212| 236| 177| 194| 215| 200| 316| 278| 275| 237|
- Sussex | 163,028 | 61| 81| 83| 69| 86| 93| 83| 92| 101| 83|
- Warwick | 226,989 | 168| 157| 177| 119| 144| 163| 179| 199| 142| 162|
- Westmorland | 28,814 | 9| 9| 10| 6| 7| 8| 4| 6| 9| 8|
- Wilts | 122,359 | 65| 57| 65| 57| 52| 60| 86| 59| 78| 47|
- Worcester | 124,766 | 75| 102| 104| 87| 121| 105| 128| 116| 112| 109|
- York | 850,625 | 331| 380| 375| 323| 290| 294| 351| 344| 347| 321|
- North Wales | 200,096 | 60| 56| 48| 45| 49| 47| 68| 65| 63| 62|
- South Wales | 288,612 | 93| 79| 84| 117| 84| 91| 127| 145| 134| 151|
- -----------------+-----------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
- Total for England| 8,648,371 |5200|5569|5340|4993|4962|5257|5930|5763|5401|5265|
- & Wales | | | | | | | | | | | |
-
- | | | | |
- | | | Average No. | No. of Female |
- | Total Female | Average No. of | of Male | Criminals in |
- +Criminals in Ten| Female Criminals|Criminals[96] | every 100,000 of |
- | Years. |per year 1841-50.|per year 1841-50.|Female Population.|
- +----------------+-----------------+-----------------+------------------+
- | 203 | 20·3 | 166 | 32 |
- | 455 | 45·5 | 268 | 47 |
- | 223 | 22·3 | 266 | 31 |
- | 340 | 34·0 | 232 | 37 |
- | 1764 | 176·4 | 722 | 87 |
- | 649 | 64·9 | 217 | 35 |
- | 379 | 37·9 | 95 | 40 |
- | 290 | 29·0 | 235 | 23 |
- | 1910 | 191·0 | 596 | 31 |
- | 434 | 43·4 | 210 | 48 |
- | 581 | 58·1 | 232 | 31 |
- | 787 | 78·7 | 559 | 48 |
- | 1932 | 193·2 | 875 | 90 |
- | 462 | 46·2 | 187 | 94 |
- | 281 | 28·1 | 267 | 33 |
- | 128 | 12·8 | 69 | 45 |
- | 1679 | 167·9 | 792 | 57 |
- | 8487 | 848·7 | 2635 | 88 |
- | 492 | 49·2 | 342 | 42 |
- | 857 | 85·7 | 398 | 46 |
- | 10232 | 1023·2 | 3244 | 110 |
- | 637 | 63·7 | 232 | 81 |
- | 1114 | 111·4 | 607 | 51 |
- | 362 | 36·2 | 259 | 35 |
- | 579 | 57·9 | 177 | 40 |
- | 436 | 43·6 | 289 | 31 |
- | 411 | 41·1 | 256 | 50 |
- | 50 | 5·0 | 28 | 42 |
- | 696 | 69·6 | 293 | 57 |
- | 1506 | 150·6 | 751 | 64 |
- | 1147 | 114·7 | 555 | 60 |
- | 1869 | 186·9 | 851 | 65 |
- | 749 | 74·9 | 436 | 45 |
- | 2340 | 234·0 | 806 | 70 |
- | 832 | 83·2 | 409 | 52 |
- | 1610 | 161·0 | 799 | 71 |
- | 76 | 7·6 | 39 | 28 |
- | 626 | 62·6 | 394 | 51 |
- | 1059 | 105·9 | 506 | 85 |
- | 3356 | 335·6 | 1587 | 40 |
- | 563 | 56·3 | 233 | 28 |
- | 1105 | 110·5 | 368 | 38 |
- +----------------+-----------------+-----------------+------------------+
- | 53680 | 5368·0 | 22474 | 62 |
- | | | | |
-
- |No. of Male Criminals| Percentage above|Percentage above|No. of Female |Percentage above
- | in every | and below the | and below the | Criminals to | and below the
- | 100,000 of Male |average of Female| Average of Male|every 100 Male| Average of Female
- | Population. | Criminals. | Criminals. | Criminals. |to Male Criminals.
- +---------------------+-----------------+----------------+--------------+------------------
- | 284 | *48·4 | † 4·4 | 11 | *52·2
- | 276 | *24·2 | † 1·5 | 17 | *26·1
- | 384 | *50·0 | †41·2 | 8 | *65·2
- | 258 | *40·3 | * 5·2 | 14 | *39·1
- | 373 | †40·3 | †37·1 | 23 | * --
- | 128 | *43·6 | *52·9 | 27 | †17·4
- | 104 | *35·5 | *61·8 | 38 | †65·2
- | 189 | *62·9 | *30·5 | 12 | *47·8
- | 227 | *50·0 | *16·5 | 14 | *39·1
- | 253 | *22·6 | * 7·0 | 19 | *17·4
- | 126 | *50·0 | *53·7 | 25 | † 8·7
- | 336 | *22·6 | †23·5 | 14 | *39·1
- | 453 | †45·2 | †66·6 | 20 | *13·0
- | 382 | †51·6 | †40·4 | 24 | † 4·4
- | 321 | *46·8 | †18·0 | 10 | *56·5
- | 240 | *27·4 | *11·8 | 19 | *17·4
- | 272 | * 8·1 | * -- | 21 | * 8·7
- | 287 | †41·9 | † 5·5 | 31 | †34·8
- | 306 | *32·3 | †12·5 | 14 | *39·1
- | 210 | *25·8 | *22·8 | 22 | * 4·4
- | 398 | †77·4 | †46·3 | 28 | †21·7
- | 271 | †30·6 | * O·4 | 30 | †30·4
- | 299 | *17·7 | † 9·9 | 17 | *26·1
- | 252 | *43·6 | * 7·4 | 14 | *39·1
- | 127 | *35·5 | *53·3 | 31 | †34·8
- | 209 | *50·0 | *23·2 | 15 | *34·8
- | 307 | *19·4 | †12·9 | 16 | *30·4
- | 235 | *32·3 | *13·6 | 18 | *21·7
- | 242 | * 8·1 | *11·0 | 24 | † 4·4
- | 347 | † 3·2 | †27·6 | 18 | *21·7
- | 297 | * 3·2 | † 9·2 | 20 | *13·0
- | 289 | † 4·8 | † 6·2 | 22 | * 4·4
- | 273 | *27·4 | † O·4 | 16 | *30·4
- | 266 | †12·9 | * 2·2 | 26 | †13·0
- | 259 | *16·1 | * 4·8 | 20 | *13·0
- | 367 | †14·5 | †34·9 | 19 | *17·4
- | 136 | *54·9 | *50·0 | 21 | * 8·7
- | 330 | *17·7 | †21·3 | 15 | *34·8
- | 422 | †37·1 | †55·1 | 20 | *13·0
- | 190 | *35·5 | *30·1 | 21 | * 8·7
- | 119 | *54·9 | *56·3 | 13 | *43·5
- | 132 | *38·7 | *51·5 | 29 | †26·1
- +---------------------+-----------------+----------------+--------------+------------------
- | 272 | | | 23 |
- | | | | |
-
-
- LIST OF COUNTIES, IN THE ORDER OF THEIR CRIMINALITY AMONGST FEMALES,
- AS SHOWN BY THE NUMBER OF FEMALE CRIMINALS IN EVERY 100,000 OF THE
- FEMALE POPULATION.
-
-_Counties above the Average._
-
- Middlesex 110
- Hereford 94
- Gloucester 90
- Lancaster 88
- Chester 87
- Worcester 85
- Monmouth 81
- Warwick 71
- Surrey 70
- Stafford 65
- Somerset 64
-
-_Counties below the Average._
-
- Southamp. 60
- Kent 57
- Salop 57
- Sussex 52
- Norfolk 51
- Wilts 51
- Oxford 50
- Essex 48
- Dorset 48
- Berks 47
- Lincoln 46
- Suffolk 45
- Hunts 45
- Leicester 42
- Rutland 42
- York 40
- Northumb. 40
- Cumberland 40
- S. Wales 38
- Cambridge 37
- Cornwall 35
- Northamp. 35
- Hertford 33
- Bedford 32
- Devon 31
- Durham 31
- Nottingham 31
- Bucks 31
- N. Wales 28
- Westmor. 28
- Derby 23
-
-Average for England and Wales 62
-
-
-
-
-FOOTNOTES
-
-
-[1] _Meliora_, No. viii., p. 317.
-
-[2] _The City, its Sins and its Sorrows_, p. 8.
-
-[3] Any person wishing for further information respecting these
-Societies, may obtain it from a work published by Messrs. Low and Son,
-entitled “London Charities.”
-
-[4] The following circumstance may be regarded as an illustration of
-this assertion:--
-
-A girl is reported to have applied for admission into one of the older
-Institutions in London for the rescue of the fallen. On examination,
-however, it was ascertained that she had _not fallen low enough_ to
-merit the assistance she craved, and she was accordingly rejected
-because her moral character was not sufficiently depraved. Here, at
-least, the greater the sinner, the greater the compassion!
-
-[5] The Homes are situated in Nutford Place, Edgware Road; Hatton
-Garden, Holborn; Blackfriars Road; and Woodland Terrace, Greenwich. The
-Society is very inadequately supported, and is greatly in need of funds
-to maintain its efficiency.
-
-[6] Any one desiring further information respecting this truly
-admirable movement, will do well to procure a little pamphlet,
-entitled, “A Brief Sketch of the Origin, Aim, and Mode of Conducting
-the Young Women’s Christian Association, and West London Home for Young
-Women engaged in Houses of Business, 49, Great Marlborough-street,
-Regent-street, London; in a Letter to the Earl of Roden, President of
-the Association.”
-
-[7] “The Magdalen’s Friend and Female Homes’ Intelligencer, No. 12,
-vol. ii.”
-
-[8] Those who wish for further information respecting these
-Institutions are referred to a handbook containing authentic accounts
-of the various Metropolitan Reformatories, Refuges, and Industrial
-Schools, published by the Reformatory and Refuge Union. A magazine,
-edited by a clergyman, price 3_d._ monthly, designed to awaken and
-sustain public sympathy on behalf of the fallen, and to draw attention
-to the most prolific causes, contributing to the extension of the
-social evil.
-
-[9] “Magdalen’s Friend,” vol. ii. p. 131.
-
-[10] Mr. Mill’s mistake in ranking the Employers and Distributors among
-the Enrichers, or those who increase the exchangeable commodities of
-the country, arose from a desire to place the dealers and capitalists
-among the productive labourers, than which nothing could be more idle,
-for surely they do not add, _directly_, one brass farthing, as the
-saying is, to the national stock of wealth. A little reflection would
-have shown that gentleman that the true function of employers and
-dealers was that of the _indirect aiders_ of production rather than the
-direct producers. The economical scale of production appears to be as
-follows:--(1) The Employer, providing the materials, tools, and shelter
-necessary for the due performance of the work, together with the food
-for the subsistence of the artificer during the work. (2) The Labourer,
-fitting or preparing the materials for the artificer. (3) The Artificer
-or workman, positively doing the work and creating a new product. (4)
-The Superlative Artizan, engaged in adding to the beauty or utility
-of such product. (5) The Distributor or Dealer, engaged in carrying
-and disposing of the product in the best market. The functions of Nos.
-1 and 2 generally precede production, those of Nos. 4 and 5 usually
-succeed it; while No. 3 is the absolute producer. The labours of No.
-4, however, are so intimately associated with the produce--sometimes
-designing the work, and sometimes “finishing” it--that it seems but
-right that the superlative artizan should be ranked with the artificer;
-the mere labourer, however, who turns the wheel for the turner, or
-carries the bricks to the bricklayer and the like, cannot strictly be
-ranked as a _producer_ any more than a porter or dock labourer.
-
-[11] At one time, however, murder became a _trade_ in this country,
-namely, when the dead bodies of human beings grew to be of such
-value that the burking of the living was resorted to by the
-“resurrectionists,” as a means of keeping up the supply.
-
-[12] The word Shoful is derived from the Danish _skuffe_, to shove, to
-deceive, cheat; the Saxon form of the same verb is _Scufan_, whence the
-English _Shove_.
-
-[13] A Charley Pitcher seems to be one who pitches to the _Ceorla_, or
-countryman, and hence is equivalent to the term _Yokel_-hunter.
-
-[14] The titles of the classes as here given do not form part of the
-original table.
-
-[15] Those marked thus [15] are of a non-migratory character.
-
-[16] The marriage institution is mentioned early in Genesis vi. 1, 2,
-“And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the
-earth, and daughters were born unto them,
-
-“That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and
-they took them wives of all which they chose.”
-
-[17] The passage here alluded to is as follows:--
-
-“Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at
-thy father’s house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest
-peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt
-in her father’s house.
-
-“And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah’s wife died; and
-Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he
-and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
-
-“And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to
-Timnath to shear his sheep.
-
-“And she put her widow’s garments off from her, and covered her with a
-vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the
-way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not
-given unto him to wife.
-
-“When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had
-covered her face.
-
-“And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let
-me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in
-law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in
-unto me?
-
-“And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt
-thou give me a pledge, till thou send it?
-
-“And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet,
-and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is thine hand. And he gave it her
-and came in unto her, and she conceived by him.
-
-“And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put
-on the garments of her widowhood.
-
-“And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to
-receive his pledge from the woman’s hand: but he found her not.
-
-“Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that
-was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this
-place.
-
-“And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the
-men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place.
-
-“And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I
-sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.
-
-“And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah,
-saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also,
-behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth,
-and let her be burnt.
-
-“When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By
-the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I
-pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff.
-
-“And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous
-than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her
-again no more.”--Gen. xxxviii. 11-26.
-
-[18] All this is based on the authority of the Bible. Elucidations also
-have been afforded by “The Book of the Religion &c., of the Jews,” from
-the Hebrew, by Gamaliel ben Peldahzur; “The Laws and Polity of the
-Jews,” Sigonius, “Republica Hebræorum;” and the various commentators.
-
-[19] Mary Magdalene, of Magdala, was not the sinner, the woman of
-the city, who washed the feet of Jesus. She appears to have been a
-reputable person, while the other had been a prostitute. What a lesson
-is read to us by Christ’s behaviour to her!
-
-[20] See Goguet, “Origine des Loix,” with Herodotus, Strabo, and
-Quintus Curtius.
-
-[21] Dr. Beloe also takes this view.
-
-[22] Diodorus Siculus, i. 59. See also the Euterpe of Herodotus, and
-Sir G. Wilkinson’s Ancient Egypt.
-
-[23] Manners and Customs of Ancient Greece, by J. A. St. John.
-
-[24] Manners and Customs of Ancient Greece, by J. A. St. John.
-
-[25] Mackinnon’s History of Civilization.
-
-[26] This view is chiefly drawn from information collected in Manners
-and Customs of Ancient Greece, by J. A. St. John.
-
-[27] Potter’s Antiquities of Greece.
-
-[28] Ibid.
-
-[29] Hase On the Ancient Greeks.
-
-[30] Boeck’s Public Economy of Athens.
-
-[31] Potter’s Antiquities of Greece.
-
-[32] Hase On the Ancient Greeks.
-
-[33] Boeck. Potter. Mitford’s notions of the Hetairæ appear to have
-been somewhat fanciful.
-
-[34] Occasional exceptions occurred. At one time there was no connubium
-between the plebeian and the patrician; but the Lex Canuleia allowed it.
-
-[35] The sacerdotal functionary, termed _flamen dialis_, like the
-high-priest of the Jews, could only wed a virgin of unblemished honour,
-and when she died, could not marry again, but was forced to resign his
-office.
-
-[36] See Julian Law, Ulpian, Gaius, Tacitus, Suetonius, and Dion
-Cassius, from whom, with various others, Smith’s Dictionary is compiled.
-
-[37] Dion. Halicar.; Apuleius; Festus; Lactarra Columna; Tertullian’s
-Apolog.; Ambrose’s Hexam.; Lucian, De Syriâ Deâ.
-
-[38] See Satire vi. 121-2.
-
-[39] Taylor’s Elements of the Civil Law; Becker’s Private Life of
-the Greeks and Romans; Suetonius, with Burmann’s Notes; the Codes of
-Justinian and Constantine; Smith’s Dictionary of Antiquities; Adams’s
-Antiquities; Fergusson’s Roman Republic; Niebuhr’s History; Gibbon’s
-Decline and Fall, supply facts for the above; while the writings of
-Horace, Juvenal, Lactantius, Dion Cassius, the Augustine History, and
-numerous other authors, afford scattered notices, not easy to collect
-or digest.
-
-[40] To show that a prostitute class existed, among women without means
-of support, we might mention instances of wills in which mothers left
-property to their daughters, on condition that they should marry or
-keep themselves chaste, and not earn money by prostitution.
-
-[41] Consult Sharon Turner; the various old chroniclers; the Leges
-Anglo-Saxonicæ, ed. Wilkins; Brand’s Popular Antiquities, &c.
-
-[42] Napier’s Excursions in Southern Africa.
-
-[43] Harriet Ward’s Five Years in Kaffir Land; Barrow’s Travels;
-Methuen’s Life in the Wilderness.
-
-[44] Cowries are valued at fifteen pence to the thousand.
-
-[45] Bowdich’s Essay; Thompson and Allen’s Expedition to the Niger;
-Laird’s Voyage.
-
-[46] A letter, published in the _Times_ in August last, announces the
-disastrous defeat of the celebrated body of fighting women in the pay
-of the King of Dahomey. The Amazons had advanced to the attack of
-Abbeokuta, a town in the Bight of Benin, with the object of surprising
-and carrying off the inhabitants, to supply the demand for slaves; but
-the latter, being apprised of the approach of the female warriors,
-turned out in force, repulsed them from the town, and in the course of
-pursuit effected great slaughter amongst their ranks. More than 1000
-are reported to have been left dead on the field.
-
-[47] Dahomey and the Dahomans, by J. E. Forbes; Dalzel’s History of
-Dahomey; MʻLeod’s Account; John Duncan’s Travels; Adams’s Remarks on
-the West Coast; Adams’s Sketches; Meredith’s Account of the Gold Coast.
-
-[48] Dupuis’ Observations.
-
-[49] Thompson and Allen’s Expedition up the Niger.
-
-[50] Isaacs’ Travels on the East Coast; Captain Owen’s Voyage.
-
-[51] Richardson’s Travels in the Sahara.
-
-[52] Account of Africa, by Jameson, Wilson, and Hugh Murray.
-
-[53] Count St. Marie’s Visit to Algeria.
-
-[54] These views of Abyssinian society are afforded by Bruce, and
-lately by Gogat, and have been contradicted by Mr. Salt. They are fully
-corroborated, however, by the more recent and valuable authority of Sir
-Cornwallis Harris.
-
-[55] Ignatius Palme’s Travels in Kordofan.
-
-[56] Expedition to Dongola and Sennaar.
-
-[57] Werne’s Expedition up the White Nile.
-
-[58] See Sturt’s Two Expeditions, and Sturt’s Expedition to Central
-Australia; Westgarth’s Australia Felix; Leichardt’s Expeditions;
-Hodgson’s Australian Settlements; Haydon’s Australia Felix; Stoke’s
-Discoveries; Angas’ Savage Life and Scenes; Sir George Grey’s Journals;
-Eyre’s Expedition; Pridden’s History; Earl, Mackenzie, Mitchell,
-Howitt, Mudie, Macconochie, Oxley, Henderson, Cunningham, with the
-other travellers and residents, almost innumerable, who have described
-the aborigines of Australia.
-
-[59] Tyrone Power’s Pen and Pencil Sketches; Angas’s Savage Life
-and Scenes; Handbook of New Zealand, by a Magistrate of the Colony;
-Dieffenbach’s Travels; Brown on the Aborigines; Jerningham Wakefield;
-Earl’s Travels, &c., &c.
-
-[60] Rovings in the Pacific, by a Merchant long Resident in Tahiti,
-1851.
-
-[61] See Stuart’s Voyage to the South Seas; Walpole’s Four Years in the
-Pacific; Ellis’s Tour through Hawaii; Ellis’s Polynesian Researches;
-Herman Melville’s Omoo and Typee; Progress of the Gospel in Polynesia;
-Montgomery’s Narrative of Bennett and Tyerman’s Voyage; Williams’s
-Missionary Enterprise; Mariner’s Tonga Islands; Wilkes’s United States
-Exploring Expedition; Three Years in the Pacific, by Ruschenberger;
-Rovings in the Pacific, by a Merchant; Sir George Simpson’s Voyage
-round the World; Coulter’s Travels in South America; and Coulter’s
-Voyage in the Pacific.
-
-[62] See Bancroft’s History of the United States; Catlin’s Eight Years’
-Travels; Carver’s Travels in North America; Wilkes’s United States’
-Exploring Expedition; Mackenzie’s Memoirs, Official and Personal;
-West’s Residence in the Red River Colony; West’s Mission to the Indians
-of New Brunswick; Hunter’s Memoirs of his Captivity; Drake’s Book
-of the Indians; Halkett’s Historical Notes; Buchanan’s Sketches of
-History; Sir James Alexander’s Acadie; Maclean’s Twenty-Five Years’
-Service in Hudson’s Bay; Sir George Simpson’s Voyage round the World;
-Robertson’s History of America; Robertson’s History of Missions to the
-Indians; Cleveland’s Voyages and Enterprises.
-
-[63] Short and general as this sketch is, the facts it contains, or
-is based upon, are drawn from Dunlop’s Travels in Central America;
-Captain Basil Hall’s Journal; King’s Twenty-Four Years in the Argentine
-Republic; Robertson’s Letters on Paraguay; Robertson’s Letters on South
-America; Stephenson’s Incident of Travel in Central America; Norman’s
-Rambles in Yucatan; Waterton’s Wanderings in South America; Southey’s
-History of Brazil; Young’s Residence on the Mosquito Shore; Gardiner’s
-Travels in Brazil; Hawkshaw’s Reminiscences; Stephenson’s Historical
-and Descriptive Narrative; Humboldt’s Personal Narrative; Prince
-Adalbert’s Travels; Macgregor’s Progress of America.
-
-[64] Macgregor’s Progress of America; Kidder’s Residence in Brazil;
-Walpole’s Four Years in the Pacific; Ruschenberger’s Three Years in
-the Pacific; Rovings in the Pacific, by a Merchant; Mayer’s Mexico as
-it is; Matheson’s Travels in Brazil; Wilkes’s Exploring Expedition;
-Caldcleugh’s Travels in South America; Robertson’s Letters on South
-America.
-
-[65] Capadose’s Sixteen Years in the West Indies; Antigua and the
-Antiguans; Breen’s Historical Account of St. Lucia; Gurney’s Winter in
-the West Indies; Bidwell’s West Indies as they Are; Stewart’s State of
-Jamaica; Lloyd’s Letters from the West Indies; Bayley’s Four Years’
-Residence; Southey’s History of the West Indies; Washington Irving’s
-Life and Voyages of Columbus; Baird’s Impressions of the West Indies,
-&c.
-
-[66] Raffles’s History of Java; Crawfurd’s Indian Archipelago;
-Stavorinus’s Voyages; Earl’s Eastern Seas, &c.
-
-[67] Marsden’s Sumatra; Anderson’s Mission to the East Coast;
-Crawfurd’s Indian Archipelago; Journal of the Indian Archipelago.
-
-[68] Brooke, Keppel, Mundy, Belcher, Low, &c.
-
-[69] Brooke’s Journals; Mundy; Keppel’s Voyage of the Dido; Crawford’s
-Archipelago.
-
-[70] Malcolm’s History of Persia; Javler’s Three Years in Persia;
-Kotzebue’s Embassy to Persia; Brydges’ Narrative of the Embassy;
-Morier’s Second Journey in Persia; Ker Porter’s Travels; Stocqueler’s
-Pilgrimage.
-
-[71] See Elphinstone’s Kabul; Vignes’ Visit to Ghuzni; Burnes’ Kabul.
-
-[72] Vigne’s Travels in Kashmir; Hugel’s Travels in Kashmir;
-Moorcroft’s Travels in the Himalayan Provinces; Forster’s Travels from
-Bengal to England; Hamilton’s East India Gazetteer; Bernier’s Travels
-in the Empire of the Mogul.
-
-[73] Hamilton’s East India Gazetteer; Buchanan’s Journey in the Mysore,
-&c.; Bishop Heber’s Journal; Hamilton’s Description of Hindustan;
-British Friend of India Magazine; Asiatic Researches; Hugh Murray’s
-Account of India; Conformité des Coutumes des Indes Orienteaux avec
-celles des Juifs; Tod’s Travels in Western India; Tod’s Annals of
-Rajasthan; Launcelot Wilkinson’s Second Marriage of Widows in India;
-Papers presented to Parliament in 1803, on Infanticide; Grant’s
-Observations on Society and Morals among our Asiatic Subjects;
-Davidson’s Travels in Upper India; Mayne’s Continental India;
-Campbell’s British India; Hough’s Christianity in India; Abbé Dubois’
-Letters on the Hindus; Malcolm’s Memoir on Central India; Bevan’s
-Thirty Years in India; Crawfurd’s Researches concerning India;
-Hoffmeister’s Travels in India; Ward’s Account of the Hindus; Mill’s
-History of British India, Notes by Wilson; Ferishta’s Mohammedan
-History; Thornton’s History; Penhoen’s Empire Anglais; Xavier; Raymond;
-Jaseigny; L’Inde.
-
-[74] Sirr’s Ceylon and the Singhalese; Pridham’s History of Ceylon;
-Forbes’s Eleven Years in Ceylon; Davy’s Interior of Ceylon; Campbell’s
-Excursions in Ceylon; Knox’s Captivity in Ceylon; Knighton’s History of
-Ceylon; Tennent’s Christianity in Ceylon.
-
-[75] Staunton, Tee Tsing Leu Lee, Code of Criminal Law; Davis, the
-Chinese; Guttzlaff’s China Opened; Fortune’s Wanderings in the North
-of China; Smith’s Visits to the Consular Cities of China; Montgomery
-Martin’s China; Forbes’s Five Years in China; Williams’s Survey of the
-Chinese Empire; Tradescant Lay’s Chinese as they Are; Morrison’s View
-of China; Meadow’s Desultory Notes on China; The Chinese Repository;
-Hugh Murray’s Description of China; Thornton’s History of China;
-Abeel’s Residence in China; Cunynghame’s Recollections of Service;
-Abel’s Embassy to China; Medhurst’s State of China; Auguste Harpman,
-Revue des Deux Mondes; Langdon’s China; De Guignes, Voyage à Peking.
-
-[76] Craufurd’s Embassy to Siam; Craufurd’s Embassy to Avar; Tomkin’s
-Journals and Letters; Finlayson’s Mission; White’s Journey; Latham’s
-Natural History of the Varieties of Man.
-
-[77] Lane’s Modern Egyptians; Poole’s Englishwoman in Egypt; Yates’s
-Egypt; St. John’s Egypt and Mohammed Ali; St. John’s Egypt and Nubia;
-St. John’s Oriental Album; Cadalvene and Breuvery, l’Égypte; Mugin’s
-Histoire de l’Égypte; Burckhardt’s Arabic Proverbs; Expédition
-Française à l’Égypte; Niebuhr’s Travels in Egypt, &c.; Thackeray’s
-From Cornhill to Cairo; Warburton’s Crescent and the Cross; Bayle St.
-John’s Levantine Family; Henniker’s Travels; Minutoli’s Recollections
-of Egypt; Boaz’s Modern Egypt; Clot Bey’s Aperçu Général sur l’Égypte;
-Pueckler Muskau’s Egypt and Mehemet Ali.
-
-[78] See Kennedy’s Algeria and Tunis in 1845; Russel’s Barbary States;
-Jackson’s Account; St. Marie’s Visit to Algeria; Pananti’s Narrative;
-Beechey, Blaquière, &c.
-
-[79] The most valuable body of information on the Turkish Empire ever
-published was collected by the Rev. Robert Walpole, whose acquirements
-as a scholar are equalled by his accomplishments as a writer and a
-preacher.
-
-[80] Niebuhr’s Description de l’Arabie; Burckhardt’s Travels in
-Arabia; Burckhardt’s Notes on the Bedouins, &c.; Chesney’s Euphrates
-Expedition; Farren’s Letters to Lord Lindsay; Perrier’s Syrie sous
-Mehemet Ali; Skinner’s Overland Journey; Kinnear’s Cairo, Petra,
-and Damascus; Kelly’s Syria and the Holy Land; Walpole’s Memoirs;
-Poujolat’s Voyage en Orient; Ainsworth’s Travels in Asia Minor;
-Blondel’s Deux Ans en Syrie.
-
-[81] Walpole’s Memoirs of Turkey; Deux Années à Constantinople;
-Walpole’s Travels; Sketches of Turkey by an American; Castellan’s
-Mœurs des Ottomanes; Macfarlane’s Constantinople in 1828; Porter’s
-Philosophical Transactions; Lady M. W. Montague’s Letters; St. John’s
-Notes; Thornton; Walsh; Slade’s Travels; Marshall; Marmont’s Turkey;
-Arvieux’s Voyages; Russel’s Aleppo, &c.
-
-[82] Spenser’s Western Caucasus; Klaproth’s Voyages dans le Caucase;
-Spenser’s Travels in Circassia; Wilbraham’s Travels; Marigny’s Three
-Voyages.
-
-[83] Levchine’s Les Kirghiz Kazaks; Spencer’s Travels; Klaproth’s
-Travels, &c., &c.
-
-[84] Kohl’s Russia and the Russians; La Russie en 1844--par un Homme
-d’État; Russia under Nicolas I.; Clarke’s Travels; Lyall’s Character
-of the Russians; Voyages des Deux Français; Granville’s Travels;
-Golovine’s Russia under the Autocrat; Venables’ Domestic Manners of
-the Russians; Bourke’s St. Petersburgh and Moscow; Thompson’s Life in
-Russia; Jesse’s Notes by a Half-Pay; Erman’s Travels.
-
-[85] Wrangell’s Nord de la Siberie; Cottrell’s Recollections of
-Siberia; Dobell’s Travels; Hollman’s Travels; Erman’s Travels; Parry’s
-Three Voyages; Bache’s Narrative; Bache’s Land Expedition; King’s
-Journey to the Arctic Ocean; Fisher’s Voyage of Discovery; Barrow’s
-Voyage; Shillinglau’s Arctic Discoveries; Snow’s Arctic Regions;
-Scoresby’s Arctic Countries, &c., &c.
-
-[86] Henderson’s Residence in Iceland; Trail’s Letters on Iceland;
-Kames’ Sketches of Man; Gaimard’s Voyages en Islande; Hooker’s Tour in
-Iceland; Crantz’s History of Greenland; Account of Greenland, Iceland,
-&c.; Dillon’s Winter in Greenland; Barrow’s Visit to Iceland; Egede’s
-Descriptions of Greenland; Graah’s Voyage to Greenland.
-
-[87] Angelot’s Legislation des États du Nord; Capel Brookes’s Winter in
-Lapland and Sweden; Reiçhard’s Guide des Voyageurs; Bramsen’s Letters
-of a Prussian Traveller; Laing’s Tour in Sweden; Tryzell’s History of
-Sweden; Frankland’s Visits to Courts of Russia and Sweden.
-
-[88] Laing’s Residences in Norway; Wittich’s Western Coast of Norway;
-Two Summers in Norway; Latham’s Norway and the Norwegians; Elliot’s
-Letters from the North; Mathew Jones’s Travels; Clarke’s Travels;
-Count Bjornstyere’s Moral State of Norway; Buch’s Travels in Norway;
-Price’s Wild Scenes in Norway; Ross’s Yacht Voyage to Norway;
-Kraft’s Topographisk, Statistisk, Bestrifelse-iber Kongeriget Norge,
-Christiania, 1820, 5 vols. 8vo.
-
-[89] Angelot’s Legislations des États du Nord; Bremner’s Excursions in
-Denmark; Feldborg’s Denmark Delineated, &c., &c.
-
-[90] Rabuteaux, ex Lascher, La Chaus, Layard, Knight, Dulaure,
-Chaussard, Jacob, Saint Hilaire, Hugues, Faumin, Sabatier, Beraud, &c.,
-&c.
-
-[91] We rely for certain facts, statistics, &c., upon Reports of
-the Society for the Suppression of Vice; information furnished by
-the Metropolitan Police; Reports of the Society for the Prevention
-of Juvenile Prostitution; Returns of the Registrar-General; Ryan,
-Duchatelet, M. les Docteurs G. Richelot, Léon Faucher, Talbot, Acton,
-&c., &c.; and figures, information, facts, &c., supplied from various
-quarters: and lastly, on our own researches and investigations.
-
-[92] Life and Adventures of Col. George Hanger, 1704.
-
-[93] Acton.
-
-[94] Imprisoned for three months.
-
-[95] In 1841 Flats were returned in Northumberland as separate Houses:
-this accounts for the decrease in 1851.
-
-[96] The average number of Male Criminals has been arrived at in the
-same manner as that for Female Criminals, but the table itself is
-reserved for another place.
-
-
-
-
-Transcriber's Note
-
-
-The following apparent errors have been corrected:
-
-p. vii "City Mission," changed to "City Mission"
-
-p. viii "Houses of Assignation" changed to "Houses of Assignation 258"
-
-p. xx "clasess" changed to "classes"
-
-p. xxxix "But ‘the demand" changed to "“But ‘the demand"
-
-p. 6 "20 years of age" changed to "20 years of age."
-
-p. 6 "iron manufacturers" changed to "iron manufacturers,"
-
-p. 9 "all persone" changed to "all persons"
-
-p. 10 "Army, Navy." changed to "Army, Navy,"
-
-p. 11 "printing bookbinding" changed to "printing, bookbinding"
-
-p. 17 "viii. Breaking (stones)" changed to "ix. Breaking (stones)"
-
-p. 17 "ix. Scouring" changed to "x. Scouring"
-
-p. 20 "Commisioners" changed to "Commissioners"
-
-p. 41 "unto me!’" changed to "unto me!”"
-
-p. 48 "occuption" changed to "occupation"
-
-p. 48 (note) "Antiquities of Greece" changed to "Antiquities of
-Greece."
-
-p. 53 "recordered" changed to "recorded"
-
-p. 54 "characters to lose[39]" changed to "characters to lose[39]."
-
-p. 72 "difficul course" changed to "difficult course"
-
-p. 74 "expected. in any general" changed to "expected, in any general"
-
-p. 76 "comnities" changed to "communities"
-
-p. 93 "regions, espepecially" changed to "regions, especially"
-
-p. 111 (note) "Stocqueler’s Pilgrimage" changed to "Stocqueler’s
-Pilgrimage."
-
-p. 125 (note) "Hoffmeister’s Travel’s" changed to "Hoffmeister’s
-Travels"
-
-p. 135 "says Conyngham" changed to "says Cunynghame"
-
-p. 136 "appaparently" changed to "apparently"
-
-p. 136 (note) "Cunyngham’s Recollections" changed to "Cunynghame’s
-Recollections"
-
-p. 137 "cross.”" changed to "cross."
-
-p. 144 "the case" changed to "the ease"
-
-p. 146 "Enggland" changed to "England"
-
-p. 163 "longer period" changed to "longer period."
-
-p. 179 "parents or guardians or guardians" changed to "parents or
-guardians"
-
-p. 180 "frighful" changed to "frightful"
-
-p. 183 "heavest punishment" changed to "heaviest punishment"
-
-p. 196 "40 centimes;" changed to "40 centimes."
-
-p. 197 "week of labour," changed to "week of labour."
-
-p. 200 "be estalished" changed to "be established"
-
-p. 203 "with out expressing" changed to "without expressing"
-
-p. 203 "numeous" changed to "numerous"
-
-p. 203 "w-er at Turin" changed to "were at Turin"
-
-p. 203 "prostituion" changed to "prostitution"
-
-p. 204 "sanitary visis" changed to "sanitary visits"
-
-p. 204 "away from him," changed to "away from him."
-
-p. 208 "Ismeria." changed to "Ismeria"
-
-p. 210 "‘Rue Fromenteau”" changed to "“Rue Fromenteau”"
-
-p. 216 "possessed o" changed to "possessed of"
-
-p. 219 "minds o" changed to "minds of"
-
-p. 225 "his divison" changed to "his division"
-
-p. 231 "fron the ashes" changed to "from the ashes"
-
-p. 232 "rapped up" changed to "wrapped up"
-
-p. 233 "which, however" changed to "which, however,"
-
-p. 238 "abound there" changed to "abound there."
-
-p. 249 "disapointment" changed to "disappointment"
-
-p. 250 "nighbourhood" changed to "neighbourhood"
-
-p. 262 "we had supper.," changed to "we had supper,"
-
-p. 264 "Females" changed to "Females."
-
-p. 264 "9 12" changed to "9 3 12"
-
-p. 266 "3 P.M" changed to "3 P.M."
-
-p. 269 "lots of money”" changed to "lots of money’"
-
-p. 270 "sixteen years’ old" changed to "sixteen years old"
-
-p. 272 "come to me!" changed to "come to me!”"
-
-p. 279 "descriptious" changed to "descriptions"
-
-p. 280 "low neigbourhood" changed to "low neighbourhood"
-
-p. 281 "such a street.”" changed to "such a street."
-
-p. 283 "of his property" changed to "of his property"
-
-p. 283 "pinafores towels" changed to "pinafores, towels"
-
-p. 284 "the others’ cap" changed to "the other’s cap"
-
-p. 293 "_Attic or Garret Thieves_" changed to "_Attic or Garret
-Thieves._"
-
-p. 295 "neighbourhoood" changed to "neighbourhood"
-
-p. 303 "starving Some" changed to "starving. Some"
-
-p. 306 "to sip the hand" changed to "to slip the hand"
-
-p. 310 "£6 194" changed to "£6,194"
-
-p. 319 "It was on a Saturday" changed to "“It was on a Saturday"
-
-p. 329 "somes cases" changed to "some cases"
-
-p. 330 "seven o’clock, P M." changed to "seven o’clock, P. M."
-
-p. 339 "eater, or it gives" changed to "enter, or it gives"
-
-p. 339 "in wich drills" changed to "in which drills"
-
-p. 343 "police station" changed to "police station."
-
-p. 345 "burglareis" changed to "burglaries"
-
-p. 348 "bought this instrument" changed to "brought this instrument"
-
-p. 356 "fashionable careeer" changed to "fashionable career"
-
-p. 357 "in the West-end" changed to "in the West-end."
-
-p. 360 "thorougfares" changed to "thoroughfares"
-
-p. 360 "want and suffering" changed to "want and suffering."
-
-p. 361 "I don’t mind seeing" changed to "“I don’t mind seeing"
-
-p. 361 "King s Cross, and" changed to "King’s Cross, and"
-
-p. 364 "healthy girls. When" changed to "healthy girls When"
-
-p. 366 "with plunderiug" changed to "with plundering"
-
-p. 368 "pay, they were" changed to "pay they, were"
-
-p. 371 "Ionly get copper" changed to "I only get copper"
-
-p. 372 "jacket for 2_d_" changed to "jacket for 2_d._"
-
-p. 372 "cap for 1/2_d_" changed to "cap for 1/2_d._"
-
-p. 374 "low coffee-house" changed to "low coffee-houses"
-
-p. 375 "515_l_" changed to "515_l._"
-
-p. 375 "in the City" changed to "in the City."
-
-p. 375 "from a well known" changed to "from a well-known"
-
-p. 375 "2 843" changed to "2,843"
-
-p. 378 "shilling’s worth, Then" changed to "shilling’s worth. Then"
-
-p. 380 "than a-good one" changed to "than a good one"
-
-p. 390 "remittance, This system" changed to "remittance. This system"
-
-p. 390 "position in society," changed to "position in society."
-
-p. 395 "c. 3 and 4 (1598,)" changed to "c. 3 and 4 (1598),"
-
-p. 400 "350 were convicted," changed to "350 were convicted."
-
-p. 403 "expenses, and--’" changed to "expenses, and--”"
-
-p. 409 "as to character." changed to "as to character.”"
-
-p. 410 "about town He tells you" changed to "about town. He tells you"
-
-p. 418 "done it ,for" changed to "done it, for"
-
-p. 422 "Waldegrave" changed to "Waldegrave)"
-
-p. 427 "obliged to you." changed to "obliged to you.”"
-
-p. 428 "sitting on the sca fold" changed to "sitting on the scaffold"
-
-p. 428 "arm? Your’e a" changed to "arm? You’re a"
-
-p. 430 "clohes, first of all" changed to "clothes, first of all"
-
-p. 432 "desease. This man" changed to "disease. This man"
-
-p. 435 "small piece of soup" changed to "small piece of soap"
-
-p. 438 "clothes, as as if" changed to "clothes, as if"
-
-p. 445 "Brass Rods &c" changed to "Brass Rods &c."
-
-p. 445 "Lord Brougham 2" changed to "Lord Brougham 2”"
-
-p. 448 "machinery, which, &c. &c. &c." changed to "machinery, which,
-&c. &c. &c.”"
-
-p. 453 "_Manufacturing and Sub-Mining Counti_" changed to
-"_Manufacturing and Sub-Mining Counties._"
-
-p. 473 "There aer, on an average" changed to "There are, on an average"
-
-p. 477 "841 to 1850" changed to "1841 to 1850"
-
-p. 479 "Females is the _least_" changed to "Females is the _least_."
-
-p. 489 "ENGLAND & WALES" changed to "ENGLAND & WALES."
-
-p. 495 "Middlesex 09" changed to "Middlesex 0·9"
-
-p. 495 "Norfolk 07" changed to "Norfolk 0·7"
-
-p. 495 "Lancaster 02" changed to "Lancaster 0·2"
-
-p. 501 "’ ’" changed to "„ „"
-
-
-Inconsistent or archaic spelling and punctuation have otherwise have
-been left as printed.
-
-
-The following possible errors have not been changed:
-
-p. 1 the elimination of the truth
-
-p. 139 Mesco
-
-p. 178 Mary Wolstonecroft
-
-p. 180 oath that he had intercourse
-
-p. 185 regulations was
-
-p. 244 expences
-
-p. 366 ladened
-
-p. 377 pair this off
-
-p. 396 except in ordinary cases
-
-p. 413 by, a despairing
-
-p. 440 sell his work for him?
-
-p. 447 The sufferings of this minority is
-
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of London Labour and the London Poor,
-Vol. 4, by Henry Mayhew
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-
-The Project Gutenberg EBook of London Labour and the London Poor, Vol. 4, by
-Henry Mayhew
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
-the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-Title: London Labour and the London Poor, Vol. 4
-
-Author: Henry Mayhew
-
-Release Date: October 9, 2020 [EBook #63415]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LONDON LABOUR, LONDON POOR, VOL 4 ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Henry Flower, the booksmiths at eBookForge and
-the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
-http://www.pgdp.net
-
-
-
-
-
-
-</pre>
-
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[ii]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_i_0001" style="max-width: 75em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_0001h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>A MIDNIGHT MEETING.&mdash;REV. BAPTIST NOEL SPEAKING.</p></div>
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[iii]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<h1>
-LONDON LABOUR<br />
-AND THE LONDON POOR</h1>
-
-<p class="titlepage">
-A Cyclopædia of the Condition and Earnings<br />
-
-OF<br />
-
-THOSE THAT <i>WILL</i> WORK<br />
-THOSE THAT <i>CANNOT</i> WORK, AND<br />
-THOSE THAT <i>WILL NOT</i> WORK</p>
-
-<p class="titlepage">
-BY<br />
-<span class="x-large">HENRY MAYHEW</span>
-</p>
-
-<p class="titlepage">
-
-<span class="large">THOSE THAT WILL NOT WORK</span><br />
-COMPRISING<br />
-PROSTITUTES · THIEVES · SWINDLERS · BEGGARS<br />
-BY SEVERAL CONTRIBUTORS</p>
-
-<p class="titlepage">
-With an Introductory Essay on the Agencies at Present in Operation in the Metropolis
-for the Suppression of Vice and Crime<br />
-
-by<br />
-
-THE REV. WILLIAM TUCKNISS, B.A.<br />
-<span class="small">CHAPLAIN TO THE SOCIETY FOR THE RESCUE OF YOUNG WOMEN AND CHILDREN</span></p>
-
-<p class="titlepage">WITH ILLUSTRATIONS</p>
-
-<p class="titlepage">VOLUME FOUR</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[iv]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-
-<div class="center p4">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="publishing dates">
-<tr><td class="left">First edition</td><td>1851</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left" colspan="2">(<i>Volume One only and parts of Volumes Two and Three</i>)</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Enlarged edition (Four volumes)</td><td>1861-62</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">New impression</td><td>1865</td></tr>
-</table></div></div>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[v]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">ADVERTISEMENT.</h2>
-
-</div>
-
-<p>It would be a work of supererogation to extol the utility of such a publication
-as “London Labour and the London Poor,” so apparent must be its value to all
-classes of society. It stands alone as a photograph of life as actually spent by the
-lower classes of the Metropolis. That one half of the world does not know how
-the other half lives is an axiom of antiquity, but the truthful revelations and descriptions
-of the London street folk, workers and non-workers, and the means by
-which they exist, will go a great way to enlighten the educated classes respecting
-matters which have hitherto been involved in mystery and uncertainty.</p>
-
-<p>The class of individuals treated of in this volume are the Non-Workers, or in
-other words, the Dangerous Classes of the Metropolis; and every endeavour has
-been made to obtain correct information, not only through the assistance of the
-police authorities, but by an expenditure of much time and research among the unfortunates
-themselves. Their favourite haunts, and the localities in London
-wherein they chiefly congregate, as well as their modes of existence, are accurately
-described; in addition to which have been inserted very many deeply interesting
-autobiographies, faithfully transcribed from their own lips, which go far to unveil
-the intricate schemes of villany and crime that abound in the Metropolis, and
-prove how much more rational and effective are preventive measures than such
-as are merely correctional.</p>
-
-<p>Every phase of vice has been investigated and treated of, in order that all
-possible information that can prove interesting to the moralist, the philanthropist,
-and the statist, as well as to the general public, might be afforded. In a word the
-veil has been raised, and the skeleton exposed to the view of the public.</p>
-
-<p>In order to inspire hope and confidence in those who would shudder and lose
-heart in the perusal of such a record of crime and misery, the volume is prefaced
-by a comprehensive account of the agencies in operation within the Metropolis for
-the suppression of crime and vice, in which is detailed the aim and scope of the
-numerous religious and philanthropic associations now actively following the footsteps
-of that Divine Saviour, Whose chief mission was to the poor and guilty.</p>
-
-<p>These brave workers now abound in all the dark places of the Metropolis, and
-the fruits of their labours, particularly in the case of youthful criminals, are becoming,
-through the blessing of Providence, abundantly apparent.</p>
-
-<p>A vast amount of statistical information, compiled from authentic records, is
-contained in the body of the work, and in the Appendix, and a few illustrations
-are introduced, graphically showing the extremes of vice and crime.</p>
-
-<p>The publishers have to thank Sir Richard Mayne and the authorities at Scotland
-Yard, as well as the Secretaries of the various charitable societies, for much
-valuable information and assistance.</p>
-
-<p class="sig">
-<i>Stationers’ Hall Court;<br />
-December, 1861.</i><br />
-</p>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum">
-<a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[vii]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CONTENTS.</h2>
-
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="toc" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2"><span class="large">THE AGENCIES AT PRESENT IN OPERATION WITHIN THE METROPOLIS,
-FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF VICE AND CRIME.</span></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2"><span class="smcap">By the Rev. William Tuckniss, B.A.</span></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td></td><td class="right"><span class="small">PAGE</span></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Universal Desire for Investigation</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xi">xi</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Mere Palliatives insufficient to Check the Growth of Crime</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xi">xi</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Decrease of Crime doubtful</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xii">xii</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">General Desire to Alleviate Misery</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xiii">xiii</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Guthrie on Great Cities</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xiv">xiv</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Social Position of London</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xv">xv</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Agencies at Work in London</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xvii">xvii</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Their Number and Income</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xvii">xvii</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Curative Agencies</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xviii">xviii</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">British and Foreign Bible Society</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xix">xix</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xix">xix</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Institution for Reading the Word of God in the Open Air</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xix">xix</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Theatre Services</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xix">xix</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">London City Mission,</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xx">xx</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Church of England Scripture Readers’ Society</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxii">xxii</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Religious Tract Society</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxiii">xxiii</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Pure Literature Society</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxiii">xxiii</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Preventive Agencies</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxiv">xxiv</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">National Temperance Society</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxiv">xxiv</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">United Kingdom Alliance</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxiv">xxiv</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Free Drinking Fountain Association</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxv">xxv</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Ragged School Union</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxv">xxv</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Society for Improving the Condition of the Labouring Classes</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxv">xxv</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Female Servants’ Home Society</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxvi">xxvi</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Female Aid Society</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxvii">xxvii</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Training Institutions for Servants</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxvii">xxvii</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Field Lane Night Refuges</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxvii">xxvii</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Dudley Stuart Night Refuge</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxvii">xxvii</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Houseless Poor Asylum</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxviii">xxviii</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">House of Charity</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxviii">xxviii</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Foundling Hospital</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxviii">xxviii</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Society for the Suppression of Mendicity</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxviii">xxviii</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Association for Promoting the Relief of Destitution</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxviii">xxviii</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Association for the Aid and Benefit of Dressmakers and Milliners</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxix">xxix</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Young Women’s Christian Association and West-end Home</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxix">xxix</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Society for Promoting the Employment of Women</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxx">xxx</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Metropolitan Early Closing Association, &amp;c.</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxx">xxx</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Repressive and Punitive Agencies</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxx">xxx</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Society for the Suppression of Vice</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxxi">xxxi</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">The Associate Institution</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxxi">xxxi</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Society for Promoting the Observance of the Lord’s Day</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxxiv">xxxiv</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxxiv">xxxiv</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Reformative Agencies</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxxiv">xxxiv</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Reformatory and Refuge Union</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxxiv">xxxiv</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Reformative Agencies for Fallen Women</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxxv">xxxv</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Magdalen Hospital</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxxvi">xxxvi</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">London by Moonlight Mission</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxxvii">xxxvii</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Society for the Rescue of Young Women and Children</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxxvii">xxxvii</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">London Female Preventive and Reformatory Institution</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxxvii">xxxvii</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Concluding Remarks</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_xxxviii">xxxviii</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="left">INTRODUCTION AND CLASSIFICATION. <span class="smcap">By Henry Mayhew</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Workers and Non-workers</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_2">2</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Classification of ditto</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_11">11</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Those who will Work</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_12">12</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Enrichers</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_13">13</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Auxiliaries</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_16">16</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Benefactors</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_19">19</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Servitors</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_20">20</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Those who cannot Work</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_22">22</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Those who are provided for</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_22">22</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Those who are unprovided for</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_22">22</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Those who will not Work</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_23">23</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Vagrants or Tramps</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_23">23</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Professional Beggars</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_23">23</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Cheats and their Dependants</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_24">24</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Thieves and their Dependants</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_25">25</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Prostitutes and their Dependants</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_27">27</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Those that need not Work</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_27">27</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Those who derive their Income from Rent</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_27">27</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Those who derive their Income from Dividends</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_27">27</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Those who derive their Income from Yearly Stipends</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_27">27</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Those who derive their Income from obsolete or nominal Offices</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_27">27</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Those who derive their Income from Trades in which they do not appear</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_27">27</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Those who derive their Income by favour from others</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_27">27</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Those who derive their support from the head of the family</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_27">27</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">THE NON-WORKERS. <span class="smcap">By Henry Mayhew</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_28">28</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[viii]</a></span>
-<span class="large">PROSTITUTES.</span></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">THE PROSTITUTE CLASS GENERALLY. <span class="smcap">By Henry Mayhew and Bracebridge Hemyng</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#OF_THE_PROSTITUTE_CLASS_GENERALLY">35</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Prostitution in Ancient States</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_37">37</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">The Jews, &amp;c.</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_39">39</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Ancient Egypt</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_43">43</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Ancient Greece</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_45">45</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Ancient Rome</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_49">49</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">The Anglo-Saxons</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_34">34</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Prostitution among the Barbarous Nations</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_58">58</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">African Nations</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_58">58</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Australia</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_67">67</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">New Zealand</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_71">71</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Islands of the Pacific</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_76">76</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">North American Indians</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_84">84</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">South American Indians</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_90">90</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Cities of South America</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_93">93</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">West Indies</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_94">94</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Java</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_96">96</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Sumatra</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_99">99</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Borneo</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_103">103</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Prostitution among the Semi-civilized Nations</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_104">104</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Celebes</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_107">107</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Persia</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_108">108</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">The Affghans</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_111">111</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Kashmir</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_115">115</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">India</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_117">117</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Ceylon</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_125">125</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">China</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_129">129</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Japan</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_136">136</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">The ultra-Gangetic Nations</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_139">139</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Egypt</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_141">141</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Northern Africa</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_149">149</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Arabia, Syria, and Asia Minor</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_151">151</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Turkey</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_155">155</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Circassia</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_158">158</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">The Tartar Races</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_160">160</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Prostitution among the Mixed Northern Nations</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_163">163</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Russia</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_165">165</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Siberia</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_167">167</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Iceland and Greenland</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_172">172</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Lapland and Sweden</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_174">174</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Norway</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_177">177</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Denmark</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_179">179</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Prostitution in Civilized States</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_181">181</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Spain</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_191">191</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Amsterdam</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_195">195</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Belgium</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_195">195</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Hamburg</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_196">196</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Prussia&mdash;Germany</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_198">198</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Berlin</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_198">198</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Austria</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_200">200</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Modern Rome</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_201">201</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Turin</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_203">203</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Berne</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_204">204</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Paris</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_205">205</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">PROSTITUTION IN LONDON. <span class="smcap">By Bracebridge Hemyng</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Prostitution_in_London">210</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">General Remarks</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_210">210</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Seclusives, or those that Live in Private Houses and Apartments</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_215">215</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">The Haymarket</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_217">217</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Degree of Education among Prostitutes</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_218">218</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Board Lodgers</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_220">220</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Autobiographies</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_220">220</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Those who Live in low Lodging Houses</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_223">223</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Swindling Sall</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_223">223</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Lushing Loo</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_224">224</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Sailors’ Women</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_226">226</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Visit to Ratcliff Highway</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_228">228</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Visit to Bluegate Fields, &amp;c.</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_231">231</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Soldiers’ Women</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_233">233</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Visit to Knightsbridge</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_235">235</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Thieves’ Women</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_236">236</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Visit to Drury Lane, &amp;c.</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_236">236</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Park Women</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_242">242</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Examples</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_242">242</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">The Dependants of Prostitutes</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_246">246</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Bawds</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_246">246</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Followers of Dress Lodgers</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_247">247</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Keepers of Accommodation Houses</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_249">249</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Procuresses, Pimps, and Panders</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_250">250</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Fancy Men</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_252">252</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Bullies</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_253">253</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Clandestine Prostitutes</span></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Female Operatives</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_255">255</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Maid Servants</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_257">257</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Ladies of Intrigue and Houses of Assignation</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_258">258</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Cohabitant Prostitutes</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_259">259</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Narrative of a Gay Woman</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_260">260</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Criminal Returns</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_263">263</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Traffic in Foreign Women</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_269">269</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2"><span class="large">THIEVES AND SWINDLERS.&mdash;<span class="smcap">By John Binny.</span></span></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Introduction</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_273">273</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Sneaks, or Common Thieves</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_277">277</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Juvenile Thieves</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_277">277</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Stealing from Street Stalls</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_277">277</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Stealing from the Till</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_278">278</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Stealing from the Doors and Windows of Shops</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_279">279</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Stealing from Children</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_281">281</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">
-Child Stripping</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_281">281</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[ix]</a></span>Stealing from Drunken Persons</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_282">282</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Stealing Linen, &amp;c.</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_283">283</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Robberies from Carts</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_284">284</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Stealing Lead from House-tops, Copper from Kitchens, &amp;c.</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_285">285</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Robberies by false Keys</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_286">286</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Robberies by Lodgers</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_288">288</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Robberies by Servants</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_289">289</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Area and Lobby Sneaks</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_290">290</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Stealing by Lifting Windows, &amp;c.</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_292">292</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Attic or Garret Thieves</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_293">293</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">A Visit to the Rookery of St. Giles</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_294">294</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Narrative of a London Sneak</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_301">301</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Pickpockets and Shoplifters</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_303">303</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Common Pickpockets</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_306">306</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Omnibus Pickpockets</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_309">309</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Railway Pickpockets</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_310">310</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">A Visit to the Thieves’ Dens in Spitalfields</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_311">311</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Narrative of a Pickpocket</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_316">316</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Horse and Dog Stealers</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_325">325</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Horse Stealing</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_325">325</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Dog Stealing</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_325">325</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Highway Robbers</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_326">326</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">A Ramble among the Thieves’ Dens in the Borough</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_330">330</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Housebreakers and Burglars</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_334">334</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Narrative of a Burglar</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_345">345</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Narrative of another Burglar</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_349">349</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Prostitute Thieves</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_355">355</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Prostitutes of the Haymarket</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_356">356</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Common Street Walkers</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_360">360</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Hired Prostitutes</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_361">361</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Park Women</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_362">362</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Soldiers’ Women</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_363">363</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Sailors’ Women</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_365">365</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Felonies on the River Thames</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_366">366</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Mudlarks</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_366">366</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Sweeping Boys</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_367">367</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Sellers of Small Wares</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_367">367</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Labourers on board Ship</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_367">367</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Dredgermen or Fishermen</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_368">368</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Smuggling</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_368">368</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Felonies by Lightermen</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_368">368</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">The River Pirates</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_369">369</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Narrative of a Mudlark</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_370">370</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Receivers of Stolen Property</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_373">373</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Dolly Shops</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_373">373</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Pawnbrokers, &amp;c.</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_374">374</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Narrative of a Returned Convict</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_376">376</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Coining</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_377">377</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Coiners</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_378">378</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Forgers</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_380">380</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Cheats</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_383">383</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Embezzlers</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_383">383</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Magsmen or Sharpers</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_385">385</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Swindlers</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_388">388</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2"><span class="large">BEGGARS.&mdash;<span class="smcap">By Andrew Halliday.</span></span></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Introduction</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_393">393</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Origin and History of the Poor Laws</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_394">394</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Statistics of the Poor Laws</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_397">397</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Report of the Poor Law Board</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_397">397</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Street Beggars in 1816</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_398">398</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Mendicant Pensioners</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_399">399</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Mendicity Society</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_399">399</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Examples of Applications</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_401">401</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Begging Letter Writers</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_403">403</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Decayed Gentlemen</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_404">404</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Broken-down Tradesmen</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_405">405</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Distressed Scholar</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_405">405</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">The Kaggs’ Family</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_406">406</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Advertising Begging Letter Writers</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_410">410</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Ashamed Beggars</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_412">412</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">The Swell Beggar</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_413">413</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Clean Family Beggars</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_413">413</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Naval and Military Beggars</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_415">415</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Turnpike Sailor</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_415">415</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Street Campaigners</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_417">417</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Foreign Beggars</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_419">419</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">The French Beggar</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_419">419</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Destitute Poles</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_420">420</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Hindoo Beggars</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_423">423</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Negro Beggars</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_425">425</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Disaster Beggars</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_427">427</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">A Shipwrecked Mariner</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_428">428</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Blown-up Miners</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_429">429</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Burnt-out Tradesmen</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_429">429</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Lucifer Droppers</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_431">431</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Bodily Afflicted Beggars</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_431">431</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Seventy years a Beggar</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_432">432</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Having swollen Legs</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_433">433</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Cripples</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_433">433</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">A Blind Beggar</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_433">433</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Beggars subject to Fits</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_434">434</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Being in a Decline</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_435">435</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Shallow Coves</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_435">435</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Famished Beggars</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_436">436</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">The Choking Dodge</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_437">437</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">The Offal Eater</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_437">437</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Petty Trading Beggars</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_438">438</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">An Author’s Wife</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_440">440</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Dependants of Beggars</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_441">441</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Referees</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_445">445</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Distressed Operative Beggars</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_446">446</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Starved-out Manufacturers</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_446">446</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Unemployed Agriculturists</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_446">446</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Frozen-out Gardeners</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_446">446</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Hand-loom Weavers, &amp;c.</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_447">447</a></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[x]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h3 class="nobreak">APPENDIX.</h3>
-
-
-</div>
-<div class="center">
-<table class="toc" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Maps and Tables</span></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Illustrating the Criminal Statistics of each of the Counties of England and Wales in 1851.</span></td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="right"><span class="small">PAGE</span></td></tr>
-<tr><td>Map showing the Density of the Population</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_451">451</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_452">452</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td>Map showing the Intensity of Criminality</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_455">455</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_456">456</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td>Map showing the Intensity of Ignorance</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_459">459</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_460">460</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of Ignorance among Criminals</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_462">462</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of Degrees of Criminality</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_464">464</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Comparative Educational Tables</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_465">465</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td>Map showing the Number of Illegitimate Children</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_467">467</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_468">468</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td>Map showing the Number of Early Marriages</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_471">471</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_472">472</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td>Map showing the Number of Females</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_475">475</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_476">476</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td>Map showing Commitals for Rape</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_477">477</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_478">479</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td>Map showing Committals for Assault with Intent to Ravish and Carnally Abuse</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_481">481</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_482">482</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td>Map showing Commitals for Disorderly Houses</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_485">485</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_486">486</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td>Map showing Concealment of Births</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_489">489</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_490">490</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td>Map showing attempts at Miscarriage</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_493">493</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_494">494</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td>Map showing Assaults with Intent</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_497">497</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_498">498</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td>Map showing Committals for Bigamy</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_499">499</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_500">500</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td>Map showing Committals for Abduction</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_501">501</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_502">502</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td>Map showing the Criminality of Females</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_503">503</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td class="right"><a href="#Page_504">504</a></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h3 class="nobreak">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.</h3>
-
-</div>
-<div class="center">
-<table class="toc" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">A Midnight Meeting&mdash;Rev. Baptist Noel speaking</span></td><td class="right"><i><a href="#i_i_0001">Frontispiece</a></i></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Greek Dancing Girl&mdash;Hetaira&mdash;Age of Socrates</span></td><td class="right"><i>Page</i> <a href="#i_i_0141">45</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Roman Brothel&mdash;Imperial Era</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#i_i_0147">47</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Women of the Bosjes Race</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#i_i_0176">59</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Girls of Nubia&mdash;Making Pottery</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#i_i_0190">65</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Woman of the Sacs, or “Sau-kies,” Tribe of American Indians</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#i_i_0232">85</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Dyak Women&mdash;Borneo</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#i_i_0270">103</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Chinese Woman&mdash;Prostitute</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#i_i_0327">129</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Scene in the Gardens of ‘Closerie des Lilas’&mdash;Paris</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#i_i_0503">213</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">A Night House&mdash;Kate Hamilton’s</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#i_i_0513">217</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">The New Cut&mdash;Evening</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#i_i_0528">223</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">The Haymarket&mdash;Midnight</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#i_i_0606">261</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Boys Exercising at Tothill Fields’ Prison</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#i_i_0693">301</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Cell, with Prisoner at Crank Labour in the Surrey House of Correction</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#i_i_0793">345</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Friends Visiting Prisoners</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#i_i_0868">377</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Liberation of Prisoners from Coldbath Fields’ House of Correction</span></td><td class="right"><a href="#i_i_0896">387</a></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[xi]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">INTRODUCTION.<br />
-
-<span class="smaller">THE AGENCIES AT PRESENT IN OPERATION WITHIN THE METROPOLIS
-FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF VICE AND CRIME.</span></h2>
-
-</div>
-
-<p>One of the most remarkable and distinctive features of the present age is the
-universal desire for analytical investigations. Almost every branch of social
-economy is treated with a precision, and pursued with an accuracy, that pertains to
-an exact science. Demonstration has been reduced to a mathematical certainty;
-figures and statistics everywhere abound, and supply data for further research.</p>
-
-<p>Too often, however, it happens that the solution of the social problem, or the
-collation of facts tending to throw light upon the moral and religious condition of
-our country, forms the goal, and not the starting point of our labours.</p>
-
-<p>Having accomplished a diligent, and often a laborious, search, and succeeded in
-eliminating truth from a mass of contradictory evidence, men are generally satisfied
-with the mere pleasure derived from success. Their knowledge, the hard pursuit
-of which has called forth immense energy and perseverance, and entrenched
-largely on their time and capital, is no longer the means to an end, but the end
-itself. Having gathered a few pebbles from the exhaustless arcana of social philosophy,
-they complacently enjoy their newly-found treasures, without a thought
-of the practical uses to which they may be applied.</p>
-
-<p>Other men are found who enter into their labours, and use the materials thus
-collected as the basis of further philanthropic investigations.</p>
-
-<p>While thus perpetually rising higher in the scale of intelligence, and arriving
-at closer approximations to truth, men too often neglect to turn their discoveries
-to any utilitarian or practical purpose, and rest content with merely theoretical
-results.</p>
-
-<p>Thus it is that while an inductive philosophy is built up from a series of statistics
-and particulars, very little is being done to reduce this knowledge to practice.
-The science of investigation is admirable as far as it goes, and the pursuit of truth
-is at all times an object worthy of human ambition; but it must become the pioneer
-to tangible results, or its utility will by no means be apparent; and indeed it
-becomes a question, in an active state of existence, how far knowledge, which is
-final in its character and valuable merely for its own sake, is calculated to reward
-the efforts expended on its acquisition. It is true that the old philosophers held
-a contemplative life to be the highest development of human happiness, but their
-dreamy and fluctuating views are hardly likely to carry weight in an age of bustling
-activity; and it is equally certain that the bare, quiescent contemplation of evil in
-all its endless ramifications and hideous consequences, apart from all remedial
-efforts, is not likely to prove satisfactory to the philanthropist, nor consolatory to
-the Christian.</p>
-
-<p>It is only so far as knowledge opens up to us the path of usefulness, and directs
-us how and where to plant our energies for the benefit of the human race, that it
-becomes really valuable. If, however, knowledge be power, and if the discovery of
-an evil be half-way towards its cure, then have we a right to expect that our
-humanitarian and other appliances for the alleviation of misery and the prevention
-of crime, should at least keep pace with modern developments of social science.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[xii]</a></span>
-Hitherto men have been content to declaim against these evils, wherever they
-existed, without suggesting any feasible remedies.</p>
-
-<p>For a length of time our philanthropic schemes have partaken too much of the
-character of mere surface appliances, directed to the amelioration of existing evils,
-but in no way likely to effect their extirpation. We have been dealing with effects
-rather than with first causes, and in our zeal to absorb, divert, or diminish the
-former, the latter have generally escaped detection. When too late, we have discovered
-that mere palliatives will not suffice, and that they are powerless to
-resist the steady growth of crime in all its subtle developments. For, as well
-might we attempt to exhaust the perennial flow of a spring by the application of
-sponges, as prescribe external alleviations for our social disorders.</p>
-
-<p>Our homes, penitentiaries, and industrial reformatories will continue to do their
-work of mercy upon an infinitesimal scale, and will snatch solitary individuals
-from impending destruction; but in the meantime the reproductive process goes
-on, and fresh victims are hurried upon the stage of suffering and of guilt, from
-numberless unforeseen and unsuspected channels, thus causing a continuous succession
-of want, profligacy, and wretchedness.</p>
-
-<p>We have affected surprise, that, notwithstanding all our benevolent exertions,
-and the completeness and efficiency of our reclaiming systems, the great tide of
-our social impurities continues to roll on with increasing velocity. Happily,
-however, for future generations, there is a manifest tendency in the present age to
-correct these fatal mistakes, and to return to first principles.</p>
-
-<p>The science of anatomy is not confined to hospitals and dissecting-rooms, nor
-restricted in its application to the human frame. Social science conferences, and
-other associations are laying bare the deeply-imbedded roots of our national evils,
-and are preparing the way for their extirpation. Men are getting tired of planting
-flowers and training creepers to hide their social upases, and are beginning to discover
-that it is both sounder policy and truer economy to uproot a noxious weed
-than to pluck off its poisonous berries.</p>
-
-<p>We have flattered ourselves that education and civilization, with all their
-humanizing and elevating influences, would gradually permeate all ranks of
-society; and that the leaven of Christianity would ultimately subdue the power of
-evil, and convert our outer world into an Elysium of purity and unselfishness.
-The results, however, of past years have hardly answered these sanguine expectations;
-and our present experience goes far to prove, that while there has undoubtedly
-been progress for good, there has been a corresponding progress for
-evil; for although the criminal statistics of some localities exhibit a sensible
-diminution in certain forms of vice, we must not forget that an increase of education
-and a growing intelligence bring with them superior facilities for the successful
-perpetration and concealment of crime.</p>
-
-<p>All the latest developments of science and skill being pressed into the service of
-the modern criminal, his evasion of justice must often be regarded less as the result
-of caution, or of a fortuitous combination of favourable circumstances, than of his
-knowledge of chemical properties and physical laws. So far indeed from our being
-able to augur favourably from the infrequency of convictions, the fearful tragedies
-which are occasionally brought to the surface of society, coupled in many instances
-with a surprising fertility of resource and ingenuity of method, are indicative of
-an under current of crime&mdash;the depth and foulness of which defy all computation.
-We may add further, that the immense difficulty of obtaining direct evidence in
-cases of criminal prosecution, and the <i>onus probandi</i> that the law, not unfairly,
-throws upon the accusers, are sufficient to hush up any cases of mere suspicion;
-so that at present we possess no adequate data by which to gauge the real dimensions
-of crime, or to judge respecting its insidious growth and power. It is not,
-however, so much with crime in the abstract, as with the most prolific sources of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[xiii]</a></span>
-vice that the philanthropist has to deal; and it is a highly suggestive and
-encouraging fact that, in these days, men are concerned in investigating the various
-causes of crime, and in exposing its reflex influence upon society. Just in proportion
-as they adhere to this course, which is distinguished alike by prudence and sagacity,
-will they become instrumental in effecting a radical reformation of existing
-evils, and in restoring society to a more healthy and vigorous condition. “What
-we want in all such cases is no false rhetoric and no violent outbursts of passion,
-but clear statements of that vivid truth which contains the intrinsic elements of
-reformation amongst mankind. The true philanthropist is the man whose judgment
-is on a par with his feelings, and who recognizes the fact that there is some
-particle of meaning in every particle of suffering around us.</p>
-
-<p>“Some of this wretchedness is remediable, the result of actual causes which may
-be altered, though much is beyond human control. In an age like this, however
-we may toil to overtake the urgent need of our own time, the difficulty is, at the
-same time, calmly and deliberately to satisfy the fresh wants which may daily arise&mdash;keeping
-pace with them. With the heavy defalcations from past years weighing
-upon them, our statesmen and economists are often bewildered at the magnitude
-of their engagements; while the best and wisest amongst us are crushed and
-appalled by the new and giant evils which are continually being brought to light.
-Earnest thought, however, is the true incentive to action,”<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> and we would thankfully
-recognize as one visible result of the increasing attention given to matters of
-public interest, a growing disposition on the part of all who are qualified by
-position and authority, to grapple manfully with the various phases of wretchedness
-and crime now contributing their influence upon our social condition.</p>
-
-<p>Nowhere are these hopeful indications more manifest than in this giant metropolis,
-where the various conditions of ordinary life seem to be intensified by their
-direct contact with good and evil; and where Christianity appears to be struggling
-to maintain its independent and aggressive character, amid much that is calculated
-to retard its progress and check its influence.</p>
-
-<p>It is here, within the crowded areas and noisome purlieus of this greatest of
-great cities, that we may gather lessons of life to be gained nowhere else&mdash;and of
-which those can form a very inadequate conception, who dwell only in an atmosphere
-of honied flowers and rural pleasures.</p>
-
-<p>It is here especially that the sorrows and sufferings of humanity have evoked
-an active and pervasive spirit of benevolence, which has infected all ranks and
-penetrated every class of society; so that the high born and the educated, the
-gentle and the refined, vie with each other in a restless energy to alleviate human
-misery and to assuage some of the groans of creation. This disposition to relieve
-distress in every shape, and to mitigate the ills of a common brotherhood, proclaims
-at once its divine origin, and is, in fact, the nearest assimilation to the
-character of Him who “went about doing good.”</p>
-
-<p>The germ of this heaven-born principle has survived the fall; and though its
-highest development is one of the distinguishing marks of the true Christian, its
-existence is discernible in all who have not sinned away the last faint outlines of
-the Divine image.</p>
-
-<p>Some philosophers, indeed, would persuade us that there is no such thing in
-existence as a principle of pure, unmixed benevolence; that every exercise of
-charity is simply another mode of self-gratification, and every generous impulse
-a mere exhibition of selfishness.</p>
-
-<p>Undoubtedly there is a “luxury in doing good,” and the ability to contribute to
-the happiness of others is one of the purest sources of human gratification; but
-we question whether an act, resulting from mere self-love, is capable of yielding
-any solid satisfaction to the agent; and we therefore hold the existence of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">[xiv]</a></span>
-genuine benevolence, believing that it is a principle innate in the human breast,
-and requiring only to be developed and consecrated by religious influence to
-become one of the most powerful levers for the evangelization of the world.</p>
-
-<p>Unhappily there are too many who have schooled themselves to the practice of
-inhumanity, and closed up the springs of spontaneous sympathy, thus depriving
-the heart of its rightful heritage, and restricting the sphere of its operations to
-self. Those who thus sever themselves from all external influences are left at
-length in undisturbed possession of a little world of their own creation. No
-longer linked to their fellow-men in the bonds of true fellowship, their orbit of
-activity becomes narrower, until at length every avenue to the heart is hermetically
-sealed, except such as minister to self-gratification and indulgence. The man
-who has thus estranged himself from the rest of creation, and become isolated from
-all the ties of a common humanity, is indeed an object of unqualified pity, because
-he has destroyed one of the purest springs of happiness.</p>
-
-<p>He who, on the other hand, is most fully alive to the claims of universal
-brotherhood, and whose heart is most</p>
-
- <div class="poetry-container"><div class="poetry"><div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse">“At leisure from itself,</div>
- <div class="verse">To soothe and sympathize,”</div>
-</div></div></div>
-
-<p>is the highest type of man, and the best representative of his race. This
-spirit of brotherhood if recognised by the world, would “hush the thunder
-of battle, and wipe away the tears of nations. It would sweep earth’s wildernesses
-of moral blight, causing them to blossom as the rose.”</p>
-
-<p>Those persons who accustom themselves to speak of London as a mere seething
-caldron of crime, or as a very charnel-house of impurity, without any redeeming
-character or hopeful element, are surely as wide of the mark as they who
-under-rate its vast resources for crime, or take a superficial view of its predominant
-vices.</p>
-
-<p>It would, perhaps, be a curious and not unprofitable subject of inquiry how far
-the metropolis contributes its influence for good or evil upon the provinces, and
-to what extent the country is capable of reciprocating this influence. Probably,
-allowance being made for the difference of population, the law of giving and
-receiving is pretty evenly adjusted. Those forms of vice which seem to be more
-indigenous to our great cities are steadily imported into the country, while on
-the other hand, the hamlet and the village transmit to the town those particular
-vices in which they appear to be constitutionally most prolific.</p>
-
-<p>It is in the crowded city, however, that the seeds of good or evil are brought to
-the highest state of maturity, and virtue and vice most rapidly developed, under
-the forcing influences that everywhere abound.</p>
-
-<p>“Great cities,” says Dr. Guthrie, “many have found to be great curses. It had
-been well for many an honest lad and unsuspecting country girl, that hopes of
-higher wages and opportunities of fortune&mdash;that the gay attire and polished
-tongue, and gilded story of some old acquaintance&mdash;had never turned their steps
-cityward, nor turned them from the rude simplicity, but safety of their rustic
-home. Many a foot that once lightly pressed the heather or brushed the dewy
-grass, has wearily trodden in darkness, and guilt, and remorse, on these city pavements.
-Happy had it been for many that they had never exchanged the starry
-skies for the lamps of the town, nor had left their lonely glens, or quiet hamlets,
-or solitary shores, for the throng and roar of our streets. Well for them that they
-had heard no roar but the rivers, whose winter flood it had been safer to breast;
-no roar but oceans, whose stormiest waves it had been safer to ride, than encounter
-the flood of city temptations, which has wrecked their virtue and swept them
-into ruin.</p>
-
-<p>“Yet I bless God for cities. The world had not been what it is without them.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xv" id="Page_xv">[xv]</a></span>
-The disciples were commanded to ‘begin at Jerusalem,’ and Paul threw himself
-into the cities of the ancient world, as offering the most commanding positions of
-influence. Cities have been as lamps of light along the pathway of humanity
-and religion. Within them science has given birth to her noblest discoveries.
-Behind their walls freedom has fought her noblest battles. They have stood on
-the surface of the earth like great breakwaters, rolling back or turning aside the
-swelling tide of oppression. Cities, indeed, have been the cradles of human
-liberty. They have been the radiating, active centres of almost all church and
-state reformation. The highest humanity has been developed in cities. Somehow
-or other, amid their crowding and confinement, the human mind finds its fullest
-freest expansion. Unlike the dwarfed and dusty plants which stand in our city
-gardens, languishing like exiles for the purer air and freer sunshine, that kiss their
-fellows far away in flowery fields and green woodland, on sunny banks and breezy
-hills, man reaches his highest condition amid the social influences of the crowded
-city. His intellect receives its brightest polish, where gold and silver lose theirs,
-tarnished by the scorching smoke and foul vapours of city air. The mental
-powers acquire their full robustness, where the cheek loses its ruddy hue, and the
-limbs their elastic step, and pale thought sits on manly brows, and as aërolites&mdash;those
-shooting stars which, like a good man on his path in life, leave a train of
-glory behind them on the dusky sky&mdash;are supposed to catch fire by the rapidity of
-their motion, as they rush through the higher regions of our atmosphere, so the
-mind of man fires, burns, shines, acquires its most dazzling brilliancy, by the very
-rapidity of action into which it is thrown amid the bustle and excitements of city
-life. And if, just as in those countries where tropical suns, and the same skies,
-ripen the sweetest fruit and the deadliest poisons&mdash;you find in the city the most
-daring and active wickedness, you find there also, boldly confronting it, the most
-active, diligent, warm-hearted, self-denying and devoted Christians.”<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p>
-
-<p>London then may be considered as the grand central focus of operations, at
-once the emporium of crime and the palladium of Christianity. It is, in fact the
-great arena of conflict between the powers of darkness and the ministry of heaven.
-Here, within the area of our metropolis, the real struggle is maintained between
-the two antagonistic principles of good and evil. It is here that they join issue in
-the most deadly proximity, and struggle for the vantage-ground.</p>
-
-<p>Here legions of crime and legions of vices unite and form an almost impenetrable
-phalanx, while the strong man armed enjoys his goods in peace&mdash;no, not in
-peace, for here too the banner of the cross is most firmly planted, and Christianity
-wins its freshest laurels. Here is the stronghold, the occupation of which by the
-everlasting gospel, has given vigour, support, and consistency to the religion of the
-world. Here is concentrated that fervent and apostolic piety that has made itself
-felt to the remotest corner of the earth; and here is the nucleus of missionary
-enterprise, and the radiating centre of active benevolence.</p>
-
-<p>“The Christian power that has moved a sluggish world on, the Christian benevolence
-and energy that have changed the face of society, the Christian zeal that
-has gone forth, burning to win nations and kingdoms for Jesus,” have received
-their birth or development in London.</p>
-
-<p>Since, then, this busy mart of the world, in which the most opposite and dissimilar
-wares are exhibited, is made up of such composite materials and conflicting elements,
-it is only fair that while estimating its capabilities for crime, and endeavouring to
-plumb its depths of depravity, ignorance, and suffering, we should, when possible,
-faithfully depict their opposites, and take cognizance of such instrumentalities as
-present the best antidotes and alleviations.</p>
-
-<p>It is questionable, indeed, how far the cause of religion and morality would be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvi" id="Page_xvi">[xvi]</a></span>
-promoted by a ghastly array of facts, representing the dimensions of crime in all
-its naked deformity, or by any exhibition, however truthful, of vice and wretchedness
-under their most repulsive aspects, and without any cheering reference to
-corrective and remedial agencies. The effect produced upon the mind, in such a
-case, would be, in the generality of instances, blank despair; and the only influence
-thus excited would partake strongly of that morbid sympathy and unhealthy
-excitement, awakened by delineations of fictitious distress.</p>
-
-<p>To unravel the dark catalogue of London profligacy, and present to the eye of
-the reader the wearisome expanse of guilt and suffering, unrelieved by any indications
-of improvement, would be like exhibiting the convulsive death-agony of a
-drowning man without the friendly succour of a rope, or like conjuring up the
-horrors of a shipwreck without the mental relief afforded by a life-boat.</p>
-
-<p>We need the day star of hope to guide us through the impenetrable gloom of
-moral darkness. The olive branch of mercy and the rainbow of promise are as
-needful tokens of social and religious improvement, as of abated judgments and
-returning favour.</p>
-
-<p>After being required to give attention to figures and statistics representing crime
-in the aggregate, the mental eye requires alleviation from the gross darkness it has
-encountered, and looks impatiently for some streak of light in the moral horizon,
-indicative of approaching day. To view London crime and misery, without their
-encouraging counterparts, would be like groping our way through the blackness of
-midnight, unrelieved by the faintest glimmer of light.</p>
-
-<p>Just, however, as stars shine brightest in the darkest nights, so may we discover
-some element of hope under the most appalling exhibitions of human depravity,
-which thus serve as a background to portray in bolder relief, and by force of
-contrast, the redeeming qualities of Christianity.</p>
-
-<p>As a work of absorbing interest and utility to the British philanthropist, Mr.
-Mayhew’s wonderful book, “London Labour and London Poor,” stands probably
-unrivalled. The mass of evidence and detail, accumulated after the most careful
-and indefatigable research, and the personal interest which is sustained throughout,
-by the relation of facts and occurrences, gleaned from the author’s own private observation,
-or in which he took an active share, render his work both invaluable to
-the legislator and acceptable to the general reader.</p>
-
-<p>While, however, the former will refer to it as a book of reference, the latter
-would probably rise from its perusal, with a sickening apprehension of London
-depravity, and unless fortified by a previous knowledge of counteracting agencies
-would probably form a too lugubrious and desponding view of its social aspects.
-As any such impression, derived from <i>ex-parte</i> statements, would be highly detrimental
-to the cause of truth and religious progress, and might contribute to the
-relaxation of individual effort, the publishers have naturally hesitated to allow one
-of the most startling and vivid records of crime to go forth to the world, without
-directing attention to the most approved and popular agencies, for the correction of
-such abuses, as have been faithfully delineated in the course of the work.</p>
-
-<p>The following brief summary of charitable and religious organizations, having
-for their object the repression of crime and the diffusion of vital Christianity, is
-intended therefore to form a supplement, or prefatory essay, to the fourth and concluding
-volume of <i>London Labour and London Poor</i>.</p>
-
-<p>It would be impossible, within the narrow limits that have been assigned to this
-essay, to do more than touch in a cursory and incidental manner upon some of the
-principal agencies now at work within the metropolis, for the suppression of vice
-and crime; the object being not so much to exhibit the results which have rewarded
-such instrumentalities, great and incalculable as they are, as to indicate the best
-channels of usefulness, towards which public attention should be constantly
-directed; not to foster pride and self-complacency by tracing the progress we have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvii" id="Page_xvii">[xvii]</a></span>
-already made, in the race of Christian philanthropy, but rather to show how we
-may, by rendering efficient support to existing organizations, advance still further
-towards the goal, and rise to higher degrees of service in that ministry of love,
-which aims at nothing less than the regeneration of society, and the restoration of
-its unhappy prodigals to a condition of present and eternal peace.</p>
-
-<p>What we want is not so much the elaboration of new schemes and the introduction
-of untried agencies, as a more unanimous and hearty co-operation in sustaining
-such as are at present in existence, many of which though fully deserving of a
-large measure of confidence and support, are grown effete solely from want of
-funds to maintain them in efficiency.</p>
-
-<p>It has been truthfully remarked that there is hardly a woe or a misery to which
-men are liable, whether resulting from accidental causes or from personal culpability,
-which has not been assuaged or mitigated by benevolent exertions. Experience
-indeed would go far to prove that there are everywhere around us two
-mighty conflicting elements at work, each having no other object than to pull
-down and destroy the other. Every vice has its corresponding virtue, every form
-of evil its counteracting influence for good, every Mount Ebal, its Gerizim; the
-one being designed to act as an antidote or corrective to the other, and to restore
-the type of heaven which the other has defaced. The highest glory of our land&mdash;a
-glory far removed from territorial acquisitions and national aggrandisement, and
-that which makes it pre-eminently the admiration and envy of all other countries&mdash;are
-its benevolent and charitable endowments. There is not another nation in the
-world, where eleemosynary institutions have obtained such a permanent hold upon
-the sympathies of all classes of society, nor where such vast sums are realized by
-voluntary and private contributions.</p>
-
-<p>“Palatial buildings, hospitals, reformatories, asylums, penitentiaries, homes
-and refuges, there are, for the sick, the maimed, the blind, the crippled, the aged,
-the infirm, the deaf, the dumb, the hungry, the naked, the fallen and the destitute;
-and it is to the support of such institutions, and the works which they carry on,
-that the nobles of the land, and our prosperous merchants devote a large proportion
-of their wealth.” No less than 530 charitable societies exist in London alone,
-and nearly £2,000,000 of money is annually spent by them, while probably the
-amount of alms bestowed altogether is not less than £3,500,000.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p>
-
-<p>How far these resources, vast and extended as they really are, are capable of
-satisfying present demands, may be best inferred from the state of our criminal
-population, which is still to be counted by tens of thousands, even while our
-prisons, refuges, and reformatories are filled to overflowing.</p>
-
-<p>“In spite,” says the author just quoted, “of our prison discipline, our classification
-system, our silent system, and our separate system, all these efforts that we
-make, and perhaps boast that we make, to turn back the law-breaker to honest
-paths, nearly 30,000 criminals are each year sent to prison, who only know the
-higher classes as objects of plunder, and the maintenances of law and order as
-things; if possible to be destroyed, and if not avoided.” £170,000 are annually
-expended in London for the reformation of such offenders, and every modern
-appliance that mercy or ingenuity can devise is brought to bear upon our prison
-system, with what results may be clearly ascertained by the large and increasing
-number of re-commitments&mdash;which form a proportion of something like 30 per
-cent. on such as have been previously incarcerated; while these, be it remembered,
-represent only the number of those who render themselves amenable to justice
-by detection; there being no means of ascertaining how many continue their
-avocations with impunity.</p>
-
-<p>Results like these are sufficiently disheartening to the philanthropist, and em<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xviii" id="Page_xviii">[xviii]</a></span>barrassing
-to the statesman, and serve to show that however necessary it may be
-to devise methods for criminal reformation, it is even more incumbent upon us, and
-far more remunerative in the end, to carry out the principles of prevention.</p>
-
-<p>The various agencies, at work in London, for the suppression of vice and crime,
-may be treated under the following heads, which will serve to indicate their
-relative value and proportionate influence; and though, in their popular sense,
-many of the words used, may appear to be only convertible terms, it is intended,
-for the sake of perspicuity and arrangement, to assign to each a distinctive and
-separate meaning.</p>
-
-<p>Thus the word <i>curative</i> is used, not in its loose, remedial sense, as applying to
-expedients calculated to produce a diminution of crime, but must be understood
-as tending to the entire and absolute change of the human will, and the renovation
-of a corrupt nature&mdash;such a thorough change, in fact, as is implied in the
-word <i>cure</i>.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="left" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td rowspan="4">Agencies for the suppression of vice and crime.</td><td>1. Curative (radical).</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2. Preventive (obstructive).</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3. Repressive and punitive (compulsory).</td></tr>
-<tr><td>4. Reformative (remedial).</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<h3>1. <i>Curative Agencies.</i></h3>
-
-<p>Under this head <i>religion</i> naturally occupies the foremost place; since, by its
-restraining influence and converting power, it presents the only true antidote, and
-the only safe barrier to the existence or progress of crime; all other specifics,
-however valuable, being liable to the imputation of failure, and their influence
-being either more or less efficacious, according to the various phases of moral
-disease exhibited by different mental and physical constitutions.</p>
-
-<p>While applying political expedients for the cure of such disorders, it must ever
-be borne in mind, that the origin of all evil is to be found in the corruption of the
-human heart, and in its entire alienation from God; and it is only so far as these
-intrinsic defects can be remedied, that any permanent influence will be produced.
-That power, therefore, which seizes upon the citadel of the heart, controlling its
-affections, regulating its principles of action, and subduing its vicious propensities
-or illicit motions, is the only sovereign remedy for crime. In its natural state the
-heart may be compared to a fountain discharging only turbid and bitter waters;
-but while various agencies are employed to sweeten, disguise, or check this poisoned
-current, religion is the only influence which purifies the fountain head, and dries
-up the noxious springs, by placing a wholesome check upon the first motive principles
-of action&mdash;the thoughts.</p>
-
-<p>The truth of these remarks is even more strikingly exemplified in the sudden and
-complete transformations of character, effected by the all-mighty influence of religion.
-The moral demoniac finds no difficulty in bursting the chains and fetters,
-in which society has attempted to bind him. He is never changed, only curbed,
-pacified, or restrained by such artificial modes of treatment. The wound may be
-cauterised, cicatrised, or mollified, but the poison, if left in the system, is sure to
-rankle and exhibit itself afresh. Religion, however, casts out the unclean spirit,
-restores human nature to its right mind, and asserts the supremacy of reason over
-that of passion and caprice.</p>
-
-<p>Next in value and importance to religion itself, are those subordinate instrumentalities
-calculated to exhibit or extend its influence, and which bear the same relation
-to it as the means do to the end. Such are the various agencies, in that divinely-appointed
-machinery for the regeneration of mankind, the universal spread of
-“truth and justice, religion and piety” throughout the world, and for the formation
-and support of the spiritual Church of Christ.</p>
-
-<p>The most powerful and efficacious of all levers for the social, moral, and spiritual<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xix" id="Page_xix">[xix]</a></span>
-elevation of mankind is the <i>Word of God</i>. Into whatever quarters of the habitable
-globe the sacred volume is diffused, there is a corresponding spread of civilisation,
-and a sensible improvement in the scale of humanity; and those countries are
-most socially, morally, and politically debased, in which its circulation is
-debarred or restricted.</p>
-
-<p>Here it is only right to mention those societies which are directly concerned in
-diffusing the Scriptures.</p>
-
-<p><i>The British and Foreign Bible Society</i> is one of the most honoured and influential
-channels for promoting the circulation of the Word of God, “without note or comment.”
-It dates its origin from 1804, and since this period it has, either directly
-or indirectly, been instrumental in translating the Scriptures into 160 different
-languages or dialects, including 190 separate versions. Connected with this
-Society, there are in the United Kingdom 3728 auxiliary branches or associations.</p>
-
-<p>The number of issues from London alone, during the last financial year, amount
-to 594,651 copies of the Old Testament, and 544,901 copies of the New Testament.
-The grants made during the same time amounted to £58,551 17<i>s.</i> 7<i>d.</i> The total
-receipts of the Society derived from subscriptions, and from the sale of publications,
-amounted last year to £206,778 12<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p>
-
-<p>Next to the Bible Society, the <i>Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge</i> is
-most directly concerned in the propagation of the Scriptures. It was founded in
-1698. During the past year 157,358 Bibles, and 78,234 New Testaments have
-been issued, besides prayer-books, tracts, and other publications. In addition to
-the dissemination of religious works, its objects include the extension of the Episcopate
-in the colonies, by contributing to the erection of new sees, and the support
-of colleges and educational institutions. The receipts for the past year amounted
-to £31,697 19<i>s.</i> 7<i>d.</i> besides £81,516 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> received for the sale of publications.</p>
-
-<p>In addition to these larger instrumentalities for the circulation of the Scriptures,
-it has been reserved for modern zeal and piety to discover a “missing link” in
-the operations hitherto in use, and this void has been admirably supplied by the
-“Bible women” of the nineteenth century. The appointment of these female
-colporteurs has been attended with the most beneficial and encouraging results,
-for not only has the sale of Bibles been facilitated among classes almost inaccessible
-to such influences, but opportunities have been afforded of permanently benefiting
-some of the most wretched and morally debased of our population. The introductions,
-gained by means of this traffic, have been turned to the best account, and
-a kindly influence has been established over the families thus visited, which has
-been often attended with the most favourable results.</p>
-
-<p>“The lowest strata of society are thus reached by an agency which takes the
-Bible as the starting point of its labours, and makes <span class="smcap lowercase">IT</span> the basis of all the social
-and religious improvements which are subsequently attempted. Small in its
-beginnings, the work, by its proved adaptation and results, has greatly enlarged
-its dimensions, enlisting the sympathy and liberality of the Christian public; and
-in almost all the metropolitan districts affording scope for the agency, the Bible
-women are to be found prosecuting their arduous labours, with immense advantage
-to the poor. At the present time there are 152 of these agents employed. During
-the past year the Bible women in London disposed of many thousand copies of the
-Scriptures amongst classes, which, to a very great extent, were beyond the reach of
-the ordinary means used to effect this work; and this circulation was attained not
-by the easy method of gift, but by sale, the very poorest of the population being
-willing, when brought under kind and persuasive influence, to pay for the Bible
-or Testament by small weekly instalments.”</p>
-
-<p>Another kindred agency of recent appointment is the “<i>Institution for reading
-aloud the Word of God in the open air</i>,” in connection with which are the “<i>Bible<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xx" id="Page_xx">[xx]</a></span>
-Carriages</i>,” or locomotive depôts, now employed for extending the sale of the
-Scriptures in various parts of London, and which have succeeded in drawing a
-large number of purchasers, attracted, no doubt, by the novelty and singularity of
-the means adopted.</p>
-
-<p>While enumerating the religious agencies concerned in the repression of crime
-in London, allusion need only be made incidentally to such as necessarily spring
-out of an organized, ecclesiastical, or parochial machinery consisting of clergy,
-churches, chapels, schools, &amp;c., and to the various societies and associations designed
-to extend and give support to this machinery; the object of this essay
-being rather to draw public attention to such auxiliary and supplemental organisations,
-as are less generally known, or are of more recent origin.</p>
-
-<p>One of the most remarkable movements of modern times in connection with
-preaching, has been the establishment of <i>Theatre services</i>, which owe their existence
-to the present Earl of Shaftesbury. So irregular and unconstitutional a proceeding
-provoked, as might naturally have been expected, a large amount of censure and
-unfriendly criticism. Ecclesiastical dignities were at first somewhat scandalized
-by such an innovation of church discipline, and evidently regarded the movement
-as one calling rather for reluctant toleration, than as being entitled to episcopal
-sanction&mdash;a feeling which was probably largely shared by the more sober and
-orthodox portion of the community.</p>
-
-<p>There appeared to be, at first sight, it must be confessed, a singular incongruity,
-if not an absolute impropriety, in converting the stage of a playhouse into a temple
-for the provisional celebration of divine worship, and using an edifice habitually
-consecrated to amusement, for the alternate promulgation of sacred verities and
-pantomimic representations. Apart, however, from the repulsive features of the proceeding
-arising from local associations, and from the periodical juxtaposition of
-objects the most hostile and dissimilar, there appeared to be no graver objection
-to the arrangement. The end was here, at least, supposed not only to justify, but
-even to sanctify the means, and the defence of this mal-appropriation was not unfairly
-said to consist in the inadequacy of church accommodation, and in the cheap
-facilities thus afforded, for bringing under the occasional ministry of the word of
-life, classes, who from long habits of neglect, prejudice, and an utter disrelish of
-religious ordinances, had become isolated from the ordinary channels of instruction
-and improvement. The movement having now had a fair trial, and the results
-being found to answer the expectations of the originators, it may be regarded as
-no longer a hazardous experiment, but as a part of the recognised machinery employed
-for the evangelisation of the masses.</p>
-
-<p>These special services for the working classes are now regularly conducted in the
-various theatres and buildings temporarily appropriated to divine worship. The
-attendance has been uniformly good, and that of a class who habitually absent
-themselves from religious ordinances, and could not therefore be reached by any
-of the usual instrumentalities. Considering the unpromising materials of which
-these singular congregations are composed, and the unfavourable antecedents of
-most of the audience, it is something to be able to state that on such occasions
-they are, for the most part, orderly and well conducted, while the continued good
-attendance at these services marks the appreciation in which they are held.
-During the Sabbath, then, at least, a wonderful outward transformation is effected
-in the pursuits and general demeanor of the frequenters, who meet together, week
-after week, to hear the Gospel message expounded in the very edifice, which during
-the previous six days has resounded with their oaths, ribaldries, and licentious language.
-Is there not room for at least a charitable hope, that when the heralds of
-salvation carry their proclamations into the very heart of the enemy’s territory,
-and aggressively plant the banner of the cross, where only the cloven foot is wont
-to be seen, some victories will be achieved over the world, the flesh, and the devil,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxi" id="Page_xxi">[xxi]</a></span>
-and that some who usually meet to scoff and jeer, will return home savingly impressed
-with what they have heard?</p>
-
-<p>In strict conformity with the objects contemplated by this arrangement, and
-arising out of the same temporary necessity, is <i>The Open-Air Mission</i>, which was
-established in 1853 “for the purpose of stirring up the Church of Christ, especially
-the lay elements, to go out into the streets and lanes of the city, the towns
-and villages of the provinces, the great gatherings that periodically occur at races,
-fairs, executions, &amp;c.; to go into lodging-houses, workhouses, and hospitals, and
-in fact wherever persons are to be met with and spoken to about sin and salvation.”
-Since the formation of the Society, open-air preaching has become as it were a
-standing institution, and is recognized as an indispensable agency in working
-densely-populated districts. Ministers and laymen are to be found on every hand
-using this divinely-appointed and apostolic agency to “bring in the poor, the
-maimed, the halt, and the blind,” and God has eminently blessed their labours.</p>
-
-<p>From May 1st, 1860, to March 31st, 1861, the London City Missionaries conducted
-4,489 outdoor meetings, at which the average attendance was 103, and the gross
-attendance 465,070. Numerous associations have been formed in connection with
-this Society for Open-Air Preaching, in various parts of London, and during the
-summer, eighteen stations are occupied for this purpose by the students at the
-Church Missionary College, under the direction of the Islington Church Home
-Mission. A course of Sunday afternoon services is also regularly held by the appointment
-of the rector in Covent Garden Market, which are generally well
-attended and appear admirably calculated to benefit the classes whose welfare is
-designed. The Bishop of London and other dignities of the Church have been
-the preachers on such occasions, and have thus lent their countenance to the proceeding.</p>
-
-<p>In reference to all such agencies as open-air services, prayer meetings, tract distributions,
-Bible readings, &amp;c., it may be safely asserted, that never in the entire
-history of the Church was there a period, when such extraordinary efforts have
-been made to evangelise the poor and the criminal population of London; or
-when a similar activity has been displayed in ministering to the social and spiritual
-wants of the community.</p>
-
-<p>One of the oldest and most privileged institutions within the metropolis, for
-bringing the influences of religion to bear upon the dense masses of our population
-is the <i>London City Mission</i>. It was founded in 1835, and its growth has
-steadily progressed up to the present date. The object of the mission is to “extend
-the knowledge of the Gospel, among the inhabitants of London and its vicinity
-(especially the poor), without any reference to denominational distinctions, or the
-peculiarities of Church government. To effect this object, missionaries of approved
-character and qualifications are employed, whose duty it is to visit from house to
-house in the respective districts assigned to them, to read the Scriptures, engage in
-religious conversation, and urge those who are living in the neglect of religion to
-observe the Sabbath and attend public worship. They are also required to see
-that all persons possess the Scriptures, to distribute approved religious tracts, and
-to aid in obtaining Scriptural education for the children of the poor. By the
-approval of the committee they also hold meetings for reading and expounding the
-Scriptures and prayer, and adopt such other means as are deemed necessary for
-the accomplishment of the mission.”</p>
-
-<p>The London City Mission maintains a staff of 389 missionaries, who are employed
-in the various London and suburban districts; and thus the entire city is
-more or less compassed by this effective machinery, and brought under the
-saving influences of the Gospel. The very silent and unobtrusive character of
-the work thus effected, precludes anything like an accurate estimate of results, or
-a showy parade of success.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxii" id="Page_xxii">[xxii]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>It works secretly, quietly, and savingly, in districts too vast to admit of
-pastoral supervision, and in neighbourhoods too outwardly unattractive and unpropitious,
-to win the attention of any who are not animated with a devoted love
-of souls. The influence which is thus exerted in a social and religious point of
-view is inestimable, and the benefits conferred by this mission, are of an order
-that would be best understood and appreciated by the community, if they were for
-a time to be suddenly withdrawn.</p>
-
-<p>In addition to the regular visitation of the poor, the missionaries are employed
-in conducting religious services in some of the “worst spots that can be found in
-the metropolis, and the audiences have been, in such cases, ordinarily the most
-vicious and debased classes of the population.”</p>
-
-<p>Six missionaries are appointed, whose exclusive duty it is to visit the various
-public-houses and coffee-shops in London, and to converse with the <i>habitués</i> on
-subjects of vital importance. There are also three missionaries to the London
-cabmen, a class greatly needing their religious offices, and by their occupation
-almost excluded from any social or elevating influences.</p>
-
-<p>The following summary of missionary work, and its results for 1861, is sufficiently
-encouraging, as pointing in some instances, at least, to a sensible diminution
-of crime, and as being suggestive of a vast amount of good effected by this
-pervasive evangelistic machinery.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Number of Missionaries employed</td><td>381</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Visits paid</td><td>1,815,332</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Of which to the sick and dying</td><td>237,599</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Scriptures distributed</td><td>11,458</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Religious Tracts given away</td><td>2,721,73&#x2007;</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Books lent</td><td>54,00&#x2007;</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">In-door Meetings and Bible Classes held</td><td>41,777</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gross attendance at ditto</td><td>1,467,006</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Out-door Services held</td><td>4,489</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gross attendance at ditto</td><td>465,070</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Readings of Scripture in visitation</td><td>584,166</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Communicants</td><td>1,535</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Families induced to commence family prayer</td><td>681</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Drunkards reclaimed</td><td>1,230</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Unmarried couples induced to marry</td><td>361</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Fallen females rescued or reclaimed</td><td>681</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Shops closed on the Sabbath</td><td>212</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Children sent to school</td><td>10,158</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Adults who died having been visited by the Missionary <i>only</i></td><td>1,796</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>The income of the London City Mission, during the past year, amounted to
-35,018<i>l.</i> 6<i>s.</i> 10<i>d.</i>; 5,763<i>l.</i> 15<i>s.</i> 7<i>d.</i> having been contributed by country
-associations.</p>
-
-<p>Next to the London City Mission, the <i>Church of England Scripture Readers’
-Society</i> is one of the most extensive and important channels for disseminating a
-religious influence among the masses by means of a parochial lay agency.</p>
-
-<p>It is the special duty of the Scripture readers to visit from house to house; to
-read the Scriptures to all with whom they come in contact; to grapple with vice
-and crime <i>where they abound</i>; and to shrink from no effort to arrest their career.</p>
-
-<p>“To overtake and overlook the growing multitudes which crowd our large and
-densely-peopled parishes,” was a work universally admitted to be beyond the
-present limits of clerical effort; and this <i>desideratum</i> has been supplied, at least
-to some extent, by the appointment of a lay agency, acting under the direction
-and control of the parochial clergy. By this means “cases are brought to light
-and doors opened to the pastoral visit, which were either closed against it or not
-discovered before; and an amount of information concerning the religious condition
-of the parish is obtained, such as the minister, single-handed, or with the aid<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxiii" id="Page_xxiii">[xxiii]</a></span>
-of a curate, never had before.” The following results, which are reported as
-having attended the labours of a single Scripture reader, during a period of fourteen
-years, will serve as an illustration of the nature of those services rendered by
-this <span class="lock">instrumentality:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Visits paid to the poor</td><td>23,986</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Infants and adults baptized on his recommendation</td><td>3,510</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Children and adults persuaded to attend school</td><td>2,411</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Persons led to attend church for the first time</td><td>307</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Persons confirmed during visitation</td><td>429</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Communicants obtained by ditto</td><td>269</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Persons living in sin induced to marry</td><td>48</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>One hundred and twenty-five grants are now made by the Society for the
-maintenance of Scripture readers in eighty-seven parishes and districts in the
-metropolis, embracing a population of upwards of a million.</p>
-
-<p>The Society’s income for the past year amounted to 9,850<i>l.</i> 2<i>s.</i> 10<i>d.</i></p>
-
-<p>Second only in importance to personal evangelistic effort is the influence of a
-<i>Religious Press</i>. Public opinion being often fluctuating, and its general estimates
-of morality being, to a considerable extent, formed by the current literature of the
-age, it is essential that this mighty and controlling power should be exerted on
-the side of religion and virtue.</p>
-
-<p>Works of a high moral tone, inculcating correct principles and instilling lessons
-of practical piety, conduce, therefore, in the highest degree, to a wholesome state
-of society, and to the preservation of public morals.</p>
-
-<p>The two great emporiums of religious literature, most directly concerned in
-producing these results, are the <i>Religious Tract Society</i> and the <i>Society for the Promotion
-of Christian Knowledge</i>. The latter has already been referred to, as one of
-the main channels for the diffusion of the Scriptures.</p>
-
-<p>None of the works issued by the <i>Religious Tract Society</i> can compete in point of
-interest or usefulness with those widely-circulated and deservedly-popular serials
-the Leisure Hour, the Sunday at Home, and the Cottager, a periodical lately published,
-and admirably adapted for the homes of the working classes.</p>
-
-<p>The publications issued by the Society during the past year amounted to
-41,883,921; half of which number were English tracts and handbills; 537,729
-were foreign tracts; and 13,194,155 fall under the head of periodicals.</p>
-
-<p>The entire number of both English and foreign publications issued by the
-Society, since its foundation in 1799, amount to 912,000,000.</p>
-
-<p>Grants of books and tracts are annually made by the Society for schools and
-village libraries, prisons, workhouses, and hospitals, for the use of soldiers, sailors,
-emigrants, and for circulation at fairs and races, by city missionaries and colporteurs.</p>
-
-<p>The total number of such grants during the past year amounted to 5,762,241;
-and were of the value of £6,116 14<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i></p>
-
-<p>The entire receipts of the Society from all sources for the past year amounted
-to £103,127 16<i>s.</i> 11<i>d.</i>; the benevolent contributions being £9,642 9<i>s.</i> 2<i>d.</i></p>
-
-<p>Other channels for the supply and extension of religious literature are the
-<i>Weekly Tract Society</i>, the <i>English Monthly Tract Society</i>, and the <i>Book Society</i>,
-which latter aims especially at promoting religious knowledge among the poor.</p>
-
-<p>As a supplemental agency for the collection and dissemination of a wholesome
-literature, the <i>Pure Literature Society</i>, established 1854, is deserving of especial
-commendatory notice.</p>
-
-<p>The following is a list of the periodicals recommended by the Society; and the
-circulation of which it seeks to <span class="lock">facilitate:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>For Adults:&mdash;Leisure Hour, British Workman, Good Words, Old Jonathan,
-Youth’s Magazine, Appeal, Bible-Class Magazine, Christian Treasury, Church<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxiv" id="Page_xxiv">[xxiv]</a></span>man’s
-Penny Magazine, Evening Hour, Family Treasury, Family Paper, Friendly
-Visitor, Mother’s Friend, Servant’s Magazine, Sunday at Home, The Cottager,
-Tract Magazine.</p>
-
-<p>For Children:&mdash;Young England, Band of Hope Review, Child’s Own Magazine,
-Child’s Companion, Child’s Paper, Children’s Friend, Children’s Paper, Our
-Children’s Magazine, Sabbath School Messenger, Sunday Scholar’s Companion.</p>
-
-<p>Upwards of 140,000 periodicals are sent out annually by the Society in monthly
-parcels.</p>
-
-<p>The Society’s income during the past year amounted to £2,783 12<i>s.</i> 2<i>d.</i></p>
-
-
-<h3>2. <i>Preventive Agencies.</i></h3>
-
-<p>Under this division are not included those measures which have for their object
-the forcible suppression of crime, which will be considered under a separate head,
-nor yet such as are calculated to extinguish those criminal propensities, which are
-ever lying dormant in the human heart, for these, as has been already shown, can
-only be effectually subdued, or eradicated by the influences of religion. By preventive
-agencies are rather to be understood, those instrumentalities best adapted
-to effect the removal of peculiar forms of temptation, or to abridge the power of
-special producing causes of vice; whatever means, in fact, are efficacious in removing
-hindrances to the development of virtue, and in fostering principles of
-morality. Human nature, owing to the force of adverse circumstances, being often
-placed at a disadvantage, it is the peculiar province of preventive agencies to give
-it a fair chance of escape, by extricating it from its perilous position, and surrounding
-it with virtuous influences and humanizing appliances. Under this head,
-moreover, are included all such measures as conduce to the social and moral improvement
-of the community, either by presenting an indirect barrier to the
-progress of crime, or by the employment of counteracting agencies.</p>
-
-<p>In this connexion the <i>Temperance Associations</i> are deserving of especial prominence.
-Drunkenness being the most fruitful source of all crime, and the primary
-cause of want and wretchedness, it follows that whatever instrumentalities are
-capable of arresting its progress, or curtailing its influence, are in every way
-worthy the consideration of the philanthropist and the statesman. The utility of
-temperance societies has often been called in question; but it must be admitted,
-that as an instrumental agency for the suppression of drunkenness, and consequently
-for the diminution of crime, the influence of such associations is unlimited.
-Whether or not the entire-abstinence system is based on philosophical arguments,
-or is deducible from Scripture teaching, is little to the point, provided the fruits
-it has yielded are unquestionably salutary in their effects upon society, and conducive
-to the present and eternal happiness of millions of individuals, who, but
-for this timely interference would have continued in their mad career of dissipation,
-without the power to break off the thraldom, or to dispel the infatuation in which
-they were held.</p>
-
-<p><i>The National Temperance Society</i>, formed in 1842, is now in active operation,
-and seeks by means of meetings, lectures, and publications, to disseminate its
-principles, and to draw attention to the objects it is endeavouring to promote.</p>
-
-<p><i>The United Kingdom Alliance</i>, for the legislative suppression of the liquor traffic,
-is a step in advance of the ordinary temperance movement, and aims at nothing
-short of the entire extinction of a commerce in intoxicating drinks. This body
-has already secured a large number of influential adherents, and appears to be
-rapidly gaining ground. A monster meeting has lately been held in Manchester
-in furtherance of the Society’s proximate aims, which are to introduce a
-permissive Bill into Parliament, to delegate to local authorities the power to prohibit
-such traffic within their respective neighbourhoods.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxv" id="Page_xxv">[xxv]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The passing of this Act will in effect resolve the question of abolition or toleration
-into one of public opinion; and districts, if so inclined, will possess the
-power of deciding whether or no the sale of intoxicating drinks shall be carried on
-within their own parochial boundaries.</p>
-
-<p>As a counteracting agency to the beer-shop and the gin-palace, <i>The Metropolitan
-Free Drinking Fountain Association</i>, formed two years ago, is deserving of special
-notice. It has for its objects the erection and maintenance of drinking fountains
-in the various crowded thoroughfares of the metropolis, thus humanely furnishing
-the means of alleviating that feverish thirst, which during the hot season impels
-so many to an excessive use of intoxicating drinks.</p>
-
-<p><i>The Ragged Schools</i> hold a prominent place among the indirectly preventive
-agencies for the suppression of crime in the metropolis; for since ignorance is
-generally the parent of vice, any means of securing the benefits of education to
-those who are hopelessly deprived of it, must operate in favour of the well-being
-of society.</p>
-
-<p><i>The Ragged School Union</i> has been formed with a view to develope and give consistency
-to this movement, which it does by collecting and diffusing information
-respecting schools now in existence, and by pecuniary grants towards their foundation
-and support.</p>
-
-<p>The number of buildings now in existence in London, appropriated to these
-educational purposes, is 176. The day-schools are 151 in number, and are attended
-by 17,230 scholars. The evening-schools number 215, and the scholars 9,840;
-Sunday-schools 207, and scholars 25,260. The number of scholars placed in
-situations last year amounted to 1,800.</p>
-
-<p>Penny Banks, Clothing Clubs, Reading Rooms, Mother’s Meetings, and Shoe-Black
-Brigades have been established in connexion with this movement, and contribute
-their influence to the general well-being of those attending the schools, as
-well as to that of society at large.</p>
-
-<p>In connexion with the Union are 16 refuges for the homeless and destitute,
-accommodating 700 inmates.</p>
-
-<p>The receipts of the Union amounted last year to £5,739 7<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>; and probably
-no money was ever laid out at better interest, than that contributed by the benevolent
-public towards the rescue and moral training of these embryo criminals. Difficult as
-the principle of Government intervention no doubt is, that would be a wise, politic,
-humane, and economical course which should sever this Gordian knot, by constituting
-the State the lawful guardian of such as are deprived of all that is understood
-by the terms home influence, and moral training.</p>
-
-<p>Another agency contributing largely to the prevention of crime is <i>the Society for
-Improving the Condition of the Labouring Classes</i>, not so much, however, in the transformations
-and improvement of buildings effected under its own immediate control,
-which are rather designed to serve as models to those desirous of carrying out
-these principles of reform, as by drawing public attention to one of the most interesting
-and painful subjects that can occupy the mind of the philanthropist, viz.,
-the inadequate provision of decent, and proper house accommodation for the industrial
-classes, which is now universally admitted to be productive of the worst
-social disorders.</p>
-
-<p>The important provisions of the Common Lodging-Houses Act, passed in 1851,
-under the auspices of Lord Shaftesbury, and the system of registration thus
-enforced, have also been attended with great benefits, and have conduced not a
-little to the promotion of social and sanatory reform, by bringing legal enactments
-to bear upon the disorders, indecencies, and impurities of low and crowded
-lodging-houses.</p>
-
-<p>There is no class of preventive agencies in the metropolis, which on every
-principle of justice and humanity have stronger claims on the sympathy of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxvi" id="Page_xxvi">[xxvi]</a></span>
-benevolent than such as interpose their friendly shelter and kind offices, to rescue
-those who are suddenly reduced to positions of great extremity and temptation.
-It is doubtless an act of mercy to rescue a drowning man, and such charitable
-deeds are performed by those who labour for the reformation of the criminal;
-but it is a higher act of charity, and a wiser and more Christian course to prevent
-his falling into the stream; experience, however, proves that it is easier to enlist
-sympathy on behalf of one who is already being swept away by the current of
-crime, than to rescue one who is bordering on destruction, and perhaps bravely
-battling with temptation. This is perhaps only natural; our perception of danger
-in the one case is far greater than in the other, and our commiseration is awakened
-at sight of the death agony of the drowning wretch, but is hardly stirred on
-behalf of him who walks on the slippery brink.<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p>
-
-<p>It is unhappily a fact too well authenticated to need further demonstration, that
-owing perhaps to sudden reverses of fortune, to the removal of natural protectors,
-or to the force of some overwhelming temptation, many persons are unwillingly, and
-almost unavoidably, pressed into the ranks of crime, who but for the extremity in
-which they were placed, would have continued to walk erect in the path of honour
-and virtue. Let none then who move in the calm sunlight of prosperity, presume
-to judge those who stumble in the dark night of trial.</p>
-
-<p>“The path of a man, even of a man on the highway to heaven, is never one of
-perfect safety. There are many dangerous passes in the journey of life. The
-very next turn, for anything we know, may bring us on one. Turn that projecting
-point, which hides the path before you, and you are suddenly in circumstances
-which demand that reason be strong, and conscience be tender, and hope be
-bright, and faith be vigorous.”</p>
-
-<p>Happily there are persons whose qualities of head and heart have enabled
-them by precautionary measures to provide against the weakness of human nature,
-and to offer assistance to those who are placed in such critical positions.</p>
-
-<p>There is no class more essential to the well-being and comfort of society, and none,
-it is to be feared, more exposed to dangers and temptations, than domestic servants.
-It is calculated that in London alone there are upwards of one hundred thousand
-females engaged in domestic service, and that ten thousand of these are continually
-in a transition state, and therefore out of employment. When it is borne in mind
-that vast numbers of these young women have migrated, at an early age, from
-various parts of the country in search of a livelihood, that many of them are
-orphans and friendless, or at least wholly destitute of friends and resources in
-London, that they are moreover inexperienced, unsuspecting, and ignorant of the
-snares and temptations that surround them, it cannot be a matter of surprise that
-the reports of all the London penitentiaries should bear witness to the fact, that
-a large majority of the fallen women who are received into these institutions came
-originally from the ranks of domestic service. It would be superfluous to attempt
-to prove the value of associations formed to counteract these evils, by offering
-advice, shelter, and protection to servants who are out of situations or seeking
-employment. One of the oldest and best organizations of this kind is the <i>Female
-Servants’ Home Society</i>,<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> which has now been in active operation four-and-twenty
-years. Its objects are to provide a safe <i>home</i> for respectable female servants when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxvii" id="Page_xxvii">[xxvii]</a></span>
-out of place, or for those seeking situations. The Homes, four in number, are
-under the control of experienced and pious matrons, who establish a kind and
-motherly influence over the inmates, and are indefatigable in endeavouring to
-promote their welfare. The Homes are regularly visited by Christian ladies, and
-a service is conducted every week by the chaplain. A registry, free to the servants,
-is attached to each Home, where for a trifling fee of half-a-crown, or by an annual
-subscription of one guinea, every facility is afforded to employers of procuring
-efficient and trustworthy servants.</p>
-
-<p>Since the formation of the Society, upwards of 7,000 servants have been
-received into the Homes, and 37,000 have availed themselves of the registry provided,
-while in numberless instances young and friendless girls have been rescued
-from positions of extreme and imminent danger.</p>
-
-<p>A kindred institution to the above is <i>The Female Aid Society</i>, established in
-1836. Its objects, which are threefold, are thus <span class="lock">defined:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>1st. “It provides a home for female servants, where they may reside with comfort,
-respectability, and economy, while seeking for situations;” and in connexion
-with which is a register for the convenience of servants and employers.</p>
-
-<p>2nd. “It receives into a home, for purposes of protection and instruction,
-young girls to be trained for service and other employments, who, from circumstances
-of poverty, orphanage, or sinful conduct in those who should preserve
-them from evil, are exposed to great temptations, and are in want of a home where
-there is proper guardianship and example.”</p>
-
-<p>3rd. “A home and rescue is offered to women who, weary of sin, are desirous
-of leaving a life of awful depravity and misery;” and no depth of past degradation,
-provided there is any sign of amendment, presents a barrier to their reception,
-shelter being freely offered to the very outcast among the outcasts, to inmates of
-refractory wards, of workhouses, and to women freshly discharged from prison.
-Since the formation of the Society 4,116 servants have been admitted into the
-Home, and 7,622 placed in service; 2,008 young women have enjoyed the protection
-of the Friendless’ Home, and 2,205 have been received as penitents. Want
-of funds, however, has obliged the Society to curtail its operations.</p>
-
-<p><i>The Girls’ Laundry and Training Institution for Young Servants</i> is an industrial
-home, affording shelter, protection, and instruction in household duties to forty
-young girls, who are thus carefully trained and prepared for domestic service.</p>
-
-<p>Other institutions for the accommodation, temporary relief, and permanent
-benefit of servants are, <i>The National Guardian Institution</i>, <i>The Marylebone Philanthropic
-Servants’ Institution and Pension Society</i>, <i>The Provisional Protection Society</i>,
-<i>The General Domestic Servants’ Benevolent Institution</i>, and <i>The Servants’ Provident
-and Benevolent Society</i>.</p>
-
-<p>Among the London preventive agencies must be classed the various homes,
-refuges, and asylums for the relief of the utterly destitute and friendless of good
-character, and which severally offer food, shelter, and protection to those needing
-their assistance.</p>
-
-<p><i>The Field Lane Night Refuges</i> provide accommodation nightly for 200 men and
-women; and by this instrumentality many are rescued from death and crime, and
-are enabled to regain their positions in life, or to maintain themselves in respectability.
-During the past year 31,747 lodgings were afforded to persons of both
-sexes. Many of those thus assisted were poor needlewomen, who, during an
-inclement winter, had been, together with their families, turned into the street,
-having been stript of everything for rent.</p>
-
-<p><i>The Dudley Stuart Night Refuge</i>, founded by Lord Dudley Stuart in 1852, provides
-for the reception of the utterly destitute during the winter months. Accommodation
-is offered to 95 persons in two warm, spacious, and well-ventilated
-apartments. The relief afforded consists of a night’s lodging, bread night and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxviii" id="Page_xxviii">[xxviii]</a></span>
-morning, and medical attendance, if required. This charity has, since its foundation,
-alleviated a vast amount of suffering. It admits those against whom every
-other door is closed, and requires no recommendation beyond the utter destitution
-of the applicants. Upwards of 8,000 men, women, and children were admitted
-and relieved during last winter.</p>
-
-<p><i>The Houseless Poor Asylum</i> is the oldest night-refuge in London, and was
-opened to “afford nightly shelter and sustenance to the absolutely destitute working
-classes, who are suddenly thrown out of employment during the inclement
-winter months.” Accommodation is provided for 700; and since the opening of
-the Asylum 1,449,047 nights’ lodgings and 3,515,951 rations of bread have been
-supplied.</p>
-
-<p><i>The House of Charity</i> provides for the reception of distressed persons of good
-character, who, from various accidental causes, require a temporary home, protection,
-and food. Nearly 3000 persons of both sexes have been thus accommodated
-for an average period of a month or five weeks.</p>
-
-<p><i>The Foundling Hospital</i>, first opened in 1741, for the reception of illegitimate
-children, has undergone considerable changes and improvements, and now shelters,
-maintains, and educates 460 children, who, at the age of fifteen, are apprenticed or
-otherwise provided for, and are thus humanely rescued from the early and contaminating
-influence of vicious associations. No child is eligible for this charity
-unless there is satisfactory proof of the mother’s previous good character and
-present necessity, of desertion by the father, and that the reception of the child
-will, in all probability, be the means of replacing the mother in the course of
-virtue, and the way of an honest livelihood.</p>
-
-<p><i>The Society for the Suppression of Mendicity</i> was instituted in 1818, “for the
-purpose of checking the practice of public mendicity, with all its baneful and
-demoralizing consequences; by putting the laws in force against imposters who
-adopt it as a trade, and by affording prompt and effectual assistance to those whom
-sudden calamity or unaffected distress may cast in want and misery upon the
-public attention.”</p>
-
-<p>A just discrimination between cases of real and fictitious distress, and a judicious
-adaptation of relief to deserving cases, is a necessary, but very difficult, part of
-true benevolence. The frauds which are successfully practised by systematic
-sharpers upon a charitable, but over-credulous public, and the existence of an
-immense amount of genuine and unrelieved suffering, are sufficient proofs of the
-value and importance of any agency designed to counteract these abuses, and to
-accord a just measure of benevolence.</p>
-
-<p>By means of printed tickets supplied to subscribers, beggars can be directed to
-the Society’s offices, where their cases are fully investigated, and treated according
-to desert, a sure provision being thus made against imposture.</p>
-
-<p>Since the formation of the Society 51,016 registered cases have been disposed
-of, and food, money, and clothing dispensed to deserving applicants, while employment
-has been provided for such as were found able to work.</p>
-
-<p><i>The Association for Promoting the Relief of Destitution in the Metropolis</i> is likewise
-a safe channel for the exercise of public benevolence. It is carried on under
-the direction of the bishop and clergy, and the efforts of the Association are
-directed to the origination and support of local undertakings, thus forming a
-connection and a centre of union between the various parochial visiting societies.</p>
-
-<p>The present condition of that large class of female workers in London, comprehended
-under the terms milliners and dressmakers, is one of the saddest reproaches
-upon a country whose benevolent objects are so numerous, and so extensive, and
-one of the severest comments upon the heartlessness and artificialism of that
-society, which takes no cognizance of those who are most largely concerned in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxix" id="Page_xxix">[xxix]</a></span>
-administering to its necessities. The miseries of this shamefully under-paid and
-cruelly over-worked class of white slaves have been too often eloquently animadverted
-upon, to need any further denunciations of the system, under which they
-are hopelessly and unfeelingly condemned to labour.</p>
-
-<p>The impossibility of supporting life on the wretched pittance accorded to their
-labours, is the oft-heard, and the unanswerably extenuating plea for their recourse
-to criminal avocations.</p>
-
-<p>While, however, the State shrinks from the task of ameliorating their condition
-by any legislative interference, it is satisfactory to know that public benevolence
-in this wide field is not wholly unrepresented.</p>
-
-<p><i>The Association for the Aid and Benefit of Dressmakers and Milliners</i> is a noble
-breakwater against the inroads of oppression, and a valuable counteracting agency
-to the force of temptation.</p>
-
-<p>Its objects, briefly stated, are to obtain some remission of labour and other
-concessions from employers, and to afford pecuniary and medical assistance in
-cases of temporary distress or illness. A registry and provident fund are provided
-in connexion with the association.</p>
-
-<p>Actuated by the same humane intention, although different in object, is the
-<i>Needlewomen’s Institution</i>, established in 1850, “with the twofold view of affording
-those who had suffered under the oppression of middle men and slop-sellers,
-the opportunity of maintaining themselves, by supplying them with regular employment
-at remunerative prices, in airy work-rooms, and if desired, lodging at a
-moderate charge.”</p>
-
-<p>Another institution of very recent origin directed to the religious and social
-improvement of the same unhappy class, is the <i>Young Women’s Christian Association
-and West London Home</i>, for young women engaged in houses of business. Its
-objects are twofold, 1st, “to supply a place where young women so employed, can
-profitably spend their <i>Sundays and week-day evenings</i>,” thus counteracting the evil
-influence of badly conducted houses of business; and 2nd, “the home is intended
-to provide a residence for young people coming from the country to seek employment,
-and for those who are changing their situations, or who from over-work and
-failing health require rest for a time.” The rooms of the Association are open
-every evening from seven until ten o’clock, when educational and religious classes
-are held for the benefit of those attending.</p>
-
-<p>Thus, “where occasional spasms of sympathy, the well-merited castigations of
-the press, and the voice of popular opinion had unitedly failed to shake the throne
-of the god of Mammon, erected on skeletons, and cemented with the blood of
-women and children, it was reserved for a Christian lady to strike out a plan which
-has already been productive of an immensity of good, and has commended itself
-to the approval of all who are labouring to promote the welfare of this oppressed
-and neglected class. The better to appreciate the importance of this noble and
-truly womanly enterprise, only let the solemn and fearful fact be borne in mind,
-that in London <i>alone</i> 1,000 poor girls are yearly crushed out of life from over-toil
-and grinding oppression, while 15,000 are living in a state of semi-starvation.
-Ah! who can wonder that our streets swarm with the fallen and the lost, when
-<span class="smcap lowercase">SIN OR STARVE</span> is the dire alternative! Who cannot track the <i>via doloroso</i> between
-the 15,000 starving and the thrice that number living by sin as a trade!</p>
-
-<p>“Here, then, is an Institution that meets the wants of the case. It not only
-catches them before they go over the precipice, and lovingly shelters them from
-the fierce blasts of temptation, beating remorselessly on many a young and shrinking
-heart, but ensures them a ‘<i>Home</i>,’ where soul and body alike may find rest
-and peace.”<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a></p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxx" id="Page_xxx">[xxx]</a></span></p>
-<p>The <i>Society for Promoting the Employment of Women</i> has lately been called into
-existence, by the emergencies of the present age, the object of which is to develop
-and extend the hitherto restricted field of female labour, by the establishment of
-industrial schools and workshops, where girls may be taught those trades and
-occupations which are at present exclusively monopolised by men. Those “educated
-in this school will be capable of becoming clerks, cashiers, railway-ticket
-sellers, printers,” &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>These and similar measures which tend to open up resources to women in search
-of a livelihood, will have the happiest effect in diverting numbers into paths of
-honest industry, who now labour under strong temptations to abandon themselves
-to a life of criminal ease and self-indulgence.</p>
-
-<p>The remaining agencies indirectly tending to the prevention of crime, are the
-<i>Metropolitan Early Closing Association</i>, for abridging the hours of business, so as to
-afford to assistants time for recreation, and for physical, intellectual, and moral
-improvement; the <i>Metropolitan Evening Classes for Young Men</i>, for furnishing the
-means of instruction and self-improvement; and the <i>Young Men’s Christian Association</i>,
-for promoting the spiritual and mental improvement of young men, “by
-means of devotional meetings, classes for Biblical instruction, and for literary improvement,
-the delivery of lectures, the diffusion of Christian literature, and a
-library for reference and circulation.” This last instrumentality has been widely
-blessed, and its beneficial influence is now extended, by means of branch associations,
-to most of the provincial towns.</p>
-
-
-<h3>3. <i>Repressive and Punitive Agencies.</i></h3>
-
-<p>The various instrumentalities falling under this head appear deserving of
-separate consideration, and cannot therefore be appropriately included under
-either of the previous divisions, being neither curative in their character, nor preventive
-to any appreciable extent. They evidently presuppose the existence of
-crime, and merely seek to diminish its influence, or curtail its power by the application
-of legal provisions and compulsory measures, intended on the one
-hand to indemnify society against the infraction of its rights, and on the other to
-intimidate or restrain the criminal offender. The absolute reformation of the
-viciously disposed can hardly be expected to result from the use of such means,
-and belongs properly to another class of agencies. It may indeed be achieved by
-punitive measures, but in this case reformation of character is rather a startling
-accident than an essential property of the system pursued. Experience has abundantly
-established the utility of legal provisions as a “terror to evil doers;” but
-the statistics of our police-courts will by no means warrant the assumption that
-penal measures have <i>per se</i> been successful in reclaiming the offender. It is not
-intended, however, while speaking of repressive and punitive agencies, to include
-in this category the strictly legal efforts employed by the State to deter and correct
-the criminal who renders himself amenable to justice. This subject will be found
-fully and distinctly treated by Mr. Mayhew, in a work now in the press, entitled
-“Prisons of London, and Scenes of Prison Life.”</p>
-
-<p>The inquiry pursued in the course of this Essay is not designed to comprehend
-such constitutional measures as are employed by either Church or State, for the suppression
-of vice and crime; but rather to draw from their obscurity, and to give
-prominence to those resources and expedients which society itself adopts, for the
-defence and preservation of its own interests.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxxi" id="Page_xxxi">[xxxi]</a></span></p>
-
-<p><i>The Society for the Suppression of Vice</i>, which was established in 1802, has for its
-objects the repression of attempts “to spread infidelity and blasphemy by means
-of public lectures, and printed publications.” The operations of the Society have
-also been directed to the suppression of disorderly houses, the punishment of
-fortune-tellers, and other important objects. “It is represented that by means of
-this Society many convictions have taken place, and persons have been sentenced
-to imprisonment for selling obscene publications and prints,” while their works
-have been either seized or destroyed. With such admirable intentions and useful
-objects, to commend it to benevolent support, and with the entire voice of public
-opinion in its favour, the only wonder is that this Society does not carry on its
-operations with greater publicity, vigilance, and efficiency. Unhappily the
-loathsome traffic in Holywell Street literature is still carried on with bold and
-unblushing effrontery, and its existence, although greatly diminished in the
-country, is too notorious and too patent, in certain portions of the metropolis, to
-need any extraordinary efforts to promote exposure and punishment.</p>
-
-<p>The demoralizing influence of low theatres, and the licentious corruptions of
-the Coal Hole, and Posés Plastiques, might surely afford scope for vigorous prosecutions
-under the Society’s auspices; and yet these dens, in which the vilest
-passions of mankind are stimulated, and every sentiment of religion, virtue, and
-decency grossly outraged, or publicly caricatured, are allowed to emit their
-virulent poison upon all ranks of society without the slightest let or hindrance!
-Only let a man smitten by the plague or with any other infectious disease, obtrude
-himself by unnecessary contact upon the public, and his right to free agency
-would be summarily disposed of, by speedy incarceration within the walls of
-a hospital; but provided only the disorder be a moral one&mdash;and therefore far
-more to be dreaded, in its pestiferous influence and baneful effects upon society&mdash;it
-is forsooth to be tolerated as a necessary evil! <i>Proh tempora et mores!</i></p>
-
-<p><i>The Associate Institution</i>, formed in 1844, has been in active operation fifteen
-years, and has been instrumental in effecting a large amount of good, by improving
-and enforcing the laws for the protection of women. It has maintained
-a strenuous crusade against houses of ill-fame, and has since its establishment
-conducted upwards of 300 prosecutions, in most of which it has been successful
-in bringing condign punishment upon the heads of those, who have committed
-criminal assaults upon women and children, or who have decoyed them away
-for immoral purposes.</p>
-
-<p>Important as these results have been, a larger amount of good has probably
-been achieved by means of lectures and meetings held in various parts of the country
-by Mr. J. Harding, the Society’s travelling secretary, whose faithful and stirring
-appeals and bold denunciations of vice have contributed not a little to the spread
-of sounder and more wholesome views on social questions, and to the removal of
-that ignorance of profligate wiles and artifices, which, in so many cases, proves
-fatal to the unsuspecting and unwary.</p>
-
-<p>Two Bills prepared by this Association, one for the protection of female children
-between 12 and 13 years of age, and the other to simplify and facilitate the
-prosecution of persons charged with keeping houses of ill fame, were this year
-submitted to parliament, but unhappily without success, having been lost either
-on technical grounds, or for want of support. It is refreshing to turn from the
-supineness of statesmen to the energy and decision manifested by private associations
-in resisting the encroachments of vice. The <i>East London Association</i>, composed
-of a committee partly clerical and partly lay, and including most of the
-influential parochial clergy in the district, was instituted four years ago for the
-purpose of checking “that class of <i>public offences</i>, which consists in acts of indecency,
-profaneness, drunkenness, and prostitution.”</p>
-
-<p>Its modes of action are as <span class="lock">follows:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxxii" id="Page_xxxii">[xxxii]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. To create and foster public opinion in reprobation of the above-named acts.</p>
-
-<p>2. To bring such public opinion to bear upon all exercising social influence, with a view to
-discountenance the perpetrators and abettors thereof.</p>
-
-<p>3. To secure the efficient application by the Police of the laws and regulations for the suppression
-of the class of public offences above named; and to obtain, if necessary, the institution
-of legal proceedings.</p>
-
-<p>4. To procure the alteration of the law, wheresoever needful to the object contemplated, and
-especially to the obtaining further restrictions in granting Licenses for Music and Dancing to
-houses where intoxicating liquors are sold.</p>
-
-<p>5. To find Houses of Refuge and means of restoration for the victims of seduction by honest
-employment, emigration, &amp;c.</p></div>
-
-<p>It is satisfactory to state that already, and with the very limited funds placed at
-the disposal of this Association, no fewer than “seventy-five houses in some of the
-worst streets in the east of London, hitherto devoted to the vilest purposes, have
-been cleared of their inmates; one of these houses having had thirty rooms, which
-were occupied by prostitutes; that more than one house ostensibly open for public
-accommodation, but really for ensnaring females for prostitution, has been closed;
-and that in one instance of peculiar atrocity, the owner of the house has been
-convicted and punished. Handbills have also been issued, containing extracts
-from the Police Acts, to show the power of remedy for offences against public
-decency, such as swearing, the use of improper language, and the exhibition of
-improper conduct in the streets.”</p>
-
-<p>Such are the objects and results of this Association, and such the praiseworthy
-example set to other London districts, which if vigorously followed would result,
-at least, in the repression of vice, and in a marked diminution of crime.</p>
-
-<p>“It is chiefly from the reserve which, rather by implication than by compact,
-has so long been preserved in those influential quarters where the power to correct
-and guide public opinion is maintained, that the crying social evil of our day has
-attained such dimensions, and exhibited itself in such dangerous and revolting
-forms as we have referred to. Preachers, moralists, and public writers have been
-deterred by the difficulty and delicacy of the subject from their obvious duty of
-protecting the social interests, and a sluggish legislature, ever inert in introducing
-such measures as are calculated to foster and conserve the public virtue,
-has thus lacked the external pressure which might have aroused it to vigilance and
-forethought in the discharge of its duties. Recently, however, there have been
-clear indications that a distrust of the old plan is spreading. With manifest
-reluctance, but not without interest, has public attention fastened itself on a
-subject in which not merely the happiness of individuals, and the peace of families,
-but the national prosperity and the concerns of social life, are felt to be
-bound up. Inquiries as to the best mode of doing something to stem the tide of
-immorality which is coursing onwards are made in quarters where indifference, if
-not acquiescence, was formerly manifested. Public opinion is ever slowly
-formed, but is seldom wrong at the last in detecting the true source of generic
-evils, and in applying to them the best remedies. Example, also, is as contagious
-on the side of virtue as of vice; and where an initiative step, taken by
-another, appeals to our intuitive sense of right and duty, it is seldom that the
-courageous right-doer has to wait long for the expression of sympathy and the
-proffer of aid.</p>
-
-<p>“It is only recently that the great sin of our land has received a measure of
-the attention it has long and loudly called for.</p>
-
-<p>“First in one quarter, and then in another, has the subject been discussed with
-tolerable delicacy, and with an approximate fidelity.</p>
-
-<p>“The discussion has done good. Men have thought about the subject, have
-been led to measure the fearful dimensions of this evil, to observe its progress
-and influence within their own neighbourhoods, and have come at last to deplore
-the existence of that which they have too long tolerated or connived at. Where<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxxiii" id="Page_xxxiii">[xxxiii]</a></span>
-remedial measures have been attempted, they have not lacked for countenance
-and support; and, in some quarters, at least, there have been indications of a
-desire to pass from the feebler stage of alleviation to the more potential remedy
-of prevention. Whilst it seems to be admitted on all hands, that to aim at the
-forcible extinction of immorality would be Utopian and disappointing, the repression
-and diminution of crime is felt to be an imperious obligation upon all who
-are vested with any power and influence for that end.</p>
-
-<p>“We cannot help regarding the measures which have been recently adopted by
-certain parochial authorities in the metropolis as at once a proof of the benefit
-which has arisen from the partial discussion of this subject in the various public
-channels into which it has gained admittance; and we regard it, further, as a
-cheering sign that a deepening conviction is spreading on all sides respecting the
-absolute necessity of a well-organised antagonism to evil, in place of our former
-supine indifference, or more culpable acquiescence. Some of the most influential
-metropolitan vestries have commenced a crusade against the keepers of bad houses
-in their respective parishes, and, by the vigour and promptitude characterizing
-their prosecutions, seem determined to hunt down the hosts of abandoned householders
-who are mainly concerned in extending and facilitating immorality.</p>
-
-<p>“Aristocratic St. James’s, and more plebeian Lambeth, have alike joined in
-these laudable measures; and it is to be noticed, with extreme satisfaction, that
-the steps thus taken have been almost invariably successful, and that severe
-punishments have been inflicted upon the wretches who were the objects of these
-prosecutions. Such a movement cannot be sufficiently applauded, and fervently
-is it to be trusted that the example thus shown in these influential centres may
-not only reach to every other parish in the metropolis, but may also stir up the
-parochial authorities in every city and town in the land to a like course of procedure.
-This is to strike at the main root of the evil. In vain are all our
-Reformatories and Refuges, in vain the endeavours of Christian people to repress
-the evil by exertions for the rescue even of a large number of its victims, if the
-floodgates of vice be allowed, by public neglect, to remain open, ever to pour out
-into our streets fresh streams of wickedness and pollution. There are, no doubt,
-persons who think that measures, such as those now under consideration, will not
-materially check the traffic in vice, but will only lead to its being more subtly
-and secretly practised. Even that result, if brought about, would be something
-gained, something as a protest on the side of public purity and virtue, and something
-in the amount of warning and terror brought home to guilty breasts, leading
-them to dread retribution in future, whenever offended justice could detect them
-in their malpractices. But in truth there is no limit to the amount of good
-which would result from these repressive measures becoming universal and well-sustained.</p>
-
-<p>“Many persons would be saved from future ruin, a manifest check would be
-given to the further development of iniquity, and the example of authority thus
-generally exercised in aid of the cause of virtue, would greatly tend to the spread
-of sounder views of social duty in regard to this matter.”<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p>
-
-<p>One of the greatest scandals on a country professedly Christian, is the extent
-to which Sabbath desecration pervades the metropolis. Although the traffic now
-openly pursued in the streets, or carried on with impunity in shops, is strictly
-illegal, yet the technicalities which are too often allowed to obstruct the ends of
-justice, and the smallness of the fines inflicted, even where summary conviction
-follows, concur to render the law, in this particular, a mere dead letter.</p>
-
-<p>The permission to sell on Sunday, originally extended only to vendors of
-perishable articles, is now claimed by whole troops of costermongers, who, pre<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxxiv" id="Page_xxxiv">[xxxiv]</a></span>suming
-upon the license they have so long enjoyed, no longer hesitate to ply their
-usual calling in the most public and offensive manner, frequently pursuing their
-traffic in the open streets during the hours of divine service, and disturbing whole
-congregations by their noisy vociferations around the very doors of our churches.</p>
-
-<p>These evils call loudly for more stringent legal measures, and it is to be hoped
-the time is not far distant when some improvement will take place.</p>
-
-<p>As one means of directing public attention to this subject, by the circulation of
-appeals and tracts, and of promoting the introduction of salutary legal provisions
-for the repression of such acts of desecration, the <i>Society for Promoting the Due Observance
-of the Lord’s Day</i> is entitled to a large measure of support. The efforts
-made by the Society to awaken public opposition to the obnoxious provisions of
-Lord Chelmsford’s Sunday Trading Bill, were probably mainly instrumental in
-securing its rejection.</p>
-
-<p>One of the noblest repressive agencies within the metropolis is the <i>Royal
-Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals</i>, established in 1824, which employs
-a number of agents to frequent the markets and public thoroughfares, for the purpose
-of bringing to punishment persons detected in the commission of acts of
-cruelty to animals. It seeks, moreover, by means of suitable tracts, to diffuse
-among the public a just sense of the duty of humanity and forbearance towards
-the lower orders of creation. Allusion was made during the present year to the
-objects embraced by this Society from upwards of two thousand London pulpits,
-which will doubtless have the effect of directing the attention of the benevolent
-public to an instrumentality which has already achieved a large amount of good;
-and only requires to be better known to enjoy a corresponding measure of
-support.</p>
-
-
-<h3>4. <i>Reformative Agencies.</i></h3>
-
-<p>Must be understood as referring solely to individuals, and include all such
-measures as are employed to effect an external change of character, and render
-those, who are vicious and depraved, honest and respectable members of society.</p>
-
-<p>While, however, agencies of this kind are reformative in their relation to persons,
-they have also a preventive aspect, when viewed in their bearings upon the entire
-community; for the reformation of every vicious man is a social boon, inasmuch
-as it removes one individual from a course of vice, and thus diminishes the aggregate
-of crime.</p>
-
-<p>As a nucleus of reformatory operations, and a “centre of information and
-encouragement,” the <i>Reformatory and Refuge Union</i> was established in 1856.
-It seeks to diffuse information respecting the various agencies at present in existence,
-and to encourage and facilitate the establishment of new institutions. In
-connection with the Union is a “<i>Female Mission</i>” for the rescue of the fallen.
-The Mission maintains a staff of female missionaries, whose business it is to distribute
-tracts among the fallen women of the metropolis, to converse with them in
-the streets, and visit them in their houses, in the hospitals, or in the workhouses.
-These missionaries, “as a rule, leave their homes between eight and nine o’clock at
-night, remaining out till nearly twelve, and occasionally till one in the morning.
-They are located in different parts of London, near to the nightly walks and
-haunts of those they desire to benefit. They have the means of rescuing a large
-number who have been placed in the Homes or restored to their friends.”</p>
-
-<p>There are upwards of fifty metropolitan institutions for the reception of the
-destitute and the reformation of the criminal, or those who are exposed to temptation,
-capable of accommodating collectively about 4,000 persons of both sexes.</p>
-
-<p>Nine of these institutions are designed especially for the reception and training
-of juvenile criminals, sentenced under the “Youthful Offenders’ Act,” and two for
-vagrants sentenced to detention under the “Industrial School Act.” Three are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxxv" id="Page_xxxv">[xxxv]</a></span>
-exclusively appropriated to the benefit of discharged prisoners, and the rest are
-chiefly employed in the rescue and reformation of destitute or criminal children.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p>
-
-<p>Most of these institutions, with the exception of such as are certified by Act
-of Parliament, and aided by Government subsidies, are supported entirely by
-voluntary contributions and by the earnings of the inmates, who are either
-admitted free on application, or by payment of a small sum towards the expense
-of maintenance.</p>
-
-<p>Such is the benevolent machinery now at work within the metropolis for the
-reformation of our criminal population, and for the preservation of those who are
-in a fair way of becoming the moral pests and aliens of society.</p>
-
-<p>The results, both in a religious, social, and sanatory point of view, achieved
-by these different agencies, are beyond all human calculation; and it is mainly
-to their beneficial and restraining influence that the peace, safety, and well-being
-of society may be attributed.</p>
-
-<p>The other <i>Reformative Agencies</i> are those adapted to the rescue and reformation
-of fallen women, or such as have been led astray from the paths of virtue.</p>
-
-<p>There are twenty-one institutions in London devoted to these objects, and
-unitedly providing accommodation for about 1,200 inmates. Ten of these are in
-connexion with the Church of England, and in the remaining eleven the religious
-instruction is unsectarian and evangelical. Three, viz., <i>The Female Temporary
-Home</i>, <i>The Trinity Home</i>, and <i>The Home of Hope</i>, are designed for the reception
-of the better educated and higher class of fallen women. One, viz., <i>The London
-Society for the Protection of Young Females</i>, is limited to girls under fifteen years of
-age; and another, <i>The Marylebone Female Protection Society</i>, affords shelter exclusively
-to those who have recently been led astray, and whose previous good
-character will bear the strictest investigation.</p>
-
-<p>It may be fairly assumed that the objects of all these institutions are substantially
-the same, viz., the reformation of character, and the restoration of the individual
-to religious and social privileges. While, however, the end is in most
-cases one and the same, the methods and subordinate means adopted to insure its
-attainment, are often strikingly dissimilar, and present distinctive and almost
-opposite features. Thus one class of institutions, in imitation of our Lord’s
-merciful forbearance towards the sinner, make their treatment pre-eminently one
-of love, and seek by means the most gentle and attractive to win back the stubborn
-wills and depraved natures of those entrusted to their care. Kindness is the only
-instrument used in laying siege to the hard heart, and in mollifying the seared
-conscience. Stern discipline, irritating restraints, and rigorous exactions, form
-no part of a system which is built up on the model prescribed by Him, who
-“spake as never man spake.”</p>
-
-<p>That a mode of treatment which affords such a remarkable coincidence, and
-such a striking parallel to the divine method of dealing with the sinner,
-so eloquently taught under the parable of the Prodigal Son, should be found by
-experience to be the only really efficacious one, can hardly be a matter of surprise.
-The fact is too notorious to require any proof that in numberless instances</p>
-
- <div class="poetry-container"><div class="poetry"><div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse">‘Law and terrors do but harden’</div>
-</div></div></div>
-
-<p>the heart which can be easily subdued by the exhibition of Christian kindness.
-Here is the omnipotent weapon which has achieved such moral victories, when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxxvi" id="Page_xxxvi">[xxxvi]</a></span>
-wielded by gentle and loving women, like Miss Marsh, Mrs. Wightman, and Mrs.
-Sheppard.</p>
-
-<p>The opposite mode of treatment, however successful it may be in the restoration
-of external character, or in the subjugation of turbulent passions, is defective, inasmuch
-as it fails to influence the heart, and therefore at best contributes only to an
-incomplete and partial cure. The almost penal character of the system pursued
-in many of the older penitentiaries is founded on the misconception, that the injury
-sustained by society in the departure from virtue of her female members, can only
-be atoned for by some personal mulct inflicted on the offender. While, therefore, the
-ultimate object is the reformation of lost character, this is too often overlooked or
-rendered subsidiary to the proximate one of propitiating society; and the austere
-regimen by which the latter point is secured, is generally found to be subversive
-of the other. When, however, as is too frequently the case, society is the <i>tempter</i>,
-the offence may surely be condoned by a less rigorous process! Society may
-indeed well waive the right to compensation for supposed damages, when it can be
-proved that she is at least <i>particeps criminis</i>, and when, moreover, she has a personal
-interest in the speedy restoration of her unhappy prodigals. The retributive
-suffering, which, in the majority of cases, so surely overtakes the female delinquent,
-may be urged as another reason for dealing leniently with the erring; but the
-strongest justification of such a method is undoubtedly derived from the success
-attending it, and from the Divine sanction which it has received.</p>
-
-<p>The impediments which the old penitentiary system of close confinement,
-criminal fare, and hard labour, have unfortunately presented to the rescue of fallen
-women is too well known to those who are accustomed to deal with this class.
-Frequently are the urgent entreaties of the missionary to forsake an abandoned
-course of life, and seek shelter in some institution, met with either rancorous denunciations
-against the penal system, or by polite but firm refusals to submit to
-the discipline, which is supposed to extend to all reformatory asylums.</p>
-
-<p>Gradually, however, this prevailing opinion is being cleared away, and the fallen
-women themselves are not slow to distinguish between the two opposite methods
-of treatment, a fact which is rendered clearly apparent by the overwhelming
-number of applications for admission into those Homes which are characterized
-by a more humane and gentle regimen.</p>
-
-<p>The oldest reformatory institution in the metropolis for the reception of fallen
-women is <i>The Magdalen Hospital</i>, founded in 1758. During the last 100 years of
-its existence nearly 9,000 women have been admitted, about two-thirds of whom
-have been restored to friends or relations. At the time when this charity was
-first instituted “the notion of providing a house for the reception and maintenance
-of ‘Penitent Prostitutes’ seems not to have suggested itself to the public
-mind. Even good and actively benevolent men appear to have been startled at
-the novelty of the proposition, while they doubted the wisdom, and still more the
-success of such an attempt. The newspapers of that period contained both arguments
-against, and ridicule of the plan and its promoters. God, however, blessed
-the undertaking, and raised up friends and supporters in every direction.”</p>
-
-<p>So that eighteen years after its incorporation its friends were able to use the
-following cheering language.</p>
-
-<p>“We see many fellow-creatures, by means of this happy asylum, rescued from
-sorrow in which they had been involved by all the iniquitous stratagems of seduction;
-in which condition they had been detained by a species of horrid necessity;
-from which they had no probable or possible retreat; and in which they must,
-therefore, according to all human appearance, have perished. We see them restored
-to their God, to their parents, to their friends, their country, and themselves.
-What charitable heart, what truly Christian hand can withhold its best
-endeavours to promote an undertaking so laudable, so beneficent? Who would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxxvii" id="Page_xxxvii">[xxxvii]</a></span>
-not desire to add to the number of souls preserved from the deepest guilt&mdash;of
-bodies rescued from shame, misery, and death? Who would not wish to wipe the
-tear from a parent’s eyes&mdash;to save the hoary head from being brought down with
-sorrow to the grave?”</p>
-
-<p>An interval of half a century elapsed after the foundation of the Magdalen
-Asylum before the establishment of any similar institution. Within the last
-ten years, however, public attention has been directed with increasing interest
-to this subject, and numerous efforts have been made to provide more ample
-accommodation for those who are desirous of escaping from their wretched mode
-of life.</p>
-
-<p>The <i>London by Moonlight Mission</i>, inaugurated some years ago by Lieutenant
-Blackmore, has been followed in our own day by the <i>Midnight Meeting Movement</i>,
-which has excited a world-wide sympathy and interest, and has been very generally
-approved even in quarters where encouragement could be least expected. The
-commencement of these meetings in London was the signal for similar experiments
-in Manchester, Liverpool, Nottingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee,
-Dublin, and other large towns.</p>
-
-<p>Twenty-two of these meetings have now been held, and attended by upwards of
-4,000 women, more than 600 of whom have been rescued, and either restored to
-friends, or placed in situations, where they are giving satisfactory evidence of outward
-reformation, and many of them of a thorough change of character.</p>
-
-<p>The largest association in London for the reformation of fallen women, is the
-<i>Society for the Rescue of Young Women and Children</i>. The Society has at present
-eleven homes in various parts of London, and one at Dover. Four of these are
-“Family Homes” for the reception of <i>preventive</i> cases, or young girls who have
-not strayed from the path of virtue, but are addicted to crime, or are in circumstances
-of danger. One is a Home for orphan children, from nine to thirteen years
-of age; and the remaining seven are for fallen cases.</p>
-
-<p>Upwards of 2,700 women and children have been admitted into these Homes
-since the Society’s formation in 1853, the greater part of whom have given satisfactory
-proof of having been reclaimed and permanently benefitted. The Society’s
-income for the past year amounted to £6,789 17<i>s.</i> 2<i>d.</i> The Homes are under the
-care of pious and experienced matrons, who labour incessantly to promote the
-spiritual and social welfare of their charges.</p>
-
-<p>Another institution of recent origin, but of rapidly increasing growth, is the
-<i>London Female Preventive and Reformatory Institution</i>, which already numbers
-four Homes, and has admitted, during the past year, upwards of 250 inmates.</p>
-
-<p>The following are the objects embraced by the <span class="lock">Institution:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“I. To seek the destitute and fallen by voluntary missionary effort.</p>
-
-<p>“II. To afford temporary protection to friendless young women, whose circumstances
-expose them to danger; also to effect the rescue of fallen females,
-especially those decoyed from the country, by admitting them to the benefits of
-this Institution.</p>
-
-<p>“III. To restore, when practicable, the wanderer to her family and friends,
-whether in town or country.</p>
-
-<p>“IV. To qualify those admitted into the Institution for various departments of
-domestic service, to obtain suitable situations for them, and provide them with
-clothing.</p>
-
-<p>“V. To aid such as for approved reasons wish to emigrate.</p>
-
-<p>“VI. Above all, to seek the spiritual welfare of the inmates.”</p>
-
-<p>The two last-named Societies and the <i>Home of Hope</i>, which is another Refuge
-identical in character and spirit with that last named, have received most of the
-cases rescued by the midnight meetings.</p>
-
-<p>Great and encouraging as are the results effected by these institutions, and wide<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxxviii" id="Page_xxxviii">[xxxviii]</a></span>
-as the sympathy is which they have awakened, it is clear that the means of rescue
-are as yet wholly disproportioned to the numbers claiming assistance.</p>
-
-<p>Calculating the number of fallen women in London at <i>eighty thousand</i>, which is
-probably not far wide of the truth, and computing the number at present in the
-different institutions to be 1,000, the chance of rescue through the only recognized
-medium for female reformation is offered to <i>one woman in every eighty!</i></p>
-
-<p>This is <i>the high-water</i> mark of public charity, and the utmost provision made
-by Society for the rescue of these 80,000 outcasts! And yet there are special
-reasons which seem to give them a strong claim upon the sympathy and compassion
-of the benevolent public. The brief term of their existence, the average
-length of which is at best but a few years, and the fact that large numbers of them
-are driven upon the streets by a stern necessity, and compelled to live by sin as a
-trade, while everything contributes to prevent their escape from the mode of life
-into which they have been involuntarily forced, are surely considerations calculated
-to stimulate Christian effort on their behalf. But more than this,&mdash;it is well
-known that they are hanging as it were over the mouth of the bottomless pit.</p>
-
-<p>“Their life-blood is ebbing at a fearful rate, and their souls are drifting
-madly to eternity. Their fate is certain; their doom impends: and, for their
-death-bed, there is not even the faintest glimmer of hope which charity can
-bequeath to the dying sinner. All others <i>may</i> find peace at last; but these, suddenly
-overtaken by death, and perishing <i>in</i> and <i>by</i> their sins, <i>must</i> be irrevocably
-lost. And who are they on whose warm vitals the ‘worm feeds sweetly,’ even on
-this side the grave, and around whose heads the unquenchable fire prematurely
-burns? Who are those whose souls, in countless numbers, are now glutting the
-chambers of hell? Not swarthy Indians nor sable Africans, whose deeds of
-violence and superstition have spread horror and astonishment among civilized
-nations, but delicately-nurtured Saxon women, who in infancy were lovingly
-fondled in the arms of Christian mothers, and received ‘into the ark of Christ’s
-Church’ in baptism, before a praying congregation; young girls, for whom pious
-sponsors promised that they should be ‘virtuously brought up to lead a godly and
-a Christian life,’ and who, in the faithful discharge of this promise, were trained in
-our Sabbath-schools, and ‘taken to the Bishop to be confirmed by him.’ They
-have sung the same hymns which we now sing; our congregational melodies are
-still familiar to them. They have read the same Scriptures which we now read,
-worshipped in the same temple in which we assemble, offered up the same prayers,
-listened to the same exhortations, and looked forward to the same glorious fruition
-of future blessedness. But where are they now? What are their hopes and
-expectations, and what the probable end of their existence? Let those answer
-these questions who sneeringly ask why such prodigious efforts are made to rescue
-the fallen.</p>
-
-<p>“It not unfrequently happens, however, that the benevolent promoters of such
-schemes are perplexed and disheartened by those who assume a tone of expediency
-and argue thus: ‘Yes, it is all very true; and we can sympathise with your
-efforts, and pity the poor unhappy objects of your solicitude; but, then, this is
-a necessary evil, and any attempts to remove it are altogether mistaken, and are
-sure to end in failure, or to produce greater mischief. Besides, the demand will
-always create the supply, and for every fallen woman you snatch from the streets,
-an innocent, and hitherto virtuous girl, must be sacrificed. No, we are sorry
-for them, but better let them perish than save them at the sacrifice of other
-victims.’</p>
-
-<p>“First then, this is a ‘<i>necessary</i> evil.’ Falsehood is sufficiently patent upon
-the face of this foolish and monstrous assertion. Could the Creator have pronounced
-his work ‘very good’ with such an inseparable appendage to social life?
-Again, how comes it that a ‘<i>necessary</i> evil’ only exhibits itself in <i>certain localities</i>,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxxix" id="Page_xxxix">[xxxix]</a></span>
-and under particular circumstances, disappearing altogether in uncivilized countries,
-and gathering strength and virulence in the most refined states of society?
-Will any modern philosopher favour us with a solution of this difficulty?</p>
-
-<p>“But ‘the demand will always create the supply.’ Inexorable logic apparently,
-and incontrovertible if the supply were limited to the demand. This, however,
-we deny. Thousands are driven to prostitution as the only alternative from
-starvation. <i>Necessity</i>, and not the demand, here creates the supply, and it is well
-known that the supply <i>suggests</i> the demand. Is, then, the balance of vice so exact
-and undeviating, that the gap occasioned by the removal of one victim must be
-speedily filled by another? Is the equilibrium of profligacy so nicely adjusted,
-that it would be dangerous to assert the prerogative of virtue; and shall we desire
-its unhappy votaries to continue in sin that virtue may abound? Shall we drive
-back anxious souls, striving to ‘flee from the wrath to come,’ with the cold-blooded
-assurance that, ‘for the good of society, they had better remain where
-they are?’ Will it satisfy an immortal spirit, to be told that she helps to maintain
-the proper equilibrium of vice; or that, by standing in the gap, she is a benefactor
-to the innocent of her own sex, who would otherwise be sacrificed? Shall we
-assign as our reason for not preaching the Gospel to ‘every creature,’ that the
-state of society would be unhinged by curtailing a necessary evil, or that greater
-injuries would result from any attempt to rescue perishing souls? Shall we mock
-Him who has said ‘All souls are mine,’ by elevating a doctrine of human expediency
-above the authority of a distinct command? Let us be sure that, in a case
-so intimately affecting the honour and glory of God, to ‘obey is better than
-sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.’ In vain may we plead political
-necessity as a plausible pretext for disobedience.</p>
-
-<p>“We are not afraid, however, to meet this argument on philosophical grounds;
-and we affirm, confidently, that the rescue of every fallen woman is a social boon.
-Admitting the <i>possibility</i> that, eventually, her place will be supplied by another&mdash;for
-we can approach no nearer to the truth&mdash;is it not better to remove a <i>present</i>
-evil than to provide for a <i>remote</i> contingency? Supposing that in the long vista
-of future years, the immolation of a fresh victim is the price of every individual
-rescue, do we overlook the fact, that <i>in the mean time</i> a powerful temptation is removed,
-and that not merely <i>units</i>, but probably <i>hundreds</i>, of the young of the
-opposite sex are delivered from the toils of the strange woman? Is nothing
-achieved by the temporary removal of one tempter from the streets, and is society
-a loser in the end, by the reformation of one whose sole occupation is to waylay
-and ruin the youth of the opposite sex? Let our moral economists escape from
-this dilemma if they can; the philanthropist and the Christian need no further
-arguments to convince them that they have not only the law of God, but the inexorable
-logic of common sense on their side.</p>
-
-<p>“Who can tell the pestiferous influence exercised on society by one single fallen
-woman? Who can calculate the evils of such a system? Woman, waylaid,
-tempted, deceived, becomes in turn the terrible avenger of her sex. Armed with
-a power which is all but irresistible, and stript of that which can alone restrain
-and purify her influence, she steps upon the arena of life qualified to act her part
-in the reorganization of society. The <i>lex talionis</i>&mdash;the law of retaliation&mdash;is hers.
-Society has made her what she is, and must be now governed by her potent
-influence. The weight of this influence is untold: view it in the dissolution of
-domestic ties, in the sacrifice of family peace, in the cold desolation of promising
-homes; but, above all, in the growth of practical Atheism, and in the downward
-tendency of all that is pure and holy in life! One and another who has been
-educated in an atmosphere redolent of virtue and principle, and has given promise
-of high and noble qualities, falls a victim to the prevalence of meretricious allurements,
-and carries back to his hitherto untainted home the noxious influence he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xl" id="Page_xl">[xl]</a></span>
-has imbibed. Another and another, within the range of that influence, is made
-to suffer for his sacrifice of moral rectitude, and they, in their turn, become the
-agents, and the originators of fresh evils. Who, in contemplating this pedigree
-of profligacy resulting from a solitary temptation, will venture to affirm that the
-temporary withdrawal of a single prostitute is not a social blessing? Surely for
-such <i>immediate results</i> we are justified in dispensing with considerations of <i>future
-expediency</i>; and, acting upon the first principles of Christian ethics, may help to
-reform the vicious and profligate, leaving it in the hands of a merciful God to
-avert the contingency of ruin overtaking the as yet unfallen woman.”<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a></p>
-
-<p>In reference to all such Christian efforts to reclaim the fallen, it has been truly
-said that “You may ransack the world for objects of compassion. You may
-scour the earth in search of suffering humanity, on which to exercise your philanthropy;
-you may roam the countless hospitals and asylums of this vast city; you
-may penetrate the dens and caves of all other profligacy; you may lavish your
-bounty upon a transatlantic famine, or dive into Neapolitan dungeons, or scatter
-the Bible broadcast throughout the great moral wildernesses of heathendom: but
-in all the million claims upon your faith, upon your feeling as a man, upon your
-benevolence as a Christian, you will never fulfil a mission dearer to Christ, you
-will never promote a charity more congenial to the spirit of this gospel; you will
-never more surely wake up joy in heaven, and force tears into the eyes of sympathising
-angels, than when you can bring a Magdalene face to face with her Redeemer,
-and thrill her poor heart, even to breaking, with the plaintive music of
-that divine voice, calling her by name&mdash;<span class="smcap">Mary</span>.”</p>
-
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<p class="p4 center wide"><span class="x-large">LONDON LABOUR</span><br />
-
-AND THE<br />
-<span class="x-large">LONDON POOR.</span></p>
-
-<p class="p2 center"><span class="large">THOSE THAT WILL NOT WORK.</span>
-</p>
-
-
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">INTRODUCTION.</h2>
-
-</div>
-
-<p>I enter upon this part of my subject with
-a deep sense of the misery, the vice, the
-ignorance, and the want that encompass us
-on every side&mdash;I enter upon it after much
-grave attention to the subject, observing
-closely, reflecting patiently, and generalizing
-cautiously upon the phenomena and
-causes of the vice and crime of this city&mdash;I
-enter upon it after a thoughtful study of
-the habits and character of the “outcast”
-class generally&mdash;I enter upon it, moreover,
-not only as forming an integral and most
-important part of the task I have imposed
-upon myself, but from a wish to divest the
-public mind of certain “idols” of the platform
-and conventicle&mdash;“idols” peculiar to
-our own time, and unknown to the great
-Father of the inductive philosophy&mdash;and
-“idols,” too, that appear to me greatly to
-obstruct a proper understanding of the
-subject. Further, I am led to believe that
-I can contribute some new facts concerning
-the physics and economy of vice and crime
-generally, that will not only make the
-solution of the social problem more easy to
-us, but, setting more plainly before us some
-of its latent causes, make us look with
-more pity and less anger on those who want
-the fortitude to resist their influence; and
-induce us, or at least the more earnest
-among us, to apply ourselves steadfastly to
-the removal or alleviation of those social
-evils that appear to create so large a proportion
-of the vice and crime that we seek
-by punishment to prevent.</p>
-
-<p>Such are the <i>ultimate</i> objects of my
-present labours: the result of them is
-given to the world with an earnest desire
-to better the condition of the wretched
-social outcasts of whom I have now to
-treat, and to contribute, if possible, my
-mite of good towards the common weal.</p>
-
-<p>But though such be my ultimate object,
-let me here confess that my immediate aim
-is the elimination of the truth; without
-this, of course, all other principles must
-be sheer sentimentality&mdash;sentiments being,
-to my mind, opinions engendered by the
-feelings rather than the judgment. The
-attainment of the truth, then, will be my
-primary aim; but by the truth, I wish it
-to be understood, I mean something <i>more</i>
-than the bare facts. Facts, according to
-my ideas, are merely the elements of truths,
-and not the truths themselves; of all matters
-there are none so utterly useless by
-themselves as your mere matters of fact. A
-fact, so long as it remains an isolated fact,
-is a dull, dead, uninformed thing; no object
-nor event by itself can possibly give us any
-knowledge, we must compare it with some
-other, even to distinguish it; and it is the
-distinctive quality thus developed that
-constitutes the essence of a thing&mdash;that is
-to say, the point by which we cognize and
-recognise it when again presented to us.
-A fact must be assimilated with, or discriminated
-from, some other fact or facts,
-in order to be raised to the dignity of a
-truth, and made to convey the least knowledge
-to the mind. To say, for instance,
-that in the year 1850 there were 26,813
-criminal offenders in England and Wales,
-is merely to oppress the brain with the
-record of a fact that, <i>per se</i>, is so much
-mental lumber. This is the very mummery
-of statistics; of what rational good
-can such information by itself be to any
-person? who can tell whether the number
-of offenders in that year be large or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span>
-small, unless they compare it with the
-number of some other year, or in some
-other country? but to do this will require
-another fact, and even then this second
-fact can give us but little real knowledge.
-It may teach us, perhaps, that the
-past year was more or less criminal than
-some other year, or that the people of this
-country, in that year, were more or less
-disposed to the infraction of the laws than
-some other people abroad; still, what will
-all this avail us? If the year which we
-select to contrast criminally with that of
-1850 be not itself compared with other
-years, how are we to know whether the
-number of criminals appertaining to it be
-above or below the average? or, in other
-words, how can the one be made a measure
-of the other?</p>
-
-<p>To give the least mental value to facts,
-therefore, we must generalize them, that is
-to say, we must contemplate them in connection
-with other facts, and so discover
-their agreements and differences, their antecedents,
-concomitants, and consequences.
-It is true we may frame erroneous and
-defective theories in so doing; we may
-believe things which are similar in appearance
-to be similar in their powers and
-properties also; we may distinguish between
-things having no real difference;
-we may mistake concomitant events for
-consequences; we may generalize with too
-few particulars, and hastily infer that to
-be common to all which is but the special
-attribute of a limited number; nevertheless,
-if theory may occasionally teach us
-wrongly, facts without theory or generalization
-cannot possibly teach us at all.
-What the process of digestion is to food,
-that of generalizing is to fact; for as it is
-by the assimilation of the substances we
-eat with the elements of our bodies that
-our limbs are enlarged and our whole
-frames strengthened, so is it by associating
-perception with perception in our brains
-that our intellect becomes at once expanded
-and invigorated. Contrary to the
-vulgar notion, theory, that is to say, theory
-in its true Baconian sense, is not opposed
-to fact, but consists rather of a <i>large</i> collection
-of facts; it is not true of this or
-that thing alone, but of <i>all</i> things belonging
-to the same class&mdash;in a word, it consists
-not of <i>one</i> fact but an <i>infinity</i>. The theory
-of gravitation, for instance, expresses not
-only what occurs when a stone falls to the
-earth, but when every other body does the
-same thing; it expresses, moreover, what
-takes place in the revolution of the moon
-round our planet, and in the revolution of
-our planet and of all the other planets
-round our sun, and of all other suns round
-the centre of the universe; in fine, it is
-true not of one thing merely, but of every
-material object in the entire range of
-creation.</p>
-
-<p>There are, of course, two methods of
-dealing philosophically with every subject&mdash;deductively
-and inductively. We may
-either proceed from principles to facts, or
-recede from facts to principles. The one
-explains, the other investigates; the former
-applies known general rules to the comprehension
-of particular phenomena, and
-the latter classifies the particular phenomena,
-so that we may ultimately come to
-comprehend their unknown general rules.
-The deductive method is the mode of <i>using</i>
-knowledge, and the inductive method the
-mode of <i>acquiring</i> it.</p>
-
-<p>In a subject like the crime and vice of
-the metropolis, and the country in general,
-of which so little is known&mdash;of which
-there are so many facts, but so little comprehension&mdash;it
-is evident that we must
-seek by induction, that is to say, by a
-careful classification of the known phenomena,
-to render the matter more intelligible;
-in fine, we must, in order to arrive
-at a <i>comprehensive</i> knowledge of its antecedents,
-consequences, and concomitants,
-contemplate as large a number of facts as
-possible in as many different relations as
-the statistical records of the country will
-admit of our doing.</p>
-
-<p>With this brief preamble I will proceed
-to treat generally of the class that will
-not work, and then particularly of that
-portion of them termed prostitutes. But,
-first, who are those that <i>will</i> work, and
-who those that <i>will not</i> work? This is
-the primary point to be evolved.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of the Workers and Non-Workers.</span></h3>
-
-<p>The essential quality of an animal is that
-it seeks its own living, whereas a vegetable
-has its living brought to it. An animal
-cannot stick its feet in the ground and
-suck up the inorganic elements of its body
-from the soil, nor drink in the organic
-elements from the atmosphere. The leaves
-of plants are not only their lungs but their
-stomachs. As <i>they</i> breathe they acquire
-food and strength, but as animals breathe
-<i>they</i> gradually waste away. The carbon
-which is <i>secreted</i> by the process of respiration
-in the vegetable is excreted by the
-very same process in the animal. Hence a
-fresh supply of <i>carbonaceous</i> matter must
-be sought after and obtained at frequent
-intervals, in order to repair the continual
-waste of animal life.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>But in the act of seeking for substances
-fitted to replace that which is lost in respiration,
-nerves must be excited and
-muscles moved; and recent discoveries
-have shown that such excitation and motion
-are attended with decomposition of
-the organs in which they occur. Muscular
-action gives rise to the destruction of muscular
-tissue, nervous action to a change in
-the nervous matter; and this destruction
-and decomposition necessarily involve a
-fresh supply of <i>nitrogenous</i> matter, in order
-that the loss may be repaired.</p>
-
-<p>Now a tree, being inactive, has little or
-no waste. All the food that it obtains goes
-to the invigoration of its frame; not one
-atom is destroyed in seeking more: but the
-essential condition of animal life is muscular
-action; the essential condition of muscular
-action is the destruction of muscular
-tissue; and the essential condition of the
-destruction of muscular tissue is a supply
-of food fitted for the reformation of it, or&mdash;<i>death</i>.
-It is impossible for an animal&mdash;like
-a vegetable&mdash;to stand still and not destroy.
-If the limbs are not moving, the heart is
-beating, the lungs playing, the bosom heaving.
-Hence an animal, in order to continue
-its existence, must obtain its subsistence
-either by its own exertions or by those of
-others&mdash;in a word, it must be <i>autobious</i> or
-<i>allobious</i>.</p>
-
-<p>The procuration of sustenance, then, is the
-necessary condition of animal life, and constitutes
-the sole apparent reason for the
-addition of the locomotive apparatus to the
-vegetative functions of sentient nature;
-but the faculties of comparison and volition
-have been further added to the animal
-nature of Man, in order to enable him,
-among other things, the better to gratify
-his wants&mdash;to give him such a mastery
-over the elements of material nature, that
-he may force the external world the more
-readily to contribute to his support. Hence
-the derangement of either one of those functions
-must degrade the human being&mdash;as
-regards his means of sustenance&mdash;to the
-level of the brute. If his intellect be impaired,
-and the faculty of perceiving “the
-fitness of things” be consequently lost to
-him&mdash;or, this being sound, if the power of
-moving his muscles in compliance with his
-will be deficient&mdash;then the individual becomes
-no longer capable, like his fellows,
-of continuing his existence by his own
-exertions.</p>
-
-<p>Hence, in every state, we have two extensive
-causes of allobiism, or living by
-the labour of others; the one intellectual,
-as in the case of lunatics and idiots, and
-the other physical, as in the case of the infirm,
-the crippled, and the maimed&mdash;the
-old and the young.</p>
-
-<p>But a third, and a more extensive class,
-still remains to be particularized. The
-members of every community may be
-divided into the <i>energetic</i> and the <i>an-ergetic</i>;
-that is to say, into the hardworking and
-the non-working, the industrious and the
-indolent classes; the distinguishing characteristic
-of the <i>anergetic</i> being the extreme
-irksomeness of all labour to them,
-and their consequent indisposition to work
-for their subsistence. Now, in the circumstances
-above enumerated, we have
-three capital causes why, in every State, a
-certain portion of the community must
-derive their subsistence from the exertions
-of the rest; the first proceeds from some <i>physical</i>
-defect, as in the case of the old and
-the young, the super-annuated and the sub-annuated,
-the crippled and the maimed;
-the second from some <i>intellectual</i> defect, as
-in the case of lunatics and idiots; and the
-third from some <i>moral</i> defect, as in the case
-of the indolent, the vagrant, the professional
-mendicant, and the criminal. In all
-civilized countries, there will necessarily
-be a greater or less number of human
-parasites living on the sustenance of their
-fellows. The industrious must labour to
-support the lazy, and the sane to keep the
-insane, and the able-bodied to maintain
-the infirm.</p>
-
-<p>Still, to complete the social fabric,
-another class requires to be specified. As
-yet, regard has been paid only to those
-who must needs labour for their living,
-or who, in default of so doing, must prey on
-the proceeds of the industry of their more
-active or more stalwart brethren. There is,
-however, in all civilized society, a farther
-portion of the people distinct from either of
-those above mentioned, who, being already
-provided&mdash;no matter how&mdash;with a sufficient
-stock of sustenance, or what will exchange
-for such, have no occasion to toil for an
-additional supply.</p>
-
-<p>Hence all society would appear to arrange
-itself into four different <span class="lock">classes:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<ul>
-<li>I. <span class="smcap">Those that Will Work.</span></li>
-<li>II. <span class="smcap">Those that Cannot Work.</span></li>
-<li>III. <span class="smcap">Those that Will Not Work.</span></li>
-<li>IV. <span class="smcap">Those that Need Not Work.</span></li>
-</ul>
-
-
-<p>Under one or other section of this quadruple
-division, every member, not only of
-our community, but of every other civilized
-State, must necessarily be included; the
-rich, the poor, the industrious, the idle, the
-honest, the dishonest, the virtuous, and the
-vicious&mdash;each and all must be comprised
-therein.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Let me now proceed specially to treat of
-each of these classes&mdash;to distribute under one
-or other of these four categories the diverse
-modes of living peculiar to the members of
-our own community, and so to enunciate,
-for the first time, the natural history, as it
-were, of the industry and idleness of Great
-Britain in the nineteenth century.</p>
-
-<p>It is no easy matter, however, to classify
-the different kinds of labour scientifically.
-To arrange the several varieties of work
-into “orders,” and to group the manifold
-species of arts under a few comprehensive
-genera&mdash;so that the mind may grasp the
-whole at one effort&mdash;is a task of a most
-perplexing character. Moreover, the first
-attempt to bring any number of diverse
-phenomena within the rules of logical division
-is not only a matter of considerable
-difficulty, but one, unfortunately, that is
-generally unsuccessful. It is impossible,
-however, to proceed with the present inquiry
-without making some attempt at systematic
-arrangement; for of all scientific
-processes, the classification of the various
-phenomena, in connection with a given
-subject, is perhaps the most important;
-indeed, if we consider that the function of
-cognition is essentially <i>discriminative</i>, it
-is evident, that without distinguishing
-between one object and another, there can
-be no knowledge, nor, indeed, any perception.
-Even as the seizing of a particular
-difference causes the mind to <i>apprehend</i> the
-special character of an object, so does the
-discovery of the agreements and differences
-among the several phenomena of a subject
-enable the understanding to <i>comprehend</i> it.
-What the generalization of events is to the
-ascertainment of natural laws, the generalization
-of things is to the discovery of
-natural systems. But classification is no
-less dangerous than it is important to
-science; for in precisely the same proportion
-as a correct grouping of objects into
-genera and species, orders and varieties,
-expands and assists our understanding, so
-does any erroneous arrangement cripple
-and retard all true knowledge. The reduction
-of all external substances into
-four elements by the ancients&mdash;earth, air,
-fire, and water&mdash;perhaps did more to obstruct
-the progress of chemical science than
-even a prohibition of the study could have
-effected.</p>
-
-<p>But the branches of industry are so
-multifarious, the divisions of labour so
-minute and manifold, that it seems at first
-almost impossible to reduce them to any
-system. Moreover, the crude generalizations
-expressed in the names of the several
-arts, render the subject still more perplexing.</p>
-
-<p>Some kinds of workmen, for example, are
-called after the <i>articles they make</i>&mdash;as saddlers,
-hatters, boot-makers, dress-makers,
-breeches-makers, stay-makers, lace-makers,
-button-makers, glovers, cabinet-makers,
-artificial-flower-makers, ship-builders, organ-builders,
-boat-builders, nailers, pin-makers,
-basket-makers, pump-makers, clock and
-watch makers, wheel-wrights, ship-wrights,
-and so forth.</p>
-
-<p>Some operatives, on the other hand, take
-their names not from what they make, but
-from the <i>kind of work they perform</i>. Hence
-we have carvers, joiners, bricklayers, weavers,
-knitters, engravers, embroiderers, tanners,
-curriers, bleachers, thatchers, lime-burners,
-glass-blowers, seamstresses, assayers,
-refiners, embossers, chasers, painters,
-paper-hangers, printers, book-binders, cab-drivers,
-fishermen, graziers, and so on.</p>
-
-<p>Other artizans, again, are styled after
-the <i>materials upon which they work</i>, such as
-tinmen, jewellers, lapidaries, goldsmiths,
-braziers, plumbers, pewterers, glaziers, &amp;c.
-&amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>And lastly, a few operatives are named
-after the <i>tools they use</i>; thus we have
-ploughmen, sawyers, and needlewomen.</p>
-
-<p>But these divisions, it is evident, are as
-unscientific as they are arbitrary; nor
-would it be possible, by adopting such a
-classification, to arrive at any practical
-result.</p>
-
-<p>Now, I <i>had</i> hoped to have derived some
-little assistance in my attempt to reduce
-the several varieties of work to system from
-the arrangement of the products of industry
-and art at “the Great Exhibition.” I knew,
-however, that the point of classification
-had proved the great stumbling block to the
-French Industrial Exhibitions. In the Exposition
-of the Arts and Manufactures of France
-in 1806, for instance, M. Costaz adopted a
-topographical arrangement, according to
-the departments of the kingdom whence the
-specimens were sent. In 1819, again, finding
-the previous arrangement conveyed
-little or no knowledge, depending, as it
-did, on the mere local association of the
-places of manufacture, the same philosopher
-attempted to classify all arts into
-a sort of natural system, but the separate
-divisions amounted to thirty-nine, and
-were found to be confused and inconvenient.
-In 1827 M. Payon adopted a
-classification into five great divisions, arranging
-the arts according as they are
-chemical, mechanical, physical, economical,
-or “miscellaneous” in their nature. It
-was found, however, in practice, that two,
-or even three, of these characteristics often
-belonged to the same manufacture. In<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span>
-1834 M. Dupin proposed a classification
-that was found to work better than any
-which preceded it. He viewed man as a
-locomotive animal, a clothed animal, a
-domiciled animal, &amp;c., and thus tracing
-him through his various daily wants and
-employments, he arrived at a classification
-in which all arts are placed under nine
-headings, according as they contribute to
-the alimentary, sanitary, vestiary, domiciliary,
-locomotive, sensitive, intellectual,
-preparative, or social tendencies of man.
-In 1844 and 1849 attempts were made
-towards an eclectic combination of two or
-three of the above-mentioned systems, but
-it does not appear that the latter arrangements
-presented any marked advantages.</p>
-
-<p>Now, with all the experience of the
-French nation to guide us, I naturally
-expected that especial attention would be
-directed towards the point of classification
-with us, and that a technological
-system would be propounded, which would
-be found at least an improvement on the
-bungling systems of the French. It must
-be confessed, however, that no nation could
-possibly have stultified itself so egregiously
-as we have done in this respect. Never
-was there anything half so puerile as the
-classification of the works of industry in
-our own Exhibition!</p>
-
-<p>But this comes of the patronage of
-Princes; for we are told that at one of the
-earliest meetings at Buckingham Palace
-his Royal Highness <i>propounded</i> the system
-of classification according to which the
-works of industry <i>were to be</i> arranged.
-The published minutes of the meeting on
-the 30th of June, 1849, inform <span class="lock">us&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“His Royal Highness communicated his
-views regarding the formation of a Great
-Collection of Works of Industry and Art
-in London in 1851, for the purposes of exhibition,
-and of competition and encouragement.
-His Royal Highness considered that
-such a collection and exhibition should
-consist of the following <span class="lock">divisions:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<ul>
-<li>Raw Materials.</li>
-<li>Machinery and Mechanical Inventions.</li>
-<li>Manufactures.</li>
-<li>Sculpture and Plastic Art generally.”</li>
-</ul>
-
-
-<p>Now, were it possible for monarchs to do
-with natural laws as with social ones,
-namely, to blow a trumpet and declaring
-“<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">le roi le veut</i>,” to have their will pass
-into one of the statutes of creation, it might
-be advantageous to science that Princes
-should seek to lay down orders of arrangement
-and propound systems of classification.
-But seeing that Science is as pure a republic
-as Letters, and that there are no “Highnesses”
-in philosophy&mdash;for if there be any
-aristocracy at all in such matters, it is at
-least an aristocracy of intellect&mdash;it is
-rather an injury than a benefit that those
-who are high in authority should interfere
-in these affairs at all; since, from the very
-circumstances of their position it is utterly
-impossible for them to arrive at anything
-more than the merest surface knowledge on
-such subjects. The influence, too, that their
-mere “authority” has over men’s minds
-is directly opposed to the perception of
-truth, preventing that free and independent
-exercise of the intellect from which alone
-all discovery and knowledge can proceed.</p>
-
-<p>Judging the quadruple arrangement of
-the Great Exhibition by the laws of logical
-division, we find that the three classes&mdash;Raw
-Materials, Machinery, and Manufactures&mdash;which
-refer more particularly to the Works
-of Industry, are neither distinct nor do
-they include the whole. What is a raw
-material, and what a manufacture? It is
-from the difficulty of distinguishing between
-these two conditions that leather is placed
-under Manufactures, and steel under Raw
-Materials&mdash;though surely steel is iron <i>plus</i>
-carbon, and leather skin <i>plus</i> tannin; so
-that, technologically considered, there is
-no difference between them. If by the
-term raw material is meant some natural
-product in its crude state, then it is evident
-that “Geological maps, plans, and sections;
-prussiate of potash, and other mixed chemical
-manufactures; sulphuric, muriatic,
-nitric, and other acids; medicinal tinctures,
-cod liver oil, dried fruits, fermented liquors
-and spirits, preserved meats, portable soups,
-glue, and the alloys” cannot possibly rank
-as <i>raw</i> materials, though one and all of
-these articles are to be found so “classified”
-at the Great Exhibition; but if
-the meaning of a “raw material” be extended
-to any product which constitutes
-the substance to be operated upon in an
-industrial art, then the answer is that
-leather, which is the material of shoes
-and harness, is no more a manufacture
-than steel, which is placed among the
-raw materials, because forming the constituent
-substance of cutlery and tools.
-So interlinked are the various arts and
-manufactures, that what is the product
-of one process of industry is the material
-of another&mdash;thus, yarn is the product of
-spinning, and the material of weaving, and
-in the same manner the cloth, which is the
-product of weaving, becomes the material
-of tailoring.</p>
-
-<p>But a still greater blunder than the non-distinction
-between products and materials
-lies in the confounding of <i>processes</i> with
-<i>products</i>. In an Industrial Exhibition to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span>
-reserve no special place for the processes
-of industry is very much like the play of
-Hamlet with the part of Hamlet omitted;
-and yet it is evident that, in the quadruple
-arrangement before mentioned, those most
-important industrial operations which consist
-merely in arriving at the same result
-by simpler means&mdash;as, for instance, the hot
-blast in metallurgical operations&mdash;can find
-no distinct expression. The consequence
-is that methods of work are arranged
-under the same head as the work itself;
-and the “Executive” have been obliged
-to group under the first subdivision of
-<i>Raw Materials</i> the following inconsistent
-jumble:&mdash;Salt deposits; ventilation; safety
-lamps and other methods of lighting; methods
-of lowering and raising miners, and
-draining; methods of roasting, smelting,
-or otherwise reducing ores; while under
-the second subdivision of Raw Materials
-chemical and pharmaceutical <i>processes</i> and
-<i>products</i> are indiscriminately confounded.</p>
-
-<p>Another most important defect is the
-omission of all mention of those industrial
-processes which have <i>no special or distinct
-products of their own</i>, but which are rather
-engaged <i>in adding to the beauty or durability
-of others</i>; as, for instance, the bleaching
-of some textile fabrics, the embroidering
-of others, the dyeing and printing of
-others; the binding of books; the cutting
-of glass; the painting of china, &amp;c. From
-the want of an express division for this
-large portion of our industrial arts, there
-is a jumbling and a bungling throughout
-the whole arrangement. Under the head
-of <i>manufactures</i> are grouped printing and
-bookbinding, the “dyeing of woollen, cotton,
-and linen goods,” “embroidery, fancy,
-and industrial work,” the cutting and engraving
-of glass; and, lastly, the art of
-“decoration generally,” including “ornamental,
-coloured decoration,” and the “imitations
-of woods, marbles, &amp;c.,”&mdash;though
-surely these are one and all <i>additions</i>
-to manufactures rather than <i>manufactures</i>
-themselves. Indeed, a more extraordinary
-and unscientific hotch-potch than the entire
-arrangement has never been submitted
-to public criticism and public ridicule.</p>
-
-<p>Amid all this confusion and perplexity,
-then, how are we to proceed? Why, we
-must direct our attention to some more
-judicious and more experienced guide. In
-such matters, at least, as the Exposition of
-the Science of Labour, it is clear that we
-must “put not our trust in princes.”</p>
-
-<p>That Prince Albert has conferred a great
-boon on the country in the establishment
-of the Great Exhibition (for it is due not
-only to his patronage but to his own personal
-exertions), no unprejudiced mind can
-for a moment doubt; and that he has, ever
-since his first coming among us, filled a
-most delicate office in the State in a highly
-decorous and commendable manner, avoiding
-all political partizanship, and being
-ever ready to give the influence of his
-patronage, and, indeed, co-operation, to
-anything that appeared to promise an amelioration
-of the condition of the working
-classes of this country, I am most glad to
-have it in my power to bear witness; but
-that, <i>because of this</i>, we should pin our faith
-to a “hasty generalization” propounded by
-him, would be to render ourselves at once
-silly and servile.</p>
-
-<p>If, with the view of obtaining some more
-precise information concerning the several
-branches of industry, we turn our attention
-to the Government analysis of the different
-modes of employment among the people,
-we shall find that for all purposes of a
-scientific or definite character the Occupation
-Abstract of the Census of this country
-is comparatively useless. Previous to 1841,
-the sole attempt made at generalization
-was the division of the entire industrial
-community into three orders, viz.:&mdash;</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>I. <i>Those employed in Agriculture.</i></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Agricultural Occupiers.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Employing Labourers.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Not employing Labourers.</p></div>
-
-<p>2. Agricultural Labourers.</p></div>
-
-<p>II. <i>Those employed in Manufactures.</i></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Employed in Manufactures.</p>
-
-<p>2. Employed in making Manufacturing
-Machinery.</p></div>
-
-<p>III. <i>All other Classes.</i></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Employed in Retail Trade or in
-Handicraft, as Masters or Workmen.</p>
-
-<p>2. Capitalists, Bankers, Professional,
-and other educated men.</p>
-
-<p>3. Labourers employed in labour not
-Agricultural&mdash;as Miners, Quarriers,
-Fishermen, Porters, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>4. Male Servants.</p>
-
-<p>5. Other Males, 20 years of age.</p></div></div>
-
-<p>The defects of this arrangement must be
-self-evident to all who have paid the least
-attention to economical science. It offends
-against both the laws of logical division,
-the parts being neither distinct nor equal
-to the whole. In the first place, what is
-a manufacturer? and how is such an one
-to be distinguished from one employed in
-handicraft? How do the workers in metal,
-as the “tin manufacturers,” “lead manufacturers,”
-“iron manufacturers,”&mdash;who
-are one and all classed under the head of
-manufacturers&mdash;differ, in an economical<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span>
-point of view, from the workers in wood, as
-the carpenters and joiners, the cabinet-makers,
-ship-builders, &amp;c., who are all
-classed under the head of handicraftsmen?
-Again, according to the census of 1831, a
-brewer is placed among those employed in
-retail trade or in handicrafts, while a vinegar
-maker is ranked with the manufacturers.
-According to Mr. Babbage, <i>manufacturing</i>
-differs from mere <i>making</i> simply in the
-quantity produced&mdash;he being a manufacturer
-who makes a greater number of the
-same articles; manufacturing is thus simply
-production in a large way, in connection
-with the several handicrafts. Dr. Ure,
-however, appears to consider such articles
-manufactures as are produced by means
-of machinery, citing the word which originally
-signified production by hand (being
-the Latin equivalent for the Saxon <i>handicraft</i>)
-as an instance of those singular verbal
-corruptions by which terms come to
-stand for the very opposite to their literal
-meaning. But with all deference to the
-Doctor, for whose judgment I have the
-highest respect, Mr. Babbage’s definition
-of a manufacturer, viz., as a producer on a
-large scale, appears to me the more correct;
-for it is in this sense that we speak of
-manufacturing chemists, boot and shoe
-manufacturers, ginger-beer manufacturers,
-and the like.</p>
-
-<p>The Occupation Abstract of the Census
-of 1841, though far more comprehensive
-than the one preceding it, is equally unsatisfactory
-and unphilosophical. In
-this document the several members of
-Society are thus <span class="lock">classified:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-
-<ul><li>I. <i>Persons engaged in Commerce, Trade, and Manufacture.</i></li>
-
-<li>II. <i>Agriculture.</i></li>
-
-<li>III. <i>Labour, not Agricultural.</i></li>
-
-<li>IV. <i>Army and Navy Merchant Seamen, Fishermen, and Watermen.</i></li>
-
-<li>V. <i>Professions and other pursuits requiring education.</i></li>
-
-<li>VI. <i>Government, Civil Service, and Municipal and Parochial Officers.</i></li>
-
-<li>VII. <i>Domestic Servants.</i></li>
-
-<li>VIII. <i>Persons of Independent Means.</i></li>
-
-<li>IX. <i>Almspeople, Pensioners, Paupers, Lunatics, and Prisoners.</i></li>
-
-<li>X. <i>Remainder of Population, including Women and Children.</i></li>
-</ul>
-
-<p>Here it will be seen that the defects arising
-from drawing distinctions where no real differences
-exist, are avoided, those engaged in
-handicrafts being included under the same
-head as those engaged in manufacture; but
-the equally grave error of confounding or
-grouping together occupations which are
-essentially diverse, is allowed to continue.
-Accordingly, the first division is made to include
-those who are engaged in trade and
-commerce as well as manufacture, though
-surely&mdash;the one belongs strictly to the distributing,
-and the other to the producing
-class&mdash;occupations which are not only
-essentially distinct, but of which it is
-absolutely necessary for a right understanding
-of the state of the country that
-we know the proportion that the one bears
-to the other. Again, the employers in both
-cases are confounded with the employed, so
-that, though the capitalists who supply the
-materials, and pay the wages for the several
-kinds of work are a distinct body of people
-from those who <i>do</i> the work, and a body, moreover,
-that it is of the highest possible importance,
-in an economical point of view, that
-we should be able to estimate numerically,&mdash;no
-attempt is made to discriminate the one
-from the other. Now these three classes, distributors,
-employers, and operatives, which
-in the Government returns of the people
-are jumbled together in one heterogeneous
-crowd, as if the distinctions between Capital,
-Labour, and Distribution had never been
-propounded, are precisely those concerning
-which the social inquirer desires the most
-minute information.</p>
-
-<p>The Irish census is differently arranged
-from that of Great Britain. There the
-several classes are grouped under the following
-<span class="lock">heads:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>I. <i>Ministering to Food.</i></p>
-<div class="blockquot">
-<p>
-1. As Producers.<br />
-2. As Preparers.<br />
-3. As Distributors.<br />
-</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>II. <i>Ministering to Clothing.</i></p>
-<div class="blockquot">
-<p>
-1. As Manufacturers of Materials.<br />
-2. As Handicraftsmen and Dealers.<br />
-</p>
-</div>
-<p>III. <i>Ministering to Lodging, Furniture,
-Machinery, &amp;c.</i></p>
-
-<p>IV. <i>Ministering to Health.</i></p>
-
-<p>V. <i>Ministering to Charity.</i></p>
-
-<p>VI. <i>Ministering to Justice.</i></p>
-
-<p>VII. <i>Ministering to Education.</i></p>
-
-<p>VIII. <i>Ministering to Religion.</i></p>
-
-<p>IX. <i>Various Arts and Employments,
-not included in the foregoing.</i></p>
-
-<p>X. <i>Residue of Population</i>, not having
-specified occupations, and including
-unemployed persons and
-women.</p></div>
-
-<p>This, however, is no improvement upon
-the English classification. There is the same
-want of discrimination, and the same dis<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>regard
-of the great “economical” divisions
-of society.</p>
-
-<p>Moreover, to show the extreme fallacy of
-such a classification, it is only necessary to
-make the following extract from the Report
-of the Commissioners for Great <span class="lock">Britain:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“We would willingly have given a classification
-of the occupations of the inhabitants
-of Great Britain into the various wants
-to which they respectively minister, but, in
-attempting this, we were stopped by the
-various anomalies and uncertainties to
-which such a classification seemed necessarily
-to lead, from the fact that many persons
-supply more than one want, though
-they can only be classed under one head.
-Thus to give but a single instance&mdash;<i>the
-farmer and grazier may be deemed to minister
-quite as much to clothing by the fleece and
-hides as he does to food by the flesh of his
-sheep and cattle</i>.”</p>
-
-<p>He, therefore, who would seek to elaborate
-the natural history of the industry of
-the people of England, must direct his attention
-to some social philosopher, who
-has given the subject more consideration
-than either princes or Government
-officials can possibly be expected to devote
-to it. Among the whole body of economists,
-Mr. Stuart Mill appears to be the only man
-who has taken a comprehensive and enlightened
-view of the several functions of
-society. Following in the footsteps of M.
-Say, the French social philosopher, he first
-points out concerning the products of industry,
-that labour is not creative of objects
-but of utilities, and then proceeds to <span class="lock">say:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“Now the utilities produced by labour
-are of three kinds; they <span class="lock">are&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“First, utilities <i>fixed and embodied in
-outward objects</i>; by labour employed in investing
-external <i>material</i> things with properties
-which render them serviceable to
-human beings. This is the common case,
-and requires no illustration.</p>
-
-<p>“Secondly, utilities <i>fixed and embodied in
-human beings</i>; the labour being in this
-case employed in conferring on human
-beings qualities which render them serviceable
-to themselves and others. To this
-class belongs the labour of all concerned in
-education; not only schoolmasters, tutors,
-and professors, but governments, so far as
-they aim successfully at the improvement
-of the people; moralists and clergymen,
-as far as productive of benefit; the labour
-of physicians, as far as instrumental in preserving
-life and physical or mental efficiency;
-of the teachers of bodily exercises,
-and of the various trades, sciences, and arts,
-together with the labour of the learners in
-acquiring them, and all labour bestowed by
-any persons, throughout life, in improving
-the knowledge or cultivating the bodily
-and mental faculties of themselves or
-others.</p>
-
-<p>“Thirdly, and lastly, utilities <i>not fixed or
-embodied in any object</i>, but consisting in a
-mere <i>service rendered</i>, a pleasure given, an
-inconvenience or pain averted, during a
-longer or a shorter time, but without leaving
-a <i>permanent</i> acquisition in the improved
-qualities of any person or thing;
-the labour here being employed in producing
-an utility <i>directly</i>, not (as in the two
-former cases) in <i>fitting some other</i> thing to
-afford an utility. Such, for example, is the
-labour of the musical performer, the actor,
-the public declaimer or reciter, and the
-showman.</p>
-
-<p>“Some good may, no doubt, be produced
-beyond the moment, upon the feeling and
-disposition, or general state of enjoyment
-of the spectators; or instead of good there
-may be harm, but neither the one nor the
-other is the effect intended, is the result
-for which the exhibitor works and the spectator
-pays, but the immediate pleasure.
-Such, again, is the labour of the army and
-navy; they, at the best, prevent a country
-from being conquered, or from being injured
-or insulted, which is a service, but in
-all other respects leave the country neither
-improved nor deteriorated. Such, too, is
-the labour of the legislator, the judge, the
-officer of justice, and all other agents of
-Government, in their ordinary functions,
-apart from any influence they may exert
-on the improvement of the national mind.
-The service which they render is to maintain
-peace and security; these compose the
-utility which they produce. It may appear
-to some that carriers, and merchants or
-dealers, should be placed in this same class,
-since their labour does not add any properties
-to objects, but I reply that it does, it
-adds the property of being in the place
-where they are wanted, instead of being in
-some other place, which is a very useful
-property, and the utility it confers is embodied
-in the things themselves, which
-now actually are in the place where they
-are required for use, and in consequence of
-that increased utility could be sold at an
-increased price proportioned to the labour
-expended in conferring it. This labour,
-therefore, does not belong to the third class,
-but to the first.”</p>
-
-<p>To the latter part of the above classification,
-I regret to say I cannot assent. Surely
-the property of being in the place where
-they are wanted, which carriers and distributors
-are said to confer on external
-objects, cannot be said to be fixed&mdash;if, in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span>deed,
-it be strictly <i>embodied</i> in the objects,
-since the very act of distribution consists
-in the alteration of this local relation, and
-transferring such objects to the possession of
-another. Is not the utility which the
-weaver fixes and embodies in a yard of cotton,
-a very different utility from that
-effected by the linendraper in handing
-the same yard of cotton over the counter
-in exchange for so much money? and in
-this particular act, it would be difficult to
-perceive what is fixed and embodied, seeing
-that it consists essentially in an exchange
-of commodities.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Mill’s mistake appears to consist in
-not discerning that there is another class of
-labour besides that employed in producing
-utilities <i>directly</i>, and that occupied in <i>fitting
-other things</i> to afford utilities: viz.,
-that which is engaged in <i>assisting</i> those who
-are so occupied in fitting things to be useful.
-This class consists of such as are engaged
-in aiding the producers of permanent material
-utilities either <i>before</i> or during production,
-and such as are engaged in aiding
-them <i>after</i> production. Under the first
-division are comprised capitalists, or those
-who supply the materials and tools for the
-work, superintendents and managers, or
-those who direct the work, and labourers,
-or those who perform some minor office
-connected with the work, as in turning the
-large wheel for a turner, in carrying the
-bricks to a bricklayer, and the like; while
-in the second division, or those who are engaged
-in assisting producers <i>after</i> production,
-are included carriers, or those who
-remove the produce to the market, and
-dealers and shopmen, or those who obtain
-purchasers for it. Now it is evident that
-the function of all these classes is merely
-<i>auxiliary</i> to the labour of the producers,
-consisting principally of so many modes
-of economizing their time and labour.
-Whether the gains of some of these
-auxiliary classes are as disproportionately
-large, as the others are disproportionately
-small, this is not the place to inquire. My
-present duty is merely to record the fact
-of the existence of such classes, and to
-assign them their proper place in the social
-fabric, as at present constituted.</p>
-
-<p>Now, from the above it will appear, that
-there are four distinct classes of <span class="lock">workers:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>I. <span class="smcap">Enrichers</span>, or those who are employed
-in producing utilities fixed and embodied
-in material things, that is to
-say, in producing exchangeable commodities
-or riches.</p>
-
-<p>II. <span class="smcap">Auxiliaries</span>, or those who are employed
-in aiding the production of
-exchangeable commodities.</p>
-
-<p>III. <span class="smcap">Benefactors</span>, or those who are employed
-in producing utilities fixed
-and embodied in human beings, that
-is to say, in conferring upon them
-some permanent good.</p>
-
-<p>IV. <span class="smcap">Servitors</span>, or those who are employed
-in rendering some service, that is to
-say, in conferring some temporary
-good upon another.</p></div>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>Class 1 is engaged in investing <i>material</i>
-objects with qualities which render
-them serviceable to others.</p>
-
-<p>Class 2 is engaged in aiding the operations
-of Class 1.</p>
-
-<p>Class 3 is engaged in conferring on
-<i>human beings</i> qualities which render
-them serviceable to themselves or
-others.</p>
-
-<p>Class 4 is engaged in giving a pleasure,
-averting a pain (during a longer or
-shorter period), or preventing an inconvenience,
-by performing some
-office for others that they would
-find irksome to do for themselves.</p></div>
-
-<p>Hence it appears that the operations of
-the first and third of the above classes, or
-the Enrichers and Benefactors of Society,
-tend to leave some <i>permanent acquisition</i> in
-the improved qualities of either persons or
-things,&mdash;whereas the operations of the
-second and fourth classes, or the Auxiliaries
-and Servitors, are limited merely to
-promoting either the labours or the pleasures
-of the other members of the community.</p>
-
-<p>Such, then, are the several classes of
-Workers; and here it should be stated that,
-I apply the title Worker to all those who
-do <i>anything</i> for their living, who perform
-any act whatsoever that is considered
-worthy of being paid for by others, without
-regard to the question whether such labourers
-tend to add to or decrease the
-aggregate wealth of the community. I
-consider all persons doing or giving something
-for the comforts they obtain, as self-supporting
-individuals. Whether that
-something be really an equivalent for the
-emoluments they receive, it is not my vocation
-here to inquire. Suffice it some real
-or imaginary benefit is conferred upon
-society, or a particular individual, and
-what is thought a fair and proper reward
-is given in return for it. Hence I look
-upon soldiers, sailors, Government and
-parochial officers, capitalists, clergymen,
-lawyers, wives, &amp;c., &amp;c., as self-supporting&mdash;a
-certain amount of labour, or a certain
-desirable commodity, being given by each
-and all in exchange for other commodities,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span>
-which are considered less desirable to the
-individuals parting with them, and more
-desirable to those receiving them.</p>
-
-<p>Nevertheless, it must be confessed that,
-economically speaking, the most important
-and directly valuable of all classes are those
-whom I have here denominated Enrichers.
-These consist not only of Producers, but of
-the Collectors and Extractors of Wealth, concerning
-whom a few words are necessary.</p>
-
-<p>There are three modes of obtaining the
-materials of our wealth&mdash;(1) by collecting,
-(2) by extracting, and (3) by producing
-them. The industrial processes concerned
-in the collection of the materials of wealth
-are of the rudest and most primitive kind&mdash;being
-pursued principally by such tribes as
-depend for their food, and raiment, and
-shelter, on the spontaneous productions of
-nature. The usual modes by which the collection
-is made is by gathering the vegetable
-produce (which is the simplest and
-most direct form of all industry), and when
-the produce is of an animal nature, by
-hunting, shooting, or fishing, according as
-the animal sought after inhabits the land,
-the air, or the water. In a more advanced
-state of society, where the erection of places
-of shelter has come to constitute one of the
-acts of life, the felling of trees will also
-form one of the modes by which the materials
-making up the wealth of the nation
-are collected. In Great Britain there appears
-to be fewer people connected with
-the mere <i>collection</i> of wealth than with
-any other general industrial process. The
-fishermen are not above 25,000, and the
-wood-cutters and woodmen not 5000; so
-that even with gamekeepers, and others
-engaged in the taking of game, we may
-safely say that there are about 30,000 out
-of 18,000,000, or only one-six hundredth
-of the entire population, engaged in this
-mode of industry&mdash;a fact which strongly
-indicates the artificial character of our
-society.</p>
-
-<p>The <i>production</i> of the materials of
-wealth, which indicates a far higher state
-of civilization and which consists in the
-several agricultural and farming processes
-for increasing the natural stock of animal
-and vegetable food, employs upwards of
-one million; while those who are engaged
-in the <i>extraction</i> of our treasures from the
-earth, either by mining or quarrying, both
-of which processes&mdash;depending, as they do,
-upon a knowledge of some of the subtler
-natural powers&mdash;could only have been
-brought into operation in a highly advanced
-stage of the human intellect, number
-about a quarter of a million. Altogether,
-there appear to be about one million
-and a half of individuals engaged in
-the industrial processes connected with the
-collection, extraction, and production of
-the materials of wealth; those who are
-employed in operating upon these materials,
-in the fashioning of them into manufactures,
-making them up into commodities,
-as well as those engaged in the distribution
-of them&mdash;that is to say, the transport
-and sale of them when so fashioned or
-made up&mdash;appear to amount to another
-two millions and a half, so that the industrial
-classes of Great Britain, taken altogether,
-may be said to amount to four
-millions. For the more perfect comprehension,
-however, of the several classes of
-society, let me subjoin a table in round
-numbers, calculated from the census of
-1841, and including among the first items
-both the employers as well as <span class="lock">employed:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Engaged in Trade and Manufacture</td><td>3,000,000</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Agriculture</td><td>1,500,000</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Mining, Quarrying, and Transit</td><td>750,000</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total Employers and Employed</td><td class="total"></td><td>5,250,000</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Domestic Servants</td><td></td><td>1,000,000</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Independent persons</td><td></td><td>500,000</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Educated pursuits (including Professions and Fine Arts)</td><td></td><td>200,000</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Government Officers (including Army, Navy, Civil Service, and Parish Officers)</td><td></td><td>200,000</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Alms-people (including Paupers, Prisoners, and Lunatics)</td><td></td><td>200,000</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td></td><td class="right total">7,350,000</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Residue of Population (including 3,500,000 wives and 7,500,000 children)</td><td></td><td>11,000,000</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td></td><td class="right total">18,350,000</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>Now, of the 5,250,000 individuals engaged
-in Agriculture, Mining, Transit,
-Manufacture and Trade, it would appear
-that about one million and a quarter may
-be considered as employers; and, consequently,
-that the remaining four millions
-may be said to represent the numerical
-strength of the operatives of England and
-Scotland. Of these about one million,
-or a quarter of the whole, may be said to
-be engaged in producing the materials of
-wealth; and about a quarter of a million,
-or one-sixteenth of the entire number, in
-extracting from the soil the substances upon
-which many of the manufacturers have to
-operate.</p>
-
-<p>The artizans, or those who are engaged
-in the several handicrafts or manufactures
-operating upon the various materials
-of wealth thus obtained, are distinct
-from the workmen above-mentioned, belonging
-to what are called skilled labourers,
-whereas those who are employed in the
-collection, extraction, or growing of wealth,
-belong to the unskilled class.</p>
-
-<p>An artisan is an <i>educated</i> handicrafts<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>man,
-following a calling that requires an
-apprenticeship of greater or less duration
-in order to arrive at perfection in it; whereas
-a labourer’s occupation needs no education
-whatever. Many years must be spent
-in practising before a man can acquire sufficient
-manual dexterity to make a pair of
-boots or a coat; dock labour or porter’s
-work, however, needs neither teaching nor
-learning, for any man can carry a load or
-turn a wheel. The artisan, therefore, is
-literally a handicraftsman&mdash;one who by
-practice has acquired manual dexterity
-enough to perform a particular class of
-work, which is consequently called “skilled.”
-The natural classification of artisans, or
-skilled labourers, appears to be according
-to the materials upon which they work, for
-this circumstance seems to constitute the
-peculiar quality of the art more than the
-tool used&mdash;indeed, it appears to be the
-principal cause of the modification of the
-implements in different handicrafts. The
-tools used to fashion, as well as the instruments
-and substances used to join the
-several materials operated upon in the
-manufactures and handicrafts, differ according
-as those materials are of different
-kinds. We do not, for instance, attempt to
-saw cloth into shape nor to cut bricks with
-shears; neither do we solder the soles to
-the upper leathers of our boots, nor nail
-together the seams of our shirts. And
-even in those crafts where the means of
-uniting the materials are similar, the artisan
-working upon one kind of substance is
-generally incapable of operating upon another.
-The tailor who stitches woollen materials
-together would make but a poor
-hand at sewing leather. The two substances
-are joined by the same means, but
-in a different manner, and with different
-instruments. So the turner, who has been
-accustomed to turn wood, is unable to
-fashion metals by the same method.</p>
-
-<p>The most natural mode of grouping
-the artisans into classes would appear to
-be according as they pursue some <i>mechanical</i>
-or <i>chemical</i> occupation. The former
-are literally mechanics or handicraftsmen&mdash;the
-latter chemical manufacturers. The
-handicraftsmen consist of (1) The workers
-in silk, wool, cotton, flax, and hemp&mdash;as
-weavers, spinners, knitters, carpet-makers,
-lace-makers, rope-makers, canvas-weavers,
-&amp;c. (2) The workers in skin, gut, and feathers&mdash;as
-tanners, curriers, furriers, feather
-dressers, &amp;c. (3) The makers up of silken,
-woollen, cotton, linen, hempen, and leathern
-materials&mdash;as tailors, milliners, shirt-makers,
-sail-makers, hatters, glove-makers,
-saddlers, and the like. (4) The workers in
-wood, as the carpenters, the cabinet-makers,
-&amp;c. (5) The workers in cane, osier, reed,
-rush, and straw&mdash;as basket-makers, straw-plait
-manufacturers, thatchers, and the
-like. (6) The workers in brick and stones&mdash;as
-bricklayers, masons, &amp;c. (7) The
-workers in glass and earthenware&mdash;as potters,
-glass-blowers, glass-cutters, bottle-makers,
-glaziers, &amp;c. (8) The workers in
-metals&mdash;as braziers, tinmen, plumbers, goldsmiths,
-pewterers, coppersmiths, iron-founders,
-blacksmiths, whitesmiths, anchor-smiths,
-locksmiths, &amp;c. (9) The workers
-in paper&mdash;as the paper-makers, cardboard-makers.
-(10) The chemical manufacturers&mdash;as
-powder-makers, white-lead-makers,
-alkali and acid manufacturers, lucifer-match-makers,
-blacking-makers, ink-makers,
-soap-boilers, tallow-chandlers, &amp;c.
-(11) The workers at the superlative or extrinsic
-arts&mdash;that is to say, those which
-have no manufactures of their own, but
-which are engaged in adding to the utility
-or beauty of others&mdash;as printing, bookbinding,
-painting, and decorating, gilding, burnishing,
-&amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>The circumstances which govern the
-classification of <i>trades</i> are totally different
-from those regulating the division of work.
-In trade the convenience of the purchaser
-is mainly studied, the sale of such articles
-being associated as are usually required together.
-Hence the master coachmaker is frequently
-a harness manufacturer as well, for
-the purchaser of the one commodity generally
-stands in need of the other. The
-painter and house-decorator not only follows
-the trade of the glazier, but of the plumber,
-too; because these arts are one and all
-connected with the “doing up” of houses.
-For the same reason the builder combines
-the business of the plasterer with that of
-the bricklayer, and not unfrequently that
-of the carpenter and joiner in addition.
-In all of these businesses, however, a distinct
-set of workmen are required, according
-as the materials operated upon are
-different.</p>
-
-<p>We are now in a position to proceed with
-the arrangement of the several members of
-society into different classes, according to the
-principles of classification which have been
-here laid down. The difficulties of the
-task, however, should be continually borne
-in mind; for where so many have failed
-it cannot be expected that perfection can
-be arrived at by any one individual; and,
-slight as the labour of such a task may at
-the first glance appear to some, still the
-system here propounded has been the work
-and study of many months.</p>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CLASSIFICATION<br />
-
-<span class="small">OF</span><br />
-
-<span class="x-large">THE WORKERS AND NON-WORKERS</span><br />
-
-<span class="smaller">OF GREAT BRITAIN.</span></h2>
-</div>
-
-<div class="classification">
-
-<p>THOSE WHO WILL WORK.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>I. <span class="smcap">Enrichers</span>, as the Collectors, Extractors, or Producers of Exchangeable Commodities.</p>
-
-<p>II. <span class="smcap">Auxiliaries</span>, as the Promoters of Production, or the Distributors of the
-Produce.</p>
-
-<p>III. <span class="smcap">Benefactors</span>, or those who confer some permanent benefit, as Educators and
-Curators engaged in promoting the physical, intellectual, or spiritual well-being
-of the people.</p>
-
-<p>IV. <span class="smcap">Servitors</span>, or those who render some temporary service, or pleasure, as Amusers,
-Protectors, and Servants.</p></div>
-
-
-<p>THOSE WHO CANNOT WORK.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>V. <span class="smcap">Those who are provided for by some public Institution</span>, as the Inmates
-of workhouses, prisons, hospitals, asylums, almshouses, dormitories, and
-refuges.</p>
-
-<p>VI. <span class="smcap">Those who are unprovided for</span>, and incapacitated for labour, either from
-want of power, from want of means, or from want of employment.</p></div>
-
-
-<p>THOSE WHO WILL NOT WORK.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>VII. <span class="smcap">Vagrants.</span></p>
-
-<p>VIII. <span class="smcap">Professional Beggars.</span></p>
-
-<p>IX. <span class="smcap">Cheats.</span></p>
-
-<p>X. <span class="smcap">Thieves.</span></p>
-
-<p>XI. <span class="smcap">Prostitutes.</span></p></div>
-
-
-<p>THOSE WHO NEED NOT WORK.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>XII. <span class="smcap">Those who derive their income from rent.</span></p>
-
-<p>XIII. <span class="smcap">Those who derive their income from dividends.</span></p>
-
-<p>XIV. <span class="smcap">Those who derive their income from yearly stipends.</span></p>
-
-<p>XV. <span class="smcap">Those who derive their income from obsolete or nominal offices.</span></p>
-
-<p>XVI. <span class="smcap">Those who derive their income from trades in which they do not
-appear.</span></p>
-
-<p>XVII. <span class="smcap">Those who derive their income by favour from others.</span></p>
-
-<p>XVIII. <span class="smcap">Those who derive their support from the head of the family.</span></p></div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<p class="p2">THOSE WHO WILL WORK.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>I. <i>Enrichers</i>, or those engaged in the collection, extraction, or production of exchangeable
-commodities.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>A. <span class="smcap">Collectors.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Fishermen.</p>
-
-<p>2. Woodmen.</p>
-
-<p>3. Sand and Clay-collectors.</p>
-
-<p>4. Copperas, Cement-stones, and other finders.</p></div>
-
-<p>B. <span class="smcap">Extractors.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Miners.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Coal.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Salt.</p>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> Iron, Lead, Tin, Copper, Zinc, Manganese.</p></div>
-
-<p>2. Quarryers.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Slate.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Stone.</p></div></div>
-
-<p>C. <span class="smcap">Growers.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Farmers.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Capitalist Farmers.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>i. Yeomen, or Proprietary Farmers.</p>
-
-<p>ii. Tenant Farmers.</p></div>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Peasant Farmers.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>i. Peasant Proprietors; as the Cumberland “Statesmen.”</p>
-
-<p>ii. “Metayers,” or labourers paying the landlord a certain portion of
-the produce as rent for the use of the land.</p>
-
-<p>iii. “Cottiers,” or labouring Tenant Farmers.</p></div></div>
-
-<p>2. Graziers.</p>
-
-<p>3. Gardeners, Nurserymen, Florists.</p></div>
-
-<p>D. <span class="smcap">Makers or Artificers.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Mechanics.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Workers in Silk, Wool, Worsted, Hair, Cotton, Flax, Hemp, Coir.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Workers in Skin, Gut, and Feathers.</p>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> Workers in Woollen, Silken, Cotton, Linen, and Leathern Materials.</p>
-
-<p><i>d.</i> Workers in Wood, Ivory, Bone, Horn, and Shell.</p>
-
-<p><i>e.</i> Workers in Osier, Cane, Reed, Rush, and Straw.</p>
-
-<p><i>f.</i> Workers in Stone and Brick.</p>
-
-<p><i>g.</i> Workers in Glass and Earthenware.</p>
-
-<p><i>h.</i> Workers in Metal.</p>
-
-<p><i>i.</i> Workers in Paper.</p></div>
-
-<p>2. Chemical Manufacturers.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Acid, Alkali, Alum, Copperas, Prussian-Blue, and other Manufacturers.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Gunpowder Manufacturers, Percussion-Cap, Cartridge, and Firework
-Makers.</p>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> Brimstone and Lucifer-match Manufacturers.</p>
-
-<p><i>d.</i> White-lead, Colour, Black-lead, Whiting, and Blue Manufacturers.</p>
-
-<p><i>e.</i> Oil and Turpentine Distillers, and Varnish Manufacturers.</p>
-
-<p><i>f.</i> Ink Manufacturers, Sealing-wax and Wafer Makers.</p>
-
-<p><i>g.</i> Blacking Manufacturers.</p>
-
-<p><i>h.</i> Soap Boilers and Grease Makers.</p>
-
-<p><i>i.</i> Starch Manufacturers.</p>
-
-<p><i>j.</i> Tallow and Wax Chandlers.</p>
-
-<p><i>k.</i> Artificial Manure Manufacturers.</p>
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>
-<p><i>l.</i> Artificial Stone and Cement Manufacturers.</p>
-
-<p><i>m.</i> Asphalte and Tar Manufacturers.</p>
-
-<p><i>n.</i> Glue and Size Makers.</p>
-
-<p><i>o.</i> Polishing Paste, and Glass and Emery Paper Makers.</p>
-
-<p><i>p.</i> Lime, Coke, and Charcoal Burners.</p>
-
-<p><i>q.</i> Manufacturing Chemists and Drug Manufacturers.</p>
-
-<p><i>r.</i> Workers connected with Provisions, Luxuries, and Medicines.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>i. Bakers, and Biscuit Makers.</p>
-
-<p>ii. Brewers.</p>
-
-<p>iii. Soda-water and Ginger-beer Manufacturers.</p>
-
-<p>iv. Distillers and Rectifiers.</p>
-
-<p>v. British Wine Manufacturers.</p>
-
-<p>vi. Vinegar Manufacturers.</p>
-
-<p>vii. Fish and Provision Curers.</p>
-
-<p>viii. Preserved Meats and Preserved Fruit Preparers.</p>
-
-<p>ix. Sauce and Pickle Manufacturers.</p>
-
-<p>x. Mustard Makers.</p>
-
-<p>xi. Isinglass Manufacturers.</p>
-
-<p>xii. Sugar Bakers, Boilers, and Refiners.</p>
-
-<p>xiii. Confectioners and Pastry-cooks.</p>
-
-<p>xiv. Rice and Farinaceous Food Manufacturers.</p>
-
-<p>xv. Chocolate, Cocoa, and other Manufacturers of Substitutes for Tea.</p>
-
-<p>xvi. Cigar, Tobacco, and Snuff Manufacturers.</p>
-
-<p>xvii. Quack, and other Medicine Manufacturers, as Pills, Powders,
-Syrups, Cordials, Embrocations, Ointments, Plaisters, &amp;c.</p></div></div>
-
-<p>3. Workers connected with the Superlative Arts, that is to say, with those arts
-which have no products of their own, and are engaged either in adding to
-the beauty or usefulness of the products of other arts, or in inventing or
-designing the work appertaining to them.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Printers.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Bookbinders.</p>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> Painters, Decorators, and Gilders.</p>
-
-<p><i>d.</i> Writers and Stencillers.</p>
-
-<p><i>e.</i> Dyers, Bleachers, Scourers, Calenderers, and Fullers.</p>
-
-<p><i>f.</i> Print Colourers.</p>
-
-<p><i>g.</i> Designers of Patterns.</p>
-
-<p><i>h.</i> Embroiderers (of Muslin, Silk, &amp;c.), and Fancy Workers.</p>
-
-<p><i>i.</i> Desiccators, Anti-dry-rot Preservers, Waterproofers.</p>
-
-<p><i>j.</i> Burnishers, Polishers, Grinders, Japanners, and French Polishers.</p>
-
-<p><i>k.</i> Engravers, Chasers, Die-Sinkers, Embossers, Engine-Turners, and Glass-Cutters.</p>
-
-<p><i>l.</i> Artists, Sculptors, and Carvers of Wood, Coral, Jet, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p><i>m.</i> Modellers and Moulders.</p>
-
-<p><i>n.</i> Architects, Surveyors, and Civil Engineers.</p>
-
-<p><i>o.</i> Composers.</p>
-
-<p><i>p.</i> Authors, Editors, and Reporters.</p>
-
-<p>⁂ Operatives are divisible, <i>according to the mode in which they are paid</i>,
-<span class="lock">into&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Day-workers.</p>
-
-<p>2. Piece-workers.</p>
-
-<p>3. “Lump” or Contract-workers; as at the docks.</p>
-
-<p>4. Perquisite-workers; as waiters, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>5. “Kind” or Truck-workers; as the farm servants in the North of
-England, Domestic Servants and Milliners, Ballast-heavers, and
-men paid at “Tommy-shops.”</p>
-
-<p>6. Tenant-workers; or those who lodge with or reside in houses
-belonging to their employers. The Slop-working Tailors generally
-lodge with the “Sweaters,” and the “Hinds” of Northumberland,
-Cumberland, and Westmoreland have houses found
-them by their employers. These “Hinds” have to keep a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span>
-“Bondager,” that is, a female in the house ready to answer the
-master’s call, and to work at stipulated wages.</p>
-
-<p>7. Improvement-workers; or those who are considered to be remunerated
-for their work by the instruction they receive in doing it;
-as “improvers” and apprentices.</p>
-
-<p>8. Tribute-workers, as the Cornish Miners, Whalers, and Weavers in
-some parts of Ireland, where a certain proportion of the proceeds
-of the work done belongs to the workmen.</p></div>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>The wages of “society-men” among operatives are settled by
-<i>custom</i>, the wages of “non-society-men” are settled by <i>competition</i>.</p></div>
-
-
-<p>Operatives are also divisible, <i>according to the places at which they work</i>,
-<span class="lock">into&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Domestic workers, or those who work at home.</p>
-
-<p>2. Shop or Factory workers, or those who work on the employer’s premises.</p>
-
-<p>3. Out-door workers, or those who work in the open air; as bricklayers,
-agricultural labourers, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>4. Jobbing-workers, or those who go out to work at private houses.</p>
-
-<p>5. Rent-men, or those who pay rent for</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> A “seat” at some domestic worker’s rooms.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> “Power,” as turners, and others, when requiring the use of a
-steam-engine. Some operatives have to pay rent for tools
-or “frames,” as the sawyers and “stockingers,” and some for
-gas when working on their employer’s premises.</p></div></div>
-
-<p>Operatives are further divisible, <i>according to those whom they employ to
-assist them</i>, <span class="lock">into&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Family workers, or those who avail themselves of the assistance
-of their wives and children, as the Spitalfields Weavers.</p>
-
-<p>2. “Sweaters” and Piece-master workers, or those who employ other
-members of their trade at less wages than they themselves
-receive.</p>
-
-<p>3. “Garret-master” workers, or those who avail themselves of the
-labour (chiefly) of apprentices.</p></div>
-
-<p>Operatives are moreover divisible, <i>according to those by whom they are employed</i>,
-<span class="lock">into&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. “Flints” and “Dungs;” “Whites” and “Blacks,” according as
-they work for employers who pay or do not pay “society prices.”</p>
-
-<p>2. Jobbing piece-workers, or those who work single-handed for the
-public (without the intervention of an “employer”) and are
-paid by the <i>piece</i>. These mostly do the work at their own homes,
-as cobblers, repairers, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>3. Jobbing day-workers, or those who work single-handed for the
-public (without the intervention of an “employer”) and are paid
-by the <i>day</i>. These mostly go out to work at persons’ houses and
-frequently have their food found them. Among the tailors and
-carpenters this practice is called “whipping the cat.”</p>
-
-<p>4. “Co-operative men,” or those who work in “association” for their
-own profit, obtaining their work directly from the public, without
-the intervention of an “employer.”</p></div>
-
-<p>Lastly, Operatives admit of being arranged into two distinct classes, viz.,
-the superior, or higher-priced, and the inferior, or lower-priced.</p>
-
-<p>The superior, or higher-priced, operatives consist <span class="lock">of&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-1. The skilful.<br />
-2. The trustworthy.<br />
-3. The well-conditioned.<br />
-</div>
-
-<p>The inferior, or lower-priced operatives, on the other hand, are composed <span class="lock">of&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. The unskilful; as the old or superannuated, the young (including
-apprentices and “improvers”), the slow, and the awkward.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>2. The untrustworthy; as the drunken, the idle, and the dishonest.
-Some of the cheap workers, whose wages are minimized almost to
-starvation point, so that honesty becomes morally impossible,
-have to deposit a certain sum of money, or to procure two
-householders to act as security for the faithful return of the work
-given out to them.</p>
-
-<p>3. The inexpensive, consisting <span class="lock">of&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Those who can live upon less; as single men, foreigners, Irishmen,
-women, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Those who derive their subsistence from other sources; as
-Wives, Children, Paupers, Prisoners, Inmates of Asylums,
-Prostitutes, and Amateurs (or those who work at a business
-merely for pocket-money).</p>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> Those who are in receipt of some pecuniary or other aid; as
-Pensioners, Allottees of land, and such as have out-door relief
-from the workhouse.</p></div>
-</div></div></div></div>
-
-<p>II. <i>Auxiliaries</i>, or those engaged in promoting the enrichment and distributing the
-riches of the community.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>A. <span class="smcap">Promoters of Production.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Employers, or those who find the materials, implements, and appurtenances
-for the work, and pay the wages of the workmen.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Administrative Employers, or those who supply wholesale or retail
-dealers. These are subdivisible <span class="lock">into&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>i. Standard Employers, or those who work at the regular standard
-prices of the trade.</p>
-
-<p>ii. “Cutting” Employers, or those who work at less than the regular
-prices of the trade; as Contractors, &amp;c.</p></div>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Executive Employers, or those who work directly for the public without
-the intervention of a wholesale or retail dealer; as Builders, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> Distributive Employers, or those who are both producers and retail
-traders.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>i. Those who retail what they produce; as Tailors, Shoemakers,
-Bakers, Eating-house Keepers, Street Mechanics, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>ii. Those who retail other things (generally provisions), and compel
-or expect the men in their employ to deal with them for
-those articles, as the Truck-Masters and others.</p>
-
-<p>iii. Those who retail the appurtenances of the trade to which they
-belong, and compel or expect the men in their employ to purchase
-such appurtenances of them; as trimmings in the tailors’
-trade, thread among the seamstresses, and the like.</p></div>
-
-<p><i>d.</i> Middlemen Employers, or those who act between the employer and the
-employed, obtaining work from employers, and employing others to
-do it; as Sub-contractors, Sweaters, &amp;c. These consist <span class="lock">of&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>i. Trade-working Employers, or those who make up goods for other
-employers in the trade.</p>
-
-<p>ii. Garret-masters, or those who make up goods for the trade on the
-smallest amount of capital, and generally on speculation.</p>
-
-<p>iii. Trading Operative Employers, or those who obtain work in considerable
-quantities, and employ others at reduced wages to assist
-them in it; as “Sweaters,” “Seconders,” &amp;c. These are <span class="lock">either&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>α. Piece Masters; as those who take out a certain piece of work
-and employ others to help them at reduced wages.</p>
-
-<p>β. “Lumper” Employers, or those who contract to do the work
-by the lump, which is usually paid for by the piece, and
-employ others at reduced wages in order to complete it.</p></div></div>
-
-<p>⁂ Employers are known among operatives as “honourable” or “dishonourable,”
-according as the wages they pay are those, or less than
-those, of the Trade Society.</p></div>
-
-<p>2. Superintendents, or those who look after the workmen on behalf of employers.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Managers.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Clerks of the Works.</p>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> Foremen.</p>
-
-<p><i>d.</i> Overlookers.</p>
-
-<p><i>e.</i> Tellers and Meters, or those who take note of the number and quantity
-of the articles delivered.</p>
-
-<p><i>f.</i> Provers, or those whose duty it is to examine the quality or weight of
-the articles delivered.</p>
-
-<p><i>g.</i> Timekeepers, or those who note the time of the operatives coming to
-and quitting labour.</p>
-
-<p><i>h.</i> Gatekeepers, or those who see that no goods are taken out.</p>
-
-<p><i>i.</i> Clerks, or those who keep accounts of all sales and purchases, incomings,
-and outgoings of the business.</p>
-
-<p><i>j.</i> Pay Clerks, or those who pay the workmen their wages.</p></div>
-
-<p>3. Labourers.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Acting as motive powers.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>i. Turning wheels, working pumps, blowing bellows.</p>
-
-<p>ii. Wheeling, dragging, pulling, or hoisting loads.</p>
-
-<p>iii. Shifting (scenes), or turning (corn).</p>
-
-<p>iv. Carrying (bricks, as hodmen).</p>
-
-<p>v. Driving (piles), ramming down (stones, as paviours).</p>
-
-<p>vi. Pressing (as fruit, for juice; seeds, for oil).</p></div>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Uniting or putting one thing to another.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>i. Feeding (furnace), laying-on (as for printing machines).</p>
-
-<p>ii. Filling (as “fillers-in” of sieves at dust-yards).</p>
-
-<p>iii. Oiling (engines), greasing (railway wheels), pitching or tarring
-(vessels), pasting paper (for bags).</p>
-
-<p>iv. Mixing (mortar), kneading (clay).</p>
-
-<p>v. Tying up (plants and bunches of vegetables).</p>
-
-<p>vi. Folding (printed sheets).</p>
-
-<p>vii. Corking (bottles), or caulking (ships).</p></div>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> Separating one thing from another.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>i. Sifting (cinders), screening (coals).</p>
-
-<p>ii. Picking (fruit, hops, &amp;c.), shelling (peas), peeling, barking, and
-threshing.</p>
-
-<p>iii. Winnowing.</p>
-
-<p>iv. Weeding and stoning.</p>
-
-<p>v. Reaping and mowing.</p>
-
-<p>vi. Felling, lopping, hewing, chopping (as fire-wood), cutting (as
-chaff), shearing (sheep).</p>
-
-<p>vii. Sawing.</p>
-
-<p>viii. Blasting.</p>
-
-<p>ix. Breaking (stones), crushing (bones and ores), pounding (drugs).</p>
-
-<p>x. Scouring (as sand from castings), scraping (ships).</p></div>
-
-<p><i>d.</i> Excavating, sinking, and embanking.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>i. Tunnelling.</p>
-
-<p>ii. Sinking foundations.</p>
-
-<p>iii. Boring.</p>
-
-<p>iv. Draining, trenching, ditching, and hedging.</p>
-
-<p>v. Embanking.</p>
-
-<p>vi. Road-making, cutting.</p></div></div></div>
-
-<p>B. <span class="smcap">Distributors of Production.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Dealers, or those who are engaged in the buying and selling of commodities
-on their own account.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Merchants or Importers, and Exporters.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Wholesale Traders.</p>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> Retail Traders.</p>
-
-<p><i>d.</i> Contracting Purveyors, or those who supply goods by agreement.</p>
-
-<p><i>e.</i> Contractors for work or repairs; as Road Contractors, and others.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span></p>
-
-<p><i>f.</i> Contractors for privileges, as the right of Printing the Catalogue of the
-Great Exhibition, or selling refreshments at Railway Stations, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p><i>g.</i> Farmers of revenues from dues, tolls, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p><i>h.</i> Itinerants, or those who seek out the Customers, instead of the Customers
-seeking out them.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>i. Hawkers, or those who cry their goods.</p>
-
-<p>ii. Pedlars, or those who carry their goods round.</p></div></div>
-
-<p>2. Agents, or those who are engaged in the buying or selling of commodities
-for others, as Land Agents, House and Estate Agents, Colonial and East
-India Agents, &amp;c., &amp;c.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Supercargoes.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Factors, or Consignees.</p>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> Brokers, Bill, Stock, Share, Ship, Sugar, Cotton, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p><i>d.</i> Commission Salesmen, or Unlicensed Brokers.</p>
-
-<p><i>e.</i> Buyers, or those who purchase materials or goods for Manufacturers, or
-Dealers.</p>
-
-<p><i>f.</i> Auctioneers, or those who sell goods on Commission to the highest
-bidder.</p></div>
-
-<p>3. Lenders and Lettors-out, or those who receive a certain sum for the loan or
-use of a thing.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Lenders or Lettors-out of commodities, <span class="lock">as&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>i. Job-horses, carriages, chairs and seats in parks, gardens, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>ii. Plate, linen, furniture, piano-fortes, flowers, fancy dresses, Court
-suits, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>iii. Books, newspapers, prints, and music.</p></div>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Lettors-out of tenements and storage room, <span class="lock">as&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>i. Houses.</p>
-
-<p>ii. Lodgings.</p>
-
-<p>iii. Warehouse-room for imports, &amp;c., as at wharfs.</p>
-
-<p>iv. Warehouse-room for furniture and other goods.</p></div>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> Lenders of money, <span class="lock">as&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>i. Mortgagees.</p>
-
-<p>ii. Bankers.</p>
-
-<p>iii. Bill-discounters.</p>
-
-<p>iv. Loan offices with and without policies of assurance.</p>
-
-<p>v. Building and investment societies.</p>
-
-<p>vi. Pawnbrokers.</p>
-
-<p>vii. Dolly shopmen.</p></div></div>
-
-<p>⁂ The several modes of distributing goods or money <span class="lock">are&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. By private contract or agreement.</p>
-
-<p>2. By a fixed or ticketed price.</p>
-
-<p>3. By competition, as at Auctions.</p>
-
-<p>4. By games of chance, as Lotteries (with the “Art Union”), Raffles (at
-Fancy Fairs), Tossing (with piemen and others), Prizes for skill (with
-throwing sticks, &amp;c.), Betting, Racing, &amp;c.</p></div>
-
-<p>The places at which goods are distributed <span class="lock">are&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Fairs, or annual gatherings of buyers and sellers.</p>
-
-<p>2. Markets, or weekly gatherings of buyers and sellers.</p>
-
-<p>3. Exchanges, or daily gatherings of merchants and agents.</p>
-
-<p>4. Counting-houses, or the places of business of wholesale traders.</p>
-
-<p>5. Shops, or the places of business of retail traders.</p>
-
-<p>6. Bazaars, or congregations of shops.</p></div>
-
-<p>4. Trade Assistants.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Shopmen and Warehousemen.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Shopwalkers.</p>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> Cashiers or Receivers.</p>
-
-<p><i>d.</i> Clerks.</p>
-
-<p><i>e.</i> Accountants.</p>
-
-<p><i>f.</i> Rent-Collectors.</p>
-
-<p><i>g.</i> Debt-collectors.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p>
-
-<p><i>h.</i> Travellers, Town as well as Commercial.</p>
-
-<p><i>i.</i> Touters.</p>
-
-<p><i>j.</i> Barkers (outside shops).</p>
-
-<p><i>k.</i> Bill deliverers.</p>
-
-<p><i>l.</i> Bill-stickers.</p>
-
-<p><i>m.</i> Boardmen.</p>
-
-<p><i>n.</i> Advertizing-van Men.</p></div>
-
-<p>5. Carriers.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Those engaged in the external transit of the Kingdom.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>i. Mercantile Sailing Vessels.</p>
-
-<p>ii. Mercantile Steam Vessels.</p></div>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Those engaged in the internal Transit of the Kingdom.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>i. Those engaged in the coasting trade from port to port.</p>
-
-<p>ii. Those engaged in carrying inland from town to town, <span class="lock">as&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>α. Those connected with land carriage; as railroad men, stage
-coachmen, mail coachmen, and mail cartmen, post boys,
-flymen, waggoners, country carriers, and drovers.</p>
-
-<p>β. Those connected with water carriage; as navigable river and
-canal men, bargemen, towing men.</p></div>
-
-<p>iii. Those engaged in carrying to and from different parts of the
-same town by land and water.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>α. Passengers; as Omnibus-men, Cabmen, Glass and Job Coachmen,
-Fly Men, Excursion-van Men, Donkey-boys, Goat-carriage
-boys, Sedan and Bath Chair Men, Guides.</p>
-
-<p>β. Goods; as Waggoners, Draymen, Carters, Spring-Van Men,
-Truckmen, Porters (ticketed and unticketed, and public
-and private men).</p>
-
-<p>γ. Letters and Messages; as Messengers, Errand Boys, Telegraph
-Men, and Postmen.</p>
-
-<p>δ. Goods and Passengers by water; as Bargemen, Lightermen,
-Hoymen, Watermen, River Steamboat Men.</p></div>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> Those engaged in the lading and unlading and the fitting of vessels,
-as well the packing of goods.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>i. Dock and wharf labourers.</p>
-
-<p>ii. Coal whippers.</p>
-
-<p>iii. Lumpers, or dischargers of timber ships.</p>
-
-<p>iv. Timber porters and rafters.</p>
-
-<p>v. Corn porters.</p>
-
-<p>vi. Ballast heavers.</p>
-
-<p>vii. Stevedores, or stowers.</p>
-
-<p>viii. Riggers.</p>
-
-<p>ix. Packers and pressers.</p></div></div></div></div></div>
-
-<p>III. <i>Benefactors</i>, or those who confer some <i>permanent</i> benefit by promoting the physical,
-intellectual, or spiritual well-being of others.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>A. <span class="smcap">Educators.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Professors.</p>
-
-<p>2. Tutors.</p>
-
-<p>3. Governesses.</p>
-
-<p>4. Schoolmasters.</p>
-
-<p>5. Ushers.</p>
-
-<p>6. Teachers of Languages.</p>
-
-<p>7. Teachers of Sciences.</p>
-
-<p>8. Lecturers.</p>
-
-<p>9. Teachers of “Accomplishments”; as Music, Singing, Dancing, Drawing,
-Wax-Flower Modelling, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>10. Teachers of Exercises; as Gymnastics.</p>
-
-<p>11. Teachers of Arts of Self-Defence; as Fencing, Boxing, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>12. Teachers of Trades and Professions.</p></div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>B. <span class="smcap">Curators.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Corporeal.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Physicians.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Surgeons.</p>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> General Practitioners.</p>
-
-<p><i>d.</i> Homœopathists.</p>
-
-<p><i>e.</i> Hydropathists.</p></div>
-
-<p>2. Spiritual.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Ministers of the Church of England.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Dissenting Ministers.</p>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> Catholic Ministers.</p>
-
-<p><i>d.</i> Missionaries.</p>
-
-<p><i>e.</i> Scripture Readers.</p>
-
-<p><i>f.</i> Sisters of Charity.</p>
-
-<p><i>g.</i> Visitants.</p></div></div></div>
-
-<p>IV. <i>Servitors</i>, or those who render some <i>temporary</i> service or pleasure to others.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>A. <span class="smcap">Amusers</span>, or those who contribute to our entertainment.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Actors.</p>
-
-<p>2. Reciters.</p>
-
-<p>3. Improvisers.</p>
-
-<p>4. Singers.</p>
-
-<p>5. Musicians.</p>
-
-<p>6. Dancers.</p>
-
-<p>7. Riders, or Equestrian Performers.</p>
-
-<p>8. Fencers and Pugilists.</p>
-
-<p>9. Conjurers.</p>
-
-<p>10. Posturers.</p>
-
-<p>11. Equilibrists.</p>
-
-<p>12. Tumblers.</p>
-
-<p>13. Exhibitors or Showmen.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Of Curiosities.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Of Monstrosities.</p></div></div>
-
-<p>B. <span class="smcap">Protectors</span>, or those who contribute to our security against injury.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Legislative.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> The Sovereign.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> The Members of the House of Lords.</p>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> The Members of the House of Commons.</p></div>
-
-<p>2. Judicial.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> The Judges in Chancery, Queen’s Bench, Common Pleas, Exchequer,
-Ecclesiastical, Admiralty, and Criminal Courts.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Masters in Chancery, Commissioners of the Bankruptcy, Insolvent
-Debtors, Sheriffs, and County Courts, Magistrates, Justices of the
-Peace, Recorders, Coroners, Revising Barristers.</p>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> Barristers, Pleaders, Conveyancers, Attorneys, Proctors.</p></div>
-
-<p>3. Administrative or Executive.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> The Lords Commissioners of the Treasury; the Secretaries of State for
-Home, Foreign, and Colonial Affairs; the Chancellor and Comptroller
-of the Exchequer; the Privy Council, and the Privy Seal; the
-Board of Trade, the Board of Control, and the Board of Health;
-the Board of Inland Revenue, the Poor-Law Board, and the Board
-of Audit; the Commissioners of Woods and Forests; the Ministers
-and Officials in connection with the Army and Navy, the Post
-Office, and the Mint; the Inspectors of Prisons, Factories, Railways,
-Workhouses, Schools, and Lunatic Asylums; the Officers in connection
-with the Registration and Statistical Departments; and the
-other Functionaries appertaining to the <i>Government at home</i>.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> The Ambassadors, Envoys Extraordinary, Ministers Plenipotentiary,
-Secretaries of Legation, Chargés d’Affaires, Consuls, and other Ministers
-and Functionaries appertaining to the <i>Government abroad</i>.</p>
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span>
-<p><i>c.</i> The Governors and Commanders of British Colonies and Settlements.</p>
-
-<p><i>d.</i> The Lord Lieutenants, Custodes Rotulorum, High and Deputy Sheriffs,
-High Bailiffs, High and Petty Constables, and other Functionaries of
-<i>the Counties.</i></p>
-
-<p><i>e.</i> The Mayors, Aldermen, Common Councilmen, Chamberlains, Common
-Sergeants, Treasurers, Auditors, Assessors, Inspectors of Weights and
-Measures, and other Functionaries of <i>the Cities or incorporated Towns</i>.</p>
-
-<p><i>f.</i> The Churchwardens, the Commissioners of Sewers and Paving, the
-Select and Special Vestrymen, the Vestry Clerks, the Overseers or
-Guardians of the Poor, the Relieving Officers, the Masters of the
-Workhouses, the Beadles, and other <i>Parochial Functionaries</i>.</p>
-
-<p><i>g.</i> The Masters and Brethren of the Trinity Corporation, the Pier and
-Harbour Masters, Conservators of Rivers, and other Functionaries
-connected with Navigation, and the Trustees and Commissioners in
-connection with the Public Roads.</p>
-
-<p><i>h.</i> The Naval and Military Powers; as the Army, Navy, Marines, Militia,
-and Yeomanry.</p>
-
-<p><i>i.</i> The Civil Forces; as Policemen, Patrole, and Private Watchmen.</p>
-
-<p><i>j.</i> Sheriffs’ Officers, Bailiffs’ Followers, Sponging-house Keepers.</p>
-
-<p><i>k.</i> Governors of Prisons, Jailers, Turnkeys, Officers on board the Hulks
-and Transport Ships, Hangmen.</p>
-
-<p><i>l.</i> The Fiscal Forces; as the Coast Guard, Custom-house Officers, Excise
-Officers.</p>
-
-<p><i>m.</i> Collectors of Imposts; as Tax and Rate Collectors, Turnpike Men, Toll
-Collectors of Bridges and Markets, Collectors of Pier and Harbour
-dues, and Light, Buoy, and Beacon dues.</p>
-
-<p><i>n.</i> Guardians of special localities; as Rangers, and Park-keepers, Arcade-keepers,
-Street-keepers, Square-keepers, Bazaar-keepers, Gate and
-Lodge-keepers, Empty-house-keepers.</p>
-
-<p><i>o.</i> Conservators; as Curators of Museums, Librarians, Storekeepers, and
-others.</p>
-
-<p><i>p.</i> Protective Associations; as Insurance Companies against Loss by fire,
-shipwreck, storms, railway accidents, death of cattle, Life Assurance
-Societies, Provident or Benefit Clubs, Guarantee Societies, Trade Protection
-Societies, Fire Brigade and Fire-escape Men, Humane Society
-Men, and Officers of the Societies for the Suppression of Mendicity,
-Vice, and cruelty to Animals.</p></div></div>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Servants</span>, or those who contribute to our comfort or convenience by the performance
-of certain offices for us.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Private Servants, regularly engaged.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Stewards.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Farm Bailiffs.</p>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> Secretaries.</p>
-
-<p><i>d.</i> Amanuenses.</p>
-
-<p><i>e.</i> Companions.</p>
-
-<p><i>f.</i> Butlers.</p>
-
-<p><i>g.</i> Valets.</p>
-
-<p><i>h.</i> Footmen, Pages, and Hall Porters.</p>
-
-<p><i>i.</i> Coachmen, Grooms, “Tigers,” and Helpers at Stables.</p>
-
-<p><i>j.</i> Huntsmen and Whippers-in.</p>
-
-<p><i>k.</i> Kennelmen.</p>
-
-<p><i>l.</i> Gamekeepers.</p>
-
-<p><i>m.</i> Gardeners.</p>
-
-<p><i>n.</i> Housekeepers.</p>
-
-<p><i>o.</i> Ladies’ Maids.</p>
-
-<p><i>p.</i> Nursery Maids and Wet Nurses.</p>
-
-<p><i>q.</i> House Maids and Parlour Maids.</p>
-
-<p><i>r.</i> Cooks and Scullery Maids.</p>
-
-<p><i>s.</i> Dairy Maids.</p>
-
-<p><i>t.</i> Maids of all work.</p></div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>2. Private Servants temporarily engaged.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Couriers.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Interpreters.</p>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> Monthly Nurses and Invalid Nurses.</p>
-
-<p><i>d.</i> Waiters at Parties.</p>
-
-<p><i>e.</i> Charwomen.</p>
-
-<p><i>f.</i> Knife, boot, window, and paint Cleaners, Pot scourers, Carpet beaters.</p></div>
-
-<p>3. Public Servants.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Waiters at hotels and public gardens.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Masters of the Ceremonies.</p>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> Chamber-Maids.</p>
-
-<p><i>d.</i> Boots.</p>
-
-<p><i>e.</i> Ostlers.</p>
-
-<p><i>f.</i> Job Coachmen.</p>
-
-<p><i>g.</i> Post-boys.</p>
-
-<p><i>h.</i> Washerwomen.</p>
-
-<p><i>i.</i> Dustmen.</p>
-
-<p><i>j.</i> Sweeps.</p>
-
-<p><i>k.</i> Scavengers.</p>
-
-<p><i>l.</i> Nightmen.</p>
-
-<p><i>m.</i> Flushermen.</p>
-
-<p><i>n.</i> Turncocks.</p>
-
-<p><i>o.</i> Lamplighters.</p>
-
-<p><i>p.</i> Horse Holders.</p>
-
-<p><i>q.</i> Crossing Sweepers.</p></div></div></div></div>
-
-<p>THOSE WHO CANNOT WORK.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>V. <i>Those that are provided for by some Public Institution.</i></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>A. <span class="smcap">The Inmates of Workhouses.</span></p>
-
-<p>B. <span class="smcap">The Inmates of Prisons.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Debtors.</p>
-
-<p>2. Criminals (Some of these, however, are made to work by the authorities).</p></div>
-
-<p>C. <span class="smcap">The Inmates of Hospitals.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. The Sick.</p>
-
-<p>2. The Insane; as Lunatics and Idiots.</p>
-
-<p>3. Veterans; as Greenwich and Chelsea Hospital men.</p>
-
-<p>4. The Deserted Young; as the Foundling Hospital children.</p></div>
-
-<p>D. <span class="smcap">The Inmates of Asylums and Almshouses.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. The Afflicted; as the Deaf, and Dumb, and Blind.</p>
-
-<p>2. The Destitute Young; as Orphans.</p>
-
-<p>3. The Decayed Members of the several Trades or Sects.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Trade and Provident Asylums and Almshouses.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Sectarian Asylums and Almshouses&mdash;as for aged Jews, Widows of
-Clergymen, &amp;c.</p></div></div>
-
-<p>E. <span class="smcap">The Inmates of the several Refuges and Dormitories for the Houseless
-and Destitute.</span></p></div>
-
-<p>VI. <i>Those who are Unprovided for.</i></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>A. <span class="smcap">Those who are incapacitated from Want of Power.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Owing to their Age.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> The Old.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> The Young.</p></div>
-
-<p>2. Owing to some Bodily Ailment.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> The Sick.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> The Crippled.</p>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> The Maimed.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span></p>
-
-<p><i>d.</i> The Paralyzed.</p>
-
-<p><i>e.</i> The Blind.</p></div>
-
-<p>3. Owing to some Mental Infirmity.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> The Insane.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> The Idiotic.</p>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> The Untaught, or those who have never been brought up to any industrial
-occupation; as Widows and those who have “seen better days.”</p></div></div>
-
-<p>B. <span class="smcap">Those who are incapacitated from Want of Means.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Having no tools; as is often the case with distressed carpenters.</p>
-
-<p>2. Having no clothes; as servants when long out of a situation.</p>
-
-<p>3. Having no stock-money; as impoverished street-sellers.</p>
-
-<p>4. Having no materials; as the “used-up” garret or chamber masters in the boot
-and shoe or cabinet-making trade.</p>
-
-<p>5. Having no place wherein to work; as when those who pursue their calling
-at home are forced to become the inmates of a nightly lodging-house.</p></div>
-
-<p>C. <span class="smcap">Those who are incapacitated from Want of Employment.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Owing to a glut or stagnation in business; as among the cotton-spinners,
-the iron-workers, the railway-navigators, and the like.</p>
-
-<p>2. Owing to a change in fashion; as in the button-making trade.</p>
-
-<p>3. Owing to the introduction of machinery; as among the sawyers, hand-loom
-weavers, pillow-lace makers, threshers, and others.</p>
-
-<p>4. Owing to the advent of the slack season; as among the tailors and mantua-makers,
-and drawn-bonnet-makers.</p>
-
-<p>5. Owing to the continuance of unfavourable weather.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> From the prevalence of rain; as street-sellers, and others.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> From the prevalence of easterly winds; as dock-labourers.</p></div>
-
-<p>6. Owing to the approach of winter; as among the builders, brickmakers,
-market-gardeners, harvest-men.</p>
-
-<p>7. Owing to the loss of character.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Culpably; from intemperate habits, or misconduct of some kind.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Accidentally; as when a servant’s late master goes abroad, and a
-written testimonial is objected to.</p></div></div></div></div>
-
-<p>THOSE WHO WILL NOT WORK.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>VII. <i>Vagrants or Tramps.</i></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>Under this head is included all that multifarious tribe of “sturdy rogues,” who
-ramble across the country during the summer, sleeping at the “casual wards”
-of the workhouses, and who return to London in the winter to avail themselves
-of the gratuitous lodgings and food attainable at the several metropolitan
-refuges.</p></div>
-
-<p>VIII. <i>Professional Beggars and their Dependents.</i></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>A. <span class="smcap">Naval and Military Beggars.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Turnpike Sailors.</p>
-
-<p>2. Spanish Legion Men, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>3. Veterans.</p></div>
-
-<p>B. <span class="smcap">“Distressed-Operative” Beggars.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Pretended Starved-out Manufacturers, as the Nottingham “Driz” or Lace-Men.</p>
-
-<p>2. Pretended Unemployed Agriculturists.</p>
-
-<p>3. Pretended Frozen-out Gardeners.</p>
-
-<p>4. Pretended Hand-loom Weavers, and others deprived of their living by
-Machinery.</p></div>
-
-<p>C. <span class="smcap">“Respectable” Beggars.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Pretended Broken-down Tradesmen, or Decayed Gentlemen.</p>
-
-<p>2. Pretended Distressed Ushers, unable to take situation for want of clothes.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>3. “Clean-Family Beggars” with children in very white pinafores, their faces
-newly washed, and their hair carefully brushed.</p>
-
-<p>4. Ashamed Beggars, or those who “stand pad with a fakement” (remain
-stationary, holding a written placard), and pretend to hide their faces.</p></div>
-
-<p>D. <span class="smcap">“Disaster” Beggars.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Shipwrecked Mariners.</p>
-
-<p>2. Blown-up Miners.</p>
-
-<p>3. Burnt-out Tradesmen.</p>
-
-<p>4. Lucifer Droppers.</p></div>
-
-<p>E. <span class="smcap">Bodily Afflicted Beggars.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Having real or pretended sores, vulgarly known as the “scaldrum dodge.”</p>
-
-<p>2. Having swollen legs.</p>
-
-<p>3. Being crippled, deformed, maimed, or paralyzed.</p>
-
-<p>4. Being blind.</p>
-
-<p>5. Being subject to fits.</p>
-
-<p>6. Being in a decline, and appearing with bandages round the head.</p>
-
-<p>7. “Shallow coves,” or those who exhibit themselves in the streets half clad,
-especially in cold weather.</p></div>
-
-<p>F. <span class="smcap">Famished Beggars.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Those who chalk on the pavement, “I am starving.”</p>
-
-<p>2. Those who “stand pad” with a small piece of paper similarly inscribed.</p></div>
-
-<p>G. <span class="smcap">Foreign Beggars.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Frenchmen who stop passengers in the street and request to know if they
-can speak French, previous to presenting a written statement of their
-distress.</p>
-
-<p>2. Pretended Destitute Poles.</p>
-
-<p>3. Hindoos and Negroes, who stand shivering by the kerb.</p></div>
-
-<p>H. <span class="smcap">Petty Trading Beggars.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Tract sellers.</p>
-
-<p>2. Sellers of lucifers, boot-laces, cabbage-nets, tapes, and cottons.</p>
-
-<p>⁂ The several varieties of beggars admit of being sub-divided <span class="lock">into&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Patterers, or those who beg on the “blob,” that is, by word of mouth.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Screevers, or those who beg by screeving, that is, by written documents,
-setting forth imaginary cases of distress, such documents
-being <span class="lock">either&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>i. “Slums” (letters).</p>
-
-<p>ii. “Fakements” (petitions).</p></div></div></div>
-
-<p>I. <span class="smcap">The Dependents of Beggars.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Screevers Proper, or the writers of slums and fakements for those who
-beg by screeving.</p>
-
-<p>2. Referees, or those who give characters to professional beggars when a
-reference is required.</p></div></div>
-
-<p>IX. <i>Cheats and their Dependents.</i></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>A. <span class="smcap">Those who Cheat the Government.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Smugglers defrauding the Customs.</p>
-
-<p>2. “Jiggers” defrauding the Excise by working illicit stills, and the like.</p></div>
-
-<p>B. <span class="smcap">Those who Cheat the Public.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Swindlers, defrauding those of whom they buy.</p>
-
-<p>2. “Duffers” and “horse-chaunters,” defrauding those to whom they sell.</p>
-
-<p>3. “Charley-pitchers” and other low gamblers, defrauding those with whom
-they play.</p>
-
-<p>4. “Bouncers and Besters” defrauding, by laying wagers, swaggering, or using
-threats.</p>
-
-<p>5. “Flatcatchers,” defrauding by pretending to find some valuable article&mdash;as
-Fawney or Ring-Droppers.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>6. Bubble-Men, defrauding by instituting pretended companies&mdash;as Sham Next-of-Kin-Societies,
-Assurance and Annuity Offices, Benefit Clubs, and the like.</p>
-
-<p>7. Douceur-Men, defrauding by offering for a certain sum to confer some
-boon upon a person <span class="lock">as&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> To procure Government Situations for laymen, or benefices for clergymen.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> To provide Servants with Places.</p>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> To teach some lucrative occupation.</p>
-
-<p><i>d.</i> To put persons in possession of some information “to their advantage.”</p></div>
-
-<p>8. Deposit-Men, defrauding by obtaining a certain sum as security for future
-work or some promised place of trust.</p></div>
-
-<p>C. <span class="smcap">The Dependents of Cheats are</span>&mdash;</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. “Jollies,” and “Magsmen,” or accomplices of the “Bouncers and Besters.”</p>
-
-<p>2. “Bonnets,” or accomplices of Gamblers.</p>
-
-<p>3. Referees, or those who give false characters to swindlers and others.</p></div>
-</div>
-<p>X. <i>Thieves and their Dependents.</i></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>A. <span class="smcap">Those who Plunder with Violence.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. “Cracksmen”&mdash;as Housebreakers and Burglars.</p>
-
-<p>2. “Rampsmen,” or Footpads.</p>
-
-<p>3. “Bludgers,” or Stick-slingers, plundering in company with prostitutes.</p></div>
-
-<p>B. <span class="smcap">Those who “Hocus,” or Plunder their Victims when Stupified.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. “Drummers,” or those who render people insensible.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> By handkerchiefs steeped in chloroform.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> By drugs poured into liquor.</p></div>
-
-<p>2. “Bug-hunters,” or those who go round to the public-houses and plunder
-drunken men.</p></div>
-
-<p>C. <span class="smcap">Those who Plunder by Manual Dexterity, by Stealth, or by Breach of
-Trust.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. “Mobsmen,” or those who plunder by manual dexterity&mdash;as the “light-fingered
-gentry.”</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> “Buzzers,” or those who abstract handkerchiefs and other articles from
-gentlemen’s pockets.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>i. “Stook-buzzers,” those who steal handkerchiefs.</p>
-
-<p>ii. “Tail-Buzzers,” those who dive into coat-pockets for sneezers (snuff-boxes,)
-skins and dummies (purses and pocket-books).</p></div>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> “Wires,” or those who pick ladies’ pockets.</p>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> “Prop-nailers,” those who steal pins and brooches.</p>
-
-<p><i>d.</i> “Thimble-screwers,” those who wrench watches from their guards.</p>
-
-<p><i>e.</i> “Shop-lifters,” or those who purloin goods from shops while examining
-articles.</p></div>
-
-<p>2. “Sneaksmen,” or those who plunder by means of stealth.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Those who purloin goods, provisions, money, clothes, old metal, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>i. “Drag Sneaks,” or those who steal goods or luggage from carts and
-coaches.</p>
-
-<p>ii. “Snoozers,” or those who sleep at railway hotels, and decamp
-with some passenger’s luggage or property in the morning.</p>
-
-<p>iii. “Star-glazers,” or those who cut the panes out of shop-windows.</p>
-
-<p>iv. “Till Friskers,” or those who empty tills of their contents during
-the absence of the shopmen.</p>
-
-<p>v. “Sawney-Hunters,” or those who go purloining bacon from cheesemongers’
-shop-doors.</p>
-
-<p>vi. “Noisy-racket Men,” or those who steal china and glass from outside
-of china-shops.</p>
-
-<p>vii. “Area Sneaks,” or those who steal from houses by going down the
-area steps.</p>
-
-<p>viii. “Dead Lurkers,” or those who steal coats and umbrellas from
-passages at dusk, or on Sunday afternoons.</p>
-
-<p>ix. “Snow Gatherers,” or those who steal clean clothes off the hedges.</p>
-
-<p>x. “Skinners,” or those women who entice children and sailors to go
-with them and then strip them of their clothes.</p>
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>
-<p>xi. “Bluey-Hunters,” or those who purloin lead from the tops of
-houses.</p>
-
-<p>xii. “Cat and Kitten Hunters,” or those who purloin pewter quart
-and pint pots from the top of area railings.</p>
-
-<p>xiii. “Toshers,” or those who purloin copper from the ships along
-shore.</p>
-
-<p>xiv. Mudlarks, or those who steal pieces of rope and lumps of coal
-from among the vessels at the river-side.</p></div>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Those who steal animals.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>i. Horse Stealers.</p>
-
-<p>ii. Sheep, or “Woolly-bird,” Stealers.</p>
-
-<p>iii. Deer Stealers.</p>
-
-<p>iv. Dog Stealers.</p>
-
-<p>v. Poachers, or Game Stealers.</p>
-
-<p>vi. “Lady and Gentlemen Racket Men,” or those who steal cocks
-and hens.</p>
-
-<p>vii. Cat Stealers, or those who make away with cats for the sake of
-their skins and bones.</p></div>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> Those who steal dead bodies&mdash;as the “Resurrectionists.”</p></div>
-
-<p>3. Those who plunder by breach of trust.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Embezzlers, or those who rob their employers.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>i. By receiving what is due to them, and never accounting for it.</p>
-
-<p>ii. By obtaining goods in their employer’s name.</p>
-
-<p>iii. By purloining money from the till, or goods from the premises.</p></div>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Illegal Pawners.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>i. Those who pledge work given out to them by employers.</p>
-
-<p>ii. Those who pledge blankets, sheets, &amp;c., from lodgings.</p></div>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> Dishonest servants, those who make away with the property of their
-masters.</p>
-
-<p><i>d.</i> Bill Stealers, or those who purloin bills of exchange entrusted to them,
-to get discounted.</p>
-
-<p><i>e.</i> Letter Stealers.</p></div></div>
-
-<p>D. <span class="smcap">“Shoful Men,” or those who Plunder by Means of Counterfeits.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Coiners or fabricators of counterfeit money.</p>
-
-<p>2. Forgers of bank notes.</p>
-
-<p>3. Forgers of checks and acceptances.</p>
-
-<p>4. Forgers of wills.</p></div>
-
-<p>E. <span class="smcap">Dependents of Thieves.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. “Fences,” or receivers of stolen goods.</p>
-
-<p>2. “Smashers,” or utterers of base coin or forged notes.</p></div></div>
-
-<p>XI. <i>Prostitutes and their Dependents.</i></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>A. <span class="smcap">Professional Prostitutes.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Seclusives, or those who live in private houses or apartments.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Kept Mistresses.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> “Prima Donnas,” or those who belong to the “first class,” and live in a
-superior style.</p></div>
-
-<p>2. Convives, or those who live in the same house with a number of others.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> Those who are independent of the mistress of the house.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Those who are subject to the mistress of a brothel.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>i. “Board Lodgers,” or those who give a portion of what they receive
-to the mistress of the brothel, in return for their board and
-lodging.</p>
-
-<p>ii. “Dress Lodgers,” or those who give either a portion or the whole of
-what they get to the mistress of the brothel in return for their
-board, lodging, and clothes.</p></div></div>
-
-<p>3. Those who live in low lodging-houses.</p>
-
-<p>4. Sailors’ and soldiers’ women.</p>
-
-<p>5. Park women, or those who frequent the parks at night, and other retired
-places.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>6. Thieves’ women, or those who entrap men into bye streets for the purpose of
-robbery.</p>
-
-<p>7. The Dependents of Prostitutes:</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>a.</i> “Bawds,” or Keepers of Brothels.</p>
-
-<p><i>b.</i> Followers of Dress Lodgers.</p>
-
-<p><i>c.</i> Keepers of Accommodation Houses.</p>
-
-<p><i>d.</i> Procuresses, Pimps, and Panders.</p>
-
-<p><i>e.</i> Fancy-Men.</p>
-
-<p><i>f.</i> Magsmen and Bullies.</p></div></div>
-
-<p>B. <span class="smcap">Clandestine Prostitutes.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Female Operatives.</p>
-
-<p>2. Maid Servants.</p>
-
-<p>3. Ladies of Intrigue.</p>
-
-<p>4. Keepers of Houses of Assignation.</p></div>
-
-<p>C. <span class="smcap">Cohabitant Prostitutes.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Those whose paramours cannot afford to pay the marriage fees.</p>
-
-<p>2. Those whose paramours do not believe in the sanctity of the ceremony.</p>
-
-<p>3. Those who have married a relative forbidden by law.</p>
-
-<p>4. Those whose paramours object to marry them for pecuniary or family
-reasons.</p>
-
-<p>5. Those who would forfeit their income by marrying, as officers’ widows in
-receipt of pensions, and those who hold property only while unmarried.</p></div>
-</div></div>
-<p>THOSE WHO NEED NOT WORK.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>XII. <i>Those who derive their income from rent.</i></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>A. <span class="smcap">Landlords of Estates.</span></p>
-
-<p>B. <span class="smcap">Landlords of Houses.</span></p></div>
-
-<p>XIII. <i>Those who derive their income from dividends.</i></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>A. <span class="smcap">Fundholders.</span></p>
-
-<p>B. <span class="smcap">Shareholders.</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. In Mines.</p>
-
-<p>2. In Canals.</p>
-
-<p>3. In Railways.</p>
-
-<p>4. In Public Companies.</p></div></div>
-
-<p>XIV. Those who derive their income from yearly stipends.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>A. <span class="smcap">Annuitants.</span></p>
-
-<p>B. <span class="smcap">Pensioners.</span></p></div>
-
-<p>XV. <i>Those who hold obsolete or nominal offices.</i></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Sinecurists.</span></p></div>
-
-<p>XVI. <i>Those who derive their incomes from trades in which they never appear.</i></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>A. <span class="smcap">Sleeping Partners.</span></p>
-
-<p>B. <span class="smcap">Royalty Men.</span></p></div>
-
-<p>XVII. <i>Those who derive their incomes by favour from some other.</i></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>A. <span class="smcap">Protegés.</span></p>
-
-<p>B. <span class="smcap">Dependents.</span></p></div>
-
-<p>XVIII. <i>Those who derive their support from the head of the family.</i></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>A. <span class="smcap">Wives.</span></p>
-
-<p>B. <span class="smcap">Children.</span></p></div></div>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">OF THE NON-WORKERS.</h2>
-
-</div>
-
-<p>The exposition of the several members of
-society being finished, I now come to
-treat of that inoperative moiety of it, which
-more especially concerns us here. The
-non-workers, we have seen, consist of three
-broadly marked and distinct orders, <span class="lock">viz:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><i>The incapacitated</i>, or compulsory non-workers.</p>
-
-<p><i>The indisposed</i>, or voluntary non-workers.</p>
-
-<p><i>The independent</i>, or privileged non-workers.</p></div>
-
-<p>It would be of the highest possible importance,
-could we ascertain with any precision
-the number of people existing in this
-country, who do no manner of work for
-their support; and I was anxious to have
-concluded the preceding account of the
-several divisions of society, with an estimate
-of the numbers appertaining to each
-of the four great classes, as well as the
-incomes accruing to them. I found, however,
-on consulting the official documents
-with this view, that the government returns
-were in such an economical tangle&mdash;distributor
-being confounded with employer,
-and employer again jumbled up
-with the employed&mdash;that any attempt to
-unravel the twisted yarn would have cost
-an infinity of trouble, and have been almost
-worthless after all; and it was from a long
-experience as to the incompetency of the
-official returns to aid the social inquirer in
-solving the great economical problems concerning
-the production and distribution of
-wealth, that I was induced to suggest to Sir
-George Grey (to whom I had been indebted
-for much courtesy and valuable information,
-and who, from the commencement of
-my investigations, had shown a readiness
-to afford me every assistance), that, in the
-ensuing census, an attempt should be made
-to obtain some definite account of the
-numbers of employers and employed, and
-I am happy to say that, in conformity with
-my suggestion, the next “Abstract of the
-Occupations of the People,” will at least
-teach us the proportion between these two
-main elements of our social state; so that
-if the Distributors are but kept distinct
-from the Promoters and Producers of the
-wealth of the country, one important step
-towards a right understanding of the subject
-will assuredly have been made<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>It should, however, be borne in mind,
-that, though the distribution, the promotion,
-and the production of the riches or
-exchangeable commodities of a country are
-usually distinct offices in every civilized
-nation, they are not invariably separate
-functions, even in our own. The exceptions
-to the economical rule with us appear to
-be as <span class="lock">follows:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>1. Sometimes the producers themselves
-supply the materials, tools, shelter, and
-subsistence, that they require for their
-work, though this is usually done by some
-capitalist; and having finished the work,
-proceed themselves to find purchasers for it
-likewise (though this is generally the office
-of the distributor or dealer). Street artizans,
-or those who make the goods they sell
-in the streets, may be cited as instances of
-a class uniting in itself the three functions
-of producer, capitalist (supplying the materials,
-&amp;c.), and distributor.</p>
-
-<p>2. Sometimes the capitalist employer is
-also the distributor of the commodities,
-such being the case with bakers, tailors,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span>
-and the like, who themselves “purvey”
-what they employ others to produce.</p>
-
-<p>3. Sometimes the craft does not admit of
-a distributor being attached to it; the employer
-himself undertaking to supply the
-wants of the public; this is the case with
-the building and decoration of houses.</p>
-
-<p>4. Sometimes the work is done directly
-for the public, without the intervention of
-either a distributor or trading-employer;
-such is the case with the jobbing, day, or
-piece workers&mdash;among the seamstresses
-and journeymen tailors, for instance&mdash;who
-“make up ladies’ and gentlemen’s own
-materials,” either at home or at the houses
-of those for whom the work is done.</p>
-
-<p>5. Sometimes the artificers or working
-men are their own capitalists; providing the
-materials, tools, shelter, and subsistence
-requisite for the work, as is the case with
-the garret and chamber-masters in the slop
-cabinet and shoe trades, and among the
-members of co-operative associations.</p>
-
-<p>6. Sometimes the artificers are both employers
-and employed; being supplied with
-their materials and subsistence from a capitalist,
-and supplying them again to other
-artificers working under them; this is the
-case with sweaters, piece-working masters,
-first hands, and the like.</p>
-
-<p>7. Sometimes the capitalist employer, on
-the other hand, is, or rather assumes to be,
-the proprietor of both the capital and
-labour; as is the case with the slave-owners,
-masters of serfs, bondmen, villeins,
-and the like; though this state of things,
-thank God, no longer exists in this country.</p>
-
-<p>8. Sometimes the capitalist supplies all
-the requisites of production, excepting the
-subsistence of the artificer, who is remunerated
-by a certain share of the profits
-(if any); this is often the case with publishers
-and authors.</p>
-
-<p>9. Sometimes the capitalist supplies only
-the materials and subsistence, but not the
-tools, of the artificers, and sometimes he
-compels them to pay him a rent for them
-out of their wages; as is the case with the
-employers of the sawyers and stockingers.</p>
-
-<p>10. Sometimes the capitalist supplies
-the materials, tools, and subsistence of the
-artificers, but not the appliances of their
-work; and sometimes he compels them to
-purchase such appliances of him at an exorbitant
-profit; as the trimmings in the
-tailors’ trade, thread with the seamstresses,
-and the like.</p>
-
-<p>11. Sometimes the capitalist supplies the
-materials, tools, subsistence, and shelter of
-the artificers, but not their gas-light, and
-compels them to pay a rent for the same
-out of their wages.</p>
-
-<p>12. Sometimes the capitalist supplies the
-materials, tools, appliances, and subsistence,
-but not the shelter, necessary for the
-due performance of the work, the artificers,
-in such cases, doing the work at their own
-homes.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>But all this concerns the workers more
-directly than the non-workers of society,
-and it is mentioned here merely with the
-view of completing the classification before
-given. Our more immediate business in
-this place lies with the inoperative, rather
-than the operative, members of the community.
-Nor is it with the entire body of
-these that we have to deal, but rather with
-that third order of the non-working class
-who are unwilling, though able, to work,
-as contradistinguished from those who are
-willing, but unable, to do so. The non-workers
-are a peculiar class, including
-orders diametrically opposed to each other:
-the very rich and the very poor, in the first
-place, and the honest and dishonest in the
-second. The dishonest members of society
-constitute those who are known more particularly
-as the criminal class. Hence to
-inquire into their means of living and
-mode of life, involves an investigation into
-the nature and the extent of crime in this
-country. Crime, sin, and vice are three
-terms used for the infraction of three different
-kinds of laws&mdash;social, religious, and
-moral. Crime is the transgression of some
-social law, even as sin is the transgression
-of some religious law, and vice the breach
-of some moral one. These laws, however,
-often differ only in emanating from different
-authorities; while infractions of them
-are merely offences against different powers.
-To thieve is to offend at once socially, religiously,
-and morally; for not only does
-the social, but the religious and moral law,
-each and all, enjoin that we should respect
-the property of others.</p>
-
-<p>But there are other crimes or offences
-against the social powers, besides such as
-are committed by those who will not work.
-The crimes perpetrated by those who object
-to labour for their living, are habitual
-crimes; whereas those perpetrated by the
-other classes of society are accidental crimes,
-arising from the pressure of a variety of circumstances.
-Here, then, we have a most important
-fundamental distinction: all crimes,
-and consequently all criminals, are divisible
-into two different classes, the professional
-and the casual; that is to say, there are
-two distinct orders of people continually
-offending against the laws of society, viz.,
-those who do so as a regular means of
-living, and those who do so from some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>
-accidental cause. It is impossible to arrive
-at any accurate knowledge on the subject
-of crime generally, without making this
-first analysis of the several species of offences
-according to their causes; that is to
-say, arranging them into opposite groups
-or classes, according as they arise from an
-habitual indisposition to labour on the part
-of some of the offenders, or from the
-temporary pressure of circumstances upon
-others. The official returns, however, on
-this subject are as unphilosophic as the
-generality of such documents, and consist
-of a crude mass of undigested facts, being
-a statistical illustration of the “<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">rudis indigestaque
-moles</span>,” in connection with a
-criminal chaos.</p>
-
-<p>At present the several crimes of the
-country are officially divided into four
-<span class="lock">classes:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>I. Offences against persons; including
-murder, rape, bigamy, assaults, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>II. Offences against property.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>A. With violence; including burglary,
-robbery, piracy, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>B. Without violence; including embezzlement,
-cattle-stealing, larceny,
-and fraud.</p>
-
-<p>C. Malicious offences against property;
-including arson, incendiarism,
-maiming cattle, &amp;c.</p></div>
-
-<p>III. Forgery and offences against the
-currency; including the forging of
-wills, bank-notes, and coining, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>IV. Other offences; including high-treason,
-sedition, poaching, smuggling,
-working illicit stills, perjury, &amp;c.</p></div>
-
-<p>M. Guerry, the eminent French statist,
-adopts a far more philosophic arrangement,
-and divides the several crimes <span class="lock">into&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>I. Crimes against the State; as high
-treason, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>II. Crimes against personal safety; as
-murder, assault, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>III. Crimes against morals (with and
-without violence); as rape, bigamy,
-&amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>IV. Crimes against property (proceeding
-from cupidity or malice); as larceny,
-embezzlement, incendiarism,
-and the like.</p></div>
-
-<p>The same fundamental error which renders
-the government classification comparatively
-worthless, deprives that of the French philosopher
-of all practical value. It gives us
-no knowledge of the character of the people
-committing the crimes; being merely a
-system of criminal mnemonics, as it were,
-or easy method of remembering the several
-varieties of offences. The classes
-in both systems are but so many mental
-pigeon-holes for the orderly arrangement
-and partitioning of the various infractions
-of the law; further than this they cannot
-help us.</p>
-
-<p>Whatever other information the inquirer
-may want, he must obtain for himself; if
-he wish to learn from the crimes something
-as to their causes, as well as the
-nature of the criminals, he must begin <i>de
-novo</i>, and, using the official facts, but rejecting
-the official system of classification,
-proceed to arrange all the several offences
-into two classes, according as they are of a
-professional and casual character, committed
-by habitual or occasional offenders.
-Adopting this principle, it will be found
-that the <i>non-professional</i> crimes consist
-mainly of murder, assaults, incendiarism,
-ravishment, bigamy, embezzlement, high
-treason, and the like; for it is evident that
-none can make a trade or profession of the
-commission of these crimes, or resort to
-them as a regular means of living<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>The <i>professional</i> crimes, on the other
-hand, will be generally found to include
-burglary, robbery, poaching, coining, smuggling,
-working of illicit stills, larceny from
-the person, simple larceny, &amp;c., because
-each and every of these are regular crafts,
-requiring almost the same apprenticeship
-as any other mode of life. Burglary, coining,
-working illicit stills, and picking pockets,
-are all <i>arts</i> to which no man, without
-some previous training, can take. Hence
-to know whether the number of these dishonest
-<i>handicrafts</i>&mdash;for such they really are&mdash;be
-annually on the increase or not, is to
-solve a most important portion of the
-criminal problem; it is to ascertain whether
-crime pursued as a profession or business,
-is being augmented among us&mdash;to discover
-whether the criminal class, as a distinct
-portion of our people is, or is not, on the
-advance. The non-professional crimes will
-furnish us with equally curious results,
-showing a yearly impress of the character
-of the times; for being only occasional
-offences, of course the number of such
-offenders at different years will give us a
-knowledge of the intensity of the several
-occasions inducing the crimes in such
-years.</p>
-
-<p>The accidental crimes, classified according
-to their causes, may be said to consist <span class="lock">of&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>I. Crimes of malice, exercised either
-against the person or the property of
-the object.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>II. Crimes of lust and perverted appetites;
-as rape, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>III. Crimes of shame; as concealing the
-births of infants, attempts to procure
-miscarriage, and the like.</p>
-
-
-<div class="left">
-<table class="tableleft left" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td>IV. Crimes of temptation,</td><td rowspan="3">with, or without breach of trust.</td></tr>
-<tr><td>V. Crimes of cupidity,</td></tr>
-<tr><td>VI. Crimes of want,</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>VII. Crimes of political prejudices.</p></div>
-
-<p>With the class of casual or accidental
-criminals, however, we are not at present
-concerned. Those who resort to crime as
-a means of support, when in a state of extreme
-want, for instance, cannot be said to
-belong to the <i>voluntary</i> non-workers, for
-many of these would willingly work to increase
-their sustenance, if that end were
-attainable by such means, but the poor
-shirt-workers, slop-tailors, and the like, have
-not the power of earning more than the
-barest subsistence by their labour, so that
-the pawning of the work entrusted to
-them by their employers, becomes an act
-to which they are immediately impelled
-for “dear life,” on the occurrence of the
-least illness or mishap among them. Such
-<i>offenders</i>, therefore, belong more properly
-to those who cannot work for their living,
-or rather, who cannot live by their working,
-and though they offend against the laws
-in the same manner as those that will not
-work, they cannot certainly be said to be
-of the same class.</p>
-
-<p>The <i>voluntary</i> non-workers are a distinct
-body of people. In the introductory chapter
-to the first volume of the “Street-folk,”
-they have been shown to appertain to even
-the rudest nations, being as it were the
-human parasites of every civilized and
-barbarous community. The Hottentots
-have their “<i>Sonquas</i>,” and the Kafirs their
-“<i>Fingoes</i>,” as we have our “Prigs” and
-“Cadgers.” Those who will not work for
-the food they consume, appear to be part
-and parcel of a State&mdash;an essential element
-of the social fabric as much as those who
-cannot, or need not work for their living.
-Go where you will, to what corner of the
-earth you please, search out or propound
-what new-fangled or obsolete form of society
-you may, there will be some members
-of it more apathetic than the rest, who object
-to work&mdash;some more infirm than the
-rest, who are denied the power to work&mdash;and
-some more thrifty than the rest, who
-from their past savings have no necessity
-to work for the future. These several forms
-are but the necessary consequences of specific
-differences in the constitution of different
-beings. Circumstances may tend to
-give an unnatural development to either
-one or other of the classes; the criminal
-class, the pauper class, or the wealthy class,
-may be in excess in one form of society,
-as compared with another, or they may be
-repressed by certain social arrangements;
-nevertheless, to a greater or less degree,
-there they will and <i>must</i> ever be.</p>
-
-<p>Since, then, there <i>is</i> an essentially distinct
-class of people who <i>will</i> not work for
-their living, and since work is a necessary
-condition of the human organism, the
-question becomes, How do such people
-live? There is but one answer:&mdash;If they
-do not labour to procure their own food, of
-course they must live on the food procured
-by the labour of others. But how do they
-obtain possession of the food belonging to
-others? There are but two means: it must
-either be given to them by, or be taken from,
-the industrious portion of the community.
-Consequently, the next point to be settled
-is, what are the means by which those who
-<i>object</i> to work get their food given to them,
-and what the means by which they are
-enabled to take it from others. Let us
-begin with the last mentioned.</p>
-
-<p>The means by which the criminal classes
-obtain their living constitute the essential
-points of difference among them, and form
-indeed the methods of distinction among
-themselves. The “Rampsmen,” the “Drummers,”
-the “Mobsmen,” the “Sneaksmen,”
-and the “Shofulmen,”<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> which are the terms
-by which they themselves designate the
-several branches of the “profession,” are
-but so many expressions indicating the several
-modes of obtaining the property of
-which they become possessed.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>The “<i>Rampsman</i>” or “<i>Cracksman</i>” plunders
-by force; as the burglar, footpad,
-&amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>The “<i>Drummer</i>” plunders by stupefaction;
-as the “hocusser.”</p>
-
-<p>The “<i>Mobsman</i>” plunders by manual
-dexterity; as the pickpocket.</p>
-
-<p>The “<i>Sneaksman</i>” plunders by stealth; as
-the petty-larceny men and boys.</p>
-
-<p>The “<i>Shofulman</i>” plunders by counterfeits;
-as the coiner.</p></div>
-
-<p>Now each and all of these are distinct species
-of the genus, having often little or no
-connection with the others. The “Cracksman,”
-or housebreaker, would no more think
-of associating with the “Sneaksman” than
-a barrister would dream of sitting down to
-dinner with an attorney; the perils braved
-by the housebreaker or the footpad make
-the cowardice of the sneaksman contemptible
-to him; and the one is distinguished by a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span>
-kind of bulldog insensibility to danger, while
-the other is marked by a low cat-like cunning.
-The “Mobsman,” on the other hand,
-is more of a handicraftsman than either, and
-is comparatively refined by the society he
-is obliged to keep. He usually dresses in
-the same elaborate style of fashion as a
-Jew on a Saturday (in which case he is
-more particularly described by the prefix
-“swell”), and “mixes” generally in the
-“best of company,” frequenting&mdash;for the
-purposes of his business&mdash;all the places of
-public entertainment, and often being a
-regular attendant at church and the more
-elegant chapels, especially during charity
-sermons. The Mobsman takes his name
-from the gregarious habits of the class to
-which he belongs, it being necessary, for
-the successful picking of pockets, that the
-work be done in small gangs or mobs, so
-as to “cover” the operator. Among the
-Sneaksmen, again, the purloiners of animals,
-such as the horse stealers, the sheep
-stealers, the deer stealers, and the poachers,
-all belong to a particular tribe (with the
-exception of the dog stealers)&mdash;they are
-agricultural thieves; whereas the others
-are generally of a more civic character.
-The Shofulmen, or coiners, moreover constitute
-a distinct species, and upon them,
-like the others, is impressed the stamp of
-the peculiar line of roguery they may
-chance to follow as a means of subsistence.</p>
-
-<p>Such are the more salient features of
-that portion of the voluntary non-workers
-who live by <i>taking</i> what they want from
-others. The other moiety of the same
-class who live by getting what they want
-<i>given</i> to them, is equally peculiar. These
-consist of the “Flatcatchers,” the “Hunter”
-and “Charley<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> Pitchers,” the “Bouncers”
-and “Besters,” the “Cadgers,” the Vagrants,
-and the Prostitutes.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>The “<i>Flatcatchers</i>” obtain what they
-want by false pretences; as swindlers,
-duffers, ring droppers, and cheats of
-all kinds.</p>
-
-<p>The “<i>Hunter</i>” and “<i>Charley Pitchers</i>”
-obtain what they want by gaming; as
-thimblerig men, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>The “<i>Bouncers</i>” and “<i>Besters</i>” obtain what
-they want by betting, intimidating, or
-talking people out of their property.</p>
-
-<p>The “<i>Cadgers</i>” obtain what they want by
-begging, and exciting false sympathy.</p>
-
-<p>The <i>Vagrants</i> obtain what they want by
-declaring on the casual ward of the
-parish workhouse.</p>
-
-<p>The <i>Prostitutes</i> obtain what they want
-by the performance of an immoral act.</p></div>
-
-<p>Each of these, again, are unmistakeably
-distinguished from the rest. The “Flatcatchers”
-are generally remarkable for great
-shrewdness, especially in the knowledge of
-human character and ingenuity in designing
-and carrying out their several schemes.
-The “Charley Pitchers” appertain more to
-the conjuring or sleight-of-hand and blackleg
-class. The “Cadgers,” again, are to
-the class of cheats what the “Sneaksmen”
-are to the thieves, the lowest of all, being
-the least distinguished for those characteristics
-which mark the other members of
-the same body. As the “Sneaksmen” are
-the least daring and expert of all the
-thieves, so are the “Cadgers” the least intellectual
-and cunning of all the cheats.
-A “shallow cove,” that is to say, one who
-exhibits himself half naked in the streets
-as a means of obtaining his living, is
-looked upon as the most despicable of all,
-since the act requires neither courage,
-intellect, nor dexterity for the execution
-of it. The Vagrants, on the other hand,
-are the wanderers&mdash;the English Bedouins&mdash;those
-who, in their own words, “love to
-shake a free leg”&mdash;the thoughtless and the
-careless vagabonds of our race; while the
-Prostitutes, as a body, are the shameless
-among our women.</p>
-
-<p>Such, then, are the characters of the
-voluntary non-workers, or professionally
-criminal class, the vagrants, beggars, cheats,
-thieves, and prostitutes&mdash;each order expressing
-some different mode of existence
-adopted by those who object to labour for
-their living. The vagrants, who love a
-roving life, exist principally by declaring
-on the parish funds for the time being;
-the beggars, as deficient in courage and
-intellect as in pride, prefer to live by
-soliciting alms of the public; the cheats,
-possessed of considerable cunning and ingenuity,
-choose rather to subsist by continual
-fraud and deception; the thieves,
-distinguished generally by a hardihood and
-comparative disregard of danger, find greater
-delight in risking their liberty by taking
-what they want, instead of waiting to
-have it given them; while the prostitutes,
-as deficient in shame as the beggars are in
-pride, prefer to live by using their charms
-for the vilest of purposes.</p>
-
-<p>The exposition of the <i>causes</i> why the several
-species of voluntary non-workers object to
-labour for their living, I shall reserve for a
-future occasion; that they do <i>object</i> to work
-is patent in the fact that they might sustain
-themselves by their industry if they
-chose (for those who are unable to do so,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>
-and are consequently driven to dishonesty,
-have been purposely removed from the class).</p>
-
-<p>The number of individuals belonging to
-the professional criminal class, we are not
-yet in a position to ascertain; but few dependable
-facts have been collected on the
-subject, and even these have been obtained
-so many years back that, with the increase
-of population, they have become almost
-worthless, except in a historic point of view.
-Such as they are, however, it will be as well
-to add them to this introduction to the class
-of voluntary non-workers, as the best information
-at present existing upon the subject.</p>
-
-
-<h3>TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF DEPREDATORS, OFFENDERS, AND SUSPECTED
-PERSONS WHO HAVE BEEN BROUGHT WITHIN THE COGNIZANCE
-OF THE POLICE IN THE YEAR 1837, <span class="lock">COMPREHENDING:&mdash;</span></h3>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>1. Persons who have no visible means of subsistence, and who are believed to live wholly by violation
-of the law, as by habitual depredation, by fraud, by prostitution, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>2. Persons following some ostensible and legal occupation, but who are known to have committed
-an offence, and are believed to augment their gains by habitual or occasional violation of the law.</p>
-
-<p>3. Persons not known to have committed any offences, but known as associates of the above
-classes, and otherwise deemed to be suspicious characters.</p></div>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Character and description of Offenders.</th><th colspan="8">Metropolitan Police District.</th></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="2">1st Class.</th><th colspan="2">2nd Class.</th><th colspan="2">3rd Class.</th><th colspan="2">Total all Classes.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left" rowspan="3"><span class="smcap">Rampsmen</span><a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a></td><td class="left">Burglars</td><td>77</td><td rowspan="3"></td><td>22</td><td rowspan="3"></td><td>8</td><td rowspan="3"></td><td>107</td><td rowspan="3"></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Housebreakers</td><td>59</td><td>17</td><td>34</td><td>110</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Highway robbers</td><td>19</td><td>8</td><td>11</td><td>38</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="2"></td><td>&mdash;&mdash;</td><td>155</td><td>&mdash;&mdash;</td><td>47</td><td>&mdash;&mdash;</td><td>53</td><td>&mdash;&mdash;</td><td>255</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="smcap">Mobsmen</span></td><td class="left">Pickpockets</td><td></td><td>544</td><td></td><td>75</td><td></td><td>154</td><td></td><td>773</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="smcap">Sneaksmen</span></td><td class="left">Common thieves</td><td></td><td>1667</td><td></td><td>1338</td><td></td><td>652</td><td></td><td>3657</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left" rowspan="3"><span class="smcap">Animal stealers</span></td><td class="left">Horse stealers</td><td>7</td><td></td><td>4</td><td></td><td colspan="2"></td><td>11</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cattle stealers</td><td colspan="2"></td><td colspan="2"></td><td colspan="2"></td><td colspan="2"></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dog stealers</td><td>45</td><td></td><td>48</td><td></td><td></td><td>48</td><td>141</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="2"></td><td>&mdash;&mdash;</td><td>52</td><td>&mdash;&mdash;</td><td>52</td><td colspan="2"></td><td>&mdash;&mdash;</td><td>152</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left" rowspan="3"><span class="smcap">Shofulmen</span></td><td class="left"><a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a>Forgers</td><td colspan="2"></td><td>3</td><td></td><td colspan="2"></td><td>3</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a>Coiners</td><td>25</td><td></td><td>1</td><td></td><td>2</td><td></td><td>28</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Utterers of base coin</td><td>202</td><td></td><td>54</td><td></td><td>61</td><td></td><td>317</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="2"></td><td>&mdash;&mdash;</td><td>227</td><td>&mdash;&mdash;</td><td>58</td><td>&mdash;&mdash;</td><td>63</td><td>&mdash;&mdash;</td><td>348</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left" rowspan="2"><span class="smcap">Flatcatchers</span></td><td class="left"><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a>Obtainers of goods by false pretences</td><td>33</td><td></td><td>108</td><td></td><td colspan="2"></td><td>141</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a>Persons committing frauds of any other description</td><td>23</td><td></td><td>118</td><td></td><td></td><td>41</td><td>182</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="2"></td><td>&mdash;&mdash;</td><td>56</td><td>&mdash;&mdash;</td><td>226</td><td colspan="2"></td><td>&mdash;&mdash;</td><td>323</td></tr>
-<tr><td rowspan="3"></td><td class="left">Receivers of stolen goods</td><td></td><td>51</td><td></td><td>158</td><td></td><td>134</td><td></td><td>343</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a>Habitual disturbers of the public peace</td><td></td><td>723</td><td></td><td>1866</td><td></td><td>179</td><td></td><td>2768</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Vagrants</td><td></td><td>1089</td><td></td><td>186</td><td></td><td>20</td><td></td><td>1295</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left" rowspan="2"><span class="smcap">Cadgers</span></td><td class="left"><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a>Begging-letter writers</td><td>12</td><td></td><td>17</td><td></td><td>21</td><td></td><td>50</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bearers of begging-letters</td><td>22</td><td></td><td>40</td><td></td><td>24</td><td></td><td>86</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="2"></td><td>&mdash;&mdash;</td><td>34</td><td>&mdash;&mdash;</td><td>57</td><td>&mdash;&mdash;</td><td>45</td><td>&mdash;&mdash;</td><td>136</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left" rowspan="3"><span class="smcap">Prostitutes</span></td><td class="left"><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a>Prostitutes, well-dressed, living in brothels</td><td>813</td><td></td><td>62</td><td></td><td>20</td><td></td><td>895</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a>Prostitutes, well-dressed, walking the streets</td><td>1460</td><td></td><td>79</td><td></td><td>73</td><td></td><td>1612</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Prostitutes, low, infesting low neighbourhoods</td><td>3533</td><td></td><td>147</td><td></td><td>184</td><td></td><td>3864</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="2"></td><td>&mdash;&mdash;</td><td>5806</td><td>&mdash;&mdash;</td><td>288</td><td>&mdash;&mdash;</td><td>277</td><td>&mdash;&mdash;</td><td>6371</td></tr>
-<tr><td rowspan="2"></td><td class="left"><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a>Classes not before enumerated</td><td></td><td>40</td><td></td><td>2</td><td></td><td>438</td><td></td><td>470</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total</td><td class="total" colspan="2">10,444</td><td class="total" colspan="2">4353</td><td class="total" colspan="2">2104</td><td class="total" colspan="2">16,901</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The estimate made for five of the principal provincial towns in the same year
-was as <span class="lock">follows:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-
-<h3>TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF DEPREDATORS, OFFENDERS, AND SUSPECTED
-PERSONS BROUGHT WITHIN THE COGNIZANCE OF THE POLICE
-OF THE UNDERMENTIONED DISTRICTS, IN THE YEAR 1837.</h3>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2">District or Place.</th><th colspan="4">Number of Depredators, Offenders, and Suspected Persons.</th><th rowspan="2">Average Length of Career.</th><th rowspan="2">Proportion of known bad Characters to the Population.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1st Class.</th><th>2nd Class.</th><th>3rd Class.</th><th>Total.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Metropolitan Police District</td><td>10,444</td><td>4353</td><td>2104</td><td>16,901</td><td>4 yrs.</td><td>1 in 89</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Borough of Liverpool</td><td>3,580</td><td>916</td><td>215</td><td>4,711</td><td>......</td><td>1 in 45</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">City and County of Bristol</td><td>1,935</td><td>1190</td><td>356</td><td>3,481</td><td>......</td><td>1 in 31</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">City of Bath</td><td>284</td><td>470</td><td>847</td><td>1,601</td><td>......</td><td>1 in 37</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Town and County of Newcastle-on-Tyne</td><td>1,730</td><td>222</td><td>62</td><td>2,014</td><td>2&frac14; yrs.</td><td>1 in 27</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total</td><td class="total">17,973</td><td class="total">7151</td><td class="total">3584</td><td class="total">28,708</td><td></td><td></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>By the above table it will be seen that,
-in 1837, there were 28,708 persons of known
-bad character, infesting five of the principal
-towns in England: nearly 18,000 of
-the entire number had no visible means of
-subsistence, and were believed to live wholly
-by depredation; 7000 were believed to
-augment their gains by habitual or occasional
-violation of the law; and 3500 were
-known to be associates of the others, and
-otherwise deemed suspicious characters. According
-to the average proportion of these
-persons to the population, there would have
-been in the other large towns nearly 32,000
-persons of a similar class, and upwards of
-69,000 of such persons dispersed throughout
-the rest of the country. Adding these
-together, we have as many as 130,000 individuals
-of known bad character in England
-and Wales, <i>without</i> the walls of the
-prisons.</p>
-
-<p>To form an accurate notion of the total
-number of the criminal population at the
-above period, we must add to the preceding
-amount the number of persons resident
-<i>within</i> the walls of the prisons. These, at the
-time of taking the last census, amounted to
-19,888, which, added to the 130,000 above
-enumerated, gives within a fraction of
-150,000 individuals for the entire criminal
-population of the country, as known to the
-police in 1837.</p>
-
-<p>Let us now, for a moment, turn our attention
-to the number and cost of the honest
-and dishonest poor throughout England
-and Wales. Mr. Porter, usually no mean
-authority upon all matters of a statistical
-nature, tells us, in his “Progress of the
-Nation,” p. 530, that “the proportion of
-persons in the United Kingdom who pass
-their time without applying to any gainful
-occupation is quite <i>inconsiderable!</i> Of
-5,800,000 males of 20 years and upwards
-living at the time of the census of 1831,
-there were said to be engaged in some
-calling or profession 5,450,000, thus leaving
-unemployed only 350,000, or rather less
-than six per cent.” “The number of unemployed
-adult males in Great Britain in
-1841,” he afterwards informs us, “was only
-274,000 and odd.”</p>
-
-<p>But this statement gives us no accurate
-idea of the number of persons subsisting by
-charity or crime, for the author of the
-“Progress of the Nation,” strange to say,
-wholly excludes from his calculation the
-mass of individuals maintained by the several
-parishes, as well as the criminals, almspeople,
-and lunatics throughout the country!
-Now, according to the Report of the
-Poor-law Commissioners, the number of
-paupers receiving in and out-door relief, in
-1848, was no less than 1,870,000 and odd.
-The number of criminals and suspicious
-characters throughout the country, in 1837,
-we have seen, was 150,000. In 1844 the
-number of lunatics in county asylums was
-4000 and odd; while, according to the
-occupation abstract of the population returns
-there were in 1841 upwards of 5000
-almspeople, 1000 beggars, and 21,000 pensioners.
-These, formed into one sum, give
-us no less than 2,000,000 of individuals
-living upon the income of the remainder of
-the population. By the above computation,
-therefore, we see that, out of a total of
-16,000,000 souls, in England and Wales,
-one-eighth, or twelve per cent. of the
-whole, continue their existence either by
-pauperism, mendicancy, or crime.</p>
-
-<p>Now, the cost of this immense mass of
-vice and want is even more appalling than
-the number of individuals subsisting in
-such utter degradation. The total amount<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span>
-of money levied in 1848 for the relief of the
-poor throughout England and Wales, was
-7,400,000<i>l.</i> But, exclusive of this amount,
-the magnitude of the sum that we give
-voluntarily towards the support and education
-of the poorer classes, is unparalleled in
-the history of any other nation, or of any
-other time. According to the summary of
-the returns annexed to the voluminous
-reports of the Charity Commissioners, the
-rent of the land and other fixed property,
-together with the interest of the money
-left for charitable purposes in England and
-Wales, amounts to 1,200,000<i>l.</i> a year; and
-it is believed that, by proper management,
-this return might be increased to an annual
-income of at least two millions of money.
-“And yet,” says Mr. MʻCulloch, “there can
-be no doubt that even this large sum falls
-far below the amount expended every year
-in voluntary donations to charitable establishments.
-Nor can any estimate be formed,”
-he adds, “of the money given in charity to
-individuals, but in the aggregate it cannot
-fail to amount to an immense sum.” All
-things considered, therefore, we cannot be
-very far from the truth, if we assume the
-sums <i>voluntarily</i> subscribed towards the
-relief of the poor to equal, in the aggregate,
-the total amount raised by assessment for the
-same purpose (the income from voluntary
-subscriptions to the <i>metropolitan</i> charities
-alone equals 1,000,000<i>l.</i> and odd); so that it
-would appear that the well-to-do amongst
-us expend the vast sum of 15,000,000<i>l.</i> per
-annum in mitigating the miseries of their
-less fortunate brethren.</p>
-
-<p>But though it may be said that we give
-altogether 15,000,000<i>l.</i> a year to alleviate
-the distress of those who want or suffer, we
-must remember that this vast sum expresses
-not only the liberal extent of our sympathy,
-but likewise the fearful amount of want and
-suffering, on the one hand, and of excess and
-luxury on the other, that there must be in
-the land. If the poorer classes require fifteen
-millions to be added in charity every year
-to their aggregate income in order to relieve
-their pains and privations, and the richer
-can afford to have the same immense sum
-taken from theirs, and yet scarcely feel the
-loss, it shows at once how much the one
-class must have in excess and the other in
-deficiency. Whether such a state of things
-is a necessary evil connected with the distribution
-of wealth, this is not the place for
-me to argue. All I have to do here is to
-draw attention to the fact. It is for others
-to lay bare the cause, and, if possible,
-discover the remedy.</p>
-
-<p>There still remains, however, to be added
-to the sum expended in voluntary or compulsory
-relief of the poor, the cost of our
-criminal and convict establishments at
-home and abroad. This, according to the
-Government estimates, amounts to very
-nearly 1,000,000<i>l.</i>; then there is the value
-of the property appropriated by the 150,000
-habitual criminals, and this, at 10<i>s.</i> a week
-per head, amounts to very nearly 4,000,000<i>l.</i>;
-so that, adding these items to the sum
-before-mentioned, we have, in round numbers,
-the enormous amount of 20,000,000<i>l.</i>
-per annum as the cost of the paupers and
-criminals of this country; and, reckoning
-the national income, with Mr. MʻCulloch
-and others, at 350,000,000<i>l.</i>, it follows that
-the country has to give upwards of five per
-cent. out of its gross earnings every year to
-support those who are either incapable or
-unwilling to obtain a living for themselves.</p>
-
-
-<div class="chapter" id="OF_THE_PROSTITUTE_CLASS_GENERALLY">
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">OF THE PROSTITUTE CLASS GENERALLY.</h2>
-
-</div>
-
-<p>We have now seen that the two modes of
-obtaining a living other than by working
-for it are, by forcibly or stealthily appropriating
-the proceeds of another’s labour,
-or else by seducing the more industrious
-or thrifty to part with a portion of their
-gains. Prostitution, professionally resorted
-to, belongs to the latter class, and consists,
-when adopted as a means of subsistence
-without labour, in inducing others, by the
-performance of some immoral act, to render
-up a portion of their possessions. Literally
-construed, prostitution is the putting of
-anything to a vile use; in this sense perjury
-is a species of prostitution, being an
-unworthy use of the faculty of speech; so,
-again, bribery is a prostitution of the right
-of voting; while prostitution, specially so
-called, is the using of her charms by a
-woman for immoral purposes. This, of
-course, may be done either from mercenary
-or voluptuous motives; be the cause, however,
-what it may, the act remains the
-same, and consists in the base perversion
-of a woman’s charms&mdash;the surrendering of
-her virtue to criminal indulgence. Prostitution
-has been defined to be the illicit
-intercourse of the sexes; but illicit is
-unlicensed, and the mere sanctioning of
-an immoral act could not dignify it into a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>
-moral one. Such a definition would make
-the criminality of the act to consist solely
-in the absence of the priest’s licence.</p>
-
-<p>In Persia there are no professional prostitutes
-permitted; but though the priest’s
-sanction there precedes the surrendering
-of the woman’s virtue in every instance,
-still the same immoral perversion takes
-place&mdash;it being customary for couples to
-be wedded for a small sum by the priest
-in the evening, and divorced by him, for
-an equally small sum, in the morning.
-Here, then, we find the licensed intercourse
-assuming the same immoral cast as
-the unlicensed; for surely none will maintain
-that these nuptial ephemeræ are sanctified,
-because accompanied with a priestly
-licence. Nor can we, on the other hand,
-assert that the mere fact of continence in
-the association of the sexes, the persistence
-of the female to one male, or the continued
-endurance of an unsanctioned attachment,
-can ever be raised into anything purer
-than cohabitation, or the chastity of unchastity.</p>
-
-<p>Prostitution, then, does not consist solely
-in promiscuous intercourse, for she who
-confines her favours to one may still be a
-prostitute; nor does it consist in illicit or
-unsanctioned intercourse, for, as we have
-seen, the intercourse may be sanctioned
-and still be prostitution to all intents and
-purposes. Nor can it be said to consist
-solely in the mercenary motives so often
-prompting to the commission of the act;
-for fornication is expressly that form of
-prostitution which is the result of illicit
-attachment.</p>
-
-<p>In what, then, it may be asked, <i>does</i>
-prostitution consist? It consists, I answer,
-in what the word literally expresses&mdash;putting
-a woman’s charms to vile uses.
-The term <i>whore</i> has, strictly, the same
-signification as that of <i>prostitute</i>; though
-usually supposed to be from the Saxon
-verb <i lang="ang" xml:lang="ang">hyrian</i>, to hire, and, consequently,
-to mean a woman whose favours can be
-procured for a reward. But the Saxon
-substantive <i lang="ang" xml:lang="ang">hure</i>, is the same word as the
-first syllable of <i lang="ang" xml:lang="ang">hor-cwen</i>, which signifies
-literally a filthy quean, a <i>har</i>-lot. Now
-the term <i lang="ang" xml:lang="ang">hor</i>, in <i lang="ang" xml:lang="ang">hor-cwen</i>, is but another
-form of the Saxon adjective <i lang="ang" xml:lang="ang">horig</i>, filthy,
-dirty, the Latin equivalent of which is
-<i>sor</i>-didus; hence the substantive <i lang="ang" xml:lang="ang">horines</i>
-means filthiness, and <i lang="ang" xml:lang="ang">horingas</i>, adulterers
-(or filthy people), and <i lang="ang" xml:lang="ang">hornung</i>, adultery,
-fornication, whoredom (or filthy acts).
-Prostitution and whoredom, then, have
-both the same meaning, viz., perversion to
-vile or <i>filthy</i> uses; and consist in the surrendering
-of a woman’s virtue in a manner
-that excites <i>our moral disgust</i>. The offensiveness
-of the act of unchastity to the
-moral taste or sense constitutes the very
-essence of prostitution; and it is this moral
-offensiveness which often makes the
-licensed intercourse of the sexes, as in the
-marriage of a young girl to an old man,
-for the sake of his money, as much an
-act of prostitution as even the grossest
-libertinism.</p>
-
-<p>The next question consequently becomes,
-what are the invariable antecedents
-which excite the moral disgust in every
-act of prostitution? or are there any such
-invariable antecedents characterizing each
-offensive perversion of a woman’s charms?
-Is the offensiveness a mere matter of taste,
-differing according as the moral palates of
-the individuals or races may differ one from
-the other, and ultimately referable to some
-peculiar form of organization, convention,
-fashion, or geography? or is it a part of
-the inherent constitution of things?&mdash;in a
-word, is there an abstract chastity and
-unchastity; an erotic <span lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">τὸ καλὸν</span> and <span lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">τὸ
-κακὸν</span>; an universal standard of moral
-beauty and ugliness in woman&mdash;that, go
-where you will, is the same to all natures
-and in all countries? or is the vice of
-one set of people the virtue of another, as
-this race admires white teeth and that
-black?</p>
-
-<p>This is a matter lying, as it were, across
-the very threshold of the subject, and
-which must necessarily, according as one
-or other view be taken, give a wholly different
-cast, not only to all our thoughts in
-connection with the evil, but to all our
-plans for the remedy of it. If prostitution
-be loathsome to us, merely because it is
-the moral fashion of our people that it
-should be so, then by popularizing new
-forms of thought and feeling among us
-may we remove all opprobrium from the
-act, and so put an end to all the moral
-evil in connection with it; but if it be
-naturally and innately offensive to every
-healthy mind, then can it be remedied
-solely by improving the tone of the
-thoughts and feelings of the depraved,
-and restoring the lost moral sense, as well
-as directing the perverted taste to more
-wholesome and beautiful objects.</p>
-
-<p>To solve this part of the problem, then,
-it will be necessary that we should take as
-comprehensive a view of the subject as
-possible, collecting a large and multifarious
-body of facts, and examining the matter
-from almost every conceivable point of
-view. It will be necessary that we should
-regard it by the light of the early ages of
-society&mdash;that we should contemplate it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>
-amid all the primitive rudeness of barbaric
-life&mdash;and ultimately that we should study
-it under the many varied phases that it
-assumes in civilized communities.</p>
-
-<p>For the better performance of this task
-I have availed myself of the services and
-assistance of my friend, Mr. Horace St.
-John, whom I shall now leave to lay before
-the reader the many curious and interesting
-facts which he has collected at my
-request in connection with the ancient and
-foreign part of the subject, after which I
-shall return to the consideration of that
-branch of the general inquiry connected
-more immediately with the prostitution of
-this country.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in Ancient States:
-General View.</span></h3>
-
-<p>In the following inquiry, though the chief
-object will be to ascertain the extent and
-character of the prostitute class of women,
-it will be necessary to indicate generally
-the condition of the sex in various ages,
-and among different nations. This will
-afford a comparative view of the subject.
-It is impossible to form a judgment on the
-condition of this class, and its influence on
-society, without learning in what degree of
-estimation morality is viewed by a people;
-what position in the social scale is occupied
-by their women; at what price chastity is
-held; and what are the relative stations of
-the sexes. To afford a correct idea of this,
-in plain, popular language, is the task to
-which we now apply ourselves; and we commence
-with the ancient states whose institutions
-have, in a greater or less degree,
-influenced those of all others, in every
-later age. It is necessary to maintain a
-distinction between those countries where
-marriage was an institution, and those&mdash;if
-they are not quite fabulous&mdash;at least savage
-communities where the intercourse of
-men with women is looser than that of
-beasts.</p>
-
-<p>Far as we can trace the history of society
-we discover no state without the blemish
-of prostitution. In some it was more, in
-others less prevalent; but in all it existed
-in one form or another. In examining the
-manners of the ancient nations, Hebrews,
-Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Celts, and
-Anglo Saxons, we find women who degraded
-themselves from vanity, lust, or for
-gain; and, among the old communities of
-the East, less known to us, public immorality
-was a characteristic. We shall show
-this to have been the case, and, basing our
-statements on the most creditable authority,
-indicate the principal features of each
-system. The information, it is true, which
-has been bequeathed to us, and elucidated
-by the learning and diligence of numerous
-scholars, is far from complete; but enough
-may be collected among the antiquities of
-Israel, Greece, Rome, and Egypt, to establish
-a fair opinion. The general design of
-this inquiry will be to draw a view of the
-position occupied by the female sex in different
-ages and countries, to measure the
-estimation in which it was held, to fix the
-accepted standard of morality, to ascertain
-the recognised significance of the marriage
-contract, the laws relating to polygamy and
-concubinage, the value at which feminine
-virtue and modesty were held, and thus to
-consider the prostitute in relation to the
-system of which she formed a part. <i>She</i>
-will be the particular object of investigation;
-but the others are by no means
-unimportant. They are, indeed, necessary
-to a just and comprehensive view of the
-question before us. In a society where men
-lived in brutal promiscuousness with the
-women, prostitution could scarcely exist;
-where chastity was lightly esteemed, and
-marriage held to be a loose contract for
-social purposes, adultery could hardly be
-very full of shame. In this, therefore, as
-in all other inquiries, it is necessary to view
-the actual object in relation to others which
-are invariably connected with it. There is
-no universal, unvarying standard, by which
-even prostitution can be measured. Circumstances,
-not belonging, yet not entirely
-foreign to it, are to be considered. Consequently,
-while we hold that in view as the
-main ground of research, we shall, where
-materials allow, draw a sketch of the situation
-occupied by the female sex, and of the
-other traits of civilization to which we have
-referred.</p>
-
-<p>In a general view, Greece and Rome,
-with the great city of Babylon, stand most
-prominently forward with their system of
-prostitution. Closer inquiry, however, induces
-us to hesitate before assigning them
-that distinction. Of the two classical states
-especially, it is because our information is
-more immediate and complete, that their
-public immorality is more remarkable.
-The poets of the earlier, and the historians
-of the later, period, have transmitted to us
-numerous accounts of the manners and
-customs of Greece and Rome; their painters
-have left us views,&mdash;their architects and
-sculptors, monuments of their civilization.
-Their moralists and satirists have enlarged
-on the prevalent vices, and from all these
-sources we are enabled to derive clearer ideas
-of their women, and especially their prostitution.
-Besides, in a polished state, with
-pure manners the prostitute class will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span>
-always be more distinct, and therefore more
-conspicuous.</p>
-
-<p>Babylon, far more than a thousand years
-ago, was a proverb of immorality. Her
-name and the name of Whore have been
-associated ideas, not on account only of
-the idolatry practised by her people, but
-on account of their licentious manners.
-Concerning Egypt, though Diodorus and
-Herodotus wrote of it, little is known; of
-the marriage ceremony absolutely nothing.
-The prostitutes are not described; but, from
-every trace and record of their civilization
-which has been preserved, it is evident that
-a large class addicted itself to this calling.
-Who were the public musicians, disreputable
-in the eyes of all other persons?&mdash;who
-were the dancers who performed their wanton
-feats at the entertainments of the rich,
-and stripped themselves half, or entirely,
-naked before their couches?&mdash;who were the
-drunken women, who bared their bodies,
-and capered in that state on the Nile boats,
-during the festival of Bubastis?&mdash;who were
-they who assisted at the sacerdotal orgies,
-which defiled the temples of ancient Egypt?&mdash;who
-could they have been, but women of
-abandoned character, who prostituted themselves
-for vile purposes, for gain or pleasure?</p>
-
-<p>Among the Jews, again, the continually
-reiterated allusions to harlots, in the Scriptures,
-the abominations perpetually charged
-to their account, the threats pronounced
-upon their wickedness, the frequent allusions
-to their licentious manners, indicate
-a wide prevalence of this system. Among
-a people so commonly guilty of nameless
-crimes, we cannot expect to find chastity
-a peculiar virtue. Indeed, it is seldom
-such vices are practised until all the inferior
-offences against decency have become
-insipid through satiety. The writers, therefore,
-who parade before us the civilization
-of the Jews, as an example of public morality,
-base their conclusions on a strange
-interpretation of facts. To contrast them
-with the manners of Attic Greece, is a pure
-satire on common sense. Sparta was licentious,
-but not in the low and gross manner
-of the Jews. Athens harboured a licentious
-class; but none like those bestial
-voluptuaries among the Hebrews, in whom
-lust became a loathsome passion. Although,
-therefore, the actual manners of ancient
-Israel have been less vividly described than
-those of Greece, it is evident from the
-tenour of Scripture history, that morality
-there was less pure than in the Attic state.</p>
-
-<p>Rome, under the republic, was, perhaps,
-still farther removed from the charge of corruption.
-Prostitutes it had, and brothels;
-but its women were generally virtuous.
-The chastity of the Roman matron has
-passed into a proverb. It was, however, if
-we may credit the historian Tacitus, exceeded
-by the modesty of the women in
-ancient Germany. Among them morals appear
-purged of licentiousness. Polygamy
-was forbidden, and practised only by the
-petty kings who set themselves above the
-law. The manners of the people, rather
-than the enactments of their code, prohibited
-divorce. Adultery, rare as it was,
-ranked as an inexpiable crime; while seduction
-was condemned, and prostitution
-unknown. It was not, however, the severity
-of the law which enforced the virtue; it
-was the virtue that imparted its spirit to
-the law. From the morals of ancient Germany,
-the lawgivers of society might learn
-many useful lessons. Bars and bolts, multiplied
-walls, troops of eunuchs, jealous
-lattices, and the dread of punishment, failed
-to guard the harems of the East; while
-the hut of the German barbarian, open on
-all sides, was impregnable against the seducer.
-The poor toy of the Persian’s seraglio,
-protected by a hundred devices,
-often eluded them all; but the German
-women were the guardians of their own
-honour. They may be described as possessing
-all the virtues, without the vices, of
-the stern Spartan stock; and, living on
-terms of equality with the men, held their
-virtue at too dear a price to prostitute it
-for admiration, or lust, or money. Civilization,
-in this respect, has done the Germans
-a very ill office.</p>
-
-<p>Allied to these fierce wanderers in the
-Hyrcynian wood were the Saxons, from
-whom our ancestors descended. We shall
-find among them, on their native soil,
-similar manners, especially in the circumstance
-of the adulteress being whipped
-without mercy through the village. Among
-them prevailed, however, an enlightened
-reverence for the female sex, which contrasted
-strongly with the ideas of many
-surrounding nations, who looked on a
-woman as a creature merely dedicated to
-the service and gratification of man. They
-brought over to England institutions susceptible
-of being moulded to a different
-form. They became more refined and less
-moral. Whenever, indeed, rude men, who
-have not given themselves up to the indulgence
-of their low physical appetites,
-turn from the chase, from war, and similar
-rough occupations, to the framing of laws,
-to the formation of society, to any intellectual
-exercise, it appears natural that
-other propensities should be awakened in
-them, and of these the sensual always form
-a part. It is, consequently, interesting to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>
-study the progress of manners from stage
-to stage of civilization, from the rudest
-tribe to the most refined community.</p>
-
-<p>We shall occupy ourselves first with the
-Hebrew republic, and then with the monarchy
-which succeeded it. From Israel we
-proceed to Egypt, related to it in various
-ways. Thence our attention will be directed
-to Greece, which offered models to the
-statesmen and public economists of all
-time. The contrast between the Ionic and
-the Doric states will be presented. Then
-we shall proceed to Rome, which will lead
-us to the Anglo-Saxons, others being incidentally
-noticed by the way.</p>
-
-<p>In all, as far as our limits and our materials
-will allow, a sketch of the condition
-of women, the national ideas of feminine
-virtue, the laws of marriage, and the extent
-of prostitution, will be given; and thus
-the reader will be prepared to enter on the
-wider field of modern society abroad. This
-will be divided into the barbarous and the
-civilized; and of the barbarous, the hunters,
-fishers, shepherds, and tillers of the soil,
-may be separately noticed.</p>
-
-<p>The account of every ancient people
-will not be equally complete, because the
-sources of information are not so. Thus
-of Egypt, its marriage-customs are wholly
-unknown; of the Anglo-Saxons, although
-the learning and industry of Sharon Turner
-have been employed upon them, our knowledge
-is extremely imperfect. Even Rome
-and Greece, though they present us with
-the general features of their social systems,
-disappoint us when we search into
-details. Nevertheless, the reader may be
-enabled, as we have before said, to form a
-just idea of the condition of women in
-antiquity; for the researches of modern
-scholars have succeeded, at least, in laying
-bare the principal roots of the ancient
-system, upon which all the institutions of
-existing society are, in one form or another,
-established.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution among the Jews and
-other Ancient Nations.</span></h3>
-
-<p>A slight and rapid view of the subject
-in connection with the Jews, and more
-obscure nations of antiquity, is all that can
-here be attempted. With reference to the
-republic of the Hebrew race, though the
-ingenuity of modern writers has built up
-very pleasing theories, described as the
-manners and customs of the Jews, we can
-look nowhere for information except to the
-Bible, and, in a later age, to Josephus.</p>
-
-<p>The position of woman among the Jews
-was by no means exalted. She was seldom
-consulted by her friends, when an union
-with her was desired by a wealthy suitor.
-Indeed, in the patriarchal times she was
-regarded more as her husband’s property
-than as his companion. Such must invariably
-be the case where polygamy and
-concubinage are institutions of society.
-At a still earlier period the customs of
-society were even more at variance with
-our ideas. Of course the sons of Adam
-must have married their sisters, and the
-practice continued after the necessity for
-it had ceased. Abraham formed such an
-union without exciting surprise. The
-patriarchs permitted men to wed two sisters
-at once, but the law of Moses brought a
-reform of marriage customs among the
-Jews<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a>. They discontinued the intercourse
-between blood-relatives long before it was
-abandoned by the surrounding nations.
-Marriages with sisters not by the same
-mother were forbidden in the Mosaic code.
-Previously, however, none were unlawful
-except those of a man with his mother, or
-mother-in-law, or full sister. In the new
-dispensation the widow of a deceased
-brother was placed within the prohibited
-degree of consanguinity.</p>
-
-<p>The laws against adultery were severe;
-death was ordained for both the guilty
-persons, and the punishment appears always
-to have been by stoning. Many victims,
-doubtless, perished under this cruel code;
-but the example of Jesus Christ gave a
-new lesson to mankind. The woman was
-brought before him, and the Jews claimed
-her condemnation. They asked him “should
-she be stoned.” Had he said no, they
-might have charged him with favouring
-adultery, and denying the Mosaic law;
-had he said yes, the Romans might have
-impeached him, for they had assumed the
-distribution of justice, and abolished the
-punishment of death for adultery. But
-he evaded their malice, and gave the law
-of mercy. “Let him that is without sin
-among you cast the first stone.” They all
-went out, and when he was alone with her
-he said, “Hath no man condemned thee?”
-She answered, “No man, Lord.” And he
-again said, “<i>Neither do I condemn thee&mdash;go,
-and sin no more</i>.”</p>
-
-<p>That sentence should ever be in remembrance
-when we frame our moral
-code.</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span></p>
-<p>Adultery, however, was a crime only to
-be committed with a married woman, or
-one who was betrothed. The man’s marriage
-placed him under no obligation to
-abstain from intercourse with other than
-his wife. Wives to the number of four
-were allowed, while concubinage was unlimited.
-The first wife, however, was
-superior to the others. Jealousy, therefore,
-among the Jewish women could not have
-been a powerful feeling. Indeed we find
-strong proofs to the contrary. When Sarah
-found herself barren, she gave Hagar, her
-Egyptian maid, to Abraham, as a concubine
-or inferior wife. Other women, frequently,
-on discovering themselves to be
-sterile, begged their husbands to procure
-another companion of the bed, that they
-might not die childless. Similar instances
-are common in the social history of the
-East.</p>
-
-<p>Marriage with an idolater was forbidden;
-but a man might marry a proselyte
-captive. When he saw a beautiful woman
-among his prisoners of war, he was to take
-her home, shave her head, pare her nails,
-change her raiment into that of a free person,
-and as he had <i>humbled</i> her, was forbidden
-to make merchandise of her again. The
-possession, nevertheless, of two wives by a
-private individual was a rare thing. Popular
-feeling was generally averse to it. The
-personages who most commonly practised
-it were the great men and kings, who were
-most expressly prohibited. In the Book of
-Deuteronomy, when the degraded Israelites
-had clamoured for a king, the law was
-given, “Neither shall he multiply wives to
-himself, so that his heart turn not away.”
-No command was more frequently broken
-in the palaces of Israel. David had an
-immense harem; it seemed to be reckoned
-among the regalia. Solomon, who married
-Pharaoh’s daughter, had seven hundred
-wives&mdash;princesses&mdash;and three hundred
-concubines; but we find that he “did evil
-in the sight of the Lord,” and that “his
-heart was turned away.”</p>
-
-<p>Respecting the children born to these parents
-there was a change in the law. In <i>Genesis</i>
-a man was allowed to transfer the inheritance
-to a favourite child; but, probably
-from the many flagitious actions committed,
-it was in Deuteronomy ordained, that if
-a man had two wives, of whom he hated
-one and loved the other&mdash;each bearing a
-child, the first-born, whether of the loved
-or the hated woman, should enjoy the right
-of inheritance.</p>
-
-<p>From all the passages in Scripture referring
-to this subject, it appears that
-women among the Jews held but an indifferent
-position, being made the subject
-of barter, and that marriage was not a
-sacred but a civil institution,&mdash;a legal bond,
-which might be broken by a legal act.
-Matches were usually made by the woman’s
-kindred, she herself being a secondary
-actor in the transaction.</p>
-
-<p>Throughout the Bible, notwithstanding,
-we find women held by the inspired writers
-in great respect, their treatment by the
-rebellious Jews, as they sank through
-various degrees of corruption, being continually
-set forth among the abominations
-practised by that flagitious people.</p>
-
-<p>In the Scriptures we discover innumerable
-references to women, and to prostitutes
-in particular; but, collecting and comparing
-them all, we find for our present purpose materials
-by no means abundant: there is no
-exact information. Prostitutes, we know,
-existed, and we are told in what estimation
-they were held; that they stood at the
-corners of streets, that they practised many
-seductive arts, and sold themselves at a
-very cheap rate: but how many they were,
-how they lived, what was the nature of
-their places of resort, we are left uninformed,
-or guided only by obscure allusions.
-Nevertheless, sufficient is known upon
-which to base a view of the condition of
-women, and the extent of morality among
-the most ancient nation recognised in
-history.</p>
-
-<p>In the book of Genesis, whence we obtain
-our first glimpses of the social history of
-mankind, we find interesting, though imperfect,
-sketches of a curious state of society.
-We meet, even so early as this, with a
-woman wearing a veil, not taking her
-meals in company with men, living in
-separate apartments, and presenting a
-model of the system still prevalent in the
-East. Simplicity and luxury in strange
-combination characterized the manners of
-that remote age. Their morals appear to
-have been at all times gross; and one of
-the principal tasks of legislation was to
-restrain the licentiousness to which the
-people were so prone to abandon themselves.
-Many barbarous races present at
-this day social institutions similar to those
-of the Jews, whence many writers have
-traced them to that stock. It is more probable,
-however, that similar manners grow
-out of a similar condition.</p>
-
-<p>Several writers, we know, contend for
-the purity of manners among the Jews,
-and point to the rigid laws which ruled
-them. The social history of mankind,
-however, if it proves anything, proves this,
-that it is not by any means the nation
-with the severest code which is the most<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>
-virtuous. Examples of the contrary might
-be multiplied. No state, savage or civilized,
-could ever have more rigorous laws
-than Achin and Japan, and nowhere have
-the people been more flagitious. While
-the Draconic code was in force, morals in
-Greece went to rot. Consequently, if we
-are to consider the Jews to have been a
-moral people, it must certainly not be on
-the ground of their severe laws. Arguing
-from that, a contrary inference should be
-drawn. The direct evidence, however,
-tends the other way. Chastity appears to
-have been by no means a favourite virtue.
-Not to allude to the unnatural abominations
-mentioned in the Bible, it is certain
-that there existed a considerable class of
-public women, who prostituted themselves
-to any one for a certain reward.</p>
-
-<p>The story of Tamar is a curious illustration
-of this subject. To impose on Judah,
-and bear a child by him, and in spite of
-him, she assumes the habit and appearance
-of a regular prostitute. She then goes out,
-and sitting down by the highway covers
-her face. Judah thought her to be a
-harlot, “because she covered her face,”
-which, as the commentators tell us, it was
-the custom for such women to do, as
-among the same class of females in Persia,
-in mimicry of a shame they did not feel.
-Judah speaks to her, and says, “Go to, I
-pray thee, let me come in unto thee.” She
-answers, “What wilt thou give me, that
-thou mayest come in unto me!” He promises
-to give her a kid from his flock, but
-she demands a pledge; this he gave, and
-went with her.</p>
-
-<p>The circumstance is related in a manner
-which seems to show that the practice was
-common with men, nor does any particular
-disgrace appear to attach to it. When,
-however, Judah learns that his daughter-in-law
-Tamar is “with child by whoredom,”
-he condemns her to the punishment of
-death by burning, on the secret being at
-length revealed to him<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a>. We have here a
-singular illustration of manners among the
-primitive tribes of that great family of
-mankind. The corruption of manners
-reached, it is probable, a high degree before
-the laws were given.</p>
-
-<p>Where concubinage was practised, feminine
-virtue could not be held as a precious
-possession. The intercourse accordingly
-of a married man with an unmarried
-woman was esteemed simply as a proof
-of deficient chastity. At the same time,
-the encouragement of prostitution, or “the
-feeding of whores,” is denounced as the
-conduct of foolish and profligate men,
-who unwisely waste their substance. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span>
-class of prostitutes was held in very low
-esteem; they were, in general, foreigners
-and heathens, and are spoken of usually as
-“strange women.” Delilah, who beguiled
-Sampson, was probably a Philistine, though
-it is not certain that she was not an Israelite.
-At any rate, there appear to have
-been many Jewish women, of the lowest
-order, who followed this degrading occupation.
-To render them as few as possible, a
-law was passed forbidding men, under severe
-penalties, from bringing up their daughters
-to prostitution for gain. Legislation, however,
-could not entirely restrain the vicious
-from such a course of life.</p>
-
-<p>Apparently the prostitutes, among the
-Jews, sometimes obtained husbands. Priests,
-however, were forbidden on any account to
-marry a harlot, or indeed any woman
-with even a breath of imputation on her
-fame. For the daughter of a priest, who
-took to the calling of a prostitute, the
-punishment was death by burning. For
-any woman it was infamous, but in spite
-of what was laid down in the law, or by the
-public opinion of the Jews, cities never
-wanted prostitutes, and women walked the
-streets, or stood in groups at the corners,
-ready to entrap the young men who came
-forth in quest of pleasure. Among the
-exhortations of parents to their sons, and
-of patriarchs to youth, we always find an
-injunction to beware of strange women,
-which implies a considerable prevalence of
-the system. The readers of the Bible will
-at once remember the many passages of
-this kind contained in that volume<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>With respect to prostitution among
-the Jews, an illustration is afforded by the
-story of the two mothers who came before
-Solomon for judgment. They were <i>harlots</i>,
-though bearing children, and they said they
-dwelt in one house, and “there was no
-stranger with us in the house.” Another
-is afforded by the account of the two men
-whom Joshua sent out as spies. They came
-into a harlot’s house at Rabbah&mdash;a brothel,
-in fact, where, as at Rome in the Imperial
-age, the woman sat impudently, without
-a veil, at the door, and solicited the
-passers by. They wore peculiar clothing.
-In addition to the vile customs of the
-East, we find, “Thou shalt not bring into
-the temple the price of a whore.” This
-was to guard against the introduction of a
-practice not uncommon among some ancient
-and modern nations, of the priests enriching
-themselves and their temple by hiring
-out prostitutes<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>Another state, known to us from Scripture,
-is Babylon, surnamed the Whore, as
-well from its profligacy as its idolatry. The
-one, indeed, was accompanied by the other.
-Luxury and debauch were carried to the
-highest excess. The Temple of Venus,&mdash;a
-goddess known there as Mylitta,&mdash;was sacred
-to prostitution. The priests had, in immemorial
-time, invented a law that every
-woman should once in her life present herself
-at the temple, and prostitute her body
-to any stranger who might desire it. Consecrated
-by religion, this act appeared
-odious to few of the Babylonian citizens.
-The woman came, dressed brilliantly, and
-crowned with a garland of flowers; she sat
-down with her companions in a place where
-the strangers who filled the galleries might
-observe and make choice of their victims.
-Numbers were found always ready enough
-to enjoy the privilege procured for them by
-the priests. When a man had selected one
-of the women who pleased him most, he
-came down, and making her a present of
-money, which she was compelled to take,
-took her hand and said, “I implore in thy
-favour the goddess Mylitta!” He then led
-her to a retired spot and consummated the
-transaction. Having once entered the temple
-it was impossible for any ordinary woman
-to return home without having prostituted
-herself. Nevertheless, the priests allowed
-some ladies of rank and wealth to make a
-bargain for their chastity, which they probably
-desired to dispose of more agreeably
-to their own caprice. These few privileged
-persons went through the ceremonies without
-performing the usual act of prostitution.
-At the taking of Babylon by Cyrus, men
-were found ready to hire out their daughters
-and prostitute them for profit, while in the
-Alexandrian age men sent their wives to
-strangers for a sum of money<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>Throughout the countries of the East,
-upon the history of which at that early
-period any light has been thrown, we discover
-the prevalence of similar customs.
-The most celebrated appear the most licentious,
-but probably only because they have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>
-been the most strictly investigated. The
-wealthy and luxurious capitals, in which
-the spoils of great conquests were piled up,
-never failed to supply a sufficient number
-of abandoned women, supported by the
-looser sort of men, in various degrees of
-position, from penury to splendour. Though
-circumstances of time and place, of religion
-and civilization, imparted peculiar characteristics
-to the prostitute class of each age
-and country, the general features of the
-system were invariably the same, and the
-prostitutes of Babylon resembled very much
-the prostitutes of New Orleans and London.
-We turn next to ancient Egypt, a country
-of whose laws and manners we have had
-interesting, if not complete, accounts bequeathed
-us.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in Ancient Egypt.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Turning to ancient Egypt, we find, in the
-records of that singular people, little
-directly bearing on the question before us.
-Herodotus, and Diodorus the Sicilian, are
-almost the sole lights which guide us in
-our researches among them. Recently, the
-labours of a learned antiquarian have tended
-to increase our acquaintance with the
-people of old Egypt, by translating into language
-the volumes of information engraved
-or painted on the walls of tombs, temples,
-palaces, and monuments, so numerous in the
-cities on the banks of the Nile. We have
-thus had broad glimpses of the ancient
-history, the geography, population, government,
-the arts, the industry, and the
-manners of that country at that period;
-but the extent of the prostitute system
-has not been touched upon. Nevertheless,
-as one of the most ancient civilizations
-known to history, Egyptian society deserves
-some attention, and it is worth while
-to glance at the general condition of its
-women, especially as a few facts throw
-light on the especial point of our inquiry.</p>
-
-<p>The position of a woman in ancient
-Egypt was in some respects remarkable.
-Entire mistress of the household, she exercised
-considerable influence over her
-husband, and was not subjected to any
-intolerable tyranny. In all countries, however,
-where concubinage is allowed, the
-condition of the sex must be in a degree
-degraded. Herodotus tells us that the
-Egyptians married only one wife, Diodorus
-that they married as many as they pleased,
-the restriction applying only to the sacerdotal
-order. The contradiction may be
-reconciled by supposing that the former
-writer described the general practice, and
-the latter the permission granted by the
-law; or, which is more probable, that he
-confounded concubinage with polygamy.
-From frequent allusions to this system we
-know it was tolerated. Wise laws, however,
-held a check upon the practice.
-Every child, the fruit of whatever union,
-was to be reared by its parents, infanticide
-being severely punished. Illegitimacy was
-a term not recognised. The son of the
-free, and the son of the bondwoman, had
-an equal right to inheritance, the father
-alone being referred to, since the mother
-was viewed as little more than a nurse to
-her own offspring. Women in Egypt bore
-numerous children, which rendered many
-concubines a burden too heavy for any but
-the wealthy to bear; nevertheless, some
-did indulge themselves in this manner,
-procuring young girls from the slave-merchants
-who came from abroad, or captives
-taken in the field.</p>
-
-<p>In a country where the marriage of
-brother and sister was allowed, we might
-expect to find curious laws relating to the
-subject before us. But they were not curious,
-in any particular degree. Adultery
-was punished in the woman by the amputation
-of her nose, in the man by a thousand
-blows with a stick. The wealthier men
-were extremely jealous, forcing their wives
-to go barefooted, that they might not
-wander in the streets. Eunuchs, also, were
-maintained by some. Among classes of a
-lower grade, the women enjoyed peculiar
-freedom, being allowed to take part in
-certain public festivals, on which occasions
-they wore a transparent veil. Among all
-sorts and conditions of the sex, the drinking
-of wine was permitted, as it was by the
-Greeks, though not by the Romans; and
-ladies are occasionally represented on the
-monuments, exhibiting all the evidences
-of excess.</p>
-
-<p>These observations apply to the respectable
-female society of ancient Egypt. There
-existed, however, another class, nowhere
-indeed indicated under the term harlot, or
-prostitute, but evidently such from the
-accounts we have received. If the descriptions
-transmitted to us of the ordinary
-female society be correct, the women to
-whom we allude could have been no other
-than public prostitutes. Such were, in all
-probability, those who enlivened the festival
-of Bubastis, and danced at the private
-entertainments. What ideas of decency
-prevailed among them, may be imagined
-from the brief though curious account
-afforded by Herodotus. When the time of
-the festival arrived, men and women embarked
-promiscuously, and in great numbers,
-on board the vessels which conveyed
-them up or down the river. During the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span>
-voyage, they played on various instruments,
-and whenever they arrived at a
-city moored the boats. Then some of the
-women, who could have been no other
-than the Almé of those days<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a>, played furiously
-all kinds of music, flung off their
-garments, challenged the women of the
-town with gross insulting language, and
-outraged decency by their gestures and
-postures. An immense concourse of people
-assembled on the occasion, and a large proportion
-of them belonged to the female
-sex. “Some of them” only, according to
-our author, took part in the exhibitions of
-profligacy we have noticed.</p>
-
-<p>The public dancers and musicians of the
-female sex were also, in all probability,
-members of the sisterhood we allude to.
-They were, it is well known, held in
-extremely low estimation: they were
-clothed, like the prostitutes of ancient
-Greece, in a single light garment; indeed,
-from the monuments, it is questionable
-whether they did not, like those in the Roman
-saturnalia of Flora, dance entirely
-naked at some of the more dissolute private
-festivals of the wealthy. At any rate, their
-forms are represented so completely undraped,
-that any garment they wore must
-have been a light veil which clung to the
-skin, and was transparent. But from what
-we are told of the festival of Bubastis, it
-is by no means improbable that they were
-actually nude.</p>
-
-<p>In that remote period, fancifully called
-the age of Sesostris, chastity does not
-appear to have been the capital virtue of
-society among the Egyptians. At least,
-we must draw this inference if we are to
-attach any significance to traditions or
-fables, which generally reflect some phase
-of truth. Sesostris, it is said, having offended
-the gods, was struck blind, and
-ordered to find a woman who had been
-strictly faithful to her husband. He was
-very long in performing the task, being
-furnished with an unerring rule of judgment.
-Of course the account is an idle
-fable, yet it is not altogether unworthy of
-notice, for it indicates an opinion as to the
-chastity of that period<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in ancient Greece.</span></h3>
-
-<p>In the heroic ages of Greece, we find women&mdash;on
-the authority, indeed, of poets, the sole
-historians of those times&mdash;enjoying a considerable
-share of liberty, held in much
-respect, accustomed to self-reliance, and
-allowed freely to mingle with others of
-their own sex and with men. A modest
-simplicity of manners is ascribed to them,
-which is wholly foreign to modern ideas of
-refinement. What education they received
-is not well known, though they appear to
-have been trained to practise many of the
-useful as well as the elegant arts of life;
-but with respect to the morality prevalent
-among them little exact information can
-be gained. As in the Bible, however, frequent
-allusion is made to harlots and
-strange women, waiting at the corners of
-the streets, so in the poets of antiquity,
-passages occur which point to the existence
-of a class, dedicating itself to serve,
-for gain, the passions of men who could not
-afford marriage, or would not be bound
-by its restrictions. The science of statistics,
-however, does not seem to have been
-cultivated in those days. We are not told
-with certainty of the population of cities, or
-even whole countries, and men were not then
-found to calculate how many in a hundred
-were immoral, or to compare the prostitute
-with the honourable classes of women.</p>
-
-<p>With the commencement of the strictly
-historical age, though statistics are still
-wanting, there have been collected materials
-from which we may gather fair
-ideas of the <i>status</i> of women, and the position
-and extent of the prostitute class
-among them. Beginning with Sparta, a
-very peculiar system displays itself. Among
-the citizens of that celebrated Doric state,
-women were regarded as little more than
-agencies for the production of other citizens.
-The handsome bull-stranglers of
-Lacedæmon held exceedingly lax notions
-of morality, and would have considered a
-delicately chaste woman as one characterized
-by a singular natural weakness.
-Taught to consider themselves more in
-their capacity of citizens than of women,
-their duty to their husbands, or to their
-own virtue, occupied always the second
-place. Their education inculcated the
-practice of immorality. All ideas of modesty
-were by a deliberate public training
-obliterated from their minds. Scourged
-with the whip when young, taught to
-wrestle, box, and race naked before assemblages
-of men, their wantonness and licentiousness
-passed every bound. Marriage,
-indeed, was an institution of the state; but
-no man could call his wife his own. On
-occasions when the male population was
-away in the field, the women complained
-that there was no chance of children being
-born, and young men were sent back from
-the camp, to become the husbands of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>
-whole female population, married and
-single.</p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter illowp61" id="i_i_0141" style="max-width: 61.1875em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_0141h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>GREEK DANCING-GIRL&mdash;<span class="smcap">Hetaira</span>: <i>Age of Socrates</i>.</p>
-
-<p>[From “<i lang="it" xml:lang="it">Costume Antico e Moderno</i>.”&mdash;Milan, 1616.]</p></div>
-
-</div>
-
-
-
-<p>In times of peace, also, the public laws
-gave every woman a chance of becoming
-what we should in these days term a public
-prostitute. A man without a wife might
-insist on borrowing for a certain time the
-wife of another. Should her husband resist,
-the law was called in to enforce the
-demand. It is asserted, indeed, by some,
-that adultery was unknown in Sparta.
-There was no such offence, in truth, recognised
-in the code. It was common, legal,
-and occurred every day. At the same time,
-however, it is to be remembered, that the
-severe laws of Sparta, recognising no concessions
-to the weaker passions of men,
-allowed these things only for state purposes,
-that citizens might be brought forth.
-There appears to have been no class of
-prostitutes gaining a livelihood by selling
-their persons to the pleasures of men: the
-rigorous code of the state forbade such sensual
-indulgences. Women were not allowed,
-apparently, to walk the streets. The
-young were strictly watched by the elders,
-the elders jealously observed by the young;
-and any proneness to a practice subversive
-of that vigorous health in the population,
-considered essential to preserve the manhood
-of Sparta, would have been denounced
-as an attempt to introduce luxury
-and effeminacy&mdash;the vices, in their eyes,
-of slaves. To assert that in the whole
-state no virtuous women, and no public
-prostitutes, in our sense of the word, could
-be found, would be rash; but it is certain
-that no authority which has come down to
-us represents chastity as a Spartan virtue,
-or prostitution for money, or from predilection,
-one of their social institutions.</p>
-
-<p>In Athens a wholly different picture is
-presented. There, and generally among
-the Ionians, the duty of the wife was to
-preserve a chastity as delicate and pure as
-any which is required in our strictest social
-circle. There, at the same time, the courtezan
-class existed, and men of all descriptions
-and all ages encouraged prostitution,
-to which a considerable class of women devoted
-themselves. This is a complete contrast
-with Sparta.</p>
-
-<p>The young girls of Attica were early
-trained to all the offices of religion; they
-acquired considerable knowledge; their
-intellectual qualities were to some degree
-developed: they were educated to
-become housekeepers, wives, and mothers,
-such as we describe under those heads.
-Exercising considerable influence over their
-male relatives, they possessed consequently
-considerable weight in the community, and
-altogether held a higher position than the
-women of Sparta. They led secluded lives,
-yet they enjoyed many opportunities of intercourse
-with the other sex; and though,
-in their theatres, and in their temples, indecency
-of the grossest description was frequently
-displayed to their sight, they seem
-otherwise to have been somewhat refined in
-this respect. In Sparta, the virgins never
-hesitated to expose themselves naked before
-any circle of spectators: in Athens they
-observed at least the public forms of decorum,
-and, with the exception of the
-Hetairæ or prostitute class, were sufficiently
-modest in their conversation and
-in their behaviour.</p>
-
-<p>Accustomed to be present at public spectacles,
-to converse with men, to share in
-the performance of ceremonies at religious
-or civic festivals, the women of Athens occupied
-a position somewhat approaching
-that which we believe is proper to their
-sex. Marriages, as among us, were contracted,
-some from sentiment, others from
-interest. We are led to form a high idea
-of the general morality prevailing in the
-Attic states of Greece at an early period,
-from the exalted view of love, of chastity,
-of matronly duties, urged in the writers of
-the time. This seems a fair measure to
-employ, since, in a later age, when morals
-were more corrupt, and the regular class of
-prostitutes might be confounded with the
-general society, the style and sentiment of
-poets and others formed an exact reflex of
-the prevailing state of morality.</p>
-
-<p>Traditions point to a period in the social
-history of Greece, when men and women
-dispensed altogether with the ceremony of
-marriage, living not only out of wedlock,
-but promiscuously, without an idea of any
-permanent compact between two individuals
-of opposite sexes. If such a state of
-things ever existed, it must have been before
-any regular society was formed, and it
-is therefore vain to dwell upon it. Polygamy,
-we know, long continued in practice
-among the Greeks, though it was a privilege
-and a propensity chiefly followed by
-the powerful and rich. In Athens marriage
-was held sacred. The character of a
-bachelor was disreputable. So, indeed, was
-it in Sparta, where young men remaining
-single after a certain period might be punished
-for the neglect of a duty exacted
-from them by the severe laws of the state.
-In both states, but in different degrees,
-the prohibition of marriage within certain
-limits of consanguinity extended; but
-when once the union took place, it was,
-in Athens, a crime of great enormity to
-defile its sanctity. The influence of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>
-wife was, in the household, powerful; and
-commanding, as she did, the respect of
-men, the advantages of her position were
-so great, that to risk their loss by a transgression
-of the moral law, was not a common
-occurrence. We may therefore assign
-to the women of Athens a high average of
-morality, and consider them as having
-been held in remarkable estimation.</p>
-
-<p>An important point in the manners of
-every people is the institution of marriage.
-From an inquiry into its estimation, whether
-it be held a religious rite, or a civil contract,
-or both, with various other circumstances
-in connection with these, we are
-aided in forming a just idea of the prevalent
-civilization. In the Doric states of
-Greece, it was esteemed as little more than
-a prudent ceremony, binding man and
-woman together for purposes of state.
-As among the savages of Australasia, it
-was the custom for a man to bear a woman
-forcibly from among her companions, when
-he took her to the bridesmaid’s house, and,
-her hair being cut short and her clothes
-changed, she was delivered to him as wife.
-His intercourse with her however, was, for
-some time clandestine, and he shunned
-being seen in her society. This was the
-case with the wealthier maidens. The
-portionless girls were, from time to time,
-shut up in a dark edifice, and the youths,
-being introduced, accepted each the woman
-he happened to seize upon. A penalty was
-imposed on any one refusing to abide by
-the decision of chance.</p>
-
-<p>Occasionally public ceremonies were
-enacted at the marriages of the rich; but
-from all testimony it appears certain that
-the union of man with woman at Sparta
-was entirely of a civil, and by no means of
-a sacred character. Private interest, sentiment,
-and happiness were indeed, in this,
-as in all other matters, subordinate to the
-public exigencies. When a woman had no
-children by her own husband, she was not
-only allowed, but required by the law to
-cohabit with another man. Anaxandrides,
-to procure an heir, had, contrary to all
-custom, two wives. The state excused no
-licentiousness for its own sake, but any
-amount for a public object<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>In Attic Greece, the ceremony of marriage
-was viewed in a more poetical light,
-and divinity was supposed to preside over it.
-We have already alluded to the notion of the
-promiscuous intercourse among them at a
-remote period; but, passing from this fable,
-we find traces of polygamy long discernible.
-Heracles maintained a regular seraglio.
-Egeus, Pallas, Priam, Agamemnon, and
-nearly all the chiefs, possessed harems,
-but these were irregularities, contrary to
-law and custom, and only in fashion among
-royal personages. The story of the two
-wives of Socrates seems a pure invention.</p>
-
-<p>In the Athenian Republic, marriage,
-being held in reverence, was protected by
-the law. In the later and better known
-ages, consanguinity within certain limits was
-a bar to such union. Men, however, might
-marry half-sisters by the fathers’ side,
-though few availed themselves of the
-permission. Betrothed long before marriage
-by their parents, the young man and
-woman were nevertheless allowed on most
-occasions to consult their own inclinations.
-Numerous religious rites preceded the actual
-ceremony, and heavenly favour was invoked
-upon it. The marriage was performed at
-the altar in the temple, where sacrifice was
-made, and a mutual oath of fidelity
-strengthened by every sacred pledge.
-Adultery was held a debasing crime, and
-divorce discreditable to man and wife<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>In connection with the subject of marriage
-is that of infanticide. It prevailed
-among the Greeks, under the sanction of
-philosophy. Among the Thebans and the
-Tyrrhenians it was, however, unknown.
-Why? Because they were more humane,
-or moral? Not by any means. They were
-among the most profligate societies of
-antiquity. It is generally shame which induces
-to child-murder women bearing offspring
-from illicit intercourse with men.
-Where no disgrace attaches to illegitimate
-offspring, the principal incentive to destroy
-them is taken away; and in Tyre, where
-female slaves served naked at the table of
-the rich, and even ladies joined the orgies
-in that condition, modesty was by no means
-a common grace of their sex.</p>
-
-<p>The Thebans, a very gross people, made
-infanticide a capital crime; but allowed
-the poor to impose on the state, under certain
-circumstances, the burden of their
-children. In Thrace, the infant, placed in
-an earthen pot, was left to be devoured by
-wild beasts, or to perish of cold and
-hunger<a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>In Sparta, clandestine infanticide was a
-crime; but the state often performed what
-it declared a duty, by condemning weakly
-and delicate infants to be flung into a pit.
-In Athens, on the contrary, it was left for
-desperate women, and cold-blooded men,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>
-privately to accomplish the act, exposing
-their children in public places to perish,
-or to claim charity from some wayfarer. Frequently
-the rich had recourse to this, for
-concealing an intrigue, and left a costly
-dowry of gold and jewels in the earthen
-jar where they deposited the victim. The
-temple steps sometimes received the foundling;
-but occasionally they were left to
-die in desert places.</p>
-
-<p>In the flourishing period of the Republic,
-however, poverty was so rare, indeed so
-unknown, that it seldom exacted these
-sacrifices from the humbler people. Infanticide
-was then left to the wholly unnatural
-who refused the burden, or the
-guilty who dreaded the shame, of a child.</p>
-
-<p>But in the female society of that state,
-there was, as we have said, a sisterhood
-which exercised no inconsiderable influence
-on public manners. These were the
-Hetairæ, or prostitutes, who occupied
-much the same position which the same
-class does in most civilized communities
-of modern times. The youthful, beautiful,
-elegant, polished, and graceful,
-commanded, while their attractions lasted,
-the favours and the deference of wealthy
-and profligate young men, and, when their
-persons had faded, sank by degrees, until
-they dragged themselves in misery through
-the streets, glad to procure a meal by indiscriminate
-prostitution, with all who accepted
-their company. When children
-were born to them, infanticide usually&mdash;especially
-in the case of girls&mdash;relieved
-them of the burden.</p>
-
-<p>The position the prostitute class of
-Athens occupied in relation to the other
-women in the community was peculiar.
-They entered the temples during the period
-of one particular festival&mdash;and in modern
-countries the church is never closed
-against them; but they were not, as among
-us, allowed to occupy the same place at the
-theatre with the Athenian female citizen.
-Yet this was not altogether to protect the
-virtue of the woman; it was to satisfy the
-pride of the citizen, since every stranger
-suffered an equal exclusion from these “reserved
-seats.” Notwithstanding this, however,
-the courtezans occasionally visited
-the ladies in their own houses, to instruct
-them in those accomplishments in which,
-from the peculiar tenor of their lives, they
-were most practised, while it appears that
-both classes mingled at the public baths.</p>
-
-<p>The Hetairæ, or prostitute class, exercised
-undoubtedly an evil influence on the
-society of Athens. They indulged the sensual
-tastes and the vanity of the young,
-encouraged among them a dissolute manner
-of life, and, while the power of their
-attractions lasted, led them into expensive
-luxury, which could not fail of an injurious
-effect on the community. The career of the
-prostitute was, as it is in all countries,
-short, and miserable at its close. While
-their beauty remained unfaded they were
-puffed up with vanity, carried along by
-perpetual excitement, flattered by the compliments
-of young men, and by the conversation
-of even the greatest philosophers,
-and maintained in opulence by the gifts of
-their admirers. Premature age, however,
-always, except in a few celebrated cases,
-assailed them. They became old, ugly,
-wrinkled, deformed, and full of disease,
-and might be seen crawling through the
-market places, haggling for morsels of provision,
-amid the jeers and insults of the
-populace.</p>
-
-<p>In some instances, indeed, there occurred
-in Athens what occasionally happens in all
-countries. Men took as wives the prostitutes
-with whom they had associated. Even
-the wise Plato became enamoured of Archæanassa,
-an Hetaira of Ctesiphon. For many
-of these women were no less renowned for
-the brilliancy of their intellectual qualities
-than for their personal charms. Of Phryne,
-whose bosom was bared before the judges
-by her advocate, and who sat as a model
-to the greatest of ancient sculptors, all the
-world has heard. Her statue, of pure gold,
-was placed on a pillar of white marble at
-Delphi. Aspasia exercised at Athens influence
-equal to that of a queen, attracting
-round her all the characters of the day, as
-Madame Roland was wont to do in Paris.
-Socrates confessed to have learned from her
-much in the art of rhetoric. Yet these
-women, harsh as the judgment may appear,
-were common whores, though outwardly refined,
-and mentally cultivated. Instances,
-indeed, of high public virtue displayed by
-members of that sisterhood, distinguished
-among the Hetairæ of ancient Greece, are
-on record, and sufficient accounts of them
-have been transmitted to us to show that
-they were among the male society a recognised
-and respected class, while by the
-women they were neither abhorred nor considered
-as a pollution to the community.
-Still, prostitutes they were, to all intents
-and purposes.</p>
-
-<p>The mean, the poor, and faded, were
-chiefly despised for their ugliness and indigence,
-not for their incontinence. It was,
-in the Homeric ages, as we learn from the
-Odyssey, held disgraceful for “a noble
-maiden” to lose her chastity. But in
-Athens, at a later time, chastity in an
-unmarried woman was not held a virtue,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>
-the loss of which degraded her utterly below
-the consideration of all other classes, or debarred
-her for ever from any intercourse
-with the honourable of her own sex. The
-Hetaira was not, it is true, admitted to
-mingle freely in the society of young women;
-but she was not shut out from all
-communication with them; while among
-men, if her natural attractions or accomplishments
-were great, she exercised peculiar
-influence. Consequently, it appears
-that in Athens the superior public prostitute
-had a <i>status</i> higher than that of any
-woman of similar character in our own
-day. If we look for a comparison to illustrate
-our meaning, we may find it in many
-of the ladies who at various periods have
-frequented our court&mdash;known but not acknowledged
-prostitutes<a name="FNanchor_26_26" id="FNanchor_26_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>In the public judgments of Athens we
-find, it is true, a penalty or fine imposed on
-“whoredom,”<a name="FNanchor_27_27" id="FNanchor_27_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a> from which, however, the
-people escaped by a variation of terms,
-calling a whore a mistress, as Plutarch
-tells us. Solon, however, recognised prostitution
-as a necessary, or at least an
-inevitable evil, for he first built a temple
-to Aphrodite Pandemos, which, truly rendered,
-means Venus the Prostitute; and his
-view was justified by the declaration that
-the existence of a prostitute class was
-necessary, in order, as Cato also thought,
-that the wives and daughters of citizens
-might be safe from the passion which
-young men would, in one way or the other,
-satiate upon the other sex. Though procurers,
-therefore, were punishable by law,
-and the Hetairæ were obliged to wear
-coloured or flowered garments, it was enacted
-in the civil code of Athens, that
-“persons keeping company with common
-strumpets shall not be deemed adulterers,
-for such shall be common for the satiating
-of lust.”</p>
-
-<p>Brothels, consequently, existed in moderate
-numbers at Athens, and the young
-men were not discouraged from attending
-them occasionally. There were also particular
-places in the city where the prostitutes
-congregated, and a Temple of Venus,
-which was their peculiar resort. We find
-in the poets passages, indeed, advocating
-the support of whores<a name="FNanchor_28_28" id="FNanchor_28_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>Still, respected and beloved as the Hetairæ
-were among their friends and lovers,
-recognised by the law, and protected by it,
-general public respect was denied them,
-for the Athenians estimated above their
-brilliant charms the modest virtues of
-inferior women<a name="FNanchor_29_29" id="FNanchor_29_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>One of the most remarkable features in
-the public economy of Athens was the tax
-upon prostitutes, introduced also in Rome
-by Caligula. It was annually farmed out by
-the Senate to individuals who knew accurately
-the names of all who followed this
-calling. It is to be regretted that their
-statistics have not been furnished to us.
-Every woman, it appears, had a fixed price,
-which she might charge to the men to
-whom she prostituted her person, and the
-amount of the tax varied according to their
-profits. Apparently, they were principally
-“strangers” who filled the ranks of the
-Hetairæ, for we find that if persons enjoying
-the rank and privilege of citizens took
-to the occupation, a tax was imposed on
-them as on the ordinary prostitutes, and
-they were punished by exclusion from the
-public sacrifices, and from the honourable
-offices of state. The same writer informs
-us, on the authority of Demosthenes, that
-a citizen who cohabited with an alien paid
-a penalty, in case he was convicted, of a
-thousand drachmas, but the penalty could
-not often have been enforced, as the laws
-of Solon recognised prostitution; it was a
-feature in the manners of the city, and
-brothels were fearlessly kept, and entered
-without shame. Numerous evidences of
-this have been supplied us<a name="FNanchor_30_30" id="FNanchor_30_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a>. To preserve
-a respect for chastity, however, and to
-inculcate a horror for the prostitute’s occupation,
-the same code allowed men to sell
-their sisters or daughters when convicted
-of an act of fornication, which, in Athens,
-as elsewhere, frequently was the first step
-in the regular career of these women<a name="FNanchor_31_31" id="FNanchor_31_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>The dishonour thus accruing to the general
-body of prostitutes, though a small
-class of them enjoyed many superior advantages
-from their wealth, and the polish
-of their manners, served at Athens, in
-some degree, to preserve public morality.
-The system never seems to have reached the
-height which it has gained in many of our
-modern cities, where married women often
-follow the occupation, and live upon its
-gains<a name="FNanchor_32_32" id="FNanchor_32_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>In Corinth, however, prostitutes
-abounded, and the Temple of Venus
-in that city was sometimes thronged by
-a thousand of them. They were usually<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span>
-the most beautiful women of the state,
-presented or sold to the temple, who prostituted
-themselves for hire. They were
-of a superior kind, admitting to their embraces
-none but men who would pay
-munificently, and in this manner many of
-them are said to have accumulated large
-fortunes<a name="FNanchor_33_33" id="FNanchor_33_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>Tabular statements, and numerical estimates,
-have been wanting to complete this
-glance at the system in ancient Greece;
-but it may, nevertheless, afford a just idea
-of the extent and character of the prostitute
-class there.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in ancient Rome.</span></h3>
-
-<p>If our knowledge of ancient Greece, with
-reference to its moral economy, is slight,
-ancient Rome is still less understood. Nothing,
-indeed, like a detailed account of
-its social institutions has been preserved;
-its scheme of manners is incompletely
-comprehended; and only an outline picture
-of its private life can be formed from passages
-supplied by hundreds of authors,
-from allusions in the poets and in the
-satirical writers. German scholars have
-laboured industriously in the field of classical
-politics; but the social economy of
-Rome has been neglected, or, which is
-worse, obscured by them. We are, therefore,
-enabled only to afford a general sketch
-of the subject in connection with the great
-Republic, and the imperial system which
-grew out of its decay.</p>
-
-<p>Examining the condition of the female
-sex, especially with reference to prostitutes,
-we must in Rome, as in all other states,
-distribute our observations over several distinct
-periods&mdash;for such there were in the
-social history of the nation.</p>
-
-<p>In the more honourable days of the Republic,
-women occupied a high status.
-While the state was extremely young we
-find them, indeed, in perpetual tutelage;
-but gradually, as institutions were improved
-and manners refined, they rose to
-independence, and formed an influential
-element in society. The matron, in particular,
-stood in her due position. Respected,
-accomplished, allowed to converse
-with men, she was, in the most flourishing
-era of Roman history, a model for her sex.
-She presided over the whole household,
-superintended the education of the children,
-while they remained in tender years,
-and shared the honours of her husband.
-Instead of confined apartments being allotted
-to her as a domestic prison, the best chambers
-in the house were assigned, while the
-whole of it was free to her. Other circumstances
-in her condition combined to invest
-her with dignity; and the consequence
-was, that the Roman matron seldom or
-never transgressed against the moral or
-social law. No divorce is recorded before
-the year 234 <span class="smcap lowercase">B.C.</span>; and that instance was
-on account of the woman’s barrenness&mdash;a
-plea allowed by the law, but universally
-reprobated by the people. Yet the obstacles
-to this dissolution of the marriage
-compact were by no means formidable.
-Under the imperial régime, when there
-was less facility, divorces were more frequent.</p>
-
-<p>The Roman law of marriage was strict.
-Degrees of consanguinity were marked,
-though within narrower limits than among
-us, within which marriage was not only
-illegal, but wholly void, and any intercourse,
-by virtue of it, denounced as incest
-by the law. Public infamy attached to it&mdash;not
-only the odium of opinion, but a
-formal decree by the prætor. Adultery
-was held as a base, inexpiable crime. It
-was interdicted under every penalty short
-of death, and even this was allowed under
-certain circumstances to be inflicted by the
-husband. Wedded life, indeed, was held
-sacred by every class from the knights to
-the slaves, though among these social
-aliens actual marriage could not take place.
-Celibacy was not only disreputable, but, in
-a particular degree, criminal; while barrenness
-brought shame upon the woman
-who was cursed with it. In an equal, or a
-greater ratio, was parentage honourable.
-Polygamy was illegal; but the social code
-allowed one wife and several concubines,
-occupying a medium position, finely described
-by Gibbon, as below the honours of
-a wife, and above the infamy of a prostitute.
-Such institutions were licensed that
-common whoredom might be checked;
-though the children born of such intercourse
-were refused the rank of citizens.
-Often, indeed, they were a burden to the
-guilty as well as to the poor; and infanticide,
-which was declared in 374 <span class="smcap lowercase">B.C.</span> a
-capital crime, was resorted to as a means
-of relief.</p>
-
-<p>If we examine our question in connection
-with marriage among the ancient Romans
-we find a curious system. First, there
-were certain conditions to constitute <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">connubium</i>,
-without which no legal union
-could be formed. There was only connubium
-between Roman citizens<a name="FNanchor_34_34" id="FNanchor_34_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a>; there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span>
-was none where either of the parties possessed
-it already with another; none between
-parent and child, natural or by
-adoption; none between grandparents and
-grandchildren; none between brothers and
-sisters, of whole or half blood; none between
-uncle and niece, or aunt and nephew:
-though Claudius legalized it by his marriage
-with Agrippina, the practice never
-went beyond the example. Unions of this
-kind taking place were void, and the father
-could claim no authority over his children.
-Mutual consent was essential&mdash;of the persons
-themselves, and of their friends. One
-wife only was allowed, though marriage
-after full divorce was permitted.</p>
-
-<p>There were two kinds of marriage,&mdash;that
-<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">cum</i>, and that <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">sine conventione</i>. In the
-former the wife passed into her husband’s
-family, and became subject to him; in the
-latter she abdicated none of her old relations,
-and was equal to her husband.
-There was no ceremony absolutely essential
-to constitute a marriage. Cohabitation
-during a whole year made a legal and
-lasting union; but the woman’s absence
-during three nights annually released her
-from the submission entailed by the marriage
-<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">cum conventione</i>. Certain words, also,
-with religious rites, performed in presence
-of ten witnesses, completed a marriage;
-but certain priestly offices, such as those
-of the <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">flamen dialis</i>, could only be performed
-for those whose parents had been wedded
-in a similar way<a name="FNanchor_35_35" id="FNanchor_35_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a>. The sponsalia, or contracts
-between the man and his wife’s
-friends, were usual, but not essential,
-and could be dissolved by mutual consent.
-The Roman idea of marriage was, in a
-word, the union of male and female for
-life, bringing a community of fortune, by
-a civil, not a sacred contract. Yet from
-the ceremonies <i>generally</i> observed, it is
-evident that an idea, though unrecognised,
-of a religious union, existed among the Romans
-in their more pious age.</p>
-
-<p>With respect to property, its arrangement
-depended on settlements made before
-hand. Divorce was at one time procured
-by mutual consent, though afterwards it
-became more difficult, but never impossible.</p>
-
-<p>There was in Rome a legal concubinage
-between unmarried persons, resembling the
-morganatic or “left-handed” marriage,
-giving neither the woman nor her children
-any rights acquired from the husband.
-Widowers often took a concubine, without
-infamy<a name="FNanchor_36_36" id="FNanchor_36_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>The law of Romulus, enacting that no
-male child should be exposed, and that the
-first daughter should always be preserved,
-while every other should be brought up, or
-live on trial, as it were, for three years,
-has misled some writers into giving the
-Romans credit for a loftier humanity. No
-parent, it is argued, would destroy a three
-years’ old child. Nevertheless, it is certain
-that, in the imperial age, at least, infanticide
-and child-dropping were frequent
-occurrences. Deformed or mutilated infants,
-having been shown to five witnesses,
-might be destroyed at once. The Milky
-Column, in the Herb-market, was a place
-where public nurses sat to suckle or otherwise
-tend the foundlings picked up in
-various parts of the city. In the early
-Christian age it was a reproach to the
-Romans that they cast forth their sons, as
-Tertullian expresses it, to be picked up and
-nourished by the fisherwomen who passed.
-Mothers would deny their children when
-brought home to their houses. Some strangled
-them at once. Various devices were
-adopted among them, as among other
-nations of antiquity, to check the overflow
-of population, as well as to hide the crimes
-of the guilty. Thus the Phœnicians passed
-children through fire, as a sacrifice; the
-Carthaginians offered them up at the altar;
-the Syrians flung them from the lofty propylæa
-of a temple<a name="FNanchor_37_37" id="FNanchor_37_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a>. One observation,
-however, applies to the Romans, and, we
-believe, to every other nation, savage or
-civilized, in every age of the world&mdash;exceptions
-being invariably allowed. Cruel
-as may have been the laws sanctioning
-infanticide, when once the child was received
-into the bosom of the family it was
-cared for with tenderness, and, generally,
-with discretion. It is not sentiment, but
-justice, which induces us to say that the
-mother, having once accepted her charge,
-has seldom been guilty of wilful neglect.
-The abandoned and dissolute, especially in
-those societies where fashion has made the
-performance of maternal duty ridiculous,
-if not disreputable, have consigned their
-offspring to others; but women in their
-natural state usually fulfil this obligation.</p>
-
-<p>In Rome, from various causes, public
-decency was, at least during the republican
-period, more rigidly observed, and licen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span>tiousness
-less common and less tolerated
-than in Sparta or even the later age of
-Athens. None of its institutions rivalled
-the dissolute manners of Crete or Corinth.
-One cause of prostitution being less common
-was the licence of concubinage, which was
-to the rich a preferable and a safer plan of
-self-indulgence. It existed, however, in
-the State, and employed a considerable
-class of women, though we are told the
-accomplished prostitute was known as a
-Grecian import. Nevertheless, the frequent
-allusions of the laws to these women
-prove that they formed no insignificant
-element in the society of the capital.</p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter illowp91" id="i_i_0147" style="max-width: 75em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_0147h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>ROMAN BROTHEL.&mdash;IMPERIAL ERA. (<span class="smcap">Dufour.</span>)</p></div>
-</div>
-
-
-
-<p>Lenocinium, or the keeping of female
-slaves to hire them out as prostitutes for
-profit, was an offence rather against the
-moral than the written law of Rome. The
-lenones, in many instances, kept brothels or
-houses open for the trade of prostitution.
-They purchased in the market handsome
-girls, for each of whom a sum equal
-to about 250<i>l.</i> of English currency was
-given&mdash;from which we infer that the rates
-charged in the superior establishments of
-this kind were somewhat high. Free women
-were also kept for the same purpose, upon
-a mutual agreement. The practice was not
-actually interdicted, but branded as infamous
-by the prætor’s declaration. No woman,
-however, whose father, grandfather, or husband
-had been a Roman knight was allowed
-to prostitute herself for gain. The independent
-prostitutes, or those who occupied
-houses of their own, were compelled to affix
-on the door a notice of their calling,
-and the price they demanded. They were
-also required, when they signified to the
-prætor, as they were bound to do, their
-intention of following this disgraceful occupation,
-to drop their real names, which they
-resumed whenever they abandoned that
-mode of life. Cato, the censor, recognised
-prostitution as Solon did, and Cicero declared
-no State ever existed without it.
-Notwithstanding this, the occupation of the
-prostitute was, in the republican age, so
-infamous that a comparatively small class
-practised it; but under the emperors it
-grew so prevalent, that during the reign of
-the few of them who even pretended to
-morality, the severest edicts appeared called
-for against it. Caligula, however, made
-a profit from the system. The lenones
-were subject to a tax, which fell, of course,
-as in Athens, upon the prostitutes themselves.
-No check, therefore, was offered by
-him to prostitution. But Theodosius and
-Valentinian sought, by formidable penalties,
-to prevent parents from prostituting their
-children, and masters their slaves, for gain.
-Lenocinium was interdicted under pain of
-the scourge, banishment, and other punishments.
-In one age public opinion, in the
-other the whip, held guardianship over the
-morals of the State.</p>
-
-<p>The owners of houses who allowed lenocinium
-to be carried on on their premises
-were liable to forfeit the property, besides
-paying a price of ten pounds weight of gold.
-Such edicts, however, only drove immorality
-into the dark. When the prostitutes could
-not find enough brothels to harbour them&mdash;and,
-indeed, at all times the poorer sort were
-excluded from these large establishments&mdash;places
-of refuge were still open. The
-<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">fornices</i> of Rome were long galleries,
-divided into a double row of cells&mdash;some
-broad and airy, others only small dark
-arches, situated on a level with the street,
-and forming the substructure of the houses
-above. Some of them, as those of the
-Formian villa of Cicero, were tastefully
-stuccoed, and painted in streaks of pink,
-yellow, and blue. In these long lines of
-cells the prostitutes of the poorer class
-were accustomed to assemble, and thence
-was derived the ecclesiastical term fornication,
-with its ordinary English meaning.
-Allusions to this practice occur in the works
-of Horace and Juvenal, as well as other
-writers. Some of the arches appear to have
-been below the surface of the ground, as
-we find a decree of Theodosius against the
-subterranean brothels of Rome.</p>
-
-<p>The great satirist who has left us his
-vivid, though exaggerated picture of manners
-in the imperial age, supplies some
-allusions in elucidation of our subject. He
-speaks of the “transparent garments” worn
-by prostitutes, as by the dancers of ancient
-Egypt; of the “foreign women” who
-swarmed in its “foul brothels;” of the
-“gay harlots’ chariots” dashing through
-the streets; and of the porticos and covered
-walks forming for these women places of
-promenade. We learn that some of them
-were forced, as a punishment for disorderly
-behaviour, to wear the male toga, while
-most were distinguished by a yellow headdress.
-The fornices were publicly opened
-and closed at certain hours. The women
-stood at the doors of their cells, in loose,
-light attire, their bosoms exposed, and the
-nipples gilt. Thus Messelana stood at the
-door of the lupanaria, with her breast
-adorned with this singular ornament<a name="FNanchor_38_38" id="FNanchor_38_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>At various periods efforts were made to
-suppress the prostitutes’ calling, but never
-with success. The lawmakers of the imperial
-age gave no example of the morality<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span>
-which their edicts pretended to uphold.
-Thus, the bawds who inveigled or ravished
-girls from their homes, to obtain a livelihood
-by their prostitution, became liable to
-“extreme penalties,” though what these
-were we know not. The law of lenocinium
-was more widely interpreted, as manners
-became more corrupt. If a husband permitted
-his wife to prostitute herself that
-he might share the gains, it was lenocinium.
-Justinian allowed a woman the privilege
-of divorce, if her husband endeavoured to
-tempt her into such adultery: he was
-forced also to restore her dowry. On the
-other hand, if a woman committed the
-crime, it was lenocinium for the husband to
-receive her again, to spare the adulterer if
-caught in the act, or to refrain from prosecuting
-him if otherwise detected. If a
-man married a woman convicted of adultery,
-discovered a crime of this kind and
-was bribed to hold his peace, commenced a
-prosecution for adultery and withdrew it,
-or lent his house for rape or prostitution,
-the Julian law made him guilty of lenocinium,
-and penalties of various kinds were
-attached to the offence in its different
-modifications.</p>
-
-<p>Lupanaria, or common brothels, were at
-all times considered infamous. Young
-men seem to have been more careful to
-visit them in secret than at Athens, where
-they visited and left them in the light of
-open day, and were encouraged to do so by
-the poets. There was, however, another
-class of disreputable places of assembly,
-to which a similar exists in most modern
-cities. These were the lower order of
-<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">popinæ</i>, or houses of entertainment, not
-absolutely recognised as “stews,” but generally
-known to be the resorts of prostitutes
-and their companions. In Pompeii there
-appears to have existed a class of the same
-description, for in one of the wine-houses
-discovered there, an inner room is situated
-behind the shop, the walls of which are
-covered with lewd and filthy pictures.
-Pornography, or obscene painting, was
-much practised at Rome, and doubtless
-afforded much pleasure to the company
-who nightly assembled in the Ganeæ, or
-regular brothels.</p>
-
-<p>As among the Greeks, instances of men
-willing to marry prostitutes occurred
-among the Romans. It was found necessary
-to check the practice by rendering it
-disreputable. The penalty of public infamy
-was denounced against all freemen
-contracting such an union; while a senator,
-and the son of a senator, were especially
-forbidden.</p>
-
-<p>The prostitutes of Rome, like those of
-many other countries, varied their principal
-calling by others which rendered them
-more attractive to the dissolute youth of
-the city. They cultivated the arts of dancing,
-singing, and playing on musical instruments.
-They performed lascivious dances
-at their places of assembly, playing on the
-flute, and practising all those tricks of seduction
-employed so successfully by the
-Almé of Egypt.</p>
-
-<p>Difficulties have arisen before many inquirers
-into the social condition of the ancient
-Romans, as to whence the prostitutes
-came, seeing that they were chiefly strangers.
-Some light, we think, is thrown on the
-subject by the fact that the Ambubaiæ
-were Syrian musicians, who performed
-dances in Rome, and, like the Bayaderes of
-India, the Almé of Egypt, and the dancers of
-Java, led a life of prostitution. They continued
-long to be imported; for, in the
-History of Gibbon, we find particular notice
-of the lascivious dances performed by the
-Syrian damsels round the altars on the
-Palatine Hill, to please the bestial senses
-of Elagabalus. During the public pantomimes,
-the prostitutes danced naked
-before the people; and, at the Floralian
-festival, the actresses at the theatre, who are
-known to have been common prostitutes,
-were compelled to strip, and perform indecent
-evolutions for the delight of the audience.
-This refers, however, to the imperial
-age. It was at no time a task of much inconvenience
-to divest themselves of clothing,
-for the harlots never encumbered
-themselves with much. In this they
-resembled the Hetairæ of Greece, whose
-thin slight garment was so insufficient for
-the purposes of decency, that it was designated
-as “naked.” This was not, however,
-from hardiness or simplicity, but merely to
-promote the profit of their calling. In
-other respects the luxury of the wealthy
-prostitutes was boundless, and they were
-borne through the streets on the rich and
-elegant lactræ or portable couches, softly
-pillowed on which they reposed their limbs
-in voluptuous indolence. In the reign of
-Domitian a decree was passed that no
-whore should in future make use of these
-couches, which were reserved as an especial
-luxury to the privileged classes of Rome.</p>
-
-<p>The edicts against prostitution increased
-in severity under various emperors. The
-severity of Constantine enacted that a man
-guilty of rape should die, whether he accomplished
-his purpose by violence, or by
-gentle and gradual seduction. The virgin
-who confessed her consent, instead of procuring
-a mitigation of this sentence, exposed
-herself to share the penalty. Slaves<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span>
-who were accomplices in the crime of procuring
-young women for prostitution, were
-punished by being burnt, or having boiling
-metal poured down their throats. The
-consequence of such a savage law was,
-that it could not be generally applied; nor
-was it enforced by the example of the
-emperor, who, once rigidly strict, turned
-dissolute and luxurious towards the close
-of his reign.</p>
-
-<p>It will be seen, from the information here
-collected, that no actual knowledge exists
-of the precise extent of the prostitute
-system in Rome. Facts, and some of these
-extremely curious, have been preserved in
-connection with it; but the statistics of the
-question are wholly lost, if, indeed, they
-ever existed. On this account, it appeared
-possible to do no more than bring those facts
-together, and, throwing them into a general
-sketch of the morality prevailing at different
-periods in the social history of that
-state, to draw thence an idea of the truth.
-Under the comparatively virtuous Republic,
-a line could certainly be drawn between
-the profligate and the moral classes of the
-community. Under some of the emperors
-such a distinction was wholly impossible.
-The vulgar prostitute was commonly met
-at the tables of the rich, and the palace
-itself was no more than an imperial brothel.
-A few notes on the history of the empire
-will justify these remarks.</p>
-
-<p>In the early period of the decline, the
-licentious amours of Faustina were excused,
-even encouraged, by her husband, and the
-nobles paid homage in the temples before
-the image of an adultress. In the eyes of
-Commodus virtue was criminal, since it
-implied a reflection upon his profligacy.
-Dissolving his frame in lust amid 300 concubines
-and boys, he violated by force the
-few modest women remaining near his
-court. Julia, the wife of Severus, though
-flattered in life and death by public writers,
-was no better than a harlot. We have
-already noticed the pleasures of Elagabalus,
-who committed rape upon a vestal virgin,
-and condescended to the most bestial vice.
-The nobles readily followed his example,
-and the people were easily led into the
-fashion. Maximin drowned every coy
-maiden who refused his embraces. In
-process of time, the most degrading features
-of Asiatic profligacy were introduced
-into Rome, and eunuchs crowded the
-palaces of the emperor and his nobles.
-History alludes to no more vulgar prostitute
-than the Empress Theodora, who
-played comedies before the people of Constantinople,
-and prostituted her person&mdash;of
-unparalleled beauty as it was&mdash;night after
-night to a promiscuous crowd of citizens
-and strangers, of every rank and description.
-She exhibited herself naked in the
-theatre. Her sympathy for the prostitute
-class may be indicated by almost the only
-virtuous action recorded of her;&mdash;inducing
-her husband Justinian to found a
-monastery on the shores of the Bosphorus,
-where 500 miserable women, collected from
-the streets and brothels, were offered a refuge.
-When we remember the usual relative
-proportion of objects relieved by charity, to
-the numbers from which they are selected,
-this indicates a considerable trade in prostitution
-then carried on in Constantinople.
-When, however, such a social system prevailed,
-no inquiry could fix the professional
-class of harlots, since moral women, if any
-existed, were certainly exceptions.</p>
-
-<p>It is always necessary, while inquiring
-into the morality of any people, to inquire
-into the extent to which the practice of
-procuring abortion was carried, and how it
-was viewed. Montesquieu justly observes,
-that it is by no means unnatural, though it
-may be criminal, for a prostitute, should
-she by chance conceive a child, to seek to
-be relieved from the burden. She has no
-means of support except one which she
-cannot possibly follow and at the same
-time fulfil the duties of a mother. These
-considerations, perhaps, had some weight
-with the legislators of Rome, as well as
-those reasons of political prudence which
-in various ancient states recognised infanticide.
-That it was practised to some
-extent there, is shown by frequent allusions
-in various works. It has been asserted,
-indeed, that the custom of procuring
-abortion prevailed to such an extent, that,
-combined with celibacy, it materially
-affected the population of the state, but
-this appears a false view. There are no
-accounts to support such an idea. It is
-not known at what particular time a law
-was introduced against it. Certainly it
-was held in a different light than it is by
-our religion, and our civilization. Plato’s
-republic permits it. Aristotle also allows
-it to be practised under certain circumstances,
-but only before the child is quick
-in the womb. So, also, among the Romans,
-it seems long to have been unrestrained by
-law, though it is impossible to believe that
-the natural instincts of women would not
-deter them, except in desperate situations,
-from such unnatural offences.</p>
-
-<p>Such is the view of the prostitute system,
-with a sketch of general morality,
-which the facts preserved by history enable
-us to offer. It appears from these facts,
-that, during the more flourishing period of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span>
-the Roman state, the prostitutes formed a
-class, to which the principal immorality of
-the female society was confined, while in
-the later or imperial age profligacy ran
-loose among the people, so that the distinction
-between the regular harlot and
-the unrecognised prostitute was all but lost.
-Chastity, under the Republic, was a peculiar
-Roman virtue, and the prostitutes were
-usually foreigners, while we do not find
-that they ever mixed with reputable
-women who had characters to lose<a name="FNanchor_39_39" id="FNanchor_39_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution among the Anglo-Saxons.</span></h3>
-
-<p>We leave the countries of classical antiquity
-and arrive at the Anglo-Saxons of
-our own history, in whom the reader will
-feel a peculiar interest. Unfortunately, our
-usual observations with reference to ancient
-times, apply to them also. Extremely
-imperfect records exist of their manners,
-laws, and institutions. The learned and
-industrious Sharon Turner has collected
-most of the facts known, yet neither the
-word prostitution, nor any term analogous
-to it, is to be found in his work. In
-the Leges Anglo-Saxonicæ, we find laws
-and regulations in reference to the chastity
-of the women, but nothing which indicates
-the existence of a class professionally
-addicted to prostitution. Nevertheless, it is
-improbable that such a class was utterly
-unknown, for the modern historians, as
-well as the old chroniclers, who have described
-the era, allude repeatedly to the
-licentious manners of the period. Gluttoning
-and deep drinking may, however, have
-excused the epithet, without supposing any
-prevalence of immorality.</p>
-
-<p>Sharon Turner refers us to the Maories
-of New Zealand, for a parallel to the
-manners and condition of Great Britain,
-when first invaded by the Romans. As far
-as profligacy goes, the comparison appears
-correct.</p>
-
-<p>Among the Britons, however, prevailed
-the extraordinary and pernicious institution
-of small societies of ten or twelve men,
-with a community of women among them.
-Ceremonies of marriage, indeed, took place,
-but for no other purpose than to provide
-that each woman’s husband should maintain
-all her children, whoever their fathers
-might be. In some of their religious ceremonies
-women officiated naked, and in all
-their modes of life a coarse licentiousness
-obtained.</p>
-
-<p>The Romans introduced a more refined
-luxury, and manners became less coarse,
-though no less profligate. The Saxons,
-however, then transported themselves to
-these islands from the Cymbric Peninsula,
-and the civilization of the country passed
-through a complete revolution. In their
-original country they had displayed a
-system of manners peculiar to themselves,
-and the other wild races inhabiting the
-mighty woods of Germany. Their laws
-against adultery were of the most savage
-character. When a woman was guilty of
-it, she was compelled to hang herself, her
-body was burned, and the execution of the
-adulterer took place over the pile of her
-ashes. Among some communities the
-punishment was still more severe, and
-infinitely more barbarous. The guilty
-creature was whipped from village to
-village by a number of women, who tore off
-her garments to the waist, and pierced her
-with their knives. Company after company
-of them pursued her until she sank under
-the shame, torture, and loss of blood.
-Chastity, indeed, was very generally regarded
-among these rude people, but their
-ideas were very foreign from ours. The
-degrees of consanguinity within which
-marriage was prohibited were extremely
-narrow, a son being permitted to marry his
-father’s widow, provided she was not his
-own mother.</p>
-
-<p>In their marriage customs the Anglo-Saxons
-displayed considerable regard for
-the female sex, although the wife was
-taken rather as the property than as the
-companion of the husband. The original
-laws of Ethelbert, indeed, as we have said,
-made the transaction wholly one of purchase;
-but in the reign of Edmund a more
-refined code was established. The betrothal
-usually took place some time before
-the actual ceremony. This was held as a
-sacred tie, the high-priest being at the
-marriage to consecrate it, and pray for a
-blessing on the wedded pair<a name="FNanchor_40_40" id="FNanchor_40_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_40_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span></p>
-<p>The manners of the Anglo-Saxons, after
-their settlement in England, underwent
-considerable improvement. They became,
-indeed, to a degree civilized. Their women
-were no longer the savages of Germany.
-They occupied a position wholly
-different from that of their sex among the
-more polished and luxurious nations of the
-East. It was, we may say, similar to that
-which they at present fill among us. They
-were recognised as members of the body
-politic, could bequeath and inherit property,
-could appeal to the law against any
-man; they possessed, in a word, the rights,
-the duties, and the public relations of citizens.
-Of course, in all these particulars,
-their position was modified by the natural
-restraints imposed on their sex. This refers
-to the more improved period of their
-civilization. In the laws of Ethelbert a
-man was permitted to buy a wife, provided
-he did it openly. By Edmund’s time, however,
-the practice was changed, and the
-woman’s consent, as well as that of her
-friends, was necessary. The man was also
-pledged before the law to support and respect
-her. She carried public protection
-into her new home. Considerable honour,
-consequence, and independence were there
-pre-enjoyed by the female sex. Nevertheless
-there continued long to be in the transaction
-much of a business character, and
-the consent of the woman was frequently
-no more than submission to the terms
-of a bargain struck between her lover
-and her parents. By some husbands, indeed,
-a wife seems to have been considered
-as little more than a property. We
-find adultery, for instance, allowed to be
-compounded. “If a freeman cohabit with
-the wife of a freeman he must pay the
-fine, and obtain another woman with his
-own money, and lead her to the other.” In
-other words, when he has destroyed the
-value of one wife, he must buy a fresh one
-for the injured husband.</p>
-
-<p>This would seem to indicate that women
-were to be had for money. Adultery, indeed,
-was at all times an affair of payments.
-It was punished only by various fines, varying
-according to the rank of the woman.
-The chastity of the high noble’s wife was
-valued at six pounds, that of a churl’s attendant
-at six shillings.</p>
-
-<p>In the Leges Anglo-Saxonicæ we find
-many regulations laid down respecting
-rape and fornication, which imply the occasional
-practice of those crimes. From
-the tone of the enactments on the subject,
-it seems impossible reasonably to doubt
-that a class of women existed who prostituted
-themselves for gain or pleasure to
-the other sex. None such, it is true, is
-directly indicated. We find, however, a
-rule of the venerable Bede, that any “slave
-woman” or “servile” turning her eyes immodestly
-on men, is to be severely chided.
-Blount also, quoted in Brand’s “Popular Antiquities,”
-with the historian Henry, describes
-the punishment of the cucking
-stool, as inflicted by the Anglo-Saxons, both
-in Germany and in England, upon scolds,
-disorderly women, and strumpets, who in
-the more barbarous society on the Continent
-were suffocated in marshes. In Cornwall
-harlots were long punished in the ludicrous
-and degrading manner described
-by Brand.</p>
-
-<p>In the absence of any ground upon
-which to stand, we cannot describe a particular
-class among the Anglo-Saxons as
-addicted to prostitution, but from the
-whole colour of their civilization, from the
-rudest to the most refined period, it is evident
-the practice was followed, in a greater
-or less degree<a name="FNanchor_41_41" id="FNanchor_41_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_41_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">OF PROSTITUTION AMONG THE BARBAROUS NATIONS.</h2>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Introduction.</span></h3>
-
-</div>
-
-<p>In surveying the social aspects of the barbarian
-world, we discover many striking
-phenomena. The relations of the sexes,
-among uneducated races, appear modified
-by every circumstance of their position;
-but everywhere the natural ascendancy of
-the strong over the weak is displayed. A
-few savage communities allow women a
-position nearly level with that of the men;
-but wherever this is the case, a degree of
-civilization has been attained.</p>
-
-<p>If we divide mankind into two classes&mdash;the
-civilized and the savage&mdash;forming an
-ideal of both extremes, we shall not find one
-tribe or community to occupy either pole
-of our supposed sphere. No one requires
-to be told that every part of the human
-race is still below the perfect development
-of its good attributes; but the observation
-is equally true, though less generally accepted,
-that every family of creatures
-showing our nature has advanced beyond
-the utterly savage state. When we find
-men wandering not only unclothed, but
-unhoused, over the earth, and following
-only their animal propensities, we may<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>
-regard them as wholly untaught. At present
-no such tribe is known. Every human
-being that has come under our notice has
-progressed beyond the simple gratification
-of his appetites. The love of ornament
-and the practice of exchange have raised
-him one step in the scale.</p>
-
-<p>The Africans, the Australians, the New
-Zealanders, the ruder tribes of the Pacific
-Isles, the Dyaks of Borneo, and the natives
-of Sumatra and Celebes, with the Indians
-of North and South America, may be included
-under the appellation <i>barbarous</i>.
-They vary, however, in the characteristics
-of their barbarism, as the nations of Europe
-vary in the characteristics of their
-civilization. They are even divided into
-classes. (1) The hunters, with little property
-in the soil, precarious means of existence,
-and migratory habits; the fishers, who are
-only the hunters of the sea; (2) the pastoral
-tribes, with property in herds and
-flocks, nomade, and therefore little property
-in the soil; (3) the agricultural tribes, permanently
-or temporarily fixed to localities,
-whose means of life are less precarious,
-and whose habits are more regular than
-those of the two former. The third is the
-most educated, the second the most innocent,
-the first the most simple state. It is
-among the shepherds that women enjoy
-most consideration, and that morality is
-highest. The hunters are more savage,
-and the tillers of the earth more sensual.</p>
-
-<p>In judging the condition of the female
-sex, it is always necessary to hold in view
-the general state of manners. When we
-inquire how husbands behave to their
-wives, and how parents treat their daughters,
-we must ask also how they live
-themselves. Where the male sex is degraded
-the female will be so. On the other
-hand, the refinement of any people may be
-estimated by the condition of its women.
-The islanders of Celebes are among the
-most elevated of barbarian races, and the
-sexes are nearly on an equality. The
-hordes of Western Africa are the most
-gross and ferocious of savages, and their
-women are treated as reptiles. The Indians
-of North America offer, apparently, an
-exception to this rule, for their lofty,
-proud, and polished warriors behave contemptuously
-to the squaws in their wigwam,
-who crouch to the earth while their
-lords stand haughtily before the most powerful
-conquerors. But the Choctaws and
-the Cherokees are in reality as far removed
-from true civilization as the dwellers in
-New Zealand. The amenities and not the
-arts of life civilize men. Wherever in the
-Indian village the gentler influences of
-humanity prevail, the feebler sex is treated
-with respect and affection.</p>
-
-<p>The points of contrast between barbarian
-and civilized races display themselves
-strongly in relation to the condition of the
-female sex. Throughout the savage portions
-of Africa one system of manners prevails.
-The men occupy the lowest stage
-of the social scale. They are neither hunters,
-fishers, shepherds, nor tillers of the
-soil; but mix up several occupations,
-though none of an elevating character.
-Some raise a few materials of food; others
-collect ivory in the woods; others live on
-the profits of the slave-trade; but the
-greater number subsist on the refuse of
-what they gain in the service of their
-petty kings. They have been sophisticated
-from the simplicity of savages without
-acquiring one grace from civilization. Subject
-to the gross caprice of princes more
-miserable than themselves, they have remained
-beyond the reach of every humanizing
-influence, and, as a natural consequence,
-their women are debased. Polygamy
-produces its worst results. The wife
-is an object of barter; a slave, whose labour
-assists to support her owner. In some parts
-diligence is more valued than chastity.
-In others the husband makes a profit from
-his wife’s prostitution. The slave trade
-has assisted largely towards this melancholy
-state of manners. The finer sentiments
-of humanity are altogether lost, and
-the contempt for life, as well as for all that
-is amiable or pure, has reduced men far
-below the level of the brute creation. We
-speak literally in saying that a nobler,
-happier spectacle is presented among the
-antelope and elephant herds than among
-the swarms of men and women corrupting
-in Africa. In the few parts where the
-male sex has risen from this debasement,
-the female has been equally improved.
-The barbarous Edeeyahs offer an example.</p>
-
-<p>The savages of Australia differ in many
-respects from those of Western Africa.
-They are even less educated, but they are
-also less ferocious; their women are their
-abject servitors, but there is more humanity
-in their treatment. They have
-scarcely approached so near to the forms
-of regular society, as to systematize the
-intercourse of the sexes. Nevertheless,
-among some tribes we not only find the
-institution of marriage respected, but wives
-guarded with Turkish jealousy. Among a
-people which does not dwell in regular
-habitations, or even lodge in roomy tents,
-it is scarcely possible to imagine the sanctity
-of a man’s harem; but it is true, notwithstanding,
-that a similar seclusion is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span>
-enforced. The Australian woman, in the
-desert and under the open sky, is hedged
-round by her husband’s jealousy as securely
-as the ancient German was in her unwalled
-shelter of thatch.</p>
-
-<p>It is seldom, however, that among barbarous
-races we find the sentiment of
-chastity in its abstract sense. Women are
-generally treated as though their inclinations
-were licentious, and in this consists
-one great line of distinction between civilization
-and barbarism. With the one,
-moral influence&mdash;with the other, material
-force, is employed as the guardian of
-female honour. The result is important
-to be noticed. Women are depraved by the
-rude and gross means devised to keep them
-virtuous. Where the moral sentiment is
-feebly developed, guilt is created by the
-efforts made to prevent it. The wife perpetually
-watched, as though her heart
-were full of adultery, becomes an adulteress.
-The young girl continually guarded,
-with the avowed object of compelling her
-to be chaste, loses insensibly any natural
-feeling she may have possessed, and covets
-the opportunity to sin.</p>
-
-<p>In the South Sea Islands this truth is
-illustrated; in New Zealand it is still more
-strongly proved. It is taken for granted
-that a woman will prostitute herself if
-she can. The state of morality is consequently
-so low that it is difficult for parents
-to preserve a daughter’s virtue until she is
-given in marriage. To prevent her holding
-<i>vicious</i> intercourse she is forbidden to hold
-<i>any</i> intercourse with the opposite sex.</p>
-
-<p>Another characteristic of civilized races
-is the separation of the vicious from the
-moral classes; they systematize the offences
-against society. Every class of vile persons
-becomes, as it were, an isolated community;
-the prostitute is segregated from
-the rest of her sex. In some barbarian
-states, as in Dahomey, the same division is
-effected; but the kings of that country
-have sought to mimic the forms of educated
-communities. The professional is
-distinguished from the habitual prostitute
-only by her open assumption of the title;
-but the immorality of the female sex in
-Dahomey is far from being represented by
-the order of confessed harlots.</p>
-
-<p>The inhabitants of some islands, and the
-shores of bays and roadsteads, have discovered
-that in prostituting their women
-to the crews of trading ships they have a
-readier means of subsistence than was
-offered by their former industry. This
-has produced a frightful system of vicious
-commerce, which still prevails to a great
-extent in the Pacific, as well as in New
-Zealand and the ports of Africa. It is for
-Europeans to repair the evil created by
-the incontinence of their predecessors.
-Many captains of vessels have already
-effected much good by forbidding women
-to come on board.</p>
-
-<p>In proportion as nations approach the
-higher stages of civilization does the respect
-for human life increase. Infanticide
-is practised with the least remorse by the
-most savage tribes. Among those communities
-with whom the means of existence
-are precarious this crime is most common.
-Wherever barbarians have been induced to
-labour, and secured in the enjoyment of
-their earnings, the natural feelings of the
-breast have revived; and mothers who
-have slain six infants cherish the seventh
-as a sacred possession. Missionary enterprise
-has produced much good in this
-respect; while the beneficent rule of our
-Indian government has bestowed incalculable
-blessings on the people of the East,
-among whom the system of infanticide is
-daily becoming rarer, and the condition of
-women more elevated.</p>
-
-<p>The same may be remarked of that
-unnatural practice upon which, as indeed
-on all kindred subjects, writers are reluctant
-to touch&mdash;that, we mean, of destroying
-the unborn fruits of union. The savage
-regards it as an act rather meritorious for
-its ingenuity than abominable for its unnatural
-character. The cause that encourages
-infanticide encourages this, which, indeed,
-is the less horrible crime. The woman is
-less reluctant to extinguish the vitality of
-a being which has become to her dear only
-in anticipation, than to quench a life which
-has once been embodied before her eyes,
-and warmed in her bosom. The operation,
-so dangerous to females in civilized communities,
-is, like childbirth, far easier
-among savages. The native of the Bornean
-woods, without any of the delicacy engendered
-by luxury, may one moment be
-without a pang giving birth to an infant,
-and the next be washing it in a neighbouring
-brook. The Malayan lady, bred in a
-city in indolence and comfort, suffers agony
-under which she sometimes perishes before
-her offspring has breathed. So it is with
-the practice of destroying the unborn child.
-Civilization lessens in all creatures their
-means of independent life, and their powers
-of endurance; but it also enables them to
-discover or compound the elements by which
-these artificial ills may be remedied.</p>
-
-<p>In proportion as the intercourse of the
-sexes is loose is the difficulty of learning
-the actual extent of immoral practices.
-The prostitute class, as we proceed from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>
-the pure savage to the highest point of
-civilization, becomes more and more distinct&mdash;being
-more conspicuous because more
-isolated. This is accompanied by another
-process, which is a superior standard by
-which to measure the social elevation of a
-people. Women respect themselves in
-proportion as men respect them. Where
-locks and bolts, scourges and cudgels, are
-the guardians of female chastity, it is only
-preserved when there is no opportunity to
-lose it. When the protecting influence
-springs from within, the woman moves a
-virtuous being, defended even from a
-licentious glance by the impenetrable cloud
-which her native modesty and virtue diffuse
-around her.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution among African
-Nations.</span></h3>
-
-<p>In the wide field of inquiry presented by
-the barbarian races of our own time, Africa
-occupies a prominent place. Some of the
-most wild and savage tribes of the human
-family are to be found on that immense
-peninsula. Many degrees in the inferior
-scale of civilization are represented, from
-the uncouth Hottentots of the south to the
-wandering Arabs of the desert, in whose
-blameless lives we have a picture of original
-simplicity&mdash;not far removed from
-the real refinement, though very far from
-the vices, of the most polished among the
-communities of Europe. The inquiry we
-have made into the condition of women and
-the state of manners in Africa, has confirmed
-us in our opinion, which is supported also by
-many circumstances observed among other
-races of men. The medium of refinement
-is accompanied by the least immorality.
-As in our own, among other civilized states,
-the ratio of profligacy is greatest at the
-opposite poles of society&mdash;the wealthiest
-and the most indigent&mdash;so in Africa it is
-among the basest savages and among the
-most highly polished communities that immorality
-prevails to the greatest extent.
-The brutal hordes on the western coast,
-with the populations of the half-civilized
-cities of the north, abound in vices, while
-the barbarian though innocent communities,
-with the wandering dwellers in the desert,
-are characterised by manners far more pure.</p>
-
-<p>In ranging over Africa in search of facts
-to complete the present inquiry, we meet
-with numerous tribes belonging to seven
-separate races of mankind: the Hottentot,
-the Kaffir, the Negro, the Moor, the Abyssinian,
-the Arab, and the Copts or descendants
-of the true Egyptian stock. Among
-each of these we perceive some varieties of
-manners; but everywhere in Africa one circumstance
-is prominent&mdash;the degraded condition
-of the female sex. The women of
-Cairo and Algiers are in comparison treated
-with little more refinement than those of
-some purely savage states; but we shall
-not include such communities among the
-barbarian races, reserving Egypt and some
-of the other countries characterised by a
-mongrel civilization for separate notices.
-We may, as far as our present inquiry
-goes, present the subject clearly and without
-confusion by making a geographical
-arrangement, and, commencing from the
-south, pass over the continent, until we encounter
-a form of civilization in the valley
-of the Lower Nile.</p>
-
-<p>The condition of women generally in
-heathen countries is degraded. As we proceed
-through Africa this truth will be
-strongly illustrated. Commencing with
-the Hottentots of the south, we find them
-a dissolute profligate race, who have been
-so from the earliest period. It was remarked
-in 1655 by Van Riebeck, when the
-chiefs, departing on a distant expedition,
-were urged to leave their women behind,
-they replied “that their wives must be
-with them everywhere so as to be kept
-from the other men.” It was remarked
-also in 1840 by Colonel Napier, who describes
-them as proverbially unchaste. Polygamy,
-at the early period referred to,
-was prevalent. Men bought their wives&mdash;sometimes
-from their wealthier, sometimes
-from their poorer, neighbours; but all
-alliances between persons of near kindred
-were held in utter abhorrence. Indecency
-and lewdness are their characteristics, for
-though now accustomed to clothing, it is
-no uncommon thing for them, when drunk
-at their festivals, to strip naked and perform
-lascivious dances, to music of the
-rudest harmony. Many among them appear
-to prostitute themselves readily to
-strangers, some from inclination, others
-for money, many for a gift of finery; but
-in what numbers this disreputable class
-exists we have no means of knowing<a name="FNanchor_42_42" id="FNanchor_42_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_42_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a>. A
-superior order, however, is scattered among
-these degraded creatures, and many lively,
-intelligent, and well-conducted women
-have attracted the notice of travellers.</p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter illowp61" id="i_i_0176" style="max-width: 61.5em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_0176h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>WOMAN OF THE BOSJES RACE.</p>
-
-<p>[<i>From a Daguerreotype by</i> <span class="smcap">Beard</span>.]</p></div>
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<p>The pastoral Kaffirs are perhaps a more
-moral though a more ferocious people than
-the Hottentots. They are, indeed, superior
-in mental and physical characteristics,
-being more addicted to arms, and less to
-debauch. They also, however, practise
-polygamy, and buy their wives for so many<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span>
-head of cattle. Among them, as well as
-among the Bechuanas, the girls undergo a
-probation before marriage, during which
-they live apart, and hold no intercourse
-with their tribe except through an old woman.
-Sichele, king of the Bechuanas, had
-numerous wives, of whom one was a favourite;
-but he granted each a separate
-hut, so that his palace was a kind of village
-surrounded by a fence. They punish
-theft in a woman by twisting dry grass
-round her fingers and burning them to the
-bone. Wandering from place to place in
-tent-shaped temporary huts, they carry
-their women with them, and condemn them
-to domestic labour. Even the chief’s wives
-assist in grinding the corn, and tending
-their husband’s nomade household. Divorce
-is easy, on very slight grounds. We
-occasionally hear of women committing
-what is termed fornication, but no professed
-class of prostitutes has been described.
-As among all nations practising
-polygamy, marriage is not held as a sacred
-tie; but adultery on the wife’s part is
-severely punished as an infraction of the
-social law. The bonds of natural affection
-appear extremely weak among the Kaffir
-tribes. Men are inspired by an inclination,
-not an attachment, to their wives, and
-mothers possess less affection for their children
-than is observed even in the Australian
-savage. The weak and sickly are
-sometimes abandoned, to save the expense
-or trouble of their support. Mrs. Ward
-knew of a woman who, having a little
-daughter in a decline, buried it alive, to be
-rid of the burden. The little creature, imperfectly
-interred, burst from its grave and
-ran home. Again it was forced into the
-hole, again it escaped, and a third time it
-was removed to the earth; once more,
-however, it struggled till free, and, flying
-to its mother’s hut, was at last received,
-and ultimately recovered. Such instances
-of inhumanity are not rare among the
-Kaffir tribes, whose passion for blood and
-war seems to have blunted some of their
-natural sentiments. Husbands, when their
-wives are sick, frequently drag them into a
-neighbouring thicket, where they are left
-to die, and women continually do the same
-with their poor offspring. It is important,
-however, to mention, that in the instances
-of Kaffirs converted to Christianity their
-manners undergo a most favourable modification.
-One of them was known to Mrs.
-Ward who had refused to take a second
-wife, in deference to the moral law laid
-down by the interpreters of his adopted
-religion; and, where the conversion is
-sincere, they always manifest an inclination
-to practise the manners of the white
-men<a name="FNanchor_43_43" id="FNanchor_43_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_43_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>In the rude maritime region extending
-from the countries on the border of the
-Cape territory as far as the Senegal, a set
-of characteristic features is universally
-marked on the people, varied though their
-nationality be. Differences, of course, prevail
-among the numerous tribes in the
-several states; but the impress of African
-civilization is there all but uniform.</p>
-
-<p>Those between the tropics, especially,
-are absorbed in licentiousness. Morality
-is a strange idea to them. Polygamy is
-universally practised, and in most places
-without limitation; while nowhere is a
-man restrained by the social law from intercourse
-with any number of females he
-chooses. The result is that women are, for
-the most part, looked upon as a marketable
-commodity; that the pure and exalted
-sentiment of love is utterly unknown;
-and that even the commonest feelings of
-humanity appear absent from among them.
-Husbands, for instance, on the Gold Coast,
-are known to prostitute their wives to
-others for a sum of money. This is an
-open transaction. In other places, however,
-where the adulterer pays a fine to
-the husband he has injured, we find men
-allowing their wives an opportunity to be
-unfaithful, in order to obtain the price of
-the crime. Throughout, indeed, the gloomy
-and savage states, sheltered by the woods
-bordering the Niger, and over the whole
-western coast, mankind appears in its uncouthest
-form. Human nature, degraded
-by perpetual war against itself, rots at the
-feet of a gross superstition. As we have
-said, the result is developed in various
-modifications of barbarian manners.</p>
-
-<p>When Laird, in 1832, visited the Niger,
-he found the condition of the female sex
-upon its borders most humiliating. In the
-dominions of King Boy polygamy was
-unlimited, and the wives reduced to slavery
-in their own homes. The people dwelling
-on the banks of the Lower Niger may be
-described, in fact, as among the most idle,
-ignorant, and profligate in Africa. The
-prince himself set the example to his
-subjects. He possessed 140 wives and
-concubines, of whom one was no more
-than thirteen years of age, whom he had
-purchased for a few muskets and a piece
-of cloth. Half a dozen enjoyed the distinction
-of favourites; one of them was
-more than 25 stones in weight. The mo<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span>ther
-of this pluralist was maintained in
-her son’s palace, where she amused the
-court by dances of the most revolting and
-obscene description. No care was, in any
-respect, taken to preserve a sense of virtue
-in the king’s harem; but adultery was,
-nevertheless, punished with death. This
-appears the case in most countries where
-shame holds no check on immorality; it
-may, indeed, be taken in some measure as
-an index to the state of manners where
-crimes against chastity are visited with
-public infamy alone, or with legal penalties.
-In the dominions of Boy, one wife, at least,
-was expected to attend her husband, even
-when dead. The chosen victim was bound
-and thrown into the river; a mode of
-death preferable to that practised at Calabar,
-on the coast, where the miserable
-woman is buried alive. In the kingdom of
-Fundals, when a chief died leaving fifteen
-women in his harem, the king selected one
-to be hung over the tomb, and transferred
-the rest to his own palace; nevertheless,
-a few of these enjoyed an independent
-existence. One lively intelligent woman
-possessed an estate of land and 200 slaves,
-whom she employed in trade. Industry
-flourished, there being small competition,
-as a more idle demoralized people than the
-dwellers on the Niger as far as Ebo cannot
-be imagined.</p>
-
-<p>Above that place, where the land is less
-marshy and more favourable to cultivation,
-the natives are more intelligent, more
-addicted to agriculture, more manly in
-their habits, and in proportion more kind
-and respectful to their women. Polygamy,
-it is true, prevails, as it does all over
-Western Africa, but the sex is somewhat
-raised above a mere instrument of sensual
-gratification. In other directions the old
-features are resumed. The Bambarras, a
-Pagan people, marry as many wives as they
-can support; and the Mandingoes, who
-are only allowed four, treat them as
-slaves, though they love their children.</p>
-
-<p>The native of Western Africa, in most
-cases, looks upon his wife, in one respect as
-a source of pleasure, in another as a source
-of gain, reckoning her as property to the
-amount she can earn by labour. In the
-institution of marriage, therefore, it may
-easily be conceived that no sacred tie is
-acknowledged. It is merely a civil contract,
-to be dissolved at will. The man
-sends a present to the woman’s father; if a
-virgin, she exchanges her leathern girdle
-for a cloth wrapped about the loins, and a
-little merry-making consummates the transaction.
-This account applies especially to
-the Tilatates. In Yarriba and Bughor,
-when a woman finds herself <i>enceinte</i>, she is
-obliged to inform her husband, or suffer a
-public whipping when the discovery is
-made. This custom refers, there is no
-doubt, to a feature in the morals of the
-people. Mothers, also, are forced to suckle
-their children until three years old, and
-punished if, during that period, they cohabit
-with a man.</p>
-
-<p>Strange inconsistencies occasionally display
-themselves in the manners of these
-unintellectual barbarians. They have introduced
-a feature of Asiatic luxury, by
-having eunuchs to guard their seraglios,
-while instances occur in which the uncouth
-savage professes a sentiment of attachment.
-The King of Attah told Lander that he
-loved him as he loved the wife who shared
-his bed. Yet he was a polygamist, and a
-sensualist. In Abookir the prince was
-continually multiplying the inmates of his
-harem, and having many daughters, had
-numbers of wives younger than they. Girls
-of eleven years old are there considered
-marriageable.</p>
-
-<p>Regarded as a mere social contract, temporary
-or otherwise, marriage, in this region,
-is held among the most ordinary occurrences
-of life. A man arriving at the age of 20
-takes one wife, and then another, increasing
-the number from four to 100, as his circumstances
-allow. Many women, even
-under this system, cannot procure husbands.
-This, however, we must not ascribe so much
-to a vast preponderance of the female sex
-over the male, as to the fact that thousands
-of men take no permanent partners at all.
-It may, perhaps, be safe to assert that, of
-the single men, none remain without intercourse
-with women, and of the unmarried
-women, that not one preserves her chastity.
-The idea of that virtue appears foreign to
-those races. Adultery, indeed, is held a crime,
-but not so much against morals as against
-the husband. A wife suspected of it is
-compelled to drink a decoction called Sassy
-water, which poisons her, unless she bribes
-the priest to render it harmless by dilution,
-in which case she is pronounced innocent.
-The widow, even, who has been known to
-live on bad terms with her husband is
-forced, among the tribes on the banks of
-the Lower Niger, to undergo this ordeal.
-An illicit connection with the king’s wife,
-however, is punished with death to both
-parties, while among the chiefs the fine of
-a slave is exacted. Every woman, except
-the consort of royalty, has thus her market
-value, which is greatly increased if
-her friends fatten her up to a colossal
-size. Men frequently buy slender girls at
-a cheap rate, and feed them to a proper<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>
-obesity before taking them as companions.
-Marriage, or concubinage, may be entered
-on at the age of thirteen, and so universal
-is the system in this part of Africa, that
-the sex seems absolutely wedded to its
-degradation.</p>
-
-<p>Among the people of Ibu a singular
-custom exists. When twins are born they
-are immediately exposed to wild beasts.
-The mother, compelled to go through a long
-course of purification and penance, is
-thenceforward an outlaw, disgraced among
-the women, who hold up two fingers as she
-passes, to remind her of the misfortune:&mdash;she
-is at once divorced from her husband.</p>
-
-<p>Though thus reduced to slavery by the
-other sex, women, among these tribes,
-enjoy a certain degree of freedom, which is
-a mitigation of their miserable state. Married
-without their own consent, they are
-sold to a husband for from 26<i>s.</i> and
-upwards, and thenceforward become his
-servants. Yet the favourite wives of the
-rich, exempt from toil, are allowed to
-amuse themselves in various ways, and
-even to walk about unveiled, under the
-guard of an eunuch. Men never eat with
-their wives, and often treat them brutally,
-bewailing the loss of a slave far more than
-the death of a wife, unless she happens to
-please the caprice of the hour. It is among
-the poorest that most freedom is allowed,
-and among those tribes who have intercourse
-with Europeans that most ferocity
-prevails. Some dig the soil, some attend to
-the household, some support their husbands
-by the profits of a petty retail trade, while
-others, kept for his gratification, are allowed
-to idle. These favoured ones are often
-slaves. A handsome young one often sells
-for from 60,000 to 120,000 cowries (from
-3<i>l.</i> 15<i>s.</i> to 7<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i><a name="FNanchor_44_44" id="FNanchor_44_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_44_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a>), while the price of a
-common wife is only 20,000 cowries (25<i>s.</i>).
-Frequently, the man’s inclination changes
-its direction, and he sells one girl to purchase
-another. With many of the kings
-and chiefs a continual trade in women is
-common. King Bell, of the Cameroons, for
-instance, had more than 100 wives, and his
-wealth was increased by their numbers. In
-his dominions the young maidens had considerable
-liberty, sporting in the fields, and
-enjoying, for a few years, comparative independence
-of the men<a name="FNanchor_45_45" id="FNanchor_45_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_45_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>In the kingdom of Dahomey, on the
-Guinea Coast, we find some of the most
-remarkable institutions with respect to
-women which exist in the world. It has
-been the centre of the slave trade. Few of
-the comparatively fair aboriginal race exist,
-but in their place has been gathered a mixed
-population, incontestably one of the most
-profligate in Africa. Entering its seaport
-town the traveller is at once struck by the
-remarkable immodesty of the female population.
-Throughout the country the same
-characteristic is observable, though in a
-modified degree. Sir John Malcolm observed
-of the subjects of the Imaum of
-Muscat&mdash;manners they have none, and
-their habits are disgusting. The same description
-has been judiciously applied to the
-people of Dahomey. They are profligates,
-from the highest to the lowest&mdash;a bloody-minded
-savage race, delighting in human
-suffering, and finding their national pleasure
-in customs the most revolting and cruel
-that ever obtained in the world.</p>
-
-<p>The king practises all these, and is superior
-in brutality and filthiness to any of
-his subjects. This has been a characteristic
-of the throne in Dahomey. He has
-thousands of wives, while his chiefs have
-hundreds, and the common people tens.
-The royal favourites are considered too
-sacred to be looked upon by vulgar eyes.
-Whenever they proceed along the public
-road, a bell is rung to warn all passengers
-of their approach, and every one must then
-turn aside or hide his face. If one of them
-commits adultery, she is, with her paramour,
-put to death. The harem is sacred against
-strangers, but the privileged nobility
-attend the royal feasts, where the king’s
-wives sit, attired in showy costumes of the
-reign of Charles II., drinking rum and leading
-the debauch. Those of an inferior class,
-or the concubines, are employed in trade,
-the profits of which accrue to their master.
-Every unmarried woman in Dahomey is
-virtually the property of the sovereign, who
-makes his choice among them. No one
-dares to dispute his will, or to claim a
-maiden towards whom he has signified
-his inclination.</p>
-
-<p>When the king desires to confer honour
-on any favourite, he chooses a wife for him,
-and presents her publicly. In this case
-she performs the ceremony of handing to
-her husband a cup of rum, which is a sign
-of union. Otherwise no rite or ceremony
-whatever is essential. However, the man
-must finally take his wife or concubine, in
-the usual business manner, for if he seduces
-a maiden he must marry her, or pay to
-her parent or master 160,000 cowries
-(equal to 7<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i> of our money). Failing
-in this, he may be sold as a slave. This
-punishment also is inflicted on those who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>
-commit adultery with a common person’s
-wife. The rich often buy a number of concubines,
-live with them for a short time,
-and then sell them at a profit. It is in
-Dahomey, too, that the practice prevails of
-throwing a wife in the way of committing
-adultery for the sake of the penalty which
-her husband may exact from the criminal.
-It is commonly known that the king of
-Dahomey supports an army of several thousand
-Amazonian soldiers. These women
-dress in male attire, and are not allowed
-to marry, or supposed to hold intercourse
-with the other sex. They declare themselves,
-indeed, to have changed their
-nature. “We are men,” they say, “and
-no women.” In all things&mdash;courage and
-ferocity among the rest&mdash;they seek to
-preserve the character. They dwell in
-barracks, under the care of eunuchs; they
-practise wild war-dances, and, officered by
-their own sex, scorn the allurements of
-any weaker passion; they are, therefore,
-for the most part chaste. Vanity and
-superstition combine to guard their virtue.
-They boast of never encountering a man
-except in the field of battle. Thus their
-pride is enlisted in the service of their
-chastity. A charm is placed under the threshold
-of their common dwelling, as it is under
-that of the palace harem, which is supposed
-to strike with disease the bowels of any
-guilty woman who may cross it. So strong is
-this belief, that many incontinent Amazons
-have voluntarily revealed their crime,
-though well aware that the punishment of
-death will be, without mercy, dealt upon
-them as well as their lovers<a name="FNanchor_46_46" id="FNanchor_46_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_46_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>Most men have a favourite wife, and her
-privilege is valuable so long as her husband
-lives; but on his decease it entails a terrible
-obligation. The dying chief invites one or
-more of his principal wives to die with him,
-and these, with a number of slaves, varying
-according to his rank, are sacrificed at his
-tomb.</p>
-
-<p>In consequence of the immense number
-of wives and concubines kept by the king
-and his wealthier subjects, numbers of the
-common people are forced to be content
-with the company of prostitutes, who are
-licensed in Dahomey, and subject to a
-particular tax. There is a band of them,
-according to Dalzel, who appears worthy
-of belief, in every village, though confined
-to a certain quarter, and they prostitute
-themselves to any who desire it, at a
-moderate fixed price. The profits thus
-obtained are often insufficient for their
-support, and they eke out their gains by
-breeding fowls, and other industrial occupations.
-Women also hire themselves out
-to carry heavy burdens, and they no doubt
-belong to the prostitute class. Norris saw
-250 of these unfortunate women collected
-in a troop on a public occasion. The object
-of this institution, according to the king,
-was to save the respectable people from
-seduction. There were many men who could
-not get wives, and, unless prostitutes
-existed, they would seduce the wives or
-daughters of others. At Whyddah, on the
-coast, Mr. John Duncan was assailed by
-numbers of women who offered to “become
-his wives,” or, in other words, to prostitute
-themselves to him, for a drop of rum.
-Many of the poorer class strolled about
-naked, ready to accept any one for a miserable
-gratuity. In that city it was the
-custom when a man committed adultery,
-to press him into the king’s army. Formerly
-he was sacrificed, but the practice
-was abolished&mdash;prisoners of war furnishing
-“the annual customs” with victims. Whatever
-the punishment was, however, it was
-ineffectual to suppress the crime, as depravity
-was the general characteristic of the
-people. At Zapoorah, beyond Dahomey, a
-chief offered one of his wives for sale, and
-parents asked a price for their children;
-while at Gaffa, still further, the men are
-more jealous, and the women more modest.
-Adultery with the king’s wife was punished
-by impalement on a red-hot stake.</p>
-
-<p>The dirty, lazy, and dull people of the
-Fantee coast, near Dahomey, wear the same
-moral aspect as the subjects of that kingdom.
-Women support the men. Parents
-would sell their children, husbands their
-wives, and women themselves, for a trifling
-sum. One woman was so desirous of changing
-her companion, that she took possession
-of a recent traveller’s bed, and could only
-be expelled by force. Marriage is a mere
-purchase&mdash;of from six to twenty wives and
-concubines. The rich support their harems
-at a great cost. The common price is
-sixteen dollars. Maidens are seldom
-bought when beyond fifteen or sixteen
-years of age, so that many men have wives
-younger than their daughters. The indivi<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span>dual
-committing adultery is forced to
-buy his paramour at her original price.
-Contrary to the custom of Ibu and Bony,
-the mother of twins is, among the Fantees,
-held in great respect.</p>
-
-<p>Along the coast of Benin manners, in
-most respects similar to these, prevail&mdash;public
-dancers acting as prostitutes in
-most of the native towns, and offering
-themselves for a wretched price. Every
-woman holds it an honour to be the king’s
-companion even for one night<a name="FNanchor_47_47" id="FNanchor_47_47"></a><a href="#Footnote_47_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>In Ashantee, where polygamy, as elsewhere
-in Africa, prevails, adultery is common,
-especially among the king’s wives,
-who, when discovered, are hewn to pieces.
-The manners of the people are profligate
-beyond anything of which in England we
-can realize an idea. In the country of the
-Kroomen, eastward on the Guinea Coast,
-where nearly all the labour devolves on
-women, men become independent by
-the possession of from twenty to forty
-wives. One practice prevailing there is
-characterized by an unusual depravity.
-The son, inheriting his father’s property,
-inherits also his wives, his own mother
-then becoming his slave. In the interior,
-on the banks of the Asinnee, we find a
-people among whom the men are industrious,
-and the women treated with respect.
-The consequence is a far higher standard
-of morality<a name="FNanchor_48_48" id="FNanchor_48_48"></a><a href="#Footnote_48_48" class="fnanchor">[48]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>It is remarkable to find among the
-Edeeyahs of Fernando Po a strong contrast
-to these general characteristics of
-manners and morality in Western Africa.
-Generous, hospitable, humane, practising
-no murder, possessing no slaves, with only
-innocent rites, they treat their women with
-comparative consideration, and assign them
-far less than the usual amount of hard
-labour. To cook food, bear palm oil to
-market, and press the nuts, are their principal
-occupations. Polygamy is allowed,
-and when a man undertakes a journey, he
-is accompanied by one or more of his
-wives, who are much attached to their
-husbands and children.</p>
-
-<p>The first wife taken by a man must be
-betrothed to him at least two years before
-marriage. During that period the lover
-must perform all the duties which otherwise
-would have been performed by her.
-He must go, indeed, through a probation
-resembling the servitude of Jacob for Rachel.
-Meanwhile the maiden is kept in a
-hut, concealed from the sight of the people.
-These courtships often begin while
-the girl is no more than thirteen or fourteen,
-and her lover only a youth; but if
-he seduces her before the two years are
-elapsed, he is severely punished. That
-time having expired the young wife is still
-kept in the hut, where she receives her
-husband’s visits until it is evident she is
-about to become a mother&mdash;or if not, for
-eighteen months. When she first appears
-publicly as a married woman, all the virgins
-of her tribe salute her and dance
-about her. These customs indicate far
-more purity and elevation of manners
-among the Edeeyahs than among any other
-people in Western Africa. They are only
-observed, however, with regard to the first
-wife, all the others being virtually no more
-than concubines governed by her. Some
-chiefs have upwards of a hundred, and the
-king more than twice that number.</p>
-
-<p>Adultery is severely punished, but, nevertheless,
-not very rare. For the first
-offence both parties lose one hand. For
-the second the man, with his relatives, is
-heavily fined, and otherwise chastised,
-while the woman, losing the other hand, is
-driven as an outlaw into the woods. This
-exile is more terrible to the Edeeyahs than
-the mutilation<a name="FNanchor_49_49" id="FNanchor_49_49"></a><a href="#Footnote_49_49" class="fnanchor">[49]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>In examining the condition of Africa,
-in the light we have chosen, it would entail
-a tiresome repetition to pass in review
-all the various groups of states sunk in
-barbarism. The natives are generally barbarian.
-Elevated slightly above the hunting
-or pure savage state, they have subdued
-some animals to their use, and practise
-some ingenious arts; but their manners
-are baser than those of any race below
-them in point of art and luxury. We
-have seen that in the West, with a few rare
-exceptions, profligacy is the universal feature
-of society. In the East it is almost
-equally so. Our knowledge of that coast,
-it is true, is less full than of the West;
-but travellers afford sufficient information
-to justify an opinion on the general state
-of manners. In Zulu, as an example of
-the rest, the king has a seraglio of fifteen
-hundred women, who are slaves to his
-caprice. His mother was in that condition
-when Isaacs visited the country. She endured
-corporal chastisement from her son.
-A number of women and boys, belonging
-to the royal harem, and suspected of illicit<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>
-intercourse, were massacred by the prince’s
-orders. Adultery, indeed, was a thing of
-continual occurrence in the palace. Marriage
-is held among the people not as a
-sacred tie but as a state of friendship. All
-the people, however, are polygamists, and
-the laws of morality refer only to wives.
-With others the intercourse of the sexes is
-unrestrained. Men do not cohabit with
-their wives on the first night after their
-wedding. This ceremony among the rich
-is accompanied by a grand feast, though,
-as in other parts of Africa, the wife is
-bought&mdash;at the most for ten cows. A man
-cannot sell but may dismiss his wife, over
-whom also he has the power of life and
-death. Adultery is always capitally punished,
-that is, when discovered; for with
-eighty or ninety women in his possession,
-it is not always possible for the husband to
-watch their conduct&mdash;especially as they
-labour for his support. Girls are not allowed
-to marry or become concubines until
-the age of fourteen, until which period
-they go without clothing. The degrees of
-consanguinity, within which marriage is
-strictly prohibited, are very wide&mdash;an union
-being permitted only between the most
-distant relations.</p>
-
-<p>It is necessary to observe that in the
-Zulu kingdom profligacy is more general
-among the men than among the women,
-for wives hold the marriage tie in great
-estimation. It is the unlimited power of
-the male sex over the other which forces it
-to become the prey of sensuality. Throughout
-the Eastern region, indeed, women are
-the mere instruments of pleasure, being
-bought and sold like cattle&mdash;forced to toil
-and live in drudgery for the benefit of
-their masters and husbands<a name="FNanchor_50_50" id="FNanchor_50_50"></a><a href="#Footnote_50_50" class="fnanchor">[50]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>Among the nomade and stationary tribes
-of the Sahara, who are not aboriginal to that
-region, we have a different system of manners.
-In the Arabian communities you
-may find women ready to perform indecent
-actions, and even to prostitute themselves
-for money; but these are of the low classes.
-Cases of adultery are rare.</p>
-
-<p>The Mohammedans believe that a man
-cannot have too many wives, or, at least,
-too many concubines. They declare it
-assists their devotion; but the feeling is
-one merely sensual. Pure sentiment is a
-thing in which they can scarcely believe.
-Rich men who are accustomed to travel in
-pursuit of trade, have one family at Ghadames,
-another, perhaps, at Ghat, and
-another at Soudan, and live with each of
-them by turns. These women stand in great
-fear of their husbands. The rich are veiled,
-and live in retirement; the poor do not;
-but all will unveil their faces to a stranger,
-if it can be done with safety. The white,
-or respectable women of Ghadames, never
-descend into the streets, or even into the
-gardens of their houses. The flat roof of
-their dwelling is their perpetual promenade,
-and a suite of two or three rooms
-their abode. It is said that in these retreats
-many of the women privately rule
-their husbands, though no men will confess
-the fact. Among the Marabouts it is held
-disgraceful to be unmarried, but shameful
-also to be under the wife’s control.</p>
-
-<p>The negresses and half-castes who may
-be seen in the streets of the cities of the
-Sahara, are generally slaves. The women
-of the Touarik tribes, however, are by no
-means so. They belong to a fierce and
-warlike tribe, half vagrant, half stationary,
-and are bound by few restrictions. Their
-morals are described as superior to those
-of the lower class of women in Europe;
-though exceptions, of course, are found.
-One Touarik woman offered to prostitute
-herself to Richardson for a sum of money;
-or, as it was expressed, to become his wife.</p>
-
-<p>Polygamy, though universally allowed
-in the Sahara, is not carried to an extent
-at all equal to that prevailing in the savage
-regions on the east and west. Three wives
-usually occupy the harem of a rich man.
-Marriage is, as usual with people of that
-religion, a civil contract with a shade of
-sanctity upon it, but celebrated with great
-feasts and rejoicings. The bridegroom is
-expected to live in retirement during two
-or three weeks. He occasionally walks
-about the town at evening alone, dressed
-in gay clothes of blue and scarlet, and bearing
-a fine long stave of brass or polished
-iron. He never speaks or is spoken to, and
-vanishes on meeting any one.</p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter illowp63" id="i_i_0190" style="max-width: 63.6875em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_0190h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>GIRLS OF NUBIA (MAKING POTTERY).</p>
-
-<p>[<i>From</i> <span class="smcap">St. John’s</span> “<i>Oriental Album</i>.”]</p></div>
-</div>
-
-
-<p>The manners of the communities in the
-Sahara are imperfectly known; but from
-the accounts we have received they appear
-to be of a far more elevated order than
-those of any other part of Africa. It is
-true that customs prevail which shock our
-ideas of decency. A chief, for instance,
-offered Richardson his two daughters as
-wives. It is also true that many women
-exist who follow the profession of prostitutes,
-though we have no distinct account
-of them. But immorality is usually among
-them a secret crime. Their general customs
-with regard to sexual intercourse
-are at least as pure as those of Europe.
-Among the wandering tribes of the desert
-the hardship of their lives, continual occu<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span>pation,
-varied scenes of excitement, and
-contempt for sensual enjoyments, contribute
-to preserve chastity among their virtues;
-while the Marabouts of the cities are of a
-generally moral character. Intoxication
-never happens among the women. Still,
-the condition of the sex is degraded; for
-they are, with exceptions, regarded only
-as the materials of a man’s household,
-and ministers to the sensual enjoyments of
-his life<a name="FNanchor_51_51" id="FNanchor_51_51"></a><a href="#Footnote_51_51" class="fnanchor">[51]</a>. The Mohammedans of Central
-Africa, bigoted as to dogmas, are nevertheless
-more liberal to women, who enjoy
-more consideration among them than in
-the more important strongholds of that
-religion<a name="FNanchor_52_52" id="FNanchor_52_52"></a><a href="#Footnote_52_52" class="fnanchor">[52]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>The wandering Arabs of Algeria hold
-marriage as a business transaction, though
-the estimation of the sex is not low. The
-lover brings to the woman’s home ten
-head of cattle, with other presents, which
-usually form her dowry. The father asks,
-“How much does she whom you are going
-to have for wife cost you?” He replies,
-“A prudent and industrious woman can
-never be too dear.” She is dressed, placed
-on a horse, and borne to her new home
-amid rejoicing. She then drinks the cup
-of welcome, and thrusting a stick into the
-ground, declares, “As this stick will remain
-here until some one forces it away, so
-will I.” She then performs some little
-office to show she is ready for the duty of
-a wife, and the ceremony is ended<a name="FNanchor_53_53" id="FNanchor_53_53"></a><a href="#Footnote_53_53" class="fnanchor">[53]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>Transferring our observations to Abyssinia,
-we find in its several divisions different
-characteristics of manners. In Tajura,
-on the Red Sea, profligacy is a conspicuous
-feature of society. Men live with their
-wives for a short period, and then sell
-them, maintaining thus a succession of
-favourites in their harems. Parents, also,
-are known not only to sell their daughters
-as wives, but to hire them out as
-prostitutes. One chief offered a traveller
-his daughter either as a temporary or a
-permanent companion; he showed another
-whom he would have sold for 100
-dollars. One woman presented herself,
-stating, as a recommendation, that she
-had already lived with five men. These
-are nothing but prostitutes, whatever the
-delicacy of travellers induces them to
-term them. Unfortunately the inquiries
-made into this system are very slight,
-affording us no statistics or results of any
-kind. We are thus left to judge of morality
-in Tajura by the fact that syphilis
-afflicts nearly the whole population, man
-and woman, sultan and beggar, priests and
-their wives included.</p>
-
-<p>In the Christian kingdom of Shoa, the
-Christian king has one wife, and 500 concubines;
-seven in the palace, thirteen at
-different places in the outskirts, and the
-rest in various parts of his dominions. He
-makes a present to the parents of any
-women he may desire, and is usually well
-paid in return for the honour. The governors
-of cities and provinces follow this
-example, keeping establishments of concubines
-at different places. Scores of the
-royal slaves are cast aside, and their place
-supplied by others.</p>
-
-<p>In Shoa there are two kinds of marriage;
-one a mere agreement to cohabitation,
-another a holy ceremony; the former is
-almost universally practised. The men and
-women declare before witnesses that they
-intend to live happily together. The connection
-thus easily contracted is easily
-broken; mutual consent only is necessary
-to a divorce. In Shoa a wife is valued
-according to the amount of her property.
-The heiress to a house, a field and a bedstead,
-is sure to have a husband. When
-they quarrel and part, a division of goods
-takes place. Holy ceremonies are very
-rare, and not much relished. A wedded
-couple, in one sense of the term, is a phenomenon.
-Instances of incontinence are
-frequent; while the caprice of the men
-leads them often to increase the number of
-their concubines. These are procured as
-well from the Christians as from the Mohammedans
-and Pagans; but the poor girls
-professing these religions are forced to a
-blind profession of Christianity. Favourite
-slaves and concubines hold the same position
-with married women; while illegitimate
-and legitimate children are treated
-by the law with no distinction. Three
-hundred of the king’s concubines are
-slaves, taken in war or purchased from
-dealers. They are guarded by fifty eunuchs,
-and live in seclusion; though this by no
-means prevents the court from overflowing
-with licentiousness. Numerous adulteries
-take place, and this example is followed by
-the people; among whom a chaste married
-couple is not common.</p>
-
-<p>Women in Abyssinia, which is an agricultural
-country, mix freely with the men,
-and dance in their company; though a few
-jealous husbands or cautious parents seclude
-them. Morality is at an extremely
-low ebb. At the Christmas saturnalia,
-gross and disgusting scenes occur, as well
-as at other feasts. What else can be ex<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span>pected
-in a country where 12,000 priests
-live devoted, in theory at least, to celibacy;
-and where, at the annual baptisms, these
-priests, with men, women, and children
-strip naked, and rush in promiscuous
-crowds into a stream, where they are baptised
-according to the Christian religion!
-The sacerdotal class of Shoa is notoriously
-drunken and profligate. Another cause of
-corruption is the caprice which induces
-men to abandon their concubines after short
-cohabitation with them. These women,
-discarded and neglected, devote themselves
-to an infamous profession, and thus immorality
-is perpetuated through every grade
-of their society: in a word, the morals of
-Shoa are of the lowest description. In
-the Mohammedan states in its neighbourhood
-the condition of the sex is no better.
-If there is less general prostitution, it is
-because every woman is the slave of some
-man’s lust, and is imprisoned under his eye.
-He is jealous only of her person; scarcely
-attributing to her a single quality which is
-not perceptible to his senses<a name="FNanchor_54_54" id="FNanchor_54_54"></a><a href="#Footnote_54_54" class="fnanchor">[54]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>In the southern provinces of Kordofan,
-under the government of Egypt, south of
-the Nubian Mountains, immense labour is
-imposed on the unmarried girls; yet the
-sentiment of love is not altogether unknown
-to them, and men fight duels with
-whips of hippopotamus hide on account of
-a disputed mistress. The wife is nevertheless
-a virtual slave, and still more degraded
-should she prove barren; the husband,
-in that case, solaces himself with a
-concubine, who, if she bears a child, is
-elevated to the rank of wife. It is common
-among the rich for a man to make his wife
-a separate allowance after the birth of her
-second child, when she goes to live in a
-separate hut. All their bloom is gone by
-the time they are twenty-four years old,
-and thenceforward they enjoy no estimation
-from the men. Yet, improvident in their
-hearts, the young girls of Kordofan are
-merry; and, whether at work or idle, spend
-the day in songs and laughter; while in
-the evening they assemble and dance to
-the music of the Tarabuka drum. Their
-demeanour, in general, is modest, and their
-lives are chaste. Married women, on the
-contrary, especially those who are neglected
-by their husbands, occupy themselves in
-gossip, and find solace in criminal intrigues.
-In some parts of the country,
-indeed, men consider it an honour for their
-wives to have intercourse with others;
-and the women are often forwarded in
-their advances. Female slaves often have
-liberty when they bear children to their
-proprietors.</p>
-
-<p>Women eat when the men have done,
-and pretty dancers attend at the feasts to
-amuse their employers. These girls, like
-the Ghawazee of Lower Egypt, are usually
-prostitutes, and very skilful in the arts of
-seduction. Numbers of this class fled from
-Egypt into Kordofan, on one occasion, when
-Mohammed Ali, in one of his affected fits
-of morality, endeavoured to suppress their
-calling altogether.</p>
-
-<p>Marriage, it may be scarcely necessary
-to say, is concluded without the woman’s
-consent. The man bargains for her, pays
-her price, takes her home, strips off her
-virginal girdle, which is the only garment
-of unmarried girls, and covers her with a
-cloth about her loins; a feast and a dance
-occasionally celebrate the event. When a
-wife is ill-treated beyond endurance, she
-demands a divorce; and, taking her female
-offspring, with her dowry, returns home.
-Trifles often produce these separations.
-That her husband has not allowed her
-sufficient pomatum to anoint her person
-with, is not unfrequently the ground of
-complaint. Few men in Kordofan have
-more than two wives; but most have concubines
-besides, whom the more opulent
-protect by a guard of eunuchs.</p>
-
-<p>These remarks apply to the agricultural
-or fixed population. The Baghaira, or wandering
-pastoral tribes of Kordofan, are a
-modest, moral race&mdash;naked, but not on that
-account indecent<a name="FNanchor_55_55" id="FNanchor_55_55"></a><a href="#Footnote_55_55" class="fnanchor">[55]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>A chief of the Berbers offered a late traveller
-the choice of his two daughters for a
-bedfellow. They were already both married.
-Women there, however, as well as in Dongola,
-are, many of them, ready to prostitute
-themselves for a present. A virgin,
-whether as wife or concubine, may be purchased
-for a horse. “Why do you not
-marry?” said a traveller to a young Berber.
-He pointed to a colt and answered “When
-that is a horse I shall marry.”<a name="FNanchor_56_56" id="FNanchor_56_56"></a><a href="#Footnote_56_56" class="fnanchor">[56]</a></p>
-
-<p>The condition of women and state of
-manners on the upper borders of the Nile,
-we find described in Ferdinand Werne’s
-account of his recent voyage to discover
-the sources of the White Stream. The
-system in Khartum may be indicated by
-one sentence in the traveller’s own language.
-He speaks of desiring that the pay<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>
-might be advanced to prevent starvation
-from visiting the soldiers’ families, “which,
-from the low price of female slaves, were
-numerous.” It may, without resort to hyperbole,
-be said, that the female monkeys
-peopling the neighbouring woods occupy
-a far nobler and more natural position.
-Among the barbarians on the banks of the
-river further up, the state of manners is in
-a great degree more pure. The Keks, for
-example, are described as leading a blameless
-life. The travellers saw no marriageable
-maidens or children, married women
-alone appearing. The most singular social
-economy prevails among them. The women
-live, during a considerable part of the
-year, in villages apart from the men, who
-possess only temporary huts. Their wives
-have regular substantial habitations, which
-are common to both sexes during the rainy
-season. A man dare not approach the
-“harem village,” except at the proper period,
-though some of the women occasionally
-creep into their husbands’ village.
-Polygamy is allowed, but only practised by
-the chiefs, since all the wives are bought,
-which renders the indulgence costly.</p>
-
-<p>Among some of the tribes on the banks
-of the White Nile women will sell their
-children if they can do so with profit.
-Everywhere in that region the maidens
-mingle naked with the men, but appear by
-no means immodest. When married they
-wear an apron. All exhibit a sense of
-shame at exhibiting themselves unclothed
-before strangers. Beyond the Mountains
-of the Moon, however, Werne found people,
-among whom the unmarried men and
-women were separated. They were completely
-naked, but chaste and decent nevertheless.
-A heavy price was always
-asked for a girl, which prevented common
-polygamy, though their social code permitted
-it<a name="FNanchor_57_57" id="FNanchor_57_57"></a><a href="#Footnote_57_57" class="fnanchor">[57]</a>.</p>
-
-<p>It must be evident that, in an inquiry
-like the present, a view of the manners
-and morals of Africa with regard to the
-female sex must be incomplete. In the
-first place, our information is very limited;
-in the second, we are confined for space&mdash;for
-otherwise these sketches could be extended
-to an indefinite extent. We have,
-however, taken observations in Southern,
-in Western, in Eastern, in Northern, and
-Central Africa. Kingdoms and communities,
-indeed, there are which we have not
-included in our description. Of these some
-wear features so similar to others we
-have noticed, that to particularise them is
-unnecessary in a general view. Of others,
-such as Egypt, Nubia, Barca, Tripoli, Algiers,
-and Morocco, we shall treat in a
-future division of the subject, because
-they are not included, by the character of
-their civilization, among the communities of
-which we have hitherto spoken. The
-reader will, we trust, have been enabled to
-form a fair idea of the average of morals
-among the savages and semi-savages of
-Africa. With modern barbarians, as with
-ancient states, tabular statistics are impossible:
-but from a description in general
-terms, we cannot always refuse to
-ground a confident opinion.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Women in Australia.</span></h3>
-
-<p>In Australia we have a family of the human
-race still more uneducated, though not
-more barbarous, than that which inhabits
-the woods of the African continent. There
-is among them less approach to the arts of
-civilization, less ingenuity, less intelligence,
-but there is more simplicity. Their customs
-are not so brutal as those prevailing
-on the banks of the Joliba or the Senegal.
-Nevertheless they are true savages, and the
-condition of their women is consistent with
-all the other features of their irreclaimed
-state. Of the Australians, however, as of
-all races imperfectly known, there obtains
-in this country a vulgar idea drawn from
-the old accounts, which are little better
-than caricatures. They have been represented
-as a hideous race, scarcely elevated
-above the brute, blood-thirsty, destitute of
-human feeling, without any redeeming
-characteristics, and, moreover, incapable of
-civilization. Such a description is calculated
-only to mislead. The aborigines of
-Australia are certainly a low, barbarous,
-and even a brutal race, but the true picture
-of their manners, which form the expression
-of their character, is not without encouraging
-traits.</p>
-
-<p>Considering the great extent of New
-Holland, it is surprising to find such an
-uniformity of character and customs, as
-we actually discover among its nations.
-The language, varied by dialects, the habits,
-social laws, and ideas of the people, are
-extremely similar, whether we visit them
-in that province called the Happy or in
-the districts around Port Essington. Consequently,
-though it occupy a large space
-on the map, this region will not require
-any very extended notice. An idea of the
-condition and morality of its women may
-be afforded by one general view, with
-reference to the various local peculiarities
-noticed by travellers.</p>
-
-<p>The native inhabitants of Australia are
-generally nomadic. They dwell in tempo<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span>rary
-villages scattered over vast surfaces of
-country, and move from place to place, as
-the supply of provisions, spontaneously
-provided by the earth, is more or less
-abundant. Separated as they are into
-small isolated communities&mdash;rarely numbering
-more than eighty members&mdash;they
-resort to the borders of lakes and streams,
-which dry up at certain seasons, and force
-them to seek elsewhere a home. A rude
-copy of the patriarchal form of government
-prevails among them&mdash;old men being the
-rulers of the tribe.</p>
-
-<p>The condition of women among these
-primitive savages is extremely low. They
-are servants of the stronger sex. In some
-of their dialects wife and slave are synonymous.
-All the labour devolves on her, and,
-as no form of agriculture is practised, this
-consists principally in the search for the
-means of life. She collects the daily food,
-she prepares the camp or the hut at night,
-she piles fire-wood, draws water, weaves
-baskets, carries all burdens, and bears the
-children on her back, and the return for
-all this willing devotion is frequently the
-grossest ill-usage.</p>
-
-<p>There is no form of marriage ceremony
-observed. A man gets a wife in various
-ways. Sometimes she is betrothed to him
-while an infant&mdash;even before her birth,
-and sometimes she devolves to him with
-other property. The eldest surviving brother,
-or next male relative, inherits the
-women of a whole family. Thus many
-households are supplied. Others steal
-their wives from hostile tribes, and frequent
-wars arise from such proceedings.
-Polygamy is universally allowed, but not
-by any means generally practised; for
-there are few parts of Australia where the
-female sex is not outnumbered by the
-male. Plurality of wives consequently implies
-wealth and distinction&mdash;each additional
-one being regarded as a new slave,
-an increase of property. Nor are the women
-jealous of polygamy. When a man
-has many wives, they subdivide the labour,
-which otherwise would devolve on one, thus
-lightening each others’ burdens, and procuring
-companionship. There can indeed
-be little jealous feeling where affection on
-the part of the husband to the wife is
-almost a thing unknown.</p>
-
-<p>The Australian wife when past the prime
-of life is usually a wretched object. She is
-often deformed and crippled by excessive
-toil&mdash;her body bent, her legs crooked, her
-ankles swollen, her face wearing an aspect
-of sullen apathy, produced by long hardship.
-When young, however, they are
-frequently lively and happy, not being
-cursed with keen feelings, and caring for
-little beyond the present hour. Should
-a young woman, nevertheless, be distinguished
-by peculiar beauty, she leads,
-while her attractions last, a miserable
-course of existence. Betrothed at an early
-age, she is perpetually watched by the
-future husband, and upon the least suspicion
-of infidelity is subjected to the most
-brutal treatment. To thrust a spear
-through her thigh or the calf of her
-leg is the common mode of punishment.
-She may, in spite of all precautions, be
-snatched away: whether consenting or
-not, she must endure the same penalty. If
-she be chaste, the man who has attempted
-to seduce her may strike her with a club,
-stun her, and bear her to a wood, where
-she is violated by force. Still she is punished,
-and it is, says Sir George Grey, no
-common sight to see a woman of superior
-elegance or beauty who has not some scars
-disfiguring various parts of her person.
-This period, however, is soon over, for the
-bloom of an Australian woman is very
-short-lived. When the seducer is found, he
-is punished in a similar manner, and if he
-have committed adultery with a married
-woman, suffers death.</p>
-
-<p>The jealousy of the married men is
-excessive, and would be ridiculous were it
-not that their vigilance is absolutely called
-for. A careless husband would speedily
-suffer for his neglect. Accordingly we find
-the Australian savages practising in their
-woods or open plains restrictions not dissimilar
-to those adopted in the seraglios of
-the East. When an encampment is formed
-for the night every man overlooks his
-wives while they build one or more temporary
-huts, over which he then places
-himself as a guard. The young children
-and the unmarried girls occupy this portion
-of the village. Boys above ten years
-of age and all single men are forced to sleep
-in a separate encampment, constructed for
-them by their mothers, and are not allowed
-to visit the bivouacs of the married men.
-Under no circumstances is a strange native
-allowed to approach one of the family huts.
-Each of these little dwellings is placed far
-from the rest, so that when their inmates
-desire to hold converse they sing to each
-other from a distance. When the young
-men collect to dance, the maidens and
-wives are allowed to be spectators, but
-only on a few occasions to join. They
-have dances of their own, at which the
-youth of the other sex are not permitted
-to be present.</p>
-
-<p>In spite of this excessive jealousy the
-idea of a husband’s affection for his wife<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span>
-appears strange to them. Men return from
-journeys without exchanging a greeting
-with the mothers of their children, but
-those children they salute with many endearing
-terms, falling on their necks and
-shedding tears with every demonstration
-of love. A man has been known, when his
-wife was grievously sick, to leave her to
-die in the wilderness, rather than be
-troubled with her on his journey.</p>
-
-<p>Yet the influence of women is not by
-any means small. In some of the tribes
-they obtain a position of moderate equality
-with the husband, are well-fed, clothed, and
-treated as rational beings. Everywhere the
-men, young and old, strive to deserve their
-praise; and exhibitions of vanity take
-place, perfectly ludicrous to those European
-travellers who forget that the silly
-dandyism of the Australian savage, with
-his paint and opossum skin, is only peculiar
-in its form of expression. Women are
-often present on the field of battle, to inspire
-their husbands by exhortations, to
-rouse them by clamours of revenge or appeals
-to their valour; and among the chief
-punishments of cowardice is their contempt.
-The man failing in any great duty
-of a warrior is so disgraced. Thus, if he
-neglect to avenge the death of his nearest
-relation, his wives may quit him; the
-unmarried girls shun him with scorn, and
-he is driven by their reproaches to perform
-his bloody and dangerous task.</p>
-
-<p>Where polygamy exists it is seldom the
-woman’s consent is required before her
-union with a suitor. In Australia it is
-never required or expected. The transaction
-is entirely between her father and
-the man who desires her for a wife, or,
-rather, for a concubine. She is ordered,
-perhaps, to take up her household bag,
-and go to a certain man’s hut, and this
-may be the first notice she has of the
-marriage. There she is in the position of
-a slave to her master. If she be obedient,
-toil without torture is her mitigated lot;
-but if she rebel, the club is employed to
-enforce submission. She is her husband’s
-absolute property. He may give her away,
-exchange her, or lend her as he pleases.
-Indeed, old men will sometimes offer their
-wives to friends, or as a mark of respect to
-strangers; and the offer is not uncommonly
-accepted.</p>
-
-<p>Though we have mentioned three ways
-of obtaining a wife, the system of betrothal
-is the most general. Almost every female
-child is so disposed of a few days after its
-birth. From that moment the parents
-have no control whatever over her future
-settlement; she is in fact a bought slave.
-Should her betrothed die she becomes the
-property of his heir. Whatever her age
-she may be taken into the hut; cohabitation
-often commencing while the girl is
-not twelve years old, and her husband only
-a boy. Three days after her first husband’s
-death the widow goes to the hut of
-the second.</p>
-
-<p>Some restrictions, however, are imposed
-on the intercourse of the sexes. Thus all
-children take the family name of their
-mother, and a man may not marry a woman
-of his own family name. Relations
-nearer than cousins are not allowed to
-marry, and an alliance even within this degree
-is very rare. The Australians have,
-indeed, a horror of all connections with the
-least stigma of incest upon them, and
-adjudge the punishment of death to such
-an offence. Their laws, which are matters
-not of enactment but of custom, are extremely
-severe upon this and all other
-points connected with their women.</p>
-
-<p>Chastity, nevertheless, is neither highly
-appreciated nor often practised. It is far
-from being prized by the women as a jewel
-of value; on the contrary, they plot for
-opportunities to yield it illicitly, and can
-scarcely be said to know the idea. Profligacy
-is all but universal among them; it
-is a characteristic even of the children.
-When some schools were formed at Perth,
-for the education of the natives, it was
-found absolutely necessary to separate
-children of tender years, in order to prevent
-scenes of vile debauch from being
-enacted. It should be said, however, that
-though indiscriminate prostitution among
-the women, and depraved sensuality among
-the men, exist in the most savage communities,
-disease and vice are far less characteristic
-of them than of those tribes which
-have come in contact with Europeans. In
-all the colonial towns there is a class of
-native women following the calling of
-prostitutes, and there the venereal disease
-and syphilis are most deadly and widely
-prevalent. The former appears to have
-been brought from Europe, and makes
-terrible havoc among them. The latter,
-ascribed by their traditions to the East,
-has been found among tribes which had
-apparently never held intercourse with the
-whites; in such cases, however, it is in a
-milder form.</p>
-
-<p>Several causes contribute to the corruption
-of manners among these savage tribes.
-One of the principal is, the monopoly of
-women claimed by the old men. The
-patriarchs of the tribe, contrive to secure
-all the young girls, leaving to their more
-youthful brethren only common prosti<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>tutes,
-prisoners of war, and such women
-as they can ravish from a neighbouring
-community, or seduce from their husbands’
-dwellings. They also abandon to them
-their own wives when 30 or 40 years old,
-obtaining in exchange the little girls belonging
-to the young man’s family. The
-youthful warrior, therefore, with a number
-of sisters, can usually succeed in obtaining
-a few wives by barter. That their personal
-attractions are faded is not of any high
-importance; since they are needed chiefly
-to render him independent of labour. His
-sensual appetites he is content to gratify,
-until he becomes a patriarch, by illicit
-intrigues with other women of the tribe.
-Of these there are generally some ready
-to sell or give away their favours. The
-wives, especially of the very old chiefs,
-look anxiously forward to the death of
-their husbands, when they hope, in the
-usual course of inheritance, to be transferred
-to the hut of a younger man; for,
-among nations in this debased state, it is
-not <i>the</i> woman that is prized, but <i>a</i> woman.
-Personal attachment is rare. The husband
-whose wife has been ravished away by a
-warrior from a neighbouring tribe may be
-pacified by being presented with another
-companion. Even in Australia Felix,
-which is peopled by the most intelligent,
-industrious, and manly of the Australian
-race, the young man disappointed of a
-wife in his own tribe sets off to another,
-waylays some woman, asks her to elope
-with him, and, on her refusal, stuns her
-with his club, and drags her away in
-triumph. Marriage, indeed, appears too
-dignified a term to apply to this system of
-concubinage and servitude which in Australia
-goes under that name. Travellers
-have found in the far interior happy families
-of man and wife, roaming together, with
-common interests, and united by affection;
-but such instances are rare.</p>
-
-<p>A large proportion of the young men in
-Australia can by no means obtain wives.
-This arises from the numerical disparity
-between the sexes, which is almost universal
-in that region, and is chiefly attributable
-to the practice of infanticide.
-Child-killing is indeed among the social
-institutions of that poor and barbarous
-race. Women have been known to kill
-and eat their offspring, and men to swing
-them by the legs and dash out their brains
-against a tree. The custom is becoming
-rare among those tribes in constant intercourse
-with Europeans, but that intercourse
-itself has caused much of the evil.
-Half-castes, or the offspring of native
-women by European fathers, are almost
-invariably sacrificed. They are held in
-dread by the people, who fear the growth
-of a mixed race which may one day conquer
-or destroy them. Females, also, are
-killed in great numbers. This class of
-infanticide is regulated by various circumstances
-in different communities. Among
-some tribes all the girls are destroyed until
-a boy is born; in others, the firstborn is
-exposed; in others, all above a certain
-number perish; but everywhere the custom
-prevails. One of two twins&mdash;a rare birth&mdash;is
-almost always killed. It may be ascribed
-to the miserably poor condition of the
-people, and the degraded state of the
-female sex; for in a region where the
-aborigines have not yet learned to till the
-soil, and where the means of life are
-scanty, there will always be an inducement
-to check the growth of numbers by infanticide;
-and where women have to perform
-all the labour, and follow their husbands
-in long marches or campaigns, ministering
-to every want they may experience, the
-trouble of nursing an infant is often saved
-at the cost of the infant’s life. Neglect also
-effects the same purpose.</p>
-
-<p>The population, under these circumstances,
-has always been thin, and is apparently
-decreasing. Among 421 persons
-belonging to various tribes in Australia
-Felix, Eyre remarked that there were in
-the course of two years and a half only ten
-children reared. In other places one child
-to every six women was not an unusual
-average. This, however, is not all to be
-ascribed to infanticide. Many of the females
-abandon themselves so recklessly to
-vice that they lose all their natural powers,
-and become incapable of bearing offspring.
-Eyre found in other parts of Australia that
-the average of births was four to every
-woman. In New South Wales the proportion
-of women to men appears to be as two
-to three; while in the interior, Sturt calculated
-that female children outnumbered
-the male, while with adults the reverse
-was true. This indicates an awful spread
-of the practice of infanticide, which we
-cannot refuse to believe when we remember
-the facts which travellers of undeniable
-integrity have made known to us.</p>
-
-<p>To suppose from this that in Australia
-the natural sentiments of humanity are
-unknown, would be extremely rash. On
-the contrary, we find very much that is
-beautiful in the character of its wild
-people, and are led to believe that civilization
-may go far towards elevating them
-from all their barbarous customs. Women
-are known to bear about their necks, as
-relics sacred to affection, the bones of their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span>
-children, whom they have mourned for
-years with a pure and deep sorrow. Men
-have loved and respected their wives;
-maidens have prized and guarded their
-virtue; but it is too true that these are
-exceptions, and that the character and the
-condition of the female sex in Australia is
-that of debasement and immorality.</p>
-
-<p>With respect to the prostitute class of
-the colonial towns, to which allusion has
-been made, it will be noticed in another
-part of this inquiry, when we examine into
-the manners of English and other settlers
-abroad.</p>
-
-<p>Of prostitutes as a class among the
-natives themselves, it is impossible to
-speak separately; for prostitution of that
-kind implies some advance towards the
-forms of regular society, and little of this
-appears yet to be made in that region.
-From the sketch we have given, however,
-a general idea may be gained of the state
-of women and the estimation of virtue
-among a race second only to the lowest
-tribes of Africa in barbarity and degradation<a name="FNanchor_58_58" id="FNanchor_58_58"></a><a href="#Footnote_58_58" class="fnanchor">[58]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in New Zealand.</span></h3>
-
-<p>In the New Zealand group we find a race
-considerably elevated above the other inhabitants
-of Australasia, with a species of
-native civilization&mdash;a system of art, industry,
-and manners. Perhaps the savage of
-New Holland is one of the most miserable,
-and the New Zealander one of the most
-elevated, barbarians in the world. By this
-we do not mean that he has made any
-progress in refinement, or been subdued by
-the amiable amenities of life; but he is
-quick, intelligent, apt to learn, swift to
-imitate, and docile in the school of civilization.
-The Maories, in their original state,
-are low and brutal; but they are easily
-raised from that condition. They have
-exhibited a capacity for the reception of
-knowledge, and a desire to adopt what
-they are taught to admire&mdash;which encourage
-strong hopes of their reclamation.
-Among them, however, vice was, until recently,
-almost universal, and at the present
-day it is so, with the exception of a few
-tribes brought directly under the influence
-of educated and moral European communities.
-The only class which has discarded
-the most systematic immorality is that
-which has reconciled itself to the Christian
-religion, or been persuaded to follow the
-manners of the white men. The unreclaimed
-tribes present a spectacle of licentiousness
-which distinguishes them even
-among barbarous nations.</p>
-
-<p>They show, indeed, an advance in profligacy.
-Their immorality is upon a plan,
-and recognised in that unwritten social
-law which among barbarians remedies the
-want of a written code. It is not the
-beastly lust of the savage, who appears
-merely obedient to an animal instinct,
-against which there is no principle of
-morals or sentiment of decency to contend;&mdash;it
-is the appetite of the sensualist, deliberately
-gratified, and by means similar, in
-many respects, to those adopted among the
-lowest classes in Europe. We may, indeed,
-compare the Maori village, unsubjected to
-missionary influence, with some of the
-hamlets in our rural provinces, where
-moral education of every kind is equally
-an exile.</p>
-
-<p>The New Zealanders have been divided
-into the descendants of two races, the one
-inferior to the other; and the Malay has
-been taken as the superior. Ethnologists
-may prove a difference between them, and
-trace it through their manners; but these
-distinctions of race are not sufficiently
-marked to require separate investigations.
-The social institutions of the islanders are
-very generally the same, with some unimportant
-variations among the several tribes.
-We are placed in this peculiar difficulty
-when inquiring into the manners of New
-Zealand&mdash;that they appear to have undergone
-considerable modification since, and
-in consequence of, the arrival of Europeans.
-The natives refer to this change themselves,
-and in some cases charge the whites
-with introducing various evils into their
-country. Undoubtedly this is as true of
-New Zealand as of every other portion of
-the globe whither men have carried from
-Christendom the vices as well as the advantages
-of civilization. But in speaking
-of European settlers, a broad distinction
-must be borne in mind. White is not
-more contrasted with black, than are the
-regular orderly colonies established under
-the authority of Great Britain with the
-irregular scattered settlements planted by
-whalers, runaway or released convicts,
-land speculators, and other adventurers
-before the formal hoisting of our flag. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>
-influence of the one has been to enlighten
-and to elevate, of the other to debase and
-demoralize, the native population. Gambling,
-drinking, and prostitution were encouraged
-or introduced by the one, Christianity,
-order, and morality are spreading
-through the exertions of the other; and it
-is, therefore, unjust to confound them in
-one general panegyric or condemnation.
-Nor shall we include all the unrecognised
-settlements in this description. Many of
-the hardy whalers and others have taken
-to themselves Maori wives, who, sober,
-thrifty, and industrious, submit without
-complaining to rough usage and hard work,
-and are animated by a deep affection for
-their husbands. Contented with a calico
-gown and blanket, an occasional pipe of
-tobacco, and a very frugal life, they cost
-little to support, and appear for the most
-part not only willing but cheerful.</p>
-
-<p>The female sex throughout New Zealand
-is not in such complete subjection to the
-male as in New Holland. With the right
-they have acquired the power to resist any
-unnatural encroachment upon their liberties,
-though still in a state of comparative
-bondage. They are influential in society,
-and whenever this is the case they enjoy,
-more or less, remission of oppression. We
-find them declaiming at public meetings of
-the people, and fiercely denouncing the
-warriors who may be dishonourably averse
-to war, or have behaved ignominiously in
-the field. By influencing their friends and
-relatives they often secure to themselves
-revenge for an injury, and thus security
-against the same in future. In various
-other ways their position is defended
-against utter abasement. They are not
-regarded merely as subservient to the lust
-and indolence of the male sex. When
-dead they are buried with ceremony according
-to the husband’s rank, and formal
-rites of mourning are observed for them.
-In public and in domestic affairs their
-opinions are consulted, and often their
-hands are obtained in marriage by the
-most humble supplication, or the most
-difficult course of persuasion, by the lover.
-All this is evidence of a higher state than
-that which is occupied by females either
-in Africa or New Holland.</p>
-
-<p>Polygamy is permitted and practised by
-those who can afford it. In reality, however,
-the man has but one wife and a
-number of concubines, for though the
-second and third may be ceremoniously
-wedded to him, they are in subjection to
-the first, and his intercourse with them is
-frequently checked by her. She is paramount
-and all but supreme, though a man
-of determination will sometimes divorce
-his first wife to punish her contumelious
-behaviour to his second.</p>
-
-<p>It is customary for a man to marry two
-or more sisters, the eldest being recognised
-as the chief or head of the family. They
-all eat with the men, accompanying them,
-as well as their lovers and relations, before
-marriage, on their war expeditions or to
-their feasts. Betrothal takes place at a
-very early age&mdash;often conditionally before
-birth. Thus two brothers or two friends
-will agree that if their first children prove
-respectively a boy and a girl, they shall be
-married. When it is not settled so early,
-it is arranged during infancy, or at least
-childhood&mdash;for a girl of sixteen without an
-accepted lover is regarded as having outlived
-her attractions and all chance of an
-alliance. The betrothal is usually the occasion
-of a great feast, where wishes for
-the good success and welfare of the young
-couple are proclaimed by a company of
-friends. Three varieties of marriage formality
-are observed&mdash;differing as the girl
-is wanted to fill the place of first, second,
-third, or fourth wife. The first is a regular
-ceremony, the second less formal, and the
-last, which is merely conventional, is when
-a slave is raised from servitude to the
-marital embrace. The highest is that in
-which the priest pronounces a benediction,
-and a hope, not a prayer, for the prosperity
-of the married couple. The rest, which is
-the most approved and common, is for the
-man to conduct his betrothed to his hut,
-and she is thenceforward mistress of the
-place. Unless she be divorced, no one can
-take away her power, and no inferior wife
-can divide it. When they have entered
-the dwelling a party of friends surround
-it, make an attack, force their way, strip
-the newly-married pair nearly naked, plunder
-all they can find, and retire. By taking
-a woman to his house a man makes her his
-wife, or virtually, except in the case of the
-first, his concubine. When he merely
-desires to cohabit with one, without being
-formally united to her, he visits her habitation.</p>
-
-<p>Though polygamy or concubinage has
-been practised in New Zealand from immemorial
-time, jealousy still burns among
-the wives as fiercely as in any Christian
-country where the institution is forbidden
-by the social law. It is the cause of bitter
-domestic feuds. The household, with a
-plurality of women, is rarely at peace. It
-is universally known to what an extent the
-jealousy of the Dutch women in Batavia
-carried them when their husbands indulged
-in the practice&mdash;common in Dutch<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span>
-settlements&mdash;of keeping female slaves.
-They watched their opportunity, and when
-it occurred would carry a poor girl into
-the woods, strip her entirely naked, smear
-her person all over with honey, and leave
-her to be tortured by the attacks of insects
-and vermin. A similar spirit of ferocious
-jealousy is characteristic of the women in
-New Zealand. The inferior wives consequently
-lead a miserable life, subjected to
-the severest tyranny from the chief, who
-makes them her handmaids, and sometimes
-terrifies her husband from marital intercourse
-with them. She exposes them to
-perpetual danger by endeavouring to insinuate
-into his mind suspicions of their
-fidelity, and thus the household is rendered
-miserable. When a man takes a journey
-he is usually accompanied by one of his
-wives, or, if he goes alone, will bring one
-back with him. Hence arise bitter heart-burnings
-and quarrels. Occasionally they
-lead to the death of one among the disputants,
-and frequently to infanticide.</p>
-
-<p>So furious are the passions of the women
-when their jealousy is excited against their
-younger rivals, that many of the chiefs in
-New Zealand fear to enjoy the privilege
-allowed them by their social law. When
-they resolve upon it, they often proceed
-with a caution very amusing to contemplate.
-More than one anecdote in illustration
-of this is related in the works of
-recent travellers. A man having a first
-wife of bad temper and faded beauty,
-whom he fears, nevertheless, to offend altogether,
-is attracted by some young girl of
-superior charms, and offers to take her
-home; she accepts, and the husband prepares
-to execute his design. It is often
-long before he acquires courage to inform
-his wife, and only by the most skilful
-mixture of persuasion, management, and
-threats, that she is ever brought to consent.
-Women captured in battle, however,
-may be made slaves, or taken at once to
-their captor’s bed. Thus raised from actual
-slavery, their condition is little improved.
-The tyranny of the chief wife is
-exercised to oppress, insult, and irritate
-them. Should one of them prove pregnant,
-her mistress&mdash;especially if herself
-barren&mdash;will often exert the most abominable
-arts to ensure her miscarriage, that
-the husband may be disappointed of his
-child, and the concubine of his favour
-which would thence accrue to her.</p>
-
-<p>Divorces, according to the testimony of
-most writers, are not unfrequent in New
-Zealand. Among the ordinary causes are,
-mere decline of conjugal affection, barrenness
-in the wife, and a multiplication of
-concubines. A stepmother ill-treating the
-children, or a mother wantonly killing one
-of them, is liable to divorce. The latter is
-not an useless precaution, for jealous wives
-have been known in cold blood to murder an
-infant, merely to revenge themselves upon
-their husbands, or irritate them into divorce.
-A woman extravagantly squandering the
-common property, idling her time, playing
-the coquette, becoming suspected of
-infidelity, or refusing to admit a new wife
-into the house, is sometimes put away.
-This is effected by expelling her from the
-house. When it is she who seeks it, she
-flies to her relatives or friends. Should the
-husband be content with his loss, both are
-at liberty to marry; but if he desire to
-regain her, he seeks to coax her back, and,
-failing in that, employs force. She is
-compelled to submit unless her parents are
-powerful enough to defend her&mdash;for in
-New Zealand arms are the arbiters of law.
-When the desire to separate is mutual, it
-is effected by agreement, which is a complete
-release to both. If the husband
-insist on taking away the children, he may,
-but he is forbidden, on pain of severe
-punishment, from annoying his former wife
-any further.</p>
-
-<p>There is among the New Zealanders a
-rite known as <i>Tapu</i>, and the person performing
-it is sacred against the touch of
-another. While in this condition no contact
-is allowed with any person or thing.
-There are, however, comparative forms of
-Tapu. Thus a woman, in the matter of
-sexual intercourse, is <i>tapu</i> to all but her
-husband, and adultery is severely punished.
-Formerly the irrevocable remedy was death,
-and this may still be inflicted; but jealousy
-is seldom strong in the New Zealand husband,
-who often contents himself with
-receiving a heavy fine from his enemy.
-The crime is always infamous, but not inexpiable.
-The husband occasionally, when
-his wife has been guilty, takes her out of
-the house, strips her, and exposes her
-entirely naked, then receiving her back
-with forgiveness. The paramour usually
-attempts to fly. If he be not put to death,
-he also is sometimes subjected to a similar
-disgrace. When a wife discovers any girl
-carrying on a secret and illicit connection
-with her husband, a favourite mode of
-revenge is, to strip and expose her in this
-manner. For, in New Zealand, libidinous
-as the conduct of the people may be, their
-outward behaviour is, on the whole, decorous.
-They indulge in few indecencies before
-a third person. The exposure of the
-person is one of the most terrible punishments
-which can be inflicted. A woman<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>
-has hanged herself on its being said that
-she has been seen naked. One girl at
-Karawanga, on the river Thames, charged
-with this offence, was hung up by the
-heels and ignominiously flogged before all
-the tribe. Shame drove her mad, and she
-shot herself. They are otherwise obscene,
-and the children are adepts in indecency
-and immorality. One strong characteristic
-of their rude attempts at art is the obscenity
-in their paintings and carvings.
-In those singular specimens which crowd
-the rocks of Depuch Island, on the coast of
-New Holland, not a trace of this grossness
-is visible.</p>
-
-<p>One of the most melancholy features in
-the manners of this barbarous race, is the
-prevalence of infanticide. The Christian
-converts, as well as some of the natives
-who hold frequent intercourse with the
-more respectable Europeans, have abandoned
-it, as well as polygamy; but, with
-these exceptions, it is general throughout
-the thinly-scattered population of
-New Zealand. It almost always takes
-place immediately after birth, before the
-sentiment of maternal affection grows
-strong in the mother’s breast. After keeping
-a child a little while they seldom,
-except under the influence of frenzy, destroy
-it. As they have said to travellers,
-they do not look on them, lest they should
-love them. The weakly or deformed are
-always slain. The victim is sometimes
-buried alive, sometimes killed by violent
-compression of its head. This practice
-has contributed greatly to keep the population
-down. It is openly and unblushingly
-pursued, the principal victims being
-the females. The chief reasons for it are
-usually&mdash;revenge in the woman against
-her husband’s neglect, poverty, dread of
-shame, and superstition. One of the most
-common causes is the wife’s belief that
-her husband cares no longer for his offspring.
-The priests, whose low cunning is
-as characteristic of the class in those
-islands as elsewhere, frequently demand a
-victim for an oblation of blood to the spirit
-of evil, and never fail to extort the sacrifice
-from some poor ignorant mother. Another
-injurious and unnatural practice is,
-that of checking or neutralizing the operations
-of nature by procuring abortion.</p>
-
-<p>Tyrone Power, in his observations on the
-immorality prevalent in New Zealand,
-remarks that some of the young girls,
-betrothed from an early age, are <i>tapu</i>, and
-thus preserved chaste. He regrets that
-this superstition is not more influential,
-since it would check the system of almost
-universal and indiscriminate prostitution,
-which prevails among those not subject to
-this rite. Except when the woman is <i>tapu</i>,
-her profligacy is neither punished nor censured.
-Fathers, mothers, and brothers will,
-without a blush, give, sell, or lend on hire,
-the persons of their female relatives. The
-women themselves willingly acknowledge
-the bargain, and Mr. Power declares the
-most modest of them will succumb to a
-liberal offer of money. Nor is anything
-else to be expected, in any general degree.
-The children are educated to obscenity
-and vice. Their intercourse is scarcely
-restrained, and the early age at which it
-takes place has proved physically injurious
-to the race. Even those who are betrothed
-in infancy and rendered <i>tapu</i> to each
-other, commence cohabitation before they
-have emerged, according to English ideas,
-from childhood. Except in the case of
-those couples thus pledged before they can
-make a choice of their own, the laws which
-in New Zealand regulate the intercourse of
-the sexes with regard to preparations for
-marriage, approach in spirit to our own. A
-man desiring to take as wife a woman who is
-bound by no betrothment has to court her,
-and sometimes does so with supplication.
-The girls exhibit great coyness of manner,
-and are particular in hiding their faces
-from the stranger’s eye. When they bathe
-it is in a secluded spot; but they exercise
-all the arts which attract the opposite sex.
-When one or two suitors woo an independent
-woman, the choice is naturally given
-to the wealthiest; but should she decline
-to fix her preference on either, a desperate
-feud occurs, and she is won by force of
-arms. Sometimes a young girl is seized
-by two rivals, who pull on either side until
-her arms are loosened in the sockets, and
-one gives way.</p>
-
-<p>Perhaps, under these circumstances, the
-system of betrothal is productive of useful
-results, since it prevents the feuds and
-conflicts which might otherwise spring
-from the rivalry of suitors. The girl thus
-bound must submit to marriage with the
-man, whatever may be her indifference or
-aversion to him. Occasionally, indeed,
-some more youthful, or otherwise attractive,
-lover gains her consent to an elopement.
-If caught, however, both of the
-culprits are severely whipped. Should the
-young suitor be of poor and mean condition,
-he runs the chance of being robbed
-and murdered for his audacity. When, on
-the contrary, a powerful chief is desirous
-of obtaining a maiden who is betrothed, he
-has little difficulty in effecting his object,
-for in New Zealand the liberty of the individual
-is proportionate to his strength. It<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>
-is a feudal system, where the strong may
-evade the regulations of the social law,
-and the weak must submit. Justice, however,
-to the missionaries in those islands
-requires us to add, that in the districts
-where their influence is strong, a beneficial
-change in this, as in other respects, has
-been produced upon the people. They
-acknowledge more readily the supremacy
-of law; they prefer a judicial tribunal to
-the trial of arms; they restrain their
-animal passions in obedience to the moral
-code which has been exhibited to them;
-and many old polygamists have put away
-all their wives but one, contented to live
-faithfully with her.</p>
-
-<p>Among the heathen population chastity
-is not viewed in the same light as with us.
-It not so much required from the <i>woman</i> as
-from the <i>wife</i>, from the <i>young girl</i> as from
-the <i>betrothed maiden</i>. In fact, it signifies
-little more than faithful conduct in marriage,
-not for the sake of honour or virtue,
-but for that of the husband. With such a
-social theory, we can expect no general
-refinement in morality. Indeed, the term
-is not translatable into the language of New
-Zealand. Modesty is a fashion, not a sentiment,
-with them. The woman who would
-retire from the stranger’s gaze may, previous
-to marriage or betrothal, intrigue
-with any man without incurring an infamous
-reputation. Prostitution is not only
-a common but a recognised thing. Men
-care little to receive virgins into their huts
-as wives. Husbands have boasted that
-their wives had been the concubines of
-Europeans; and one declared to Polack
-that he was married to a woman who had
-regularly followed the calling of a prostitute
-among the crews of ships in the harbour.
-This he mentioned with no inconsiderable
-pride, as a proof of the beauty of
-the prize he had carried away.</p>
-
-<p>Formerly many of the chiefs dwelling
-on the coast were known to derive a part
-of their revenue from the prostitution of
-young females. It was, indeed, converted
-into a regular trade, and to a great extent
-with the European ships visiting the group.
-The handsomest and plumpest women in the
-villages were chosen, and bartered for certain
-sums of money or articles of merchandise,
-some for a longer, some for a shorter period.
-The practice is now, if not abolished, at
-least held in great reprobation, as the
-following anecdote will show. It exhibits
-the depraved manners of the people in a
-striking light, and is an illustration of that
-want of affection between married people
-which has been remarked as a characteristic
-of the New Zealanders. A chief from
-Wallatani, in the Bay of Plenty, went on
-an excursion to the Bay of Islands, and
-was accompanied by his wife and her sister.
-There he met a chief of the neighbourhood,
-who possessed some merchandise which he
-coveted. He at once offered to barter the
-chastity of his wife for the goods, and the
-proposal was accepted. The woman told
-her sister of the transaction, and she divulged
-the secret. So much reproach was
-brought upon the chief among his people,
-that he shot his wife’s sister to punish her
-incontinent tongue.</p>
-
-<p>Jerningham Wakefield describes the arrival
-of the whalers in port. He mentions
-as one of the most important transactions
-following this event, the providing of the
-company with “wives for the season.”
-Some had their regular helpmates, but
-others were forced to hire women. Bargains
-were formally struck, and when a
-woman failed to give satisfaction, she was
-exchanged for another. She was at once
-the slave and the companion of her master.
-This is neither more nor less than a regular
-system of prostitution; but it is gradually
-going out of fashion, and is only carried on
-in a clandestine manner in the colonies
-properly so called. Indeed this is, unfortunately,
-one of the chief products of imperfect
-civilization&mdash;that vice, which before
-was open, is driven into the dark; it is
-not extirpated, but is concealed. A man
-offered his wife to the traveller Earl, and
-the woman was by no means loth to prostitute
-herself for a donation. Barbarians
-readily acquire the modes of vice practised
-by Europeans. In the criminal calendar
-of Wellington for 1846, we find one native
-convicted and punished for keeping a
-house of ill-fame.</p>
-
-<p>Extraordinary as it may appear, prostitution
-in New Zealand has tended to cure
-one great evil. It has largely checked the
-practice of infanticide. For, as the female
-children were usually destroyed, it was on
-the supposition that, instead of being valuable,
-they would be burdensome to their
-parents. This continued to be the case
-until the discovery was made that by prostituting
-the young girls considerable profits
-might be made. It is to Europeans that
-the introduction of this idea is chiefly
-owing. The females were then, in many
-cases, carefully reared, and brought up to
-this dishonourable calling without reluctance.
-No difficulty was ever experienced
-from their resistance, as they would probably
-have become prostitutes of their own
-free will, had they not been directed to
-the occupation. Slavery, which has from
-the earliest time existed in New Zealand,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>
-has supplied the materials of prostitution,
-female servants being consigned to it.
-When possessed of any attractions they
-are almost invariably debauched by their
-masters, and frequently suffer nameless
-punishments from the jealous head wife.
-Concubinage does not, as in some other
-countries, release a woman from servitude,
-but she enjoys a privilege which is denied
-to the chief wife&mdash;she may marry again
-after her master’s death.</p>
-
-<p>Formerly the general custom, however,
-was for a wife to hang, drown, strangle, or
-starve herself on the death of her husband.
-Her relatives often gave her a rope of flax,
-with which she retired to a neighbouring
-thicket and died. It was not a peremptory
-obligation, but custom viewed it as almost
-a sacred duty. Sometimes three of the
-wives destroyed themselves, but generally
-one victim sufficed. Self-immolation is
-now, indeed, becoming very rare; but it is
-still the practice for the widow, whether
-she loved her husband or not, to lament
-him with loud cries, and lacerate her flesh
-upon his tomb. Whenever she marries
-again a priest is consulted to predict whether
-she will survive the second husband
-or not. Occasionally we find instances of
-real attachment between man and wife,
-such as would sanctify any family hearth;
-while examples have occurred of women
-hanging themselves for sorrow, on the
-death of a betrothed lover.</p>
-
-<p>These, however, are only indications that
-humanity is not in New Zealand universally
-debased below the brute condition.
-The general colour of the picture is dark.
-Women are degraded; men are profligate;
-virtue is unknown in its abstract sense;
-chastity is rare; and prostitution a characteristic
-of female society. Fathers, mothers,
-and brothers&mdash;usually the guardians
-of a young woman&mdash;prostitute her for
-gain, and the women themselves delight in
-this vice. There is, nevertheless, some
-amelioration observable in the manners of
-the people, produced by the influence of
-the English colonies. Those colonies themselves,
-however, are not free from the stain,
-as will be shown when we treat of communities
-of that description in general<a name="FNanchor_59_59" id="FNanchor_59_59"></a><a href="#Footnote_59_59" class="fnanchor">[59]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in the Islands of the
-Pacific.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Among the innumerable islands which are
-scattered over the surface of the Pacific,
-we discover various phases of manners
-developed under different influences. In
-some of the lonely groups lying out of
-the usual course of trade or travel, communities
-exist whose social habits remain
-entirely pure&mdash;that is, unchanged by intercourse
-with foreigners. In others continual
-communication through a long period,
-with white men, has wholly changed the
-characteristic aspects of the people&mdash;given
-them a new religion, a new moral code,
-new ideas of decency and virtue, new pleasures,
-and new modes of life. The same
-process appears likely, at a future day, to
-obliterate the ancient system of things.
-In all the islands of this class, indeed, the
-reform of manners is not so thorough as
-the florid accounts of the missionaries
-would induce us to believe; but those
-pioneers of civilization have done enough,
-without assuming more than their due, to
-deserve the praise of all Christendom. To
-have restrained the fiercest passions of
-human nature among ignorant and wilful
-savages; to have converted base libidinous
-heathens into decent Christians; to have
-checked the practice of polygamy; and in
-many places to have extinguished the
-crime of infanticide;&mdash;these are achievements
-which entitle the missionaries to
-the applause and respect of Europe; but
-it is no disparagement of their labours to
-show, where it is true, that immense things
-yet remain to be performed before the
-islanders of the Pacific are raised to the
-ordinary level of civilized humanity.</p>
-
-<p>The main family of the Pacific&mdash;the
-Society, the Friendly, the Sandwich, the
-Navigators’, and the Marquesas Islands&mdash;present
-a state of society interesting and
-curious. Inhabiting one of the most beautiful
-regions on the face of the earth, with
-every natural advantage, the inhabitants
-of those groups were originally among the
-most degraded of mankind. Superior to
-the savage hordes of Africa and the wandering
-tribes of Australia, they are in
-physical and intellectual qualities inferior
-to the natives of New Zealand, though
-excelling them in simplicity and willingness
-to learn.</p>
-
-<p>Tahiti may be considered the capital of
-Polynesia, as it is the head of its politics,
-trade, and general civilization. Before the
-settlement of the missionaries and the introduction
-of a new social scheme, its
-manners were barbarous and disgusting.
-The condition of the female sex corresponded
-to this order of things. It was
-humiliated to the last degree. Most of the
-men, by a sacred rite, were rendered too
-holy for any intercourse with the women<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>
-except such as was pleasant to their own
-lusts. It was similar to the <i>tapu</i> of the
-New Zealanders, but was not, as among
-them, common to all. It was an exclusive
-privilege of the males. In consequence of
-this, women lived in a condition of exile
-from all the pleasures of life. They never
-sat at meals with their husbands, dared
-not eat the flesh of pigs, of fowls, of certain
-fish, or touch the utensils used by the
-men. They never entered the houses of
-their “<i>tabooed</i>” lords, dwelling in separate
-habitations, which these might enter when
-they chose. Those of the royal blood,
-however, were excepted from the action of
-this law. They might mingle with the
-other sex, might inherit the throne, and
-enjoy the advantages of society. With
-almost all others, beggary, toil, and degradation
-was the universal lot.</p>
-
-<p>Marriage under such circumstances could
-not be looked upon as a sacred tie, or even
-a dignified state. It was held to serve only
-the purposes of nature and the pleasures of
-the men. With all, indeed, except the
-rich, it was a mere unceremonious bargain,
-in which the woman was purchased, though
-the parents usually made a present to their
-son-in-law. Among the nobler orders of
-society there was a little more parade,
-though an equal absence of sanctity. A
-person with a beautiful daughter brought
-her to some chief, saying, “Here is a wife
-for you.” If she pleased him he took her
-from her father’s hands, placed her under
-the care of a confidential servant, and had
-her fattened, until old and plump enough
-for marriage. All her friends assembled
-with his at the temple, and proceeded to
-the altar. The bride, with a rope hanging
-about her neck, was accompanied by a
-man bearing a bunch of the fragrant fern.
-Prayers were muttered, and blessing invoked
-upon the union. Then the names of
-their ancestors were whispered, and at
-each one of the leaves was torn. The nearest
-kinsman of the woman next loosened
-the rope from about her neck, and delivered
-her over to the bridegroom, bidding him
-take her home. Presents of various kinds
-were made to the newly-married pair, but,
-with all this ceremony, the tie was merely
-one of convenience. Within a month the
-man might tire of his partner and wish to
-be rid of her. All he had to do was to
-desire her departure, saying, “It is enough&mdash;go
-away.” She immediately left him,
-and almost invariably became a prostitute.
-This process might be repeated as often as
-he pleased. The caprice of the male sex
-thus threw numbers of the females into a
-necessity of supporting themselves by the
-public hire of their persons. For, although
-polygamy existed, it was practised only by
-the rich, since the facility of divorce rendered
-it more convenient to take one wife,
-dwell with her a short time, and abandon
-her for another, than to be troubled or
-burdened with several at the same time.
-The wealthy, however, took numerous concubines&mdash;indulging
-in this luxury more
-than any of the other islanders. In all
-their customs and national characteristics,
-if we desire to view them in their original
-form, we must contemplate the people of
-those islands as they were twenty years
-ago. A great change is now apparent
-among them. The accounts, therefore,
-published at that period, though improved
-by later inquiries, afford us the information
-we are in search of. We are not surprised
-to find an indolent licentious people, as
-they were, when under no restraint, addicted
-to the most odious forms of vice.
-One natural result of their manner of life
-was infanticide. It was practised to a
-frightful extent, and was encouraged by a
-variety of causes. In the first place, poverty
-and idleness often induced parents
-to destroy their children&mdash;choosing to
-suffer that short pang of natural sorrow
-than the long struggles with starvation
-which awaited the indigent&mdash;even in those
-prolific islands. Next the common licentiousness
-produced innumerable bastards,
-which were generally killed. Thirdly, the
-social institutions of the country, with the
-division of classes, contributed to increase
-the prevalence of the custom&mdash;for the fruit
-of all unequal matches was cast aside.
-Superstition also aided it, for the priests
-demanded for their gods frequent oblations
-of infant blood. The missionary Williams
-was informed that, from the constant occurrence
-of wars, women, being abandoned by
-their husbands, slew their children, whom
-they knew not how to support. When a
-man married a girl of inferior rank, two,
-four, or six of her children were sacrificed
-before she could claim equality with him,
-and should she bear any more they were
-spared. Vanity, too, exercised its influence,
-for, as nursing impaired the beauty
-of the women, they sought to preserve
-their attractions by sparing themselves
-the labour. Perhaps, however, we should
-not lay it to the charge of vanity. The
-miserable women of these islands found
-in the flower of their persons the only
-chance of attachment or respect from
-their husbands. When this had faded, nothing
-could save them from neglect.</p>
-
-<p>Whatever the cause, the extent of the
-practice was fearful. Three-fourths of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>
-children were destroyed, and sometimes in
-the most atrocious manner. A wet cloth
-placed on the infant’s mouth, the hands
-clenched round its throat, or the earth
-heaped over it while alive in a grave,
-were among the most humane. Others
-broke the infant’s joints, one by one, until
-it expired. This was usually the plan of
-the professional child-killers, of whom
-there was a class&mdash;male and female&mdash;though
-the parents often performed the
-office themselves. Before the establishment
-of Christianity, Williams declares he
-never conversed with a woman who had
-not destroyed one or two of her offspring.
-Many confessed to him, as well as to Wilmer,
-that they had killed, some three,
-some five, some nine, and one seventeen.</p>
-
-<p>Connected with infanticide was one of
-the most extraordinary institutions ever
-established in a savage or a civilized country.
-This was the Areoi Society. It was
-at once the source of their greatest amusements
-and their greatest sorrow, and was
-strictly confined to the Society group,
-though indications of a similar thing have
-been discovered in the Ladrones. The delicacy
-of the missionary writers&mdash;in many
-instances extremely absurd&mdash;has induced
-them to neglect informing us in detail of
-the practices and regulations adopted by this
-society; but enough is known from them,
-and from less timid narrators, to allow of a
-tolerably full sketch.</p>
-
-<p>From the traditions of the people it
-appears that the society was of very ancient
-date: they said there had been
-Areois as long as there had been men. Its
-origin is traced to two heroes&mdash;brothers,
-who, in consequence of some adventures
-with the gods, were deified, and made kings
-of the Areoi, which included all who
-would adhere to them as their lords in
-heaven. Living in celibacy themselves,
-they did not enjoin the same on their
-followers; but required that they should
-leave no descendants. Thus the great law
-of the Areois was that all their children
-should be slain. What the real origin of
-the institution was it is impossible to discover.
-This legend, however, indicates a
-part of its nature.</p>
-
-<p>The Areois formed a body of privileged
-libertines, who spent their days travelling
-from province to province, from island to
-island, exhibiting a kind of licentious dramatic
-spectacle to the people, and everywhere
-indulging the grossest of their passions.
-The company located itself in a
-particular spot as its head-quarters, and at
-certain seasons departed on an excursion
-through the group. Great parade was
-made on the occasion of their setting out.
-They bore with them portable temples for
-the worship of their tutelar gods, and,
-wherever they halted, performed their pantomimes
-for the amusement of the people.
-The priests and others&mdash;all classes and
-things&mdash;were ridiculed by them in their
-speeches, with entire impunity, and they
-were entertained by the chiefs with sumptuous
-feasts. There were, however, seven
-classes of the Areois, of which the first was
-select and small, while the seventh performed
-the lower and more laborious parts
-in their entertainments. Numbers of servants
-followed them to prepare their food
-and their dresses, and were distinguished
-by the name of Fanannan; these were not
-obliged to destroy their children.</p>
-
-<p>Every Areoi had his own wife, who was
-sacred from attack. Improper conduct
-towards her was severely punished, sometimes
-by death. Towards the wives of
-other persons, however, no respect was
-shown; for after one of their vile and
-obscene spectacles, the members of the
-fraternity would rush abroad, and commit
-every kind of excess among the humble
-people. At their grand feasts, to which
-the privileged orders only were admitted,
-numbers of handsome girls were introduced,
-who prostituted themselves for small gifts
-to any member of the association.</p>
-
-<p>The practice of destroying all their children,
-which was compulsory among the
-Areois, licensed them to every kind of
-excess. The moment a child was born
-its life was extinguished&mdash;either strangled,
-stabbed with a sharp bamboo, or crushed
-under the foot. The professional executioner
-waited by the woman’s couch, and,
-immediately the infant came into the
-world, seized it, hurried it away, and in
-an instant flung it dead into some neighbouring
-thicket, or a pit prepared beforehand.</p>
-
-<p>Infanticide was by no means confined to
-the Areois; it was an universal practice.
-Generally the sacrifice took place immediately
-after the birth; for, with the exception
-of those children demanded by the
-priests to offer in the temple, it was seldom
-that an infant allowed to live half an hour
-was destroyed. Whenever the execution
-was performed, it was previously resolved
-upon. The females were killed oftener
-than the males, and thus sprang up a great
-disproportion between the sexes, which was
-evidently owing to this and their often
-unnatural customs, as, since their abolition,
-the sexes are nearly equal.</p>
-
-<p>Adultery was sometimes punished with
-death, but not under the public law. It<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span>
-was optional with the husband to pursue
-the criminal, or content himself with procuring
-another wife. A strange state of
-manners is exhibited by the account we
-have of the early missionaries arriving in
-Tahiti. The King Pomare came down to
-meet them with his wife Idia. This woman,
-though married to the prince, remaining
-on friendly terms with him, offering him
-advice, and influencing his actions by her
-counsel, was then cohabiting with one of
-her own servants, who had for some time
-been her paramour. The King, meanwhile,
-had taken his wife’s youngest sister as a
-concubine; but she had deserted him for a
-more youthful lover, whereupon he contented
-himself with a girl belonging to the
-poorer class. Women, indeed, and men of
-the royal blood, were above the law.</p>
-
-<p>Abandoned wives, and girls who could
-find no husbands, usually became prostitutes,
-as distinguished from those who
-pursued a profligate life from sheer sensuality.
-They hired themselves out to the
-young men whom the monopoly of women
-by the rich constrained to be contented
-with such companions. We have no information
-whether they were subject to
-any especial regulations; what the terms
-of contract were between them and their
-temporary cohabitants; how they supported
-themselves in old age; or, indeed,
-of anything concerning them, except the
-general nature of their calling. A large
-class of these prostitutes dwelt near the
-ports and anchoring grounds, deriving
-their means of subsistence from open or
-clandestine intercourse with the sailors,
-who willingly paid them with little articles
-of ornament or utility from Europe.</p>
-
-<p>One of the missionaries of the first company
-desired to marry a Tahiti woman.
-His brethren, however, strongly objected to
-the act; first, because she was a heathen,
-second, because she was a prostitute.
-There could not be then found on the
-island, as they declared themselves on
-belief, a single undebauched girl above
-twelve years of age; therefore, in accordance
-with the Scripture prohibition against
-marrying a “heathen harlot,” they forbade
-him forming the connection. Nevertheless
-he persisted, took the prostitute as wife,
-and is supposed to have been murdered
-with her connivance.</p>
-
-<p>Inconstancy among wives, and profligacy
-among unmarried women, was then a characteristic
-almost universal in Tahiti. The
-wide-spread practice of procuring abortion
-concealed many of the intrigues which took
-place, and the last crime which began
-visibly to decrease was that of adultery.
-Nor could this be a matter of wonder.
-The education of the people was in a
-school of licentiousness. The most effective
-lessons in obscenity were afforded by
-the priests in the temples, and children of
-tender years indulged in acts of indescribable
-depravity. Thus in few parts of
-the world could be discovered a more corrupt
-system of manners, a more complete
-absence of morals, than in Tahiti.</p>
-
-<p>Under the influence of the missionaries
-a great and beneficial change was produced.
-French priests have now in a measure
-superseded them; but even their exertions
-have not been able to neutralize
-the good effects of the new code of
-morals introduced by the English friends
-of civilization.</p>
-
-<p>As to the actual amount, however, of
-the good which has been effected, the
-accounts are contradictory. From the
-missionaries themselves we learn that
-Christianity has been firmly established;
-that the female sex has been elevated to
-an honourable position; that the Christian
-rite of marriage is now generally observed;
-that infanticide is wholly abolished; and
-that the manners of the people have become
-comparatively pure. The picture,
-indeed, drawn by these artists, is vivid
-and full of charms. We cannot, however,
-accept it without reserve; for such writers
-have in many parts of the world been
-too eager to ring their peals of triumph
-over the appearance of reform, without
-inquiring into its substantial and durable
-nature.</p>
-
-<p>Other accounts insist on the truth of a
-totally different view. A recent author, a
-merchant, many years resident in Tahiti,
-describes the result of missionary labour as
-a mere skinning over of the corruption
-which exists. “Even now,” he says, speaking
-of that island, “a people more ready
-to abandon themselves to sensuality cannot
-be found under the canopy of heaven.”
-And further, in noticing the state of the
-youthful population, he asserts, “It is a
-rare thing for a woman to preserve her
-chastity until the age of puberty.” Delicacy,
-he proceeds to tell us, is a thing
-unknown. There is hardly a man who
-would not wink at his wife’s prostitution,
-or even abet it, to support himself. The
-same system of corrupt manners is general
-throughout the islands. The missionaries,
-by making adultery and fornication offences
-punishable by fines&mdash;so many dollars
-each&mdash;have set up a species of licence for
-immorality. The penalty is either eluded
-or laughed at. Sometimes the woman’s
-paramour pays the penalty, and continues<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span>
-with her. The morals of the people, therefore,
-have not been radically reformed.
-Public decency is observed, but private
-manners are disgusting. The Tahitians
-have thus learned hypocrisy, for they now
-practise secretly what was formerly a recognised
-custom. The men are jealous of
-their own race, but will bargain for their
-wives with Europeans. One was asked the
-reason of this distinction. He instantly
-made answer, that when a white man took
-one of their wives he made her a present,
-passed on his way, and thought no more of
-her; but it was very different with their
-own people, for they would be continually
-hovering about the woman. The legal
-penalty for adultery by a single man is a
-fine of ten hogs to the husband. If it is
-committed by a married man he pays the
-ten hogs, while his paramour pays his wife
-another ten to compensate her for the
-injury she has suffered; thus the bargain
-is equal. Divorce is optional on either
-hand. For prostitution, or fornication of
-any kind, the missionaries enacted a fine.
-In a climate, however, where the girl
-ripens into puberty at the age of eight or
-nine, this becomes a licence, and immorality
-is very slightly checked. The depopulation
-of the group, which is still going on, is
-mainly owing, says the same author, to
-physical privations acting on moral depravity;
-for indigence is the lot of the
-people, and licentiousness now, as formerly,
-their besetting sin.</p>
-
-<p>We believe this to be an unfair account
-of the state of things now existing in Tahiti.
-The writer<a name="FNanchor_60_60" id="FNanchor_60_60"></a><a href="#Footnote_60_60" class="fnanchor">[60]</a> is possessed of a strong prejudice
-against the missionaries, and we are
-inclined to apply to him, with some modification,
-the observations of Commodore
-Wilkes, commander of the recent American
-exploring expedition in reference to that
-island. He tells us there is a class of traders
-who defame the missionaries, as well as a
-profligate class who hate them, because
-they forbid intoxicating liquors, have abolished
-lascivious dances, and prevent women
-going on board ship to prostitute themselves.
-One charge against the missionaries
-is, however, proved: they are guilty of a
-misjudging zeal amounting to fanaticism,
-forbidding the women to wear chaplets of
-flowers, because it is a sinful vanity; such
-a restriction is worse than ridiculous. The
-Commodore, however, whom we accept as
-a judicious and a trustworthy authority,
-already shows that much good has been
-effected. The population is now almost
-stationary&mdash;the births and deaths among all
-ages and both sexes were in 1839 naturally
-proportionate; Christian marriage is established
-as the national custom, and polygamy
-abolished; if infanticide be ever practised,
-it is as a secret crime; and as for immorality,
-though by no means extirpated, it has been
-considerably reduced. “Licentiousness,”
-says Wilkes, “does still exist among them,
-but the foreign residents and visitors are in
-a great degree the cause of its continuance,
-and an unbridled intercourse with them
-serves to perpetuate it. Severe laws have
-been enacted, but they cannot be put in
-force in cases where one of the parties is a
-foreigner.” He proceeds to deny that the
-island is conspicuous in this respect, and
-believes it would show advantageously in
-contrast with many countries usually styled
-civilized.</p>
-
-<p>In the distant Sandwich group a similar
-system of manners existed before the abolition
-of idolatry in 1819. There was, however,
-one singular custom: children bore the
-rank of their mother, not their father, probably
-from the reason assigned by other
-savage races for different laws, that the parentage
-was never certain. Polygamy was
-practised, but if the king had a daughter
-by a noble wife she succeeded to the throne,
-though he should have numerous sons by
-the others; in fact, they were no more than
-concubines, though their offspring were not
-invariably destroyed, unless the mothers
-belonged to the humbler class of people;
-all the king’s illegitimate children, however,
-were immediately killed. Adultery
-was punished with death; but intrigues
-were frequent, and infanticide was practised
-to a terrible extent. Since the enactment
-of the laws restraining sexual intercourse,
-the crime has become comparatively rare,
-and the progress of depopulation has been
-arrested.</p>
-
-<p>We must, however, first view the people
-as they were before these reforms occurred:
-there was little check upon the intercourse
-of the sexes, except with regard to married
-women; the young girls being abandoned
-almost entirely to a dissolute mode of life,
-the marriage contract was a loose tie, easily
-broken, without anything of a sacred or
-even honourable character. Husbands continually
-abandoned their wives, who invariably
-destroyed the children thus left
-to them in their virtual widowhood, and
-took to prostitution as a means of life.
-The practice of procuring abortion was also
-resorted to, even more than infanticide,
-and women were sometimes killed by the
-operation; nevertheless, bastard children
-are sometimes reared, and the language of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span>
-the islanders supplies a delicate designation
-for one of this brood: it is called
-“one that comes.”</p>
-
-<p>Although the condition of the female
-sex was degraded, and although the women
-were for the most part subjected to the will
-of the chiefs, a few remained to be wedded
-among the poor, and to follow their own
-inclinations in the choice of partners. The
-word “courting” is used among them, or
-at least a synonymous term, signifying,
-literally, “we must be crept to.” This indicates
-some elevation in their social intercourse,
-but appears to have been a recent
-introduction. When a man wished to
-marry a girl, some previous intimacy was
-supposed. According to their former customs
-he goes to her, and offers her a present.
-If she was willing to receive him, the gift
-was accepted; if not, he went his way. The
-parents were then consulted. When they
-consented he at once took home his bride,
-and all was consummated. When they
-refused he either abandoned his suit or
-persuaded his lover to elope with him; or,
-if possessed of sufficient property and
-power, forces her away. When once settled
-in union the wives were usually faithful,
-though previously they indulged in the
-utmost profligacy without any check.</p>
-
-<p>The infanticide of the Sandwich Islands
-presented details still more horrible than
-the worst of those described in connection
-with Tahiti. Children six or seven years
-old, who so far had been carefully nursed,
-were sometimes sacrificed when their parents
-became desperate or indolent. An
-American traveller relates an affecting incident
-of a man who desired to be rid of
-his child, while the mother endeavoured to
-save it. Long altercations took place between
-them, until the father one day, to
-put an end to the debate, seized his little
-son, threw him over his knees, and with a
-single blow broke his back. The circumstance
-was related to the king, with a demand
-for punishment upon the offender.
-“Whose child was it?” he asked. They
-answered, “His own.” “Then that is nothing,”
-he said, “to you or to me.” Usually
-the office was performed by female child-stranglers,
-who made it their profession.
-In a country where marriage, especially
-among the rich, was simply a compact for
-temporary or permanent cohabitation,
-abundance of employment was naturally
-afforded to those people. The chiefs, it is
-true, married in the temple, but the addition
-of ceremonies added not a whit of
-sanctity or durability to the bond. The
-first Christian wedding took place in Oalm
-in 1822, and the rite has since that period
-been established by law. The edict of
-1819, indeed, proclaimed a revolution in
-the social system of the group. But it is
-not easy to reform the manners of a whole
-people. It is a slight task to publish laws,
-but difficult to enforce them, especially
-when they assail the most deeply-rooted
-prejudices, the sentiments, the passions,
-the religions, and the pleasures, of a
-numerous community. Idolatry, infanticide,
-polygamy, concubinage, and prostitution
-were all prohibited by the declaration
-of 1819, but are still practised, though in
-secret, but by no means so extensively as
-in former times. The financial laws check
-infanticide. If a man has four children, he
-is exempt from labour taxes to the king
-and to his landlord; if five, from the poll-tax
-also; if six, from all taxes whatsoever.
-Indeed, the condition of the females has
-been considerably raised, so that, instead of
-being the slaves, they are now, at least in
-some degree, the companions of the men.</p>
-
-<p>Of the actual state of the sex, and the
-characteristic of manners in the Sandwich
-group, a fair sketch may be gathered from
-the facts scattered through the large work
-of Commodore Wilkes; he went through
-many districts, and examined minutely the
-progress of the people under the new code.
-In one district of Dahu, a small island in
-the group, no instance of infanticide had
-occurred (1840) during ten years; the law
-against the illicit intercourse of the sexes
-had not tended to increase the practice,
-and the population, which had been almost
-swept away, was recovering. In the valley
-of Halalea the population had been decreasing
-at the rate of one per cent. for nine
-years. In 1837, it was 3024&mdash;1609 males,
-1415 females; and in 1840, 2935&mdash;1563
-males, 1372 females. The general licentiousness
-of manners, causing barrenness in
-the women, with the practice of infanticide
-and abortion, prevented any increase. In
-Waiaulea the population of 2640 decreased
-by 225 in four years; and instances were
-known of women having six, seven, or
-even ten children, in as many years, without
-rearing one of them; the bastards were
-almost always destroyed, but the new law
-operated very beneficially to check the intercourse
-of the sexes; and only one case
-was known of a woman destroying her
-child, through fear of the penalty attaching
-to fornication. It appears probable, however,
-that the regulation compelling all unmarried
-women, found pregnant, to work
-on the public roads, must encourage many
-unnatural practices; in Hawaii itself, the
-principal island, where large numbers of
-men and women formerly lived in promis<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>cuous
-intercourse&mdash;as one woman common to
-several men&mdash;great improvement is visible,
-and public manners have undergone much
-change; licentiousness, notwithstanding,
-is still a prominent characteristic of the
-people. These observations may be applied
-generally to the whole of the Sandwich
-group.</p>
-
-<p>Of the Tonga or Friendly Islands no
-description equals in completeness, and
-none exceeds in general accuracy, that by
-Mariner, compiled by John Martin. According
-to him, the female sex was not
-degraded there, old persons of both sexes
-being entitled to equal reverence; women
-in particular were respected as such, considered
-to form part of the world’s means
-of happiness, and protected by that law of
-manly honour which prohibits the strong
-from maltreating the weak. There were
-many regulations respecting rank which do
-not belong to this inquiry; but others of the
-same kind must be alluded to. The young
-girl, betrothed or set apart to be the wife or
-concubine of a noble, acquired on that
-account a certain position in the community.
-The rich women occupied themselves
-with various forms of elegant industry, not
-as professions, but accomplishments; while
-others made a trade of it.</p>
-
-<p>The chastity of the Tonga people should
-be measured, in Mr. Martin’s opinion,
-rather by their own than by others’ ideas of
-that virtue. Among them it was held the
-positive duty of a married woman to be
-faithful to her husband. By married woman
-was meant one who cohabited with a
-man, lived under his roof and protection,
-and ruled an establishment of his. Her
-marriage was frequently independent of
-her own will, she being betrothed by her
-parents, while very young, to some chief or
-other person. About a third were thus
-disposed of, the rest marrying by their own
-consent. She must remain with her husband
-whether she pleased or not, until he
-chose to divorce her.</p>
-
-<p>About two-thirds of the females were
-married, and of these about half continued
-with their husbands until death; that is,
-about a third remained married till either
-they or their partners died. Of the others
-two-thirds were married, and were soon
-divorced, marrying again two, three, or four
-times; a few never contracted any marriage
-at all; and a third were generally unmarried.
-Girls below puberty were not
-taken into this account.</p>
-
-<p>During Mariner’s residence of four years
-in the islands, where he enjoyed privileges
-of social intercourse which no native was
-allowed, he made numerous inquiries, and
-was led to believe that infidelity among the
-married women was very rare. He remembered
-only three successful instances of
-planned intrigue, with one other which he
-suspected. Great chiefs might kill their
-wives taken in adultery, while inferior men
-beat them. They were under the surveillance
-of female servants, who continually
-watched their proceedings. Independently
-of this also, he considered them inclined to
-conjugal virtue.</p>
-
-<p>A man desiring to divorce his wife, had to
-do no more than bid her go, when she
-became perfect mistress of herself, and
-often married again in a few days. Others
-remained single, admitting a man into their
-houses occasionally, or lived as the mistress
-of various men from time to time&mdash;that is
-to say, became wandering libertines or prostitutes.
-Unmarried women might have
-intercourse with whom they pleased without
-opprobrium, but they were not easily
-won. Gross prostitution was unknown
-among them. The conduct of the men was
-very different. It was thought no reproach,
-as a married man, to hold intercourse with
-other females; but the practice was not
-general. It was checked by the jealousy of
-the wife. Single men were extremely free
-in their conduct; but seldom made attempts
-on married women. Rape occasionally
-happened. Captives taken in war had,
-as a thing of course, to submit, and incurred
-no dishonour through it. Few of
-the young men would refuse to seduce an
-unmarried girl of their own nation, had
-they the opportunity. Nevertheless, in
-comparison with the islanders in the surrounding
-sea, they were rather a chaste
-than a libertine people.</p>
-
-<p>Commodore Wilkes declares himself glad
-to confirm the account in “Mariner’s Tonga
-Islands” as an “admirable and accurate
-description.” The women are said to be
-virtuous, and the general state of morals
-superior far to that of Tahiti. The venereal
-disease is much less extensively prevalent.</p>
-
-<p>In the Marquesas the curious social phenomenon
-of polyandrism exists&mdash;several
-men cohabiting with one woman. This is
-in consequence of the preponderance of
-the male over the female sex. A young
-girl may become attached to a youth, and
-live with him for a short time. A man
-may then become attached to her, and
-transfer her, with her lover, to his house,
-where he supports them both. Infanticide
-is unknown, but procuring abortion
-not uncommon. The marriage tie,
-though a mere private compact signified by
-an exchange of presents, is, in spite of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span>
-polyandrism, distinct, binding, and enduring&mdash;the
-parties abiding by the agreement
-they have made, until another formal
-agreement to dissolve it. In other parts of
-the Pacific the contrary system is carried
-out to an extravagant extent. In the Isle
-of Rotumah the land is divided into various
-estates, the property of certain chiefs.
-Each of these lords of the soil has absolute
-control over all the women in his district,
-and not one can marry without his consent.
-Should he not desire her for himself he
-allows her to contract the engagement, on
-receiving a present from the bridegroom.
-Gifts are exchanged on either side, bowls
-of cava are drunk, and the ceremony is
-over. The wife, in this island, has singular
-power. She may, a few days after the
-marriage, desire her husband to leave her.
-He does so for three or four months, and
-then returns to spend two or three days in
-her society. She may then request him
-again to quit the house; and this is
-repeated until she consents to live with him
-permanently. Occasionally, when all the
-preliminaries of the match are arranged,
-the girl will suddenly revoke her resolution,
-and refuse to leave her parents’ house.
-The man may be equally desirous of leaving
-her at home, and in this case she is
-henceforward a privileged libertine, and
-usually lives well upon the gains of prostitution.
-But if, previously to the contract,
-she lose her virginity, the punishment is
-death, which is also inflicted for adultery.</p>
-
-<p>A similar system with respect to the
-chief’s authority prevails in the Feejee
-group. All the young girls in his district
-are at his mercy; he may take them all as
-concubines if he pleases. When they are
-allowed to marry they become slaves, living
-in complete subjection to their husbands,
-who flog them at will. They are denied
-the privilege of entering a temple, and are
-bought, sold, and exchanged, like cattle.
-Inclined as they are to licentiousness, they
-have certain ideas of modesty, and wear a
-girdle round the loins; any girl seen without
-this covering is put to death.</p>
-
-<p>In the wild isles of the Kingsmill group
-in the Western Pacific, polygamy prevails;
-but more consideration is paid to the female
-sex than in any other part of that
-great insular region. All the hard labour is
-performed by the men; the women pursuing
-only those occupations which are
-truly domestic and feminine. Men, indeed,
-beat their wives, but in a similar manner
-to the lower classes here. If she be
-vigorous or bold enough, she returns
-blow for blow, and there is no appeal for
-him against her retaliation. Chastity is
-scarcely esteemed a virtue, nor is it considered
-essential by a man requiring a
-wife. After marriage, however, continence
-is strictly required. The adulteress is either
-put to death or expelled; but, in spite of
-these punishments, offences of this class
-are not uncommon. They are encouraged
-by the laws which forbid the younger brothers
-of a chief, who are not holders of
-land, from marriage; for it may be laid
-down as an axiom that all restrictions upon
-lawful intercourse with women multiply
-illicit connections. The adulteress and the
-prostitute in the Kingsmill Isles, as elsewhere,
-form the resources of those to whom
-celibacy is enjoined.</p>
-
-<p>A wife is not bought, but the parents of
-both contribute to the household stock of
-the newly-married pair. It would be indecent
-in the young man to inquire of the
-girl’s father what is the amount of her
-dowry. The marriage ceremony is only a
-feast, which is continued during three
-days. Children are sometimes betrothed
-during infancy, and in this case no marriage
-ceremony is required: as soon as
-they are sufficiently old they are sent to
-live together. When this is not the case,
-the young man makes an offer first to the
-girl, and, if accepted, next to her parents;
-but usually carries her off if they do not
-consent.</p>
-
-<p>On the neighbouring isle of Maluni all
-the women who are married have been betrothed
-during childhood; the rest, without
-exception, being prostitutes, living with
-the single men, and receiving payment
-from them.</p>
-
-<p>This is, as usual, in consequence of the
-rich men having so many wives that only
-a few women are left to live in common
-with the poorer sort. Infanticide is not
-practised, but abortion is continually procured.
-A woman has seldom more than
-two, and never more than three children.
-After the third is born she invariably calls
-in the aid of a woman to prevent another
-birth. This is not attended with any
-shame, but is, on the contrary, considered
-prudent; with the unmarried females it is
-invariable.</p>
-
-<p>In the Samoan or Navigators’ group
-women now enjoy equal privileges with
-the men, and no indiscriminate intercourse
-of the sexes is permitted. Polygamy has
-been very much checked, but is generally
-regretted. The people say, with a simplicity
-which takes away its profanity
-from the expression, “Why should God be
-so unreasonable as to require them to give
-up all their wives for his convenience?”
-Among the unconverted tribes it still<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span>
-prevails as formerly. Girls are betrothed
-early, and tabooed until marriage, which
-preserves the general chastity. Infanticide
-never occurs. Adultery is severely punished,
-and seldom committed; the marriage
-ceremony is only a trifling form of
-exchanging presents. The power of divorce
-may be exercised by the husband
-under certain circumstances, but not by
-the wife. Altogether their morals are
-of a superior order; and their libertine
-disposition exercises itself chiefly in
-the performance of lascivious dances.
-Everywhere, however, in these seas, except
-where the power of the missionaries is
-supreme, the whaling ships, on arriving at
-a port, attract numbers of prostitutes, who
-offer themselves to the sailors at various
-prices. When Coulter made his voyage, not
-many years ago, the vessel was assailed at
-the Kingsmill Islands by dozens of these
-women, who came, some attended by their
-fathers, mothers, or brothers, to entice the
-sailors. Some of them were very beautiful,
-and nearly naked. When he was in bed,
-in a house on shore, several young girls
-came in with scarcely any clothing, and
-asked him to choose a companion, or
-“wife.” In other places hundreds of prostitutes
-swarmed down to the beach, performing
-the most obscene antics. It was
-so when La Perouse visited the region; it
-is so now. It was remarked by Cook,
-and it was remarked by the most recent
-voyager.</p>
-
-<p>To pass up and down through that prodigious
-wilderness of sea, visiting each
-group in succession, and noticing the peculiar
-manners of all the various insular
-communities which there exist, would
-exceed the limits of an ordinary work.
-Nor would it continue to interest the
-reader; for there is an unavoidable monotony
-in the subject, when extended too
-greatly in reference to one region. What
-we have described will show that, among
-the innumerable islands of the Pacific, the
-original condition of women, before the
-partial establishment of Christianity, was
-pitifully degraded, and that the labours of
-the missionaries have been fruitful in good
-results. Wherever Christianity has been
-received, much outward improvement, at
-least, is visible. And there is something
-in this. When crime is perpetrated in
-secret, it is so because it is dangerous or
-disgraceful; and in proportion as it is
-either the one or the other the inducement
-to it will diminish. There is an
-immense field open in the Pacific; but the
-exertions of future missionaries may be
-encouraged by contemplating the good
-results which have sprung from the labours
-of those who have gone before
-them<a name="FNanchor_61_61" id="FNanchor_61_61"></a><a href="#Footnote_61_61" class="fnanchor">[61]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution among the North-American
-Indians.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Various as are the phases of civilization
-in different parts of the earth, no race is
-more peculiar than the North American
-Indian. It is alone. It stands apart from
-the rest of the human family. It resembles
-no other. In manners, customs, laws,
-ideas, and religion, the nation occupies its
-own ground, related by no tie with any of
-the innumerable tribes of the human
-family inhabiting the remaining divisions
-of the world. It has, indeed, exercised the
-ingenuity of ethnographical philosophers
-to trace among the North American Indians
-an identity of social institutions
-with the people of ancient Israel; but the
-comparison appears forced except in a few
-particulars, which seem rather matters of
-accident, and by no means the prominent
-characteristics of the Red or the Jewish
-race.</p>
-
-<p>Until the complete establishment of a
-civilized society in North America, and
-before the settlement of peace, our knowledge
-of the Indian race was most imperfect.
-We depended on the relations of
-certain imaginative travellers, who wrote
-not so much to inform as to startle the
-reader&mdash;a practice not altogether abandoned
-at the present day. Carver, indeed,
-with a few others, brought home honest
-accounts of what he saw, but was not
-always careful to separate that from what
-he heard; and thus, even his picture is
-strangely coloured in some of its details.
-Later and more scrupulous travellers, however,
-have investigated the manners of the
-Indian race, and our acquaintance with it
-is gradually becoming familiar. Catlin
-and the various historians have added to
-our knowledge; so that a clear outline,
-at least of their social institutions, may
-be drawn. There are three classes of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span>
-writers on the subject:&mdash;those who paint the
-red man as poetry incarnate; those who
-describe him as a vile and drunken barbarian;
-and those who have the sense to
-discriminate between the Indian of the
-seaport town corrupted in the dram-shop,
-and the Indian of the woods, displaying
-the original characteristics of his race. It
-is from such authorities we shall draw our
-view of the condition of women and the
-state of morals among them.</p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter illowp59" id="i_i_0232" style="max-width: 59.75em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_0232h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>WOMAN OF THE SACS, OR “SÁU-KIES” TRIBE OF AMERICAN
-INDIANS.</p>
-
-<p>[<i>Copied, by permission, from a Portrait taken by</i> <span class="smcap">Mr. Catlin</span>, <i>during his residence among the Red Indians</i>.]</p></div>
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<p>A race divided into several nations, and
-subdivided into innumerable tribes, might
-be supposed to present a similar diversity
-of manners. Not so, however. The social
-institutions of the North-American Indian
-are generally uniform, though of course
-there are many varieties of detail in their
-habits and customs. Yet these are neither
-so numerous nor so striking as to
-render it impossible to sketch the whole in
-a general view.</p>
-
-<p>The Indian loves society. He is never
-found wandering alone. He is attached
-also to the company of women. Priding
-himself, however, on his stoicism, he never,
-at any period of his history, condescended
-to voluptuousness. His sense of manly
-pride prevented him from becoming immodest
-or indecent. This feeling at the
-same time inspired him with the idea that
-everything except the hunt and the war-path
-was below the dignity of man. The
-sentiments, therefore, which saved the
-female sex from becoming the mere food of
-lust, consigned it to an inferior position.
-The Indian women formed the labouring
-class. Such a result was inevitable. The
-warrior would only follow the chase or
-fight. There was labour to be performed.
-No men were to be employed for hire.
-Whatever, therefore, was to be done must
-be done by the females. The wife is, consequently,
-her husband’s slave. She plants
-the maize, tobacco, beans, and running
-vines; she drives the blackbird from the
-corn, prepares the store of wild fruits for
-winter, tears up the weeds, gathers the harvest,
-pounds the grain, dries the buffalo
-meat, brings home the game, carries wood,
-draws water, spreads the repast, attends on
-her husband, aids in canoe building, and
-bears the poles of the wigwam from place to
-place. Among the trading communities she
-is especially valuable,&mdash;joining in the hunt,
-preparing the skins and fur, and filling the
-wigwam with the riches of the prairie,
-which the men exchange for the means of
-a luxurious life. When the hunter kills
-game he leaves it under a tree, perhaps
-many miles from the “smokes” of his tribe,
-returns home, and sends his wife to fetch
-it. Making garments of skins, sewing them
-with sinews and thorns; weaving mats and
-baskets; embroidering with shells, feathers,
-and grass; preparing drugs and administering
-medicine; and building huts&mdash;are
-among the other offices of the sex.
-To educate them for this life of industry,
-the girls are trained by the severe discipline
-of toils; taught to undergo fatigue,
-to be obedient, and to suffer without complaining.</p>
-
-<p>Considered as the slaves of the men, it is
-natural to find a plurality of wives allowed
-by the Indian social law; accordingly from
-Florida to the St. Lawrence polygamy is
-permitted, though some tribes further north
-have not adopted the practice. Elsewhere
-also, in other directions, more than one
-woman is taken into the chief’s wigwam.
-They are his servants, and he counts them
-as we count our horses and cattle; some
-of the great Mandan warriors have seven
-or eight; indeed, among all the communities
-which Catlin had an opportunity of
-visiting, polygamy was allowed, and it was
-no uncommon thing for him to find six,
-eight, ten, twelve, or even fourteen wives
-in the same lodge. The practice is of an
-antiquity too remote to fix, and is considered
-not only as necessary, but as honourable
-and just; they are servants, and a
-man’s wealth is partly measured by this
-standard. This is one of the man’s inducements
-to follow the custom, though it
-cannot be denied that some of these stoic
-warriors delight in a harem from the same
-motives as the Turk or the Hindu. It is
-allowed, we say, to all, but is principally
-confined to the great chiefs and medicine
-men, the others being too humble or too
-poor to obtain girls from their fathers:
-there are, indeed, few instances in which
-an ordinary man has more than one squaw,
-and it might be supposed that his wigwam
-was most peaceful; but it is not so. The
-jealousy of the Indian women is not of the
-same kind as with Europeans; it is watchful
-of strangers, not of regular wives, and six
-or seven of these dwell in great harmony
-under the same roof. So well established
-is this usage among them, that civilization
-meets more resistance in attempting to
-break it down, than in any other of its
-efforts; indeed, in overthrowing polygamy
-among the North-American Indians, or the
-remnant which is left of them, we shall
-overthrow their whole social economy and
-change their national character, and this it
-will be long before we are able to do. Probably
-the custom will continue as long as
-the race exists, and be only extinguished
-with it. Instances, indeed, have occurred, in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>
-which an Indian has sworn obedience to
-our social law, but many examples also are
-known of a return to the old habit. Sir
-George Simpson relates an anecdote of one
-who came into the settled parts, learned
-to read and write, adopted the principle
-of monogamy, and, returning among his
-countrymen, sought to persuade them to
-follow the same practice, and acquire the
-same accomplishments. They held long
-arguments with him upon the subject, debated
-gravely, and, in the end, instead of
-being converted by him, won him back to
-their ancient institution. He took a great
-number of wives, forswore books, and alluded
-no more to his designs of social reform.
-Some shame, however, possessed his mind,
-so that, when some Europeans were in the
-village, he kept in his wigwam and would
-not see them.</p>
-
-<p>A chief named Five Crows, of the Cayux
-tribe, offered also to renounce polygamy,
-but it was from impulse only, and not from
-the discovery of any social principle. He
-had five wives, and great wealth in horses,
-cattle, and slaves. Falling in love, however,
-with a young Christian girl, the
-daughter of a gentleman in the service of
-the Hudson’s Bay Company, he dismissed
-his old companions, and with great parade
-and confidence presented himself, made the
-proposal, but, to his infinite astonishment
-as well as mortification, was rejected; in a
-transport of spite, he immediately married
-one of his own slave girls. Generally, however,
-the American Indians are far less
-susceptible of the sentiment of love, still
-less of sensuality, than natives of Asiatic
-blood, and women among them are usually
-viewed with indifference; instances of the
-contrary occur and will be alluded to.</p>
-
-<p>Whether polygamists or otherwise, the
-American Indians universally recognise
-the marriage contract. There is no such
-thing among them as a tribe practising
-promiscuous intercourse; the reports of
-such are idle tales. Such a community
-would become extinct, in the inevitable
-course of nature. The circumstances of
-the contract vary, however, in different
-parts, and among different societies. In
-fertile districts polygamy is more common;
-in barren tracts most of the men of all
-classes have only one wife. In some communities
-the man takes his squaw for life,
-and only divorces her for a recognised
-cause; in others, no more than a temporary
-union is expected. Everywhere, however,
-the condition of the sex is humiliating,
-if not miserable, and marriage is
-no more than the conjunction of a master
-with his servant. Thus the noblest institution
-of society is perverted into a form
-of slavery. That polygamy is practised
-cannot, nevertheless, be lamented in a
-social view. The frequency of wars among
-the American Indians, in their original
-state, caused a disproportion of the sexes,
-which allowed many of the men to take
-several wives, without preventing all from
-having one. Had this custom not been
-prevalent, one alternative only would
-have remained to the superfluous women&mdash;they
-would have become common
-prostitutes.</p>
-
-<p>The conditions and forms of the marriage
-contract are various only in the inferior
-details&mdash;the general tenour of them being
-that a man procures a woman from her
-father as a purchase, and acquires in her a
-property over which he has the control of
-a master. Some restrictions, however, are
-laid upon the intercourse of the sexes.
-Marriage cannot be contracted among any
-of the tribes which originally dwelt east of
-the Mississippi, or indeed anywhere between
-kindred of a certain degree. The
-Iroquois warrior may choose a partner
-from the same tribe, but not the same
-cabin, or group of wigwams. For it is to
-be recollected that, among the tribes, especially
-of the Algonquin race, the whole
-family, or clan of several families, dwell
-together, bearing a common designation.
-One of that nation must look for a wife
-beyond those who bear the same token or
-family symbol. The Cherokee would marry
-at once a mother and her daughter, but
-never a woman of his own immediate
-kindred. The Indians of the Red River
-frequently take two or more sisters to wife
-at once.</p>
-
-<p>The manners of the Algonquin race are
-generally similar. The young man desiring
-a wife offers a gift&mdash;or, if he be
-poor, his friends do it for him&mdash;to the girl’s
-father. If this be accepted, the marriage
-is complete. He goes to dwell in the
-woman’s house for a year, surrendering the
-gains of one hunting season to her family,
-and then taking her away to a wigwam of
-his own.</p>
-
-<p>The contract is, with all the other tribes,
-usually made with the girl’s father; she is
-virtually bought and sold. In many cases
-she is never consulted at all, and the whole
-is a mere mercenary transaction. Instances
-do occur, also, where the parties approach
-each other, express mutual affection, make
-arrangements, and swear vows, sacred and
-inviolable as vows can be; but the marriage
-is never consummated without payment
-to the bride’s father. In the interior
-of Oregon the permission of the chief is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span>
-first asked, then the approval of the parents,
-then the assent of the girl; but if
-she object, her decision is conclusive. If
-she consent, the man gives from one to five
-horses to her father; they have a feast, and
-the ceremony is complete. Espousals often
-take place during infancy, but neither is
-absolutely bound by this engagement. The
-influence of the parents is, however, so
-powerful, that their will is seldom or never
-resisted; so that a bargain is often concluded,
-and a price paid; while the girl is
-a child. Occasionally the female courts
-the male&mdash;that is, proposes to become his
-squaw, and promises to be faithful, good-tempered,
-and obedient, if he will take her
-to his hut. He seldom refuses, for polygamy
-is permitted, and a husband may in
-this region put away his wife when he
-pleases. He usually allows each to have a
-separate fire.</p>
-
-<p>The missionaries in Oregon have had
-some success, and have displayed more
-prudence than some of their brethren of
-the same profession in the island of Tahiti.
-Men who had a plurality of wives were
-required, on their conversion, to maintain
-them; while those who had only one were
-forbidden to take more.</p>
-
-<p>On the Red River, when a young man
-desires a girl as wife, he addresses her
-father, and, if accepted by him, dwells in
-his wigwam for a year&mdash;as among the
-Algonquins&mdash;and then takes her home.
-This is only observed with the first; he
-adds to the number, if he is wealthy, as
-fast as he can. Few of the women are
-thus left single, and scarcely any common
-prostitutes are found. Some will occasionally
-bear children before marriage; and
-the zeal of the missionary West was displayed
-in somewhat of a fanatical spirit
-by his refusing to baptize a child not born
-in formal wedlock. We may, however,
-forgive this eccentric spirit for the motive
-which created it; and must admit that,
-as Sir George Simpson bears witness, the
-Indians of Oregon are vastly reformed, and
-chiefly by missionary influence.</p>
-
-<p>Among the curious customs preceding
-marriage in other parts of North America,
-is that of the lover going at midnight into
-the tent of the woman he desires, and,
-lighting a splinter of wood, holding it to
-her face. If she wake and leave the torch
-burning, it is a sign for him to be gone;
-if she blow it, he is accepted, and we are
-told that this frequently leads to immoral
-intercourse. Catlin knew a young chief of
-the Mandans on the Upper Missouri, who
-took four wives in one day, paying for each
-a horse or two. They were from twelve to
-fifteen years old, and sat happily in his
-wigwam, perfectly contented to dwell under
-his commands. He was applauded for the
-act. This extreme youth in the bride is
-common among the tribes; children pass
-from infancy to womanhood by a single
-bound&mdash;we are assured, on good testimony,
-that mothers twelve years of age are not
-unfrequent. The youths are led by precept
-and example to adopt marriage;
-celibacy beyond the age of puberty being
-very rare, especially in those communities
-which have come into familiar contact with
-Europeans. It appears indeed that this
-plan is resorted to by the men to secure
-virgins as their wives, for among few barbarous
-nations is the chastity of unmarried
-woman safe very long after she has reached
-a marriageable age. To have no husband
-is esteemed by the females a misfortune
-and a disgrace, while to have no wife entails
-great discomfort on a man.</p>
-
-<p>It has already been shown that, when
-married, the woman becomes her husband’s
-servitor; that she is, in many cases, the
-humiliated drudge, in all, the humble attendant
-on her master; that she waits on
-him in submissive silence while he eats,
-and approaches him with the deference due
-from an inferior to a superior being. Those
-who infer, however, from these circumstances
-that the sentiments of conjugal, filial, and
-parental affection are unknown to the
-Indian race, think erroneously of them.
-Strong and tender attachments continually
-spring up between the sexes. The lover
-sings of the girl he has chosen, and takes
-her home with the delight of gratified
-affection. The husband, too, when he devolves
-upon his wife all the labours of the
-wigwam, is no more conscious that he is
-using her harshly than she is that she occupies
-an unnatural position. Ideas and
-sentiments are often no more than things
-of habit, and with the Indian chief strong
-love is not inconsistent with his walking in
-lordly indolence along the forest path while
-she is bearing the heavy wigwam poles
-behind. Heckewelder relates a singular
-instance of indulgence, which, it must be
-confessed, is rare among the barbarians of
-North America. There was a scarcity in
-the district inhabited by a certain tribe,
-and an Indian woman, being sick, expressed
-a strong desire for a mess of Indian corn.
-Her husband having been told that a trader
-at Lower Sandarsky had a little, set off on
-horseback for that place, a hundred miles
-distant, gave his steed in exchange for a
-hatful of grain, returned home on foot, and
-gratified his wife by the treat he had thus
-procured. It is seldom that the most po<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>lished
-society presents a similar instance of
-kindliness. Many pictures of domestic happiness
-are exhibited among the Indians.
-The Blackfeet, Sanee, and Blood Indians,
-reckon it among their chief desires that
-their wives may live long and look young.
-Smoke sometimes rises for forty years from
-the same hearth, with one couple presiding
-over it. On the other hand, the husband’s
-infidelity or harshness sometimes drives his
-wife to suicide, for the woman has no protector.
-The life of hardship they lead
-soon strips them of all their personal
-beauty, when they are entirely consigned to
-toil. In spite of this, they are well fed,
-healthy, and robust, unlike the women of
-Australia who are stinted in food, and often
-deformed or crippled by the severity of their
-labour. Nature has been very indulgent to
-them. Scarcely any have more than five,
-and few more than three children. Easy
-travail takes away one affliction from their
-lot. The pains of delivery are seldom prolonged
-for more than a quarter of an hour,
-and she who groans under the acutest pang
-is prophesied, with a taunt, to be the mother
-of cowards. Death, however, occasionally
-ensues. The Indian mother loves
-her children dearly, never trusting it to a
-hireling nurse&mdash;which indeed could not be
-found; for no woman would put away her
-own infant to suckle another’s. Bearing the
-cradle on her back she performs her daily
-task, and if she die the nursling is laid
-in her grave. One curious and beautiful
-custom is that of carrying the cradle of a
-dead nursling child for a whole year, and
-all are familiar with the story of the Canadian
-mother bedewing the grave of her
-child with milk from her bosom. Infanticide
-is a rare and secret crime, not by any
-means to be enumerated among the characteristics
-of their manners.</p>
-
-<p>Marriage among the North-American
-Indians is contracted for the happiness
-and comfort of the man. He is bound to
-live with his wife only so long as these
-are enjoyed. Adultery, indolence, intemperance,
-and sterility are among the causes
-of divorce. It takes place without formality
-by simple separation or desertion; and
-where there are no children is very
-easy. Their offspring forms their most
-powerful bond; for, where the mother is
-discarded, the unwritten law of the red
-man allows her to keep the children
-whom she has borne or nursed. The husband
-detecting his wife in adultery may
-cut off her nose, or take off part of her
-scalp. He sometimes kills her with her
-paramour at once; and the only blame
-attached to him on the occasion is, descending
-from his dignity to feel so
-strongly the loss of one woman, when
-another may easily be procured to supply
-her place.</p>
-
-<p>The idea of chastity as a positive virtue
-is but feebly developed among them. With
-the men, indeed, it is a Spartan quality,
-as opposed to effeminacy; otherwise, the
-promiscuous sleeping of whole families in
-the same chamber, with various other circumstances,
-would tend much to immorality.
-Nevertheless, among some tribes,
-as that of the Mandans, the women are
-delicate and modest; and in the wigwams
-of the respectable families virtue is as
-cherished, and as unapproachable, as anywhere
-in the world. Generally the Indians
-are decent, and, with the exception of
-those customs which form the basis of
-their manners, and result directly from
-their national character, might be won
-over without difficulty to the amenities of
-civilized life. Many of the squaws, of
-course, in North America, as elsewhere,
-are immodest, and seek occasion to engage
-in an intrigue. With the unmarried girls
-the same is the case. A bastard child
-may be born without entailing great shame
-upon its mother, though the seducer is
-greatly despised; but such an occurrence
-is rare, not altogether, however, because
-the females are too chaste, but because
-they are too cautious, and employ means
-to procure abortion. This practice is sometimes
-resorted to by the squaws, though
-discountenanced by the men, except when
-they are on the march, or hotly pressed
-by an enemy.</p>
-
-<p>From a notice of their punishments in
-Hunter’s narrative of his captivity, it
-would appear that the last act of depravity
-is not unknown among the Indians.
-Adultery, he tells us, where not perpetrated
-by the husband’s consent, is punishable
-with divorce. We might doubt
-the testimony of this writer, but that
-Wilkes found Indians in the far north,
-within the range of the Hudson’s Bay
-territories, who would gamble away their
-wives, and prostitute them for money.
-These men he believed to be degraded
-from their original condition, but various
-authors speak of a similar practice. Carver
-relates that, among the Manedowessis, it
-was a custom when a young woman could
-not get a husband, for her to assemble all
-the chief warriors of the tribe in a spacious
-wigwam, to give them a feast, and then,
-retiring behind a screen, to prostitute herself
-to each in succession. This gained her
-great applause, and always insured her a
-husband. It was, however, nearly obsolete<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>
-when he wrote, and appears now to be
-altogether extinct.</p>
-
-<p>Many of the Europeans dwelling on the
-Red River were accustomed to take concubines
-during the period of their residence
-there. The Indians, who are civilized, as
-it is called, in the provinces of Nova Scotia,
-New Brunswick, and Canada, have thus
-learned also the worst vices of Europe.
-Maclean, a very recent writer, declares
-that the Christianized tribes in the Hudson’s
-Bay territories have been deteriorated
-by intercourse with the whites, become
-drunken, sensual, and depraved. The venereal
-disease commits frightful ravages
-among them. Most of their diseases arise
-from excess of one kind or another. He
-says that the men employed by the Company
-are chiefly reconciled to their hard
-employment and poor remuneration by the
-immorality of the women, of whom large
-numbers follow the occupation of prostitutes,
-and sell themselves for the vilest
-price. On the north-west coast, chastity
-is scarcely even a name; indeed, there is no
-word in the language of the people to
-express that idea. The sea tribes are, indeed,
-in all cases, the most licentious;
-which appears to justify the remark, that
-intercourse with a strange unsettled population
-has demoralized them.</p>
-
-<p>At some parts of the coast where the
-trading ships touch for supplies, hundreds
-of women come down, and, by an indecent
-display of their persons, endeavour to obtain
-permission to go on board. When Sir
-George Simpson arrived at one of these
-ports a man asked for the captain’s wife,
-and offered his own in exchange. In that
-part of the country the tyranny over the
-female sex is even more severe than in the
-interior. When a man takes a wife, he
-purchases her as his perpetual property;
-and if they separate, whether from an
-offence of hers or his, she must never marry
-again. She usually takes to clandestine
-prostitution as a means of living. But
-such instances as the foregoing are not
-confined to the coast. In the interior the
-traveller may observe, wherever a large
-concourse of Indians is assembled, a number
-of beautiful and voluptuous-looking
-women continually mixing in the throng,
-and throwing their glances upon strangers,
-or the single young men of the tribe.
-The Indians have now been removed to
-a territory beyond the Mississippi; and
-it is probable their corruption will rapidly
-increase in proportion to their congregation.</p>
-
-<p>One peculiar feature of the system, introduced
-of course since Europeans visited
-the country, remains to be noticed. Many
-of the white traders, among the tribes of
-the Upper Missouri, find it good policy to
-connect themselves by marriage with powerful
-families, and they procure then the most
-beautiful girls of the noblest tribes, who
-aspire with delight to such a station, which
-usually elevates them above their servile
-occupations to a life of indolence, ease, and
-pleasure. These engagements, however,
-are scarcely marriages&mdash;at least in the
-European sense of the term&mdash;ceremonies of
-any kind being seldom performed. A large
-price in Indian estimation is paid for the
-girl, and she is transferred at once to the
-trader’s house; with equal facility he may
-annul the contract, leaving his companion
-to be candidate for another mate, for which
-her father is not sorry, as he may procure
-an additional horse again in exchange for
-her: this is no more than a system of virtual
-prostitution, in which the woman is hired
-out as a temporary companion, merely for
-the pecuniary gain. The trader may procure
-the handsomest girl in the tribe for
-two horses; for a gun with a supply of
-powder and ball; for five or six pounds of
-beads; for a couple of gallons of whiskey;
-or a handful of awls. Such is the price at
-which the Indian chief will prostitute his
-daughter. Occasionally, it must be added,
-the couple thus united live together permanently
-as man and wife, the possibility
-of which is, indeed, almost always supposed.</p>
-
-<p>The Indians of New Caledonia, though
-not belonging to the same stock with the
-red race of North America, may be noticed
-here: they are extremely profligate; the
-venereal disease is common among them;
-and the blessing of a healthy climate is
-rendered nugatory by the intemperance of
-the people. Among them, nevertheless,
-women are held in more estimation than
-among the red tribes, for the men are not
-possessed by that sense of lordly dignity
-which disdains at once to become sensual,
-and to share the labours of the inferior sex.
-Women assist in the councils, and those of
-high rank are even admitted to the feasts.
-During the fishing season each sex is equally
-employed, and so in all their other tasks.
-Lewdness could not be carried to greater
-excess than it is among them: both men
-and women are addicted to the vilest crimes;
-they abandon themselves in youth to the
-indulgence of their most unbridled lust,
-and the country owes its rapid decrease of
-population to the universal depravity of the
-people. No man marries until his animal
-appetite is satiated upon the voluntary
-prostitutes who abound, and then his wife,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span>
-if dissatisfied with the restraints of matrimony,
-may refuse to dwell with him; the
-union is consequently broken by mutual
-consent, for a certain time or for ever.
-Meanwhile they addict themselves to their
-former pleasures, but the woman is nominally
-prohibited, by law, under pain of
-death, from cohabiting with any man during
-this period of separation from her husband;
-he seldom cares, however, to enforce his
-right, and she seldom fails to break the law.
-Polygamy is allowed, but only one woman
-is actually a wife&mdash;the rest are mere concubines;
-the chief one may be supplanted
-by a new favourite, when the old one yields
-without a murmur, though occasionally a
-woman of violent passions will destroy herself.</p>
-
-<p>To illustrate the general subject of the
-condition of women among the North-American
-Indians, we may notice an incident
-described by the observant traveller
-Catlin. When, among the Sioux, he proposed
-to paint the portrait of a woman,
-his condescension was regarded by the
-warriors of the community first as incredible
-and then as ridiculous. It appeared
-marvellous that he should think of conferring
-on the females the same honour
-he had conferred on the medicine men
-and braves; those whom he selected were
-laughed at by hundreds of others who were,
-nevertheless, jealous of the distinction. The
-men who had been painted said that if
-the artist was going to paint women and
-children the sooner he destroyed their portraits
-the better; the women had never
-taken scalps, never done anything but
-make fires and dress, with other occupations
-equally servile: at length, he explained
-that the portraits of the men were
-wanted to show the chiefs of the white
-nation who were great and worthy among
-the Sioux nation, while the women were
-only wanted to show how they looked and
-how they dressed: by this means he attained
-his object. Mr. Catlin considers that, on
-the whole, the Old World has no superior
-morality or virtue to hold up as an example
-to the American Indian races. The degradation
-of the women, however, is denied by
-none, though a woman of superior courage
-or contrivance sometimes places herself
-above the degrading laws which depress
-the rest of her sex. Thus one whom Catlin
-saw joined boldly in a dance&mdash;though
-females are only allowed to join in a few
-of these&mdash;played off great feats before the
-warriors, and for her audacity no less than
-for her skill was greeted with thundering
-peals of applause, besides a pile of gifts<a name="FNanchor_62_62" id="FNanchor_62_62"></a><a href="#Footnote_62_62" class="fnanchor">[62]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution among the Indians of
-South America.</span></h3>
-
-<p>The plan and purpose of this inquiry will
-by this time have become obvious to every
-reader. It is to afford a comparative view
-of the state of manners throughout the
-world, with reference to public morals, the
-condition and the character of the female
-sex. We have chosen to treat of the barbarians
-in a separate division of the inquiry,
-and for this reason have left a large
-portion of Africa, and by far the greatest
-portion of North America, for future pages.
-With respect to South America, its various
-states will be classed among those half-barbarous
-communities, which we shall take
-as the link between the savage and the
-civilized portions of the globe; for, in spite
-of the dreams in which some romantic travellers
-have indulged, Lima is only fit to
-be compared with Algiers, and Brazil with
-Morocco. Leaving, therefore, these half-caste
-societies, as we shall next turn to them in a
-separate notice, we may briefly treat of the
-Indian race which still, though in numbers
-awfully reduced, clings to its native soil in
-South America.</p>
-
-<p>A very brief description will suffice.
-Remembering the difference of character
-between the Indian of the North and the
-Indian of the South, we may, in most respects,
-apply our last notices to the present
-subject. The barbarians with whom we
-have now to deal are not possessed by that
-rigid masculine vanity which inspires them
-with a contempt not only of the female
-sex, but of the pleasures they furnish to
-men of more sensual temperaments and
-more effeminate mould. They have less
-pride, but not more manliness than the
-Indians of the Red Race. There is no
-comparison, in point of mental and moral
-character, between the savage of the Brazilian
-forest and the stately Huron or
-Iroquois, or the warrior of the Algonquin
-race.</p>
-
-<p>Two classes of Indians exist in South<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>
-America&mdash;the pure native, and the breed
-corrupted by intercourse with Europeans,
-half-castes, and the rest of that variety of
-colours which have been produced between
-the white and the original tenant of the
-soil. The first is now an exceedingly small
-family, and some accounts have represented
-it as eminent for virtue and simplicity.
-We know that romantic pictures
-have been drawn of the golden days when
-Montezuma reigned in the Valley of Mexico,
-and gave laws to the free population of
-the country; but sober research has dissipated
-the idea that he was the governor of
-a civilized and polished nation. Superior,
-indeed, the Mexicans were to the savages
-who occupied so large a portion of the
-New World, but they were deficient in
-many of the arts, and gross in many of the
-manners which assist in comparing the
-standard of a people’s progress. This much
-has been ascertained, though it is little.
-At the present day, the great characteristics
-of the barbarian state are strongly
-exhibited in this as in other parts of South
-America. The miserable remnant of the
-Indian race grows yearly more debased,
-learning little from its European preceptors
-except profligacy and the coarsest arts of
-vice. Throughout the region women are
-degraded. The men generally sleep and
-lounge, or occupy themselves with easy
-tasks, but more from indolence than pride,
-while the women perform the labours of
-the house and of the field. Such is almost
-the universal practice of Indian manners in
-South America. Instances of the contrary,
-indeed, there are. King found among the
-Chedirrione tribes of the Argentine Republic,
-a primitive state of society, no less
-innocent than simple. The women were
-modest, the men kind to them, and labour
-was justly shared. All property was in
-common, and the members of the community
-lived in perfect brotherhood. This,
-however, is only one cheerful spot upon the
-surface of South-American manners. In
-the Central Region the females are degraded,
-and chastity a rare virtue. Women
-may bear children before marriage
-without shame, and the intercourse of the
-sexes is unrestrained.</p>
-
-<p>Among the Indians of Brazil a curious
-system of manners existed before the establishment
-of European power, and many
-traces of it still exist. No man might
-marry until he had killed an enemy.
-When a girl reached the age of puberty
-her hair was cut off, her back tattooed, and
-she wore a necklace of the teeth of wild
-beasts until her hair grew again. Bands
-of cotton were fastened about her waist
-and the fleshy parts of her arms, to signify
-her maidenhood. It was said that if any
-but a pure virgin wore these emblems, the
-evil spirit would bear her away; but the
-national belief was not sufficiently strong
-to render this a defence of chastity, for it
-was lost without reproach or fear, and incontinence
-was regarded as no offence.
-Sleeping in crowds, in large common dormitories
-produced a pernicious effect on
-the people, destroyed all ideas of decency,
-and caused universal lewdness. When a
-man tired of his wife, he put her away and
-took another; indeed, as many as he
-pleased. Although unrestrained polygamy
-was allowed, the first wife, however, continued
-to enjoy some privileges, as having a
-separate berth to sleep in, and a separate
-plot of ground to cultivate for her own
-use. Nevertheless she was bitterly jealous
-of those who supplanted her, and frequently,
-when altogether neglected by her
-husband, abandoned herself altogether to
-vice, and became a clandestine prostitute
-to any of the young men who would flatter
-or pay her for the favour.</p>
-
-<p>Being regarded, more or less, as property,
-a man’s wives formed part of his
-estate, and were bequeathed on his death
-to his brother or nearest kinsman. The
-women thus procured were seldom treated
-with any delicacy or consideration, yet
-they found sources of happiness, and were
-often lively and gay to the last degree.
-When utterly miserable the female sex
-does not delight to clothe itself in gaudy
-attire, or adorn itself with sparkling trinkets,
-as in Brazil, where masculine vanity
-ran so high that it declared certain ornaments
-to be the exclusive privilege of
-men.</p>
-
-<p>In the neighbouring regions there was
-some variety among the different tribes.
-The Tyrinambas used their women fairly,
-though they somewhat overloaded them
-with employment. They were, however,
-generally happy, and were principally employed
-in spinning and weaving&mdash;for the
-industrial arts had reached that stage
-among them. They also cultivated the
-ground. On this subject a curious and not
-unpoetical idea prevailed among some of
-the Indians of South America. It was,
-that as females only bore children, so the
-grain planted by their hands would fructify
-in a more plentiful increase than that
-sown by men. Female porters, also, formed
-a considerable class.</p>
-
-<p>In Paraguay the wars that spread havoc
-among the miserable people gave rise to
-a flagitious custom, which destroyed the
-population more rapidly than pestilence or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span>
-the sword. No woman ever reared more
-than one child. The difficulty of subsistence
-was one cause which induced
-this custom. The practice of producing
-abortion was adopted in preference to
-infanticide, since it inflicted a less violent
-shock on the natural feelings of the woman.
-Remonstrated with upon the horror
-of the crime, one mother replied that an
-infant was a great incumbrance, that parturition
-took away from the grace of the
-figure, rendering her less attractive to the
-men, and moreover that abortion was easier
-than delivery. The manner of procuring
-it was singular. The woman lay down
-on her back, and was beaten by two aged
-crones till the result was certain. Many
-died in consequence of this barbarous process,
-while others contracted a disease which
-afflicted them through life. Men and women
-were equally debauched. Their gregarious
-habits afforded unlimited opportunities
-for intrigue, and husbands cared little
-to whom their wives prostituted themselves,
-though they regarded them as absolute
-property, branding them on the thigh or
-bosom with a hot iron as they did their
-horses. One peculiar custom obtained
-among them&mdash;the married spoke in a
-dialect different from that employed by the
-unmarried people.</p>
-
-<p>Contrasted with this community was
-the Abifrone, a tribe inhabiting the same
-region, more long-lived, healthy, and
-numerous, because they were temperate
-and chaste. Morality was characteristic
-of them, and prudence also. The men
-seldom or never married before the age of
-thirty, or the women before that of
-twenty, and were usually continent
-before contracting that engagement.
-A wife was purchased from her parents,
-and was entirely at their disposal, unless
-bold enough to run away. There was
-some poetry in the rite of marriage. If
-the suit was accepted, eight maidens carried
-a canopy of fine tissue over the bride,
-who walked in silence, and with downcast
-eyes, to her husband’s tent. There he
-received her with signs of love; she then
-returned, bearing the few domestic articles
-necessary to their simple mode of life, and
-her new master dwelt in her father’s house
-with her until she had borne a child, or he
-had sufficiently proved his affection towards
-her. Women were obliged to suckle their
-children for three years, and forbidden to
-hold connubial intercourse during that
-period. This induced the practice of procuring
-abortion, for the wife feared her
-husband would forget and abandon her
-after the long interval. Depopulation was
-thus caused. Infanticide, also, was practised,
-but the boys were selected as victims
-rather than the girls, who were valuable to
-their parents. The intercourse of the sexes
-before marriage was rigidly watched; the
-maidens were educated in habits of industry,
-and taught to prize their virtue.
-When the missionaries came among them
-preaching against polygamy and divorce,
-the women of this tribe were eager
-listeners.</p>
-
-<p>Transferring our attention to another part
-of the South-American Continent, we find
-among the Sambos of the Mosquito Shore
-some curious customs. They are not of the
-Indian race, but closely allied with them
-in their social habits: when a man commits
-adultery the injured husband shoots a
-beeve, takes a horse, or carries off something
-of value, no matter to whom it may
-belong, and the proprietor must obtain
-restitution from the adulterer. Polygamy
-is practised among them, but one wife is
-superior to the rest; they marry very young;
-the Indians of the same country have a
-plurality of wives, but each must have a
-separate hut; if the husband makes a
-present to one, he must make one of equal
-value to each of the others, and he must
-spend his time with them equally, week by
-week.</p>
-
-<p>In Venezuela, among the native tribes,
-marriage is frequently dispensed with altogether,
-and cohabitation takes place for a
-temporary period, or permanently, as the
-sentiments of the man may incline. This
-is the case even among the Christianized
-people, but no blame can be attached to
-them, poor as they are; for the priests,
-grasping everywhere, charge such high
-fees, that marriage is a privilege of the
-rich.</p>
-
-<p>The same characteristics prevail all over
-South America, in Chili, Peru, Mexico, and
-among the Araucanian tribes: the men idle,
-the women labour; and the national idea is,
-that one sex is born to command, the other
-to obey. The Araucanians carry this principle
-to excess, and do not allow their wives
-to eat until they are satisfied. When a
-man desires to have a girl as his wife, he
-proposes for her to the father; if the father
-consent, the girl, without being informed of
-the bargain, is sent out on some pretended
-errand, when she is seized by her purchaser
-and carried home to his tent or hut. There
-a feast is prepared; their friends assemble;
-her price is paid in horses, cattle, or money,
-and the ceremony is concluded by a debauch.
-Immorality among them is rather
-secret than recognised; in Peru it is affirmed
-that, among the native Indians, instances of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span>
-infidelity between man and wife are very
-rare, for where polygamy is sanctioned and
-regulated by law, it is by no means inconsistent
-with chastity.</p>
-
-<p>In New Andalusia the men and women
-go all but naked, wearing only slight girdles,
-and appearing strangers to the sentiment
-of decency. The condition of the female
-sex is that of privation and labour; yet,
-though overwhelmed with toil, they appear
-happier, because naturally more buoyant
-of heart than the squaws of North America.
-Even among the Indians on the banks of
-the Xingu, where the lordly husband lies
-all day in a hammock, and requires literally
-to be fed by his faithful wife, the women
-sing, dance, and seem to enjoy their lives
-most heartily. So, throughout the whole
-region, humiliation and slavery form their
-lot, but their spirit yields willingly to the
-yoke, which consequently does not pain
-them.</p>
-
-<p>The regular prostitute class of South
-America belongs to the half-civilized communities,
-and will be noticed in our reference
-to them<a name="FNanchor_63_63" id="FNanchor_63_63"></a><a href="#Footnote_63_63" class="fnanchor">[63]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in the Cities of
-South America.</span></h3>
-
-<p>When we visit the semi-civilized communities
-of South America, instead of the
-barbarian tribes still running wild in its
-deserts of forest, the state of morals we
-discover presents a contrast by no means
-favourable to the half-educated States,
-where a hybrid compromise seems to have
-been made between refinement and barbarism.
-The general characteristic of South-American
-society is profligacy. Almost
-every city on that continent is demoralized
-and debauched; Brazil, Mexico, Peru,
-Chili, all present features very similar, and
-differing only in the inferior details. Professional
-prostitutes, indiscriminate in their
-companionship, form only a small part of
-the system. Immorality takes many other
-forms. This, however, we learn only from
-the general terms in which traveller after
-traveller has described those regions, especially
-the cities. Absolute information
-we have none, except with respect to the
-station occupied by women, and their moral
-demeanour in society. Statistics are entirely
-wanting. All writers seem by mutual
-consent to have avoided our subject,
-and left us to conjecture the extent and
-character of prostitution in Mexico, Rio
-Janeiro, Lima, and the various other cities
-of South America.</p>
-
-<p>In Mexico, the women of the upper or
-idle classes are described as elegant, polished,
-and fascinating, perfectly easy in
-society, and attached above all things to
-the gaieties of life. Their morals appear
-to be similar to those of the female sex in
-the older cities of Spain&mdash;that is, there
-are many profligates among them; but a
-large number are well-conducted, virtuous
-women, not very timid in society, but not
-immodest. Among the lower classes the
-average of Spain may also be adopted&mdash;if
-we may ground an opinion on the vague
-accounts we receive from travellers.</p>
-
-<p>In Lima, society is far more profligate.
-The women are superior to the men in
-little more than affection for their children;
-in other respects their general conduct is
-loose. They are devoured with that passion
-for intrigue&mdash;not amounting in many
-cases to actual adultery&mdash;which has been
-a famous trait in the manners of that
-country in Europe whence South America
-has derived all its impress of civilization.
-One remark which is true of Lima, applies
-also to the other cities. The veil, which
-in some countries is worn as the guard
-of virtue, is here the screen of vice. It is
-inviolable. The woman so draped may
-pass her own husband unrecognised, so
-that she can play truant as she pleases.
-Two or three females of good station often
-pay visits at the houses of strange men,
-without being known. Men sometimes
-take up with their own wives in the streets,
-or at some place of public entertainment,
-or on the alameda, or city promenade,
-without being aware who their companions
-are.</p>
-
-<p>The state of manners indicated by frequent
-allusions to these facts is far from
-pure. We have also a few other glimpses
-into the society of Mexico and Lima. In
-the former there were, in 1842, 491 persons&mdash;312
-men, and 179 women&mdash;committed to
-prison for “prostitution, adultery, bigamy,
-sodomy, and incest;” besides 65 men, and
-21 women, for “rape and incontinence.” So
-far for the capital of Mexico.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>In Lima, the chief city of Peru, the
-number of illegitimate children annually
-born is about 860; and of new-born infants
-exposed and found dead, 460. Two-thirds
-of the former, and four-fifths of the latter,
-belong to the coloured population&mdash;which
-is, indeed, in a proportionate majority. A
-dead child is picked up without any sensation
-being excited among the inhabitants
-of the locality in which it is found. Frequently
-it is cast away unburied. Ischudi
-has seen these little carcasses dragged about
-by vultures, in the public streets.</p>
-
-<p>The white creoles are noted for sensuality,
-as well as a brutal want of sentiment
-towards their offspring. The dances
-in which they indulge are some of them
-of indescribable obscenity, and the whole
-population is addicted to demoralizing
-pleasures. In Lima, however, though delicate
-modest women are rare, actual adultery
-is not often committed by that sex.
-The men seem to obey the exhortation of
-Cato, who encouraged prostitutes, while
-he abhorred unfaithful wives&mdash;“Courage,
-my friends; go and see the girls, but do
-not corrupt the married women.” Concubinage
-is more common, or rather, perhaps,
-more public than in Europe, and the father
-is usually very fond and careful of his
-natural children. Where marriage is contracted,
-it is, all over the Continent, fulfilled
-at an early age. In Brazil the
-neglect of this institution and the profligate
-intercourse of the sexes have diminished
-the population to an immense
-extent. In Rio Janeiro, however, we are
-told that the manners of the people have
-much improved since they have become
-more republican in their manners and
-ideas. The women there are shy and retired,
-but ignorance and awkwardness
-more than modesty may be assigned as the
-cause. While slavery was a public institution,
-which the government desired to
-abolish, the only restriction in the intercourse
-of the sexes was among the slaves.
-Procreation among them was as far as possible
-prevented; the women and the men
-in Janeiro were locked up at night in
-separate apartments, and carefully watched
-during the day.</p>
-
-<p>In Chili, also, a reform of manners has
-commenced since the reduction of the military
-power, which is proverbially demoralizing.
-The higher classes of females have
-a character for modesty and virtue, but
-the men generally indulge themselves in
-vicious pleasures to a very considerable
-extent. It is, perhaps, in Brazil that society
-is most corrupt, for there the common
-decencies of life are, among the inferior
-orders, grossly disregarded. Matheson, the
-traveller, slept in the same room with
-a young married couple; girls are sold
-as concubines, and children are hired out
-by their mothers to prostitution. The youth
-of that sex bathe, while very young, entirely
-naked, and afterwards with scarcely any
-clothing, before the public eye, so that altogether
-the manners of the people are wanting
-in decency.</p>
-
-<p>Travellers agree in assigning as one chief
-cause of this general demoralization, the
-profligate conduct of the Roman Catholic
-clergy; their lives are, in many cases&mdash;and
-of course there are many exceptions
-also&mdash;exceedingly scandalous. Numbers
-of them, bound by their vows to celibacy,
-live with concubines, and are not even
-faithful or constant to them. Where the
-priests have such influence, and indulge in
-such practices, we may expect to find a low
-state of morals. That this is the case in
-the cities of the South America most travellers
-agree in declaring; but unfortunately
-their notices are only vague generalities,
-and we have no positive information
-as to the extent and character of prostitution
-in those cities<a name="FNanchor_64_64" id="FNanchor_64_64"></a><a href="#Footnote_64_64" class="fnanchor">[64]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in the West
-Indies.</span></h3>
-
-<p>A very slight notice of the West Indies
-will suffice, until we arrive at that division
-of our inquiry which includes the half-civilized
-communities, and the colonial
-societies related to Great Britain. Of the
-barbarous race scarcely a vestige remains,
-and of the negro population a general
-view is all that is required, except with
-reference to the prostitution carried on
-under the encouragement of the European
-settlers, which we shall hereafter describe.
-When Columbus first visited the beautiful
-islands of the West Indian group, he found
-two classes of people inhabiting them&mdash;the
-savage and cannibal Caribs, who delighted
-in war, and preyed upon the weaker
-and more effeminate tribes; and the comparatively
-innocent and simple communities,
-whose unwarlike habits rendered them
-victims to their more powerful neighbours.
-The characteristics of these distinct populations
-were strongly illustrated in their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>
-treatment of women. The mild and
-peaceful islanders admitted the female
-sex to a participation in the delights
-and enjoyments of life, allowed their
-women to mingle with them in the
-dance, to inherit power, to wear what
-ornaments they fancied; and shared, indeed,
-with them all the opportunities of
-happiness which belonged to their savage
-condition. Among the cannibal Caribs, on
-the other hand, a different fashion prevailed.
-The handsomest and youngest of
-female captives taken in war were preserved
-as slaves and companions, while
-their other prisoners were devoured. The
-lot of these exiles, however, was little
-superior to that of the Carib women themselves.
-The nation was low and barbarous,
-and accordingly treated its women with
-harshness and indignity. Proud of their
-superior power and courage, the men looked
-down on the females as on an inferior sex,
-whose degradation was natural and just.
-Although a wife was awarded as the prize
-of valour, she was regarded as property
-acquired. She was her husband’s slave.
-All the drudgery of his habitation fell on
-her. She bore his implements for war or
-for the chase. She carried home the game
-he had killed; and never sat down to a
-meal with him, or even dared to eat in his
-presence. She approached him with abject
-humility, and if she ever complained of
-ill usage, it was at the peril of her life.
-Nevertheless, the child born of this slave
-was loved and tended with wonderful care.
-This description, however, must apply to
-the weaker race of women, not to those
-Amazons described by Columbus, who, well-trained
-to war, rivalled in power of muscle
-and vigour of limb the bull-stranglers of
-Sparta.</p>
-
-<p>These, however&mdash;the original inhabitants
-of the West-Indian Islands&mdash;have disappeared,
-and been succeeded by another
-race or compound of races, among which
-the Negroes only claim our notice at present.
-Among the blacks of Antigua, as an
-example of the rest, immorality is a characteristic
-which may be traced to the institution
-of slavery. Infanticide is frequently
-practised by them, especially since
-the Emancipation Act was passed. The
-reason of this circumstance, which at first
-seems strange, is very clear. Under the
-institution of slavery, negroes were not
-allowed to marry, or, at least, their marriages
-were never held as binding before the
-law. They therefore cohabited, and their
-unions lasted usually only so long as the
-caprice of affection, or the heat of a criminal
-appetite existed. Women, therefore, continually
-had five, six, seven, eight, or nine
-children by various fathers, and no disgrace
-was attached to the fact. A new system
-was introduced by the abolition of the
-slave system. The sentiments of shame
-and modesty have been cultivated in their
-minds; and the idea of female virtue has
-at least been awakened, so that they often
-seek to escape the consequences of an illicit
-amour by destroying the offspring.</p>
-
-<p>One of the demoralizing effects of slavery
-was the encouragement of a species of
-concubinage. Rewards, indeed, were held
-out by some masters to such of the negroes
-as lived faithfully with a single partner;
-but the prevalence of vice was all but
-universal. A permanent engagement between
-a man and a woman was seldom
-formed. Two females frequently lived
-with one man, and of these one was considered
-his wife and the other his mistress.</p>
-
-<p>When the negroes were emancipated,
-in 1834, many of them were anxious to
-be legally married. Numbers had been
-already united in wedlock by the missionary
-preachers; yet, though complete in
-its character, and regarded as a sacred tie,
-this act was not held as binding by the
-law, and many of the emancipated negroes,
-putting away the partners of their compulsory
-servitude, took new companions to
-their homes.</p>
-
-<p>The offence of bigamy was not uncommon
-among them, and still continues to
-be so. It is prohibited under a severe
-enactment, but many devices are adopted
-to elude the law. Concubinage is less
-openly practised than formerly, but the
-tie of marriage is by no means generally
-respected. Chastity is indifferently regarded;
-and where the men do not prize
-it in women, women will be at little
-pains to preserve it for the men. Women
-are sometimes married who have been
-living in concubinage with several persons,
-and become the mothers of numerous
-children.</p>
-
-<p>The condition of the free female negroes
-is by no means so degraded as in the original
-country of the blacks. Women enjoy
-an independent existence, and live as they
-please, though many of them labour. Their
-character is not distinguished by morality.
-Decency was entirely obliterated from their
-ideas, and they are only beginning to recover
-it. Women who were daily stripped
-and exposed to receive a whipping from
-the hands of men, could not be expected
-long to retain the sense of feminine shame;
-and this process, acting upon one generation
-after another, has left its impress on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>
-character of the negro population. Human
-nature, also, was outraged by the gross tyranny
-of the planters. The intercourse of
-the sexes was regulated, not with a view
-to the morals of the negroes, but to the
-propagation of the species. They were
-coupled like beasts, to increase the number
-of slaves on the estate. In consequence of
-this the degradation of the negro population
-was so complete that, after it was
-emancipated, a woman considered it more
-honourable to become the mistress of a
-white, than the wife of a black man. In
-all the islands, indeed, this vile system was
-carried on. In St. Lucia, however, the
-intercourse was almost unrestrained, and
-consequently became in a degree promiscuous;
-for moral law there was none.
-The St. Lucia negro, in fact, is, even at
-this day, averse to matrimony, and inclined
-to support concubines, to none of
-whom is he faithful, even for an interval
-of time. Yet he is thoroughly attached to
-his children. It has been observed, that
-if any improvement in the morality of the
-island has taken place, it is more in the
-tone than in the temper, in the appearance
-than in the reality. Infanticide is never
-practised, or only as a rare and secret
-crime. It is prevented, however, not by
-moral restraint, but by the motherly feelings
-of the women&mdash;by the absence of
-reproach on bastardy, and the facility for
-rearing children.</p>
-
-<p>In Santa Cruz the same low condition
-of manners is observable in the negro population;
-though in Jamaica the negroes
-are generally married, and are, on the
-whole, faithful to the engagement. This,
-however, is the result of the Emancipation
-Act. Previously to that mighty social reform,
-marriage, or a connubial contract of
-any kind, was rare; and the intercourse of
-the sexes was loose, profligate, and lewd.
-The men lived either with several concubines
-at once, or replaced one by another,
-as their inclination prompted. When the
-missionaries endeavoured to change this
-state of things, any couples which submitted
-to their teaching were sure to be
-ridiculed and jeered by the servile and
-demoralized populace. When slavery was
-abolished, so far had the corruption of
-manners proceeded, that numbers of the
-women, in the delirium of their new
-liberty, abandoned themselves to their
-vicious appetites, and became common
-prostitutes.</p>
-
-<p>The example of Europeans has not by
-any means displayed to the negroes any
-instruction in morality; on the contrary,
-it has, to a great extent, encouraged their
-vices. This we shall show in a future
-division of the subject. We therefore leave
-at present the other islands which form the
-plantation colonies of England and Spain:
-we shall hereafter visit the native community
-which has recently made itself
-ridiculous by enacting the forms of an
-empire&mdash;we allude to Hayti, or St. Domingo.
-The brief notice we have given
-is intended to apply to the rude black population,
-but not in respect of its relation
-to the white communities<a name="FNanchor_65_65" id="FNanchor_65_65"></a><a href="#Footnote_65_65" class="fnanchor">[65]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in Java.</span></h3>
-
-<p>In the island of Java, which is perhaps the
-most fertile and beautiful country in the
-world, a curious system of manners now
-prevails. Hindoos have been succeeded by
-Mohammedans, and these by Dutch: each
-of the conquering races has impressed some
-characteristic trait on the population, and,
-unfortunately, the stamp of vice is more
-easily set than any other. The character
-and condition of the female sex in Java
-indicate the whole state of manners there.
-The men are somewhat cold towards the
-women, a fact which some learned Theban
-has ascribed to their feeding more on vegetable
-than on animal substances, but they
-are neither cruel nor negligent towards
-them. The institution of marriage is universally
-known, if not universally practised or
-generally respected. The lot of women may
-be described as peculiarly fortunate; in
-general they are not ill-used at all, and
-when, as among some of the more opulent,
-they are secluded, they are rather withdrawn
-from the indiscriminate gaze of the
-people, than shut up in lonely secrecy, for
-they are by no means watched with that
-exaggerated jealousy which in some parts
-of the East renders the husband a continual
-spy on the actions of his wife. Though
-the man pays a price for his bride, he does
-not therefore disdain or abuse her.</p>
-
-<p>The condition of the sex in Java is, indeed,
-an exception to the habitual custom
-of Asiatics. The women eat with the men,
-associate with them in all the offices and
-pleasures of life, and live on terms of
-mutual equality.</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span></p>
-<p>Many queens have, in different States,
-occupied the throne. The sex is nowhere
-in the island, as a rule, treated with coarseness,
-violence, or neglect. They are industrious,
-and hard-working, but they labour
-more through desire of praise than through
-fear of chastisement, and are admitted to
-the performance of many honourable tasks.
-Among the wealthier classes men sometimes
-act tyrannically in their households;
-but this must be taken as the characteristic
-not of the race, but of individuals. Those
-who seclude their wives do so only from
-the common eye; English gentlemen have
-often been introduced into the most private
-chambers of the harem, while the wives
-and daughters of the greatest chiefs have
-appeared at the entertainments given by
-the European residents in Batavia, Sumarang,
-and other cities, where they conduct
-themselves usually with modesty and good
-grace.</p>
-
-<p>Polygamy and concubinage are tolerated,
-that is, they are practised among the nobility
-of Java, who do not allow public opinion
-to interfere with the gratification of their
-desires; both of these customs are looked
-upon, however, rather as vicious luxuries,
-than as established social institutions; yet,
-however limited their extent, they never
-fail to degrade the position and to vitiate
-the character of the female sex. Some
-circumstances in the feelings of the people
-prevent either practice from being generally
-adopted, and the evil is thus, in its
-moral influence, mitigated. The first wife
-is always mistress of the household, and
-the others are little more than her handmaids,
-who contribute to her husband’s
-gratification, but never share his rank or
-his wealth. No man of station will give
-his daughter as a second or third wife,
-unless to a chief of far higher nobility
-than himself; the inferior wives or concubines
-are therefore of an inferior class.
-Thus the artificial distinctions of classes
-vitiate the public morals, for a woman considers
-it dishonourable, not to prostitute
-herself, but to prostitute herself to a poor
-man of humble birth.</p>
-
-<p>When we say that polygamy and concubinage
-are not general in Java, the
-reader must by no means infer a high state
-of manners to exist there. On the contrary,
-Java is the most immoral country in
-insular Asia. The woman who would be
-ashamed to become the second wife of a
-chief might not be ashamed to commit
-adultery with him; in general terms, both
-sexes are extremely profligate and depraved,
-though the poets and historians
-of the island boast of chastity as the distinguishing
-ornament of their women; because
-a married female shrieks when a
-strange man attempts to kiss her before
-her attendants and a large mixed company,
-they hold up their sex in Java as
-the standard of feminine purity and virtue.</p>
-
-<p>In most islands of the Indian Archipelago,
-divorces are not easy to be obtained; but
-in Java the total separation of married
-people may be procured with the utmost
-freedom and facility. It is a privilege in
-which the women indulge themselves to a
-most wanton degree, and often so much as
-to fall little short of prostitution. A wife
-may turn away her husband by paying
-him a certain sum of money; he is not,
-indeed, absolutely bound to accept this, but
-usually does so, in conformity with the
-established opinion of society, that it is
-disreputable to live with a woman on such
-terms. Women often change their partners
-three or four times before they are thirty
-years of age; some have been seen boasting
-of a twelfth husband. In Java the
-means of subsistence abound, and are easy
-to be procured as well by females as by men;
-one sex is, therefore, in a great measure,
-independent of the other; women find no
-difficulty in living without husbands. They
-are not, consequently, forced to remain in
-a state of bondage through fear of being
-drifted destitute upon the world; but, unfortunately
-for the theories of our new
-female reformers, the sex in Java, though
-thus enfranchised, is proverbially dissolute
-and libertine.</p>
-
-<p>This, nevertheless, in reality is no argument
-for those who attempt to show that
-the female sex, enjoying perfect liberty,
-makes use of its freedom to indulge in
-vicious pleasures. The women of Java
-are dissolute, not because they are free of
-control, but because the whole society of
-the island is profligate. Among the
-wealthier classes, especially, the utmost
-immorality prevails with respect to the
-intercourse of the sexes. In the great
-native towns the population is debauched
-to the last degree. Intrigues among the
-married women continually occur; and
-females of high rank have intercourse with
-paramours, to the knowledge, and almost
-before the faces, of their husbands. The
-men are tame and servile, often not daring
-to revenge their honour or assert the conjugal
-right, and they are by no means
-inspired with that fiery spirit of jealousy
-which among many Asiatics renders a wife
-sacred from all but her husband’s eye.
-Females of respectable rank are often the
-subject of conversation. An inquiry after
-a man’s family is held by no means in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span>sulting,
-but rather as a conventional act
-of courtesy.</p>
-
-<p>Flagrant instances of the loose character
-of Javan manners have come to the notice
-of travellers. Before the island was absolutely
-conquered by the Dutch, one of
-its great princes, being desirous of purchasing
-the favour of the people, gave
-many public feasts and entertainments, at
-which the wives and daughters of the
-chiefs attended. He seduced one of his
-guests, a married woman, and was in the
-habit of passing the night with her, while
-her husband was engaged with his duty
-on the public guard. One morning, by
-chance, the chief returned home earlier
-than usual, and detected them together.
-He had, however, discovered the rank of
-the paramour, and discreetly coughed, that
-the prince might have an opportunity to
-escape. He then went into the chamber,
-and severely flogged his guilty wife. She
-fled, and complained to the king of the
-treatment she had received. He being in
-the critical position of making good his
-claim to a crown, dared not exercise the
-usual prerogative of a throne; but called
-for the man he had injured, made him
-many rich gifts, and offered him, as compensation,
-the handsomest woman in his
-own household. The husband accepted
-the peace-offerings, and was content to
-take back his adulterous wife. The relation
-of a subject to his prince must, at least
-when developed in this manner, be most
-unnatural.</p>
-
-<p>Women in Java are usually married
-very young, though not before the age
-of puberty, which is speedily reached.
-The reason assigned by writers for this
-haste is, that their chastity is no longer
-safe after they have reached womanhood.
-Men wait for two or three years after that
-period, during which they may indulge in
-unbounded profligacy. At eighteen or
-twenty a girl is looked upon as verging
-towards the wane of life, and becomes a
-suspected character. No age, however,
-excludes a woman from the chance of a
-match; but scarcely any are unmarried
-after 22. Widows at 50 often procure
-husbands; for men at that period of life
-usually choose wives equal in years to
-themselves, and sometimes older.</p>
-
-<p>The preliminary arrangements are made
-by the parents on both sides; for no intercourse
-could previously take place between
-the young people themselves without
-being, and often justly, the occasion of
-scandal. They are looked upon, as the
-natives themselves express it, as mere
-puppets in the performance. There are
-three kinds of connection. The first is
-when the rank of the parties is equal, or
-when the man is superior to the woman.
-The second is when the bride is above her
-husband, who is taken into the house, and
-adopted into the family, by his father-in-law.
-The third is a species of concubinage,
-without any rites whatever, and confirmed
-by the simple fact of recognised cohabitation.
-In such cases, as no formality is
-required to conclude, so none is necessary
-to dissolve the contract, which is, therefore,
-no more than a species of prostitution,
-for the changes of companions are
-extremely frequent.</p>
-
-<p>In the other two, the ceremonies are
-similar. The young people are, in all cases,
-betrothed for a longer or a shorter period
-before their union&mdash;from one month to
-several years. The father of the youth,
-having made for his son what he considers
-a suitable choice, proceeds to the parents
-of the girl, and proposes for an alliance.
-If they accept the suit, a betrothal is ratified
-by some trifling present to the bride.
-Visits are made, that the intended nuptials
-may be publicly known. At the third
-stage in the progress of the transaction
-the price is arranged, and varies according
-to the rank and circumstances of the families.
-Sometimes it is plainly called the
-<i>purchase-money</i>; sometimes the act of sale
-is covered by a more delicate term&mdash;<i>the
-deposit</i>. It is usually considered, however,
-as a settlement or provision for the bride.</p>
-
-<p>The only Mohammedan feature in the
-whole ceremony is the exchange of vows
-in a mosque. This is followed by many
-ritual observances, more of etiquette than
-religion, and great parade is affected. At
-length the married people eat rice from
-one vessel, to typify their common fortune;
-but in some places the bride washes her
-husband’s feet, as an acknowledgment of
-her subjection to him, or else he treads
-upon a raw egg, and she wipes his foot.</p>
-
-<p>Though, as we have said, polygamy and
-concubinage are not generally practised,
-partly because too expensive, partly from
-a feeling against them&mdash;some of the rich
-chiefs indulge in them to an extravagant
-degree, and glory in a train of 60 children.
-The wives, however, as already noticed,
-can easily release themselves when their
-married state is deteriorated into real or
-fancied bondage. The fact of their early
-marriage, without knowing their future
-husband, or consenting to the union, causes
-a great number of divorces. A widow may
-marry again after three months and ten
-days have elapsed since her husband’s
-death.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Though the intercourse of the sexes is
-so free that vicious inclinations may be
-indulged without difficulty or peril, the
-Javans support a large class of women&mdash;prostitutes
-by profession. Adultery is not
-considered a very heinous crime, but rather
-an offence against the husband’s property
-and honour, yet it is attended sometimes
-with danger, and often with disagreeable
-results. The vocation of the
-trading prostitute is not, therefore, taken
-away. She unites in Java, as in India,
-the profession of a dancer with her infamous
-calling.</p>
-
-<p>There is a large class of these dancers in
-the island. The people are passionately
-fond of this amusement, but no respectable
-woman will join in it. The sultans, indeed,
-used to have some of their most
-beautiful concubines trained to dance, and
-they were privileged in the performance of
-certain figures; but, otherwise, all its professors
-are prostitutes. Nevertheless, a
-Javan chief of high rank is not ashamed
-to be seen before a large mixed assembly
-tripping with one of these women.</p>
-
-<p>The dancers may be found in all parts
-of Java, but chiefly in the north-west, towards
-the capital. They figure at most of
-the public and private entertainments.
-Their conduct is so dissolute that the words
-dancer and prostitute are, in the Javan
-language, synonymous; yet, on account of
-the wealth they often amass, petty chiefs
-occasionally marry them. In such cases
-they usually, after a few years, become
-tired of their quiet secluded life, divorce
-their husbands, and resume their old calling.
-The dress in which they appear to
-dance is very immodest, exposing almost
-the whole bosom, and the attitudes they
-assume are licentious in a high degree.
-Nevertheless, they seldom descend to the
-obscene and degrading postures practised
-by some of the Bayaderes in India.</p>
-
-<p>The Europeans in Java have not certainly,
-up to a late period, at least, set to
-their native subjects an example of pure
-manners. The Dutch merchant had usually
-a Javan female at the head of his household,
-who served him as a mistress as
-well. Indeed, the marriage ceremony is
-seldom insisted on by the women; while,
-among the lower classes, simple cohabitation
-is the usual method in which the
-sexes are related. Yet they are by no
-means so gross and sensual as the wealthier
-sort of people. Altogether, however, the
-island is remarkable for the profligacy of
-its inhabitants. In every city prostitutes
-abound; and about the roads in their
-vicinity women may be seen straying,
-ready for hire. They mostly, as we have
-said, assume also the profession of dancers,
-and this, in a manner, covers the profligacy
-of those who employ them at their
-houses<a name="FNanchor_66_66" id="FNanchor_66_66"></a><a href="#Footnote_66_66" class="fnanchor">[66]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in Sumatra.</span></h3>
-
-<p>The population of this extensive island is
-divided into several tribes, slightly differing
-in their manners and modes of life.
-The Rejangs, who may be supposed to
-represent its original habits, are still rude
-barbarians. With them, as with many
-people of the East, the scrupulous attention
-to external show is by no means accompanied
-by a similar spirit within. They
-drape their women from chin to foot, and
-dread lest a virgin should expose any part
-of her person; yet modesty is not at all a
-characteristic of the dwellers in villages
-and towns, to whom this description refers.
-Those who live in the rural communities,
-and are more easy in their costume, distinguish
-themselves by their decency and
-decorum. In this is exhibited a curious
-fact, which may be discovered in many
-parts of the world.</p>
-
-<p>The civilization, if such it may be
-called, of Sumatra, is of a peculiar character.
-Its people are in that stage of
-their progress when great importance is
-ascribed to the multiplied formulas of
-etiquette. Ritual is with them more essential
-than principle&mdash;of which, indeed,
-they know little. It is wonderful to examine
-the intricate details of the Sumatran
-marriage contract. Nearly all the litigation
-in the country springs from that perplexing
-cause. Men in a barbarous state
-appear to be under the influence of some
-law which forces them into extremes.
-They must be at one pole or another.
-Either they dispense altogether with ceremonial
-usages, and satisfy themselves with
-obeying the simple dictates of nature,
-under plain rules for their own convenience,
-or they divide the sexes by a maze
-of convention, which prescribes a form for
-the most trivial occasions of life. True
-refinement appears to be in the medium;
-but this is a question still to be resolved.
-In some districts of Sumatra, Europeans,
-wearied with the endless legal quarrels
-arising from these complicated transactions,
-have prevailed on the people to simplify
-their code of marriage, and the result has
-proved beneficial.</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span></p>
-<p>Some have supposed that the system of
-procuring wives by purchase, which renders
-marriage difficult to the poor, has retarded
-the growth of population. Others,
-however, assert, and with much appearance
-of reason, that in Sumatra at least the
-contrary is true. Children being considered
-as property, and daughters being
-especially valuable for the price they command,
-powerful incentives to matrimony
-exist. The purchase-money obtained for
-the girls supplies wives for the sons, and in
-few islands are instances of celibacy more
-rare. It is certain, however, that the fostering,
-or rendering obligatory, thrifty
-habits on the young, has a tendency to
-check population, though it may be only
-so far as to keep it on a level with the
-means of subsistence. Various European
-countries illustrate that truth. In Sumatra,
-also, we have a wealthy region thinly
-and badly peopled; but misgovernment,
-war, and barbarism may be assigned as the
-chief causes. Besides, it is said the women
-are naturally unprolific; that they
-cease to bear children at an early age; that
-ignorance of the medical art causes thousands
-to perish of endemic complaints.</p>
-
-<p>There are three modes of forming a marriage
-contract. The first is that, when
-one man pays to another a certain sum of
-money in exchange for his daughter, who
-becomes a virtual slave. There is usually,
-however, a certain amount&mdash;about five
-dollars&mdash;held back, and, so long as this
-remains unpaid, friendship is supposed to
-exist between the families, and the girl’s
-parents have a right to complain if she be
-ill-treated. If the husband wound her he
-is liable to a fine, and in other ways his
-absolute command is curtailed. When,
-however, on the occasion of a violent
-quarrel, the sum is paid, the bond of relationship
-is broken, and the woman is entirely
-in her master’s power. The regulations
-in regard to money are numerous
-and intricate; but need not be explained
-in detail. They give occasion, however, as
-we have said, to endless law-suits, which are
-bequeathed by one generation to another.</p>
-
-<p>In other cases the marriage contract is
-an affair of barter. One virgin is given
-for another, and a man who has not one of
-his own sometimes borrows a girl, engaging
-to replace or pay for her when required.
-A man having a son and a daughter, may
-give the latter in exchange for a wife to
-the former. A brother may barter his
-sister for a wife, or procure a cousin instead.
-If, however, she be under age, a
-certain allowance is made until she becomes
-marriageable.</p>
-
-<p>Another method is practised when a
-parent desires to get rid of a daughter suffering
-from some infirmity or defect. He
-sells her altogether without any reserve,
-and she has fewer privileges than other
-classes of wives.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes a girl evades these laws by an
-elopement, and a match is formed upon
-mutual affection. If the fugitive couple
-are overtaken on the road, they may be separated;
-but when once they have taken sanctuary,
-and the man declares his willingness
-to comply with all the necessary forms,
-his wife is safely secured to him.</p>
-
-<p>Many persons have assigned to whole
-nations, in various parts of the world, a
-Jewish origin, partly because the custom
-prevails with them of a man marrying his
-brother’s widow. The Sumatrans, in this
-case, belong to them also, for the same rule
-is enforced by them; but if there be no
-brother surviving, the woman is taken by
-her husband’s nearest male relation&mdash;the
-father excepted. If any of her purchase-money
-remains unpaid, her new master is
-answerable for it.</p>
-
-<p>When, under this system, adultery is committed&mdash;which
-is not frequently the case&mdash;the
-husband usually passes it over, or inflicts
-revenge with his own hand. It is
-seldom such an offence is brought before
-the law. When a man desires to divorce
-his wife thus married to him, he may claim
-back her purchase-money, with the exception
-of twenty-five dollars, as she is supposed,
-by cohabitation with him, to have
-diminished in value to that amount. If,
-having taken a woman, he be unable to
-pay the whole price, though repeatedly
-dunned for it, the girl’s parents may sue
-for a divorce, but they must restore all
-they have received. The old ceremony
-consisted merely in cutting a rattan cane
-in two, in the presence of the disunited
-couple, their friends, and the chiefs of the
-province. The woman is expected to take
-to her husband’s house effects to the value
-of ten dollars. If she take more, he is
-chargeable to the amount. Thus the whole
-transaction is carried on upon mercenary
-grounds.</p>
-
-<p>The second kind of marriage is, when a
-virgin’s father chooses for her husband
-some young man whom he adopts into his
-family, making a feast on the occasion and
-receiving what we may term a premium of
-twenty dollars. The young man is thenceforward
-a property in his father-in-law’s
-family. They are answerable for the debts
-he may incur; but all he has and all he
-earns belong to them; he is liable to
-be divorced when they please, and to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>
-turned away destitute. Under certain circumstances
-he may redeem himself from
-this bondage, but pecuniary considerations
-are so entangled with the whole agreement
-that infinite confusion is the result. Several
-generations are sometimes bound in this
-manner before the contract can be legally
-broken by the fulfilment of all the required
-conditions.</p>
-
-<p>The Malays of Sumalda have generally
-adopted the third kind of marriage, which
-is called <i>the free</i>. It is a more honourable
-compact, in which the families approach
-each other on the natural level of equality.
-A small sum is paid to the girl’s parents,
-usually about twelve dollars, and an agreement
-is drawn up, that all property shall
-be common between husband and wife, and
-that, when divorce takes place by mutual
-consent, all shall be fairly divided. If the
-man only presses a separation, he gives half
-his effects, and loses the twelve dollars; if
-the woman, she then loses her right to any
-but her female paraphernalia. This description
-of contract, which is productive of
-most just dealing and felicity, has been
-adopted in many parts of the island.</p>
-
-<p>The actual ceremony of marriage, though
-fenced about with so many ceremonial
-observances, is extremely simple. An entertainment
-is given, the couple join their
-hands, and some one pronounces them man
-and wife.</p>
-
-<p>Where the female sex is a material for
-sale, little of what we term courtship can
-be expected. The manners of the country
-are opposed to it; strict separation is enforced
-between the youth of different sexes;
-and when a man pays the full price for a
-bride, he considers himself entitled to her
-without any manner of persuasion or solicitation
-to herself. Nevertheless, traces of
-gallantry&mdash;using that word in its proper,
-not its ridiculous sense&mdash;may be observed
-in the manners of the people. A degree
-of respect is shown to women, which may
-be favourably contrasted with the conduct
-of some polished nations. On the few occasions
-on which the young people meet,
-such as festivals and public gatherings in
-the village hall, they dance and sing, and
-behave with much delicacy; mutual attachments
-often spring out of such association,
-and the parents frequently promote the
-desire of union thus arising. In most
-countries, indeed, the barbarism of the
-law is mitigated in its influence by the
-universal operation of the natural human
-sentiments; it is no less true than strange,
-that mankind are usually better, not only
-than their rulers, but than their laws. The
-festivals are enlivened by dances and songs;
-the dances have been described as licentious
-and grotesque, but Marsden, the
-philosophical historian of Sumalda, only
-remarks that the figures displayed at English
-balls are often more immodest and
-absurd. The songs are usually extempore,
-and always turn on the subject of love.</p>
-
-<p>The existence or flourishing of any sentiment
-among a people with whom marriage
-is a commercial transaction, and who allow
-a plurality of wives, may be considered incredible;
-but as, in the first instance, Nature
-often asserts herself and the law is accommodated
-to her will, so, in the second, the
-nature of things prevents any general
-extension of the practice. Polygamy is
-permitted; but only a few chiefs have more
-than one companion. The general indigence
-of the people is one cause of this, for
-the perpetual weight of necessity is more
-powerful than the irregular impulse of
-animal passion. To be a second wife is
-also considered by many below the dignity
-of a reputable person. A man sometimes
-prefers a divorce for his daughter when he
-hears that her husband is about to take
-another wife. In the contract which stipulates
-for a division of property, polygamy
-is impossible, for this obvious reason, that
-the wife must have half the husband’s
-effects, which more than one, of course,
-could not do. The origin of polygamy in
-Sumalda and other parts of Asia has been
-traced by various ingenious writers to different
-causes; but being, as it is, the indulgence
-which is a privilege of wealth, it
-appears to have grown up with the whole
-system of manners; no natural reason seems
-to exist for it. The proportion of the
-sexes is nearly equal, and all the theories
-grounded on a different assumption fall to
-pieces. Wherever polygamy exists, women
-are purchased, and where they are thus
-viewed as property, wealthy men will surely
-distinguish themselves from their neighbours
-by a plurality of wives; and this
-happens in Rajpooratan, where the women
-are far less numerous than the men, as well
-as in other countries where they out-number
-them to an equal extent.</p>
-
-<p>In the country parts of Sumatra, chastity,
-says Marsden, exists more than among
-any other people with which he was acquainted.
-The same characteristic appears
-to distinguish them at the present day.
-Interest, as well as decency, renders the
-parents anxious to preserve the virtue of
-their daughters. The price of a virgin is
-so far above that of a woman who has
-been defiled, that the girls are jealously
-watched, lest their value deteriorate in
-this respect. But the truth of the Oriental<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span>
-idea is sometimes illustrated&mdash;that girls
-should marry as soon as they are marriageable,
-or they soon cease to be chaste.
-In Sumatra they remain single for some
-time after that period, and occasionally
-lose their chastity in consequence. In such
-cases the seducer, if discovered, may be
-forced to marry the girl, and pay her price,
-or make good the diminution he has occasioned
-in her value.</p>
-
-<p>Regular prostitution is little known, except
-in the towns. There, especially in the
-bazaars, women following that calling may
-be found mixed up with the concourse of
-sailors and others who support them. In
-the seaports especially, where the population
-is not only floating, but mixed from
-various nations, there is a great deal of
-profligacy, and troops of professional prostitutes
-ply the streets for hire. Europeans,
-however, who represent the general manners
-of the island from the experience of
-short visits to the maritime cities, convey
-a false impression of the people. The
-Sumatran is, as a rule, contented to marry
-and be faithful to his wife. This proceeds,
-however, it would seem, rather from some
-peculiar tone of temperament, than from
-any principles of morality; for their ideas on
-this subject are, at any rate, widely different
-from ours. Incest they hold as an offence;
-but except it occurs within the first degree
-it is regarded rather as an infraction
-of the conventional, than the natural law.
-It is sometimes punished by a fine; but
-sometimes also the marriage is confirmed,
-and the parties remain together.</p>
-
-<p>The chiefs of the cannibal nations of
-Batta have sometimes several concubines.
-A man once stole a woman of this kind&mdash;the
-favourite of her master&mdash;and was punished
-by being cut to pieces, roasted, and
-devoured. Among the people of Bulu
-China, on the east coast, a man may have
-four wives, and as many concubines as
-possible. Some of the chiefs possess one
-of these companions in each town or village
-of their country. Adultery is punished
-by death to both criminals.</p>
-
-<p>The general treatment of the sex in
-Sumatra is of an average character. They
-are not absolutely degraded, nor do they
-enjoy an elevated position. The poorer
-classes labour, and all are subject to the
-men; but on the whole they are far superior
-to Java, and, in a considerable degree,
-to many other Eastern countries<a name="FNanchor_67_67" id="FNanchor_67_67"></a><a href="#Footnote_67_67" class="fnanchor">[67]</a>.</p>
-
-
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Borneo.</span></h3>
-
-<p>The splendid achievements in the cause
-of civilization which Sir James Brooke has
-performed, have directed an extraordinary
-attention to the immense island of Borneo.
-Like the rest of the Indian Archipelago, it
-is, nevertheless, little known to the English
-reader&mdash;no complete accounts having been
-yet published. Sir James Brooke, however,
-with Captain Keppel, Captain Mundy,
-Mr. Hugh Low, and others, have thrown a
-new light on the country, and enabled us
-to discern many striking features in the
-social system of the races which inhabit it.
-The uniformity of manners observable in
-Celebes does not exist in Borneo. The
-inhabitants of Borneo, for the most part,
-remain in an inferior stage of the barbarian
-state. There are, however, among them
-many varieties of the social law. Some
-are the purest savages, wandering unclothed
-in the depths of the forests, and subsisting
-alone on the spontaneous gifts of
-nature. Others cultivate the soil, dwell in
-comfortable villages, and traffic with their
-neighbours. The river communities are
-far more advanced than those who live far
-from the means of water-carriage; and the
-inhabitants of the maritime towns are more
-educated, and also more profligate, than
-any. They have been depraved by that
-bloody and destructive system of piracy,
-which was, until recently, the curse of
-the Archipelago; but when Sir James
-Brooke’s policy has been maturely developed,
-we may expect to see vast ameliorations
-in their manners.</p>
-
-<p>The state of morals among the Sea
-Dyaks, or dwellers on the coast, is low,
-even in comparison with the average of
-other Asiatic races. There is no social law
-to govern the intercourse of the youths of
-both sexes before marriage. Even the
-authority of parents is not recognised to
-any extent. The Dyak girl is supposed
-capable of selecting a husband for herself;
-and before she is betrothed to a man she
-may cohabit, without disgrace, with any
-other with whom she may please to associate.
-The women appear to make liberal
-use of this privilege. Loose as their conduct
-is, however, before marriage, they are
-subject afterwards to a more stringent
-code. As a man is only allowed one wife,
-he requires strict fidelity in her, and if she
-break faith with him, she is punished by a
-severe beating and a heavy fine. On his
-part, moreover, he must be continent, for
-the penalty is the same for either sex.
-Cases of adultery are not frequent in times
-of peace, though during war more licence<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span>
-is allowed. The Dyak women seldom engage
-in intrigues with Malays or other
-foreigners.</p>
-
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter illowp63" id="i_i_0270" style="max-width: 63.625em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_0270h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>DYAK WOMAN&mdash;BORNEO.</p>
-
-<p>[<i>From</i> <span class="smcap">Marryat’s</span> “<i>Indian Archipelago.</i>”]</p></div>
-</div>
-
-
-
-<p>From their long intercourse with the
-Malays, who are all Mohammedans, the
-Dyaks might have been expected to borrow
-such of their customs as encourage the
-savage in the gratification of his animal
-appetites, and would enable him to live in
-lordly indolence on the labour of his
-wives. Monogamy, however, still prevails
-with all the tribes.</p>
-
-<p>The ceremony of marriage&mdash;if such it
-can be called&mdash;is simple to the last degree
-with all except a few communities, who
-practise some particular rites. The consent
-of the woman is necessary to the
-match, which is made without the intervention
-of the parents, who, after the mutual
-willingness of the young people has
-been expressed, cannot refuse their sanction.
-The bride and bridegroom meet, a feast is
-given, and the transaction is concluded.</p>
-
-<p>There are certain restrictions on the immoral
-intercourse of the young people, to
-which we have alluded. If a girl becomes
-pregnant, the father of her child must
-marry her. Such an occurrence often precedes
-a match. Men and women live with
-each other on trial, and if no signs of offspring
-appear, the acquaintance is discontinued.
-Constancy during such an intercourse
-is not rigidly required. Mr. Hugh
-Low was assured that, in some communities,
-the laxity of manners was carried so far,
-that when a chief was travelling from place
-to place, hospitality required that at every
-village he should be furnished with a girl
-as his companion while he rested. Such a
-practice is general among the Kyans who
-inhabit a large part of the interior of
-Borneo. The fear of not becoming the
-father of a family&mdash;a misfortune greatly
-dreaded by the Dyaks&mdash;is supposed to encourage
-the loose intercourse of the unmarried
-people, since, as we have said, a man
-always marries the woman by whom he has
-a child.</p>
-
-<p>Among the Dyaks who dwell on the hills
-in the interior, a higher morality prevails.
-The licentious intercourse of the unmarried
-people is not permitted. The young and
-single men are obliged to sleep apart in a
-separate building, and the girls are carefully
-kept from them. Marriage is contracted
-at a very early age, and adultery is
-almost unknown. Polygamy is not allowed;
-but some of the chiefs indulge in a
-second wife or concubine&mdash;an infringement
-of the law which is held in great reprobation,
-though it cannot be prevented. The
-degrees of consanguinity within which
-marriage is prohibited extend beyond cousins.
-One man shocked the public feeling
-of his tribe by marrying his granddaughter&mdash;his
-wife and the girl’s mother, his own
-child, being still alive. The people affirmed
-that ruin and darkness had covered
-the face of the sun ever since the day when
-that incestuous union took place. Nevertheless,
-as they adhere almost constantly to
-the practice of marrying within their own
-tribe, the whole commonwealth comes, in
-the course of time, to be united by distant
-ties of blood, which has been assigned as
-a cause for the cases of insanity not uncommon
-among them. This may be true,
-since it is a fact that many royal families,
-constrained to perpetual intermarriage,
-have dwindled into a race of imbeciles in
-consequence. The women put faith in medicines
-to render them fruitful; but they
-never resort to the custom of procuring
-abortion adopted by the Malay prostitutes
-on the coast. These women eat large quantities
-of honey, largely mixed with hot
-spices, which produces the desired result.
-It is said that among the people of the
-south numerous public prostitutes are to
-be found, though this is on the equivocal
-authority of a German missionary, whose
-testimony is much to be suspected. No
-word for prostitution appears to exist in
-the Dyak language. Among the Malays
-such women are numerous.</p>
-
-<p>The Sibnouan females present a fair
-average of the manners prevailing with
-the various divisions of that singular race.
-Their women are not concealed, nor are
-they shy before strangers. They will bathe
-naked in the presence of men; yet many of
-the decencies of life are observed. Though
-the unmarried people sleep promiscuously
-in a common room, married couples have
-separate chambers. The labour of the
-household, with all the drudgery, is allotted
-to the females; they grind rice, carry
-burdens, fetch water, catch fish, and till
-the fields, but are far from occupying the
-degraded condition of the wives of the
-North-American Indians; their situation
-may, indeed, be compared to that of women
-in the humblest classes in England. They
-eat with the men, and take part in their
-concerns as well as their festivals. This is
-an agricultural and fishing tribe.</p>
-
-<p>Among the Kayans a <i>naked woman</i> cannot
-under any circumstances be killed, or
-a woman with child.</p>
-
-<p>Among the Mohammedan Malays, as we
-have said, there is more civilization and
-corruption of manners in another form.
-They are polygamists, indulge in concubines,
-encourage prostitutes, and some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span>times
-treat their wives with great tyranny.
-An English physician lately received a
-message from one of the wives of a chief&mdash;celebrated
-for fostering privacy&mdash;desiring
-a secret interview with him at a secluded
-spot in the jungle. He went with the high
-belief that the woman was enamoured of
-his good looks. He met her, found her
-young and pretty, but with an air of firmness
-and dignity which showed that it was
-no frivolous purpose which had led her to
-take so dangerous a step. She complained
-of her miserable life, of the despotism under
-which she suffered, declared she would endure
-it no longer, and requested the doctor
-to furnish her with a small dose of arsenic
-to poison, not herself, but her husband.
-Of course he refused, and the poor creature
-went away sorely disappointed.</p>
-
-<p>The rich Malays allow their wives to
-keep female slaves for their service. The
-position of these captives is, under any circumstances,
-unenviable; should, however,
-one of them, by her personal qualities, excite
-the jealousy of her mistress; her case is
-miserable, until she can procure another
-owner. Sometimes the slaves are used as
-concubines, when by law they become free,
-though they seldom avail themselves of
-their liberty, preferring to be supported by
-their old masters, while prostituting themselves
-to others. The wealthy chiefs spend
-large sums in the purchase of concubines.
-The marriage ceremony is performed according
-to the ritual of the Koran, but is
-often neglected.</p>
-
-<p>The prostitutes who congregate in the
-seaport towns have not been particularly
-described. They appear to be divided into
-classes: those who cohabit temporarily with
-the Malays, are paid a certain price, and
-exchange their residence; those who prostitute
-themselves indiscriminately to all
-comers; and those who are supported by
-the sailors, and profligate Chinese, who invariably
-create such a class wherever they
-settle. Of their numbers we have no
-account, nor of their modes of life; but
-it is certain they exist in considerable
-numbers<a name="FNanchor_68_68" id="FNanchor_68_68"></a><a href="#Footnote_68_68" class="fnanchor">[68]</a>.</p>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">PROSTITUTION AMONG THE SEMI-CIVILIZED
-NATIONS.</h2>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Introduction.</span></h3>
-
-</div>
-
-<p>Surveying the social aspects of the globe,
-we discover an immense range occupied by
-races partially civilized, which connect the
-barbarian with the polished communities.
-Some of these, perhaps, are placed below
-European nations rather because they differ
-from, than because they are inferior to
-them.</p>
-
-<p>The influence of every great religion is
-powerful in various divisions of the vast
-range. Buddha and Bramah have their
-millions of worshippers in China, India,
-and the intervening regions. The prophet
-is followed by whole nations in eastern
-Europe, Asia, and Africa. Christianity has
-numerous adherents on the plains of Syria,
-Palestine, and the countries of Asia Minor.
-An equal variety of institutions prevails
-among these half-educated races. British
-policy in India; paternal despotism in
-China; republican simplicity in Arabia,
-Celebes, and Afghanistan; religious tyranny
-in the empire of the Porte; and patriarchal
-freedom among the nomades of Asia Minor,
-exercise different influences on this mighty
-and mixed population. In some we find
-a singular purity of manners, as among the
-Bedouins of Arabia; with others, morals
-are more gross than among the worst
-savages; but in all there is a perceptible
-contrast between the civilized states of
-Europe on the one hand, and the barbarian
-countries of Africa, Australasia, and the
-Pacific, on the other.</p>
-
-<p>The position of the female sex among
-half-civilized races, as among all others, may
-be taken as a standard to measure their
-progress. It differs, in some remarkable
-particulars, from that occupied by women
-in purely savage or highly-civilized communities.
-In the one, where any regulations
-exist they are rude and coarse, and only
-obeyed where their action is constant, which
-it seldom is. In the other, men fear blame
-more than the law, and manners perform
-what legislation is unable to accomplish.
-In most of the countries of which we are
-now treating, government endeavours to
-rule with parental discipline the minutest
-concerns of life, to affix a penalty to every
-fault, to adjust with nicety the slightest
-relations of individuals with individuals, to
-guard morals by police and suppress profligacy
-by imperative decrees. So it is in
-China, so in Japan, and so in a less degree in
-the dominions of every Asiatic prince. In
-Egypt Mohammed Ali attempted, by one
-stroke of his pen, to blot out the stain of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span>
-prostitution. He banished the old professors
-of that class, and new ones were
-created from the remainder of the population.
-In Persia a royal decree forbade prostitution,
-and men immediately prostituted
-the right of marriage to evade the law.
-In China the Emperors have, from time to
-time, fulminated proclamations against all
-profligate persons; but they have flung
-their invectives into the void, and no impression
-has been produced. The coarse and
-awkward efforts of a barbarian despot’s will
-never produce any better result. The Draconic
-decree is promulgated and the offences
-it is intended to suppress continue to be
-perpetrated as before. A distinction must
-be drawn, however, between those communities
-in which severe laws are enacted to
-produce, and those in which they are inspired
-by, public morality. In the one case
-they are worthless, because they are in
-hostility to the prevailing system; in the
-other they are the signification, because they
-are the embodiment, of the national feeling.
-They may be symptoms, but they can never
-be causes, of virtuous manners.</p>
-
-<p>The view of the half-civilized nations,
-which is here presented, includes sketches
-of India, of Afghanistan, Kashmir, the
-Hindu-Chinese races, China, Japan, Celebes,
-Ceylon, Persia, Egypt, the Barbary States,
-Syria, Palestine, Asia Minor, Arabia, and
-Turkey. In all of them polygamy exists,
-though to a very small extent in Ceylon.
-It will be seen that the popular ideas
-on this subject are somewhat exaggerated.
-Most persons unaccustomed to read, or reflect,
-imagine that throughout the East
-all men have their harems filled with
-wives, who are beautiful prisoners, immured
-in perpetual seclusion, slaves to the
-will of their lord, and never allowed to
-move unless guarded by a fierce black
-eunuch, or a duenna still more dark and
-angry. It is left for those who are accustomed
-to peruse the accounts of veracious
-travellers, to know that polygamy, though
-allowed to almost all, is practically a privilege
-only of the rich, and not indulged
-in even by the majority of these. The
-general notions, also, of female seclusion are
-extravagant. Women in Turkey enjoy far
-more liberty than is usually imagined. So
-do they even in China, though very wealthy
-husbands, especially among the Hindus,
-shut up their wives and never allow a
-stranger’s glance to fall upon their countenances.
-This excessive jealousy is not
-always disagreeable to the objects of it;
-indeed, in the harem where three or four
-wives are congregated, the youngest and
-most beautiful sometimes makes it her chief
-triumph over her mortified rivals, that she
-is watched, guarded, shaded even from the
-light, and immured beyond the sound of a
-man’s voice, while they are far less religiously
-secluded. Thus the sex, influenced
-during ages by a peculiar system of manners,
-accommodates itself to them, invariably
-sinking or rising to the level assigned it by
-the civilization of the period.</p>
-
-<p>Throughout the world the numerical disparity
-of the sexes is nowhere such as to
-induce the belief that polygamy is natural to
-certain countries. It is practised in many
-where the females are less numerous than
-the males, in consequence of infanticide.
-Everywhere, when extensively prevalent,
-it produces injurious results, diminishing
-the fecundity of women, and by no means
-preventing men from encouraging a class
-of professional prostitutes. There is, indeed,
-in this idea, something debasing to
-the female sex. That men should multiply
-their wives that they may not be induced
-to visit harlots, appears to degrade the institution
-of marriage, which was not intended
-for the satisfaction of sensual appetites,
-but for the continuation of the human
-species. Polygamy is opposed to increase,
-and thus appears unnatural; still more
-revolting to our ideas of civilization is the
-custom of polyandrism, or one wife with
-many husbands. It obtains in some regions
-of the Himalaya, among the Nairs of Malabar,
-and in the Cingalese kingdom of Kandy.
-Nowhere else do we find more than a trace
-of it, and it is singular to find a practice
-so utterly repugnant to the general sense
-of Orientals, prevailing close to the region
-in which men are most jealous and women
-most carefully guarded. In Hindustan some
-men will not divorce a wife whom they
-thoroughly dislike, because they will not
-allow her to be unveiled by a stranger; yet
-among the neighbouring Hindu-Chinese
-nations, a man will frequently prostitute
-his wife for gain. On the southern coast,
-and in Ceylon, eight men will live with one
-wife. This proves that institutions have
-no geographical distribution. Both kinds
-of polygamy are equally opposed to the
-natural increase of population.</p>
-
-<p>Where nobler qualities distinguish the
-men of any race, we still find, as we ascend
-the scale of civilization, that women rise
-with them. In Afghanistan, in Celebes, and
-among the Bedouins of Arabia, the male sex
-is distinguished for its upright, dignified,
-and manly character. Chastity in women
-is prized, and because it is prized it is preserved.
-Where, on the contrary, the husband
-desires his wife may be faithful to him, not
-that she may be virtuous, but that he may<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span>
-not be robbed or wronged, it frequently
-occurs that she only keeps her vow until
-she has an opportunity to break it. On the
-whole, however, female chastity among the
-Hindus and Mohammedans is more general
-than from some popular accounts might be
-inferred. With the mixed races&mdash;hybrid
-in blood, manners, and religion&mdash;an inferior
-state of morality prevails.</p>
-
-<p>With respect to actual prostitution, the
-region which is most free from it is the
-desert country of Arabia. It flourishes
-most, perhaps, in India and China. The
-flower boats of the Pearl River, the temples
-of the Deccan, the kiosks of Barbary, the
-Ghawazee villages of Egypt, the dancing
-houses of Java, and the tea-gardens of
-Japan, were all originally consecrated to
-vice, which nowhere flourishes more
-rankly than in those countries where despotism
-has paralyzed the virtuous energies
-of men.</p>
-
-<p>Almost everywhere the prostitute class,
-among Eastern nations, has addicted itself
-to other pursuits&mdash;to music and the dance&mdash;to
-inflame the lust which it designs itself to
-satisfy. In many countries also the prostitutes
-have been allied to the priesthood.
-Thus in India they have formed a sacred
-class; in the cities of Arabia they are
-encouraged by the Moolahs to frequent
-places of worship; elsewhere they have
-flourished under the auspices of government,
-which has placed them under the
-charge of inspectors and derived profit from
-their degradation. In such countries they
-carry on their profession more openly, and
-are more openly encouraged, than in others
-where their occupation is clandestine.</p>
-
-<p>Some of the nations included in this
-division of the subject appear to have
-reached the last stage of their native civilization.
-Among these is China: her further
-progress will not be influenced by internal
-causes, but will be regulated by contact
-with a superior race. In India the
-process has already begun, and in the
-condition of women, and consequently, also,
-in their national character, the change is
-becoming apparent. Widow-burning is
-already a thing of the past; the blot of
-infanticide will soon be obliterated from the
-face of society; the prejudice which prevented
-the second marriage of women, and
-drove thousands to suicide or prostitution,
-is gradually yielding before reason; the
-barriers of caste are being broken down,
-and more natural relations restored to
-society. Women in India are the chief
-degradation to the sacred class of Brahmins,
-in whom were combined the fanaticism of
-idolatrous priests and the pride of nobles.
-Thus the contact of English with Oriental
-civilization, gentle as it has been, is leading
-to the subjugation of the latter before the
-more humane and liberal principles of the
-former. But it is singular to find that much
-more difficulty is experienced in modifying
-the social institutions of half-educated,
-than in changing those of barbarous races.
-With the one they are based on habit, with
-the other on prejudice; and the pride of a
-little learning induces the one to cling to
-them, while the simplicity of the savage
-allows him easily to yield.</p>
-
-<p>The sentiment of chastity is nowhere discovered
-pure except among very simple and
-unsophisticated, or very refined and polished
-nations. It is found in the Bedouin encampments
-of Arabia, it is found in the pastoral
-communities of Afghanistan, and it is found
-among the wandering shepherds of Asia
-Minor; but amid the barbaric millions of
-China, with their innumerable maxims of
-virtue, the true sentiment is very rare. So
-also is that of love, which belongs also
-to the infancy and to the maturity of nations,
-for in the intervening stages it becomes
-mingled with an alloy of interest, sensuality,
-or superstition.</p>
-
-<p>Prostitution, however, belongs to all ages
-and to every nation. But it assumes various
-forms in the different classes of mankind:
-it is loose and scattered among the
-barbarous tribes not yet settled under the
-forms of regular society; it is systematized
-and acknowledged among the half-barbarous
-races; it is adopted as a sacred institution,
-in regions where the object of the priesthood
-is, to enslave the souls of men through
-their senses; it is encouraged in States
-where the desire of government is to absorb
-the people in the pursuit of animal gratification,
-and thus distract their attention
-from public affairs; it is submitted to a
-strict, though awkward discipline in countries
-where the rulers desire to mimic the
-social code of civilized commonwealths; and
-as society progresses, though it becomes
-distinct and conspicuous, it exchanges the
-highway for the bye-street, the day for the
-night, withdraws from other classes of the
-people, and becomes a despised sisterhood,
-cut off from intercourse with the moral
-classes of women.</p>
-
-<p>Various stages of this process may have
-been remarked in the view of the condition
-and character of women, and the extent
-and state of the prostitute system in
-barbarous countries. We now enter on the
-half-educated communities which occupy
-the greater part of the world’s surface, and
-these will lead in the communities of Europe,
-to which they are linked, on the one hand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span>
-by Turkey, and on the other by the inhospitable
-deserts of Siberia.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Celebes.</span></h3>
-
-<p>In a region so vast as the Indian Archipelago
-it would be useless to dwell separately
-upon every island, especially as many characteristics
-are common to most of them.
-We have taken Java and Sumatra as representing
-the Sunda group, and we shall
-take Celebes as the head of a family of
-isles, with Borneo as another. Incidental
-notices of any peculiarities in the lesser
-isles will suffice.</p>
-
-<p>Celebes, in its political and social state,
-is far in advance of the other countries in
-insular Asia. It enjoys in many of its
-States a considerable degree of civilization.
-The idea of freedom, so rare among barbarous
-races, is recognised in its political
-system, and representative institutions
-have actually developed themselves into a
-republican form of government. Where
-such progress has been made in the art of
-civil polity, we may look with confidence
-for a superior social scheme, and this we
-actually find. It should be premised that
-the Indian Archipelago is peopled by two
-races&mdash;the brown, or Malay; and the black,
-or Ethiopian. The former is the more
-powerful, intelligent, and polished, and
-has therefore become the conquering race.
-It has subdued the Negro hordes of the
-various islands, and is now paramount in
-all the great native States. In Java, Sumatra,
-and Celebes, it has entirely displaced
-the original possessors of the soil,
-who dwell only in scattered communities,
-defended from annihilation by forests and
-hills, which serve in some degree to balance
-that native valour which has made the
-Malays an imperial nation, subdued in
-their turn by the more powerful race from
-Europe.</p>
-
-<p>In the States of Celebes women are not
-excluded from their share in the public
-business of the commonwealth, though their
-influence is usually indirect. They rule
-their own households, give counsel to the
-men on all important occasions, and even,
-when the monarchy is elective, are frequently
-raised to the throne. They eat
-with their husbands, and from the same
-dish, only using the left side. They appear
-mixed with the other sex at public festivals,
-and, when intrusted with authority,
-preside over the councils, and are vigorous
-in the exercise of their prerogative. Nor
-is peace the only era of their reign. They
-have sometimes presented themselves in
-the field, and animated the warriors to
-battle by applauding the courageous and
-upbraiding the timid.</p>
-
-<p>In the State of Wajo, which is, perhaps,
-the most advanced in the island, one check
-upon civilization exists, and that is the extravagant
-pride of birth. The spirit, if not the
-actual institution of caste, exists, and is productive
-of the usual evils attending an artificial
-division of classes. A woman of pure
-descent dare not mingle her blood with
-that of an inferior, though a man may
-ally himself with a girl of humbler station.
-The offspring of such a connection, however,
-carry with them an appellation denoting
-their imperfect parentage.</p>
-
-<p>Polygamy is universally permitted among
-the Bugis of Celebes; but certain restrictions,
-unknown in other Mohammedan
-countries, attach to the privilege. Two
-wives seldom inhabit the same house, and
-for three or four to do so is an extremely
-rare circumstance. Usually each has a
-separate dwelling, and in this private establishment
-she generally supports herself,
-with occasional assistance from her husband.
-The men can easily procure a divorce,
-and when the consent is mutual
-nothing remains but to separate as quickly
-as possible. If the woman only, however,
-desire to be set free, she must produce
-some reasonable ground of complaint, for
-the mere neglect of conjugal duties is not
-considered a sufficient cause. Many years
-pass sometimes without any intercourse
-taking place between man and wife. Nevertheless,
-though many of them indulge
-in polygamy, concubinage, or the keeping
-of female slaves for sensual purposes, is
-rarely practised. Many of the rajahs,
-however, take women of inferior rank to
-be their companions until they marry a
-woman of equal birth, when their old partners
-are divorced.</p>
-
-<p>In Wajo, the marriage state, though
-characterised by these extraordinary customs,
-is decently preserved, and more honourable
-than with any other Eastern
-nation. So equal, indeed, is the proportion
-of the sexes, that not only is the throne, or
-rather president’s chair, given to them,
-but also the great offices of state. Four
-out of six of the great councillors are sometimes
-women. They ride about, transact
-business, and visit even foreigners as they
-please, and enjoy every advantage. Their
-manners are easy and self-possessed, though
-too listless and slow to be fascinating to
-an European. Their morals, as well as
-those of the men, are far superior to that
-of any other race in Eastern or Western
-Asia, and prostitution is all but unknown.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span>
-Far from modest, in the English sense of
-the term, they are yet very chaste; and,
-though they maintain little reserve in
-their conduct towards strangers, never
-exhibit the inclination to be indecent or
-licentious. Even the dancing girls, though
-of loose virtue, dress with the utmost modesty,
-but their performances are occasionally
-lascivious.</p>
-
-<p>Throughout the beautiful and interesting
-island of Celebes the same state of things
-prevails, and wherever the women are most
-free, they are least licentious. The intercourse
-of the sexes is unrestrained; the
-youth meet without hindrance; and chastity
-is guarded more by the sense of honour
-and by the pride of virtue, than by the
-jealousy of husbands or the rigid surveillance
-of parents. On the whole, therefore,
-the condition of the sex in Celebes is elevated.
-That women are there perverted in
-some of their manners, and that they do
-not approach that exalted state which was
-accorded to them in the Attic states of
-Greece, is true, because the people are
-barbarians. It is necessary always, in considering
-the state and character of women
-in any country, to hold in view the state
-and character of the men also. We are to
-apply no unvarying standard to measure
-the condition of one sex, for it is only by
-viewing it relatively to the other that we
-can arrive at a sound conclusion. The
-Bugis of Celebes are among the most manly,
-enterprising, and virtuous nations of Asia;
-and their women are proportionably free,
-chaste, and happy<a name="FNanchor_69_69" id="FNanchor_69_69"></a><a href="#Footnote_69_69" class="fnanchor">[69]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in Persia.</span></h3>
-
-<p>In Persia the Oriental idea of the female
-sex is completely developed. Women are
-there the property of men and their enjoyment
-of life is circumscribed to suit the
-pleasure of their masters; among the wandering
-tribes, indeed, they go unveiled, and
-breathe the air of partial freedom; but
-among the fixed inhabitants of cities and
-villages, their lot is one of seclusion and
-servitude. Subservient as they are to the
-will and caprice of the supreme sex, the estimation
-in which they are held is extremely
-low. The lower classes consider them, indeed,
-valuable in proportion to the amount
-of household labour they perform; the
-higher classes look on them as the means of
-sensual gratification. We find, it is true, in
-Persian romance and poetry, eulogiums on
-the beauty of their women, and songs of
-devotion to them; but they are the objects
-of barter, and are consequently in a despised
-condition.</p>
-
-<p>There is actually no station assigned to
-women in Persia; they are recognised only
-as ministers to the wants or pleasures of the
-male sex. They are what their husbands
-choose to make them. Instances occur where
-a favourite wife or concubine is ruler of the
-house, or a mother exercises strong influence
-over her son, but these are rare examples;
-women, in total seclusion, are submissive
-slaves. The wives of the Shah,
-especially, vegetate within the walls of a
-splendid prison; occasionally one of them
-is permitted to walk abroad, but then all
-must fly from the route she takes, and no
-one dare look upon her on pain of death.
-She is paraded in stately procession, and
-eunuchs run in front to clear the way,
-firing guns loaded with ball to frighten
-any bold adventurer who may be reckless
-enough to remain on the line of the
-cortege. This isolation of the sex pervades
-all the wealthier orders of Persian society;
-even brothers are not allowed to see their
-sisters after a certain age.</p>
-
-<p>Polygamy is practised in Persia. The
-palace especially has a crowded harem;
-numbers of female officers and attendants
-wait on the Shah. The wives and concubines
-are arranged with the most rigid
-regard to the rules of precedence; none
-but those of the highest rank and most
-distinguished favour dare sit down in the
-presence of their royal lord; over all the rest
-the strictest discipline is preserved. The
-king is said sometimes to have a thousand
-women in his palace, and much skill is
-required to preserve decorum among them;
-some he has given away to his principal
-officers. The chief of them lives in splendour,
-wearing garments so thickly embroidered
-with pearls that they impede her
-movements; but the others are subject to
-much rigour, especially under the savage
-eunuchs whose favourite mode of chastising
-the female slaves is to strike them on the
-mouth with the heel of a slipper. However,
-large numbers of them lead a pleasant,
-while all enjoy an indolent life, lounging
-for hours in the warm bath, whence they
-emerge, with enervated frames, to spend
-an equal time in the coquetry of the
-toilette. All the arts which vanity can
-devise are exhausted to render their persons
-attractive to the Shah, whose favours
-are courted as much as his displeasure is
-feared. In the one case, the fortunate
-woman is elevated, for a brief period at
-least, to the very ideal of her hopes, while,
-in the other, she may be fastened in a sack
-and hurled from the top of a lofty tower.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The Persians generally believe themselves
-entitled to unlimited indulgence in the delights
-of the harem. Their religious law confines
-them to four wives, but they may have
-as many concubines or other female companions
-as they can support. The priests
-are expected to be the most chaste, but are
-usually the most licentious; it is remarked
-as an extraordinary circumstance of one
-celebrated spiritual leader, that it was
-affirmed that he never had connection with
-any other woman than his four legitimate
-wives.</p>
-
-<p>A Persian is permitted, as well by the
-enactments of the law as by common usage,
-to take a female, not within the prohibited
-degrees of affinity, in three different ways:
-he may marry, he may purchase, or he
-may hire her. Persons are frequently betrothed
-during infancy; but the engagement
-is not considered binding unless contracted
-by both the actual parents. The
-girl, indeed, may, even under these circumstances,
-refuse her consent, but this
-privilege is rather nominal than real. If
-she resolutely refuse, she may be taken back
-to the recesses of her parent’s harem, and
-there chastened until she chooses to submit;
-and it is not long before she is whipped
-into compliance. The nuptial ceremony
-must be witnessed by at least two men, or
-one man and two women. An officer of the
-law attends to attest the contract. The
-written document is delivered to the wife,
-who carefully preserves it, for it is the deed
-that entitles her to the amount of her
-dower, which is part of her provision in
-case of being left a widow, and her sole
-dependence in case of being divorced. Her
-right in this respect is strictly guarded by
-law, and by her male friends, and it is one
-of which the women of Persia are extremely
-jealous. The marriage festival is usually
-very expensive, for the reputation of the
-husband is supposed to be measured by the
-splendour of his nuptials.</p>
-
-<p>Though a man may, when he pleases, put
-away his wife, the expense and scandal
-attending such a proceeding make it rare.
-It seldom occurs, indeed, except among the
-poorer classes, who do not so rigidly seclude
-their females; among the wealthier and
-prouder, a man would be ashamed to expose
-a woman, with whom he had once associated,
-to be seen by others, unless in the case, of
-course, of a common woman. Divorce never
-takes place on account of adultery, which is
-punished with death. Bad temper and extravagance
-on the woman’s side, and neglect
-or cruel usage on the husband’s, may be
-urged by either as reasons for separation.
-If the husband sues for a divorce, he pays
-back the dowry he received with his bride;
-if the wife commences the proceeding, she
-loses her claim. In this, as in all other
-respects, the male sex has the advantage. A
-man who desires to be relieved of a disagreeable
-partner, sometimes uses her so
-cruelly that she is compelled to open the
-suit, by which means he gets rid of her,
-but keeps her money.</p>
-
-<p>The Persian may have as many female
-slaves as he desires or is able to maintain.
-They earn no advantage of position by
-becoming his concubines instead of the
-sweepers of his house. They are still in
-slavery, and may at any time be sold again
-if they displease their masters. A woman
-so cast off is in a bad position, for she
-must then sink into worse degradation
-than before. Mohammedan jealousy, however,
-serves, in some respects, as a kind of
-protection for the woman; for a man, having
-once cohabited with her, will seldom
-allow her to fall into the hands of any
-other.</p>
-
-<p>One very extraordinary custom prevails
-in Persia, and seems now peculiar to that
-country, though it is said to have existed
-in Arabia at the time of the prophet’s
-appearance there. Mohammed tolerated
-it; but his successor, Omar, abolished it,
-as a species of legal prostitution injurious
-to the morals of the people. All the Turks
-and others, therefore, who hold his precepts
-in veneration, abhor and condemn the
-practice, but it still obtains. It is that of
-hiring a companion. A man and a woman
-agree to cohabit for a certain period&mdash;some
-for a few days, others for 99 years.
-In the one case it is simply an act of prostitution;
-in the other it is morally equivalent
-to marriage, though the woman acquires
-no right to property of any kind,
-except the price of her hire. This sum is
-agreed upon at the first compact; and
-though the man may discard his companion
-when he pleases, he must pay her
-the whole amount promised. If both are
-willing, the arrangement may be renewed
-at the expiration of the term, which is
-generally short. This kind of intercourse
-usually takes place among persons of very
-unequal stations. The women are generally
-of a low class, and are, for the most
-part, a peculiar sort of prostitutes, if prostitution
-mean the hiring out of a woman’s
-person for money. The children springing
-from such a union are supported by the
-father. In one circumstance the custom
-differs from the ordinary prostitution of
-other countries. When a man has parted
-from a woman of this class, she is forbidden
-to form any new connection until a suffi<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span>cient
-time has elapsed to prove whether or
-not she is pregnant from the last. This
-precaution is to hinder the chance of a
-man’s being burdened with the support of
-a child of which he is not actually the
-father.</p>
-
-<p>The characteristics of women in Persia
-agree with this picture of their treatment.
-They are degraded down to the level of
-their condition. Leaving a few exceptions
-out of sight, we find the rich and idle
-vain, sensual, and absorbed by animal
-desires; the poorer classes, licentious and
-intriguing.</p>
-
-<p>The peculiar customs of the country
-cause strange occurrences to take place.
-A man is sometimes deceived into marrying
-the wrong woman, under cover of the
-inviolable drapery which veils her face.
-He is usually content to stow her away in
-his harem, and solace himself with a concubine,
-or the company of prostitutes; for
-though he may hold that his own wife and
-daughter would be polluted by the eye of
-a strange man, and though he may be able
-to fill his harem with beautiful slaves, the
-Persian voluptuary is not content. He
-must associate with the more brilliant and
-lively beauties, who are ready to receive
-him in various retired houses of the city.
-These houses are generally in obscure
-places, dull and uninviting on the outside,
-but fitted up in the interior with much
-elegance and luxury.</p>
-
-<p>Formerly there was a numerous class of
-public dancing girls in Persia, and the
-beauty of their persons, and the melody of
-their voices, were celebrated by the most
-famous poets of the country. They were
-wealthy and popular, continuing to figure
-prominently at the entertainments of the
-people until the family of Futteh Ali Khan
-rose to the throne; they were then discouraged
-by a monarch who crowded his
-harem with a thousand women, and, in the
-midst of this multitude of concubines,
-issued edicts for the suppression of immorality.
-The dancing girls were prohibited
-from approaching the court, and compelled
-to seek a livelihood in the distant provinces
-of the empire. It is not to be denied that
-considerable reform has taken place in the
-manners of the people; but profligacy is
-still a marked characteristic of the cities in
-Persia.</p>
-
-<p>Under the Sefi dynasty morals reached
-the last stage of depravity. The royal
-treasury was filled with the proceeds of
-immorality. Public brothels were licensed
-and became extremely numerous. A large
-revenue was drawn from them. In Ispahan
-alone no less than 30,000 prostitutes paid
-an annual sum to government. The governors
-of provinces and cities also granted
-the same privileges for sums of money, and
-there was scarcely a town of any size in
-Persia which had not at least one large
-brothel, crowded with inmates. The prostitutes
-were all licensed, and known by the
-appellation of <i>cahbeha</i>, or <i>the worthless</i>. An
-old traveller, whose authority is accepted
-by the best writers, describes the system
-then prevailing; it displays the corruption
-of manners in the open and systematic
-character of profligacy. As soon as the
-merchants’ shops were closed in the cities
-the brothels were opened; the prostitutes
-then issued into the streets, dispersed themselves,
-and repaired to particular localities.
-There they sat down in rows, closely veiled;
-behind each company stood an old woman
-holding an extinguished candle in her hand.
-When any man approached with a sign that
-he desired to make a bargain, this harridan
-lit her taper, and led him down the line of
-women, removing the veil of each in her
-turn until he made his choice. The girl
-was then dispatched with him, under the
-guidance of a slave, to the house, which
-usually stood close by the way-side. All
-payments were made to the old woman or
-“<i>mother</i>” of the company.</p>
-
-<p>Under the reigning family this open
-system has been checked, and prostitution,
-not being licensed, is a more secret system.
-Nevertheless, there abound in the cities of
-Persia numerous brothels, to which the men
-proceed after dark, and where they are
-entertained as they desire; numbers of
-women are always ready to hire themselves
-out to any who desire to associate with
-them.</p>
-
-<p>The females of the wandering tribes are
-far more virtuous than those of the cities;
-they are also more happy and free, for if
-they share the labours of the men, they
-share also their pleasures and hopes; far
-from being secluded, they are allowed to
-converse even with strangers, and grace the
-hospitality of the tents with modest but
-polite attention. The men seldom have
-more than one wife, and abhor the practice
-of hiring women, though their priests have
-made attempts to introduce it among them.
-Still, even the women of these tribes are
-below their proper condition, and the men
-as they become wealthier become more corrupt;
-when, also, they sojourn for a while
-in the cities, they speedily contribute to the
-general profligacy, and often exceed the
-regular inhabitants in vice. Among those,
-however, in the nomade state, rape and
-adultery are rare, and when committed the
-woman suffers a cruel death at the hands of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span>
-her nearest kindred. In the cities females
-are seldom publicly executed, but are put
-to death in private, or given as slaves to
-men of infamous occupation<a name="FNanchor_70_70" id="FNanchor_70_70"></a><a href="#Footnote_70_70" class="fnanchor">[70]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution among the Afghans.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Women in Afghanistan are sold to the
-men. A marriage is a commercial transaction.
-The practice is recognised by the
-Moslem law, and is here, as in most parts
-of Asia, universally adopted. The price
-varies, of course, according to the condition
-of the bridegroom or his friends. Females,
-consequently, are in some measure regarded
-as property. They are in absolute subjection
-to the other sex. A husband may
-at any time, from mere caprice, and without
-assigning any reason, divorce his wife;
-but a woman cannot, unless she have good
-grounds, and sue for the separation before a
-magistrate. Even this is seldom done.
-When a widow marries, the friends of her
-first husband may claim the price that was
-originally paid for her; but usually the
-brother of the deceased inherits this property,
-and any one else usurping his privilege
-becomes a mortal enemy. However,
-the widow is not forced to take a new partner
-against her will. Indeed, if she have
-children with claims upon her care, it is
-considered more respectable to lead a single
-life.</p>
-
-<p>In the lower regions of India, on the
-warm plains, we find marriage contracts
-fulfilled at a very early age. In the colder
-climate of Kabul they are left to a later
-period in life&mdash;men being wedded at twenty,
-women at about fifteen years of age. The
-time varies, however, with different classes.
-Among the poor, with whom the price of a
-wife is not easily to be amassed, the men
-often remain unmarried until forty, and the
-women till twenty-five. On the other hand,
-the rich frequently take brides of twelve to
-bridegrooms of fifteen, or even earlier, before
-either of them has attained puberty.
-Those living in towns and in Western
-Afghanistan marry earlier than those
-dwelling in the pastoral districts and in
-the eastern parts. These often wait until
-twenty-five, until the chin is thoroughly
-covered with beard, and the man is in all
-respects mature. The Ghiljies are still
-more prudent in this respect. In most
-parts of the country, nevertheless, the date
-of marriage is determined by the individual’s
-ability to purchase a wife, provide a home,
-and support a family. Usually men form
-alliances within the blood of their own
-tribe; but many Afghans take also Tavjik
-and Persian women. It is not considered
-disreputable to take a wife from
-those nations; but it is held below the
-dignity of the Durani race to bestow a
-wife on a stranger, and this, consequently,
-is seldom or never done.</p>
-
-<p>The intercourse of the sexes is regulated
-by various circumstances, many of them
-accidental. In the crowded towns, where
-the men have little opportunity of converse
-with the women, matches are generally made
-with views of family policy, and contracted
-through the agency of a go-between. When
-a man has fixed on any particular girl to
-be his wife, he sends some female relation
-or neighbour to see her and report to him
-upon her qualifications. If the account be
-satisfactory, the same agent ascertains
-from the girl’s mother whether her family
-are favourable to the match; should all this
-prove well, arrangements are made for a
-public proposal. On an appointed day the
-suitor’s father goes with a party of male
-relations to the young woman’s father,
-while a similar deputation of females waits
-on her mother, and the offer is made in
-customary form. Various presents are also
-sent, the dowry is settled, a feast is prepared,
-and the betrothal takes place. Some
-time after, when both man and woman
-have mutually, by free consent, signed the
-articles of agreement&mdash;which stipulate for
-a provision for the wife in case of divorce&mdash;the
-union is completed at a festival, and
-the bride is delivered, on payment of her
-price, at the dwelling of her future
-master.</p>
-
-<p>In the country, formalities very similar
-take place; but, as women there go unveiled,
-and the intercourse of the sexes is less
-restricted, the marriage generally originates
-in a personal attachment between the wedded
-pair, and the negotiations are only matters
-of etiquette. An enterprising lover may
-also obtain his mistress, without gaining
-the consent of her parents, by tearing away
-her veil, cutting off a lock of her hair, or
-throwing a large white cloth over her, and
-declaring her to be his lawful and affianced
-wife. After this no other suitor would propose
-for her, and she is usually bestowed
-on the bold lover, though he cannot escape
-paying some price for his wife. Such expedients
-are, therefore, seldom resorted to.
-When a man desires a girl for whom he
-cannot pay, and who reciprocates his affection,
-the common plan is to elope. This is,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span>
-indeed, considered by her family as an outrage
-equivalent to the murder of one of its
-members, and pursued with equally rancorous
-revenge, but the possession of the
-wife is at least secured. The fugitive
-couple take refuge in the territories of some
-other tribe, and find the hospitable protection
-which is accorded by the Afghans
-to every guest, and still more to every suppliant.</p>
-
-<p>Among the Eusufzies different customs
-prevail. A man never sees his bride until
-the marriage rites are completed. The
-Beduranis, also, maintain great reserve between
-the youth and the girl betrothed
-one to another. Sometimes a man goes to
-the house of his future father-in-law, and
-labours, as Jacob laboured for Rachael,
-without being allowed to see his destined
-wife until the day for the ceremony has
-arrived. With many of the Afghan tribes
-a similar rule is nominally laid down, but
-a secret intercourse is countenanced between
-the bridegroom and future bride. It is
-called Naumzud bauzee, or the sport of the
-betrothed. The young man steals by night
-to the house of his affianced, pretending
-to conceal his presence altogether from the
-knowledge of the men, who would affect to
-consider it a great scandal. He is favoured
-by the girl’s mother, who privately conducts
-him to an interior apartment, where
-he is left alone with his beloved until the
-approach of morning. He is allowed the
-freest intercourse with her, he may converse
-with her as he pleases, he may kiss
-her, and indulge in all other innocent
-freedoms; but the young people are under
-the strongest cautions and prohibitions to
-refrain from anticipating the nuptial night.
-“Nature, however,” says Mountstuart Elphinstone,
-“is too strong for such injunctions,
-and the marriage begins with all the
-difficulty and interest of an illicit amour.”
-Cases have not unfrequently occurred in
-which the bride has been delivered of two
-or three children before being formally
-received into her husband’s house. This,
-however, is regarded as extremely scandalous,
-and seldom happens among the more
-respectable Afghans. However, the custom
-of Naumzud bauzee prevails with men of
-the highest rank, and the king himself
-sometimes enjoys its midnight pleasures.</p>
-
-<p>Though polygamy is allowed by the
-Mohammedan laws, it is too expensive to
-be practised by the bulk of the people.
-The legal number of wives is four; but
-many of the rich exceed this, and maintain
-a crowd of concubines besides. Two wives
-and two female slaves form a liberal establishment
-for a man of the middle class;
-while the poor are obliged to be content
-with one companion.</p>
-
-<p>The social condition of the female sex
-in Afghanistan is low, as it must be in all
-countries where women are bought and
-sold. The wives of the rich, indeed, secluded
-in the recesses of the harem, are
-allowed to enjoy all the comforts and
-luxuries within reach of their husband’s
-wealth. This, however, is more to please
-the man, than indulge the women, though
-many husbands really love their wives, and
-are influenced to a considerable degree by
-their desires. In general, however, it is
-to enjoy the pride of having a beautiful
-wife in his zenana, with all the appliances
-of opulence to render her gracious and
-dainty.</p>
-
-<p>Among the poorer classes the women
-perform the drudgery of the house and
-carry water. Those of the most barbarous
-tribes share the labours of the field; but
-nowhere are they employed as in India,
-where there is scarcely any difference between
-the toils of the sexes. A man by
-the Mohammedan law is allowed to chastise
-his wife by beating. Custom, however,
-is more chivalrous and merciful than the
-written code, and lays it down as disgraceful
-for a man to avail himself of this privilege
-of his sex.</p>
-
-<p>Though many women of the higher ranks
-learn to read, and exhibit considerable
-talents for literature, it is reckoned immodest
-for a female to write, as that accomplishment
-might be made use of to intrigue
-by correspondence with a lover.</p>
-
-<p>Many families have all their household
-affairs, and many even their general customs,
-controlled by women. These sometimes
-correspond for their sons. It is
-usually the mother who enjoys this influence,
-but the wives also frequently rise
-to ascendancy; and all the advantages
-conferred on him by the Mohammedan law
-frequently fail to save a man from sinking
-to a secondary position in his own house.
-All domestic amusements indulged in by
-men are, among the lower and more estimable
-orders, shared by the women.</p>
-
-<p>In towns, these envelope themselves in
-an ample white wrapper, like the Arab
-burnouse, which covers them to the feet,
-and altogether conceals their figure. A
-network in the hood, spread over the face,
-enables them to see, while their features
-are invisible to others. When on horseback,
-those of the upper classes wear large
-white cotton wrappers on their legs, which
-completely hides the shape of the limb.
-Frequently, also, they travel in hampers,
-large enough to allow of their reclining,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>
-which are strung like paniers over a
-camel’s back, and covered with a case of
-broad cloth. They are hot almost to suffocation
-during the sultry season. Females
-are allowed to go about seated in this
-manner, and form a large proportion in
-the crowds which throng the public ways.
-Scrupulously concealed as their features
-are, they are thus subject to little restraint;
-and, compared with their sex in
-the neighbouring regions, though they do
-not occupy an honourable, they are by no
-means in an unhappy position.</p>
-
-<p>In the rural districts they are still more
-free, and go without a veil. Walking
-through the village or the camp, they are
-subject to no other restraint than the
-universal opinion that it is indecent to
-associate with the other sex. Should a
-strange man approach, they immediately
-cover their faces. At home, they seldom
-enter the public room of their house if an
-Afghan with whom they are not intimate
-is there. With Armenians, Persians, and
-Hindoos, indeed, they do not hold this
-reserve; for they consider them as of no
-importance; and the pride of her race is,
-in these cases, a sufficient guardian to the
-woman’s virtue. When their husbands
-are from home, also, they receive guests,
-and entertain them with all the liberal
-courtesy required by the sacred laws of
-hospitality.</p>
-
-<p>But the modesty and chastity of the
-country women, especially of those belonging
-to the simple shepherd tribes, has been
-remarked and admired by almost every
-traveller. “There are no common prostitutes,”
-says Mountstuart Elphinstone,
-“except in the towns, and very few even
-there, especially in the west, which is the
-colder region; it is considered very disreputable
-to frequent their company.” In
-Afghanistan, however, as in all other parts
-of the East, and in many states of antiquity,
-the imperfect education of the
-women is a cause of profligacy among the
-men. The wives and concubines who fill
-a rich man’s harem are usually ignorant,
-insipid, and unacquainted even with the
-forms of conversation. The prostitutes, on
-the other hand, are generally well versed
-in the science of the world, polished in
-their manners, practised in the arts of seduction,
-and afford amusement of such
-interest and variety that men, with four
-wives and numerous female slaves at their
-command, frequently seek the society of
-these accomplished women.</p>
-
-<p>An able and judicious writer has observed
-that, as far as he recollected, he
-saw among no people in the East, except
-the Afghans, any traces of the sentiment
-which we call love, that is, according to
-European ideas. There, however, it not
-only exists, but is extremely prevalent.
-One sign of this is exhibited in the numerous
-elopements, which are always attended
-with peril, and are risked through love.
-It is common also for a man in humble
-circumstances to pledge his faith to a particular
-girl, and then start off to some
-remote town, or even to Lower India,
-where, by industry or trade, he might
-acquire wealth enough to purchase her
-from her friends. One traveller met at
-Poonah a young man who had contracted
-one of these engagements. He had formed
-an attachment with the daughter of a
-Mullah, who reciprocated his affection.
-Her father gave his consent willingly to
-the marriage; but said that his daughter’s
-honour would suffer if she did not bring as
-large a price as the other women of her
-family. The young people were much
-afflicted, for the man owned only one horse.
-However, his mistress gave him a needle
-used for applying antimony to the eye, and
-with this pledge of her affection he was
-confidently working to accumulate the
-fortune which was required to purchase
-her. These romantic amours are most
-common among the country people, especially
-where the women are partially secluded&mdash;accessible
-enough to be admired,
-but withdrawn enough to excite the lover’s
-attachment by some difficulty. Among the
-higher orders such unions are less frequent,
-though with them also they occasionally
-occur. It was an affair of love between
-a chief of the Turkolaunis and a Khan of
-the Euzufzies that gave rise to a bloody
-war which lasted many years. Many of
-the songs and tales sung and told among
-the Afghans have love for their plot and
-spirit, and that passion is expressed in the
-most glowing and flowery language. Such
-a trait in a nation’s manners is highly favourable,
-and, joined with many others,
-renders the Afghan one of the most admirable
-races of the East.</p>
-
-<p>An exceptional feature in the manners
-of that region is exhibited by the Moolah
-Zukkee, a sect of infidel pedants, who are
-more unprincipled, dissolute, and profligate
-than any other class in the country. They
-resemble in their conduct the Areois of the
-South Sea Islands, doubt the truth of a
-future state, are sceptical as to the existence
-of a God, and have released themselves
-from every fear of hell. They have taken
-full advantage of this, and indulge in the
-vilest lusts without check or shame. This
-is the more extraordinary as the Afghans<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span>
-are represented, on the whole, as a devout
-and pious people.</p>
-
-<p>The inhabitants of Afghanistan are
-divided into the stationary and wandering
-population&mdash;the dwellers in tents, and the
-dwellers in houses. It is a curious fact
-that the dwellers in tents, who live chiefly
-to the West, are the more chaste and moral.
-It is among these, however, that the intercourse
-of the sexes is confined less by law
-than by public opinion. Men and women
-dance together, but in modest measures.</p>
-
-<p>The slaves we have alluded to are divided
-into the home-born and the foreign. The
-beautiful girls are purchased for the harems
-of the rich; the others are sold as menials,
-or attendants on the rich women. The
-habit of buying concubines is unfortunately
-becoming more common. Intercourse with
-the voluptuaries of Persia has seduced
-them into many Persian vices. Naturally
-they are, perhaps, one of the least voluptuous
-nations in Asia; but their manners
-are becoming visibly corrupted, and this
-decay of their ancient simplicity is felt
-and regretted by themselves. Corps of
-prostitutes and harems full of concubines
-will do the work of the sword among them,
-and their spirit of independence, which
-never yielded even before English bayonets,
-will evaporate, if they long continue to
-decline in their morals and manners.
-Luxury has subdued more great nations
-than the sword.</p>
-
-<p>In the Vizeeree country, to the north of
-the Sherauni district, one very extraordinary
-custom prevails; it is quite peculiar to that
-tribe; the women have the right of choosing
-their husbands. When a woman has fixed
-on any man whom she desires to marry,
-she sends the drummer of the camp to pin
-a handkerchief on his cap, with a pin which
-she has previously used to fasten up her hair.
-The drummer goes on his mission, cautiously
-watches his opportunity, and executes the
-feat in public, naming the woman. The
-man is obliged immediately to take her as
-his wife, if he can pay her price to her
-father<a name="FNanchor_71_71" id="FNanchor_71_71"></a><a href="#Footnote_71_71" class="fnanchor">[71]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in Kashmir.</span></h3>
-
-<p>In Kashmir we find the Hindu system of
-manners considerably modified by various
-circumstances. The people are not oppressed
-by that rigid code of etiquette,
-which in India isolates every caste and almost
-every family. Naturally addicted to
-pleasure, they find much of their enjoyment
-in the society of the female sex, and
-from the earliest times have been celebrated
-for their love of singers and dancers.
-Formerly, when the valley was more populous
-and flourishing than at present, its
-capital city was the scene of eternal revel,
-in which morals stood little in the way of
-those gratifications to which the sensual
-ideas of the richer orders inclined them.
-Now, under a vile and monstrous despotism,
-the inhabitants relieve themselves from a
-continual struggle with misfortune by indulging
-in gross vices. Formerly they were
-corrupted by luxury; now they decay
-through misery, and drown the sense of
-hopeless poverty in the gratification of
-their animal passions.</p>
-
-<p>The situation of the female sex in Kashmir
-differs from that occupied by them
-among the Hindus of Bengal. They are
-far more free, and appear more licentious.
-The women of this delightful and romantic
-valley have long been celebrated for their
-grace and beauty. Their renown extended
-on the one side as far as the plains of Central
-Asia, and on the other beyond the
-borders of the Ganges. They were formerly
-much sought after by the Mogul nobility
-of Delhi, to whom they bore strong
-and handsome sons; and even after that
-monarchy had declined from its original
-opulence and power, its luxurious kings
-solaced themselves in their humiliation by
-concubines and dancing girls from Kashmir.
-Nor has the beauty which in those early
-ages attracted to the women of this country
-the admiration of all the East, faded in any
-degree. They are still described as the
-flowers of Oriental grace&mdash;not so slender as
-the Hindus of Bengal, but more full, round,
-voluptuous, and fascinating. Since few
-except those belonging to the very highest
-classes wear a veil, travellers have enjoyed
-abundant opportunities of observing the
-characteristics of the sex. The face is of
-a dark complexion, richly flushed with pink;
-the eyes are large, almond-shaped, and
-overflowing with a peculiar liquid brilliance;
-the features are regular, harmonious, and
-fine; while the person, as we have said, is
-plump and round, though the limbs are
-often models of grace. Such is the portrait
-we are led to draw by the accounts of the
-best writers. They agree, however, in
-adding, that among all, except the dancers,
-singers, and prostitutes, with probably those
-few women who are shut up in harems, art
-has done nothing to aid nature. The eyes,
-unsurpassed for brightness, with full orbs,
-and long black lashes, shine often from a
-dirty face, expressing a mind flooded with
-sensual desires, and utterly unadorned by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span>
-education or accomplishments. Among
-the poorer classes, especially, filth, poverty,
-and degradation render many of the women
-repulsive, in spite of their natural beauty.
-It is remarkable that the inhabitants of the
-boats on the lakes possess among them the
-handsomest women in the valley.</p>
-
-<p>The customs of marriage, courtship, and
-the general habits of the women, resemble
-so closely what have already been described
-in treating of India, that we need not enter
-into any particular account of them. The
-life of the woman belonging to a chief of
-high rank is a monotonous seclusion. She
-sits, enveloped in full wrappings of shawls
-and robes, amid all the luxury and brilliance
-of an Oriental harem, with every appliance
-of ease and comfort, but not the liberty
-which the humbler orders enjoy. Wives of
-all classes, indeed, are subject to their husbands,
-but those of the nobles are most under
-control. They often experience in its
-full bitterness the curse of slavery under a
-capricious despot. The authority of the
-man is absolute.</p>
-
-<p>Mikran Singh, a chief of the valley,
-was a few years ago, during the reign of
-the Maharaja Runjit Singh, guilty of a
-horrible act, which illustrates in a striking
-manner the condition of women in that
-country. His wife happened to be in the
-Punjab, and, while there, was accused by
-some enemies of a criminal intrigue. She
-was sent to her husband in Kashmir. Her
-son flung his dagger at the feet of Mikran
-Singh, and threw himself at his knees,
-begging mercy for his mother. The man
-promised to forgive her; but, as soon as
-occasion offered, ordered her to be forced
-into a bath the temperature of which was
-rapidly increased with the purpose of suffocating
-her. She was tenacious of life, and
-struggled long with her tortures, filling
-the palace with shrill and piercing shrieks.
-Many people fled from the neighbourhood
-that they might not listen to these
-fearful cries. At length, to put an end
-to this horrid scene, the husband sent his
-wife a bowl of poison, which she drank and
-immediately died.</p>
-
-<p>Women of the middle and lower classes
-affect no concealment, and never wear a
-veil. They experience less caprice from
-their husbands, and are perhaps more free
-than females in Hindustan formerly were.
-Widows have long been released from the
-disgusting obligation of burning at the
-funeral pyre of their husbands. The custom,
-indeed, was at no time very prevalent
-in the valley, and since the decree of
-abolition, published by Aurungzebe in
-1669, it has never been revived. Women
-in Kashmir bear a fair proportion to the
-men, and are proverbially fruitful. The
-depopulation of the country is owing to no
-natural causes, but to the rapacious despotism
-under which it suffers. British
-government would soon, without a doubt,
-restore it to its ancient flourishing condition,
-as well as reform its manners.</p>
-
-<p>Travellers in Kashmir always remark the
-dancing girls, for which it was formerly renowned.
-The village of Changus, near the
-ancient city of Achibul, was at one time
-celebrated for a colony of them. They
-excelled, in singing, dancing, and other accomplishments,
-all the other girls of the
-valley. When Vigne visited it some years
-ago, the village had fallen to decay, and its
-famous beauties had disappeared. Old men,
-however, remembered and spoke of them
-with regret. One, whose name was Lyli,
-still lived in the recollection of many. A
-few dancers of another class remained, but
-were inferior in their natural charms and
-arts to those of the city, and were obliged
-to be content with engagements in the
-humbler or country districts.</p>
-
-<p>These women may be divided into classes.
-Among the highest we might find some that
-are virtuous and even modest, as we may
-among singers and actresses in Europe.
-Others frequent entertainments at the
-houses of rich men and public festivals,
-receiving large sums for their attendance,
-and occasionally consent to prostitute their
-persons for a valuable gift. Others are
-regular professional harlots, indiscriminately
-prostituting themselves to any who
-desire their society. Many of these are
-widows, who are forbidden to marry again,
-and are devoted to the service of some
-god, whose temple and priests they enrich
-by the gains of their disreputable calling.</p>
-
-<p>The Watul or Gipsy tribe of Kashmir is
-remarkable for the loveliness of its females.
-Living in tents or temporary huts, these
-Gipsies pass from spot to spot; and many
-of their handsomest girls are sold as slaves
-to furnish the harems of the rich, or enter
-the train of some company of dancing
-girls. These are bred and taught to please
-the taste of the voluptuary, to sing licentious
-songs in an amorous tone, to
-dance in voluptuous measures, to dress in a
-peculiar style, and to seduce by the very expression
-of their countenances. Formerly
-many of these women amassed large sums
-in their various callings; but now that the
-prosperity of the valley has decreased, the
-youngest and most beautiful seek their
-fortunes in the cities of Agra and Delhi;
-which, though decaying, still retain traces
-of the imperial luxury and profligacy which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span>
-once rendered them the splendid capitals of
-the East.</p>
-
-<p>The bands of dancing girls are usually
-attended by divers hideous duennas and
-men, whose conspicuous ugliness makes the
-loveliness of the women appear more complete
-through contrast. Baron Hugel,
-whose ideas are purely German, did not
-find his sense of the beautiful satisfied by
-the women, and especially the public women,
-of Kashmir; but every other traveller, from
-Bernier to Vigne, expatiates upon the
-subject. The Baron does not, in other
-respects, inspire us with the idea that he
-is an authority on such a question.</p>
-
-<p>The Nach girls are under the surveillance
-of the Government&mdash;which licenses
-their prostitution&mdash;and lead in general a
-miserable life. They are actual slaves,
-cannot sing or dance without permission
-from their overseer, and must yield up to
-him the most considerable part of their
-profits. Some of them still ask large sums,
-especially from strangers. One troop demanded
-from our German author a hundred
-rupees for an evening’s performance.</p>
-
-<p>The education of a superior Nach girl
-should commence when she is no more than
-five years old. Nine years, it is said, are required
-to perfect them in song and dance.
-They dress usually in trowsers of rich-coloured
-silk, loosely furled round the
-limb, fitting tight at the ancle, and confined
-round the waist by a girdle and
-tassels, which hang down to the knee. Over
-these is draped a tunic of white muslin,
-reaching half-way down the leg; but when
-dancing they wear a full flowing garment
-of soft light tissue of various colours, intermixed
-with gold. Some have been seen
-with ornaments on their persons to the value
-of 10,000 or 12,000 rupees. Some, also,
-with all these adornments, neglect to be
-clean, and omit perfume from among the
-graces of their toilette. Their songs are
-often full of sentiment and fancy, finely
-expressed, and accompanied by pleasing
-music. Their dances are not chaste or
-modest; but neither are they obscene or
-gross.</p>
-
-<p>Among the poorer orders exist a swarm
-of prostitutes, frequenting low houses in
-the cities or boats on the lakes; but of
-their modes of life we have no account.
-Probably the manners of prostitutes differ
-little throughout the world. It is certain
-that they are largely patronised by the
-more demoralised part of the population.
-The traveller Moorcroft, who gave gratuitous
-advice to the poor of Serinaghur,
-had at one time nearly 7000 patients on
-his list. Of these a very large number
-were suffering from loathsome diseases, induced
-by the grossest and most persevering
-profligacy. Altogether the manners of
-Kashmir appear very corrupt<a name="FNanchor_72_72" id="FNanchor_72_72"></a><a href="#Footnote_72_72" class="fnanchor">[72]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in India.</span></h3>
-
-<p>We shall have to view the Hindus under
-two aspects&mdash;as they were under their
-former oppressors, and as they are under
-the administration of the Company. The
-change of rule has wrought, and is working,
-a change in the manners and institutions
-of the people perfectly wonderful to contemplate.
-Climate and position have much
-to do with national characteristics, but
-government has more. India under the
-English no more resembles India under the
-Mogul, than the England of the nineteenth
-century resembles the England of the Heptarchy.
-A beneficent revolution in her
-fortune has occurred, which is developing
-an extraordinary reform in the customs
-and ideas of her native race. Consequently
-a distinction must be observed between the
-old and the new state of things. It will be
-necessary, also, to distinguish those provinces
-which are absolutely under our
-sway from those which are independent, or
-only related to us by subsidiary alliances.
-A strong contrast is exhibited by these
-different communities, which, as far as the
-welfare of the people is concerned, differ as
-much from each other as the slave states
-of western Africa differ from the population
-of Cape Colony. In the one a wise
-and beneficent government is administered
-for the happiness of the people; in the
-other, an imbecile yet savage tyranny
-makes them look with jealousy on their
-more fortunate neighbours. This is an
-important consideration, and by no means
-irrelevant to our subject, for it illustrates
-the influence of laws and institutions upon
-the manners and morals of a nation.</p>
-
-<p>The state of women among the Hindus
-is not elevated, and as long as their ancient
-teachers of religion are revered, such must
-be the case. The female sex is held absolutely
-dependent on the male, and, as among
-the Chinese, the father before marriage,
-the husband afterwards, and the son in
-widowhood, are the natural protectors
-assigned by the sacred law. Nothing is to
-be done by a woman of her purely independent
-will. She must reverence her
-lord, and approach him with humble re<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span>spect.
-She is bound to him while he desires
-it, whatever his conduct may be, and,
-if she rebel, is to be chastised with a rope
-or cane on the back part of her person,
-“and not on a noble part, by any means.”</p>
-
-<p>Writers with a particular theory to support
-frequently quote the institutes of
-Menu, to show that a contempt of women
-is inculcated, and hard usage of them encouraged
-by the precepts of that singular
-code.</p>
-
-<p>Indolence, vanity, irascible humours,
-evil dispositions, and lasciviousness, are
-enumerated as the vices which are declared
-natural to them. “A woman is chaste,
-when there is neither place, time, nor person,
-to afford her an opportunity to be immoral,”
-says the “Hetopadera,” which is
-quoted in application to the whole sex,
-though it applies only as Professor Wilson&mdash;the
-great authority on this subject&mdash;observes,
-to that class of idle, intemperate,
-profligate females, to be found in every
-society. Passages undoubtedly occur in
-the laws and in satirical compositions
-levelled at the whole sex; but the Hindus
-themselves usually describe them as amiable,
-modest, gentle, chaste, full of wit, and
-excelling in every grace. They are allowed
-to inherit property; they are permitted
-under certain circumstances to
-exercise power, though by indirect means;
-and they certainly exert great influence
-over the men. In no state of ancient
-times, except the polished republics of
-Greece and Rome, were women held in so
-much esteem as among the Hindus.</p>
-
-<p>Debarred as they are from the advantages
-of education, not allowed to eat with their
-husbands, and forbidden from mixing in
-society, the Hindu women, of course, are
-degraded below their just position; but it
-is not true that they are abject slaves,
-or are generally treated with barbarity.
-Among the more wild and barbarous tribes,
-as well as the more ignorant classes in all
-parts of India, men frequently beat their
-wives; but, from the few revelations of the
-Zenana which have been made, it would
-appear that its inmates are generally
-treated with considerable deference and
-attention. The contact of Mohammedan
-with Hindu manners has certainly, however,
-had an effect on the latter, which has
-depreciated the rank and estimation of the
-female sex.</p>
-
-<p>Nowhere, indeed, where polygamy is
-allowed, can women hold their true position.
-In India, however, though permitted,
-it was not encouraged by the religious
-law, and sanctioned in particular cases
-only, as barrenness, inconstancy, aversion,
-or some other similar cause. The wife, also,
-must be consulted, and her consent obtained
-to the second match. She still held the
-principal rank in the family, for the new
-comer could not take her place while she
-remained in the household.</p>
-
-<p>In various parts of India, different customs
-of marriage prevail. There are, indeed,
-four prescribed forms&mdash;all honourable,
-and various only in detail. A fifth is, when
-the bridegroom, contrary to the sacred law,
-traffics for a girl. Another is, when a
-captive, left helpless in a man’s power, is
-forced to become the companion of his bed.
-And a last is, when a girl is ravished, when
-surprised asleep, and taken off or deluded
-to the house of a new master.</p>
-
-<p>Marriage is viewed as a religious duty
-by the Hindus. A few are exempted, under
-special circumstances, from the fulfilment
-of this sacred obligation. The rules of
-law enacted with respect to it apply chiefly
-to affairs of caste, with which we have here
-little to do. It is forbidden to purchase a
-wife for money, except under particular
-conditions; but the young girls have little
-share in their own destiny, being usually
-betrothed while very young. The father
-has the disposal of them until three years
-after the age of puberty, when it is reckoned
-disgraceful for her to be single, and then
-she may choose a partner for herself. Few,
-however, will marry a maiden so old. In
-Bahar the girl, betrothed while an infant,
-is not permitted to enter her husband’s
-house until mature, when she is conducted
-thither with as much ceremony as the
-circumstances of the family will allow.
-In Bengal the couple are pledged with
-many rites and a profusion of expense.
-The bride is taken to her husband’s house,
-remains there a little while, and then goes
-home for a short period, but the whole is
-consummated as soon after ten years of
-age as practicable. The timid effeminate
-Bengalee appears of a sensual character,
-and regards his wife as little more than the
-instrument of his pleasure. A better state
-of things is now beginning to prevail there,
-in consequence of the efforts made by the
-Company; but under the old system, not
-one female in twenty thousand was allowed
-to acquire the least particle of learning.
-The natives excuse or justify this fact,&mdash;first,
-by the prohibition against educating
-girls which are contained in their sacred
-books; and secondly, by declaring that
-many women would, did they possess those
-means of intrigue, run riot in profligacy
-and vice.</p>
-
-<p>The birth of a daughter being throughout
-the East, and especially in Bengal,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span>
-regarded as less auspicious than that of a
-son, indicates a low position of the sex.
-From that moment her parents are solicitous
-to settle her, so that she is often in infancy
-pledged for life. The character of the
-bridegroom is of little consequence.
-Matches, consequently, often prove unhappy,
-especially where the jealousy or
-despotism of the husband forces the woman
-to live in seclusion, and mainly within the
-private recesses of the zenana. This, however,
-is not the general custom, women being
-allowed to appear at festivals and jubilees.
-Even the wives of respectable Hindus frequently
-quit the interior apartments set
-aside for them, and go to bathe in the waters
-of the Ganges or some other holy stream.
-The poorer, of course, who assign a share
-of labour to their wives, cannot seclude
-them if they would, for the expense of
-confinement is not inconsiderable.</p>
-
-<p>The wife waits on her husband, and is
-treated with very partial confidence. In
-the lower ranks she is employed to prepare
-cow-dung for fuel, to fetch water, to make
-purchases in the markets, and perform the
-drudgery of the house, though this is no
-more than is done by the poorer classes in
-Europe. The rich woman adorns herself,
-curls her hair, listens to the gossip of her
-slaves, and indulges in what amusements
-may be within her reach. It may be
-imagined that the child or wife, uneducated
-and without a gleam of light in her mind,
-amuses herself by a thousand trivial devices.
-The home is thus not unhappy,
-unless the husband be naturally harsh, or
-the house be ruled by a tyrannical mother-in-law,
-which is often the case. Matches
-founded upon a mutual attachment are
-very rare, but by no means unknown. The
-romances of the Hindus are in many
-cases founded on them. The general plan,
-however, is for the parties to be betrothed
-in childhood.</p>
-
-<p>When they perform the ceremonies of
-marriage they are complete strangers to
-each other; yet Hindu wives are, on the
-whole, faithful. When the husband finds
-himself united to a woman who is hateful
-to him, he neglects her altogether, and
-takes another or a concubine, though this
-is against the ancient law. In many things,
-however, the practice of this nation, especially
-among the ruder classes, is opposed to
-that extraordinary sacred code. However,
-if he have no children, he adopts this plan
-of ensuring them, and frequently conceals
-the facts for a long time from his wife.
-Polygamy causes great troubles in the
-Bengalee households. A man is not allowed
-by law to take a new partner after fifty,
-but this regulation is observed by few.
-These customs, together with the facility of
-divorce&mdash;a privilege from which the female
-sex is excluded&mdash;contribute to the demoralization
-of society. A man calling his
-wife <i>mother</i>, by that act renounces her, and
-is thenceforward free from the tie. A
-barren wife may be superseded in the
-eighth year; she whose children are all dead
-in the birth; she who bears only daughters,
-in the eleventh; while she who is of an unkind
-disposition may be divorced without
-delay. The whole code, composed by the
-priestly order, is unjust to the sex.</p>
-
-<p>Of the general character of the female
-sex in Hindustan very exaggerated ideas
-commonly prevail. It is represented as corrupted
-throughout by the obscenity and indecency
-of the public religion and the institutions
-framed by priests. It is true
-the Hindu Pantheon is a representation
-of the lowest vices, and that the manners of
-the people are by no means delicate; yet the
-respectable class of women appear chaste,
-orderly, modest, and decorous. The fair
-muscular race of Afghanistan has indeed
-been depicted in favourable contrast to the
-dark and slim race of Bengal, but this need
-suppose no characteristic depravity in the
-latter, for the hardy mountaineers are celebrated
-for their contempt of sensual pleasures.
-Other parts of India exhibit their
-peculiar features. Among the rude Mughs
-of Arracan&mdash;a hunting and fishing, as
-well as cultivating, and formerly a predatory
-tribe&mdash;when a man wants money
-he pawns his wife for a certain sum, or
-transfers her altogether. In the southern
-parts of the Peninsula and the Mysore,
-manners are more licentious, and women are
-more debased. There polygamy has always
-been practised by the powerful and wealthy
-whose means enabled them to enjoy indulgences
-discouraged by the precepts of the
-ancient law. Buchanan, travelling towards
-the close of the eighteenth century, found
-about 80 concubines secluded in the palace
-of Tippoo Sultan, at Seringapatam. These
-were attended by more than 500 handmaids.
-The same traveller made a diligent inquiry
-into the manners of the various communities
-he visited. Among the Teliga Divangas,
-followers of Siva, a man was allowed
-to take many wives, but not to hurt them,
-or divorce them, except for adultery. It
-was once the practice for the widow to
-bury herself alive with the body of her
-husband.</p>
-
-<p>The Shaynagas of Canara were not
-allowed to take a second wife unless the
-first had died, or had no children. The
-Corannas permitted polygamy, and girls<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span>
-were purchased for money. Adultery was
-punished by a beating or by a divorce, in
-which case the guilty wife might marry
-whom she pleased. The Panchalaru had
-similar laws, and so indeed had many other
-tribes. One of the most general rules was,
-that a woman could not be divorced except
-for faithless conduct. Widows were sometimes
-destroyed. Among the Bherid and
-many others, marriage was contracted,
-under obligation, before the age of puberty.
-If a girl remained single beyond
-that age, no credit was given to her virginity;
-she was declared incapable of
-marriage, and usually took resource in
-prostitution.</p>
-
-<p>The severe laws against violating the
-law of chastity have not, in India, been
-formed so much for the protection of morals,
-as for preserving the boundaries of
-castes. Women are severely punished for
-holding intercourse with a man of superior
-caste; that is, if the intrigue be discovered,
-for there is no doubt that such
-intrigues frequently occur.</p>
-
-<p>Among the Woddas the laws of marriage
-were by no means so stringent as among
-many other tribes visited by Buchanan.
-Women abounded. Every man had as
-many wives as he pleased. They all laboured
-for him; and if one was lazy she
-was divorced, though left free to marry
-again; she also might leave him if hardly
-treated, but could not contract a new engagement
-without his consent.</p>
-
-<p>The Carruburru permitted adulteresses
-to live with any man who would keep them,
-provided their husbands did not immediately
-desire revenge. They were despised,
-but not altogether cast out from
-the communion of social life. The children
-of concubines enjoyed equal rights
-with those of real wives. That they were
-a gross people is proved by the fact that
-adultery was sometimes winked at in an
-industrious woman, too valuable as a servant
-to lose. The more refined idea, however,
-which prevailed among them of not
-allowing a girl to marry until naturally
-marriageable, was looked upon by members
-of the higher castes as a beastly
-depravity.</p>
-
-<p>Among the Rajpoots women are not
-degraded; they hold a higher position.
-Ladies of rank are, indeed, secluded, but
-more from ideas of dignity and etiquette
-than sentiments of jealousy or the habit
-of despotism. There is an air of chivalry
-in some of their customs. A woman of
-high station, threatened with danger, sometimes
-sent to any youth whom she might
-admire the present of a bracelet. He was
-then called her “bracelet-bound brother,”
-and was expected to defend her under all
-circumstances, even at the hazard of his life.</p>
-
-<p>Men, it has been remarked, make the
-laws&mdash;women make the manners&mdash;of a
-country. In Rajasthan, the few women
-reared exercised great influence on the
-actions, habitudes, and tastes of the men.
-The Rajpoot consults his wife on every
-important occasion; and, much as we are
-given to lament the condition of these
-women, it is by no means so debased as
-many writers would persuade us to imagine.
-Marriage contracts which often, as
-among the Jews, took place at the well,
-where the young girls assembled to draw
-water and converse, were, in frequent instances,
-the commencement of a happy
-life. The precepts of Menu have been
-quoted to show the contempt of the sex
-inculcated by the sacred books. His censures
-on a class, however, have been taken
-as his description of all womankind&mdash;but
-falsely; for the Rajpoot proverbs on this
-subject are derived from those famous
-institutes. The mouth of a woman,
-we find there, is constantly pure. Her
-name should be chosen graceful and euphonous,
-resembling a word of benediction.
-When they are honoured, the gods
-are pleased; when they are dishonoured,
-the gods are offended. The language of
-another sage was full of rich, and, perhaps,
-exaggerated sentiment. “Strike not, even
-with a blossom, a wife guilty of a hundred
-faults.” The religious maxims laid down
-for married couples is equally elevated.
-“Let mutual fidelity continue until death.”
-Intermarriage is prohibited in the same
-clan, or even tribe, though the patronymic
-may have been lost for centuries. Eight
-hundred years had divided the two
-branches of one famous house, yet an alliance
-between them was prohibited as
-incestuous.</p>
-
-<p>Pregnant women and maidens are in
-Rajpootana treated with great tenderness
-and respect. Many women in this country
-can read and write. They cannot govern
-actually; but indirectly as regents, several
-of them have equalled in vigour and
-tyranny any of the masculine tyrants for
-which Asia is so celebrated. Polygamy
-has caused many troubles in the country;
-and at a remote period in its history we
-discover an instance of polyandrism.</p>
-
-<p>One of the modified systems we have
-alluded to exists in Sindh and the Indian
-provinces of Beluchistan. Little gifted
-by nature, the Beluchi women are the
-servants of their husbands, and labour
-while their lords are feasting or sleeping.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>
-Nevertheless, when, under the destructive
-tyranny of the Amirs, a foray was about
-to be undertaken, or any danger averted,
-the females of the village were taken into
-consultation, and strongly influenced the
-councils of the men. A strong resemblance
-was discovered by Pottinger between the
-moral and social institutions of the Beluchis,
-especially in reference to marriage,
-and those of the Jews.</p>
-
-<p>A woman’s husband dying, his brother
-is bound to marry her, and his children are
-heirs of the deceased. A similar enactment
-is to be found in the law as set forth
-in Deuteronomy. In cases of adultery, full
-expiation and atonement must be made, or
-both criminals put to death. The regulations
-with respect to divorce are very
-similar. The resemblance between Indian
-manners and those of the Jews was, as
-early as 1704, noticed by an anonymous
-French writer, who drew up a curious
-parallel in support of his theory.</p>
-
-<p>The Muzmi, or hill tribes of Nepaul,
-who are not Hindus, follow the customs
-of Upper Thibet in most things, except polyandrism,
-or the plurality of husbands.
-Their women enjoy considerable privileges.
-The females of the Brahmin and India
-class in Central India, also, possess great
-influence over their husbands. If married
-to men of any consequence, they have a
-right to a separate provision, and an estate
-of their own. They enjoy much liberty,
-seldom wear a veil, give entertainments,
-and expend much money in jewels and
-clothes. In the families of the great
-Sindia and Holkar they wielded no mean
-degree of power, which they seldom exerted
-in the cause of peace. Their education is
-not by any means so limited as that of
-their sex in Bengal. Generally, among the
-Mohammedans of India, the women of high
-rank are somewhat secluded, though not
-severely restrained; but those of the lower
-classes, sharing as they do the labours and
-the pleasures of their husbands, are neither
-watched nor immured. Whether they are
-harshly used or not depends very much, as
-in England, on the individual character of
-the husband. No description will apply
-universally to the conduct of any race.
-In Bengal there were, under native rule,
-many female zemindars, or village revenue
-administrators, who were, however, subject
-to the influence, but not to the authority,
-of the male members of their family. Among
-the tribes of the Rajamahal Hills, on the
-western borders of that province, fewer
-restrictions still are in practice. They are
-not Hindus of caste, and therefore more free
-to obey their natural inclinations. One of
-their most prominent distinctions is the
-permission for widows to marry again.
-Their morality is tolerably good. When a
-man sees his son inclined to the company
-of prostitutes, he asks him if he desires to
-be married. If he replies in the affirmative,
-a neighbour is sent&mdash;unless a choice have
-been already made&mdash;to find a suitable girl.
-Both parties must agree to the match,
-though the girls, being wedded very young,
-seldom oppose their parents’ will. The
-young man’s father makes a present to
-the father of the bride; a marriage dinner
-is provided, the newly-joined couple eat off
-the same leaf, their hands are joined,
-they are exhorted not to quarrel, and the
-youth then takes home his wife.</p>
-
-<p>One of the most remarkable and celebrated
-institutions of the Hindus was
-that of suttee, or the burning of the
-widow with her husband’s body. The
-shastres, or sacred books, are full of recommendations
-to perform this terrible sacrifice,
-and promise ineffable bliss to the
-voluntary victim. This custom of female
-immolation, which distinguished especially
-Rajpoot manners, had its origin, according
-to the priests, in the example of a holy
-personage, who, to avenge an insult, consumed
-herself before an assemblage of
-the gods. Custom gave it sanction, as
-religion offered it a reward. The institution
-of castes, however, and the perpetual
-separation enjoined upon them, appear
-to have been the real origin of the custom.
-In a few instances a man might marry a
-woman of inferior order, but in no case
-could she descend. Polygamy being practised,
-men continually left numerous young
-widows, who, being forbidden under the
-pain of damnation, to contract a second
-engagement, had to choose between infamy,
-misery, and the funeral pile. It is said
-that 15,000 victims formerly perished
-annually in Bengal. When we remember
-that 60 sometimes died on one pyre, we can
-believe that a large number were thus
-destroyed; but the calculation alluded to
-appears, nevertheless, extravagant. It is unnecessary
-here to enter largely on the subject,
-which is familiar to every general reader.
-Happily the horrible practice is now effectually
-abolished throughout the British
-dominions&mdash;one among the innumerable
-blessings achieved for that region by the
-Company’s administration. The contrast
-between the native states and the English
-provinces is remarkable, if for this alone.
-At the death of Runjit Singh a large sacrifice
-of women was made for his funeral, but now
-that the Punjab is annexed, no more will
-be permitted.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>In Central India the custom prevailed
-most when the Rajpoots were in the height
-of their power, their influence, and their
-pride. The suttees were then very frequent,
-as is attested, among other evidences,
-by the number of monuments still
-remaining, with representations of the ceremony,
-which were erected in memory of
-the devoted wives. The Mohammedans,
-when they were supreme, endeavoured, as
-far as possible, to check the practice. The
-Mahrattas, by a judicious neglect and indifference,
-which neither encouraged by
-approval nor provoked by prohibition,
-which they were unable to enforce, rendered
-it very rare. When Sir John Malcolm
-wrote, about 1820, there had not
-been, as far as it was possible to know,
-throughout Central India, more than three
-or four instances annually during the last
-twenty years. These instances were confined
-to particular communities of Rajpoots
-and Brahmins, while no examples occurred,
-as under the princes of Jeydpoor, Jaidpoor,
-and Ondepoor, of women being forcibly
-dragged to the pile and thrust, an unwilling
-sacrifice, into the flames. Some of
-the greatest fanatics had entirely abandoned
-the custom for several generations.
-Where it continued most generally to be
-preserved was where the priests denounced
-the terrors of heavenly vengeance against
-those who dared to allow one precept of
-the sacred code to be set aside. These
-hereditary nobles of India obstructed the
-social reform of the country with all the
-bigotry usual to such a class. There was
-no duty, said the law, which a woman
-could honourably fulfil, after her husband’s
-death, except casting herself in the same
-fire with him.</p>
-
-<p>Formerly the horrors of the practice, in
-its details, could not be exaggerated,
-though writers occasionally enlarged upon
-the general results. Children of eight or
-ten years of age have devoted themselves
-sometimes, through fear of the harsh usage
-they experienced from their relatives. Women
-of 85 have been plunged into the
-blazing pile; and maidens not married,
-but only betrothed, have been made a sacrifice
-with the ashes of their intended
-husbands. In Ripa, if one wife consented
-to burn, all the rest were compelled to
-follow her example. Fearful scenes have
-on these occasions been witnessed by travellers.
-A miserable wretch, escaping twice
-from the pyre, has clung to their feet, imploring
-them to defend her, until, naked,
-with the flesh burned off many parts of
-her person, she has been finally flung upon
-the burning heap. Young children, bound
-together, have been laid struggling by the
-body, and appeared to be dead from fear
-before the wood was kindled. Among the
-Yogees, the wife sometimes buried herself
-alive with the corpse of her husband. In
-1803 it was computed that 430 suttees
-took place within 30 miles of Calcutta&mdash;in
-1804 between 200 and 300. What
-“Aborigines’ Protection Society” can regret
-the revolution which has given India
-into the hands of England?</p>
-
-<p>The painful subject of infanticide is next
-forced upon our contemplation. Formerly
-it prevailed to a great extent in India,
-though the exertions of the Company have
-now all but extirpated it from the British
-dominions. Various circumstances contributed
-in Rajpootana to encourage the destruction
-of female children. The Rajpoot
-must marry a woman of pure blood, beyond
-the utmost degree of affinity to him.
-To find partners for their daughters was,
-therefore, a difficult undertaking for the
-haughty nobility of Rajast’han. Besides,
-the stupendous extravagance of the nobles
-at their wedding feasts&mdash;which the pride
-of caste compelled&mdash;rendered such contracts
-an overwhelming expense. The majority
-of the female infants were therefore
-slain. In cases where a community was
-threatened with danger from an enemy, all
-the children, and, indeed, all the women,
-were slaughtered, lest they should fall into
-strange hands. Custom sanctioned, but
-neither traditionary law nor religion allowed,
-infanticide, of which the ancient
-dwellers on the banks of the Indus gave
-an early example. It was the custom
-among them, says Ferishta, when a female
-child was born, to carry it to the market-place.
-There the parent, holding a knife
-in one hand and his infant in the other,
-demanded whether any one wanted a wife.
-If no one came forward to claim the child
-as a future bride, it was sacrificed. This
-caused a large numerical superiority of
-men. Such a birth was among the Rajpoots
-an occasion of sorrow. Its destruction
-was a melancholy event. Families
-were accustomed to boast of the suttees to
-which they had contributed the victims,
-but none ever recurred with pride to the
-children which had thus been slain. The
-choice, however, was for the girl to die, or
-live with a prospect of dishonour, which
-could not be endured by the proud people
-of Rajast’han. Wilkinson asserted in 1833,
-that the number of infants annually murdered
-in Malwa and Rajpootana was
-20,000. In 1840 the population of Cutch
-was 12,000, but there were not 500 women.
-In 1843 a folio of more than 400 pages was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span>
-presented to Parliament, full of correspondence
-on this subject. In many of the
-states, it appeared, the Rajahs were induced
-to offer portions to women when
-marrying, in order to check infanticide.
-In Katteewar great efforts were made, and
-parents were rewarded for preserving their
-female children. Pride of caste, the expense
-of marriage feasts, and poverty, were
-the general causes, besides a desire to conceal
-the fruit of illicit intrigues. In some
-villages there were only 12 girls to 79
-boys under twelve years of age. In one
-hamlet of 20 people not one female was
-living. It is probable, nevertheless, that
-much exaggeration has been put forward
-on this subject, especially in reference
-to Rajpootana, as the seclusion of the
-females there rendered it impossible
-accurately to know the number of births.
-Undoubtedly, however, it was practised to
-a great extent; but by means of funds, for
-the reward and encouragement of those
-parents who reared all their children, as
-well as by the gradual introduction of
-laws, a mighty reform has been effected in
-India. In Odessa and the east of Bengal
-children were formerly sacrificed to the
-goddess Gunga, and for this purpose cast
-into the sacred river. In most countries
-infanticide has been chiefly the resort of
-the poor, but in parts of India it was the
-practice of the rich, being caused by pride
-rather than indigence. In Bengal, however,
-the peasantry were occasionally guilty of this
-device to rid themselves of a burden. A
-mother would sometimes expose her infant
-to be starved or devoured, and visit the
-place after three days had passed. If the
-child were still living&mdash;a very rare case&mdash;she
-took it home and nursed it.</p>
-
-<p>Another unnatural crime was that of
-procuring abortion, which is still practised,
-though in a clandestine manner, since it is
-a breach of the law. It was formerly very
-prevalent. Ward was assured by a pundit,
-a professor, that in Bengal 100,000
-children were thus destroyed in the womb
-every month. This was a startling exaggeration,
-but there is no doubt the offence
-was of frequent occurrence.</p>
-
-<p>Whether the Hindus and other inhabitants
-of India are remarkable for their
-chasteness or immorality is a question
-much disputed. Unfortunately, men with
-a favourite theory to support, have been so
-extravagant in their assertions on either
-side that it is difficult, or even impossible,
-to form a just opinion on the subject.
-Many have represented the Hindus as a
-sensual, lascivious, profligate race; but we
-have the weighty testimony of Professor
-Wilson to the contrary. There is no doubt
-that the manners of the people have undergone
-a remarkable improvement since the
-establishment of British rule. The original
-institutions of the people were opposed
-to morality. The prohibition against
-the marriage of widows was a direct encouragement
-to prostitution. Many enlightened
-Hindus long ago recognised the demoralizing
-influence of this law, and exerted
-themselves to abolish it. A wealthy
-native in Calcutta once offered a dowry
-of 10,000 rupees to any woman who
-would brave the ancient prejudices of her
-race, and marry a second husband. A claim
-was soon made for the liberal donation. A
-learned Brahmin of Nagpoor, high in rank
-and opulence, wrote against the law.
-Among one tribe, the Bunyas, it was long
-ago abolished; not, however, from a moral
-persuasion of its injustice, but under the
-pressure of circumstances. Even then,
-however, in Bhopal, the hereditary dignitaries
-of the priestly order, naturally attached
-to ancient prejudices, sought to re-establish
-the prohibition. There were
-very few exceptions of this kind among all
-the millions of the Hindu race. Even the
-Mohammedans, with the precept and example
-of their own prophet to encourage
-them, held the marriage of a widow disgraceful.
-Temporary reform took place at
-Delhi, but the old custom was, until recently,
-supreme. The moral evils were, that
-it led to depravity of conduct on the part
-of the widow, caused a frightful amount of
-infanticide and abortion, and induced these
-women by their practice to corrupt all
-others with whom they came in contact.
-Female children being married so early,
-hundreds and thousands were left widows
-before they had ripened into puberty.
-The crowded house&mdash;containing men of all
-shades of consanguinity, grandfathers, fathers-in-law,
-uncles, brothers-in-law, and
-cousins, all dwelling with the young widow
-in the inclosure of the family mansion&mdash;led
-to illicit and incestuous connections
-being continually formed. Pregnancies
-were removed by abortion. The Bombay
-code took cognisance of this, and punished
-it severely. When a woman was known to
-be pregnant she was narrowly watched,
-and if the father could be found he was
-compelled to support his child.</p>
-
-<p>A boy might be betrothed to a child.
-If she died he was free from the engagement;
-but if he died she was condemned
-to remain a maiden widow, and subject to
-the humiliating laws attached to that condition.
-It is easy to imagine the demoralizing
-effects of such an institution. Under<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span>
-the old system the hardships and indignities
-imposed on the widow made her prefer
-suttee, or the sacrifice by fire, or else a
-retreat in a brothel. Another corrupting
-custom is that of early marriages. Men
-seldom have sentiments of affection for
-any woman, or, if at all, it is for some
-fascinating dancing girl, for their wives
-are chosen while too young to feel or excite
-the passion of love. They therefore&mdash;and
-the Brahmins in particular&mdash;resorted to
-the company of the prostitutes, who are
-all dedicated, more or less, to the service of
-some temple.</p>
-
-<p>All the dancing women and musicians of
-Southern India formerly belonged to the
-Corinlar, a low caste, of which the respectable
-members, however, disdain connection
-with them.</p>
-
-<p>They thus formed a separate order, and
-a certain number were attached to every
-temple of any consequence, receiving very
-small allowances. They were mostly prostitutes,
-at least to the Brahmins. Those
-attached to the edifices of great sanctity
-were entirely reserved for these priestly
-sensualists, who would have dismissed any
-one connecting herself with a Christian, a
-Mussulman, or a person of inferior caste.
-The others hired themselves out indiscriminately,
-and were greatly sought after.
-Their accomplishments seduced the men.
-The respectable women, ignorant, insipid,
-and tasteless, were neglected for the more
-attractive prostitutes. Under the rule of
-the Mohammedans, who were much addicted
-to this class of pleasures, the Brahmins
-did not dare enforce their exclusive
-privileges, but afterwards resumed their
-sway with great energy. A set of dancers
-was usually hired out at prices varying
-from twelve shillings to six pounds sterling.
-They performed at private entertainments
-as well as public festivals. Each
-troop was under a chief. When one became
-old she was turned away without provision,
-unless she had a handsome daughter following
-the same occupation, and in this
-case was usually treated by the girl with
-liberality and affection. Buchanan tells us
-that all he saw were of very ordinary appearance,
-inelegant in their dress, and
-dirty in their person. Many had the itch,
-and some were vilely diseased.</p>
-
-<p>In the temples of Tulava, near Mangalore,
-a curious custom prevailed. Any woman
-of the four pure castes who was tired
-of her husband, or as a widow was weary
-of chastity, or as a maiden, of celibacy,
-went to the sacred building and ate some
-of the rice offered to the idol. She was
-then publicly questioned as to the cause of
-her resolution, and allowed the option of
-living within or without the precincts of
-the temple. If she chose the former, she
-got a daily allowance of food and annually
-a piece of cloth. She swept the holy building,
-fanned the image of the god, and
-confined her prostitution to the Brahmins.
-Usually some priestly officer of the revenue
-appropriated one of these women to
-himself, paying her a small fee or sum, and
-would flog her, in the most insulting manner,
-if she cohabited with any other man
-while under his care. Part of the daughters
-were given away in marriage, and part
-followed their mother’s calling.</p>
-
-<p>The Brahminy women who chose to live
-outside of the temple might cohabit with
-any men they pleased, but were obliged to
-pay a sixteenth part of their profits to the
-Brahmins. They were an infamous class.
-This system still obtains, though in a modified
-degree. In other parts of the region
-it prevails more or less. In Sindh every
-town of importance has a troop of dancing
-girls. No entertainment is complete without
-them. Under the native government
-this vice was largely encouraged. The
-girls swallowed spirits to stimulate their
-zeal. They are, many of them, very handsome,
-and are all prostitutes. To show the
-system of manners prevailing before the
-British conquest, it may be remarked
-that numbers of these women accumulated
-great fortunes, and that the voices of a
-band of prostitutes were louder than all
-other sounds at the Durbars of the debauched
-Amirs. In consequence of this
-the people of Sindh were hideously demoralized.
-Intrigues were carried on to an
-extraordinary extent in private life, and
-women generally were very lax. An evident
-reform is already perceptible.</p>
-
-<p>Among the Hindus immorality is not a
-distinguishing characteristic, though many
-men of high grade pass their nights with
-dancers and prostitutes. In the temples of
-the south lascivious ceremonies still occur,
-but in Hindustan Proper such scenes are
-not often enacted. This decency of public
-manners appears of recent introduction,
-which is indeed a reasonable supposition,
-for the people have now aims in life, which
-they never enjoyed in security under their
-former rulers. It was for the interest of
-the princes that their subjects should
-be indolent and sensual. It is for the interest
-of the new government that they
-should be industrious and moral. Great
-efforts have been made with this object,
-and much good has resulted.</p>
-
-<p>Towards the close of the last century an
-official report was made by Mr. Grant, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span>
-addressed to the Court of Directors. It
-was the result of an inquiry instituted into
-the morals of British India. India and
-Bengal were especially held in view.
-Much laxity of morals in private life then
-prevailed, and he believed that many intrigues
-were altogether concealed, while
-many that were discovered were hushed
-up. Receptacles for women of infamous
-character everywhere abounded, and were
-licensed. The prostitutes had a place in
-society, making a principal figure at all
-the entertainments of the great. They
-were admitted even into the zenanas to
-exhibit their dances. Lord Cornwallis,
-soon after his arrival in Bengal, was invited
-by the Nawab to one of these entertainments,
-but refused to go. The frightful
-punishments against adultery appeared
-enacted far more to protect the sanctity of
-caste than public or private virtue. A
-man committing the crime was threatened
-with the embraces, after death, of an iron
-figure of a woman made red hot. Connection,
-however, with prostitutes and dancing
-girls was permitted by the written law.</p>
-
-<p>If that account was correct&mdash;and it is
-corroborated by many others&mdash;an immense
-amelioration must have taken place. The
-Hindus are now generally chaste, and the
-profligacy of their large cities does not
-exceed that of large cities in Europe. In
-Benares, in 1800, out of a population of
-180,000, there were 1500 regular prostitutes,
-besides 264 Nach or dancing girls.
-They were all of the <i>Sudra</i>, which is a very
-low caste. In Dacca there were, out of a
-population of 35,238 Mohammedans and
-31,429 Hindus, 234 Mohammedan and 539
-Hindu prostitutes.</p>
-
-<p>At Hurdwar it was one of the duties of
-the female pilgrims to the sacred stream
-to bathe stark naked before hundreds of
-men, which does not indicate any great
-modesty.</p>
-
-<p>The better order of Nach girls are of the
-highest grace and fascination, with much
-personal charm, which they begin to lose
-at 20 years of age. They mostly dress in
-very modest attire, and many are decent in
-their manners.</p>
-
-<p>The Gipsies of India, many of whom are
-Thugs, have numbers of handsome women
-in their camps, whom they send out as
-prostitutes to gain money, or seduce the
-traveller from his road.</p>
-
-<p>It is said that many of the Europeans
-scattered over India encourage immorality,
-taking temporary companions. A large class
-of half-caste children has been certainly
-growing up in the country, whose mothers
-are not all the children of white men.</p>
-
-<p>The institution of slavery in Malwa was
-principally confined to women. Almost all
-the prostitutes were of this class. They
-were purchased when children by the
-heads of companies, who trained them for
-the calling, and lived upon the gains of
-their prostitution. The system is even at
-present nearly similar, the girls being
-bargained away by their parents into virtual
-servitude. Many of the wealthy
-Brahmins, with from 50 to 200 slaves, employed
-them all day in the menial labours
-of the establishment, and at night dispersed
-them to separate dwellings, where
-they were permitted to prostitute themselves
-as they pleased. A large proportion
-of the profits, however, which accrued from
-this vile traffic formed the share of the
-master, who also claimed as slaves the
-children which might spring from this vile
-intercourse. The female slaves and dancing
-girls could not marry, and were often
-harshly used. Society was disorganized by
-the vast bastard breed produced by this
-system.</p>
-
-<p>The Europeans at Madras, a few years
-ago, did not consider their liaisons with the
-native women so immoral as they would
-have been considered in England. The
-concubines were generally girls from the
-lower ranks, purchased from their mothers.
-Their conduct usually depends on the
-treatment they receive. Many of them
-become exceedingly faithful and attached,
-being bitterly jealous of any other native
-women interfering with their master’s
-affections, but never complaining of being
-superseded by an English wife. They are
-often, however, extravagant gamblers, and
-involve their “lovers” in heavy debts.</p>
-
-<p>An Indian mother will sometimes dedicate
-her female child to prostitution at the
-temple; and those who are not appropriated
-by the Brahmins may go with any
-one, though the money must be paid into
-a general fund for the support of the establishment.</p>
-
-<p>Some of the ceremonies performed in the
-temples of the south, by the worshippers of
-the female deities, were simply orgies of
-the impurest kind. When a man desired
-to be initiated into these rites, he went
-with a priest, after various preliminary
-rites, to some house, taking nine females
-(one a Brahmin) and nine men&mdash;one
-woman for himself, and another for his
-sacerdotal preceptor. All being seated,
-numerous ceremonies were performed until
-twelve o’clock at night, when they gratified
-their inflamed passions in the most libidinous
-manner. The women, of course, were
-prostitutes by habit or profession. Men<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span>
-and women danced naked before thousands
-of spectators at the worship of the goddess
-Doorga. The impurities originated usually
-with the priests. Many of the Brahmins
-persuaded their disciples to allow them to
-gratify their lust upon their young wives,
-declaring it was a meritorious sacrifice.
-At the temple of Juggernaut, during the
-great festivals, a number of females were
-paid to dance and sing before the god
-daily. These were all prostitutes. They
-lived in separate houses, not in the
-temple.</p>
-
-<p>The daughters of Brahmins, until eight
-years old, were declared by the religious
-code to be objects of worship, as forms of
-goddesses. Horrid orgies took place at the
-devotions paid them. Other women might
-be chosen as objects of adoration. A man
-must select from a particular class&mdash;his
-own wife or a prostitute: she must be
-stripped naked while the ceremony is performed,
-and this is done in a manner too
-revolting to describe. The clothes of the
-prostitutes hired to dance before the idols
-are so thin that they may almost be said
-to have been naked. Thus the immorality
-of the Hindoos, as far as it extended, was
-encouraged by their religion.</p>
-
-<p>In another way some classes of Brahmins
-contributed to demoralize the people. A
-man of this profession would marry from
-three to 120 wives, in different parts of
-the country. Many, indeed, earned a living
-in this manner; for as often as they visited
-any woman, her father was obliged to make
-a present. Some go once after their marriage,
-and never go again; while others
-visit their wives once in three or four
-years. Some of the more respectable
-Brahmins never hold sexual intercourse
-with any of their wives, who dwell at
-home, but treat them with great respect.
-These neglected women often take to prostitution.
-The brothels of Calcutta and
-other large cities are crowded with such
-cast-off mistresses of the Brahmins. They
-procure abortion when pregnant. In the
-city of Bombay a whole quarter is inhabited
-chiefly by prostitutes. Riding in the
-environs, the European resident is frequently
-assailed by men, or sometimes
-boys, who inquire by signs or words, whether
-he desires a companion; should he
-assent, the woman is privately brought to
-his house in a close palanquin, or he is
-taken to a regular place of resort, in one
-of these vehicles, which are contrived for
-secrecy.</p>
-
-<p>Among the Nairs, on the coast of Malabar,
-the institution of marriage has never
-been strictly or completely introduced.
-Polyandrism is practised. A woman receives
-four or five brothers as her husbands,
-and a slipper left at the door is a signal
-that she is engaged with one of them. The
-mother is thus the only parent known, and
-the children inherit the property of the
-family in equal divisions. In some cases
-the Nairs marry a particular woman, who
-never leaves her mother’s home, but has
-intercourse with any men she pleases, subject
-to the sacred law of caste. In the
-mountain community of Tibet the same
-custom prevails. It is to be regretted that
-our information on this subject is not more
-explicit and full.</p>
-
-<p>The venereal disease is known in most
-parts of Hindustan. Some, with little
-reason, suppose it was carried there after
-the discovery of America. Had it been so,
-its introduction would probably have been
-noticed in history or by some tradition. It
-is not, indeed, called by any Sanscrit word,
-but is known by a Persian name<a name="FNanchor_73_73" id="FNanchor_73_73"></a><a href="#Footnote_73_73" class="fnanchor">[73]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in Ceylon.</span></h3>
-
-<p>In Ceylon the influence of Christianity,
-accompanied by the moral law of England,
-is working a reform in the manners of large
-classes among the people. Under the original
-institutions of the Singhalese, they
-never licensed public prostitution; and
-whatever effect the Buddhist religion produced,
-it produced in the cause of virtue.
-The temples were never made brothels;
-but the character of the people is naturally
-sensual, and the capital vices of society
-widely prevail among them. The Buddhist
-code, indeed, abounds with precepts inculcating
-not only chastity, but rigid conti<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span>nence.
-Profligacy, however, among the
-men, and want of chastity among the women,
-are general characteristics of all
-classes, from the highest to the humblest
-caste. To this day the disregard of virtue
-is a crying sin of the women, even of those
-who profess Christianity. Murders often
-occur from the jealousy of husbands or
-lovers detecting their wives or mistresses
-with a paramour.</p>
-
-<p>In Ceylon, as in continental India, the
-division of castes is by the ancient and
-sacred law absolute, though custom sometimes
-infringes the enactments of the holy
-code. Marriage from a higher into a lower
-caste is peremptorily forbidden; though
-occasionally it is tolerated, but never approved,
-between a man of honourable and
-a woman of inferior rank. If a female of
-noble blood engage in a criminal intrigue
-with a plebeian, his life has on many occasions
-been sacrificed to wash out the stain,
-and formerly hers was also required to
-obliterate the disgrace. A recent and
-striking instance of this kind came to
-the knowledge of Mr. Charles Sirr. The
-daughter of a high-caste Kandian, enjoying
-the liberty which in Ceylon is allowed
-to women of all grades, became attached to
-a young man of lower caste, and entreated
-her parents’ consent to the match, begging
-them to excuse her for her affection’s sake,
-and declaring she could not live unless
-permitted to fulfil the design on which her
-heart was set. They refused, and, though
-the petition was again and again renewed,
-remained obdurate in their denial. The girl
-was some time after found to have sacrificed
-her honour to the man whom she
-loved, but dared not wed. He was all the
-while willing and desirous to marry her,
-and would have married her then, but her
-parents were inexorable. To preserve the
-honour of the family, the father slew his
-daughter with his own hand. The English
-authorities at once arrested the murderer,
-brought him to trial, and condemned him
-to death. He resolutely asserted his right
-to do as he pleased with the girl, protesting
-against any judicial interference of
-the English with his family arrangements.
-He was, nevertheless, executed, as a warning;
-and several of these examples have
-had a most salutary influence in restraining
-the passions of the natives in various parts
-of the island. It was undoubtedly the
-man’s sense of honour that impelled him
-to murder his daughter; and she was thus
-the victim of caste prejudices, which in
-Ceylon are so rigid that a man could not
-force his slave to marry into a rank below
-him, whether free-born or otherwise.</p>
-
-<p>In Ceylon, as in most other parts of Asia,
-marriages are contracted at a very early
-age. A man, by the law, “attains his
-majority” when sixteen years old, and
-thenceforward is released from paternal
-control; all engagements, however, which
-he may form previous to that time, without
-the consent of his friends in authority,
-are null and void. A girl, as soon as she
-is marriageable according to nature, is
-marriageable according to law; and her
-parents, or, if she be an orphan, her nearest
-kindred, give a feast&mdash;grand or humble,
-according to their means&mdash;when she is introduced
-to a number of unmarried male
-friends. If she be handsome or rich, a
-crowd of suitors is sure to be attracted.
-Free as women are in Ceylon after their
-marriage, they are rarely consulted beforehand
-on the choice of a partner. That is
-settled for the girl. To this custom much of
-the immorality prevalent in the island, as
-well as in all parts of the East, may without
-a doubt be ascribed. Where the sexes
-are not free to form what lawful unions
-they please, it may be taken as an axiom
-that they will have recourse to irregular
-intrigues.</p>
-
-<p>When the feast is given at which a
-young girl is introduced as marriageable&mdash;a
-custom very similar in form and <i>object</i> to
-that which obtains in our own country&mdash;numerous
-young unmarried men of the
-same caste are invited to the house. In a
-short time after, a relative or friend of any
-young man who may desire to take the
-maiden as his wife, calls upon her family,
-and insinuates that a rumour of the intended
-union is flying abroad. If this be
-denied, quietly or otherwise, the match-maker
-loses no time in withdrawing; but
-if it is answered in a jocular bantering
-strain, he takes his leave, with many compliments,
-to announce his reception to the
-father of the bridegroom. This personage,
-after a day or two, makes <i>his</i> call, inquires
-into the amount of the marriage dowry,
-and carries the negotiation a few steps
-further. Mutual visits are exchanged, and
-all arrangements made, with great precision.
-The mother of the young man, with
-several other matrons, take the girl into an
-inner room, where she is stripped, and her
-person examined, to see that it is free from
-any corporal defect, from ulcers, and from
-any cutaneous disease. Should this investigation
-prove satisfactory, numerous formalities
-succeed, and an auspicious day is
-fixed upon for the wedding. This takes
-place with much ceremony, the stars being
-in all things consulted. Should the bridegroom’s
-horoscope refuse to agree with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span>
-that of the bride, his younger brother
-may wed her for him by a species of proxy.
-The whole is a tedious succession of formal
-observances, not so much the ordinance of
-religion as the details of an ancient ritual
-etiquette. This is the Buddhaical custom;
-but it is immensely expensive, and cannot
-be followed by the very poor classes. It is
-also forbidden to people of extremely low
-caste, even though they should be wealthy
-enough to afford, or sufficiently improvident
-to risk it. Among the humble and
-indigent the marriage is confirmed by the
-mutual consent of the parents and the young
-couple passing a night together.</p>
-
-<p>One of the most remarkable features in
-the social aspect of Ceylon is the institution
-of polyandrism, which among the Kandians
-is permitted and practised to a great
-extent. A Kandian matron of high caste
-is sometimes the wife of eight brothers.
-The custom is justified upon various
-grounds. Sirr expressed to a Kandian
-chief of no mean rank his abhorrence of
-this revolting practice. The man was surprised
-at these sentiments, and replied
-that on the contrary it was an excellent
-custom. Among the rich it prevented
-litigation; it saved property from minute
-subdivision; it concentrated family influence.
-Among the poor it was absolutely
-necessary, for several brothers could not
-each maintain a separate wife, or bear the
-expense of a whole family, which jointly
-they could easily do. The offspring of
-these strange unions call all the brothers
-alike their fathers, though preference is
-given to the eldest, and are equal heirs to
-the family property; should litigation,
-however, arise concerning the inheritance,
-they often all claim the senior brother as a
-parent, and the Kandian laws recognise
-this claim.</p>
-
-<p>Although, when a plurality of husbands
-is adopted, they are usually brothers, a
-man may, with the woman’s consent, bring
-home another, who enjoys all the marital
-rights, and is called an associated husband.
-In fact, the first may, subject to his wife’s
-pleasure, bring home as many strangers as
-he pleases, and the children inherit their
-property equally. It is rare, however, to
-meet one of these associated husbands
-among the Kandians of higher and purer
-caste, though two or more brothers continually
-marry the same woman. This
-revolting custom is now confined to the
-province of Kandy, though some writers
-assert that it was formerly prevalent
-throughout the maritime districts. In
-these, however, monogamy is at present
-practised, except by the Mohammedans,
-who are polygamists. Statements to the
-contrary have been laid before us; but
-Sirr positively asserts that he never saw a
-Kandian or Singhalese who had acknowledged
-himself to have more than a single
-wife. The Muslims, though long settled
-in the island, preserve their peculiar characteristics,
-their religion, habits, and manners,
-which they have not communicated to
-the rest of the population.</p>
-
-<p>There are two kinds of marriage in
-Kandy, the one called “Bema,” the other
-“Deega.” In the first of these the husband
-goes to live at his wife’s residence, and the
-woman shares with her brothers the family
-inheritance. He, however, who is married
-after this fashion, enjoys little respect from
-his bride’s relations; and if he gives offence
-to her father, or the head of the household,
-may be at once ejected from the abode.
-In reference to this precarious and doubtful
-lodgement there is an ancient proverb
-still popular in Kandy. It says that a man
-wedded according to the Bema process
-should only take to his bride’s dwelling
-four articles of property&mdash;a pair of sandals
-to protect his feet, a palm-leaf to shield
-his head from the fiery rays of the sun, a
-walking staff to support him if he be sick,
-and a lantern to illuminate his path should
-he chance to be ejected during darkness.
-He may thus be prepared to depart at any
-hour of the day or night.</p>
-
-<p>Deega, the other kind of marriage, is that
-in which the wife passes from underneath
-the parental roof to dwell in her husband’s
-own house. In this case she relinquishes
-all claim to a share in her family inheritance,
-but acquires a contingent right to some of
-her husband’s property. The man’s authority
-is, under this form of contract, far
-greater than under that of Bema. He
-cannot be divorced without his own consent,
-while, in the other case, separation, as we
-have seen, is a summary process, entirely
-depending on the caprice of the woman or
-her family. In a country where the female
-population is considerably less numerous
-than the male, and where women generally
-enjoy much freedom, a certain degree of
-indulgence will always be granted to the
-fickle quality in their character. In Ceylon
-this liberty in the one sex involves a certain
-kind of slavery in the other. Women frequently
-seek for divorces upon the most
-frivolous and trifling pretexts, and as these
-are too easily attainable by the simple
-return of the marriage gifts, they continually
-occur. Should a child be born
-within nine months from the day of the
-final separation, the husband is bound to
-maintain it for the first three years of its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span>
-life, after which it is considered sufficiently
-old to be taken from its mother. If, however,
-while under the marriage pledge, the
-woman defiles herself by adultery, the
-husband, if with his own eyes he was the
-witness of her infidelity, might with his
-own hands, under the native law, take
-away the life of her paramour. Notwithstanding
-this terrible privilege, it is asserted
-with consistency by many authorities that,
-in all parts of Ceylon, from the highest to
-the lowest caste, the want of conjugal faith
-in the married, and chastity in the unmarried
-people, is frightful to consider.
-When a man puts away his wife for adulterous
-intrigue, he may disinherit her and
-the whole of her offspring, notwithstanding
-that he may feel and acknowledge them all
-to be his own children. When, however, he
-seeks a divorce from caprice, he renounces
-all claim to his wife’s inheritance or actual
-property, and must divide with her whatever
-may have been jointly accumulated
-during the period of their cohabitation.
-The men of Ceylon do not always, however,
-exercise their privileges. They are generally
-very indulgent husbands. Many of
-them, indeed, are uxorious to an offensive
-extreme, and forgive offences which, by
-most persons, are held unpardonable. A
-short time since a Kandian applied to the
-British judicial authorities to compel the
-return to him and his children of an unfaithful
-wife, who had deserted her home for that
-of a paramour. The husband pleaded his
-love for her, implored her for her children’s
-sake to come back, and promised to forgive
-her offence; but she turned away from him,
-and coolly asked the judge if he could force
-her to return. He answered that unfortunately
-he could not, but advised her to
-return to the home of her lawful partner,
-who was ready to forgive and embrace her.
-She disregarded equally the entreaties of
-the one and the exhortation of the other,
-and returned to her paramour, whom she
-shortly afterwards deserted for another.</p>
-
-<p>The numerous instances of this kind
-which happen in the island have encouraged
-a swarm of satirical effusions upon the faithlessness
-of the female sex; but if the women
-were also poets, they might echo every note
-of the song. In illustration of the estimate
-formed of them, we may quote a few lines
-translated from the original by Sirr. They
-apply to the fraudulent disposition of women,
-and have become proverbial among the
-people.</p>
-
- <div class="poetry-container"><div class="poetry"><div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse">“I’ve seen the adumbra tree in flower, white plumage on the crow,</div>
- <div class="verse">And fishes’ footsteps on the deep have traced through ebb and flow.</div>
- <div class="verse">If man it is who thus asserts, his words you may believe;</div>
- <div class="verse">But all that woman says distrust&mdash;she speaks but to deceive.”</div>
-</div></div></div>
-
-<p>The adumbra is a species of fig-tree, and
-the natives assert that no mortal has ever
-seen its bloom.</p>
-
-<p>Under the native kings the Singhalese
-were forbidden to contract marriage with
-any one of nearer affinity than the second
-cousin; such an union was incestuous, and
-severely punished. Under the English
-government, however, many of these old
-restrictions have been modified. Among
-the Christian population, on the other hand&mdash;Catholic
-as well as Protestant&mdash;many
-traces of their old idolatry are still distinctly
-visible in the ceremony of marriage.</p>
-
-<p>The Buddhist law allows to every man,
-whatever his grade, only one wife; but the
-ancient Kandian princes, of course, broke
-this law and took as many wives or concubines
-as they pleased.</p>
-
-<p>We have alluded to the numerical difference
-between the sexes. The population
-of Ceylon is about 1,500,000, and the males
-exceed the females by nearly a tenth. In
-1814 it was 476,000; there were 20,000
-more males than females. In 1835 there
-was a population of 646,000 males, and
-584,000 females. At both these periods
-the disparity was greatest in the poorest
-places. In the fishing villages, where wholesome
-food abounded, there were more females
-than males. The same circumstance is true
-at the present day. Some writers attribute
-this to a gracious provision of Nature, which
-checks the increase of the people; but
-Nature makes no provision against unnatural
-things, and starvation is a monstrous
-thing in a fertile country. We may with
-more safety assign as a cause the open or
-secret infanticide, which, under the old
-laws, was common. Female children, except
-the first born, born under a malignant
-star, were sure to be sacrificed. It was
-hardly considered an offence; but being,
-under the British rule, denounced as murder,
-has been gradually abolished. The
-easier means of life, which in Ceylon and
-throughout the rest of our Asiatic dominions
-are afforded to the people under English
-sway, take away the incentive of poverty
-to crime. The population has enormously
-increased, an unfailing sign of good government,
-if misery does not increase with it.</p>
-
-<p>The social position of the Singhalese
-women is not so degraded as in many other
-parts of the East; the poor labouring hard,
-but as partners rather than as slaves. This
-superior condition does not, unhappily,
-elevate their moral character, for it is un<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span>accompanied
-by other essential circumstances.
-Profligacy, we have said, is widely
-prevalent in Ceylon; yet prostitution, at
-least of the avowed and public kind, is not
-so. Under the Kandian dynasty it was
-peremptorily forbidden; a common harlot
-had her hair and ears cut off and was
-whipped naked. If, however, we accept
-the general definition of the word prostitution
-as any obscene traffic in a woman’s
-person, we shall find much of it clandestinely
-practised. The women are skilful
-in procuring abortion, and thus rid themselves
-of the consequences which follow
-their intrigues. Of course, in the sea-port
-towns prostitution exists, but we have no
-account of it. It is fair, however, to notice
-the opinions of Sir Emerson Tennent, that
-the morals of the people in these and in
-all other parts of the islands are rapidly
-improving, and that marriage is <i>becoming</i>
-a more sacred tie<a name="FNanchor_74_74" id="FNanchor_74_74"></a><a href="#Footnote_74_74" class="fnanchor">[74]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in China.</span></h3>
-
-<p>In the immense empire of China, the civilization
-of which has been cast in a mould
-fashioned by despotism, a general uniformity
-of manners is prevalent. Singular
-as many of its customs are, they vary very
-little in the different provinces, for although
-the population be composed of a mixture
-of races, the iron discipline of the government
-forces all to bend to one universal
-fashion. The differences which are remarked
-between the practice of the people
-in one district, and those of another, spring
-only from the nature of circumstances. It
-is more easy, therefore, to take an outline
-view of this vast empire, than it is to
-sketch many smaller countries, where the
-uniformity of manners is not so absolute.</p>
-
-<p>China affords a wide and interesting
-field for our inquiry. Were our information
-complete, there is perhaps no state in the
-world with reference to which so curious
-an account might be written as China,
-with its prostitution system. Unfortunately,
-however, the negligence or prudery of travellers
-has allowed the subject to be passed
-over. We know that a remarkable system
-of this kind does exist, that prostitutes
-abound in the cities of the Celestial Empire,
-and that they form a distinct order; we
-know something of the classes from which
-they are taken, how they are procured, in
-what their education consists, where and
-in what manner they live, and how and
-by whom they are encouraged. But this
-information is to be derived, not from any
-full account by an intelligent and observing
-inquirer, but from isolated facts scattered
-through a hundred books which require to
-be connected, and then only form a rough
-and incomplete view of the subject.
-Statistics we have positively none, though
-ample opportunities must be afforded travellers
-for arriving at something near the
-truth in such cities as Canton. However,
-from what knowledge we possess it is
-evident the social economy of the Chinese
-with respect to prostitution presents clear
-points of analogy with our own.</p>
-
-<p>In conformity with the plan of this inquiry,
-we proceed first to ascertain the
-general condition of the female sex in
-China. Abundant information has been
-supplied us on this subject, as well by the
-written laws, and by the literature of the
-country, as by the travellers who have
-visited and described it.</p>
-
-<p>As in all Asiatic, indeed in all barbarous,
-countries, women in China are counted inferior
-to men. The high example of Confucius
-taught the people&mdash;though their own
-character inclined them before, and was reflected
-from him&mdash;that the female sex was
-created for the convenience of the male.
-The great philosopher spoke of women and
-slaves as belonging to the same class, and
-complained that they were equally difficult
-to govern. That ten daughters are not
-equal in value to one son is a proverb
-which strongly expresses the Chinese sentiment
-upon this point, and the whole of their
-manners is pervaded by the same spirit.
-Feminine virtue, indeed, is severely guarded
-by the law, but not for its own sake. The
-well-being of the state, and the interest of
-the male sex, are sought to be protected by
-the rigorous enactments on the subject of
-chastity; but the morality, like the charity
-of that nation, is contained principally in
-its codes, essays, and poems, for in practice
-they are among the most demoralised on
-the earth.</p>
-
-<p>The spirit of the Salic law might naturally
-be looked for in the political code of
-such a state. It is so. The throne can be
-occupied only by a man. An illegitimate
-son is held in more respect than a legitimate
-daughter. The constitution provides that
-if the principal wife fail to bear male children,
-the son of the next shall succeed, and
-if she be barren also, of the next, and so on,
-according to their seniority, the son of each
-has a contingent claim to the sovereignty.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span>
-Thus in the most important department of
-their public economy the national sentiment
-is manifested. We may now examine the
-laws which regulate the intercourse of
-the sexes, and then inquire into the actual
-state of manners. It will be useful to remember
-the truth, which has already been
-stated, that no language is so full of moral
-axioms and honourable sentiments as the
-Chinese, while no nation is more flagitious
-in its practice.</p>
-
-<p>The government of China, styled paternal
-because it rules with the rod, regulates the
-minutest actions of a man’s career. He is
-governed in everything&mdash;in the temple, in
-the street, at his own table, in all the relations
-of life. The law of marriage, for
-instance, is full, rigid, and explicit. The
-young persons about to be wedded know
-little or nothing of the transaction.</p>
-
-<p>Parental authority is supreme, and
-alliances are contracted in which the man
-and wife do not see each others’ faces until
-they occupy the same habitation and are
-mutually pledged for life. Match-making
-in China is a profession followed by old
-women, who earn what we may term a
-commission upon the sales they effect.
-When a union between two families is
-intended, its particulars must be fully explained
-on either side, so that no deceit
-shall be practised. The engagement is then
-drawn and the amount of presents determined,
-for in all countries where women
-hold this position, marriage is more or less
-a mercantile transaction. When once the
-contract is made, it is irrevocable. If the
-friends of the girl repent and desire to
-break the match, the man among them who
-had authority to give her away is liable to
-receive fifty strokes of the bamboo, and the
-marriage must proceed. Whatever other
-engagements have been entered into are
-null and punishable, and the original bridegroom
-has in all cases a decisive claim. If
-he, on the other hand, or the friend who
-represents and controls him, desire to dissolve
-the compact, giving a marriage present
-to another woman, he is chastised with
-fifty blows, and compelled to fulfil the
-terms of his first engagement, while his
-second favourite is at liberty to marry as
-she pleases. If either of the parties is incontinent
-after the ceremony of betrothal,
-the crime is considered as adultery, and so
-punished. But if any deceit be practised,
-and either family represent the person
-about to marry under a false description,
-they become liable to severe penalties, and
-on the part of the man most strictly.</p>
-
-<p>The husband, finding that a girl had been
-palmed off on him by fraud, is permitted
-to release himself from the tie. Such incidents,
-nevertheless, do occasionally occur.
-One of rather an amusing nature is alluded
-to by several writers. A young man who
-had been promised in marriage the youngest
-daughter of a large family was startled
-when, after the ceremony was complete, he
-unveiled his bride, to find the eldest sister,
-very ugly and deeply pitted with the small
-pox. The law would have allowed him to
-escape from such an union, but he submitted,
-and soon afterwards consoled himself
-with a handsome concubine.</p>
-
-<p>Although the girl, when once betrothed,
-is absolutely bound to the husband selected
-for her, he dare not, under pain of the bastinado,
-force her away before the specified
-time. On the other hand, her friends must
-not, under similar penalties, detain her
-after that time. Thus the law regulates
-the whole transaction, and the parents dispose
-as they will of their children. Occasionally,
-however, a young man, not yet
-emancipated from paternal authority, contracts
-a marriage according to his own inclination,
-and if the rites have actually
-been performed, it cannot be dissolved; but
-if he be only betrothed, and his parents
-have in the meanwhile agreed upon an alliance
-for him, he must relinquish his own
-design and obey their choice.</p>
-
-<p>Polygamy is allowed in China, but under
-certain regulations. The first wife is
-usually chosen from a family equal in rank
-and riches to that of the husband, and is
-affianced with as much splendour and ceremony
-as the parties can afford. She acquires
-all the rights which belong to the
-chief wife in any Asiatic country. The
-man may then take as many as he pleases,
-who are inferior in rank to the first, but
-equal to each other. The term inferior
-wife is more applicable than that of concubine,
-as there is a form of espousal, and
-their children have a contingent claim to
-the inheritance. The practice, however,
-brings no honour, if it brings no positive
-shame, though now sanctioned by long
-habit. Originally it appears to have been
-condemned by the stricter moralists, and it
-has been observed that the Chinese term to
-describe this kind of companion is, curiously
-enough, compounded of the words
-<i>crime</i> and <i>woman</i>. It is a derogatory position,
-and such as only the poor and humble
-will consent to occupy. One of the national
-sayings, and the feeling with many
-of the women, is, that it is more honourable
-to be a poor man’s wife than the concubine
-of an emperor. A man cannot, under the
-penalty of a hundred blows, degrade his
-first wife to this position, or raise an infe<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span>rior
-wife to hers&mdash;no such act is valid before
-the law.</p>
-
-<p>None but the rich can afford, and none
-but the loose and luxurious will practise,
-polygamy except when the first wife fails
-to bear a son. Unless some such reason
-exists, the opinion of moralists is against
-it. Men with too many wives lose the Emperor’s
-confidence, since he accuses them of
-being absorbed in domestic concerns. In
-this case it is usual to take an inferior wife,
-who is purchased from the lower ranks for
-a sum of money, that an heir may be born
-to the house. The situation of these poor
-creatures is aggravated or softened according
-to the disposition of their chief, for
-they are virtually her servants, and are not
-allowed even to eat in her presence. They
-receive no elevation by her decease, but
-are for ever the mere slaves of their master’s
-lust. At the same time their inferior
-position, and therefore inferior consequence,
-gains them some agreeable privileges.
-The principal wife is not allowed to
-indulge in conversation or any free intercourse
-with strangers&mdash;a pleasure which is
-sometimes enjoyed with little restraint by
-the others, as well as by the female domestics.
-Not much jealousy appears to be entertained
-by these women, who are easily
-to be procured. Their sons receive half as
-much patrimony as the sons of the mistress
-of the household.</p>
-
-<p>The social laws of China inculcate the
-good treatment of wives; but the main
-solicitude of the legislator has been with
-respect to the fixity of the law, and the
-rights of the male or supreme sex. Leaving
-her parents’ home, the girl is transferred
-into bondage. Some men, however,
-go to the house of their bride’s father,
-which is contrary to the established form;
-but when once received across the threshold
-as a son-in-law, he cannot be ejected, and
-leaves only when he is inclined.</p>
-
-<p>A man may not marry within a certain
-period of his chief wife’s death; but if he
-takes a woman who has already been his
-concubine, the punishment is two degrees
-milder. So also with widows, who cannot
-be forced by their friends to make any new
-engagement at all, but are protected by
-the law. Women left in this position
-have a powerful dissuasive against a fresh
-union, in the entire independence which
-they enjoy, and which they could enjoy
-under no other circumstances.</p>
-
-<p>With respect to the laws relating to consanguinity,
-the Chinese system is particularly
-rigid. The prohibited limits lie very
-widely apart. In this a change appears to
-have been effected under the Mantchus, for
-among the traces of ancient manners which
-become visible at a remoter period, revealed
-only, however, by the twilight of tradition,
-a profligate state of public morals is indicated.
-We find parents giving both their
-daughters in marriage to one man, while
-the intercourse of the sexes was all but entirely
-unrestrained. The strictness of the
-modern law is attended with some inconvenient
-results, for in China the number of
-family names is very small, while it enacted
-that all marriages between persons of
-the same family names are not only null
-and void, but punishable by blows and a
-fine. All such contracts between individuals
-previously related by marriage within
-four degrees, are denounced as incestuous.
-A man may not marry his father’s
-or his mother’s sister-in-law, his father’s or
-mother’s aunt’s daughter, his son-in-law’s
-or daughter-in-law’s sister, his grandson’s
-wife’s sister, his mother’s brother’s or sister’s
-daughter, or any blood relations whatever,
-to any degree, however remote. Such
-offences are punished with the bamboo.
-Death by strangling is enacted against one
-who marries a brother’s widow, while with
-a grandfather’s or father’s wife it is more
-particularly infamous, and the criminal
-suffers the extreme disgrace of decapitation.</p>
-
-<p>These regulations apply to the first wife,
-similar offences with regard to the inferior
-being visited with penalties two degrees
-less severe. Not only, however, are the
-degrees of consanguinity strictly defined,
-but the union of classes is under restriction.
-An officer of government within the
-third order marrying into a family under
-his jurisdiction, or in which legal proceedings
-are under his investigation, is subject
-to heavy punishment. The family of the
-girl, if they voluntarily aid him, incur the
-chastisement also; but if they have submitted
-under fear of his authority, they
-are exempt. To marry an absconded female,
-flying from justice, is prohibited. To
-take forcibly as a wife a freeman’s daughter,
-subjects the offender to death by strangulation.
-An officer of government, or the
-son of any high functionary with hereditary
-honours, who takes as his first or inferior
-wife a female comedian or musician, or
-any member of a disreputable class, is punished
-by sixty strokes of the bamboo. An
-equal punishment is inflicted on any priest
-who marries at all; and, in addition to this,
-he is expelled his order. If he delude a
-woman under false pretences, he incurs the
-penalty of the worst incest. Slaves and
-free persons are forbidden to intermarry.
-Any person, conniving at, or neglecting to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span>
-denounce, such illegal contracts, are criminals
-before the law.</p>
-
-<p>The union after the betrothal must be
-completed; but it may also be broken.
-Seven causes, according to the law, justify
-a man in repudiating his first wife. These
-are&mdash;barrenness, lasciviousness, disregard
-of her husband’s parents, talkativeness,
-thievish propensities, an envious suspicious
-temper, and inveterate infirmity. If, however,
-any of the three legal reasons against
-divorce can be proved by the woman, she
-cannot be put away&mdash;first, that she has
-mourned three years for her husband’s family;
-second, that the family has become
-rich after having been poor before and at
-the time of marriage; third, her having no
-father or mother living to receive her. She
-is thus protected, in some measure, from
-her husband’s caprice. If she commit
-adultery, however, he dare not retain, but
-must dismiss her. If she abscond against
-his will, she may be severely flogged; if
-she commit bigamy, she is strangled. When
-a man leaves his home, his wife must remain
-in it three years before she can sue
-for a divorce, and then give notice of her
-intention before a public tribunal. It is
-forbidden, under peremptory enactments,
-to harbour a fugitive wife or female servant.</p>
-
-<p>A man finding his wife in the act of
-adultery may kill her with her paramour,
-provided he does it immediately, but only
-on that condition. If the guilty wife adds
-to her crime by intriguing against her husband’s
-life, she dies by a slow and painful
-execution. If even the adulterer slay her
-husband without her knowledge, she is
-strangled. The privilege of putting a wife
-to death is not allowed for any inferior
-offence. To strike a husband, is punishable
-by a hundred blows and divorce; to disable
-him, with strangulation. In all these
-circumstances the inferior wife is punished
-one degree more severely. Thus offences
-against them are less harshly, and offences
-by them more rigidly, chastised. In addition
-to these legal visitations the bamboo
-is at hand to preserve discipline among the
-women.</p>
-
-<p>One of the laws of China exhibits a peculiar
-feature of depravity in the people.
-It is enacted, that whoever lends his wife
-or daughter upon hire is to be severely punished,
-and any one falsely bargaining
-away his wife or his sister is to be similarly
-dealt with. All persons consenting to the
-transaction share the penalty. Nor is this
-an obsolete enactment against an unknown
-crime. Instances do not unfrequently
-occur of poor men selling their wives as
-concubines to their wealthier neighbours.
-Others prostitute them for gain; but these
-instances of profligacy usually occur in the
-large and crowded cities. Sometimes the
-woman consents, but sometimes also opposes
-the infamous design.</p>
-
-<p>In 1832 a woman was condemned to
-strangulation for killing her husband by
-accident, while resisting an adulterer whom
-he had introduced for her to prostitute
-herself to him. These incidents occur only
-in the lowest class. Some men are as jealous
-as Turks, and maintain eunuchs to
-guard their wives.</p>
-
-<p>Under this system many restrictions are
-imposed on the women of China. They
-form no part of what is called society, enjoying
-little companionship, even with persons
-of their own sex. Those of the better
-class are instructed in embroidering and
-other graceful but useless accomplishments.
-They are seldom educated to any extent,
-though some instances have occurred of
-learned women and elegant poetesses, who
-have been praised and admired throughout
-the country. Fond of gay clothes, of
-gaudy furniture, and brilliant decoration,
-they love nothing so much as display; and
-though assuming a demure and timid air,
-cannot be highly praised on this account,
-for their bashfulness is, in such cases, more
-apparent than real. Still they are generally
-described as faithful partners. Religious
-services are performed for them in
-the temple, to which women are admitted.
-The wives of the poorer sort labour in the
-fields, and perform all the drudgery of the
-house, an occupation which is held as
-suited to their nature. “Let my daughter
-sweep your house” is the expression made
-use of in offering a wife. It should be
-mentioned, however, to relieve the darkness
-of this picture, that husbands often
-present offerings at the temples, with
-prayers to the gods for the recovery of
-their sick wives. The idea may indeed
-suggest itself, that this is with a view to
-economy, as girls are costly purchases;
-but no man is the greater philosopher for
-asserting that a whole nation exists without
-the commonest sentiments of human nature.
-Indeed, many instances occur even in
-China of husbands and wives living as
-dear friends together, especially when polygamy
-has not been adopted in the dwelling.
-The obedience to old habits is not to
-be confounded with characteristic harshness
-in the individual; nor does it seem
-impossible, when we examine the variety
-of manners in the world, to believe in a
-strong and tender attachment between a
-man and the woman whom, in adherence<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span>
-to ancient usage, he would not allow to eat
-at the same table with himself. A privilege
-belongs to the female sex here which
-it enjoys in no other barbarian country.
-A strong authority is recognised in the
-widow over her son. She is acknowledged
-to have the right to be supported by him,
-and it is a proverbial saying, that “a woman
-is thrice dependent&mdash;before marriage
-on her father, after marriage on her husband,
-when a widow on her son.”</p>
-
-<p>From this view of the condition of women,
-and the regulations of marriage, we
-proceed to an important part of the subject&mdash;the
-infanticide for which China has
-been so infamously celebrated. It is impossible
-to conceive a more contradictory
-confusion of statements, than we have seen
-put forward with reference to this question.
-Weighing the various authorities,
-however, we are inclined to adopt a moderate
-view, rejecting the extravagant pictures of
-one, and the broad denials of the other set
-of writers. Infanticide, it cannot be disputed,
-is practised in the country, and to a
-considerable extent; but it is, and always
-will be impossible, to acquire the exact statistics,
-or even an approximation to the
-precise truth.</p>
-
-<p>Two causes appear to have operated in
-encouraging this practice&mdash;the poverty of
-the lower classes, and the severity of the
-law with respect to the illicit intercourse
-of the sexes. The former is the principal
-cause. There is a strong maternal feeling
-in the woman’s breast, and children are
-only destroyed when the indigence of the
-parents allows no hope of rearing them well.
-It is invariably the female child which is,
-under these circumstances, slain; for the
-son can always, after a few years, earn his
-livelihood, and be an assistance, instead of
-a burden, to the family. The birth of a
-female child is regarded as a calamity, and
-brings mourning into the house. One of
-the national proverbs expresses this fact in
-a striking manner, exhibiting also the inferior
-estimation in which that sex is
-viewed. It says, that to a female infant a
-common tile may be given as a toy, while
-to a male a gem should be presented.</p>
-
-<p>When it is determined to destroy the
-offspring thus born under the roof of
-poverty, a choice of method is open. It
-may be drowned in warm water; its throat
-may be pinched; it may be stifled by a wet
-cloth tied over its mouth; it may be choked
-by grains of rice. Another plan is to carry
-the child, immediately after its birth, and
-bury it alive. Captain Collins, of the
-<i>Plover</i> sloop-of-war, relates that some of his
-company, while visiting the coast of China,
-saw a boat full of men and women, with
-four infants. They landed and dug two
-pits, in which they were about to inter
-their living but feeble victims, when they
-were disturbed. They then made off rapidly,
-and passed round a headland, beyond which
-they, no doubt, accomplished their purpose
-without interruption. When the missionary
-Smith was in the suburbs of Canton,
-in 1844, he was presented by a native with
-a work written by a mandarin, and published
-gratuitously at the expense of government,
-to discourage the practice of
-infanticide. When questioned upon the
-actual prevalence of the custom, the native
-said that, taking a circle with a radius of ten
-miles from the spot they then occupied, the
-number of infanticides within the space
-thus included would not exceed five hundred
-in a year. It was confined to the
-very poor, and originated in the difficulty
-of rearing and providing for their female
-offspring. The rich never encouraged, and
-the poor were ashamed, of the practice. He
-knew men who had drowned their daughters,
-but would not confess the act, speaking of
-their children as though they had died of
-disease. In Fokien province, on the contrary,
-infanticides were numerous. At a
-place called Kea-King-Chow, about five
-days’ journey from Canton, there were
-computed to be 500 or 600 cases in a
-month. The comparative immunity of
-Canton from the contagion of this crime
-was the government foundling-hospital
-established there. About 500 female children,
-born of parents in poverty and want,
-were annually received, to have temporary
-provision and sustenance. From time to
-time, the more wealthy merchants and
-gentry visit the institution to select some
-of the children, whom they take home to
-educate as concubines or servants. The
-hospital has accommodation for at least 1000
-infants, each of which is usually removed
-after three months, either to the house of
-some voluntary guardian, or to wet nurses
-in other districts. This is the only important
-institution of the kind in the province.
-Infanticide is still, even by the most favourable
-accounts, lamentably prevalent. The
-foundling-hospitals, of which there is one
-in every great town, do certainly oppose a
-check to the practice. That at Shanghae
-receives annually about 200 infants.</p>
-
-<p>The villagers in the neighbourhood of
-Amoy confessed that female infanticide
-was generally practised among them, and
-their statements were expressed in a manner
-which left no doubt that they considered
-it an innocent and proper expedient for
-lightening the evils of poverty. Two out<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span>
-of every four, they said, were destroyed;
-but rich people, who could afford to bring
-them up never resorted to, because they
-never needed, such a means of relief. Some
-killed three, four, or even five out of six;
-it depended entirely on the circumstances
-of the individual. The object was effected
-immediately after the infant’s birth. If
-sons, however, were born in alternate succession,
-it was regarded as an omen of
-happy fortune for the parents, and the
-daughters were spared. None of the villagers
-denied to any of their questioners
-the generality of the custom, but few would
-confess personally to the actual fact. In
-some districts one-half was reported as the
-average destruction of the female population,
-and in the cities some declared the
-crime was equally prevalent, though we
-may take this as the exaggeration which
-always attends the loose statements of
-ignorant men, who, having little idea of
-figures, are required to furnish a number,
-and speak at random.</p>
-
-<p>Infanticide, however, is not wholly confined
-to the poor. It is occasionally resorted
-to by the rich to conceal their illicit
-amours. In 1838 a proclamation against
-it was published, but the general perpetration
-of the crime rendered its repression
-impossible, with such machinery as the
-Emperor has at his command. Abeel calculated
-that throughout a large district,
-the average was 39 per cent. of the female
-children. It is evident, however, from all
-these facts, that under an improved government,
-the crime might be altogether
-extinguished, not by severe enactments or
-vigilant police, but by rendering infanticide
-unnecessary in the eyes of the people.</p>
-
-<p>The second cause which induces parents
-to destroy their children is the stringency
-of the law against the illicit intercourse of
-unmarried people; its provisions are equally
-characteristic and severe. To render its
-enforcement easier, the separation of the
-sexes is rigidly insisted upon. Not only
-are servants, but even brothers and sisters,
-prohibited from mixing except under regulation.
-Intercourse by mutual consent is
-punished with 70 blows, while with married
-people the penalty varies from 80 to 100.
-Violation of a female, wedded or single,
-is punished by strangulation. An assault,
-with intent to ravish, by 100 strokes of the
-bamboo and perpetual banishment to a
-remote spot. Intercourse with children
-under twelve years of age is treated as rape.
-Should a child be born from one of these
-unlawful intrigues, its support devolves on
-the father; but if the transaction be thus
-far concealed, this evidence of it is usually
-sunk in the river, or flung out by the way-side.
-An unmarried woman found pregnant
-is severely punished, whether her accomplice
-can be discovered or not. The illicit
-intercourse of slaves with their masters’
-wives or daughters is punished with death;
-while officers of government, civil and
-military, and the sons of those who hold
-hereditary rank, if found indulging in
-criminal intrigues with females under their
-jurisdiction, are subjected to unmerciful
-castigation with the stick.</p>
-
-<p>One grace is accorded to the weaker sex
-in China. No woman is committed to prison,
-except in capital cases, or cases of
-adultery. In all others they remain, if
-married, in the custody of their husbands;
-if single, in that of their friends. No woman
-quick with child can be flogged, tortured,
-or executed, until a hundred days
-after her delivery.</p>
-
-<p>Women, however, of the poorer orders,
-whose friends do not care, or are unable,
-to be responsible for them, are lodged
-under the care of female wardens, and in
-reference to this we may instance a curious
-fact illustrative of prison discipline
-in China. In 1805 one of the great officers
-of government made a report to the Emperor,
-that three female warders of the prison
-were in the habit of engaging with
-traders in an illicit and disgraceful intercourse
-with female servants, and hiring
-out the female prisoners, not yet sentenced
-or waiting for discharge, to gain money for
-them by prostitution.</p>
-
-<p>Sensual as the Chinese are, the punishable
-breach of the moral law&mdash;the intercourse
-of unmarried persons&mdash;is checked by
-the system of early marriages. Children
-are often betrothed in the cradle. Men
-seldom pass the age of twenty, or girls
-that of fifteen, in celibacy. The Parsees,
-however, of all ages, are notorious for their
-abandoned mode of life.</p>
-
-<p>Prostitution, however, prevails to a prodigious
-extent. There is throughout the
-country a regular traffic in females. “Seduction
-and adultery,” says Williams, “are
-comparatively unfrequent; but brothels
-and their inmates occur everywhere on
-land and water. One danger attending
-young girls going alone is, that they will
-be stolen for incarceration in these gates
-of hell.”</p>
-
-<p>This is in allusion to a very extraordinary
-system prevalent in the great cities of
-China. In 1832 it was calculated there
-were between 8000 and 10,000 prostitutes
-having abodes in and about Canton.
-Of these the greater portion had been
-stolen while children, and compelled to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span>
-adopt that course of life. Dressed gaily,
-taught to affect happiness, and trained in
-seductive manners, they were examples of
-their class in Europe. Many young girls
-were carried away, forcibly violated, and
-then consigned to a brothel.</p>
-
-<p>Hundreds of kidnappers, chiefly women,
-swarmed in the city, gaining a livelihood
-by the traffic in young girls and children.
-Nor was this the only way in which such
-places were supplied. In times of general
-scarcity or individual want, parents have
-been seen leading their own daughters
-through the streets and offering them for
-sale. The selling of children, says Cunynghame,
-one of the most recent visitors
-to Canton, is an every-day occurrence, and
-is on the whole a check upon infanticide.
-The little victims are seen constantly passing
-on their way to the habitations of their
-purchasers gaily dressed out as though
-for some great ceremony or happy festival.
-Of these, indeed, some are disposed of as
-concubines, but many also are deliberately
-sold to be brought up as prostitutes. It is
-looked upon as a simple mercantile transaction,
-the children being transferred at
-once to the brothels, whence they are hired
-out for the profit of their masters. Some
-of those who are deserted or exposed to
-perish are reserved by the agents for these
-places; but the principal supply is brought
-by kidnappers. Proclamation after proclamation
-has been issued to complain of
-them, but with little effect. The system
-appears rather on the increase than otherwise.</p>
-
-<p>The children thus purchased or picked
-up in the streets are educated with care,
-taught to play on various kinds of instruments,
-to dance, to sing, to perform in comedies
-or pantomimes, and to excel in
-many graceful accomplishments, which
-render them agreeable. They are often
-richly clothed, and adorned in such a way
-as to render them most attractive to the
-<i>roués</i> of Canton and Peking.</p>
-
-<p>They do not often compress their feet, as
-it is a hindrance to their movements, but
-may be seen in the streets occasionally&mdash;though
-not often&mdash;with painted faces, looking
-boldly at the strangers who pass along.
-Of the houses they frequent we have no
-particular description; but they probably
-resemble much similar places of resort in
-civilized countries. A peculiar feature of
-China, however, is displayed in the floating
-brothels, which are the chief habitations
-of the prostitutes. Licentious as the native
-of that empire is in the general turn
-of his ideas, he makes a public display of
-his indulgence in those pleasures which in
-Europe men affect, at least, to conceal
-from general view. The floating brothels
-of the Pearl River are moored in conspicuous
-situations, and distinguished from
-the other boats by the superior style of
-their structure and decorations. The surface
-of the stream, indeed, is studded with
-beautiful junks, which are the first objects
-to attract the traveller’s eye as he approaches
-the provincial city of Canton.
-Comparatively few of the women parade
-the streets, except when they form part of
-a public procession, so that there is at
-least in the heart of the town an appearance
-of morality.</p>
-
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter illowp64" id="i_i_0327" style="max-width: 64.125em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_0327h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>CHINESE WOMAN (<span class="smcap">Prostitute</span>),
-ACCUSED OF DISORDERLY CONDUCT BEFORE A JUDGE.</p>
-
-<p>[<i>From</i> <span class="smcap">Alexander’s</span> “<i>Illustrations of China</i>.”]</p></div>
-</div>
-
-
-
-<p>Many of these brothel junks are called
-Flower Boats, and are resorted to by numbers
-of the class. They form, indeed,
-whole streets in the floating city on the
-Pearl River, which is one of the most remarkable
-features of Canton. The prostitutes
-themselves, like all women of the
-same sisterhood, lead a life of reckless extravagance&mdash;plunging
-while they can into
-all the exciting pleasures which are offered
-by their particular mode of life, careless of
-the future, and eagerly snatching at anything
-which may release them from the
-change of dulness or time for reflection.
-Diseases are very prevalent among them,
-and cause much havoc among the men who
-frequent their boats or houses. They endeavour
-to cure themselves by means of
-drugs and medicinal draughts, and by this
-means concentrate the malady upon some
-secret vital part, whence it shoots through
-the frame, but does not manifest itself
-until the victim is all but destroyed. With
-the exception of an unusual paleness and a
-heated appearance in the eyes, the prostitutes
-do not wear the aspect of disease;
-but they, indeed, paint themselves inordinately
-to mask the ravages of time or the
-maladies which afflict them.</p>
-
-<p>The prostitutes of Canton are usually
-congregated in companies or troops, each
-of which is under the government of a
-man who is answerable for their conduct&mdash;if
-they rob, or disturb the peace, or commit
-any gross offence against decency, or perpetrate
-any other offence. National delicacy,
-however, has little to do with the prohibitions
-which restrain them from entering
-certain parts of the city, and forbid young
-men of rank and influence to hold intercourse
-with them. The brothel junks,
-of lofty build, brightly painted, and glittering
-with gaudy variegated flags, float in
-squadrons on the water, are seen and known
-by all, and are resorted to by numbers of the
-citizens. Persons pass to and from them
-without an attempt at disguise or conceal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span>ment.
-Rich men, on festive occasions, make
-up a party of pleasure, embark in a gaily-decorated
-boat, send to one of the prostitute
-junks, engage as many of the women
-as they please, and spend the day in amusement
-with them. It is openly done, and no
-disgrace attaches to it. The junks themselves
-are fitted up in the interior&mdash;according
-to the class of prostitutes inhabiting
-them&mdash;with all the appurtenances of luxury,
-and on board them is a perpetual gala.
-It would be interesting to know how many
-of these boats are known to float on the
-Pearl River, with the average number of
-prostitutes in each.</p>
-
-<p>But this is not the only, or the most
-offensive form which prostitution assumes
-in China. An incident which occurred at
-Shensee a few years ago illustrates another
-system, which is clandestine, though apparently
-carried on to a considerable extent.
-A young widow resided there with her
-mother-in-law, supporting herself and her
-companion by the wages of prostitution.
-At length her occupation failed her; she
-was deserted by her associates, and could
-procure no more rice or money by the pursuit
-of her vicious calling. The elder
-woman, however, would not hear of these
-excuses, ordered her daughter-in-law to
-obtain her usual supplies from the man
-she had last cohabited with, and on her
-declaring her inability, began to flog her.
-The prostitute defended herself, and at
-last, taking up a sickle, struck her relative
-dead. She was seized, tried, and condemned
-to be cut in pieces for the crime;
-but as her mother-in-law had been guilty
-of an illegal act in forcing her to prostitute
-herself, the sentence was changed to decapitation.</p>
-
-<p>It is to be regretted that our sources of
-information on this subject are not more
-copious. Travellers have had opportunities
-of communicating more, but have refrained
-from doing so. We wait for a separate and
-full account of prostitution in China<a name="FNanchor_75_75" id="FNanchor_75_75"></a><a href="#Footnote_75_75" class="fnanchor">[75]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in Japan.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Among the innumerable islands scattered
-over the southern and eastern oceans there
-are none more curious in their social aspects
-than Japan. We find there a kind
-of native civilization, influenced indeed
-by former intercourse with Europeans, but
-now complete within itself, and isolated
-from all other systems in the world. The
-mountainous, rocky, and arid country, has
-been fertilized from the centre to the sea
-by the persevering industry of a hardy
-race; they found it poor, and they have
-made it one of the richest agricultural
-regions in the globe. This fact serves to
-illustrate the national character.</p>
-
-<p>The Japanese, upon whose institutions
-much light has been thrown by the learned
-and laborious researches of Mr. Thomas
-Rundall, of the Hakluyt Society, may be
-described as a punctilious, haughty, vindictive,
-and licentious people; but there
-is nothing vulgar in their composition.
-Truth is held in reverence, hospitality is
-viewed as sacred, and the bonds of friendship
-are regarded with extraordinary earnestness.
-St. Francis Xavier, the apostle of
-the Indies, declared “the Japans” to be
-the delight of his heart. There is, perhaps,
-more to admire than to love in their
-character. They are certainly elevated far
-above many of the nations who surround
-them, as well in the arts as in the amenities
-of life. Virtue is a recognised principle,
-and this indicates a phase of true
-civilization.</p>
-
-<p>The character of the male is reflected
-by the female sex. Intelligent and agreeable
-in their manners, affectionate in their
-family relations, and faithful to their marriage
-vows, the women of Japan breathe
-all the pride of virtue. The man who
-attempts the honour of a matron sometimes
-encounters death in his adventure.</p>
-
-<p>In illustration of this characteristic, Mr.
-Rundall relates an interesting anecdote.
-A noble, going on a journey, left his wife
-at home, and another man of rank made
-infamous proposals to her. Her scorn and
-indignation only inflamed him to his purpose,
-which he effected in spite of her
-denial. When her husband returned she
-received him with much reserve, and when
-he asked why, bade him wait until the
-morrow, when a grand feast was to be
-given. Among the guests was the noble
-who had wronged her. They sat down on
-the terraced roof of the house, and the
-festival began. After the repast the woman
-rose, declared the injury she had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span>
-suffered, and passionately entreated to be
-slain, as a creature unfit to live. The
-guests, the husband foremost, besought her
-to be calm; they strove to impress her
-with the idea that she had done no wrong,
-that she was an innocent victim, though
-the author of the outrage merited no less
-punishment than death. She thanked them
-all kindly; she wept on her husband’s
-shoulder&mdash;she kissed him affectionately&mdash;then,
-suddenly escaping from his embraces,
-rushed precipitately to the edge of the
-terrace, and cast herself over the parapet.
-In the confusion that ensued, the author
-of the mischief, still unsuspected, for the
-hapless creature had not indicated the
-offender, made his way down the stairs.
-When the rest of the party arrived he was
-found weltering in his blood by the corse
-of his victim. He had expiated his crime
-by committing suicide in the national
-manner, by slashing himself across the abdomen
-with two slashes in the form of a
-cross.</p>
-
-<p>The condition of women in Japan varies
-with different classes. Those of high rank
-have a separate suite of rooms assigned to
-them, beyond which they are seldom seen.
-Among the middle and lower orders they
-enjoy more liberty, though they are careful
-to seclude themselves, and are distinguished
-in general by extraordinary reserve. Men
-pay them a polite respect not common
-among semi-barbarians, as the Japanese
-will continue to be until they are forced to
-acknowledge the duty of intercourse with
-the rest of mankind.</p>
-
-<p>The marriage laws of Japan are curious,
-and vary in different classes. Among the
-wealthy they are occasions of extravagant
-parade and long ceremonies, in which the
-minutest detail is regulated by a peremptory
-law. A full description of all the
-marriage ceremonial would fill a small
-volume. A man can only take one wife;
-he is united to her in the temple. In
-addition, however, he may take as many
-concubines as he chooses, who are not degraded
-by their position. He may separate
-from a woman when he pleases; but one
-who is known to have done so must pay a
-large sum for the daughter of any other
-person whom he may desire to have. Marriages
-are seldom contracted before the age
-of fifteen. The courtship and betrothal
-are conducted with much formality; but
-sufficient opportunity is allowed to the
-youth of the two sexes to become acquainted
-each with the other.</p>
-
-<p>The Japanese are not so jealous as many
-other Asiatics: “Indeed,” says Captain
-Golovnin, “they are not more so than,
-considering the frailty of the sex, is reasonable.”
-Nevertheless, a man may put his
-wife to death for whispering to a stranger;
-while adultery is always capitally punished,
-sometimes by the hand of the injured
-husband.</p>
-
-<p>In the northern parts, it is said, that in
-the beginning of the seventeenth century a
-curious custom prevailed. When a woman
-was convicted of infidelity, her head was
-shaved. Her paramour was exposed to an
-equally disgraceful, but more whimsical
-penalty. The friends of his victim, whenever
-they met him, might strip him naked,
-and deprive him of his property. But the
-modesty with which youth are inspired
-from the cradle tends much to protect
-female virtue. The intercourse of the
-sexes, it will thus be seen, is regulated by
-very natural laws; the condition of the
-sex is somewhat high. Its virtues are
-prized by the men, and consequently are
-generally faithfully preserved.</p>
-
-<p>We have said, however, that the men of
-Japan are licentious; since, therefore, the
-wives and daughters of the respectable
-classes are difficult to corrupt, a numerous
-sisterhood of prostitutes is rendered necessary.
-Accordingly we find them from the
-earliest period associating with every rank
-of men. In one of William Adams’s letters,
-published under the editorship of Mr. Rundall,
-we find the king coming on board our
-countryman’s vessel, bringing with him a
-number of female comedians. These formed
-large companies, and travelled from place
-to place, with a great store of apparel for
-the several parts they played. They belonged
-to one man, who set a price upon
-their intercourse with others, above which
-he dared not charge under pain of death.
-It was left to his own discretion to set a
-value on a girl at first; but afterwards he
-could not raise, though he might abate his
-charge. All bargains were made with him,
-and the woman must go whither she was
-directed. Men of the highest rank, when
-travelling through the islands, and resting
-at houses of entertainment, sent, without
-shame, for companies of these prostitutes;
-but the pander was never received by them,
-however wealthy he might be; after death
-he was also consigned to infamy. Bridled
-with a rope of straw, he was dragged in
-the clothes he died in through the streets
-into the fields, and there cast upon a dunghill
-for dogs and fowls to devour.</p>
-
-<p>In Kœmpfer’s account of the city of
-Nangasaki we find a curious description
-of the prostitute system. The part of the
-town inhabited by these women was called
-“the bawdy-house quarter,” and consisted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>
-of two streets, with the handsomest houses
-in Japan, situated on a rising hill. At
-these places the poor people of the town
-sold their handsome daughters while very
-young, that is, from ten to twenty years of
-age. Every bawd kept as many as she
-was able in one house; some had seven,
-others 30, who were commodiously lodged,
-taught to dance, sing, play on musical
-instruments, and write letters. The elder
-ones taught the younger, who in return
-waited on them; the most docile and accomplished
-were most sumptuously treated.
-The price of these women was regulated
-by law; and one wretched creature, having
-passed through all the degrees of degradation,
-occupied a small room near the door,
-where she acted as watch all night, and
-sold herself for a miserable coin. Others
-were set to this task as a punishment for
-ill behaviour. The infamy of this vile
-profession attached justly, not so much to
-the unhappy women themselves, as to their
-parents who educated them to it. Many,
-as they grew up, changed their mode of
-life, and were received again among the
-reputable and chaste. Generally well educated
-and politely bred, they often procured
-husbands, and passed from a life of daily
-prostitution to one of unswerving fidelity.
-The pander and the tanner of leather occupied
-the same position in society; which
-shows that the prejudice of class, rather
-than the abhorrence of an infamous calling,
-ruled the Japanese.</p>
-
-<p>The historian classes the temples and
-brothels together, and not without justice.
-Prostitution was greatly encouraged by
-the priests. In their public spectacles,
-representing the adventures of gods and
-goddesses, young prostitutes, richly attired,
-were engaged to act. Their performances
-resembled those of the European ballet&mdash;dress,
-gesture, and action expressing that
-which in a drama language would represent.</p>
-
-<p>Such was the prostitute system in the
-great cities; throughout the country a
-similar system prevailed. The houses of
-entertainment lining the main highways,
-with the tea-booths of the villages, were
-frequented by innumerable girls. These
-usually spent the morning in painting and
-dressing themselves, and about noon made
-their appearance standing before the door
-of the house, or sitting on benches, whence,
-with smiling face and coy address, they
-solicited the passengers. In some places
-their chattering and laughter were heard
-above all other sounds; two villages, called
-Akasaki and Goy, were celebrated on this
-account, all the houses being brothels,
-each containing from three to seven prostitutes.
-The Japanese seldom passed one
-of these “great storehouses of whores”
-without holding intercourse with some of
-these women. Kœmpfer asserts, in contradiction
-to Caras, who married a native,
-that there was in his time scarcely one
-house of entertainment in the islands which
-was not a brothel. When one inn had too
-many customers, it borrowed some girls
-from a neighbour who had some to spare.
-This profligate system is said, in the
-Japanese traditions, to have taken its rise
-at a remote period, during the reign of a
-certain martial emperor. That monarch,
-who was perpetually marching his armies
-to and fro, feared lest his soldiers should
-become weary of separation from their
-wives; he therefore licensed public and
-private brothels, which multiplied to such
-an extent that Japan came to be known
-as “the bawdy-house of China.” This was
-in allusion to a period when prostitution
-was made in that empire an unlawful
-calling, and suppressed by severe laws.
-The people, deprived of the resources they
-had formerly enjoyed at home, made Japan
-the place of resort; so that its prostitution
-system flourished far and wide.</p>
-
-<p>These accounts appear extravagant, and
-doubtless are so in some degree; all writers,
-however, coincide in describing the prostitution
-system of Japan as very extensive
-and flagitious. The French historian, Charleroix,
-repeats the statement of Kœmpfer.
-We have before us extracts from the autograph
-“diary of occurrants” written by
-Captain Richard Cock, who was chief of
-the English factory at Firando, from the
-year 1613 to 1623. There are many passages
-corroborative of the representations
-we have given. Of these some examples
-follow, which are also interesting as illustrations
-of Japanese manners.</p>
-
-<p>“<span class="smcap lowercase">A.D.</span> 1616, Sept. 8th (at Edo).&mdash;We
-dyned or rather supped at a merchant’s
-house called Neyem Dono, where he provided
-caboques, or women players, who
-danced and sung; and when we returned
-home he sent every of them to lie with
-them that would have them all night.</p>
-
-<p>“October 24 (at Yuenda, between Edo
-and Firando.)&mdash;We went to bed, and paid
-3500 gins; and to the servants, 300 gins;
-and to the children, 200 gins, or about 200<i>l.</i>
-This extraordinary charge was for that
-we had extraordinary good cheer, being
-brought hither by a merchant of Edo, our
-friend, called Neyemon Edo, and every one
-a wench sent to him that would have her.
-I gave one of them an ichebo, but would
-not have her company.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>“1617-18, January 27th (at Firando).&mdash;Skiezazon
-Dono set the masts of his junk
-this day, and made a feast in Japan fashion.
-29th. Skiezazon Dono and his consorts had
-the feast of Baccus for their junk this day,
-dancing through the streets with caboques
-or women players, and entered into an
-English house in that order, most of their
-heads being heavier than their heels, that
-they could not find their way home without
-leading.</p>
-
-<p>“March 29th (at Firando).&mdash;The kyng
-and the rest of the noblemen came to
-dyner (at the English house), and, as they
-said, were entertained to their own content,
-and had the dancing beares or caboques to
-fill their wine; Nifon Catanges, with a blind
-fiddler to sing, ditto.</p>
-
-<p>“July 11th.&mdash;There came a company of
-players, or caboques, with apes and babons,
-sent from the tono, or king, to play at our
-house.</p>
-
-<p>“December 6th (at Meaco).&mdash;Our host,
-Meaco’s brother-in-law, invited us to dyner
-to a place of pleasure without the
-city, where the dancing girls or caboques
-were with a great feast; and there came
-an antick dance of satyrs or wild men of
-other Japons, until whom I gave 1000 gins
-(about 10<i>s.</i>), and a bar of plate to the good
-man of the house, value about 1<i>l.</i> 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>
-So the dancing girls were sent home
-after us.”</p>
-
-<p>As not altogether inapplicable to the
-subject, the following passage, which shows
-how the courtezans of Japan proceed towards
-such as would cheat them, may be
-cited: “The caboques took Tane, an interpreter,
-prisoner, for fifteen tares (about
-3<i>l.</i> 15<i>s.</i>) he owed them for lichery, and, not
-having to pay, set his body for sale, no one
-having the money for him.”</p>
-
-<p>It would appear that in obtaining possession
-of a female of this class by clandestine
-means tragical consequences may
-ensue; while, if done fairly, considerable
-expense may be involved. Mr. Wickham,
-one of the English factors stationed at
-Mesco, writing on the 15th of April, 1616,
-to his chief, Captain Cock, gives an account
-of a soldier of high reputation who ran
-away with a prostitute, and, fearing she
-would be reclaimed, was seized with a fit
-of frenzy, during which he first cut the
-throat of the girl, and afterwards ripped
-himself up. The writer then communicates
-a piece of news:&mdash;“Micaonæcamo,
-the nobellman that gave me my cattan or
-sword, hath carried away a caboque, and
-hath payed her master 10,000 tares (2500<i>l.</i>).
-I would I had the money, and it makes no
-matter who hath the woman.” Replying
-to this communication, Captain Cock
-quaintly observes on one point, “Yf some
-will be so foolish as to cut their bellies for
-love (or rather lust) of whores, the worst
-end of the staff will be their owne;” and
-on the other point he agrees with his
-correspondent that he “had rather have
-the money than the ware.”</p>
-
-<p>Vice of a more brutal kind is systematically
-practised by many of the Japanese
-nobility, as well as by the meanest orders;
-and houses are kept for this purpose similar
-to those inhabited by prostitutes.</p>
-
-<p>Some parents apprentice out their daughters
-for a term of years to this abominable
-profession, and the girls then return to
-honourable life. The houses they frequent
-continually resound with music. At Jeddo,
-a later traveller was informed there was
-one brothel, or rather temple of prostitution,
-where 600 women were maintained.
-Notwithstanding this number, young men
-were nightly refused admittance, from the
-over-crowded state of the rooms. Passing
-through the streets of the brothel quarter
-Golovnin saw groups of girls standing
-about the doors; some of them were in
-the bloom of youth, and so handsome that
-they appeared fascinating even to the European
-eye.</p>
-
-<p>Thus the system of professional prostitution
-flourishes more in Japan than in
-any other part of insular Asia; yet the
-women of other classes appear to hold a
-higher position, and to enjoy more respect
-from the men. It is remarked, however,
-by all writers, that the profligacy of the
-female sex is confined to those who are so
-by profession; but the male is generally
-licentious throughout the empire.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in the Ultra-Gangetic
-Nations.</span></h3>
-
-<p>In this division we include what are commonly
-called the Hindu-Chinese nations,
-or the inhabitants of that immense tract
-lying between Hindustan and China. Geography
-makes several sections of them, and
-they present, it is true, some variety in laws,
-customs, and degrees of progress. But
-these are not more distinct than may be
-observed in every large country, whether
-called by one name or many. The same
-physical type is marked upon them all;
-and, speaking in general terms, their manners
-are uniform.</p>
-
-<p>In one respect they are all similar. The
-condition of women is extremely low. A
-curious phenomenon is observable in relation
-to this subject. The Buddhists of the
-ultra-Gangetic countries, uninfluenced by
-the jealous spirit of the Hindu and Mo<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span>hammedan
-codes, allow to the female sex
-great liberty; yet assign it less respect
-than it enjoys either in Hindustan or
-China, to both of which they are inferior
-in civilization. The freedom thus conceded
-to women fails to elevate them. They are
-held in contempt, they are taught to abase
-themselves in their own minds, and they
-employ their licence in degrading themselves
-still further. In few parts of the
-world is the effect of Asiatic despotism
-more plainly visible than in the countries
-lying between Hindustan and China. The
-peculiar system of government renders
-every one the king’s serf. The men labour
-for the benefit of their master, having no
-opportunity to profit themselves by their
-own industry. Their support, therefore,
-naturally devolves on the women, who in
-Cochin China especially, plough, sow, reap,
-fell wood, build, and perform all the offices
-which civilization assigns to the abler sex.</p>
-
-<p>The marriage contract is a mere bargain.
-A man buys his wife from her parents.
-The first is usually the chief, but he may
-have as many others as he chooses to purchase.
-A simple agreement before witnesses
-seals the union. The band thus
-easily formed is as easily dissolved. In
-Cochin China a pair of chopsticks or a
-porcupine quill is broken in two before a
-third person, and the divorce is complete.
-When only one desires a separation it is
-more difficult, but the law allows a man to
-sell his inferior wives.</p>
-
-<p>The unmarried women of this region are
-proverbially and almost universally unchaste.
-They may prostitute themselves
-without incurring infamy or losing the
-chance of marriage. A father may yield
-his daughter to a visitor whom he desires
-specially to honour, or he may hire her out
-for a period to a stranger who may reside
-for a short time in his neighbourhood.
-The girl has no power to resist the consummation
-of this transaction, though she
-cannot be married without her own consent.</p>
-
-<p>The wife, however, is considered sacred,
-but rather as the property of her husband
-than for the sake of virtue. A man’s harem
-cannot be invaded, even by the king himself.
-This, at least, is the theory of the
-law; but absolutism never respects the
-high principles of a code which opposes
-its desires. Adultery is punished in Siam
-with a fine, in Cochin China with death.
-In Birmah, executions are very rare among
-females. “The sword,” they say, “was
-not made for women.” In all parts of the
-region, however, the bamboo is in requisition
-to discipline the women; and husbands
-are sometimes seen to fling their wives
-down in the open street, lay them on their
-faces, and flog them with a rattan.</p>
-
-<p>It will thus be seen that, lying between
-two regions, in each of which a form of
-civilization has been introduced, the ultra-Gangetic,
-or Hindu-Chinese nations,
-differ from them both. Since no unmarried
-woman is required to be chaste, professional
-prostitutes do not form so large a class as
-might be expected. They do exist, however,
-and in considerable numbers. In Siam a
-common prostitute is incapable of giving
-evidence before a country justice, but this
-is by no means on account of her immorality.
-It is from other prejudices. The
-same disability attaches to braziers and
-blacksmiths<a name="FNanchor_76_76" id="FNanchor_76_76"></a><a href="#Footnote_76_76" class="fnanchor">[76]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in Egypt.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Egypt, as the seat of a civilization among
-the most ancient and remarkable that have
-flourished on the earth, calls for particular
-attention. The inquiries of the curious
-have in all ages been directed as well to its
-people as to its monuments. It has, indeed,
-been the subject of infinite investigation.
-Travellers innumerable have explored its
-beautiful valley; year after year adds to
-their number and countless reports have
-been made to us of the ruins, the antiquities,
-the resources, the condition, the
-scenery, and the manners of Egypt. In
-all, consequently, except statistics, our
-knowledge is very considerable, though
-the inexhaustible interest of that celebrated
-country still leaves an open field
-for the romantic traveller. The dry hot
-climate is supposed to influence the character
-of the people. A remarkable system
-of politics also modifies the national
-features, so that we examine our subject,
-in reference to Egypt, with peculiar curiosity.</p>
-
-<p>The population of Egypt is various,
-being composed of the four Mohammedan
-sects, of the Copts, the Greeks, the Armenians,
-Maronites, and Levantines. The
-mass, however, is formed of Arabs, while
-the general plan of manners has originated,
-in a great measure, from the spirit of the
-prophets’ civil and religious code. Of the
-system with respect to the female sex this
-is more especially true; but the history of
-manners before Mohammed’s age is too incomplete
-for us to know precisely how<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span>
-much was originated, and how much was
-adopted by him. Had his scheme opposed
-itself wholly to the previous habits of the
-East, it would never have been so universally
-or so readily accepted. It is one
-characteristic of Asiatic countries that women
-exercise less influence on manners
-than in Europe. The laws made by men
-would, in fact, isolate them within a
-sphere of their own; but agencies
-which are irresistible counteract this effort.
-The tendency of social legislation is
-to shut them out from a share in the government
-of society; but the tendency of
-nature is in the contrary direction.</p>
-
-<p>The women of Egypt are naturally
-adapted for the position in which they are
-placed&mdash;unless we suppose that long discipline
-has subdued them to the level of
-their condition. They display every attraction
-for Mohammedans, with few of the
-characteristics which fascinate an European.
-In youth many of them are possessed
-of every charm&mdash;the bosom richly
-developed, the whole form gracefully
-rounded, the face full of bloom, and the
-eyes overflowing with brilliance; but all
-these beauties speedily fade, and nowhere
-is old age so unsightly. The figure approaches
-maturity at the ninth or tenth
-year, and at fifteen or sixteen has reached
-the perfection of the Oriental ideal. With
-rare exceptions they have passed the
-flower of their lives at 24, and in this
-short-lived loveliness we may find one
-cause of polygamy and frequent divorce,
-among a people with whom women are the
-mere unspiritual ministers to the senses of
-man. The Mohammedan peoples even his
-heaven with feminine creations destined
-for his animal gratification. When, therefore,
-we find religion itself thus impregnated
-with a gross element, we can only
-expect to find the female sex regarded in a
-degrading point of view. The opinion prevails
-with some Muslims, that Paradise has
-no place reserved for women; but this is
-by no means the universal idea among
-them.</p>
-
-<p>Though by their tame spirits and submissive
-humility the women of Egypt appear
-moulded to suit the system in which they
-move, their character has not, on the whole,
-been entirely vitiated by the process. Modesty
-and virtue are frequent ornaments of
-the harem, and distinguish the sex throughout
-the valley. Even among the lower or
-labouring orders, though the maidens may
-sometimes be seen bathing in the Nile, or
-hurrying from hovel to hovel naked, and
-at all times with a light and scanty garment,
-a demure and retiring demeanour is
-general. Chastity is a very prevalent virtue,
-except in the cities, where a crowded
-population is immersed in that profligacy
-surely bred by despotism. With respect
-to their modesty, travellers appear to have
-been led astray by their prejudices. Many
-of them appear to carry among the necessaries
-for their journey an English measure
-of propriety, which they invariably apply
-to all nations with which they come in
-contact. Thus the remark is commonly
-made, that women in Egypt hide their
-faces in obedience to habit, but care not
-what other part of the person they expose.
-Consequently, it is inferred they are devoid
-of modesty. But this by no means follows.
-Custom, which is one of the most powerful
-among the laws which regulate society, has
-taught them that to display the features is
-disgraceful, but has made no regulation for
-more than that. Unless, therefore, we accept
-the doctrine of innate ideas&mdash;which
-meets a refutation in every quarter of the
-globe&mdash;we must not cite the women of
-Egypt before the tribunal of our own opinions,
-and condemn them on that charge.
-On the contrary, we must confess that they
-are naturally a virtuous race, though the
-influences of their government are sufficiently
-injurious. Any, indeed, but an excellent
-people would long ago have been
-irredeemably depraved.</p>
-
-<p>There are, in Egypt, only two classes of
-females&mdash;those whose opulence allows them
-to be wholly indolent, and whose life is entirely
-dreamed away in the luxury of the
-harem; and those to whom poverty gives
-freedom, with the obligation of labour.
-To see the wife of a bey, to examine her
-tastes, her conduct, her private pleasures,
-and daily occupations, you have the beau
-ideal of a voluptuous woman literally cradled
-in one long childhood, with all the
-ease, the indulgence, and the trifling of infancy.
-Enter the habitation of a fellah or
-artizan, and the hardship of the man’s lot
-is exceeded by that of his wife. She has
-to do all that he can do; but if he be personally
-kind, her situation is morally superior
-to that of the petted toy nursed on the
-cushions of the harem. The same weakness,
-however, is paramount over both.
-The indolent lady satisfies herself with
-rich Eastern silks and shawls, and gems of
-fine water; while the poor drudge of the
-field adds to her toil, and stints herself
-in food, to purchase decorations for her
-person.</p>
-
-<p>The polygamy which is practised in
-Egypt has, more than in many other countries,
-tended to the degradation of the female
-sex. It seems to be encouraged in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span>
-some degree by the rigid separation of the
-sexes before marriage. A man takes with
-less scruple a wife whom he has never seen
-when he knows that if she disappoint him
-he may take another. The law allows four
-wives, with an unrestricted number of concubines.
-The Prophet, his companions,
-and the most devout of his descendants, so
-indulged themselves; but the idea is vulgar
-which supposes that Mohammed introduced
-the practice. On the contrary, he found it
-universal, and was the first to put a check
-upon it. Some of the higher moralists
-contend, that as four wives are sufficient
-for one man, so are four concubines; but
-few of the rich men who can afford to keep
-more allow themselves to be influenced by
-this opinion.</p>
-
-<p>The Muslim lawgiver was wiser than the
-priestly legislators of India; for he insulted
-nature with less peremptory prohibitions
-against the union of sects. A
-Mohammedan may marry a Jewish or a
-Christian woman, when he feels excessive
-love for her, or cannot procure a wife of
-the true faith; but she does not inherit his
-property or impart her religion to her offspring.
-The children of a Jewish woman,
-if they are not educated to the Mohammedan,
-must embrace the Christian creed,
-which is considered better than their own.
-In this we find a privilege reserved by the
-male sex to itself, for a woman of the Prophet’s
-faith dare not marry an infidel, unless
-compelled so to do by actual force. This
-has given rise to many apostasies, which
-form the subject of numerous romances.</p>
-
-<p>The degrees of consanguinity within
-which marriage is prohibited are strictly
-marked. A man may not marry his mother
-or any other relative in a direct ascending
-line; his daughter or any descendant; his
-sister, or half-sister; his aunt, his niece,
-or his foster-mother. The Hanafee code
-enacts that a man shall not take as his
-wife any woman from whose breast he
-has received a single drop of milk; but
-E. Shafæee allows it unless he has been
-suckled by her five times within the course
-of the first two years. Nature, in this respect,
-is the principal guardian of the
-law, for as women in Egypt age very
-quickly, the men endeavour to obtain
-more youthful brides. A man may not
-marry the mother, or daughter of his wife,
-or his father’s or his son’s wife; his wives
-must not be sisters, or his own unemancipated
-slaves&mdash;if he already have a free
-wife. Those women whom the Muslim is
-forbidden to marry it is lawful for him to
-see, but no others except his own wives or
-female servants.</p>
-
-<p>The marriage engagement is merely a
-civil transaction. The man and woman
-having declared in the presence of two
-witnesses their mutual willingness, and
-part of the dowry being paid, their union
-is legal. The bride usually signifies her
-consent through a deputy. If, however,
-she be under the age of puberty, her
-assent is not necessary, and she is in the
-hands of her friends. A boy may also be
-thus disposed of; but he may divorce his
-wife if he be not contented with her.
-Usually, if rich, he neglects the first, and
-takes a second by way of solace after his
-disappointment.</p>
-
-<p>In one feature of its manners, modern
-Egypt resembles the States of ancient
-Greece. The character of a bachelor is
-ridiculous, if not disreputable. As soon as
-a youth has attained a proper age, with
-sufficient means, his friends advise him to
-marry. His mother, or a professional
-match-maker, is usually left to choose the
-bride. When a girl has been fixed upon
-with his approval, some one goes to her
-father to effect an arrangement. The
-price is fixed, with the amount of dowry,
-and the future ceremonials depend on the
-resources of the two families. Sometimes
-a profusion of rites is insisted upon; sometimes
-the simplest agreement is all that is
-required, for the law exacts nothing but
-the plain convention we have before described.
-The giving of a dowry is, however,
-indispensable. With all who can
-afford it, also, the sanction of religion and
-the witness of the law add solemnity to
-the occasion. The rich choose it as an
-opportunity to display the pride of wealth,
-and the poor to indulge in a little show,
-with that idleness which is so essential to
-the happiness of most Asiatics.</p>
-
-<p>The condition of wives in Egypt has
-been much misrepresented by some popular
-writers, to whom the imprisonment and
-slavery of women offer a fertile theme for
-declamation. The word harem, or <i>harim</i>,
-indeed, meaning <i>sacred</i> or <i>prohibited</i>, applies
-to the women as well as to the apartments
-in which they dwell; but considerable
-liberty is allowed them. Those of the
-upper classes are secluded, and go veiled
-in the streets. They are seldom seen on
-foot in public, and their costume is indicative
-of this detail in their manners.
-Though, however, they have a suite of
-apartments assigned to them, they are not
-prisoners. A few Turks, jealous to exaggeration,
-may immure the inmates of the
-harem, and shut them altogether from
-contact with the world; but, generally,
-they are allowed to go out, pay visits, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span>
-control the household. The theory of the
-Muslims is more rigid than their practice,
-which, were it consistent in all its features,
-would swathe the female sex with convention,
-as the ancient inhabitants used to
-swathe their mummies&mdash;until the form of
-humanity is lost amid the very devices
-which seek to preserve it. To such an extravagant
-height do some of them carry their
-ideas of the sanctity of the female sex, that
-their tombs are closed against strangers,
-while others will not permit a man and a
-woman to be buried in the same grave.
-Generally, however, husbands do not object
-to their wives mingling with the public
-throng so as they religiously veil their
-faces. The lower orders are, of course, the
-least restrained. Those of the wealthiest
-and proudest men are most strictly secluded;
-but the interchange of visits
-between the harems is constant. With
-this degree of freedom the Egyptian
-women are content. Time has trained
-them to their situation, until a relaxation
-in their discipline is viewed less as an
-indulgence than a right. The wife who
-is allowed too much liberty imagines she
-is neglected, and, if others are more narrowly
-watched, is jealous of the superior
-solicitude bestowed on them. Among
-the rich the harem supplies all the delights
-of life. Rose-water, perfumes, sherbet,
-coffee, and sweatmeats, constitute the
-supreme joys of existence, with precious
-silks, muslins, and jewels. Among the
-poor, though reduced to beasts of burden,
-their buoyant hearts are not depressed
-under the load, and they sing from infancy
-to old age. Nevertheless their lives
-are full of misery, but it is the misery of
-a class, not only of one sex.</p>
-
-<p>The Muslim woman is <i>proud</i> of her
-husband, and <i>fond</i> of her children. Exceptions
-undoubtedly occur, in which the
-warmth of the Oriental temperament takes
-the form of refined and spiritual love; but
-these are rare. In their offspring they find
-the chief resource of their lives. They
-may become mothers at twelve years of
-age, and at fifteen commonly do so. They
-give proof of astonishing fecundity, bearing
-numbers of children, though ceasing
-at an earlier period than among Europeans.
-That is the critical occasion of
-their lives, but they who pass it safely
-often survive to an extreme old age. The
-manners of the country render it necessary
-that midwives only should attend at the
-accouchement, which is usually easy. When
-a physician is called in, he must feel his
-patient’s pulse through the sleeve of her
-garment, while her face is almost invariably
-wrapped in a veil. The utmost kindness,
-even in the indulgence of their most
-trifling whims, is shown to pregnant women.
-The absence of that sentiment which, according
-to English notions, should attach
-a wife to her husband, is made up by the
-stronger bond which binds a mother to her
-child. Upon this all the wealth of her affection
-is bestowed, and in that precious charge
-all her soul is centred. This feeling&mdash;the
-most pure and true of any that grow in
-the human breast&mdash;stands to the woman of
-Egypt in place of every other. A proverbial
-saying expresses the national philosophy
-upon this subject: “A husband is
-a husband; if one is lost another is to be
-got; but who can give me back my child?”
-To be childless is regarded as a signal misfortune,
-and with those who happen to be
-barren many devices are employed to remove
-the curse. Among these, one of the
-most curious is&mdash;to wash the skin with
-the blood of an executed criminal. Her
-fecundity, with her parental care, might
-be expected to prove itself by a flourishing
-population; but the blind rapacity and
-profligate contempt of human life exhibited
-by the tyrants who, in succession,
-have ruled Egypt, have been more than
-enough to neutralise the liberality of
-nature.</p>
-
-<p>The Mohammedan is essentially an Epicurean.
-In him the object of nature appears
-perverted. Instead of the animal being
-made subservient to the intellectual man,
-the mind is devoted to gratifying the sense.
-His life is divided between praying, bathing,
-smoking, lounging, drinking coffee,
-and the gratification of the various appetites.
-Voluptuary as he is, therefore, the
-opulent Egyptian does not rest content
-with the four wives allowed him by the
-law. He takes as many concubines as he
-can afford. They are all slaves, and are
-absolutely at the disposal of their master,
-who may handle, whip, or punish them
-otherwise as he pleases, and incurs very
-slight danger by killing one of them. The
-same regulations as to blood affinity apply
-to them as to free women. A man when
-he takes a female slave must wait three
-months before he can make her his concubine.
-If she bear him a child which he
-acknowledges to be his own, it is free.
-Otherwise it is the inheritor of its mother’s
-bonds. She herself cannot afterwards be
-sold or given away, but is entitled to emancipation
-on the death of her lord. He is
-not, however, obliged to free her at once,
-though, if he have not already four wives,
-it is considered honourable to do so. A
-wife sometimes brings to the establishment<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span>
-a few handmaidens. Over these she has
-control, and need not, unless she pleases,
-allow them to appear unveiled in their
-master’s presence; but occasionally we find
-a wife presenting her husband with a beautiful
-slave damsel, as Sarah presented her
-bondwoman Hagar to Abraham. Rich
-men often purchase handsome white girls.
-Those of the humbler class are usually
-brown Abyssinians, for the blacks are
-generally employed in menial offices.
-Neither the concubine nor the wife is
-permitted to eat with the lord of the
-house. On the contrary, they are required
-to wait on him, and frequently, but not
-always, to serve as domestics. In consequence
-of this system, a great gulf lies
-between man and wife. His presence is
-viewed as a restraint in the harem, which,
-from all we can learn, is mostly lively and
-loquacious. Nor is this surprising, when
-we consider that the harems of aged men
-are so frequently filled with young girls
-in the fresh bloom of life, who can never
-learn to be fond of their husbands. The
-Egyptian proverb in reference to this is
-peculiarly apt. It describes an ugly old
-Turk with some beautiful youthful wives as
-“A paradise in which hogs feed.” Ibrahim
-Pasha introduced into his private apartments
-the amusement of billiards, which
-at once became a favourite recreation.</p>
-
-<p>Though polygamy is not only licensed
-but esteemed, and concubinage unlimited,
-few Egyptians have more than one wife,
-or one female slave. Not more, indeed,
-than one in twenty, it is said, indulge in
-this kind of pluralism, and it is probable
-that concubinage might be almost altogether
-abolished by the suppression of the
-slave trade. At present the markets are
-continually supplied with girls kidnapped
-in various countries, and these are sometimes
-stripped and exposed naked to the
-purchaser’s inspection.</p>
-
-<p>Satisfied as he generally is with one
-wife, the Egyptian Mohammedan is not
-by any means remarkable for continence.
-He may content himself with a single
-woman, but he may change her as often
-as he pleases, a privilege which is continually
-abused. The facility of divorce has
-had a most demoralising effect upon Egyptian
-manners.</p>
-
-<p>A man may twice put away his wife
-and take her back without ceremony. If,
-however, he divorces her a third time, or
-deliberately unites in one act the effect of
-three, he cannot take her again until she
-has been married and divorced by another
-husband. The manner of divorce is sufficiently
-simple. The husband says, “I
-divorce thee,” and returns his wife about
-one-third of the dowry, with the effects
-which she brought at her marriage. He
-may do this through sheer caprice, without
-assigning or proving any reason; but when
-a woman desires to put away her husband,
-she must show herself to have suffered
-serious ill-treatment or neglect, lose the
-share of her dowry, and often go into a
-court of justice to prove her claim. With
-the man this is never required, as is indicated
-by the common proverb: “If my
-husband consents, why should the Kadi’s
-consent be necessary?”</p>
-
-<p>A widow must wait three months, and
-a divorced woman three months and ten
-days, or, if pregnant, until delivery, before
-marrying again. The latter, in this case,
-must also wait an additional forty days
-before she can receive her new husband.
-Meanwhile her former proprietor must
-support her, either in his own house or in
-that of her parents. If he divorce her
-before the actual consummation of the
-marriage, he must provide for her more
-liberally. In case, however, of a wife
-being rebellious, and refusing to recognise
-the lawful authority of her husband, he
-may prove her to have offended, before a
-Kadi, and procure a certificate exempting
-him from the obligation to clothe, lodge,
-or maintain her. Thus she is desolate
-and without resource, for she dare not go
-to another home; but if she formally promise
-to be obedient in future, her husband
-must support or divorce her. When a wife
-desires to be freed from any man’s restraint
-and is unable to dissolve the union altogether,
-she may make a complaint and
-obtain a licence to go to her father’s
-house. In that case he, through sheer
-spite, generally persists in refusing to
-divorce her. Sometimes a man with a
-disagreeable mother-in-law quartered upon
-him, puts away his wife in order to be rid
-of both.</p>
-
-<p>The slightness of the marriage tie, and
-the ease with which it may be severed,
-leads, as we have said, to a profligate abuse
-of the power thus assumed by the male
-sex. Numbers of men have, in the course
-of their lives, 10, 20, 30, or even 40 wives.
-Women, also, have as many as a dozen
-partners in succession. Some profligates
-have been known to marry a woman almost
-every month. A man without property
-may pick up a handsome young widow, or
-divorced woman, for about 10<i>s.</i>, which he
-pays as dowry. He lives with her a few
-days or weeks, and then divorces her with
-the payment of about 20<i>s.</i>, to support her
-in the interval during which she is prohi<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span>bited
-from marrying again. Such conduct,
-however, is regarded as disreputable, so
-that few respectable families will trust a
-girl with any man who has put away many
-wives. The crime of adultery is laid down
-by the law as worthy of severe punishment.
-Four eye-witnesses, however, are necessary
-to prove the fact, and the woman may then
-be stoned to death. From the secluded
-nature of their lives, and from the nature
-of the offence itself, it is rarely that such
-testimony is to be had. Cases, therefore,
-scarcely ever occur before the public
-courts. Heavy and ignominious penalties
-are denounced against witnesses who make
-these charges and fail in the proof. Unmarried
-persons convicted of fornication
-may be punished by the infliction of one
-hundred stripes, and, under the law acknowledged
-by the Sumrh sect, may be
-banished for a whole year.</p>
-
-<p>Egypt has in all times been famous for
-its public dancing girls, who were all prostitutes.
-The superior classes of them
-formed a separate tribe or collection of
-tribes, known as the Ghawazee. A female
-of this community is called Ghazeeyeh,
-and a man Ghazee. The common dancing
-girls of the country are often erroneously
-confounded with the Almeh&mdash;Awalim in
-the singular&mdash;who are properly female
-singers; though, whatever some authoritative
-writers may assert, they certainly
-practise dancing, as well as prostitution,
-especially since the exile of the Ghawazee.
-They perform at private entertainments,
-and are sometimes munificently rewarded.
-The Ghawazee, on the other hand, were
-accustomed to put aside their veils and
-display their licentious movements in
-public, before the lowest audience. The
-evolutions with which they were accustomed
-to amuse their patrons were commonly
-the reverse of elegant. Commencing
-with decency enough, they soon degenerated
-into obscenity, the women contorting
-their bodies into the most libidinous postures.
-The dress was graceful, but exposed
-a large portion of the bosom, and was frequently
-half thrown aside. The Ghawazee
-sometimes performed in the court of a
-house or in the open street; but were not
-admitted into the harems of respectable
-families. A party of men often met in
-a house, and sent for the dancers to amuse
-them. Their performances, on such occasions,
-were more than usually licentious,
-and their dresses less decent. A chemise
-of transparent texture, which scarcely hid
-the skin, and a pair of full trousers, was
-frequently all that covered them. Drinking
-copious draughts of brandy or some
-other intoxicating liquor, they soon laid
-aside even the affectation of modesty, and
-scenes took place like those with which
-the priests defiled the temples of India.
-Many of the women who thus degrade
-themselves are exceedingly beautiful. As
-a class, indeed, they are described as the
-handsomest in Egypt. They are distinguished,
-by the peculiar caste of their
-countenances, from all other females in
-the country, and there can be little doubt
-that they spring from a distinct race.
-They boast themselves of the Barmecide
-descent, but this is impossible to be proved.
-It has been conjectured that they are the
-lineal, as well as the professional descendants
-of those licentious dancers who
-exhibited naked&mdash;as these sometimes do&mdash;before
-the Egyptians in the age of the
-Pharaohs. Some imagine that the dancers
-of Gade, or Cadiz, ridiculed by Juvenal,
-were the prototypes of the modern Ghawazee;
-but it has been supposed, with
-more reason, that the Phœnicians introduced
-the practice thither from the East,
-where profligacy flourished at the earliest
-period.</p>
-
-<p>It has been the pride of the Ghawazee
-tribes to preserve themselves distinct
-from all other classes of the population,
-to intermarry, and thus to perpetuate
-their blood unmingled. A few have repented
-their mode of life, and married
-respectable Arabs; but this has not often
-occurred. They never among themselves
-took a husband until they had entered on a
-course of prostitution. To this venal calling
-they were all trained from childhood,
-though all were not taught to dance. In
-this community of harlots, it is singular to
-find that the husband was inferior to the
-wife; indeed he was subject to her, performing
-the double office of servant and
-procurer. If she was a dancer he was
-generally her musician, and sat by quietly
-tinkling upon a stringed instrument, while
-she, his wife, exposed her person in the
-most indecent attitudes, and by every
-voluptuous artifice endeavoured to seduce
-the spectator. Profligacy never assumed
-a more infamous form than that of the
-husband assisting at the daily adultery of
-his wife. Some of the men earned a livelihood
-as blacksmiths or tinkers. Many of
-them, however, were rich, and the women,
-especially, were possessed of costly dresses
-and ornaments.</p>
-
-<p>The Ghawazee generally followed the
-kind of life led by our gipsies, whom some,
-indeed, have traced to an Egyptian origin.
-Many, but not all, of the wanderers of this
-nation in the Valley of the Nile, ascribe<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span>
-to themselves a descent from a branch of
-the same family from which the Ghawazee
-claim to have sprung; but both traditions
-rest on doubtful testimony. The ordinary
-language of the Ghawazee is similar to
-that in use among the rest of the Egyptian
-population; but like all other unsettled,
-wandering tribes, they have a peculiar
-dialect, a species of slang, only intelligible
-to themselves. Most of them profess the
-Mohammedan faith, and they were accustomed
-to follow in crowds the pilgrim
-caravans to the sacred shrine at Mecca.</p>
-
-<p>Every considerable town in Egypt formerly
-harboured a large body of the Ghawazee,
-who occupied a distinct quarter,
-allotted entirely to prostitutes and their
-companions. Low huts, temporary sheds,
-or tents, formed their usual habitations,
-since they were in the habit of frequently
-transplanting themselves from one district
-to another. Others, however, occupied and
-furnished handsome houses, trading also in
-camels, asses, and grain; possessing numerous
-female slaves, upon whose prostitution
-they also realized much profit. They
-crowded the camps and attended the great
-religious festivals, and on these occasions
-the Ghawazee tents were always conspicuous.
-Some joined the accomplishment of
-singing with that of the dance.</p>
-
-<p>The inferior Ghawazee women resembled
-in their attire the common prostitutes of
-other classes, which also swarmed in Egypt.
-Many of these also, who were not Ghawazees,
-took the name, in order to increase
-the gains of their calling.</p>
-
-<p>The system of marriage, to which we
-have slightly alluded, is worthy of more
-particular notice. The man who married
-a Ghazeeyeh was a low and despised creature.
-The saying is proverbial in Egypt,
-that “the husband of a harlot is a base
-wretch by his own testimony.” The law
-among the Ghawazee was, that a girl as
-soon as marriageable must prostitute herself
-to a stranger and then take a husband.
-He is constantly employed in looking for
-persons to bring to her, himself cohabiting
-with her only by stealth, for she would be
-exposed to shame and made the object of
-ridicule were it known that she had admitted
-her own husband to her embraces.
-Polygamy is unknown among the Ghawazee.
-In that community, indeed, as it
-existed previously to the edict of 1835, we
-find a system exactly the reverse of that in
-the midst of which it existed. The birth
-of a male child was looked upon as a misfortune,
-since he was of no value to the tribe.
-Women, on the contrary, were precious,
-because they were sought after by nearly
-the whole male population of Egypt. The
-Ghazeeyeh made it a rule never to refuse
-the offer of a person who could pay anything.
-The fashionable dancer, therefore,
-at country fairs, though glittering with
-golden ornaments, and arrayed in all the
-beauties of the eastern loom, would admit
-the visit of any rough and ragged peasant
-for a sum not exceeding twopence. In this
-manner, by seizing whatever was offered to
-them, they often accumulated wealth,
-dressed in superb attire, rich embroidery
-of gold, with chains of golden coins, and
-solid bracelets of the same costly metal.
-In many instances, when the Ghazeeyeh
-had lost or divorced her former husband,
-and become opulent upon the profits of
-her venal calling, she married some village
-Sheikh, who was proud of his acquisition.
-A virgin Ghazeeyeh was never induced to
-forsake her hereditary profession; but
-when she formed such an alliance, she
-made a solemn vow on the tomb of some
-saint, to be true to her new partner, sacrificed
-a sheep, and was generally faithful to
-her sacred engagement.</p>
-
-<p>It was not only in the more populous
-cities and districts of Lower Egypt that
-the Ghawazee pursued their double calling
-of dancer and prostitute. Those in
-the Upper country were equally addicted
-to that immoral calling, and were, in proportion,
-equally encouraged. Even in the
-small villages a company of them was
-usually to be found, glittering in finery of
-gaudy colours, unveiled, and clothed only
-in those light transparent garments in
-which the members of the same sisterhood
-are represented on the monuments&mdash;a loose
-chemise of gauze, a scarf negligently hung
-about the loins, and loose trousers of the
-most delicate texture. Their dances were
-exhibitions of unrestrained indecency,&mdash;attitude,
-look, and movement being equally
-lascivious. They also sang and played
-on the viol, lute, tambour, lyre, or castanet.
-The common prostitutes of the
-meaner class excelled them, at least in
-the affectation of modesty. Many of the
-Ghawazee, however, appear sensible of the
-degradation to which they are consigned.</p>
-
-<p>The dance of the Ghawazee was, to the
-Egyptians, what an opera ballet is in England&mdash;the
-representation of some episode,
-generally of love. Formerly there was,
-near Cairo, a little village called Shaarah,
-the Eleusis of modern Egypt, where the
-mystical rites of Athor were, until recently,
-celebrated. It was a collection of
-small mud huts, distinguished from those
-of the common people by superior cleanliness
-and comfort. Numbers of the Ghawa<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span>zee
-dwelt here, and when Mr. J. A. St.
-John visited their abode, came out to
-meet him, dressed in elegant attire, with
-a profusion of ornaments. All were young&mdash;none
-were more than twenty, many not
-more than ten years of age. Some were
-exceedingly handsome, while others, to an
-European judge, appeared quite the reverse.
-In this village lived a considerable number
-of the Ghawazee. The greater part of their
-lives was passed in the coffee-house, where
-they lounged all day on cushions, sipping
-coffee, singing, and indulging in licentious
-conversation. In the great room a hundred
-might assemble, and here they were visited
-by the profligates of Cairo, to whom the
-village of Shaarah was a regular place of
-resort. In the towns they frequented the
-common coffee-houses, and in the smaller
-hamlets up the valley, they wandered all day
-among the dwellings, or reclined on benches
-in the open air until a boat with travellers
-appeared on the Nile, when they immediately
-hurried down to the shore and
-commenced their lascivious songs. The
-Arabs have the reputation of being extremely
-profligate, and when on their
-journeys never visited a city or village
-without paying a visit to the Ghawazee
-quarter. Indeed, the manners of the population
-have been debased under every
-vicious influence. A despotic government,
-an epicurean religion, and the spirit of
-indolence thus engendered, have encouraged
-among the men every species of
-crime against nature. The corruption
-which brought a curse on the Cities of the
-Plain is emulated in the cities of Egypt.</p>
-
-<p>When Burckhardt wrote, about 1830, the
-number of males and females of the Ghawazee
-nation in Egypt was estimated at
-from 6000 to 8000. Their principal settlements
-were in the towns of the Delta in
-Lower Egypt, and, in the Upper country, at
-Kenneh, where a colony of at least 300
-generally resided. The scattered companies
-generally formed a great concourse at
-Tanta, in the Delta, at the three annual
-festivals, when a vast multitude was collected
-from all parts of the valley. Six
-hundred Ghawazee have on such occasions
-pitched their tents near the town. During
-the reign of the Memlooks, the influence
-of these women was, in the open country,
-very considerable. Many respectable persons
-courted their favour. They were
-accustomed to dwell in the towns until
-the brutality of the soldiers&mdash;who sometimes
-killed one in a fit of jealousy&mdash;drove
-them into the rural parts. At each of
-their chief places of sojourn one was invested
-with the title of Emir, or chief of
-the settlement. She was entitled to no
-authority over the rest, yet exercised much
-influence by virtue of her dignity. In
-Cairo itself their number was small, and
-they inhabited a spacious Khan, or hotel,
-overlooked by the castle. “In a city,” says
-Burckhardt, “where among women of every
-rank chastity is so rare as at Cairo, it could
-not be expected that public prostitution
-should thrive.” This is a harsh judgment
-on the character of the Caireen females,
-and, according to the accounts of most
-travellers, it is unjust.</p>
-
-<p>Before Mohammed Ali, instigated by the
-priests, made his awkward crusade against
-the Ghawazee tribes, the public prostitutes
-were put under the jurisdiction of a magistrate&mdash;an
-aga, or captain of the dancing
-girls. He kept a list of them, and exacted
-from each a sum of money by way of tax.
-He also acted as a censor on the general
-morality of the people. One of these agas
-took upon himself an extension of his jurisdiction,
-and whenever he found a woman,
-no matter of what class, who had been
-guilty of a single act of incontinence, he
-added her name to the list of common prostitutes,
-and extorted the tax from her,
-unless she could offer him a sufficient
-bribe, and thus escape the infamy. Nor
-was this all. To gratify private revenge,
-he sometimes inserted in his list the names
-of respectable ladies; but was at length
-detected and punished with death. Whenever
-a party of Ghawazee was engaged,
-they had to pay to their chief a sum of
-money and procure his permission to dance.
-This practice was pursued by persons who
-farmed the tax, until Mohammed Ali was
-smitten by a sudden reverence for morals,
-and made an attempt, characteristic of his
-vulgar genius, to abolish the profligacy of
-Egypt. In June, 1834, a law was published
-compelling the Ghawazee throughout
-the country to retire from their profession.
-It is said that the Moolahs, or Muslim
-bishops, objected to them, not on account
-of the impurities they practised, but because
-it was a scandal that women belonging
-to the race of true believers should
-expose their faces to infidels for hire. An
-agitation was raised on the subject; a
-storm of sacerdotal rage assailed the palace;
-and the viceroy, priest-ridden, banished
-all the dancers to Esneh, 500 miles
-up the Nile. There they were herded together,
-with a small stipend from government
-to keep them from starvation. The
-effect of this truly barbarian device was
-just what might have been expected. The
-profligacy, which had been chiefly confined
-to them, broke out in other classes, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span>
-demoralization advanced several steps further.
-It is said that the Moolahs repent
-their policy, since some additional burdens
-have been laid on them to make up for the
-loss of revenue.</p>
-
-<p>Under the old system, when all the
-known prostitutes paid a tax, the amount
-contributed by those of Cairo alone was
-800 purses, or 4000<i>l.</i>, which was a tenth
-of the income-tax on the whole population.
-This will suggest an idea of the
-numbers in which they existed. The
-Ghawazee formed the chief element in this
-system of prostitution, and Mohammed Ali
-imagined that with one stroke of the pen
-he could obliterate this blot on the social
-aspect of Egypt&mdash;he who had so worn himself
-out with licentious pleasures that his
-physicians had to persuade him to disband
-an army of concubines which he had kept
-at the expense of his miserable people. At
-once prostitution was denounced as a crime.
-The Ghazeeyeh daring to infringe the new
-law was condemned to fifty stripes for the
-first, and imprisonment with severe labour
-for the second, offence. The punishments of
-these and of all other women were illegal,
-according to the code of the Prophet. It
-has, however, been a blessing to the Mohammedan
-population of the East that
-their great lawgiver left his frame of legislation,
-for, invested with the authority of
-religion, it has been some check on the
-caprice of tyrants.</p>
-
-<p>The men, also, who were detected encouraging
-the Ghawazee were made liable to
-the punishment of the bastinado. Legal
-enactments, however, cannot purify the
-morals of a whole community. Prostitution
-was abolished by law, but remained
-in practice as flagrant as ever. The Egyptians
-borrowed a device from the Persians.
-When a man desires to have intercourse
-with a woman of the prostitute class, he
-marries her in the evening and divorces
-her in the morning. The dowry he pays
-her is no more than she would receive were
-this transaction not to take place. She
-dare not apply for the usual stipend to
-maintain her afterwards. Even these connections
-are often kept entirely secret.
-The dancing has been more successfully
-suppressed, for many of the performances
-were public; but the Europeans, as well
-as the rich natives, frequently indulge by
-stealth in the prohibited amusement.</p>
-
-<p>The Almehs, at least since the banishment
-of the Ghawazee, dance, and prostitute
-themselves, as well as sing&mdash;though
-their name implies neither practice, meaning
-simply “learned or accomplished women.”
-When an entertainment of the
-kind is given, it is usual to choose for the
-scene a lonely house in the outskirts of the
-city, surrounded by a garden with a high
-wall. There, with the windows veiled, parties
-meet, and the dancers are introduced.
-Women with children at the breast come
-sometimes to take part in these abominable
-orgies; but do not usually, unless excited
-by the men, develop all their powers of
-licentious expression. Occasionally a party
-of soldiers breaks in on the forbidden revel,
-and the girls are carried off to prison,
-where stripes, or, perhaps, sentences of banishment,
-await them.</p>
-
-<p>There are, however, in Egypt considerable
-classes of women solely devoted to
-prostitution, who practise none of the accomplishments
-in which the Almeh and
-Ghawazee excel. Among them is a peculiar
-tribe called the Halekye, whose husbands
-are tinkers or horse and ass doctors.
-They wander about the country like gipsies,
-and most of the women engage in
-prostitution. Prostitutes of the common
-order swarm in all the cities and towns of the
-valley. In and about Cairo they are particularly
-numerous, whole quarters being
-inhabited exclusively by them. Legislation
-is powerless to suppress their calling.
-Their dress differs from that of the other
-sorts of women only in being more gay
-and less disguising. Some even wear the
-veil and affect all the airs of modesty.
-Many are divorced women, or widows, or
-wives of men whose business has obliged
-them to go abroad. The wives of many of
-the Arabs, if neglected for a short time,
-slide easily into prostitution. When Ibrahim
-Pasha was away on the expedition to
-Syria, it was said that on his return the
-soldiers would find all their wives courtezans;
-but this, of course, was a satire.</p>
-
-<p>Numbers of the common prostitutes in
-Cairo have been accustomed to sell pigeons
-and other birds in the different bazaars.
-Hence has arisen a proverb, that a person
-who marries in the bird-market must divorce
-his wife next morning. We find
-in these popular sayings many indications
-of the features which mark the system in
-Egypt. We have some in allusion to the
-shouts and disorderly conduct of persons
-issuing from the brothels in the morning,
-and others describing the career of the
-prostitutes themselves. “The public woman
-who is liberal of her favours does not
-wish for a procuress.” “If a harlot repent
-she becomes a procuress.”</p>
-
-<p>One reason assigned for the practice of
-early marriages is, the proneness of the
-young men to be seduced by prostitutes. It
-is only just, however, to observe, that in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span>
-Alexandria, though it is considered the <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">refugium
-peccatorum</i> of the Mediterranean, the
-European community has preserved itself to
-an unusual degree uncontaminated by the
-general corruption of the male population.</p>
-
-<p>The women of Egypt, as we have already
-observed, are, in point of morals, far superior
-to the men. They are generally silly
-and childish, because they are treated as
-soulless creatures and children; but, on
-the whole, their character is not so degraded
-by unnatural vices as that of their
-male rulers. These generally are coarse
-voluptuaries, in whom little except the
-animal appetite is developed.</p>
-
-<p>We perceive in Egypt the illustration of
-some signal truths. We find there the
-proper fruits of Oriental despotism; we see
-the results of a vulgar barbarian attempt
-to reform public morals. We witness also
-the influence of its position upon the
-character of the female sex. Women in
-Egypt have been made by their social laws
-what the originator of those laws considered
-them to be&mdash;the mere servitors of man.
-In the prostitute system of the country
-we discover some singular features, which
-contribute to render modern Egypt, in
-relation to our actual subject, one of the
-most interesting regions in the East. The
-Christian population we do not notice, because
-it is composed of fragments of races
-which will be noticed in their proper
-countries<a name="FNanchor_77_77" id="FNanchor_77_77"></a><a href="#Footnote_77_77" class="fnanchor">[77]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution among the States of
-Northern Africa.</span></h3>
-
-<p>A very brief notice is all that is required
-by the other States of northern Africa.
-They are distinguished from the barbarous
-communities of that region by having
-assumed the forms of regular society,
-which places them under a separate head,
-but, in relation to our subject, they present
-little that is characteristic. In describing
-the condition and morality of the female
-sex in other Mohammedan countries we
-shall meet with nearly all the features
-offered by Algiers, Barca, Morocco, Tunis,
-and Tripoli. Nevertheless, on account of
-the extraordinary mixture of the population,
-some curious details are observed.
-Turks, Christians, Arabs, Jews, Berbers, and
-Moors mingle in the cities of those States.
-The last, however, form the mass, and it is
-to them our remarks must apply.</p>
-
-<p>The Moors of northern Africa possess all
-the vices, and scarcely any of the virtues,
-of the Mohammedans of the East. They
-are proud, ignorant, sensual, and depraved,
-without any of that high spirit of honour
-which often, in the oriental Muslim, half
-redeems his character.</p>
-
-<p>The treatment of women among the
-Moors answers exactly to this view. They
-are regarded as the mere material instruments
-of man’s gratification. Accordingly
-their whole education is modelled so as to
-render them fit to serve the lust of a gross
-sensualist. Among the more elevated nations
-of Asia, men sometimes tire of their
-wives’ company, because they are simple
-beauties, without animation of mind, seeking
-the society of educated courtezans,
-more for their wit and vivacity than for
-their meaner and more material accomplishments.
-But, with the Moors, the
-animal appetite is all that they seek to
-satisfy. A woman with daughters does not
-train them in seductive arts; she <i>feeds</i>
-them into a seductive appearance&mdash;as
-pigeons and doves are fed in certain parts
-of Italy. They are made to swallow daily
-a number of balls of paste, dipped in oil,
-and the rod enforces their compliance.
-This practice is adopted as well by the
-inmate of the rich man’s harem as by the
-courtezan; for to be plump, sleek, and fair,
-are the objects of their common ambition.
-A girl who is a camel’s load is the perfection
-of Moorish beauty. Thus intellect
-and sentiment are not the possessions to
-recommend her, but fat.</p>
-
-<p>It is strange that the woman’s character
-does not correspond altogether with her
-mode of life. Heavy, corpulent, and sensual,
-she is, nevertheless, alive to the
-keenest feeling. Hot impulses, untameable
-in their outbreak, characterize her
-sex. Rivarol once said, that in Paris the
-veins of the women were full of milk; but
-in Berlin, of pure blood. Pananti says
-that in the Moorish woman fire is the circulating
-fluid. Fiery hearts, indeed, are
-general among the women of the East;
-and are as remarkable in Egypt as in
-Morocco, where Oriental passions seem to
-spring from African soil.</p>
-
-<p>Immured as the wives of rich men are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span>
-in splendid harems, and rigidly excluded
-from intercourse with the other sex, they
-seek their whole enjoyment in the gratification
-of their passions or their senses.
-Their time is spent at home, or at the
-bath, lounging on cushions, sipping coffee,
-smoking, gossiping, or multiplying the
-devices of the toilette.</p>
-
-<p>The Moors are extravagantly jealous.
-Some have been known to slay their women
-before proceeding on a long journey; others
-have forbidden them to name even an animal
-of the masculine gender. They are,
-therefore, entirely shut up within the walls
-of the harem; muffled under mountains of
-ungraceful black drapery as they move along
-the streets; or secluded from the sight of
-the world in the impenetrable recesses of
-the bath. There they exhaust all the ingenuity
-they can command in the perfuming
-and decoration of their persons.</p>
-
-<p>Many have wondered why women thus
-prevented from displaying themselves
-should be so untiring in the offices of
-vanity. The reason, however, is clear. In
-the Moorish harem all that a wife or concubine
-has to look to is the favour of her
-lord. If she succeed in charming him, her
-lot is far more happy than under any other
-circumstances. Besides, it is not only to
-please him that she labours. The mortification
-of her rivals is an additional source
-of triumph, for in the narrow sphere of the
-harem, where the nobler qualities of the
-mind have no room for development, the
-meanest naturally flourish most profusely.</p>
-
-<p>The marriage laws of Mohammedan
-countries in general prevail in the Barbary
-States, with slight modifications. The
-husband has more absolute control over
-the wife. Few take more than one, though
-polygamy is universally allowed. Opulent
-men, however, sometimes indulge in the
-full complement of four, besides a number
-of concubines. Though the betrothal
-usually takes place at an extremely early
-age, the actual union seldom takes place
-until the bride is twelve or thirteen, when,
-as a poet of Barbary expresses it, “The
-rose-bud expands to imbibe the vivifying
-rays of love.”</p>
-
-<p>An extensive system of professional
-prostitution prevails in all the cities of
-these States. In Algiers and Morocco they
-are particularly numerous. The low drinking
-shops are crowded with men, and the
-loose characters of the town have each a
-companion who is a harlot. The public
-dancers all belong to this sisterhood. They
-exist in large numbers and are very much
-encouraged by both sexes. The women in
-the baths, after steeping their bodies in
-warm water until every nerve is relaxed,
-and all their limbs are softened into a
-voluptuous languor, lie on cushions and sip
-coffee, while dancers, attired in a slight
-costume, display their licentious arts, and
-Almeh sing songs equally lascivious. These
-prostitutes are of various classes, from the
-low vulgar wretches, encouraged by the
-French soldiers in Algiers, to the wealthy
-courtezans who live amid luxury and
-splendour.</p>
-
-<p>A late traveller was introduced by a friend
-to “a Moorish lady.” She occupied a fine
-house, situated, however, in a narrow and
-retired street. Its architecture was rich,
-and on the door being opened, signs of
-wealth became everywhere apparent. The
-visitor was ushered into a spacious apartment,
-roofed with graceful arches, and hung
-with rich-coloured silks. A lamp burning
-amid piles of freshly-gathered flowers,
-stood on the table. Reclining on a luxurious
-divan, with a tiger-skin spread at her
-feet, was a woman of extreme loveliness,
-attired in a superb costume. Though of a
-fair and brilliant complexion, her hair was
-jet black, braided with curious art and
-bound up with strings of pearl. Its heavy
-tresses were partly concealed by a tiara of
-crimson, figured with gold. Diamond drops
-hung from her ears; corals and gems
-sparkled round her neck.</p>
-
-<p>A garment, of a fabric almost transparent,
-was folded over her bosom, and fastened
-with a golden ornament. A loose
-pelisse of blue brocade, confined at the
-waist with a cymar of embroidered silk,
-displayed the contour of her figure, and
-full trousers of muslin were furled about
-her limbs. Her cheek was tattooed with a
-blue star, and her nails were stained pink
-with henna. She was waited upon by a
-negro girl wearing a white muslin turban
-ornamented with a rose, the leaves and
-stem of which were gilded. Elegant in her
-manners, easy in her mode of address, this
-woman appeared to the uninitiated traveller
-the model of feminine grace. When he
-took his leave, however, his friend undeceived
-him, with an apology, and he discovered
-that he had been conversing with
-a Moorish prostitute.</p>
-
-<p>This sketch of a woman, belonging to
-the class, may serve to show the extent to
-which some of them are encouraged. Indeed
-the society of the dancers, who are all
-prostitutes, is a favourite recreation with
-the Moors of all classes. The women, as
-we have said, belong to various grades,
-from those who debase themselves by their
-obscene postures in the low coffee-houses,
-to those who display their more elegant<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span>
-licentiousness to amuse the wealthy. A man,
-entertaining a party of friends, sends for a
-company of dancers to enliven them in his
-kiosk or pavilion. There, amid the fumes
-of tobacco, and sometimes of strong liquors
-(for the precepts of the Koran are often
-disregarded), these unhappy women descend
-from ordinary immodesty to the most degrading
-obscenity, until the orgies become
-such as no pen could describe. When the
-master of the feast is particularly delighted
-with the beauty or the dexterity of any
-girl, he performs a favourite act of gallantry
-by dropping a few golden coins into her
-bosom. The whole company is liberally
-rewarded<a name="FNanchor_78_78" id="FNanchor_78_78"></a><a href="#Footnote_78_78" class="fnanchor">[78]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in Arabia, Syria, and
-Asia Minor.</span></h3>
-
-<p>In whatever countries the Mohammedan
-religion has been established, to describe
-the condition of women would be generally
-to repeat the accounts already given. Their
-character varies in different populations,
-but everywhere the laws to which they are
-subject are substantially the same.</p>
-
-<p>In Syria and Asia Minor the marriage
-code is, among the Muslims, precisely similar
-to that of Egypt and Turkey, and so
-also in Arabia. In Natolia, especially, the
-influence of the Prophet’s law is powerful,
-and the comparative simplicity of its inhabitants
-leads them to respect the boundaries
-laid down to their indulgences.
-Possessing within their own country all
-the materials of prosperity, they might,
-with virtue and industry, become once
-more a powerful and wealthy race; but
-misgovernment adds yearly to the mass of
-their corruption, and they perish in misery
-and servitude.</p>
-
-<p>In such countries ambition sees no path
-but that of reckless crime, and mental activity
-only stimulates to sensual pursuits.
-Accordingly profligacy flourishes in the
-cities of Asia Minor, though in the thinly-peopled
-tracts there is perhaps more purity
-of manners than in any other Mohammedan
-country, except Arabia. Polygamy, permitted
-as it is by the law, is far from being
-generally adopted. In 1830, the extensive
-city of Brussa contained only a single man
-who had more than one wife. Women are
-secluded to some extent, but enjoy great
-freedom. Loved and indulged they are,
-but not respected; and, consequently, their
-morals are inferior to those of the Bedouin
-wives.</p>
-
-<p>The Christians, who are so freely tolerated
-among the Mohammedan population
-of Asia Minor, preserve very much the
-customs of Europe, except in the lesser
-details of their life. In the rich provinces
-of Syria, Arabs, Greeks, and Ottomans have
-mingled, bringing each some characteristic
-habits to modify the general social scheme.
-The pastoral and the Christian tribes are
-by far the most moral.</p>
-
-<p>Among the Maronites of Lebanon, who
-hold our faith, a rigid code exists, with
-purity of manners; but, as among the
-ancient Germans, the severe law is only
-the moral influence in action. The law,
-without the feeling which upholds it, would
-be powerful; which constitutes the difference
-between a community which frames
-its own code according to its own spirit,
-and that which receives decrees from the
-caprice of a ruler. If a man among the
-Maronites seduce a girl, he must marry
-her; should he refuse, fasts, imprisonments,
-and even blows are employed, which force
-him to submit. The illicit intercourse of
-the sexes, married or unmarried, is reprobated
-by the sense of the community, and
-the profession of prostitution is unknown.
-On the whole, this may be described as a
-simple and comparatively innocent race,
-removed above the profligacy which ferments
-around them.</p>
-
-<p>The Druses, also, are distinguished by
-the same characteristics; they do not permit
-polygamy, and marry very young. A
-man may divorce his wife, however, by only
-saying, “Go;” or if she ask permission to
-visit her relatives, and he concede it, without
-enjoining her to return, she must consider
-herself put away. In spite of this
-facility such separations scarcely ever
-occur. An adulteress is mercilessly put to
-death by the hands of her friends. One
-who commits fornication suffers a similar
-punishment, but in this case the father
-may pardon her if he choose. The tenderness
-of the parent sometimes induces him
-to spare his child, though her guilt may
-stain the honour of his house; but brothers,
-it is said, never relent, visiting the sin of
-their sister with unsparing sternness.</p>
-
-<p>Prostitutes and dancing girls are common
-in all the cities and towns of Syria,
-but they are never met with among any
-of the pastoral or nomade tribes. In Asia
-Minor and Palestine the same circumstance
-is to be observed.</p>
-
-<p>There is little to remark upon in the
-habits or characteristics of the class, which
-is similar to others of the same sisterhood<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span>
-in Egypt, Turkey, and other parts of the
-East<a name="FNanchor_79_79" id="FNanchor_79_79"></a><a href="#Footnote_79_79" class="fnanchor">[79]</a>. Since, therefore, little could be
-gained by dwelling at length upon these
-countries, we quit them, and pass to a
-region which, if the spirit of romance still
-remains on earth, may be described as its
-chosen home.</p>
-
-<p>In Arabia we find a system of manners
-at once unique and beautiful. In saying
-this, however, we allude to the Bedouins,
-or representatives of the true Arab race,
-who preserve their original simplicity in
-the rainless plains of their ancient country.
-In the cities of the coast, and wherever the
-fertility of the soil has attracted a crowded
-population, vice has introduced itself, and
-the graces of the shepherd state have
-quickly disappeared. In surveying the
-civilization of Arabia this distinction must
-always be held in view.</p>
-
-<p>Many natural circumstances combine to
-influence the natural character of the
-Arabs in their native region. A country
-whose sunny and sandy plains alternate
-with tracts of hills and valleys of the
-richest bloom, has been their home. In the
-mountains of Yemen wet and dry seasons
-alternate, but over the desert hangs a sky
-of perpetual blue,&mdash;bright, dry, and warm;
-while, during the summer solstice, a sun
-almost vertical floods the waste of rock and
-sand with insufferable light, parching the
-face of all nature.</p>
-
-<p>In this extraordinary region the Arabs
-live; some, as we have said, in cities or
-villages, some in separate families, under
-tents. An independent patriarchal form
-of government has been preserved in complete
-unity with their simple system of
-manners. Their religion is that of Mohammed,
-though various interpretations of
-his law have divided them into numerous
-sects. Differing, as they do, in their scheme
-of education from Europeans, it is difficult
-for us to understand their character. The
-boy grows up until five years old under his
-mother’s care; then, without a graduation,
-he is taken to his father’s side. From the
-companionship of women and children he
-passes at once into the society of men.</p>
-
-<p>The Arabs hold the female sex in high
-estimation. They exclude women, indeed,
-from all public assemblies, preclude them
-from the use of strong liquors, and hold
-them from infancy to womanhood under
-tutelage; but they restrain themselves as
-well, and their general demeanour is modest,
-sober, and grave. Those in the fertile
-province of Yemen are more vivacious than
-those of the sterile plains. Nevertheless
-the men love society. Every village has
-its coffee-house full of gossipers, and every
-camp its place of rendezvous.</p>
-
-<p>The women of the family occupy the
-interior of the house or tent; they are
-secluded to some extent, but not in the
-extravagant degree described by some
-writers. A man will not salute one in
-public, or fix his eyes upon her. Strangers,
-in general, are not allowed to converse
-with them, and they are expected to pay
-great deference to the ruling sex, but they
-are neither disguised nor immured. Veils
-they wear, but do not hide their faces with
-that religious care considered indispensable
-in some countries. Among many of the
-tent-dwellers, women drink coffee with
-strangers; and in some of the communities
-towards the south they are allowed to entertain
-a guest in their husband’s absence.
-Indeed it may be said, that they are in
-Arabia more free than anywhere else in
-Islam, and proverbially abstemious in the
-gratification of all their appetites. All the
-household duties are performed by them.
-They fetch water, drive flocks, and wait on
-the men; but they are loved and respected,
-notwithstanding, and no claim is held so
-sacred as that by which a mother exacts
-duty from her son. There is, indeed, something
-admirable in the simplicity of these
-desert tribes, where the wife sits within
-her husband’s tent, weaving her own garments
-from the wool of his flocks.</p>
-
-<p>Where several families are congregated,
-the females visit each other, assemble together,
-and exchange every pleasant service.
-They meet in the evening to sing to the
-young men of the tribe, and many romantic
-assignations are kept in the little secluded
-valleys in which Arabia abounds. The well
-is the favourite spot of rendezvous.</p>
-
-<p>The dances of the Arab girls, who perform
-before the men, are not only decent
-but elegant and romantic&mdash;totally in contrast
-to those of the Ghawazee. These amusements
-are as much for their own gratification
-as that of the other sex, for sometimes no
-males are present. Nor are they forced to
-exhibit when disinclined. Sometimes when
-the young men have offended the maidens
-of a tribe, they assemble night after night,
-but no damsels appear to dance or sing.
-All this indicates considerable purity of
-manners. The Mohammedan marriage
-law prevails among all the Arabs of the
-peninsula, though its details are modified
-by their system of manners. A man is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span>
-expected, though not compelled, to take
-the widow of his deceased brother. A man
-has an exclusive right to the hand of his
-cousin, but is not compelled to marry her.
-He, however, must finally renounce his
-claim before she can be taken by any one
-else. Each may have four wives and as
-many concubines as he pleases. Two sisters
-may not be had at once; but one being
-divorced, the other may be taken.</p>
-
-<p>The disparity between the sexes in point
-of number, which has been asserted by some
-travellers, does not appear to exist. Polygamy,
-a privilege of the rich, is seldom
-practised even by them. Many wealthy
-Bedouins, who could well maintain a harem,
-declare they could not be happy with more
-than one companion. The law obliges a
-man to pass at least one night in every
-week with each of his wives, and this has
-assisted in checking the practice.</p>
-
-<p>The Mohammedans of Arabia are accused
-of selling their daughters; but they do
-not often bargain them away for profit.
-They naturally prefer a wealthy before a
-poor son-in-law, and receive a bounty from
-him; but they richly portion out the bride.
-She is further endowed by her husband.
-The contract drawn up before the Kadi
-stipulates not only what she is to receive
-upon her marriage, but what she may claim
-in case of a divorce. In many cases a
-sheikh of substantial fortune takes a poor
-son-in-law, gives him the sum necessary to
-be paid before the judge, and exacts from
-him in return only a pledge of such an
-amount, in the event of repudiation, that
-it can never take place. The wife, not being
-compelled to vest all her property in him,
-is, in some measure, free from his authority.
-She is, indeed, more supreme in the household
-than in most countries, and is even
-more happy, because she can insist upon a
-divorce if ill-used. Some men, indeed,
-take two wives, and some even three, but
-these instances are so few that, though the
-sexes are numerically equal, almost every
-man may have a wife. In the towns,
-soldiers and domestics are more frequently
-married than in Europe. No insult wounds
-an Arab woman more than to compare her
-to a fruitless tree. In this way the evils of
-polygamy, in the cities, are counteracted.
-A maiden past the marriageable age is
-ashamed of her virginity, and a widow
-without children is miserable until she
-finds a new partner. There are no retreats
-whither celibacy may fly for refuge from
-the taunts of the world. Every woman,
-consequently, is desirous to marry; but
-those who are taken by pluralists bear
-fewer children than those who have no
-rival under the roof. In the house of a
-polygamist, each woman, feeling she has to
-contend for favour, seeks by unnatural
-means to increase her own attractions, to
-seem more voluptuous than she is, and thus
-injures her natural powers. Concubinage
-is more common than polygamy. The
-sheriff of Mecca has numerous female
-slaves, and his high example is followed by
-many wealthy men in the luxurious and
-corrupt populations of the cities. In the
-desert it is more rare, and, indeed, scarcely
-ever practised, except where a father presents
-his son with a beautiful bondmaid,
-that he may be satisfied with her, and not
-enter the towns in search of prostitutes.</p>
-
-<p>In Mecca, the sacred city of the Mohammedan
-faith, nearly all the wealthy men
-maintain concubines, but, if they bear
-children, must, unless their complement of
-four wives be already complete, marry them
-or incur public reproach. Some of these
-voluptuaries, who look on women only as a
-means to gratify their animal appetites,
-marry none but Abyssinian wives, because
-they are more servile, obsequious, and
-voluptuous than those of pure Arabian
-blood. Foreigners arriving at that city
-with the caravan bargain for a female slave,
-intending to sell her at their departure,
-unless she bear offspring, in which case she
-is elevated to the position of a wife. Under
-any circumstances, to sell a concubine
-slave, is by the respectable part of the community,
-regarded as disreputable. Speculators,
-however, sometimes buy young girls,
-indulge their sensuality upon them, train
-them up, educate them, and sell them at a
-profit. No distinction is made among the
-children, of whichever class of mothers
-they are born.</p>
-
-<p>It is one sign of pure manners among
-the simple communities of Arabia, that
-chastity is highly prized. When the
-young Arab marries a girl, he sometimes
-stipulates in the contract that she must be
-a virgin. Of this he desires to assure
-himself by examination. If the outward
-signs are wanting, the bride’s father has to
-prove the circumstance accidental; should
-he fail in this, the fame of her innocence may
-be destroyed, and she may be driven from
-home overwhelmed with shame. In many
-of the nomade communities it is the invariable
-rule to put away a bride immediately
-after the discovery of any suspicious sign,
-and in the hills of Yemen the laws are
-equally severe. The man who marries a
-woman disgraced by incontinence shares
-her infamy unless he send her back to her
-father.</p>
-
-<p>The dwellers in towns, estimating less<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>
-highly the worth of feminine virtue, laugh
-at a man who dishonours his family on
-account of such a circumstance. A man
-finding that his bride is not a virgin demands
-compensation from her father, keeps
-her a short time, and then puts her away
-privily, as Joseph was minded to do with
-the mother of Jesus. Many also understand
-that nature has refused the sign
-to some females, and that it is unjust to
-condemn a woman on the strength of a
-circumstance which a hundred accidents
-may have caused. If adultery be committed
-by the wife, the law condemns her
-to have her throat cut by the hand of her
-brother or father; but in general humanity
-prevails against the written code, and this
-horrible punishment is seldom inflicted.
-The usual manner of visiting such an
-offence is by summary divorce, which is
-indeed easily to be obtained for trivial
-causes, or for no cause at all. In towns an
-agreement before the Kadi, in the desert
-a lamb slaughtered before the door of the
-tent, is all the ceremony needed. The
-simple pronunciation of the word “Go”
-is, in many parts, sufficient. Men of violent
-passions abuse this privilege, and it is said
-that some, not more than 40 years of age,
-have had as many as 50 wives; but it is
-utterly untrue to say that such instances are
-frequent. The existence of the pure and
-true sentiment of love, which is so rare in
-Mohammedan countries, is admitted to
-prevail in Arabia; the natural jealousy of
-the male sex, the superior wisdom of their
-regulations respecting the intercourse of
-the sexes prior to marriage, the independence
-of the women, and the lofty system
-of morals distinguishing the Bedouins of
-the desert, are totally incompatible with
-such a flagrant profligacy in the use
-of divorce. Were it the case, the complete
-confusion of society would ensue;
-whereas no region in the world presents
-spectacles of happier homes than the plains
-of Arabia, with their tents and wandering
-tribes. Women are comparatively free,
-being tolerated even in religious differences,
-which implies a high estimate
-of their intellectual qualities. The republican
-spirit of the desert assigns them, indeed,
-their natural position, and, though
-much is required from them as modest
-women, little is exacted from them as an
-inferior sex.</p>
-
-<p>Some of the peculiar customs among the
-various communities of Arabia are curious
-enough to require notice. Before the
-Wahaby Conquest it was customary among
-the Deyr Arabs for a man to take his
-daughter, when marriageable, to the
-market-place&mdash;where all such engagements
-were formed&mdash;and proclaim her for
-disposal, crying aloud, “Who will buy the
-virgin?” The Bedouins of Mount Sinai
-still adhere to their singular practices.
-A man desiring matrimony makes a bargain
-with some one who has an unmarried
-daughter, and if able to settle it, sticks in
-his turban a sprig of green, which signifies
-that he is wedded to a virgin. The
-bride’s inclinations are not beforehand
-consulted. She must go home with her
-husband, and submit for one night to his
-embraces. If she be not pleased, however,
-she may in the morning go home, when
-the contract is dissolved. Among the
-wealthier tribes of the East, no price is
-paid, and every girl is free to choose a
-partner. Modesty, with them, is regarded
-as the finest grace of the sex. It is genuine
-and unassailable. The bride even is sometimes
-so coy, that her husband is obliged
-to tie her up and whip her before she will
-yield to him. A widow’s marriage is disreputable,
-and assailed with every demonstration
-of disrespect. This proves that
-divorce among them is unfrequent. Among
-the Nazyene, a tribe on the peninsula
-of Sinai, a girl, when given in marriage,
-flies and takes refuge among the hills,
-where she is supplied with food by her
-relations. The bridegroom goes in search,
-and when he finds his bride, must pass the
-night with her in the open air. She may
-repeat the flight several times, and indeed
-is not expected to live with her husband
-until a whole year has elapsed or she has
-become pregnant. Various other customs
-characterise different tribes; but in every
-feature of Arabian manners we discover a
-simplicity and purity as admirable as it is
-rare. Conjugal infidelity is rare in the
-desert. Fornication scarcely ever happens,
-and common prostitutes are unknown. In
-the crowded towns on the coast, however,
-there are numbers of professional prostitutes,
-licensed to carry on their calling,
-who pay considerable sums to the magistrates
-for the enjoyment of their privileges.
-In Mecca they are extremely numerous,
-and for the most part inhabit the poorest
-quarter of the city. In Dhyrdda, also,
-they are extremely numerous, but the
-population of that place is almost exclusively
-foreign. These women bear scarcely
-any children. When, during the early
-years of their vocation, they are capable
-of producing offspring, they employ artificial
-means to ensure abortion. The seeds
-of the tree whence is obtained the balm
-of Mecca, are used for that purpose.</p>
-
-<p>In the mosques of the sacred city, pros<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span>titutes
-collect in great numbers, and are
-largely encouraged by the Moolah or priestly
-class, who find them a source of profit.
-Those of the more indigent description inhabit
-a particular quarter, but the others
-are dispersed amid the general mass of the
-population. They are more decent in their
-outward demeanour than the same class in
-the East and in Europe, and it requires a
-practised eye to detect, amid the throng of
-veiled women circulating in the streets and
-bazaars, those of the venal sisterhood. Contrary,
-however, to the rule which prevails
-in England, they are almost the only
-females who frequent places of worship,
-which is on account not of their devotion,
-but of their effrontery, the prejudices of
-Mohammedans being against it. The
-Bedouins near cities sometimes frequent
-the brothels in their neighbourhood; but
-these belong to the class the manners of
-which have been vitiated by intercourse
-with strangers.</p>
-
-<p>In what numbers the prostitutes of the
-Arabian cities are found we know not, nor
-do we discover anything remarkable in their
-manners or modes of life. It would, consequently,
-be unprofitable to dwell on them.
-We have to notice, however, in connection
-with Arabia, two remarkable customs, one
-of which exhibits to us a class of male
-prostitutes, if such a term may be allowed,
-and the other a species of hospitality, now
-very rare, except among the grossest communities.</p>
-
-<p>In the Arabian province of Hedjaz no
-unmarried woman may pass within the
-boundary or enter the mosque. As, however,
-many rich old widows and persons
-whose husbands have died by the way
-arrive with every pilgrim caravan, some
-device is necessary to procure them admission
-without breaking the law. A number
-of men, therefore, live in the frontier towns,
-who, upon the arrival of every concourse,
-hire themselves out to the women, marry
-them, live with them while they pass
-through the sacred territory, receive a
-munificent sum for their services, and are
-then divorced. If one of these individuals
-chooses to insist on keeping the wife he has
-procured, she cannot help it; but such an
-act would be attended with great discredit
-and the loss of a very profitable occupation.
-Eight hundred men are sometimes employed
-as temporary husbands, and a number of
-boys are continually trained that they may
-inherit the calling. On the various roads
-to the shrine of Mecca congregate a number
-of women, with somewhat of a sacred
-character attached to them. They are
-prostitutes, but not indiscriminate in their
-connections, since they offer to bear to
-wealthy pilgrims children, who are considered
-as born under a fortunate auspice.</p>
-
-<p>Among the Merehedes, on the frontiers
-of Yemen, a custom far more revolting has
-existed from ancient time, and still prevails.
-A stranger arriving as a guest is compelled
-to pass the night with the wife of
-his host, whatever her age or condition.
-Should he succeed in pleasing her he is
-honourably treated. If not, she cuts off a
-piece of his garment, turns him out into
-the village, and leaves him to be driven
-away in disgrace. When the Wahabis
-conquered the Merehedes, they forced them
-to abandon this odious practice; but some
-misfortunes ensuing to the tribe, they were
-all imputed to this sacrilegious infringement
-of an ancient law. The custom was
-therefore restored. Some other female of
-the family, may, however, be substituted
-for the wife, but young virgins are never
-sacrificed to this barbarous hospitality<a name="FNanchor_80_80" id="FNanchor_80_80"></a><a href="#Footnote_80_80" class="fnanchor">[80]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in Turkey.</span></h3>
-
-<p>There is one general system of manners
-pervading the Mohammedan world. In
-examining, therefore, the moral aspects of
-the various countries in which the religion
-of the Prophet is established, we find little
-in each to distinguish it from the rest. In
-Turkey exists the same civilization as in
-Egypt, though its population is more corrupt.
-25,000,000 souls inhabit a region
-which would support twice as many, and
-yearly the work of decay is going on.</p>
-
-<p>The Osmanlis, a race of Scythian extraction,
-have held Turkey during 400 years, receiving,
-however, large infusions of Persian
-and Mongolian blood. The wealthier people
-their harems with the beauties of Georgia
-and Circassia; the humbler intermarry with
-Servians, Bulgarians, Albanians, and Greeks,
-so that the original physical characteristics
-of the race have been greatly modified.
-Their moral nature has changed also, but
-in a less degree. Proud, sensual, and
-depraved in their tastes, they are too indolent
-to acquire even the means of gratifying
-their most powerful cravings. Their
-pride is satisfied with the recollection of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span>
-former glories; their lust looks forward to
-the enjoyments of paradise, crowded, as
-they believe, with celestial creatures devoted
-to the delight of their senses. Immersed
-in an atmosphere of epicurean
-speculation, the Turk whom poverty does
-not compel to labour for his bread passes
-the day in lounging on cushions, smoking,
-sipping coffee, winking with half-closed
-eyes on the landscape, dreamily indifferent
-to all external objects. Even the poor
-indulge in this idleness. They measure
-out the amount of labour sufficient to keep
-them from want, and spend the rest of their
-lives drowsily awaiting the sensual bliss
-promised them by their prophet in heaven.
-During this lethargy passions more violent
-than are known to Europeans sleep in
-their breasts, and when these are excited,
-the Turk cannot be surpassed for brutal
-fury. All his ideas are gross. He is able to
-imagine no authority not armed with whip
-or sword. Moral power is to him an incomprehensible
-idea. It is, perhaps, for this
-reason that the Osmanlis have conquered
-so much, and possessed so little talent for
-governing what they acquired.</p>
-
-<p>This notice of the Turkish character is
-necessary, because it corresponds exactly
-with their estimation of the female sex.
-The person alone is loved. Intellect in a
-Turkish woman is a quality rarely developed,
-because never prized. It is no part
-of her education to learn to read or write.
-To adorn herself, to dress in charming
-attire, to beautify her face, to perfume her
-hair, and soften her limbs in the bath or
-with fine ointments, is the object to which
-she applies her mind; and when, thus decorated,
-she lounges on a pile of cushions in
-the full splendour of her costume, her
-delight is some spectacle which will stimulate
-her passions and intoxicate her with
-excitement. Turkey is thus the empire of
-the senses.</p>
-
-<p>Polygamy, authorized by the Prophet’s
-code, is not now so frequently resorted to as
-formerly. It is growing into disrepute, and
-the female sex, upon which the laws relating
-to property have conferred much
-independence, are generally averse to it.
-Men marrying wives equal in rank to themselves
-frequently engage in their first
-marriage contract not to form a second,
-and the breach of this agreement is viewed
-as a profligate abuse of manners. The
-practice of polygamy was once, however,
-very prevalent among the higher orders,
-and contributed much to corrupt as well as
-to diminish the population. In the families
-of those Mohammedans who indulge in a
-plurality of wives, the children are fewer
-than in those of the Greeks, Armenians, and
-Jews, to whom polygamy is not permitted.</p>
-
-<p>The offspring of married women, also, in
-the middle ranks of life is more numerous
-than in the wealthier harems. Indeed, the
-sex in Turkey is naturally prolific; but
-the growth of the nation has been checked
-by this among other causes. To account
-for the origin of the practice in Turkey
-many ingenious theories have been framed.
-It appears easy, however, to find its origin.
-The men are naturally sensual, and have
-never been accustomed to respect the female
-sex. When, therefore, an individual’s
-wealth allowed him, he naturally made use
-of it to multiply the sources of that animal
-enjoyment, dearer to him than any other
-earthly pleasure. Some have supposed
-that polygamy was necessitated by the numerical
-disparity of the sexes; but this
-does not seem the case. In those cities
-and towns where the women are in greater
-numbers than the men, we find that they
-are purchased in large numbers from the
-neighbouring villages or in the markets, to
-furnish the harems of the opulent.</p>
-
-<p>The social code of Turkey requires a
-woman to preserve herself in strict seclusion.
-The privacy of her apartments is
-so great that, unless on very rare occasions,
-no male is allowed to enter them except
-the master of the house. There are only
-certain days of the year in which a brother,
-an uncle, or a father-in-law can be
-admitted, or on festive occasions, such as
-a birthday or ceremony of circumcision.</p>
-
-<p>The usages of the country do not even
-permit a man to see his wife before marriage.
-In this respect the Turks are more
-jealous than their written law, for the
-Prophet advised his friend to obtain a
-glimpse of the woman whom he designed
-to receive into his bed. She may gratify
-her curiosity by seeing him, but such an
-occurrence is not frequent. This severe
-separation of the sexes has given employment
-to a class of professional matchmakers,
-who, as in China, make considerable
-profits by their calling, and often gain
-money under fraudulent pretences. The
-beauty and temper of the woman are exaggerated
-to the man, who, on the other
-hand, is described to the lady as possessed
-of every heroic qualification. They are
-mutually deceived; they rush into a marriage,
-and perhaps in a few days a divorce
-is required. Children of three or four
-years are sometimes betrothed, and married
-when they are fourteen. This interference
-of the parents leads often to evil results,
-for the youth, who is forced to accept his
-father’s choice, sometimes hates his bride<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span>
-before he sees her, and resolves to take a
-concubine as soon as circumstances permit.</p>
-
-<p>Each family deputes an agent to promote
-the satisfactory settlement of the
-transaction, while the girl herself, under
-her cloudy veil, sits in her harem to await
-her fate. To expose her face to a strange
-man’s gaze would be regarded as a species
-of prostitution. Her fortune is, therefore,
-decided for her. The terms of the contract
-are laid down in a document, which
-is signed by witnesses, and the woman is
-then called “a wife by writing.” This is
-concluded some days before the actual rite
-of wedding; but the whole interval is occupied
-with ceremonies, rejoicing, and
-liberal displays of hospitality. A man in
-Constantinople usually reckons on spending
-a year’s income on the occasion of his
-marriage. The average of this, in the
-middle ranks, is from 2000 to 2500 piastres.</p>
-
-<p>On the appointed day the union, which
-is a mere civil contract, though blessed by
-religious rites, is concluded. The bridegroom
-is conducted by an Imaum, or
-priest, to the entrance of the bride’s chamber,
-and there a prayer is uttered, to
-which all his friends make response. He
-is then left alone, standing outside the
-door. He knocks three times. A slave-maid
-admits him, going out herself to fetch
-a table with a tray of viands. While she
-is gone the husband endeavours to uncover
-his wife’s face, in which, after the usual
-coy resistance prescribed by custom, he, of
-course, succeeds. Meanwhile the damsel
-returns, and they eat together. The meal
-is very quickly dispatched, and a bridal
-couch is spread on the floor. Then the
-bride is taken into a neighbouring room,
-where she is undressed by her mother and
-her friends, after which the newly-married
-pair are left alone. Among the most popular
-stories connected with Ottoman manners,
-is that of the sultan throwing his
-handkerchief to the woman he chooses as
-the companion of his pillow, and the imitation
-of this practice by great men in
-their harems. This, however, is a fanciful
-invention, repeated by some travellers who
-desired the world to suppose they were intimate
-with the secrets of the seraglio.
-When the sultan chooses any one of his
-women to pass the night with, he sends an
-eunuch with a present to inform her of the
-intended honour. She is taken to a bath,
-perfumed, attired in beautiful garments,
-and then placed in bed. The story of her
-creeping in at the foot of the couch is also
-a fable. The first chosen is the chief in
-rank.</p>
-
-<p>The first of these fanciful accounts was
-probably suggested by a custom still practised
-among some of the Bosnian communities
-in western Turkey, where manners
-are more simple than in the eastern provinces.
-The young Muslim girls are there
-permitted to walk about in the daytime
-with uncovered faces. A man inclined to
-matrimony who happens to be pleased with
-the appearance of one of these maidens
-throws an embroidered handkerchief, or
-some part of his dress, over her head or
-neck. She then returns to her home, considers
-herself betrothed, and never again
-exposes her features in public. This is the
-usual preliminary to marriage; but it is
-probable that the lover has more than one
-look at his mistress before he makes the
-sign.</p>
-
-<p>Even the sultan’s concubines are purchased
-slaves, since no free Turkish woman
-can occupy that position. Occasionally
-he gives one away to a favourite
-pasha, who looks with pride upon the acquisition,
-and glories in the refuse of a
-palace. Little girls, about seven years of
-age, are much prized as slaves, and are
-often sold for upwards of a hundred guineas.</p>
-
-<p>Life in the harems of Constantinople is
-similar to that in those of Cairo. It is a
-round of sensual enjoyment, in which
-vanity is almost the only relief to the
-grosser appetites of humanity. The bath
-is the favourite place of resort. Lady
-Wortley Montague has left a celebrated
-description of one of these palaces of indolence.
-The ladies, perfectly naked, walked
-up and down, or reclined in various attitudes
-on heaps of cushions, attended by
-pretty slaves, who handed them coffee or
-sherbet. They delighted in the voluptuous
-movements of the female dancers, of which
-the public class in Turkey, as in Egypt, is
-composed of prostitutes. It struck them
-with surprise and disappointment that Lady
-Mary did not take off her clothes as they
-did; but she showed them how she was
-cased up in her stays, so that she could not
-strip, which they imagined was an ingenious
-device of her jealous husband.</p>
-
-<p>The morals of the Turkish women in
-general are described by most writers as
-very loose. The veils which were invented
-to preserve their virtue, favour their intrigues
-to dispose of it. The most watchful
-husband may pass his wife in the street
-without knowing her. Thus they live in
-perpetual masquerade. The places of assignment
-are usually at Jews’ shops, where
-they meet their paramours, though very
-seldom letting them know who they are.
-“You may easily imagine,” said Lady<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span>
-Montague, “the number of faithful wives
-to be very small in a country where they
-have nothing to fear from a lover’s indiscretion.”
-This may be taken, however, as
-an exaggerated view, for her ladyship was
-accustomed to breathe the impure moral
-atmosphere of courts, and cared little
-for the character of her sex in any part
-of the world.</p>
-
-<p>The wife in Turkey holds this check upon
-the caprice of her husband&mdash;her property
-belongs to herself, and if she be divorced
-she may take it away. The widow, also, is
-inviolable in her harem, not only against
-private intrusion, but against the officers
-of the law. If a woman’s husband neglect
-her, that is, if he fail to visit her once a
-week, she may sue for a separation, which
-may be easily effected before a Kadi. If
-she commit adultery, he may also sue;
-but if the divorce takes place by mutual
-consent no formality whatever is required.
-As in Egypt, a man may marry a woman
-twice after divorcing her; but the third
-time he must not take her again, until she
-has been had and put away by another
-person.</p>
-
-<p>Women, in Turkey, regard as an object
-more pitiable than any other the childless
-wife. With them to be barren after marriage
-is viewed as more disgraceful than
-with us to be fruitful before. All sorts of
-quackeries are resorted to by them to prolong
-and increase their powers of child-bearing,
-so that many kill themselves by
-the dangerous devices they employ. It is
-common to see a woman who has borne
-thirteen or fourteen children; some in the
-middle ranks bear from 25 to 30. They
-pray for the birth of twins, and are usually
-good mothers, though some have expressed
-themselves indifferent whether all their
-children lived or half of them were swept
-off by the plague. The single instance of
-superior refinement observable in Egypt
-is also remarkable here. Midwives only
-attend the bed of child-birth. There are
-no accoucheurs. Female practitioners also
-cure diseases; though an European physician
-is sometimes admitted to feel a pulse
-or even to see a patient’s face.</p>
-
-<p>Among the humbler classes the condition
-of the women resembles very nearly that
-of our own country. Their morality is
-generally superior to that of those wealthier
-inmates of the harems whose indolence
-seduces them into vice.</p>
-
-<p>The dancing girls of the public class of
-Turkey resemble, in all respects, those of
-Egypt. They are prostitutes by profession;
-but they do not appear to be so numerous
-in that country as formerly. Their performances,
-however, are prized by all classes,
-and they dance as lasciviously in the harem
-before women, as in the Kiosk before a
-party of convivial men. Those who perform
-in public indulge in every obscenity,
-and vie with each other in their indecent
-exhibitions. Their costume is exceedingly
-rich both in colour and in material. Frequenting
-the coffee-houses by day, they
-pick up companions, whom they entertain
-with songs, or tales, or caresses until nightfall,
-when preliminary orgies take place,
-and they disperse, with their patrons, to
-houses in various parts of the city, generally
-in the more narrow, tortuous, and
-remote streets. The outsides of these habitations
-are usually of a forbidding, cheerless,
-dirty aspect, but the interior of those
-belonging to the wealthier chiefs of the
-dancing girls are fitted up with every
-appurtenance of luxury.</p>
-
-<p>One of the most extraordinary features
-in the social institutions of Turkey is the
-temporary union, or marriage of convenience,
-which is adopted by many. It is,
-indeed, strictly speaking, simple prostitution.
-A man going on a journey, and
-leaving his wife behind, arrives in a strange
-city, where he desires to make some stay.
-He immediately bargains for a girl to live
-with him while he remains in the neighbourhood;
-a regular agreement is drawn
-up, and he supports her, and pays her
-friends, while he has her in his possession.
-The Moolahs declare this to be one valuable
-privilege of the male sex in Turkey;
-but the engagement does not appear to be
-valid before the law, if contracted expressly
-as a temporary union. But this is not
-necessary. The facility of divorce renders
-all such precaution useless. The man,
-therefore, takes the girl, nominally as his
-wife, but virtually as his mistress, until
-he is tired of her, or wishes to depart, when
-she returns to her friends and waits the
-occasion of a new engagement.</p>
-
-<p>Such is, in outline, the social system of
-Turkey with reference to the female sex<a name="FNanchor_81_81" id="FNanchor_81_81"></a><a href="#Footnote_81_81" class="fnanchor">[81]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in Circassia.</span></h3>
-
-<p>A peculiar interest attaches to the nation
-inhabiting that isthmus, with its stupend<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span>ous
-mountains, which forms the natural
-barrier between Asia and Europe; and is,
-perhaps, still the least known region in
-the ancient world. The Western Caucasus
-comprehends an immense district commencing
-at the middle Kuban, and terminating
-with Georgia. It is peopled by
-various tribes, claiming a common descent,
-and governed by princes, elders, and nobles.
-The Circassians are a brave and civilized,
-hospitable and courteous, race, resembling
-the ancient Swiss; and they present a
-singular system of manners varying considerably
-with the different tribes.</p>
-
-<p>There is a race, known as the Abassians,
-which is considered the aboriginal nation
-of the Caucasus,&mdash;described by Strabo as a
-predatory people,&mdash;pirates at sea, robbers
-on land; characteristics which they have
-to this day preserved. They are, however,
-in other respects, virtuous, dwelling in
-fixed habitations, strangers to the worst
-vices of civilized life, and humble in their
-desires. Their religion, a compound of
-Judaism, Christianity, and Islamism, permits
-polygamy; but, as a wife is expensive,
-they are usually contented with one,
-who is more the companion than the menial
-of her husband. The women are exceedingly
-industrious; employing themselves
-in a variety of pursuits, and tasking themselves
-far more than is essentially necessary
-in order to procure ornamental clothes. To
-reward them for this they are allowed full
-liberty, are free in their social intercourse,
-and, if they wear a veil, wear it only to
-screen their complexions from the sun.
-Their costume is highly elegant, and their
-state is indicated by the colour of their
-trowsers&mdash;white being that for the virgin,
-red for the wife, and blue for the widow.</p>
-
-<p>The laws these people have made to protect
-their own morals, have, in some degree,
-answered their purpose. Illegitimate
-children have no claim to a share of the
-patrimony, and can legally claim no relationship
-with any one. Should they be
-sold as slaves there is no one bound to
-ransom; should they be assassinated there
-is no relative expected to avenge their
-death. Nevertheless the inherent kindness
-of the Abassians mitigates the effect of
-these harsh laws. Illegitimate children are
-rarely treated ill, and their legitimate
-brothers often make with them a voluntary
-partition of property.</p>
-
-<p>But when a man marries a barren woman,
-he is allowed to take a concubine, whose
-children inherit no disability on this account.</p>
-
-<p>When a man dies, be his rank what it
-may, the social law confers on his wife the
-superintendence of the household, and she
-administers the property without division
-until her death, when it is divided among
-the sons. Should any of the daughters
-remain unmarried, their eldest brother is
-bound to support them until a suitor appears,
-when he may make as good a bargain
-as he can.</p>
-
-<p>Severe laws have been enacted against
-immorality. The man detected in illicit
-intercourse with a married or unmarried
-woman is tried before the elders of the
-community, who rarely fail to punish him,
-either by a fine or by perpetual banishment.
-The dishonoured wife is returned to
-her parents, as well as the girl, and sold as
-a slave. The dowry which her husband
-had given for her is returned to him. If
-the guilt have happened in the family of a
-prince, it can only be washed out by the
-blood of one, if not both, of the criminals.
-So bitter, indeed, is the shame which such
-an occurrence brings upon a house, that
-they who have been so disgraced often
-retire to some desolate part of the Caucasus,
-there to hide themselves from the obloquy
-which ever afterwards attaches to their
-name.</p>
-
-<p>When a man desires to divorce his wife,
-he must declare before a council of elders
-the reasons for such a step; and if these
-be not perfectly satisfactory he is obliged
-to pay the parents of the women a sufficient
-amount to recompense them for the
-burden thus thrown upon their hands.
-Should the woman, however, marry again
-before two years have expired, this sum is
-returned. Frequently a maiden having
-formed some romantic attachment, and
-hating the man chosen as her husband by
-her parents, flies alone into the woods, and
-hides until her friends proclaim themselves
-willing to concede her desires. Occasionally,
-also, two warriors select the same girl
-to marry, and in this case a duel is fought&mdash;sometimes
-with fire-arms&mdash;the victor carrying
-off the prize. Similar laws and
-usages prevail among the Circassians, except
-that the wealthier men among them
-seclude their wives, and are altogether
-more Turkish in their manners. On the
-whole, however, the patriarchal institutions
-of this singular and romantic people are
-admirable for the effect they produce,
-since the Circassians and Abassians are
-exceedingly pure in their morality.</p>
-
-<p>Among the Circassians themselves, with
-the exception of the prouder nobles, women
-are not secluded. The wives and daughters
-of a house are often introduced to the
-traveller, and unmarried girls are frequently
-seen at public assemblies. One<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span>
-singular custom, however, is observed, which
-is that the husband never appears abroad
-with his wife, and scarcely ever sees her
-during the day. This is not from neglect
-or scorn, but in accordance with ancient
-habits, and a desire to prolong the first
-sentiments with which the bridegroom approaches
-his bride.</p>
-
-<p>All Circassian women wear, until they
-are married, a tight corset of leather, which
-makes their complexion sallow, and hurts
-the figure, as all unnatural compression
-does. The consequence is, that the young
-wives are infinitely more beautiful than the
-maidens; and the charms of the women of
-this race are celebrated throughout the
-world. The reason assigned for this strange
-custom is, that it is shameful for a virgin
-to have a full bosom. When a girl has
-been chosen and purchased, her future
-husband comes to the house, places her on
-horseback, gallops away, and conveys her
-home. Then, when all the people are supposed
-to be asleep, the bridegroom first
-unlooses the abominable ligatures which
-confine the bosom of his bride. He does
-not, until some time has passed, live with
-her openly.</p>
-
-<p>An idea prevails among the vulgar in
-Europe, that the Circassians sell their
-daughters as slaves to any Turk or Persian
-who may desire to buy them. This
-is not correct. They are particularly
-careful as to the position and birth of
-the individual who desires to intermarry
-with them, and the sale is no more than
-takes place among their own people, as
-well as among all the nations inhabiting
-the Caucasus. Great precautions are
-taken to secure the happiness of the girls,
-and long negotiations frequently produce
-no bargain. It is true that in the bazaars
-of Constantinople, and the principal towns
-of Asia Minor and Persia, numerous girls
-are sold under the name of Circassians,
-but they are mostly Abassians, or the
-children of Circassian peasants, or children
-ravished from the neighbouring Cossacks,
-or slaves procured from those base Circassian
-traders who have given in their
-adhesion to Russia. Many of the girls,
-being trained to such ideas from childhood,
-prefer the Turkish harem to the
-life they follow among their native hills.
-Some come back after having obtained
-their liberty, and bring accounts, in the
-most fluent language, of the voluptuous
-joys they have indulged in in their luxurious
-prisons; but generally the race is
-dearly attached to its freedom.</p>
-
-<p>Throughout the Caucasus we have found
-a high scale of manners. Prostitution, as
-a profession, is unknown. In one of the
-simple tribes, still under patriarchal rule,
-a girl who took up such a calling would be
-so shunned and abhorred by the rest of her
-countrywomen, that she would speedily
-be compelled to fly beyond the bounds of
-their territory, that is, if she escaped being
-sold as a slave or put to death by her indignant
-friends. The parental authority,
-more moral than legal, is a great check
-upon profligacy, since a man of whatever
-age, if he have a father living, pays obedience
-to him, and fears to incur his reproof.
-It is therefore delightful to point
-out a country surrounded by gross and
-profligate nations, where simplicity of
-manners still prevails, and where the
-female sex is as happy and as highly esteemed
-as it is modest, chaste, and virtuous<a name="FNanchor_82_82" id="FNanchor_82_82"></a><a href="#Footnote_82_82" class="fnanchor">[82]</a>.</p>
-
-
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution among the Tartar
-Races.</span></h3>
-
-<p>The immense region of Central Asia, little
-known and seldom visited, has been the
-cradle of great nations, which have exercised
-a mighty influence on the fortunes
-of the world, and may again become conspicuous
-in history. It is, therefore, interesting,
-as well as important, to inquire
-into the characteristics of the populations
-which still cling to its soil. They are divided
-under many names, and among the
-most remarkable are the hordes of Kirghiz
-Kazaks, who wander between the borders
-of the Caspian Sea on the west, and the
-fortified line which forms the southern
-frontier of the Russian Empire. On the
-east it is divided by a similar chain of
-posts from the Chinese dominions, but towards
-the south the limits of their wanderings
-are unknown. Over this vast
-steppe a various climate prevails; but the
-whole is particularly marked by extremes
-of heat and cold, while the soil is composed
-of alternate deserts of sand and
-pasture, where rain during the greater
-part of the year is exceedingly scanty. A
-short and delicious spring, a burning and
-dry summer, a short and miserable autumn,
-which speedily darkens into a long,
-bitter, and gloomy winter&mdash;such are the influences
-to which these hordes are subject.
-Forests, patches of green, salt lakes,
-springs and rivers of fresh water, a few
-rich valleys, and some rocky hills, vary the
-aspect of the wilderness which is their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span>
-home; but generally it is a blank and monotonous
-waste. All these circumstances
-are enumerated, as they may be supposed
-to have formed, or at least to have modified,
-the character of the Kirghiz Kazaks.
-They are divided into three principal
-hordes&mdash;the Great, the Lesser, and the
-Little&mdash;amounting altogether to from
-2,000,000 to 2,400,000 souls. Engaged perpetually
-in wandering from place to place,
-they have nevertheless certain spots, belonging
-by prescriptive rights to particular
-tribes, where they encamp for the coldest
-months of the winter. Their manners
-afford a faithful picture of the ancient patriarchal
-life, not, indeed, the poetical life
-of Arcadia and the pastures of Israel, but
-that of the Scythians, as represented by
-Herodotus, or the Bedouins in their original
-simplicity. Forming a nation of shepherds,
-they appear to live only on and for
-their flocks, accustoming themselves little
-to the use of arms, and, though perpetually
-on horseback, seldom engaging in the chase.
-They dwell in huts or temporary habitations
-of strong wickerwork, covered in
-with fleeces; and in the interior of these
-singular habitations much comfort, elegance,
-and even sumptuous luxury may
-often be found. Nevertheless they are a
-robust, hardy race, possessing very indistinct
-ideas of property, and, though addicted
-to sensual enjoyments, long lived,
-and seldom visited by epidemic diseases,
-except when the small-pox is brought
-among them from Siberia.</p>
-
-<p>Their manners with respect to the character
-and treatment of the female sex are
-simple, but, in comparison with other pastoral
-races, somewhat coarse. In costume
-the woman differs little from the man.
-Both men and women adorn themselves
-with ornaments of silver, gold, or coral, or
-even pearls and other gems, and in this
-reciprocal display of vanity we discover a
-token of equality between the sexes. It is
-difficult to ascertain the religion of these
-hordes, but it is apparently a crude mixture
-of Mohammedanism and Paganism.
-The Muslims have attempted to disseminate
-their doctrines widely, but few of the
-Prophet’s laws have been accepted so readily
-as that which allows a plurality of
-wives&mdash;which the Kirghiz indulge in
-whenever they can afford the amount to be
-paid for a bride according to the usages of
-their nation.</p>
-
-<p>The Kirghiz are immoderately addicted
-to voluptuous pleasures, and are extremely
-idle. It is curious to remark, however,
-that while the men are distinguished by
-their indolence, the women are fond of exertion,
-occupying themselves, as much
-from inclination as from necessity, with
-the affairs of the household, with attendance
-on the flocks, and with the manufacture
-of garments. Their recompense is to be
-treated as servitors by masters who are
-sometimes proud and harsh; but the labour
-of the women is not compulsory, nor
-are they shut up in harems, or forbidden to
-mix with the other sex. The seclusion of
-females, indeed, is not a custom. Their
-manner of living exposes them to every
-temptation; jealousy has little power to
-watch, and the wife’s virtue is, for the
-most part, left to guard itself.</p>
-
-<p>Though, as we have said, the Kirghiz,
-when they are rich enough, eagerly avail
-themselves of the privilege of polygamy,
-few possess wealth enough to enable them
-to marry more than one wife. This circumstance
-prevents them from indulging
-in that pride which impels a man to shut
-up the partner of his pillow from every
-eye but his own. They who have seraglios
-must follow a steady and uniform course of
-life. The Tartar’s tent offers few obstacles
-to curiosity or intrigue. Turks and Persians
-who keep a harem usually possess
-slaves also, whose labour permits their
-mistresses to lounge idly on silken cushions;
-but as the Kirghiz loves to be indolent,
-he is constrained to let his wife be as
-active as she pleases, and is never so happy
-as when she saves him the trouble of
-moving from his couch, by going everywhere
-and doing everything herself. But
-on horseback he is proud of motion, which
-accounts partly for the migratory habits of
-the hordes, though the nature of their country
-is the chief cause of their nomade manner
-of life. Women consequently enjoy their
-liberty, and to their love of industry they
-join a goodness of heart and a warmth of
-affection which extort praises from many
-travellers.</p>
-
-<p>The great check upon polygamy is, as
-we have noticed, the cost of the <i>Kalyms</i>,
-which is to be paid for every woman. This
-price varies in amount, from five or six
-sheep, and occasionally less among the
-poor, to 200 or 500 or even 1000 horses
-among the rich. To these are added different
-household effects, with, on rare occasions,
-a few slaves, male or female. Out of
-these payments a considerable share goes
-to the Mohammedan Moolahs who frequent
-the steppes, and who are attracted thither
-no less by their profitable occupation of
-marrying the people than by religious zeal.
-The Kalym increases with the number of
-wives. The second costs more than the
-first, and the third than the second, and so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span>
-forth, which enables none but a very wealthy
-man to keep a harem. The khan of the
-Little Horde, who was lord over nearly
-1,000,000 men, had sixteen or seventeen
-wives, besides fifteen concubines, whose
-offspring, however, were all on an equality.
-This patriarch had 42 sons and about 34
-daughters. Young men usually take their
-first wife not according to their own
-choice, but under their father’s direction.
-As to girls they are always under their
-parents’ control, and many are affianced
-during infancy.</p>
-
-<p>The first arrangement made when a
-marriage is in contemplation is to fix the
-amount of the <i>kalym</i>, and the date on
-which it is to be paid. These preliminaries
-concluded, the Moolah consecrates the
-transaction by asking three times of the
-parents of the bride and those of the bridegroom,
-“Do you consent to the union of
-your children?” and reading prayers for
-the happiness of the married couple. Witnesses
-and arbitrators are then chosen, who
-may decide future disputes, should any
-such arise, and the nuptials are terminated
-by a feast and various kinds of merry-making.
-The man then begins to pay a
-kalym, or else his father does this on his
-behalf; and the parents of the girl occupy
-themselves with getting ready a trousseau
-for their daughter&mdash;among the articles of
-which it is essentially requisite to include
-the tent which the bride is to occupy when
-she is finally delivered over to her husband.
-While the kalym remains unpaid the
-marriage is suspended; though the bridegroom
-may pay visits to the maiden he
-has chosen, and even live with her, provided
-he engages not to take away her
-chastity.</p>
-
-<p>Among some tribes these preliminary
-meetings are conducted with much ceremony;
-in all they are often the first interviews
-which the husband has with the
-woman who is to be his wife. When once,
-however, a part of the required amount is
-paid, neither can retract without disgrace.
-Ruptures, indeed, rarely, if ever, take
-place; partly because no young girl dare
-to assert a will of her own, and partly
-because the man does not care to rebel
-against a union which he is free to break
-when he desires.</p>
-
-<p>Frequently, however, the bride and bridegroom,
-during their preliminary visits, anticipate
-the final nuptial ceremony; in
-which case this is usually hastened, though
-the whole amount of kalym may not have
-been paid. They are led, richly clothed if
-possible, into a tent, where various rites
-are performed. The husband then departs,
-but immediately comes again on horseback
-and demands his wife. Her parents refuse
-to yield her, when he enters, bears her off
-by force, places her across his saddle, and
-gallops away to his tent, which during
-many hours after is sacred against all
-intruders. This custom, however, is not
-universal.</p>
-
-<p>If a man finds his wife not to be a
-virgin, he may disgrace her, send her home,
-and demand from her father the restitution
-of the kalym, or one of his other daughters
-who happens to be chaste, without payment.</p>
-
-<p>As every woman brings with her dowry
-a new tent, so each wife, when a man has
-more than one, dwells in a separate habitation.
-The first is styled the “rich wife,”
-and exercises superior authority over all
-the rest. Though she may have disgusted
-her husband, he is bound to distinguish
-her by respect; while the others, entirely
-equal among themselves, remain always in
-a certain dependence on her. Prudent
-husbands divide even the flocks belonging
-to the different women, that the children
-of each may justly inherit her property.
-The chief wife may quit her husband, if
-she can show any grave cause for separation,
-and return to her parents, but the
-others have not that privilege.</p>
-
-<p>The manners of the Kirghiz women are
-in general simple and courteous; and the
-conduct of the men towards them, though
-often rude, gross, and contemptuous, is
-frequently also polite and deferential.
-The love songs of the desert are some of
-them exceedingly poetical; and the pictures
-drawn by Tartar improvisatori of
-their mistresses are full of passion and
-adulation.</p>
-
-<p>A man may kill his wife if he find her
-actually committing adultery, but not
-otherwise. A fine is the usual punishment
-of the adulterer; while the woman may be
-divorced, or chastised in various ways.</p>
-
-<p>Generally the morals of the Kirghiz
-Kazaks are good. Chastity in their women
-is highly prized&mdash;its loss entailing disgrace;
-but as numbers of the men are extremely
-sensual, many prostitutes may usually be
-found in each camp, though not so many
-as some appear to imagine. They live
-usually in companies, resembling the class
-of suttlers in European armies; though
-some of superior fortune inhabit separate
-tents, and live in ease and plenty.</p>
-
-<p>Among the Nogay Tartars, who are also
-nomades, the custom prevails of a man
-serving his father-in-law for a certain number
-of years. With them the weaker is
-absolutely the property of the stronger<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span>
-sex, and all contracts are transactions of
-sale. The father sells his daughter, the brother
-his sister, and girls are considered
-part of an inheritance as much as flocks
-and herds, and are equally divided among
-the sons. The value of a woman is measured
-in cows; five being the cost of an
-inferior, and thirty of a superior one. The
-man, however, though obliged to buy, is
-not allowed to sell his wife. If she transgress
-beyond his patience he turns her out
-of the dwelling, and she returns to her
-parents, who seldom fail to receive her
-kindly. Divorce is permitted, but is so
-costly that few resort to it. When a wife
-leaves her husband against his consent he
-may demand her back; but if she meanwhile
-commit adultery or theft, her parents
-must restore the kalym which was originally
-paid for her, and she becomes so infamous
-that only the poorest man will buy her.</p>
-
-<p>The rich are polygamists; and as the
-sexes are about equal in point of numbers,
-many of the poor cannot get a wife of any
-kind. The woman is not allowed to eat
-with her husband; and if she expect paradise,
-it is with the understanding that she
-is to dwell there as a servitor. Marriages
-are not fruitful, and the population is
-regularly decreasing.</p>
-
-<p>The Russians have introduced into the
-country certain virulent diseases, which
-aid rapidly to thin the people, who themselves
-have lost much in morality. Wherever
-they have large encampments, and
-settle for the winter, numbers of prostitutes
-spring up among them, not indeed entirely
-addicted and altogether destined to that
-calling, but employing it as a means of
-gain, and living on its wages for a shorter
-or a longer period.</p>
-
-<p>Prostitution, which is unknown among
-the pastoral tribes of Arabia, is, in fact,
-very prevalent among some of the shepherd
-communities inhabiting the Tartar steppes.
-There are two classes of women who betake
-themselves to it&mdash;widows and divorced women&mdash;who,
-having no independent means
-of subsistence, hire out their persons under
-a sort of necessity, and linger through a
-miserable remnant of life, in dirt, rags,
-and contempt; and a few who addict themselves
-to prostitution simply under the
-impulse of a profligate disposition. On
-the whole, however, the morality of Tartars
-is of a superior character<a name="FNanchor_83_83" id="FNanchor_83_83"></a><a href="#Footnote_83_83" class="fnanchor">[83]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">OF THE MIXED NORTHERN NATIONS.</h2>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Introductory.</span></h3>
-
-</div>
-
-<p>Pursuing our inquiries among the northern
-races, to the very extreme of Polar cold,
-we discover many interesting peculiarities.
-Perhaps, however, the most important result
-of our research is the establishment of the
-fact, that the popular idea is in great
-measure erroneous, of hot countries having
-the most licentious population. Climate,
-indeed, may by fine degrees influence the
-temperament of men; but the conspicuous
-truth evolved from all our investigations
-has been that the manners of nations are
-regulated by their moral education, and
-not by the thermometer.</p>
-
-<p>In Egypt, India, Persia, and the other hot
-regions of the African and Asiatic continents,
-there prevails a voluptuous spirit; but in
-Russia, in Siberia, among the Greenlanders,
-and the tribes of the snowy deserts in the
-utmost north, equal sensuality is to be
-discovered. In the warm and happy plains
-of Arabia, in the sultry champagnes of
-various parts of the East, we find shepherd
-communities with manners most pure and
-simple, and we find the same among many
-roving nations in the cold of Tartary and
-Siberia. The languor and indolence engendered
-by a fervent climate may, indeed,
-induce a thirst for exciting pleasure; but
-the rigour and inclemency of the north
-appear equally to dispose men to take refuge
-in sensual gratification. Ispahan was never
-more licentious than St. Petersburgh 50
-years ago; nor are the debauchees in the
-burning atmosphere of Africa more gross
-and indiscriminate in their pursuit of animal
-delights than many tribes of Esquimaux,
-buried though they be among the frosts of
-an eternal winter.</p>
-
-<p>Thus climate appears to exert, at least,
-far less influence than is popularly imagined.
-The horrible orgies of the Areois,
-in the voluptuous islands of the Pacific,
-were rivalled and surpassed by the Physical<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span>
-Societies of Moscow; nor are the revels of
-Southern India more profligate than those
-enacted among the snowy solitudes of
-Siberia. Indeed, among the Hindus, we
-have never found perpetrated, even by the
-lowest class, depravities more vile than
-those we have discovered among tribes in
-Kamschatka and other parts of the Arctic
-regions.</p>
-
-<p>One circumstance, however, appears to
-be undeniable. The temperament of Asiatics
-is more easily inflamed than that of northern
-races. Their mind is more active, their
-fancy more busy, their imagination more
-creative. They give even to their vices a
-picturesque colour, quality, and configuration,
-whereas the voluptuaries of cold countries
-are dull and drowsy sensualists,
-without a tinge of poetry in their composition.
-For this reason the ardent passions
-of the East have been celebrated in
-romance and history, while the slothful
-sensuality of the North has been neglected
-and forgotten. The world consequently
-has heard much of the one, and little or
-nothing of the other; and in course of time,
-by a very natural process, has imagined
-that the burning climates of Asia represent
-the passions of its inhabitants, while the
-snows of the opposite regions of Polar cold
-are characteristic of their purity and freedom
-from the dross of vice.</p>
-
-<p>This idea, which we confess we once shared
-with the rest of the public, has been dissipated
-in our minds by the inquiries we have
-made. The sensuality of the East is more
-striking, more conspicuous, more celebrated,
-because it has been dressed by history and
-fable in more attractive forms, while that
-of the North is forgotten, because it has
-presented no theme for declamation or
-romance. But the people of the one resemble
-very much the people of the other;
-and even in the South, among the old and
-decaying nations of Europe, the same truth
-is discovered. Spain and Italy are supposed
-to be the cradles of voluptuous sentiment;
-but history shows how they have, in the
-manners of their people, passed from gradation
-to gradation, from variety to variety,
-while their climate has remained perpetually
-the same. Nature alters in nothing,
-but civilization is in continual change; and
-Rome, which was the sanctuary of female
-virtue in the heroic times of the Republic,
-is now, like Babylon, a city where adultery
-is licensed, and profligacy has the encouragement
-of the law.</p>
-
-<p>Manners in Russia appear also to have
-passed through a considerable change since
-the days of the Empress Catherine. When
-it becomes civilized, it will, probably, improve
-still further. Its manners are now
-gross and profligate in the extreme, which
-in servile populations is invariably the
-case; but they have undergone considerable
-ameliorations since the close of the last
-century. In the neighbouring and kindred
-regions of Siberia, alterations appear only
-in those parts where a congregation of
-tribes has taken place, and the ruder are
-giving way to the more refined forms of
-society. Throughout the North, indeed, as
-much variety appears as in the East, and
-communities dwelling under the same temperature,
-present a perfect contrast in their
-morals and customs.</p>
-
-<p>In Finland a very extraordinary state of
-manners still prevails. A recent traveller
-affords a curious illustration of this, showing
-how the ideas of decency in various
-countries are modified by habit. He went
-to a bath, and when conducted into a private
-chamber, found to his astonishment a
-tall handsome girl ready to attend him.
-She exhibited the utmost coolness and
-indifference, stripped off all his clothes,
-and rubbed him with herbs from head to
-foot as though he had been a mere log of
-wood, bathed him, laid him on his face,
-scourged him with a bundle of twigs, until
-he broke out into copious perspiration, dried
-him with towels, and all the while appeared
-utterly unconscious that her task was inconsistent
-with modesty or decent manners.
-In many parts of the North it is customary,
-as in some places in the East, and in the
-heroic ages in Greece, for the maidens of
-the house to attend a guest to his bedchamber,
-and assist in disposing him in
-comfort for the night. These practices do
-not in all countries, and at all times, illustrate
-the same national characteristics.
-They belong on the contrary to two extremes
-of social development. They indicate
-either a perfect simplicity or a total corruption
-of manners. It was genuine purity
-of mind and unsuspecting innocence of
-character that is represented in the virgin
-who attended Ulysses to the bath; but it
-was the vilest sensuality and brutality of
-manners that allowed the Roman Emperor
-of later days to be bathed and dressed by
-women.</p>
-
-<p>Consequently in passing from the semi-civilized
-nations, through the races of the
-North, to the educated communities of
-Christendom, we proceed without the
-theory of measuring a country’s manners
-by its geographical position. If it be civilized,
-it will be moral; but civilization is
-a false name when it is applied to a corrupt
-and enervated society. Art and luxury
-are not its highest evidences; but virtue<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span>
-and obedience to the exalted maxims of
-ethical philosophy.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in Russia.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Russia, included by courtesy among civilized
-states, retains strong traces of its
-original barbarism. Resembling China in
-its system of government, it resembles it
-also in manners. What is admirable in its
-social characteristics arises from the natural
-good qualities of the people, who,
-notwithstanding a despotism which has
-wanted no feature to degrade them, please
-the traveller by a display of many signs of
-good disposition.</p>
-
-<p>Russia resembles Asia in the indolence
-and apathy of its population. In the one
-region nations appear to have been enervated
-by heat, in the other benumbed by
-cold into a torpid submission to power.
-This is evident from the state of public
-manners. In Russia the inquiry is not
-what is essentially wrong, but what is
-wrong according to the police; and nothing
-else is condemned. Abject towards their
-rulers, they assume towards others the
-arrogance of slaves, so that a succession of
-tyrants may be said to exist from the emperor
-who tramples down sixty millions,
-to the peasant who oppresses his serving-boy.</p>
-
-<p>No more striking proof could be mentioned
-of the fact that the condition and
-character of women form an infallible
-measure of civilization, than the state of
-the sex in Russia. It is true that our
-knowledge is very incomplete. Most travellers
-who have written on that country
-complain how difficult it is to describe it
-well, and they have generally verified their
-remark; still we learn enough from various
-authorities to enable us to judge in a
-general way of its characteristics.</p>
-
-<p>Among the higher classes women affect
-and study a polish and refinement of manners,
-but this relates chiefly to the formalities
-of life. They dare not, under
-their own social code, make an inelegant
-salutation, transgress a point of etiquette,
-ride in an unfashionable equipage, or converse
-in a vulgar tone; but they may
-break the most sacred moral laws, may
-speak openly of indecent subjects, and may
-act and talk in a way which a modest
-English lady would blush to think of.
-The position they hold in society is in
-accordance with this view. Formerly marriage
-was little more than a bond between
-master and slave; but the relation has
-been, in that respect, improved. Women
-are to a certain degree independent, but
-it is the independence of neglect. They
-lead, in a word, a life very nearly resembling
-that of fashionable persons in our
-own metropolis, but their morals are not to
-be compared.</p>
-
-<p>Little need be said of the marriage contract
-in Russia, since it is under the laws
-of the Christian church. It is, however,
-necessary to mention that few engagements
-occur between persons mutually united by
-affection. Interest is the usual tie; and
-frequently a girl is taken to the altar,
-where her appointed husband stands before
-her, all but an utter stranger. The
-ceremony is so theatrical that it wears no
-solemnity whatever. It is a drawing-room
-scene, directed by priests; so that the very
-seal of matrimony is of such a kind as to
-impress the woman with no idea of a holy
-union. The wives of the Russian nobles
-have accordingly little reputation for
-fidelity to their husbands; a characteristic
-observed by Clarke, long ago, as he travelled,
-and confirmed by Mr. Thompson,
-who wrote a year or two since, as well as
-by many other writers. Immorality and
-intrigue are of universal prevalence, from
-the palace to the private house. In a social
-sense they are scarcely looked upon as
-offences. The husband and wife, united
-by a bond, not of affection but of policy,
-look on each other from the first with
-coldness and indifference. Gradually each
-withdraws in a separate circle of life, and
-at length one looks without much care
-upon the guilt of the other. Before marriage
-the sexes are divided by etiquette,
-after marriage by mutual repulsion. The
-women, inferior in personal attractions, but
-superior in manner and acquirements to
-the men, receive from them little respect;
-and thus society, poisoned in its very
-springs, becomes yearly more dissolute and
-melancholy.</p>
-
-<p>None will require to be reminded that
-numerous exceptions occur; that pure and
-strong family attachments exist in Russia;
-that young persons marry sometimes influenced
-by reciprocal feelings of affection;
-but from the accounts of all the writers
-we know who have described Russia, no
-other picture of its society could fairly be
-drawn. There is in that state licence for
-every crime which does not offend the
-government; and the more the nation is
-absorbed in its sensual enjoyments, the
-less will it be disposed to weary of servitude.</p>
-
-<p>Among the peasantry sensuality is
-equally prevalent. They generally marry
-very young, but it is by no means essential
-that the bride should be a virgin. On<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span>
-the contrary, numbers of women never
-marry until they have had an intrigue
-with some other lover.</p>
-
-<p>St. Petersburgh, it is said, is a city of
-men, there being, in a population of about
-500,000, 100,000 more males than females.
-The native Russians are less handsome and
-sooner faded than the women of Germany,
-Finland, Livonia, Esthonia, and Courland&mdash;countries
-which supply the state with
-prostitutes. Such are the manners of the
-city that no woman may walk out unless
-accompanied by a man, not even on the
-great promenades, in the broad light of
-day.</p>
-
-<p>In ten years, from 1821 to 1831, the
-deaths in St. Petersburgh were 61,616,
-being 24,229 more than the births; and
-during the same period there were 11,429
-marriages. The native Russian women are
-remarkable for the ease with which they
-bring forth children, while the foreigners
-in that country are precisely the reverse.
-Of the former, 15 in 1000; and of the
-latter, 25 is the average of those who die
-in childbed. The average of 20 years gives
-6 still-born infants out of every 1000.</p>
-
-<p>The foundling hospitals of Russia, magnificent
-as they are, cannot but be regarded
-as a premium upon immorality. Those of
-St. Petersburgh alone cost from 600,000,000
-to 700,000,000 of rubles annually; supporting
-from 25,000 to 30,000 children,
-who are received at the rate of 7000 or
-8000 a year. They are called “houses of
-education,” because a prejudice attaches
-to their proper name. They are not, however,
-intended for infants who are picked
-up in the streets. There is never a case
-of such exposure. Women who have children
-of which they desire to be rid, bring
-them usually in the twilight, and they
-are taken in without any questions being
-asked. No one can tell whether they are
-legitimate or illegitimate&mdash;whether the
-offspring of poverty, adultery, or prostitution.
-In cases where fear or shame might
-in other countries induce a woman to
-murder or abandon her child, the mothers
-bring them to the hospital, and impenetrable
-obscurity remains over the previous
-part of the transaction. It is questionable
-whether the crimes thus prevented would
-make up an amount of evil equal to that
-caused by the profligacy to which the
-licence of impunity and encouragement is
-thus afforded.</p>
-
-<p>Violence committed on a woman, married
-or single, is, in Russia, punishable by the
-knout; but this is almost the only check
-which the law, written or social, imposes
-on immorality. It is said that judges sometimes
-compound with a female criminal
-who happens to possess beauty, and pardon
-her at the price of her virtue.</p>
-
-<p>When a French writer, many years ago,
-astonished the civilized countries of Europe
-by the description of a private institution
-in Russia known as the Physical Club, his
-report was rejected by the majority of persons
-as one of those travellers’ tales which
-had their origin in a man’s impudence or
-credulity. Lyall, however, made extensive
-inquiries upon the subject, and found that
-there did actually exist at Moscow a
-society called the Physical Club, the object
-of which exhibited, perhaps, more
-depravity of manners than could be found
-in any other part of the world, except
-among the Areois of the Pacific.</p>
-
-<p>This club was originated by eight men
-and women of high rank, who agreed to
-hold common intercourse with each other,
-and for that purpose established a society.
-Its members all belonged to the nobility,
-and they sought to exclude all but beautiful
-women with the bloom of youth still
-upon them. Admittance was very difficult
-to be procured. A person before being
-initiated was sworn to secrecy, so that the
-names of the members remained unknown.</p>
-
-<p>At stated intervals the members of the
-club assembled at a large house, where, in
-a magnificent saloon, brilliantly lighted
-up, they indulged in every kind of licentious
-amusements, inflaming themselves
-with strong potations, and preparing for
-the hideous orgies which were to follow.
-Suddenly all the candles were put out, each
-man chose a companion, and a scene of indescribable
-debauch ensued. On other
-occasions tickets were drawn by lot, and
-the company paired off to bedchambers
-prepared for this libidinous festival. This
-horrible institution, transferring its pestilential
-influence through every circle of
-society in Moscow, was abolished by
-Catherine the Second, who hated to see
-the reflection of her own vices&mdash;for it is
-matter of history that she was a vulgar
-prostitute herself.</p>
-
-<p>Of the prostitute system in Russia our
-accounts are the most scanty possible.
-They exist in large numbers in every city
-and almost in every village; and a traveller
-remarks that they have the character of
-demanding to be paid beforehand, and refusing
-afterwards to remain with their
-companion. They do not form so distinct
-and conspicuous a class as in some countries,
-for the virtue of married women and
-young girls in the various ranks of life is
-not so inaccessible as to distinguish the
-professional prostitute so broadly from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span>
-other classes, as in a society whose manners
-are less corrupt. They are, in the cities,
-under the perpetual surveillance of the
-police. In the rural districts numbers of
-young women, belonging to the village
-populations, addict themselves to prostitution
-for gain&mdash;some permanently, others
-only until they have a chance of marriage.</p>
-
-<p>There is apparently no check upon this
-calling, unless the women become afflicted
-by disease. When this is discovered the
-prostitute is forced to discontinue for
-awhile her dissolute course of life, and remain
-in a hospital until cured. When, as
-very frequently happens, the wife of a
-soldier takes to this occupation, and becomes
-tainted, she is delivered to her
-husband, who is obliged to sign a bond,
-engaging for the future to restrain her
-from profligacy. The wives of serfs are also
-delivered up to their husbands, who must
-pay the expenses of their cure at the
-hospitals. If they refuse to do this, and to
-answer for the future conduct of their
-partners, the women are sent, without
-further ceremony, to Siberia.</p>
-
-<p>Another peculiarity in the civilization of
-Russia is exhibited in the market of wives,
-which is annually held in St. Petersburgh.
-It is one of those things which many persons
-exercise their philosophy by refusing
-to believe; but its existence is undoubted.
-It is still practised, even among the upper
-orders, while among the humbler classes it
-is extremely popular. Every year, on the
-twenty-sixth day of May, numbers of young
-women assemble in a particular part of the
-City Summer Garden, where they are exhibited
-in a formal “<i>bride</i>-show.” Decked
-with an Oriental profusion of ornaments,
-all the marriageable girls are arranged in
-lines along the shady alleys, while some
-friends and professional match-makers
-stand in attendance on each group. The
-men who are inclined to matrimony visit
-the garden, pass along the rows of maidens,
-inspect them leisurely, enter into conversation,
-and, if pleased, enter into a preliminary,
-but conditional, contract. Numerous
-matches are thus formed; but very frequently
-the engagement here concluded,
-has long, between the youthful couple,
-been a matter of contemplation. Those
-who do not possess sufficient beauty or
-fascination are sometimes loaded with the
-signs of property to induce men to take
-them. A mother once, desiring to match
-her daughter to a man of substance, hung
-about her neck a massive chain of gold, to
-which was attached six dozen silver-gilt
-tea-spoons, and three dozen table-spoons,
-besides two heavy punch-ladles of the same
-metal, which soon attracted the attention
-of the young men. In the towns, indeed,
-we are told that marriages among all
-classes are generally settled by interest.
-In the rural parts this is also the case, but
-in a less degree. There it is the custom&mdash;among
-the peasantry&mdash;for the bride and
-bridegroom to enter the church door side
-by side, which they take care to do with
-the utmost regularity, since the superstitious
-idea prevails, that the one who
-plants a foot first inside the threshold of
-the edifice, will be supreme over the other,
-and become a tyrant in the family. The
-serfs cannot marry without the consent of
-their masters. In all parts of Russia the
-marriage of a felon is dissolved by the sentence
-which condemns him; but if he be
-pardoned before his wife has married
-again, he can recover her.</p>
-
-<p>It will, from this account, be seen
-that the manners and morals of the
-Russians are dissolute in an extraordinary
-degree. There is, perhaps, no part of
-Europe where the people, as a race, are so
-profligate. This does not imply that the
-society of St. Petersburgh or Moscow is
-not distinguished by many virtuous families;
-but, on the whole, all travellers concur
-in showing the facts upon which we
-have based our estimate of the national
-character with respect to morality<a name="FNanchor_84_84" id="FNanchor_84_84"></a><a href="#Footnote_84_84" class="fnanchor">[84]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in Siberia.</span></h3>
-
-<p>From Russia the transition is natural to
-the contiguous and kindred region of
-Siberia. Thence we may, without any
-apology, extend our inquiries to the
-remotest north&mdash;for the Arctic countries
-do not present themselves with sufficient
-prominence to occupy a separate account,
-and to none could they be added as a supplement
-more fitly than to the snowy
-wilderness which spreads on one side to the
-shores of the Frozen Sea, and on the other
-to the frontiers of the Chinese Empire. It
-may appear anomalous to include any of
-these tracts under the head of civilized
-countries; but we place them as an appendage
-of Russia, to which, indeed, they
-form an appropriate companion.</p>
-
-<p>The state of manners at which the po<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span>pulation
-of these snowy tracts have arrived
-is extremely low. Nature has taught them
-many rude arts; but their civilization has
-not advanced far beyond its crudest elements.
-The severe rigours to which they
-are exposed have produced pressing wants,
-which they have ingenuity enough to
-satisfy, and further than this their education
-does not appear to go. They are rude,
-ignorant, and gross. Some remain with
-none but the faintest idea of a Deity;
-others preserve the ancient heathen belief
-of the Shamans; others have accepted a
-form of Christianity; but in few of them
-has a variation in their religious ideas
-resulted in a change of manners. In fact,
-the form, and not the spirit of our creed
-has been introduced among them.</p>
-
-<p>Throughout the immense tracts of Siberia
-we find numerous tribes, and even nations,
-classed under various denominations; but
-all, in their general manners, very much
-resembling each other. The condition and
-character of the female sex among them is
-low; but it is not treated with that harshness
-or contumely which it experiences in
-some savage races. Although the rude
-Ostyak, for instance, considers his wife as no
-more than a domestic drudge, seldom thinks
-of giving her a cordial word, and loads her
-with tasks, he does not use her with positive
-severity. Among the Samoyedes, women
-are much less happy and more harshly
-treated. In the perpetual migrations of
-the tribes they are charged with the principal
-burdens, and drag after the men like
-a train of slaves. The wife is viewed as a
-necessary but almost disgusting appendage
-to a man’s household. She is regarded as
-unclean under many circumstances&mdash;especially
-childbirth, after which her husband
-will not approach her for two months.
-When about to be delivered she experiences,
-instead of the kind, considerate
-usage which some, even of the wildest
-savages pay to their women in such situations,
-a scorn and indignity to which, by
-long custom, she has thoroughly learned to
-bend.</p>
-
-<p>In many parts of Siberia, however, a
-better prospect is presented, and the sexes
-appear more on an equality. Towards the
-centre, away from the sea on one hand, and
-Russia on the other, the tribes enjoy a very
-independent existence, being, indeed, the
-most free among the subjects of the Czar.
-In the winter time, when the rivers are
-completely frozen, the young girls assemble
-on their snowy borders, taking
-care to deck themselves out with every
-sort of finery they can procure. Their
-friends also congregate, forming groups,
-gossip, and enjoy themselves, while the
-youths mix with the maidens&mdash;each selecting
-the partner he likes the best. It
-is at this time of the year that the principal
-matches are arranged. In all parts
-it is customary to pay a certain amount
-to the girl’s parents to buy the privilege of
-marrying her. Should a man not be rich
-enough to offer the sum required, he hires
-himself to her father, who tasks him sometimes
-very heavily, and continues in servitude
-for three, five, seven, or ten years,
-according to the agreement made beforehand.
-At the end of that period he takes
-his bride, is redeemed from his servile condition,
-and enters the family with all the
-dignities and rights of a son-in-law.</p>
-
-<p>Among the Ostyaks it is regarded as
-very disgraceful to marry a brother’s widow,
-a mother-in-law, or, indeed, any person
-connected in an ascending or descending
-line with the wife; but it is reckoned
-honourable to marry several sisters. The
-sister of a deceased wife is considered a
-particular acquisition, and, indeed, is attended
-with a solid advantage, for a man
-taking the second daughter of a house
-pays to her father a sum only equal to half
-of that which he paid for the first. No
-one can marry a person of the same family
-name; but this seems to apply to men
-alone, for a woman under this description
-who enters another household, and bears a
-daughter, may bestow her upon her brother.
-In a word, every union is lawful provided
-the father of the bridegroom and the father
-of the bride are of different families&mdash;though
-custom makes other distinctions,
-which are generally observed with as much
-strictness as those marked by the traditionary
-law.</p>
-
-<p>When an Ostyak desires to marry he
-selects from among his companions or relatives
-a mediator. He then goes with a
-train of friends, as numerous as his influence
-enables him to collect, and stands
-before the door of the house in which the
-girl whom he has fixed upon resides. Her
-father easily guesses, on the arrival of such
-a cavalcade, what the object of it is, and
-consequently asks no questions, but invites
-the company in and welcomes them with a
-feast. Then, retiring with the mediator
-into another hut, he enters into a negotiation
-about the amount which he is to
-receive for his daughter. These things are
-quietly arranged, though the spirit of
-bargaining is generally active on both
-sides. It is not necessary to pay down the
-whole amount at once, but this must be
-done before the nuptials can take place.
-Sometimes, however, a man snatches away<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span>
-his bride before he has fully discharged
-his debt. In that case her father waits for
-an opportunity to seize her, carries her home,
-and keeps her in pledge until the amount
-be faithfully paid.</p>
-
-<p>Similar customs prevail among the Samoyedes,
-who are polygamists, though they
-prefer the changing one wife for another,
-according to the changes in their inclination,
-to having two or three at once. The
-Tungueses, however, often keep as many
-as five, but even among them the majority
-of men marry no more than one at a time.
-They enter into matrimony at a very early
-age. It is common to see a husband fifteen
-years old, and a wife, or even a widow, of
-twelve. There is with them no feast or
-ceremony of any kind. The bargain is
-made and ratified, and the young couple
-proceed forthwith to their nuptial couch.</p>
-
-<p>The Bulwattes, who are also polygamists,
-treat their women well. Among them one
-curious observance is,&mdash;that the consummation
-of every marriage must take place
-in a newly-built hut, where, as they say,
-no impure things can have been. This is,
-at any rate, a poetical and a somewhat
-refined idea. Certain feasts are essential
-before the union is contracted.</p>
-
-<p>The Tchoutkas, beyond Nigri Kolinsk,
-have been baptized in large numbers.
-Their Christianity, however, does not incline
-them to remove polygamy, for they have
-in most cases a plurality of wives, whom
-they marry for a certain period&mdash;long or
-short, as circumstances may determine. It
-sometimes happens in one of these households
-that the wife obtains sufficient ascendancy
-over her husband to bind him to
-her, and a convention, intended from the
-first to be only temporary, becomes permanent.
-The woman who accomplishes this
-achievement is honoured by the rest of her
-sex, and is thenceforward supreme in the
-family. Generally speaking the women of
-this tribe are more happy and free than in
-any other part of Siberia.</p>
-
-<p>Among the Tschuwasses it is customary
-on the occasion of a betrothal to offer a
-sacrifice of bread and honey to the sun,
-that he may look down with favour on the
-union. On the appointed day, while the
-guests are assembling, the bride hides
-herself behind a screen. Then she walks
-round the room three times, followed by
-a train of virgins bearing honey and
-bread. The bridegroom entering, snatches
-over her veil, kisses her, and exchanges
-rings. She then distributes refreshments
-to her friends, who salute her as “the betrothed
-girl,” after which she is led behind
-the screen to put on a matron’s cap. One
-of the concluding rites performed is that
-of the bride pulling off her new husband’s
-boots&mdash;a ceremony to symbolise her promise
-of obedience to him. When, however,
-he on his part takes the cap from her
-head, she is divorced, and goes home to her
-parents.</p>
-
-<p>Still more degrading is the custom of
-the Tchemerisses. A man, representing the
-girl’s father, presents to her husband a
-whip, which he is allowed freely to use.
-There is only one occasion during the year
-when men permit their wives to eat with
-them. The Morduans betroth their children
-while very young; but the youth
-does not know his bride until he marries
-her. She is then brought to him, placed on a
-mat, and consigned to his charge with
-these words, “Here, wolf, take thy lamb.”
-Still more singular is the custom of the
-Wotyahe tribes. With them it is usual
-for the young wife, a few days after the
-wedding, to go back to her father’s house,
-resume her virgin costume, and remain
-sometimes during a whole year. At the
-end of that period the husband goes to
-fetch her, when she feigns reluctance, and
-exhibits every sign of bashfulness and
-modesty. The women of this community
-are habitually chaste and decorous in their
-behaviour.</p>
-
-<p>The usual occupations of the men in
-Siberia are hunting, fishing, smoking,
-drinking, and bartering with the Russian
-traders. Those of the women are far more
-numerous and wearisome. They build the
-huts, they tend the cattle, they prepare the
-sledges, they harness the reindeer when
-their husbands are away, and drive them
-also occasionally; they weave mats, baskets,
-and cloth; they dye worsted for embroidery;
-they tan hides, make garments,
-cook the food, and, in some tribes, assist in
-catching fish. While they perform these
-varied and harassing offices without a murmur,
-as they usually do, their life is one of
-peace; but if they repine they are sure to
-be harshly reproved, if not severely punished.
-In some communities the husband
-is permitted the free use of his whip; but
-in others, as that of the Ostyaks, a husband
-dare not flog his wife without the
-consent of her father, and on account of
-some grievous fault. If he does she has
-the privilege of flying home, when her
-dowry must be restored, and she has her
-liberty complete.</p>
-
-<p>Jealousy is a sentiment little known
-among the Ostyaks, or, indeed, any of the
-Siberian races. Sometimes the women wear
-veils, but not with that strictness observable
-with some nations, and more to save<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span>
-their eyes from the effect of the snow
-glare than from any other motive. Modesty,
-indeed, is by no means one of their characteristics.
-Nor is chastity very highly
-prized. When a Samoyede woman is about
-to be delivered, she is obliged to confess, in
-presence of her husband and a midwife,
-whether she has engaged in any criminal
-intrigue. If she tell an untruth, the
-national superstition is that death will
-assail her amid the pangs of childbirth.
-Should she declare herself guilty, the husband
-contents himself with going to the
-person whom her confession has accused,
-and exacting from him a small fine by way
-of compensation&mdash;for having, “without
-permission,” carried on intercourse with a
-stranger’s wife.</p>
-
-<p>The barbarous manners of Siberia do
-not allow us, indeed, to expect any refined
-modesty among its women. Wrangell was
-introduced into the family of a rich and
-influential man&mdash;the head of a tribe.
-Within a low-roofed but spacious habitation
-he found five or six women&mdash;wives and
-daughters, of various ages, all completely
-naked. They roared with laughter when
-their visitor entered, and appeared excessively
-amused at being discovered in that
-condition. The dancing women of these
-tribes wear clothing while they display their
-skill, but otherwise they are as indecent as
-possible. Obscene and degrading postures,
-indeed, make up the chief merit of their
-performances. A late traveller, hearing of
-these dancers, desired some women to perform,
-but they appeared so modest, bashful,
-and diffident, that he feared to urge them.
-However, after considerable solicitation
-they consented, when he was disgusted at
-seeing them fling themselves with marvellous
-rapidity into a hundred disgraceful
-attitudes.</p>
-
-<p>Infanticide is not practised in Siberia,
-except on those children who are born with
-deformities. These are, it is said, invariably
-destroyed. There is, in fact, little inducement
-to the crime, for the whole region is
-but scantily peopled, and marriages are not
-at all prolific.</p>
-
-<p>The morals of the Siberian races are
-universally low. A licentious intercourse
-is carried on between the sexes long before
-marriage, early as this takes place. In
-the great city of Yehaterinbourgh, where religious
-dissensions are extremely bitter,
-profligacy is still more powerful; and
-women, from sheer lust, prostitute themselves
-to men of all sects, with whom, however,
-they would rigidly refuse to eat or
-drink. In all the towns numbers of prostitutes
-reside. They are scarcely, if at all,
-reprobated by the other classes of the
-population, and the young men who do
-not wish to marry, or cannot afford to procure
-a wife, as well as widowers, resort to
-them continually. The process, in fact,
-which educates a Siberian prostitute to
-her calling, appears to be this. A young
-girl, in a community where general licentiousness
-of manners prevails, is brought
-up from her mother’s breast with the most
-loose ideas. She is not taught to prize her
-chastity, though told that marriage is the
-destiny to which she must look, and
-warned that her husband will require her
-to be faithful to him. Meanwhile, however,
-there is little in her own mind, or in
-the care of her friends, to protect her
-virtue. She forms acquaintances, and is
-seduced, first by one, and then by another,
-until her profligacy becomes so flagrant
-and so public that no one will purchase
-her as a wife. Accordingly she follows as
-a means of livelihood that which she has
-hitherto resorted to only as a means of indulging
-her vicious appetite. Thousands
-of prostitutes are thus made, especially
-amid the crowded communities. In some
-of the small wandering tribes, the women
-are comparatively chaste; but on the
-whole the refined sentiments of virtue are
-unknown, and prostitution extremely prevalent.
-This appears strange to those who
-are accustomed to believe that a warm
-climate is essential to form a sensual race.
-It seems, on the contrary, that one extreme
-of temperature is accompanied with
-influences as demoralising as another, for
-it is certain that nations dwelling in the
-temperate zone are more moderate in their
-passions, and more abstemious in the gratification
-of them.</p>
-
-<p>For the races inhabiting the Arctic
-regions, the Esquimaux may be taken as
-a proper type. As a race, they are dirty,
-poor, and immoral, but not so grovelling as
-the tribes of Western Africa. Though
-their ideas of beauty and grace are totally
-at variance with ours, it is wrong to suppose
-that they have none, for the Esquimaux
-woman, who tattooes her skin to
-charm a lover, exhibits undeniably one of
-those characteristics in human nature
-which allow opportunities to civilize individuals
-and nations. They are an ingenious
-industrious people, understanding
-well how to make use of those conveniences
-and appliances of life which have
-been placed by nature at their disposal;
-and they who make themselves comfortable
-and happy in the coldest and most
-desolate parts of the earth, must possess
-a certain amount of that genius which,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span>
-properly developed, flourishes in civilization.</p>
-
-<p>The estimation in which women are held
-among the Esquimaux is somewhat greater
-than is usual among savages. They are
-by no means abject drudges, those cares
-only being assigned to them which are
-purely domestic, and which are apportioned
-to the females among the humbler classes
-in all European countries. The wife makes
-and tends the fire, cooks the food, watches
-the children, is sempstress to the whole
-family, and orders all the household arrangements,
-while her husband is labouring
-abroad for her subsistence. When a
-journey is to be performed, they, it is true,
-bear a considerable share of the burdens,
-but not more than among many of the
-poor fishing populations of civilized countries
-in Europe, in some of which the
-man’s occupation ceases when his boat
-touches the shore. It is a division of
-labour, not so much imposed as shared,
-and the toil is not by any means hateful to
-them. During the stationary residence in
-the winter, the life led by the women is in
-fact one of ease, indolence, and pleasure,
-for they sit at home, cross-legged on their
-couches, almost all the day, enjoying themselves
-as they please, with a fire to warm
-the habitation, which it is a pleasant task
-to attend.</p>
-
-<p>The Esquimaux women are not very
-prolific, few bearing more than three or
-four children. They generally suckle them
-themselves, but it is not uncommon for
-one woman to nurse at her breast the
-infant of another who may be closely occupied
-at the time. They are more desirous
-of bearing male than female offspring,
-for parents look to their sons in old
-age as a means of support.</p>
-
-<p>The Esquimaux are permitted by their
-social and hereditary law to have two
-wives, but the custom is by no means
-general. Parry describes a tribe of 219&mdash;69
-being men, 77 women, and the rest
-children&mdash;among whom there were only
-twelve men who had two wives, while a
-few were doubly betrothed. Two instances
-occurred of a father and son being married
-to sisters. Children are usually plighted
-during infancy&mdash;that is, from three to
-seven years of age, and the boy sometimes
-plays with his future bride, calling her
-wife. When a man has two wives, there
-is usually a difference of six or seven
-years between their ages, and the senior
-being mistress, takes her station by the
-principal fire, which she entirely superintends.
-Her position is in every respect
-one of superiority; but this is seldom asserted,
-as the two generally live in the
-most perfect harmony. The marriage contract
-has nothing of a sacred character
-about it, being merely a social arrangement
-which may be with great facility
-dissolved. A man can without any ceremony
-repudiate his wife, to punish her for
-a real or supposed offence, but this is
-rarely done. The husband, who is usually
-older by many years than his partner,
-chastises her himself when she irritates
-him, though caring comparatively little
-for her fidelity. Absolute in his authority,
-according to the laws of the Esquimaux,
-he is sometimes, nevertheless, ruled by
-the women. Usually, however, he upholds
-his prerogative, and punishes any infringement
-of it in a very summary manner;
-but the utmost harshness commonly employed
-is to make the delinquent lead her
-master’s reindeer while he rides comfortably
-in his sledge. Women are very careful
-of their husbands, partly no doubt
-from natural sentiments of affection, but
-partly also, we may believe, from knowledge
-of the fact that widows are not half
-so happy as wives, being dirty and ragged,
-unless they have friends willing to support
-them, or sufficient attractions to enable
-them to gain a livelihood by regular prostitution.</p>
-
-<p>Respecting the virtue of the Esquimaux
-women and the morality of the men, little
-of a favourable nature is to be said. Husbands
-have continually offered their wives
-to strangers for a knife or a jacket. Some
-of the young men told Parry, that when
-two of them were about to be absent for
-any length of time on whaling expeditions,
-they often exchanged wives as a
-matter of temporary convenience; instances
-of which have been noticed by the
-voyager&mdash;in some cases merely because
-one woman was pregnant and unable to
-bear the hardship of a journey. The same
-writer affirms that in no country is prostitution
-carried to a greater length. The
-behaviour of most of the women while the
-men are absent, causes a total disregard of
-connubial fidelity. Their departure, in
-fact, is usually a signal to cast aside all
-restraint, and, as the last excess of profligacy,
-children are sent out by their
-mothers to keep watch lest the husband
-should return while his habitation is occupied
-by a stranger<a name="FNanchor_85_85" id="FNanchor_85_85"></a><a href="#Footnote_85_85" class="fnanchor">[85]</a>.</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span></p>
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Iceland and Greenland.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Iceland and Greenland, differing in their
-people, their fortunes and their civilization,
-may, nevertheless, be classed together, for
-both belong geographically to the western
-world, while both present intimate relations
-with Europe. Iceland, a lonely, gloomy,
-and extensive country, is inhabited by a
-serious, humble, and quiet people, numbering
-about 55,000. Isolated from the rest
-of the world by dreary and tempestuous
-seas spreading far around it on every side,
-its inhabitants remain to this day almost
-in their primitive condition. Nine centuries
-have produced little change in their
-language, costume, or modes of life. Formerly,
-indeed, they were heathens, and have
-now been converted to Christianity. Modifications
-have also occurred in their manners.
-At one period, for instance, the law allowed
-the exposure of such children as their
-parents desired to be rid of, and the unnatural
-sacrifice was common. It originated
-with the men, and the women appear never
-to have become reconciled with the usage,
-which has now been entirely abolished,
-though infants perish in large numbers
-from insufficient and unskilful nursing.
-On the whole, however, the original manners
-of the Icelanders remain unchanged. We
-refer, of course, to a period since what has
-been termed the heroic age, when a system
-of society prevailed, which has been entirely
-swept away by a new and victorious civilization.
-In those ancient times, when
-Iceland was a republic, with institutions of
-a most remarkable nature, the treatment of
-the female sex there, and among the Scandinavian
-nations generally, was unequalled
-by any other heathen communities, except
-the polished state of Greece. Polygamy,
-though not forbidden by their religious
-code, was exceedingly rare. Their manners,
-indeed, are, in several other respects, superior
-to their enacted laws. Fathers, or other
-near male relatives, possessed unlimited
-power to dispose of the young girls as best
-suited their convenience or caprice, but
-seldom or ever exercised this invidious
-prerogative, leaving them rather to their
-own choice. With mild advice, indeed, they
-persuaded them to prudent unions, but
-with no harsh, inconsiderate authority.
-The daughter received, on her marriage, a
-dowry from her parents besides a present
-from her husband. These acquisitions
-formed a property which remained absolutely
-her own, and constituted her provision
-in the event of a divorce. This could
-take place whenever she chose to express
-before certain prescribed witnesses her
-desire for such separation. A harsh word,
-any ill-usage, or a hasty blow, might be
-pleaded as sufficient reason for her resolve;
-and by a liberal use of this prerogative the
-wives of Iceland obtained high authority
-over their husbands. They occasionally
-accompanied them to the public assemblies,
-which were convened in conformity with
-their popular institutions, and were always
-present at the great festivals. Sometimes
-they assembled in rooms assigned exclusively
-to them, and made merry among
-themselves; sometimes they mingled with
-the general company. With the exception
-of a few, whom the fearful superstition of
-that age condemned to death as witches,
-no women suffered very severe punishment.
-The warriors of the island delighted to
-celebrate their praises, and terms expressing
-the high qualities of the female sex were
-abundant in the Icelandic language, and
-profusely employed in its literature. At
-present the condition of the sexes is somewhat
-equal. The men of the humbler
-classes divide their labours with the women,
-but do not oppress them with any of the
-taskmaster’s tyranny. Both are alike filthy
-and coarse in their habits. Among the
-wealthy, as well as in the middle orders,
-it is customary for ladies to wait at table
-when strangers are present; but this is
-considered as an employment by no means
-menial. The hospitality of the Icelanders,
-indeed, assumes some very singular forms.
-Their women often salute the stranger with
-a cordial embrace, from which on account
-of their uncleanliness he is generally desirous
-to escape as quickly as possible.
-When Henderson, the missionary, resided
-there, he visited, during his travels, the
-house of a respectable man, where he was
-liberally treated. At night, when he retired
-to his bedroom, the eldest daughter of the
-family attended him, and assisted him to
-undress by pulling off his stockings and
-pantaloons. He was unwilling to accept
-such services, to which he was wholly unaccustomed;
-but she imputed his refusal
-to politeness, and insisted on performing
-the office, declaring it was the invariable
-custom of her country. It is the task of
-the women, almost always, to unloose the
-sandals or latchets of their husband’s
-shoes.</p>
-
-<p>The intercourse of the sexes in Iceland
-is regulated by few absolute laws; but
-Christianity has abolished polygamy, while
-public opinion holds a strong check upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span>
-illicit communication. With the exception
-of those seaport populations, which have
-been corrupted by an influx of Danes and
-other foreigners, generally of disreputable
-character, they are, as a nation, moral.
-These exceptions contribute very considerably
-to the number of bastard children.
-In 1801, the population was 46,607&mdash;21,476
-males and 25,131 females, or in the
-proportion of thirteen to fifteen of men to
-women. The average marriages during
-a period of ten years, were 250, or one out
-of 188 of the population; the births 1350,
-or one in 35, and the deaths 1250. One
-child out of nine was illegitimate. In 1821
-one out of seven was illegitimate, and in
-1833 the proportion remained the same.
-Men usually marry between the ages of
-25 and 32, women between those of nineteen
-and 30.</p>
-
-<p>If, however, we give credit to a scandalous
-anecdote related by Lord Kames, in
-his “Sketches of Man,” we must impute
-to the Icelanders, of a century and a half
-ago, a very profligate disposition. In 1707,
-it is said, a contagious distemper having
-cut off nearly all the people, the King of
-Denmark fell on an ingenious device to
-repeople the country. He caused a law to
-be promulgated that every young woman
-in Iceland might bear as many as six
-illegitimate children without injuring her
-reputation; but, says the gossipping philosopher,
-the young women were so zealous
-to repeople the country, that after a few
-years it was found necessary to abrogate
-the law. Little dependance is to be placed
-on such stories, though the number of
-illegitimate children born does certainly
-contradict the panegyrics on the pure
-morality of the Icelanders, in which some
-writers are fond of indulging. About one
-person in seven is married; but it is the
-custom among the poor for persons of both
-sexes to sleep promiscuously in small close
-cabins, which cannot but corrupt their
-manners. In the fishing towns, especially,
-where numerous foreigners have congregated,
-there are many prostitutes, who
-usually gain only part of their livelihood
-by that profession. What their numbers
-are it is impossible to tell; but it seems
-that the crews of the fishing-vessels, as well
-as the traders who frequent the ports from
-time to time, generally resort to the company
-of prostitutes, who present themselves
-in any numbers that may be required.</p>
-
-<p>Extending our observations to the remote
-and desolate coast of Greenland, we
-find a population partly composed of
-European colonists and partly of Esquimaux,
-who have, however, a system of
-manners not identical with that of the
-tribes we have already noticed. They are
-a vain and indolent, but not a very sensual,
-people. What virtue they possess consists
-rather in the negation of active vice, than
-in any positive good qualities. Their
-women occupy an inferior, yet not a degraded,
-position. They take charge, indeed,
-of all domestic concerns, make clothes,
-tools and tents, build huts and canoes,
-prepare leather, carry home the game,
-clean and dry the garments, and cook the
-food, while their husbands catch seals;
-but the men often assist their wives in
-these occupations. Marriage is essentially
-a contract for mutual convenience, to be
-dissolved when it ceases to be agreeable to
-both. The woman looks out for a skilful
-hunter, the man for an industrious housewife.
-She brings him little dowry, possessing
-usually no more than a kettle, a lamp,
-some needles, a knife, and a few clothes.
-Parents seldom interfere with the matches
-of their children. It is considered proper
-for a girl, when a man comes to request
-her in marriage, to fly away and hide
-among the hills, whence she is dragged,
-with a show of violence, by her suitor. He
-takes her home, and if her aversion be real,
-she runs away again and again, until he is
-weary of pursuit. Formerly, it was the
-custom to make incisions in the soles of a
-bride’s feet, as some tribes in Siberia and
-Borneo are accustomed to do to the captives,
-to prevent their escaping. When a
-woman is courted by a man whom she
-detests, she cuts off her hair, which is a
-sign of great horror and grief, and usually
-rids her of her suitor. Among the heathen
-tribes polygamy is allowed, though seldom
-practised. Divorces sometimes take place.
-All the man has to do is to assume a stern
-expression of countenance, and quit the
-home for a few days without saying when
-he intends to return. The woman takes
-the hint, packs up her few effects, and goes
-with her children to the house of her
-parents or some friend. Generally, however,
-they lead a reputable life, the women
-being docile, and the men indulgent.</p>
-
-<p>Considering themselves, as they do, the
-only civilised people in the world, the
-Greenlanders feel a pride in observing the
-outward shows of decorum. They do not
-allow marriages within three degrees of
-affinity. It is not considered reputable for
-persons, though not related, who have been
-educated in the same house, to marry.
-Sometimes a man takes two sisters, or a
-mother and her daughter, but this is
-viewed with general reprobation. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span>
-marriage contract is, on the whole, very
-strictly observed, few divorces taking place,
-except between the young. “The most
-detestable crime of polygamy,” as a Danish
-writer terms it, produced, where it was
-practised, little of that jealousy which
-might be expected among the wives, until
-the arrival of the missionaries, who preached
-against it, and speedily won the female sex
-to support their doctrine.</p>
-
-<p>There was formerly in Greenland a society
-resembling very closely the Physical
-Club of Moscow, but still more obscene
-in its practices. This, however, has disappeared.
-Prostitution, nevertheless, prevails
-to a considerable degree, widows
-and divorced women almost invariably
-adopting it, as the only means of life, indeed,
-to which they can resort. There are
-numerous habitations in the larger communities,
-which can only be described as
-brothels; but the profession entails the
-worst odium on those who follow it<a name="FNanchor_86_86" id="FNanchor_86_86"></a><a href="#Footnote_86_86" class="fnanchor">[86]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in Lapland and
-Sweden.</span></h3>
-
-<p>A notice of the Scandinavian populations
-would be incomplete, unless we touched
-particularly on the Laplanders; especially
-as they contrast very strongly with their
-neighbours the Swedes, notwithstanding
-that these are far more inflated with the
-pride of civilization. Forming a nomade
-race, known in their own region as Finns,
-they occupy a country little favoured by
-the prodigality of nature. Nevertheless,
-where they have settled into fixed communities,
-we find them adopting many forms
-of luxury, polishing their manners, and
-pursuing wealth with eagerness. But these
-scarcely belong to the body of the Laplanders,
-and it is only necessary to say of
-them that they are a happy, virtuous
-people, distinguished by the affection and
-harmony existing between men and women.</p>
-
-<p>The genuine Laplander, among his free
-rocks and snows, lives partly in a tent,
-partly in a hut; but, whichever tenement he
-inhabits, he is content with the most simple
-economy. During the summer he wanders,
-and is equally industrious and frugal;
-during the winter he remains in one place,
-enjoying the fruits of his labour in ease
-and idleness. This is a peculiar mode of
-life, and has much influence on the manners
-of the people; for, during their leisure
-months, they invent many pleasures, few of
-which are indulged in by one sex apart
-from the other.</p>
-
-<p>The Lapland families are generally small;&mdash;three
-or four children being the largest
-number habitually seen; but what they do
-bring forth, the women bring forth easily,
-scarcely ever requiring help, and speedily
-leaving their couch to fulfil their usual
-tasks.</p>
-
-<p>The general character of the Lapland
-race is good. From whatever cause the
-circumstance proceeds, it is certain that
-their morals are strict and virtuous. Few
-strong passions of any kind prevail among
-them, and they are more especially distinguished
-by their continence.</p>
-
-<p>The priest of a large parish assured one
-traveller that there had been but one
-instance of an illegitimate birth during
-twenty years, and that illicit intercourse
-between the sexes was almost unknown.</p>
-
-<p>Old travellers have amused their readers
-with accounts of the conjugal infidelity
-common in Lapland, and asserted that the
-men are in the habit of offering their wives
-to strangers: this appears to be wholly
-untrue. So far from truth is it, indeed,
-that adultery is a crime almost unknown
-among them; they are, in fact, rather
-jealous than otherwise of their women.
-The intercourse of the sexes, nevertheless,
-is free and agreeable; their marriages are
-contracted, sometimes according to the
-choice of the young people, sometimes by
-that of their parents. Prostitution is unknown
-among them, except in the fishing
-towns, where a few wretched women have
-taken to that mode of life; but, on the
-whole, they are a chaste and virtuous race.</p>
-
-<p>The great difference between the institutions
-of Norway and those of Sweden
-consist in this&mdash;that in the former, manners
-influence the law; while in the latter,
-law attempts to regulate every detail of
-public manners.</p>
-
-<p>Men, says the public law of Sweden,
-attain their majority at the age of 21
-years, but women remain in tutelage during
-the whole period of their lives, unless
-the king grants a privilege of exemption:
-widows, however, are excepted. Men cannot
-legally marry before the age of 21.
-Even to this rule there is an exception, for
-among the peasants of the north it is lawful
-for a youth of eighteen to take a wife&mdash;a
-device adopted to increase the population
-of those thinly-inhabited provinces.
-Women may marry immediately after their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span>
-confirmation, which never takes place before
-fourteen. The nuptials are recognised
-by law, and are celebrated in the presence
-of a priest, by the gift of a ring. A man
-desiring to take his sister-in-law to wife,
-must have permission from the king. A
-few years ago an ordinance was abolished
-which required a similar formality to be
-gone through previous to the marriage of
-cousins. A man may marry without the
-consent of any one; but a woman must
-obtain the sanction of her parent or guardian.
-To render binding the contract,
-which stipulates for the rights of each
-with respect to property, it must be presented
-to the magistrates of the place, and
-signed by the priest, before the celebration
-of the wedding.</p>
-
-<p>In default of such an agreement a division
-takes place, under rules which differ
-in the country and in the town. In the
-former, two-thirds of the property belong
-to the man, and one-third to the woman;
-in the latter, half is apportioned to each.</p>
-
-<p>Marriage, when fully consummated, is
-not indissoluble. Divorce may be pronounced
-by the public tribunals of justice.
-First, for adultery on the part of the husband
-or of the wife; second, on the condemnation
-of one or the other, on account of
-a felonious crime, to loss of honour and
-liberty for ten years; thirdly, in cases of
-insanity; fourthly, for desertion, neglect,
-or the continued absence, without intelligence,
-of husband or wife. When a married
-person complains of having been
-abandoned, the magistrate fixes a certain
-interval during which the other may make
-answer; a notice is inserted in the gazette
-and the newspapers. If, at the expiration
-of this period, no reply is heard, the divorce
-is pronounced. The length of absence
-necessary to justify such a separation
-is left to the discretion of the judge.
-Fifthly, when one person is palmed off
-for another; sixthly, for ill-treatment;
-seventhly, for apostasy; eighthly, for incurable
-epilepsy. After the sentence of the
-civil tribunal, the divorce is held good in
-an ecclesiastical court.</p>
-
-<p>A man is bound to support his natural
-children, and inquiries in cases of affiliation
-are frequent. When a girl accuses a man
-before a public tribunal, of being the father
-of her child, he may deny it upon
-oath, when her allegation is dismissed, unless
-she can prove by witnesses, or by any
-other evidence, that her claim is absolutely
-just. As such a proof is difficult to obtain,
-there are abundance of false oaths made at
-Stockholm. A girl sometimes accuses a
-peasant of being the parent of her child,
-demanding, perhaps, a sum of money equal
-to a sovereign of our coinage, by way of
-compensation. The man refuses to pay it,
-and offers to swear that he is not the
-child’s father. The magistrate then seeks
-by persuasion to induce him to confess the
-truth; but he persists in his refusal until
-the woman modifies her claim. He continues
-all the while to threaten her with
-the oath of repudiation, unless she is contented
-with his offer. If she accepts a
-miserable trifle, he acknowledges the debt;
-if not, he perjures himself, and the law
-allows him to escape, though morally convinced,
-beyond all question, of his profligacy
-and falsehood.</p>
-
-<p>The illegitimate child has no claim on
-the property of its father, or even on that
-of its mother; but if the parents marry,
-however short a time before the child’s
-birth, it is saved from the stigma of bastardy.
-A legitimate child cannot be disinherited
-by its parents, unless for marrying
-against their consent, or being condemned
-for felony to a heavy and disgraceful
-punishment.</p>
-
-<p>Death is the penalty attached to infanticide,
-but is almost invariably commuted to
-detention for a longer or shorter period,
-with hard labour in prison. In 1832 the
-House of Correction for females in Stockholm,
-which served for all Sweden, contained
-290 women, of which 45 were condemned
-to hard labour for life; of these,
-30 had murdered their children.</p>
-
-<p>The punishments denounced against
-adultery endeavour to mark a distinction
-between particular degrees of the crime.
-Incest and bestiality are, however, punished
-only with a moderate fine. When
-a married man indulges in guilty intercourse
-with a married woman, they both
-suffer death by decapitation. When it is
-committed by a married man with a girl
-betrothed and pregnant by her lover, he
-receives 120 blows with a stick, and she
-90 lashes with a whip. Punishments of
-this sort continually take place in a public
-square at Stockholm. At present, in
-whipping the girls on their naked persons,
-care is taken to protect their bosoms and
-their abdomens with plates of copper.
-Formerly, however, when this precaution
-was not adopted, the lash frequently lacerated
-the bosom and tore open the flesh, so
-as to expose the bowels. When adultery
-is committed by a married man with an
-affianced girl, or the reverse, a simple
-fine is exacted; in default of which, imprisonment
-on bread and water, or a public
-flogging, is inflicted. When one of the
-criminals only is married, and the other is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span>
-entirely free, an inferior money penalty is
-adjudged.</p>
-
-<p>An unmarried woman becoming a mother
-pays to the church penance money, to a
-certain amount. So also does every man:
-that is to say, the law enacts it; but it is,
-perhaps, needless to add that the priests
-get, in this respect, much less than is legally
-their due.</p>
-
-<p>In 1836 prostitution was forbidden by
-law throughout Sweden. The public woman,
-being convicted, was imprisoned in a house
-of correction, until she had time to reclaim
-herself, and some one was willing to take
-her into service. The same, indeed, was
-done to any poor woman, whatever her
-character, who could not describe her occupation.
-Many little girls, some not more
-than eleven years old, were confined as a
-punishment for being without a regular
-avocation. Professional and open prostitution
-being thus severally prohibited by the
-law, there were, at that period, no regular
-brothels in Sweden; but the women of the
-lower orders were so corrupt, that prostitution
-was as common as possible. “Every
-servant girl,” says the advocate Angelot,
-who wrote in 1836, “may be considered as
-a public prostitute, and every house of
-public entertainment may be described as
-a brothel.”</p>
-
-<p>So far the laws describe the manners of
-Sweden; that is, they indicate the profligacy
-they are unable to cure. The country is,
-perhaps, one of the most demoralized in
-Europe. During many years it continued
-to decline in population, prosperity, and character;
-and if during the last quarter of a
-century it has improved in these respects,
-it is because the old system of institutions
-is gradually wearing away.</p>
-
-<p>Superficial travellers, who gather their
-ideas of other countries by no other light
-than that of the chandelier, and in no other
-society than that of fops and flirts, describe
-Sweden as a paradise of good breeding and
-elegance. Society is there often gay and
-lively, which satisfies the inquiries of such
-tourists. The ladies of that nation also
-possess many fascinations, with an apparent
-frankness and sincerity, which never fail
-to please. The women of the humbler
-orders wear, in the streets, the airs of modesty,
-and never shock the eye by exhibitions of
-wantonness or indecency. The intercourse
-of the sexes is extremely free; and therefore
-there are fewer signs of intrigue,
-because this is not necessary; but to infer
-from such circumstances that Sweden is a
-moral country, is to fall into a grievous
-error.</p>
-
-<p>Sweden is immoral, and Stockholm is the
-most immoral place in Sweden. For many
-years it absolutely decayed under the moral
-disease which afflicted it. In 1830 it contained
-nearly 81,000 inhabitants; this number
-decreased in a year or two to 77,000,
-and the deaths during a period of ten years
-exceeded the births by an average of 895.
-Yet it is in a healthy situation; the people
-are well lodged; everything, indeed, is
-there to render it pure and salubrious; but
-the moral atmosphere is tainted by a continual
-epidemic of depravity.</p>
-
-<p>The whole nation numbers about 3,000,000;
-but it is in the capital that the excess of
-profligacy is displayed. Three or four years
-ago the proportion of illegitimate children
-was as one to two and three-tenths, that is to
-say, one person out of every three was a
-bastard. Taking all Sweden, we find the proportion
-of the ten years, from 1800 to 1810,
-was one in sixteen; from 1810 to 1820, one in
-fourteen; from 1820 to 1830, one in fourteen
-and six-tenths. It was thus the town
-population which was to be charged with
-the immoral result of depravity. In Stockholm,
-however, statistics could not fully
-exhibit the general demoralization. Laing
-asserts his deliberate belief that the offspring
-of adultery and children saved from
-illegitimacy by the late marriage of their
-parents were there exceedingly numerous;
-and it is probable that the law forbidding
-young men to marry before they were 21
-years of age had, in this respect, a very
-evil influence, as similar checks have undoubtedly
-had in Norway.</p>
-
-<p>In 1837 the government of Sweden,
-finding that to prohibit prostitution was
-not to prevent it, and that the vice they
-sought to check increased in spite of their
-efforts, ran, at one impulse, to a contrary
-extreme. Formerly no public women were
-allowed, now they were created as a class;
-formerly no brothels were permitted to be
-kept by private individuals, now a huge
-brothel was instituted by the authorities. A
-large hotel was hired, was fitted up for
-the purpose, and opened to all the city. A
-number of unfortunate women were expected
-to inhabit this licensed resort of infamy,
-and it speedily overflowed. A code
-of regulations was framed for the government
-of the place; but the barbarity of
-this discipline prevented the scheme from
-succeeding. Prostitution, however, had
-been recognised by law. Therefore, though
-the government brothel was abandoned,
-others were multiplied in its place; and
-vice, which had rioted under a mask, appeared
-in her proper form, among the citizens
-of Stockholm. Nevertheless, numbers
-of the restaurants and houses of public<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span>
-entertainment still retain their original
-character as the secret resorts of prostitutes
-and their companions. One great
-cause of the immorality prevalent in Stockholm
-was, that no woman who could afford
-to do otherwise, or had any of the wretched
-pride of respectability, would suckle her
-own child. Wet nurses, therefore, were in
-great request. Unmarried girls were absolutely
-preferred, because the family was
-not troubled with their husbands. Their
-own offspring were meanwhile transferred
-to the foundling hospital, which remains
-another licence to immorality. There are
-in Stockholm two of these institutions,
-where the children are educated, on payment
-of a premium varying from five to
-ten pounds sterling of English coinage.
-In 1819 there were born in Sweden 14,000
-illegitimate children, being nearly a seventh
-of the births. M. Alexandre Daumont
-says, that there was in Woesend, a
-canton of Finland, a special law which,
-granting to women equal rights of property
-with the men, improved the character of
-their morals. But no institutions will
-improve the manners of a country like
-Sweden, until the national sentiments are
-purified, for the example of the court and
-the nobility, says Mr. Laing, have instructed
-the people so far, that it is only
-a moral revolution which can reclaim
-them.</p>
-
-<p>There is in Stockholm a separate hospital
-for the treatment of syphilis. It received
-in one year 701 patients, 148 being from
-the country and the rest from the city itself.
-In that year (1832) the number of
-unmarried persons, of both sexes, above
-the age of fifteen, was 33,581. Consequently,
-1 person out of every 61 was
-afflicted by the venereal disease.</p>
-
-<p>The condition of women in Sweden is
-low in comparison with the other countries
-of Europe, and offers a strong contrast with
-that which we discover in Norway. Tasks
-are assigned among the humble orders to
-the female sex against which true civilization
-would revolt. They carry sacks, row
-boats, sift lime, and bear other heavy labours.
-Among the middle classes they
-hold an inferior situation; but among the
-higher, though little respected, they are
-comparatively free<a name="FNanchor_87_87" id="FNanchor_87_87"></a><a href="#Footnote_87_87" class="fnanchor">[87]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in Norway.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Living under ancient laws and social arrangements
-distinct in their principles no
-less than in their forms from those which
-discipline society in the feudal countries
-of Europe, the people of Norway are
-among the most singular and interesting
-in the world. Their peculiar institutions,
-which never admitted of an hereditary
-nobility, have distributed property among
-all, so that nowhere is there less poverty,
-or more abundance of the necessaries of
-life. These circumstances have exerted a
-powerful influence on the moral character
-of the Norwegians. It is consequently
-important to inquire into their manners,
-since the solution of many social problems
-may, by such an investigation, be assisted.</p>
-
-<p>There are in Norway two classes of
-checks upon the rapid increase of population&mdash;one
-arising from their public economy,
-the other artificial, and under the
-influence of law. In all countries where
-the poor possess the land, provident marriages
-prevent the growth of a pauper
-population, and this is the case in Norway.
-So far the results produced are wholly
-beneficial; but here other restraints are
-imposed, which, being somewhat extravagant,
-miss their object, and exert bad
-effects on the moral tone of the community.</p>
-
-<p>A marriage in Norway is an occasion,
-not only of long and formal ceremonies,
-but of considerable expense. This circumstance
-has two opposite tendencies on
-the character of the people. It is not considered
-respectable to marry unless some
-grand display takes place, with a liberal
-festival, the distribution of presents, a long
-holiday, and other means of expenditure,
-which create a provident spirit and prudent
-habit, which stimulate industry, and
-contribute to the general happiness and
-prosperity. Spending on their wedding-day
-what would support them during
-twelve months, many young couples do,
-indeed, commit acts of injurious extravagance
-in emulation of their neighbours;
-but in accumulating what they thus lavish,
-they have acquired the custom of saving,
-the necessity for which puts off the period
-of marriage. The Lutheran church also
-holds another strong check upon improvident
-and ill-considered marriages. It
-compels all within its communion to observe
-two separate ceremonies&mdash;one the betrothal,
-the other the wedding. The first
-must precede the second by several months
-at least, and generally does by one, two,
-three, or even four or five years. This in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span>terposes
-a seasonable pause between the
-first engagement, which may have sprung
-out of a temporary passion, and its irrevocable
-ratification, which may be the prelude
-to a life of misery. It has been calculated
-that the practical result of this
-interval between the period when a girl
-becomes naturally, and that when she
-becomes legally marriageable, checks the
-growth of the population by four or five
-per cent. Maintained within just limits
-such social laws are found to act beneficially,
-and tend in every way to improve
-the condition, manners, habits, and morals
-of the people.</p>
-
-<p>In Norway, however, they have been
-pushed beyond the frontiers of moderation,
-and in many cases cause more evils than
-they cure. For it is found impossible to
-put a bridle on human nature. Powerful
-impulses attract the sexes to intercourse,
-and it frequently occurs that the betrothed
-girl becomes a mother before she becomes
-a wife. Up among the high districts of
-the interior, it is said that the peasant girl
-rarely marries until she has borne a child.
-Throughout Norway, indeed, the proportion
-of illegitimate to legitimate children
-is about one to five, and in some parishes,
-where the restraint upon marriage is
-greatest, the average lies far more towards
-the side of immorality. In one of these
-districts, where there are no other obvious
-causes of profligacy, such as the resort of
-shipping, the cantonment of troops, the
-neighbourhood of a great manufactory, or
-any other of the usual demoralizing influences,
-the proportion of illegitimate
-children is nearly one to three.</p>
-
-<p>This by no means implies, however, a
-profligate disposition in the Norwegians&mdash;male
-or female. The woman who bears
-offspring by a lover is almost invariably
-married to him afterwards; it is impatience
-of the restraint put upon them by the law
-which impels them to this illicit communication.
-The evils of illegitimacy are also,
-in a great measure, counteracted by liberal
-and wise regulations. Subsequent marriage
-of the parents removes the stigma of
-bastardy from their children. A man, even,
-who feels inclined to marry another woman,
-when his first friend has died or become
-indifferent to him, may legitimatize his
-former children, by a particular legal instrument.
-This, in such cases, which are
-rare, is commonly done, and all, consequently,
-share alike in their father’s inheritance.
-Some neglect to perform this
-act of justice, but instances seldom or never
-occur of a man leaving his offspring desolate
-when he has any means or opportunity
-of providing for them, which in Norway
-almost every person has. Women in Norway
-occupy a position of superior honour. They
-have, perhaps, more to do with the real
-business of life, and more share in those
-occupations which require the exertion of
-intellect and study, than in England.
-They enjoy less compliment, but more respect,
-which all the sensible members of
-their sex would infinitely prefer. She, indeed,
-who provides for a household, under
-the peculiar domestic arrangements of the
-country, and presides over its economy, is
-held in high estimation. Women, in fact,
-hold a very just position in the society of
-Norway, having that influence and participation
-in its affairs which develope their
-mental and cultivate their moral qualities.
-Yet it is far from true that they occupy
-themselves entirely with the sober business,
-paying no attention to the elegant arts of
-life. Many of them adorn themselves
-also in those lighter accomplishments which
-gracefully amuse a leisure hour; but they
-certainly do not exhaust on song or dance,
-or the embroidery frame, the most valuable
-powers they possess. The able and observant
-traveller, Laing, supplies a true
-picture of their character and position, observing
-that among the wealthier merchants
-the state of the female sex is less natural
-and less to be admired than among the
-humble classes, which compose the general
-mass of society. Generally speaking, therefore,
-women nowhere play a more important
-part in the affairs of social life than in
-that remote and romantic part of Europe.
-Among the poor the division of labour
-between the sexes is excellent: all the indoor
-work is assigned to the women, all
-the outdoor labour to the men.</p>
-
-<p>Travellers, among whom Mary Wolstonecroft
-is one, have nevertheless complained
-direly of the situation women hold in
-Norway. One gentleman condemns the
-national character, because the ladies in
-respectable houses often wait at their own
-tables; but this is a national peculiarity,
-hereditary among the Norwegians. It is a
-voluntary office; no compulsion is used to
-impose this or any other task upon them.
-All that we can infer from such a custom
-is, the dissimilarity of ideas on points of
-propriety which prevail with different
-nations. The English pity the women of
-Norway, because they sometimes wait at
-their own tables; the Norwegians accuse
-the men in England of ill-breeding, because
-they do not take off their hats whenever
-a female appears in sight, and because
-they dismiss the ladies after dinner.</p>
-
-<p>With respect to the actual morals of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span>
-Norway, we may assign them the highest
-rank. The number of illegitimate births
-can scarcely be described, under the circumstances
-we have noticed, as indicating
-an immoral disposition in the people. Nowhere
-is adultery less frequent. The
-matrons are almost universally above suspicion,
-while street-walking and professional
-prostitution are almost unknown. The
-most profligate class of females appears to
-be the domestic servants<a name="FNanchor_88_88" id="FNanchor_88_88"></a><a href="#Footnote_88_88" class="fnanchor">[88]</a>.</p>
-
-
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in Denmark.</span></h3>
-
-<p>In the laws of Denmark in 1834 the
-position of the sexes, the regulations of the
-marriage contracts, and the restrictions on
-public immorality were sought to be fixed,
-with every distinction of detail. A man
-was declared under tutelage until the age
-of eighteen, and under a modified authority
-until twenty-five, after which he attained
-independence in all the acts of his life as a
-citizen. The woman was declared to remain
-under tutelage all her life. Even
-the widow must place herself under a
-guardian, without whose consent she can
-do nothing; but this person she may choose
-herself. She may place herself under the
-direction of one or many, and even distribute
-authority among them, but is never
-allowed to assert an independent existence.</p>
-
-<p>To contract marriage a man must be at
-least twenty years old, and the woman not
-under sixteen. The system of legal and
-binding betrothments was abandoned in
-1799; but previous to that period the ceremony
-of affiancing the bridegroom to the
-bride was important and almost as absolute
-as the last ceremony itself.</p>
-
-<p>To contract a legal marriage, it is essential
-that both persons shall be free from
-the ties of any other legal engagements.
-Persons who are related to each other in an
-ascending or descending line are prohibited
-from marrying. Brother and sister, says
-the code, may not marry; but brother-in-law
-and sister-in-law, uncle and niece, may.
-A man who desires to marry his mother’s
-or father’s sister must obtain a special permission
-from the government.</p>
-
-<p>It is necessary before marriage to procure
-the consent of the parents or guardians
-of both parties; but if they
-refuse, their refusal may be complained of,
-and the judge, reproving them, may order
-the union to take place in spite of their
-opposition. At twenty-five years of age
-the man is released from this authority.</p>
-
-<p>According to an ordonnance passed in
-1734, promises of marriage may be written
-or verbal; a promise of marriage by written
-agreement must bear the handwriting,
-seal, and signature of him who makes it.
-It must be certified by two witnesses,
-respectable men, before there is any communication
-between the man and the
-woman. The verbal promise must also be
-spoken aloud in the presence of two respectable
-men, before any intercourse is
-allowed. Such engagements are binding,
-and the man who breaks one may be prosecuted
-at law.</p>
-
-<p>There are, however, certain descriptions
-of persons whom the law does not allow to
-invoke the faith of such promises. Widows,
-who desire to act against their guardians’
-consent, and women of bad reputation, are
-in this manner excluded. A servant cannot
-plead a promise of marriage against her
-master, her master’s son, or any person
-dwelling in the same house. A man may
-also repudiate, by a formal oath, the accusation
-of a pregnant woman who pretends
-he has promised her marriage, and that he
-is the father of the child she bears in her
-womb, unless she can prove her allegation
-by sufficient testimony.</p>
-
-<p>Divorce is permitted, and may be pronounced
-immediately when legal cause is
-proved against one or other of a married
-pair. It may be demanded in the case of
-simple abandonment during seven years, or
-malicious intentional desertion for three
-years, in the case of condemnation to perpetual
-hard labour, of impotence existing
-previously to marriage, of the venereal
-disease contracted previously to marriage,
-of insanity supervening upon marriage, and
-of adultery. Divorce may also take place,
-without any judgment from the public tribunal,
-when both parties equally desire it.</p>
-
-<p>In this case, after the married persons
-have declared their intention, they must be
-entirely separated in bed and at table
-during three years; when, if they persevere
-in their desires, the separation is legally
-complete. If, however, at the expiration
-of that period, one of them refuse to
-abide by the agreement, the administrative
-college may order it to be fulfilled, notwithstanding
-all such opposition. Lastly, the
-king may always allow a divorce to take<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span>
-place, for any or no cause, according to his
-royal pleasure.</p>
-
-<p>Inquiries into the maternity or paternity
-of children are permitted. If a girl accuses
-a man of having been the father of
-an infant to her, he can only rebut the
-charge by taking a solemn oath that he had
-intercourse with her at the period presumed
-to be the date of her conception. She may
-then prove, if she can, by any means whatever,
-that he is swearing falsely; but such
-evidence being difficult to complete, so as
-to produce legal conviction, many individuals
-escape the burden which justly attaches
-to them.</p>
-
-<p>He who acknowledges or is proved the
-father of a natural child is bound, until it
-attains its tenth year, to maintain it according
-to his rank in life. Should he
-refuse to pay what he has promised, he
-may be imprisoned on bread and water.
-Every twenty-four hours thus spent acquit
-him of about half-a-crown of his liability.</p>
-
-<p>Illegitimate children have no claim upon
-the inheritance of their father’s property;
-but to that of their mother, or even of
-their mother’s parents, they are absolutely
-entitled. A natural child may be adopted
-or legitimatized by subsequent marriage, in
-which case it loses all the disability which
-attached to its former condition. In 1831
-the proportion of illegitimate children in
-Denmark was one in nine and three-fifths.
-In Copenhagen, however, the frightful
-proportion was exhibited of one to three
-and a half.</p>
-
-<p>The law adjudges to the child killer death
-without mercy. She is decapitated, and her
-head fixed upon a spike. The woman who
-does not take proper precautions before
-the delivery of her offspring is accounted
-guilty of infanticide should the infant die.</p>
-
-<p>Notwithstanding the severity of the law
-infanticide is a very common crime in
-Denmark, although it contains foundling
-hospitals, at least in Copenhagen. Angelot
-saw in one of the prisons of that city a
-man, who, after having flung his four children
-into the water, went immediately
-before a magistrate, declaring that he could
-not provide them with sustenance, and had
-consequently thought it better to send
-them to God. Another of these murderers
-was a woman, who had cut the throats of
-two of her children, and was engaged in
-attempting to kill the third, when she was
-arrested. Superstition and misery, combined
-with the looseness of morals in the
-capital of Denmark, were the chief causes
-of these fearful crimes against nature.
-The criminals are condemned to the death
-we have mentioned, but their sentence is
-usually commuted to imprisonment for life
-in a house of correction.</p>
-
-<p>The punishment denounced against unnatural
-crimes was formerly that of burning
-alive; but it is now softened to that of
-perpetual exile or forced labour.</p>
-
-<p>The husband may be prosecuted for adultery,
-as well as the wife, and it is an offence
-which, says the code, may be punished by
-law; but authority seldom interferes. The
-ancient Danes visited the crime with death,
-and that at a period when murderers were
-only condemned to pay a fine. At present
-the penalty is fixed, for the first offence,
-at confiscation of a tenth part of the
-guilty person’s property; for the second,
-banishment. For the third repetition of
-the crime the adulterer may be tied up in
-a sack and drowned. The law, however,
-has now become obsolete through long disuse.</p>
-
-<p>Women may take to public prostitution
-if they receive permission from the authorities.
-They are not troubled afterwards
-unless they offend against peace or decency,
-or bear more children than may
-legally be born. The code declares that
-any unmarried woman who becomes the
-mother of two children may be prosecuted,
-fined, and committed to prison.
-Custom, however, in this, as in many
-other instances, is more considerate than
-the law, and no woman is troubled who
-has not born three children by three different
-men; even then a permission of a
-special character is necessary before the
-prosecution can be carried on. No doubt
-these restrictions encourage women to procure
-abortion, or destroy their offspring
-when born. Prostitutes are very numerous,
-and the vexatious restraints upon
-marriage appear to produce much immorality.
-In Copenhagen, however, the corruption
-of society cannot be altogether, or
-even chiefly, traced to that cause; for the
-manners of the city are, in a general sense,
-profligate.</p>
-
-<p>The appearance of the women belonging
-to the lower classes in Copenhagen, as in
-Stockholm, is remarkably modest and unpresuming.
-Neat and tasteful in their
-costume, they preserve in their own homes
-a freshness and a comfort which indicate
-that they enjoy a position of some honour;
-for where women are not well treated,
-they never have a pride in keeping their
-clothes, habitations, or persons clean and
-elegant.</p>
-
-<p>It seems that the condition as well as
-the morality of the sex has improved since
-the laws of the country have become more
-polished by civilization. The code we have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span>
-described belonged to a period several years
-back. Since then a new constitution has
-been established; the nation has become
-more free; the penal laws, especially, have
-been very considerably modified; the relations
-of the sexes have lost some of the
-rudeness which characterized them before;
-and though civilization still remains at a
-low ebb, public manners have certainly
-undergone great improvement.</p>
-
-<p>The prostitutes of Copenhagen live, some
-in a kind of hotel, where they take part in
-mixed entertainments, to which the dissolute
-persons of the city congregate; some
-in a sort of boarding-houses; others in
-private dwellings of their own; or they
-lodge in small rooms, and go with their
-companions to houses where temporary
-accommodation may be had at various
-charges. Their numbers would appear to
-be considerable; and their habits do not
-differ in any peculiar manner from those
-of the same class in other cities of the
-Continent, which afford materials for a
-more complete description<a name="FNanchor_89_89" id="FNanchor_89_89"></a><a href="#Footnote_89_89" class="fnanchor">[89]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">OF PROSTITUTION IN CIVILIZED STATES.</h2>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Introduction.</span></h3>
-
-</div>
-
-<p>We have inquired into the history of the
-female sex under the social laws of antiquity,
-under the rude codes of barbarian
-races, and under the Mohammedan and
-Hindu systems. It will now be interesting
-to trace it through the dusky period of
-modern civilization from the rise of Christianity
-to the middle ages. Many writers
-afford the materials for a view of the prostitute
-systems of Europe during that era,
-and M. Rabuteaux especially has combined
-their researches in one wide and
-broad view.</p>
-
-<p>The Christian Emperors of Rome endeavoured
-to suppress prostitution, but with
-little success. Constantine, Constantius,
-Theodosius the Younger, Valentian, and
-Justinian took up the task by turns, denounced
-penalties against offenders&mdash;those
-who debauched others, and those who prostituted
-themselves; but though the world
-changed its aspect, it did not change its
-vices. Among the northern barbarians,
-indeed, austere principles ruled over the
-people, and women occupied a higher place
-than is accorded them now. They were
-companions of the men, not toys for their
-pleasure, or bagatelles for their amusement.
-Called, at a later age, to the functions
-of maternity, they previously learned
-the use of reason, and succeeded from a
-virtuous maidenhood to the dignity of
-matron. The chastity which Tacitus describes
-among the barbarians of Germany
-continued long to be their characteristic;
-but their penal customs became milder as
-they received better maxims of social policy.
-A woman who debauched herself
-was expelled from the city&mdash;a sufficient
-punishment. She had no more any family.
-Even the ties of paternity were broken.
-Gradually, however, the barbarian conquerors
-of Europe bent to the attractions
-of a corrupted society, and though the
-laws of the Visigoths forbade prostitution,
-men were found to encourage and females
-to pursue this infamous occupation.</p>
-
-<p>The free woman who prostituted herself
-was, for the first offence, punished with 300
-strokes, and for the second reduced to
-slavery, given to some poor man, and prohibited
-from entering a town. Parents
-who connived at the vice of their children
-were flogged. If the offender was already
-in bonds, she was whipped, shorn of her
-hair, and returned to her master. Should
-he himself be the accomplice of her sin, he
-lost her, and suffered an equal penalty of
-the rod. Prostitutes who walked the
-streets and fields were flung into prison,
-scourged, and fined. A decree of Theodoric,
-king of the Goths, declared death against
-all who gave an asylum or any encouragement
-to infamous persons.</p>
-
-<p>The epithet of “lost woman” applied to
-one of honest character was an insult punishable
-by law&mdash;generally by fines. A
-maiden or a widow was especially protected
-against such imputation. In France
-the female who accused another of infamous
-habits was condemned to pay five
-sous, or to walk in penance, only clothed
-in a light shift, while a matron followed,
-and thrust a fine-pointed instrument above
-her thighs, more as a humiliation than an
-injury. The Spanish code also recognised<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span>
-this offence, as well as that of general defamation.</p>
-
-<p>The church was the universal censor of
-public manners in the middle ages. No
-sin was more severely denounced by the
-Christian law than that of licentiousness;
-yet it inculcated no savage persecution of
-the fallen. Good men could never forget,
-that a courtezan had washed the feet of
-Christ, and accordingly a humanizing spirit
-presided over the social code of the early
-fathers. They received into their communion
-any woman who renounced her evil
-life, married, and was faithful to her husband,
-or remained single without prostituting
-herself again.</p>
-
-<p>Everywhere, indeed, Christianity tolerated
-prostitution. It was impossible to
-eradicate vice, and it was better one class
-should make a profession of it than that
-all should follow it as a secret occupation.
-Suppress courtezans, said St. Augustine,
-and you confuse all society by the caprice
-of the passions. Nevertheless, efforts were
-made to check the evil, though the principal
-rules of this “police of manners” were
-applied to confine the prostitutes of every
-town in a separate quarter, and to force on
-them an uniform apparel, that their shame
-might not be concealed, and that other
-women might be safe from the address of
-brutal libertines.</p>
-
-<p>But while the woman who lost herself
-was forgiven by the civil and religious law,
-no toleration was extended to the wretch
-who made her such&mdash;the pander who seduced
-young girls and sold them for profit.
-The Council of Elvira refused pardon, even
-on his deathbed, to the wretch who was
-guilty of leading the innocent to prostitution.
-“Miserable wretch; brand of hell!”
-exclaimed Merot to one of these, “dost
-thou believe that when thy accursed soul
-is lost in eternal pains, God will be content?
-No; he will augment thy punishment;”
-and he added, that the young females
-he had ruined should inflict his tortures.
-All the rigour of the law, every
-form of public infamy, every device of
-humiliation, was called in to brand with
-additional opprobrium the depraved trader
-in prostitution.</p>
-
-<p>In France the punishment was in general
-arbitrary, according to the circumstances
-of each case. Nevertheless law and usage
-regulated the degree of it. In Paris an
-edict was published in 1367 forbidding
-persons to procure girls for prostitution on
-pain of being exposed in the pillory, marked
-with a hot iron, and expelled from the
-city. It was renewed in 1415, and we find
-an instance of its application in the next
-year, for in the public accounts Cassin La
-Botte is described as receiving money for
-the expenses of an execution of this kind,
-in which some wretches were led into a
-public place, branded, mutilated by the
-ears, and set in the pillory. Sometimes
-the procuress was mounted on an ass, with
-her face towards its tail, a straw hat on
-her head, and an inscription on her back.
-In this state she was paraded through the
-streets, whipped, and sent to prison, or exiled.
-These circumstances appear to have frequently
-occurred as lately as 1756. We
-find it applied in a provincial town to some
-prostitutes who had infringed the local
-rules:&mdash;“They were led through the place,
-with a drum beating before them, and exposed.”
-In England similar occurrences
-were common, and were accompanied by
-some peculiar details. The cart in which
-the culprit sat was preceded by two men
-playing music, while a crowd followed
-and showered filth and mud upon the
-offenders.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes, when the penalty was aggravated
-in severity, the culprit’s hair was
-burnt. Thus, in 1399, at Paris, several men
-and women suffered this punishment, being
-pilloried and deprived of all their possessions.
-At Toulouse, a prostitute was conducted
-to the town hall, where the executioner
-tied her hands, stripped her naked,
-placed a cap, made in the form of a sugar-loaf,
-ornamented with feathers, on her
-head, hung an inscription on her back, and
-then took her out to a rock in the middle
-of the river. There she was compelled to
-enter an iron cage, which was plunged
-three times into the water, while nearly
-the whole population was assembled to
-witness the scene. Afterwards she was led
-to the hospital, where she remained labouring
-for the rest of her days. A similar
-custom existed at Bourdeaux. Everywhere,
-indeed, the same rude devices were employed
-to terrify the people from profligacy.</p>
-
-<p>The laws of Naples were extremely severe.
-Before the thirteenth century we
-find every procuress endeavouring to corrupt
-innocent females punished, like an
-adultress, by the mutilation of her nose.
-The mother who prostituted her daughter
-suffered this punishment, until King Frederic
-absolved such women as trafficked
-with their children under the pressure of
-want. The same prince, however, decreed
-against all who were found guilty of preparing
-drugs or inflammatory liquors&mdash;to
-aid in their designs upon virtuous females&mdash;death
-in case of injury resulting, and
-imprisonment when no serious harm was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span>
-effected. These laws, however, proved insufficient
-for their purpose, and towards
-the end of the fifteenth century profligacy
-ran riot in Naples. <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">Ruffiani</i> multiplied in
-its streets, procuring by force or by corruption
-multitudes of victims to fill the taverns
-and brothels of the city. Penalties
-of extreme severity were proclaimed against
-them. The <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">Ruffiani</i> were ordered to quit
-the kingdom, and the prostitutes were prohibited
-from harbouring such persons among
-them. Any woman who disobeyed was
-condemned to be burnt on the forehead with
-a hot iron, whipped in the most humiliating
-manner, and exiled.</p>
-
-<p>The code of Alphonso IX., King of Castile,
-which belonged to the second half of
-the twelfth century, included procurers
-among infamous persons, which condemned
-them to “civil death.” Five classes of
-these were enumerated:&mdash;I. Men who trafficked
-in debauch: these were expelled the
-country. II. Speculators who hired their
-houses to abandoned women for the exercise
-of their vocation: their houses were
-confiscated, and they were fined. III. Men
-or women who kept brothels and hired out
-prostitutes: if the females they sold were
-slaves, the law gave them liberty; if they
-were free, their corrupter was under pain
-of death, forced to endow and place them
-in a situation to marry. IV. Death was denounced
-against the husband who connived
-at the dishonour of his wife, and against
-every one who seduced an honest woman
-to infamy. V. Girls who supported <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">Ruffiani</i>
-were publicly whipped, and deprived of the
-clothes they wore when arrested. The
-men themselves were, for the first offence,
-flogged; for the second, expelled from the
-city; and for the third, sent to the galleys.
-Between 1552 and 1566 additional terrors
-were devised against this crime, and the
-<i lang="it" xml:lang="it">Ruffiani</i> once convicted were sentenced to
-ten years chained at the oar, while for a
-repetition of the offence they received two
-hundred blows, and were condemned for
-life to the galleys.</p>
-
-<p>The incitement to vice has, indeed, been
-everywhere considered a crime deserving
-of the heaviest punishment; but prostitution
-itself has not been tolerated without
-interference. In France, especially, efforts
-were early made for its suppression. The
-laws, however, failed, on account of the
-number of offenders it would have been
-necessary to condemn, and a few examples
-only were made, to show that no licence
-was extended to debauch. The first edict
-published was an absolute prohibition by
-Charlemagne. He commanded strict search
-to be made throughout his dominions, in
-every habitation and place of resort, that
-every public woman, and all persons without
-known occupations or means of livelihood,
-might be exposed. Men who were
-found harbouring prostitutes were compelled
-to carry them on their shoulders to
-the place where they were to be whipped
-with rods. In case of refusal they suffered
-this infliction themselves. It is singular
-to find, that among the ancient Parisians
-no disgrace was equal to that of bearing
-on the back a debauched woman.</p>
-
-<p>During three centuries and a half after
-Charlemagne, public immorality flowed in
-a tide over the country. Prostitutes multiplied
-in every town, and in the eleventh
-century Paris was as one general brothel.
-Everywhere harlots thronged the streets,
-soliciting the men who passed, dragging
-them by the arms into their dens, and if
-they resisted, abusing them in unmeasured
-terms. In the same house might be found
-a school on the upper floor and a brothel
-below. In 1254 an effort was made for the
-reformation of manners; but the only effect
-was, that vice dissimulated instead of
-bearing its title on its face. Clandestine
-succeeded to public debauch. At length,
-however, some real good resulted from a
-succession of rigorous edicts. At the commencement
-of the fifteenth century, the
-scourge of society had been lightened, but
-there broke out wars and troubles which
-gave new licence to immorality. A hundred
-years revived the pestilence in all its
-virulent shapes; and in 1503 a council
-was assembled at Paris to deliberate on
-the best means of abolishing the brothels
-which were crowded around them. Laws
-were passed, which we cannot describe in
-detail, especially as they are of no value to
-the legislators of this age, for in spite of
-them the moral malady of France extended,
-and public custom recognised what
-authority refused to allow.</p>
-
-<p>In Paris the prostitutes resorted to
-places known as <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">clapiers</i>, or mole-holes, in
-allusion to the brutal subterranean life
-they led. They did not live in the houses
-where they received their temporary companions;
-there were localities common to
-many, where they assembled during the day,
-and which the magistrates ordered to be
-opened and closed at stated hours. They
-were not permitted to carry on their orgies
-at night, to prostitute themselves in their
-own homes, or publicly to shock the decent
-population; but they rebelled against all
-discipline, and evaded where they did not
-openly contradict the law. In 1307 an
-edict was published, assigning to prostitutes
-certain streets as places of abode&mdash;Rue<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span>
-de l’Abreuvorix Macon, la Boucherie,
-la Rue Froidmantel, de Glatigny, la Cour
-Robert de Paris, les rues Baillohé, Tyron,
-Charon, and Champ Fleury. It is remarkable
-that the infamy of these neighbourhoods
-has been hereditary; for after the
-lapse of 500 years, after all the alterations
-in the city of Paris which have been
-effected, after all the vicissitudes of its
-domestic history, the same places still exhibit
-the same spectacles, and are inhabited
-by the same population. The complaint
-of two neighbours was enough to cause a
-prosecution against the keeper of a brothel.
-Notwithstanding every exertion which the
-inefficient law and police of those ages
-enabled rulers to make, prostitution increased,
-spread into prohibited streets, and
-throughout France was a characteristic
-feature of society. Nor were the palaces
-whence issued decrees for the reformation
-of public manners, superior in many instances
-to the brothels they denounced.</p>
-
-<p>In the eleventh century a brothel and a
-church stood side by side at Rome; and
-500 years after, under the pontificate of
-Paul II., prostitutes were numerous. Numerous
-statutes were enacted, and many
-precautions taken, which prove the grossness
-of manners at that epoch. One convicted
-of selling a girl to infamy was
-heavily fined, and if he did not pay within
-ten days had one foot cut off. The nobility
-and common people indulged habitually
-in all kinds of excess. Tortures, flogging,
-branding, banishment, were inflicted in
-vain on some to terrify the others, but
-with very incomplete success. To carry
-off and detain a prostitute against her
-will was punishable by amputation of the
-right hand, imprisonment, flogging, or
-exile. The rich, however, invariably bought
-immunity for themselves. In Spain, although
-violence offered to a public woman
-was an offence, few women dared to complain
-of having been seduced. In Naples,
-also, under King Roger, such a charge was
-never taken; but William, the successor of
-that prince, punished with death the crime
-of rape; but the victim must prove that
-she shrieked aloud, and prefer her complaint
-within eight days, or show that she
-was detained by force. When once a
-woman had prostituted herself, however,
-she had no right to refuse to yield her
-person to any one. This legislation extended
-to the extreme north, and obtained
-in Sleswig.</p>
-
-<p>Among the most extraordinary acts of
-legislation on this subject was the bull of
-Clement II., who desired to endow the
-church with the surplus gains of the
-brothel. Every person guilty of prostitution
-was forced, when disposing of her
-property, either at death or during life, to
-assign half of it to a convent. This regulation
-was easily eluded and utterly inefficacious.
-A tribunal was also established,
-having jurisdiction over brothels, upon
-which a tax was laid continuing in
-existence until the middle of the sixteenth
-century. Efforts were made to confine this
-class of dwellings to a particular quarter,
-but without success. In Naples the same
-failure attended the attempt. Prostitutes,
-in spite of the law, established themselves
-in the most beautiful streets of the city,
-in palatial buildings, and there, with incessant
-clamour, congregated a horde of
-thieves, profligates, and vagabonds of every
-kind, until the chief quarter became uninhabitable.
-In 1577 they were ordered
-to quit the street of Catalana within eight
-days, under pain of the scourge for the
-women, and the galleys for such of the
-proprietors as were commoners, while simple
-banishment was threatened against
-“nobles.”</p>
-
-<p>One example of good legislation was the
-pragmatic law of 1470 to protect the unfortunates
-against the cupidity, the extortion,
-and the fraud of tavern keepers
-and others, who grew rich upon their infamy.
-Men went into their places of entertainment
-with some single girls, contracted
-a heavy debt, and then left their
-victims to pay. These were then given
-the choice of a disgraceful whipping or an
-engagement in the house. They often
-consented, and usually spent the remainder
-of their lives in dependence on their creditor,
-without ability to liberate themselves.
-By the new law masters of taverns were
-forbidden to give credit to prostitutes for
-more than a certain sum, and this only to
-supply her with food and clothing absolutely
-necessary. If he exceeded this
-amount he had no legal means of recovering
-it.</p>
-
-<p>The most remarkable feature in the
-Neapolitan legislation on this subject
-was, the establishment, at an unknown but
-early date, of the Court of Prostitutes. This
-tribunal, which sat at Naples, had its peculiar
-constitution, and had jurisdiction over
-all cases connected with prostitution, blasphemy,
-and some other infamous offences.
-Towards the end of the sixteenth century
-it had risen to extraordinary power and
-was full of abuses. It practised all kinds
-of exaction and violence, every species of
-partiality and injustice, and even presumed
-to publish edicts of its own. The
-judges flung into prison numbers of young<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>
-girls, whom they compelled to buy their
-liberty with money, and sometimes dared
-to seize women who, though of lax conduct,
-could not be included in the professional
-class. This was discovered, and
-led in 1589 to a reform of the court. Its
-powers were strictly defined, and its form
-of procedure placed under regulation,
-while the avenues to corruption were narrowed.
-The institution itself existed for
-nearly a hundred years after that period&mdash;until
-1768, when a royal edict declared
-the ruler’s resolution to abolish the infamous
-calling altogether. Vice, however,
-when widely spread in a nation, does not
-vanish at the breath of authority. Denounced
-by the law, prostitution continued
-to flourish and society to feel its influence.</p>
-
-<p>Passing from the south to regions with
-a less voluptuous climate, we find Strasburgh
-as overflowing with vice as perhaps
-any other city in the world. Prostitutes
-were in the fifteenth century so numerous
-there that, though a distinct quarter
-was assigned for their residences, they invaded
-every locality, and swarmed in the
-finest streets. Speculators were accustomed
-to travel abroad and bring home unfortunate
-girls, whom they kidnapped and reduced to
-a state of slavery. Officers were appointed
-to visit the brothels and collect the tax
-imposed on them. More than fifty-seven
-of these places existed in six streets only.
-One contained nineteen, while other neighbourhoods
-were infested in an equal degree.
-At the commencement of the sixteenth
-century, so far were public manners
-demoralized that prostitutes horded in the
-clock towers and aisles of the great cathedral
-as well as in several smaller churches.
-In 1521 an ordinance appeared directing
-the “cathedral girls,” who were called
-“swallows,” to quit the sacred places of
-their retreat within fifteen days. To those
-who persevered in their libertine mode of
-life, various residences were assigned&mdash;in
-the suburbs. Strasburgh was now in the
-depth of demoralization; but the Reformation
-soon visited the city, awakened its
-people from sensual pleasures to an intellectual
-battle, and a speedy change was
-apparent. In 1536 there were only two
-brothels there. In 1540 public prostitution
-was effectually suppressed. Ten years after
-it was proposed to establish a house of
-legal debauch; but the attempt was resisted,
-though renewed in the third and
-fourth year after this.</p>
-
-<p>It was little matter to the prostitutes to
-inhabit houses especially dedicated to their
-vile traffic. They cared not to wait passively
-at home for visitors. Wherever men congregated
-for pleasure or for the business of
-life, wherever there was any chance of provoking
-their desires, they thronged, sometimes
-impelled by the love of excitement,
-sometimes by the pains of hunger. They
-thus transformed into so many brothels
-wine houses, barber’s shops, and students’
-rooms, and the perseverance of government
-against them was by no means equalled by
-their own tenacity. An edict of 1420
-forbade prostitutes to enter the cabarets;
-another of 1558 prohibited tavern-keepers
-from entertaining them. Another denounced
-gambling, and prostitutes were
-only allowed when desirous of refreshment
-to stand without and drink what was handed
-to them from within. In England similar
-regulations was established, and barbers
-especially were made the object of very
-severe restrictions. Sempstresses and
-butchers were forbidden to employ any
-females of bad character, and others were
-restrained by similar laws.</p>
-
-<p>All these efforts, however, to render the
-sisterhood of prostitutes a homeless, desolate,
-hopeless class&mdash;to deprive them of
-shelter, of comforts, and the honest means of
-life&mdash;failed in purifying the manners of the
-age. The baths became a regular resort of
-women belonging to this order&mdash;in Paris,
-in Geneva, in Venice, in Rome, in Naples,
-in Milan, in Ferrara, in Bologna, in Lucca,
-and in every other city of the Peninsula&mdash;so
-that there was scarcely the keeper of a
-bath who was not at the same time a
-brothel keeper, employing numbers of
-<i lang="it" xml:lang="it">Ruffiani</i> to procure attendance at his house.
-There were other cities in which baths
-were publicly tolerated and recognised as
-places of prostitution. Among these were
-Avignon and London. A statute of the
-Church of Avignon, dated 1441, interdicted
-the use of certain baths, known to be
-brothels, to the priests and clergy. An
-offence committed by day was not punished
-half so severely as one committed by night.
-There is only one other instance of a
-punishment inflicted during that age on
-men who violated the public law of
-morals. It was that of certain citizens of
-Anvers in Flanders, who were condemned
-to make a pilgrimage to expiate an offence
-of this kind. On one occasion, indeed, of
-which the date is lost, the magistrates of
-Bourdeaux caused a man to be hanged for
-forcibly violating a prostitute.</p>
-
-<p>In Avignon, however, the licence of prostitution
-was shortly taken away. The residence
-of the popes in that city had attracted
-a concourse of strangers from all parts of
-the globe, and brothels sprung up in profusion
-in the neighbourhood of churches, at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span>
-the door of the Papal palace, and side by
-side with prelatical residences&mdash;a display
-of libertinism so gross that the public acts
-of encouragement at once ceased, and an
-edict drove all the prostitutes out of the
-city.</p>
-
-<p>In London, as we have said, as at Avignon,
-prostitution took refuge in the public
-baths&mdash;a practice of very ancient date.
-These places were situated in the borough
-of Southwark, which was not included in
-the city until 1550. It was a miserable
-quarter, full of inhabited ruins, to which
-some public gardens, dedicated to dog and
-bear baiting, alone attracted the people of
-the neighbourhood. In this general preliminary
-sketch it is not necessary to say
-more of London.</p>
-
-<p>In various parts of Europe a continual
-stream of edicts was poured out against
-the system of prostitution; but it was only
-persecuting the victims, instead of eradicating
-the causes. In some States, as in
-Lombardy, men were forbidden to give
-them an asylum; they were prohibited
-from appearing among honest citizens;
-they were prevented from purchasing food
-or clothes, or borrowing money by the hire
-of their persons; in fact, fines, prisons,
-whips, still continued to attempt the reform
-of morals.</p>
-
-<p>Hitherto, however, we have seen prostitution
-in some places protected, but in all
-restrained, though everywhere freely exercised
-by those persons who would brave its
-perils and its disgrace. It was now sought,
-by the direct and continuous intervention
-of the law, to transform it into a public
-institution, organized, watched, disciplined,
-by particular officers, and subjected to
-special authority. In France, and especially
-in Languedoc, these principles were,
-during the middle ages, firmly established.
-Louis XI. proclaimed, that from the remotest
-antiquity it was the custom in
-Languedoc to have a house and asylum for
-public women. The most celebrated of
-these were at Toulouse and Montpellier.
-That at Toulouse was known to exist during
-the twelfth century, and by an abuse
-of terms, not uncommon at that period,
-was called the Great Abbey. The Commune
-and the University divided the expense,
-and were proprietors of the building,
-and a good revenue was derived from
-it for municipal purposes. But in 1424
-the receipts diminished considerably, to
-the great regret of the governors. The
-turbulent youth of Toulouse behaved to
-the poor girls, whom they sacrificed to their
-lust, with the utmost violence and brutality&mdash;beating
-them and their children,
-breaking up the furniture, and wrenching
-off even the doors of the house. Many
-attempts were made to repress these outbreaks,
-but the prostitutes were at length
-compelled to take refuge in the interior of
-the city. Severe regulations were imposed
-upon them. All who were diseased were
-compelled to live in solitude until cured,
-and some were whipped for disobedience.
-On one occasion, when a famine prevented
-the inhabitants from indulging in their ordinary
-pleasures, the prostitutes emigrated,
-but returned to their post in 1560. The
-magistrates, shamed by public outcry,
-which accused them of purchasing their
-robes from the tax on debauched women,
-abandoned the money, at this time, to the
-hospitals; but the administrators of these
-afterwards made them some compensation.
-In 1566 a council was called to deliberate
-on the best means of ridding the city from
-the profligacy and wickedness which had
-grown up through the immense licensed
-brothels it contained. To increase the
-scandal, four prostitutes were discovered in
-a monastery of Augustine friars. Three
-of these unhappy girls were hung. Shortly
-afterwards three others were found in a
-convent, and they also were sent to the
-gallows.</p>
-
-<p>It appears that in 1587 prostitution was
-almost eradicated from Toulouse, though
-it flourished in the rural districts around.
-Many of the girls were forced to labour at
-cleansing the streets as a punishment.
-Two decrees of Louis XI. and Charles VIII.
-indicate the history of prostitution at
-Montpellier in the fifteenth century. A
-man named Panais possessed and governed
-the place devoted to this purpose, and
-dying, left a dynasty of brothel keepers&mdash;two
-sons, who associated with a banker.
-They embellished the edifice, furnished it
-luxuriously, constructed beautiful baths,
-and obtained a legal monopoly in their infamous
-traffic, by engaging to pay a certain
-tax. However, in 1458, another individual
-was permitted to establish himself,
-which he did with <i>éclat</i>, and the women
-deserted their old quarters for the new
-“hotel.” A public cause was made of the
-quarrel, and it was decided that the original
-promoters should continue to enjoy their privilege.
-The two brothel keepers, who gained
-the titles of “Friends and faithful Councillors
-of the King of France,” grew wealthy,
-and their trade of prostitution became one
-of the most important branches of enterprise
-in the city.</p>
-
-<p>The city of Rhodes appears to have been
-another city of Europe where a chartered
-brothel existed, for the bishop, in 1307,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span>
-forbade the inhabitants to receive any of
-the public prostitutes into their houses,
-which supposes that some particular retreat
-was open to them. There was one
-also at Lisbon; but it was not until 1394
-that the magistrates deliberated on the
-propriety of erecting a building at the
-public expense, expressly as a brothel.
-Ten years later we find the inhabitants
-lamenting that their wives and daughters
-were endangered by the want of such a
-place, and in 1424 it was established. A
-tax was levied on the women to assist in
-defraying the cost, and fines were imposed
-for misconduct.</p>
-
-<p>In Italy licensed brothels were very
-numerous. There was one at Mantua, and
-Venice was the very sink of prostitution.
-In 1421 the government enlisted women to
-this service to guard the virtue of the other
-classes. A matron was placed over them,
-who governed them, received their gains,
-and made a monthly division of profits.
-The names of several women, the most
-notorious and beautiful of the Venetian
-courtezans, are preserved by Nicolo Daglioni.
-A very small sum was paid to them
-by their patrons.</p>
-
-<p>In Valencia a public brothel, on a colossal
-scale, existed towards the end of the
-fifteenth century. It resembled a little
-town surrounded with walls, and had a
-single gate; in front of this stood a gibbet
-for criminals. Near this was an office,
-where a man stood who addressed all
-who entered, and said, that if they would
-deposit what valuables they had with him,
-he would return them safely as they came
-out; but if they refused and were robbed
-within, he was not responsible. The wall
-inclosed four or five streets of little houses,
-inhabited by girls dressed in brilliant habiliments
-of velvet and silk. Three or four
-hundred of them were usually in attendance.
-They received only a small sum for
-their favours. Whether this system was
-then general in Spain we know not, but
-it is certain that common prostitutes
-abounded. Servants appear to have been
-hired for this purpose, for Philippe II., in
-1575, in order to check the ravages of immorality,
-ordered that no female domestics
-under forty years of age should be hired
-by men. A decree of 1623 required that
-in all cities throughout the kingdom public
-brothels should be abolished.</p>
-
-<p>In Geneva there was a “Queen of the
-Prostitutes,” elected by the civic magistrates,
-who took an oath of office, and
-undertook to govern all the women engaged
-in her occupation. At Schelstadt a
-man was commissioned to a similar duty,
-and very strict rules were imposed on the
-population.</p>
-
-<p>We have seen that in many places prostitution
-became a source of revenue, and
-might enlarge our details and multiply
-our examples; but it would be tedious
-to cite the laws of France, Spain, Italy,
-and Germany on the subject. They varied
-much in different times, but offer little
-interest.</p>
-
-<p>The legislator, however, has not contented
-himself at all times with dividing
-the prostitute class from other classes of
-females, with shutting them up in separate
-quarters, or even confining them in houses
-of which he kept the key. In some cases
-he obliged them to assume a peculiar costume,
-or at least a conspicuous badge of
-infamy. They always endeavoured to resist
-or elude the restrictions laid upon
-them, and, feeling deeply the humiliation
-of such compulsion, sought by all means
-to evade it. The first regulation of this
-kind for the city of Paris is mentioned by
-the chronicler Geoffrey. He says, that the
-Queen of Louis VII. going one day to
-church, met a woman gorgeously attired,
-and, deceived by her appearance, gave her,
-“according to custom,” the kiss of peace.
-She was a court prostitute; and when the
-royal lady heard this, she complained to
-her husband, who ordered that no mantles
-should in future be worn by prostitutes.
-From time to time new edicts on this subject
-appeared. One of 1360 forbade them
-to wear any embroidery, any gold or silver
-buttons, any pearls, or any trimmings of
-gray fur. In 1415 and 1419 golden and
-gilded zones were prohibited to them, as
-well as silver buckles to their shoes. The
-very fashion of their dress was afterwards
-regulated. These devices to distinguish
-prostitutes from respectable females were
-speedily imitated. An <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">aiguillette</i> of a certain
-colour, hung from the shoulder, was
-most generally adopted in France. In
-some towns silk was prohibited to them.</p>
-
-<p>The Bishop of Rhodes, in 1307, forbade
-them to wear mantles, veils, amber necklaces,
-or rings of gold, while the popes of
-Rome followed the example. The laws of
-Mantua obliged prostitutes when they
-appeared in the streets to cover the rest of
-their clothes with a short white cloak, and
-wear a badge on their breasts. At Bergamo
-the cloak was yellow; in Parma, white; in
-Milan, at first, black woollen, and then
-black silk. If disobedient, they might be
-fined, and, in case of a second offence, publicly
-exposed, and whipped. Any one might
-strip the garments off any girl he met in
-the streets illegally attired. In London a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span>
-similar distinction was imposed on them,
-and at Strasburgh a sugar-loaf bonnet was
-invented for their use. In Spain, besides
-prohibitions concerning dress, they were
-forbidden the use of coaches and litters,
-as well as prayer-carpets or cushions in the
-churches; even a hackney-carriage was
-not allowed to be hired by them.</p>
-
-<p>The acts of legislation in France were
-almost exclusively police regulations.
-Forced to tolerate the prostitute class, the
-law endeavoured, by watching, restraining,
-shaming, and insulting it, to render its
-occupation so infamous as to terrify persons
-from seeking it as a means of livelihood.
-It does not seem that in France,
-during the middle ages, legislation ever
-passed this limit or went beyond the action
-of police. In Italy, however, and in Spain,
-this was not the case. The Roman law
-had left many vestiges, which have never,
-in reality, disappeared; the ecclesiastical
-prerogative was powerful, and disposed to
-be active. Local statutes existed in great
-abundance, and the combination of these
-authorities gave rise to a jurisdiction full
-of details: profuse, sometimes strange,
-always subtle, in parts inconsistent, and
-laboriously commented upon by a numerous
-school of jurists&mdash;a jurisprudence
-which elevated itself above simple measures
-of security and municipal rules, and instituted
-for prostitutes a civil and social
-statute of their own.</p>
-
-<p>Ulpian says that a woman is a prostitute
-not only when she frequents regular brothels,
-but when she visits cabarets, or any
-other places, where she is careless of her
-honour. She is a prostitute who yields
-herself for base purposes to all men; but
-she who has connection only with one or
-two is not. Octavenus, however, thinks,
-more justly, that she is a prostitute who
-gives up her person in common, whether
-she receive money or not.</p>
-
-<p>The lawgivers of the middle ages were
-not accustomed to insist on perfect or precise
-definitions. They liked to subtilize
-over terms. Some held Ulpian’s limited
-view to be correct; others, with Octavenus,
-declared that any woman yielding to the
-solicitations of several men, even without
-being paid, was a prostitute. The Roman
-law defined prostitution to be the reception
-of numerous libertines. But how
-many? inquired St. Jerome. This threw
-divisions among the theorists. Some declared
-40 men to be enough, some insisted
-on 60, others on 70; while a few, carrying
-extravagance to its utmost limits, asserted
-that no woman was a prostitute who had
-not delivered up her person to at least
-3000 persons. While these ridiculous disputes
-engaged attention, the corruption of
-manners went on.</p>
-
-<p>It is just to the wisdom of that age,
-however, to remark, that these discussions
-of the casuists appeared no less ridiculous to
-contemporary statesmen than to us; while
-the general public idea of prostitution was
-habitual debauch for vile purposes, whether
-mercenary or otherwise.</p>
-
-<p>Some theorists, nevertheless, insisted that
-the nature of a hireling was inseparable
-from that of a prostitute. On this account
-the name <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">meretrix</i> had by the Latins been
-given to a woman of this class; but this
-view led to consequences which the wise
-legislator would not accept. If any female
-accepting a reward for her dishonour was
-to be publicly enumerated among professional
-harlots, many, from a single offence,
-must, under compulsion, follow a life of
-systematic vice. Others argued that two
-or three repetitions of this infamous sale
-would justify the title being applied; but
-this is a point on which writers have never
-agreed. Consequently, a long controversy
-arose upon the three conditions in dispute:
-what amount of publicity&mdash;what number
-of vicious connections&mdash;what kind of venality&mdash;was
-sufficient to stamp a woman
-with the name and character of a common
-prostitute.</p>
-
-<p>Rabuteaux describes her as one who,
-under constraint, or by her own will, abandons
-herself, without choice, without passion,
-without even the impulse of the
-grossest lust, to an unchaste course of life.
-By want of choice he means the absence
-of a preference for the individual, by which,
-he adds, a forbearing judgment extenuates
-the offence of immorality. If, he insists,
-there be any choice of persons, there may
-be libertinism, there may be debauch, there
-may be scandal, there may be vice, but
-there is not prostitution in the true sense
-of the word. It applies to “sacred prostitution,”
-whether gratuitous or venal,
-which was an unblushing and indiscriminate
-sacrifice of chastity; to that which
-the barbarous hospitality of savages, whether
-on the rivers of Lapland or in the
-deserts of Africa, gave up a woman to
-every guest; and to that legal kind in
-civilized countries which sold itself promiscuously
-for hire.</p>
-
-<p>Such is M. Rabuteaux’s idea. We differ
-from him. Prostitution appears to us the
-application to a vile purpose of that which
-was designed for honourable uses; and the
-mere satisfaction of animal lust is in itself
-the vilest object. There may exist in a
-woman’s mind, even when most debauched,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span>
-a preference for some, an aversion to
-others; but she is no less a prostitute, if
-she abandon herself viciously, whether to
-one or many.</p>
-
-<p>While these theories divided the opinions
-of lawgivers, legislation on the subject was
-extremely difficult. They were forced to
-be contented with what they thought imperfect
-proof; and, to fix the infamy of a
-woman, accepted evidence from witnesses,
-even those accomplices in sin who, of all
-others, have lost the right to accuse. A
-female who chose the night for the period
-of her orgies; who, as a wanderer, without
-a companion to protect her, entered house
-after house; who waited on revellers in a
-place of entertainment; might be registered
-among common prostitutes. A legitimate
-suspicion, also, attached to her who received
-the visits of many young men; and,
-above all, who, in light or darkness, frequented
-a public school.</p>
-
-<p>These women, when once consigned legally
-to the prostitute class, gained, in the
-middle ages, a right which they could not
-otherwise assert. The Roman laws adopted
-by the jurisprudence of that period allowed
-her to have a legal claim to payment when
-she prostituted her body, and the reason
-assigned was founded on a strange and
-subtle distinction of terms. “The courtesan’s
-vocation,” said Ulpian, “is infamous,
-but the wages of it are not; the act is
-shameful, but not the reward which is in
-prospect when the act is committed.”</p>
-
-<p>The Spanish law was still more favourable
-to her. When a man paid in advance,
-and she refused to submit according to her
-promise, he could not demand his money
-back. On one side she received a legitimate
-emolument; on the other, he was
-guilty of immoral turpitude which the
-law would not recognise. The code of
-Alphonso also permitted this interpretation;
-some commentators, however, allowing
-that the woman had a right to revoke
-the promise of yielding her person, but was
-bound to restore the amount of hire she
-had received. Long and vigorous controversies
-arose among the theologians when
-this was referred to them. It was also
-disputed in France, whether the prostitute
-could enforce payment when she had sold
-herself and an avaricious person refused to
-reward her. An imposing list of authorities
-is arrayed on either side.</p>
-
-<p>Another question long debated was the
-use to which such gains could lawfully be
-applied. Alphonso the Wise, on the authority
-of Isaiah, forbade priests to receive
-offerings from such a source. Baldæus and
-others insisted that the church could not
-accept taxes from public women; but this
-by many was repudiated, as contrary to the
-principle that the wages of prostitution
-were lawfully acquired. The Spanish law
-allowed money of this kind to be given in
-alms, and the public opinion recognised the
-right to dispose of it by testament, though
-several popes attempted to decree a contrary
-usage. If, then, they could dispose
-of their gains as they pleased, could they
-inherit property? They could, but under
-limitations. In Savoy it appears that
-legacies to prostitutes made by soldiers who
-had not quitted service more than a year
-were null and void. In Spain no woman of
-this class could inherit to the disadvantage
-of the testator’s relatives in a direct or collateral
-line. Many authorities only admitted
-the brother of the deceased to this right;
-but an exception was made when it was a
-daughter who succeeded to such property,
-or when the woman was herself married.
-A mother, however, could disinherit her
-daughter for leading a vicious life, but
-lost this privilege if she had been the
-accomplice of her immorality. The father
-had equal authority, but with one curious
-limitation. When, said the law, a father
-has sought to marry his daughter, and
-endowed her sufficiently, if she, against
-his will, refuses to marry and becomes a
-prostitute, he may cut her off; but if he
-have opposed her marriage until she
-reached the age of 25, and become a libertine,
-he cannot refuse to bequeath her his
-property. In the duchy of Asota, in Piedmont,
-a similar regulation was established;
-but the age was fixed at 29, and the woman,
-on every opportunity to marry, was bound
-to present herself before her father and
-demand his consent. If he refused it, he
-was not allowed to punish her when, at 30,
-she became a harlot.</p>
-
-<p>The church, in those ages, made it a pious
-act to marry a prostitute, and absolved from
-their sins all who did so. In France a woman
-of this class might, at a very ancient period,
-save a criminal from death, by inducing
-him to espouse her, and Farnacius relates an
-anecdote which shows this custom to have
-existed in Spain. In a city, which he does not
-name, a young man mounted on an ass was
-being conducted to the scaffold. A courtezan
-was struck by his beauty, offered him his
-life if he would become her husband. He
-refused. The temptation was not strong
-enough to induce him to accept such a
-wife. He merely answered, “Let us move
-on,” and reached the place of execution.
-Meanwhile, however, an account of the
-incident had reached the king, and he, admiring
-the youth’s courage, pardoned him.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span>
-From this we may learn that though the
-church consecrated such a marriage with
-peculiar grace, public opinion considered it
-infamous.</p>
-
-<p>The jurisprudence of the middle ages
-introduced new principles, and these unions
-became more rare. Many doctors of law
-announced that they were contrary to the
-sacred code.</p>
-
-<p>In Spain, where concubinage was legally
-recognised, men of rank were forbidden to
-take as concubines slaves, whether born in
-actual bondage or emancipated, dancers,
-servants of taverns, go-betweens, or prostitutes.
-It was disputed whether the
-children of these women could be legitimatized
-by subsequent marriage. It was
-decided that they could, though with more
-difficulty than others, and their mothers became
-amenable to the laws against adultery.</p>
-
-<p>Persecution in all barbarous ages and
-countries has endeavoured to perform the
-task of teaching and reclaiming mankind.
-The members of the venal sisterhood have,
-more than any others, experienced the harsh
-effects of this species of legislation. The
-law sought to withdraw them from vice
-by shutting from them every approach to
-virtue, to reform their minds by forbidding
-them the society of honest persons, to
-elevate them from their degradation by
-adding to their infamy. It refused to
-receive them as witnesses, even when
-violence was done upon their persons;
-though more liberal jurists cried out amid
-the clamour of intolerant bigotry, that the
-protection of justice should attend even
-the vilest prostitutes in the vilest dens of
-her resort; but the spirit of the times was
-vindictive, and because society was corrupt
-and base, it was most unsparing in its
-cruelty towards the victims of debasement
-and corruption.</p>
-
-<p>In spite of every one of these rude
-devices of a rude society to banish immorality
-to habitations of its own, by badges,
-quarters, distinct costumes, and even separate
-laws, prostitutes swarmed in every city
-of Europe, and still more in its innumerable
-camps. Armies were then undisciplined
-bands of adventurers, and pillage
-was the soldier’s chief purpose. Xenophon
-tells that the nations of Persia, Asia Minor,
-and India, were accompanied on their
-marches by their women and their children,
-to defend whom they fought with more
-courage; and Athenæus describes Chareas,
-causing a band of beautiful courtezans to
-dance before his phalanxes to the tune of
-flutes and psalteries. Two thousand prostitutes
-were driven from the camp of
-Scipio Africanus; and so, in the middle
-ages, every army drew in its train numbers
-of public women. Three hundred were
-with the army which laid siege to St.
-Jean d’Acre in 1189, and during the
-whole of the crusades the Christian armies
-were followed by them. Many times the
-leaders endeavoured to check this debauchery.
-Some of the girls were flogged.
-Sometimes the man who was found with
-one of them was obliged to allow her to
-strip him to his shirt, and lead him with a
-rope through the camp. On the plains of
-Perretola, after the defeat of the Florentines,
-in 1325, public dances were executed
-by prostitutes for the amusement of the
-army. In all parts of Europe similar profligacy
-distinguished the camp; and long
-after we find Jeanne d’Arc, when reviewing
-the army, chastised with her sword several
-prostitutes whom she detected among the
-ranks. Marshal Strozzi, with a ferocity
-worthy of that period, drowned 800 of
-them in the Loire. When the Duke of
-Alva invaded Flanders, there accompanied
-his army “400 courtezans on horseback,
-beautiful and grand as princesses, and 800
-others on foot.” These were for the pleasure
-of 10,000 men, all veterans.</p>
-
-<p>Prostitution was authorized and disciplined,
-not only in the camps but in the
-palaces of those days. From the eleventh
-century to that of Francis I., a regular
-community of public women was attached
-to the court.</p>
-
-<p>We have already noticed the Queen of
-Louis VII. kissing one of them on her way
-to church; and we find Charlemagne ordering
-his palace to be cleared of them.
-At the Council of Nantes, in 660, it was
-complained that the concubines of the
-nobility, instead of remaining at home,
-thronged to public assemblies; but the
-seraglios of these lords, in the ninth century,
-were places of prostitution. The
-German law imposed a fine of six sous on
-a man who committed violence on a female
-in the principal or royal “gynecées,”
-but only three in any other. It was formerly
-the custom to send to one of these
-retreats a woman convicted of adultery;
-but this was at length forbidden, lest it
-should simply allow her an opportunity to
-repeat the offence. Sometimes they were
-only the harems of the proprietor, sometimes
-brothels. William IX., of Poitou,
-established in the eleventh century an
-abbey for prostitutes, where he added
-to his profligacy the crime of sacrilege,
-giving the harlots the titles of abbess and
-prioress, and parodying every sacred rite.
-The orgies of his palace, and indeed of all
-others of that age, are indescribable.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The title of King of the Prostitutes was
-given to the officer who presided over the
-royal brothels. In Paris, in Normandy,
-and in Burgundy, we find this functionary.
-Under the kings of France he enjoyed
-a high rank and many privileges;
-and associated with him was a woman who
-governed the prostitutes, and punished
-them with whipping when they offended.
-In England, also, the palace and the mansions
-of the nobles contained small brothels.
-In Henry VIII.’s palace was a
-room, with an inscription over the door,
-“Chamber of the King’s Prostitutes.”</p>
-
-<p>Thus, throughout the world, there was,
-in the middle ages, profligacy and corruption,
-which rose to its height at the period
-which preceded the Reformation. From
-their chief places of resort in royal palaces
-prostitutes spread over the whole of society,
-invading the church, the hearth, following
-the camp, dividing the privileges of the
-wife, and ever debauching both sexes by
-their companionship. Rods, prisons, gallows,
-chains, pillories, tortures, served in
-no way to prevent or even to discourage
-them; badges and restrictions proved
-equally futile; but it is agreeable to find
-some relief to this dark spectacle of demoralization.
-In the age of primitive
-Christianity religious men endeavoured
-to reclaim from vice those whom they
-found making a trade of it. We cannot
-stay to dwell on the sincere apostleship
-which laboured, especially in the East, and
-was followed by fathers and hermits from
-the desert. Stories of conversions of this
-kind fill the legends of the time, and
-earnest attempts were made to offer an
-asylum to the unhappy women who had
-abandoned themselves to profligacy.
-We have noticed Theodora, the imperial
-harlot of Rome, collecting 500 prostitutes
-in a palace on the Bosphorus; but
-her impure hand could not perform well
-the offices of charity, and she applied force
-to fill her asylum. Many of the girls,
-therefore, who were shut up in her magnificent
-and luxurious prison, found their
-confinement insupportable, and committed
-suicide to escape it. In 1198 two Parisian
-priests established a nunnery for repentant
-women, and thirty years afterwards the
-House of the “Daughters of God” was instituted,
-and these efforts were rewarded
-with much genuine success. Two centuries
-passed without many enterprises of the
-sort being undertaken; but in the fifteenth
-century an association of public women was
-formed to exchange their base gains for
-those of piety and virtue.</p>
-
-<p>In 1489 all the prostitutes of Amiens,
-animated by a sudden awaking of remorse,
-applied for a place of retreat, where they
-might bury their shame, and renew their
-honesty. This was granted, and several
-others were established, the inmates of
-which wore white garments.</p>
-
-<p>In several other parts of France, and
-generally in Europe, the religious orders
-made attempts to recall some of the abandoned
-class of females, to redeem the
-virtue of their sex, and, as they laboured
-with sincerity, many of their enterprises
-were successful. But, on the whole, prostitution
-still increased, and, the Reformation
-broke over a state of society demoralized
-to the very core<a name="FNanchor_90_90" id="FNanchor_90_90"></a><a href="#Footnote_90_90" class="fnanchor">[90]</a>.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Of Prostitution in Spain.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Few nations have been described in more
-various ways and in more contradictory
-terms than the Spaniards. In the pages
-of one writer, we find them represented as
-in all things a great example of virtue,
-morality, and uncorrupted manners; in
-another, they are pictured as the very embodiment
-of vice and degradation. We
-have been at much pains to deduce from
-the history, from the achievements, and
-from the actual state of Spain, as these are
-set forth by innumerable authorities, a
-just opinion of its national characteristics,
-and the sketch we shall offer is the result.</p>
-
-<p>In that country we have to divide class
-from class before we can fairly view its
-manners. On the one hand we have a
-peasantry ill-taught, and educated to servility;
-then a trading body, with another
-employed in professions; and thirdly, a
-large order of nobles, degenerated altogether
-from its ancient splendour, but
-preserving nevertheless all the pride, all
-the indolence, all the sensuality, which
-characterized it in the age of extended conquest
-and prosperous commerce. Upon all
-these classes time has left traces, and the
-influence of their history has been remarkably
-strong. A rich soil, a warm climate,
-an abundance of precious minerals&mdash;these
-circumstances have been by no means
-without their effect. The Roman Catholic
-religion, an army of priests, an arbitrary
-government, and the habit of respecting
-persons more than principles&mdash;these have
-a still more distinct impression on the
-national character. A literature once illustrious
-but now dead, an empire once
-splendid but now perished, a commerce
-once magnificent but now decayed, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span>
-wealth once gorgeous and now turned to
-poverty, arts once noble and now degraded&mdash;in
-these we find an index to the Spanish
-national character. There is nothing virgin
-in the country, there is nothing progressive,
-there is nothing with hope: all the
-glory of Spain belongs to the past. The
-present is a wreck, and the future is a
-blank.</p>
-
-<p>The manners of Spain present none of
-that simple purity which we find in
-Switzerland. Every influence to which
-the people are subject tends to corrupt
-them. Young women who stand at their
-windows, and see with delight the flagellants
-go by, lashing themselves until the
-blood splashes under their whips, cannot
-possess much dignity of mind. Yet such
-are the spectacles which in Spain have
-been made familiar and favourite to the
-populace. There is throughout Spanish
-society an effort to appear better than they
-are, which in itself is an unfailing indication
-of impurity. Men dare not when in
-company take any improper liberties with
-women, even those whom they might be
-able privately to seduce. On the stage
-they hoot a piece, which in France, or
-even England, would not be regarded as in
-the slightest degree indelicate. Nevertheless,
-in their retired rooms, ladies who are
-thus prudish before the world, will suffer
-approaches gross enough, will amuse themselves
-with obscene pictures, will pardon
-readily equivocal jokes, and listen to songs
-of the worst indecency. Nor will they
-object to behold the fandango danced,
-though, whatever some tolerant travellers
-may say, it is proverbially obscene.</p>
-
-<p>In many parts of the country, and especially
-in Seville, the ancient national customs
-are still preserved, and young girls
-are always when in the street accompanied
-by a duenna. In Madrid, where manners
-have undergone a change, this is no longer
-the case; but in the more primitive cities
-it is more prevalent. The guardianship of
-such a companion, however, by no means
-implies absolutely a respectable character,
-for common prostitutes, when they do walk
-abroad, are often accompanied by old women
-who attract notice to them, and frequently
-engage visitors to their places of
-resort.</p>
-
-<p>The actual intercourse of the sexes in
-public is reserved, except with respect to
-conversation. The gossip at a Tertullia,
-described by some tourists as delightful, is
-characterized by English ladies not at all
-inclined to satirize Spanish manners as
-very far from that which women in good
-society among us are accustomed to hear.
-Children who appear fresh from the nursery
-indulge in remarks which to many
-appear positively obscene. The intellectual
-standard among them is low. Ladies
-have been known who, with all the pride
-of an hereditary title, could scarcely write
-their own names.</p>
-
-<p>Good wives and good mothers are nevertheless
-very abundant in Spain. It has
-produced heroines of every kind, from the
-intriguers of the Camarilla to the defenders
-of a city. When “in love,” the Spanish
-woman is exceedingly full of passion, and,
-carrying a knife, she occasionally employs
-it to revenge a slight. These essential
-characteristics of female manners are, however,
-gradually yielding under what we
-may term the common law of society in
-Europe. Madrid is assimilating itself to
-Paris, and Paris to London; so that as time
-progresses the peculiar features wear off,
-and statistics alone may at some future
-period form the measure of a people’s morality.</p>
-
-<p>In the rural parts women share with
-men the heaviest labours of the field.
-They may be observed as you pass along
-the highways, staggering under the weight
-of enormous burdens; but this is a circumstance
-attaching to poverty in all
-parts of the world, not to any nation in
-particular. It is among the upper and
-middle classes in Spain, though in many
-other countries the contrary is true, that
-women wear most strongly a national characteristic
-appearance. In Madrid and the
-other fashionable cities you are surprised by
-the vast number of women who crowd the
-streets. They have no domestic occupations;
-they trouble themselves little with
-the nurture or education of their children;
-they devolve on hirelings the management
-of their household affairs; and they relieve
-themselves from ennui by sauntering
-through the public places, dressed with
-the minutest elegance, carrying their fans,
-and bargaining on it, by every possible
-species of coquetry, for admiration from
-the passers by.</p>
-
-<p>A Spanish woman is a natural coquette,
-and when married cannot abandon the
-habit familiarly known as flirtation. This
-gives rise to jealousy on the husband’s
-part, which produces infinite misery.</p>
-
-<p>Marriage is held in law a solemn and
-irrevocable contract. It is under many
-legal regulations, and subject to the authority
-of the Roman Catholic Church.
-In the hands of the clergy, indeed, there is
-vested a prodigious arbitrary power, which
-they are careful to exercise, lest it should
-become obsolete by disuse. They may<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span>
-still be seen interfering in matrimonial affairs;
-and a glance at the manners of the
-Spaniards some centuries ago will show that
-the clerical power has not decreased.</p>
-
-<p>Public morality was carefully guarded under
-the rule of the Visigoths, only to be
-tolerated during the Middle Ages, since
-which time it has been at one time lax, at
-another severely regulated: at the present
-day we find it in a strange state of confusion.</p>
-
-<p>In the year 586-601, the king of the
-Visigoths of Spain forbade prostitution in a
-most absolute manner under pain of severe
-punishment.</p>
-
-<p>The daughter and the wife born of free
-parents, convicted of having delivered themselves
-over to abandonment, received for
-the first offence three hundred blows with
-a stick and were ignominiously driven from
-the city; a relapse was punished with the
-same corporal punishment, after which the
-culprit was handed over to a poor person,
-who was obliged to employ her in performing
-the most menial offices. If the parents
-were convicted of being accomplices and of
-having participated in the gain derived by
-their daughter’s prostitution, each one received
-one hundred blows. The slave who
-gave herself up publicly to libertinage received
-three hundred blows, and when she
-was sent back to her master, her head was
-shaved, and she was banished from the city
-or sold in a place from whence she could not
-return. The master who refused to submit
-to these stipulations of the law received
-in public fifty blows with a stick or a whip,
-and the slave became the property of some
-poor man pointed out by the king or the
-judge, under condition of never being seen
-in the city again. If the master had participated
-in the debauchery of his slave,
-that is if he had reaped any profit, he received
-the same chastisement as the culprit.</p>
-
-<p>This decree, made especially to repress
-prostitution in the cities, applied equally
-to women of ill fame who infested the
-boroughs, the villages, and the country at
-large.</p>
-
-<p>This was at the commencement of the
-seventh century, and such were the severities
-of the laws passed by the king of the
-barbarians, Recard by name. The power of
-the Visigoths was broken a hundred years
-afterwards by the Arabs. The conquered
-fled to the hilly country, taking refuge in
-the mountains of the Asturias; but what
-laws were in force amongst them we do not
-know&mdash;we only know that the manners of
-the age were shameful. Perpetual wars,
-the capture and consequent pillage of villages,
-the license of the soldiery, helped to
-constitute a state of things not at all
-favourable for the developement of female
-chastity. The Christians and the Mussulmans
-held in captivity the women taken
-in battle and treated them as slaves.</p>
-
-<p>The Arabs were soon in their turn conquered
-by the Moors, and, as the struggle
-was less bloody, the two people mingled and
-exercised a mutual influence over one
-another; but the influence of the Arabs
-was more direct. “The loose manners of
-the East,” says M. Guardia, “and the luxury
-ever prevalent amongst orientals, were impalpably
-engrafted on the austerer habits
-of the Christians. Chivalry was found to
-be perfectly compatible with debauchery.”
-The corruption of manners made rapid
-strides. Prostitution reappeared in all its
-forms; nor was it, as amongst the Arabs,
-hampered by municipal restrictions or
-fettered by arbitrary and severe legislation.</p>
-
-<p>In the fifteenth century the old regulations
-were resuscitated, and immorality
-found itself once more compelled to bow
-to the dicta of priests. Nevertheless these
-rigorous measures proved that the remedy
-was worse than the evil. Secret debauchery
-took the place of public libertinage, and
-clandestine prostitution increased accordingly.</p>
-
-<p>In the year 1552, Charles V. promulgated
-an edict against the keepers of houses
-of ill fame, considerably augmenting the
-existing punishments. Four years later
-this law was confirmed by Philip II.</p>
-
-<p>The sequel, however, proves that laws
-were powerless against public corruption.
-Immorality is buoyant and contagious, and
-never so mischievous as when it is hidden.</p>
-
-<p>The end of the fifteenth century witnessed
-a reform. Prostitution came to be
-regarded as a branch of the public administration,
-and placed under severe laws
-and precise regulations.</p>
-
-<p>About 1623, the health of the community
-began to be considered, and hygienic
-measures were introduced. This was a
-great step, and one rendered the more necessary
-by reason of the terrible ravages
-committed by lues venerea, which at
-this epoch assumed the form of a terrible
-epidemic.</p>
-
-<p>Three quarters of a century elapsed, and
-the subject was carefully studied, for in
-1704 the council decided that the mayors
-of towns could arrest and imprison immodest
-women, who showed themselves in
-crowds upon the public promenades, and
-became an object of scandal and disorder.
-But these coercive measures often repeated
-were without effect. Soon the law was
-found to be powerless against corruption.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Since this epoch, public morality has been
-lax and openly disregarded. The provinces
-imitated the example of the capital. At
-the end of the eighteenth century an
-attempt was made to legislate, but nothing
-came of it. In 1822, the Cortes passed a
-Bill relating to public health, which, in
-point of fact, was nothing more or less
-than to establish houses of ill fame and
-recognise their existence. This fell to the
-ground through the opposition of a physician
-named Garcia.</p>
-
-<p>In 1853, the population of Madrid was
-estimated at 270,000. These figures include
-the floating portion, which is not insignificant.
-Every woman who chooses to
-prostitute herself for money is perfectly at
-liberty to do so; she has to render no
-account of her conduct, no authorisation of
-any sort is necessary. The police give no
-passes nor is there any registry. Under
-these circumstances statistics are next to
-an impossibility. Not only does the law
-tolerate and acknowledge prostitution, but
-it actually appears to cherish and foster it,
-by permitting the grossest disorder, and by
-placing no obstacle in the way of the incessant
-progress of debauchery. Local authority
-confines itself to noticing only the
-most flagrant occurrences&mdash;such as a too
-great number of women in the promenades
-and public thoroughfares, or when a large
-number of men amongst the soldiers in
-garrison fall victims to the ravages of
-syphilis. It follows from such a state of
-things that the hospitals are gorged with
-sufferers, and frequently do not suffice to
-contain all those who wish to enter. The
-consequence is that this disease takes the
-most alarming forms, and does serious injury
-to the public health.</p>
-
-<p>We cannot possibly make anything like a
-correct estimate of the number of women
-who live by prostitution in Madrid, although
-some manuscript notes furnished
-to M. Guardia, place it at about one thousand.
-This may only be an approximate
-calculation, and it is clearly putting it at
-its minimum rather than its maximum.
-Two hundred of these are kept women;
-though we are inclined to believe this
-much below the actual numbers, as manners
-are very loose in Madrid, and the habits
-of Spaniards incline in a singular degree to
-concubinage. Probably six hundred women
-live in houses of ill fame, the keepers of
-which exercise the most absolute authority
-over the unfortunates that come into their
-power. In every one of these houses one
-finds an indefinite number of young women,
-which varies from eight to ten. The woman
-who keeps the place lodges and
-dresses them. In many of these places
-there are only two or three resident women,
-for there are also houses of appointment
-and convenience. If the number of
-indoor pensioners is limited, those who walk
-about the streets are like locusts or the
-sand of the sea-shore, next to innumerable.
-They have their abode, perhaps, in their
-own families, or else they return to their
-lodgings. Most of these public women are
-either milliners, seamstresses, laundresses,
-and pastrycooks, or employed in the manufacture
-of tobacco. The people who keep
-houses of ill fame find it to their interest
-to preserve the health of their lodgers,
-which they are not, as a rule, negligent of,
-but yet it is a fact that syphilis is prevalent
-in Spain to a frightful extent. The
-authorities are at no pains to prevent its
-ramification, and the climate is only too
-favourable for its growth and extension.
-We divide the women who live by prostitution
-in Madrid into three classes: 1st,
-Those who are kept; 2nd, Those who live
-in houses of ill fame; and 3rdly, Those who
-are free, and merely make use of the above-mentioned
-houses for a short time. Within
-this latter category we must include about
-three hundred prostitutes, who constitute
-the lowest grade and infest the worst parts
-of the capital. These have been recruited
-perhaps from all classes, having sunk lower
-and lower, until every vestige of shame
-and modesty having totally disappeared,
-they traffic for the bare means of subsistence
-and submit to any and every degradation
-to obtain it. They even exercise
-their avocation in the streets and public
-places. On the other hand, prostitution has
-plenty of places of resort, such as cafés,
-public houses, and refreshment rooms.</p>
-
-<p>The police are fully empowered to take
-into custody any woman guilty of an open
-breach of the law, although they may not
-interfere with her for plying her trade, or
-we might, with some justice, say her profession.
-Sometimes the magisterial authorities
-banish them from Madrid, thus getting
-rid of the most dangerous characters, who,
-however, like black sheep in the provincial
-flocks, only serve to carry corruption into
-districts hitherto uncontaminated.</p>
-
-<p>There is in Madrid a hospital for foundlings,
-but the fecundity of Spanish prostitutes
-is not considerable. This is an asylum
-for every child found in the streets or
-brought by mothers who wish to get rid of
-their children. On an average it receives
-annually from 4500 to 5000 infants. It
-was founded in the sixteenth century by
-charitable people.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Amsterdam.</span></h3>
-
-<p>One is astonished&mdash;exclaim MM. Schneevooght
-(first physician at the hospital of
-Amsterdam), Van Frigt (assistant surgeon
-to the same hospital and the syphilitic
-dispensary), Van Oordt (student in the
-Parisian hospitals)&mdash;one is astonished that
-in a country where legislation adapts itself
-to the exigencies of modern times, among a
-people signalized by a practical genius, an
-enlightened administration has only very
-lately adopted the only measures to check
-the scourge of prostitution.</p>
-
-<p>In Holland religious scruples have yielded
-before considerations of a higher nature.
-The Government of the Netherlands has at
-last decided to leave to the <i>Communes</i> the
-power of preventing by regulation the sad
-consequences of free and unrestrained prostitution.
-Supervision, independantly of
-the services which it renders to the public
-health, assists to prevent the extension of
-the evil of which we write.</p>
-
-<p>It is easy to suppose that the capital of
-Holland offers peculiar facilities for the
-growth of this vice, which always flourishes
-in commercial and maritime cities, and
-more especially when the two are combined.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th></th><th>In 1851</th><th>1852</th><th>1855</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">The municipal population was</td><td>221,111</td><td>240,669</td><td>250,304</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Floating</td><td>3,532</td><td>5,687</td><td>7,357</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Military</td><td>881</td><td>1,030</td><td>793</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>The number of strangers that come here,
-the mariners that commerce attracts, the
-luxury that reigns among the upper classes,
-the number of young men of good family,
-who are condemned to a life of celibacy by
-inadequate means, unite to relax the morals
-of the Dutch.</p>
-
-<p>Even now the municipal authorities recoil
-before the difficulties thrown in their
-way by the independent spirit of the
-people, who do not like restrictions imposed
-by authority, however salutary they
-may be.</p>
-
-<p>A curious book which appeared in 1648
-relates an edict published in 1506, by virtue
-of which only agents of the municipal police
-were allowed to open and keep disorderly
-houses and in certain designated
-quarters.</p>
-
-<p>In 1789 a commission of health was convoked,
-and strict precautions taken to
-guard against infection. It followed from
-this that 177 women were doctored in one
-year, a number nearly double that of the
-year before.</p>
-
-<p>The author of a book about medicine,
-which appeared in Amsterdam in 1820,
-complained bitterly of the depravity of
-manners which led to the decrease of marriages,
-and of the great number of prostitutes
-who day and night frequented the
-streets and other public places to attract
-passengers by indecent gestures and immodest
-proposals: more than 800 were
-known to the police, of which about 200
-lived in tolerated houses.</p>
-
-<p>Coming back to modern times, during
-the year 1850 we find there were in Amsterdam
-764 illegitimate births, among
-21,365 unmarried inhabitants, between 16
-and 30 years, of the male sex, and among
-25,207 of the female sex. At the same
-time there were twenty disorderly houses
-and 400 prostitutes not inscribed, but
-simply known to the police.</p>
-
-<p>There is a society in Amsterdam for rescuing
-fallen women who wish to lead a new
-life. It is called the Sternbeck Asylum,
-and is productive of great good.</p>
-
-<p>To allude to the insignificant part played
-by the police is to avow the insufficiency
-of the hygienic department.</p>
-
-<p>Although the girls in the tolerated houses
-are supposed to be compelled to submit to
-examination, any inspection, in reality,
-is voluntary on their part. Unfortunately
-there are a vast number of quacks in the
-city, who only prolong and aggravate disease,
-instead of curing it. There is a hospital
-for venereal affections, with two wards,
-one with 24 beds for the men, the other
-with 50 beds for the women, which are all
-at the service of those affected with syphilis.
-Besides this there is a syphilitic dispensary,
-where gratuitous attendance may
-be obtained.</p>
-
-<p>Syphilis has increased very much lately
-among the soldiers in garrison. For instance
-take the subjoined figures, extending
-over five years:</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="center" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td>1852</td><td>1853</td><td>1854</td><td>1855</td><td>1856</td></tr>
-<tr><td>87</td><td>94</td><td>199</td><td>156</td><td>182</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>All women must be inscribed, whether
-living in houses or by themselves. Disorderly
-houses are under the supervision
-of the police. The keeper of one of these
-houses may not change his residence, under
-penalty of a fine of 7 florins and the loss
-of his licence, without communicating with
-the authorities, and loose women must be
-provided with a license. The regulations
-are very much the same all over the country,
-at Utrecht, Haarlem, &amp;c.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Belgium.</span></h3>
-
-<p>In the year 1856 the floating population
-of Brussels and its suburbs was 260,080, to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span>
-which the garrison contributed 2414. In
-the same year the total registration of prostitutes,
-according to the law in their
-respect provided, numbered 638; these
-were divided into “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">filles de maison</span>” and
-“<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">éparses</span>.” Although the police regulations
-are remarkably stringent, their effect upon
-public morality is absolutely nil, although it
-must be admitted that their <i>surveillance</i>
-has a beneficial effect upon the public
-health. Prostitutes in Brussels, disgusted
-by the exercise of municipal power, fly
-without the walls, and withdraw to St.
-Josse, which, with other extra-mural spots,
-is much infested with them. The same
-state of things is observable, more or less,
-in Antwerp, Bruges, Ostend, Ghent, Mons,
-Liege, and Namur. By the Belgian regulations
-the circulation of prostitutes in the
-streets after sundown is prohibited; women
-under twenty-one may not be inscribed,
-and the medical visitation takes place twice
-a week by the divisional surgeon, and whenever
-else he may please by the superintending
-officer. All the <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">éparses</span> and third-class
-<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">filles de maison</span> are seen at the dispensary,
-and the first and second classes of
-the latter order at their domiciles. The
-<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">éparses</span> may secure this privilege by payment
-of an extra franc per visit.</p>
-
-<p>The tariff of duties payable by houses
-and women is as <span class="lock">follows:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>Every first-class <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maison de passe</span> pays
-25 francs per month.</p>
-
-<p>Every second-class <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maison de passe</span> pays
-15 francs per month.</p>
-
-<p>Every third-class <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maison de passe</span> pays
-5 francs per month.</p>
-
-<p>Every first class “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maison de débauche</span>”
-pays 60 to 78 francs monthly, according to
-the number of its authorized occupants&mdash;from
-6 to 10&mdash;and 2 francs extra for each
-such additional person.</p>
-
-<p>Every such second-class house pays 20
-to 32 francs for from 3 to 7 women, and 1
-franc extra for every additional.</p>
-
-<p>Every such third-class house pays from
-8 to 16 francs for from 2 to 7 women, and
-1 franc extra for each additional.</p>
-
-<p>Every first-class <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">fille éparse</span> pays on each
-inspection 40 centimes.</p>
-
-<p>Every second-class <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">fille éparse</span> pays on
-each inspection 30 centimes.</p>
-
-<p>Every third-class <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">fille éparse</span> pays on
-inspection 15 centimes.</p>
-
-<p>Upon punctuality for four successive
-visits these payments are returned, for inexactitude
-they are doubled.</p>
-
-<p>Directly a male military patient is taken
-into hospital he is minutely questioned by
-the surgeon who attends him as to the
-exact locality of the house wherein he thinks
-he was infected, and the appearance of the
-woman. She is soon arrested; and if the
-result of the medical examination should
-prove her diseased, she is placed on the
-police surgeon’s list and sent to hospital,
-where she is restrained for some time from
-spreading contagion.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Hamburg.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Hamburg, from its peculiar situation and
-the extent of its commerce, may be considered
-one of the great centres of trade
-at present existing in the world, and for
-that reason it deserves more than a cursory
-glance or a casual notice.</p>
-
-<p>Documents drawn up during the thirteenth
-and fourteenth centuries relating to
-public women are still in a state of preservation.</p>
-
-<p>There is a Code Municipal for the city
-of Hamburg (1292), which contains the
-most ancient regulations of this description.</p>
-
-<p>The 17th, 18th, 19th, and 30th of this
-code regulates in detail the costume of
-women of ill-fame and the districts where
-they are allowed to dwell. Their number
-is not chronicled, but it appears to have
-been considerable.</p>
-
-<p>The contractors or speculators in women
-were by successive enactments heavily
-taxed in 1562: the sum fixed for each
-woman was from 75 talents to the extraordinary
-sum of 569; but this is explained
-by an urgent want on the part of the municipality.</p>
-
-<p>The provisions of the ancient code were
-maintained up to 1603, when laws of unexampled
-rigour were passed. Brothels were
-closed, women and their paramours were
-publicly exposed, and, as far as possible,
-outlawed.</p>
-
-<p>In order to describe the state of prostitution
-in the 19th century we must call the
-attention of our readers to an enactment
-of the year 1807: it is of some length, and
-we have only extracted briefly from it.</p>
-
-<p>1. Every person who lodges women must
-send to the pretor’s office a list of the
-names of people living there, with their
-age, their birthplace, and the time of their
-entering the establishment.</p>
-
-<p>2. When a new girl arrives she must be
-presented at the office.</p>
-
-<p>3. When a woman leaves, the office must
-be informed of the fact in writing, and her
-new abode pointed out.</p>
-
-<p>4. The landlord or landlady must particularly
-impress upon the lodgers not to
-have connection with men having a contagious
-malady.</p>
-
-<p>5. When a woman discovers herself to
-be infected she must intimate the circum<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span>stance
-to her landlord, and abstain from
-practising her avocation, under pain of severe
-punishment.</p>
-
-<p>6. The employer who makes the lodger
-infringe this regulation subjects himself to
-imprisonment and the pillory.</p>
-
-<p>11. The landlord must look carefully
-after the health of his lodgers, who must
-submit to a surgical examination by the
-municipal physician every fifteen days, and
-follow his advice punctiliously.</p>
-
-<p>17. Landlords are forbidden to attract
-foreign women by false promises who have
-not yet been debauched.</p>
-
-<p>18. The same penalties are inflicted by
-the law upon a brothel-keeper who prevents
-a repentant woman from leaving her
-course of living.</p>
-
-<p>19. Intoxicated men are not to be robbed,
-but to pay simply the charge put down in
-the general tariff.</p>
-
-<p>A short time afterwards the French occupied
-the city, when this edict was repealed
-and another substituted in its place
-in the year 1811.</p>
-
-<p>In 1834 the position of women and
-brothels was regulated, an account of which
-may be seen in the blue book.</p>
-
-<p>It will be nothing new if we remark that
-marriage seems to be on the decrease in
-every populous city, and especially in Hamburg,
-as we had occasion to notice before.</p>
-
-<p>In 1825 and 1826, among 208 marriages
-one can count no less than 108 women accouched
-three or four months after marriage.</p>
-
-<p>We subjoin a table of illegitimate births
-in proportion to legitimate <span class="lock">marriages:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th class="right">Years.</th><th>Legitimate Children.</th><th>Natural Children.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>1701&mdash;1715</td><td>16</td><td>81</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1780&mdash;1790</td><td>11</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1790&mdash;1800</td><td>9</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1800&mdash;1811</td><td>7</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>and from 1836&mdash;1846</td><td class="left" colspan="2">one in five.</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>There are many foreign women in Hamburg,
-for among 512 women inscribed at
-the prefecture in 1846, 101 only were born
-in the city. Many girls are, in point of
-fact, known prostitutes, though not positively
-known as such to the authorities,
-for they must have the consent of their parents
-before they can be inscribed, which
-gives a larger number of strangers, who are
-fettered by no such restrictions.</p>
-
-<p>Holstein, Prussia, and above all Brunswick
-and Hanover, contribute more than
-any other countries. Austria and France
-are unrepresented.</p>
-
-<p>At Hamburg a woman who is in want of
-money may make more by a single act of indiscretion
-than by an entire week of labour.</p>
-
-<p>It may be interesting to state the ages
-of the women inscribed in 1844 at the office
-of <span class="lock">police:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td></td><td class="right">16 </td><td>women </td><td>were less </td><td class="right">than 20</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="right">401</td><td>„</td><td>„ &nbsp;&nbsp; from </td><td class="right">20 to 30</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="right">74</td><td>„</td><td>„</td><td class="right">30 to 40</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="right">11</td><td>„</td><td>„</td><td class="right">40 to 50</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Total </td><td class="total right">502</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>The police regulations to prevent young
-girls not yet twenty from abandoning themselves
-are, as these statistics prove, totally
-insufficient.</p>
-
-<p>The Hamburg women are generally,
-thanks to their strong constitutions, healthy
-and robust. It is remarkable that the public
-women possess better teeth than the
-rest of the feminine population.</p>
-
-<p>Syphilis is not so virulent as in former
-times or in some other cities, and is, as the
-annexed hospital returns evidence, upon
-the decline amongst men.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td>In </td><td>1843 </td><td>there were </td><td>355 </td><td>men infected.</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td>1844</td><td>„</td><td>335</td><td>„</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td>1845</td><td>„</td><td>316</td><td>„</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>The way in which women of ill-fame at
-Hamburg end their career offers nothing
-remarkable: some marry, some adopt different
-professions, sufficiently lowly; they
-sell flowers, for instance, they keep cabarets,
-and not often houses of evil repute,
-a very small number become domestic servants,
-and some die in prison, where they
-have been sent to expiate an offence against
-the laws.</p>
-
-<p>Registered women may accost persons
-of the male sex neither by day nor night,
-may show no light in their rooms unless
-behind drawn curtains, nor receive men
-under twenty years of age, nor be in the
-streets unaccompanied after 11 <span class="smcap lowercase">P.M.</span>, under
-penalties, both to herself and the landlord
-of the house she lives in, of from two to
-eight days’ imprisonment on bread and water
-diet. She is also strictly forbidden, when
-out of doors, by any speech or gesture to
-indicate her object.</p>
-
-<p>The examination with the speculum,
-which takes place at home twice a week, is
-conducted by a staff of three medical officers
-and an inspector of police, who sign
-the bill of health or remit the individual to
-the hospital forthwith, as the case may be.</p>
-
-<p>Marriage seems to be on the decline in
-Hamburg, for in 1840 there was only one
-marriage among every one hundred of the
-population.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span></p>
-<h3><span class="smcap">Prussia&mdash;Germany.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Although education is almost compulsory
-in Prussia, it fails most egregiously
-to produce that which it ought to be the
-object of education and knowledge to obtain.
-Female chastity marks more closely than
-any other thing the moral condition of society.
-They may go through an entire
-course of scholastic discipline, but the regulation
-of the passions is more the result
-of home influence than of reading and
-writing, or Latin and Greek, inculcated and
-taught by educational sergeants or clergymen
-in primary schools and gymnasia.
-It is no uncommon event in the family of
-a respectable tradesman in Berlin to find
-upon his breakfast-table a young child, of
-which, whoever may be the father, he has
-no doubt at all about the maternal grandfather.
-Such accidents are so common
-that they are regarded, if not with indifference,
-as mere youthful indiscretions.
-In 1837 the number of females in the
-Prussian population between the beginning
-of their 16th year, and the end of their
-45th year&mdash;that is within child-breeding
-age&mdash;was 2,983,146. The number of illegitimates
-born in the same year was 39,501,
-so that 1 in every 75 of the whole of the
-females of an age to bear children had been
-the mother of an illegitimate child. The
-unsettled military life of every Prussian on
-his entrance into the world as a man, inculcates
-habits of frivolity and thoughtlessness,
-and is peculiarly calculated to form
-the character of the young man for evil
-rather than for good.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Berlin.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Berlin, the richest and most important
-city in Germany, possesses a population of
-300,000 inhabitants.</p>
-
-<p>In a city like this, containing a far-famed
-and numerously attended university, a very
-large manufacturing business, and a numerous
-garrison, we may very justly expect to
-find prostitution in a flourishing condition;
-for money engenders habits of luxury, and
-luxury is the forerunner and the parent of
-vice.</p>
-
-<p>At Berlin, during the middle ages, prostitution
-laboured under many restrictions.
-Documents bearing upon this epoch show
-us that prostitutes were confined to certain
-houses, in specified streets, and compelled,
-by command of the authorities, to wear a
-particular costume.</p>
-
-<p>The first “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maison de joie</i>” was erected
-about the end of the 15th century, privileged
-by the corporation, and taxed to some
-extent.</p>
-
-<p>Those prostitutes who infringed the rules
-imposed upon them were flogged and expelled
-from the city. But they were nevertheless
-under the protection of the authorities,
-who, in point of fact, looked upon
-them as belonging to the city, and forming
-a species of public property. Whosoever
-assaulted a courtezan was punished as a
-disturber of the public peace.</p>
-
-<p>There were certain bath-houses at this
-time, which were much frequented by the
-richer part of the people and women of
-station, who gave themselves up to clandestine
-debauchery, which, if it was discovered
-by the police, subjected the participators
-in it to the severest punishment, of
-which banishment from the city formed the
-chief part. It is recounted in an old chronicle
-that, in 1322, an ambassador of the
-Archbishop of Mayence was killed by the
-common people for proposing to a bourgeoise
-to accompany him to one of these
-bathing establishments.</p>
-
-<p>Concubinage was regarded as common
-prostitution, and absolutely forbidden. A
-law was passed, that people living together
-without having been united by the laws of
-the church, should be banished from Berlin.</p>
-
-<p>Besides those prostitutes put under the
-protection of the authorities, and called
-“<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">demoiselles de la ville</span>,” there were others
-called nomad or wandering women. They
-were equally notorious, and were also under
-control. They went from market to market,
-and from fair to fair, to give themselves
-up to fornication.</p>
-
-<p>The Reformation changed all this. Severe
-moral principles made way among the people.
-A religious fervour commenced a war
-against that which had always been regarded
-with toleration, or at least a certain
-degree of forbearance, up to this time.
-They went so far as to look upon celibacy
-as a vice, and did all they could to compel
-bachelors to marry, by banishing all accessories
-of, and temptations to, debauchery.
-A sort of proscription was organized against
-loose women, and, in a short time, the city
-was nearly cleared of them. This was very
-laudable, no doubt, and highly praiseworthy
-from a strictly puritanical point of view,
-but its professors soon discovered that such
-an artificial state of things could not long
-hold together. Adultery increased enormously,
-clandestine prostitution was the
-order of the day, and infants were exposed
-continually in the public streets. This
-caused the most austere to come round to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span>
-more moderate views: not only was the
-ancient state of things re-established, but,
-as the number of prostitutes did not suffice
-to satisfy the wants of the population, it
-was considered necessary to augment it,
-and this was accordingly done.</p>
-
-<p>Calvinistic ideas, that is, rigid Protestantism,
-and common sense, have always
-struggled together in Germany, and the
-authorities have had the greatest trouble
-to regulate a necessary evil&mdash;the one of
-which we are treating. The practical
-views of the administration were fought
-against up to 1855, when a fixed system was
-established.</p>
-
-<p>During the whole of this time the public
-health was entirely neglected, which one
-can partially understand, for syphilis did
-not make many ravages during the 16th
-century. It was not until the 17th that
-the necessity for checking its progress
-made itself felt. The first regulation bearing
-upon this scourge appeared in 1700. A
-medical visit was ordered every fifteen
-days; women found to be tainted were at
-once sent to the hospital, and, when cured,
-sent to a prison or workhouse, where they
-laboured until they had paid off the cost
-of curing their illness.</p>
-
-<p>The moral condition of Berlin in 1717
-was sad in the extreme. The houses of
-correction were not sufficient to hold the
-prisoners committed to them, clandestine
-debauchery had reached its height, and, to
-remedy this deplorable state of things, it
-was found necessary to increase the number
-of tolerated houses, the number of
-which, in a very little time, increased to an
-alarming extent. At the end of the seven
-years’ war, more than a thousand houses of
-this nature might have been counted in the
-city, each containing on an average nine
-women. These houses were divided into
-three distinct classes, the lowest of which
-accommodated ruffians and blackguards of
-every description. The prostitutes were
-there dressed commonly, and like working
-people. The houses of the second category
-were devoted to the artizans and the middle
-classes. Those of the third class, were, of
-course, devoted to the rich, and contained
-women well dressed, and in every way
-qualified to seduce from the paths of virtue.</p>
-
-<p>In 1796 another attempt was made to
-reduce the number of prostitutes, but like
-all former attempts of the same nature, it
-proved ineffectual on account of the augmentation
-of secret vice. This was at the
-end of the 18th and the beginning of the
-19th century; and caused syphilis to increase
-very much, and the old regulations
-were put in force from 1815 to 1829.</p>
-
-<p>In 1844 the respectable inhabitants of
-Berlin clamoured loudly for the suppression
-of houses of ill fame; and the government,
-in spite of the remonstrances of the police,
-listened to the petitioners, and, in 1845, all
-houses of this nature were closed, and the
-girls sent back to their homes, or some
-other place that they indicated outside the
-Prussian territory. This accomplished, the
-consequences very soon made themselves
-felt, and the Puritans, who were at the bottom
-of the measure, were compelled to
-confess that their precipitancy and ill-advised
-legislation were productive only of the
-worst effects. Clandestine prostitution
-developed enormously, syphilis extended
-its ramifications, and, after ten years, it
-was found necessary to re-establish tolerated
-houses.</p>
-
-<p>The garrison suffered dreadfully from
-disease; so much so, indeed, that General
-Wrangel solicited the Minister of the Interior
-to put things on their old footing.</p>
-
-<p>Illegitimate births terrified statisticians
-by their frequency.</p>
-
-<p>Let us consider the number of natural
-births during three different periods. The
-first period shall indicate the births during
-the time that prostitution was tolerated
-and spread equally over the city. The
-second when it was confined to certain
-streets, and the third during the suppression.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th></th><th>Years.</th><th>Illegitimate Births.</th><th>Legitimate Births.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">1st period, </td><td class="left">1838-9, 1840-1</td><td>5,652</td><td>34,450</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">2nd &nbsp;&nbsp; „</td><td class="left">1842-3, 4, 5</td><td>10,175</td><td>54,696</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">3rd &nbsp;&nbsp; „</td><td class="left">1847-8, 9</td><td>5,053</td><td>26,782</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>The proportion of illegitimate births to
-legitimate, in the first period, is one to
-seven; in the second, one to five; in the
-third, one to six.</p>
-
-<p>When prostitution was tolerated, the
-number of prostitutes did not vary very
-much; for instance:</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td>In </td><td>1792</td><td> there were </td><td>in Berlin </td><td>269;</td></tr>
-<tr><td>„ </td><td>1796</td><td>„</td><td>„</td><td>257;</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>of which 190 lived in 54 tolerated houses,
-and 67 in lodgings.</p>
-
-<p>In 1808 there were 433 in lodgings; of
-which 230 were spread over 50 houses, and
-203 lived in lodgings. Besides this there
-were about 467, who gave themselves up to
-clandestine prostitution. The population
-was at this time 150,000: it was during
-the occupation of the French.</p>
-
-<p>In 1810 there were 165 prostitutes spread
-over 44 houses.</p>
-
-<p>In 1819 there were 311 prostitutes, 198
-in houses, and 113 in lodgings.</p>
-
-<p>In 1837 there were 258 prostitutes spread
-over 34 houses.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>In 1844 there were 287 prostitutes spread
-over 26 houses, and 18 in lodgings.</p>
-
-<p>In 1849 the number of prostitutes of all
-classes in Berlin was estimated at 10,000.</p>
-
-<p>There is a provision common to Berlin
-and some other towns, that the keeper of a
-licensed house must defray the cost of
-curing any person whose contraction of
-venereal disease in his house can be established.</p>
-
-<p>Dr. Behrend is of opinion that besides
-the 10,000 prostitutes known to the authorities
-that we have before alluded to, there
-are 8000 clandestine ones.</p>
-
-<p>It may be interesting to English readers
-to know that the price of admission to a
-certain class of tolerated houses in Berlin
-is 6<i>d.</i> for which a cup of coffee is given, the
-use of a private room for fifteen minutes
-3<i>s.</i>, for thirty minutes 5<i>s.</i>, and those prices
-include the company of one of the women,
-who receives one-third for herself.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Austria.</span></h3>
-
-<p>In Austria public brothels are not tolerated
-by the police, and public women are sent
-into the houses of correction; but this legislative
-enactment will not convey a true
-idea to a foreigner of the actual state of
-morality throughout the country. Strangers,
-and those whom for want of a better
-designation we will term closet moralists,
-who draw their conclusions from <i>primâ
-facie</i> evidence, would be inclined to consider
-the territory governed by the house of
-Hapsburg almost, if not entirely, free from
-vice, because the streets of the capital and
-other towns are almost free from the spectacles
-that disfigure the <i>pavé</i> in other well-known
-places of cosmopolitan pilgrimage
-and resort. But we shall prove the reverse
-to be the case not only in Vienna, but
-throughout the kingdom.</p>
-
-<p>Austria is an amalgamation of conquered
-countries which require an enormous standing
-army to keep in subjection, hence it
-very naturally follows that the moral sense
-is deadened in many districts to an alarming
-extent; and this is the invariable result
-of military despotism, for the sense of morality
-which is essentially the result of
-education, is never so acute as in free and
-well-governed countries.</p>
-
-<p>The extent and population of the different
-states that comprise the Austrian empire
-is thus estimated in the official reports
-of 1851.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th>Provinces.</th><th>Area in Sq. Miles.</th><th>Population, 1851.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">German&mdash;Austria, Archduchy</td><td>15,052</td><td>2,390,376</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">&mdash;&mdash; Tyrol, Principality</td><td>10,981</td><td>859,700</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">&mdash;&mdash; Styria, Duchy</td><td>8,670</td><td>1,006,971</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sclavonian&mdash;Illyria, Kingdom</td><td>10,960</td><td>1,291,196</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">&mdash;&mdash; Bohemia, Kingdom</td><td>20,203</td><td>4,409,900</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">&mdash;&mdash; Moravia and Silesia, Margravate</td><td>10,239</td><td>2,238,424</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">&mdash;&mdash; Dalmatia, Kingdom</td><td>5,067</td><td>393,715</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Magyar&mdash;Hungary, with Sclavonia, &amp;c., and Croatia, Kingdom</td><td>89,040</td><td>10,158,939</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">&mdash;&mdash; Transylvania, Grand Principality</td><td>21,390</td><td>2,073,737</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">&mdash;&mdash; Military frontier</td><td>15,179</td><td>1,009,109</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Polish&mdash;Galicia and Bukovina, Kingdom</td><td>33,538</td><td>4,936,303</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Italian&mdash;Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom</td><td>17,511</td><td>5,007,472</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Total</td><td class="total">257,830</td><td class="total">35,776,842</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>In the capital itself, the lowest and most
-moderate computation allows the number
-of prostitutes to be 15,000. These are
-under police supervision, although they are
-not licensed. The officers of justice have
-the power of making domiciliary visits, and
-enter their dwellings at any hour of the
-day or night. If they are discovered in
-the streets after a certain hour they may
-be apprehended, and this to a great extent
-prevents that parade and ostentation that
-is observable in most European cities of
-any size and note. We are informed on
-reliable authority (Wilde) that almost one
-in every two children born in Vienna is
-“illegitimate,” which evidences very clearly
-that the more restrictions you place upon
-public immorality, so much the more do
-you increase private vice; from 1830 to
-1837, the proportion of illegitimate to legitimate
-births was as ten to twelve in
-Vienna. In Austria registers of births,
-deaths, and marriages, are kept by each
-minister of the church for his parish, and
-also by the Jewish Rabbi for those of their
-own persuasion. The register of births
-records the year, month, and day of birth,
-the number of the house in which the birth
-occurred, the name of the child and its
-sex, and whether it be born in wedlock or
-illegitimate, the names and surnames of the
-parents, their religion and the names and
-surnames and condition of the sponsors.
-In the case of illegitimate children the
-name of the father cannot be entered unless
-he acknowledges the paternity. The
-register of marriages records the year,
-month, and day of the marriage, the place
-of solemnization, the names and surnames
-of the parties, their religion, age, and whether
-single or widowed, and the names,
-surnames, and condition of the witnesses.</p>
-
-<p>If a woman makes an application to the
-lying-in hospital and states her poverty,
-she is simply asked are you legitimately
-or illegitimately with child. The success<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span>
-of her suit depends in a great measure upon
-her reply, for if she says I am pregnant illegitimately
-she is admitted on the spot,
-sometimes in the fifth or sixth month of
-her pregnancy, generally in the seventh.
-They present her with an imperial livery
-to wear, carefully preserving her old clothes
-until she departs. After delivery she has
-to nurse her own child, sometimes another’s,
-and when she goes away she gets a
-bonus of five shillings, thus actually receiving
-a premium for losing her virtue.
-For the two first months of its existence
-the child is nurtured by its mother, it is
-then sent into the country at the public
-expense; and if a male it is always welcome
-in an Austrian peasant’s family, for if they
-can rear it to eighteen years of age, it is
-rendered up to the conscription instead of
-the eldest son of its adopted father. Education
-is very general in Austria. The law
-of 1821 enacts that no male shall enter the
-marriage state who is not able to read,
-write, and understand casting up accounts.
-This is a serious restriction to connubial
-bliss amongst the industrial classes; but the
-law is still more arbitrary, it makes these
-qualifications as it were indispensable to a
-man’s existence. It further says, no master
-of any trade shall without paying a heavy
-penalty employ workmen who are not able
-to read and write, and that small books of
-moral tendency shall be published and distributed
-at the lowest possible price to all
-the Emperor’s subjects.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. McGregor says, “The provisions of
-this law appear to me to be pretty generally
-put in force, for I have nowhere in Austria
-met with any one under thirty years of age
-who was not able to read and write, and I
-have found cheap publications, chiefly religious
-and moral tracts, almanacks, very
-much like ‘Poor Richard’s,’ containing, with
-tables of the month, moon’s age, sun’s
-rising and setting, the fasts, feasts, holidays,
-markets, and fairs in the Empire, and opposite
-to the page of each month appropriate
-advice relative to husbandry and rural economy,
-with moral sayings and suitable
-maxims. The spirit of elementary instruction,
-if not the most enlightened, inculcates
-at every step, morality, the advantage
-of a virtuous life, the evil of vice, and
-the misery consequent on crime.” Works
-of art are subjected like books to the censors,
-who are unremitting in the enforcement
-of their political, moral, and religious
-restrictions.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Modern Rome.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Mortification of the flesh is one of the
-first principles of the Romish faith, and a
-stranger would expect to find any laxity of
-morals amongst the inhabitants of the
-eternal city severely punished; but in point
-of fact prostitution is tolerated and regulated
-in Rome, although there does not
-exist any special act relating to it.</p>
-
-<p>In the Middle Ages many vices stained
-the fame of Rome; but it is of the present
-day that we are about to write. The
-Romish system has produced the following
-results, according to M. Felix Jacquot,
-who lived at Rome for four years on purpose
-to study the morality and the health
-of Italy.</p>
-
-<p>1st. Not being able to confine prostitution
-to certain houses, it has spread itself
-among families.</p>
-
-<p>2nd. Clandestine prostitution, which is
-most prevalent at Rome, has there produced
-the evils that it always engenders, houses
-of accommodation, seduction at home, and
-the extension of syphilis.</p>
-
-<p>It is extremely probable that, as there are
-no standing regulations relative to prostitution,
-perhaps a sort of arbitrary power is
-vested in the police which opens the door
-to innumerable evils.</p>
-
-<p>There exist at Rome five forms of clandestine
-prostitution: let us begin with the
-street walkers.</p>
-
-<p>Street walker is the only name that can
-be given to those ignoble creatures that
-prostitute themselves in the evening and
-during the night, at the corners of the
-streets and in the dark angles of the public
-squares near the cathedral of St. Peter, and
-under the colonnades of Bernin, where the
-French soldiery are so often infected. The
-street walker was not much known at
-Rome before the revolution of 1849. She
-is the result of disorder, and the occupation
-of Rome by the French gives vitality
-to her existence. Some of these wretches
-will infect ten or even twenty men in one
-night, who have recourse to them to satisfy
-their brutal cravings and bestial desires.</p>
-
-<p>We have to treat, secondly, of houses of
-ill-fame; but there is little to be said about
-them; they do not differ in any respect
-from those to be found in other cities.
-The dangers of frequenting them are precisely
-the same. Syphilis acquires new
-virulence by being fostered by the inmates,
-who are recruited from amongst innocent
-and inexperienced girls belonging to families
-in the city.</p>
-
-<p>Thirdly, there are houses where the girls
-neither live nor sleep, but where they are
-sure to be found during certain hours of
-the day. The women dine there, and only
-return to their families at night. These
-houses are not numerous, probably there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span>
-are not more than six or seven in the
-whole city. To escape the watchfulness
-of the police, these change their locale;
-whilst one or two close others open, so that
-there is no diminution of the evil. They
-rather affect quiet localities: the steep
-hilly streets little frequented, such as the
-rampart of the capitol behind the church
-of <i>St. Joseph des Menuisiers</i>, or those quarters
-where strangers who come to pass a season
-at Rome instal themselves. There are
-not many women, as a rule, in these houses;
-generally six and seldom more than eight.
-They are frequented by young girls, and
-notoriously by married women. As so
-many men are obliged to remain bachelors
-when they take orders, a vast number of
-women are compelled, against their will, to
-embrace a life of celibacy. Then, in a
-country without industry and with very
-little agriculture, the lower classes have
-positively no resources to marry upon.
-There is a disinclination, also, amongst
-all classes in Rome to have children without
-possessing the means to educate them
-as they should be educated. There is
-quite a passion amongst the ladies in Rome
-to get married, and they put every art into
-requisition to effect their end. An irreproachable
-character is one of the means
-employed by young unmarried ladies.
-But once married everything is changed,
-and their reserve ceases. This change is
-to be attributed to too much exclusiveness
-and the restraint imposed on naturally
-strong and libidinous instincts; at any rate
-it is a well-established fact at Rome that
-marriage is productive of the worst passions
-and the most scandalous intrigues.</p>
-
-<p>These houses are subject to no visits of
-the sanitary police. If the authorities are
-cognisant of their existence they take no
-notice unless the neighbours complain of
-such immodest residents in their immediate
-vicinity. Their existence depends in
-a great measure upon the lowest members
-of the police force, whose secrecy is often
-bought by large bribes. If money is refused
-them, these fellows complain to their
-superiors, and the extermination of the
-offending house of accommodation generally
-ensues.</p>
-
-<p>It is no uncommon thing in England and
-France to hear the clamour of drunken men
-and women issuing from those houses&mdash;the
-noise of bacchanal lyrics mingled with
-oaths and curses, the immodesty of the
-women joining with the blasphemy of the
-men; but in Italy it is different. There is a
-sort of dignity amongst the Italians even in
-the midst of their debauchery. An anonymous
-denunciation before the clergy of the
-parish or the justices that a man was
-drunk, will often expose the denounced individual
-to punishment.</p>
-
-<p>The hospital of San Giacomo is set apart
-for syphilitic maladies, and there the women
-are treated by the physicians, but unfortunately
-too late.</p>
-
-<p>Gay women are to be placed in the
-fourth category. Under this name we include
-all those who make the sale of their
-charms a profession. Some are mistresses
-to foreigners and to natives, and transmit infection
-from one to the other; the others receive
-the first comer for a certain stipulated
-sum. There are a few, however, who only
-receive those that are known to them or
-who are well introduced. This is a measure
-of personal safety; by it they elude the
-danger of infection, and escape from the
-supervision of the police.</p>
-
-<p>Syphilis is very prevalent in Rome, more
-so than in France; and the influence of the
-climate is much felt in accelerating the
-approach and increasing the virulence of the
-disease.</p>
-
-<p>Fifthly. Prostitution in families is one
-of the most deplorable results of the non-toleration
-of open houses of ill fame.</p>
-
-<p>This actually goes on under the eyes of
-the parents; the mother will introduce you
-to her daughter, and the little brothers will
-provide you with a ladder to enter the
-house with.</p>
-
-<p>The love of the <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">far niente</i> is so strong
-amongst the Italians that labour, when it
-can be obtained, is odious to them.
-“<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">La travailleuse</span>,” says M. Jacquot,
-“<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">chaude encore des baisers adultères sera
-bien reçue dans l’alcôve conjugale, si
-elle apporte un bon pécule au bout de la
-semaine</span>;” and he adds with indignation,
-“for a long time I refused to believe in the
-existence of such ignominy, to-day I am
-only too well convinced.”</p>
-
-<p>An honest woman will on no account be
-seen in the streets after dark, and a servant
-will not go into the city from the
-suburbs after the day has disappeared.</p>
-
-<p>The city of Rome contains 150,000 people;
-and nourishes, lodges, and takes care of
-more than 4000 poor people, infirm people,
-old people, orphans, foundlings, etc., without
-reckoning assistance given at their
-own houses to those who require it. There
-are different hospitals too: the Trinity of
-the Pelerins, the deaf and dumb asylum,
-the madhouse, etc. Nearly 22,000 necessitous
-are relieved every year. The hospital
-of St. Roch gives admittance to women
-with child without asking their name or
-condition, without inquiring whether or
-not they are married. Women in a good<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span>
-position, who wish to conceal the fruits of
-a culpable amour, can receive every attention
-by paying 3 scudi (or about 4<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> of
-our money) a month. The child is taken
-to the <i>Pia casa di Santo-Spirito</i>. Both men
-and women when discharged from hospital
-are so weak that they cannot pursue their
-avocations. When this is the case they
-are received into the refuge for convalescents,
-called the Trinity of the Pelerins,
-that we have had occasion to refer to before.
-This hospital has received six hundred
-thousand inmates since the year 1625.</p>
-
-<p>As things are at present constituted at
-Rome there is little more to be said respecting
-it, but we cannot conclude without expressing
-our admiration of the numerous
-charitable establishments that one finds
-there. Every infirmity is cared for with
-no sparing hand, and the defenceless and
-the destitute are not deserted by the
-state and the charity of private individuals.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Turin.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Turin is as important in every way as
-Rome, and deserves considerable attention.
-Its population, if we include the floating
-inhabitants, is more than 150,000.</p>
-
-<p>Almost up to the present day, that is,
-until very lately, the supervision of the
-police was very imperfectly exercised, and
-the propagation of disease was the inevitable
-result. In 1855, M. Ratazzi, Minister
-of the Interior, wishing to establish a
-better organization, asked Doctor Sperino,
-well known in the world of letters for his
-works upon syphilis, to conceive a project
-bearing upon this important department of
-the public health.</p>
-
-<p>These new ordonnances established a
-reform not only in Turin, but throughout
-the kingdom.</p>
-
-<p>The public women who were visited
-before 1856 were at Turin 180; since a
-scrupulous supervision has been established,
-the number is increased to 750.
-When we compare these figures, we shall
-see how much this department of the
-sanitary police was neglected, and how
-necessary and efficacious the measures
-suggested by M. Sperino were. This is
-proved in a better way still by the notable
-diminution of disease among the garrison.
-When the <i>surveillance</i> of prostitution is
-badly exercised the disastrous results can
-escape the notice of the government, but
-the registry kept of the soldiers who go
-into hospital is an index always to be
-relied on.</p>
-
-<p>After a long time, a hospital specially
-devoted to venereal diseases has sprung up
-in Turin, called the <i>Syphilocome</i>. Tainted
-women are here treated gratuitously. They
-also receive women sent from the provinces.
-Married women not prostitutes, who are
-nursing their children, are received here in
-chambers set apart for them. In 1856 the
-number of admissions was 1661. A similar
-institution is about to be erected
-at Genoa.</p>
-
-<p>Prostitutes are now inscribed on the
-registers, and they must renew their licence
-annually. The cost of the licence in the
-first instance, and the cost of renewal, is</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td colspan="2"></td><td>f.</td><td>c.</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="2" class="left">For prostitutes belonging to tolerated houses</td><td>2</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="2" class="left">For free women of the 1st class</td><td>2</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="center">„</td><td class="center">2nd &nbsp;&nbsp; „</td><td>1</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="center">„</td><td class="center">3rd &nbsp;&nbsp; „</td><td>0</td><td>60</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>The 88th article of the fifth section of the
-new regulations says, “The cost of the
-visits of the physicians made to independent
-prostitutes at their own houses is 1 f.
-50 c., and those attached to different houses
-is fixed <span class="lock">at&mdash;</span></p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td></td><td>f.</td><td>c.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">For those in houses of the 1st class</td><td>1</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">For those independent, who come to the sanitary office, of the 1st class</td><td>1</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">„ &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2nd &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; </td><td>0</td><td>50</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">„ &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 3rd &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; </td><td colspan="2">gratis.</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<p>In the third class we only include the
-destitute.”</p>
-
-<p>Art. 89. All the taxes imposed upon
-prostitutes and upon the chiefs of houses
-of tolerance must be paid to the director
-of the sanitary office, and are devoted to
-paying the numerous expenses attendant
-upon the supervision of prostitution.</p>
-
-<p>Article 40 of the third section.&mdash;The
-heads of houses of tolerance must not, in
-any case, oppose the visits of the agents of
-police, by day or night, when the said visits
-are deemed necessary for the interests of
-public security.</p>
-
-<p>41. The number of prostitutes in each
-house is fixed by the police.</p>
-
-<p>49. In houses of the first class, three-fourths
-of the fixed price goes to the master,
-the other fourth to the prostitute.</p>
-
-<p>50. The masters of houses of all kinds
-must pay to the officer of inspection, besides
-the tax for sanitary visits made to
-prostitutes living in the house, an annual
-sum, fixed as follows:</p>
-
-<p>For houses in the first category, that is,
-where prostitutes have a fixed abode,</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">1st</td><td>class</td><td>400f.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">2nd</td><td class="center">„</td><td>200f.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">3rd</td><td class="center">„</td><td>100f.</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>For houses coming within the second<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span>
-category, that is, where independent prostitutes
-go to exercise their calling,</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td>1st</td><td>class</td><td>100f.</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2nd</td><td class="center">„</td><td>60f.</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3rd</td><td class="center">„</td><td>40f.</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>Payments for sanitary visits must be made
-every fifteen days, and the latter tax three
-months in advance; at the moment of inscription
-the woman is subjected to the
-first sanitary visit.</p>
-
-<p>Women in houses of ill fame must not
-present themselves at the windows or stand
-in the doorway. Every immoral provocation
-on the part of the keeper is absolutely
-forbidden. All servants in these houses
-under forty-five shall be inspected by the
-doctors.</p>
-
-<p>Every woman found in any of these
-houses without being furnished with a
-licence, and without being inscribed, shall
-be considered as giving herself up to clandestine
-prostitution.</p>
-
-<p>The master of the house, in this case,
-shall have his licence suspended, or altogether
-taken away from him.</p>
-
-<p>The police give every assistance in their
-power to those prostitutes who wish to
-quit their way of living.</p>
-
-<p>Houses of ill fame are to be closed at
-certain hours determined by the police.</p>
-
-<p>The rules passed in 1857 are very strict,
-and place loose women completely in the
-power of the police, without whose sanction
-they can do nothing. As long as they remain
-prostitutes they are in a complete
-state of servitude; but this severe supervision
-is productive of beneficial results, as
-far as the curtailing of the extension of
-syphilis goes; and, after all, this should
-be the main consideration with every legislator
-upon this much-vexed question.</p>
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Berne.</span></h3>
-
-<p>The peculiar customs of the Swiss during
-the middle ages give an unusual character
-to the immorality of this country. In the
-canton of Berne, it was the ordinary custom
-of the young men to make nocturnal visits
-in troops to the girls of their acquaintance,
-generally living in the same village. These
-visits were made for the purpose of contracting
-intimate relations, and usually
-succeeded in doing so. Thus intrigue
-almost invariably preceded marriage, and
-it was no unusual thing for the christening
-of the first-born to take place immediately
-after the marriage of its parents.</p>
-
-<p>“The inconstancy of the human heart,”
-says M. D’Erlach, “explains why young
-women often changed their lovers;” so men
-could go from one girl to another for
-years without any restriction or interruption
-on the part of the police.</p>
-
-<p>The use of the bath was established during
-the middle ages, and although first
-erected for sanitary reasons it degenerated,
-as in Germany, into a rendezvous for immoral
-purposes, during the sixteenth and
-seventeenth centuries. These baths were
-taken in common, and this promiscuous
-bathing, and the peculiar dress worn, promoted
-the lasciviousness both of men and
-women.</p>
-
-<p>About the end of the fifteenth century
-the demoralization of the people of Berne
-had reached its height, when the Emperor
-Sigismund visited it on his return to Rome.
-In 1528 the clergy, in spite of their professions,
-their oaths, and their precepts,
-surpassed every other class by the most
-scandalous profligacy. Amongst the houses
-of ill-fame one had acquired a shameful
-ascendancy. At the end of the invasion
-of the Republic by the French this tolerated
-house was established at No. 13, Rue
-de l’Arsenal, and it was frequented by all
-the great men of the day. It was afterwards
-moved, and placed opposite a church
-very much frequented by the people. Towards
-the end of the Helvetian Republic,
-it was once more translated, on account of
-the scandal its position occasioned, but it
-was finally closed in 1828 by a decree of
-the State Council. Until then there was
-not a single article of any sort against these
-places&mdash;not a law that bore even remotely
-upon houses of ill fame.</p>
-
-<p>Notwithstanding the closing of this
-house, several others have sprung up in
-retired districts under the name of public
-baths, and are unmolested by the police,
-who tacitly acknowledge the fact of their
-existence and acquiesce in it. The girls in
-these establishments are engaged under
-various pretexts; some are supposed to be
-employed in the kitchen, some take care
-of the baths, some are housemaids, and
-look after the bed-rooms&mdash;an occupation,
-it is to be presumed, that most of them
-find congenial; sometimes they are imagined
-to be on a visit to the people of the
-house, at others they are relatives. The
-keeper of the house employs his own physician
-to look after the health of the girls;
-and these are obliged to report to the
-police if any of them are found infected,
-when the police make a personal visit,
-not generally conducive to the advancement
-of the interests of the master of the
-house.</p>
-
-<p>Besides the women inhabiting these
-houses, which are not numerous, there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span>
-may be 170 or 200 other prostitutes.
-These appear on the register, and are under
-the eye of the police.</p>
-
-<p>There are belonging to certain families
-in the city, and exercising no profession,
-from 50 to 70 women.</p>
-
-<p>Living in the city without their families,
-under the pretext of a profession, but
-without one, 120 to 130.</p>
-
-<p>“These,” says M. D’Erlach, “are our
-prostitutes, such as one meets in the streets,
-the squares, &amp;c. As in other towns, they,
-by their looks, by their provoking deportment,
-by their dress, and by their glaring
-colours, endeavour to arrest attention, and
-entice the passers-by into places where
-beds may be obtained, or into those public
-baths which are well known to harbour
-prostitutes.”</p>
-
-<p>Another class of prostitutes is formed
-by those who actually have a profession,
-but unhappily one not sufficiently lucrative
-to enable them to exist. These, driven
-by the exigencies of their position, seek in
-prostitution that which their profession
-denies them. Among this class we see
-milliners, dressmakers, shop-girls, and servants.
-At Berne the household servants
-send the greatest number of prostitutes
-into this category. The reason is, that
-nine-tenths of them come from the country,
-and are placed in hotels, public-houses,
-tobacco-shops, &amp;c., and, inexperienced,
-easily fall a prey to the temptations held
-out to them.</p>
-
-<p>A few words concerning the places of
-rendezvous may be instructive. The girls
-in a certain position who have a profession
-of some sort, and have no locality adapted
-for meeting their lovers, have recourse to
-the public baths. In these baths each
-chamber has two bathing places: often the
-rooms communicate with one another by
-little doors, which facilitates the commerce
-of the sexes, about which the keeper of the
-baths is profoundly ignorant.</p>
-
-<p>The legislature, as regards sanitary regulations,
-is mute. The only thing that
-can be done is to arrest the girls when it
-can be proved that they are infected, and
-they are then sent to prison.</p>
-
-<p>We subjoin some extracts from the law
-of the 4th June, 1852, respecting drinking-houses
-and other analogous <span class="lock">establishments:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“Art. 37. The authorities of police and
-their servants can, in the exercise of their
-functions, open at any hour of the day or
-night the inns and other like establishments.</p>
-
-<p>“Art. 39. In cases particularly urgent
-and important, the Executive Council is
-authorized to shut any inn or analogous
-establishment.</p>
-
-<p>“Art. 55. The innkeeper must not permit
-in his house any infraction of the
-existing police regulations.”</p>
-
-<p>Innkeepers are further forbidden to
-allow certain rooms in their houses to be
-used for immoral purposes.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">The City of Paris.</span></h3>
-
-<p>From time immemorial the immorality
-of the city of Paris has been proverbial.
-Every historian, no matter what period of
-Parisian history he may have been describing,
-has dwelt more or less on the characteristic
-profligacy of the French nation.
-Yet all documents relating to the middle
-ages must be received with some diffidence,
-as they were chiefly drawn up by ecclesiastics,
-whose interest it has often proved
-to distort facts and falsify statistics. Nevertheless,
-the levity of the French people
-has always been a matter for comment
-amongst the inhabitants of other countries;
-and although we may not find much to instruct
-us in the papers relative to prostitution
-in former times among the Parisians,
-there is much to be relied upon which is
-not altogether uninteresting.</p>
-
-<p>The first document which we possess
-upon the number of prostitutes in Paris
-was drawn up about the year 1762. “This
-document,” says M. Parent Duchatelet, “is
-not much known. We found the MS. in
-the archives of the Prefecture, with other
-papers relating to prostitution.” It contains
-a memoir presented anonymously to
-the lieutenant of police of that period. It
-is written very carefully, and with great
-sagacity, showing a profound knowledge
-of the subject of which it treats. The
-writer estimates the number of prostitutes
-exercising their profession in the city of
-Paris at 25,000. A few years later, another
-writer, alluding to the same subject, reckons
-the number of all classes upon the pavement
-of Paris at 20,000; but neither of
-these give the sources from whence they
-derived their calculation.</p>
-
-<p>The celebrated M. Boucher places the
-number of prostitutes before the Revolution
-at 30,000. These figures are, however,
-supposed to include gay women of every
-kind&mdash;actresses, shop-girls, manufacturing
-women, and public women, openly known as
-such.</p>
-
-<p>It is easy to see that there is a great uncertainty
-in this calculation of the number
-of prostitutes before the Revolution, but
-in the year 1802, Fouché, then Minister of
-Police, having an idea of erecting dispensa<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span>ries
-in every city in France, estimated, in
-speaking of Paris, that it actually did contain
-30,000 public women.</p>
-
-<p>Eight years later, in 1810, the Police
-Minister demanded from his subordinate
-officer an approximate estimate of the
-number of prostitutes in the city; and
-the return furnished to him places the
-number at 18,000, of whom one-half were
-kept-women. In 1825 the author of the
-“<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Biographie des Commissaires de Police</span>”
-was of opinion that the actual number did
-not exceed 15,000.</p>
-
-<p>It was not until after the administration
-of Baron Pasquier, and especially since
-1816, that any reliable documents were
-prepared. The researches were executed
-with great care, and every woman who
-practised with sufficient publicity was
-placed on the returns.</p>
-
-<p>According to M. Duchatelet, the total
-number of prostitutes inscribed on the register in</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="left" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td>1812 was</td><td>15,523</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1813</td><td>20,113</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1814</td><td>22,866</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1815</td><td>22,249</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1816</td><td>26,226</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1817</td><td>28,953</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1818</td><td>31,042</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1819</td><td>31,280</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1820</td><td>32,957</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1821</td><td>34,966</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1822</td><td>34,831</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1823</td><td>32,510</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1824</td><td>31,845</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1825</td><td>31,483</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1826</td><td>29,948</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1827</td><td>29,663</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1828</td><td>31,956</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1829</td><td>34,118</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1830</td><td>36,337</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1831</td><td>39,128</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1832</td><td>42,699</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>
-(This is amalgamating the monthly inscriptions during the entire year.)
-</p>
-
-<p>This calculation extends over 21 years,
-and the author declares the numbers to
-be reliable. It is extremely interesting to
-the statistician to notice the fluctuations
-of vice during different periods of a country’s
-history. In 1815 it will be perceived
-that the number sensibly diminishes, but
-it increases gradually and regularly from
-1816 to 1822, a time at which the inscriptions
-are augmented by more than 2900.
-In 1827 they are again lowered, only to be
-considerably increased in 1830. These
-oscillations must arrest attention, but it is
-incontestable that prostitution has advanced
-with rapid and irresistible strides
-during each successive year that has succeeded,
-and to prove such to be the fact
-we accept from the same authority a table
-indicating the number of women inscribed
-on the registers within the following 22
-years, which will bring us up to 1854, when
-there is a monthly average of 4200.</p>
-
-<p>The total number of women inscribed on
-the register in</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="left" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td>1833 was</td><td>44,676</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1834</td><td>45,382</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1835</td><td>45,759</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1836</td><td>45,811</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1837</td><td>46,584</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1838</td><td>47,881</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1839</td><td>47,630</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1840</td><td>47,153</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1841</td><td>46,635</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1842</td><td>46,089</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1843</td><td>45,846</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1844</td><td>46,340</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1845</td><td>47,559</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1846</td><td>49,915</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1847</td><td>51,422</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1848</td><td>51,298</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1849</td><td>50,015</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1850</td><td>52,291</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1851</td><td>52,918</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1852</td><td>51,620</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1853</td><td>50,614</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1854</td><td>50,790</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<p>
-(It must be understood that the registry is repeated every month.)
-</p>
-
-<p>It has been asserted that Paris was the
-rendezvous of all debauched women in
-France, and that out of every ten thousand
-immodest women in the kingdom nine
-thousand at least are to be looked for in
-the capital. “Not only,” wrote Restif de
-Bretonne, “will you find in Paris ‘Lyonnaises,
-Picardes, Champenoises, Normandes,
-Provencales, Languedociennes,’ &amp;c., but
-foreigners, Germans, Swiss, Poles, Saxons,
-Spaniards, Italians, and even English, have
-resorted there, so that we may even denominate
-Paris the worst place in Europe.”</p>
-
-<p>At the time that Restif wrote, it may
-be almost supposed that Parisians were
-not to be found among the prostitutes of
-the capital.</p>
-
-<p>Among 12,707 women inscribed at Paris
-since April 1816, up to April 1831&mdash;that
-is to say, during 15 years&mdash;24 were not
-able to tell what country they were born
-in, 31 came from different countries foreign
-to Europe, 451 belonged to European countries
-foreign to France, 12,201 were born
-in French departments.</p>
-
-<p>
-Among the 31 strangers to Europe <span class="lock">were&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td>18</td><td>Americans.</td></tr>
-<tr><td>11</td><td>Africans.</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2</td><td>Asiatics.</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<p>During the years 1845 to 1854 Great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span>
-Britain contributed 56 women to swell the
-ranks of the prostitutes in Paris, of which</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">London sent</td><td>30</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bristol</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Brighton</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Liverpool</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sundry Villages</td><td>14</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ireland</td><td>4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Scotland</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Total</td><td class="total">56</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>From the 16th March, 1816, up to the
-31st April, 1831, the total number of girls
-inscribed on the registers has been 12,607,
-of which Paris has furnished 4469, the
-chief towns 6939, and the others have
-come from various places. These statistics
-we consider sufficient to prove the
-fact of the emigration of prostitutes to
-Paris.</p>
-
-<p>It has been supposed that almost all
-prostitutes are natural children. That this
-is not the case is abundantly proved by a
-careful analysis by M. Duchatelet, in which
-he evidences the contrary; out of 1183 children
-born in Paris not quite one-fourth were
-illegitimate.</p>
-
-<p>The list of the professions practised at
-one time by women who have subsequently
-become prostitutes is alarming, from its
-extensiveness, including as it does no less
-than six hundred distinct trades, among
-which we perceive seamstresses, those
-in the linen trade, breeches-makers, flannel-waistcoat
-makers, glovers, upholstresses
-or tapestry-makers, darners and menders,
-strap-makers, botchers, milliners, embroideresses,
-gauze-workers, flowerists, feather-makers,
-those that colour or illuminate,
-knitters, lace-makers, fringe-makers, rope-makers,
-furriers, wool-workers, hair-weavers,
-machinists, cotton-spinners, silk-weavers,
-gold and silver gauze veil-makers,
-shawl-makers, bonnet-makers, and innumerable
-others; indeed, every trade may
-truly be said to be adequately represented
-in this social congress for the propagation
-of vice. There are also those who have once
-been much better off. For instance: seven
-had been shopkeepers in a very respectable
-way of business, three were midwives, one
-an artist, six were musicians and gave
-lessons on the harp and the piano, sixteen
-had been actresses in Paris and the provinces,
-and three (this is a very rare case,
-and an exception to the general rule,) possessed
-an income of 200 francs, of 500, and
-even 1000. It is not easy to determine
-what inducement a life of prostitution
-could hold out to these women.</p>
-
-<p>The total number of women whose professions
-were known amounts to 3120.</p>
-
-<p>The returns go far to evidence the evil
-effects of sedentary occupations upon the
-morals of young girls; then the fluctuations
-in the demand for labour are continually
-throwing the operatives out of work, and
-as a means of existence they naturally resort
-to prostitution to obtain a livelihood.</p>
-
-<p>To show the extent to which education
-has spread amongst this class, we give the
-number of those who signed the register
-well, of those who signed badly, and of
-those who could not sign at all, out of
-4470 girls born and brought up in Paris.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Those who could not sign</td><td>2332</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Those who signed badly</td><td>1780</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Those who signed well, and sometimes very well</td><td>110</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">And of those who possessed no indication to show what they were</td><td>248</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Total</td><td class="total">4470</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>Ignorance is the prevailing characteristic
-of the “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">femmes galantes</span>” generally throughout
-the world, and we find it so in France,
-which is rather singular when we consider
-how comprehensive the scheme of education
-is in that country.</p>
-
-<p>As far as religion goes, they are usually
-deficient in the knowledge of the most
-simple articles of belief. Sometimes they
-are fanatical to a degree, and always superstitious.
-This being the case, it will not
-seem wonderful that they always receive
-the rites of the Church on their deathbeds
-with the greatest confidence, satisfaction,
-and delight.</p>
-
-<p>It is very well known that soldiers and
-sailors have a way of tattooing themselves
-on the chest, the arms, and sometimes the
-legs. The inscriptions are often of great
-size, and elaborately executed. One man
-will have a battle delineated on his skin,
-or the likeness of his sweetheart, but this
-of course depends upon his turn of mind.
-This habit has been adopted in Paris by
-those prostitutes who live in the houses
-frequented by the military. It may in the
-first instance have originated from a desire
-on their part to ingratiate themselves with
-their admirers. At all events, from whatever
-cause it may have arisen, it is now an
-established custom. Women occasionally
-have been seen in the hospital with as
-many as thirty lovers imprinted on the
-throat, the breast and other parts of the
-body, although it is customary for them to
-remove a lover who has been succeeded by
-one more favoured, and the means had re<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span>course
-to, to effect this, are often prejudicial
-to the health of the girl in a fatal degree.
-They will not hesitate to employ sulphuric
-acid, which is as likely as not to raise an
-ulcer which has in very many cases ended
-in the death of the sufferer. Strange to
-say, the figures and inscriptions are rarely,
-if ever, immodest or indecent.</p>
-
-<p>The shibboleth of this class is always
-“<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Vive la bagatelle!</span>” When not actually
-engaged in the pursuits their avocation
-entails upon them, they seldom do anything.
-Their existence, if not altogether dreamy
-and inane, is certainly one marked rather
-by lassitude and inertness than energy and
-briskness. They are perpetually the prey
-of an irresistible craving after excitement,
-which devours them, and the morning and
-afternoon not unfrequently serves only to
-recruit the nerves shattered by the excesses
-of the night before. Reading is not a pastime
-with them, although some may frequently
-be found with books in their hands.</p>
-
-<p>Most prostitutes pass under false names,
-and they even go so far as to change their
-names whenever they have an inclination
-to do so.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>The names that the better class are
-fondest of <span class="lock">are:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<ul>
-<li>Aumale</li>
-<li>Zulma</li>
-<li>Calliope</li>
-<li>Irma</li>
-<li>Zélie</li>
-<li>Amanda</li>
-<li>Pamela</li>
-<li>Modeste</li>
-<li>Natalie</li>
-<li>Sidonia</li>
-<li>Olympia</li>
-<li>Flora</li>
-<li>Thalia</li>
-<li>Artemisia</li>
-<li>Armande</li>
-<li>Leocadia</li>
-<li>Octavia</li>
-<li>Malvina</li>
-<li>Virginia</li>
-<li>Azelina</li>
-<li>Ismeria</li>
-<li>Lodoiska</li>
-<li>Palmira</li>
-<li>Aspasia</li>
-<li>Lucrece</li>
-<li>Clara</li>
-<li>Angelina</li>
-<li>Flavia</li>
-<li>Celina</li>
-<li>Emily</li>
-<li>Reine</li>
-<li>Anais</li>
-<li>Delphini</li>
-<li>Fanny.</li>
-
-</ul>
-
-<p>The lower class do not, as may be supposed,
-possess so refined a taste as their
-more elevated sisters. We subjoin some of
-the most popular to be found in their <span class="lock">vocabulary:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<ul>
-<li>Roussellette</li>
-<li>Collette</li>
-<li>Boulotte</li>
-<li>Mourette</li>
-<li>La Ruelle</li>
-<li>La Roche</li>
-<li>La Courtille</li>
-<li>La Picarde</li>
-<li>Faux Cul</li>
-<li>La Bancale</li>
-<li>La Blonde</li>
-<li>La Provençale</li>
-<li>Belle-Cuisse</li>
-<li>Belle-Lambe</li>
-<li>Le Bœuf</li>
-<li>Brunette</li>
-<li>Bouquet</li>
-<li>Louchon</li>
-<li>Mignarde</li>
-<li>Poil-ras</li>
-<li>Poillong</li>
-<li>Peloton</li>
-<li>Cocote</li>
-<li>Bourdonneuse.</li>
-</ul>
-
-
-<p>Leaving this subject, let us touch upon
-another which deserves our attention.
-Every prostitute has a lover; he is generally
-selected from among the law students,
-medical students, or young barristers, for
-their minds being cultivated and their
-address easy, the woman is charmed by an
-intellectual superiority she can never hope
-to attain to. A great number of prostitutes
-of course recruit for lovers among the shop-boys
-and tradesmen of the city. They become
-so ardently attached to them that they
-will submit to almost any indignity. The
-“<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Paillasson</span>” may be the greatest tyrant
-in his small way that ever had the power
-of lording it over another, but no diminution
-of her regard or passion will result
-from his ill-treatment. A great number of
-young men in Paris have no visible means
-of existence, but a prostitute will, in most
-instances, not only keep her lover out of
-the proceeds of her prostitution, but clothe,
-feed, and even lodge him herself. In fact
-it is more a madness than a passion. They
-will put up with anything,&mdash;wounds, curses,
-blows, all are forgiven and forgotten.</p>
-
-<p>Introducing houses, and houses of accommodation
-are tolerated by the Parisian
-police, for it is found impossible, and perhaps
-impolitic, to suppress them. The
-refuse of the city, both men and women,
-are confined by the police to the lowest
-quarters of the city, that they may be
-under the immediate control of the authorities.
-So that the vilest and most abandoned
-women are allowed to mingle with
-thieves, ruffians, and malefactors of every
-description in a particular locality, instead
-of infesting other parts of the city.</p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_i_0503" style="max-width: 75em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_0503h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>SCENE IN THE GARDENS OF “CLOSERIE DES LILAS.” PARIS.</p></div>
-</div>
-
-<p>The rank and title of “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Dame de Maison</i>,”
-or keeper of a house of ill-fame, being the
-highest pinnacle of a prostitute’s career,
-and the acme of their ambition, of course
-renders such a position a matter of much
-envy and anticipation to them. We can divide
-this class into four distinct <span class="lock">divisions&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>1st. Those who have, so to say, gone
-through the world, having been kept by
-officers in the army, or men of property,
-who, perhaps, are thrown over by their <i>ci-devant</i>
-admirers, and possessing some
-money, establish themselves in this way as
-a means of making a livelihood and obtaining
-a provision for their declining years.</p>
-
-<p>2nd. Those old prostitutes who have
-exercised some economy during their youth,
-and are thus placed in a position to live
-somewhat at their ease.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>3rd. Old servants and confidential women
-who have lived in the service of
-keepers of houses of ill-fame, who have
-an agreement with their mistress to take
-her business or succeed her on her death
-or bankruptcy. These women have a
-knowledge of the places where they have
-lived, and know perfectly well how to
-manage the girls who resort to these houses,
-and thoroughly understand the men who
-visit them.</p>
-
-<p>4th. The fourth class is composed of
-women who have never been prostitutes,
-who often are married and have children.
-The appetite of gain has launched them
-in this career. It is to keep a furnished
-house that they have taken in prostitutes,
-or having set up a public-house they entertain
-loose women to make men come
-there.</p>
-
-<p>There are in Paris some families who
-have kept prostitutes for several generations,
-having positively no other source of
-revenue than the keeping of introducing
-houses or houses of ill-fame. One sees the
-mother exercising her profession in one
-quarter of the city and her daughter in
-another. The daughters succeed their
-mother, the nieces their aunt, etc., but in
-general this is very rare, one not being
-able to indicate more than six families of
-this description.</p>
-
-<p>There are some conditions which these
-people must subscribe to, and which offer
-some guarantee to the authorities for the
-good management of the house. To begin
-with: they must not be too young, lest they
-are unable to possess sufficient authority
-over the women under their jurisdiction;
-twenty-five is generally the lowest age, experience
-teaches us, at which a woman can
-become a safe manager of an immoral
-house. As a rule, licences are refused to
-those who have never been prostitutes.</p>
-
-<p>Force, vigour, energy both of mind and
-body are requisite to a keeper of a house
-of ill-fame, as well as a habit of commanding,
-and something of a masculine
-manner. If to these qualities they join
-good antecedents, if they have not been
-taken before a justice of the peace, if they
-are honest, if they do not favour clandestine
-debauchery, if they are unaccustomed
-to get intoxicated, if they know how to
-read and write, if while they were prostitutes
-they had not a tendency to infringe
-the regulations, the authorisation they
-ask for is not refused them; but unhappily
-it is found too late, that licences are given
-to women who are unable to, or certainly
-do not, carry out these wholesome conditions
-and necessary stipulations. The desire
-to possess this coveted distinction, and
-pass from the condition of a simple prostitute
-to that of “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">dame de maison</span>” often
-fills young women with the greatest anxiety,
-as they do not very well know how to invest
-their money, and they often embark in
-this career in a speculative manner causing
-their enterprise to end in bankruptcy and
-failure; this fills the authorities with great
-trouble and they are extremely particular
-in giving licences, frequently only giving a
-fourth-class one when the party applying
-for it could easily set up a first-class establishment.</p>
-
-<p>Certain speculators will often furnish a
-house, and place a woman in it for immoral
-purposes, who will encourage other women,
-and it becomes a house of ill-fame; other
-intriguing women will also club together
-and establish a house of this sort, and
-install one of their creatures. Now these
-installed women are not really and truly,
-from their subordinate position, to be
-called “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">dames de maison</span>” for if they do
-not every week pay so much money to
-the speculators who have employed them,
-they are instantly turned out and some
-one else comes in their place. It is easy
-to see that this system does not give
-them much authority over the women who
-live in their houses, and through whose instrumentality
-and prostitution the money
-is made. Without authority disorder must
-ensue, and then the police have to interfere.
-There <span class="lock">were&mdash;</span></p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="right">In 1824 &mdash; 163</td><td> of these houses </td><td>in Paris.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">„ 1831 &mdash; 209</td><td>„</td><td>„</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">„ 1832 &mdash; 220</td><td>„</td><td>„</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>On the 1st of January, 1852, there were
-1246 women in these houses. On the 1st
-of December there were 1316, but making
-allowance for those incarcerated, either for
-some offence or for illness, we find the
-number reduced to about 1005 active
-women. There <span class="lock">were&mdash;</span></p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="right">In 1842 &mdash; 193</td><td> tolerated houses </td><td>in Paris.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">„ 1847 &mdash; 177</td><td>„</td><td>„</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">„ 1852 &mdash; 152</td><td>„</td><td>„</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>In which latter year these houses contained
-1005 girls.</p>
-
-<p>In 1854, Paris contained 140 tolerated
-houses in which 1009 women existed.</p>
-
-<p>In the suburbs there <span class="lock">were&mdash;</span></p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="right">In 1842 &mdash; 36</td><td> of these </td><td>houses.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">„ 1847 &mdash; 53</td><td>„</td><td>„</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">„ 1852 &mdash; 65</td><td>„</td><td>„</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>In 1852 the number of girls living in
-them was 417.</p>
-
-<p>In 1854 there were 64 houses containing
-493 women.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The number of these tolerated houses, it
-will be seen, does not fluctuate or change
-very largely, with the exception of those existing
-in the suburbs, in which in ten years,
-that is to say from 1842 to 1852, the number
-was increased by 29. We have shown that
-the summit of a prostitute’s ambition is
-generally to keep a house of ill-fame, and
-such being the case it is only wonderful
-that the number of such houses is not
-larger than it is.</p>
-
-<p>A vast deal of prostitution goes on in
-the small smoking shops, the low public-houses,
-the brandy shops, and the wine
-houses. These refuges exist all over Paris,
-they are innumerable, but one finds them
-collected especially at those points
-where the workmen and the industrial
-classes meet together, such as the larger
-barriers, nearly all the outside boulevards,
-those of the Hospital and the Temple, the
-“Rue Fromenteau” and neighbouring
-places, the streets that touch the large
-bridges, etc.</p>
-
-<p>So far back as 1818, the commissioners of
-the police consulted about this evil, and
-the necessity for suppressing it; for not
-only did it encourage secret vice and defeat
-the ends of the authorities, but it was a
-source of drunkenness and fighting, and indeed
-of all sorts of disorders.</p>
-
-<p>In December, 1851, a decree was promulgated
-by Louis Napoleon which has had
-some effect in reducing the evil, for several
-drinking shops have been closed since then
-for offences against the decree.</p>
-
-<p>It may be interesting to know that frequently
-girls take a dislike to their revolting
-avocation, and return voluntarily to their
-parents. From the 1st January, 1821, to the
-30th December, 1827, 254 girls whose names
-were erased from the registers were taken
-back by their friends, who promised to provide
-them with the means of subsistence,
-and gave guarantees for their good conduct.
-Amongst this <span class="lock">number&mdash;</span></p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="left" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="right">133 </td><td class="left">were </td><td>reclaimed by </td><td>the mother only.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">72</td><td class="center">„</td><td class="center">„</td><td>the father only.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">22</td><td class="center">„</td><td class="center">„</td><td>the mother and father together.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">22</td><td class="center">„</td><td class="center">„</td><td>their brothers.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">9</td><td class="center">„</td><td class="center">„</td><td>their sisters.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">5</td><td class="center">„</td><td class="center">„</td><td>an aunt.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">2</td><td class="center">„</td><td class="center">„</td><td>an uncle.</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>Each of these girls had been inscribed
-during the following <span class="lock">time&mdash;</span></p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="left" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td colspan="2" class="right">120 </td><td class="left">from 1 to </td><td class="left">6 months</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="2" class="right">37 </td><td class="left">more than </td><td class="left">6 months</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="2" class="right">16</td><td class="center">„</td><td>1 year</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="2" class="right">55</td><td class="center">„</td><td>2 years</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="2" class="right">9</td><td class="center">„</td><td>3 years</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="2" class="right">6</td><td class="center">„</td><td>7 years</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="2" class="right">8</td><td class="center">„</td><td>8 years</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="2" class="right">3</td><td class="center">„</td><td>9 years</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">Total&mdash;</td><td class="total">254</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>The sanitary regulations in Paris are beneficial
-to the community at large in the
-highest degree. Physicians are appointed
-by the prefecture, who make periodical
-visits, generally twice a month, for the purpose
-of ascertaining the state of the health
-of their numerous clients. If they should
-discover one infected, she is immediately
-sent to the hospital.</p>
-
-<p>In the foregoing pages we have endeavoured
-to give a brief exposé of the dark
-side of the brilliant volatile city of Paris.
-Such a subject gives ample scope for
-volumes, but the nature of this work confines
-us to dry facts and statistics.</p>
-
-
-<h3 id="Prostitution_in_London"><span class="smcap">Prostitution in London.</span><a name="FNanchor_91_91" id="FNanchor_91_91"></a><a href="#Footnote_91_91" class="fnanchor">[91]</a></h3>
-
-<p>The liberty of the subject is very jealously
-guarded in England, and so tenacious are
-the people of their rights and privileges
-that the legislature has not dared to infringe
-them, even for what by many would
-be considered a just and meritorious purpose.
-Neither are the magistracy or the
-police allowed to enter improper or disorderly
-houses, unless to suppress disturbances
-that would require their presence in
-the most respectable mansion in the land,
-if the aforesaid disturbances were committed
-within their precincts. Until very
-lately the police had not the power of
-arresting those traders, who earned an
-infamous livelihood by selling immoral
-books and obscene prints. It is to the
-late Lord Chancellor Campbell that we
-owe this salutary reform, under whose
-meritorious exertions the disgraceful trade
-of Holywell Street and kindred districts
-has received a blow from which it will
-never again rally.</p>
-
-<p>If the neighbours choose to complain
-before a magistrate of a disorderly house,
-and are willing to undertake the labour,
-annoyance, and expense of a criminal indictment,
-it is probable that their exertions
-may in time have the desired effect; but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span>
-there is no summary conviction, as in
-some continental cities whose condition we
-have studied in another portion of this
-work.</p>
-
-<p>To show how difficult it is to give from
-any data at present before the public anything
-like a correct estimate of the number
-of prostitutes in London, we may mention
-(extracting from the work of Dr. Ryan)
-that while the Bishop of Exeter asserted
-the number of prostitutes in London to
-be 80,000, the City Police stated to Dr.
-Ryan that it did not exceed 7000 to 8000.
-About the year 1793 Mr. Colquhoun, a police
-magistrate, concluded, after tedious investigations,
-that there were 50,000 prostitutes
-in this metropolis. At that period
-the population was one million, and as it is
-now more than double we may form some
-idea of the extensive ramifications of this
-insidious vice.</p>
-
-<p>In the year 1802, when immorality had
-spread more or less all over Europe, owing
-to the demoralizing effects of the French
-Revolution, a society was formed, called
-“The Society for the Suppression of Vice,”
-of which its secretary, Mr. Wilberforce,
-thus <span class="lock">speaks:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“The particular objects to which the
-attention of this Society is directed are as
-follow, viz.&mdash;</p>
-
-<p>“1. The prevention of the profanation
-of the Lord’s day.</p>
-
-<p>“2. Blasphemous publications.</p>
-
-<p>“3. Obscene books, prints, etc.</p>
-
-<p>“4. Disorderly houses.</p>
-
-<p>“5. Fortunetellers.”</p>
-
-<p>When speaking of the third division a
-report of the Society <span class="lock">says&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“In consequence of the renewed intercourse
-with the Continent, incidental to
-the restoration of peace, there has been a
-great influx into the country of the most
-obscene articles of every description, as
-may be inferred from the exhibition of
-indecent snuff-boxes in the shop windows
-of tobacconists. These circumstances having
-tended to a revival of this trade the
-Society have had occasion within the last
-twelve months to resort to five prosecutions,
-which have greatly tended to the
-removal of that indecent display by which
-the public eye has of late been too much
-offended.”</p>
-
-<p>Before the dissolution of the Bristol
-Society for the Suppression of Vice, its
-secretary, Mr. Birtle, wrote (1808) to London
-the following l<span class="lock">etter:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“Sir,&mdash;The Bristol Society for the Suppression
-of Vice being about to dissolve, and
-the agents before employed having moved
-very heavily, I took my horse and rode to
-Stapleton prison to inquire into the facts
-contained in your letter. Inclosed are
-some of the drawings which I purchased in
-what they call their market, without the
-least privacy on their part or mine. They
-wished to intrude on me a variety of devices
-in bone and wood of the most obscene
-kind, particularly those representing a
-crime “<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">inter Christianos non nominandum</i>,”
-which they termed the <i>new fashion</i>. I purchased
-a few, but they are too bulky for a
-letter. This market is held before the
-door of the turnkey every day between the
-hours of ten and twelve.”</p>
-
-<p>At the present day the police wage an
-internecine war with these people, who
-generally go about from fair to fair to sell
-indecent images, mostly imported from
-France; but this traffic is very much on the
-decline, if it is not altogether extinguished.</p>
-
-<p>The reports of the Society for the Suppression
-of Vice are highly interesting, and
-may be obtained gratis on application at
-the Society’s chambers.</p>
-
-<p>Another Society was instituted in May
-1835, called “The London Society for the
-Protection of Young Females, and Prevention
-of Juvenile Prostitution.” We extract
-a few passages from its opening address.</p>
-
-<p>“The committee cannot avoid referring
-to the present dreadfully immoral state of
-the British metropolis. No one can pass
-through the streets of London without
-being struck with the awfully depraved
-condition of a certain class of the youth of
-both sexes at this period (1835). Nor is it
-too much to say that in London crime has
-arrived at a frightful magnitude; nay, it is
-asserted that nowhere does it exist to such
-an extent as in this highly-favoured city.
-Schools for the instruction of youth in
-every species of theft and immorality are
-here established * * * * *. It has been
-proved that 400 individuals procure a livelihood
-by trepanning females from eleven
-to fifteen years of age for the purposes of
-prostitution. Every art is practised, every
-scheme is devised, to effect this object, and
-when an innocent child appears in the
-streets without a protector, she is insidiously
-watched by one of those merciless
-wretches and decoyed under some plausible
-pretext to an abode of infamy and degradation.
-No sooner is the unsuspecting helpless
-one within their grasp than, by a
-preconcerted measure, she becomes a victim
-to their inhuman designs. She is
-stripped of the apparel with which parental
-care or friendly solicitude had clothed her,
-and then, decked with the gaudy trappings
-of her shame, she is compelled to walk the
-streets, and in her turn, while producing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span>
-to her master or mistress the wages of her
-prostitution, becomes the ensnarer of the
-youth of the other sex. After this it is
-useless to attempt to return to the path of
-virtue or honour, for she is then watched
-with the greatest vigilance, and should she
-attempt to escape from the clutches of her
-seducer she is threatened with instant
-punishment, and often barbarously treated.
-Thus situated she becomes reckless, and
-careless of her future course. It rarely
-occurs that one so young escapes contamination;
-and it is a fact that numbers of
-these youthful victims imbibe disease
-within a week or two of their seduction.
-They are then sent to one of the hospitals
-under a fictitious name by their keepers, or
-unfeelingly turned into the streets to
-perish; and it is not an uncommon circumstance
-that within the short space of a
-few weeks the bloom of health, of beauty,
-and of innocence gives place to the sallow
-hue of disease, of despair, and of death.</p>
-
-<p>“This fact will be appreciated when it is
-known that in three of the largest hospitals
-in London within the last eight years (that
-is to say, from 1827 to 1835), there have not
-been less than 2700 cases of disease arising
-from this cause in children from eleven to
-sixteen years of age.”</p>
-
-<p>Léon Faucher, commenting on this, exclaims
-with astonishment, mixed with indignation,
-“<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Deux mille sept cents enfants
-visités par cette horrible peste avant l’âge
-de la puberté! Quel spectacle que celui-là
-pour un peuple qui a des entrailles! Et
-comment éprouver assez de pitié pour les
-victimes, assez d’indignation contre les
-bourreaux!</span>” A Frenchman, looking at the
-way in which his own illustrious country is
-governed, would very naturally exclaim
-against the authorities for not taking steps
-to prevent so much crime and misery, but
-he forgets that although a system may
-work well in France, it is no criterion of its
-excellent working among a nation totally
-dissimilar in their habits and disposition to
-his own.</p>
-
-<p>All French writers have the profoundest
-horror of our social economics. MM.
-Duchatelet, Richelot and Léon Faucher,
-whom we have just quoted, all unite in
-condemning our system of blind and wilful
-toleration. They do not understand the
-temper of the nation, which would never
-allow the State to legislate upon this subject.
-But, nevertheless, we must confess
-that the profligacy of the metropolis of
-England, if not so patent and palpable as
-that of some continental cities we have had
-occasion to refer to, is perhaps as deeply
-rooted, and as impossible to eradicate.
-The legislature, by refusing to interfere,
-have tacitly declared the existence of prostitutes
-to be a necessary evil, the suppression
-of which would produce alarming and
-disastrous effects upon the country at large.
-When any case more than usually flagrant
-occurs it falls within the jurisdiction of the
-Society for the Suppression of Vice, and the
-law is careful to punish anything that can
-be construed into a misdemeanour or a
-felony. In cold climates, as in hot climates,
-we have shown that the passions are the
-main agents in producing the class of
-women that we have under consideration,
-but in temperate zones the animal instinct
-is less difficult to bridle and seldom leads
-the female to abandon herself to the other
-sex. It is a vulgar error, and a popular
-delusion, that the life of a prostitute is as
-revolting to herself, as it appears to the
-moralist sternly lamenting over the condition
-of the fallen; but, on the contrary, investigation
-and sedulous scrutiny lead us
-to a very different conclusion. Authors
-gifted with vivid imaginations love to pourtray
-the misery that is brought upon an
-innocent and confiding girl by the perfidy
-and desertion of her seducer. The pulpit
-too frequently echoes to clerical denunciation
-and evangelical horror, until those unacquainted
-with the actual facts tremble at
-the fate of those whose terrible lot they
-are taught rather to shudder at than commiserate.
-Women who in youth have
-lost their virtue, often contrive to retain
-their reputation; and even when this is not
-the case, frequently amalgamate imperceptibly
-with the purer portion of the population
-and become excellent members of the
-community. The love of woman is usually
-pure and elevated. But when she
-devotes her affections to a man who realizes
-her ideal, she does not hesitate to
-sacrifice all she holds dear, for his gratification,
-ignoring her own interest and her own
-inclination. Actuated by a noble abnegation
-of self, she derives a melancholy
-pleasure from the knowledge that she has
-utterly given up all she had formerly so
-zealously guarded, and she feels that her
-love has reached its grand climacteric,
-when, without the slightest pruriency of
-imagination to urge her on to the consummation,
-without the remotest vestige of
-libidinous desire to prompt her to self-immolation,
-without a shadow of meretricious
-feeling lurking within her, she abandons
-her person beyond redemption to the
-idol she has set up in the highest place in
-her soul. This heroic martyrdom is one of
-the causes, though perhaps not the primary
-or most frequently occurring, of the stream<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span>
-of immorality that insidiously permeates
-our social system. The greatest, and one
-equally difficult to combat, is the low rate
-of wages that the female industrial classes
-of this great city receive, in return for the
-most arduous and wearisome labour. Innumerable
-cases of prostitution through
-want, solely and absolutely, are constantly
-occurring, and this will not be wondered at
-when it is remembered that 105 women in
-England and Wales are born to every 100
-males, which number is further augmented
-by the dangers to which men are exposed
-by their avocations, and also in martial
-service by sea and land. Again, so great are
-the inducements held out by men of lax
-morality and loose principles that procuresses
-find entrapping girls into their
-abodes a most lucrative and profitable
-trade. Some are even brought up from
-their earliest infancy by their pseudo-protectors
-with the full intention that they
-shall embark in the infamous traffic as
-soon as their age will permit them to do so
-remuneratively. A revolting and horrible
-case exemplifying the truth of this statement
-came under our notice some short
-time back. We were examining a girl, who
-gave the following replies to the questions
-put to her.</p>
-
-<p>“My name is Ellen, I have no other.
-Yes, I sometimes call myself by various
-names, but rarely keep to one longer than
-a month or two. I was never baptized that
-I know of; I don’t know much about religion,
-though I think I know the difference
-between right and wrong. I certainly
-think it is wrong to live as I am now
-doing. I often think of it in secret, and
-cry over it, but what can I do? I was
-brought up in the country and allowed to
-run about with some other children. We
-were not taught anything, not even to read
-or write; twice I saw a gentleman who
-came down to the farm, and he kissed me
-and told me to be a good girl. Yes, I remember
-these things very well. I was
-about eleven the last time he came, and
-two years after I was sent up to town,
-carefully dressed and placed in a large
-drawing-room. After I had been there
-some time a gentleman came in with the
-person I had been sent to, and I directly
-recognized him as the one I had seen in
-the country. For the first time in my life
-I glanced at a looking-glass that hung on
-the wall, they being things we never saw
-in the country, and I thought the gentleman
-had changed his place and was standing
-before me, we were so alike. I then
-looked at him steadily for a few moments,
-and at last took his hand. He said something
-to me which I don’t remember, and
-which I did not reply to. I asked him,
-when he had finished speaking, if he was
-my father. I don’t know why I asked him.
-He seemed confused, and the lady of the
-house poured out some wine and gave me,
-after that I don’t know what happened.”</p>
-
-<p>This may be a case of rare occurrence,
-but it is not so morally impossible as at
-first it appears.</p>
-
-<p>In 1857, according to the best authorities,
-there were 8600 prostitutes known to the
-police, but this is far from being even an
-approximate return of the number of loose
-women in the metropolis. It scarcely does
-more than record the circulating harlotry
-of the Haymarket and Regent Street.
-Their actual numerical strength is very
-difficult to compute, for there is an amount
-of oscillatory prostitution it is easy to
-imagine, but impossible to substantiate.
-One of the peculiarities of this class is their
-remarkable freedom from disease. They
-are in the generality of cases notorious for
-their mental and physical elasticity. Syphilis
-is rarely fatal. It is an entirely distinct
-race that suffer from the ravages of the insidious
-diseases that the licence given to
-the passions and promiscuous intercourse
-engender. Young girls, innocent and inexperienced,
-whose devotion has not yet
-bereft them of their innate modesty and
-sense of shame, will allow their systems to
-be so shocked, and their constitutions so
-impaired, before the aid of the surgeon is
-sought for, that when he does arrive his
-assistance is almost useless.</p>
-
-<p>We have before stated (p. <a href="#Page_211">211</a>) the assumed
-number of prostitutes in London to be
-about 80,000, and large as this total may
-appear, it is not improbable that it is below
-the reality rather than above it. One
-thing is certain&mdash;if it be an exaggerated
-statement&mdash;that the real number is swollen
-every succeeding year, for prostitution is
-an inevitable attendant upon extended
-civilization and increased population.</p>
-
-<p>We divide prostitutes into three classes.
-First, those women who are kept by men
-of independent means; secondly, those
-women who live in apartments, and maintain
-themselves by the produce of their
-vagrant amours, and thirdly, those who
-dwell in brothels.</p>
-
-<p>The state of the first of these is the
-nearest approximation to the holy state
-of marriage, and finds numerous defenders
-and supporters. These have their suburban
-villas, their carriages, horses, and sometimes
-a box at the opera. Their equipages
-are to be seen in the park, and occasionally
-through the influence of their aristocratic<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span>
-friends they succeed in obtaining vouchers
-for the most exclusive patrician balls.</p>
-
-<p>Houses in which prostitutes lodge are
-those in which one or two prostitutes
-occupy private apartments; in most cases
-with the connivance of the proprietor.
-These generally resort to night-houses,
-where they have a greater chance of meeting
-with customers than they would have
-were they to perambulate the streets.</p>
-
-<p>Brothels are houses where speculators
-board, dress, and feed women, living upon
-the farm of their persons. Under this
-head we must include introducing houses,
-where the women do not reside, but merely
-use the house as a place of resort in the
-daytime. Married women, imitating the
-custom of Messalina, whom Juvenal so
-vividly describes in his Satires, not uncommonly
-make use of these places. A Frenchwoman
-in the habit of frequenting a notorious
-house in James Street, Haymarket,
-said that she came to town four or five times
-in the week for the purpose of obtaining
-money by the prostitution of her body.
-She loved her husband, but he was unable
-to find any respectable employment, and
-were she not to supply him with the necessary
-funds for their household expenditure
-they would sink into a state of destitution,
-and anything, she added, with simplicity,
-was better than that. Of course her husband
-connived at what she did. He came
-to fetch her home every evening about ten
-o’clock. She had no children. She didn’t
-wish to have any.</p>
-
-<p>It must not be supposed that if some,
-perhaps a majority of them, eventually
-become comparatively respectable, and
-merge into the ocean of propriety, there
-are not a vast number whose lives afford
-matter for the most touching tragedies,&mdash;whose
-melancholy existence is one continual
-struggle for the actual necessaries of
-life, the occasional absence of which entails
-upon them a condition of intermittent starvation.
-A woman who has fallen like a
-star from heaven, may flash like a meteor
-in a lower sphere, but only with a transitory
-splendour. In time her orbit contracts,
-and the improvidence that has been her
-leading characteristic through life now
-trebles and quadruples the misery she experiences.
-To drown reflection she rushes
-to the gin palace, and there completes the
-work that she had already commenced so
-inauspiciously. The passion for dress, that
-distinguished her in common with her sex
-in former days, subsides into a craving for
-meretricious tawdry, and the bloom of
-health is superseded by ruinous and poisonous
-French compounds and destructive
-cosmetics. A hospital surgeon gave us
-the following description of the death of a
-French lorette, who at a very juvenile age
-had been entrapped and imported into this
-country. She had, according to her own
-statement, been born in one of the southern
-departments. When she was fourteen
-years old, the agent of some English speculator
-in human beings came into their
-neighbourhood and proposed that Anille
-should leave her native country and proceed
-to England, where he said there was a
-great demand for female domestic labour,
-which was much better paid for on the
-other side of the Channel. The proposition
-was entertained by the parents, and eagerly
-embraced by the girl herself, who soon
-afterwards, in company with several other
-girls, all deluded in a similar manner, were
-leaving the shores of their native country for
-a doubtful future in one with the language
-of which they were not even remotely acquainted.
-On their arrival their ruin was
-soon effected, and for some years they continued
-to enrich the proprietors of the
-house in which they resided, all the time
-remitting small sums to their families
-abroad, who were unwittingly and involuntarily
-existing upon the proceeds of their
-daughters’ dishonour, and rejoicing in such
-unexpected success. After a while Anille
-was sent adrift to manage for herself. Naturally
-of a refined and sensitive disposition,
-she felt her position keenly, which
-induced a sadness almost amounting to
-hypochondria to steal over her, and although
-very pretty, she found this a great
-obstacle in the way of her success. She
-knew not how to simulate the hollow laugh
-or the reckless smile of her more volatile
-companions, and her mind became more
-diseased day by day, until she found it impracticable
-to think of endeavouring to
-hurl off the morbidity that had taken possession
-of her very soul. At last she fell a
-victim to a contagious disorder, the neglect
-of which ultimately necessitated her removal
-to the hospital. When there, she was
-found to be incurable; an operation was
-performed upon her but without success.
-She bore her illness with childish impatience,
-continually wishing for the end, and
-often imploring me with tearful eyes by the
-intervention of science to put an end to her
-misery. One afternoon, as usual, I came
-to see her. She exclaimed the moment she
-perceived me, I am cheerful to-day. May
-I not recover; I suffer no pain. But her
-looks belied her words; her features were
-frightfully haggard and worn; her eyes, dry
-and bloodshot, had almost disappeared in
-their sockets, and her general appearance<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span>
-denoted the approach of him she had been
-so constantly invoking. Unwrapping some
-bandages, I proceeded to examine her,
-when an extraordinary change came over
-her, and I knew that her dissolution was
-not far distant. Her mind wandered, and
-she spoke wildly and excitedly in her own
-language. After a while she exclaimed,
-“<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">J’ignore où je suis. C’en est fait.</span>” An
-expression of intense suffering contracted
-her emaciated features. “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Je n’en puis plus</span>,”
-she cried, and adding, after a slight pause, in
-a plaintive voice, “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Je me meurs</span>,” her soul
-glided impalpably away, and she was a
-corpse. As a pendant to these remarks, I
-extract an expressive passage from an old
-book. “There are also women (like birds
-of passage) of a migratory nature, who remove
-after a certain time from St. James’s
-and Marylebone end of the town to Covent
-Garden, then to the Strand, and from thence
-to St. Giles and Wapping; from which latter
-place they frequently migrate much further,
-even to New South Wales. Some few return
-in seven years, some in fourteen, and
-some not at all. During their stay here,
-like birds they make their nests upon
-feathers, some higher, some lower than
-others. At first they generally build them
-on the first-floor, afterwards on the second,
-and then up in the cock-loft and garrets,
-from whence they generally take to the
-open air, and become ambulatory and
-noctivagous, and as their price grows less,
-their wandering increases, when many
-perish from the inclemency of the weather,
-and others take their flight abroad.”<a name="FNanchor_92_92" id="FNanchor_92_92"></a><a href="#Footnote_92_92" class="fnanchor">[92]</a></p>
-
-
-<h4><i>Seclusives, or those that live in Private Houses
-and Apartments.</i></h4>
-
-<p>Two classes of prostitutes come under
-this denomination&mdash;first, kept mistresses,
-and secondly, prima donnas or those who
-live in a superior style. The first of these
-is perhaps the most important division of
-the entire profession, when considered with
-regard to its effects upon the higher classes
-of society. Laïs, when under the protection
-of a prince of the blood; Aspasia, whose
-friend is one of the most influential noblemen
-in the kingdom; Phryne, the <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">chère
-amie</span> of a well-known officer in the guards,
-or a man whose wealth is proverbial on the
-Stock Exchange and the city,&mdash;have all
-great influence upon the tone of morality
-extant amongst the set in which their distinguished
-protectors move, and indeed the
-reflex of their dazzling profligacy falls upon
-and bewilders those who are in a lower
-condition of life, acting as an incentive to
-similar deeds of licentiousness though on a
-more limited scale. Hardly a parish in
-London is free from this impurity. Wherever
-the neighbourhood possesses peculiar
-charms, wherever the air is purer than
-ordinary, or the locality fashionably distinguished,
-these tubercles on the social system
-penetrate and abound. Again quoting
-from Dr. Ryan, although we cannot authenticate
-his statements&mdash;“It is computed,
-that 8,000,000<i>l.</i> are expended annually on
-this vice in London alone. This is easily
-proved: some girls obtain from twenty
-to thirty pounds a week, others more,
-whilst most of those who frequent theatres,
-casinos, gin palaces, music halls, &amp;c.,
-receive from ten to twelve pounds. Those
-of a still lower grade obtain about four or
-five pounds, some less than one pound,
-and many not ten shillings. If we take
-the average earnings of each prostitute at
-100<i>l.</i> per annum, which is under the
-amount, it gives the yearly income of
-eight millions.</p>
-
-<p>“Suppose the average expense of 80,000
-amounts to 20<i>l.</i> each, 1,600,000<i>l.</i> is the result.
-This sum deducted from the earnings
-leaves 6,400,000<i>l.</i> as the income of the
-keepers of prostitutes, or supposing 5000
-to be the number, above 1000<i>l.</i> per annum
-each&mdash;an enormous income for men in
-such a situation to derive when compared
-with the resources of many respectable and
-professional men.”</p>
-
-<p>Literally every woman who yields to her
-passions and loses her virtue is a prostitute,
-but many draw a distinction between
-those who live by promiscuous intercourse,
-and those who confine themselves to one
-man. That this is the case is evident from
-the returns before us. The metropolitan
-police do not concern themselves with the
-higher classes of prostitutes; indeed, it
-would be impossible, and impertinent as
-well, were they to make the attempt. Sir
-Richard Mayne kindly informed us that the
-latest computation of the number of public
-prostitutes was made on the 5th of April,
-1858, and that the returns then showed a
-total of 7261.</p>
-
-<p>It is frequently a matter of surprise
-amongst the friends of a gentleman of position
-and connection that he exhibits an invincible
-distaste to marriage. If they were
-acquainted with his private affairs their
-astonishment would speedily vanish, for
-they would find him already to all intents
-and purposes united to one who possesses
-charms, talents, and accomplishments, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span>
-who will in all probability exercise the
-same influence over him as long as the
-former continue to exist. The prevalence
-of this custom, and the extent of its ramifications
-is hardly dreamed of, although its
-effects are felt, and severely. The torch of
-Hymen burns less brightly than of yore,
-and even were the blacksmith of Gretna
-still exercising his vocation, he would find
-his business diminishing with startling
-rapidity year by year.</p>
-
-<p>It is a great mistake to suppose that
-kept mistresses are without friends and
-without society; on the contrary, their acquaintance,
-if not select, is numerous, and it
-is their custom to order their broughams
-or their pony carriages and at the fashionable
-hour pay visits and leave cards on one
-another.</p>
-
-<p>They possess no great sense of honour,
-although they are generally more or less religious.
-If they take a fancy to a man they
-do not hesitate to admit him to their favour.
-Most kept women have several lovers who
-are in the habit of calling upon them at
-different times, and as they are extremely
-careful in conducting these amours they
-perpetrate infidelity with impunity, and in
-ninety-nine cases out of a hundred escape
-detection. When they are unmasked, the
-process, unless the man is very much infatuated,
-is of course summary in the extreme.
-They are dismissed probably with
-a handsome douceur and sent once more
-adrift. They do not remain long, however,
-in the majority of cases, without finding
-another protector.</p>
-
-<p>A woman who called herself Lady &mdash;&mdash;
-met her admirer at a house in Bolton Row
-that she was in the habit of frequenting.
-At first sight Lord &mdash;&mdash; became enamoured,
-and proposed <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">sur le champ</i>, after a little preliminary
-conversation, that she should live
-with him. The proposal with equal rapidity
-and eagerness was accepted, and without
-further deliberation his lordship took
-a house for her in one of the terraces overlooking
-the Regent’s Park, allowed her four
-thousand a year, and came as frequently as
-he could, to pass his time in her society.
-She immediately set up a carriage and a
-stud, took a box at the opera on the pit
-tier, and lived, as she very well could, in excellent
-style. The munificence of her
-friend did not decrease by the lapse of
-time. She frequently received presents of
-jewelry from him, and his marks of attention
-were constant as they were various.
-The continual contemplation of her charms
-instead of producing satiety added fuel to
-the fire, and he was never happy when out
-of her sight. This continued until one day
-he met a young man in her <i>loge</i> at the
-opera, whom she introduced as her cousin.
-This incident aroused his suspicions, and
-he determined to watch her more closely.
-She was surrounded by spies, and in reality
-did not possess one confidential attendant,
-for they were all bribed to betray
-her. For a time, more by accident than
-precaution or care on her part, she succeeded
-in eluding their vigilance, but at
-last the catastrophe happened; she was
-surprised with her paramour in a position
-that placed doubt out of the question, and
-the next day his lordship, with a few
-sarcastic remarks, gave her her <i>congé</i> and
-five hundred pounds.</p>
-
-<p>These women are rarely possessed of
-education, although they undeniably have
-ability. If they appear accomplished you
-may rely that it is entirely superficial. Their
-disposition is volatile and thoughtless,
-which qualities are of course at variance
-with the existence of respectability. Their
-ranks too are recruited from a class where
-education is not much in vogue. The
-fallacies about clergymen’s daughters and
-girls from the middle classes forming the
-majority of such women are long ago exploded;
-there may be some amongst them,
-but they are few and far between. They
-are not, as a rule, disgusted with their way
-of living; most of them consider it a means
-to an end, and in no measure degrading or
-polluting. One and all look forward to
-marriage and a certain state in society as
-their ultimate lot. This is their bourne,
-and they do all in their power to travel
-towards it.</p>
-
-<p>“I am not tired of what I am doing,” a
-woman once answered me, “I rather like it.
-I have all I want, and my friend loves me
-to excess. I am the daughter of a tradesman
-at Yarmouth. I learned to play the
-piano a little, and I have naturally a good
-voice. Yes, I find these accomplishments
-of great use to me; they are, perhaps, as
-you say, the only ones that could be of use
-to a girl like myself. I am three and
-twenty. I was seduced four years ago. I
-tell you candidly I was as much to blame
-as my seducer; I wished to escape from
-the drudgery of my father’s shop. I have
-told you they partially educated me; I
-could cypher a little as well, and I knew
-something about the globes; so I thought
-I was qualified for something better than
-minding the shop occasionally, or sewing,
-or helping my mother in the kitchen and
-other domestic matters. I was very fond
-of dress, and I could not at home gratify<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span>
-my love of display. My parents were
-stupid, easy-going old people, and extremely
-uninteresting to me. All these
-causes combined induced me to encourage
-the addresses of a young gentleman of property
-in the neighbourhood, and without
-much demur I yielded to his desires. We
-then went to London, and I have since
-that time lived with four different men.
-We got tired of one another in six months,
-and I was as eager to leave him as he was
-to get rid of me, so we mutually accommodated
-one another by separating. Well,
-my father and mother don’t exactly know
-where I am or what I am doing, although
-if they had any penetration they might
-very well guess. Oh, yes! they know I
-am alive, for I keep them pleasantly aware
-of my existence by occasionally sending
-them money. What do I think will become
-of me? What an absurd question.
-I could marry to-morrow if I liked.”</p>
-
-<p>This girl was a fair example of her class.
-They live entirely for the moment, and
-care little about the morrow until they are
-actually pressed in any way, and then they
-are fertile in expedients.</p>
-
-<p>We now come to the second class, or
-those we have denominated prima donnas.
-These are not kept like the first that we
-have just been treating of, although several
-men who know and admire them are in
-the habit of visiting them periodically.
-From these they derive a considerable revenue,
-but they by no means rely entirely
-upon it for support. They are continually
-increasing the number of their friends,
-which indeed is imperatively necessary, as
-absence and various causes thin their ranks
-considerably. They are to be seen in the
-parks, in boxes at the theatres, at concerts,
-and in almost every accessible place where
-fashionable people congregate; in fact in all
-places where admittance is not secured by
-vouchers, and in some cases, those apparently
-insuperable barriers fall before their
-tact and address. At night their favourite
-rendezvous is in the neighbourhood of the
-Haymarket, where the hospitality of Mrs.
-Kate Hamilton is extended to them after
-the fatigues of dancing at the Portland
-Rooms, or the excesses of a private party.
-Kate’s may be visited not only to dissipate
-ennui, but with a view to replenishing an
-exhausted exchequer; for as Kate is careful
-as to who she admits into her rooms&mdash;men
-who are able to spend, and come with
-the avowed intention of spending, five or
-six pounds, or perhaps more if necessary&mdash;these
-supper-rooms are frequented by a
-better set of men and women than perhaps
-any other in London. Although these are
-seen at Kate’s they would shrink from appearing
-at any of the cafés in the Haymarket,
-or at the supper-rooms with which
-the adjacent streets abound, nor would
-they go to any other casino than Mott’s.
-They are to be seen between three and five
-o’clock in the Burlington Arcade, which is
-a well known resort of cyprians of the
-better sort. They are well acquainted
-with its Paphian intricacies, and will, if
-their signals are responded to, glide into a
-friendly bonnet shop, the stairs of which
-leading to the cœnacula or upper chambers
-are not innocent of their well formed
-“<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">bien chaussée</span>” feet. The park is also, as
-we have said, a favourite promenade, where
-assignations may be made or acquaintances
-formed. Equestrian exercise is much liked
-by those who are able to afford it, and is
-often as successful as pedestrian, frequently
-more so. It is difficult to say what
-position in life the parents of these women
-were in, but generally their standing in
-society has been inferior. Principles of
-lax morality were early inculcated, and the
-seed that has been sown has not been slow
-to bear its proper fruit.</p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_i_0513" style="max-width: 75em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_0513h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>A NIGHT HOUSE.&mdash;KATE HAMILTON’S.</p></div>
-</div>
-
-
-<p>It is true that a large number of milliners,
-dress-makers, furriers, hat-binders,
-silk-binders, tambour-makers, shoe-binders,
-slop-women, or those who work for cheap
-tailors, those in pastry-cooks, fancy and
-cigar shops, bazaars, servants to a great extent,
-frequenters of fairs, theatres, and dancing-rooms,
-are more or less prostitutes
-and patronesses of the numerous brothels
-London can boast of possessing; but these
-women do not swell the ranks of the class
-we have at present under consideration.
-More probably they are the daughters of
-tradesmen and of artizans, who gain a superficial
-refinement from being apprenticed,
-and sent to shops in fashionable localities,
-and who becoming tired of the drudgery
-sigh for the gaiety of the dancing-saloons,
-freedom from restraint, and amusements
-that are not in their present capacity within
-their reach.</p>
-
-<p>Loose women generally throw a veil over
-their early life, and you seldom, if ever,
-meet with a woman who is not either a seduced
-governess or a clergyman’s daughter;
-not that there is a word of truth in such
-an allegation&mdash;but it is their peculiar whim
-to say so.</p>
-
-<p>To show the extent of education among
-women who have been arrested by the
-police during a stated period, we print the
-annexed table, dividing the virtuous criminals
-from the prostitutes.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<h4>DEGREE OF EDUCATION AMONGST PROSTITUTES.</h4>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Degree of Instruction</span> amongst Prostitutes compared with the Degree of Instruction
-among Women not Prostitutes, arrested for breaking various laws (London). The City
-not included.</p></div>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th colspan="2" rowspan="2"><span class="smcap">Periods</span>&mdash;taking 10,000 in each period. Total of women arrested of both classes 405·362.</th><th colspan="5">Degree of Instruction amongst virtuous women brought up in the Police Courts for various offences during the years elapsing from 1837 to 1854 inclusive.</th></tr>
-<tr><th></th><th>Not able to read or write.</th><th>Able to read only, or read and write imperfectly.</th><th>Knowing how to read and write well.</th><th>Very well instructed.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">1st period</td><td class="right">6 years 1837-42</td><td>10,000</td><td>4,813</td><td>4,838</td><td>327</td><td>22</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">2nd &nbsp;&nbsp; „</td><td class="right">6 &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; 1843-48</td><td>10,000</td><td>4,167</td><td>5,534</td><td>279</td><td>20</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">3rd &nbsp;&nbsp; „</td><td class="right">6 &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; 1849-54</td><td>10,000</td><td>2,802</td><td>1,972</td><td>209</td><td>17</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">1st period</td><td class="right">9 years 1837-45</td><td>10,000</td><td>4,570</td><td>5,098</td><td>312</td><td>20</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">2nd &nbsp;&nbsp; „</td><td class="right">9 &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; 1846-54</td><td>10,000</td><td>3,247</td><td>6,504</td><td>320</td><td>19</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Total period</td><td class="right">18 &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; 1837-54</td><td>10,000</td><td>3,861</td><td>5,851</td><td>268</td><td>20</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th colspan="2" rowspan="2"><span class="smcap">Periods</span>&mdash;taking 10,000 in each period. Total of women arrested of both classes 405·362.</th><th colspan="5">Degree of Instruction among Prostitutes similarly arrested.</th></tr>
-<tr><th></th><th>Not able to read or write.</th><th>Able to read only, or read and write imperfectly.</th><th>Knowing how to read and write well.</th><th>Very well instructed.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">1st period</td><td class="right">6 years 1837-42</td><td>10,000</td><td>4,524</td><td>5,031</td><td>432</td><td>13</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">2nd &nbsp;&nbsp; „</td><td class="right">6 &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; 1843-48</td><td>10,000</td><td>3,672</td><td>5,893</td><td>425</td><td>10</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">3rd &nbsp;&nbsp; „</td><td class="right">6 &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; 1849-54</td><td>10,000</td><td>2,305</td><td>7,444</td><td>212</td><td>39</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">1st period</td><td class="right">9 years 1837-45</td><td>10,000</td><td>4,109</td><td>5,424</td><td>455</td><td>12</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">2nd &nbsp;&nbsp; „</td><td class="right">9 &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; 1846-54</td><td>10,000</td><td>2,821</td><td>6,910</td><td>236</td><td>33</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Total period</td><td class="right">18 &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; 1837-54</td><td>10,000</td><td>3,498</td><td>6,129</td><td>351</td><td>22</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>This table shows us that public women
-are a little less illiterate than those who
-together with them form the most infamous
-part of the population. But we must remember
-that this is hardly a fair criterion of
-the education of all the prostitutes, or of
-prostitutes as a class, because we have
-only summed up those who were arrested
-for some crime or offence, so we may justly
-suppose them to have been the worst of
-their class in every respect.</p>
-
-<p>We see however that of the total number
-of women arrested during a period of 18
-years, there were in every 10,<span class="lock">000&mdash;</span></p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="left" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="right">3,498</td><td> not knowing how to read or write.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">6,129</td><td> able to read only, or read and write badly.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">351</td><td> able to read and write well.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">22</td><td> educated in a superior manner.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right total">10,000</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>We next come to the consideration of
-convives, or those who live in the same
-house with a number of others, and we will
-commence with those who are independent
-of the mistress of the house. These women
-locate themselves in the immediate
-vicinity of the Haymarket, which at night
-is their principal scene of action, when the
-hospitable doors of the theatres and casinos
-are closed. They are charged enormously
-for the rooms they occupy, and their landlords
-defend themselves for their extortionate
-demands, by alleging that, as
-honesty is not a leading feature in the
-characters of their lodgers, they are compelled
-to protect their own interest by
-exacting an exorbitant rent. A drawing-room
-floor in Queen Street, Windmill Street,
-which is a favourite part on account of its
-proximity to the Argyll Rooms, is worth
-three, and sometimes four pounds a-week,
-and the other <i>étages</i> in proportion. They
-never stay long in one house, although<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span>
-some will remain for ten or twelve months
-in a particular lodging. It is their principle
-to get as deeply into debt as they are able,
-and then to pack up their things, have
-them conveyed elsewhere by stealth, and
-defraud the landlord of his money. The
-houses in some of the small streets in the
-neighbourhood of Langham Place are let to
-the people who underlet them for three
-hundred a-year, and in some cases at a
-higher rental. This class of prostitutes do
-not live together on account of a gregarious
-instinct, but simply from necessity, as
-their trade would necessarily exclude them
-from respectable lodging-houses. They
-soon form an acquaintance with the girls
-who inhabit the same house, and address
-one another as “my dear,” an unmeaning,
-but very general epithet, an hour or two
-after their first meeting. They sometimes
-prefer the suburbs to reside in, especially
-while Cremorne is open; but some live at
-Brompton and Pimlico all the year round.
-One of their most remarkable characteristics
-is their generosity, which perhaps is unparalleled
-by the behaviour of any others,
-whether high or low in the social scale.
-They will not hesitate to lend one another
-money if they have it, whether they can
-spare it or not, although it is seldom that
-they can, from their innate recklessness
-and acquired improvidence. It is very common,
-too, for them to lend their bonnets
-and their dresses to their friends. If a
-woman of this description is voluble and
-garrulous, she is much sought after by the
-men who keep the cafés in the Haymarket,
-to sit decked out in gorgeous attire behind
-the counters, so that by her interesting
-appearance and the <i>esprit</i> she displays, the
-<i>habitués</i> of those places, but more usually
-those who pay only a casual visit, may be
-entrapped into purchasing some of the
-wares and fancy articles that are retailed
-at ten times their actual value. In order
-to effect this they will exert all their talents,
-and an inexperienced observer would imagine
-that they indeed entertain some feeling
-of affection or admiration for their
-victim, by the cleverness with which they
-simulate its existence. The man whose
-vanity leads him to believe that he is
-selected by the beautiful creature who condescends
-to address him, on account of his
-personal appearance, would be rather disgusted
-if he were to perceive the same
-blandishments lavished upon the next
-comer, and would regret the ten shillings
-he paid with pleasure for a glove-box, the
-positive market value of which is hardly
-one-fifth of the money he gave for it.</p>
-
-<p>There is a great abandonment of everything
-that one may strictly speaking denominate
-womanly. Modesty is utterly
-annihilated, and shame ceases to exist in
-their composition. They all more or less
-are given to habits of drinking.</p>
-
-<p>“When I am sad I drink,” a woman
-once said to us. “I’m very often sad,
-although I appear to be what you call
-reckless. Well! we don’t fret that we
-might have been ladies, because we never
-had a chance of that, but we have forfeited
-a position nevertheless, and when we think
-that we have fallen, never to regain that
-which we have descended from, and in some
-cases sacrificed everything for a man who
-has ceased to love and deserted us, we get
-mad. The intensity of this feeling does
-wear off a little after the first; but there’s
-nothing like gin to deaden the feelings.
-What are my habits? Why, if I have no
-letters or visits from any of my friends, I
-get up about four o’clock, dress (”<i>en dishabille</i>“)
-and dine; after that I may walk
-about the streets for an hour or two, and
-pick up any one I am fortunate enough to
-meet with, that is if I want money; afterwards
-I go to the Holborn, dance a little,
-and if any one likes me I take him home
-with me, if not I go to the Haymarket, and
-wander from one café to another, from
-Sally’s to the Carlton, from Barn’s to Sam’s,
-and if I find no one there I go, if I feel inclined,
-to the divans. I like the Grand
-Turkish best, but you don’t as a rule find
-good men in any of the divans. Strange
-things happen to us sometimes: we may
-now and then die of consumption; but the
-other day a lady friend of mine met a
-gentleman at Sam’s, and yesterday morning
-they were married at St. George’s, Hanover
-Square. The gentleman has lots of money,
-I believe, and he started off with her at
-once for the Continent. It is very true
-this is an unusual case; but we often do
-marry, and well too; why shouldn’t we, we
-are pretty, we dress well, we can talk and
-insinuate ourselves into the hearts of men
-by appealing to their passions and their
-senses.”</p>
-
-<p>This girl was shrewd and clever, perhaps
-more so than those of her rank in the profession
-usually are; but her testimony is
-sufficient at once to dissipate the foolish
-idea that ought to have been exploded long
-ago, but which still lingers in the minds of
-both men and women, that the harlot’s
-progress is short and rapid, and that there
-is no possible advance, moral or physical;
-and that once abandoned she must always
-be profligate.</p>
-
-<p>Another woman told us, she had been
-a prostitute for two years; she became so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span>
-from necessity; she did not on the whole
-dislike her way of living; she didn’t think
-about the sin of it; a poor girl must live;
-she wouldn’t be a servant for anything;
-this was much better. She was a lady’s
-maid once, but lost her place for staying
-out one night with the man who seduced
-her; he afterwards deserted her, and then
-she became bad. She was fonder of dress
-than anything. On an average she had a
-new bonnet once a week, dresses not so
-often; she liked the casinos, and was
-charmed with Cremorne; she hated walking
-up and down the Haymarket, and seldom
-did it without she wanted money very
-much. She liked the Holborn better than
-the Argyll, and always danced.</p>
-
-
-<h4><i>Board Lodgers.</i></h4>
-
-<p>Board lodgers are those who give a portion
-of what they receive to the mistress
-of the brothel in return for their board and
-lodging. As we have had occasion to observe
-before, it is impossible to estimate
-the number of brothels in London, or even
-in particular parishes, not only because
-they are frequently moving from one district
-to another, but because our system so
-hates anything approaching to <i>espionage</i>,
-that the authorities do not think it worth
-their while to enter into any such computation.
-From this it may readily be understood
-how difficult the task of the statistician
-is. Perhaps it will be sufficient to say
-that these women are much more numerous
-than may at first be imagined; although
-those who give the whole of what they get
-in return for their board, lodging, and
-clothes are still more so. In Lambeth
-there are great numbers of the lowest of
-these houses, and only very recently the
-proprietors of some eight or ten of the
-worst were summoned before a police
-magistrate, and the parish officers who
-made the complaint bound over to prosecute
-at the sessions. It is much to be
-regretted that in dealing with such cases
-the method of procedure is not more expeditious
-and less expensive. Let us take
-for example one of the cases we have been
-quoting. A man is openly accused of
-keeping a ruffianly den filled with female
-wretches, destitute of every particle of
-modesty and bereft of every atom of shame,
-whose actual occupation is to rob, maltreat,
-and plunder the unfortunate individuals
-who so far stultify themselves as to allow
-the decoys to entrap them into their snares,
-let us hope, for the sake of humanity, while
-in a state of intoxication or a condition of
-imbecility. Very well; instead of an easy
-inexpensive process, the patriotic persons
-who have devoted themselves to the exposure
-of such infamous rascality, find
-themselves involved in a tedious criminal
-prosecution, and in the event of failure lay
-themselves open to an action. Mysterious
-disappearances, Waterloo Bridge tragedies,
-and verdicts of found drowned, are common
-enough in this great city. Who knows
-how many of these unfathomable affairs
-may have been originated, worked out, and
-consummated in some disgusting rookery
-in the worst parts of our most demoralized
-metropolitan parishes; but it is with the
-better class of these houses we are more
-particularly engaged at present. During
-the progress of these researches, we met
-a girl residing at a house in a street running
-out of Langham Place. Externally the
-house looked respectable enough; there
-was no indication of the profession or mode
-of life of the inmates, except that, from the
-fact of some of the blinds being down in
-the bed rooms, you might have thought
-the house contained an invalid. The
-rooms, when you were ushered in, were
-well, though cheaply furnished; there were
-coburg chairs and sofas, glass chandeliers,
-and handsome green curtains. The girl with
-whom we were brought into conversation
-was not more than twenty-three; she told
-us her age was twenty, but statements of a
-similar nature, when made by this class, are
-never to be relied on. At first she treated
-our inquiries with some levity, and jocularly
-inquired what we were inclined to stand,
-which we justly interpreted into a desire
-for something to drink; we accordingly
-“stood” a bottle of wine, which had the
-effect of making our informant more communicative.
-What she told us was briefly
-this. Her life was a life of perfect slavery,
-she was seldom if ever allowed to go out,
-and then not without being watched. Why
-was this? Because she would “cut it” if
-she got a chance, they knew that very well,
-and took very good care she shouldn’t have
-much opportunity. Their house was rather
-popular, and they had lots of visitors; she
-had some particular friends who always
-came to see her. They paid her well, but
-she hardly ever got any of the money.
-Where was the odds, she couldn’t go out
-to spend it? What did she want with
-money, except now and then for a drain
-of white satin. What was white satin?
-Where had I been all my life to ask such a
-question? Was I a dodger? She meant a
-parson. No; she was glad of that, for she
-hadn’t much idea of them, they were a
-canting lot. Well, white satin, if I must
-know, was gin, and I couldn’t say she never
-taught me anything. Where was she born?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span>
-Somewhere in Stepney. What did it matter
-where; she could tell me all about it if she
-liked, but she didn’t care. It touched her
-on the raw&mdash;made her feel too much. She
-was ’ticed when she was young, that is, she
-was decoyed by the mistress of the house
-some years ago. She met Mrs. &mdash;&mdash; in the
-street, and the woman began talking to her
-in a friendly way. Asked her who her
-father was (he was a journeyman carpenter),
-where he lived, extracted all about her
-family, and finally asked her to come home
-to tea with her. The child, delighted at
-the making the acquaintance of so kind and
-so well-dressed a lady, willingly acquiesced,
-without making any demur, as she never
-dreamt of anything wrong, and had not
-been cautioned by her father. She had
-lost her mother some years ago. She was
-not brought direct to the house where I
-found her? Oh! no. There was a branch
-establishment over the water, where they
-were broken in as it were. How long did
-she remain there? Oh! perhaps two
-months, maybe three; she didn’t keep
-much account how time went. When she
-was conquered and her spirit broken, she
-was transported from the first house to a
-more aristocratic neighbourhood. How did
-they tame her? Oh! they made her drunk
-and sign some papers, which she knew
-gave them great power over her, although
-she didn’t exactly know in what the said
-power consisted, or how it might be exercised.
-Then they clothed her and fed her
-well, and gradually inured her to that sort
-of life. And now, was there anything else
-I’d like to know particularly, because if
-there was, I’d better look sharp about asking
-it, as she was getting tired of talking,
-she could tell me. Did she expect to lead
-this life till she died? Well she never did,
-if I wasn’t going to preachify. She couldn’t
-stand that&mdash;anything but that.</p>
-
-<p>I really begged to apologize if I had
-wounded her sensibility; I wasn’t inquiring
-from a religious point of view, or with
-any particular motive. I merely wished to
-know, to satisfy my own curiosity.</p>
-
-<p>Well, she thought me a very inquisitive
-old party, anyhow. At any rate, as I was
-so polite she did not mind answering my
-questions. Would she stick to it till she
-was a stiff ’un? She supposed she would;
-what else was there for her? Perhaps
-something might turn up; how was she
-to know? She never thought she would
-go mad; if she did, she lived in the present,
-and never went blubbering about as some
-did. She tried to be as jolly as she could;
-where was the fun of being miserable?</p>
-
-<p>This is the philosophy of most of her
-sisterhood. This girl possessed a talent
-for repartee, which accomplishment she
-endeavoured to exercise at my expense, as
-will be perceived by the foregoing, though
-for many reasons I have adhered to her
-own vernacular. That her answers were
-true, I have no reason to question, and
-that this is the fate of very many young
-girls in London, there is little doubt; indeed,
-the reports of the Society for the
-Protection of Young Females sufficiently
-prove it. Female virtue in great cities
-has innumerable assailants, and the moralist
-should pity rather than condemn. We
-are by no means certain that meretricious
-women who have been in the habit of
-working before losing their virtue, at some
-trade or other, and are able to unite the
-two together, are conscious of any annoyance
-or a want of self-respect at being what
-they are. This class have been called the
-“amateurs,” to contradistinguish them
-from the professionals, who devote themselves
-to it entirely as a profession. To be
-unchaste amongst the lower classes is
-not always a subject of reproach. The
-commerce of the sexes is so general that to
-have been immodest is very seldom a bar
-to marriage. The depravity of manners
-amongst boys and girls begins so very
-early, that they think it rather a distinction
-than otherwise to be unprincipled. Many
-a shoeblack, in his uniform and leathern
-apron, who cleans your boots for a penny
-at the corners of the streets, has his sweetheart.
-Their connection begins probably
-at the low lodging-houses they are in the
-habit of frequenting, or, if they have a home,
-at the penny gaffs and low cheap places of
-amusement, where the seed of so much
-evil is sown. The precocity of the youth
-of both sexes in London is perfectly astounding.
-The drinking, the smoking, the
-blasphemy, indecency, and immorality that
-does not even call up a blush is incredible,
-and charity schools and the spread of education
-do not seem to have done much to
-abate this scourge. Another very fruitful
-source of early demoralization is to be looked
-for in the quantities of penny and halfpenny
-romances that are sold in town and country.
-One of the worst of the most recent ones
-is denominated, “Charley Wag, or the New
-Jack Shepherd, a history of the most successful
-thief in London.” To say that these are
-not incentives to lust, theft, and crime of
-every description is to cherish a fallacy.
-Why should not the police, by act of Parliament,
-be empowered to take cognizance of
-this shameful misuse of the art of printing?
-Surely some clauses could be added to Lord
-Campbell’s Act, or a new bill might be intro<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span>duced
-that would meet the exigencies of
-the case, without much difficulty.</p>
-
-<p>Men frequent the houses in which women
-board and lodge for many reasons, the chief
-of which is secrecy; they also feel sure that
-the women are free from disease, if they
-know the house, and it bears an average
-reputation for being well conducted. Men in
-a certain position avoid publicity in their
-amours beyond all things, and dread being
-seen in the neighbourhood of the Haymarket
-or the Burlington Arcade at certain
-hours, as their professional reputation
-might be compromised. Many serious,
-demure people conceal the iniquities of
-their private lives in this way.</p>
-
-<p>If Asmodeus were loquacious, how interesting
-and anecdotical a scandal-monger
-he might become!</p>
-
-<p>Another woman told me a story, varying
-somewhat from that of the first I examined,
-which subsequent experience has shown
-me is slightly stereotyped. She was the
-victim of deliberate cold-blooded seduction;
-in course of time a child was born; up to
-this time her seducer had treated her with
-affection and kindness, but he now, after
-presenting her with fifty pounds, deserted
-her. Thrown on her own resources, as it
-were, she did not know what to do; she
-could not return to her friends, so she went
-into lodgings at a very small rental, and
-there lived until her money was expended.
-She then supported herself and her child
-by doing machine-work for a manufacturer,
-but at last bad times came, and she was
-thrown out of work; of course the usual
-amount of misery consequent on such a
-catastrophe ensued. She saw her child
-dying by inches before her face, and this
-girl, with tears in her eyes, assured me she
-thanked God for it. “I swear,” she added,
-“I starved myself to nourish it, until I was
-nothing but skin and bone, and little enough
-of that; I knew from the first, the child
-must die, if things didn’t improve, and I
-felt they wouldn’t. When I looked at my
-little darling I knew well enough he was
-doomed, but he was not destined to drag on
-a weary existence as I was, and I was glad
-of it. It may seem strange to you, but
-while my boy lived, I couldn’t go into
-the streets to save his life or my own&mdash;I
-couldn’t do it. If there had been a foundling-hospital,
-I mean as I hear there is in foreign
-parts, I would have placed him there, and
-worked somehow, but there wasn’t, and a
-crying shame it is too. Well, he died at
-last, and it was all over. I was half mad
-and three parts drunk after the parish
-burying, and I went into the streets at last;
-I rose in the world&mdash;(here she smiled sarcastically)&mdash;and
-I’ve lived in this house for
-years, but I swear to God I haven’t had a
-moment’s happiness since the child died, except
-when I’ve been dead drunk or maudlin.”</p>
-
-<p>Although this woman did not look upon
-the death of her child as a crime committed
-by herself, it was in reality none the less
-her doing; she shunned the workhouse,
-which might have done something for her,
-and saved the life, at all events, of her
-child; but the repugnance evinced by every
-woman who has any proper feeling for a
-life in a workhouse or a hospital, can hardly
-be imagined by those who think that,
-because people are poor, they must lose all
-feeling, all delicacy, all prejudice, and all
-shame.</p>
-
-<p>Her remarks about a foundling-hospital
-are sensible; in the opinion of many it is a
-want that ought to be supplied. Infanticide
-is a crime much on the increase, and what
-mother would kill her offspring if she could
-provide for it in any way?</p>
-
-<p>The analysis of the return of the coroners’
-inquests held in London, for the five years
-ending in 1860, shows a total of 1130 inquisitions
-on the bodies of children under
-two years of age, all of whom had been
-murdered. The average is 226 yearly.</p>
-
-<p>Here we have 226 children killed yearly
-by their parents: this either shows that
-our institutions are defective, or that great
-depravity is inherent amongst Englishwomen.
-The former hypothesis is much
-more likely than the latter, which we are
-by no means prepared to indorse. This
-return, let it be understood, does not, indeed
-cannot, include the immense number of
-embryo children who are made away with
-by drugs and other devices, all of whom we
-have a right to suppose would have seen
-the light if adequate provision could have
-been found for them at their birth.</p>
-
-<p>A return has also been presented to
-Parliament, at the instance of Mr. Kendal,
-M.P., from which we find that 157,485
-summonses in bastardy cases were issued
-between the years 1845 and 1859 inclusive,
-but that only 124,218 applications against
-the putative fathers came on for hearing,
-while of this number orders for maintenance
-were only made in 107,776 cases,
-the remaining summonses, amounting to
-15,981, being dismissed. This latter fact
-gives a yearly average of 1,141 illegitimate
-children thrown back on their wretched
-mothers. These statistics are sufficiently
-appalling, but there is reason to fear that
-they only give an approximate idea of the
-illegitimate infantile population, and more
-especially of the extent to which infanticide
-prevails.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<h4><i>Those who live in Low Lodging Houses.</i></h4>
-
-<p>In order to find these houses it is necessary
-to journey eastwards, and leave the artificial
-glitter of the West-end, where vice is
-pampered and caressed. Whitechapel,
-Wapping, Ratcliff Highway, and analogous
-districts, are prolific in the production of
-these infamies. St. George’s-in-the-East
-abounds with them, kept, for the most part,
-by disreputable Jews, and if a man is unfortunate
-enough to fall into their clutches
-he is sure to become the spoil of Israel.
-We may, however, find many low lodging-houses
-without penetrating so far into the
-labyrinth of east London. There are numbers
-in Lambeth; in the Waterloo Road
-and contiguous streets; in small streets
-between Covent Garden and the Strand,
-some in one or two streets running out of
-Oxford Street. There is a class of women
-technically known as “bunters,” who take
-lodgings, and after staying some time run
-away without paying their rent. These
-victimise the keepers of low lodging-houses
-successfully for years. A “bunter,” whose
-favourite promenade, especially on Sundays,
-was the New Cut, Lambeth, said “she never
-paid any rent, hadn’t done it for years, and
-never meant to. They was mostly Christ-killers,
-and chousing a Jew was no sin; leastways,
-none as she cared about committing.
-She boasted of it: had been known about
-town this ever so long as Swindling Sal. And
-there was another, a great pal of her’n, as
-went by the name of Chousing Bett.
-Didn’t they know her in time? Lord bless
-me, she was up to as many dodges as there
-was men in the moon. She changed places,
-she never stuck to one long; she never had
-no things for to be sold up, and, as she
-was handy with her mauleys, she got on
-pretty well. It took a considerable big
-man, she could tell me, to kick her out of
-a house, and then when he done it she
-always give him something for himself, by
-way of remembering her. Oh! they had a
-sweet recollection of her, some on ’em.
-She’d crippled lots of the &mdash;&mdash; crucifiers.”
-“Did she never get into a row?” “Lots on
-’em, she believed me. Been quodded no end
-of times. She knew every beak as sot on the
-cheer as well as she knew Joe the magsman,
-who, she <i>might</i> say, wor a very perticaler
-friend of her’n.” “Did he pay her well?”</p>
-
-<p>This was merely a question to ascertain
-the amount of remuneration that she, and
-others like her, were in the habit of receiving;
-but it had the effect of enraging
-her to a great extent. My informant was a
-tall, stout woman, about seven-and-twenty,
-with a round face, fat cheeks, a rather
-wheezy voice, and not altogether destitute
-of good looks. Her arms were thick and
-muscular, while she stood well on her legs,
-and altogether appeared as if she would be
-a formidable opponent in a street-quarrel
-or an Irish row.</p>
-
-<p>“Did he pay well? Was I a-going to insult
-her? What was I asking her sich a
-’eap of questions for? Why, Joe was good
-for a &mdash;&mdash; sight more than she thought I
-was!&mdash;“polite.” Then she was sorry for it,
-never meant to be. Joe worn’t a five-bobber,
-much less a bilker, as she’d take her dying
-oath I was.” “Would she take a drop of
-summut?” “Well, she didn’t mind if she did.”</p>
-
-<p>An adjournment to a public-house in the
-immediate vicinity, where “Swindling Sal”
-appeared very much at home, mollified and
-appeased her.</p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_i_0528" style="max-width: 75em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_0528h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>THE NEW CUT.&mdash;EVENING.</p></div>
-</div>
-
-<p>The “drop of summut short, miss,” was
-responded to by the young lady behind the
-bar by a monosyllabic query, “Neat?”
-The reply being in the affirmative, a glass
-of gin was placed upon the marble counter,
-and rapidly swallowed, while a second, and
-a third followed in quick succession, much,
-apparently, to the envy of a woman in the
-same compartment, who, my informant
-told me in a whisper, was “Lushing Lucy,”
-and a stunner&mdash;whatever the latter appellation
-might be worth. But the added
-“Me an’ ’er ’ad a rumpus,” was sufficient to
-explain the fact of their not speaking.</p>
-
-<p>“What do you think you make a week?”
-at last I ventured to ask.</p>
-
-<p>“Well, I’ll tell yer,” was the response:
-“one week with another I makes nearer on
-four pounds nor three&mdash;sometimes five. I
-’ave done eight and ten. Now Joe, as you
-’eered me speak on, he does it ’ansome,
-he does: I mean, you know, when he’s in
-luck. He give me a fiver once after cracking
-a crib, and a nice spree me an’ Lushing
-Loo ’ad over it. Sometimes I get three
-shillings, half-a-crown, five shillings, or ten
-occasionally, accordin’ to the sort of man.
-What is this Joe as I talks about? Well,
-I likes your cheek, howsomever, he’s a
-’ousebreaker. I don’t do anything in that
-way, never did, and shant; it aint safe, it
-aint. How did I come to take to this sort
-of life? It’s easy to tell. I was a servant
-gal away down in Birmingham. I got tired
-of workin’ and slavin’ to make a livin’, and
-getting a &mdash;&mdash; bad one at that; what o’
-five pun’ a year and yer grub, I’d sooner
-starve, I would. After a bit I went to Coventry,
-cut Brummagem, as we calls it in
-those parts, and took up with the soldiers
-as was quartered there. I soon got tired
-of them. Soldiers is good&mdash;soldiers is&mdash;to
-walk with and that, but they don’t pay;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span>
-cos why, they aint got no money; so I says
-to myself, I’ll go to Lunnon, and I did. I
-soon found my level there. It is a queer
-sort of life, the life I’m leading, and now I
-think I’ll be off. Good night to yer. I
-hope we’ll know more of one another when
-we two meets again.”</p>
-
-<p>When she was gone I turned my attention
-to the woman I have before alluded to.
-“Lushing Loo” was a name uneuphemistic,
-and calculated to prejudice the hearer
-against the possessor. I had only glanced
-at her before, and a careful scrutiny surprised
-me, while it impressed me in her
-favour. She was lady-like in appearance,
-although haggard. She was not dressed in
-flaring colours and meretricious tawdry.
-Her clothes were neat, and evidenced taste
-in their selection, although they were cheap.
-I spoke to her; she looked up without
-giving me an answer, appearing much dejected.
-Guessing the cause, which was
-that she had been very drunk the night
-before, and had come to the public-house
-to get something more, but had been unable
-to obtain credit, I offered her half-a-crown,
-and told her to get what she liked
-with it. A new light came into her eyes;
-she thanked me, and, calling the barmaid,
-gave her orders, with a smile of triumph.
-Her taste was sufficiently aristocratic to
-prefer pale brandy to the usual beverage
-dispensed in gin-palaces. A “drain of
-pale,” as she termed it, invigorated her.
-Glass after glass was ordered, till she had
-spent all the money I gave her. By this
-time she was perfectly drunk, and I had
-been powerless to stop her. Pressing her
-hand to her forehead, she exclaimed, “Oh,
-my poor head!” I asked what was the
-matter with her, and for the first time she
-condescended, or felt in the humour to
-speak to me. “My heart’s broken,” she
-said. “It has been broken since the
-twenty-first of May. I wish I was dead; I
-wish I was laid in my coffin. It won’t be
-long first. I am doing it. I’ve just driven
-another nail in, and ‘Lushing Loo,’ as they
-call me, will be no loss to society. Cheer
-up; let’s have a song. Why don’t you
-sing?” she cried, her mood having changed,
-as is frequently the case with habitual
-drunkards, and a symptom that often precedes
-delirium tremens. “Sing, I tell you,”
-and she began,</p>
-
- <div class="poetry-container"><div class="poetry"><div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse">The first I met a cornet was</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">In a regiment of dragoons,</div>
- <div class="verse">I gave him what he didn’t like,</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">And stole his silver spoons.</div>
-</div></div></div>
-
-<p>When she had finished her song, the first
-verse of which is all I can remember, she
-subsided into comparative tranquillity. I
-asked her to tell me her history.</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, I’m a seduced milliner,” she said,
-rather impatiently; “anything you like.”</p>
-
-<p>It required some inducement on my
-part to make her speak, and overcome the
-repugnance she seemed to feel at saying
-any thing about herself.</p>
-
-<p>She was the daughter of respectable
-parents, and at an early age had imbibed
-a fondness for a cousin in the army, which
-in the end caused her ruin. She had gone
-on from bad to worse after his desertion,
-and at last found herself among the number
-of low transpontine women. I asked her
-why she did not enter a refuge, it might
-save her life.</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t wish to live,” she replied. “I
-shall soon get D. T., and then I’ll kill myself
-in a fit of madness.”</p>
-
-<p>Nevertheless I gave her the address of
-the secretary of the Midnight Meeting Association,
-Red Lion Square, and was going
-away when a young Frenchmen entered
-the bar, shouting a French song, beginning</p>
-
- <div class="poetry-container"><div class="poetry"><div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse" lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Vive l’amour, le vin, et le tabac,</div>
-</div></div></div>
-
-<p>and I left him in conversation with the
-girl, whose partiality for the brandy bottle
-had gained her the suggestive name I have
-mentioned above.</p>
-
-<p>The people who keep the low lodging-houses
-where these women live, are rapacious,
-mean, and often dishonest. They
-charge enormously for their rooms in order
-to guarantee themselves against loss in the
-event of their harbouring a “bunter” by
-mistake, so that the money paid by their
-honest lodgers covers the default made by
-those who are fraudulent.</p>
-
-<p>Dr. Ryan, in his book on prostitution,
-puts the following extraordinary passage,
-whilst writing about low <span class="lock">houses:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“An <i>enlightened medical gentleman</i> assured
-me that near what is called the Fleet
-Ditch almost every house is the lowest and
-most infamous brothel. There is an aqueduct
-of large dimensions, into which murdered
-bodies are precipitated by bullies
-and discharged at a considerable distance
-into the Thames, without the slightest
-chance of recovery.”</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Richelot quotes this with the greatest
-gravity, and adduces it as a proof of the
-immorality and crime that are prevalent to
-such an awful extent in London. What a
-pity the enlightened medical gentleman
-did not affix his name to this statement as
-a guarantee of its authenticity!</p>
-
-<p>When speaking of low street-walkers, the
-same author <span class="lock">says:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>“These truly unfortunate creatures are
-closely watched whilst walking the streets,
-so that it is impossible for them to escape,
-and if they attempt it, the spy, often a
-female child, hired for the purpose, or a
-bully, or procuress, charges the fugitive
-with felony, as escaping with the clothes
-of the brothel-keeper, when the police
-officer on duty immediately arrests the
-delinquent, and takes her to the station-house
-of his division, but more commonly
-gives her up to the brothel-keeper, who
-rewards him. This inhuman and infamous
-practice is of nightly occurrence in this
-metropolis. When the forlorn, unfortunate
-wretch returns to her infamous abode, she
-is maltreated and kept nearly naked during
-the day, so that she cannot attempt to run
-away. She is often half starved, and at
-night sent again into the streets as often
-as she is disengaged, while all the money
-she receives goes to her keeper whether
-male or female. This is not an exaggerated
-picture, but a fact attested by myself. I
-have known a girl, aged fifteen years, who in
-one night knew twelve men, and produced
-to her keeper as many pounds.”</p>
-
-<p lang="la" xml:lang="la">“Paucis horis, hæ puellæ sex vel septem
-hominibus congruunt, lavant et bibunt post
-singulum alcoholis paululum (vulgo brandy
-vel gin) et dein paratæ sunt aliis.”</p>
-
-<p>With what a vivid imagination the
-writer of these striking paragraphs must
-have been gifted. The Arabian Nights and
-the Tales of the Genii that are so charmingly
-improbable, are really matter of fact in comparison.
-If we multiply 12 by 365, what
-is the result? We never took such interest
-in arithmetic before: 12 × 365 = 4380. This
-total of course represents pounds; why,
-it is nearly equal to the salary of a puisne
-judge! But perhaps the young lady whose
-interesting age is fifteen, is not so fortunate
-every night. Let us reduce it by
-one half; 4380 ÷ 2 = 2190. Two thousand
-one hundred and ninety pounds per
-annum is a very handsome income; and
-after such a calculation, can we wonder
-that a meretricious career is alluring and
-attractive to certain members of the fair
-sex, especially when “<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">hæ puellæ</span>” make it
-“<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">paucis horis</span>?” So lucrative a speculation
-cannot be included in the category of those
-who are “kept nearly naked during the day,
-and often half starved.” We suggest this on
-our own responsibility, for we have not been
-an “eye-witness” of such precocious profligacy;
-but we make the suggestion because
-it is something like nigger-keeping in the
-Southern States of America. A full-grown,
-hearty negro is a flesh and blood equivalent
-for a thousand or two thousand dollars.
-If he were “larruped” and bullied, he
-would perhaps die, or at any rate not
-work so well, and a loss to his owner
-would ensue that Pompey’s massa would
-not be slow to discover. By parity of reasoning
-the white slave of England must
-also be treated well, or it naturally follows
-that she will not be so productive, and the
-12<i>l.</i> received from as many men in a few
-hours, may dwindle to as many shillings,
-gleaned with difficulty in a great number
-of hours.</p>
-
-<p>Dr. Michael Ryan evidently possesses
-an extensive acquaintance among remarkable
-men. Let us examine the statement
-of “my informant, a truly moral character,
-a respectable citizen, the father of a
-family,” who gives the following account
-of <span class="lock">bullies:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“Two acquaintances of his, men of the
-world” (we submit with all humility that
-truly moral characters, respectable citizens,
-and fathers of families ought to be
-more select in their acquaintance, for birds
-of a feather, &amp;c.), “were entrapped in one
-of the Parks by two apparently virtuous
-females, about twenty years of age, who
-were driving in a pony phaeton, to accompany
-them home to a most notoriously infamous
-square in this metropolis. All was
-folly and debauchery till the next morning.
-But when the visitors were about to depart,
-they were sternly informed they must pay
-more money. They replied they had no
-more, but would call again, when their
-vicious companions yelled vociferously.
-Two desperate-looking villains, accompanied
-by a large mastiff, now entered the
-apartment and threatened to murder the
-delinquents if they did not immediately
-pay more money. A frightful fight ensued.
-The mastiff seized one of the assaulted by
-the thigh, and tore out a considerable portion
-of the flesh. The bullies were, however,
-finally laid prostrate: the assailed forced
-their way into the street through the
-drawing-room windows; a crowd speedily
-assembled, and on learning the nature of
-the murderous assault, the mob attacked
-the house and <i>nearly demolished it before the
-police arrived</i>” (where <i>were</i> the police?).
-“The injured parties effected their escape
-during the commotion.”</p>
-
-<p>What a surprising adventure! Haroun
-Alraschid would have had it written in
-letters of gold. The man of the world, who
-had a considerable portion of the flesh torn
-out of his leg by the terrible mastiff, must
-have been the model of an athlete to effect
-his escape and punish his bully after such
-a catastrophe, more particularly as he
-jumped out of the drawing-room window.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span>
-Then that mob, that ferocious mob that
-nearly demolished the house before the
-police arrived! Mob more terrible than
-any that the faubourgs St. Antoine or St.
-Jacques could furnish during a bread riot
-in Paris, to harry the government, and
-erect barricades. What a horror truly
-moral characters must entertain of apparently
-virtuous females driving pony phaetons
-in the Parks! A little further on the
-same respectable citizen informs us, in
-addition, “that in a certain court near another
-notoriously profligate square, which
-was pulled down a few years ago, several
-skeletons were found under the floor, on
-which inquests were held by the coroner.”
-What ghastly ideas float through the mind
-and obscure the mental vision of that
-father of a family!</p>
-
-<p>That rows and disturbances often take
-place in disorderly houses, is not to be
-denied. A few isolated instances of men
-being attacked or robbed when drunk may
-be met with; but that there are houses
-whose keepers systematically plunder and
-murder their frequenters our experience
-does not prove, nor do we for an instant
-believe it to be the case. Foreigners who
-write about England are only too eager to
-meet with such stories in print, and they
-transfer them bodily with the greatest glee
-to their own pages, and parade them as
-being of frequent occurrence, perhaps
-nightly, in houses of ill fame.</p>
-
-<p>Prostitutes of a certain class do not
-hesitate to rob drunken men, if they think
-they can do so with safety. If they get
-hold of a gentleman who would not like to
-give the thief in charge, and bring the
-matter before the public, they are comparatively
-safe.</p>
-
-
-<h4><i>Sailors’ Women.</i></h4>
-
-<p>Many extraordinary statements respecting
-sailors’ women have at different times been
-promulgated by various authors; and from
-what has gone forth to the world, those
-who take an interest in such matters have
-not formed a very high opinion of the class
-in question.</p>
-
-<p>The progress of modern civilization is so
-rapid and so wonderful, that the changes
-which take place in the brief space of a
-few years are really and truly incredible.</p>
-
-<p>That which ten, fifteen, or twenty years
-might have been said with perfect truth
-about a particular district, or an especial
-denomination, if repeated now would, in
-point of fact, be nothing but fiction of the
-grossest and most unsubstantial character.
-Novelists who have never traversed the
-localities they are describing so vividly, or
-witnessed the scenes they depict with such
-graphic distinctness, do a great deal more
-to mislead the general public than a casual
-observer may at first think himself at
-liberty to believe.</p>
-
-<p>The upper ten thousand and the middle-classes
-as a rule have to combat innumerable
-prejudices, and are obliged to reject
-the traditions of their infancy before they
-thoroughly comprehend the actual condition
-of that race of people, which they are
-taught by immemorial prescription to regard
-as immensely inferior, if not altogether
-barbarous.</p>
-
-<p>It is necessary to make these prefatory
-remarks before declaring that of late years
-everything connected with the industrious
-classes has undergone as complete a transformation
-as any magic can effect upon the
-stage. Not only is the condition of the
-people changed, but they themselves are as
-effectually metamorphosed. I shall describe
-the wonders that have been accomplished
-in a score or two of years in and
-about St. Giles’s by a vigilant and energetic
-police-force, better parochial management,
-schools, washhouses, mechanics’ institutes,
-and lodging-houses that have
-caused to disappear those noisome, pestilential
-sties that pigs would obstinately
-refuse to wallow in.</p>
-
-<p>The spread of enlightenment and education
-has also made itself visible in the increased
-tact and proficiency of the thief
-himself; and this is one cause of the amelioration
-of low and formerly vicious neighbourhoods.
-The thief no longer frequents
-places where the police know very well
-how to put their hands upon him. Quitting
-the haunts where he was formerly so much
-at home and at his ease, he migrates westwards,
-north, south, anywhere but the
-exact vicinity you would expect to meet
-him in. Nor is the hostility of the police
-so much directed against expert and notorious
-thieves. They of course do not
-neglect an opportunity of making a capture,
-and plume themselves when that capture
-is made, but they have a certain sort of
-respect for a thief who is professionally
-so; who says, “It is the way by which I
-choose to obtain my living, and were it
-otherwise I must still elect to be a thief,
-for I have been accustomed to it from my
-childhood. My character is already gone,
-no one would employ me, and, above all, I
-take a pride in thieving skilfully, and
-setting your detective skill at defiance.”</p>
-
-<p>It is indeed the low petty thief, the
-area-sneak, and that <i>genus</i> that more especially
-excites the spleen, and rouses the ire
-of your modern policeman. The idle, lazy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span>
-scoundrel who will not work when he can
-obtain it at the docks and elsewhere, who
-goes cadging about because his own inherent
-depravity, and naturally base instincts
-deprive him of a spark of intelligence,
-an atom of honest feeling, to point
-to a better and a different goal. Emigration
-is as a thing unexisting to them; they
-live a life of turpitude, preying upon society;
-they pass half their days in a prison,
-and they die prematurely unregretted and
-unmourned.</p>
-
-<p>Whitechapel has always been looked
-upon as a suspicious, unhealthy locality.
-To begin, its population is a strange
-amalgamation of Jews, English, French,
-Germans, and other antagonistic elements
-that must clash and jar, but not to such
-an extent as has been surmised and reported.
-Whitechapel has its theatres, its
-music-halls, the cheap rates of admission to
-which serve to absorb numbers of the inhabitants,
-and by innocently amusing them
-soften their manners and keep them out of
-mischief and harm’s way.</p>
-
-<p>The Earl of Effingham, a theatre in
-Whitechapel Road, has been lately done up
-and restored, and holds three thousand
-people. It has no boxes; they would not
-be patronized if they were in existence.
-Whitechapel does not go to the play in kid-gloves
-and white ties. The stage of the
-Effingham is roomy and excellent, the trap-work
-very extensive, for Whitechapel rejoices
-much in pyrotechnic displays,
-blue demons, red demons, and vanishing
-Satans that disappear in a cloud of smoke
-through an invisible hole in the floor.
-Great is the applause when gauzy nymphs
-rise like so many Aphrodites from the sea,
-and sit down on apparent sunbeams midway
-between the stage and the theatrical
-heaven.</p>
-
-<p>The Pavilion is another theatre in the
-Whitechapel Road, and perhaps ranks
-higher than the Effingham. The Pavilion
-may stand comparison, with infinite credit
-to itself and its architect, with more than
-one West-end theatre. People at the
-West-end who never in their dreams travel
-farther east than the dividend and transfer
-department of the Bank of England in
-Threadneedle Street, have a vague idea
-that East-end theatres strongly resemble
-the dilapidated and decayed Soho in Dean
-Street, filled with a rough, noisy set of
-drunken thieves and prostitutes. It is time
-that these ideas should be exploded.
-Prostitutes and thieves of course do find
-their way into theatres and other places of
-amusement, but perhaps if you were to
-rake up all the bad characters in the neighbourhood
-they would not suffice to fill the
-pit and gallery of the Pavilion.</p>
-
-<p>On approaching the play-house, you observe
-prostitutes standing outside in little
-gangs and knots of three or four, and you
-will also see them inside, but for the most
-part they are accompanied by their men.
-Sergeant Prior of the H division, for whose
-services I am indebted to the courtesy of
-Superintendent White, assured me that
-when sailors landed in the docks, and drew
-their wages, they picked up some women
-to whom they considered themselves
-married pro tem., and to whom they gave
-the money they had made by their last
-voyage. They live with the women until
-the money is gone, (and the women generally
-treat the sailors honourably). They
-go to sea again, make some more, come
-home, and repeat the same thing over
-again. There are perhaps twelve or fifteen
-public-houses licensed for music in St.
-George’s Street and Ratcliff Highway: most
-of them a few years ago were thronged,
-now they can scarcely pay their expenses;
-and it is anticipated that next year many
-of them will be obliged to close.</p>
-
-<p>This is easily accounted for. Many sailors
-go further east to the K division, which
-includes Wapping, Bluegate, &amp;c.; but the
-chief cause, the <i>fons et origo</i> of the declension
-is simply the institution of sailors’
-savings banks. There is no longer the
-money to be spent that there used to be.
-When a sailor comes on shore, he will probably
-go to the nearest sailors’ home, and
-place his money in the bank. Drawing out
-again a pound or so, with which he may
-enjoy himself for a day or two, he will then
-have the rest of his money transmitted to
-his friends in the country, to whom he
-will himself go as soon as he has had his
-fling in town; so that the money that used
-formerly to be expended in one centre is
-spread over the entire country, ergo and
-very naturally the public-house keepers
-feel the change acutely. To show how the
-neighbourhood has improved of late years,
-I will mention that six or eight years ago
-the Eastern Music Hall was frequented by
-such ruffians that the proprietor told me
-he was only too glad when twelve o’clock
-came, that he might shut the place up, and
-turn out his turbulent customers, whose
-chief delight was to disfigure and ruin each
-other’s physiognomy.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Wilton has since then rebuilt his
-concert-room, and erected a gallery that he
-sets apart for sailors and their women.
-The body of the hall is filled usually by
-tradesmen, keepers of tally-shops, &amp;c., &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>And before we go further a word<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span>
-about tally-shops. Take the New Road,
-Whitechapel, which is full of them. They
-present a respectable appearance, are little
-two-storied houses, clean, neat, and the
-owners are reputed to have the Queen’s
-taxes ready when the collectors call for
-them. The principle of the tally business
-is this:&mdash;A man wants a coat, or a woman
-wants a shawl, a dress, or some other
-article of feminine wearing apparel. Being
-somewhat known in the neighbourhood, as
-working at some trade or other, the applicant
-is able to go to the tally-shop, certain
-of the success of his or her application.</p>
-
-<p>She obtains the dress she wishes for, and
-agrees to pay so much a week until the
-whole debt is cleared off. For instance,
-the dress costs three pounds, a sum she
-can never hope to possess in its entirety.
-Well, five shillings a week for three months
-will complete the sum charged; and the
-woman by this system of accommodation
-is as much benefited as the tallyman.</p>
-
-<p>The British Queen, a concert-room in
-the Commercial Road, is a respectable, well-conducted
-house, frequented by low prostitutes,
-as may be expected, but orderly in
-the extreme, and what more can be wished
-for? The sergeant remarked to me, if these
-places of harmless amusement were not
-licensed and kept open, much evil would
-be sown and disseminated throughout the
-neighbourhood, for it may be depended
-something worse and ten times lower would
-be substituted. People of all classes must
-have recreation. Sailors who come on
-shore after a long cruise <i>will</i> have it; and,
-added the sergeant, we give it them in a
-way that does no harm to themselves or
-anybody else. Rows and disturbances seldom
-occur, although, of course, they may
-be expected now and then. The dancing-rooms
-close at twelve&mdash;indeed their frequenters
-adjourn to other places generally
-before that hour, and very few publics are
-open at one. I heard that there had been
-three fights at the Prussian Eagle, in Ship
-Alley, Wellclose Square, on the evening I
-visited the locality; but when I arrived I
-saw no symptoms of the reported pugnacity
-of the people assembled, and this
-was the only rumour of war that reached
-my ears.</p>
-
-<p>Ship Alley is full of foreign lodging-houses.
-You see written on a blind an inscription
-that denotes the nationality of
-the keeper and the character of the establishment;
-for instance <i lang="nl" xml:lang="nl">Hollandsche lodgement</i>,
-is sufficient to show a Dutchman that
-his own language is spoken, and that he
-may have a bed if he chooses.</p>
-
-<p>That there are desperate characters in
-the district was sufficiently evidenced by
-what I saw when at the station-house.
-Two women, both well-known prostitutes,
-were confined in the cells, one of whom
-had been there before no less than <i>fourteen
-times</i>, and had only a few hours before
-been brought up charged with nearly murdering
-a man with a poker. Her face was
-bad, heavy, and repulsive; her forehead,
-as well as I could distinguish by the scanty
-light thrown into the place by the bulls-eye
-of the policeman, was low; her nose
-was short and what is called pudgy, having
-the nostrils dilated; and she abused the
-police for disturbing her when she wished
-to go to sleep, a thing, from what I saw,
-I imagined rather difficult to accomplish,
-as she had nothing to recline upon but a
-hard sort of locker attached to the wall,
-and running all along one side and at the
-bottom of the cell.</p>
-
-<p>The other woman, whose name was
-O’Brien, was much better looking than her
-companion in crime; her hand was bandaged
-up, and she appeared faint from loss
-of blood. The policeman lifted her head
-up, and asked her if she would like anything
-to eat. She replied she could drink
-some tea, which was ordered for her. She
-had met a man in a public-house in the
-afternoon, who was occupied in eating
-some bread and cheese. In order to get
-into conversation with him, she asked him
-to give her some, and on his refusing she
-made a snatch at it, and caught hold of the
-knife he was using with her right hand,
-inflicting a severe wound: notwithstanding
-the pain of the wound, which only served
-to infuriate her, she flew at the man with
-a stick and beat him severely over the
-head, endangering his life; for which
-offence she was taken by the police to the
-station-house and locked up.</p>
-
-<p>There are very few English girls who can
-be properly termed sailors’ women; most
-of them are either German or Irish. I saw
-numbers of German, tall brazen-faced women,
-dressed in gaudy colours, dancing and
-pirouetting in a fantastic manner in a
-dancing-room in Ratcliff Highway.</p>
-
-<p>It may be as well to give a description of
-one of the dancing-rooms frequented by
-sailors and their women.</p>
-
-<p>Passing through the bar of the public-house
-you ascend a flight of stairs and find
-yourself in a long room well lighted by gas.
-There are benches placed along the walls
-for the accommodation of the dancers, and
-you will not fail to observe the orchestra,
-which is well worthy of attention. It consists,
-in the majority of cases, of four musicians,
-bearded shaggy-looking foreigners,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span>
-probably Germans, including a fiddle, a
-cornet, and two fifes or flutes. The orchestra
-is usually penned up in a corner of
-the room, and placed upon a dais or raised
-desk, to get upon which you ascend two
-steps; the front is boarded up with deal,
-only leaving a small door at one end to
-admit the performers, for whose convenience
-either a bench is erected or chairs
-supplied. There is a little ledge to place
-the music on, which is as often as not embellished
-with pewter pots. The music
-itself is striking in the extreme, and at all
-events exhilarating in the highest degree.
-The shrill notes of the fifes, and the braying
-of the trumpet in very quick time, rouses the
-excitement of the dancers, until they whirl
-round in the waltz with the greatest velocity.</p>
-
-<p>I was much struck by the way in which
-the various dances were executed. In the
-first place, the utmost decorum prevailed,
-nor did I notice the slightest tendency to
-indecency. Polkas and waltzes seemed to
-be the favourites, and the steps were marvellously
-well done, considering the position
-and education of the company. In
-many cases there was an exhibition of
-grace and natural ease that no one would
-have supposed possible; but this was observable
-more amongst foreigners than
-English. The generality of the women
-had not the slightest idea of dancing.
-There was very little beauty abroad that
-night, at least in the neighbourhood of
-Ratcliff Highway. It might have been
-hiding under a bushel, but it was not
-patent to a casual observer. Yet I must
-acknowledge there was something prepossessing
-about the countenances of the
-women, which is more than could be said
-of the men. It might have been a compound
-of resignation, indifference, and
-recklessness, through all of which phases of
-her career a prostitute must go; nor is she
-thoroughly inured to her vocation until
-they have been experienced, and are in a
-manner mingled together. There was a
-certain innate delicacy about those women,
-too, highly commendable to its possessors.
-It was not the artificial refinement of the
-West-end, nothing of the sort, but genuine
-womanly feeling. They did not look as if
-they had come there for pleasure exactly,
-they appeared too business-like for that;
-but they did seem as if they would like,
-and intended, to unite the two, business
-and pleasure, and enjoy themselves as much
-as the circumstances would allow. They
-do not dress in the dancing-room, they
-attire themselves at home, and walk
-through the streets in their ball costume,
-without their bonnets, but as they do not
-live far off this is not thought much of. I
-remarked several women unattached sitting
-by themselves, in one place as many as
-half-a-dozen.</p>
-
-<p>The faces of the sailors were vacant,
-stupid, and beery. I could not help thinking
-one man I saw at the Prussian Eagle
-a perfect Caliban in his way. There was
-an expression of owlish cunning about his
-heavy-looking features that, uniting with
-the drunken leer sitting on his huge mouth,
-made him look but a “very indifferent
-monster.”</p>
-
-<p>I noticed a sprinkling of coloured men
-and a few thorough negroes scattered about
-here and there.</p>
-
-<p>The sergeant chanced to be in search of
-a woman named Harrington, who had committed
-a felony, and in the execution of
-his duty he was obliged to search some
-notorious brothels that he thought might
-harbour the delinquent.</p>
-
-<p>We entered a house in Frederick Street
-(which is full of brothels, almost every
-house being used for an immoral purpose).
-But the object of our search was not there,
-and we proceeded to Brunswick Street,
-more generally known in the neighbourhood
-and to the police as “Tiger Bay;” the inhabitants
-and frequenters of which place
-are very often obliged to enter an involuntary
-appearance in the Thames police
-court. Tiger Bay, like Frederick Street, is
-full of brothels and thieves’ lodging houses.
-We entered No. 6, accompanied by two
-policemen in uniform, who happened to be
-on duty at the entrance to the place, as
-they wished to apprehend a criminal whom
-they had reason to believe would resort
-for shelter, after the night’s debauch, to
-one of the dens in the Bay. We failed to
-find the man the police wanted, but on
-descending to the kitchen, we discovered
-a woman sitting on a chair, evidently
-waiting up for some one.</p>
-
-<p>“That woman,” said the sergeant, “is
-one of the lowest class we have; she is not
-only a common prostitute herself, and a
-companion of ruffians and thieves, but the
-servant of prostitutes and low characters
-as debased as herself, with the exception
-of their being waited upon by her.”</p>
-
-<p>We afterwards searched two houses on
-the opposite side of the way. The rooms
-occupied by the women and their sailors
-were larger and more roomy than I expected
-to find them. The beds were what
-are called “fourposters,” and in some instances
-were surrounded with faded, dirty-looking,
-chintz curtains. There was the
-usual amount of cheap crockery on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span>
-mantel-pieces, which were surmounted with
-a small looking-glass in a rosewood or gilt
-frame. When the magic word “Police”
-was uttered, the door flew open, as the
-door of the robbers’ cave swung back on
-its hinges when Ali Baba exclaimed “Sesame.”
-A few seconds were allowed for
-the person who opened the door to retire
-to the couch, and then our visual circuit
-of the chamber took place. The sailors
-did not evince any signs of hostility at our
-somewhat unwarrantable intrusion, and
-we in every case made our exit peacefully,
-but without finding the felonious woman
-we were in search of; which might cause
-sceptical people to regard her as slightly
-apocryphal, but in reality such was not
-the case, and in all probability by this
-time justice has claimed her own.</p>
-
-<p>A glance at the interior of the Horse and
-Leaping Bar concluded our nocturnal wanderings.
-This public-house is one of the
-latest in the district, and holds out accommodation
-for man and beast till the small
-hours multiply themselves considerably.</p>
-
-<p>Most of the foreign women talk English
-pretty well, some excellently, some of course
-imperfectly; their proficiency depending
-upon the length of their stay in the country.
-A German woman told me the following
-<span class="lock">story:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“I have been in England nearly six
-years. When I came over I could not speak
-a word of your language, but I associated
-with my own countrymen. Now I talk the
-English well, as well as any, and I go with
-the British sailor. I am here to-night in
-this house of dancing with a sailor English,
-and I have known him two week. His ship
-is in docks, and will not sail for one month
-from this time I am now speaking. I knew
-him before, one years ago and a half. He
-always lives with me when he come on
-shore. He is nice man and give me all his
-money when he land always. I take all
-his money while he with me, and not spend
-it quick as some of your English women do.
-If I not to take care, he would spend all in
-one week. Sailor boy always spend money
-like rain water; he throw it into the street
-and not care to pick it up again, leave it
-for crossing-sweeper or errand-boy who pass
-that way. I give him little when he want
-it; he know me well and have great deal
-confidence in me. I am honest, and he
-feel he can trust me. Suppose he have
-twenty-four pound when he leave his ship,
-and he stay six week on land, he will spend
-with me fifteen or twenty, and he will give
-me what left when he leave me, and we
-amuse ourself and keep both ourself with
-the rest. It very bad for sailor to keep
-his money himself; he will fall into bad
-hands; he will go to ready-made outfitter
-or slop-seller, who will sell him clothes
-dreadful dear and ruin him. I know very
-many sailors&mdash;six, eight, ten, oh! more
-than that. They are my husbands. I am
-not married, of course not, but they think
-me their wife while they are on shore. I
-do not care much for any of them; I have
-a lover of my own, he is waiter in a lodging
-and coffee house; Germans keep it; he is
-German and he comes from Berlin, which
-is my town also. I is born there.”</p>
-
-<p>Shadwell, Spitalfields, and contiguous
-districts are infested with nests of brothels
-as well as Whitechapel. To attract sailors,
-women and music must be provided for
-their amusement. In High Street, Shadwell,
-there are many of these houses, one
-of the most notorious of which is called
-The White Swan, or, more commonly,
-Paddy’s Goose; the owner of which is
-reported to make money in more ways
-than one. Brothel-keeping is a favourite
-mode of investing money in this neighbourhood.
-Some few years ago a man called
-James was prosecuted for having altogether
-thirty brothels; and although he was convicted,
-the nuisance was by no means in
-the slightest degree abated, as the informer,
-by name Brooks, has them all himself at
-the present time.</p>
-
-<p>There are two other well-known houses
-in High Street, Shadwell&mdash;The Three
-Crowns, and The Grapes, the latter not
-being licensed for dancing.</p>
-
-<p>Paddy’s Goose is perhaps the most
-popular house in the parish. It is also
-very well thought of in high quarters.
-During the Crimean war, the landlord, when
-the Government wanted sailors to man the
-fleet, went among the shipping in the river,
-and enlisted numbers of men. His system
-of recruiting was very successful. He went
-about in a small steamer with a band of
-music and flags, streamers and colours
-flying. All this rendered him popular with
-the Admiralty authorities, and made his
-house extensively known to the sailors, and
-those connected with them.</p>
-
-<p>Inspector Price, under whose supervision
-the low lodging-houses in that part of
-London are placed, most obligingly took
-me over one of the lowest lodging-houses,
-and one of the best, forming a strange
-contrast, and both presenting an admirable
-example of the capital working of the most
-excellent Act that regulates them. We
-went into a large room, with a huge fire
-blazing cheerily at the furthest extremity,
-around which were grouped some ten or
-twelve people, others were scattered over<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span>
-various parts of the room. The attitudes
-of most were listless; none seemed to be
-reading; one was cooking his supper; a few
-amused themselves by criticising us, and
-canvassing as to the motives of our visit,
-and our appearance altogether. The inspector
-was well known to the keeper of
-the place, who treated him with the utmost
-civility and respect. The greatest cleanliness
-prevailed everywhere. Any one was
-admitted to this house who could command
-the moderate sum of threepence. I was
-informed those who frequented it were,
-for the most part, prostitutes and thieves.
-That is thieves and their associates. No
-questions were asked of those who paid
-their money and claimed a night’s lodging
-in return. The establishment contained
-forty beds. There were two floors. The
-first was divided into little boxes by means
-of deal boards, and set apart for married
-people, or those who represented themselves
-to be so. Of course, as the sum paid for
-the night’s lodging was so small, the lodgers
-could not expect clean sheets, which were
-only supplied once a week. The sheets
-were indeed generally black, or very dirty.
-How could it be otherwise? The men
-were often in a filthy state, and quite unaccustomed
-to anything like cleanliness,
-from which they were as far as from godliness.
-The floors and the surroundings
-were clean, and highly creditable to the
-management upstairs; the beds were not
-crowded together, but spread over the
-surface in rows, being a certain distance
-from one another. Many of them were
-already occupied, although it was not eleven
-o’clock, and the house is generally full
-before morning. The ventilation was very
-complete, and worthy of attention. There
-were several ventilators on each side of the
-room, but not in the roof&mdash;all were placed
-in the side.</p>
-
-<p>The next house we entered was more
-aristocratic in appearance. You entered
-through some glass doors, and going along
-a small passage found yourself in a large
-apartment, long and narrow, resembling a
-coffee-room. The price of admission was
-precisely the same, but the frequenters
-were chiefly working men, sometimes men
-from the docks, respectable mechanics, &amp;c.
-No suspicious characters were admitted by
-the proprietor on any pretence, and he by
-this means kept his house select. Several
-men were seated in the compartments
-reading newspapers, of which there appeared
-to be an abundance. The accommodation
-was very good, and everything reflected
-great credit upon the police, who seem to
-have the most unlimited jurisdiction, and
-complete control over the low people and
-places in the East-end of London.</p>
-
-<p>Bluegate fields is nothing more or less
-than a den of thieves, prostitutes, and
-ruffians of the lowest description. Yet the
-police penetrate unarmed without the
-slightest trepidation. There I witnessed
-sights that the most morbid novelist has
-described, but which have been too horrible
-for those who have never been on the spot
-to believe. We entered a house in Victoria
-Place, running out of Bluegate, that had
-no street-door, and penetrating a small
-passage found ourselves in a kitchen, where
-the landlady was sitting over a miserable
-coke fire; near her there was a girl, haggard
-and woe-begone. We put the usual question,
-Is there any one upstairs? And on
-being told that the rooms were occupied,
-we ascended to the first floor, which was
-divided into four small rooms. The house
-was only a two-storied one. The woman
-of the place informed me, she paid five
-shillings a-week rent, and charged the prostitutes
-who lodged with her four shillings a-week
-for the miserable apartments she had
-to offer for their accommodation; but as
-the shipping in the river was very slack
-just now, times were hard with her.</p>
-
-<p>The house was a wretched tumble-down
-hovel, and the poor woman complained
-bitterly that her landlord would make no
-repairs. The first room we entered contained
-a Lascar, who had come over in some
-vessel, and his woman. There was a sickly
-smell in the chamber, that I discovered
-proceeded from the opium he had been
-smoking. There was not a chair to be
-seen; nothing but a table, upon which were
-placed a few odds-and-ends. The Lascar
-was lying on a palliasse placed upon the
-floor (there was no bedstead), apparently
-stupefied from the effects of the opium he
-had been taking. A couple of old tattered
-blankets sufficed to cover him. By his bedside
-sat his woman, who was half idiotically
-endeavouring to derive some stupefaction
-from the ashes he had left in his
-pipe. Her face was grimy and unwashed,
-and her hands so black and filthy that
-mustard-and-cress might have been sown
-successfully upon them. As she was huddled
-up with her back against the wall she
-appeared an animated bundle of rags. She
-was apparently a powerfully made woman,
-and although her face was wrinkled and
-careworn, she did not look exactly decrepit,
-but more like one thoroughly broken down
-in spirit than in body. In all probability
-she was diseased; and the disease communicated
-by the Malays, Lascars, and Orientals
-generally, is said to be the most fright<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span>ful
-form of lues to be met with in Europe.
-It goes by the name of the Dry &mdash;&mdash;, and
-is much dreaded by all the women in the
-neighbourhood of the docks. Leaving this
-wretched couple, who were too much overcome
-with the fumes of opium to answer
-any questions, we went into another room,
-which should more correctly be called a
-hole. There was not an atom of furniture
-in it, nor a bed, and yet it contained a
-woman. This woman was lying on the
-floor, with not even a bundle of straw beneath
-her, wrapped up in what appeared to
-be a shawl, but which might have been
-taken for the dress of a scarecrow feloniously
-abstracted from a corn-field, without
-any very great stretch of the imagination.
-She started up as we kicked open the door
-that was loose on its hinges, and did not
-shut properly, creaking strangely on its
-rusty hinges as it swung sullenly back.
-Her face was shrivelled and famine-stricken,
-her eyes bloodshot and glaring, her features
-disfigured slightly with disease, and her
-hair dishevelled, tangled, and matted. More
-like a beast in his lair than a human being
-in her home was this woman. We spoke
-to her, and from her replies concluded she
-was an Irishwoman. She said she was
-charged nothing for the place she slept in.
-She cleaned out the water-closets in the
-daytime, and for these services she was
-given a lodging gratis.</p>
-
-<p>The next house we entered was in Bluegate
-Fields itself. Four women occupied
-the kitchen on the ground-floor. They
-were waiting for their men, probably thieves.
-They had a can of beer, which they passed
-from one to the other. The woman of the
-house had gone out to meet her husband,
-who was to be liberated from prison that
-night, having been imprisoned for a burglary
-three years ago, his term of incarceration
-happening to end that day. His friends
-were to meet at his house and celebrate his
-return by an orgie, when all of them, we
-were told, hoped to be blind drunk; and,
-added the girl who volunteered the information,
-“None of ’em didn’t care dam for
-police.” She was evidently anticipating the
-happy state of inebriety she had just been
-predicting.</p>
-
-<p>One of the houses a few doors off contained
-a woman well known to the police,
-and rather notorious on account of her
-having attempted to drown herself three
-times. Wishing to see her, the inspector
-took me to the house she lived in, which
-was kept by an Irishwoman, the greatest
-hypocrite I ever met with. She was intensely
-civil to the inspector, who had once
-convicted her for allowing three women to
-sleep in one bed, and she was fined five
-pounds, all which she told us with the most
-tedious circumstantiality, vowing, as “shure
-as the Almighty God was sitting on his
-throne,” she did it out of charity, or she
-wished she might never speak no more.
-“These gals,” she said, “comes to me in
-the night and swears (as I knows to be
-true) they has no place where to put their
-heads, and foxes they has holes, likewise
-birds of the air, which it’s a mortial shame
-as they is better provided for and against
-than them that’s flesh and blood Christians.
-And one night I let one in, when having
-no bed you see empty I bundled them in together.
-Police they came and I was fined
-five pounds, which I borrowed from Mrs.
-Wilson what lives close to&mdash;five golden
-sovereigns, as I’m alive, and they took them
-all, which I’ve paid back two bob a week
-since, and I don’t owe no one soul not a
-brass farthing, which it’s all as thrue as
-Christ’s holiness, let alone his blessed
-gospel.” The woman we came to see was
-called China Emma, or by her intimate
-associates Chaney Emm. She was short in
-stature, rather stout, with a pale face utterly
-expressionless; her complexion was
-blonde. There was a look almost of vacuity
-about her, but her replies to my questions
-were lucid, and denoted that she was only
-naturally slow and stupid.</p>
-
-<p>“My father and mother,” she said, “kept
-a grocer’s shop in Goswell Street. Mother
-died when I was twelve years old, and father
-took to drinking. In three years he lost
-his shop, and in a while killed himself,
-what with the drink and one thing and
-another. I went to live with a sister who
-was bad, and in about a year she went
-away with a man and left me. I could not
-get any work, never having been taught
-any trade or that. One day I met a sailor,
-who was very good to me. I lived with
-him as his wife, and when he went away
-drew his half-pay. I was with him for six
-years. Then he died of yellow fever in the
-West Indies, and I heard no more of him.
-I know he did not cut me, for one of his
-mates brought me a silver snuff-box he
-used to carry his quids in, which he sent
-me when he was at his last. Then I lived
-for a bit in Angel Gardens; after that I
-went to Gravel Lane; and now I’m in
-Bluegate Fields. When I came here I met
-with a Chinaman called Appoo. He’s abroad
-now, but he sends me money. I got two
-pounds from him only the other day. He
-often sends me the needful. When he was
-over here last we lived in Gregory’s Rents.
-I’ve lived in Victoria Place and New Court,
-all about Bluegate. Appoo only used to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span>
-treat me badly when I got drunk. I always
-get drunk when I’ve a chance to. Appoo
-used to tie my legs and arms and take me
-into the street. He’d throw me into the
-gutter, and then he’d throw buckets of
-water over me till I was wet through; but
-that didn’t cure; I don’t believe anything
-would; I’d die for the drink; I must have
-it, and I don’t care what I does to get it.
-I’ve tried to kill myself more nor once. I
-have fits at times&mdash;melancholy fits&mdash;and I
-don’t know what to do with myself. I
-wish I was dead, and I run to the water
-and throw myself in; but I’ve no luck; I
-never had since I was a child&mdash;oh! ever so
-little. I’s always picked out. Once I
-jumped out of a first-floor window in
-Jamaica Place into the river, but a boatman
-coming by hooked me up, and the
-magistrate give me a month. The missus
-here (naming the woman who kept the
-place) wants me to go to a refuge or home,
-or something of that. P’raps I shall.”</p>
-
-<p>The Irishwoman here broke in, <span class="lock">exclaiming&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“And so she shall. I’ve got three or
-four poor gals into the refuge, and I’ll get
-Chaney Emm, as shure as the Almighty
-God’s sitting on his throne.” (This was a
-favourite exclamation of hers.) “I keeps
-her very quiet here; she never sees no
-one, nor tastes a drop of gin, which she
-shouldn’t have to save her blessed life, if
-it were to be saved by nothink else; leastways,
-it should be but a taste. It’s ruined
-her has drink. When she got the money
-Appoo sent her the other day or two back,
-I took it all, and laid it out for her, but
-never a drop of the crater passed down
-Chaney Emm’s lips.”</p>
-
-<p>This declaration of the avaricious old
-woman was easily credible, except the laying
-out the money for her victim’s advantage.
-The gin, in all probability, if any
-had been bought, had been monopolized in
-another quarter, where it was equally acceptable.
-As to the woman’s seeing no one,
-the idea was preposterous. The old woman’s
-charity, as is commonly the case, began at
-home, and went very little further. If she
-were excluded from men’s society she must
-have been much diseased.</p>
-
-<p>I find the women who cohabit with
-sailors are not, as a body, disorderly, although
-there may be individuals who habitually
-give themselves up to insubordination.
-I take them to be the reverse of
-careful, for they are at times well off, but
-at others, through their improvidence and
-the slackness of the shipping, immersed in
-poverty. The supply of women is fully
-equal to the demand; but as the demand
-fluctuates so much I do not think the
-market can be said to be overstocked.
-They are unintelligent and below the
-average of intellectuality among prostitutes,
-though perhaps on a par with the
-men with whom they cohabit.</p>
-
-
-<h4><i>Soldiers’ Women.</i></h4>
-
-<p>The evil effects of the want of some
-system to regulate prostitution in England,
-is perhaps more shown amongst the army
-than any other class. Syphilis is very
-prevalent among soldiers, although the
-disease is not so virulent as it was formerly.
-That is, we do not see examples of the loss
-of the palate or part of the cranium, as
-specimens extant in our museums show us
-was formerly the case. The women who
-are patronized by soldiers are, as a matter
-of course, very badly paid; for how can a
-soldier out of his very scanty allowance,
-generally little exceeding a shilling a day,
-afford to supply a woman with means adequate
-for her existence? It follows from
-this state of things, that a woman may, or
-more correctly must, be intimate with several
-men in one evening, and supposing her
-to be tainted with disease, as many men as
-she may chance to pick up during the
-course of her peregrinations, will be incapacitated
-from serving her Majesty for
-several weeks.</p>
-
-<p>The following quotation from Mr. Acton’s
-book will suffice to show what I mean. He
-is speaking of a particular regiment.</p>
-
-<p>“In 1851, Dr. Gordon, surgeon to the
-57th, read a paper before the Surgical
-Society of Ireland, in which he states,
-(see ‘Dublin Medical Press,’ February
-26th, 1851,) that during the year ending
-31st March, 1850, the following number,
-out of an average strength of 408 men,
-were treated for venereal diseases in the
-head-quarters <span class="lock">hospital&mdash;</span></p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="left" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td>“Number admitted</td><td class="right">113</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Number of days in hospital</td><td class="right">2519</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Amount of soldiers’ pay</td><td class="right">£136 </td><td>10 9</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>“At the first blush, the economist would
-be apt to imagine that a very large sum of
-money is lost to the state annually by the
-inroads of syphilis. It is but fair to state
-that this is not the case, as tenpence a
-day is stopped from each man’s pay while
-he is in hospital, so that about five-sixths
-of his wages are recovered. The actual loss
-to the country is his time, which, however,
-during peace, is non-productive.</p>
-
-<p>“From the statistical reports on the sickness,
-mortality, and invaliding among the
-troops in the United Kingdom, the Mediterranean,
-and British America, presented to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span>
-Parliament some years ago (1839), it
-would appear that syphilis is a fatal enemy
-to the British soldier.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">“Total cases during seven and a quarter years</td><td>8,072</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total aggregate strength for do.</td><td>44,611</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Annual mean strength for ditto</td><td>6,153</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>“Thus 181 per 1000, or about one man in five appear to have been attacked.</p>
-
-<p>“Let us compare this with the following
-statistics extracted from a report on army
-diseases from 1837 to 1847.</p>
-
-<p>“Aggregate strength:</p>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Cavalry</td><td>54,374</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Foot-guards</td><td>40,120</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Infantry</td><td>160,103</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="i2 left">Total</td><td class="total">254,597</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>“Extent of venereal disease:</p>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Cavalry</td><td>11,205</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Foot-guards</td><td>10,043</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Infantry</td><td>44,435</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="i2 left">Total</td><td class="total"> 65,683</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Deaths</td><td>17</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>“Number of men per 1000 of strength
-admitted during ten years:</p>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">“Cavalry</td><td>206</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Foot-guards</td><td>250</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Infantry</td><td>277</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>“This report was drawn up by Dr. Balfour
-and Sir Alexander Tulloch, and the reason
-that a distinction is made between the
-line and the foot-guards, is that the line
-contains a large number of recruits and
-men returning from foreign service, whereas
-in the foot-guards, there is usually a much
-greater proportion of soldiers who have
-arrived at maturity, on the one hand, and
-who, on the other, have not served in
-foreign climates. As these circumstances
-were likely to have affected the amount of
-sickness and mortality, the returns of the
-two classes were kept distinct and separate
-in preparing the tables.</p>
-
-<p>“Few infected soldiers escape notice, as
-health inspections are made once a week,
-which is the general rule in the service. If
-a soldier is found at inspection to be labouring
-under disease, he is reported for having
-concealed it to his superior officer,
-who orders him punishment drill on his
-discharge from hospital. In order to induce
-him to apply early for relief, the
-soldier is told that if he do so, he may probably
-be only a few days instead of several
-weeks under treatment.</p>
-
-<p>“It is contrary to the rules of the service,
-to treat men out of hospital; even were it
-otherwise, the habits of the soldier, and
-the accommodation in barracks, would not
-favour celerity of cure.”<a name="FNanchor_93_93" id="FNanchor_93_93"></a><a href="#Footnote_93_93" class="fnanchor">[93]</a></p>
-
-<p>In the brigade of Guards, though the
-average of syphilis primitiva is heavy, as
-above stated, only 11 per cent. of the cases
-are followed by secondary symptoms, which,
-however, follow 33 per cent. of the cases in
-the line. Dr. Balfour says a mild mercurial
-system is usually pursued in the army; and
-indeed mercury by many surgeons is held
-absolutely necessary for hard, or Hunterian
-chancres.</p>
-
-<p>A woman was pointed out to me in a
-Music Hall in Knightsbridge, who my informant
-told me he was positively assured
-had only yesterday had two buboes lanced;
-and yet she was present at that scene of
-apparent festivity, contaminating the very
-air, like a deadly upas tree, and poisoning
-the blood of the nation, with the most
-audacious recklessness. It is useless to
-say that such things should not be. They
-exist, and they will exist. The woman was
-nothing better than a paid murderess, committing
-crime with impunity. She was so
-well known that she had obtained the soubriquet
-of the “hospital” as she was so
-frequently an inmate of one, and as she
-so often sent others to a similar involuntary
-confinement.</p>
-
-<p>Those women who, for the sake of distinguishing
-them from the professionals, I
-must call amateurs, are generally spoken of
-as “Dollymops.” Now many servant-maids,
-nurse-maids who go with children into
-the Parks, shop girls and milliners who
-may be met with at the various “dancing
-academies,” so called, are “Dollymops.”
-We must separate these latter again
-from the “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Demoiselle de Comptoir</span>,” who
-is just as much in point of fact a “Dollymop,”
-because she prostitutes herself
-for her own pleasure, a few trifling presents
-or a little money now and then, and
-not altogether to maintain herself. But
-she will not go to casinos, or any similar
-places to pick up men; she makes their
-acquaintance in a clandestine manner:
-either she is accosted in the street early in
-the evening as she is returning from her
-place of business to her lodgings, or she
-carries on a flirtation behind the counter,
-which, as a matter of course, ends in an
-assignation.</p>
-
-<p>Soldiers are notorious for hunting up
-these women, especially nurse-maids and
-those that in the execution of their duty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span>
-walk in the Parks, when they may easily
-be accosted. Nurse-maids feel flattered by
-the attention that is lavished upon them,
-and are always ready to succumb to the
-“scarlet fever.” A red coat is all powerful
-with this class, who prefer a soldier to a
-servant, or any other description of man
-they come in contact with.</p>
-
-<p>This also answers the soldier’s purpose
-equally well. He cannot afford to employ
-professional women to gratify his passions,
-and if he were to do so, he must make the
-acquaintance of a very low set of women,
-who in all probability will communicate
-some infectious disease to him. He feels
-he is never safe, and he is only too glad to
-seize the opportunity of forming an intimacy
-with a woman who will appreciate
-him for his own sake, cost him nothing but
-the trouble of taking her about occasionally,
-and who, whatever else she may do, will
-never by any chance infect. I heard that
-some of the privates in the Blues and the
-brigade of Guards often formed very reprehensible
-connections with women of property,
-tradesmen’s wives, and even ladies,
-who supplied them with money, and behaved
-with the greatest generosity to them,
-only stipulating for the preservation of secrecy
-in their intrigues. Of course numbers
-of women throng the localities which contain
-the Knightsbridge, Albany Street, St.
-George’s, Portman, and Wellington Barracks
-in Birdcage Walk. They may have
-come up from the provinces; some women
-have been known to follow a particular
-regiment from place to place, all over the
-country, and have only left it when it has
-been under orders for foreign service.</p>
-
-<p>A woman whom I met with near the
-Knightsbridge barracks, in one of the beer-houses
-there, told me she had been a soldiers’
-woman all her life.</p>
-
-<p>“When I was sixteen,” she said, “I
-went wrong. I’m up’ards of thirty now. I’ve
-been fourteen or fifteen years at it. It’s
-one of those things you can’t well leave off
-when you’ve once took to it. I was born
-in Chatham. We had a small baker’s shop
-there, and I served the customers and
-minded the shop. There’s lots of soldiers
-at Chatham, as you know, and they used to
-look in at the window in passing, and nod
-and laugh whenever they could catch my
-eye. I liked to be noticed by the soldiers.
-At last one young fellow, a recruit, who
-had not long joined I think, for he told me
-he hadn’t been long at the depot, came in
-and talked to me. Well, this went on, and
-things fell out as they always do with girls
-who go about with men, more especially
-soldiers, and when the regiment went to
-Ireland, he gave me a little money that
-helped me to follow it; and I went about
-from place to place, time after time, always
-sticking to the same regiment. My first
-man got tired of me in a year or two, but
-that didn’t matter. I took up with a sergeant
-then, which was a cut above a private,
-and helped me on wonderful. When
-we were at Dover, there was a militia
-permanently embodied artillery regiment
-quartered with us on the western heights,
-and I got talking to some of the officers,
-who liked me a bit. I was a &mdash;&mdash; sight
-prettier then than I am now, you may take
-your dying oath, and they noticed me uncommon;
-and although I didn’t altogether
-cut my old friends, I carried on with these
-fellows all the time we were there, and
-made a lot of money, and bought better
-dresses and some jewellery, that altered me
-wonderful. One officer offered to keep me
-if I liked to come and live with him. He
-said he would take a house for me in the
-town, and keep a pony carriage if I would
-consent; but although I saw it would make
-me rise in the world, I refused. I was fond
-of my old associates, and did not like the
-society of gentlemen; so, when the regiment
-left Dover, I went with them, and
-I remained with them till I was five-and-twenty.
-We were then stationed in
-London, and I one day saw a private
-in the Blues with one of my friends,
-and for the first time in my life I fell in
-love. He spoke to me, and I immediately
-accepted his proposals, left my old friends,
-and went to live in a new locality, among
-strangers; and I’ve been amongst the
-Blues ever since, going from one to the
-other, never keeping to one long, and not
-particler as long as I get the needful. I don’t
-get much,&mdash;very little, hardly enough to
-live upon. I’ve done a little needlework in
-the day-time. I don’t now, although I do
-some washing and mangling now and then
-to help it out. I don’t pay much for my
-bed-room, only six bob a week, and dear
-at that. It ain’t much of a place. Some
-of the girls about here live in houses. I
-don’t; I never could abear it. You ain’t
-your own master, and I always liked my
-freedom. I’m not comfortable exactly; it’s
-a brutal sort of life this. It isn’t the sin
-of it, though, that worries me. I don’t dare
-think of that much, but I do think how
-happy I might have been if I’d always
-lived at Chatham, and married as other
-women do, and had a nice home and
-children; that’s what I want, and when I
-think of all that, I do cut up. It’s enough
-to drive a woman wild to think that she’s
-given up all chance of it. I feel I’m not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span>
-respected either. If I have a row with
-any fellow, he’s always the first to taunt
-me with being what he and his friends have
-made me. I don’t feel it so much now. I
-used to at first. One dovetails into all
-that sort of thing in time, and the edge of
-your feelings, as I may say, wears off by
-degrees. That’s what it is. And then the
-drink is very pleasant to us, and keeps up
-our spirits; for what could a woman in my
-position do without spirits, without being
-able to talk and blackguard and give every
-fellow she meets as good as he brings?”</p>
-
-<p>It is easy to understand the state of
-mind of this woman, who had a craving
-after what she knew she never could possess,
-but which the maternal instinct
-planted within her forced her to wish
-for. This is one of the melancholy aspects
-of prostitution. It leads to nothing&mdash;marriage
-of course excepted; the prostitute
-has no future. Her life, saving the excitement
-of the moment, is a blank. Her hopes
-are all blighted, and if she has a vestige of
-religion left in her, which is generally the
-case, she must shudder occasionally at what
-she has merited by her easy compliance
-when the voice of the tempter sounded so
-sweetly.</p>
-
-<p>The happy prostitute, and there is such
-a thing, is either the thoroughly hardened,
-clever infidel, who knows how to command
-men and use them for her own purposes;
-who is in the best set both of men and
-women; who frequents the night-houses in
-London, and who in the end seldom fails to
-marry well; or the quiet woman who is
-kept by the man she loves, and who she
-feels is fond of her; who has had a provision
-made for her to guard her against
-want, and the caprice of her paramour.</p>
-
-<p>The sensitive, sentimental, weak-minded,
-impulsive, affectionate girl, will go from
-bad to worse, and die on a dunghill or in a
-workhouse. A woman who was well known
-to cohabit with soldiers, of a masculine
-appearance but good features, and having
-a good-natured expression, was pointed out
-to me as the most violent woman in the
-neighbourhood. When she was in a passion
-she would demolish everything that
-came in her way, regardless of the mischief
-she was doing. She was standing in the
-bar of a public-house close to the barracks
-talking to some soldiers, when I had an
-opportunity of speaking to her. I did not
-allow it to pass without taking advantage
-of it. I told her I had heard she was very
-passionate and violent.</p>
-
-<p>“Passionate!” she replied; “I believe
-yer. I knocked my father down and well-nigh
-killed him with a flat-iron before I
-wor twelve year old. I was a beauty then,
-an I aint improved much since I’ve been
-on my own hook. I’ve had lots of rows
-with these ’ere sodgers, and they’d have
-slaughter’d me long afore now if I had not
-pretty near cooked their goose. It’s a good
-bit of it self-defence with me now-a-days,
-I can tell yer. Why, look here; look at
-my arm where I was run through with a
-bayonet once three or four years ago.”</p>
-
-<p>She bared her arm and exhibited the scar
-of what appeared to have once been a serious
-wound.</p>
-
-<p>“You wants to know if them rowses is
-common. Well, they is, and it’s no good
-one saying they aint, and the sodgers is
-such &mdash;&mdash; cowards they think nothing of
-sticking a woman when they’se riled and
-drunk, or they’ll wop us with their belts.
-I was hurt awful onst by a blow from a
-belt; it hit me on the back part of the
-head, and I was laid up weeks in St.
-George’s Hospital with a bad fever. The
-sodger who done it was quodded, but only
-for a drag,<a name="FNanchor_94_94" id="FNanchor_94_94"></a><a href="#Footnote_94_94" class="fnanchor">[94]</a> and he swore to God as how
-he’d do for me the next time as he comed
-across me. We had words sure enough,
-but I split his skull with a pewter, and
-that shut him up for a time. You see this
-public; well, I’ve smashed up this place
-before now; I’ve jumped over the bar, because
-they wouldn’t serve me without paying
-for it when I was hard up, and I’ve
-smashed all the tumblers and glass, and set
-the cocks agoing, and fought like a brick
-when they tried to turn me out, and it took
-two peelers to do it; and then I lamed one
-of the bobbies for life by hitting him on
-the shin with a bit of iron&mdash;a crow or summet,
-I forget what it was. How did I come
-to live this sort of life? Get along with
-your questions. If you give me any of
-your cheek, I’ll &mdash;&mdash; soon serve you the
-same.”</p>
-
-<p>It may easily be supposed I was glad to
-leave this termagant, who was popular with
-the soldiers, although they were afraid of
-her when she was in a passion. There is
-not much to be said about soldiers’ women.
-They are simply low and cheap, often diseased,
-and as a class do infinite harm to the
-health of the service.</p>
-
-
-<h4><i>Thieves’ Women.</i></h4>
-
-<p>The metropolis is divided by the police
-into districts, to which letters are attached
-to designate and distinguish them. The
-head-quarters of the F division are at Bow
-Street, and the jurisdiction of its consta<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span>bulary
-extends over Covent Garden, Drury
-Lane, and St. Giles’s, which used formerly
-to be looked upon as most formidable neighbourhoods,
-harbouring the worst characters
-and the most desperate thieves.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Durkin, the superintendent at Bow
-Street, obligingly allowed an intelligent and
-experienced officer (sergeant Bircher) to
-give me any information I might require.</p>
-
-<p>Fifteen or twenty years ago this locality
-was the perpetual scene of riot and disorder.
-The public-houses were notorious
-for being places of call for thieves, pickpockets,
-burglars, thieving prostitutes,
-hangers-on (their associates), and low ruffians,
-who rather than work for an honest
-livelihood preferred scraping together a
-precarious subsistence by any disreputable
-means, however disgraceful or criminal
-they might be. But now this is completely
-changed. Although I patrolled the neighbourhood
-on Monday night, which is
-usually accounted one of the noisiest in
-the week, most of the public houses were
-empty, the greatest order and decorum
-reigned in the streets, and not even an
-Irish row occurred in any of the low alleys
-and courts to enliven the almost painful
-silence that everywhere prevailed. I only
-witnessed one fight in a public-house in
-St. Martin’s Lane. Seven or eight people
-were standing at the bar, smoking and
-drinking. A disturbance took place between
-an elderly man, pugnaciously intoxicated,
-who was further urged on by a
-prostitute he had been talking to, and a
-man who had the appearance of being a
-tradesman in a small way. How the quarrel
-originated I don’t know, for I did not arrive
-till it had commenced. The sergeant
-who accompanied me was much amused to
-observe among those in the bar three suspicious
-characters he had for some time
-“had his eye on.” One was a tall, hulking,
-hang dog-looking fellow; the second a short,
-bloated, diseased, red-faced man, while the
-third was a common-looking woman, a
-prostitute and the associate of the two
-former. The fight went on until the tradesman
-in a small way was knocked head over
-heels into a corner, when the tall, hulking
-fellow obligingly ran to his rescue, kindly
-lifted him up, and quietly rifled his pockets.
-The ecstasy of the sergeant as he detected
-this little piece of sharp practice was a
-thing to remember. He instantly called
-my attention to it, for so cleverly and skilfully
-had it been done that I had failed to
-observe it.</p>
-
-<p>When we resumed our tour of inspection,
-the sergeant, having mentally summed
-up the three suspicious characters, observed:
-“I first discovered them in Holborn
-three nights ago, when I was on duty
-in plain clothes. I don’t exactly yet know
-rightly what their little game is; but it’s
-either dog-stealing or ‘picking up.’ This
-is how they do it. The woman looks out
-for a ‘mug,’ that is a drunken fellow, or a
-stupid, foolish sort of fellow. She then
-stops him in the street, talks to him, and
-pays particular attention to his jewellery,
-watch, and every thing of that sort, of which
-she attempts to rob him. If he offers any
-resistance, or makes a noise, one of her
-bullies comes up, and either knocks him
-down by a blow under the ear, or exclaims:
-‘What are you talking to my wife for?’
-and that’s how the thing’s done, sir,
-that’s exactly how these chaps do the
-trick. I found out where they live yesterday.
-It’s somewhere down near Barbican,
-Golden Lane; the name’s a bad, ruffianly,
-thievish place. They are being watched
-to-night, although they don’t know it. I
-planted a man on them.” Two women
-were standing just outside the same
-public. They were dressed in a curious
-assortment of colours, as the low English
-invariably are, and their faces had a peculiar
-unctuous appearance, somewhat Israelitish,
-as if their diet from day to day
-consisted of fried fish and dripping. The
-sergeant knew them well, and they knew
-him, for they accosted him. “One of these
-women,” he said, “is the cleverest thief
-out. I’ve known her twelve years. She was
-in the first time for robbing a public. I’ll
-tell you how it was. She was a pretty
-woman&mdash;a very pretty woman&mdash;then, and
-had been kept by a man who allowed her
-4<i>l.</i> a week for some time. She was very
-quiet too, never went about anywhere,
-never knocked about at night publics or
-any of those places; but she got into bad
-company, and was in for this robbery. She
-and her accomplices got up a row in the
-bar, everything being concerted before
-hand; they put out the lights, set all the
-taps running, and stole a purse, a watch,
-and some other things; but we nabbed
-them all, and, strange to say, one of the
-women thieves died the next day from the
-effects of drink. All these women are great
-gluttons, and when they get any money,
-they go in for a regular drink and debauch.
-This one drank so much that it positively
-killed her slick off.”</p>
-
-<p>At the corner of Drury Lane I saw three
-women standing talking together. They
-were innocent of crinoline, and the antiquity
-of their bonnets and shawls was
-really wonderful, while the durability of
-the fabric of which they were composed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span>
-was equally remarkable. Their countenances
-were stolid, and their skin hostile
-to the application of soap and water. The
-hair of one was tinged with silver. They
-were inured to the rattle of their harness;
-the clank of the chains pleased them. They
-had <i>grown grey</i> as prostitutes.</p>
-
-<p>I learnt from my companion that “that
-lot was an inexpensive luxury; it showed
-the sterility of the neighbourhood. They
-would go home with a man for a shilling,
-and think themselves well paid, while sixpence
-was rather an exorbitant amount for
-the temporary accommodation their vagrant
-amour would require.”</p>
-
-<p>There were a good many of them about.
-They lived for the most part in small
-rooms at eighteen pence, two shillings, and
-half-a-crown a week, in the small streets
-running out of Drury Lane.</p>
-
-<p>We went down Charles Street, Drury
-Lane, a small street near the Great Mogul
-public-house. I was surprised at the
-number of clean-looking, respectable lodging-houses
-to be seen in this street, and
-indeed in almost every street thereabouts.
-Many of them were well-ventilated, and
-chiefly resorted to by respectable mechanics.
-They are under the supervision of
-the police, and the time of a sergeant is
-wholly taken up in inspecting them. Visits
-are made every day, and if the Act of Parliament
-by the provisions of which they
-are allowed to exist, and by which they are
-regulated, is broken, their licences are
-taken away directly. Some speculators
-have several of these houses, and keep a
-shop as well, full of all sorts of things to
-supply their lodgers.</p>
-
-<p>There is generally a green blind in the
-parlour window, upon which you sometimes
-see written, Lodgings for Travellers, 3<i>d.</i> a
-night; or, Lodgings for Gentlemen; or,
-Lodgings for Single Men. Sometimes they
-have Model Lodging-house written in large
-black letters on a white ground on the
-wall. There are also several little shops
-kept by general dealers, in contiguity, for
-the use of the inmates of the lodging-houses,
-where they can obtain two pennyworth of
-meat and “a haporth” of bread, and everything
-else in proportion.</p>
-
-<p>There are a great number of costermongers
-about Drury Lane and that district,
-and my informant assured me that
-they found the profession very lucrative, for
-the lower orders, and industrial classes
-don’t care about going into shops to make
-purchases. They infinitely prefer buying
-what they want in the open street from the
-barrow or stall of a costermonger.</p>
-
-<p>What makes Clare Market so attractive,
-too, but the stalls and barrows that abound there.</p>
-
-<p>There are many flower-girls who are sent
-out by their old gin-drinking mothers to
-pick up a few pence in the street by the
-sale of their goods. They begin very
-young, often as young as five and six, and
-go on till they are old enough to become
-prostitutes, when they either leave off costermongering
-altogether, or else unite the
-two professions. They are chiefly the offspring
-of Irish parents, or cockney Irish,
-as they are called, who are the noisiest, the
-most pugnacious, unprincipled, and reckless
-part of the population of London.
-There is in Exeter Street, Strand, a very
-old established and notorious house of ill-fame,
-called the &mdash;&mdash;, which the police
-says is always honestly and orderly conducted.
-Married women go there with
-their paramours, for they are sure of secrecy,
-and have confidence in the place.
-It is a house of accommodation, and much
-frequented; rich tradesmen are known to
-frequent it. They charge ten shillings and
-upwards for a bed. A man might go there
-with a large sum of money in his pocket,
-and sleep in perfect security, for no
-attempt would be made to deprive him of
-his property.</p>
-
-<p>There is a coffee-house in Wellington
-Street, on the Covent Garden side of the
-Lyceum Theatre, in fact adjoining the playhouse,
-where women may take their men;
-but the police cannot interfere with it, because
-it is a coffee-house, and not a house
-of ill-fame, properly so called. The proprietor
-is not supposed to know who his
-customers are. A man comes with a woman
-and asks for a bed-room; they may
-be travellers, they may be a thousand
-things. A subterranean passage, I am
-told, running under the Lyceum connects
-this with some supper-rooms on the other
-side of the theatre, which belongs to the
-same man who is proprietor of the coffee
-and chop house.</p>
-
-<p>We have before spoken of “dress-lodgers:”
-there are several to be seen in
-the Strand. Any one who does not understand
-the affair, and had not been previously
-informed, would fail to observe the
-badly-dressed old hag who follows at a
-short distance the fashionably-attired young
-lady, who walks so gaily along the pavement,
-and who only allows the elasticity of
-her step to subside into a quieter measure
-when stopping to speak to some likely-looking
-man who may be passing. If her
-overtures are successful she retires with
-her prey to some den in the vicinity.</p>
-
-<p>The watcher has a fixed salary of so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span>
-much per week, and never loses sight of the
-dress-lodger, for very plain reasons. The
-dress-lodger probably lives some distance
-from the immoral house by whose owner
-she is employed. She comes there in the
-afternoon badly dressed, and has good
-things lent her. Now if she were not
-watched she might decamp. She might
-waste her time in public-houses; she might
-take her dupes to other houses of ill-fame,
-or she might pawn the clothes she has on,
-for the keeper could not sue her for a debt
-contracted for immoral purposes. The
-dress-lodger gets as much money from her
-man as she can succeed in abstracting, and
-is given a small percentage on what she
-obtains by her employer. The man pays
-usually five shillings for the room. Many
-prostitutes bilk their man; they take him
-into a house, and then after he has paid
-for the room leave him. The dupe complains
-to the keeper of the house, but of
-course fails to obtain any redress.</p>
-
-<p>I happened to see an old woman in the
-Strand, who is one of the most hardened
-beggars in London. She has two children
-with her, but one she generally disposes of
-by placing her in some doorway. The
-child falls back on the step, and pretends to
-be asleep or half-frozen with the cold. Her
-naturally pale face gives her a half-starved
-look, which completes her pitiable appearance.
-Any gentleman passing by being
-charitably inclined may be imposed upon
-and induced to touch her on the shoulder.
-The child will move slowly and rub her
-eyes, and the man, thoroughly deceived,
-gives her an alms and passes on, when the
-little deceiver again composes herself to
-wait for the next chance. This occurred
-while I was looking on; but unfortunately
-for the child’s success the policeman on the
-beat happened to come up, and she made
-her retreat to a safer and more convenient
-locality.</p>
-
-<p>Many novelists, philanthropists, and
-newspaper writers have dwelt much upon
-the horrible character of a series of subterranean
-chambers or vaults in the vicinity
-of the Strand, called the Adelphi Arches.
-It is by no means even now understood
-that these arches are the most innocent
-and harmless places in London, whatever
-they might once have been. A policeman
-is on duty there at night, expressly to prevent
-persons who have no right or business
-there from descending into their recesses.</p>
-
-<p>They were probably erected in order to
-form a foundation for the Adelphi Terrace.
-Let us suppose there were then no wharves,
-and no embankments, consequently the
-tide must have ascended and gone inland
-some distance, rendering the ground
-marshy, swampy, and next to useless. The
-main arch is a very fine pile of masonry,
-something like the Box tunnel on a small
-scale, while the other, running here and
-there like the intricacies of catacombs, looks
-extremely ghostly and suggestive of Jack
-Sheppards, Blueskins, Jonathan Wilds, and
-others of the same kind, notwithstanding
-they are so well lighted with gas. There is
-a doorway at the end of a vault leading up
-towards the Strand, that has a peculiar tradition
-attached to it. Not so very many
-years ago this door was a back exit from
-a notorious coffee and gambling house,
-where parties were decoyed by thieves,
-blacklegs, or prostitutes, and swindled,
-then drugged, and subsequently thrown
-from this door into the darkness of what
-must have seemed to them another world,
-and were left, when they came to themselves,
-to find their way out as best they
-could.</p>
-
-<p>My attention was attracted, while in
-these arches, by the cries and exclamations
-of a woman near the river, and proceeding
-to the spot I saw a woman sitting on some
-steps, before what appeared to be a stable,
-engaged in a violent altercation with a
-man who was by profession a cab proprietor&mdash;several
-of his vehicles were lying
-about&mdash;and who, she vehemently asserted,
-was her husband. The man declared she
-was a common woman when he met her,
-and had since become the most drunken
-creature it was possible to meet with. The
-woman put her hand in her pocket and brandished
-something in his face, which she triumphantly
-said was her marriage-certificate.
-“That,” she cried, turning to me, “that’s
-what licks them. It don’t matter whether
-I was one of Lot’s daughters afore. I
-might have been awful, I don’t say I wasn’t,
-but I’m his wife, and this ’ere’s what licks
-’em.”</p>
-
-<p>I left them indulging in elegant invectives,
-and interlarding their conversation with
-those polite and admirable metaphors that
-have gained so wide-spread a reputation for
-the famous women who sell fish in Billingsgate;
-and I was afterwards informed by
-a sympathising bystander, in the shape of a
-stable-boy, that the inevitable result of this
-conjugal altercation would be the incarceration
-of the woman, by the husband, in a
-horse-box, where she might undisturbed
-sleep off the effects of her potations, and
-repent the next day at her leisure. “<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Neo
-dulces amores sperne puer.</span>”</p>
-
-<p>Several showily-dressed, if not actually
-well-attired women, who are to be found
-walking about the Haymarket, live in St.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span>
-Giles’s and about Drury Lane. But the
-lowest class of women, who prostitute
-themselves for a shilling or less, are the
-most curious and remarkable class in this
-part. We have spoken of them before as
-growing grey in the exercise of their profession.
-One of them, a woman over forty,
-shabbily dressed, and with a disreputable,
-unprepossessing appearance, volunteered
-the following statement for a consideration
-of a spirituous nature.</p>
-
-<p>“Times is altered, sir, since I come on
-the town. I can remember when all the
-swells used to come down here-away, instead
-of going to the Market; but those
-times is past, they is, worse luck, but, like
-myself, nothing lasts for ever, although I’ve
-stood my share of wear and tear, I have.
-Years ago Fleet Street and the Strand, and
-Catherine Street, and all round there was
-famous for women and houses. Ah! those
-were the times. Wish they might come
-again, but wishing’s no use, it ain’t. It
-only makes one miserable a thinking of it.
-I come up from the country when I was
-quite a gal, not above sixteen I dessay.
-I come from Dorsetshire, near Lyme Regis,
-to see a aunt of mine. Father was a farmer
-in Dorset, but only in a small way&mdash;tenant
-farmer, as you would say. I was mighty
-pleased, you may swear, with London, and
-liked being out at night when I could get
-the chance. One night I went up the area
-and stood looking through the railing, when
-a man passed by, but seeing me he returned
-and spoke to me something about the
-weather. I, like a child, answered him
-unsuspectingly enough, and he went on
-talking about town and country, asking me,
-among other things, if I had long been in
-London, or if I was born there. I not thinking
-told him all about myself; and he
-went away apparently very much pleased
-with me, saying before he went that he was
-very glad to have made such an agreeable
-acquaintance, and if I would say nothing
-about it he would call for me about the
-same time, or a little earlier, if I liked, the
-next night, and take me out for a walk. I
-was, as you may well suppose, delighted,
-and never said a word. The next evening
-I met him as he appointed, and two or
-three times subsequently. One night we
-walked longer than usual, and I pressed
-him to return, as I feared my aunt would
-find me out; but he said he was so
-fatigued with walking so far, he would like
-to rest a little before he went back again;
-but if I was very anxious he would put me
-in a cab. Frightened about him, for I
-thought he might be ill, I preferred risking
-being found out; and when he proposed
-that we should go into some house and sit
-down I agreed. He said all at once, as if
-he had just remembered something, that a
-very old friend of his lived near there, and
-we couldn’t go to a better place, for she
-would give us everything we could wish.
-We found the door half open when we
-arrived. ‘How careless,’ said my friend,
-‘to leave the street-door open, any one
-might get in.’ We entered without knocking,
-and seeing a door in the passage standing
-ajar we went in. My friend shook
-hands with an old lady who was talking to
-several girls dispersed over different parts
-of the room, who, she said, were her
-daughters. At this announcement some of
-them laughed, when she got very angry
-and ordered them out of the room. Somehow
-I didn’t like the place, and not feeling
-all right I asked to be put in a cab and
-sent home. My friend made no objection
-and a cab was sent for. He, however,
-pressed me to have something to drink
-before I started. I refused to touch any
-wine, so I asked for some coffee, which I
-drank. It made me feel very sleepy, so
-sleepy indeed that I begged to be allowed
-to sit down on the sofa. They accordingly
-placed me on the sofa, and advised me to
-rest a little while, promising, in order to
-allay my anxiety, to send a messenger to
-my aunt. Of course I was drugged, and so
-heavily I did not regain my consciousness
-till the next morning. I was horrified to
-discover that I had been ruined, and for
-some days I was inconsolable, and cried
-like a child to be killed or sent back to my
-aunt.</p>
-
-<p>“When I became quiet I received a visit
-from my seducer, in whom I had placed so
-much silly confidence. He talked very
-kindly to me, but I would not listen to
-him for some time. He came several times
-to see me, and at last said he would take me
-away if I liked, and give me a house of my
-own. Finally, finding how hopeless all was
-I agreed to his proposal, and he allowed me
-four pounds a week. This went on for
-some months, till he was tired of me, when
-he threw me over for some one else. There
-is always as good fish in the sea as ever
-came out of it, and this I soon discovered.</p>
-
-<p>“Then for some years&mdash;ten years, till I
-was six-and-twenty,&mdash;I went through all the
-changes of a gay lady’s life, and they’re
-not a few, I can tell you. I don’t leave off
-this sort of life because I’m in a manner
-used to it, and what could I do if I did?
-I’ve no character; I’ve never been used to
-do anything, and I don’t see what employment
-I stand a chance of getting. Then
-if I had to sit hours and hours all day long,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span>
-and part of the night too, sewing or anything
-like that, I should get tired. It would
-worrit me so; never having been accustomed,
-you see, I couldn’t stand it. I
-lodge in Charles Street, Drury Lane, now.
-I did live in Nottingham Court once, and
-Earls Street. But, Lord, I’ve lived in a
-many places you wouldn’t think, and I
-don’t imagine you’d believe one half. I’m
-always a-chopping and a-changing like the
-wind as you may say. I pay half-a-crown
-a week for my bed-room; it’s clean and
-comfortable, good enough for such as me.
-I don’t think much of my way of life. You
-folks as has honour, and character, and
-feelings, and such, can’t understand how
-all that’s been beaten out of people like
-me. I don’t feel. <i>I’m used to it.</i> I did
-once, more especial when mother died. I
-heard on it through a friend of mine, who
-told me her last words was of me. I did
-cry and go on then ever so, but Lor’,
-where’s the good of fretting? I arn’t happy
-either. It isn’t happiness, but I get enough
-money to keep me in victuals and drink,
-and it’s the drink mostly that keeps me
-going. You’ve no idea how I look forward
-to my drop of gin. It’s everything to me.
-I don’t suppose I’ll live much longer, and
-that’s another thing that pleases me. I
-don’t want to live, and yet I don’t care
-enough about dying to make away with
-myself. I arn’t got that amount af feeling
-that some has, and that’s where it is I’m
-kinder ’fraid of it.”</p>
-
-<p>This woman’s tale is a condensation of
-the philosophy of sinning. The troubles
-she had gone through, and her experience
-of the world, had made her oblivious of the
-finer attributes of human nature, and she
-had become brutal.</p>
-
-<p>I spoke to another who had been converted
-at a Social Evil Meeting, but from a
-variety of causes driven back to the old
-way of living.</p>
-
-<p>The first part of her story offered nothing
-peculiar. She had been on the town for
-fifteen years, when a year or so ago she
-heard of the Midnight Meeting and Baptist
-Noel. She was induced from curiosity to
-attend; and her feelings being powerfully
-worked upon by the extraordinary scene,
-the surroundings, and the earnestness of
-the preacher, she accepted the offer held
-out to her, and was placed in a cab with
-some others, and conveyed to one of the
-numerous metropolitan homes, where she
-was taken care of for some weeks, and
-furnished with a small sum of money to
-return to her friends. When she arrived
-at her native village in Essex, she only
-found her father. Her mother was dead;
-her sister at service, and her two brothers
-had enlisted in the army. Her father was
-an old man, supported by the parish; so
-it was clear he could not support her. She
-had a few shillings left, with which she
-worked her way back to town, returned to
-her old haunts, renewed her acquaintance
-with her vicious companions, and resumed
-her old course of life.</p>
-
-<p>I don’t insert this recital as a reflection
-upon the refuges and homes, or mean to
-asperse the Midnight Meeting movement,
-which is worthy of all praise. On the contrary,
-I have much pleasure in alluding to
-the subject and acknowledging the success
-that has attended the efforts of the philanthropic
-gentlemen associated with the Rev.
-Mr. Baptist Noel.</p>
-
-<p>I have already described the condition
-of low and abandoned women in Spitalfields,
-Whitechapel, Wapping, and Shadwell,
-although I have not touched very
-closely upon those who cohabit with thieves
-and other desperate characters, whose daily
-means of obtaining a livelihood exposes
-them to the penalties the law inflicts upon
-those who infringe its provisions. Their
-mode of living, the houses they inhabit,
-and the way in which they pass their time,
-does not very materially differ from that of
-other prostitutes, with this exception, they
-are not obliged to frequent casinos, dancing-rooms,
-and other places of popular resort,
-to make acquaintances that may be of service
-to them in a pecuniary way, although
-they do make use of such places for the
-purposes of robbery and fraud. Some
-women of tolerably good repute&mdash;that is,
-who are regarded as knowing a good set of
-men, who have admission to the night-houses
-in Panton Street and the Haymarket&mdash;I
-am informed, are connected with thieves.
-The night-houses and supper-rooms in the
-neighbourhood of the Haymarket are for
-the most part in the hands of a family of
-Jews. Kate Hamilton’s in Princes Street,
-Leicester Square, belongs to one of this
-family. She is given a per centage on all
-the wine that she sells during the course of
-the evening, and as she charges twelve
-shillings a bottle for Moselle and sparkling
-wines, it may readily be supposed that her
-profits are by no means despicable. Lizzie
-Davis’s, Sams’s, Sally’s, and, I believe, the
-Carlton, also belong to this family. One
-of these Jews, I am told, was some few
-years back imprisoned for two years on a
-charge of manslaughter. He was proprietor
-of a brothel in the vicinity of Drury Lane,
-and the manslaughter occurred through his
-instrumentality on the premises. I have
-been informed by the police that some of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span>
-the proprietors of these night-houses are
-well-known receivers of stolen goods, and
-the assertion is easily credible. To exemplify
-this I will relate a story told me by a
-sergeant of the H division. Some two
-years ago a robbery was committed by a
-“snoozer,” or one of those thieves who
-take up their quarters at hotels for the
-purpose of robbery. The robbery was
-committed at an hotel in Chester. The
-thief was captured, and the Recorder sentenced
-him to be imprisoned. This man
-was a notorious thief, and went under the
-<i>soubriquet</i> of American Jack. He was said
-to have once been in a very different position.
-He was polished in his manners, and
-highly accomplished. He could speak three
-or four languages with facility, and was a
-most formidable and dexterous thief, causing
-much apprehension and trouble to the
-police. After being incarcerated for a few
-weeks he contrived in a clever manner to
-make his escape from one of the London
-prisons; it was supposed by the connivance
-of his gaolers, who were alleged to have
-been bribed by his friends without. Be
-this as it may, he effected his liberation,
-and was successfully concealed in London
-until the hue and cry was over, and then
-shipped off to Paris. But the night after
-he escaped he perpetrated the most audacious
-robbery. He was dressed by his
-friends, and having changed his prison
-attire went to B&mdash;&mdash; Hotel, a well-known
-place, not far from the Freemasons Tavern,
-where, singularly enough, the Recorder of
-Chester, who had sentenced him, chanced
-to be staying. American Jack had the
-presumption to enter into conversation
-with the Recorder, who fancied he had seen
-his face before, but could not recollect
-where. The visitors had not long retired
-to bed before American Jack commenced
-operations. He was furnished by his accomplice
-with a highly-finished instrument
-for housebreaking, which, when inserted
-in the lock, would pass through and grasp
-the key on the inside. This done, it was
-easy to turn the key and open the door.
-The thief actually broke into sixteen or
-seventeen rooms that night, and made his
-exit before daybreak loaded with booty
-of every description. The proprietors of
-the hotel would offer no reward, as they
-feared publicity. The Recorder of Chester,
-when the robbery was discovered, remembered
-that the person he had conversed
-with the night before was the man he had
-convicted and sentenced at the assizes.
-He repaired to Bow Street with his information,
-and the police were put on the scent;
-but it is well known if no reward is offered
-for the apprehension of an eminent criminal
-the police are not so active as they are
-when they have a monetary inducement to
-incite them to action. It was imagined
-that American Jack had taken refuge with
-his friends near the Haymarket. A waiter
-who had been discharged from one of the
-night-houses was known slightly to a sergeant
-of police, who interrogated him on
-the subject. This waiter confessed that
-he could point out the whereabouts of the
-thief, and would do so for twenty pounds,
-which reward no one concerned in the
-matter would offer; and, as I have already
-stated, the criminal soon after made his
-escape to Paris, where he continued to carry
-on his depredations with considerable skill,
-until one day he mixed himself up in a
-great jewel robbery, and was apprehended
-by the <i>gensdarmes</i>, and sent to the galleys
-for some time, where he is now languishing.</p>
-
-<p>This little history is suggestive&mdash;why
-should not Parliament vote every year a
-small sum of money to form a “Detective
-and Inquiry Fund,” from which the Commissioners
-of Police at Whitehall and Old
-Jewry might offer rewards for the capture
-of offenders? Some spur and inducement
-surely might be given to our detectives,
-who take a great deal of trouble, and, if
-unsuccessful, are almost always out of
-pocket through their researches.</p>
-
-<p>Cannot Sir Richard Mayne and Mr.
-Daniel Whittle Harvey improve on this
-idea?</p>
-
-<p>The police enter the night-houses every
-evening to see if spirits are sold on the
-premises; but as there are bullies at all the
-doors, and a code of signals admirably concerted
-to convey intelligence of the approach
-of the officers to those within,
-everything is carefully concealed, and the
-police are at fault. They might if they
-chose detect the practices they very well
-know are commonly carried on; but they
-either are not empowered to go to extremities,
-or else they do not find it their interest
-so to do. I have heard, I know not
-with what truth, that large sums of money
-are paid to the police to insure their silence
-and compliance; but until this is established
-it must be received with hesitation, though
-circumstances do occur that seem strongly
-to corroborate such suspicions. The women
-who cohabit with thieves are not
-necessarily thieves themselves, although
-such is often the case. Most pickpockets
-make their women accomplices in their
-misdeeds, because they find their assistance
-so valuable to them, and indeed for some
-species of theft almost indispensable.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span>
-There are numbers of young thieves on the
-other side of the water, and almost all of
-them cohabit with some girl or other.
-The depravity of our juvenile thieves is a
-singular feature in their character. It is
-not exactly a custom that they follow, but
-rather an inherent depravity on their part.
-They prefer an idle luxurious life, though
-one also of ignominy and systematic dishonour,
-to one of honesty and labour; and
-this is the cause of their malpractices, perhaps
-inculcated at first by the force of evil
-example and bad bringing up, and invigorated
-every day by independence brought
-about by the liberty allowed them, the consequence
-of parental neglect.</p>
-
-<p>It is of course difficult to give the stories
-of any of these women, as they would only
-criminate themselves disagreeably by confessing
-their delinquencies; and it is not
-easy to pitch upon a thieves’ woman without
-she is pointed out by the police, and
-even then she would deny the imputation
-indignantly.</p>
-
-<h4><i>Park Women, or those who frequent the Parks
-at night and other retired places.</i></h4>
-
-<p>Park women, properly so called, are those
-degraded creatures, utterly lost to all sense
-of shame, who wander about the paths
-most frequented after nightfall in the Parks,
-and consent to any species of humiliation
-for the sake of acquiring a few shillings.
-You may meet them in Hyde Park, between
-the hours of five and ten (till the gates are
-closed) in winter. In the Green Park, in
-what is called the Mall, which is a nocturnal
-thoroughfare, you may see these low
-wretches walking about sometimes with
-men, more generally alone, often early in
-the morning. They are to be seen reclining
-on the benches placed under the trees,
-originally intended, no doubt, for a different
-purpose, occasionally with the head of a
-drunken man reposing in their lap. These
-women are well known to give themselves
-up to disgusting practices, that are alone
-gratifying to men of morbid and diseased
-imaginations. They are old, unsound, and
-by their appearance utterly incapacitated
-from practising their profession where the
-gas-lamps would expose the defects in their
-personal appearance, and the shabbiness of
-their ancient and dilapidated attire. I was
-told that an old woman, whose front teeth
-were absolutely wanting, was known to
-obtain a precarious livelihood by haunting
-the by-walks of Hyde Park, near Park Lane.
-The unfortunate women that form this
-despicable class have in some cases been
-well off, and have been reduced to their
-present condition by a variety of circumstances,
-among which are intemperance,
-and the vicissitudes natural to their vocation.
-I questioned one who was in the
-humour to be communicative, and she gave
-the subjoined replies to my <span class="lock">questions:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“I have not always been what I now am.
-Twenty years ago I was in a very different
-position. Then, although, it may seem
-ludicrous to you, who see me as I now am,
-I was comparatively well off. If I were to
-tell you my history it would be so romantic
-you would not believe it. If I employ a
-little time in telling you, will you reward
-me for my trouble, as I shall be losing my
-time in talking to you? I am not actuated
-by mercenary motives exactly in making
-this request, but my time is my money,
-and I cannot afford to lose either one or
-the other. Well, then, I am the daughter
-of a curate in Gloucestershire. I was never
-at school, but my mother educated me at
-home. I had one brother who entered the
-Church. When I was old enough I saw
-that the limited resources of my parents
-would not allow them to maintain me at
-home without seriously impairing their resources,
-and I proposed that I should go
-out as a governess. At first they would
-not hear of it; but I persisted in my determination,
-and eventually obtained a situation
-in a family in town. Then I was very
-pretty. I may say so without vanity or
-ostentation, for I had many admirers,
-among whom I numbered the only son of
-the people in whose house I lived. I was
-engaged to teach his two sisters, and altogether
-I gave great satisfaction to the
-family. The girls were amiable and tractable,
-and I soon acquired an influence over
-their generous dispositions that afforded
-great facilities for getting them on in their
-studies. My life might have been very
-happy if an unfortunate attachment to me
-had not sprung up in the young man that
-I have before mentioned, which attachment
-I can never sufficiently regret was reciprocated
-by myself.</p>
-
-<p>“I battled against the impulse that constrained
-me to love him, but all my efforts
-were of no avail. He promised to marry
-me, which in an evil hour I agreed to. He
-had a mock ceremony performed by his
-footman, and I went into lodgings that he
-had taken for me in Gower Street, Tottenham
-Court Road. He used to visit me
-very frequently for the ensuing six months,
-and we lived together as man and wife.
-At the expiration of that time he took me
-to the sea-side, and we subsequently travelled
-on the Continent. We were at Baden
-when we heard of his father’s death. This<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span>
-didn’t trouble him much. He did not even
-go to England to attend the funeral, for he
-had by his conduct offended his father,
-and estranged himself from the remainder
-of his family. Soon letters came from a
-solicitor informing him that the provisions
-of the will discontinued the allowance of
-five hundred a year hitherto made to him,
-and left him a small sum of money sufficient
-to buy himself a commission in the
-army, if he chose to do so. This course
-he was strongly advised to take, for it was
-urged that he might support himself on his
-pay if he volunteered for foreign service.
-He was transported with rage when this
-communication reached him, and he immediately
-wrote for the legacy he was entitled
-to, which arrived in due course. That
-evening he went to the gaming table, and
-lost every farthing he had in the world.
-The next morning he was a corpse. His
-remains were found in a secluded part of
-the town, he having in a fit of desperation
-blown his brains out with a pistol. He
-had evidently resolved to take this step before
-he left me, if he should happen to be
-unfortunate, for he left a letter in the hands
-of our landlady to be delivered to me in
-the event of his not returning in the morning.
-It was full of protestations of affection
-for me, and concluded with an avowal
-of the fraud he had practised towards me
-when our acquaintance was first formed,
-which he endeavoured to excuse by stating
-his objections to be hampered or fettered
-by legal impediments.</p>
-
-<p>“When I read this, I somewhat doubted
-the intensity of the affection he paraded
-in his letter. I had no doubt about the
-fervour of my own passion, and for some
-time I was inconsolable. At length, I was
-roused to a sense of my desolate position,
-and to the necessity for action, by the solicitations
-and importunity of my landlady,
-and I sold the better part of my wardrobe
-to obtain sufficient money to pay my bills,
-and return to England. But fate ordered
-things in a different manner. Several of
-my husband’s friends came to condole with
-me on his untimely decease; among whom
-was a young officer of considerable personal
-attractions, who I had often thought I
-should have liked to love, if I had not been
-married to my friend’s husband. It was
-this man who caused me to take the second
-fatal step I have made in my life. If I
-had only gone home, my friends might
-have forgiven everything. I felt they
-would, and my pride did not stand in my
-way, for I would gladly have asked and
-obtained their forgiveness for a fault in
-reality very venial, when the circumstances
-under which it was committed are
-taken into consideration.</p>
-
-<p>“Or I might have represented the facts
-to the family; and while the mother
-mourned the death of her son, she must
-have felt some commiseration for myself.</p>
-
-<p>“The officer asked me to live with him,
-and made the prospect he held out to me so
-glittering and fascinating that I yielded.
-He declared he would marry me with pleasure
-on the spot, but he would forfeit a
-large sum of money, that he must inherit
-in a few years if he remained single, and
-it would be folly not to wait until then.
-I have forgotten to mention that I had not
-any children. My constitution being very
-delicate, my child was born dead, which
-was a sad blow to me, although it did
-not seem to affect the man I regarded as
-my husband. We soon left Baden and returned
-to London, where I lived for a
-month very happily with my paramour, who
-was not separated from me, as his leave of
-absence had not expired. When that event
-occurred he reluctantly left me to go to
-Limerick, where his regiment was quartered.
-There in all probability he formed
-a fresh acquaintance, for he wrote to me
-in about a fortnight, saying that a separation
-must take place between us, for reasons
-that he was not at liberty to apprise me of,
-and he enclosed a cheque for fifty pounds,
-which he hoped would pay my expences.
-It was too late now to go home, and I was
-driven to a life of prostitution, not because
-I had a liking for it, but as a means of
-getting enough money to live upon. For ten
-years I lived first with one man then with
-another, until at last I was infected with a
-disease, of which I did not know the
-evil effects if neglected. The disastrous
-consequence of that neglect is only too apparent
-now. You will be disgusted, when I
-tell you that it attacked my face, and ruined
-my features to such an extent that I am
-hideous to look upon, and should be noticed
-by no one if I frequented those places
-where women of my class most congregate;
-indeed, I should be driven away with curses
-and execrations.”</p>
-
-<p>This recital is melancholy in the extreme.
-Here was a woman endowed with
-a very fair amount of education, speaking
-in a superior manner, making use of words
-that very few in her position would know
-how to employ, reduced by a variety of
-circumstances to the very bottom of a
-prostitute’s career. In reply to my further
-questioning, she said she lived in a
-small place in Westminster called Perkins’
-Rents, where for one room she paid
-two shillings a week. The Rents were in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span>
-Westminster, not far from Palace-yard. She
-was obliged to have recourse to her present
-way of living to exist; for she would not
-go to the workhouse, and she could get no
-work to do. She could sew, and she could
-paint in water-colours, but she was afraid
-to be alone. She could not sit hours and
-hours by herself, her thoughts distracted
-her, and drove her mad. She added, she
-once thought of turning Roman Catholic,
-and getting admitted into a convent, where
-she might make atonement for her way of
-living by devoting the remainder of her
-life to penitence, but she was afraid she
-had gone too far to be forgiven. That was
-some time ago. Now she did not think
-she would live long, she had injured her
-constitution so greatly; she had some internal
-disease, she didn’t know what it
-was, but a hospital surgeon told her it
-would kill her in time, and she had her
-moments, generally hours, of oblivion, when
-she was intoxicated, which she always was
-when she could get a chance. If she got
-ten shillings from a drunken man, either by
-persuasion or threats, and she was not
-scrupulous in the employment of the latter,
-she would not come to the Park for days,
-until all her money was spent; on an average,
-she came three times a week, or perhaps
-twice; always on Sunday, which was a
-good day. She knew all about the Refuges.
-She had been in one once, but she didn’t
-like the system; there wasn’t enough liberty,
-and too much preaching, and that sort of
-thing; and then they couldn’t keep her
-there always; so they didn’t know what to
-do with her. No one would take her into
-their service, because they didn’t like to look
-at her face, which presented so dreadful an
-appearance that it frightened people. She
-always wore a long thick veil, that concealed
-her features, and made her interesting
-to the unsuspicious and unwise. I gave her
-the money I promised her, and advised her
-again to enter a Refuge, which she refused
-to do, saying she could not live long, and
-she would rather die as she was. As I had
-no power to compel her to change her
-determination, I left her, lamenting her
-hardihood and obstinacy. I felt that she
-soon would <span class="lock">be&mdash;</span></p>
-
- <div class="poetry-container"><div class="poetry"><div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse">“One more unfortunate,</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">Weary of breath,</div>
- <div class="verse">Rashly importunate,</div>
- <div class="verse indent2">Gone to her death.”</div>
-</div></div></div>
-
-<p>In the course of my peregrinations I met
-another woman, commonly dressed in old
-and worn-out clothes; her face was ugly
-and mature; she was perhaps on the shady
-side of forty. She was also perambulating
-the Mall. I knew she could only be there
-for one purpose, and I interrogated her,
-and I believe she answered my queries
-faithfully. She <span class="lock">said:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“I have a husband, and seven small
-children, the eldest not yet able to do much
-more than cadge a penny or so by cater-wheeling
-and tumbling in the street for the
-amusement of gents as rides outside
-’busses. My husband’s bedridden, and
-can’t do nothink but give the babies a dose
-of ‘Mother’s Blessing’ (that’s laudanum,
-sir, or some sich stuff) to sleep ’em when
-they’s squally. So I goes out begging all
-day, and I takes in general one of the kids
-in my arms and one as runs by me, and we
-sell hartifishal flowers, leastways ’olds ’em
-in our ’ands, and makes believe cos of the
-police, as is nasty so be as you ’as nothink
-soever, and I comes hout in the Parks, sir,
-at night sometimes when I’ve ’ad a bad day,
-and ain’t made above a few pence, which
-ain’t enough to keep us as we should be
-kep. I mean, sir, the children should have
-a bit of meat, and my ole man and me
-wants some blue ruin to keep our spirits
-up; so I’se druv to it, sir, by poverty, and
-nothink on the face of God’s blessed earth,
-sir, shou’dn’t have druv me but that for
-the poor babes must live, and who ’as they
-to look to but their ’ard-working but misfortunate
-mother, which she is now talking
-to your honour, and won’t yer give a poor
-woman a hap’ny, sir? I’ve seven small
-children at home, and my ’usban’s laid
-with the fever. You won’t miss it, yer
-honour, only a ’apny for a poor woman as
-ain’t ’ad a bit of bread between her teeth
-since yesty morning. I ax yer parding,” she
-exclaimed, interrupting herself&mdash;“I forgot
-I was talking to yourself. I’s so used
-though to this way of speaking when I
-meant to ax you for summut I broke off
-into the old slang, but yer honour knows
-what I mean: ain’t yer got even a little
-sixpence to rejoice the heart of the widow?”</p>
-
-<p>“You call yourself a widow now,” I said,
-“while before you said you were married
-and had seven children. Which are you?”</p>
-
-<p>“Which am I? The first I toll you’s
-the true. But Lor’, I’s up to so many
-dodges I gets what you may call confounded;
-sometimes I’s a widder, and
-wants me ’art rejoiced with a copper, and
-then I’s a hindustrious needle-woman
-thrown out of work and going to be druv
-into the streets if I don’t get summut to
-do. Sometimes I makes a lot of money by
-being a poor old cripple as broke her arm
-in a factory, by being blowed hup when a
-steam-engine blowed herself hup, and I
-bandage my arm and swell it out hawful
-big, and when I gets home, we gets in some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span>
-lush and ’as some frens, and goes in for a
-reglar blow-hout, and now as I have told
-yer honour hall about it, won’t yer give us
-an ’apny as I observe before?”</p>
-
-<p>It is very proper that the Parks should
-be closed at an early hour, when such
-creatures as I have been describing exist
-and practise their iniquities so unblushingly.
-One only gets at the depravity of mankind
-by searching below the surface of society;
-and for certain purposes such knowledge
-and information are useful and beneficial to
-the community. Therefore the philanthropist
-must overcome his repugnance to
-the task, and draw back the veil that is
-thinly spread over the skeleton.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">The Dependants of Prostitutes.</span></h4>
-
-<p>Having described the habits, &amp;c., of different
-classes of prostitutes, I now come to
-those who are intimately connected with,
-and dependant upon, them. This is a very
-numerous class, and includes “Bawds,” or
-those who keep brothels, the followers of
-dress lodgers, keepers of accommodation
-houses, procuresses, pimps, and panders,
-fancy men, and bullies.</p>
-
-<p><i>Bawds.</i>&mdash;The first head in our classification
-is “Bawds.” They may be either men
-or women. More frequently they are the
-latter, though any one who keeps an immoral
-house, or bawdy-house, as it is more
-commonly called, is liable to that designation.
-Bawdy-houses are of two kinds.
-They may be either houses of accommodation,
-or houses in which women lodge, are
-boarded, clothed, &amp;c., and the proceeds of
-whose prostitution goes into the pocket of
-the bawd herself, who makes a very handsome
-income generally by their shame.</p>
-
-<p>We cannot have a better example of this
-sort of thing than the bawdy-houses in
-King’s Place, St. James’s, a narrow passage
-leading from Pall Mall opposite the “Guards
-Club” into King Street, not far from the St.
-James’s theatre. These are both houses of
-accommodation and brothels proper. Men
-may take their women there, and pay so
-much for a room and temporary accommodation,
-or they may be supplied with women
-who live in the house. The unfortunate
-creatures who live in these houses are completely
-in the power of the bawds, who grow
-fat on their prostitution. When they first
-came to town perhaps they were strangers,
-and didn’t know a soul in the place, and
-even now they would have nowhere to
-go to if they were able to make their
-escape, which is a very difficult thing to
-accomplish, considering they are vigilantly
-looked after night and day. They
-have nothing fit to walk about the streets
-in. They are often in bed all day, and at
-night dressed up in tawdry ball costumes.
-If they ever do go out on business, they
-are carefully watched by one of the servants:
-they generally end when their
-charms are faded by being servants of
-bawds and prostitutes, or else watchers, or
-perhaps both.</p>
-
-<p>There are houses in Oxendon Street too,
-where women are kept in this way.</p>
-
-<p>A victim of this disgraceful practice told
-me she was entrapped when she was sixteen
-years old, and prostituted for some
-time to old men, who paid a high price for
-the enjoyment of her person.</p>
-
-<p>“I was born at Matlock in Derbyshire,”
-she began; “father was a stonecutter, and
-I worked in the shop, polishing the blocks
-and things, and in the spring of ’51 we
-heard of the Great Exhibition. I wished
-very much to go to London, and see the
-fine shops and that, and father wrote to an
-aunt of mine, who lived in London, to
-know if I might come and stay a week or
-two with her to see the Exhibition. In a
-few days a letter came back, saying she
-would be glad to give me a room for two
-or three weeks and go about with me.
-Father couldn’t come with me because of
-his business, and I went alone. When I
-arrived, aunt had a very bad cold, and
-couldn’t get out of bed. Of course, I wanted
-to go about and see things, for though I
-didn’t believe the streets were paved with
-gold, I was very anxious to see the shops
-and places I’d heard so much about. Aunt
-said when she was better she’d take me,
-but I was so restless I would go by myself.
-I said nothing to aunt about it, and
-stole out one evening. I wandered about
-for some time, very much pleased with
-the novelty. The crowds of people, the
-flaring gas jets, and everything else, all
-was so strange and new, I was delighted.
-At last I lost myself, and got into some
-streets ever so much darker and quieter.
-I saw one door in the middle of the street
-open, that is standing a-jar. Thinking no
-harm, I knocked, and hearing no sound, and
-getting no answer, I knocked louder, when
-some one came and instantly admitted me,
-without saying a word. I asked her innocently
-enough where I was, and if she
-would tell me the way to Bank Place. I
-didn’t know where Bank Place was, whether
-it was in Lambeth, or Kensington, or
-Hammersmith, or where; but I have since
-heard it is in Kensington. The woman who
-let me in, and to whom I addressed my
-questions, laughed at this, and said, ‘Oh!
-yes, I wasn’t born yesterday.’ But I re<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span>peated,
-‘Where am I, and what am I
-to do?’</p>
-
-<p>“She told me to ‘ax,’ and said she’d
-heard that before.</p>
-
-<p>“I suppose I ought to tell you, before I
-go further,” she explained, “that ‘ax’
-meant ask, or find out.</p>
-
-<p>“Just then a door opened, and an old
-woman came out of a room which seemed
-to me to be the parlour. ‘Come in, my
-dear,’ she exclaimed, ‘and sit down.’ I
-followed her into the room, and she pulled
-out a bottle of gin, asking me if I would
-have a drop of something short, while she
-poured out some, which I was too frightened
-to refuse. She said, ‘I likes to be
-jolly myself and see others so. I’m getting
-on now. Ain’t what I was once. But as I
-says I likes to be jolly, and I always is. A
-old fiddle, you know, makes the best
-music.</p>
-
-<p>“‘Market full, my dear,’ she added,
-pushing the wine-glass of gin towards me.
-‘Ah! I s’pose not yet; too arly, so it is. I’s
-glad you’ve dropped in to see a body. I’ve
-noticed your face lots of times, but I
-thought you was one of Lotty’s girls, and
-wouldn’t condescend to come so far up the
-street, though, why one part should be
-better nor another, I’m sure, I can’t make
-out.’</p>
-
-<p>“‘Really you must make a mistake,’ I
-interposed. ‘I am quite a stranger in
-London; indeed I have only been three days
-in town. The fact is, I lost myself this
-evening, and seeing your door open, I
-thought I would come in and ask the way.’</p>
-
-<p>“Whilst I was saying this, the old
-woman listened attentively. She seemed
-to drink in every word of my explanation,
-and a great change came over her features.</p>
-
-<p>“‘Well, pet,’ she replied, ‘I’m glad
-you’ve come to my house. You must excuse
-my taking you for some one else; but
-you are so like a gal I knows, one Polly Gay,
-I couldn’t help mistaking you. Where are
-you staying?’</p>
-
-<p>“I told her I was staying with my aunt
-in Bank Place.</p>
-
-<p>“‘Oh! really,’ she exclaimed; ‘well, that
-is fortunate, ’pon my word, that is lucky.
-I’m gladder than ever now you came to
-my shop&mdash;I mean my house&mdash;cos I knows
-your aunt very well. Me an’ ’er’s great
-frens, leastways was, though I haven’t seen
-her for six months come next Christmas.
-Is she’s took bad, is she? Ah! well, it’s the
-weather, or somethink, that’s what it is;
-we’re all ill sometimes; and what is it as is
-the matter with her? Influenzy, is it?
-Now, Lor’ bless us, the influenzy! Well,
-you’ll stay with me to-night; you’s ever so
-far from your place. Don’t say No; you
-must, my dear, and we’ll go down to aunt’s
-to-morrow morning arly; she’ll be glad to
-see me, I know. She always was fond of
-her old friends.’</p>
-
-<p>“At first I protested and held out, but
-at last I gave in to her persuasion, fully
-believing all she told me. She talked about
-my father, said she hadn’t the pleasure of
-knowing him personally, but she’d often
-heard of him, and hoped he was quite well,
-more especially as it left her at that time.
-Presently she asked if I wasn’t tired, and
-said she’d show me a room up-stairs
-where I should sleep comfortable no end.
-When I was undressed and in bed, she
-brought me a glass of gin and water hot,
-which she called a night-cap, and said would
-do me good. I drank this at her solicitation,
-and soon fell into a sound slumber.
-The ‘night-cap’ was evidently drugged,
-and during my state of insensibility my
-ruin was accomplished. The next day I
-was wretchedly ill and weak, but I need not
-tell you what followed. My prayers and
-entreaties were of no good, and I in a few
-days became this woman’s slave, and have
-remained so ever since; though, as she
-has more than one house, I am occasionally
-shifted from one to the other. The reason
-of this is very simple. Suppose the bawd
-has a house in St. James’s and one in Portland
-Place. When I am known to the
-habitués of St. James’s, I am sent as something
-new to Portland Place, and so on.”</p>
-
-<p>If I were to expatiate for pages on bawds,
-I don’t think I could give a better idea
-than this affords. Their characteristics
-are selfishness and avariciousness, combined
-with want of principle and the most
-unblushing effrontery.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p><i>Followers of Dress-Lodgers.</i>&mdash;I have spoken
-before of dress-lodgers, and I now come to
-those women who are employed by the
-keepers of the brothels in which the dress-lodgers
-live, to follow them when they are
-sent into the streets to pick up men. They
-are not numerous. They are only seen in
-the Strand and about the National Gallery.
-This species of vice is much magnified by
-people who have vivid imaginations. It
-might have assumed larger dimensions, but
-at the present time it has very much decreased.
-They follow the dress-lodgers for
-various reasons, which I have mentioned
-already. For the sake of perspicuity and
-putting things in their proper sequence, I
-may be excused for briefly recapitulating
-them. If they were not closely watched, they
-might, imprimis, make their escape with
-all the finery they have about them, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span>
-of course they would speedily dispose of
-for its market value to the highest-bidding
-Jew, and then take lodgings and set up on
-their own account. These unfortunate
-dress-lodgers are profoundly ignorant of
-the English law. If they were better acquainted
-with its provisions, they would
-know very well that the bawds would have
-no legal claim against them for money,
-board, or clothes, for if the bawds could
-prove any consideration, it would be an
-immoral one, and consequently bad in law.
-But the poor creatures think they are completely
-in the wretch’s power, and dare
-not move hand or foot, or call their <i>hair</i>
-their own. Instances have been known of
-bawds cutting off the hair of their lodgers
-when it became long, and selling it if it
-was fine and beautiful for thirty shillings
-and two pounds.</p>
-
-<p>There is a dress-lodger who perambulates
-the Strand every night, from nine, or
-before that even, till twelve or one, who is
-followed by the inseparable old hag who
-keeps guard over her to prevent her going
-into public-houses and wasting her time
-and money, which is the second reason for
-her being watched, and to see that she
-does not give her custom to some other
-bawdy-house, which is the third reason.</p>
-
-<p>This follower is a woman of fifty, with
-grey hair, and all the peculiarities of old
-women, among which is included a fondness
-for gin, which weakness was mainly
-instrumental in enabling me to obtain from
-her what I know about herself and her
-class. She wore no crinoline, and a dirty
-cotton dress. Her bonnet was made of
-straw, with a bit of faded ribbon over it
-by way of trimming, fully as shabby and
-discreditable as the straw itself.</p>
-
-<p>She told me by fits and starts, and by
-dint of cross questioning, the subjoined
-particulars.</p>
-
-<p>“They call me ‘Old Stock;’ why I shan’t
-tell you, though I might easy, and make
-you laugh too, without telling no lies; but
-it ain’t no matter of your’n, so we’ll let it
-be. They do say I’m a bit cracky, but
-that’s all my eye. I’m a drunken old <span class="lock">b&mdash;&mdash;</span>
-if you like, but nothing worser than that.
-I was once the swellest woman about town,
-but I’m come down awful. And yet it
-ain’t awful. I sometimes tries to think it
-is, but I can’t make it so. If I did think
-it awful I shouldn’t be here now; I couldn’t
-stand it. But the fact is life’s sweet, and
-I don’t care how you live. It’s as sweet to
-the <span class="lock">w&mdash;&mdash;,</span> as it is to the hempress, and
-mebbe it’s as sweet to me as it is to you.
-Yes, I was well known about some years
-ago, and I ain’t got bad features now, if
-it wasn’t for the wrinkles and the skin,
-which is more parchmenty than anything
-else, but that’s all along of the drink. I
-get nothing in money for following this
-girl about, barring a shilling or so when
-I ask for it to get some liquor. They give
-me my grub and a bed, in return for which
-in the day-time I looks after the house,
-when I ain’t drunk, and sweeps, and does
-the place up, and all that. Time was when
-I had a house of my own, and lots of servants,
-and heaps of men sighing and dying
-for me, but now my good looks are gone,
-and I am what you see me. Many of the
-finest women, if they have strong constitutions,
-and can survive the continual
-racket, and the wear and tear of knocking
-about town, go on like fools without making
-any provision for themselves, and
-without marrying, until they come to the
-bad. They are either servants, or what I
-am, or if they get a little money given
-them by men, they set up as bawdy-house-keepers.
-I wish to God I had, but I don’t
-feel what I am. I’m past that ever so
-long, and if you give me half a crown, or
-five bob, presently, you’ll make me jolly
-for a week. Talking of giving a woman
-five bob reminds me of having fivers (5<i>l.</i>
-notes) given me. I can remember the
-time when I would take nothing but paper;
-always tissue, nothing under a flimsy. Ah!
-gay women see strange changes; wonderful
-ups and downs, I can tell you. We,
-that is me and Lizzie, the girl I’m watching,
-came out to night at nine. It’s twelve
-now, ain’t it? Well; what do ye think
-we’ve done? We have taken three men
-home, and Lizzie, who is a clever little
-devil, got two pound five out of them for
-herself, which ain’t bad at all. I shall get
-something when we get back. We ain’t
-always so lucky. Some nights we go about
-and don’t hook a soul. Lizzie paints a bit
-too much for decent young fellows who’ve
-got lots of money. They aren’t our little
-game. We go in more for tradesmen, shop-boys,
-commercial travellers, and that sort,
-and men who are a little screwy, and although
-we musn’t mention it, we hooks a
-white choker now and then, coming from
-Exeter Hall. Medical students are sometimes
-sweet on Lizzie, but we ain’t in much
-favour with the Bar. Oh! I know what a
-man is directly he opens his mouth. Dress
-too has a great deal to do with what a man
-is&mdash;tells you his position in life as it were.
-‘Meds’ ain’t good for much; they’re larky
-young blokes, but they’ve never much
-money, and they’re fond of dollymopping.
-But talk of dollymopping&mdash;lawyers are the
-fellows for that. Those chambers in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span>
-Inns of Court are the ruin of many a girl.
-And they are so convenient for bilking,
-you’ve no idea. There isn’t a good woman
-in London who’d go with a man to the
-Temple, not one. You go to Kate’s, and
-take a woman out, put her in a cab, and say
-you were going to take her to either of the
-Temples, which are respectable and decent
-places when compared to the other inns
-which are not properly Inns of Court, except
-Gray’s Inn and Lincoln’s Inn, and
-she’d cry off directly. I mean Barnard’s
-Inn, and Thavies’ Inn, and New Inn, and
-Clement’s Inn, and all those. I’ve been at
-this sort of work for six or seven years,
-and I suppose I’ll die at it. I don’t care if
-I do. It suits me. I’m good for nothing
-else.”</p>
-
-<p>I gave her some money in return for her
-story, and wished her good night. What
-she says about women who have once been
-what is called “swell,” coming down to the
-sort of thing I have been describing, is perfectly
-true. They have most of them been
-well-known and much admired in their
-time; but every dog has its day. They
-have had theirs, and neglected to make
-hay while the sun was shining. Almost
-all the servants of bawds and prostitutes
-have fallen as it were from their high estate
-into the slough of degradation and comparative
-despair.</p>
-
-<p>As I have before stated, there are very
-few dress-lodgers now who solicit in the
-streets, and naturally few followers of dress-lodgers
-whose condition does not afford
-anything very striking or peculiar, except
-as evidencing the vicissitudes of a prostitute’s
-career, and the end that very many
-of them arrive at.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p><i>Keepers of Accommodation Houses.</i>&mdash;Those
-who gain their living by keeping accommodation
-houses, or what the French
-call <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">maisons de passé</i>, are of course to be
-placed in the category of the people who
-are dependant on prostitutes, without whose
-patronage they would lose their only means
-of support.</p>
-
-<p>When you speak of bawds you in a great
-measure describe this class also, for their
-avocations are the same, and the system
-they exist upon very similar. The bawds
-keep women in their houses, and the others
-let out their rooms to chance comers, and
-any one who chooses to take them. The
-keepers are generally worn-out prostitutes,
-who have survived their good looks and
-settled down, as a means of gaining a
-livelihood; in Oxenden Street and similar
-places an enormous amount of money is
-made by these people. The usual charge
-for rooms of course varies according to the
-height and the size of the room engaged.
-A first-floor room is worth seven or ten
-shillings, then the rooms on the second-floor
-are five shillings, and three shillings,
-and so on. The average gains of keepers of
-accommodation houses in Oxenden Street
-and James Street, Haymarket, are from
-two pounds to ten pounds a night; the
-amount depending a good deal on the
-popularity of the house, its connection with
-women, its notoriety amongst men, and
-its situation. More money is made by
-bawdy-house keepers, but then the expenses
-are greater. A story is told of a
-celebrated woman who kept a house of ill-fame
-in the neighbourhood of May Fair.
-The several inmates of her establishment
-were dilatory on one occasion, and she
-gave vent to her anger and disappointment
-by exclaiming, “Twelve o’clock striking.
-The house full of noblemen, and not a &mdash;&mdash;
-girl painted yet.” I introduce this anecdote
-merely to exemplify what I have been
-advancing, namely, that the best brothels
-in London, such as Mrs. C&mdash;’s in Curzon
-Street, and others that I could mention,
-are frequented by men who have plenty of
-money at their command, and spend it
-freely.</p>
-
-<p>A Mrs. J&mdash;, who kept a house in James
-Street, Haymarket, where temporary accommodation
-could be obtained by girls
-and their paramours, made a very large
-sum of money by her house, and some
-time ago bought a house somewhere near
-Camberwell with her five-shilling pieces
-which she had the questionable taste to
-call “Dollar House.” A woman who kept
-a house in one of the small streets near
-the Marylebone Road told me she could
-afford to let her rooms to her customers
-for eighteen pence for a short time, and
-three and sixpence for all night, and she
-declared she made money by it, as she
-had a good many of the low New Road
-women, and some of those who infest the
-Edgware Road, as well as several servants
-and dress-makers, who came with their
-associates. She added, she was saving up
-money to buy the house from her landlord,
-who at present charged her an exorbitant
-rent, as he well knew she could not now
-resist his extortionate demands. If he refused
-to sell it, she should go lower down
-in the same street, for she was determined
-before long to be independant.</p>
-
-<p>When we come to touch upon clandestine
-prostitution we shall have occasion to condemn
-these houses in no measured terms,
-for they offer very great facilities for the
-illicit intercourse of the not yet com<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span>pletely
-depraved portion of the sexes, such
-as sempstresses, milliners, servant girls,
-etc., etc., who only prostitute themselves
-occasionally to men they are well acquainted
-with, for whom they may have some sort
-of a partiality&mdash;women who do not lower
-themselves in the social scale for money,
-but for their own gratification. They
-become, however, too frequently insensibly
-depraved, and go on from bad to worse,
-till nothing but the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pavé</i> is before them.
-The ruin of many girls is commenced by
-reading the low trashy wishy-washy cheap
-publications that the news-shops are
-now gorged with, and by devouring the
-hastily-written, immoral, stereotyped tales
-about the sensualities of the upper classes,
-the lust of the aristocracy, and the affection
-that men about town&mdash;noble lords,
-illustrious dukes, and even princes of the
-blood&mdash;are in the habit of imbibing for
-maidens of low degree “whose face is their
-fortune,” shop girls&mdash;dressmakers&mdash;very
-often dressmakers and the rest of the tribe
-who may perhaps feel flattered by reading
-about absurd impossibilities that their
-untutored and romantic imaginations suggest
-may, during the course of a life of
-adventure, happen to themselves. Well,
-they wait day after day, and year after
-year for the duke or the prince of the blood,
-perfectly ready to surrender their virtue
-when it is asked for, until they open their
-eyes, regard the duke and the prince of the
-blood as apocryphal or engaged to somebody
-else more fortunate than themselves,
-and begin to look a little lower, and favourably
-receive the immodest addresses of a
-counter-jumper, or a city clerk, or failing
-those a ruffianly pot-boy may realize their
-dreams of the ideal; at all events, they are
-already demoralized by the trash that has
-corrupted their minds, and perfectly willing
-at the first solicitation to put money into
-the pockets of the keepers of accommodation
-houses.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p><i>Procuresses, Pimps, and Panders.</i>&mdash;Procuresses
-are women who in most cases
-possess houses of their own, where they
-procure girls for men who employ them.
-These establishments are called “Introducing
-Houses,” and are extremely lucrative
-to the proprietors. There are also
-men who go about for these people, finding
-out girls, and bringing them to the houses,
-where they may meet with men. The procuresses
-who keep introducing houses often
-take in women to lodge and board. But
-they are quite independant, and must be
-well-known about town, and kept by some
-one, or the procuress, if she is, comparatively
-speaking, in any position, will not
-receive them.</p>
-
-<p>To show how the matter is accomplished
-let us suppose an introducing house of
-notoriety and good report in its way, somewhere
-in the neighbourhood of St. George’s
-Road, Pimlico, a district which, I may
-observe, is prolific in loose women. A well-known
-professional man, a wealthy merchant,
-an M.P., or a rich landed proprietor,
-calls upon the lady of the house, orders
-some champagne, and enters into conversation
-about indifferent matters, until he
-is able delicately to broach the object he
-has in view. He explains that he wishes to
-meet with a quiet lady whose secrecy he
-can rely upon, and whom he can trust in
-every possible way. He would like her, we
-will imagine, to be vivacious, witty, and
-gay.</p>
-
-<p>The lady of the house listens complacently,
-and replies that she knows some
-one who exactly answers the description
-the amorous M.P. has given, and says
-that she will send a message to her at once
-if he wishes, but he must take his chance
-of her being at home; if she is out, an appointment
-will be made for the next day.
-In the mean time a messenger is despatched
-to the lady in question, who in all
-probability does not reside at any great
-distance; perhaps in Stanley Street, or
-Winchester Street, which streets everybody
-knows are contiguous to St. George’s
-Road, and inhabited by beauty that ridicules
-decorum and laughs at the virtuous
-restrictions that are highly conducive to a
-state of single blessedness and a condition
-of old-maidism. Some more champagne is
-ordered and consumed, every bottle of
-which costs the consumer fifteen shillings,
-making a profit to the vendor of at least
-seventy per cent. When the lady arrives,
-the introduction takes place, and the
-matter is finally arranged as far as the introducer
-is concerned. The woman so introduced
-generally gives half the money
-she obtains from the man to the keeper of
-the house for the introduction.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes these women will write to
-men who occupy a high position in society,
-who are well-known at the clubs, and are
-reputed to be well off, saying that they
-have a new importation in their houses
-from the country that may be disposed of
-for a pecuniary consideration of perhaps
-fifty or a hundred pounds. This amount
-of course is readily paid by men who are
-in search of artificial excitement, and the
-negotiation is concluded without any difficulty.
-A woman is usually seduced five or
-six times. By that I mean she is repre<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span>sented
-as a maid, and imposed upon men
-as a virgin, which fabrication, as it is difficult
-to disprove, is believed, more especially
-if the girl herself be well instructed, and
-knows how to carry out the fraud. The
-Burlington Arcade is a well-known resort
-of women on the long winter afternoons,
-when all the men in London walk there
-before dinner.</p>
-
-<p>It is curious to notice how the places of
-meeting and appointment have sprung up
-and increased within the last few years.
-Not many years ago Kate Hamilton, if I
-am not misinformed, was knocking about
-town. Lizzie Davis’s has only been open a
-year or two. Barns’s very recently established,
-and the Oxford and Cambridge
-last season. The Café Riche three years
-ago used to be called Bignell’s Café. Sams’s
-I believe is the oldest of the night-houses
-about the Haymarket. The Café Royal, or
-Kate’s, is the largest and the most frequented,
-but is not now so select as it used
-formerly to be. Mott’s, or the Portland
-Rooms, used to be the most fashionable
-dancing place in London, and is now in
-very good repute. Formerly only men in
-evening dress were admitted; now this
-distinction is abolished, and every one indiscriminately
-admitted. This is beginning
-to have its effect, and in all likelihood
-Mott’s will in a short time lose its prestige.
-It is always so with places of this description.
-Some peculiarity about the house,
-or some clever and notorious woman, presiding
-over its destinies, makes it famous;
-when these vanish or subside, then the
-place goes down gradually, and some other
-rival establishment takes its place.</p>
-
-<p>Loose women, as I have before asserted,
-very often marry, and sometimes, as often
-as not, marry well. The other day one of
-the most well-known women about town,
-Mrs. S&mdash;, was married to a German count; a
-few weeks ago Agnes W&mdash; married a member
-of an old Norfolk family, who settled
-three thousand a year upon her. This
-case will most likely come before the public,
-as the family, questioning his sanity, mean
-to take out a writ of <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">de lunatico inquirendo</i>,
-when the facts will be elicited by counsel
-in a court of law. Indeed, so little was the
-gentleman himself satisfied with the match
-that a week after marriage he advertised
-his wife in the newspapers, saying he would
-not be held responsible for her further
-debts. These out of many others. A
-frequenter of the night-houses will notice
-many changes in the course of the year,
-although some well-known face will turn up
-now and then. The habitué may miss the
-accustomed laugh and unabashed impudence
-of the “nun,” who always appeared
-so fascinating and piquante in her
-little “Jane Clarke” bonnet, and demure
-black silk dress. The “nun” may be far
-away with her regiment in Ireland, or some
-remote part of England; for be it known
-that ladies are attached to the service as
-well as men, and the cavalry rejoices more
-than the line in the softening influences of feminine
-society. Amongst the little scandals
-of the night, it may be rumoured within
-the sacred precincts of the Café Royal by
-“Suppers” of the Admiralty, who has
-obtained that soubriquet by his known
-unwillingness to stand these midnight
-banquets, that the “Baby” was seen at the
-Holborn with a heightened colour, rather
-the production of art than nature; <i>ergo</i>,
-the “Baby” is falling off, which remark it
-is fortunate for “Suppers” the Baby does
-not overhear. Billy Valentine, of her
-Majesty’s “horse and saddle” department
-of the Home Office, as is his usual custom,
-may be seen at Coney’s, exchanging a little
-quiet chaff with “Poodle,” whose hair
-is more crimped than ever, while the
-“Poodle” is dexterously extracting a bottle
-of Moselle out of him for the benefit of the
-establishment. There is a woman of very
-mature age who goes about from one night-house
-to another with her betting book in
-her hand, perhaps “cadging” for men.
-Then there is Madame S. S.&mdash;, who plays
-the piano in different places, and Dirty
-Dick, who is always in a state of intoxication;
-but who, as he spends his money
-freely, is never objected to.</p>
-
-<p>But the night-houses are carrying me
-away from my subject.</p>
-
-<p>Pimps are frequently spoken of, and
-pimping is a word very generally used, but
-I doubt very much whether many of them
-exist, at least of the male gender. The
-women do most of the pimping that is
-requisite to carry on the amours of London
-society, and pander is a word that merges
-into the other, losing any distinctive significancy
-that it may possess for the eyes
-of a lexicographer. A woman when she
-introduces a man to a woman is literally
-pimping for him, or what I have said about
-keepers of introducing houses must apply
-generally to the panders and the pimps. I
-may add a story I heard of a bully attached
-to a brothel, who on one occasion acting as
-a pimp, went into the streets to pick up
-a woman who was required for the purposes
-of the establishment. He went some
-way without success, and at last met a
-“wandering beauty of the night,” whom
-he solicited; she yielded to his entreaties,
-and followed him to his brothel. When<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span>
-they reached the light in the passage she
-raised her veil, when he was as horrified as
-a man in his position and with his feelings
-could be to perceive that he had brought
-his own sister to an immoral house: he
-had not seen her for some years. His
-profligacy had killed his father, had brought
-him to his present degraded position, and
-in a great measure occasioned his sister’s
-fall and way of living.</p>
-
-<p><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Ex uno</span>&mdash;the proverb says&mdash;a lesson may
-be taught a great many.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p><i>Fancy-men.</i>&mdash;Fancy-men are an extremely
-peculiar class, and are highly interesting to
-those who take an interest in prostitutes
-and their associates. They are&mdash;that is the
-best of them&mdash;tolerably well-dressed and
-well-looking, and sufficiently gentlemanly
-for women to like to be seen about
-with them. I am now speaking of those
-who cohabit with the best women about
-town.</p>
-
-<p>Parent Duchatelet discourses at some
-length on this subject, and treats it with
-great perspicuity and succinctness. He
-asserts that it is a common thing for many
-law students and medical students to be
-kept, or semi-supported, by loose women
-in Paris. This is a state of things that I
-need hardly say is never observed in England.
-Yet there is a class who throw all
-their self-respect into the background, and
-allow themselves to be partially maintained
-by loose women who have imbibed a partiality
-for them. They frequent the night-houses
-in Panton Street, and often hook
-gentlemen out of several sovereigns, or by
-tossing them for champagne make them
-pay for several bottles in the course of the
-evening. By this it may be readily understood
-that they are in league with the proprietor
-of the establishment; and that this
-is undeniably the case in one instance I
-will unhesitatingly declare. It may be so
-in others, but I am not prepared to say so.
-I need not mention the name of the house
-for obvious reasons, but any one who has
-the slightest knowledge of the subject will
-be obliged, if he values his veracity, to corroborate
-my statement. The best, or the
-aristocracy of fancy-men, are for the most
-part on the turf. They bet when they
-have money to bet with, and when they
-have not they endeavour, without scruple,
-to procure it from their mistresses, who
-never hesitate a moment in giving it them
-if they have it, or procuring it for them
-by some means, however degrading such
-means may be. A fancy-man connected
-with a prostitute who is acquainted with a
-good set of men will, as the evening advances,
-be seen in one of the night-houses
-in Panton Street. His woman will come in
-perhaps about one o’clock, accompanied by
-one or two men. Whilst they are talking
-and drinking he will come up and speak to
-the woman, as if she was an old flame of
-his, and she will treat him in the same
-manner, though more as a casual acquaintance.
-In the course of time he will get
-into conversation with her men, and they,
-taking him for a gentleman, will talk to him
-in a friendly manner. After a while he
-will propose to toss them for a bottle of
-champagne or a Moselle cup. Then the
-swindling begins. The fancy-man has an
-infallible recipe for winning. He has in his
-hand a cover for the half-crown he tosses
-with, which enables him to win, however
-the piece falls. It is a sort of “heads I win,
-tails you lose,” a principle with which
-schoolboys of a speculative disposition
-bother their friends. Sometimes the proprietor
-of the house will come up and begin
-to talk to them, ask them to step upstairs
-to have supper, and get them into a room
-where the victim may be legged more
-quietly, and more at their leisure. The
-proprietor then says that he must in his
-turn “stand” a bottle of champagne, but
-the fancy-man, pretending to be indignant,
-interposes, and exclaims, “No, let’s toss;”
-so they toss. The fancy-man loses the
-toss, pays the proprietor at once with
-money, with which he has been previously
-supplied, and the man is more completely
-gulled than ever. He may be some man
-in the service up in town on leave for a
-short while, and determined as long as he
-stays to go in for some fun, no doubt well
-supplied with money, and careless how he
-spends it. He would be very irate if he
-discovered how he was being robbed, and
-in all likelihood smash the place up, and
-the fancy-man into the bargain, for people
-are not very scrupulous as to what they do
-in the night-houses. But the affair is
-managed so skilfully that he loses his four
-or five pounds at tossing or at some
-game or other with equanimity, and without
-a murmur, for he thinks it is his luck
-which happens to be adverse, and never
-dreams for one instant that his adversary
-is not playing on the “square.” The rows
-that take place in the night-houses never
-find their way into the papers. It isn’t the
-“little game” of the proprietors to allow
-them, and the police, if they are called in,
-are too well bribed to take any further
-notice, without they are particularly requested.
-I was told of a disturbance that
-took place in one of the night-houses in
-Panton Street, not more than a year ago,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span>
-which for brutality and savage ferocity I
-should think could not be equalled by a
-scalping party of North American Red Indians.</p>
-
-<p>Two gentlemen had adjourned there after
-the theatre, and were quietly drinking some
-brandy and soda when a woman, with a
-very large crinoline, came in and went up
-to one of them, whom we will call A. She
-asked him for something to drink, and he,
-perceiving she was very drunk already,
-chaffed her a little. Angry at his <i>persiflage</i>,
-she leant over and seized his glass, which
-she threw into a corner of the room, smashing
-it to atoms, and spilling its contents.
-While doing so her crinoline flew into the
-air, and A. put out his hand to keep it
-down. She immediately began to slang
-him and abuse him immoderately, declaring
-that he attempted to take indecent liberties
-with her, and attempting finally to strike
-him he good-humouredly held her hands;
-but she got more furious every moment,
-and at last he had to push her down rather
-violently into a chair. A man who was
-sitting at an opposite table commented
-upon this in an audible and offensive manner,
-which excessively annoyed A., who
-however at first took no notice of his conduct.
-Presently he handed the woman
-over to one of the waiters, who with some
-difficulty turned her out. Then the man
-who had before spoken said, “D&mdash;d plucky
-thing, by Jove, to strike a woman.” A.
-made some reply to this, and the other
-man got up, when A. flew at him and
-knocked him down. Two waiters ran up
-and seized A. by either arm, when the man
-got up from his recumbent position and
-struck A., while he was being retained by
-the waiters, a tremendous blow in the face,
-which speedily covered him with blood.
-A., exerting all his strength, liberated himself,
-and rushed at the coward, knocking
-him over a table, jumping over after him,
-seizing his head and knocking it against
-the floor in a frightful manner. The door
-porters were then called in, and A. with
-great difficulty turned out. A.’s friend had
-been waiting his opportunity, which had
-not yet come. When A. was at the door
-the man he had knocked down raised himself
-up. A.’s friend seized him by the
-collar and by one of his legs, and threw
-him with all his force along the table,
-which was covered with glass. The velocity
-with which he was thrown drove
-everything before him until he fell down
-on the top of the broken glass in a corner
-stunned and bleeding. His assailant then
-put his head down and charged like a battering-ram
-through the opposing throng,
-throwing them right and left, till he joined
-his friend in the street.</p>
-
-<p>Many low betting-men are partially kept
-by prostitutes&mdash;men who frequent Bride
-Lane and similar places, who, when out of
-luck, fall back upon their women. Many
-thieves, too, are fancy-men, and almost all
-the ruffians who go about “picking up,” as
-the police call it, which I have explained
-before to be a species of highway robbery.
-The prostitute goes up to a man, and while
-she is talking to him the ruffians come up
-and plunder him. If the victim is drunk
-so much the better. Most low prostitutes
-have their fancy-men, such as waiters at
-taverns, labourers&mdash;loose characters, half
-thieves half loafers. It is strange that such
-baseness should find a place in a man, but
-experience proves what I have said to be
-true; and there are numbers of men in the
-metropolis who think nothing of being
-kept by a prostitute on the proceeds of her
-shame and her disgrace.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p><i>Bullies.</i>&mdash;Bullies are men attached to
-brothels and bawdy-houses; but this remark
-must not be understood to apply to
-houses of a superior description, for it
-would not pay them to extort money from
-their customers, as they have a character
-and a reputation to support.</p>
-
-<p>The bullies attached to low bawdy-houses
-are ostensibly kept to perform the functions
-of door-keepers, but in reality to prevent
-men from going away without paying
-enough money; they are in many cases a
-necessary precaution against “bilking,” or
-going away without paying anything. If a
-well-dressed man went into an immoral
-house in Spitalfields, Whitechapel, or Shadwell,
-he would assuredly be robbed, but
-not maltreated to any greater extent than
-was absolutely requisite to obtain his
-money, and other valuables he might chance
-to have about him, at the time the depredation
-was committed.</p>
-
-<p>A man a little tipsy once found himself,
-he hardly knew how, on the transpontine
-side of Waterloo Bridge, not far from Stamford
-Street. It was past twelve, and on
-being accosted by a woman, he half unconsciously
-followed her to her rooms in
-Stamford Street, which were situated about
-half-way down, near Duke Street, Blackfriars.
-When upstairs he sent the servant
-out for some brandy and soda-water, and
-not having enough silver gave her half-a-sovereign
-for that purpose, telling her to
-bring him the change. She soon returned
-with a bottle of brandy, which she said cost
-eight shillings, and two bottles of soda-water,
-and keeping one shilling for herself,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span>
-told him she had no change to give him:
-he put up with this extortion, for he was
-too tipsy to make any resistance. The time
-passed quickly, and he spent two or three
-hours in her society, until the soda-water
-somewhat sobered him, when he put
-on his hat and declared his intention of
-going away. The woman sprang up to
-stop him, and placed her back against the
-door, meantime calling some one with all
-her might. Being a strong powerful man,
-he seized her by the arm and flung her on
-a sofa. Opening the door, he heard some
-one rapidly coming up stairs; he rushed
-back to the room and laid hold of a chair,
-which he threw at the advancing figure; it
-missed it, but had the effect of causing it
-to retreat. Chair after chair followed until
-the room was nearly denuded of its furniture,
-the woman being all the time too
-frightened to take any part in the affray.
-The man next took the poker in one hand
-the lamp in the other, and began to descend
-the stairs, which he did with some difficulty,
-as the chairs rather impeded his
-progress. He had no doubt his adversary
-was waiting for him at the bottom, and it
-was evident that it was there the real
-struggle would take place. He descended
-very cautiously until he was very near the
-end of the stairs, when he saw a tall
-strongly-built man awaiting him with a
-bludgeon in his hand. The gentleman
-carefully, in the short space he had, reconnoitred
-the exit to the street by throwing
-the light of the lamp full into the passage.
-The bully finding he was discovered began
-to curse and make demonstrations of hostility,
-but remained where he was, as he
-was possessed of the best position. The
-gentleman when he was within three or
-four steps of the ground, hurled the lamp
-with all his force at the bully, striking him
-on the forehead. The lamp was smashed to
-atoms, and everything directly plunged in
-darkness. After this he ran in the direction
-of the door, but he found the chain
-up: while he was unfastening this as well
-as he could in the dark, he heard his antagonist
-picking himself up and muttering
-threats of vengeance. In a moment or two
-he began to grope his way towards the
-door, but fortunately the gentleman had
-succeeded in undoing the chain, and flinging
-the door wide open, he emerged into
-the street and began to run in the direction
-of the Waterloo Road as fast as he could.
-He made his escape; but if he had not had
-presence of mind, and been strong and
-powerful enough to fight with the bully,
-the result might have been very different.</p>
-
-<p>A man who would be a bully at a bawdy-house
-would stick at nothing. During the
-daytime they either sleep or lounge about
-smoking a short pipe, or go to the pawn-shops
-for the women, or else to the public
-for gin.</p>
-
-<p>The men who used to keep the Cocoa Tree
-in St. James’s Street were two brothers,
-who, when they were young, held a position
-of no great importance in their
-mother’s house, which was nothing more
-than a house of ill fame. They might have
-degenerated into something of the same
-sort, but they had a certain amount of
-talent and opportunities, and once being
-possessed of this gambling house, which
-was famous enough in its day, they made
-money quickly enough.</p>
-
-<p>It is not men though, who have been
-amongst these scenes when they are young,
-who take to this sort of life. It is generally
-returned convicts or gaol birds, who look
-upon themselves as victims, and get desperate,
-and do not care very much what they
-do as long as they can have an easy time of
-it and enough to eat and drink.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes, if they watch their opportunity,
-they may become proprietors of
-bawdy-houses themselves. Great events
-spring from little causes; and good management
-and a good locality will always make
-a bawdy-house remunerative; but bullies
-generally have no energy, and are wanting
-in administrative capability, and more often
-than not die of disease and excess in the
-gutter.</p>
-
-<p>The Argyle Rooms were once a small
-public-house called the “Hall of Rome,”
-where <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">tableaux vivants</i> and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">poses plastiques</i>
-found a home and an audience; but energy
-and a combination of causes have made
-it the first casino in London.</p>
-
-<p>A bully in a house in one of the streets
-near the Haymarket, who was loafing about
-a public-house, told me in return for some
-spirits I paid for, that he was a ticket-of-leave
-man&mdash;“he didn’t mind saying it, why
-should he? he’d got his ticket-of-leave, he
-had, and he’d show it me in two twos.</p>
-
-<p>“When he comed back from Norfolk
-Island, which he’d been sent to for a term
-of seven years, he knew no one in town,
-his pals mostly was lagged by police, and
-his most hintimit friend was hanged by
-mistake at the Old Bailey&mdash;he knew it was
-by mistake, as his friend was hincapable of
-such an act without he was riled extraordinary.
-Well, he took to the bullying dodge,
-which paid. He couldn’t work, it wornt
-in his natur, and he took to bullying, kindly&mdash;it
-suited him, it just did, and that was
-all about it.”</p>
-
-<p>The bullies are the lowest ruffians going,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span>
-and will not mind doing any act of iniquity,
-although they stand in great dread of the
-police, and generally manage matters so as
-to keep out of their clutches.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Clandestine Prostitutes.</span></h4>
-
-<p>The next division of our subject is clandestine
-prostitution, whose ramifications
-are very extensive. In it we must include:
-1. Female operatives; 2. Maid-servants, all
-of whom are amateurs, as opposed to professionals,
-or as we have had occasion to
-observe before, more commonly known as
-“Dollymops”; 3. Ladies of intrigue, who
-see men to gratify their passions; and
-4. Keepers of houses of assignation, where
-the last-mentioned class may carry on their
-amours with secresy.</p>
-
-<p>This in reality I regard as the most
-serious side of prostitution. This more
-clearly stamps the character of the nation.
-A thousand and one causes may lead to a
-woman’s becoming a professional prostitute,
-but if a woman goes wrong without
-any very cogent reason for so doing, there
-must be something radically wrong in her
-composition, and inherently bad in her
-nature, to lead her to abandon her person
-to the other sex, who are at all times ready
-to take advantage of a woman’s weakness
-and a woman’s love.</p>
-
-<p>There is a tone of morality throughout
-the rural districts of England, which is unhappily
-wanting in the large towns and
-the centres of particular manufactures.
-Commerce is incontestably demoralizing.
-Its effects are to be seen more and more
-every day. Why it should be so, it is not
-our province to discuss, but seduction and
-prostitution, in spite of the precepts of the
-Church, and the examples of her ministers,
-have made enormous strides in all our great
-towns within the last twenty years. Go
-through the large manufacturing districts,
-where factory-hands congregate, or more
-properly herd together, test them, examine
-them, talk to them, observe for yourself,
-and you will come away with the impression
-that there is room for much improvement.
-Then cast your eye over the statistics
-of births and the returns of the
-Registrar-General, and compare the number
-of legitimate with illegitimate births.
-Add up the number of infanticides and the
-number of deaths of infants of tender
-years&mdash;an item more alarming than any.
-Goldsmith has said that “honour sinks
-when commerce long prevails,” and a truer
-remark was never made, although the
-animus of the poet was directed more
-against men than women.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p><i>Female Operatives.</i>&mdash;When alluding casually
-to this subject before, I enumerated
-some of the trades that supplied women
-to swell the ranks of prostitution, amongst
-which are milliners, dress-makers, straw
-bonnet-makers, furriers, hat-binders, silk-winders,
-tambour-workers, shoe-binders,
-slop-women, or those who work for cheap
-tailors, those in pastry-cook, fancy and
-cigar-shops, bazaars, and ballet-girls.</p>
-
-<p>I have heard it asserted in more than
-one quarter, although of course such assertions
-cannot be authenticated, or made
-reliable, for want of data, that one out of
-three of all the female operatives in London
-are unchaste, and in the habit of prostituting
-themselves when occasion offers,
-either for money, or more frequently for
-their own gratification.</p>
-
-<p>I met a woman in Fleet Street, who told
-me that she came into the streets now and
-then to get money not to subsist upon, but
-to supply her with funds to meet the debts
-her extravagance caused her to contract.
-But I will put her narrative into a consecutive
-form.</p>
-
-<p>“Ever since I was twelve,” she said, “I
-have worked in a printing office where a
-celebrated London morning journal is put
-in type and goes to press. I get enough
-money to live upon comfortably; but then
-I am extravagant, and spend a great deal
-of money in eating and drinking, more than
-you would imagine. My appetite is very
-delicate, and my constitution not at all
-strong. I long for certain things like a
-woman in the family way, and I must have
-them by hook or by crook. The fact is
-the close confinement and the night air
-upset me and disorder my digestion. I
-have the most expensive things sometimes,
-and when I can, I live in a sumptuous
-manner, comparatively speaking. I am attached
-to a man in our office, to whom I
-shall be married some day. He does not
-suspect me, but on the contrary believes
-me to be true to him, and you do not suppose
-that I ever take the trouble to undeceive
-him. I am nineteen now, and have
-carried on with my ‘typo’ for nearly
-three years now. I sometimes go to the
-Haymarket, either early in the evening, or
-early in the morning, when I can get away
-from the printing; and sometimes I do a
-little in the day-time. This is not a frequent
-practice of mine; I only do it when
-I want money to pay anything. I am out
-now with the avowed intention of picking
-up a man, or making an appointment with
-some one for to-morrow or some time
-during the week. I always dress well, at
-least you mayn’t think so, but I am always<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span>
-neat, and respectable, and clean, if the
-things I have on ain’t worth the sight of
-money that some women’s things cost
-them. I have good feet too, and as I find
-they attract attention, I always parade
-them. And I’ve hooked many a man by
-showing my ankle on a wet day. I shan’t
-think anything of all this when I’m married.
-I believe my young man would marry me
-just as soon if he found out I went with
-others as he would now. I carry on with
-him now, and he likes me very much. I
-ain’t of any particular family; to tell the
-truth, I was put in the workhouse when
-I was young, and they apprenticed me. I
-never knew my father or my mother, although
-‘my father was, as I’ve heard say,
-a well-known swell of capers gay, who
-cut his last fling with great applause;’ or,
-if you must know, I heard that he was
-hung for killing a man who opposed him
-when committing a burglary. In other
-words, he was ‘a macing-cove what robs,’
-and I’m his daughter, worse luck. I used
-to think at first, but what was the good of
-being wretched about it? I couldn’t get
-over for some time, because I was envious,
-like a little fool, of other people, but I
-reasoned, and at last I did recover myself,
-and was rather glad that my position freed
-me from certain restrictions. I had no
-mother whose heart I shou’d break by my
-conduct, or no father who could threaten
-me with bringing his grey hairs with sorrow
-to the grave. I had a pretty good
-example to follow set before me, and I
-didn’t scruple to argue that I was not to be
-blamed for what I did. Birth is the result
-of accident. It is the merest chance in the
-world whether you’re born a countess or a
-washerwoman. I’m neither one nor t’other;
-I’m only a mot who does a little typographing
-by way of variety. Those who
-have had good nursing, and all that, and
-the advantages of a sound education, who
-have a position to lose, prospects to blight,
-and relations to dishonour, may be blamed
-for going on the loose, but I’ll be hanged
-if I think that priest or moralist is to
-come down on me with the sledge-hammer
-of their denunciation. You look rather surprised
-at my talking so well. I know I
-talk well, but you must remember what a
-lot has passed through my hands for the
-last seven years, and what a lot of copy
-I’ve set up. There is very little I don’t
-know, I can tell you. It’s what old Robert
-Owen would call the spread of education.”</p>
-
-<p>I had to talk some time to this girl
-before she was so communicative; but it
-must be allowed my assiduity was amply
-repaid. The common sense she displayed
-was extraordinary for one in her position;
-but, as she said, she certainly had had
-superior opportunities, of which she had
-made the most. And her arguments,
-though based upon fallacy, were exceedingly
-clever and well put. So much for the
-spread of education amongst the masses.
-Who knows to what it will lead?</p>
-
-<p>The next case that came under my notice
-was one of a very different description. I
-met a woman in Leadenhall Street, a little
-past the India House, going towards Whitechapel.
-She told me, without much solicitation
-on my part, that she was driven into
-the streets by want. Far from such a
-thing being her inclination, she recoiled
-from it with horror, and had there been no
-one else in the case, she would have preferred
-starvation to such a life. I thought
-of the motto Vergniaud the Girondist wrote
-on the wall of his dungeon in his blood,
-“<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Potius mori quam fœdari</span>,” and I admired
-the woman whilst I pitied her. It is easy
-to condemn, but even vice takes the semblance
-of virtue when it has a certain end in
-view. Every crime ought to be examined
-into carefully in order that the motive that
-urged to the commission may be elicited,
-and that should be always thrown into the
-scale in mitigation or augmentation of
-punishment.</p>
-
-<p>Her father was a dock labourer by trade,
-and had been ever since he came to London,
-which he did some years ago, when there
-was great distress in Rochdale, where he
-worked in a cotton factory; but being
-starved out there after working short time
-for some weeks, he tramped with his
-daughter, then about fourteen, up to town,
-and could get nothing to do but work in
-the docks, which requires no skill, only a
-good constitution, and the strength and
-endurance of a horse. This however, as
-every one knows, is a precarious sort of
-employment, very much sought after
-by strong, able-bodied men out of work.
-The docks are a refuge for all Spitalfields
-and the adjacent parishes for men out of
-work, or men whose trade is slack for a
-time. Some three weeks before I met her,
-the girl’s father had the misfortune to break
-his arm and to injure his spine by a small
-keg of spirits slipping from a crane near to
-which he was standing. They took him to
-the hospital, where he then was. The
-girl herself worked as a hat-binder, for
-which she was very indifferently paid, and
-even that poor means of support she had
-lost lately through the failure of the house
-she worked for. She went to see her father
-every day, and always contrived to take<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span>
-him something, if it only cost twopence,
-as a mark of affection on her part, which
-he was not slow in appreciating, and no
-doubt found his daughter’s kindness a
-great consolation to him in the midst
-of his troubles. She said, “I tried everywhere
-to get employment, and I couldn’t.
-I ain’t very good with my needle at fine
-needlework, and the slopsellers won’t have
-me. I would have slaved for them
-though, I do assure you, sir; bad as they
-do pay you, and hard as you must
-work for them to get enough to live upon,
-and poor living, God knows, at that. I
-feel very miserable for what I’ve done, but
-I was driven to it; indeed I was, sir. I
-daren’t tell father, for he’d curse me at
-first, though he might forgive me afterwards:
-for though he’s poor, he’s always
-been honest, and borne a good name; but
-now&mdash;I can’t help crying a bit, sir. I
-ain’t thoroughly hardened yet, and it’s a
-hard case as ever was. I do wish I was
-dead and there was an end of everything, I
-am so awfully sad and heart-broken. If it
-don’t kill me, I suppose I shall get used to
-it in time. The low rate of wages I received
-has often put it into my head to go
-wrong; but I have always withstood the
-temptation, and nothing but so many
-misfortunes and trials coming together
-could ever have induced me to do it.”</p>
-
-<p>This, I have every reason to believe, was
-a genuine tale of distress told with all
-simplicity and truth, although everything
-that a woman of loose morals says must be
-received with caution, and believed under
-protest.</p>
-
-<p>Ballet-girls have a bad reputation, which is
-in most cases well deserved. To begin with
-their remuneration&mdash;it is very poor. They
-get from nine to eighteen shillings. Columbine
-in the pantomime gets five pounds a
-week, but then hers is a prominent position.
-Out of these nine to eighteen shillings
-they have to find shoes and petticoats,
-silk stockings, etc., etc., so that the pay is
-hardly adequate to their expenditure, and
-quite insufficient to fit them out and find
-them in food and lodging. Can it be
-wondered at, that while this state of things
-exists, ballet-girls should be compelled to
-seek a livelihood by resorting to prostitution?</p>
-
-<p>Many causes may be enumerated to
-account for the lax morality of our female
-operatives. Among the chief of which we
-must <span class="lock">class&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>1. Low wages inadequate to their sustenance.</p>
-
-<p>2. Natural levity and the example around
-them.</p>
-
-<p>3. Love of dress and display, coupled
-with the desire for a sweetheart.</p>
-
-<p>4. Sedentary employment, and want of
-proper exercise.</p>
-
-<p>5. Low and cheap literature of an immoral
-tendency.</p>
-
-<p>6. Absence of parental care and the
-inculcation of proper precepts. In short,
-bad bringing up.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-
-<p><i>Maid-Servants.</i>&mdash;Maid-servants seldom
-have a chance of marrying, unless placed
-in a good family, where, after putting
-by a little money by pinching and careful
-saving, the housemaid may become
-an object of interest to the footman, who
-is looking out for a public-house, or when
-the housekeeper allies herself to the butler,
-and together they set up in business. In
-small families, the servants often give
-themselves up to the sons, or to the
-policeman on the beat, or to soldiers in
-the Parks; or else to shopmen, whom they
-may meet in the streets. Female servants
-are far from being a virtuous class. They
-are badly educated and are not well looked
-after by their mistresses as a rule, although
-every dereliction from the paths of propriety
-by them will be visited with the
-heaviest displeasure, and most frequently
-be followed by dismissal of the most summary
-description, without the usual month’s
-warning, to which so much importance is
-usually attached by both employer and employed.</p>
-
-<p>Marylebone was lately characterised by
-one of its vestrymen as being one of the
-seven black parishes in London. Half the
-women it is asserted who are sent from
-the workhouse, and have situations procured
-for them by the parochial authorities,
-turn out prostitutes. I have no means of
-corroborating the truth of this declaration,
-but it has been made and sent forth to the
-world through the medium of the public
-press, though I believe it has been partially
-contradicted by one of the workhouse authorities;
-however this may be, there can
-be no doubt that the tone of morality
-among servant-maids in the metropolis is
-low. I will not speak in the superlative&mdash;I
-merely characterise it as low. I had an
-opportunity of questioning a maid-of-all-work,
-a simple-minded, ignorant, uneducated,
-vain little body, as strong physically
-as a donkey, and thoroughly competent to
-perform her rather arduous duties, for the
-satisfactory performance of which she received
-the munificent remuneration of
-eight pounds annually, including her board
-and lodging.</p>
-
-<p>She said: “I came from Berkshire, sir,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span>
-near Windsor; father put me to service
-some years ago, and I’ve been in London
-ever since. I’m two and twenty now. I’ve
-lived in four or five different situations
-since then. Are followers allowed? No,
-sir, missus don’t permit no followers.
-No, I ain’t got no perleeceman. Have I got
-a young man? Well, I have; he’s in the
-harmy, not a hoffisser, but a soldier. I
-goes out along of him on Sundays, leastways
-on Sunday afternoons, and missus
-she lets me go to see a aunt of mine, as I
-says lives at Camberwell, only between
-you and me, sir, there ain’t no aunt, only
-a soldier, which he’s my sweetheart, as I
-says to you before, sir.”</p>
-
-<p>Maid-servants in good families have an
-opportunity of copying their mistress’s
-way of dressing, and making themselves,
-attractive to men of a higher class. It is a
-voluntary species of sacrifice on their part.
-A sort of suicidal decking with flowers, and
-making preparations for immolation on the
-part of the victim herself. Flattered by the
-attention of the eldest son, or some friend
-of his staying in the house, the pretty lady’s
-maid will often yield to soft solicitation.
-Vanity is at the bottom of all this, and is
-one of the chief characteristics of a class
-not otherwise naturally vicious. The
-housemaids flirt with the footmen, the
-housekeeper with the butler, the cooks
-with the coachmen, and so on; and a flirtation
-often begun innocently enough ends in
-something serious, the result of which may
-be to blight the prospect of the unfortunate
-woman who has been led astray.</p>
-
-<p>There are book-hawkers, who go about
-the country, having first filled their wallets
-from the filthy cellars of Holywell Street,
-sowing the seeds of immorality; servants in
-country houses will pay, without hesitation
-large prices for improper books. This
-denomination of evil, I am glad to say, is
-much on the decrease now, since the
-Immoral Publications Act has come into
-operation.</p>
-
-<p>Maid-servants live well, have no care or
-anxiety, no character worth speaking about
-to lose, for the origin of most of them is
-obscure, are fond of dress, and under these
-circumstances it cannot be wondered
-that they are as a body immoral and unchaste.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p><i>Ladies of Intrigue and Houses of Assignation.</i>&mdash;The
-reader will find more information
-about “ladies of intrigue” in the annals
-of the Divorce Court and the pages of the
-<i>Causes Célèbres</i> than it is in my power to
-furnish him with. By ladies of intrigue
-we must understand married women who
-have connection with other men than their
-husbands, and unmarried women who gratify
-their passion secretly.</p>
-
-<p>There is a house in Regent Street, I am
-told, where ladies, both married and unmarried,
-go in order to meet with and be
-introduced to gentlemen, there to consummate
-their libidinous desires. This
-sort of clandestine prostitution is not
-nearly so common in England as in France
-and other parts of the Continent, where
-chastity and faithfulness among married
-women are remarkable for their absence
-rather than their presence. As this vice is
-by no means common or a national characteristic,
-but rather the exception than the
-rule, it can only expect a cursory notice at
-our hands.</p>
-
-<p>An anecdote was told me illustrative of
-this sort of thing that may not be out of
-place here.</p>
-
-<p>A lady of intrigue, belonging to the
-higher circles of society, married to a man
-of considerable property, found herself unhappy
-in his society, and after some time
-unwillingly came to the conclusion that she
-had formed an alliance that was destined to
-make her miserable. Her passions were
-naturally strong, and she one day resolved
-to visit a house that one of her female
-acquaintances had casually spoken about
-before her some little time before. Ordering
-a cab, she drove to the house in question,
-and went in. There was no necessity
-for her to explain the nature of her business,
-or the object with which she called. That
-was understood. She was shown into a
-handsome drawing-room, beautifully fitted
-up, for the house was situated in one of the
-best streets in May Fair, there to await the
-coming of her unknown paramour. After
-waiting some little time the door opened,
-and a gentleman entered. The curtains of
-the room were partially drawn round the
-windows, and the blinds were pulled down,
-which caused a “dim religious light” to
-pervade the apartment, preventing the
-lady from seeing distinctly the features of
-her visitor. He approached her, and in a
-low tone of voice commenced a conversation
-with her about some indifferent subject.</p>
-
-<p>She listened to him for a moment, and
-then with a cry of astonishment recognized
-her husband’s voice. He, equally confused,
-discovered that he had accidentally met in
-a house of ill-fame the wife whom he had
-treated with unkindness and cruelty, and
-condemned to languish at home while he
-did as he chose abroad. This strange rencontre
-had a successful termination, for it
-ended in the reconciliation of husband<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span>
-and wife, who discovered that they were
-mutually to blame.</p>
-
-<p>From the Divorce Court emanate strange
-revelations, to which the press gives publicity.
-It reveals a state of immorality
-amongst the upper and middle classes that
-is deplorable; but although this unveils
-the delinquencies of ladies of intrigue,
-they are not altogether the class we have
-under discussion. Those who engross our
-attention are ladies who, merely to satisfy
-their animal instincts, intrigue with men
-whom they do not truly love. But though
-we could multiply anecdotes and stories, it
-is not necessary to do more than say, they
-are a class far from numerous, and scarcely
-deserve to form a distinctive feature in the
-category of prostitution in London.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Cohabitant Prostitutes.</span></h4>
-
-<p>The last head in our classification is “Cohabitant
-Prostitutes,” which phrase must
-be understood to <span class="lock">include&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>1. Those whose paramours cannot afford
-to pay the marriage fees. This is a very
-small and almost infinitesimal portion of
-the community, as banns now cost so very
-little, that it is next to an absurdity to
-say “a man and woman” cannot get married
-because they have not money enough to
-pay the fees consequent upon publishing
-the banns, therefore this class is scarcely
-deserving of mention.</p>
-
-<p>2. Those whose paramours do not believe
-in the sanctity of the ceremony.</p>
-
-<p>There may be a few who make their religious
-convictions an objection to marriage,
-but you may go a very long journey before
-you will be able to discover a man who will
-conscientiously refuse to marry a woman
-on this ground. Consequently we may dismiss
-these with a very brief allusion.</p>
-
-<p>3. Those who have married a relative
-forbidden by law. We know that people will
-occasionally marry a deceased wife’s sister,
-notwithstanding the anathemas of mother
-church are sure to be hurled at them. Yet
-ecclesiastical terrors may have weight with
-a man who has conceived an affection for a
-sister-in-law, for whom he will have to
-undergo so many penalties.</p>
-
-<p>Perhaps parliamentary agitation may
-soon legitimatize these connections, and
-abolish this heading from our category of
-Cohabitant Prostitution.</p>
-
-<p>4. Those who would forfeit their income
-by marrying,&mdash;as officers’ widows in receipt
-of pensions, and those who hold property
-only while unmarried.</p>
-
-<p>This class is more numerous than any
-of those we have yet mentioned, but it
-offers nothing sufficiently striking or peculiar
-to induce us to dwell longer upon it, as
-it explains itself.</p>
-
-<p>5. Those whose paramours object to
-marry them for pecuniary or family reasons.
-This is a subject upon which it has been
-necessary to dilate; for it includes all the
-lorettes in London, and the men by whom
-they are kept. By lorettes, I mean those
-I have before touched upon as prima donnas,
-who are a class of women who do not call
-going to night-houses in Panton Street
-walking the Haymarket, and feel much
-insulted if you so characterize their nocturnal
-wanderings. The best women go to
-three or four houses in Panton Street,
-where the visitors are more select than
-in the other places, where the door porters
-are less discriminating. Sometimes women
-who are violent, and make a disturbance,
-are kept out of particular houses for
-months.</p>
-
-<p>Of course, the visits of kept women are
-made by stealth, as the men who keep them
-would not countenance their going to such
-places. Perhaps their men are out of town,
-and they may then go with comparative
-safety.</p>
-
-<p>Women who are well kept, and have always
-been accustomed to the society of
-gentlemen, have an intense horror of the
-Haymarket women, properly so called, who
-promenade the pavement in order to pick
-up men.</p>
-
-<p>And in reality there is a greater distinction
-between the two classes than would
-at first appear. Even if a good sort of woman
-has been thrown over by her man,
-and is in want of money, she will not pick
-up any one at a night-house who may solicit
-her; on the contrary, she will select some
-fellow she has a liking for: while, on the
-other hand, the Haymarket women will
-pick up any low wretch who she thinks will
-pay her. She will not even object to a
-foreigner, though all the best women have
-a great dislike to low foreigners.</p>
-
-<p>Were I to dwell longer upon this subject
-it is clear I should merely be recapitulating
-what I have already said in a former portion
-of this work.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>The following narrative was given me by
-a girl I met in the Haymarket, when in
-search of information regarding the prostitution
-of the West-end of London. Her
-tale is the usual one of unsuspecting innocence
-and virtue, seduced by fraud and
-violence. The victim of passion became in
-time the mistress of lust, and sank from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span>
-one stage to another, until she found herself
-compelled to solicit in the streets to
-obtain a livelihood. She was about twenty-one
-years of age, beneath the ordinary
-height, and with a very engaging countenance.
-She appeared to be a high-spirited
-intelligent girl, and gave her sad tale with
-unaffected candour and modesty.</p>
-
-
-<h5><span class="smcap">Narrative of a Gay Woman at the
-West End of the Metropolis.</span></h5>
-
-<p>“I was born in the county of &mdash;&mdash;, in England,
-where my father was an extensive
-farmer, and had a great number of servants.
-I have three brothers and one younger
-sister. I was sent to a boarding school at
-<span class="lock">B&mdash;&mdash;,</span> where I was receiving a superior
-education, and was learning drawing,
-music, and dancing. During the vacations,
-and once every quarter, I went home and
-lived with my parents, where one of my
-chief enjoyments was to ride out on a
-pony I had, over the fields, and in the
-neighbourhood, and occasionally to go to
-<span class="lock">M&mdash;&mdash;,</span> a few miles distant. On these
-occasions we often had parties of ladies
-and gentlemen; when some of the best
-people in the district visited us. I had
-one of the happiest homes a girl could
-have.</p>
-
-<p>“When I was out riding one day at
-<span class="lock">M&mdash;&mdash;,</span> in passing through the town,
-my pony took fright, and threatened to
-throw me off, when a young gentleman who
-was near rode up to my assistance. He rode
-by my side till we came to a hotel in town,
-when we both dismounted. Leaving the
-horses with the hostlers, we had some refreshment.
-I took out my purse to pay
-the expenses, but he would not let me and
-paid for me. We both mounted and proceeded
-towards my home. On his coming
-to the door of the house, I invited him to
-come in, which he did. I introduced him
-to my papa and mamma, and mentioned
-the kind service he had done to me. His
-horse was put up in our stables, and he
-remained for some time, and had supper
-with us, when he returned to M&mdash;&mdash;. He
-was very wealthy, resided in London, and
-only visited M&mdash;&mdash; occasionally with his
-servants.</p>
-
-<p>“I was then attending a boarding-school
-at <span class="lock">B&mdash;&mdash;,</span> and was about fifteen years of
-age. A few days after this I left home and
-returned to B&mdash;&mdash;. We corresponded by
-letter for nearly twelve months.</p>
-
-<p>“From the moment he rode up to me
-at M&mdash;&mdash; I was deeply interested in
-him, and the attachment increased by the
-correspondence. He also appeared to be
-very fond of me. He sometimes came and
-visited me at home during my school holidays
-for the next twelve months. One day
-in the month of May&mdash;in summer&mdash;he came
-to our house in his carriage, and we invited
-him to dinner. He remained with us for
-the night, and slept with one of my brothers.
-We were then engaged to each
-other, and were to be married, so soon as
-I was eighteen years of age.</p>
-
-<p>“The next day he asked my parents if I
-might go out with him in his carriage. My
-mamma consented. She asked if any of
-our servants would go with us, but he
-thought there was no occasion for this, as
-his coachman and footman went along with
-us. We proceeded to B&mdash;&mdash; Railway
-Station. He left his carriage with the
-coachman and footman, and pressed me to
-go with him to London. He pretended to
-my parents he was only going out for a
-short drive. I was very fond of him, and
-reluctantly consented to go with him to
-London.</p>
-
-<p>“He first brought me to Simpson’s hotel
-in the Strand, where we had dinner, then
-took me to the opera. We went to Scott’s
-supper rooms in the Haymarket. On coming
-out we walked up and down the Haymarket.
-He then took me to several of the
-cafés, where we had wine and refreshments.
-About four o’clock in the morning
-he called a Hansom, and drove me to his
-house; and there seduced me by violence
-in spite of my resistance. I screamed out,
-but none of the servants in the house came
-to assist me. He told his servants I was
-his young wife he had just brought up from
-the country.</p>
-
-<p>“I wanted to go home in the morning, and
-began to cry, but he would not let me go.
-He said I must remain in London with
-him. I still insisted on going home, and he
-promised to marry me. He then bought
-me a watch and chain, rings and bracelets,
-and presented me with several dresses.
-After this I lived with him in his house, as
-though I had been his wife, and rode out
-with him in his brougham. I often insisted
-upon being married. He promised to do
-so, but delayed from time to time. He
-generally drove out every day over the
-finest streets, thoroughfares, and parks of
-the metropolis; and in the evenings he took
-me to the Argyle Rooms and to the Casino
-at Holborn. I generally went there very
-well dressed, and was much noticed on
-account of my youthful appearance. We
-also went to the fashionable theatres in
-the West-end, and several subscription
-balls.</p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_i_0606" style="max-width: 75em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_0606h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>THE HAYMARKET.&mdash;MIDNIGHT.</p></div>
-</div>
-
-
-<p>“I often rode along Rotten Row with him,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span>
-and along the drives in Hyde Park. We
-also went to the seaside, where we lived
-in the best hotels.</p>
-
-<p>“This lasted for two years, when his conduct
-changed towards me.</p>
-
-<p>“One evening I went with him to the
-Assembly Rooms at Holborn to a masked
-ball. I was dressed in the character of a
-fairy queen. My hair was in long curls
-hanging down my back.</p>
-
-<p>“He left me in the supper-room for a
-short time, when a well-dressed man came
-up to me. When my paramour came in
-he saw the young man sitting by my side
-speaking to me. He told him I was his
-wife, and inquired what he meant by it, to
-which he gave no reply. He then asked
-me if I knew him. I replied no. He asked
-the gentleman to rise, which he did, apologising
-for his seating himself beside me,
-and thereby giving offence. On the latter
-showing him his card, which I did not see,
-they sat down and had wine together.</p>
-
-<p>“We came out of the supper-room, and
-we had a quarrel about the matter. We
-walked up and down the ball-room for some
-time, and at last drove home.</p>
-
-<p>“When we got home he quarrelled again
-with me, struck me, and gave me two black
-eyes. I was also bruised on other parts of
-the body, and wanted to leave him that
-night, but he would not let me.</p>
-
-<p>“In the morning we went out as usual
-after breakfast for a drive.</p>
-
-<p>“Next evening we went to the Casino at
-Holborn. Many of the gentlemen were
-staring at me, and he did not like it. I
-had on a thick Maltese veil to conceal my
-blackened eyes.</p>
-
-<p>“The gentleman who had accosted me
-the previous night came up and spoke to
-me and my paramour (whom we shall call
-S.), and had some wine with us. He asked
-the reason I did not raise my veil. S. said
-because I did not like to do it in this place.
-The gentleman caught sight of my eyes, and
-said they did not look so brilliant as the
-night before.</p>
-
-<p>“S. was indignant, and told him he took
-great liberty in speaking of his wife in this
-manner. The other remarked that no one
-could help noticing such a girl, adding that
-I was too young to be his wife, and that
-he should not take me to such a place if he
-did not wish me to be looked at. He told
-him he ought to take better care of me
-than to bring me there.</p>
-
-<p>“When we got home we had another
-quarrel, and he struck me severely on the
-side.</p>
-
-<p>“We did not sleep in the same bed that
-night. On coming down stairs to breakfast
-next morning I was taken very ill, and a
-medical man was sent for. The doctor
-said I was in a fever, and must have had a
-severe blow or a heavy fall. I was ill and
-confined to my bed for three months. He
-went out every night and left me with a
-nurse and the servants, and seldom returned
-till three or four o’clock in the
-morning. He used to return home drunk;
-generally came into my bedroom and asked
-if I was better; kissed me and went downstairs
-to bed.</p>
-
-<p>“When I got well he was kind to me,
-and said I looked more charming than ever.
-For three or four months after he took me
-out as usual.</p>
-
-<p>“The same gentleman met me again in
-the Holborn one night while S. had gone
-out for a short time, leaving me alone. He
-came up and shook hands with me, said he
-was happy to see me, and wished me to
-meet him. I told him I could not. S. was
-meanwhile watching our movements. The
-gentleman asked me if I was married, when
-I said that I was. He admired my rings.
-Pointing to a diamond ring on his finger,
-he asked me if I would like it. I said no.
-He said your rings are not so pretty. I
-still refused it; but he took the ring off
-his finger and put it on one of mine, and
-said, ‘See how well it looks,’ adding, ‘Keep
-it as a memento; it may make you think
-of me when I am far away.’ He told me
-not to mention it to my husband.</p>
-
-<p>“Meantime S. was watching me, and
-came up when the man had gone away, and
-asked what he had been saying to me. I
-told him the truth, that the same man had
-spoken to me again. He asked me what
-had passed between us, and I told him all,
-with the exception of the ring.</p>
-
-<p>“He noticed the ring on my finger, and
-asked me where I had got it. I declined
-at first to answer. He then said I was not
-true to him, and if I would not tell him
-who gave me the ring he would leave me.
-I told him the man had insisted on my
-having it.</p>
-
-<p>“He thereupon rushed along the room
-after him, but did not find him. On coming
-back he insisted on my going home without
-him.</p>
-
-<p>“He took me outside to his brougham,
-handed me in it, and then left me. I went
-home and sat in the drawing-room till he
-returned, which was about three o’clock in
-the morning. He quarrelled with me again
-for not being true to him. I said I was,
-and had never left his side for a moment
-from the time I rose in the morning till I
-lay down at night.</p>
-
-<p>“I then told him I would go home and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span>
-tell my friends all about it, and he was
-afraid.</p>
-
-<p>“Soon after he said to me he was going
-out of town for a week, and wished me to
-stop at home. I did not like to remain in
-the house without a woman, and wished to
-go with him. He said he could not allow
-me, as he was to be engaged in family
-matters.</p>
-
-<p>“He was absent for a week. I remained
-at home for three nights, and was very dull
-and wearied, having no one to speak to. I
-went to my bedroom, washed and dressed,
-ordered the carriage to be got ready, and
-went to the Holborn. Who should I see
-there but this gentleman again. He was
-astonished to see me there alone; came up
-and offered me his arm.</p>
-
-<p>“I told him I was wearied at home in the
-absence of S., and came out for a little relaxation.
-He then asked to see me home,
-which I declined. I remained till the
-dancing was nearly over. He got into the
-brougham with me and drove to Sally’s,
-where we had supper, after which he saw
-me home. He bade me ‘good-bye,’ and
-said he hoped to see me at the Holborn
-again some other night.</p>
-
-<p>“Meantime S. had been keeping watch
-over me, it appears, and heard of this.
-When he came home he asked me about it.
-I told him. He swore the gentleman had
-connexion with me. I said he had not.
-He then hit me in the face and shook me,
-and threatened to lock me up. After breakfast
-he went out to walk, and I refused to
-go with him.</p>
-
-<p>“When he had gone away I packed up
-all my things, told the servant to bring a
-cab, wrote a note and left it on the table.
-I asked the cabman if he knew any nice
-apartments a long way off from <span class="lock">C&mdash;&mdash;,</span>
-where I was living. He drove me to Pimlico,
-and took me to apartments in &mdash;&mdash;
-where I have ever since resided.</p>
-
-<p>“When I went there I had my purse
-full of gold, and my dresses and jewellery,
-which were worth about 300<i>l.</i></p>
-
-<p>“One evening soon after I went to the
-Holborn and met my old friend again, and
-told him what had occurred. He was
-astonished, and said he would write to my
-relations, and have S. pulled up for it.</p>
-
-<p>“After this he saw me occasionally at
-my lodgings, and made me presents.</p>
-
-<p>“He met S. one day in the City, and
-threatened to write to my friends to let
-them know how I had been treated.</p>
-
-<p>“I still went to the Holborn occasionally.
-One evening I met S., who wished me to go
-home with him again, but I refused, after
-the ill-usage he had given me.</p>
-
-<p>“I generally spent the day in my apartments,
-and in the evening went to the
-Argyle, until my money was gone. I now
-and then got something from the man who
-had taken my part; but he did not give me
-so much as I had been accustomed to, and
-I used to have strange friends against my
-own wish.</p>
-
-<p>“Before I received them I had spouted
-most of my jewellery, and some of my
-dresses. When I lived with S. he allowed
-me 10<i>l.</i> a week, but when I went on the
-loose I did not get so much.</p>
-
-<p>“After I had parted with my jewellery
-and most of my clothes I walked in the
-Haymarket, and went to the Turkish
-divans, ‘Sally’s,’ and other cafés and restaurants.</p>
-
-<p>“Soon after I became unfortunate, and
-had to part with the remainder of my
-dresses. Since then I have been more
-shabby in appearance, and not so much
-noticed.”</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Criminal Returns.</span></h4>
-
-<p>It is very interesting to philanthropists
-and people who take an interest in seeing
-human nature improved, and to those who
-wish to see crime decrease, to notice the
-fluctuations of crime, its increase, its decrease,
-or its being stationary, especially
-among different classes.</p>
-
-<p>Through the kindness of Sir Richard
-Mayne, and the obliging courtesy of Mr.
-Yardley, of the Metropolitan Police-Office,
-Whitehall, I am enabled to show the number
-of disorderly prostitutes taken into
-custody during the years 1850 to 1860.
-Mr. Yardley supplied me with the criminal
-returns of the Metropolitan Police for the
-last ten years, from which I have extracted
-much valuable and interesting information,
-besides what I have just mentioned.</p>
-
-
-<h5><span class="smcap">Number of Disorderly Prostitutes</span> taken
-into Custody during the years 1850 to
-1860, and their Trades.</h5>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td>1850</td><td>2,502</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1851</td><td>2,573</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1852</td><td>3,750</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1853</td><td>3,386</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1854</td><td>3,764</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1855</td><td>3,592</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1856</td><td>4,303</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1857</td><td>5,178</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1858</td><td>4,890</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1859</td><td>4,282</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1860</td><td>3,734</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<p>After some search I have been enabled
-to give the trades and occupations of those
-women.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="left" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="right">74 </td><td>were </td><td>Hatters and trimmers.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">418</td><td class="center">„</td><td>Laundresses.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">646</td><td class="center">„</td><td>Milliners, &amp;c.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">400</td><td class="center">„</td><td>Servants.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">249</td><td class="center">„</td><td>Shoemakers.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">58</td><td class="center">„</td><td>Artificial flower-makers.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">215</td><td class="center">„</td><td>Tailors.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">33</td><td class="center">„</td><td>Brushmakers.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">42</td><td class="center">„</td><td>Bookbinders.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">8</td><td class="center">„</td><td>Corkcutters.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">7</td><td class="center">„</td><td>Dyers.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">2</td><td class="center">„</td><td>Fishmongers.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">8</td><td class="center">„</td><td>General and marine-store dealers.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">24</td><td class="center">„</td><td>Glovers.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">18</td><td class="center">„</td><td>Weavers.</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>The remainder described themselves as
-having no trade or occupation.</p>
-
-<p>In ten years then 41,954 disorderly
-women, who had given themselves up to
-prostitution, either for their own gratification,
-because they were seduced, or to gain
-a livelihood, were arrested by the police.
-The word disorderly is vague, but I should
-think it is susceptible of various significations.
-In one case it may mean drunkenness,
-in another assaulting the police, in
-others an offence of a felonious nature may
-be intended, while in a fourth we may understand
-a simple misdemeanour, all subjecting
-the offender, let it be borne in
-mind, to a fine or incarceration.</p>
-
-<p>Now, 41,954 is an enormous total for ten
-years. In an unreflective mood I should
-be inclined to say that prostitutes, taken
-collectively, were most abandoned, reckless,
-and wicked; but it is apparent, after a
-minute’s study, that they must not be
-taken collectively. This forty odd thousand
-should be understood to represent, for
-the most part, the very dregs, the lowest,
-most unthinking, and vilest of the class.</p>
-
-<p>We must look for them in the East, in
-Whitechapel, in Wapping, in transpontine
-dens and holes, amongst sailors’ and soldiers’
-women. In the Haymarket there is
-not much drunkenness, and the police are
-seldom interfered with. If a man, with
-whom a woman is walking, is drunk, and
-makes an assault upon the police, the
-woman will content herself with the innocent,
-and comparatively harmless amusement
-of knocking off the policeman’s hat,
-afterwards propelling it gracefully with her
-foot along the pavement. This pastime is
-of rather frequent occurrence in nocturnal
-street rows, and always succeeds in infusing
-a little comic element into the affray.
-Amongst the disorderly women of loose
-habits we see that milliners largely preponderate;
-646 in ten years, who have
-broken the laws in some way, enables us
-to form, by comparison, a vague idea of the
-number of milliners, dressmakers, &amp;c., who
-resort to prostitution; for if so many were
-disorderly, the number of well-behaved ones
-must be very large.</p>
-
-<p>Another curious item is laundresses, of
-whom there were 418 in the hands of the
-police. Either the influence of their trade
-is demoralizing in the extreme; or they
-are underpaid, or else there are large numbers
-of them; I incline to the latter supposition.</p>
-
-<p>That there should have been only 400 servants
-is rather a matter of surprise than
-otherwise, for they are exposed to great
-temptations, and form a very numerous
-body.</p>
-
-<p>In our next statistics we are able to be
-more precise than in the former ones.
-Peculiar facilities are afforded prostitutes
-for committing larcenies from the person,
-and there are annually some hundreds
-taken into custody, and some few convicted.
-Only the other day I was passing
-through Wych Street, on my way from New
-Inn with a friend, and it so happened that we
-were instrumental in protecting a gentleman
-from the rapacity of some men and
-women of infamous character, by whom he
-had been entrapped.</p>
-
-<p>In Wych Street there are five or six
-houses, contiguous to one another, that are
-nothing more or less than the commonest
-brothels. The keepers of these places do
-not in the least endeavour to conceal the
-fact of their odious occupation; at almost
-all hours of the day, and till twelve o’clock
-at night one may perceive the women
-standing at their doorways in an undress
-costume, lascivious and meretricious in its
-nature. Although they do not actually
-solicit the passer-by with words, they do
-with looks and gestures.</p>
-
-<p>It might have been a little after twelve
-o’clock, when, as I was passing one of these
-houses, a gentleman, with his coat off, and
-without his hat, rushed out of the doorway
-and ran up the street. He held a small
-clasp-knife in his hand, which from his
-manner I guessed he would not hesitate to
-use if hard pressed. He was in an instant
-followed by a pack of men and women,
-perhaps four or five of each sex, in full cry.
-They were nearing him, when he turned
-suddenly round and doubled upon them,
-which manœuvre brought him in my direction.
-I saw, when near enough, that he
-was intoxicated. Directly he perceived me
-he implored my protection, saying, “For
-God’s sake keep those fellows off.” The
-noise attracted the attention of a policeman<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span>
-at the end of the street, who came up to
-see what the origin of the disturbance was,
-and the crowd fell back at his appearance.</p>
-
-<p>The gentleman said he went into one of
-the houses to get a cigar, when he was
-set upon by some women, who attempted
-to rob him. Although drunk he was able
-to put his hand in his pocket and take out
-a small clasp-knife he always carried about
-with him. He brandished this in their
-faces, when some bullies descended from
-the upper regions, and the victim fortunately
-effected his escape into the street.</p>
-
-<p>This man might have been robbed and
-subsequently drugged, without much fear
-of discovery, for the subjoined statistics
-will prove that such outrages are of frequent
-occurrence in the metropolis.</p>
-
-
-<h5><span class="smcap">Larcenies</span> from the <span class="smcap">Person</span> by Prostitutes,
-during the years 1850 to 1860.</h5>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th></th><th>Larcenies.</th><th>Convicted.</th><th>Total loss.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>1850</td><td>684</td><td>116</td><td>£1,814</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1851</td><td>640</td><td>98</td><td>1,890</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1852</td><td>639</td><td>97</td><td>2,095</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1853</td><td>605</td><td>112</td><td>1,578</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1854</td><td>607</td><td>119</td><td>2,019</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1855</td><td>688</td><td>96</td><td>3,017</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1856</td><td>780</td><td>94</td><td>2,668</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1857</td><td>854</td><td>79</td><td>2,928</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1858</td><td>777</td><td>39</td><td>2,370</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1859</td><td>681</td><td>93</td><td>1,743</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1860</td><td>692</td><td>39</td><td>1,936</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<p>The first thing that strikes us in looking
-at these figures is the small amount of convictions
-that followed arrest. For instance
-in 1850 out of 684 arrested only 116 were
-convicted. Yet we must not forget the
-difficulty of proving a charge of this description,
-and the unwillingness of men to
-prosecute. It is only natural that a man
-should have a repugnance to appear in
-public and mix himself up in a disgraceful
-affair of this sort. Any one who cared for
-his character and reputation would at
-once refuse, and in this repugnance we must
-look for the cause of the escape of so many
-offenders.</p>
-
-<p>Whenever an occurrence of this sort
-takes place in a brothel, one would imagine
-the police would have some grounds for
-prosecuting the keeper for harbouring
-thieves and persons who habitually break
-the public peace, but the criminal returns
-of the metropolitan police, from which we
-have before quoted, do not give one reason
-to think so.</p>
-
-<p>Let us examine the number of arrests
-for keeping common brothels, during the
-last ten years.</p>
-
-<h5><span class="smcap">Number</span> of <span class="smcap">Persons</span> taken into custody
-for keeping Common Brothels, during the
-years 1850 to 1860.</h5>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th></th><th>Females.</th><th>Males.</th><th>Total.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>1850</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>= &nbsp;&nbsp; 8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1851</td><td>12</td><td>5</td><td>17</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1852</td><td>4</td><td>6</td><td>10</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1853</td><td>9</td><td>3</td><td>12</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1854</td><td colspan="2">none.</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1855</td><td>6</td><td>4</td><td>10</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1856</td><td>12</td><td>7</td><td>19</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1857</td><td>6</td><td>8</td><td>14</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1858</td><td>10</td><td>8</td><td>18</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1859</td><td>9</td><td>9</td><td>18</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1860</td><td>12</td><td>5</td><td>17</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3"></td><td class="total">143</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<p>The largest number (19) was in 1856,
-while in 1854 there were none at all. But
-we have already drawn attention to the
-difficulty the police have in dealing with
-these cases.</p>
-
-<p>Of those arrested:</p>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="left" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="right">1 </td><td>was </td><td>a clerk,</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">1</td><td class="center">„</td><td>sailor,</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">13 </td><td>were </td><td>servants,</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">3</td><td class="center">„</td><td>tailors,</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">1 </td><td>was</td><td>a printer,</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">1 </td><td>was</td><td>a sawyer,</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">1</td><td class="center">„</td><td>interpreter,</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">1</td><td class="center">„</td><td>cabinet-maker,</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">1</td><td class="center">„</td><td>brass-founder,</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">1</td><td class="center">„</td><td>green-grocer,</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">1</td><td class="center">„</td><td>butcher,</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">2 </td><td>were </td><td>milliners,</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">3</td><td class="center">„</td><td>laundresses,</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">9</td><td class="center">„</td><td>labourers,</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">2</td><td class="center">„</td><td>smiths,</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">6</td><td class="center">„</td><td>carpenters,</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">3</td><td class="center">„</td><td>general and marine store-dealers,</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">1 </td><td>was</td><td>a carver and gilder,</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">4 </td><td>were </td><td>shoemakers,</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">2</td><td class="center">„</td><td>watch-makers,</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">2</td><td class="center">„</td><td>painters,</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">3</td><td class="center">„</td><td>bricklayers.</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>The rest were of no trade or occupation,
-and depended for a livelihood solely upon
-this disgraceful means of subsistence.</p>
-
-<p>It is odd to see butchers, printers, tailors,
-carpenters, brass-founders, interpreters,
-bricklayers, and cabinet-makers combining
-this with their own legitimate trades, and
-if this is a common thing among the trades,
-how wide-spread the evil must be, for we
-have only an average of about 12 arrests
-annually, and this very small amount, with
-the perhaps light punishment awarded the
-offender by the sitting magistrate, or if
-committed by the judge, is evidently purely
-insufficient and ineffectual to act as a deterrent
-to others holding the same demoralizing
-views, and practising the same
-odious profession.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>A few pages back, while commenting
-upon crime amongst bawds and prostitutes,
-we took the liberty of criticising some
-remarks of Dr. Ryan’s about the prevalence
-of murder in immoral houses. The best
-proof presumptive he could have adduced
-in support of his theory he utterly neglected
-to bring forward. I mean the
-returns of the metropolitan police of the
-number of persons reported to them annually
-as missing.</p>
-
-<p>This return, so enormous, so mysterious,
-so startling, is certainly very alarming
-before it is analysed. But when with the
-eye of reflection we calmly and dispassionately
-look at it, our alarm diminishes as
-rapidly as it was excited.</p>
-
-
-<h5><span class="smcap">Number of Persons</span> reported to the Police
-as lost or missing, and the number found
-and restored by the Police, during the
-years 1841 to 1860.</h5>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th></th><th>Reported lost or Missing.</th><th>Restored by the Police.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>1841</td><td>1,000</td><td>560</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1842</td><td>1,179</td><td>623</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1843</td><td>1,218</td><td>623</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1844</td><td>1,111</td><td>543</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1845</td><td>2,201</td><td>1,000</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1846</td><td>2,489</td><td>1,082</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1847</td><td>2,216</td><td>1,111</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1848</td><td>1,866</td><td>1,009</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1849</td><td>1,473</td><td>994</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1850</td><td>2,204</td><td>1,137</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1851</td><td>1,876</td><td>928</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1852</td><td>2,103</td><td>1,049</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1853</td><td>2,034</td><td>900</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1854</td><td>2,286</td><td>941</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1855</td><td>2,178</td><td>964</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1856</td><td>2,371</td><td>1,084</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1857</td><td>2,171</td><td>1,198</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1858</td><td>2,409</td><td>1,264</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1859</td><td>2,374</td><td>1,054</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1860</td><td>2,515</td><td>1,164</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<p>For twenty years the number of persons
-reported lost, stolen, strayed, and missing
-has been steadily increasing.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="center" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td>In 1841 </td><td>it was </td><td>1,000</td></tr>
-<tr><td>„</td><td>1851</td><td>1,876</td></tr>
-<tr><td>„</td><td>1860</td><td>2,515</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>Of which</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td>In </td><td>1841</td><td>560 </td><td>were restored </td><td>by the police.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="center">„</td><td>1851</td><td>928</td><td class="center">„</td><td class="center">„</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="center">„</td><td>1860</td><td>1,164</td><td class="center">„</td><td class="center">„</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>Now unscrupulous statisticians and newsmongers
-would not hesitate to say that the
-“Fleet Ditch” Dr. Ryan is so fond of
-might unfold a tale that would elucidate
-the mystery.</p>
-
-<p>It is surprising that in these enlightened
-days such monstrosities should be listened
-to.</p>
-
-<p>How many, I should like to know, disappear
-from home and enlist in the army?
-How many run away to sea, and how many
-commit suicide?</p>
-
-<p>A little reflection shows us that the tales
-of murder in immoral houses are only bugbears
-conjured up by moralists to frighten
-children. Not designedly perhaps, but more
-through ignorance than anything else.</p>
-
-<p>Perhaps the number of suicides committed
-annually in London may be of some use
-in reducing the number of lost and missing.</p>
-
-
-<h5><span class="smcap">Number of Suicides</span> committed during the
-years 1841 to 1860.</h5>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th>Year.</th><th>Suicides committed.</th><th>Year.</th><th>Suicides committed.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>1841</td><td>139</td><td>1851</td><td>120</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1842</td><td>134</td><td>1852</td><td>109</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1843</td><td>112</td><td>1853</td><td>131</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1844</td><td>155</td><td>1854</td><td>118</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1845</td><td>144</td><td>1855</td><td>116</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1846</td><td>162</td><td>1856</td><td>127</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1847</td><td>152</td><td>1857</td><td>154</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1848</td><td>100</td><td>1858</td><td>90</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1849</td><td>131</td><td>1859</td><td>180</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1850</td><td>140</td><td>1860</td><td>104</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>I find also that the number of suicides
-prevented by the police, or otherwise, is on
-an average nearly equal to the actual number
-of suicides committed.</p>
-
-<p>Many attempted suicides may not be
-genuine attempts; for we often hear in the
-police courts of people endeavouring to
-make the public believe they wished to
-destroy themselves, with the sole object of
-exciting sympathy and drawing attention
-to their case. However, it is difficult to
-distinguish, and it is clear there are annually
-many unhappy wretches who do make
-away with their lives, and also numbers
-who are providentially prevented.</p>
-
-<p>Rape is a crime that has not fluctuated
-to any great extent during the last ten
-years. I see that in 1850 there were 22
-arrests for this offence, and the same number
-in 1860. Most of the prisoners were
-in a low station in life; 17 in 1850 only
-being able to read, or read and write imperfectly,
-and 15 in 1860 were in the same
-unintellectual position. In 1855, 21 individuals
-were given in charge, 16 of whom
-were imperfectly instructed. It must be
-remembered that not all those who were
-charged were convicted, or even committed
-for trial, because the charge of rape is one
-easy to trump up, and it requires very
-sound and unconflicting evidence to bring
-the charge home.</p>
-
-<p>Concealing the births of infants is a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span>
-crime I am glad to perceive of more frequent
-occurrence, than feloniously attempting
-to procure abortion; for of two evils it
-is better the less preponderate.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th>Year.</th><th>Concealing Birth of their Infants.</th><th>Feloniously attempting to procure Abortion.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>1850</td><td>12</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1855</td><td>10</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1860</td><td>17</td><td>0</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>In 1860 there were 2 cases of abduction,
-and in 1850 none at all; but in the latter
-year there were 61 cases of indecently exposing
-the person, which offence had in
-1860 attained the dimensions of 103, three
-only, of which number were females, in the
-former instance eight.</p>
-
-<p>Of course it is only natural to expect
-that as the population of the empire increases,
-crime also will increase; and will
-more especially show its hideous and unwelcome
-visage in the metropolis, the centre
-of a vast and densely-populated kingdom.
-Where masses of men congregate, there
-disorder, dissension, and crime will have a
-place. We have to thank an efficient
-police force for keeping them within reasonable
-dimensions.</p>
-
-<p>I have already adverted to the difficulty
-experienced in even approximating to the
-actual number of prostitutes existing; but
-the magisterial authorities are enabled to
-catalogue and number those who are known
-to the police and those living in brothels.</p>
-
-<p>The subjoined table will be found extremely
-interesting:</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="3">Division and Local Name.</th><th colspan="4">Number known to the Police.</th></tr>
-<tr><th rowspan="2">Total.</th><th rowspan="2">Well dressed who live in Brothels.</th><th colspan="2">Who walk the Streets.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>Well dressed.</th><th>All others.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">A or Whitehall</td><td>None.</td><td>None.</td><td>None.</td><td>None.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">B or Westminster</td><td>469</td><td>177</td><td>17</td><td>275</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">C or St. James</td><td>208</td><td>58</td><td>150</td><td> .. </td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">D or St. Mary’bone</td><td>428</td><td>143</td><td>133</td><td>152</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">E or Holborn</td><td>511</td><td>173</td><td>58</td><td>280</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">F or Covent Garden</td><td>428</td><td>50</td><td>204</td><td>174</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">G or Finsbury</td><td>225</td><td>24</td><td>33</td><td>168</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">H or Whitechapel</td><td>811</td><td>73</td><td>82</td><td>656</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">K or Stepney</td><td>1015</td><td> .. </td><td>310</td><td>705</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">L or Lambeth</td><td>657</td><td>147</td><td>207</td><td>303</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">M or Southwark</td><td>661</td><td>53</td><td>140</td><td>468</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">N or Islington</td><td>441</td><td>90</td><td>136</td><td>215</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">P or Camberwell</td><td>222</td><td>44</td><td>96</td><td>82</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">R or Greenwich</td><td>570</td><td>172</td><td>124</td><td>274</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">S or Hampstead</td><td>331</td><td>14</td><td>56</td><td>261</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">T or Kensington</td><td>97</td><td> .. </td><td>5</td><td>92</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">V or Wandsworth</td><td>187</td><td>14</td><td>40</td><td>133</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="i2 left">Totals</td><td class="total">7,261</td><td class="total">1,232</td><td class="total">1,791</td><td class="total">4,238</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>This is the latest return that the authorities
-at Whitehall are in possession of. It
-will be seen that the largest number of
-prostitutes are in Stepney; but the prostitution
-in this district, it would appear, is of
-a low description, and mostly ambulatory,
-as no evidence of any women living in
-brothels is given in the return.</p>
-
-<p>The registered increase since 1857, is in
-most districts absolutely nothing, whilst
-the decrease in many localities contrasts
-very favourably indeed with the increase.
-For <span class="lock">instance:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th colspan="2">Increase since last return, made in July, 1857.</th><th colspan="2">Decrease since last return, made in July, 1857.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>A</td><td>None</td><td>A</td><td>None</td></tr>
-<tr><td>B</td><td>..</td><td>B</td><td>55</td></tr>
-<tr><td>C</td><td>..</td><td>C</td><td>110</td></tr>
-<tr><td>D</td><td>..</td><td>D</td><td>98</td></tr>
-<tr><td>E</td><td>..</td><td>E</td><td>35</td></tr>
-<tr><td>F</td><td>..</td><td>F</td><td>52</td></tr>
-<tr><td>G</td><td>..</td><td>G</td><td>124</td></tr>
-<tr><td>H</td><td>..</td><td>H</td><td>992</td></tr>
-<tr><td>K</td><td>..</td><td>K</td><td>50</td></tr>
-<tr><td>L</td><td>..</td><td>L</td><td>145</td></tr>
-<tr><td>M</td><td>..</td><td>M</td><td>6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>N</td><td>..</td><td>N</td><td>4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>P</td><td>..</td><td>P</td><td>6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>R</td><td>169</td><td>R</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td>S</td><td>100</td><td>S</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td>T</td><td>..</td><td>T</td><td>9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>V</td><td>..</td><td>V</td><td>22</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="i2 left">Total</td><td class="total">269</td><td></td><td class="total">1,708</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<p>The police have thought it necessary to
-make special arrangements in special localities,
-to prevent disorder and enforce the
-law.</p>
-
-
-<h5><span class="smcap">Special Arrangements</span> of <span class="smcap">Police</span> made,
-and at what places, to prevent disorder
-and enforce the law.</h5>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="left" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th>Division and Local Name.</th><th></th></tr>
-<tr><td>A or Whitehall</td><td>Cockspur Street&mdash;an additional constable occasionally. St. James’s, Green, and Hyde Parks&mdash;additional constables during summer months.</td></tr>
-<tr><td>C&mdash;St. James</td><td>Regent Street, Waterloo Place, Quadrant, Haymarket, and Coventry Street&mdash;four additional constables (and sometimes more) from 3 <span class="smcap lowercase">P.M.</span> to 3 <span class="smcap lowercase">A.M.</span>, daily.</td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span>D&mdash;St. Marylebone</td><td>Oxford Street, Edgeware Road. Harrow Road, and Paddington Green&mdash;one additional constable from 7 <span class="smcap lowercase">P.M.</span> to 6 <span class="smcap lowercase">A.M.</span>, daily. Regent’s Park and Bayswater Road&mdash;two additional constables from 9 <span class="smcap lowercase">A.M.</span> to 6 <span class="smcap lowercase">A.M.</span>, following day. Portland Place&mdash;an additional constable from 10 <span class="smcap lowercase">P.M.</span> to 6 <span class="smcap lowercase">A.M.</span></td></tr>
-<tr><td>E&mdash;Holborn</td><td>Lower Regent Street and Portland Place&mdash;one additional constable from 7 <span class="smcap lowercase">P.M.</span> to 10 <span class="smcap lowercase">P.M.</span>; one ditto from 7 <span class="smcap lowercase">P.M.</span> till 2 <span class="smcap lowercase">A.M.</span>; two additional constables from 10 <span class="smcap lowercase">P.M.</span> till 2 <span class="smcap lowercase">A.M.</span>, and a sergeant in plain clothes.</td></tr>
-<tr><td>F&mdash;Covent Garden</td><td>Strand&mdash;a sergeant, and occasionally constables. Long Acre&mdash;a constable frequently.</td></tr>
-<tr><td>H&mdash;Whitechapel</td><td>St. George’s Street and High Street, Whitechapel&mdash;a constable, and a short beat, each place.</td></tr>
-<tr><td>L&mdash;Lambeth</td><td>Waterloo Road, Herbert’s Buildings, and Granby Street&mdash;an additional sergeant and two constables patrolling.</td></tr>
-<tr><td>S&mdash;Hampstead</td><td>Regent’s Park&mdash;an additional constable to patrol. Primrose Hill&mdash;two additional constables for eight hours after Park constables go off duty.</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<h5><span class="smcap">Comparative Return</span> of the <span class="smcap">Number</span> of <span class="smcap">Prostitutes</span>
-known to the Police, at four different
-periods, within the last seventeen years.</h5>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th>Division and Local Name.</th><th>In 1841</th><th>In 1850</th><th>In 1857</th><th>In 1858</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">A or Whitehall</td><td rowspan="17"></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">B „ Westminster</td><td>660</td><td>524</td><td>469</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">C „ St. James’s</td><td>390</td><td>318</td><td>208</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">D „ St. Marylebone</td><td>429</td><td>526</td><td>428</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">E „ Holborn</td><td>461</td><td>546</td><td>511</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">F „ Covent Garden</td><td>698</td><td>480</td><td>428</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">G „ Finsbury</td><td>320</td><td>349</td><td>225</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">H „ Whitechapel</td><td>474</td><td>1803</td><td>811</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">K „ Stepney</td><td>827</td><td>965</td><td>1015</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">L „ Lambeth</td><td>854</td><td>802</td><td>657</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">M „ Southwark</td><td>531</td><td>667</td><td>661</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">N „ Islington</td><td>457</td><td>445</td><td>441</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">P „ Camberwell</td><td>152</td><td>228</td><td>222</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">R „ Greenwich</td><td>288</td><td>401</td><td>570</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">S „ Hampstead</td><td>216</td><td>231</td><td>331</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">T „ Kensington</td><td>92</td><td>106</td><td>97</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">V „ Wandsworth</td><td>157</td><td>209</td><td>187</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="i2 left">Totals</td><td class="total">6598</td><td class="total">7006</td><td class="total">8600</td><td class="total">7261</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left" colspan="5"><span class="smcap">Note.</span>&mdash;The total number only for 1841 can now be given.</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>These are the only statistics relative to
-prostitution that I have been able to procure&mdash;indeed
-I may almost say they are the
-only ones procurable; and for them I am
-indebted to the courtesy of the authorities
-at Whitehall, who, during my researches,
-have most kindly afforded me every facility
-that I could wish for.</p>
-
-<p>I dare say that few things contribute so
-much to the spread of immorality as the
-sale of indecent and obscene prints and
-books, which were until lately so widely
-disseminated over the country by book-hawkers
-and the filthy traders of Holywell
-Street. Even now this trade is not entirely
-suppressed, although the police restrictions
-are rigorous, and the punishments awarded
-severe.</p>
-
-
-<p>Selling obscene prints and exposing for
-<span class="lock">sale:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td>In the </td><td>year </td><td>1850</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>„</td><td>„</td><td>1851</td><td>4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>„</td><td>„</td><td>1852</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>„</td><td>„</td><td>1853</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>„</td><td>„</td><td>1854</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>„</td><td>„</td><td>1855</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>„</td><td>„</td><td>1856</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>„</td><td>„</td><td>1857</td><td>4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>„</td><td>„</td><td>1858</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>„</td><td>„</td><td>1859</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>„</td><td>„</td><td>1860</td><td>4</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3"></td><td class="total">22</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>Recently a man called Dugdale, who has
-grown grey in this disgusting occupation,
-was brought before a magistrate for selling
-obscene prints, and also sending some to
-customers in the country. The magistrate
-committed him for trial, when he was sent
-to prison for two years.</p>
-
-<p>It is always more or less interesting to
-know the extent of instruction among criminals,
-and with that idea in view I have
-put together the annexed table, in which I
-have included all the offences that bear
-directly and remotely upon the subject I
-am treating.</p>
-
-<p>As regards the man Dugdale, and the
-sale of immoral publications, obscene
-prints, &amp;c., a long account of the prisoner’s
-antecedents was given in the newspaper
-reports. He had been engaged in this infamous
-and diabolical traffic nearly forty
-years, and had spent a great number of
-them in prison at various times; tons
-weight of obscene books, pictures, and
-plates had been seized upon his premises,
-and he was well known to be the principal
-instrument for the dissemination of this
-sort of pollution all over the country. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span>
-prosecution was instituted by the meritorious
-Society for the Suppression of
-Vice. The judge made a few brief but impressive
-observations upon the inconceivable
-enormity of the prisoner’s offence, and
-the whole course of his life, which he said
-had been one of vice, wickedness, infamy,
-and villainy, the real extent of which words
-would fail to describe. From the records
-of public proceedings for years past the
-Court had a knowledge of the prisoner’s
-previous history, and it would be a waste
-of words and the public time to say any
-thing further to such a person. He was
-liable to three years’ hard-labour, but, considering
-his age, the Court would refrain
-from going to extremity, but in the discharge
-of their duty to society and the
-rising generation they felt bound to pass
-upon him a severe sentence, which was
-that he be kept to hard labour for two
-years.</p>
-
-
-<h5><span class="smcap">TABLE showing the degree of Instruction of the Persons taken into Custody during
-a period of Ten Years&mdash;1850 to 1860.</span></h5>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th>OFFENCES.</th><th>Years.</th><th>Total.</th><th>Neither Read nor Write.</th><th>Read only, or Read and Write imperfectly.</th><th>Read and Write well.</th><th>Superior Instruction.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Concealing births of their infants</td><td rowspan="7" class="left">From 1850 to 1860.</td><td>167</td><td>28</td><td>124</td><td>15</td><td> .. </td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Feloniously attempting to procure abortion</td><td>9</td><td> .. </td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rape</td><td>324</td><td>44</td><td>226</td><td>97</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Disorderly Prostitutes</td><td>41,914</td><td>10,134</td><td>30,921</td><td>784</td><td>75</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Indecently exposing the person</td><td>1,155</td><td>129</td><td>785</td><td>212</td><td>26</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Keeping common Brothels</td><td>143</td><td>22</td><td>81</td><td>40</td><td> .. </td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Selling and exposing obscene prints for sale</td><td>22</td><td> .. </td><td>16</td><td>6</td><td> .. </td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>Whilst I am dilating upon statistics it
-may not be inappropriate to refer to certain
-figures and facts relating to the Midnight
-Meeting movement.</p>
-
-<p>By the courtesy of Mr. Theophilus Smith,
-secretary to the Midnight Meeting movement,
-I have been furnished with the
-general statistical results.</p>
-
-<p>20 meetings have been held.</p>
-
-<p>4,000 friendless young women heard the
-gospel.</p>
-
-<p>23,000 Scripture cards, books, tracts,
-and Mr. Noel’s address at the second meeting
-circulated.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="left" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="right">89 </td><td>females restored to friends.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">75 </td><td>placed in service.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">81 </td><td>in homes.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">1 </td><td>set up in business.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">2 </td><td>emigrated.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">6 </td><td>married.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">1 </td><td>sent to France.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">1 </td><td>to Holland.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">1 </td><td>to New-York.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">30 </td><td>left homes after a short residence.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right total">287</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>Of this number (287) very many (upwards
-of thirty) have given evidence of a
-change of heart.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="left" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="right">56 </td><td>restored at </td><td>Liverpool.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">50</td><td class="center">„</td><td>Manchester.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">130</td><td class="center">„</td><td>Edinburgh.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">30</td><td class="center">„</td><td>Dundee.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">35</td><td class="center">„</td><td>Dublin.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">17</td><td class="center">„</td><td>Cardiff.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">10</td><td class="center">„</td><td>Ramsgate.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right total">358</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>A total of 645, besides a large number
-who through the influence of the movement
-have given up a life of sin, and
-sought a way of escape for themselves.
-The committee have heard of many.</p>
-
-<p>I append a list of the metropolitan homes
-and refuges.</p>
-
-<p>1. British Penitent Female Refuge. Cambridge
-Heath, Hackney, N.E.</p>
-
-<p>2. Female Temporary Home. 218, Marylebone
-Road, N.W.</p>
-
-<p>3. Guardian Society. 12, North side of
-Bethnal Green, N.E.</p>
-
-<p>4. Home for Friendless Young Females
-of Good Character. 17, New Ormond
-Street, W.C.</p>
-
-<p>5. Home for Penitent Females. White
-Lion Street, Islington, N.</p>
-
-<p>6. Lock Asylum. Westbourne Green,
-Paddington.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>7. London Diocesan Penitentiary. Park
-House, Highgate, N.</p>
-
-<p>8. London Female Dormitory. 9, Abbey
-Road, St. John’s Wood.</p>
-
-<p>9. London Female Penitentiary. 166,
-Pentonville Road, N.</p>
-
-<p>10. London Female Preventive and Reformatory
-Institution. 200, Euston Road,
-N.W., and 18, Cornwall Place, Holloway
-Road, N.</p>
-
-<p>11. London Society for Protection of
-Young Females. Asylum, Tottenham, N.;
-Office, 28, New Broad Street, E.C.</p>
-
-<p>12. Magdalen Hospital. 115, Blackfriars
-Road, S.</p>
-
-<p>13. Refuge for the Destitute. Manor
-House, Dalston, N.E.</p>
-
-<p>14. Society for the Rescue of Young
-Women and Children. There are five
-homes; the office at 11, Poultry, E.C.</p>
-
-<p>15. South London Institution.</p>
-
-<p>16. St. Marylebone Female Protection
-Society. 157, Marylebone Road, N.W.</p>
-
-<p>17. St. James’ Home. Whetstone,
-Finchley Common, W.</p>
-
-<p>18. Trinity Home. 9, Portland Road,
-Portland Place, W.</p>
-
-<p>19. Westminster Female Refuge. 44,
-Vincent Square, S.W.</p>
-
-<p>From February 1860 to February 1861,
-by contributions and collections the Society,
-it appears from the balance sheet,
-received 2,924<i>l.</i> 7<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i></p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Traffic in Foreign Women.</span></h3>
-
-<p>One of the most disgraceful, horrible and
-revolting practices (not even eclipsed by
-the slave-trade), carried on by Europeans
-is the importation of girls into England
-from foreign countries to swell the ranks
-of prostitution. It is only very recently
-that the attention of Mr. Tyrrwhit, at the
-Marlborough Police Court, was drawn to
-the subject by Mr. Dalbert, agent to the
-“Society for the Protection of Women and
-Children.”</p>
-
-<p>It is asserted that women are imported
-from Belgium, and placed in houses of ill-fame,
-where they are compelled to support
-their keepers in luxury and idleness by the
-proceeds of their dishonour. One house
-in particular was mentioned in Marylebone;
-but the state of the law respecting brothels
-is so peculiar that great difficulty is experienced
-in extricating these unfortunate creatures
-from their dreadful position. If it
-were proved beyond the suspicion of a
-doubt, that they were detained against
-their will, the Habeas Corpus Act might be
-of service to their friends, but it appears
-they are so jealously guarded, that all attempts
-to get at them have hitherto proved
-futile, although there is every reason to
-believe that energetic measures will be
-taken by the above-mentioned Society to
-mitigate the evil and relieve the victims.</p>
-
-<p>As this traffic is clandestine, and conducted
-with the greatest caution, it is impossible
-to form any correct idea of its extent.
-There are numbers of foreign women
-about, but it is probable that many of them
-have come over here of their own free-will,
-and not upon false pretences or compulsion.
-One meets with French, Spanish, Italian,
-Belgian, and other women.</p>
-
-<p>The complaint made before the metropolitan
-magistrate a short while since was
-in favour of Belgian women. But the traffic
-is not confined to them alone. It would
-appear that the unfortunate creatures are
-deluded by all sorts of promises and cajolery,
-and when they arrive in this country are, in
-point of fact, imprisoned in certain houses of
-ill-fame, whose keepers derive considerable
-emolument from their durance. They are
-made to fetter themselves in some way or
-other to the trepanner, and they, in their
-simple-mindedness, consider their deed
-binding, and look upon themselves, until
-the delusion is dispelled, as thoroughly in
-the power of their keepers.</p>
-
-<p>English women are also taken to foreign
-parts by designing speculators. The English
-are known to congregate at Boulogne,
-at Havre, at Dieppe, at Ostend, and other
-places. It is considered lucrative by the
-keepers of bawdy-houses at these towns to
-maintain an efficient supply of English
-women for their resident countrymen: and
-though the supply is inadequate to the demand,
-great numbers of girls are decoyed
-every year, and placed in the “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Maisons de
-passé</span>,” or “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Maisons de joie</span>,” as they are
-sometimes called, where they are made
-to prostitute themselves. And by the farm
-of their persons enable their procurers to
-derive considerable profit.</p>
-
-<p>An Englishwoman told me how she was
-very nearly entrapped by a foreign woman.
-“I met an emissary of a French bawdy-house,”
-she said, “one night in the Haymarket,
-and, after conversing with her upon
-various subjects, she opened the matter she
-had in hand, and, after a little manœuvring
-and bush-beating, she asked me if I would
-not like to go over to France. She specified
-a town, which was Havre. ‘You will get
-lots of money’, she added, and further
-represented ‘that I should have a very
-jolly time of it.’ ‘The money you make will
-be equally divided between yourself and the
-woman of the house, and when you have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span>
-made as much as you want, you may come
-back to England and set up a café or night-house,
-where your old friends will be only
-too glad to come and see you. You will of
-course get lots of custom, and attain a better
-future than you can now possibly hope
-for. You ought to look upon me as the
-greatest friend you have, for I am putting
-a chance in your way that does not occur
-every day, I can tell you. If you value
-your own comfort, and think for a moment
-about your future, you cannot hesitate. I
-have an agreement in my pocket, duly
-drawn up by a solicitor, so you may rely
-upon its being all on the square, and if you
-sign this&mdash;’</p>
-
-<p>“‘To-night?’ I asked.</p>
-
-<p>“‘Yes, immediately. If you sign this, I
-will supply you with some money to get
-what you want, and the day after to-morrow
-you shall sail for Havre. Madame &mdash;&mdash;
-is a very nice sort of person, and will do all
-in her power to make you happy and comfortable,
-and indeed she will allow you to do
-exactly as you please.’”</p>
-
-<p>Fortunately for herself my informant
-refused to avail herself of the flattering
-prospect so alluringly held out to her. The
-bait was tempting enough, but the fish was
-too wary.</p>
-
-<p>Now let us hear the recital of a girl who,
-at an early age, had been incarcerated in
-one of these “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Maisons de passé</span>.” She is
-now in England, has been in a refuge, and
-by the authorities of the charity placed in
-an occupation which enables her to acquire
-a livelihood sufficient to allow her to live
-as she had, up to that time, been accustomed
-to. Her story I <span class="lock">subjoin:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“When I was sixteen years old, my
-father, who kept a public-house in Bloomsbury,
-got into difficulties and became bankrupt.
-I had no mother, and my relations,
-such as they were, insisted upon my keeping
-myself in some way or other. This
-determination on their part thoroughly accorded
-with my own way of thinking, and
-I did not for an instant refuse to do so. It
-then became necessary to discover something
-by which I could support myself.
-Service suggested itself to me and my
-friends, and we set about finding out a
-situation that I could fill. They told me I
-was pretty, and as I had not been accustomed
-to do anything laborious, they
-thought I would make a very good lady’s
-maid. I advertised in a morning paper,
-and received three answers to my advertisement.
-The first I went to did not
-answer my expectations, and the second
-was moderately good; but I resolved to go
-to the third, and see the nature of it before
-I came to any conclusion. Consequently I
-left the second open, and went to the third.
-It was addressed from a house in Bulstrode-street,
-near Welbeck-street. I was ushered
-into the house, and found a foreign lady
-waiting to receive me. She said she was
-going back to France, and wished for an
-English girl to accompany her, as she infinitely
-preferred English to French women.
-She offered me a high salary, and told me
-my duties would be light; in fact by comparing
-her statement of what I should have
-to do with that of the others I had visited,
-I found that it was more to my advantage
-to live with her than with them. So after
-a little consultation with myself, I determined
-to accept her offer. No sooner had
-I told her so than she said in a soft tone of
-<span class="lock">voice&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“‘Then, my dear, just be good enough to
-sign this agreement between us. It is
-merely a matter of form&mdash;nothing more,
-<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ma chère</i>.”</p>
-
-<p>“I asked her what it was about, and why
-it was necessary for me to sign any paper
-at all?</p>
-
-<p>“She replied, ‘Only for our mutual satisfaction.
-I wish you to remain with me
-for one year, as I shall not return to England
-until then. And if you hadn’t some
-agreement with me, to bind you as it were
-to stay with me, why, <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">mon Dieu!</i> you might
-leave me directly&mdash;oh! <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">c’est rien</i>. You
-may sign without fear or trembling.’</p>
-
-<p>“Hearing this explanation of the transaction,
-without reading over the paper
-which was written on half a sheet of foolscap,
-(for I did not wish to insult or offend
-her by so doing,) I wrote my name.</p>
-
-<p>“She instantly seized the paper, held it
-to the fire for a moment or two to dry, and
-folding it up placed it in her pocket.</p>
-
-<p>“She then requested me to be ready to
-leave London with her on the following
-Thursday, which allowed me two days to
-make my preparations and to take leave of
-my friends, which I did in very good spirits,
-as I thought I had a very fair prospect before
-me. It remained for what ensued to
-disabuse me of that idea.</p>
-
-<p>“We left the St. Katherine’s Docks in
-the steamer for Boulogne, and instead of
-going to an hotel, as I expected, we proceeded
-to a private house in the Rue N&mdash;
-C&mdash;, near the Rue de l’Ecu. I have farther
-to tell you that three other young women
-accompanied us. One was a housemaid,
-one was a nursery governess, and the other
-a cook. I was introduced to them as people
-that I should have to associate with when
-we arrived at Madame’s house. In fact they
-were represented to be part of the establish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span>ment;
-and they, poor things, fully believed
-they were, being as much deluded as myself.
-The house that Madame brought us to was
-roomy and commodious, and, as I afterwards
-discovered, well, if not elegantly,
-furnished. We were shown into very good
-bedrooms, much better than I expected
-would be allotted to servants; and when I
-mentioned this to Madame, and thanked
-her for her kindness and consideration, she
-replied with a <span class="lock">smile:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“‘Did I not tell you how well you would
-be treated? we do these things better in
-France than they do in England.’</p>
-
-<p>“I thanked her again as she was going
-away, but she said, ‘<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Tais toi, Tais toi</i>,’ and
-left me quite enchanted with her goodness.”</p>
-
-<p>I need not expatiate on what subsequently
-ensued. It is easy to imagine the horrors
-that the poor girl had to undergo. With
-some difficulty she was conquered and had to
-submit to her fate. She did not know a
-word of the language, and was ignorant of
-the only method she could adopt to insure
-redress. But this she happily discovered
-in a somewhat singular manner. When
-her way of living had become intolerable to
-her, she determined to throw herself on
-the generosity of a young Englishman who
-was in the habit of frequenting the house
-she lived in, and who seemed to possess
-some sort of affection for her.</p>
-
-<p>She confessed her miserable position to
-him, and implored him to protect her or
-point out a means of safety. He at once
-replied, “The best thing you can do is
-to go to the British Consul and lay your
-case before him. He will in all probability
-send you back to your own country.” It
-required little persuasion on her part to induce
-her friend to co-operate with her. The
-main thing to be managed was to escape
-from the house. This was next to impossible,
-as they were so carefully watched.
-But they were allowed occasionally, if they
-did not show any signs of discontent to go
-out for a walk in the town. The ramparts
-surrounding the “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Haute Ville</i>” were generally
-selected by this girl as her promenade,
-and when this privilege of walking out
-was allowed her, she was strictly enjoined
-not to neglect any opportunity that might
-offer itself. She arranged to meet her young
-friend there, and gave him notice of the
-day upon which she would be able to go
-out. If a girl who was so privileged
-chanced to meet a man known to the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Bonne</i>
-or attendant as a frequenter of the house,
-she retired to a convenient distance or went
-back altogether. The plot succeeded, the
-consul was appealed to and granted the
-girl a passport to return to England, also
-offering to supply her with money to pay
-her passage home. This necessity was obviated
-by the kindness of her young English
-friend, who generously gave her several
-pounds, and advised her to return at once
-to her friends.</p>
-
-<p>Arrived in England, she found her friends
-reluctant to believe the tale she told them,
-and found herself thrown on her own resources.
-Without a character, and with a
-mind very much disturbed, she found it
-difficult to do anything respectable, and at
-last had recourse to prostitution;&mdash;so difficult
-is it to come back to the right path
-when we have once strayed from it.</p>
-
-<p>Perhaps it is almost impossible to stop
-this traffic; but at any rate the infamous
-wretches who trade in it may be intimidated
-by publicity being given to their acts, and
-the indignation of the public being roused
-in consequence. What can we imagine more
-dreadful than kidnapping a confiding unsuspecting
-girl, in some cases we may say
-child, without exaggeration, for a girl of fifteen
-is not so very far removed from those
-who come within the provisions of the
-Bishop of Oxford’s Act? I repeat, what can
-be more horrible than transporting a girl,
-as it were, by false representations from her
-native land to a country of strangers, and
-condemning her against her will to a life of
-the most revolting slavery and degradation,
-without her having been guilty of any
-offence against an individual or against the
-laws of the land?</p>
-
-<p>It is difficult to believe that there can be
-many persons engaged in this white slave-trade,
-but it is undeniably true.</p>
-
-<p>It is not a question for the legislature; for
-what could Parliament do? The only way
-to decrease the iniquity is to widely disseminate
-the knowledge of the existence of
-such infamy, that those whom it most
-nearly concerns, may be put upon their
-guard, and thus be enabled to avoid falling
-into the trap so cunningly laid for them.</p>
-
-<p>Much praise is due to those benevolent
-societies who interest themselves in these
-matters, and especially to that which we
-have alluded to more than once&mdash;“The
-Society for the Protection of Women and
-Children,” over which Lord Raynham presides.</p>
-
-<p>Much good may be done by this means,
-and much misery prevented. The mines of
-Siberia, with all their terrors, would be preferred&mdash;even
-with the knout in prospective&mdash;by
-these poor girls, were the alternative
-proffered them, to the wretched life
-they are decoyed into leading. For all their
-hopes are blasted, all their feelings crushed,
-their whole existence blighted, and their life<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span>
-rendered a misery to them instead of a
-blessing and a means of rational enjoyment.</p>
-
-<p>The idea of slavery of any kind is repulsive
-to the English mind; but when that
-slavery includes incarceration, and mental
-as well as physical subjection to the dominant
-power by whom that durance is imposed,
-it becomes doubly and trebly repugnant.
-If it were simply the deprivation
-of air and exercise, or even the performance
-of the most menial offices, it might be borne
-with some degree of resignation by the
-sufferer, however unmerited the punishment.
-But here we have a totally different
-case: no offence is committed by the victim,
-but rather by nature, for what is her fault,
-but being pretty and a woman? For this
-caprice of the genius of form who presided
-over her birth she is condemned to a life
-of misery, degradation, and despair; compelled
-to receive caresses that are hateful
-to her, she is at one moment the toy of
-senile sensuality, and at others of impetuous
-juvenility, both alike loathsome, both alike
-detestable. If blandishments disgust her,
-words of endearment only make her state
-of desolation more palpable; while profusions
-of regard serve to aggravate the poignancy
-of her grief, all around her is hollow,
-all artificial except her wretchedness. When
-to this is added ostracism&mdash;banishment
-from one’s native country&mdash;the condition of
-the unfortunate woman is indeed pitiable,
-for there is some slight consolation in hearing
-one’s native language spoken by those
-around us, and more especially to the class
-from which these girls are for the most
-part taken. We must add “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pour comble d’injustice</i>,”
-that there is no future for the girl,
-no reprieve, no hope of mercy, every hope is
-gone from the moment the prison tawdry
-is assumed. The condemnation is severe
-enough, for it is for life. When her beauty
-and her charms no longer serve to attract
-the libidinous, she sinks into the condition
-of a servant to others who have been ensnared
-to fill her place. Happiness cannot
-be achieved by her at any period of her
-servitude; there must always be a restless
-longing for the end, which though comparatively
-quick in arriving is always too tardy.</p>
-
-<p>The mind in time in many cases becomes
-depraved, and the hardness of heart
-that follows this depravity often prevents
-the girl from feeling as acutely as she did
-at first. To these religion is a dead letter,
-which is a greater and additional calamity.
-But to be brief, the victim’s whole life from
-first to last is a series of disappointments,
-combined with a succession of woes that
-excite a shudder by their contemplation,
-and which may almost justify the invocation
-of <span class="lock">Death:&mdash;</span></p>
-
- <div class="poetry-container"><div class="poetry"><div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse">“Death, Death, oh amiable lovely death!</div>
- <div class="verse">Thou odoriferous stench! sound rottenness!</div>
- <div class="verse">Arise forth from the couch of lasting night,</div>
- <div class="verse">Thou hate and terror to prosperity,</div>
- <div class="verse">And I will kiss thy detestable bones;</div>
- <div class="verse">And put my eyeballs in thy vaulty brows;</div>
- <div class="verse">And ring these fingers with thy household worms;</div>
- <div class="verse">And stop this gap of breath with fulsome dust,</div>
- <div class="verse">And be a carrion monster like thyself;</div>
- <div class="verse">Come, grin on me; and I will think thou smil’st,</div>
- <div class="verse">And kiss thee as thy wife! Misery’s love,</div>
- <div class="verse">O, come to me!”</div>
-</div><div class="stanza">
- <div class="sig"><span class="smcap">Shakespere</span>, <i>King John</i>, Act iii. Scene 4.</div>
-</div></div></div>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">THIEVES AND SWINDLERS.</h2>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Introduction.</span></h3>
-
-</div>
-
-<p>In tracing the geography of a river it is
-interesting to go to its source, possibly a
-tiny spring in the cleft of a rock in some
-mountain glen. You follow its windings,
-observing each tributary which flows into
-its gathering flood until it discharges its
-waters into the sea. We proceed in a
-similar manner to treat of the thieves
-and swindlers of the metropolis.</p>
-
-<p>Thousands of our felons are trained
-from their infancy in the bosom of crime;
-a large proportion of them are born in
-the homes of habitual thieves and other
-persons of bad character, and are familiarized
-with vice from their earliest years;
-frequently the first words they lisp are
-oaths and curses. Many of them are often
-carried to the beershop or gin palace on
-the breast of worthless drunken mothers,
-while others, clothed in rags, run at
-their heels or hang by the skirts of their
-petticoats. In their wretched abodes they
-soon learn to be deceitful and artful, and
-are in many cases very precocious. The
-greater number are never sent to school;
-some run idle about the streets in low
-neighbourhoods: others are sent out to
-beg throughout the city; others go out
-with their mothers and sit beside their
-stalls; while others sell a handful of matches
-or small wares in our public thoroughfares.</p>
-
-<p>One day, in going down a dark alley in
-the Borough, near Horsemonger Lane
-Gaol, we saw a little boy&mdash;an Irish cockney,
-who had been tempted to steal by
-other boys he was in the habit of associating
-with. He was stripped entirely
-naked, and was looking over a window
-on the first floor with a curious grin on
-his countenance. His mother had kept
-his clothes from him that day as a punishment
-for stealing, and to prevent him
-getting out of the house while she went
-out to her street-stall.</p>
-
-<p>In our brief sketch of the criminals of
-the metropolis, we have in the outset
-directed our attention to the sneaks or
-common thieves&mdash;by far the larger number
-of our criminal population&mdash;from
-whose ranks the expert pickpockets and
-the ingenious and daring burglars in
-most cases emerge. We have treated of
-the incipient stage of thieving, when
-the child of five or six years of age
-steals an apple, or an orange, or a handful
-of nuts from a stall, or an old pair
-of boots from a shop door, and then
-traced the after-stages of more daring
-crime.</p>
-
-<p>There are thousands of neglected children
-loitering about the low neighbourhoods
-of the metropolis, and prowling
-about the streets, begging and stealing
-for their daily bread. They are to be
-found in Westminster, Whitechapel,
-Shoreditch, St. Giles’s, New Cut, Lambeth,
-the Borough, and other localities.
-Hundreds of them may be seen leaving
-their parents’ homes and low lodging-houses
-every morning sallying forth in
-search of food and plunder. They are
-fluttering in rags and in the most motley
-attire. Some are orphans and have no
-one to care for them; others have left
-their homes and live in lodging-houses
-in the most improvident manner, never
-thinking of to-morrow; others are sent
-out by their unprincipled parents to beg
-and steal for a livelihood; others are the
-children of poor but honest and industrious
-people, who have been led to steal
-through the bad companionship of juvenile
-thieves. Many of them have never
-been at a day-school nor attended a
-Sunday or ragged-school, and have had
-no moral or religious instruction. On
-the contrary, they have been surrounded
-by the most baneful and degrading influences,
-and have been set a bad example
-by their parents and others with
-whom they came in contact, and are
-shunned by the honest and industrious
-classes of society. The chief agencies
-which have tended to ameliorate their
-condition are the ragged-schools, where
-they receive sound secular and religious
-instruction; the shoeblacks’ brigades,
-where they are trained in habits of
-honest industry; and the juvenile re<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span>formatories,
-which have been instituted
-for their moral and social elevation.</p>
-
-<p>Many of them are hungry, and have
-no food to eat nor money to purchase it,
-and readily steal when they find a suitable
-opportunity. Not having received
-the benefit of a sound moral training,
-they have not the conscientious scruples
-possessed by the children of honest parents;
-their only care is to avoid being
-detected in their felonies. When they
-successfully steal some article from a
-stall or shop-door, or rifle a till by entering
-the shop, they are congratulated on
-their expertness by their companions, and
-enjoy a larger share of plunder.</p>
-
-<p>The public streets of the metropolis
-are regarded by these ragged little felons
-and the children of honest industrious
-parents in a very different aspect. The
-latter walk the streets with their eyes
-sparkling with wonder and delight at the
-beautiful and grand sights of the metropolis.
-They are struck with the splendour
-of the shops and the elegance and stateliness
-of the public buildings, and with
-the dense crowds of people of various
-orders, and trains of vehicles thronging
-the streets. These little ragged thieves
-walk along the streets with very different
-emotions. They, too, in their own way,
-enjoy the sights and sounds of London.
-Amid the busy crowds many of them are
-to be seen sitting in groups on the pavement
-or loitering about in good-humour
-and merriment; yet ever and anon their
-keen roguish eyes sparkle as they look
-into the windows of the confectioners’,
-bakers’, and greengrocers’ shops, at the
-same time keeping a sharp eye on the
-policeman as he passes on his beat.</p>
-
-<p>These juvenile thieves find an ample
-field for plunder at the stalls and shop-doors
-in Whitechapel, Shoreditch, Edgeware
-Road, and similar localities, where
-many articles are exposed for sale, which
-can be easily disposed of to some of the
-low fences. In this manner thousands
-of our felons are trained to be expert and
-daring in crime, and are frequently tried
-and convicted before the Police Courts.</p>
-
-<p>This is the main source of the habitual
-felons of the metropolis. As these boys
-and girls grow up they commence a
-system of sneaking thefts over the metropolis,
-some purloining in shops, others
-gliding into areas and lobbies on various
-pretences, stealing articles from the
-kitchen, and when opportunity occurs
-carrying off the plate.</p>
-
-<p>As these young felons advance in years
-they branch off into three different
-classes, determined partly by their natural
-disposition and personal qualities,
-and partly by the circumstances in which
-they are placed. Many of them continue
-through life to sneak as common thieves,
-others become expert pickpockets, and
-some ultimately figure as burglars.</p>
-
-<p>A vast number of juvenile thieves as
-they grow up continue to carry on a
-system of petty felonies over the metropolis,
-and reside in the lowest neighbourhoods.
-Some pretend to sell laces
-and small wares to get a pretext to call
-at the houses of labouring people and
-tradesmen, and to go down the areas and
-enter the lobbies in fashionable streets.
-In addition to the paltry profits arising
-from these sales they get a livelihood by
-begging, and as a matter of course do not
-scruple to steal when they can find an
-opportunity.</p>
-
-<p>These common thieves are of both
-sexes, and of various ages, and are often
-characterized by mental imbecility and
-low cunning. Many of them are lazy in
-disposition and lack energy both of body
-and mind. They go out daily in vast
-shoals over the metropolis picking up a
-miserable and precarious livelihood,
-sometimes committing felonies in the
-houses they visit of considerable value.</p>
-
-<p>The pickpockets are of various ages
-and of different degrees of proficiency,
-from the little ragged urchin in St. Giles’s
-stealing a handkerchief at the tail of a
-gentleman’s coat, to the elegantly dressed
-and expert pickpocket promenading in
-the West-end and attending fashionable
-assemblies. Some are dressed as mechanics,
-others as clerks, some as smart
-business men, and others in fashionable
-attire. They are to be found on all
-public occasions, some of them clumsy
-and timid, others daring and most expert.
-Many of them continue to pursue this
-class of felonies in preference to any
-other. They receive a considerable accession
-to their numbers by young women,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span>
-frequently servants who have been seduced,
-and cohabit with burglars, pickpockets,
-and others, and who are trained
-to this infamous profession, and in many
-cases are shoplifters.</p>
-
-<p>Many are trained to commit housebreaking
-and burglaries from fourteen to
-fifteen years of age. Boys are occasionally
-employed to enter through fanlights and
-windows, and to assist otherwise in plundering
-dwellings and shops. Some of
-them commit burglaries of small value
-in working neighbourhoods, where comparatively
-little ingenuity and skill are
-required, others plunder shops and warehouses
-and fashionable dwellings, which
-is generally done with greater care and
-ingenuity, and where the booty is often
-of higher value.</p>
-
-<p>In addition to the three classes we
-have named, the common thief, the
-pickpocket, and the burglar, there is
-another class of low ruffians who frequently
-cohabit with low women and
-prostitutes, and commit highway robberies.
-They often follow these degraded
-females on the streets, and attack persons
-who accost them, believing them to be
-prostitutes. At other times they garotte
-men on the street at midnight, or in the
-by-streets in the evening, and plunder
-them with violence. This class of persons
-are generally hardened in crime,
-and many of them are returned convicts.</p>
-
-<p>The habitual crime of the female
-portion of the community is in most
-cases associated with prostitution. We
-learn from statistics collected by the
-metropolitan constabulary for 1860, that
-there are nearly 7000 open prostitutes or
-street-walkers in London, three fourths
-of whom we have reason to believe are
-addicted to stealing. While many of
-these belong to our native-born felon
-population, a large proportion have been
-seduced from the ranks of honest and industrious
-people in London, or have
-come up from the provinces, while a
-few of them are from the Continent.</p>
-
-<p>We believe that the most effective
-means of checking the crime of the metropolis
-is to have an efficient machinery
-of ragged schools in those low
-neighbourhoods, where neglected children
-are to be found, similar to the
-ragged school in George’s Yard, and to
-train them in honest employment, as
-in the shoeblack brigades or industrial
-schools.</p>
-
-<p>We learn from the statistics of the
-constabulary of the metropolis that
-juvenile crime has been considerably reduced
-within the past ten years. Several
-of our police inspectors have laboured
-with untiring industry to reform the
-lodging-houses and to introduce cleanliness
-and decency, where immorality and
-filth formerly prevailed. And noble
-exertions have been made by Christian
-societies to illumine these dark localities
-with the light of Christian truth.</p>
-
-<p>Yet much still remains to be done.
-And it is a problem worthy of our
-highest and wisest statesmen to consider
-whether adequate means to elevate this
-abandoned class are to be provided by
-voluntary effort, or by the paternal care
-of our Government from the public
-treasury.</p>
-
-<p>It is far easier to train the young in
-virtuous and industrious habits, than to
-reform the grown-up felon who has become
-callous in crime, and it is besides
-far more profitable to the State. To
-neglect them or inadequately to attend
-to their welfare gives encouragement to
-the growth of this dangerous class. On
-the other hand how noble the aim, to
-adopt wise and vigorous measures to
-provide for these children of adversity
-and misfortune, and to transform them
-into useful members of society!</p>
-
-<p>Our national reformatories are very
-useful in reclaiming those juveniles
-who have fallen into crime; but ragged
-schools efficiently conducted would be of
-still higher value&mdash;as prevention is
-better than cure. In providing those
-noble machineries by voluntary effort, or
-by the State, we would wisely act as
-the minister of Divine Providence, and
-would thereby promote the best interests
-and prosperity of our country.</p>
-
-<p>We have also endeavoured to give a
-cursory sketch of the swindlers of the
-metropolis, who are generally of a different
-class from our felon population.
-They consist of persons embezzling the
-property of their employers; of sharpers
-plundering their dupes by tricks at card-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span>playing,
-skittles, or otherwise; and of
-rogues abstracting the property of the
-public by false pretences. Many of
-these formerly belonged to the ranks of
-the honest and industrious working and
-middle-classes, and not a few of them are
-well connected, and have lived in fashionable
-society. By improvidence, extravagance,
-or dissipation, they have squandered
-their means, and have now basely
-adopted a course of systematic dishonesty
-rather than lead an industrious life. Some
-of them have led a fast life in the metropolis,
-and are persons of ruined fortune.
-Others are indolent in disposition, and
-carry on a subtle system of public robbery
-rather than pursue some honest
-occupation or calling.</p>
-
-<p>It may throw considerable light on
-the crime of London to look to the
-criminal statistics of the Metropolitan
-Police Force. We find a statement of
-those who were apprehended or proceeded
-against in the year ending 29th
-September, 1860.</p>
-
-<p>Under the class of persons proceeded
-against on indictment there <span class="lock">are:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Known thieves</td><td>813</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Prostitutes</td><td>159</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suspected characters</td><td>1,440</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">2,412</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>Under the class of persons proceeded
-against summarily there <span class="lock">are:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Known thieves</td><td>2,850</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Prostitutes</td><td>7,381</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Vagrants, tramps, &amp;c.</td><td>2,888</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suspicious characters</td><td>7,044</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Habitual drunkards</td><td>3,661</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">23,824</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>A number of these parties have appeared
-repeatedly before the Police
-Courts during the year.</p>
-
-<p>In the return for the month of September,
-1860, we find the following
-statement of depredators, offenders, and
-suspected persons at large within the
-districts of the <span class="lock">police:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Known thieves and depredators</td><td>2,906</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Prostitutes</td><td>6,881</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suspicious characters</td><td>1,770</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Vagrants and tramps</td><td>1,461</td></tr>
-<tr><td>In all, </td><td class="total">3,018</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>The average number of persons roaming
-as thieves over the metropolis committing
-depredations may be safely estimated
-at from 12,000 to 15,000; a huge
-army living on the industry of the
-community.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">The amount of property abstracted in the metropolitan districts for the year 1860</td><td>£62,095</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto ditto in the City</td><td>9,508</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">£71,603</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>This does not give the full amount
-of the depredations committed by the
-robbers of the metropolis, as many
-felonies are not included in the police
-returns.</p>
-
-<p>In writing this account of the state
-of crime in London, we have received
-valuable assistance throughout from the
-city and metropolitan police force. We
-have to acknowledge our obligations generally
-to Sir Richard Mayne and Mr.
-Yardley at Scotland Yard, and specially
-to Mr. Jones, of Tower Street Police
-Station, Lambeth, for information on
-common thieves; to Mr. Whyte of
-Marylebone Station on skeleton-key and
-attic thieves; to Serjeant McVitti of
-Hoxton; Mr. Ackrill of Fleet Street, and
-Mr. Jones of Tower Street on pickpockets;
-to Inspector Foulger of the
-City police; Mr. Knight, of Fleet Street,
-and Serjeant Potter of Paddington Station
-on burglars, forgers, magsmen and
-skittle-sharps; to Mr. Brennan on coiners;
-to Inspector Broad of Spitalfields
-Station on highway robbers; to Inspector
-Hunt on embezzlers; to Mr. Stubbs on
-swindlers; and to numerous other officers
-of the city and metropolitan police
-for their generous and cordial aid.</p>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">THE SNEAKS, OR COMMON THIEVES.</h2>
-
-</div>
-
-
-<p>The common thief is not distinguished
-for manual dexterity and accomplishment,
-like the pickpocket or mobsman, nor for
-courage, ingenuity, and skill, like the burglar,
-but is characterized by low cunning
-and stealth&mdash;hence he is termed the <i>Sneak</i>,
-and is despised by the higher classes of
-thieves.</p>
-
-<p>There are various orders of Sneaks&mdash;from
-the urchin stealing an apple at a stall, to
-the man who enters a dwelling by the area
-or an attic window and carries off the silver
-plate.</p>
-
-<p>In treating of the various classes of common
-thieves and their different modes of
-felony, we shall first treat of the juvenile
-thieves and their delinquencies, and notice
-the other classes in their order, according
-to the progressive nature and aggravation
-of their crime.</p>
-
-<p><i>Street-stalls.</i>&mdash;In wandering along Whitechapel
-we see ranges of stalls on both
-sides of the street, extending from the
-neighbourhood of the Minories to Whitechapel
-church. Various kinds of merchandize
-are exposed to sale. There are
-stalls for fruit, vegetables, and oysters.
-There are also stalls where fancy goods are
-exposed for sale&mdash;combs, brushes, chimney-ornaments,
-children’s toys, and common
-articles of jewellery. We find middle-aged
-women standing with baskets of firewood,
-and Cheap Johns selling various kinds of
-Sheffield cutlery, stationery, and plated
-goods.</p>
-
-<p>It is an interesting sight to saunter along
-the New Cut, Lambeth, and to observe the
-street stalls of that locality. Here you see
-some old Irish woman, with apples and
-pears exposed on a small board placed on
-the top of a barrel, while she is seated on
-an upturned bushel basket smoking her
-pipe.</p>
-
-<p>Alongside you notice a deal board on the
-top of a tressel, and an Irish girl of 18
-years of age seated on a small three-legged
-stool, shouting in shrill tones “Apples, fine
-apples, ha’penny a lot!”</p>
-
-<p>You find another stall on the top of two
-tressels, with a larger quantity of apples
-and pears, kept by a woman who sits by
-with a child at her breast.</p>
-
-<p>In another place you see a costermonger’s
-barrow, with large green and yellow piles
-of fruit of better quality than the others,
-and a group of boys and girls assembled
-around him as he smartly disposes of pennyworths
-to the persons passing along the
-street.</p>
-
-<p>Outside a public-house you see a young
-man, humpbacked, with a basket of herrings
-and haddocks standing on the pavement,
-calling “Yarmouth herrings&mdash;three a-penny!”
-and at the door of a beershop
-with the sign of the “Pear Tree” we find
-a miserable looking old woman selling
-cresses, seated on a stool with her feet in
-an old basket.</p>
-
-<p>As we wander along the New Cut during
-the day, we do not see so many young
-thieves loitering about; but in the evening
-when the lamps are lit, they steal forth
-from their haunts, with keen roguish eye,
-looking out for booty. We then see them
-loitering about the stalls or mingling among
-the throng of people in the street, looking
-wistfully on the tempting fruit displayed
-on the stalls.</p>
-
-<p>These young Arabs of the city have a
-very strange and motley appearance. Many
-of them are only 6 or 7 years of age,
-others 8 or 10. Some have no jacket,
-cap, or shoes, and wander about London
-with their ragged trowsers hung by one
-brace; some have an old tattered coat,
-much too large for them, without shoes
-and stockings, and with one leg of the
-trowsers rolled up to the knee; others
-have on an old greasy grey or black cap, with
-an old jacket rent at the elbows, and strips
-of the lining hanging down behind; others
-have on an old dirty pinafore; while some
-have petticoats. They are generally in a
-squalid and unwashed condition, with their
-hair clustered in wild disorder like a mop,
-or hanging down in dishevelled locks,&mdash;in
-some cases cropped close to the head.</p>
-
-<p>Groups of these ragged urchins may be
-seen standing at the corners of the streets
-and in public thoroughfares, with blacking-boxes
-slung on their back by a leathern
-belt, or crouching in groups on the pavement;
-or we may occasionally see them
-running alongside of omnibuses, cabs, and
-hansoms, nimbly turning somersaults on
-the pavement as they scamper along, and
-occasionally walking on their hands with
-their feet in the air in our fashionable
-streets, to the merriment of the passers-by.
-Most of them are Irish cockneys, which we
-can observe in their features and accent&mdash;to
-which class most of the London thieves
-belong. They are generally very acute and
-ready-witted, and have a knowing twinkle<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span>
-in their eye which exhibits the precocity
-of their minds.</p>
-
-<p>As we ramble along the New Cut in the
-dusk, mingled in the throng on the crowded
-street, chiefly composed of working people,
-the young ragged thieves may be seen
-stealing forth: their keen eye readily recognizes
-the police-officers proceeding in
-their rounds, as well as the detective
-officers in their quiet and cautious movements.
-They seldom steal from costermongers,
-but frequently from the old
-women’s stalls. One will push an old
-woman off her seat&mdash;perhaps a bushel
-basket, while the others will steal her fruit
-or the few coppers lying on her stall. This
-is done by day as well as by night, but
-chiefly in the dusk of the evening.</p>
-
-<p>They generally go in a party of three or
-four, sometimes as many as eight together.
-Watching their opportunity, they make a
-sudden snatch at the apples or pears, or
-oranges or nuts, or walnuts, as the case may
-be, then run off, with the cry of “stop
-thief!” ringing in their ears from the
-passers-by. These petty thefts are often
-done from a love of mischief rather than
-from a desire for plunder.</p>
-
-<p>When overtaken by a police-officer, they
-in general readily go with him to the
-police-station. Sometimes the urchin will
-lie down in the street and cry “let me go!”
-and the bystanders will take his part.
-This is of frequent occurrence in the neighbourhood
-of the New-cut and the Waterloo-road&mdash;a
-well-known rookery of young
-thieves in London.</p>
-
-<p>By the petty thefts at the fruit-stalls
-they do not gain much money&mdash;seldom
-so much as to get admittance to the
-gallery of the Victoria Theatre, which
-they delight to frequent. They are particularly
-interested in the plays of robberies,
-burglaries, and murders performed
-there, which are done in melodramatic
-style. There are similar fruit-stalls in the
-other densely populated districts of the
-metropolis.</p>
-
-<p>In the Mile-end-road, and New North-road,
-and occasionally in other streets
-in different localities of London, common
-jewellery is exposed for sale, consisting
-of brooches, rings, bracelets, breast-pins,
-watch-chains, eye-glasses, ear-rings and
-studs, &amp;c. There are also stalls for the
-sale of china, looking-glasses, combs, and
-chimney-ornaments. The thefts from these
-are generally managed in this <span class="lock">way:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>One goes up and looks at some trifling
-article in company with his associates.
-The party in charge of the stall&mdash;generally
-a woman&mdash;knowing their thieving propensity,
-tells them to go away; which they
-decline to do. When the woman goes to
-remove him, another boy darts forward at
-the other end of the stall and steals some
-article of jewellery, or otherwise, while her
-attention is thus distracted.</p>
-
-<p>These juvenile thieves are chiefly to
-be found in Lucretia-street, Lambeth;
-Union-street, Borough-road; Gunn-street,
-and Friars-street, Blackfriars-road; also
-at Whitechapel, St. Giles’s, Drury-lane,
-Somers Town, Anderson Grove, and other
-localities.</p>
-
-<p>The statistics connected with this class
-of felonies will be given when we come to
-treat on “Stealing from the doors and
-windows of shops.”</p>
-
-<p><i>Stealing from the Tills.</i>&mdash;This is done by
-the same class of boys, generally by two
-or three, or more, associated together. It
-is committed at any hour of the day, principally
-in the evening, and generally in the
-following way: One of the boys throws his
-cap into the shop of some greengrocer
-or other small dealer, in the absence of the
-person in charge; another boy, often without
-shoes or stockings, creeps in on his
-hands and knees as if to fetch it, being
-possibly covered from without by some of
-the boys standing beside the shop-door,
-who is also on the look-out. Any passer-by
-seeing the cap thrown in would take
-no particular notice in most cases, as it
-merely appears to be a thoughtless boyish
-frolic. Meantime the young rogue within
-the shop crawls round the counter to the
-till, and rifles its contents.</p>
-
-<p>If detected, he possibly says, “Let me
-go; I have done nothing. That boy who is
-standing outside and has just run away
-threw in my bonnet, and I came to fetch
-it.” When discovered by the shopkeeper,
-the boy will occasionally be allowed to get
-away, as the loss may not be known till
-afterwards.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes one of these ragged urchins
-watches a favourable opportunity and steals
-from the till while his comrade is observing
-the movements of the people passing by
-and the police, without resorting to the
-ingenious expedient of throwing in the
-cap.</p>
-
-<p>The shop tills are generally rifled by
-boys, in most cases by two or more in
-company; this is only done occasionally.
-It is confined chiefly to the districts where
-the working classes reside.</p>
-
-<p>In some cases, though rarely, a lad of 17
-or 19 years of age or upwards, will reach
-his hand over the counter to the till, in the
-absence of the person in charge of the
-shop.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>These robberies are not very numerous,
-and are of small collective value.</p>
-
-<p><i>Stealing from the Doors and Windows of
-Shops.</i>&mdash;In various shopping districts of
-London we see a great variety of goods
-displayed for sale at the different shop-doors
-and windows, and on the pavement
-in front of the shops of brokers, butchers,
-grocers, milliners, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>Let us take a picture from the New-cut,
-Lambeth. We observe many brokers’ shops
-along the street, with a heterogenous
-assortment of household furniture, tables,
-chairs, looking-glasses, plain and ornamental,
-cupboards, fire-screens, &amp;c., ranged
-along the broad pavement; while on tables
-are stores of carpenters’ tools in great
-variety, copper-kettles, brushes, and bright
-tin pannikins, and other articles.</p>
-
-<p>We see the dealer standing before his
-door, with blue apron, hailing the passer-by
-to make a purchase. Upon stands on the
-pavement at each side of his shop-door
-are cheeses of various kinds and of different
-qualities, cut up into quarters and
-slices, and rashers of bacon lying in piles
-in the open windows, or laid out on marble
-slabs. On deal racks are boxes of eggs,
-“fresh from the country,” and white as
-snow, and large pieces of bacon, ticketed
-as of “fine flavour,” and “very mild.”</p>
-
-<p>Alongside is a milliner’s shop with the
-milliner, a smart young woman, seated
-knitting beneath an awning in front of her
-door. On iron and wooden rods, suspended
-on each side of the door-way, are black and
-white straw bonnets and crinolines, swinging
-in the wind; while on the tables in
-front are exposed boxes of gay feathers,
-and flowers of every tint, and fronts of
-shirts of various styles, with stacks of gown-pieces
-of various patterns.</p>
-
-<p>A green-grocer stands by his shop with
-a young girl of 17 by his side. On each
-side of the door are baskets of apples, with
-large boxes of onions and peas. Cabbages
-are heaped at the front of the shop, with
-piles of white turnips and red carrots.</p>
-
-<p>Over the street is a furniture wareroom.
-Beneath the canvas awning before the shop
-are chairs of various kinds, straw-bottomed
-and seated with green or puce-coloured
-leather, fancy looking-glasses in gilt frames,
-parrots in cages, a brass-mounted portmanteau,
-and other miscellaneous articles.
-An active young shopman is seated by the
-shop-door, in a light cap and dark apron&mdash;with
-newspaper in hand.</p>
-
-<p>Near the Victoria Theatre we notice a
-second-hand clothes store. On iron rods
-suspended over the doorway we find trowsers,
-vests, and coats of all patterns and
-sizes, and of every quality dangling in the
-wind; and on small wooden stands along
-the pavement are jackets and coats of
-various descriptions. Here are corduroy
-jackets, ticketed “15<i>s.</i> and 16<i>s.</i> made to
-order.” Corduroy trowsers warranted “first
-rate,” at 7<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> Fustian trowsers to order
-for 8<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>; while dummies are ranged on
-the pavement with coats buttoned upon
-them, inviting us to enter the shop.</p>
-
-<p>In the vicinity we see stalls of workmen’s
-iron tools of various kinds&mdash;some old and
-rusty, others bright and new.</p>
-
-<p>Thefts are often committed from the
-doors and windows of these shops during
-the day, in the temporary absence of the
-person in charge. They are often seen by
-passers-by, who take no notice, not wishing
-to attend the police court, as they consider
-they are insufficiently paid for it.</p>
-
-<p>The coat is usually stolen from the
-dummy in this way: one boy is posted on
-the opposite side of the street to see if
-a police-officer is in sight, or a policeman
-in plain clothes, who might detect the
-depredation. Another stands two or three
-yards from the shop. The third comes up
-to the dummy, and pretends to look at the
-quality of the coat to throw off the suspicion
-of any bystander or passer-by. He
-then unfastens the button, and if the shopkeeper
-or any of his assistants come out,
-he walks away. If he finds that he is not
-seen by the people in the shop, he takes
-the coat off the dummy and runs away
-with it.</p>
-
-<p>If seen, he will not return at that time,
-but watches some other convenient opportunity.
-When the young thief is chased
-by the shopkeeper, his two associates run
-and jostle him, and try to trip him up, so
-as to give their companion an opportunity
-of escaping. This is generally done at
-dusk, in the winter time, when thieving is
-most prevalent in those localities.</p>
-
-<p>In stealing a piece of bacon from the
-shop-doors or windows, they wait till the
-shopman turns his back, when they take a
-piece of bacon or cheese in the same way
-as in the case alluded to. This is commonly
-done by two or more boys in company.</p>
-
-<p>Handkerchiefs at shop-doors are generally
-stolen by one of the boys and passed
-to another who runs off with it. When
-hotly chased, they drop the handkerchief
-and run away.</p>
-
-<p>These young thieves are the ragged boys
-formerly noticed, varying from 9 to 14 years
-of age, without shoes or stockings. Their
-parents are of the lowest order of Irish
-cockneys, or they live in low lodging-houses,
-where they get a bed for 2<i>d.</i> or 3<i>d.</i> a night,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span>
-with crowds of others as destitute as themselves.</p>
-
-<p>There are numbers of young women of
-18 years of age and upwards, Irish cockneys,
-belonging to the same class, who steal from
-these shop-doors. They are poorly dressed,
-and live in some of the lowest streets in
-Surrey and Middlesex, but chiefly in the
-Borough and the East end. Some of them
-are dressed in a clean cotton dress, shabby
-bonnet and faded shawl, and are accompanied
-by one or more men, costermongers
-in appearance. They steal rolls of printed
-cotton from the outside of linen drapers’
-shops, rolls of flannel, and of coarse calico,
-hearthrugs and rolls of oilskin and table-covers;
-and from brokers’ shops they
-carry off rolls of carpet, fenders, tire-irons,
-and other articles, exposed in and around
-the shop-door. The thefts of these women
-are of greater value than those committed
-by the boys. They belong to the felon-class
-and are generally expert thieves.</p>
-
-<p>The mode in which they commit these
-thefts is by taking advantage of the absence
-of the person in charge of the shop, or
-when his back is turned. It is done very
-quickly and dexterously, and they are often
-successful in carrying away articles such
-as those named without any one observing
-them.</p>
-
-<p>Another class of Sneaks, who steal from
-the outsides of shops, are women more advanced
-in life than those referred to,&mdash;some
-middle-aged and others elderly. Some
-of them are thieves, or the companions of
-thieves, and others are the wives of honest,
-hard-working mechanics and labouring
-men, who spend their money in gin and
-beer at various public-houses.</p>
-
-<p>These persons go and look over some
-pieces of bacon or meat outside of butchers’
-shops; they ask the price of it, sometimes
-buy a small piece and steal a large
-one, but more frequently buy none. They
-watch the opportunity of taking a large
-piece which they slip into their basket and
-carry to some small chandler’s shop in a
-low neighbourhood, where they dispose of
-it at about a fourth of its value.</p>
-
-<p>We have met some thieves of this order,
-basket in hand, returning from Drury
-Lane, who were pointed out to us by a detective
-officer.</p>
-
-<p>The mechanics’ and labourers’ wives in
-many cases leave their homes in the morning
-for the purpose of purchasing their
-husband’s dinner. They meet with other
-women fond of drink like themselves.
-They meet, for example, outside the “Plumb
-Tree,” or such-like public-house, and join
-their money together to buy beer or gin.
-After partaking of it, they leave the house,
-and remain for some time outside conversing
-together. They again join their money
-and return to the public-house, and have
-some additional liquor: leave the house
-and separate. Some of them join with
-other parties fond of liquor as they did
-with the former. One says to the other:
-“I have no money, otherwise we would
-have a drop of gin. I have just met Mrs.
-So-and-so, and spent nearly all my money.”
-The other may reply: “I have not much
-to get the old man’s dinner, but we can
-have a quartern of gin.” After getting the
-liquor, they separate. The tradesman’s
-wife, finding that she has spent nearly the
-whole of her money, goes to a cheesemonger’s
-or butcher’s shop, and steals a
-piece of meat, or bacon, for the purpose of
-placing it before her husband for dinner,
-perhaps selling the remainder of the booty
-at shops in low neighbourhoods, or to
-lodging-houses.</p>
-
-<p>Such cases frequently occur, and are
-brought before the police-courts.</p>
-
-<p>These persons sometimes steal flat-irons
-for ironing clothes at the brokers’ shop-doors,
-which they carry to other pawnbrokers
-if not detected. At other times
-they take them to the leaving-shop of an
-unlicensed pawnbroker. On depositing
-them, they get a small sum of money.
-These leaving-shops are in the lowest localities,
-and take in articles pawnbrokers
-would refuse. They are open on Sundays,
-and at other times when no business is
-done in pawnbrokers’ shops.</p>
-
-<p>These shops are well known to the
-police, and give great assistance to these
-Sneaks in disposing of their stolen property.</p>
-
-<p>A considerable number of depredations
-are committed at the doors of shoemakers’
-shops. They are committed by women of
-the lower orders, of all ages, some of them
-very elderly. They come up to the door
-as tho’ they were shopping, attired generally
-in an old bonnet and faded shawl.
-The shoes are hanging inside the door,
-suspended from an iron rod by a piece of
-string, and are sometimes hanging on a
-bar outside the shop.</p>
-
-<p>These parties are much of the same
-order of thieves already described, possibly
-many of them the mothers and some the
-grandmothers of the ragged boys referred
-to. The greater number of them are Irish
-cockneys. They come up to the shop-door
-generally in the afternoon, as if to examine
-the quality of the shoes or boots, but
-seldom make any purchase. They observe
-how the articles are suspended and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span>
-best mode of abstracting them. They
-return in the dusk of the evening and steal
-them.</p>
-
-<p>The shops from which these robberies
-are committed are to be found in Lambeth-walk,
-New-cut, Lower Marsh, Lambeth,
-Tottenham Court-road, Westminster,
-Drury-lane, the neighbourhood of St.
-Giles’s, Petticoat-lane, Spitalfields, Whitecross-street,
-St. Luke’s, and other localities.</p>
-
-<p>Small articles are occasionally taken from
-shop windows in the winter evenings, by
-means of breaking a pane of glass in a very
-ingenious way. These thefts are committed
-at the shops of confectioners, tobacconists,
-and watchmakers, &amp;c., in the quiet by-streets.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes they are done by the younger
-ragged-boys, but in most cases by lads of
-14 and upwards, belonging to the fraternity
-of London thieves.</p>
-
-<p>In the dark winter evenings we may
-sometimes see groups of these ragged boys,
-assembled around the windows of a small
-grocery-shop, looking greedily at the almond-rock,
-lollipops, sugar-candy, barley-sugar,
-brandy-balls, pies, and tarts, displayed
-in all their tempting sweetness and
-in all their gaudy tints. They insert the
-point of a knife or other sharp instrument
-into the corner or side of the pane, then
-give it a wrench, when the pane cracks in
-a semicircular starlike form around the
-part punctured. Should a piece of glass
-large enough to admit the hand not be
-sufficiently loosened, they apply the sharp
-instrument at another place in the pane,
-when the new cracks communicate with
-the rents already made; on applying a
-sticking-plaster to the pane, the piece
-readily adheres to it, and is abstracted.
-The thief inserts his hand through an
-opening in the window, seizes a handful of
-sweets or other goods, and runs away, perhaps
-followed by the shopman in full chase.
-These thieves are termed star-glazers.</p>
-
-<p>Such petty robberies are often committed
-by elder lads at the windows of tobacconists,
-when cigars and pipes are frequently
-stolen.</p>
-
-<p>They cut the pane in the manner
-described, and sometimes get a younger
-boy to commit the theft, while they get
-the chief share of the plunder, without
-having exposed themselves to the danger
-of being arrested stealing the property.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">The number of felonies of goods, &amp;c., exposed to sale in the Metropolitan districts for 1860</td><td>1671</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto ditto in the City</td><td>133</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">1804</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Value of goods thereby stolen in the Metropolitan districts</td><td>£1487</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto ditto in the City</td><td>35</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">£1522</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p><i>Stealing from Children.</i>&mdash;Children are
-occasionally sent out by their mothers, with
-bundles of washing to convey to different
-persons, or they may be employed to bring
-clothes from the mangle. They are sometimes
-met by a man, at other times by a
-woman, who entices them to go to a shop
-for a halfpenny or a penny worth of sweets,
-meanwhile taking care they leave their
-parcels or bundle, which they promise to
-keep for them till they return. On their
-coming out of the shop, they find the party
-has decamped, and seldom any clue can be
-got of them, as they may belong to distant
-localities of the metropolis.</p>
-
-<p>In other cases they go up to the children,
-when they are proceeding on their way,
-with a bundle or basket, and say: “You
-are going to take these things home. Do
-you know where you are going to take
-them?” The child being taken off her
-guard may say. She is carrying them to
-Mrs. So-and-so, of such a street. They
-will then say. “You are a good girl, and
-are quite right. Mrs. So-and-so sent me
-for them, as she is in a hurry and is going
-out.” The child probably gives her the
-basket or bundle, when the thief absconds.
-A case of this kind occurred in the district
-of Marylebone about six months ago.</p>
-
-<p>A girl was going with two silk-dresses to
-a lady in Devonshire-street, when she was
-met by a young woman, who said she was
-a servant of the lady, and was sent to get
-the dresses done or undone, and was very
-glad she had met her. The woman was an
-entire stranger to the lady. The larceny
-was detected on the Saturday night, and
-the lady was put to great inconvenience, as
-she had not a dress to go out with on the
-Sunday. Robberies of clothes sent out to
-be mangled, and of articles of linen are
-very common. Milliners often send young
-girls errands who are not old enough to see
-through the tricks of these parties prowling
-about the metropolis.</p>
-
-<p>These larcenies are generally committed
-by vagrants decently dressed, and too lazy
-to work, who go sneaking about the streets
-and live in low neighbourhoods, such as St.
-Giles’s, Drury-lane, Short’s-gardens, Queen-street,
-and the Borough. They are in most
-cases committed in the evening, though
-sometimes during the day.</p>
-
-<p><i>Child Stripping.</i>&mdash;This is generally done
-by females, old debauched drunken hags
-who watch their opportunity to accost<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span>
-children passing in the streets, tidily
-dressed with good boots and clothes. They
-entice them away to a low or quiet neighbourhood
-for the purpose, as they say, of
-buying them sweets, or with some other
-pretext. When they get into a convenient
-place, they give them a halfpenny or some
-sweets, and take off the articles of dress,
-and tell them to remain till they return,
-when they go away with the booty.</p>
-
-<p>This is done most frequently in mews in
-the West-end, and at Clerkenwell, Westminster,
-the Borough, and other similar
-localities. These heartless debased women
-sometimes commit these felonies in the disreputable
-neighbourhoods where they live,
-but more frequently in distant places, where
-they are not known and cannot be easily
-traced. This mode of felony is not so prevalent
-in the metropolis as formerly. In
-most cases, it is done at dusk in the winter
-evenings, from 7 to 10 o’clock.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Number of larcenies from children in the Metropolitan districts for 1860</td><td>87</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto ditto in the City</td><td>10</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">97</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Value of property thereby stolen in the Metropolitan districts</td><td>£65</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto ditto in the City</td><td>5</td><td>10</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">£70</td><td class="total">10</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p><i>Stealing from Drunken Persons.</i>&mdash;There is
-a very common low class of male thieves,
-who go prowling about at all times of the
-day and night for this purpose.</p>
-
-<p>They loiter about the streets and public-houses
-to steal from drunken persons, and
-are called “Bug-hunters” and “mutchers.”
-You see many of them lounging about gin-palaces
-in the vicinity of the Borough, near
-St. George’s church. We have met them
-there in the course of our rambles over the
-metropolis, and at Whitechapel and St.
-Giles’s. They also frequent the Westminster-road,
-the vicinity of the Victoria Theatre,
-Shoreditch, and Somers Town. These low
-wretches are of all ages, and many of them
-have the appearance of bricklayers’, stone-masons’,
-and engineers’ labourers. They
-pretend they are labourers out of work,
-and are forward in intruding themselves on
-the notice of persons entering those houses,
-and expect to be treated to liquor, though
-entire strangers to them.</p>
-
-<p>They are not unfrequently so rude as to
-take the pewter-pot of another person from
-the bar, and pass it round to their comrades,
-till they have emptied the contents.
-If remonstrated with, they return insulting
-language, and try to involve the person in
-a broil.</p>
-
-<p>You occasionally find them loafing about
-the tap-rooms. They watch for drunken
-people, whom they endeavour to persuade
-to treat them. They entice him to go down
-some court or slum, where they strip him of
-his watch, money, or other valuables he may
-have on his person. Or they sometimes
-rob him in the public-house; but this
-seldom occurs, as they are aware it would
-lead to detection. They prefer following
-him out of the public-house. Many of
-these robberies are committed in the
-public urinals at a late hour at night.</p>
-
-<p>These men have often abandoned women
-who cohabit with them, and assist them in
-these low depredations. They frequently
-dwell in low courts and alleys in the neighbourhood
-of gin-palaces, have no settled
-mode of life, and follow no industrious
-calling&mdash;living as loafers and low ruffians.</p>
-
-<p>Some of them have wives, who go out
-washing and charing to obtain a livelihood
-for their children and themselves, as well
-as to support their brutal husbands, lazzaroni
-of the metropolis.</p>
-
-<p>This class of persons are in the habit of
-stealing lead from houses, and copper boilers
-from kitchens and wash-houses.</p>
-
-<p>There is another class of thieves, who
-steal from drunken persons, usually in the
-dusk of the evening, in the following manner:
-Two women, respectably dressed, meet a
-drunken man in the street, stop him and
-ask him to treat them. They adjourn to
-the bar of a public-house for the purpose
-of getting some gin or ale. While drinking
-at the bar, one of the women tries to
-rob him of his watch or money. A man
-who is called a “stickman,” an accomplice
-and possibly a paramour of hers,
-comes to the bar a short time after them.
-He has a glass of some kind of liquor, and
-stands beside them. Some motions and
-signs pass between the two females and
-this man. If they have by this time
-secured the booty, it is passed to the latter,
-who, thereupon slips away, with the stolen
-articles in his possession.</p>
-
-<p>In some cases, when the property is taken
-from the drunken man, one of the women
-on some pretext steps to the door and passes
-it to the “stickman” standing outside, who
-then makes off with it. In other cases
-these robberies are perpetrated in the outside
-of the house, in some by-street.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes the man quickly discovers
-his loss, and makes an outcry against the
-women; when the “stickman” comes up
-and asks, “what is the matter?” the man<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span>
-may reply, “these two women have robbed
-me.” The stickman answers “I’ll go and
-fetch a policeman.” The property is passed
-to him by the women, and he decamps. If a
-criminal information is brought against the
-females, the stolen goods are not found in
-their possession, and the case is dropped.</p>
-
-<p>These women seldom or never allow
-drunken men to have criminal connection
-with them, but get their living by this base
-system of plunder. They change their
-field of operation over the metropolis, followed
-by the sneaking “stickman.”</p>
-
-<p>Some of these females have been known
-in early life to sell oranges in the street.</p>
-
-<p>The “stickman” during the day lounges
-about the parlours in quiet public-houses
-where thieves resort, and the women during
-the day are sometimes engaged in needlework,&mdash;some
-of the latter have a fair education,
-which they may have learned in
-prison, and others are very illiterate.</p>
-
-<p>Though respectable in dress and appearance,
-they generally belong to the felon
-class of Irish cockneys, with few exceptions.</p>
-
-<p>They are to be found in Lisson-grove,
-Leicester-square, Portland-town, and other
-localities.</p>
-
-<p>Females in respectable positions in society
-occasionally take too much intoxicating
-liquor, and are waylaid by old
-women, gin-drinkers, who frequent public-houses
-in low neighbourhoods. They introduce
-themselves to the inebriated woman
-as a friend, to see her to some place of
-safety until she has recovered from the
-effects of her dissipation,&mdash;she may have
-been lying on the pavement, and unable to
-walk. They lift her up by the hand, and
-steal the gold ring from her finger.</p>
-
-<p>At other times they take her into some
-by-court or street in low neighbourhoods,
-where doors may frequently be seen standing
-open; they rob her in some of these
-dark passages of her money, watch, and
-jewellery, and sometimes carry off her
-clothes.</p>
-
-<p>If seen by persons in the neighbourhood,
-it is winked at, and no information given,
-as they generally belong to the same unprincipled
-class.</p>
-
-<p>There is another low class of women
-who prowl about the streets at midnight,
-watching for any respectable-looking person
-who may be passing the worse of liquor.
-If they notice a drunken man, one comes
-and enters into conversation with him, and
-while thus engaged, another woman steps
-up, touches him under the chin, or otherwise
-distracts his attention. The person
-who first accosted him, with her companion,
-then endeavours to pick his pockets and
-plunder him of his property. A case of
-this kind occurred near the Marble Arch
-in August 1860.</p>
-
-<p>They have many ingenious ways of distracting
-the attention of their victim, some
-of them very obscene and shameless.</p>
-
-<p>They take care to see that no policeman
-is in sight, and generally endeavour to find
-out if the person they intend to victimize
-has something to purloin.</p>
-
-<p>They may ask him for change, or solicit
-a few coppers to get beer, or inquire what
-o’clock it is, to see if he is in possession of
-a watch or money. They abstract the
-money from the pocket, or snatch the
-watch from the swivel, which they are
-adroit in breaking.</p>
-
-<p>Such persons are often seen at midnight
-in the neighbourhood of Bloomsbury and
-Oxford-street, the Strand, Lower Thames-street,
-and other localities.</p>
-
-<p>The most of those engaged in this kind
-of robbery in Oxford-street come from the
-neighbourhood of St. Giles’s and Lisson-grove.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">The number of felonies from drunken persons which occurred in the Metropolitan districts for 1860 were</td><td>221</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto ditto in the City</td><td>10</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">231</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">The value of property thereby stolen in the Metropolitan districts</td><td>£867</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto ditto in the City</td><td>40</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">£907</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p><i>Stealing Linen, &amp;c. exposed to dry.</i> This is
-generally done by vagrants in the suburbs
-of the metropolis, from 7 to 11 o’clock in
-the evening; when left out all night, it is
-often done at midnight.</p>
-
-<p>Linen and other clothes are frequently
-left hanging on lines or spread out on the
-grass in yards at the back of the house.
-Entrance is effected through the street-doors
-which may have been left open, or
-by climbing over the wall. In many cases
-these felonies are committed by middle-aged
-women. If done by a man, he is
-generally assisted by a female who carries
-off the property; were he seen carrying a
-bundle of clothes, he would be stopped by
-a vigilant officer, and be called to give an
-account of it, which would possibly lead to
-his detection.</p>
-
-<p>These felonies generally consist of sheets,
-counterpanes, shirts, table-covers, pinafores,
-towels, stockings, and such-like articles.</p>
-
-<p>When any of them are marked, the fe<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span>male
-makes it her business to pick out the
-marks, in case it might lead to their detection.
-Such robberies are often traced by
-the police through the assistance of the
-pawnbrokers.</p>
-
-<p>They are very common where there are
-gardens at the back of the house, such as
-Kensall Green, Camden Town, Kensington,
-Battersea, Clapham, Peckham, and Victoria
-Park.</p>
-
-<p>The clothes are generally disposed of at
-pawnbrokers or the leaving-shops, commonly
-called “Dolly Shops.” They leave
-them there for a small sum of money, and
-get a ticket. If they return for them in
-the course of a week, they are charged 3<i>d.</i> a
-shilling interest. If they do not return for
-them in seven days, they are disposed of to
-persons of low character. These wretches
-at the leaving-shops manage to get them
-into the hands of parties who would not be
-likely to give information&mdash;the articles,
-from their superior quality, being generally
-understood to be stolen.</p>
-
-<p>These felonies are also committed by the
-female Sneaks who call at gentlemen’s
-houses, selling small wares, or on some
-other similar errand. When they find the
-door open and a convenient opportunity,
-they often abstract the linen and other
-clothes from the lines, and dispose of them
-in the manner referred to.</p>
-
-<p>They are also stolen by ragged juvenile
-thieves, who get into the yards by climbing
-over the wall. This is occasionally
-done in the Lambeth district, in the dusk
-of the evening, or early in the morning,
-and is effected in this way:&mdash;Some time
-previously they commence some boyish
-game, about half a dozen of them together.
-They then pretend to quarrel,
-when one boy will take the other’s cap
-off his head and place it on the garden
-wall. Another boy lifts him up to fetch
-it&mdash;the object being to reconnoitre the
-adjacent grounds, and see if there are any
-clothes laid out to dry, as well as to find
-out the best mode of stealing them.</p>
-
-<p>When they discover clothes in a yard,
-they come back at dusk, or at midnight,
-and carry them off the lines.</p>
-
-<p>They take the stolen property to the
-receiver’s, after having divided the clothes
-among the party. Some will go off in one
-direction, and others in another to get
-them disposed of, which is done to prevent
-suspicion on the part of the police.</p>
-
-<p>The receiving-houses are opened to them
-at night, as these low people are very
-greedy of gain. Sometimes they convey
-the stolen property to their lodgings, at
-other times they lodge it in concealment
-till the next day. These clothes are occasionally
-of trifling value, at other times
-worth several pounds, which on being sold
-bring the thief a very poor return&mdash;scarcely
-the price of his breakfast&mdash;the
-lion’s share of the spoil being given to the
-unprincipled receiver.</p>
-
-<p>They are often encouraged to commit
-these thefts by wretches in the low lodging-houses,
-who are aware of their midnight
-excursions.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Number of felonies of linen, &amp;c., exposed to dry in the Metropolitan districts for 1860</td><td>236</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto ditto for the City</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">236</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Value of property thereby abstracted in the Metropolis</td><td>£150</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p><i>Robberies from Carts and other Vehicles.</i>&mdash;There
-are many depredations committed
-over the metropolis from carts, carriers’
-waggons, cabs, railway vans, and other
-vehicles. Many of those people have the
-appearance of porters at a warehouse, and
-are a peculiar order.</p>
-
-<p>At one time they may have been porters
-at warehouses, or connected with railways,
-or carmen to large commercial firms.
-Some have corduroy or moleskin jacket
-and trowsers, and cloth cap; others have
-a plain frock-coat and cap.</p>
-
-<p>Many of the robberies from carts are
-done by the connivance of the carters.
-They are sent by business establishments
-to dispose of goods over the metropolis;
-some of them are connected with the worst
-class of thieves. They connive with those
-men in stealing their employers’ property,
-and in rifling other carts, carry the booty
-away in their own, and always manage to
-secure a part of the prize.</p>
-
-<p>These carters take thieves occasionally
-to railway stations to assist them with
-their work, and when an opportunity
-occurs, carry off goods from the railway
-platform, such as bales of bacon, cheese,
-bags of nails, boxes of tin and copper, and
-travellers’ luggage, which they dispose of
-to marine-store dealers and at chandlers’
-shops. The wearing apparel in the trunks
-they sell at second-hand shops, kept by
-Jews and others in low neighbourhoods,
-such as Petticoat-lane, Lambeth, Westminster,
-and the Borough of Southwark.</p>
-
-<p>Many carts are rifled by persons who
-represent themselves as hawkers or costermongers&mdash;men
-who have no steady industrious
-mode of livelihood, and are
-usually in the company of prostitutes and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span>
-thieves of the worst description. The
-carter may have occasion to call at a city
-house, and to leave his horse and cart in
-the street, when they steal a whip, coat,
-or horsecloth, the reins from off the horse,
-or any portable article they can lay their
-hands on.</p>
-
-<p>Numbers of hay, straw, and store carmen
-frequently steal a truss of hay, or
-clover, or straw, from their employer’s
-cart, and dispose of it to some person who
-has a horse, or pony, or donkey, for a
-small sum of money. These dishonest
-practices are carried on to a far greater
-extent than the public are aware of, as it
-is only occasionally they are brought to
-public notice.</p>
-
-<p>Robberies from cabs and carriages are
-sometimes effected in the following way:
-They follow the cab or vehicle with a horse
-and cart, driving along in its wake&mdash;two or
-three thieves generally in the cart. One of
-them jumps on the spring of the conveyance
-while the driver is sitting in front
-of his vehicle, pulls down the trunk or box,
-and slips it into the cart, then drives away
-with the booty.</p>
-
-<p>At other times they run up, and leap
-on the spring of the conveyance while the
-driver is proceeding along with his back
-toward them; lower the trunk or other
-article from the roof, and walk off
-with it. These trunks sometimes contain
-money, silver plate, and other valuable
-property.</p>
-
-<p>These depredations are always done at
-night, by experienced thieves, and generally
-in the winter season. They are common
-in the fashionable squares of the
-West-end, at the East-end, toward the Commercial-road
-and St. George’s-in-the-East,
-at Ratcliffe Highway, the City, the Borough
-of Southwark, and Lambeth, along the
-docks, and at the railway stations around
-the metropolis.</p>
-
-<p>There are a number of laundresses residing
-at Chelsea, Uxbridge, Hampstead,
-Holloway, and other districts in the suburbs,
-who wash large quantities of clothes
-for the gentry and nobility in the fashionable
-streets and squares of the metropolis.
-After washing and dressing the linen, they
-pack it up in large wicker baskets, and
-generally convey it in their own carts to
-the residences of the owners.</p>
-
-<p>A class of people are frequently on the
-look-out for these carts to plunder them of
-their linen. The carts are under the management
-of a man or a woman. The
-thieves follow the vehicle to a quiet street,
-one puts his shoulder under a basket while
-the other cuts the cord which attaches it
-to the cart, when both make off with the
-stolen property.</p>
-
-<p>These thieves reside over London in
-low districts, such as St. Giles’s and Shoreditch,
-and are occasionally brought before
-the police courts.</p>
-
-<p>There is a class of robberies from gentlemen’s
-carriages about the West-end of the
-metropolis. In going to the Opera, West-end
-theatres, or other fashionable places of
-amusement, the gentleman frequently
-leaves his valuable overcoat or cloak in
-the carriage. These thieves follow the
-conveyance to some quiet street leading to
-the stables where the vehicle is to remain
-till the gentleman returns from his evening’s
-amusement. They let down the window
-of the carriage and carry off any article
-which is left. The theft is nimbly committed
-while the vehicle is on its way to
-the stables, or when it is returning to the
-Opera, and is done chiefly by young men,
-experienced thieves. They live in the low
-neighbourhoods already referred to.</p>
-
-<p>There is a good deal of this mode of
-thieving carried on in the West-end of
-London during the winter season.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Number of larcenies from carts and other vehicles in the Metropolitan district for 1860</td><td>286</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto, ditto, in the City</td><td>79</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">365</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Value of property thereby stolen in the Metropolis</td><td>£1075</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto, ditto, in the City</td><td>370</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">£1445</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<p><i>Stealing Lead from House-tops, Copper from
-Kitchens, and Workmen’s Tools, &amp;c. in Dwelling-houses.</i>&mdash;Of
-late this mode of thieving
-has been extensively carried on over the metropolis,
-chiefly at unoccupied houses. In
-some cases, a key is obtained by the thief,
-respectable in appearance, from the gentleman
-who lets the house, without his accompanying
-him to the empty dwelling,
-when he takes the opportunity of stealing
-the copper boiler from the washing-house,
-and the lead pipe from the butt or cistern.
-He passes the stolen property to some of
-his associates, and returns the key of the
-dwelling.</p>
-
-<p>This is a peculiar class who make a
-livelihood by going round empty houses
-in different districts on similar errands.
-They do not give their name and address,
-are strangers in the neighbourhood, and
-cannot be easily tracked out by the police.</p>
-
-<p>Lead is frequently stolen from the housetops,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span>
-by the loafing ruffians, we have before
-described, who lounge about public-houses,
-robbing drunken men, and occasionally by
-boys. Sometimes these robberies are committed
-by plumbers’ workmen and others
-engaged in repairing the houses.</p>
-
-<p>Lead in most cases is stolen from those
-dwellings which are under repair, or have
-been unoccupied for some time. When a
-house is repaired, it frequently happens the
-roofs of the adjoining occupied houses are
-stripped and carried off by unprincipled
-workmen.</p>
-
-<p>These depredations are often committed
-by the workmen themselves, or by their
-connivance. At other times they are
-done by persons climbing low walls, and
-clambering up spouts to the roof, and
-cutting up the sheet lead. This is usually
-done under night by two or more in company;
-sometimes, though rarely, by boys.
-One keeps a look-out to see there is no
-person near to detect them. This person
-is termed a “crow.” If any one should be
-near, the “crow” gives a signal, and they
-decamp. Before commencing their depredations,
-they generally look out for the
-means of escape, seldom returning the same
-way they mounted the roof. They make
-their way out in another direction. If hard
-pressed, they sometimes hide themselves
-on the roof behind chimneys, or lie down
-in gutters or cisterns or any other likely
-place of concealment. These felonies are
-often done by bricklayers’ labourers (Irish
-cockneys) during the winter, and in many
-cases, as we have said, with the connivance
-of the workmen engaged in repairing the
-houses.</p>
-
-<p>There is another class of persons who engage
-in lead-stealing from the roofs of houses.
-They were formerly in the service of
-builders, plumbers, or carpenters, but are
-out of employment. They go to their late
-employer’s customers, under the pretext
-that they were sent by him to repair the
-roof, and meanwhile plunder the sheet lead,
-which they generally roll up, convey down,
-and carry off by means of their accomplices,
-who are hovering in the neighbourhood.
-They have the appearance and dress of industrious
-workmen, and may have been
-lately seen employed in houses in the neighbourhood,
-so that they are more likely to
-deceive the unsuspecting people who admit
-them into their dwellings. This kind of lead-stealing
-has been lately of very frequent
-occurrence in the metropolis.</p>
-
-<p>Copper is frequently stolen from the
-boilers in the kitchens and wash-houses by
-the same parties. Sometimes they enter
-by the area door or the window, which is
-left open. At other times they climb the
-garden wall at the back of the house, and
-enter by a window, left unfastened. They
-take the copper out of the brickwork in the
-wash-house, or from the kitchen, roll it up
-and carry it away. This is generally done
-in unoccupied houses. Sweeps employed
-cleaning the chimneys sometimes take
-away copper in like manner in their soot-bags.</p>
-
-<p>In houses under repair, as well as in unfinished
-houses, they steal carpenters’ tools,
-planes, saws, ploughs, squares, hammers,
-&amp;c., left by the workmen.</p>
-
-<p>They obtain access to the house by
-climbing over the wooden enclosure or over
-garden walls. This is generally done in
-the evening, between the hours of 9 and
-12, and frequently by discharged workmen.</p>
-
-<p>In many cases they are stopped on the
-way with the tools in their possession. If
-a proper account is not given, it often leads
-to the detection of the robbery, which
-generally puts a stop for the time to such
-depredations in that neighbourhood.</p>
-
-<p>The stolen tools are taken to pawnbrokers
-or receiving-shops, and sold at an under
-price. In some cases the pawnbroker
-gives notice to the police, but in these other
-shops, this is seldom or never done.</p>
-
-<p>The thieves generally go to some house
-where no watchman is employed.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">The number of larcenies of tools, lead, glass, &amp;c. from empty or unfinished houses in the Metropolitan districts for 1860,</td><td>472</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto, ditto, from the City</td><td>22</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">494</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Value of the property thereby abstracted in the Metropolis</td><td>£462</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto, ditto, in the City</td><td>7</td><td>10</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">£469</td><td class="total">10</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p><i>Robberies by False Keys.</i>&mdash;There are many
-robberies committed in the metropolis by
-means of false keys, generally between the
-hours of seven and nine o’clock in the evening.
-After nine o’clock they would be considered
-burglaries. This class of robberies
-is generally committed by thieves of experience,
-and frequently, before depredations
-are committed, persons call at the house in
-the daytime, who take particular notice of
-the lock of the street-door, to know the
-key which opens it, whether a Bramah,
-Chubb, or other lock. These persons are
-termed “putters up of robberies,” and supply
-the thieves with the requisite information,
-when they come in the evening and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span>
-enter the house. In many cases they get
-clear off with the booty.</p>
-
-<p>The houses entered are frequently respectable
-lodging-houses, or houses occupied
-by one family where there is likely to
-be no children about the upper rooms. In
-the case of entering these dwellings they
-make their way to the bed-rooms above,
-their chief object being to steal the
-jewellery and dressing-case left on the
-dressing-table, often of great value. They
-also take clothes out of the drawers, and
-other articles. On coming out they often
-put on some of the apparel, such as an
-overcoat, and fill the pockets with stolen
-property.</p>
-
-<p>In houses in the West-end, single gentlemen,
-such as government clerks, officers
-in the army, and others, are often out
-dining in the evening, or at the clubs; and
-as the servant is generally engaged downstairs
-at this time, the thief is frequently
-not obstructed.</p>
-
-<p>To elude suspicion from the police constables
-in the street they often have a
-carpet-bag to carry off the booty. If they
-meet one of them near the house, they generally
-ask him some question, such as the
-way to some street, to take him off his guard.</p>
-
-<p>A case of this kind occurred early this
-year at the West-end, where four men
-were engaged in a robbery. On their
-arriving at the corner of the street where
-the felony was committed they found two
-policemen there. They stepped up to
-them, and conversed for some time, when
-the constables left, having no suspicion,
-from their respectable appearance. Two
-of the thieves crossed the street to a house
-opposite. Meanwhile their movements were
-narrowly watched by a keen-eyed detective,
-who knew the parties, three of the four being
-returned convicts. Having arrived at the
-door of the house, they endeavoured to gain
-an entrance, which, after trying several
-keys, they effected. The other two confederates
-had taken up a position opposite
-the house, being what is termed “look-out,”
-or outside men.</p>
-
-<p>In a short time the two who had entered
-the house came out and closed the door
-behind them. They were perceived to
-have some bulky articles in their possession.
-The other two men remained for
-a few minutes in their place on the opposite
-side of the street, when they followed
-their companions. When at a short distance
-from the house, they rejoined them,
-and the property was divided among them.
-This was done in the dusk in the quiet
-street.</p>
-
-<p>The detective officer saw two of the
-parties with Inverness capes, and carrying
-umbrellas in their hand they did not have
-before they entered the house. He went
-up to them, told them who he was, and
-arrested one of them; the other was captured
-a few yards off by another officer
-when in the act of throwing off the Inverness
-cape. The other two, meanwhile, escaped.
-On conducting the two men to the
-police-station the two capes were taken
-from them, and in their pockets were
-found a number of skeleton keys, a wax-taper,
-and silent lights, along with various
-small articles, evidently part of the robbery
-which had just been committed.</p>
-
-<p>Two hours after this a gentleman drove
-up in a cab to the police-station, and gave
-information of the robbery, when he identified
-the articles taken from the prisoners
-as his property. The two thieves were
-tried at the sessions, and sentenced to six
-years’ penal servitude. One of the two
-confederates who escaped was apprehended
-by the same detective, found guilty, and
-sentenced to the same punishment, which
-broke up a gang of thieves who had infested
-the neighbourhood for several months, and
-occasioned great alarm.</p>
-
-<p>Robberies from gentlemen’s houses by
-means of false keys are generally put up by
-some person acquainted with the house,
-and who may have frequented it under
-some pretext, such as by courting the
-servant girl, or by being acquainted with
-some of the men-servants. They rifle the
-valuables from wardrobes and drawing-rooms,
-such as watches, rings, purses,
-clothes, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>Attic thieves chiefly aim at abstracting
-jewels from ladies’ bed-rooms, generally on
-the second floor; but this class of skeleton-key
-thieves frequently carry away bundles
-of stolen goods, and are not so fastidious
-in their choice.</p>
-
-<p>An instance of a skeleton-key robbery
-from a gentleman’s house occurred lately
-at the West-end of the metropolis. The
-two thieves had engaged a cab to carry off
-the stolen property (the driver of the cab
-being a confederate), and drove up to the
-house next door to where the robbery was
-to be committed. They were seen to leave
-the cab, to go up to the door of the house,
-to apply the key to the door, and to walk
-in. About ten minutes after, they left the
-house, and walked to the cab with large
-parcels in their hands, when it drove swiftly
-away.</p>
-
-<p>On that evening the butler of the house
-discovered that the whole of his master’s
-clothes had been stolen from his wardrobe,
-and his dressing-case, with costly articles,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span>
-his gold watch and chain, and the whole of
-his linen. Information was given to a detective
-officer, who in two days after traced
-the robbery to two well-known thieves, one
-of them being singularly expert in the use
-of skeleton keys.</p>
-
-<p>The manner in which it was detected
-was very ingenious, and reflected high
-credit on the officer.</p>
-
-<p>On visiting a public-house near Tottenham
-Court-road, one Saturday night, he
-saw a middle-aged, intelligent man, like a
-respectable mechanic, conversing with a person
-at the bar over a pint of half-and-half.
-The sharp eye of the detective observed the
-former with a neckerchief which corresponded
-with one of the articles of this stolen
-property. The suspicion of the officer was
-aroused, and he followed him late at night,
-and saw where he resided. On the next
-morning he went with two officers to his
-house, and found him in bed with his paramour,
-and arrested him for the robbery. On
-searching his house a handkerchief was
-found marked with the crest of the nobleman
-to whom the property belonged. On
-a farther search a quantity of other articles
-were found belonging to this robbery.</p>
-
-<p>On his paramour getting out of bed she
-was perceived by the detective to conceal
-something under her petticoats. On being
-asked to produce it, she denied having anything.
-On being searched, another handkerchief
-was found on her person, bearing
-the nobleman’s crest. This man was afterwards
-identified as one of the two persons
-who were seen to enter the house where
-the robbery was committed, and to leave
-with the cab. He was tried at the Sessions,
-and sentenced to seven years’ penal servitude.
-This man had for some time been
-well known to the police, and was suspected
-of committing a series of large robberies,
-but he was so dexterous in executing his
-felonies that his movements had not previously
-been traced.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Number of felonies in the Metropolitan districts for 1860 by means of false keys</td><td>247</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto, ditto, in the City</td><td>17</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">264</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Value of property thereby abstracted in Metropolitan districts</td><td>£1,840</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto, ditto, in the City</td><td>160</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">£2,000</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p><i>Robberies by Lodgers.</i>&mdash;Robberies are frequently
-committed by lodgers in various
-parts of the metropolis, in low as well as
-in middle-class localities.</p>
-
-<p>A great many of these are committed in
-low neighbourhoods, by abandoned women,
-frequently young. They commit depredations
-in their own room, or in other rooms
-in the house in which they lodge, by entering
-open doors, or by turning the key when
-the door is locked, while the parties are
-out. Many of these are done by prostitutes
-of the lowest order, who sometimes
-steal the linen, bedding, wearing-apparel,
-and other property, and pawn or sell it.</p>
-
-<p>Robberies of this kind are sometimes
-perpetrated by mechanics’ wives, addicted
-to dissipated habits, who steal similar articles
-from dwelling-houses. Sometimes
-they are done by servants out of place,
-driven to steal by poverty and destitution;
-at other times by sewing girls, often toiling
-from 4 in the morning to 10 o’clock at
-night for about 8<i>d.</i> a day&mdash;many of whom
-commit suicide rather than resort to prostitution;
-and occasionally by clerks and
-shopmen&mdash;fast young men, when in poverty
-and distress; and by betting-men and
-skittle-sharps.</p>
-
-<p>In March, 1861, two known prostitutes,
-lodging together in a house in Charlotte-street,
-were brought before the Lambeth
-police court for a felony committed in the
-room in which they lodged. They abstracted
-knives and forks, plates and spoons,
-along with two chairs, rifling the apartment
-of nearly all it contained. They were
-convicted and sentenced, the one to three
-months’, and the other to six months’, imprisonment&mdash;the
-latter having been previously
-convicted.</p>
-
-<p>Another felony occurred lately in Isabella-street,
-Lambeth, where a mechanic’s
-wife stole the bed-clothes and the feathers
-out of a bed in the house in which she
-lodged. Her husband was glad to pay the
-amount to prevent criminal prosecution.</p>
-
-<p>There are many felonies committed by
-persons lodging in coffee-houses and hotels,
-some of them of considerable value. The
-hotel thieves assume the manner and air
-of gentlemen, dress well, and live in high
-style. They lodge for an evening or two
-in some fashionable hotel, frequently near
-the railway stations. They get up at night,
-when the house is quiet and business suspended,
-and commit robberies in the
-house. They have an ingenious mode of
-opening the doors, though locked in the
-inner side, by inserting a peculiar instrument
-and turning round the key. They
-go stealthily into the rooms, and abstract
-silver plate, articles of jewellery, watches,
-money, and other valuables.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>These persons usually leave early in the
-morning, before the other gentlemen get
-up. Some of them are young, and others
-are middle-aged. They have generally some
-acquaintance with commercial transactions,
-and conduct themselves like active business
-men. They are birds of passage, and
-do not reside long in any one locality, as
-they would become known to the police.</p>
-
-<p>A very extensive robbery of this kind
-occurred some time ago at a fashionable
-hotel in the metropolis, near the Great
-Northern Railway, to the amount of 700<i>l.</i>
-or 800<i>l.</i> The thief was apprehended at
-York, and committed for trial.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Number of felonies in the Metropolitan districts for 1860, committed by lodgers</td><td>1,375</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto, ditto, in the City</td><td>83</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">1458</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Value of property thereby abstracted in the Metropolitan districts</td><td>£3,643</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto, ditto, in the City</td><td>144</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">£3,787</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p><i>Robberies by Servants.</i>&mdash;There are a great
-number of felonies committed by servants
-over the metropolis, many of which might
-be prevented by prudent precautions on
-the part of their employers. On this subject
-we would wish to speak with discrimination.
-We are aware that many honest and noble-minded
-servants are treated with injustice
-by the caprice and bad temper of their employers,
-and many a poor girl is without
-cause dismissed from her situation, and refused
-a proper certificate of character. Being
-unable to get another place, she is often
-driven with reluctance from poverty and
-destitution to open prostitution on the
-street. On the other hand, many of our
-employers foolishly and thoughtlessly receive
-male and female servants into their
-service without making a proper inquiry
-into their previous character.</p>
-
-<p>Many felonies are committed by domestic
-female servants who have been only a
-month or six weeks in service. Some of
-them steal tea, sugar, and other provisions,
-which are frequently given to acquaintances
-or relatives out of doors. Others
-occasionally abstract linen and articles of
-wearing-apparel, or plunder the wardrobe of
-gold bracelets, rings, pearl necklace, watch,
-chain, or other jewellery, or of muslin and
-silk dresses and mantles, which they either
-keep in their trunk, or otherwise dispose
-of.</p>
-
-<p>Female domestic servants are often connected
-with many of the felonies committed
-in the metropolis. Two of the female
-servants in a gentleman’s family are sometimes
-courted by two smart dressed young
-men, bedecked with jewellery, who visit
-them at the house occasionally. One of
-them may call by himself on a certain
-evening, and after sitting with them for
-some time in the kitchen, may pretend that
-he is going upstairs to the front door on
-some errand, such as to bring in some
-liquor. He goes alone, and opens the door
-to his companion whom he had arranged
-to meet him, and who may be hovering in
-the street. He admits him into the house
-to rifle the rooms in the floors above.
-Meantime he comes in with the liquor, and
-proceeds down stairs, and remains there
-for some time to occupy the attention of
-the servants until his companion has plundered
-the house of money, jewels, or
-other property.</p>
-
-<p>On other occasions two young men may
-remain downstairs with the servants, while
-a third party is committing a robbery in
-the apartments above.</p>
-
-<p>Some respectable-looking young women,
-in the service of middle-class and fashionable
-families, are connected with burglars,
-and have been recommended to their places
-through their influence, or that of their acquaintances.
-Some of these females are
-usually not a fortnight or a month in service
-before a heavy burglary is committed in
-the house, and will remain for two or three
-months longer to prevent suspicion. They
-will then take another similar place in a
-gentleman’s family, remain several months
-there, and by their conduct ingratiate
-themselves into the good graces of the
-master and mistress, when another burglary
-is committed through their connivance.
-The booty is shared between them
-and the thieves.</p>
-
-<p>Some continue this system for a considerable
-time, as their employers have no
-suspicion of their villainy. They are often
-Irish cockneys, connected with the thieves,
-and have been trained with them from
-their infancy. They generally aim at stealing
-the silver plate, clothes, and other
-valuables. In these robberies they are
-always ready to give the “hue and cry”
-when a depredation has been committed.</p>
-
-<p>There are often instances of these robberies
-brought before the police-courts and
-sessions, where the dishonesty of many
-servants is brought to light.</p>
-
-<p>There are many felonies committed by
-the male servants in gentlemen’s families;
-some of them of considerable value. Num<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span>bers
-of these are occasioned by betting on
-the part of the butlers, who have the charge
-of the plate. They go and bet on different
-horses, and pawn a certain quantity of
-plate which has not the crest of their employer
-on it, and expect to be able to redeem
-it as soon as they have got money
-when the horse has won. He may happen
-to lose. He bets again on some other
-horse he thinks will win&mdash;perhaps bets to
-a considerable amount, and thinks he will
-be able to redeem his loss; he again possibly
-loses his bet. His master is perhaps
-out of town, not having occasion to use
-the plate.</p>
-
-<p>On his coming home there may be a
-dinner-party, when the plate is called for.
-The butler absconds, and part of the plate
-is found to be missing. Information is
-given to the police; some pawnbroker may
-be so honourable as to admit the plate is
-in his possession. The servant is apprehended,
-convicted, and sentenced possibly
-to penal servitude. Cases of this kind
-occasionally occur, and are frequently
-caused by such betting transactions.</p>
-
-<p>Robberies occasionally are perpetrated
-by servants in shops and warehouses,
-clerks, warehousemen, and others, of money
-and goods of various kinds.</p>
-
-<p>A remarkable case of robbery by a servant
-occurred lately. A young man, employed
-by a locksmith, near the West-end
-of the metropolis, was frequently sent to
-gentlemen’s houses on his master’s business
-to pick locks. In many of the houses
-where he was employed, money and other
-property was found missing. He went
-to pick a lock at a jeweller’s shop. After he
-was gone, the jeweller found a beautiful
-gold chain missing. As his son was a fast
-young man, he was afraid to charge the
-young locksmith with the robbery. Meantime
-the latter was sent to other houses,
-and in those places articles were found
-missing, and servants in the families were
-discharged on suspicion of committing the
-robberies.</p>
-
-<p>He went to a solicitor’s office to pick the
-locks of some boxes containing title-deeds
-and money. From one of the boxes, which
-he did not require to open, he stole 100<i>l.</i>,
-and locked it up again. The head clerk was
-then away on business for several days.
-On his return he found that one of the
-boxes in the office had been opened and
-100<i>l.</i> had been abstracted.</p>
-
-<p>Information was given to Bow-street
-police office by the solicitor, who offered
-5<i>l.</i> as a reward to any one who would give
-information regarding the robbery. Meantime
-he stated he would give no one into
-custody. His clerks had been with him a
-long time. He had one man employed in
-the office to pick some locks, but as he
-belonged to a respectable firm, he did not
-believe it to be him. Meantime the solicitor
-discharged his general clerks. His
-confidential clerk was so indignant at this,
-that he gave in his resignation.</p>
-
-<p>One of the most accomplished detective
-officers of the Bow-street police resolved
-to ferret out the matter. It was arranged
-the journeyman locksmith was to be sent
-to a certain house to pick a lock in an
-apartment where some money was placed
-which had been marked. The detective
-watched his movements from the next
-room. On this occasion also, he not only
-picked the lock as requested, but picked
-other locks in the room, and carried off
-part of the money which was marked.</p>
-
-<p>When he went downstairs, he was detained
-till it was ascertained if the money
-had been tampered with. On inspecting
-it, part was missing. He was taken into
-custody, and the money got on his person.
-On searching his house a waggon load of
-stolen property was found, belonging to a
-series of robberies he had committed in the
-houses he visited, amounting in value to
-200<i>l.</i> All the charges against him were
-not investigated. He was tried for nine
-acts of robbery at Clerkenwell, convicted,
-and sentenced to six years’ penal servitude.
-He was one of the finest locksmiths in the
-world, and received from his employer
-higher wages than the other workmen in
-the establishment.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Number of cases of felony by servants in the Metropolitan dists. for 1860,</td><td>1,790</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto, ditto, in the City</td><td>199</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">1,989</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Value of property thereby abstracted in the Metropolitan districts</td><td>£13,015</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto, ditto, in the City</td><td>612</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">£13,627</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<p><i>Area and Lobby Sneaks.</i>&mdash;This is a large,
-and variegated class of thieves, ranging from
-the little ragged boy of six years of age, to
-the old woman of threescore and ten.
-Some are hanging in rags and tatters in
-pitiable condition; others have a respectable
-appearance likely to disarm suspicion.
-Some are ignorant and obtuse; others are
-intelligent, and have got a tolerable education.
-Some are skulking and timid; others
-are so venturesome as to enter dwelling-houses
-through open windows, and conceal
-themselves in closets, waiting a favourable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span>
-opportunity to skulk off, unobserved, with
-plunder.</p>
-
-<p>Numbers of little ragged boys sneak around
-the areas of dwellings, where respectable
-tradesmen reside, as well as in the fashionable
-streets of the metropolis. We may see
-them loitering about half-naked, or fluttering
-in shreds and patches, sometimes alone,
-at other times in small bands, looking
-with skulking eye into the areas, as they
-move along. They are not permitted to
-beg at the houses, and some of them have
-no ostensible errand to visit those localities,
-and are hunted away by the police. During
-the day they generally sneak in the thorough
-fares and quiet by-streets of London.</p>
-
-<p>A few days ago we saw one of them
-skulking along Blackfriars-road. He was
-about 13 years of age, and had on an old
-ragged coat, much too large for him, hanging
-over his back in tatters, with a string
-to fasten it round his waist, and a pair of
-old trowsers and gray cap. He had the air
-of an old man, as he lazily walked along,
-and looked a very pitiable object. On
-seeing us eying him with curiosity, he
-suddenly laid aside his mendicant air, and
-with sharp keen eye and startled attitude,
-appeared to take us for a police officer in
-undress. We looked over our shoulder, as
-we moved on, and saw him stand for a
-time looking after us, when he resumed his
-former downcast appearance, and sauntered
-slowly along looking eagerly into the areas
-as he passed. He appeared to us a very
-good type of the young area sneak.</p>
-
-<p>These area-divers go down into the areas,
-and open the safes where provisions are
-kept, such as roast and boiled beef, butter
-and bread, and fish, and carry off the spoil.
-If the door is open, they enter the kitchen,
-and steal anything they can find, such as
-clothes, wet and dry linen, and sometimes
-a copper kettle, and silver spoons; or
-they will take the blacking-brushes from
-the boothouse. Nothing comes amiss.</p>
-
-<p>There is another class of area sneaks
-who make their daily calls at gentlemen’s
-houses, ask the servants when they come
-in contact with them if they have any
-kitchen-stuff to sell, or old clothes or glass
-bottles. Should they not find the servant
-in the kitchen, they try to make their
-way to the butler’s pantry, which generally
-adjoins the kitchen, and carry off the basket
-of plate.</p>
-
-<p>These parties are men from 20 years of
-age and upwards.</p>
-
-<p>There is a class of women who go down
-the areas, under pretence of selling combs,
-stay-laces, boot-laces, and other trifling
-commodities. When they find a stealthy
-opportunity, many of them carry off articles
-from the kitchen, similar to those just described.
-These people are of all ages, some
-young, others tottering with old age. They
-generally belong to London, and go their
-regular rounds over the streets and squares.
-Many of them live in Westminster, St.
-Giles’s and Kent-street in the Borough.</p>
-
-<p>There are other sneaks who enter the
-lobbies of houses, and commit robberies,
-chiefly in the West-end districts. These
-persons are of the same class, with the area
-sneak, but perhaps a step higher in the
-thievish profession. Their depredations
-are generally committed in the morning
-between 7 and 8, when servants are busily
-engaged dusting furniture and sweeping
-the hall and rooms. These thieves are
-then seen loitering about watching a favourable
-opportunity to steal.</p>
-
-<p>The mode of stealing is the same in the
-passages of the houses of middle class
-people, and the entry halls of the elegant
-mansions of the gentry and aristocracy.
-Some of these thieves are men respectably
-dressed while others are in more shabby
-condition. They are young and middle
-aged. You may see them in those quiet
-localities, generally in dark clothing, having
-the appearance of respectable mechanics, or
-warehousemen. Others are like men who
-hang about the streets to run messages
-and assist men-servants.</p>
-
-<p>They walk into the house, and pilfer any
-article they can find, such as articles of
-clothing, umbrellas, and walking-canes.
-Sometimes they take a coat off the knob
-and whip it under the breast of their coat,
-or put it on over their own. They frequently
-carry off a bundle of clothes,
-and sell them to some receiver of stolen
-property.</p>
-
-<p>Such robberies are frequent in the neighbourhood
-of Brompton, Chelsea, Pimlico,
-Paddington, Stepney, Hackney, Bayswater,
-Camberwell, the Kent-road, and other
-similar districts.</p>
-
-<p>The lobby sneaks are the same class of
-persons as those who enter the areas, and
-contrive to get a livelihood in this way.
-They live in various parts of London,
-such as the dirty slums, alleys, and by-streets
-of Covent-garden, Drury-lane, and
-St. Giles’s, Somers Town, Westminster, the
-Borough, Whitechapel, and Walworth Common,
-and other similar neighbourhoods.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes these men are seen in public-houses
-with large sums of money, no doubt
-got from the disposal of their plunder; and
-at other times lounge in low coffee-houses,
-without even the scanty means of paying
-for their bed, and are scarcely able to pay<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span>
-a penny for a cup of coffee. They often have
-to ask assistance from their companions,
-though a few days previous they may have
-been seen in possession of handfuls of
-cash.</p>
-
-<p>They are usually unmarried, and live an
-uncomfortable, homeless life; often cohabiting
-with a low class of women, miserably
-clad, and generally wretched in appearance.</p>
-
-<p>Middle aged and elderly women are occasionally
-engaged in sneaking depredations
-from the dwelling-houses of labouring men.
-An old woman may observe a child standing
-at her mother’s door, and ask if her mother
-is in. When the child answers, “No,” she
-will say, “I will mind the house, while you
-go and get a halfpenny worth of sweets,”
-giving the little girl a halfpenny. On the
-child’s return the woman has decamped
-carrying away with her money, or any
-other portable article she may have found
-in the house. This is the class of women
-we have noticed stealing from the shops of
-the butchers and cheesemongers.</p>
-
-<p>It is a strange fact, that many of these
-common thieves, engaged in paltry sneaking
-thefts, have a more desperate and
-criminal appearance than most of the daring
-burglars and highwaymen. Their soft
-and timid natures feel more poignant
-misery in their debased and anxious life
-than the more stern and callous ruffians of
-a higher class, engaged in more extraordinary
-adventures.</p>
-
-<p>Another class of larcenies in dwelling-houses
-are committed <i>by means of false
-messages</i>.</p>
-
-<p>This is a very ingenious mode of thieving,
-and is done by means of calling at the
-house, and stating to the servants that
-they are sent from respectable firms in the
-neighbourhood for some article of dress to
-be repaired, or for lamps, fenders, glasses,
-or decanters to be mended, with other pretences
-of various descriptions.</p>
-
-<p>Their object is to get the absence of the
-servant from the hall. While the servant
-is upstairs, telling a man has called sent by
-such and such a firm, they walk into the
-dining-room on the first floor, and abstract
-any articles of plate that may be exposed,
-silver-mounted inkstands, books, or other
-property. If they don’t succeed in this,
-and see no article of value, they will return
-to the hall, and clear the passages of the
-coats hanging on the knobs, and the umbrellas
-and walking-sticks from the stand,
-while an accomplice is generally outside
-to receive the property. Should the servant
-come down too soon, while he has only got
-a short distance off, no property is found
-upon his person. They seldom take hats,
-as these could be easily detected.</p>
-
-<p>They have an endless variety of ingenious
-expedients to effect this object. A case of
-this kind occurred in the district of Marylebone
-a short time ago, where a gentleman
-was in quest of a lady’s maid, and advertised
-in the ‘Times’ newspaper, and at the same
-time answered a number of advertisements
-by anonymous persons. The next day his
-house was thronged by a number of people
-anxious to obtain the situation.</p>
-
-<p>After all had left, a purse containing
-a large amount of money was missing,
-consisting partly of bank-notes; when he
-gave information to the police. Some
-days after, through the admirable ingenuity
-and tact of a detective officer at Marylebone,
-a person was traced out in the locality
-of Edgware-road, as having been guilty of
-the felony, and the stolen purse was found
-on her person. Her apprehension led to
-the discovery, that she had been pursuing
-a system of robberies of this description
-over various parts of the metropolis, for
-twelve months previously. She was sentenced
-to three years’ penal servitude, and
-while in Millbank Penitentiary, committed
-suicide about three months after.</p>
-
-<p>These felonies abound chiefly in the west-end
-of the metropolis, in the neighbourhood
-of Belgravia, Russell and Bedford-squares,
-Oxford-square, Gloucester-square,
-Seymour-street, Hyde Park-street, Gloucester-terrace,
-and other fashionable localities.
-They are often committed by servants
-of worthless character out of situation, also
-by lads of respectable appearance, sent out
-by trainers of thieves, who often begin their
-despicable life in this manner, and advance
-to picking of pockets and burglary.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Number of larcenies in the Metropolitan districts for the year 1860, by doors being left open and by false messages</td><td>2,986</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto, ditto, in the City</td><td>535</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">3,521</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Value of property thereby abstracted in the Metropolitan district</td><td>£9,904</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto, ditto, in the City</td><td>724</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">£10,628</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p><i>Stealing by Lifting up Windows or Breaking
-Glass.</i>&mdash;Area-sneaks frequently lift up the
-kitchen windows to steal. Sometimes they
-cannot reach the articles through the iron
-bars, and have recourse to an ingenious
-expedient to effect their object. They tie
-two sticks together, and attach a hook to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span>
-the end, and seize hold of any articles they
-can find and draw them through the bars;
-they frequently leave their sticks behind
-them, which are found by the police.</p>
-
-<p>There is generally an iron fastening in
-the centre of the window frame. The thief
-inserts a small thin knife or other sharp instrument
-in the opening of the frame, and
-forces back the iron catch. In some instances
-a fastening or clasp in the inner
-side of the window is pushed back by means
-of breaking a pane of glass. These robberies
-are often committed in dwelling-houses
-in Queen-street, Mitre-street, and Webber-street,
-near Blackfriars-road; in Tower-street,
-Waterloo-road, and similar localities&mdash;generally
-by a man and a young lad.
-This young lad is employed to enter the
-window of the house to be robbed, which
-in these localities is often a front parlour.
-The window is drawn up softly, not
-to excite any alarm.</p>
-
-<p>The man generally keeps watch while the
-lad enters the house, perhaps at the corner
-of the street, when both decamp with the
-property.</p>
-
-<p>In some instances they break the glass
-in the same way that star-glazers do at
-shop-windows, as already described. This
-is done either at the front or the back
-window. They prefer the back window if
-there is a ready access to it. These robberies
-are committed in occupied houses
-as well as in houses while the inmates are
-absent for a few days. They steal money,
-trinkets, linen, or anything that is easily
-carried off.</p>
-
-<p>Similar robberies are perpetrated by two
-or more persons at the West-end fashionable
-houses by the area or back windows,
-when they steal money, jewels, mantelpiece
-clocks, clothes, linen, and other property.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes they enter by cutting the
-window with a diamond. These felonies
-are often of considerable value.</p>
-
-<p>The parlour windows are sometimes
-lifted up by young thieves in the morning,
-when plate is laid on the table for breakfast;
-the servant frequently leaves the
-dining-room window open for ventilation,
-when they effect an entrance in this way:&mdash;one
-throws a cap into the area by way of
-joke, or through the window into the room;
-another mounts the railings and enters the
-window. Should any of the inmates detect
-him, he will say that “a lad had thrown
-his cap into the house, and he came in to
-fetch it.” If not disturbed, he carries off
-the silver plate, and often returns through
-the window with the plunder without being
-observed. These thieves take any article
-easily carried off, such as wearing apparel,
-work-boxes, or fancy clocks, and are generally
-Irish cockneys; they are to be found
-in considerable numbers in the vicinity of
-King’s-cross, Waterloo-road, and other
-localities. They abstract any valuable property
-they find lying about, but their chief
-object is to get the silver plate.</p>
-
-<p>There are few cases of larceny from back
-bedroom windows, as the servants and inmates
-are generally hovering about after
-breakfast. This is sometimes effected,
-though rarely, by the connivance of the
-servants.</p>
-
-<p>At other times these robberies from the
-house are committed by means of breaking
-a pane of glass, when the thieves undo the
-fastening of the window and effect an entrance.
-This is often perpetrated during
-the temporary absence of the inmates.</p>
-
-<p>The statistics in this class of robberies
-will be given when we come to treat on
-“Attic or Garret Thieves.”</p>
-
-<p><i>Attic or Garret Thieves.</i>&mdash;These are generally
-the most expert thieves in the metropolis.
-Their mode of operation is this:&mdash;They
-call at a dwelling-house with a
-letter, or have communication with some
-of the servants, for the purpose of discovering
-the best means of access, and to
-learn how the people in the house are engaged
-and the time most suitable for the depredation.
-They generally come to plunder
-the house in the evening, when one or two
-of their accomplices loiter about, watching
-the movements of the police, the other
-meanwhile proceeding to the roof of the
-house.</p>
-
-<p>These attic robberies are generally effected
-through unoccupied houses&mdash;perhaps
-by the house next door, or some other on
-the same side of the street. They pass
-through the attic to the roof, and proceed
-along the gutters and coping to the attic
-window of the house to be robbed. They
-unfasten the attic window by taking the
-pane of glass out, or pushing the fastening
-back, and enter the dwelling. This is
-generally done about 7 or 8 o’clock in the
-evening, when the family are at dinner&mdash;the
-servants being engaged between the
-dining-room on the first floor and the
-kitchen below, serving up the dinner.</p>
-
-<p>The thieves proceed to the bedroom on
-the second floor, and force open the wardrobe
-with a short jemmy which they carry,
-and try to find the jewel-case and any other
-articles of value. Their object is generally
-to get valuable jewels.</p>
-
-<p>The dining-room is on the first floor,
-so that they have often full scope for
-their operations without being seen or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span>
-obstructed, while the inmates are engaged
-below. They return the same way through
-the attic window on the roof, run along
-the gutters, and escape by the same house
-through which they entered.</p>
-
-<p>A very remarkable robbery of this kind
-occurred in the beginning of 1861 at
-Loundes-square, where the thieves entered
-through an attic and obtained jewels
-to the amount of 3,000<i>l.</i></p>
-
-<p>On their return from the dwelling-house,
-it being a very windy night, a hat belonging
-to one of them was blown from the house-top
-upon one of the slanting roofs he could
-not reach, which afterwards led to his detection.
-A short time previously it was in
-the hands of a hatter for certain repairs,
-when he inserted a paper marked with his
-name within it. The thief was arrested,
-tried, and got ten years’ penal servitude.</p>
-
-<p>Some get to the roof by means of a
-ladder placed outside an unfinished house,
-or house under repair, and steal in the same
-manner.</p>
-
-<p>An ingenious attempt at a jewel robbery
-occurred lately by means of a cab drawing
-up with a lady before a dwelling-house.
-The cabman, who was evidently in collusion
-with the thieves, dismounted, rang
-the bell, and told the butler who answered
-the door, that a lady wished to see him.
-On his coming to the cab, it being about ten
-or fifteen yards from the street-door, he
-was kept in conversation by a female.
-Meantime he observed a respectable-looking
-man steal into the house from the
-street, while thus engaged. He left the
-cab without taking any notice of what he
-saw, and entered the house, when the cab
-drove off at a rapid rate, which convinced
-him that there was something wrong. He
-made his way up into the bedroom on the
-second floor, and found a man of respectable
-appearance concealed in the apartment.
-An officer was called and the man was
-searched. There was found on his person
-a jemmy, a wax taper, and silent lights.
-He was taken into custody; but no trace
-of the cabman or woman could be found.
-He was afterwards committed for the
-offence.</p>
-
-<p>These attic thieves generally live in
-Hackney-road and Kingsland-road. On
-one occasion a gang was discovered in a
-furnished house in Russell-square. They
-generally have apartments in respectable
-neighbourhoods to avoid suspicion, and
-have servants to attend them, who assist
-in disposing of the stolen property. The
-best attic thieves reside in Hackney and
-Kingsland-roads, and many are to be
-found in the neighbourhood of Shoreditch
-church; a few of them are known to be
-residing in Waterloo-road, but not of so
-high a class as in the localities referred
-to.</p>
-
-<p>The women connected with them have
-an abundance of jewellery; they live in
-high style, with plenty of cash, but not
-displayed to any great extent at the time
-any robbery is committed, as it would excite
-suspicion.</p>
-
-<p>Many of them have a very gentleman-like
-appearance, and none but a detective
-officer would know them. When brought
-before the police courts for these felonies,
-it is usual to have constables brought from
-all the districts to see them and make
-them known, which very much annoys
-them.</p>
-
-<p>They generally succeed in making off
-with their booty, and are seldom caught.
-Their robberies are skilfully planned, in
-the same experienced careful manner in
-which burglaries are effected. They have
-gone through all grades of thieving from
-their infancy&mdash;through sneaking and picking
-pockets.</p>
-
-<p>This is a late system of robbery, and has
-been carried on rather extensively over the
-west end of the metropolis.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Number of larcenies from dwelling-houses, by lifting up windows, breaking glass, and by attic windows through empty houses, for 1800</td><td>515</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto, ditto, in the City</td><td>14</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">529</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Value of property thereby abstracted in Metropolitan districts for 1860</td><td>£3,962</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto, ditto, in the City</td><td>18</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">£3,980</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">A Visit to the Rookery of St. Giles
-and its Neighbourhood.</span></h3>
-
-<p>In company with a police officer we
-proceeded to the Seven Dials, one of the
-most remarkable localities in London, inhabited
-by bird-fanciers, keepers of stores
-of old clothes and old shoes, costermongers,
-patterers, and a motley assemblage of
-others, chiefly of the lower classes. As we
-stood at one of the angles in the centre of
-the Dials we saw three young men&mdash;burglars&mdash;loitering
-at an opposite corner of an
-adjoining dial. One of them had a gentlemanly
-appearance, and was dressed in
-superfine black cloth and beaver hat. The
-other two were attired as mechanics or
-tradesmen. One of them had recently re<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span>turned
-from penal servitude, and another
-had undergone a long imprisonment.</p>
-
-<p>Leaving the Seven Dials and its dingy
-neighbourhood, we went to Oxford Street,
-one of the first commercial streets in
-London, and one of the finest in the world.
-It reminded us a good deal of the celebrated
-Broadway, New York, although the buildings
-of the latter are in some places more
-costly and splendid, and some of the shops
-more magnificent. Oxford Street is one of
-the main streets of London, and is ever
-resounding with the din of vehicles, carts,
-cabs, hansoms, broughams, and omnibuses
-driving along. Many of the shops are
-spacious and crowded with costly goods,
-and the large windows of plate-glass, set in
-massive brass frames, are gaily furnished
-with their various articles of merchandise.</p>
-
-<p>On the opposite side of the street we observed
-a jolly, comfortable-looking, elderly
-man, like a farmer in appearance, not at all
-like a London sharper. He was standing
-looking along the street as though he were
-waiting for some one. He was a magsman
-(a skittle-sharp), and no doubt other members
-of the gang were hovering near. He
-appeared to be as cunning as an old fox in
-his movements, admirably fitted to entrap
-the unwary.</p>
-
-<p>A little farther along the street we saw a
-fashionably-dressed man coming towards
-us, arm in arm with his companion, among
-the throng of people. They were in the
-prime of life, and had a respectable, and
-even opulent appearance. One of them
-was good-humoured and social, as though
-he were on good terms with himself and
-society in general; the other was more
-callous and reserved, and more suspicious
-in his aspect. Both were bedecked with
-glittering watch chains and gold rings.
-They passed by a few paces, when the more
-social of the two, looking over his shoulder,
-met our eye directed towards him, turned
-back and accosted us, and was even so
-generous as to invite us into a gin-palace
-near by, which we courteously declined.
-The two magsmen (card-sharpers) strutted
-off, like fine gentlemen, along the street on
-the outlook for their victims.</p>
-
-<p>Here we saw another young man, a burglar,
-pass by. He had an engaging appearance,
-and was very tasteful in his dress,
-very unlike the rough burglars we met at
-Whitechapel, the Borough, and Lambeth.</p>
-
-<p>Leaving Oxford Street we went along
-Holborn to Chancery Lane, chiefly frequented
-by barristers and attorneys, and
-entered Fleet Street, one of the main arteries
-of the metropolis, reminding us of
-London in the olden feudal times, when
-the streets were crowded together in dense
-masses, flanked with innumerable dingy
-alleys, courts, and by-streets, like a great
-rabbit-warren. Fleet Street, though a
-narrow, business street, with its traffic
-often choked with vehicles, is interesting
-from its antique, historical, and literary
-associations. Elbowing our way through
-the throng of people, we pass through one
-of the gloomy arches of Temple Bar, and
-issue into the Strand, where we saw two
-pickpockets, young, tall, gentlemanly men,
-cross the street from St. Clement’s Church
-and enter a restaurant. They were attired
-in a suit of superfine black cloth, cut in
-fashionable style. They entered an elegant
-dining-room, and probably sat down to
-costly viands and wines.</p>
-
-<p>Leaving the Strand, we went up St.
-Martin’s Lane, a narrow street leading from
-the Strand to the Seven Dials. We here
-saw a young man, an expert burglar, of
-about twenty-four years of age and dark
-complexion, standing at the corner of the
-street. He was well dressed, in a dark
-cloth suit, with a billicock hat. One of his
-comrades was taken from his side about
-three weeks ago on a charge of burglary.</p>
-
-<p>Entering a beershop in the neighbourhood
-of St. Giles, close by the Seven Dials,
-we saw a band of coiners and ringers of
-changes. One of them, a genteel-looking,
-slim youth is a notorious coiner, and has
-been convicted. He was sitting quietly by
-the door over a glass of beer, with his companion
-by his side. One of them is a
-moulder; another was sentenced to ten
-years’ penal servitude for coining and
-selling base coin. A modest-looking young
-man, one of the gang, was seated by the
-bar, also respectably dressed. He is generally
-supposed to be a subordinate connected
-with this coining band, looking out,
-while they are coining, that no officers of
-justice are near, and carrying the bag of
-base money for them when they go out to
-sell it to base wretches in small quantities
-at low prices. Five shillings’ worth of base
-money is generally sold for tenpence.
-“<i>Ringing the changes</i>” is effected in this
-way:&mdash;A person offers a good sovereign
-to a shopkeeper to be changed. The gold
-piece is chinked on the counter, or otherwise
-tested, and is proved to be good. The
-man hastily asks back and gets the sovereign,
-and pretends that he has some silver,
-so that he does not require to change it.
-On feeling his pocket he finds he does not
-have it, and returns a base piece of money
-resembling it, instead of the genuine gold
-piece.</p>
-
-<p>We returned to Bow Street, and saw<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span>
-three young pickpockets proceeding along
-in company, like three well-dressed costermongers,
-in dark cloth frock-coats and
-caps.</p>
-
-<p>Being desirous of having a more thorough
-knowledge of the people residing in the
-rookery of St. Giles, we visited it with Mr.
-Hunt, inspector of police. We first went to
-a lodging-house in George Street, Oxford
-Street, called the Hampshire-Hog Yard.
-Most of the lodgers were then out. On visiting
-a room in the garret we saw a man, in
-mature years, making artificial flowers; he
-appeared to be very ingenious, and made several
-roses before us with marvellous rapidity.
-He had suspended along the ceiling
-bundles of dyed grasses of various hues,
-crimson, yellow, green, brown, and other
-colours to furnish cases of stuffed birds.
-He was a very intelligent man and a natural
-genius. He told us strong drink had
-brought him to this humble position in the
-garret, and that he once had the opportunity
-of making a fortune in the service of
-a nobleman. We felt, as we looked on his
-countenance, and listened to his conversation,
-he was capable of moving in a higher
-sphere of life. Yet he was wonderfully
-contented with his humble lot.</p>
-
-<p>We visited Dyott House, George Street,
-the ancient manor-house of St. Giles-in-the-Fields,
-now fitted up as a lodging-house
-for single men. The kitchen, an apartment
-about fifteen feet square, is surrounded
-with massive and tasteful panelling in the
-olden style. A large fire blazing in the grate&mdash;with
-two boilers on each side&mdash;was kept
-burning night and day to supply the lodgers
-with hot water for their tea and coffee.
-Some rashers of bacon were suspended
-before the fire, with a plate underneath.
-There was a gas-light in the centre of the
-apartment, and a dial on the back wall.
-The kitchen was furnished with two long
-deal tables and a dresser, with forms to
-serve as seats. There were about fifteen
-labouring men present, most of them busy
-at supper on fish, and bread, and tea. They
-were a very mixed company, such as we
-would expect at a London lodging-house,
-men working in cab-yards assisting cabmen,
-some distributing bills in the streets, one
-man carrying advertizing boards, and others
-jobbing at anything they can find to do in
-the neighbourhood. This house was clean
-and comfortable, and had the appearance of
-being truly a comfortable poor man’s home.
-It was cheerful to look around us and to
-see the social air of the inmates. One man
-sat with his coat off, enjoying the warmth
-of the kitchen; a boy was at his tea, cutting
-up dried fish and discussing his bread and
-butter. A young man of about nineteen
-sat at the back of the apartment, with a
-very sinister countenance, very unlike the
-others. There was something about him
-that indicated a troubled mind. We also
-observed a number of elderly men among
-the party, some in jackets, and others in
-velvet coats, with an honest look about
-them.</p>
-
-<p>When the house was a brothel, about
-fifteen years ago, an unfortunate prostitute,
-named Mary Brothers, was murdered in
-this kitchen by a man named Connell, who
-was afterwards executed at Newgate for the
-deed. He had carnal connexion with this
-woman some time before, and he suspected
-that she had communicated to him the
-venereal disease with which he was afflicted.
-In revenge he took her life, having purchased
-a knife at a neighbouring cutler’s
-shop.</p>
-
-<p>We were introduced to the landlady, a
-very stout woman, who came up to meet
-us, candle in hand, as we stood on the
-staircase. Here we saw the profile of the
-ancient proprietor of the house, carved over
-the paneling, set, as it were, in an oval
-frame. In another part of the staircase we
-saw a similar frame, but the profile had
-been removed or destroyed. Over the
-window that overlooks the staircase there
-are three figures, possibly likenesses of his
-daughters; such is the tradition. The balustrade
-along the staircase is very massive
-and tastefully carved and ornamented.
-The bed-rooms were also clean and comfortable.</p>
-
-<p>The beds are furnished with a bed-cover
-and flock bed, with sufficient warm and
-clean bedding, for the low charge of 2<i>s.</i> a
-week, or 4<i>d.</i> a night. The first proprietor
-of the house is said to have been a magistrate
-of the city, and a knight or baronet.</p>
-
-<p>Leaving George Street we passed on to
-Church Lane, a by-street in the rear of
-New Oxford Street, containing twenty-eight
-houses. It was dark as we passed along.
-We saw the street lamps lighted in Oxford
-Street, and the shop-windows brilliantly
-illumined, while the thunder of vehicles in
-the street broke on our ear, rolling in perpetual
-stream. Here a very curious scene
-presented itself to our view. From the
-windows of the three-storied houses in
-Church Lane were suspended wooden rods
-with clothes to dry across the narrow street,&mdash;cotton
-gowns, sheets, trousers, drawers,
-and vests, some ragged and patched, and
-others old and faded, giving a more picturesque
-aspect to the scene, which was enhanced
-by the dim lights in the windows,
-and the groups of the lower orders of all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span>
-ages assembled below, clustered around the
-doorways, and in front of the houses, or
-indulging in merriment in the street. Altogether
-the appearance of the inhabitants
-was much more clean and orderly than
-might be expected in such a low locality.
-Many women of the lower orders, chiefly of
-the Irish cockneys, were seated, crouching
-with their knees almost touching their
-chin, beside the open windows. Some men
-were smoking their pipes as they stood
-leaning against the walls of their houses,
-whom from their appearance we took to be
-evidently out-door labourers. Another labouring
-man was seated on the sill of his
-window, in corduroy trousers, light-gray
-coat and cap, with an honest look of good-humour
-and industry. Numbers of young
-women, the wives of costermongers, sat in
-front of their houses in the manner we
-have described, clad in cotton gowns, with
-a general aspect of personal cleanliness and
-contentment. At the corners of the streets,
-and at many of the doorways, were groups
-of young costermongers, who had finished
-their hard day’s work, and were contentedly
-chatting and smoking. They generally
-stood with their hands in their breeches
-pockets. Most of these people are Irish,
-or the children of Irish parents. The darkness
-of the street was lighted up by the
-street lamps as well as by the lights in the
-windows of two chandlers’ shops and one
-public-house. At one of the chandlers’
-shops the proprietor was standing by his
-door with folded arms as he looked good-humouredly
-on his neighbours around his
-shop-door. We also saw some of the young
-Arabs bareheaded and barefooted, with
-their little hands in their pockets, or
-squatted on the street, having the usual
-restless, artful look peculiar to their tribe.</p>
-
-<p>Here a house was pointed out to us,
-No. 21, which was formerly let at a rent of
-25<i>l.</i> per annum to a publican that resided
-in the neighbourhood. He let the same in
-rooms for 90<i>l.</i> a year, and these again receive
-from parties residing in them upwards
-of 120<i>l.</i> The house is still let in rooms,
-but they are occupied, like all others in the
-neighbourhood, by one family only.</p>
-
-<p>At one house as we passed along we saw
-a woman selling potatoes, at the window,
-to persons in the street. On looking into
-the interior we saw a cheerful fire burning
-in the grate and some women sitting around
-it. We also observed several bushel
-baskets and sacks placed round the room,
-filled with potatoes, of which they sell a
-large quantity.</p>
-
-<p>In Church Lane we found two lodging-houses,
-the kitchens of which are entered
-from the street by a descent of a few steps
-leading underground to the basement.
-Here we found numbers of people clustered
-together around several tables, some reading
-the newspapers, others supping on fish,
-bread, tea, and potatoes, and some lying
-half asleep on the tables in all imaginable
-positions. These, we were told, had just returned
-from hopping in Kent, had walked
-long distances, and were fatigued.</p>
-
-<p>On entering some of these kitchens, the
-ceiling being very low, we found a large
-fire burning in the grate, and a general air
-of comfort, cleanliness, and order. Such
-scenes as these were very homely and picturesque,
-and reminded us very forcibly of
-localities of London in the olden time. In
-some of them the inmates were only half
-dressed, and yet appeared to be very comfortable
-from the warmth of the apartment.
-Here we saw a number of the poorest imbeciles
-we had noticed in the course of
-our rambles through the great metropolis.
-Many of them were middle-aged men,
-others more elderly, very shabbily dressed,
-and some half naked. There was little
-manliness left in the poor wretches as they
-squatted drearily on the benches. The
-inspector told us they were chiefly vagrants,
-and were sunk in profound ignorance and
-debasement, from which they were utterly
-unable to rise.</p>
-
-<p>The next kitchen of this description we
-entered was occupied by females. It was
-about fifteen feet square, and belongs to a
-house with ten rooms, part of which is occupied
-as a low lodging-house. Here we
-found five women seated around a table,
-most of them young, but one more advanced
-in life. Some of them were good-looking,
-as though they had been respectable servants.
-They were busy at their tea, bread,
-and butcher’s meat. On the table stood a
-candle on a small candlestick. They sat in
-curious positions round the table, some of
-them with an ample crinoline. One sat by
-the fire with her gown drawn over her
-knees, displaying her white petticoat. As
-we stood beside them they burst out in a
-titter which they could not suppress. On
-looking round we observed a plate-rack at
-the back of the kitchen, and, as usual in
-these lodging-houses, a glorious fire burning
-brightly in the grate. An old chest of
-drawers, surmounted with shelves, stood
-against the wall. The girls were all prostitutes
-and thieves, but had no appearance
-of shame. They were apparently very
-merry. The old woman sat very thoughtful,
-looking observant on, and no doubt
-wondering what errand could have brought
-us into the house.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>We then entered another dwelling-house.
-On looking down the stairs we saw a company
-of young women, from seventeen to
-twenty-five years of age. A rope was hung
-over the fireplace, with stockings and shirts
-suspended over it, and clothes were drying
-on a screen. A young woman, with her
-hair netted and ornamented, sat beside the
-fire with a green jacket and striped petticoat
-with crinoline. Another good-looking
-young woman sat by the table dressed in a
-cotton gown and striped apron, with coffee-pot
-in hand, and tea-cups before her.
-Some pleasant-looking girls sat by the table
-with their chins leaning on their hands,
-smiling cheerfully, looking at us with curiosity.
-Another coarser featured dame lolled
-by the end of the table with her gown
-drawn over her head, smirking in our countenance;
-and one sat by, her shawl drawn
-over her head. Another apparently modest
-girl sat by cutting her nails with a knife.
-On the walls around the apartment were
-suspended a goodly assortment of bonnets,
-cloaks, gowns, and petticoats.</p>
-
-<p>Meantime an elderly little man came in
-with a cap on his head and a long staff in
-his hand, and stood looking on with curiosity.
-On the table lay a pack of cards
-beside the bowls, cups, and other crockery-ware.
-Some of the girls appeared as if
-they had lately been servants in respectable
-situations, and one was like a quiet
-genteel shop girl. They were all prostitutes,
-and most of them prowl about at
-night to plunder drunken men. As we
-looked on the more interesting girls, especially
-two of them, we saw the sad consequences
-of one wrong step, which may
-launch the young and thoughtless into a
-criminal career, and drive them into the
-dismal companionship of the most lewd
-and debased.</p>
-
-<p>We then went to Short’s Gardens, and
-entered a house there. On the basement
-underground we saw a company of men,
-women, and children of various ages, seated
-around the tables, and by the fire. The
-men and women had mostly been engaged
-in hopping, and appeared to be healthy,
-industrious, and orderly. Until lately
-thieves used to lodge in these premises.</p>
-
-<p>As we entered Queen Street we saw three
-thieves, lads of about fourteen years of age,
-standing in the middle of the street as if
-on the outlook for booty. They were
-dressed in black frock-coats, corduroy, and
-fustian trousers, and black caps. Passing
-along Queen Street, which is one of the
-wings of the Dials, we went up to the
-central space between the Seven Dials.
-Here a very lively scene presented itself to
-our view; clusters of labouring men, and a
-few men of doubtful character, in dark
-shabby dress, loitered by the corners of the
-surrounding streets. We also saw groups
-of elderly women standing at some of the
-angles, most of them ragged and drunken,
-their very countenances the pictures of
-abject misery. The numerous public-houses
-in the locality were driving a busy
-traffic, and were thronged with motley
-groups of people of various grades, from
-the respectable merchant and tradesman to
-the thief and the beggar.</p>
-
-<p>Bands of boys and girls were gamboling
-in the street in wild frolic, tumbling on
-their head with their heels in the air, and
-shouting in merriment, while the policeman
-was quietly looking on in good humour.</p>
-
-<p>Around the centre of the Dials were
-bakers’ shops with large illuminated fronts,
-the shelves being covered with loaves, and
-the baker busy attending to his customers.
-In the window was a large printed notice
-advertising the “best wheaten bread at 6<i>d.</i>”
-a loaf. A druggist’s shop was invitingly
-adorned with beautiful green and purple
-jars, but no customers entered during the
-time of our stay.</p>
-
-<p>At the corner of an opposite dial was an
-old clothes store, with a large assortment
-of second-hand garments, chiefly for men,
-of various kinds, qualities, and styles, suspended
-around the front of the shop.
-There were also provision shops, which
-were well attended with customers. The
-whole neighbourhood presented an appearance
-of bustle and animation, and omnibuses
-and other vehicles were passing
-along in a perpetual stream.</p>
-
-<p>The most of the low girls in this locality
-do not go out till late in the evening, and
-chiefly devote their attention to drunken
-men. They frequent the principal thoroughfares
-in the vicinity of Oxford Street, Holborn,
-Farringdon Street, and other bustling
-streets. From the nature of their work they
-are of a migratory character. The most of
-the men we saw in the houses we visited belong
-to the labouring class, men employed
-to assist in cleaning cabs and omnibuses,
-carriers of advertising boards, distributors
-of bills, patterers, chickweed sellers, ballad
-singers, and persons generally of industrious
-habits, along with a few of doubtful character.
-They are willing to work, but will
-steal rather than want.</p>
-
-<p>The lodging-house people here have not
-been known of late years to receive stolen
-property, and the inhabitants generally are
-steadily rising in habits of decency, cleanliness,
-and morality.</p>
-
-<p>The houses we visited in George Street,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span>
-and the streets adjacent, were formerly part
-of the rookery of St. Giles-in-the-Fields,
-celebrated as one of the chief haunts of
-redoutable thieves and suspicious characters
-in London. Deserted as it comparatively
-is now, except by the labouring poor
-vagrants and low prostitutes, it was once
-the resort of all classes, from the proud
-noble to the beggar picking up a livelihood
-from door to door.</p>
-
-<p>We have been indebted to Mr. Hunt, inspector
-of the lodging-houses of this district,
-for fuller information regarding the
-rookery of St. Giles and its inhabitants
-twenty years ago, before a number of these
-disreputable streets were removed to make
-way for New Oxford Street. We quote
-from a manuscript nearly in his own words:&mdash;“The
-ground covered by the Rookery was
-enclosed by Great Russell Street, Charlotte
-Street, Broad Street, and High Street, all
-within the parish of St. Giles-in-the-Fields.
-Within this space were George Street (once
-Dyott Street), Carrier Street, Maynard
-Street, and Church Street, which ran from
-north to south, and were intersected by
-Church Lane, Ivy Lane, Buckeridge Street,
-Bainbridge Street, and New Street. These,
-with an almost endless intricacy of courts
-and yards crossing each other, rendered the
-place like a rabbit-warren.</p>
-
-<p>“In Buckeridge Street stood the ‘Hare
-and Hounds’ public-house, formerly the
-‘Beggar in the Bush;’ at the time of which
-I speak (1844) kept by the well-known and
-much-respected Joseph Banks (generally
-called ‘Stunning Joe’), a civil, rough, good-hearted
-Boniface. His house was the resort
-of all classes, from the aristocratic
-marquis to the vagabond whose way of
-living was a puzzle to himself.</p>
-
-<p>“At the opposite corner of Carrier Street
-stood Mother Dowling’s, a lodging-house
-and provision shop, which was not closed
-nor the shutters put on for several years
-before it was pulled down, to make way for
-the improvements in New Oxford Street.... The
-shop was frequented by vagrants
-of every class, including foreigners,
-who, with moustache, well-brushed hat, and
-seedy clothes&mdash;consisting usually of a frock-coat
-buttoned to the chin, light trousers,
-and boots gaping at each lofty step&mdash;might
-be seen making their way to Buckeridge
-Street to regale upon cabbage, which had
-been boiled with a ferocious pig’s head or
-a fine piece of salt beef. From 12 to 1
-o’clock at midnight was chosen by these
-ragged but proud gentlemen from abroad
-as the proper time for a visit to Mrs. Dowling’s.</p>
-
-<p>“Most of the houses in Buckeridge Street
-were lodging-houses for thieves, prostitutes,
-and cadgers. The charge was fourpence
-a night in the upper rooms, and
-threepence in the cellars, as the basements
-were termed. If the beds were occupied
-six nights by the same parties, and all dues
-paid, the seventh night (Sunday) was not
-charged for. The rooms were crowded,
-and paid well. I remember seeing fourteen
-women in beds in a cellar, each of whom
-paid 3<i>d.</i> a night, which, Sunday free,
-amounted to 21<i>s.</i> per week. The furniture
-in this den might have originally cost the
-proprietor 7<i>l.</i> or 8<i>l.</i> At the time I last
-visited it, it was not worth more than 30<i>s.</i></p>
-
-<p>“Both sides of Buckeridge Street abounded
-in courts, particularly the north
-side, and these, with the connected backyards
-and low walls in the rear of the street,
-afforded an easy escape to any thief when
-pursued by officers of justice. I remember
-on one occasion, in 1844, a notorious thief
-was wanted by a well-known criminal-officer
-(Restieaux). He was known to associate
-with some cadgers who used a house in the
-rear of Paddy Corvan’s, near Church Street,
-and was believed to be in the house when
-Restieaux and a serjeant entered it. They
-went into the kitchen where seven male
-and five female thieves were seated, along
-with several cadgers of the most cunning
-class. One of them made a signal, indicating
-that some one had escaped by the back
-of the premises, in which direction the
-officers proceeded. It was evident the
-thief had gone over a low wall into an adjoining
-yard. The pursuers climbed over,
-passed through the yards and back premises
-of eleven houses, and secured him in
-Jones Court. There were about twenty
-persons present at the time of the arrest,
-but they offered no resistance to the constables.
-It would have been a different
-matter had he been apprehended by
-strangers.</p>
-
-<p>“In Bainbridge Street, one side of which
-was nearly occupied by the immense
-brewery of Meux &amp; Co., were found some
-of the most intricate and dangerous places
-in this low locality. The most notorious
-of these was Jones Court, inhabited by
-coiners, utterers of base coin, and thieves.
-In former years a bull terrier was kept
-here, which gave an alarm on the appearance
-of a stranger, when the coining was
-suspended till the course was clear. This
-dog was at last taken away by Duke and
-Clement, two police officers, and destroyed
-by an order from a magistrate.</p>
-
-<p>“The houses in Jones Court were connected
-by roof, yard, and cellar with those
-in Bainbridge and Buckeridge streets, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span>
-with each other in such a manner that the
-apprehension of an inmate or refugee in one
-of them was almost a task of impossibility
-to a stranger, and difficult to those well
-acquainted with the interior of the dwellings.
-In one of the cellars was a large cesspool,
-covered in such a way that a stranger
-would likely step into it. In the same
-cellar was a hole about two feet square,
-leading to the next cellar, and thence by a
-similar hole into the cellar of a house in
-Scott’s Court, Buckeridge Street. These
-afforded a ready means of escape to a thief,
-but effectually stopped the pursuers, who
-would be put to the risk of creeping on his
-hands and knees through a hole two feet
-square in a dark cellar in St. Giles’s Rookery,
-entirely in the power of dangerous characters.
-Other houses were connected in a
-similar manner. In some instances there
-was a communication from one back window
-to another by means of large spike
-nails, one row to hold by, and another for
-the feet to rest on, which were not known
-to be used at the time we refer to.</p>
-
-<p>“In Church Street were several houses
-let to men of an honest but poor class, who
-worked in omnibus and cab-yards, factories,
-and such other places as did not afford them
-the means of procuring more expensive
-lodgings. Their apartments were clean,
-and their way of living frugal.</p>
-
-<p>“Other houses of a less reputable character
-were very numerous. One stood at the
-corner of Church Street and Lawrence
-Street, occupied by the most infamous characters
-of the district. On entering the
-house from Lawrence Lane, and proceeding
-upstairs, you would find on each floor several
-rooms connected by a kind of gallery,
-each room rented by prostitutes. These
-apartments were open to those girls who
-had fleeced any poor drunken man who had
-been induced to accompany them to this
-den of infamy. When they had plundered
-the poor dupe, he was ejected without ceremony
-by the others who resided in the
-room; often without a coat or hat, sometimes
-without his trousers, and occasionally
-left on the staircase naked as he was born.
-In this house the grossest scenes of profligacy
-were transacted. In pulling it down
-a hole was discovered in the wall opening
-into a timber-yard which fronted High
-Street&mdash;a convenient retreat for any one
-pursued.</p>
-
-<p>“Opposite to this was the “Rose and
-Crown” public-house, resorted to by all
-classes of the light-fingered gentry, from
-the mobsman and his “Amelia” to the
-lowest of the street thieves and his “Poll.”
-In the tap-room might be seen Black Charlie
-the fiddler, with ten or a dozen lads and
-lasses enjoying the dance, and singing and
-smoking over potations of gin-and-water,
-more or less plentiful according to the proceeds
-of the previous night&mdash;all apparently
-free from care in their wild carousals. The
-cheek waxed pale when the policeman
-opened the door and glanced round the
-room, but when he departed the merriment
-would be resumed with vigour.</p>
-
-<p>“The kitchens of some houses in Buckeridge
-Street afforded a specimen of life in
-London rarely seen elsewhere even in London,
-though some in Church Lane do so
-now on a smaller scale. The kitchen, a
-long apartment usually on the ground-floor,
-had a large coke fire, along with a sink,
-water-tap, one or two tables, several forms,
-a variety of saucepans, and other cooking
-utensils, and was lighted with a gas jet.
-There in the evenings suppers were discussed
-by the cadgers an alderman might
-almost have envied&mdash;rich steaks and onions,
-mutton and pork chops, fried potatoes,
-sausages, cheese, celery, and other articles
-of fare, with abundance of porter, half-and-half,
-and tobacco.</p>
-
-<p>“In the morning they often sat down to
-a breakfast of tea, coffee, eggs, rashers of
-bacon, dried fish, fresh butter, and other
-good things which would be considered
-luxuries by working people, when each discussed
-his plans for the day’s rambles, and
-arranged as to the exchange of garments,
-bandages, &amp;c., considered necessary to prevent
-recognition in those neighbourhoods
-recently worked.</p>
-
-<p>“Their dinners were taken in the course
-of their rounds, consisting generally of the
-best of the broken victuals given them by
-the compassionate, and were eaten on
-one of the door-steps of some respectable
-street, after which they would resort to
-some obscure public-house or beer-shop
-in a back street or alley to partake of some
-liquor.</p>
-
-<p>“Heaps of good food were brought home
-and thrown on a side-table, or into a corner,
-as unfit to be eaten by those “professional”
-cadgers,&mdash;food which thousands of
-the working men of London would have
-been thankful for. It was given to the
-children who visited these lodging-houses.
-The finer viands, such as pieces of fancy
-bread, rolls, kidneys, mutton and lamb, the
-gentlemen of the establishment reserved
-for their own more fastidious palates.</p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter illowp93" id="i_i_0693" style="max-width: 75em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_0693h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>BOYS EXERCISING AT TOTHILL FIELDS PRISON.</p></div>
-</div>
-
-<p>“On Sundays many of the cadgers staid
-at home till night. They spent the day at
-cards, shove-halfpenny, tossing, and other
-amusements. Sometimes five or six shillings
-were staked on the table among a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[301]</a></span>
-party of about ten of them at cards, although
-coppers were the usual stakes....
-The life of a cadger is not in many instances
-a life of privation. I do not speak (says
-Mr. Hunt) of the really distressed, to whose
-wants too little attention is sometimes paid.
-I allude to beggars by profession, who prefer
-a life of mendicancy to any other. There
-are among them sailors, whose largest voyage
-has been to Tothill Fields prison, or to
-Gravesend on a pleasure trip. Cripples
-with their arms in slings, or feet, swathed
-in blood-stained rags, swollen to double the
-size, who may be seen dancing when in
-their lodging at their evening revels. You
-may see poor Irish with from five to thirty
-sovereigns in a bag hung round their necks
-or in the waistband of their trousers;
-women who carry hired babes, or it may
-be a bundle of clothing resembling a child,
-on their back and breast, and other such-like
-impostors.</p>
-
-<p>“Between Buckeridge Street and Church
-Lane stood Ivy Lane, leading from George
-Street to Carrier Street, communicating
-with the latter by a small gateway. Clark’s
-Court was on its left, and Rats’ Castle on
-its right. This castle was a large dirty
-building occupied by thieves and prostitutes,
-and boys who lived by plunder. On
-the removal of these buildings, in 1845, the
-massive foundations of an hospital were
-found, which had been built in the 12th
-century by Matilda, Queen of Henry the
-First, daughter of Malcolm King of Scotland,
-for persons afflicted with leprosy.</p>
-
-<p>“At this place criminals were allowed a
-bowl of ale on their way from Newgate to
-Tyburn.</p>
-
-<p>“Maynard Street and Carrier Street were
-occupied by costermongers and a few
-thieves and cadgers. George Street, part
-of which still stands, consisted of lodging-houses
-for tramps, thieves, and beggars, together
-with a few brothels.”</p>
-
-<p>From George Street to High Street runs
-a mews called Hampshire-Hog Yard, where
-there is an old established lodging-house
-for single men, poor but honest.</p>
-
-<p>The portion of the rookery now remaining,
-consisting of Church Lane, with its
-courts, a small part of Carrier Street, and a
-smaller portion of one side of Church Street,
-is now more densely crowded than when
-Buckeridge Street and its neighbourhood
-were in existence. The old Crown public-house
-in Church Lane, formerly the resort
-of the most notorious cadgers, was in 1851
-inhabited by Irish people, where often from
-twelve to thirty persons lodged in a room.
-At the back of this public-house is a yard,
-on the right-hand side of which is an apartment
-then occupied by thirty-eight men,
-women, and children, all lying indiscriminately
-on the floor.</p>
-
-<p>Speaking of other houses in this neighbourhood
-in 1851, Mr. Hunt states: “I
-have frequently seen as many as sixteen
-people in a room about twelve feet by ten,
-these numbers being exceeded in larger
-rooms. Many lay on loose straw littered
-on the floor, their heads to the wall and
-their feet to the centre, and decency was
-entirely unknown among them.”</p>
-
-<p>Now, however, the district is considerably
-changed, the inhabitants are rapidly
-rising in decency, cleanliness, and order,
-and the Rookery of St. Giles will soon be
-ranked among the memories of the past.</p>
-
-
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Narrative of a London Sneak, or
-Common Thief.</span></h3>
-
-<p>The following narrative was given us by a
-convicted thief, who has for years wandered
-over the streets of London as a ballad
-singer, and has resided in the low lodging-houses
-scattered over its lowest districts.
-He was a poor wretched creature, degraded
-in condition, of feeble intellect, and worthless
-character, we picked up in a low lodging
-house in Drury Lane. He was shabbily
-dressed in a pair of old corduroy trousers,
-old brown coat, black shabby vest, faded
-grey neckerchief, an old dark cap and peak,
-and unwashed shirt. For a few shillings he
-was very ready to tell us the sad story of
-his miserable life.</p>
-
-<p>“I was born at Abingdon, near Oxford,
-where my father was a bricklayer, and kept
-the N&mdash;&mdash;n public-house. He died when
-I was fourteen years of age; I was sent to
-school and was taught to read, but not to
-write. At this time I was a steady, well-conducted
-boy. At fourteen years of age I
-went to work with my uncle, a basket-maker
-and rag merchant in Abingdon, and
-lived with my mother. I wrought there
-for three years, making baskets and cutting
-willows for them. I left my uncle
-then, as he had not got any more work for
-me to do, and was living idle with my
-mother. At this time I went with a Cheap
-John to the fairs, and travelled with him
-the whole of that season. He was a Lancashire
-man, between fifty and sixty years
-of age, and had a woman who travelled
-the country with him, but I do not think
-they were married. He was a tall, dark-complexioned
-man, and was a ‘duffer,’ very
-unprincipled in his dealings. He sold
-cutlery, books, stationery, and hardware.</p>
-
-<p>“When we were going from one fair to
-another, we would stop on the road and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span>
-make a fire, and steal fowls and potatoes, or
-any green-stuff that was in season. We
-sometimes travelled along with gipsies,
-occasionally to the number of fifty or sixty
-in a gang. The gipsies are a curious
-sort of people, and would not let you connect
-with any of them unless they saw you
-were to remain among them.</p>
-
-<p>“I assisted Cheap John in the markets
-when selling his goods, and handed them
-to the purchasers.</p>
-
-<p>“The first thing I ever pilfered was a
-pair of boots and a handkerchief from a
-drunken man who lay asleep at a fair in
-Reading, in Berks. He was lying at the
-back of a booth and no one near him.
-This was about dusk in September. I
-pawned the boots at Windsor on the day of a
-fair for 3<i>s.</i>, and sold the handkerchief for 1<i>s.</i></p>
-
-<p>“I was about seventeen years of age
-when I went with Cheap John, and remained
-with him about thirteen weeks, when I left,
-on account of a row I had with him. I
-liked this employment very well, got 2<i>s.</i> in
-the pound for my trouble, and sometimes
-had from 1<i>l.</i> to 25<i>s.</i> a week. But the fairs
-were only occasional, and the money I
-earned was very precarious.</p>
-
-<p>“I left Cheap John at Windsor, and
-came to Slough with a horse-dealer, where
-I left him. He gave me 2<i>s.</i> for assisting
-him. I then came up to London, where I
-have lived ever since in the lodging-houses
-in the different localities. I remember on
-coming to this great city I was much astonished
-at its wonders, and every street appeared
-to me like a fair. On coming to
-London I had no money, and had not any
-friend to assist me. I went to Kensington
-workhouse, and got a night’s lodging, and
-lived for about a fortnight at different
-workhouses in London. They used to give
-the lodgers a piece of bread at night, and
-another in the morning, and a night’s
-lodging on straw and boards.</p>
-
-<p>“I then went out singing ballads in the
-streets of London, and could get at an
-average from 2<i>s.</i> to 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> a night, but
-when the evenings were wet, I could not
-get anything. In the winter I sang in the
-daytime, and in summer I went out in the
-evening. I have wandered in this way
-over many of the streets and thoroughfares
-of London. I sing in Marylebone, Somers
-Town, Camden Town, Paddington, Whitecross
-Street, City, Hammersmith, Commercial
-Road, and Whitechapel, and live at
-different lodgings, and make them my home
-as I move along. I sing different kinds of
-songs, sentimental and comic; my favourites
-are ‘Gentle Annie,’ ‘She’s reckoned a
-good hand at it,’ ‘The Dandy Husband,’
-‘The Week’s Matrimony,’ ‘The Old Woman’s
-Sayings,’ and ‘John Bull and the
-Taxes.’ I often sing ‘The Dark-eyed
-Sailor,’ and ‘The Female Cabin Boy.’ For
-many years now I have lived by singing in
-the public street, sometimes by myself, at
-other times with a mate. I occasionally
-beg in Regent Street and Bond Street on
-the ‘fly,’ that is, follow people passing
-along, and sometimes in Oxford Street and
-Holborn. Sometimes I get a little job to
-do from people at various kinds of handiwork,
-such as turning the wheel to polish
-steel, and irons, &amp;c., and do other kinds of
-job work. When hard up I pick pockets
-of handkerchiefs, by myself or with one or
-two mates. [In the course of our interview
-we saw he was very clumsy at picking
-pockets.] I sometimes go out with the
-young dark-complexioned lad you saw
-down stairs, who is very clever at pocket
-picking, and has been often convicted
-before the criminal courts.</p>
-
-<p>“I have spent many years living in the
-low lodging-houses of London. The worst
-I ever saw was in Keat Street, Whitechapel,
-about nine years ago, before they
-were reformed and changed. Numbers
-were then crowded into the different rooms,
-and the floors were littered with naked
-people of all ages, and of both sexes, men
-and women, and boys and girls sleeping
-alongside indiscriminately. It was very
-common to see young boys and girls sleeping
-together. The conversations that
-passed between them, and the scenes that
-were transacted, were enough to contaminate
-the morals of the young.</p>
-
-<p>“In the morning they used to go to
-their different haunts over the city, some
-begging, and others thieving.</p>
-
-<p>“On Sunday evenings the only books
-read were such as ‘Jack Sheppard,’ ‘Dick
-Turpin,’ and the ‘Newgate Calendar’ they
-got out of the neighbouring libraries by
-depositing 1<i>s.</i> These were read with much
-interest; the lodgers would sooner have
-these than any other books. I never saw
-any of them go to church on Sundays.
-Sometimes one or two would go to the
-ragged-school, such as the one in Field
-Lane near Smithfield.</p>
-
-<p>“It often happened a man left his wife,
-and she came to the lodging-house and got
-a livelihood by begging. Some days she
-would glean 2<i>s.</i> or 3<i>s.</i>, and at other times
-would not get a halfpenny.</p>
-
-<p>“The thieves were seldom in the lodging-house,
-except to meals and at bedtime.
-They lived on better fare than the beggars.
-The pickpocket lives better than the sneaking
-thief, and the pickpocket is thought<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span>
-more of in the lodging-houses and prisons
-than the beggar.</p>
-
-<p>“The lowest pickpockets often lived in
-these low lodging-houses, some of them
-young lads, and others middle-aged men.
-The young pickpockets, if clever, soon leave
-the lodging-houses and take a room in some
-locality, as at Somers Town, Marylebone,
-the Burgh, Whitechapel, or Westminster.
-The pickpockets in lodging-houses, for the
-most part, are stockbuzzers, <i>i.e.</i>, stealers of
-handkerchiefs.</p>
-
-<p>“I have often seen the boys picking each
-others’ pockets for diversion in the lodging-houses,
-many of them from ten to eleven
-years of age.</p>
-
-<p>“There are a great number of sneaks in
-the lodging-houses. Two of them go out
-together to the streets, one of them keeps
-a look-out while the other steals some
-article, shoes, vest, or coat, &amp;c., from the
-shop or stall. I sometimes go out with a
-mate and take a pair of boots at a shop-door
-and sell them to the pawnbroker, or to a
-labouring man passing in the street.</p>
-
-<p>“Sometimes I have known the lodgers
-make up a packet of sawdust and put in a
-little piece of tobacco to cover an opening,
-leaving only the tobacco to be seen looking
-through, and sell it to persons passing by
-in the street as a packet of tobacco.</p>
-
-<p>“When I am hard up I have gone out
-and stolen a loaf at a baker’s shop, or
-chandler’s shop, and taken it to my lodging.
-I have often stolen handkerchiefs, silk and
-cambric, from gentlemen’s pockets.</p>
-
-<p>“I once stole a silver snuff-box from a
-man’s coat-pocket, and on one occasion
-took a pocket-book with a lot of papers and
-postage stamps. I burnt the papers and
-sold the stamps for about 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p>
-
-<p>“I never had clothes respectable enough
-to try purses and watches, and did not
-have nerve for it. I have seen young
-thieves encouraged by people who kept the
-lodging-houses, such as at Keat Street,
-Whitechapel, and at the Mint. They
-would ask the boys if they had anything,
-and wish them to sell it to them, which
-was generally done at an under-price. In
-these lodging-houses some lived very well,
-and others were starving. Some had steaks
-and pickles, and plenty of drink, porter
-and ale, eggs and bacon, and cigars to
-smoke. Some of the poorest go out and
-get a pennyworth of bread, halfpennyworth
-of tea, halfpennyworth of butter, and halfpennyworth
-of sugar, and perhaps not
-have a halfpenny left to pay for their
-lodging at night. When they do get money
-they often go out and spend it in drink,
-and perhaps the next night are starving
-again.</p>
-
-<p>“I have been tried for stealing a quart
-pot and a handkerchief, at Bagnigge Wells
-police station, and was taken to Vine Street
-police station for stealing 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> from a
-drunken woman respectably dressed. I
-took it out of her hand, and was seen by a
-policeman, who ran after me and overtook
-me, but the woman refused to prosecute
-me, and I was discharged. I was also
-brought before Marylebone police-court for
-begging.</p>
-
-<p>“In my present lodging I am pretty
-comfortable. We spend our evenings telling
-tales and conversing to each other on
-our wanderings, and playing at games, such
-as ‘hunt the slipper.’ I have often been
-in great want, and have been driven to
-steal to get a livelihood.”</p>
-
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">PICKPOCKETS AND SHOPLIFTERS.</h2>
-
-</div>
-
-<p>In tracing the pickpocket from the beginning
-of his career, in most cases we must turn
-our attention to the little ragged boys living
-by a felon’s hearth, or herding with other
-young criminals in a low lodging-house, or
-dwelling in the cold and comfortless home
-of drunken and improvident parents. The
-great majority of the pickpockets of the
-metropolis, with few exceptions, have
-sprung from the dregs of society&mdash;from
-the hearths and homes of London thieves&mdash;so
-that they have no reason to be proud of
-their lineage. Fifteen or twenty years ago
-many of those accomplished pickpockets,
-dressed in the highest style of fashion,
-and glittering in gold chains, studs, and
-rings, who walk around the Bank of England
-and along Cheapside, and our busy
-thoroughfares, were poor ragged boys walking
-barefooted among the dark and dirty
-slums and alleys of Westminster and the
-Seven Dials, or loitering among the thieves’
-dens of the Borough and Whitechapel.</p>
-
-<p>Step by step they have emerged from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span>
-their rags and squalor to a higher position
-of physical comfort, and have risen to
-higher dexterity and accomplishment in
-their base and ignoble profession.</p>
-
-<p>We say there are a few exceptions to the
-general rule, that the most of our habitual
-thieves have sprung from the loins of felon
-parents. We blush to say that some have
-joined the ranks of our London thieves, and
-are living callous in open crime, who were
-trained in the homes of honest and industrious
-parents, and were surrounded in
-early life with all those influences which
-are fitted to elevate and improve the mind.
-But here our space forbids us to enlarge.</p>
-
-<p>The chief sources whence our pickpockets
-spring are from the low lodging-houses&mdash;from
-those dwellings in low neighbourhoods,
-where their parents are thieves,
-and where improvident and drunken people
-neglect their children, such as Whitechapel,
-Shoreditch, Spitalfields, New Cut, Lambeth,
-the Borough, Clerkenwell, Drury
-Lane, and other localities. Many of them
-are the children of Irish parents, costermongers,
-bricklayers’ labourers, and others.
-They often begin to steal at six or seven
-years of age, sometimes as early as five
-years, and commit petty sneaking thefts,
-as well as pick handkerchiefs from gentlemen’s
-pockets. Many of these ragged
-urchins are taught to steal by their companions,
-others are taught by trainers of
-thieves, young men and women, and some
-middle-aged convicted thieves. They are
-learned to be expert in this way. A
-coat is suspended on the wall with a bell
-attached to it, and the boy attempts to
-take the handkerchief from the pocket
-without the bell ringing. Until he is able
-to do this with proficiency he is not considered
-well trained. Another way in
-which they are trained is this: The trainer&mdash;if
-a man&mdash;walks up and down the room
-with a handkerchief in the tail of his coat,
-and the ragged boys amuse themselves
-abstracting it until they learn to do it in
-an adroit manner. We could point our
-finger to three of these execrable wretches,
-who are well known to train schools of
-juvenile thieves&mdash;one of them, a young
-man at Whitechapel; another, a young
-woman at Clerkenwell; and a third, a
-middle-aged man residing about Lambeth
-Walk. These base wretches buy the stolen
-handkerchiefs from the boys at a paltry
-sum. We have also heard of some being
-taught to pick pockets by means of an
-effigy; but this is not so well authenticated.</p>
-
-<p>Great numbers of these ragged pickpockets
-may be seen loitering about our
-principal streets, ready to steal from a stall
-or shop-door when they find an opportunity.
-During the day they generally
-pick pockets two or three in a little band,
-but at dusk a single one can sometimes do
-it with success. They not only steal handkerchiefs
-of various kinds, but also pocketbooks
-from the tails of gentlemen’s coats.
-We may see them occasionally engaged at
-this work on Blackfriars Bridge and London
-Bridge, also along Bishopsgate, Shoreditch,
-Whitechapel, Drury Lane, and similar localities.
-They may be seen at any hour of
-the day, but chiefly from 10 to 2 o’clock.
-They are generally actively on the look-out
-on Saturday evening in the shopping streets
-where the labouring people get their provisions
-in for the Sunday. At this early
-stage the boys occasionally pick pockets,
-and go about cadging and sneaking (begging
-and committing petty felonies).</p>
-
-<p>The next stage commences&mdash;we shall say&mdash;about
-fourteen years of age, when the
-stripling lays aside his rags, and dresses in
-a more decent way, though rather shabby.
-Perhaps in a dark or gray frock-coat, dark or
-dirty tweed trousers, and a cap with peak,
-and shoes. At this time many of them go
-to low neighbourhoods, or to those quieter
-localities where the labouring people reside,
-and pick the pockets of the wives and
-daughters of this class of persons; others
-steal from gentlemen passing along thoroughfares,
-while a few adroit lads are employed
-by men to steal from ladies’ pockets
-in the fashionable streets of the metropolis.</p>
-
-<p>These young thieves seldom commit their
-depredations in the localities where they
-are known, but prowl in different parts of
-the metropolis. They are of a wandering
-character, changing from one district to
-another, and living in different lodging-houses&mdash;often
-leaving their parent’s houses
-as early as ten years of age. Sometimes
-they are driven by drunken loafing parents
-to steal, though in most cases they leave
-their comfortless homes and live in lodging-houses.</p>
-
-<p>When they have booty, they generally
-bring it to some person to dispose of, as
-suspicion would be aroused if they went to
-sell or pawn it themselves. In some cases
-they give it to the trainer of thieves, or
-they take it to some low receiving house,
-where wretches encourage them in stealing;
-sometimes to low coffee-houses, low
-hairdressers or tailors, who act as middle-men
-to dispose of the property, generally
-giving them but a small part of the value.</p>
-
-<p>In the event of their rambling to a distant
-part of London, they sometimes ar<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span>range
-to get one of their number to convey
-the stolen goods to these parties. At other
-times they dispose of them to low wretches
-connected with the lodging-houses, or other
-persons in disreputable neighbourhoods.</p>
-
-<p>At this time many of them cohabit with
-girls in low lodging-houses; many of whom
-are older than themselves, and generally of
-the felon class.</p>
-
-<p>These lads frequently steal at the “tail”
-of gentlemen’s coats, and learn the other
-modes of picking pockets.</p>
-
-<p>Stealing the handkerchief from the “tail”
-of a gentleman’s coat in the street is generally
-effected in this way. Three or four
-usually go together. They see an old
-gentleman passing by. One remains behind,
-while the other two follow up close
-beside him, but a little behind. The one
-walking by himself behind is the looker out
-to see if there are any police or detectives
-near, or if any one passing by or hovering
-around is taking notice of them. One of
-the two walking close by the gentleman
-adroitly picks his pocket, and coils the
-handkerchief up in his hand so as not to be
-seen, while the other brings his body close
-to him, so as not to let his arm be seen by
-any passer by.</p>
-
-<p>If the party feel him taking the handkerchief
-from his pocket, the thief passes it
-quickly to his companion, who runs off
-with it. The looker-out walks quietly on
-as if nothing had occurred, or sometimes
-walks up to the gentleman and asks him
-what is the matter, or pretends to tell him
-in what direction the thief has run, pointing
-him to a very different direction from
-the one he has taken.</p>
-
-<p>They not only abstract handkerchiefs
-but also pocketbooks from the tail of gentlemen’s
-coats, or any other article they
-can lay their fingers on.</p>
-
-<p>This is the common way in which the
-coat-pocket is picked when the person is
-proceeding along the street. Sometimes it
-happens that one thief will work by himself,
-but this is very seldom. In the case
-of a person standing, the coat-tail pocket
-is picked much in the same manner.</p>
-
-<p>These boys in most cases confine themselves
-to stealing from the coat-pocket
-on the streets, but in the event of a crowd
-on any occasion, they are so bold as to
-steal watches from the vest-pocket. This
-is done in a different style, and generally in
-the company of two or three in this manner:
-One of them folds his arms across his
-breast in such a way that his right hand is
-covered with his left arm. This enables
-him to use his hand in an unobserved way,
-so that he is thereby able to abstract the
-watch from the vest-pocket of the gentleman
-standing by his side.</p>
-
-<p>A police-officer informed us, that when
-at Cremorne about a fortnight ago, a
-large concourse of people was assembled
-to see the female acrobat, termed the
-“Female Blondin,” cross the Thames on a
-rope suspended over the river, he observed
-two young men of about twenty-four
-years of age, and about the middle height,
-respectably dressed, whom he suspected to
-be pickpockets. They went up to a smart
-gentlemanly man standing at the riverside
-looking eagerly at the Female Blondin,
-then walking the rope over the middle of
-the river. As his attention was thus absorbed,
-the detective saw these two men
-go up to him. One of them placed himself
-close on the right hand side of him, and
-putting his right arm under his left, thus
-covered his right hand, and took the
-watch gently from the pocket of the gentleman’s
-vest. The thief made two attempts
-to break the ring attached to the
-watch, termed the “bowl” or swivel, with
-his finger and thumb.</p>
-
-<p>After two ineffective endeavours he bent
-it completely round, and yet it would not
-break. He then left the watch hanging
-down in front of the vest, the gentleman
-meanwhile being unaware of the attempted
-felony. The detective officer took both the
-thieves into custody. They were brought
-before the Westminster police-court and sentenced
-each to three months’ imprisonment
-for an attempt to steal from the person.</p>
-
-<p>The same officer informed us that about
-a month or six weeks ago, in the same place,
-on a similar occasion, he observed three
-persons, a man, a boy, and a woman, whom
-he suspected to be picking pockets. The
-man was about twenty-eight years of age,
-rather under the middle size. The woman
-hovered by his side. She was very good-looking,
-about twenty-four years of age,
-dressed in a green coloured gown, Paisley
-shawl, and straw bonnet trimmed with red
-velvet and red flowers. The man was
-dressed in a black frock-coat, brown trousers,
-and black hat. The boy, who happened
-to be his brother, was about fourteen
-years old, dressed in a brown shooting-coat,
-corduroy trousers, and black cap with peak.
-The boy had an engaging countenance, with
-sharp features and smart manner. The
-officer observed the man touch the boy on
-the shoulder and point him towards an old
-lady. The boy placed himself on her
-right side, and the man and woman kept
-behind. The former put his left hand into
-the pocket of the lady’s gown and drew
-nothing from it, then left her and went<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span>
-about two yards farther; there he placed
-himself by other two ladies, tried both
-their pockets and left them again. He followed
-another lady and succeeded in picking
-her pocket of a small sum of money and
-a handkerchief. The officer took them all
-to the police station with the assistance of
-another detective officer, when they were
-committed for trial at Clerkenwell sessions.
-The man was sentenced to ten years’ penal
-servitude, the boy to two months’ hard
-labour, and three months in a reformatory,
-and the woman was sentenced to two years’
-imprisonment, with hard labour, in the
-House of Correction at Westminster.</p>
-
-<p>It appeared, in the course of the evidence
-at the trial, that this man had previously
-been four years in penal servitude, and
-since his return had decoyed his little
-brother from a situation he held, for the
-purpose of training him to pick pockets,
-having induced him to rob his employer
-before leaving service.</p>
-
-<p>The <i>scarf pin</i> is generally taken from the
-breast in this way. The thief generally
-has a handkerchief in his hand, pretending
-to wipe his nose, as he walks along the
-street. He then places his right hand
-across the breast of the person he intends
-to rob, bringing his left hand stealthily
-under his arm. This conceals his movements
-from the eyes of the person. With
-the latter hand he snatches out the pin
-from the scarf. It is sometimes done with
-the right hand, at other times with the
-left, according to the position of the
-person, and is generally done in the company
-of one or more. The person robbed
-is rarely aware of the theft. Should he be
-aware, or should any one passing by have
-observed the movement, the pin got from
-the scarf is suddenly passed into the hands
-of the other parties, when all of them suddenly
-make off in different directions soon
-to meet again in some neighbouring locality.</p>
-
-<p>At other times the thief drives the
-person with a push, in the street, bringing
-his hands to his breast as if he had stumbled
-against him, at the same time adroitly
-laying hold of the pin. This is done in
-such a way that the person is seldom
-aware of the robbery until he afterwards
-finds out the loss of the article.</p>
-
-<p>The <i>trousers pocket</i> is seldom picked on
-the public street, as this is an operation of
-considerable difficulty and danger. It is
-not easy to slip the hand into the trousers
-pocket without being felt by the person
-attempted to be robbed. This is generally
-done in crowds where people are squeezed
-together, when they contrive to do it in
-this way: They cut up the trousers with
-a knife or other sharp instrument, lay open
-the pocket, and adroitly rifle the money
-from it; or they insert the fingers or hand
-into it in a push, often without being observed,
-while the person’s attention is distracted,
-possibly by some of the accomplices
-or stalls. They often occasion a disturbance
-in crowds, and create a quarrel
-with people near them, or have sham fights
-with each other, or set violently on the
-person they intend to rob. Many rough
-expedients are occasionally had recourse to,
-to effect this object.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes the pocket is picked in a
-crowd by means of laying hold of the party
-by the middle as if they had jostled against
-him, or by pressing on his back from behind,
-while the fingers or hand are inserted
-into the pocket of his trousers to snatch
-any valuables, money or otherwise, contained
-therein.</p>
-
-<p>This mode of stealing is sometimes done
-by one person, at other times by the aid of
-accomplices. It is most commonly done in
-the manner now described.</p>
-
-<p>By dint of long experience and natural
-skill, some attain great perfection in this
-difficult job, and accomplish their object
-in the most clever and effective manner.
-They are so nimble and accomplished that
-they will accost a gentleman in the street,
-and while speaking to him, and looking
-him in the face, will quietly insert their
-hand into his vest pocket and steal his
-watch.</p>
-
-<p>In a crowd, the pin is sometimes stolen
-with dexterity by a person from behind
-inserting his hand over the shoulder.
-Sometimes the watch is stolen by a sudden
-snatch at the guard, when the thief runs
-off with his booty. This is not so often
-done in the thoroughfares, as it is attended
-with great danger of arrest. It is oftener
-done in quiet by-streets, or by-places,
-where there are many adjacent courts and
-alleys intersecting each other, through
-which the thief has an opportunity of escaping.</p>
-
-<p>These are the various modes by which
-gentlemen’s pockets are generally picked.</p>
-
-<p>A lady’s pocket is commonly picked by
-persons walking by her side, who insert
-their hand gently into the pocket of her
-gown. This is often effected by walking
-alongside of the lady, or by stopping her
-in the street, asking the way to a particular
-place, or inquiring if she is acquainted with
-such and such a person. When the thief
-is accomplished, he can abstract the purse
-from her pocket in a very short space of
-time: but if he is not so adroit, he will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span>
-detain her some time longer, asking further
-questions till he has completed his object.
-This is often done by a man and a woman
-in company.</p>
-
-<p>A lady generally carries her gold or silver
-watch in a small pocket in front of her
-dress, possibly under one of the large
-flounces. It is often stolen from her by
-one or two, or even three persons, one of
-the thieves accosting her in the street in
-the manner described. They seldom steal
-the guard, but in most cases contrive to
-break the ring or swivel by which it is
-attached. Let us suppose that two pickpockets,
-a man and a woman, were to see a
-lady with a watch in the public street;
-they are possibly walking arm-in-arm;
-they make up to her, inquire the way to a
-particular place, and stand in front of her.
-One of them would ask the way while the
-other would meantime be busy picking her
-pocket. If they succeed, they walk off
-arm-in-arm as they came.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes two or three men will go up
-to a lady and deliberately snatch a parcel
-or reticule-bag from her hand or arm, and
-run off with it.</p>
-
-<p>At other times a very accomplished
-pickpocket may pick ladies’ pockets without
-any accomplices, or with none to cover
-his movements.</p>
-
-<p>Walking along Cheapside one day, toward
-the afternoon, we observed a well-dressed,
-good-looking man of about thirty
-years of age, having the appearance of a
-smart man of business, standing by the
-side of an elderly looking, respectably
-dressed lady at a jeweller’s window. The
-lady appeared to belong to the country,
-from her dress and manner, and was absorbed
-looking into the window at the gold
-watches, gold chains, lockets, pins, and
-other trinkets glittering within. Meantime
-the gentleman also appeared to be engrossed
-looking at these articles beside her,
-while crowds of people were passing to and
-fro in the street, and the carts, cabs, omnibuses,
-and other vehicles were rumbling
-by, deadening the footsteps of the passers
-by. Our eye accidentally caught sight of
-his left hand drooping by his side in the
-direction of the lady’s pocket. We observed
-it glide softly in the direction of her
-pocket beneath the edge of her shawl with
-all the fascination of a serpent’s movement.
-While the hand lay drooping, the fingers
-sought their way to the pocket. From the
-movement we observed that the fingers had
-found the pocket, and were seeking their
-way farther into the interior. The person
-was about to plunge his hand to abstract
-the contents, when we instinctively hooked
-his wrist with the curve of our walking-stick
-and prevented the robbery. With
-great address and tact he withdrew his
-hand from the lady’s pocket, and his wrist
-from our grasp, and walked quietly away.
-Meantime a group of people had gathered
-round about us, and a gentleman asked if
-we had observed a pocket picked. We
-said nothing, but whispered to the lady,
-who stood at the window unaware of the
-attempted felony, that we had prevented
-her pocket being picked, and had just
-scared a thief with his hand in her pocket,
-then walked over to the other side of the
-street and passed on.</p>
-
-<p>The more accomplished pickpockets are
-very adroit in their movements. A young
-lady may be standing by a window in
-Cheapside, Fleet Street, Oxford Street, or
-the Strand, admiring some beautiful engraving.
-Meantime a handsomely dressed
-young man, with gold chain and moustache,
-also takes his station at the window beside
-her, apparently admiring the same engraving.
-The young lady stands gazing on the
-beautiful picture, with her countenance
-glowing with sentiment, which may be enhanced
-by the sympathetic presence of the
-nice looking young man by her side, and
-while her bosom is thus throbbing with
-romantic emotion, her purse, meanwhile,
-is being quietly transferred to the pocket
-of this elegantly attired young man, whom
-she might find in the evening dressed as a
-rough costermonger, mingling among the
-low ruffians at the Seven Dials or Whitechapel,
-or possibly lounging in some low
-beershop in the Borough.</p>
-
-<p>There are various ranks of pickpockets,
-from the little ragged boy, stealing the
-handkerchief from a gentleman’s coat
-pocket, to the fashionable thief, promenading
-around the Bank, or strolling, arm in
-arm, with his gentlemanly looking companion
-along Cheapside.</p>
-
-<p>The swell-mob are to be seen all over
-London, in crowded thoroughfares, at railway
-stations, in omnibuses and steamboats.
-You find them pursuing their base traffic
-in the Strand, Fleet Street, Holborn, Parliament
-Street, and at Whitehall, over the
-whole of the metropolis, and they are to
-be seen on all public occasions looking out
-for plunder.</p>
-
-<p>Some commence their work at 8 and 9
-in the morning, others do not rise till 11
-or 12. They are generally seen about 11
-or 12 o’clock&mdash;sometimes till dusk. Some
-work in the evening, and not during the
-day, while others are out during the day,
-and do nothing in the evening. In times
-of great public excitement, when crowds<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span>
-are assembled, such as at the late fire at
-London Bridge, when those great warehouses
-were burnt down&mdash;they are in
-motion from the lowest to the highest.
-They are generally as busy in summer time
-as in the winter. When the gentry and
-nobility have retired to their country-seats
-in the provinces, crowds of strangers and
-tourists are pouring into the metropolis
-every day.</p>
-
-<p>They often travel into the country to
-attend races such as Ascot, the Derby at
-Epsom, and others in the surrounding
-towns. They go to the Crystal Palace,
-where the cleverest of them may be frequently
-seen, also to Cremorne, the Zoological
-Gardens Regent’s Park, the theatres,
-operas, ball-rooms, casinos, and other
-fashionable places of amusement&mdash;sometimes
-to the great crowds that usually
-assemble at Mr. Spurgeon’s new Tabernacle.</p>
-
-<p>They also occasionally make tours in
-different parts of the United Kingdom and
-to Paris, and along the railways in all
-directions.</p>
-
-<p>The most accomplished pickpockets reside
-at Islington, Hoxton, Kingsland Road,
-St. Luke’s, the Borough, Camberwell, and
-Lambeth, in quiet, respectable streets, and
-occasionally change their lodging if watched
-by the police.</p>
-
-<p>They have in most cases been thieves
-from their cradle; others are tradesmen’s
-sons and young men from the provinces,
-who have gone into dissipated life and
-adopted this infamous course. These fast
-men are sometimes useful as stalls, though
-they rarely acquire the dexterity of the
-native-born, trained London pickpocket.</p>
-
-<p>There are a few foreign pickpockets,
-French and others. Some of them are
-bullies about the Haymarket. There are
-also some German pickpockets, but the
-foreigners are principally French. As a
-general rule, more of the latter are engaged
-in swindling, than in picking pockets.
-Some of the French are considered in
-adroitness equal to the best of the English.
-There are also a few Scotch, but the great
-mass are Irish cockneys, which a penetrating
-eye could trace by their look and manner.
-Many of them have a restless look, as if
-always in dread of being taken, and generally
-keep a sharp look-out with the side of
-their eye as they walk along.</p>
-
-<p>They differ a good deal in appearance.
-The better class dress very fashionably;
-others in the lower class do not dress so
-well. The more dexterous they are, they
-generally dress in higher style, to get
-among the more respectable and fashionable
-people. Some of the female pickpockets
-also dress splendidly, and have
-been heard to boast of frequently stealing
-from 20<i>l.</i> to 30<i>l.</i> a-day in working on ladies’
-pockets. They are sometimes as adroit as
-the men in stealing ladies’ purses, and are
-less noticed lingering beside them on the
-streets, by the shop-windows, and in places
-of public resort.</p>
-
-<p>Yet, though well dressed, there is a
-peculiarity about the look of most of the
-male and female pickpockets. The countenance
-of many of them is suspicious to
-a penetrating eye. Many of them have
-considerable mental ability, and appear to
-be highly intelligent.</p>
-
-<p>The most dexterous pickpockets generally
-average from twenty to thirty-five years
-of age, when many of them become depressed
-in spirit, and “have the steel taken out of
-them” with the anxiety of the life and the
-punishments inflicted on them in the
-course of their criminal career. The restlessness
-and suspense of their life have the
-effect of dissipation upon a good many of
-them, so that, though generally comparatively
-temperate in the use of intoxicating
-liquors, they may be said to lead a fast
-life.</p>
-
-<p>Some of them take a keen bold look, full
-into your countenance; others have a
-sneaking, suspicious, downcast appearance,
-showing that all is not right within.</p>
-
-<p>They dress in various styles; sometimes
-in the finest of superfine black cloth; at
-other times in fashionable suits, like the
-first gentlemen in the land, spangled with
-jewellery. Some of them would pass for
-gentlemen&mdash;they are so polite in their
-address. Others appear like a mock-swell,
-vulgar in their manner&mdash;which is transparent
-through their fine dress, and are
-debased in their conversation, which is at
-once observed when they begin to speak.</p>
-
-<p>The female pickpockets dress in fashionable
-attire; sometimes in black satin
-dresses and jewellery. Some of them are
-very lady-like, though they have sprung
-originally from the lowest class. You may
-see very beautiful women among them,
-though vulgar in their conversation. The
-females are often superior in intellect to
-the men, and more orderly in their habits.
-They are seldom married, but cohabit with
-pickpockets, burglars, resetters, and other
-infamous characters. Their paramour is
-frequently taken from them, and they
-readily go with another man in the same
-illicit manner.</p>
-
-<p>They are passionately fond of their fancy
-man in most cases; yet very capricious&mdash;so
-much so that they not unfrequently<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[309]</a></span>
-leave the man they cohabit with for another
-sweetheart, and afterwards go back to their
-old lover again, who is so easy in his principles
-that he often welcomes her, especially
-if she is a good worker&mdash;that is, an expert
-pickpocket.</p>
-
-<p>The greater part of these women have
-sprung from the class of Irish cockneys;
-others have been domestic servants and
-the daughters of labourers, low tradesmen,
-and others. This gives us a key to many
-of these house robberies, done with the
-collusion of servants&mdash;a kind of felony
-very common over the metropolis. These
-are not the more respectable genteel class
-of servants, but the humbler order, such
-as nursery girls and females in tradesmen’s
-families. Many of them have come from
-the country, or from labouring people’s
-families over the working neighbourhoods
-of the metropolis. They are soon taught
-to steal by the men they cohabit with, but
-seldom acquire the dexterity of the thief
-who has been younger trained. They
-seldom have the acuteness, tact, and dexterity
-of the latter.</p>
-
-<p>They live very expensively on the best
-of poultry, butcher-meat, pastry, and wines,
-and some of them keep their pony and
-trap; most of them are very improvident,
-and spend their money foolishly on eating
-and drinking&mdash;though few of them drink
-to excess,&mdash;on dress, amusements, and
-gambling.</p>
-
-<p>They do not go out every day to steal,
-but probably remain in the house till their
-money is nearly spent, when they commence
-anew their system of robbery to
-fill their purse.</p>
-
-<p>The female pickpockets often live with
-the burglars. They have their different
-professions which they pursue. When the
-one is not successful in the one mode of
-plunder, they often get it in the other, or
-the women will resort to shoplifting. They
-must have money in either of these ways.
-The women do not resort to prostitution,
-though they may be of easy virtue with
-those they fancy. Some of them live with
-cracksmen in high style, and have generally
-an abundance of cash.</p>
-
-<p>Female pickpockets are often the companions
-of skittlesharps, and pursue their
-mode of livelihood as in the case of cohabiting
-with burglars. Their age averages
-from sixteen to forty-five.</p>
-
-<p>The generality of the pickpockets confine
-themselves to their own class of robberies.
-Others betake themselves to card-sharping
-and skittle-sharping, while a few of the more
-daring eventually become dexterous burglars.</p>
-
-<p>In their leisure hours they frequently
-call at certain beershops and public-houses,
-kept possibly by some old “pals” or connexions
-of the felon class, at King’s Cross,
-near Shoreditch Church, Whitechapel, the
-Elephant and Castle, and Westminster,
-and are to be seen dangling about these
-localities.</p>
-
-<p>Some of the swell-mobsmen have been
-well-educated men, and at one time held
-good situations; some have been clerks;
-others are connected with respectable families,
-led away by bad companions, until
-they have become the dregs of society,
-and after having been turned out of their
-own social circle, have become thieves.
-They are not generally so adroit as the
-young trained thief, though they may be
-useful to their gangs in acting as stalls.</p>
-
-<p>Many of them are intelligent men, and
-have a fund of general information which
-enables them to act their part tolerably
-well when in society.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Omnibus Pickpockets.</span></h3>
-
-<p>The most of this class of thieves are well-dressed
-women, and go out one or two
-together, sometimes three. They generally
-manage to get to the farthest seats in the
-interior of the omnibus, on opposite sides
-of the vehicle, next to the horses. As the
-lady passengers come in, they eye them
-carefully, and one of them seats herself on
-the right side of the lady they intend to
-plunder. She generally manages to throw
-the bottom of her cape or shawl over the
-lap of the lady, and works with her hand
-under it, so as to cover her movement.</p>
-
-<p>Her confederate is generally sitting opposite
-to see that no one is noticing. In
-abstracting from a lady’s pocket, the female
-thief has often to cut through the dress and
-pocket, which she does with a pocket-knife,
-pair of scissors, or other sharp instrument.
-So soon as she has secured the purse, or
-other booty, she and her companion leave
-the omnibus on the earliest opportunity,
-often in their hurry giving the conductor
-more than his fare, which creates suspicion,
-and frequently leads to their detection.
-Experienced conductors often inquire
-of the passengers on such occasions if
-they have lost anything, and if they find
-they have, they give chase to the parties
-to apprehend them.</p>
-
-<p>It often happens the thief follows a lady
-into an omnibus from seeing the lady take
-out her purse perhaps in some shop. If
-she could not pick her pocket in the
-street, she contrives to go into an omnibus,
-and do it there. These robberies are committed
-in all parts of London. They gene<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[310]</a></span>rally
-work at some distance from where
-they live, so that they are not easily traced
-if detected at the time.</p>
-
-<p>They invariably give false names and
-false addresses, when taken into custody.
-The same women who pick ladies’ pockets
-in the street, perpetrate these felonies in
-omnibuses, and often travel by railway,
-pursuing this occupation&mdash;sometimes two
-women together, sometimes one along with
-a man.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes gentlemen’s pockets are
-picked in omnibuses by male pickpockets,
-who also steal from the lady passengers
-when they find a suitable opportunity,
-especially at dusk.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Railway Pickpockets.</span></h3>
-
-<p>This is the same class of persons who pick
-pockets on the public street as already
-described. They often visit the various
-railway stations, and are generally smartly
-dressed as they linger there&mdash;some of them
-better than others. Some of the females
-are dressed like shopkeepers’ wives, others
-like milliners, varying from nineteen to
-forty years of age, mostly from nineteen to
-twenty-five; some of them attired in cotton
-gowns, others in silks and satins.</p>
-
-<p>At the railway stations they are generally
-seen moving restlessly about from
-one place to another, as if they did not
-intend to go by any particular railway
-train. There is an unrest about the most
-of them which to a discerning eye would
-attract attention.</p>
-
-<p>They seldom take the train, but dangle
-among the throng around the ticket office,
-or on the platform beside the railway carriages
-on the eve of the train starting off,
-as well as when the train arrives. When
-they see ladies engaged in conversation,
-they go up to them and plant themselves
-by their side, while the others cover their
-movements. There generally are two,
-sometimes three of them in a party. They
-place themselves on the right hand side of
-the ladies, next to their pocket, and work
-with the left hand. When the ladies move,
-the thieves walk along with them.</p>
-
-<p>The female pickpockets generally carry
-a reticule on their right arm so as to take
-off suspicion, and walk up to the persons
-at the railway station, and inquire what
-time the train starts to such a place, to
-detain them in conversation, and to keep
-them in their company.</p>
-
-<p>The older female thieves generally look
-cool and weary, the younger ones are more
-restless and suspicious in their movements.
-They sometimes go into first and second
-class waiting-rooms and sit by the side of
-any lady they suppose to be possessed of
-a sum of money, and try to pick her pocket
-by inserting their hand, or by cutting it
-with a knife or other sharp instrument.
-They generally insert the whole hand, as
-the ladies’ pockets are frequently deep in
-the dress. They often have a large cape
-to cover their hands, and pick the pocket
-while speaking to the lady, or sitting by
-her side. The young pickpockets are generally
-the most expert.</p>
-
-<p>They seldom take the brooch from the
-breast, but confine themselves to picking
-pockets.</p>
-
-<p>After they take the purse, they generally
-run to some by-place and throw it away,
-so that it cannot be identified; sometimes
-they put it into a watercloset, at other times
-drop it down an area as they pass along.</p>
-
-<p>After taking the purse, the thief hands
-it to her companion, and they separate and
-walk away, and meet at some place appointed.</p>
-
-<p>They occasionally travel with the trains
-to the Crystal Palace and other places in
-the neighbourhood of London, and endeavour
-to plunder the passengers on the
-way. Frequently they take longer excursions&mdash;especially
-during the summer&mdash;journeying
-from town to town, and going
-to races and markets, agricultural shows,
-or any places where there is a large concourse
-of people. Unless they are detected
-at the time they pick the pocket, they
-seldom leave any suspicion behind them,
-as they take care to lodge in respectable
-places, where no one would suspect them,
-and have generally plenty of money.</p>
-
-<p>A considerable number of the male
-thieves also attend the railway stations,
-and pick pockets in the railway trains.
-They are generally well dressed, and many
-of them have an Inverness cape, often of
-a dark colour, and sometimes they carry
-a coat on their arm to hide their hand.
-There are commonly two or more of them
-together&mdash;sometimes women accompanying
-them. They are the same parties we
-have already so fully described, who commit
-such felonies in the streets, thoroughfares,
-and places of public resort in the
-metropolis, and their movements are in a
-great measure the same.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Number of felonies by picking pockets in the Metropolitan dists. for 1860</td><td>1,498</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto, ditto, in the City</td><td>380</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">1,878</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Value of property thereby abstracted in the Metropolitan districts</td><td>£5,819</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto, ditto, in the City</td><td>375</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">£6,194</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Shoplifters.</span></h3>
-
-<p>There is a class of women who visit
-the shops in various parts of the metropolis,
-sometimes two and at other times
-three together. They vary their dress according
-to the locality they visit. Sometimes
-you find them dressed very respectably,
-like the wives of people in good circumstances
-in life; at other times, they
-appear like servants. They often wear
-large cloaks, or shawls, and are to be found
-of different ages, from 14 to 60. They
-generally call into shops at busy times,
-when there are many persons standing
-around the counter, and will stand two or
-three together. They ask a look of certain
-articles, and will possibly say, after they
-have inspected them, that they do not
-suit them; they will say they are too high
-in price, or not the article they want, or
-not the proper colour. They will likely
-ask to see some other goods, and keep
-looking at the different articles until they
-get a quantity on the counter. When the
-shopman is engaged getting some fresh
-goods from the window, or from the
-shelves, one of them generally contrives to
-slip something under her cloak or shawl,
-while the other manages to keep his attention
-abstracted. Sometimes they carry a
-bag or a basket, and set it down on the
-counter, and while the shopman is busy,
-they will get some article and lay it down
-behind their basket, such as a roll of
-ribbons, or a half dozen of gloves, or other
-small portable goods. While the shopman’s
-back is turned, or his attention
-withdrawn, it is hidden under their shawl
-or cloak. We frequently find the skirt
-of their dress lined from the pocket
-downward, forming a large repository all
-around the dress, with an opening in front,
-where they can insert a small article, which
-is not observed in the ample crinoline. In
-stealing rolls of silk, or other heavier goods,
-they conceal them under their arm. Women
-who engage in shoplifting sometimes
-pick pockets in the shops. They get by
-the side of a lady engaged looking over articles,
-and under pretence of inspecting
-goods in the one hand, pick their pockets
-with the other.</p>
-
-<p>We find more of these people living in
-the east end and on the Surrey side than
-in the west end of the metropolis. A great
-many live in the neighbourhood of Kingsland
-Road and Hackney Road. Some of
-them cohabit with burglars, others with
-magsmen (skittle-sharps).</p>
-
-<p>We find ladies in respectable position
-occasionally charged with shoplifting.</p>
-
-<p>Respectably dressed men frequently go
-into the shops of drapers and others early
-in the morning, or at intervals during the
-day, or evening, to look at the goods, and
-often manage to abstract one or two articles,
-and secrete them under their coats.
-They frequently take a bundle of neckties,
-a parcel of gloves, or anything that will
-go in a small compass, and perhaps enter a
-jeweller’s shop, and in this way abstract a
-quantity of jewellery. On going there, they
-will ask a sight of some articles; the first
-will not suit them, and they will ask to
-look at more. When the shopman is engaged,
-they will abstract some gold rings
-or gold pins, or other property, sometimes
-a watch. Occasionally they will go so far as
-to leave a deposit on the article, promising
-to call again. They do this to prevent
-suspicion. After they are gone, the shopman
-may find several valuables missing.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes they will ring the changes.
-On entering the shop they will bring
-patterns of rings and other articles in the
-window, which they have got made as facsimiles
-from metal of an inferior quality.
-On looking at the jewellery they will ring the
-changes on the counter, and keep turning
-them over, and in so doing abstract the
-genuine article and leave the counterfeit in
-its place.</p>
-
-<p>The statistics applicable to this class of
-felonies are comprised under those given
-when treating on “stealing from the doors
-and windows of shops.”</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">A Visit to the Dens of Thieves in Spitalfields
-and its Neighbourhood.</span></h3>
-
-<p>One afternoon, in company with a detective
-officer, we visited Spitalfields, one
-of the most notorious rookeries for infamous
-characters in the metropolis. Leaving
-Whitechapel, we went up a narrow
-alley called George Yard, where we saw
-four brothels of a very low description, the
-inmates being common thieves. On proceeding
-a little farther along the alley we
-passed eight or nine lodging-houses. Most
-of the lodgers were out prowling over the
-various districts of the metropolis, some
-picking pockets, others area-sneaking.</p>
-
-<p>On entering into a public-house in
-another alley near Union Street, we came
-to one of the most dangerous thieves’ dens
-we have visited in the course of our
-rambles. As we approached the door of
-the house, we saw a dissipated looking man
-stealthily whispering outside the door to
-the ruffian-looking landlord, who appeared
-to be a fighting man, from his large coarse
-head and broken nose. The officer by our
-side hinted to us that the latter was a
-fence, or receiver of stolen property, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span>
-was probably speaking to his companion on
-some business of this nature. As we went
-forward they sneaked away, the one through
-a neighbouring archway, and the other
-into his house. We followed the latter
-into the public house, and found two or
-three brutal-looking men loafing about the
-bar. We passed through a small yard
-behind the house, where we found a number
-of fighting dogs chained to their kennels.
-Some were close to our feet as we passed
-along, and others, kept in an outhouse
-beside them, could almost snap at our face.
-We went to another outhouse beyond,
-where between thirty and forty persons
-were assembled round a wooden enclosure
-looking on, while some of their dogs were
-killing rats. They consisted of burglars, pickpockets,
-and the associates of thieves, along
-with one or two receivers of stolen property.
-Many of them were coarse and brutal in
-their appearance, and appeared to be in
-their element, as they urged on their dogs
-to destroy the rats, which were taken out
-one after another from a small wooden box.
-These men apparently ranged from twenty-two
-to forty years of age. Many of them
-had the rough stamp of the criminal in
-their countenances, and when inflamed
-with strong drink, would possibly be fit for
-any deed of atrocious villainy. Some of
-the dogs were strong and vigorous, and
-soon disposed of the rats as they ran
-round the wooden enclosure, surrounded
-by this redoubtable band of ruffians, who
-made the rafters ring with merriment when
-the dog caught hold of his prey, or when
-the rat turned desperate on its adversary.
-During the brief space of time we were
-present, a slim little half-starved dog killed
-several rats. When the rat was first let
-loose it was very nimble and vigorous in its
-movements, and the little dog kept for a
-time at a respectful distance, as the former
-was ready to snap at it. Sometimes the
-rat made as though it was to leap over the
-wooden fence to get away from the dog,
-but a dozen rough hands were ready to
-thrust it back. After it had got nearly
-exhausted with its ineffectual struggles to
-get away, the little dog seized it by the
-throat and worried it; when another rat
-was brought out to take its place, and
-another dog introduced to this brutal sport.</p>
-
-<p>This is one of the most dangerous thieves’
-dens we have seen in London. Were any
-unfortunate man to be inveigled into it in
-the evening, or at midnight, when the desperadoes
-who haunt it are inflamed with
-strong drink, he would be completely in
-their power, even were he the bravest
-soldier in the British service, and armed
-with a revolver. Were he to fight his way
-desperately through the large ferocious
-gang in this outhouse, the fighting-dogs in
-the yard might be let loose on him, and
-were he to cleave his way through them, he
-would have to pass through the public-house
-frequented by similar low characters.</p>
-
-<p>Leaving this alley, we proceeded to
-Fashion Street, and entered a skittle-ground
-attached to a low beershop, where
-we saw another gang of thieves, to the
-number of about twelve. Some of them,
-though in rough costermonger’s dress, or
-in the dress of mechanics, are fashionable
-pickpockets, along with thieves of a coarser
-and lower description, who push against
-people in crowds, and snatch away their
-watches and property. One of them, a tall
-athletic young man, was pointed out to us
-as a very expert pickpocket. He was
-dressed in a dark frock coat, dark trousers
-and cap, and was busy hurling the skittleball
-with great violence. On our standing
-by for a little, he slouched his cap sulkily
-over his eyes and continued at his game.
-He had an intelligent countenance, but
-with a callous, bronze-like forbidding expression.
-Some of his companions were
-standing at the other end of the skittle-ground
-engaged in the sport, while the rest
-of his “pals” sat on a seat alongside and
-looked on, occasionally eyeing us with considerable
-curiosity. Some of them were very
-expert thieves.</p>
-
-<p>In passing through Church Lane we met
-two young lads dressed like costermongers,
-and a young woman by their side in a light
-dirty cotton dress and black bonnet. They
-were pointed out to us as those base creatures
-who waylay, decoy, and plunder
-drunken men at night. We proceeded to
-Wentworth Street, and entered a large
-lodging-house of a very motley class of
-people, consisting of men working at the
-docks, prostitutes, and area-sneaks. We
-called at a house in George Street, principally
-occupied by females from eighteen to
-thirty years of age, all prostitutes. In
-Thrall Street we entered a lodging-house
-where we saw about thirty persons of both
-sexes, and of different ages, assembled,
-consisting chiefly of area-sneaks and pickpockets.
-Here we saw one prostitute, with
-a remarkably beautiful child on her knee,
-seated at her afternoon meal. In the tap-room
-of a public-house in Church Street
-we found a large party of thieves, consisting
-of burglars, pickpockets, and area-sneaks,
-along with several resetters, one of
-them a Jew. On the walls of the room
-were pictures of notorious pugilists, Tom<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[313]</a></span>
-Cribb and others. Several of them had
-the appearance of pugilists, in their bloated
-and bruised countenances, and most of
-them had a rough aspect, which we found
-to be a general characteristic of the Whitechapel
-thieves, as well as of most of the
-thieves we saw in the Borough, and at
-Lambeth. Two of the resetters, who appeared
-to be callous, politic men, sneaked
-off upon our seating ourselves beside them.
-One of the band, as we found on similar
-occasions, stood between us and the door
-flourishing a large clasp knife. We sat for
-some time over a glass of ale, and he slunk
-off to a corner and resumed his seat, finding
-his bullying attitude was of no avail. The
-Jewish resetter was very social and communicative
-as he sat on the table. The
-more daring of the band were also frank
-and good-humoured.</p>
-
-<p>Being desirous to gain a more intimate
-acquaintance with the haunts of the London
-thieves, we were brought into communication
-with Mr. Price, inspector of the lodging-houses
-of this district, who accompanied
-us on several visits over the neighbourhood,
-one of the chief rookeries of
-thieves in London.</p>
-
-<p>Before setting out on our inspection he
-gave us the following <span class="lock">information:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>About twenty years ago a number of
-narrow streets, thickly populated with
-thieves, prostitutes, and beggars, were removed
-when New Commercial Street was
-formed, leading from Shoreditch in the direction
-of the London Docks, leaving a
-wide space in the midst of a densely populated
-neighbourhood, which is favourable
-to its sanatory condition, and might justly
-be considered one of the lungs of the metropolis.
-The rookery in Spitalfields we
-purposed to visit is comprised within a
-space of about 400 square yards. It is
-bounded by Church Street Whitechapel,
-East Brick Lane, and West Commercial
-Street, and contains 800 thieves, vagabonds,
-beggars, and prostitutes, a large proportion
-of whom may be traced to the old criminal
-inhabitants of the now extinct Essex Street
-and old Rose Lane.</p>
-
-<p>For instance, a man and woman lived for
-many years in George Yard, Whitechapel, a
-narrow, dirty, and overcrowded street leading
-from Whitechapel into Wentworth
-Street. The man was usually seen among
-crowds of thieves, gambling and associating
-with them. As his family increased, in the
-course of time he took a beershop and
-lodging-house for thieves in Thrall Street.
-His family consisted of three boys and three
-girls. His wife usually addressed the
-young thieves as they left her lodging-house
-in the morning, in the hearing of her own
-children, in this manner; “Now, my little
-dears, do the best you can, and may God
-bless you!”</p>
-
-<p>The following is a brief account of their
-<span class="lock">children:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>The eldest son married a girl whose
-father died during his transportation. He
-and his wife gained their living by thieving,
-and were frequently in custody. At last
-he connected himself with burglars, was
-tried, convicted, and sentenced to six years’
-penal servitude. He is now at Gibraltar,
-ten months of his sentence being unexpired.
-His wife has been left with three young
-children; since his transportation she has
-been frequently in custody for robbing
-drunken men, and has had an illegitimate
-child since her husband left. Her eldest
-daughter was taken from her about twelve
-months ago by Mr. Ashcroft, secretary of
-the Refuge Aid Society, and placed in a
-refuge in Albert Street, Mile End New
-Town, where the Society maintains her.
-The girl is eleven years of age, and appeared
-pleased that she was taken away from her
-filthy abode and bad companions in George
-Street. The second son has been repeatedly
-in custody for uttering base coin, and was
-at last convicted and transported for four
-years. The eldest daughter married a man,
-who also was transported, and is now a
-returned convict. She was apprehended,
-convicted, and sentenced to four years’
-penal servitude. While in Newgate jail, she
-was delivered of twins, and received a reprieve,
-and has since been in custody for
-shoplifting.</p>
-
-<p>We went with the inspector to Lower
-Keat Street, and entered a lodging-house
-there. Most of the inmates were male
-thieves, from twelve to nineteen years of
-age and upwards. The husband of the
-woman who keeps the house is a returned
-convict, and has been in custody for receiving
-stolen property from her lodgers.</p>
-
-<p>We entered another lodging-house in
-this street, haunted by thieves of a lower
-class. An old woman was here employed as
-a deputy or servant, who formerly lived
-in Kent-street in the Borough, and kept
-a public-house there, a resort of thieves.
-She lived with a man there for twenty years
-and upwards, keeping a brothel, and was
-then and is now an old fence. We found
-a number of low thieves in the house at
-the time of our visit. The landlord has
-been in custody for having stolen handkerchiefs
-in his possession, with the marks
-taken out.</p>
-
-<p>Opposite to this house is a public-house
-resorted to by thieves.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[314]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>We then went to Lower George Street,
-where we entered a registered lodging-house.
-In three rooms we saw about ninety
-persons of both sexes and of various ages,
-many of them thieves and vagrants. This
-house is not used as a brothel, but some of
-the lodgers cohabit together as man and
-wife, which is common in these low neighbourhoods.</p>
-
-<p>We went to a lodging-house in Flower-and-Dean
-Street, the keeper of which has
-been recently in prison for receiving from
-his lodgers. We saw a number of wretched
-mendicants here. One man had his leg
-bound up with rags. Many of the inmates
-gain their livelihood by begging, and others
-by thieving. Few honest persons reside here.</p>
-
-<p>We next went to a brothel in Wentworth
-Street, kept by a woman, a notorious character.
-She has been repeatedly in custody
-for robbing drunken men, and her husband
-is now in prison for felony. She is a strong
-coarse-looking woman, with her countenance
-bearing marked traces of unbridled
-passion,&mdash;the type of person we would expect
-as the keeper of a low brothel. She
-had been stabbed on the cheek a few days
-previously by another woman, and bore
-the scar of the fresh wound at the time of
-our visit. The rooms of her house were
-wretchedly furnished, suitable to the low
-orgies transacted in this foul abode. One
-or two withered prostitutes were lounging
-about the kitchen.</p>
-
-<p>We passed on to a lodging-house of a
-very different description, occupied by
-industrious honest working people, which
-we shall describe afterwards when we treat
-of an after-visit.</p>
-
-<p>In this locality we visited the elderly
-woman living in this neighbourhood whom
-we have referred to as having blessed the
-young thieves. She had a very plausible
-condoling manner, as she sat with her two
-daughters by her side&mdash;one a young auburn-haired
-girl of about fourteen, with engaging
-countenance and handsome form, plainly
-but neatly dressed; the other, an ordinary-looking
-young woman, with a child in her
-arms.</p>
-
-<p>We made another visit to this rookery
-with the inspector of police, and made a
-more minute survey of this remarkable
-district.</p>
-
-<p>We went into a lodging-house in George
-Yard. The kitchen was about 35 feet in
-length, and had originally consisted of two
-rooms, the partition between them being
-removed. There was a fire-place in each;
-a group of people, men, lads, and boys were
-ranged along the long tables, many of them
-labourers at the docks.</p>
-
-<p>The boys were better dressed than the
-wild young Arabs of the city, some of them
-in dark and brown coats and tartan and
-black caps. They sat on the forms along
-the sides of the tables, or lolled on seats
-by the fire. The apartments were papered,
-and ornamented with pictures. A picture
-of the Great Eastern steamship set in a
-frame was suspended over the mantelpiece;
-one boy sat with his head bound up, and
-another with his jacket off, and his white
-shirt sleeves exposed. The inmates consisted
-of beggars and dock-labourers seated
-around the ample kitchen, some busy at
-their different meals, and others engaged
-in conversation, which was suspended on
-our entrance. At the door we saw the deputy,
-a young man decently dressed. On
-our former visit we saw an old man with
-an ample unshorn beard, who works during
-the day as a crossing-sweeper. He had
-when young been engaged in seafaring life,
-and has now become an admirable picture
-of Fagin the Jew, as pictured by Charles
-Dickens. The beds are let here at 3<i>d.</i> a
-night. The people who usually lodge here
-are crossing-sweepers, bonepickers, and
-shoeblacks, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>We entered a house in Wentworth Street,
-and passed through a chandler’s shop into
-the kitchen, which is about 31 feet in length
-and 15 in breadth. There we found, as is
-usual in those lodging houses, a large fire
-blazing in the grate. The room had a wooden
-floor, and clothes were suspended on lines
-beneath the rafters. There were two large
-boilers on each side of the fire to supply
-the lodgers with hot water for coffee or tea.
-Tables were ranged around the wall on each
-side, and a motley company were seated
-around them. Numbers of them were busy
-at supper&mdash;coffee, bread, fish, and potatoes.
-An elderly man sat in the corner of the
-room cobbling a pair of old shoes with a
-candle nearly burned to the socket placed
-before him. Groups of elderly women were
-also clustered around the benches, some
-plainly but decently dressed, others in dirty
-tattered skirts and shabby shawls, with
-careworn, melancholy countenances. Some
-were middle-aged women, apparently the
-wives of some of the labourers there. A
-young man sat by their side, a respectable
-mechanic out of work.</p>
-
-<p>Two young lads, vagrants, sat squatted
-by the fire, one of them equipped in dirty
-tartan trowsers, a shabby black frock-coat
-sadly torn, and brown bonnet. The other
-sat in his moleskin trowsers and shirt. At
-one of the tables several young women were
-seated at their tea, some good-looking,
-others very plain, with coarse features.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[315]</a></span>
-An elderly woman, the servant of the establishment,
-stood by the fire with a towel
-over her bare brown arm.</p>
-
-<p>The tables around were covered with
-plates, cups, and other crockery; caps,
-jackets, and other articles of dress.</p>
-
-<p>While in this street the musical band of
-the ragged school at George Yard passed
-by, with the teacher at their head, and
-many of the scholars clustered around them,
-with other juveniles and people of the district.
-Knots of people were assembled in
-the streets as we passed along.</p>
-
-<p>We entered several other lodging-houses
-in this locality, occupied by beggars, dock-labourers,
-prostitutes, and thieves, ballad-singers,
-and patterers of the lowest class.</p>
-
-<p>We went into a house in George Street.
-The kitchen was also very large, about 36
-feet long and 24 feet broad, and had two
-blazing fires to warm the apartment and
-cook the food. Tables were ranged round
-the room as in the other lodging-houses
-alluded to. There were about twenty-two
-people here, chiefly young of both sexes.
-There was one middle-aged bald-headed
-man among them. Many of them were sad
-and miserable. A young good-looking girl,
-not apparently above seventeen years of
-age, sat by the fire with a child in her arms.
-Many of the young women had a lowering
-countenance and dissipated look. Some
-of the young lads had a more pleasing appearance,
-dressed as costermongers.</p>
-
-<p>The long tables were strewed with plates
-and bowls, cups and saucers. Some young
-men sat by reading the newspapers, others
-smoking their pipe and whiffing clouds of
-smoke around them. Some young women
-were sewing, others knitting; some busy
-at their supper, others lying asleep, crouching
-with their arms on the tables.</p>
-
-<p>On going into another lodging-house we
-saw a number of people of both sexes, and
-of various ages, similar to those described.
-There we saw a woman about thirty, also
-engaged knitting, and another reading Reynolds’
-Miscellany. A number of young
-lads of about seventeen years were smoking
-their pipe; another youth, a pickpocket,
-was reading a volume he had got from a
-neighbouring library. Most of the persons
-here were prostitutes, pickpockets, and
-sneaks. There were about fifteen present,
-chiefly young people.</p>
-
-<p>On passing through Flower-and-Dean
-Street we saw a group of young lads and
-girls, all of them thieves, standing in the
-middle of the street.</p>
-
-<p>We passed into another lodging-house,
-and entered the kitchen, which is about
-30 feet long and 18 feet broad. A large
-fire was burning in the grate. On the one
-side of the kitchen were tables and forms,
-and the people seated around them at
-supper on bread and herring, tea and coffee.
-There were a number of middle-aged women
-among them. On the other side of the
-kitchen were stalls as in a coffee-shop. We
-saw several rough-looking men here. There
-was a rack on the wall covered with plates,
-ranged carefully in order. The tables were
-littered with heaps of bottles, jugs, books,
-bonnets, baskets, and shirts, like a broker’s
-shop.</p>
-
-<p>An old gray-headed man sat at one of
-the tables with his hand on his temples, a
-picture of extreme misery, his trowsers
-old, greasy, and ragged, an old shabby
-ragged coat, and a pair of old torn shoes.
-His face was furrowed with age, care, and
-sorrow; his breast was bare, and his head
-bald in front. He had a long gray beard.
-His arms were thin and skinny, and the
-dark blue veins looked through the back
-of his hands. He was a poor vagrant, and
-told us he was eighty-eight years of age.
-There were about forty persons present of
-both sexes, and of various ages; many of
-them young, and others very old.</p>
-
-<p>We passed on to Lower Keat Street, and
-on going into a low lodging-house there we
-saw a number of young prostitutes, pickpockets,
-and sneaks.</p>
-
-<p>We visited another lodging-house of the
-lowest description, belonging to an infamous
-man whom we have already referred
-to. We were shown upstairs to a large room
-filled with beds, by a coarse-featured hideous
-old hag, with a dark moustache. Her hair
-was gray, and her face seamed and scarred
-with dark passions, as she stood before us
-with her protruding breasts and bloated
-figure. Her eyes were dark and muddy.
-She had two gold rings on one of her fingers,
-and was dressed in a dirty light cotton
-gown, sadly tattered, a red spotted soiled
-handkerchief round her neck, and a dirty
-light apron, almost black. On observing
-us looking at her, she remarked, “I am an
-old woman, and am not so young as I have
-been. Instead of enjoying the fruit of my
-hard-wrought life, some other person has
-done it.”</p>
-
-<p>On examining one of the beds in the
-room, we found the bedding to consist of
-two rugs, two sheets and a flock bed, with
-a pillow and pillow case, let at 3<i>d.</i> a night.
-This house is registered for thirty lodgers.
-Young and middle-aged women, the lowest
-prostitutes, and thieves frequent this
-house; some with holes cut with disease
-into their brow. <span class="lock">D&mdash;&mdash;bl&mdash;&mdash;n</span> <span class="lock">B&mdash;&mdash;ll</span> is the proprietor
-of this infamous abode. We saw<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[316]</a></span>
-him as we passed through the house: a
-sinister-looking, middle-aged man, about
-5 feet 7 inches in height. On leaving the
-house, the old hag stood at the foot of the
-stair, with a candle in her hand, a picture
-of horrid misery.</p>
-
-<p>In this locality we went into another
-infamous lodging-house, a haunt of prostitutes
-and thieves, mostly young. There
-was a very interesting boy here, respectably
-dressed, with a dark eye and well-formed
-placid countenance, a pickpocket.
-He told us his parents were dead, and he
-had no friends and no home. He did not
-show any desire to leave his disreputable
-life. Several of them were seated at their
-supper on herrings, plaice, butter, bread,
-and coffee.</p>
-
-<p>We visited several of the more respectable
-lodging-houses in George Yard, to
-have a more complete view of the dwellings
-of the poor in this locality. We entered
-one lodging-house, and passed into the
-kitchen, 33 feet long by 18 feet broad.
-There were tables and forms planted round
-the room, as in the other lodging-houses
-noticed, and on the walls were shelves for
-crockery ware. There was a sink in the
-corner of the kitchen for washing the
-dishes, and a gasburner in the centre of
-the apartment. The kitchen was well ventilated
-at the windows. There was a large
-fire burning, with a boiler on each side of
-the fire-place. Over the mantelpiece was
-a range of bright coffee and tea pots. Coats
-were hung up on pegs against the wall, and
-a fender before the fire. Decent-looking
-men were seated around, some smoking,
-some writing, others eating a plain, but
-comfortable supper, others lounging on
-the seat, exhausted with the labours of the
-day. In out-houses were ample washing accommodation,
-and water-closets. Attached
-to this lodging-house was a reading-room.
-We went to the bed-rooms, and saw the
-accommodation and furniture. There were
-iron bedsteads with flock mattress and
-bed; on each bed were two sheets, one
-blanket, and a coverlet, a pillow-case, and
-a pillow. The bed-rooms were ventilated
-by a flue.</p>
-
-<p>There is here accommodation for eighty-nine
-persons at 3<i>d.</i> a night, and there are on
-an average sixty lodgers each night. The rector
-of Christ Church visits and supplies the
-lodgers with tracts and religious services.
-A register is kept of all the people who
-lodge here. In this house Karls was apprehended,
-concerned with another party
-in the murder of Mrs. Halliday at Kingswood
-Rectory.</p>
-
-<p>We visited another lodging-house in the
-same neighbourhood. The kitchen was
-large, with spacious windows in front.
-There was a large fireplace, with boiler and
-oven with a large hot plate. The lodgers
-had a respectable appearance&mdash;some in
-blue guernseys, and others in respectable
-dark dresses. There was also a reading-room
-here, with a dial over the mantelpiece.
-Some of the men were reading, and
-others engaged in writing. There was accommodation
-for washing, water-closets,
-and excellent beds. This house belongs to
-the same proprietor as the one already
-described. It is closed at 12 o’clock, while
-the others are kept open all night, and is
-generally frequented by respectable lodgers.</p>
-
-<p>We also inspected another lodging-house
-in Thrall Street of a superior kind, where
-beds are to be had at 3&frac12;<i>d.</i> a night. There
-are two superior lodging-houses of the
-same character, kept by Mr. Wilmot and
-Mr. Argent, in Thrall Street and Osborne
-Place, at 3&frac12;<i>d.</i> and 4<i>d.</i> a night.</p>
-
-<p>We thus find that alongside those low
-lodging-houses and brothels, in the very
-bosom of that low neighbourhood, there
-are respectable lodging-houses of different
-gradations in price and position, where
-working-people and strangers can be accommodated
-at 3<i>d.</i>, 3&frac12;<i>d.</i>, and 4<i>d.</i> a night,
-in which decency, cleanliness, and morality
-prevail.</p>
-
-<p>In the course of our visits to Spitalfields
-we found two institutions of high value
-and special interest&mdash;a ragged school and
-a reformatory for young women. The
-ragged school was instituted by the Rev.
-Hugh Allen, the incumbent of St. Jude’s, in
-1853. There are at present 350 ragged
-children of both sexes attending it, averaging
-from four to fifteen years of age. They
-are taught by Mr. Holland, a most intelligent
-and devoted teacher, who is exercising
-a powerful influence for good in that dark
-and criminal locality.</p>
-
-<p>A female reformatory was lately instituted
-by the Rev. Mr. Thornton, the present
-incumbent of St. Jude’s, who labours with
-unwearied energy in this district. This
-asylum is in Wentworth Street, and is
-fitted to accommodate eighteen persons.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Narrative of a Pickpocket.</span></h3>
-
-<p>The following recital was given us by a
-young man who had till lately been an
-adroit pickpocket in various districts of
-London, but has now become a patterer
-for his livelihood. He is about the middle
-height, of sallow complexion, with a rich
-dark, penetrating eye, a moustache and
-beard. He is a man of tolerably good<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[317]</a></span>
-education, and has a most intelligent mind,
-well furnished with reading and general
-information. At the time we met him, he
-was rather melancholy and crushed in
-spirit, which he stated was the result of
-repeated imprisonments, and the anxiety
-and suspense connected with his wild criminal
-life, and the heavy trials he has undergone.
-The woman who cohabits with him
-was then in one of the London prisons,
-and he was residing in a low lodging-house
-in the west end of the metropolis. While
-giving us several exciting passages in his
-narrative, his countenance lightened up
-with intense interest and adventurous expression,
-though his general mien was
-calm and collected. As we endeavoured
-to inspire him with hope in an honest
-career, he mournfully shook his head as
-he looked forward to the difficulties in his
-path. He was then shabbily dressed in a
-dark frock-coat, dark trousers, and cap.
-We give his narrative almost <span class="lock">verbatim:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“I was born in a little hamlet, five miles
-from Shrewsbury, in the county of Shropshire,
-in October 1830, and am now thirty-one
-years of age. My father was a Wesleyan
-minister, and died in 1854, after being
-subject to the yellow jaundice for five or six
-years, during which time he was not able
-to officiate. My mother was a Yorkshire
-woman, and her father kept a shoemaker’s
-shop in the town of Full Sutton. I had
-two brothers, one of them older and the
-other younger than I, and a sister two years
-younger.</p>
-
-<p>“I went to school to learn to write and
-cipher, and had before this learned to read
-at home with my father and mother. We
-had a very happy home, and very strict in
-the way of religion. I believe that my
-father would on no account tolerate such a
-thing as stopping out after nine o’clock at
-night, and have heard my mother often
-say that all the time she was wedded to
-him, she never had known him the worse
-of liquor. My father had family worship
-every night between 8 and 9 o’clock, when
-the curtains were drawn over the windows,
-the candle was lighted, and each of the
-children was taught to kneel separately at
-prayer. After reading the Bible and half
-an hour’s conversation, each one retired to
-their bed. In the morning my father would
-get up and attend to a small pony he had,
-and when I was very young we had a stout
-girl who milked the cow and did the dairy
-and household work. The house we lived
-in was my grandfather’s property, but
-being a man very fond of money, my
-father paid him the rent as if he had been
-a stranger.</p>
-
-<p>“There were two acres of land attached
-to the house, as nearly as I can recollect;
-about half an acre was kept in cultivation
-as a garden, and the other was tilled and
-set apart for the pony and cow.</p>
-
-<p>“Our people were much respected in the
-neighbourhood. If there were any bickerings
-among the neighbours, they came to
-my father to settle them, and anything he
-said they generally yielded to without a
-murmur. In the winter time, when work
-was slack among the poor labouring people,
-though my father had little himself to give,
-he got money from others to distribute
-among those who were the most deserving.
-I lived very happy and comfortable at home,
-but always compelled, though against
-my own inclination, to go twice to service
-on the Sunday, and twice during the week
-(Tuesday and Friday). I always seemed
-to have a rebellious nature against these
-religious services, and they were a disagreeable
-task to me, though my father took
-more pains with me than with my brothers
-and sister. I always rebelled against this
-in my heart, though I did not display it
-openly.</p>
-
-<p>“I was a favourite with my father, perhaps
-more so than any of the others. For
-example, if Wombwell’s menagerie would
-come to Shrewsbury for a short time, he
-would have taken me instead of my
-brothers to visit it, and would there
-speak of the wonders of God and of
-his handiwork in the creation of animals.
-Everything that he said and did was
-tinged with religion, and religion of an
-ascetic argumentative turn. It was a
-kind of religion that seemed to banish
-eternally other sects from happiness and
-from heaven.</p>
-
-<p>“My mind at this time was injured by the
-narrow religious prejudices I saw around
-me. We often had ministers to dinner and
-supper at our house, and always after their
-meals the conversation would be sure to
-turn into discussions on the different points
-of doctrine. I can recollect as well now as
-though it were yesterday the texts used on
-the various sides of the question, and the
-stress laid on different passages to uphold
-their arguments. At this time I would be
-sitting there greedily drinking in every
-word, and as soon as they were gone I
-would fly to the Bible and examine the
-different texts of Scripture they had
-brought forward, and it seemed to produce
-a feeling in my mind that any religious opinions
-could be plausibly supported by it.
-The arguments on these occasions generally
-hinged on two main points, predestination
-and election. My father’s opinions were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[318]</a></span>
-those of the Wesleyan creed, the salvation
-of all through the blood of Christ.</p>
-
-<p>“These continual discussions seemed to
-steel my heart completely against religion.
-They caused me to be very disobedient and
-unruly, and led to my falling out with my
-grandfather, who had a good deal of property
-that was expected to come to our
-family. Though I was young, he bitterly
-resented this. In 1839 he was accidentally
-drowned, and it was found when his will
-was opened that I was not mentioned in it.
-The whole of his property was left to my
-father, with the exception of four houses,
-which he had an interest in till my brothers
-and sister arrived at the age of twenty-one.
-Again the property that was left to my
-father for the whole of his life he had no
-power to will away at his death, as it went
-to a distant relative of my grandfather’s.</p>
-
-<p>“This was the first cause of my leaving
-home. It seemed to rankle in my boyish
-mind that I was a black sheep, something
-different from my brothers and sister.</p>
-
-<p>“After being several times spoken to by
-my father about my quarrelsome disposition
-with my brothers and sister, I threatened,
-young as I was, to burn the house down
-the first opportunity I got. This threat,
-though not uttered in my father’s hearing,
-came to his ear, and he gave me a severe
-beating for it, the first time he ever corrected
-me. This was in the summer of
-1840, in the end of May. I determined to
-leave home, and took nothing away but
-what belonged to me. I had four sovereigns
-of pocket money, and the suit
-of clothes I had on and a shirt. I
-walked to Shrewsbury and took the coach
-to London. When I got to London I had
-neither friend nor acquaintance. I first
-put up in a coffee-shop in the Mile End
-Road, and lodged there for seven weeks, till
-my money was nearly all spent.</p>
-
-<p>“During this time my clothes had been
-getting shabby and dirty, having no one to
-look after me. After being there for seven
-weeks I went to a mean lodging-house at
-Field Lane, Holborn. There I met with
-characters I had never seen before, and
-heard language that I had not formerly
-heard. This was about July, 1840, and I
-was about ten years of age the ensuing
-October. I stopped there about three
-weeks doing nothing. At the end of that
-time I was completely destitute.</p>
-
-<p>“The landlady took pity on me as a poor
-country boy who had been well brought up,
-and kept me for some days longer after my
-money was done. During these few days I
-had very little to eat, except what was
-given me by some of the lodgers when they
-got their own meals. I often thought at
-that time of my home in the country, and
-of what my father and mother might be
-doing, as I had never written to them since
-the day I had first left my home.</p>
-
-<p>“I sometimes was almost tempted to
-write to them and let them know the position
-I was in, as I knew they would gladly
-send me up money to return home, but my
-stubborn spirit was not broke then. After
-being totally destitute for two or three
-days, I was turned out of doors, a little boy
-in the great world of London, with no
-friend to assist me, and perfectly ignorant
-of the ways and means of getting a living
-in London.</p>
-
-<p>“I was taken by several poor ragged boys
-to sleep in the dark arches of the Adelphi.
-I often saw the boys follow the male passengers
-when the halfpenny boats came to
-the Adelphi stairs, <i>i.e.</i>, the part of the
-river almost opposite to the Adelphi
-Theatre. I could not at first make out the
-meaning of this, but I soon found they
-generally had one or two handkerchiefs
-when the passengers left. At this time
-there was a prison-van in the Adelphi
-arches, without wheels, which was constructed
-different from the present prison-van,
-as it had no boxes in the interior.
-The boys used to take me with them into
-the prison-van. There we used to meet a
-man my companions called ‘Larry.’ I knew
-him by no other name for the time. He
-used to give almost what price he liked for
-the handkerchiefs. If they refused to give
-them at the price he named, he would
-threaten them in several ways. He said
-he would get the other boys to drive them
-away, and not allow them to get any more
-handkerchiefs there. If this did not intimidate
-them, he would threaten to give
-them in charge, so that at last they were
-compelled to take whatever price he liked
-to give them.</p>
-
-<p>“I have seen handkerchiefs, I afterwards
-found out to be of the value of four or five
-shillings, sold him lumped together at 9<i>d.</i>
-each.</p>
-
-<p>“The boys, during this time, had been
-very kind to me, sharing what they got
-with me, but always asking why I did not
-try my hand, till at last I was ashamed
-to live any longer upon the food they gave
-me, without doing something for myself.
-One of the boys attached himself to me
-more than the others, whom we used to
-call Joe Muckraw, who was afterwards
-transported, and is now in a comfortable
-position in Australia.</p>
-
-<p>“Joe said to me, that when the next boat
-came in, if any man came out likely to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[319]</a></span>
-carry a good handkerchief, he would let me
-have a chance at it. I recollect when the
-boat came in that evening: I think it was
-the last one, about nine o’clock. I saw an
-elderly gentleman step ashore, and a lady
-with him. They had a little dog, with a
-string attached to it, that they led along.
-Before Joe said anything to me, he had
-‘fanned’ the gentleman’s pocket, <i>i.e.</i>, had
-felt the pocket and knew there was a handkerchief.</p>
-
-<p>“He whispered to me, ‘Now Dick, have
-a try,’ and I went to the old gentleman’s
-side, trembling all the time, and Joe standing
-close to me in the dark, and went with
-him up the steep hill of the Adelphi. He
-had just passed an apple-stall there, Joe
-still following us, encouraging me all the
-time, while the old gentleman was engaged
-with the little dog. I took out a
-green ‘kingsman,’ (handkerchief) next in
-value to a black silk handkerchief. (They
-are used a good deal as neckerchiefs by
-costermongers). The gentleman did not
-perceive his loss. We immediately went
-to the arches and entered the van where
-Larry was, and Joe said to him ‘There is
-Dick’s first trial, and you must give him a
-“ray” for it,’ <i>i.e.</i> 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> After a deal of
-pressing, we got 1<i>s.</i> for it.</p>
-
-<p>“After that I gained confidence, and in
-the course of a few weeks I was considered
-the cleverest of the little band, never
-missing one boat coming in, and getting
-one or two handkerchiefs on each occasion.
-During the time we knew there were no
-boats coming we used to waste our money
-on sweets, and fruits, and went often in the
-evenings to the Victoria Theatre, and
-Bower Saloon, and other places. When we
-came out at twelve, or half-past twelve at
-night, we went to the arches again, and
-slept in the prison-van. This was the life
-I led till January, 1841.</p>
-
-<p>“During that month several men came
-to us. I did not know, although I afterwards
-heard they were brought by ‘Larry’
-to watch me, as he had been speaking of my
-cleverness at the ‘tail,’ <i>i.e.</i>, stealing from
-the tails of gentlemen’s coats, and they
-used to make me presents. It seemed they
-were not satisfied altogether with me, for
-they did not tell me what they wanted, nor
-speak their mind to me. About the
-middle of the month I was seized by a gentleman,
-who caught me with his handkerchief
-in my hand. I was taken to Bow
-Street police-station, and got two months
-in Westminster Bridewell.</p>
-
-<p>“I came out in March, and when outside
-the gate of Westminster Bridewell, there
-was a cab waiting for me, and two of the
-men standing by who had often made me
-presents and spoken to me in the arches.
-They asked me if I would go with them, and
-took me into the cab. I was willing to go
-anywhere to better myself, and went with
-them to Flower-and-Dean Street, Brick
-Lane, Whitechapel. They took me to their
-own home. One of them had the first
-floor of a house there, the other had the
-second. Both were living with women, and
-I found out shortly afterwards that these
-men had lately had a boy, but he was
-transported about that time, though I did
-not know this then. They gave me plenty
-to eat, and one of the women, by name
-‘Emily,’ washed and cleansed me, and I got
-new clothes to put on. For three days I
-was not asked to do anything, but in the
-meantime they had been talking to me of
-going with them, and having no more to
-do with the boys at the Adelphi, or with
-the ‘tail,’ but to work at picking ladies’
-pockets.</p>
-
-<p>“I thought it strange at first, but found
-afterwards that it was more easy to work
-on a woman’s pocket than upon a man’s,
-for this reason:&mdash;More persons work together,
-and the boy is well surrounded by
-companions older than himself, and is
-shielded from the eyes of the passers-by;
-and, besides, it pays better.</p>
-
-<p>“It was on a Saturday, in company with
-three men, I set out on an excursion
-from Flower-and-Dean Street along Cheapside.
-They were young men, from nineteen
-to twenty-five years of age, dressed in
-fashionable style. I was clothed in the
-suit given me when I came out of prison,
-a beaver-hat, a little surtout-coat and trousers,
-both of black cloth, and a black silk
-necktie and collar, dressed as a gentleman’s
-son. We went into a pastry-cook’s shop in
-St. Paul’s Churchyard about half-past two
-in the afternoon, and had pastry there, and
-they were watching the ladies coming into
-the shop, till at last they followed one out,
-taking me with them.</p>
-
-<p>“As this was my first essay in having anything
-to do in stealing from a woman, I
-believe they were nervous themselves, but
-they had well tutored me during the two
-or three days I had been out of prison.
-They had stood against me in the room
-while Emily walked to and fro, and I had
-practised on her pocket by taking out
-sometimes a lady’s clasp purse, termed a
-‘portemonnaie,’ and other articles out of
-her pocket, and thus I was not quite ignorant
-of what was expected of me. One
-walked in front of me, one on my right
-hand, and the other in the rear, and I had
-the lady on my left hand. I immediately<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[320]</a></span>
-‘fanned’ her (felt her pocket), as she
-stopped to look in at a hosier’s window,
-when I took her purse and gave it to one of
-them, and we immediately went to a house
-in Giltspur Street. We there examined
-what was in the purse. I think there was
-a sovereign, and about 17<i>s.</i>, I cannot speak
-positively how much. The purse was
-thrown away, as is the general rule, and we
-went down Newgate Street, into Cheapside,
-and there we soon got four more purses
-that afternoon, and went home by five
-o’clock, <span class="smcap lowercase">P.M.</span> I recollect how they praised
-me afterwards that night at home for my
-cleverness.</p>
-
-<p>“I think we did not go out again till the
-Tuesday, and that and the following day
-we had a good pull. It amounted to about
-19<i>l.</i> each. They always take care to allow
-the boy to see what is in the purse, and to
-give him his proper share equal with the
-others, because he is their sole support.
-If they should lose him, they would be
-unable to do anything till they got another.
-Out of my share, which was about 19<i>l.</i>, I
-bought a silver watch and a gold chain,
-and about this time I also bought an overcoat,
-and carried it on my left arm to cover
-my movements.</p>
-
-<p>“A few weeks after this we went to Surrey
-Gardens, and I got two purses from
-ladies. In one of them were some French
-coins and a ring, that was afterwards advertised
-as either lost or stolen in the garden.
-We did very well that visit, and were
-thinking of going again, when I was caught
-in Fleet Street, and they had no means of
-getting me away, though they tried all they
-could to secure my escape. They could
-not do it without exposing themselves to
-too much suspicion. I was sentenced to
-three months’ imprisonment in Bridge
-Street Bridewell, Blackfriars, termed by
-the thieves the Old Horse.</p>
-
-<p>“This was shortly before Christmas,
-1840. During my imprisonment I did not
-live on the prison diet, but was kept on
-good rations supplied to me through the
-kindness of my comrades out of doors bribing
-the turnkeys. I had tea of a morning,
-bread and butter, and often cold meat.
-Meat and all kinds of pastry was sent to
-me from a cook-shop outside, and I was
-allowed to sit up later than other prisoners.
-During the time I was in prison for these
-three months I learned to smoke, as cigars
-were introduced to me.</p>
-
-<p>“When I came out we often used to attend
-the theatres, and I have often had as
-many as six or seven ladies’ purses in the
-rear of the boxes during the time they were
-coming out. This was the time when the
-pantomimes were in their full attraction.
-It is easier to pick a female’s pocket when
-she has several children with her to attract
-her attention than if she were there by
-herself.</p>
-
-<p>“We went out once or twice a week,
-sometimes stopt in a whole week, and sallied
-out on Sunday. I often got purses
-coming down the steps at Spitalfields’
-Church. I believe I have done so hundreds
-of times. This church was near to
-us, and easily got at.</p>
-
-<p>“We went to Madame Tussaud’s, Baker
-Street, and were pretty lucky there. At
-this time we hired horses and a trap to go
-down to Epsom races, but did not take any
-of the women with us.</p>
-
-<p>“I was generally employed working in
-the streets rather than at places of amusement,
-&amp;c., and was in dread that my father
-or some of my friends might come and see
-me at some of these.</p>
-
-<p>“When at the Epsom races, shortly after
-the termination of the race for the Derby,
-I was induced, much against my will, to
-turn my hand upon two ladies as they were
-stepping into a carriage, and was detected
-by the ladies. There was immediately an
-outcry, but I was got away by two of my
-comrades. The other threw himself in the
-way, and kept them back; was taken up
-on suspicion, committed for trial, and got
-four months’ imprisonment.</p>
-
-<p>“I kept with the other men, and we got
-another man in his place. When his time
-was expired they went down to meet him,
-and he did not go out for some time afterwards&mdash;for
-nearly a fortnight. After that
-we went out, and had different degrees of
-luck, and one of the men was seized with a
-decline, and died at Brompton in the hospital.
-Like the other stalls, he usually
-went well-dressed, and had a good appearance.
-His chief work was to guard me and
-get me out of difficulty when I was detected,
-as I was the support of the band.</p>
-
-<p>“About this time, as nearly as I can recollect,
-when I was two months over thirteen
-years of age, I first kept a woman. We had
-apartments, a front and back room of our
-own. She was a tall, thin, genteel girl, about
-fifteen years of age, and very good-looking.
-I often ill-used her and beat her. She
-bore it patiently till I carried it too far, and
-at last she left me in the summer of 1844.
-During the time she was with me&mdash;which
-lasted for nine or ten months&mdash;I was very
-fortunate, and was never without 20<i>l.</i> or
-30<i>l.</i> in my pocket, while she had the same
-in hers. I was dressed in fashionable style,
-and had a gold watch and gold guard.</p>
-
-<p>“Meantime I had been busy with these<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[321]</a></span>
-men, as usual going to Cheapside, St. Paul’s
-Churchyard, and Fleet Street. In the end
-of the year 1844 I was taken up for an attempt
-on a lady in St. Martin’s Lane, near
-Ben Caunt’s. The conviction was brought
-against me from the City, and I got six
-months in Tothill-fields Prison.</p>
-
-<p>“This was my first real imprisonment of
-any length. At first I was a month in
-Tothill Fields, and afterwards three months
-in the City Bridewell, Blackfriars, where I
-had a good deal of indulgence, and did not
-feel the imprisonment so much. The silent
-system was strict, and being very wilful, I
-was often under punishment. It had such
-an effect on me, that for the last six weeks
-of my imprisonment I was in the infirmary.
-The men came down to meet me when my
-punishment expired, and I again accompanied
-them to their house.</p>
-
-<p>“During the time I had been in prison
-they had got another boy, but they said
-they would willingly turn him away or give
-him to some other men; but I, being self-willed,
-said they might keep him. I had
-another reason for parting with them.
-When I went to prison I had property
-worth a good deal of money. On coming
-out I found they had sold it, and they never
-gave me value for it. They pretended it
-was laid out in my defence, which I knew
-was only a pretext.</p>
-
-<p>“Before I was imprisoned my girl had
-parted from me, which was the beginning
-of my misfortunes.</p>
-
-<p>“I would not go to work with them
-afterwards. I had a little money, and at a
-public-house I met with two men living
-down Gravel Lane, Ratcliffe Highway. I
-went down there, and commenced working
-with two of them on ladies’ pockets, but in
-a different part of the town. We went to
-Whitechapel and the Commercial Road;
-but had not worked six weeks with them
-before I was taken up again, and was tried
-at Old Arbour Square, and got three
-months’ imprisonment at Coldbath Fields.
-If I thought Tothill Fields was bad, I found
-the other worse.</p>
-
-<p>“When I got out I had no one to meet
-me, and thought I would work by myself.
-It was about this time I commenced to
-steal gentlemen’s watches.</p>
-
-<p>“The first I took was from the fob of a
-countryman in Smithfield on a market day.
-It was a silver watch, which we called a
-‘Frying Pan.’ It had not a guard, but an
-old chain and seals. It fetched me about
-18<i>s.</i> I took off one of the seals which was
-gold, which brought me as much as the
-watch, if not more. I sold it to a man I
-was acquainted with in Field Lane, where
-I first lodged, after leaving the coffee-shop
-when I first came to London, and where
-the landlady gave me several nights’ lodging
-gratuitously. I repaid her the small sum
-due her for her former kindness to me.</p>
-
-<p>“I lodged there, and shortly after cohabited
-with another female. She was a
-big stout woman, ten years older than I;
-well-made, but coarse-featured. I did not
-live with her long&mdash;only three or four
-months. I was then only fifteen years of age.
-During that time I always worked by myself.
-Sometimes she would go out with
-me, but she was no help to me. I looked
-out for crowds at fairs, at fires, and on any
-occasion where there was a gathering of
-people, as at this time I generally confined
-myself to watches and pins from men.</p>
-
-<p>“I was not so lucky then, and barely
-kept myself in respectability. My woman
-was very extravagant, and swallowed up all
-I could make. I lived with her about
-four months, when I was taken up in Exmouth
-Street, Clerkenwell, and got four
-months’ imprisonment in Coldbath Fields
-Prison.</p>
-
-<p>“When my sentence was expired she
-came to meet me at the gate of the prison,
-and we remained together only two days,
-when I heard reports that she had been
-unfaithful to me. I never charged her with
-it, but ran away from her.</p>
-
-<p>“When I left her I went to live in Charles
-Street, Drury Lane. I stopped there working
-by myself for five or six months, and
-got acquainted with a young woman who
-has ever since been devoted to me. She
-is now thirty-three years of age, but looks
-a good deal older than she is, and is about
-the middle height. We took a room and
-furnished it. I soon got acquainted with
-some of the swell-mob at the Seven Dials,
-and went working along with three of them
-upon the ladies’ purses again. At this time
-I was a great deal luckier with them than
-I had been since I had left Tothill-fields
-Prison. I worked with them till April 1847,
-visiting the chief places of public resort,
-such as the Surrey Gardens, Regent’s Park,
-Zoological Gardens, Madame Tussaud’s, the
-Colosseum, and other places. Other two
-comrades and I were arrested at the Colosseum
-for picking a lady’s pocket. We were
-taken to Albany Street station-house, and
-the next day committed for trial at the
-sessions. I had twelve months’ imprisonment
-for this offence, and the other two
-got four years’ penal servitude, on account
-of previous convictions. I had only summary
-convictions, which were not produced
-at the trial.</p>
-
-<p>“At this time summary convictions were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[322]</a></span>
-not brought against a prisoner committed
-for trial.</p>
-
-<p>“We were frequently watched by the
-police and detectives, who followed our
-track, and were often in the same places
-of amusement with us. We knew them as
-well as they knew us, and often eluded them.
-Their following us has often been the means
-of our doing nothing on many of these occasions,
-as we knew their eye was upon us.</p>
-
-<p>“I came out of prison three or four days
-before the gathering of the Chartists on
-Kennington Common. My female friend
-met me as I came out.</p>
-
-<p>“I went to this gathering on 10th April,
-1848, along with other three men. I took
-several ladies’ purses there, amounting to
-3<i>l.</i> or 4<i>l.</i>, when we saw a gentleman place a
-pocketbook in the tail of his coat. Though
-I had done nothing at the tail for a long
-time, it was too great a temptation, and I
-immediately seized it. There was a bundle
-of bank-notes in it&mdash;7 ten-pound notes, 2
-for twenty pounds, and 5 five-pound notes.
-We got from the fence or receiver 4<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i>
-for each of the 5<i>l.</i>, 8<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i> for the tens, and
-18<i>l.</i> for the 20<i>l.</i> notes.</p>
-
-<p>“The same afternoon I took a purse in
-Trafalgar Square with about eighteen sovereigns
-in it. I kept walking in company
-with the same men till the commencement
-of 1849, when I was taken ill and laid up
-with rheumatism. I lost the use of my
-legs in a great measure, and could not walk,
-and paid away my money to physicians.
-Before I got better, such articles as we had
-were disposed of, though my girl helped
-me as well as she could.</p>
-
-<p>“In the early part of 1849, when I was
-not able to go out and do anything, Sally,
-who cohabited with me, went out along
-with another girl and commenced stealing
-in omnibuses. She was well-dressed, and
-had a respectable appearance. I did not
-learn her to pick pockets, and was averse
-to it at first, as I did not wish to bring her
-into danger. I think she was trained by
-my pals. She was very clever, and supported
-me till I was able to go out again.
-I had to walk with a crutch for some time,
-but gradually got better and stronger.
-Some time after that I got into a row at the
-Seven Dials, and was sent for a month to
-Westminster prison for an assault.</p>
-
-<p>“When I came out I was sorry to find
-that Sally was taken up and committed for
-trial for an omnibus robbery, and had got
-six months’ imprisonment at Westminster.
-This was in 1850. I succeeded very well
-during the time she was in prison in picking
-ladies’ pockets during the time of the
-Great Exhibition at Hyde Park.</p>
-
-<p>“When she came out, I had nearly 200<i>l.</i>
-by me. I did not go out for some time,
-and soon made the money fly, for I was
-then a cribbage player, and would stake as
-much as 2<i>l.</i> or 3<i>l.</i> on a game.</p>
-
-<p>“In the end of the year 1851 I was
-pressed for the first time to have a hand
-at a crack in the City along with other two
-men. I was led through their representations
-to believe they were experienced
-burglars, but found afterwards, if they <i>were</i>
-experienced they were not very clever.
-Though they got a plan, they blundered in
-the execution of it in getting into the
-place, and went into the wrong room, so
-that they had to get thro’ another wall,
-which caused us to be so late that it was
-gray in the morning before we got away;
-and we did not find so much as we expected.</p>
-
-<p>“At the back of the premises we cut
-our way into the passage, and, according
-to the directions given to us in the plan
-that had been drawn, we had to go up to
-the second floor, and enter a door there.
-We found nothing in the room we had
-entered but neckties and collars, which
-would not have paid us for bringing them
-away. We then had to work our way
-through a back wall, before we got into
-the apartment where the silks were stored.
-They cut through the brick wall very
-cleverly. We had all taken rum to steady
-our nerve before we went to the work.</p>
-
-<p>“We had gone up the wrong staircase,
-which was the cause of our having to cut
-through the wall. There was only one man
-that slept in the house, and he was in a
-room on the basement. We at last, after
-much labour and delay, got into the right
-room, pressed the bolt back, and found we
-could get away by the other staircase. We
-got silks, handkerchiefs, and other drapery
-goods, and had about 18<i>l.</i> each after disposing
-of them&mdash;which was about two-thirds
-of their value. We had a cab to
-carry away the things for us to the ‘fence’
-who received them.</p>
-
-<p>“We went to another burglary at Islington,
-and made an entrance into the
-house, but were disturbed, and ran away
-over several walls and gardens.</p>
-
-<p>“We attempted a third burglary in the
-City. As usual we had a plan of it through
-a man that had been at work there, who
-put it up for us. This was a shop in which
-there were a great many Geneva watches.
-We got in at this time by the back window,
-and went upstairs. We were told that the
-master went away at 11 o’clock. On this
-occasion he had remained later than usual,
-looking over his business books. On see<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[323]</a></span>ing
-us, he made an outcry and struggled
-with us. Assistance came immediately.
-Two policemen ran up to the house. In
-the scramble with the man in the house,
-we tried to make for the door. The police
-could not get in, as the door was bolted.
-We were determined to make a rush out.
-I undid the chain and drew back the bolt.
-I got away, and had fled along two or three
-streets, when I was stunned by a man who
-carried a closed umbrella. Hearing the cry
-of ‘Stop thief!’ he drew out the umbrella,
-and I fell as I was running. I was thereupon
-taken back by one of the police, and
-found both of the others in custody. We
-were committed for trial next day, and sent
-to Newgate in the meantime for detention.</p>
-
-<p>“My former convictions were not brought
-against me. My two companions had been
-previously at Newgate, and were sentenced
-the one to ten years’ and the other to seven
-years’ penal servitude, while I got eighteen
-months’ imprisonment in Holloway prison.
-I was the younger of the party, and had no
-convictions. I never engaged in a burglary
-after this. At this time I was twenty-two
-or twenty-three years of age.</p>
-
-<p>“I came out of prison in 1853, and was
-unnerved for some time, though my health
-was good. This was the effect of the solitary
-confinement.</p>
-
-<p>“When I came out, I wrote home for
-the first time since I had been in London,
-and received a letter back, stating that my
-father was dead after an illness of several
-years, and that I was to come home, adding
-that if I required money, they would send
-it me. Besides, there were several things
-they were to give me, according to my
-father’s wishes.</p>
-
-<p>“I went home, and had thoughts of
-stopping there. My mother was not in
-such good position as I expected, the property
-left by my grandfather having gone
-to a distant relative at my father’s death.
-She was and is still in receipt of a weekly
-sum from the old Wesleyan fund for the
-benefit of the widows of ministers.</p>
-
-<p>“I went home in the end of 1853, and
-had the full intention of stopping there,
-though I promised to Sally to be back in a
-few weeks. I soon got tired of country
-life, though my relations were very kind to
-me, and after remaining seven weeks at
-home, came back to London again about the
-commencement of 1854, and commenced
-working by myself at stealing watches and
-breast-pins. I did not work at ladies’
-pockets, unless I had comrades beside
-me. I went and mingled in the crowds
-by myself.</p>
-
-<p>“In the end of 1854 I got another six
-months’ imprisonment at Hicks’s Hall
-police court, and was sent to Coldbath-Fields,
-and was told that if I ever came
-again before the criminal authorities, I
-would be transported.</p>
-
-<p>“I came out in 1855, and have done very
-little since; acting occasionally as a stall
-to Sally in omnibuses, and generally carrying
-a portmanteau or something with me.
-I would generally sit in the omnibus on
-the opposite side to her, and endeavour to
-keep the lady, as well as I could, engaged in
-conversation, while she sat on her right
-hand. She got twelve months for this in
-1855, and during the time she was in Westminster
-prison I first commenced pattering
-in the streets. I did not again engage
-in thieving till the time of the illumination
-for the peace in 1856. In Hyde Park on
-this occasion I took a purse from a lady,
-containing nine sovereigns and some silver;
-and was living on this money when Sally
-was discharged at the expiry of her sentence.</p>
-
-<p>“When she came out, I told her what I
-had been doing, and found she was much
-altered, and seemed to have a great disinclination
-to go out any more. She did
-not go for some time. I made a sufficient
-livelihood by pattering in the streets for
-nearly two years, when I got wet several
-times, and was laid up with illness again.
-She then became acquainted with a woman
-who used to go on a different game, termed
-shoplifting. While the one kept the shopman
-engaged, the other would purloin a
-piece of silk, or other goods. At this time
-she took to drink. I found out after this
-she often got things, and sold them, before
-she came home, on purpose to get drink.
-News came to me one day that she had
-been taken up and committed for trial
-at Marylebone police court. I paid the
-counsel to plead her case, and she was acquitted.</p>
-
-<p>“I then told her if she was not satisfied
-with what I was doing as patterer, that I
-would commence my former employment.
-So I did for some time during last year, till
-I had three separate remands at the House
-of Detention, Clerkenwell. The policeman
-got the stolen property, but was so much
-engrossed taking me, he had lost sight of
-the prosecutor, who was never found, and
-I got acquitted.</p>
-
-<p>“On this occasion I told Sally I would
-never engage in stealing again, and I have
-kept my word. I know if I had been tried
-at this time, and found guilty, I should have
-been transported.</p>
-
-<p>“I have since then got my living by
-pattering in the streets. I earn my 2<i>s.</i>, or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[324]</a></span>
-2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> in an hour, or an hour and a half in
-the evening, and can make a shift.</p>
-
-<p>“For six or seven years, when engaged
-in picking pockets, I earned a good deal of
-money. Our house expenses many weeks
-would average from 4<i>l.</i> to 5<i>l.</i>, living on the
-best fare, and besides, we went to theatres,
-and places of amusement, occasionally to
-the Cider Cellars, and the Coal Hole.</p>
-
-<p>“The London pickpockets are acquainted
-generally with each other, and help their
-comrades in difficulty. They frequently
-meet with many of the burglars. A great
-number of the women of pickpockets and
-burglars are shoplifters, as they require to
-support themselves when their men are in
-prison.</p>
-
-<p>“A woman would be considered useless
-to a man if she could not get him the use
-of counsel, and keep him for a few days
-after he comes out, which she does by
-shoplifting, and picking pockets in omnibuses,
-the latter being termed ‘Maltooling.’</p>
-
-<p>“I have associated a good deal with the
-pickpockets over London, in different districts.
-You cannot easily calculate their
-weekly income, as it is so precarious, perhaps
-one day getting 20<i>l.</i>, or 30<i>l.</i>, and another
-day being totally unsuccessful. They are
-in general very superstitious, and if anything
-cross them, they will do nothing. If
-they see a person they have formerly
-robbed, they expect bad luck, and will not
-attempt anything.</p>
-
-<p>“They are very generous in helping each
-other when they get into difficulty, or
-trouble, but have no societies, as they
-could not be kept up. Many of them may
-be in prison five or six months of the year;
-some may get a long penal servitude, or
-transportation; or they may have the steel
-taken out of them, and give up this restless,
-criminal mode of life.</p>
-
-<p>“They do not generally find stealing
-gentlemen’s watches so profitable as picking
-ladies’ pockets, for this reason, that the
-purse can be thrown away, some of the
-coins changed, and they may set to work
-again immediately; whereas, when they
-take a watch, they must go immediately to
-the fence with it: it is not safe to keep it
-on their person. A good silver watch will
-now bring little more than 25<i>s.</i>, or 30<i>s.</i>,
-even if the watch has cost 6<i>l.</i> A good gold
-watch will not fetch above 4<i>l.</i> I have
-worked for two or three hours, and have
-got, perhaps, six different purses during
-that time, the purses I threw away, so
-that the robbery may not be traced.
-Suppose you take a watch, and you place
-it in your pocket, while you have also your
-own watch, if you happen to be detected,
-you are taken and searched, and there being
-a second watch found on you, the evidence is
-complete against you.</p>
-
-<p>“The trousers-pockets are seldom picked,
-except in a crowd. It is almost impossible
-to do this on any other occasion, such as
-when walking in the street. A prostitute
-may occasionally do it, pattering with her
-fingers about a man’s person when he is off
-his guard.</p>
-
-<p>“I believe a large number of the thieves
-of London come from the provinces, and
-from the large towns, such as Leeds, Birmingham,
-Sheffield, Manchester, and Liverpool;
-from Birmingham especially, more
-than any other town in England. There
-are no foreigners pickpockets in London so
-far as I know. The cleverest of the native
-London thieves, in general, are the Irish
-cockneys.</p>
-
-<p>“I never learned any business or trade,
-and never did a hard day’s work in my life,
-and have to take to pattering for a livelihood.
-When men in my position take to
-an honest employment, they are sometimes
-pointed out by some of the police as
-having been formerly convicted thieves,
-and are often dismissed from service, and
-driven back into criminal courses.</p>
-
-<p>“I am a sceptic in my religious opinions,
-which was a stumbling-block in the way of
-several missionaries, and other philanthropic
-men assisting me. I have read Paine,
-and Volney, and Holyoake, those infidel
-writers, and have also read the works of
-Bulwer, Dickens, and numbers of others.
-It gives a zest to us in our criminal life,
-that we do not know how long we may
-be at liberty to enjoy ourselves. This
-strengthens the attachment between pickpockets
-and their women, who, I believe,
-have a stronger liking to each other, in
-many cases, than married people.”</p>
-
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[325]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">HORSE AND DOG STEALERS.</h2>
-
-</div>
-
-
-<p><i>Horse-stealing.</i>&mdash;These robberies are not
-so extensive as they used to be in the metropolitan
-districts. They are generally confined
-to the rural districts, where horses are
-turned out to graze on marshes and in pasture-fields.
-Horses are stolen by a low unprincipled
-class of men, who travel the country
-dealing in them, who are termed “horse
-coupers,” and sometimes by the wandering
-gipsies and tinkers. They journey from
-place to place, and observe where there is
-a good horse or pony, and loiter about the
-neighbourhood till they get an opportunity
-to steal it. This is generally done in the
-night time, and in most cases by one man.</p>
-
-<p>After removing it from the park, they
-take it away by some by-road, or keep
-it shut up in a stable or outhouse till the
-“hue and cry” about the robbery has
-settled down. They then trim it up, and
-alter the appearance as much as possible,
-and take it to some market at a distance,
-and sell it&mdash;sometimes at an under price.
-This is their general mode of operation.
-Sometimes they proceed to London, and
-dispose of it at Smithfield market. The
-party that steals it, does not generally take
-it to the market, but leaves it in a quiet
-stable at some house by the way, till he
-meets with a low horse-dealer. The thief is
-often connected with horse-dealers, but may
-not himself be one.</p>
-
-<p>Some Londoners are in the habit of stealing
-horses. These often frequent the Old
-Kent-road, and are dressed as grooms or
-stablemen. They are of various ages,
-varying from twenty to sixty years. The
-person who sells the horses gets part of the
-booty from the horse-stealer.</p>
-
-<p>The mode of stealing by gipsies is somewhat
-similar. They pitch their tents on
-some waste ground by the roadside, or on
-the skirt of a wood, and frequently steal a
-horse when they get an opportunity. One
-will take it away who has been keeping unobserved
-within the tent, and the rest will
-remain encamped in the locality as if
-nothing had happened. They may remove
-it to a considerable distance, and get it
-into the covert of a wood, such as Epping
-Forest, or some secluded spot, and take
-the first opportunity to sell it.</p>
-
-<p>Another class of persons travel about
-the country, dealing in small wares as
-Cheap Johns, who occasionally steal horses,
-or give information to abandoned characters
-who steal them.</p>
-
-<p>These robberies of horses are generally
-committed in rural districts, and are seldom
-done in the metropolis, as horses are
-in general looked after, or locked up in
-stables. They are occasionally stolen in
-the markets in and around the metropolis,
-such as Smithfield and the new market at
-Islington.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes horses in carts, and cabs, and
-other vehicles are removed by thieves in
-the streets of the metropolis; but this is
-only done for a short time until they have
-rifled the goods. So soon as they have
-secured them, they leave the horse and
-vehicle, which come into the hands of the
-police, and are restored to the owner.</p>
-
-<p>The horses stolen are generally light and
-nimble, such as those used in phaetons
-and light conveyances, and not for heavy
-carts or drays.</p>
-
-<p>These robberies are detected in various
-ways. For example, sometimes a valuable
-horse is offered for sale at a reduced price
-in some market, which excites suspicion.
-At other times the appearance of the person
-selling the horse is not consistent with
-the possession of such an animal. On some
-occasions these robberies are detected by
-the police from descriptions forwarded
-from station to station, and are stopped on
-the highway.</p>
-
-<p>Horse-stealers generally take the horses
-through backroads, and never pass through
-tollbars, if they can avoid it, as they could
-be traced. The keeper of the toll might
-give information to the police, and give a
-clue to the way they had gone.</p>
-
-<p>London thieves have been known to go
-considerable distances into the country to
-steal horses&mdash;after having learned that
-horses could easily be taken away. These
-robberies are generally committed in the
-spring and summer, when horses are turned
-out to grass.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Number of cases of horse-stealing in the metropolitan districts for 1860</td><td>23</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto ditto in the City</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">23</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Value of property thereby abstracted in the metropolitan districts</td><td>£649</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p><i>Dog-stealing.</i>&mdash;These robberies are generally
-committed by dog-fanciers and others
-who confine their attention to this class of
-felonies. They are persons of a low class,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[326]</a></span>
-dressed variously, and are frequently followed
-by women. They steal fancy dogs
-ladies are fond of&mdash;spaniels, poodles, and
-terriers, sporting dogs, such as setters and
-retrievers, and also Newfoundland dogs.
-These robberies are generally committed by
-men of various ages, but seldom by boys.
-Their mode of operation is this:&mdash;In prowling
-over the metropolis, when they see a
-handsome dog with a lady or gentleman they
-follow it and see where the person resides.
-So soon as they have ascertained this they
-loiter about the house for days with a piece
-of liver prepared by a certain process, and
-soaked in some ingredient which dogs are
-uncommonly fond of. They are so partial
-to it they will follow the stranger some
-distance in preference to following their
-master. The thieves generally carry small
-pieces of this to entice the dog away with
-them, when they seize hold of it in a convenient
-place, and put it into a bag they
-carry with them.</p>
-
-<p>Another method of decoying dogs is by
-having a bitch in heat. When any valuable
-dog follows it is picked up and taken
-home, when they wait for the reward
-offered by the owner to return it, generally
-from 1<i>l.</i> to 5<i>l.</i> The loss of the dog may be
-advertized in the Times or other newspapers,
-or by handbills circulated over the
-district, when some confederate of the
-thief will negociate with the owner for the
-restoration of the dog. Information is
-sent if he will give a certain sum of money,
-such as 1<i>l.</i>, 2<i>l.</i>, or 5<i>l.</i> the dog will be restored,
-if not it will be killed. This is
-done to excite sympathy.</p>
-
-<p>Some dogs have been known to be stolen
-three or four times, and taken back to their
-owner by rewards. Sometimes when they
-steal dogs they fancy, they keep them and
-do not return them to the owner.</p>
-
-<p>There is a class termed dog-receivers, or
-dog-fanciers, who undertake to return
-stolen dogs for a consideration. These
-parties are connected with the thieves, and
-are what is termed “in the ring,” that is,
-in the ring of thieves. Dogs are frequently
-restored by agencies of this description.
-These parties receive dogs and let the
-owners have them back for a certain sum of
-money, while they receive part of the price
-shared with the thief.</p>
-
-<p>Dog-stealing is very prevalent, particularly
-in the West-end of the metropolis, and
-is rather a profitable class of felony. These
-thieves reside at the Seven Dials, in the
-neighbourhood of Belgravia, Chelsea,
-Knightsbridge, and low neighbourhoods,
-some of them men of mature years.</p>
-
-<p>They frequently pick up dogs in the
-street when their owners are not near.
-But their general mode is to loiter about
-the houses and entice them away in the
-manner described. Sometimes they belong
-to the felon class, sometimes not.
-They are often connected with bird-fanciers,
-keepers of fighting-dogs, and persons who
-get up rat matches.</p>
-
-<p>Some of those stolen are sent to Germany,
-where English dogs are sold at a
-high price.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Number of cases of dog-stealing in the metropolitan districts for 1860</td><td>15</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto ditto in the City</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">16</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Value of property thereby abstracted in the metropolitan districts</td><td>£134</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">HIGHWAY ROBBERS.</h2>
-
-</div>
-
-<p>The highway robbers of the present day
-are a very different set from the bold reckless
-brigands who infested the metropolis
-and the highways in its vicinity in former
-times. There was a bold dash in the old
-highwaymen, the Dick Turpins and Claud
-Du Vals of that day, not to be found in the
-thieves of our time, whether they lived
-in the rookeries of St. Giles’s, Westminster,
-and the Borough, nestling securely amid
-dingy lanes and alleys, densely-clustered together,
-where it was unsafe for even a constable
-to enter; or whether they roamed
-at large on Blackheath and Hounslow Heath,
-or on Wimbledon Common, and Finchley
-Common, accosting the passing traveller
-pistol in hand, with the stern command,
-‘Stand and deliver.’</p>
-
-<p>The highwaymen of our day are either
-the sneaking thieves we have described,
-who adroitly slip their hands into your
-pockets, or low coarse ruffians who follow
-in the wake of prostitutes, or garotte
-drunken men in the midnight street, or
-strike them down by brutal violence with a
-life-preserver or bludgeon.</p>
-
-<p>These felonies are generally committed in
-secluded spots and by-streets, or in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[327]</a></span>
-suburbs of the metropolis. Many robberies
-are committed on the highway by <i>snatching
-with violence from the person</i>. These
-are generally done in the dusk, and rarely
-during the day. When committed early
-in the evening, they are done in secluded
-places, intersected with lanes and alleys,
-where the thieves have a good opportunity
-to escape, such as in the Borough, Spitalfields,
-Shoreditch, Whitechapel, Drury-lane,
-West-minster, and similar localities. These
-are often done by one person, at other
-times by two or more in company, and
-generally by young men from nineteen years
-and upwards. The mode of effecting it is
-this. They see a person respectably dressed
-walking along the street, with a silver or
-gold chain, who appears to be off his guard.
-One of them as he passes by makes a snatch
-at it, and runs down one of the alleys or
-along one of the by-streets.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes the thief breaks the chain with
-a violent wrench. At other times the swivel,
-or ring of the watch may give way; or a
-piece of the guard breaks off. The thief
-occasionally fails to get the watch. In these
-cases he can seldom be identified, because
-the party may not have had his eye on
-him, and may lose his presence of mind;
-and the thief may have vanished swiftly
-out of his sight.</p>
-
-<p>Should the person to whom the watch
-belongs run after him, his companions
-often try to intercept him, and with this
-view throw themselves in his way. The
-thief is seldom caught at the time, unless
-he is pursued by some person passing by,
-who has seen him commit the robbery, or
-who may have heard the cry, “Stop thief.”</p>
-
-<p>These felonies are committed by men
-living in low neighbourhoods, who are
-generally known thieves; and are in most
-cases done during some disturbance in the
-street, or in a crowd, or upon a person the
-worse of liquor.</p>
-
-<p>In September, 1859, Thomas Dalton, alias
-Thomas Davis, a stout-made man of about
-thirty years of age, and 5 ft. 6 inches high,
-in company with another man, went to the
-regatta at Putney, near London, when
-Dalton snatched the watch of Mr. Friar,
-formerly the ballet-master at Vauxhall-gardens.
-Mr. Friar, being aware of the
-robbery, suddenly seized hold of both the
-men, when they wrestled with him. The
-other man got away, but he retained his
-hold of Dalton. On a policeman coming
-up Dalton dropped the watch. He was
-committed to the Surrey Sessions, tried on
-15th September, 1859, and sentenced to
-ten years’ penal servitude.</p>
-
-<p>Dalton was one of five prisoners tried at
-the Central Criminal Court in December,
-1847, for the murder of Mr. Bellchambers,
-at Westminster, having beaten in his brains
-with an iron bar in Tothill-street, Westminster
-during the night. Dalton was
-then acquitted. Sales, one of the parties
-charged, was found guilty and hanged at
-Newgate.</p>
-
-<p>They were seen in the company of the
-deceased in a public-house in Orchard-street,
-Westminster on the night of the
-murder, and had followed him out and
-robbed him of his money, watch, and seals.
-Dalton had been several times in custody,
-for being concerned with other persons in
-plate robberies; sneaking down into areas
-and opening the doors by means of skeleton
-keys, and carrying off the plate. One
-of the thieves went, dressed as a butcher,
-with an ox’s tail, pretending the lady of the
-house had ordered it. While the servant
-went upstairs he put the plate into a
-basket he carried with him, and carried it
-away.</p>
-
-<p>On the 23rd of March, 1850, he was in
-custody with other three notorious housebreakers
-for attempting to steal plate in
-Woburn-square by skeleton keys along with
-other four thieves, when he was found
-guilty and got three months’ imprisonment.
-One of them opened an area gate about 10
-o’clock in the morning, carrying a green-baize
-cloth containing three French rolls.
-Finding the servant in the kitchen, cleaning
-the plate, he told her he had brought
-the French rolls from the baker. The
-servant, who was an intelligent shrewd
-person, refused to go upstairs to her mistress.
-Meantime two detective officers,
-who had been on the look-out, arrested the
-four thieves and prevented the robbery.</p>
-
-<p>On the 6th February, 1854, he was tried
-at Westminster, for snatching a watch from
-a gentleman in Parliament-street, while
-her Majesty was proceeding to open the
-Houses of Parliament. The gentleman
-feeling the snatch at his watch laid hold of
-Dalton, when he threw it down an area in
-front of the Treasury buildings.</p>
-
-<p>As we have already said, Dalton was
-afterwards sentenced to transportation.</p>
-
-<p>Another remarkable case of highway
-robbery took place several years ago by a
-man of the name of George Morris. He
-was above five feet nine inches high, stout
-made, with dark whiskers, and of gentlemanly
-appearance. He snatched a watch
-from a man near the Surrey Theatre. Immediately
-on seizing hold of the watch he
-ran round St. George’s Circus into the
-Waterloo-road, with the cry of stop thief
-ringing in his ears. In running down<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[328]</a></span>
-Waterloo-road he threw himself down intentionally
-into a heap of dirt in the street,
-when several people who were chasing him,
-and also a policeman, stumbled over him.
-He then got up as they lay on the ground
-and run down a turning called Webber-row,
-down Spiller’s-court, and got over a
-closet, then mounted the roof of some low
-cottages, and jumped off this into the
-garden at the other side belonging to lofty
-houses there under repair. Finding a
-crowd of people and the police close at his
-heels in the garden below, and being exceedingly
-nimble, he ran up the ladder like
-lightning, to the roof of the house. As
-the policemen were about to follow him he
-took hold of the ladder and threw it back,
-preventing all further chase. He disappeared
-from the top of this house and got
-to the roof of the Magdalen Institution,
-and would have made his escape but for
-the prompt exertions of the police. Some
-of them ran into a builder’s yard and got
-several ladders and climbed up at different
-parts of the building and pursued him on
-the roof of the house&mdash;between the chapel
-and the governor’s house. He stood at
-bay, and threatened to kill the first policeman
-who approached him, and kept them
-at defiance for half-an-hour.</p>
-
-<p>Meantime several other policemen had
-mounted the back part of the chapel by
-means of a ladder, unperceived by Morris,
-while the others were keeping him in conversation.
-On seeing them approach he
-found all hope of escape was vain, and surrendered
-himself into the hands of the
-officers. He was tried at the Central Criminal
-Court, and sentenced to transportation
-for ten years.</p>
-
-<p>Not long before he had assaulted a
-woman in the Westminster-road. There
-was a cry for the police, and he ran down
-Duke-street, Westminster-road. On turning
-the corner of the street he popped into
-a doorway. This was in the dusk of the
-evening. His pursuers ran past, thinking
-he had gone into one of the adjoining
-streets. As soon as they had passed by he
-was seen to come out and coolly walk back,
-as if nothing had occurred. A neighbour
-who had seen this gave him into the custody
-of the police about half-an-hour
-afterwards, and he was fined 40<i>s.</i> for assaulting
-the woman.</p>
-
-<p>About this time a woman complained to
-a policeman at the Surrey Theatre that a
-tall, gentlemanly man had picked her
-pocket. The constable told her he had
-seen a well-known thief go into a neighbouring
-coffee-shop dressed in black. He
-took the woman over, and she immediately
-said that was not the man. She was not
-able to identify him, as he had turned his
-coat inside out. The coat he had on was
-black in the inside, and white on the exterior,
-and could be put on upon either
-side. He had in the meantime changed
-the coat, and the woman was thereby unable
-to recognize him. This enabled him
-on this occasion to escape the ends of
-justice.</p>
-
-<p>Highway robberies are also effected by
-garotting. These are done in similar
-localities at dusk, frequently in foggy nights
-at certain seasons of the year, and seldom
-in the summer time. They are generally
-done in the by-streets, and in the winter
-time. A ruffian walks up and throws his
-arm round the neck of a person who has
-a watch, or whom he has noticed carrying
-money on his person. One man holds him
-tightly by the neck, and generally attacks
-from behind, or from the side. The garotter
-tries to get his arm under his chin,
-and presses it back, while with the other
-hand he holds his neck firmly behind. He
-does it so violently the man is almost
-strangled, and is unable to cry out. He
-holds him in this position perhaps for a
-minute or two, while his companions, one
-or more, rifle his pockets of his watch and
-money.</p>
-
-<p>Should the person struggle and resist he
-is pressed so severely by the neck that he
-may be driven insensible. When the robbery
-is effected they run off. In general
-they seize a man when off his guard, and it
-may be some time before he recovers his
-presence of mind. These are generally a
-different class of men from the persons
-who snatch the watch-chain. They have
-more of the bull-dog about them, and are
-generally strong men, and brutal in disposition.
-Many of them are inveterate
-thieves, returned convicts, ruffians hardened
-in crime. Their average age is from
-twenty-five and upwards, and they reside
-in low infamous neighbourhoods. Most of
-these depredations are committed in the
-East-end of the metropolis, such as Whitechapel
-and its neighbourhood, or the dark
-slums in the Borough.</p>
-
-<p>A remarkable case of garotting occurred
-in the metropolis in July, 1856. Two men
-went to a jeweller’s shop in Mark Lane
-during the day, when the street was
-thronged with people. One of them was
-stout-made, about five feet six inches high,
-of dark complexion, and about forty-five
-years of age. The other, named James
-Hunter, alias Connell, was about five feet
-ten inches high, of robust frame, with dark
-whiskers, dressed in the first of fashion.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[329]</a></span>
-One of the thieves kept watch outside
-while the other slipped in and laid hold,
-in the absence of the jeweller, of a lot of
-valuable jewellery. The shopman, who
-happened to be in the back parlour, ran
-into the shop and seized him. On seeing
-this his companion came in from the street
-to assist him, knocked the shopman down
-and gave him a severe wound on the head,
-when both hastily made their escape. One
-of them was taken when he had got a
-small distance off with some of the jewellery
-on his person, such as watches, rings,
-brooches, &amp;c., but the other got away.
-This robbery was daringly done in the very
-middle of the day, near to the Corn Exchange,
-while in the heat of business. One
-of the robbers was taken and tried at the
-Central Criminal Court in July, 1856, and
-sentenced to ten years’ transportation, having
-been previously convicted for felony.</p>
-
-<p>From information received by the police,
-James Hunter alias Clifford alias Connell,
-the other person concerned in this robbery,
-was taken afterwards. A good-looking
-young applewoman swore distinctly he
-was one of those parties. In running away
-he had thrown down her stand of apples,
-and also threw her down when she for a
-short time had seized hold of him.</p>
-
-<p>He was tried at the Central Criminal
-Court in August 1856, the following
-sessions, when the prisoner’s counsel
-proved an alibi by calling his convicted confederate
-as a witness. His two sisters also
-swore he was in their house at Lambeth
-Walk on the day the robbery occurred, and
-had dinner and tea with his mother, who
-was an honest and respectable woman.</p>
-
-<p>Other robberies are perpetrated <i>by brutal
-violence with a life-preserver or bludgeon</i>. It
-is usually done by one or more brutal men
-following a woman. The men are generally
-from thirty to forty years of age&mdash;some
-older&mdash;carrying a life-preserver or
-bludgeon. This is termed “swinging the
-stick,” or the “bludgeon business.” The
-woman walks forward, or loiters about,
-followed by the men, who are hanging in
-the rear. She walks as if she was a common
-prostitute, and is often about twenty-six
-or thirty years of age. She picks up a
-man in the street, possibly the worse of
-liquor; she enters into conversation, and
-decoys him to some quiet, secluded place,
-and may there allow him to take liberties
-with her person, but not to have carnal
-connection. Meantime she robs him of his
-watch, money, or other property, and at
-once makes off.</p>
-
-<p>In some instances she is pursued by the
-person, who may have discovered his loss;
-when he is met by one of the men, who
-runs up, stops him, and inquires the direction
-to some part of London, or to some
-street, or will ask what he has been doing
-with his wife, and threaten to punish him
-for indecent conduct to her. During this
-delay the woman may get clear away. In
-some cases a quarrel arises, and the victim
-is not only plundered of his money,
-but severely injured by a life-preserver or
-bludgeon.</p>
-
-<p>Cases of this kind occasionally occur in
-the East-end and the suburbs of London.
-These women and men are generally old
-thieves, and, when convicted, are often
-sentenced to transportation, being in most
-cases well known to the police.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes these robberies are committed
-by men without the connivance of
-women, as in a case which occurred in
-Drury Lane in August last, when a man
-was decoyed by several men from sympathy
-to accompany a drunken man to
-a public-house, and was violently robbed.</p>
-
-<p>In the month of July 1855 a woman
-stopt a man in the London-road, Southwark,
-one evening about twelve o’clock at
-night, and stole his watch. The party
-immediately detected the robbery, and laid
-hold of her. Upon this two men came up
-to her rescue, struck him in the face, and
-cut his cheek. They then gave him another
-severe blow on the head, and knocked
-him down senseless, while calling out for
-the police.</p>
-
-<p>A policeman came up at this juncture,
-and laid hold of Taylor, one of the men,
-and took him into custody with a life-preserver
-in his hand. Taylor was tried on
-20th August, 1855, at the Central Criminal
-Court, and was sentenced to fourteen years’
-penal servitude.</p>
-
-<p>Highway robberies by the pistol are
-seldom committed, though occasionally
-such instances do occur. These are seldom
-committed by professional thieves, as they
-generally manage to effect their object by
-picking pockets, and in the modes we have
-just described.</p>
-
-<p>The old rookeries of thieves are no longer
-enveloped in mystery as formerly. They
-are now visited by our police inspectors
-and constables, and kept under strict surveillance.
-Our daily press brings the details
-of our modern highway-men and other
-thieves clearly to the light of day; and
-their deeds are no longer exaggerated by fictitious
-embellishments and exaggerations.
-Our railways and telegraphs, postal communications
-and currency arrangements,
-have put an end to mounted highwaymen,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[330]</a></span>
-such as Dick Turpin and Tom King. Were
-such to appear now, they would furnish a
-rare piece of sport to our bold and adroit
-detectives, and would speedily be arrested.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Number of felonies by highway robbery in the metropolitan districts for 1860</td><td>21</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto ditto in the City</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">22</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Value of property thereby abstracted in the metropolitan districts</td><td>£98</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto ditto in the City</td><td>2</td><td>10</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">£100</td><td class="total">10</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">A Ramble Among the Thieves’ Dens in
-the Borough.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Leaving the police-office at Stones-end,
-along with a detective-officer, we went
-one afternoon to Gunn Street, a narrow
-by-street off the Borough Road, inhabited
-by costermongers, burglars, and pickpockets.</p>
-
-<p>Here one of the most daring gangs of
-burglars and pickpockets in London met
-our eye, most of them in the dress of costermongers.
-A professional pickpocket, a
-well-attired young man, was seated on a
-costermonger’s barrow. He was clothed in
-a black cloth coat, vest, and trousers, and
-shining silk hat, and was smoking a pipe,
-with two or three “pals” by his side. It
-was then about seven o’clock, <span class="smcap lowercase">P. M.</span>, and as
-clear as mid-day. About forty young men,
-ranging from seventeen to thirty-five years
-of age, were engaged around a game of
-“pitch and toss,” while others were lounging
-idle in the street.</p>
-
-<p>We went forward through the crowd,
-and stood for some time alongside. At
-first they may have fancied we were come
-to arrest one or more of them, and were
-evidently prepared to give us a warm reception.
-On seeing us standing by smiling,
-they recovered their good-humour, and
-most of them continued to cluster together,
-but numbers sneaked off to their
-houses out of sight.</p>
-
-<p>Here we saw a tall, robust man, with a
-dissipated and ruffian look, smoking a long
-pipe, who had been an accomplice in an
-atrocious midnight murder.</p>
-
-<p>He had narrowly escaped the gallows by
-turning Queen’s evidence on his companions.
-He is a determined burglar.
-We could observe from the brutal, resolute,
-bull-dog look of the man that he was
-fit for any deed of heartless villany when
-inflamed with strong drink.</p>
-
-<p>Three burglars stood in the middle of
-the crowd, who soon after left it and
-entered a beershop in the street. One of
-them was dressed like a respectable mechanic.
-He was rather beneath the middle
-height, stout-made, with his nose injured
-and flattened, possibly done in some broil.
-Another was more brutal in appearance,
-and more degraded. The third burglar
-was not so resolute in character, and appeared
-to be an associate of the band.</p>
-
-<p>Ten of the persons present had been
-previously convicted of robberies. The
-greater part, if not the whole of them, were
-thieves, or associates of thieves.</p>
-
-<p>We next directed our way to the Mint, a
-well-known harbour of low characters,
-passing knots of thieves at the corners of
-the different streets as we proceeded along.
-Some were sneaks, and others pickpockets.
-In the neighbourhood of the Mint we found
-a number of children gamboling in the
-streets. One in particular arrested our
-attention, an interesting little girl of about
-five years of age, with a sallow complexion,
-but most engaging countenance, radiant
-with innocence and hope. Other sweet
-little girls were playing by her side, possibly
-the children of some of the abandoned
-men and women of the locality. How sad
-to think of these young innocents exposed
-to the contamination of bad companionships
-around them, and to the pernicious
-influence of the bad example of their
-parents!</p>
-
-<p>We went into Evans’s lodging-house,
-noted as a haunt for thieves. Passing
-through a group of young women who
-stood at the doorway, we went downstairs
-to an apartment below and saw about a
-dozen of young lads and girls seated around
-a table at a game of cards. One of these
-youths was a notorious pickpocket, though
-young in years, and had twice escaped out
-of Horsemonger Lane gaol. We were informed
-there was not a fourth of the persons
-present who usually frequent the
-house. After the first panic was over the
-young people resumed their game, some
-looking slyly at us, as if not altogether sure
-of our object. Others were lying extended
-on the benches along the side of the room.
-As we were looking on this curious scene
-the women in the flat above had followed
-us down and were peering from the staircase
-into the apartment to try and learn
-the object of our visit. As we left the
-house we took a glance over our shoulder
-and saw them standing at the door, following
-our movements.</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[331]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>We bent our steps to Kent Street and
-entered a beershop there. There were a
-number of thieves and “smashers” (utterers
-of base coin) hovering round the bar.
-The “smashers” were ordinary-looking
-men and women of the lower orders. We
-saw a party of thieves in the adjoining tap-room,
-and seated ourselves for a short time
-among them. One of them was a dexterous
-swell-mobsman, who has been several
-times convicted and imprisoned. A dark-complexioned
-little man, about twenty-one
-years of age, an utterer of base coin, was
-lounging in the seat beside us. The swell-mobsman
-was evidently the leading man
-among them. He was a good-looking fair-haired
-youth, about twenty years of age,
-smart and decided in his movements, and
-with a good appearance, very unlike a criminal.
-He occasionally dresses in high
-style, in a superfine black suit, with white
-hat and crape, and occasionally drives out
-in fashionable vehicles.</p>
-
-<p>We also visited Market Street, a narrow
-by-street off the Borough Road, a well-known
-rookery of prostitutes. A great number
-of simple, thoughtless young girls, from
-various parts of London and the country,
-leave their homes and settle down here and
-live on prostitution. Here we saw an organist
-performing in the street, surrounded
-by a dense crowd of young prostitutes,
-middle-aged women, and children of the
-lower class. Two young women, one with
-her face painted, and the other a slender
-girl about seventeen, with an old crownless
-straw bonnet on her head, and with the
-crown of it in one hand, and a stick in the
-other, were dancing in wild frolic to the
-strains of the organ, amid the merriment of
-the surrounding crowd, and to the evident
-amazement of the poor minstrel, while
-other rough-looking young dames were
-skipping gaily along the street.</p>
-
-<p>In a brothel in this street an atrocious
-crime was perpetrated a few days ago by
-George Philips, a young miscreant, termed
-the Jew-boy, who resided there. A sailor,
-recently returned from India, happened to
-enter this foul den. The inmates consisted
-of the Jew-boy’s sister, a common prostitute,
-who cohabited with Richard Pitts, a
-well-known burglar, recently sentenced to
-transportation for ten years, another prostitute
-named Irish Julia, and this young
-villain, the Jew. After remaining for some
-time the sailor told them he was to leave
-their company. On hearing this, Philips’s
-sister told her brother to stab him to the
-heart. He instantly took out a knife from
-his pocket, opened it, and stabbed the
-sailor beneath the collar-bone. After committing
-this atrocious crime he coolly
-wiped the knife on the cuff of his guernsey,
-at the same time stating, if the sailor had
-not got enough he would give him the other
-end of the knife. The sailor fell, apparently
-mortally wounded, and was removed to St.
-Thomas’s Hospital.</p>
-
-<p>His sister, on seeing what her brother
-had done by her order, desperately seized
-a bottle of laudanum in the room, and
-drank off part of the contents, and still lies
-in a precarious state.</p>
-
-<p>In this portion of Market Street we
-understand every house, from basement
-to attic, is occupied by prostitutes and
-thieves.</p>
-
-<p>We entered an adjoining public-house,
-where three of these young women followed
-us to the bar, anxious to know the object
-of our visiting the district. They called
-for a pint of stout, which they drank off
-heartily, and stood loitering beside us to
-hear our conversation, so that they might
-have something to gossip about to their
-companions. The girl who frolicked in the
-street with the old bonnet was one of them,
-and had now laid this aside. She was fair-haired,
-and good-looking, but was very
-foolish and immodest in her movements.
-One of her companions was taller and more
-robust, but her conduct showed she was debased
-in her character, and lost to all sense
-of propriety. The other girl was tall and
-dark-eyed, and more quiet and calculating
-in her manner as she stood, in a light cotton
-dress, silently leaning against the door-post.</p>
-
-<p>One evening in September, about eight
-o’clock, we took another ramble over the
-criminal district of the Borough.</p>
-
-<p>As we went along Kent Street the lamps
-were lit, and the shops in the adjoining
-streets were illuminated with their flaring
-gas lights. On passing St. George’s church
-we saw a crowd collected around a drunken
-middle-aged Irishwoman. It was one of
-those motley scenes one often meets in
-the streets of London. Young people and
-middle-aged, old women and children were
-clustered together, some well-dressed,
-others in mechanics’ dress, begrimed with
-dust and sweat, and others hanging in rags
-and tatters. They were collected around
-this woman, who stood on the pavement,
-while the mass were gathered in the street,
-many of them looking on anxiously with
-eyes and mouth open, others grinning with
-delight, and some with sinister countenance,
-while she gesticulated wildly, yet in good
-humour, in a strong Irish accent, amid the
-applause of the auditory.</p>
-
-<p>We could not hear the subject of her oration.
-On our coming up to her and re<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[332]</a></span>maining
-for a short time, curious to know
-the nature of the comedy, the woman went
-away, followed by part of the crowd, when
-she appeared to take her station again in
-the midst of them. We had no time to
-lose, and passed on.</p>
-
-<p>On our proceeding farther into Kent
-Street, a good-looking girl, evidently belonging
-to the lower orders, stood in a
-doorway, with beaming smile, and beckoned
-us to enter. She had accosted us in like
-manner in the light of open day on our
-previous visit to Kent Street, while another
-young woman, of her own age and size, apparently
-her sister, stood by her side. As
-on the former occasion we did not trust
-ourselves to these syren sisters, but again
-passed on, notwithstanding urgent solicitations
-to enter.</p>
-
-<p>Farther along the street we saw a small
-group of men and boys&mdash;thieves and utterers
-of base coin. A young woman of
-about twenty-five years of age stood among
-them, who was a common prostitute and
-expert thief, although we could scarcely
-have known this from her heavy, stupid-looking
-countenance, which was bloated
-and dissipated. One of the group was a
-burglar. He was under the middle size,
-pockpitted, and had a callous, daring look
-about him. We had time to study the
-lines of his face. They soon divined our
-purpose, and skulked off in different directions,
-as we found the generality of such
-persons to do in the course of our visits.
-The men were of different ages, varying
-from seventeen to thirty, dressed similar
-to costermongers.</p>
-
-<p>We bent our way to St. George’s New
-Town, a by-street off Kent Street. On
-turning the corner from Kent Street, leading
-into St. George’s New Town, we saw a
-cluster of men and women, varying in age
-from seventeen to forty, also dressed like
-those just described. Most of them were
-convicted thieves.</p>
-
-<p>We then came back to Mint Street, leading
-out of High Street in the Borough to
-Southwark Bridge Road, which, as we have
-said, is very low and disreputable.</p>
-
-<p>Leaving Mint Street and its dark, disreputable
-neighbourhood, we directed our
-way to Norfolk Street, a very narrow street,
-leading into Union Street in the Borough.
-This locality is much infested with pickpockets
-and also with “dragsmen,” <i>i. e.</i>
-those persons who steal goods or luggage
-from carts and coaches. At one corner of
-this street we saw no less than seven or
-eight persons clustered together, several of
-them convicted thieves. They were dressed
-similar to those in the low neighbourhoods
-already described.</p>
-
-<p>We then went into Little Surrey Street,
-Borough Road, where we entered a beershop.
-Here we found four men, from twenty-five
-to thirty-five years of age&mdash;expert
-burglars. One of them appeared to be a mechanic.
-He told us he was an engraver. This
-was the same burglar, with his nose flattened,
-we had seen on the previous occasion
-referred to. He was an intelligent, determined
-man, and acted as the head of the
-gang. The other two were the companions
-we had seen with him in Gunn Street.
-All of them were rather under the middle
-size. They were now better dressed than
-formerly, and apparently on the eve of
-setting out to commit some felony. They
-appeared trimmed up in working order.
-A prostitute, connected with them, with
-her eye blackened, stood by the bar. She
-was also well-attired, and ready to accompany
-them. Burglars of this class often
-have a woman to go before them, to carry
-their housebreaking tools, to the house they
-intend to enter, as they might be arrested
-on the way with the tools in their own
-possession. The woman was tolerably good-looking,
-and on setting out, was possibly
-getting primed with gin. The engraver
-has been convicted several times for picking
-pockets as well as for burglary. The
-other two are convicted burglars. There
-was a man of about forty years of age
-seated beside them in the beershop, whom
-we learned was in a decline. The burglars
-are often liberal in supporting the invalids
-connected with them, and the latter lend a
-subordinate hand occasionally in their
-nefarious work, such as in assisting to dispose
-of the stolen property. One of their
-old “pals” died lately, and the burglars in
-his neighbourhood raised a subscription between
-them to defray his funeral expenses.</p>
-
-<p>We proceeded to Market Street, Borough
-Road, where we had on the former occasion
-observed the scene of merriment with the
-organist and the young girls. But the
-street had now a very different appearance.
-Instead of the locality ringing with the
-light-hearted merriment and buffoonery of
-the young girls and groups of children, the
-dark pall of night was stretched over it.
-At every door as we passed we saw a female
-standing on the outlook for persons to
-enter their dens of prostitution and crime.
-They solicited us in whispers to enter, or
-tapped us gently on the shoulder, or seized
-us by the skirts of the coat. Some of them
-were young and good-looking, while others
-were old and bloated. We looked into
-several of the houses as we went along,
-and saw numbers of young prostitutes in
-their best attire, seated by the tables, or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[333]</a></span>
-lolling on the seats. This part of Market
-Street is one of the lowest rookeries of
-prostitutes and thieves in London. Many
-a young girl has been ruined by entering
-these low brothels. She may have been
-a servant out of place, or she may have
-left her home in the metropolis, and betaken
-herself here to a life of infamy.</p>
-
-<p>These prostitutes assist to maintain the
-burglars, pickpockets, and other thieves,
-when they are not successful in their lawless
-calling. Some of them are well-dressed
-and remarkably good-looking. They occasionally
-come home with men in cabs
-from the different theatres, and rob them
-in their dwellings, and turn them unceremoniously
-into the street, but do not strip
-them of their clothing. When their cash
-is done, they wish their company no longer.</p>
-
-<p>In other low districts in the vicinity of
-Kent Street, prostitutes have been convicted
-for stealing the clothes of the unfortunates
-who have entered their dismal
-abodes.</p>
-
-<p>Leaving Market Street and the alleys
-and slums of that locality behind us, we
-went along Newington Causeway, a far
-brighter and more salubrious scene. This
-is a wide business street, and one of the
-main streets on the Surrey side of the
-river, where, especially in the evenings, a
-good deal of shopping is carried on.</p>
-
-<p>The south side of Newington Causeway,
-from Horsemonger Lane gaol to the Elephant
-and Castle, is crowded with shops,
-the street being lit up nearly as clear as
-day. There are several splendid gin-palaces
-in this locality, generally crowded with motley
-groups of people of various ranks and
-pursuits; and milliners’ shops, with their
-windows gaily furnished with ladies’ bonnets
-of every hue and style, and ribbons of
-every tint; and drapers’ shops with cotton
-gown pieces, muslins, collars, and gloves
-of every form and colour. There are many
-boot- and shoe-shops, with assortments
-of fancy shoes as well as plain. Upholsterers’
-shops, with carpets and rugs of
-every pattern, and chemists, with their gay-coloured
-jars, flaming like globes of red,
-blue, green, and yellow fire. The street is
-filled with incessant tides of mechanics,
-tradesmen’s wives, milliners, dressmakers,
-and others, going shopping or returning
-from their daily toil; and many respectable
-people take their evening’s walk along
-this cheerful and bustling thoroughfare,
-which is a favourite place for promenading.</p>
-
-<p>In walking along we noticed many young
-men and women in respectable attire.
-Here we saw some young, genteel milliners
-and dressmakers, and girls from other
-places of business, returning to their homes
-or lodgings, at the close of the day, and
-taking an occasional glance at the shop
-windows, as they passed along. By their
-side we saw apparently some married
-women, out shopping with a new bonnet,
-or other article of dress, carefully wrapt
-up. In another part of the street we saw
-a shopman making love to a pretty girl,
-with clustering ringlets, who looked serenely
-upon him as he stood bareheaded
-outside the door of a drapery establishment.</p>
-
-<p>Among the busy throng of people passing
-to and fro we observed two young
-women, pickpockets, dressed in brown
-cloaks, like milliners, and in fancy bonnets,
-passing quietly along. A person who did
-not know them personally, could not have
-detected their criminal character. On following
-them a short way, they passed over
-to the other side of the street. From their
-features and from the similarity of their
-dress we could have guessed them to be
-sisters. They were apparently about twenty-five
-years of age.</p>
-
-<p>As is generally the case with such persons,
-on being noticed they separated on
-the other side of the street to prevent our
-following their movements. One went off
-in one direction, and the other in another;
-but meantime they had probably arranged
-to meet each other when out of the officer’s
-sight.</p>
-
-<p>The Borough is chiefly the locality of
-labouring people and small shopkeepers&mdash;the
-masses of the people&mdash;and has low
-neighbourhoods in many of the by-streets,
-infested by the dangerous classes. It contains
-specimens of almost all kinds of
-thieves, from the lowest to the most expert,
-though for the most part few of the
-swells reside here. Many of them prefer
-to live about the Kingsland Road.</p>
-
-<p>They occasionally leave their own dwellings
-in other parts of the city, and come
-here, and live retired to be away from the
-surveillance of the police of their own
-district.</p>
-
-<p>There are some expert “cracksmen”
-(burglars) here, dressed in fashionable style,
-who indulge in potations of brandy and
-champagne, and the best of liquors. In
-their appearance there is little or no trace
-of their criminal character. They have
-the look of sharp business men. They
-commit burglaries at country mansions,
-and sometimes at shops and warehouses,
-often extensive, and generally contrive to
-get safely away with their booty.</p>
-
-<p>These crack burglars generally live in
-streets adjoining the New Kent Road and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[334]</a></span>
-Newington Causeway, and groups of them
-are to be seen occasionally at the taverns
-beside the Elephant and Castle, where
-they regale themselves luxuriously on the
-choicest wines, and are lavish of their
-gold. From their superior manner and
-dress few could detect their real character.
-One might pass them daily in the street,
-and not be able to recognize them.</p>
-
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">HOUSEBREAKERS AND BURGLARS.</h2>
-
-</div>
-
-<p>The expert burglar is generally very ingenious
-in his devices, and combines manual
-dexterity with courage. In his own sphere
-the burglar in manual adroitness equals the
-accomplished pickpocket, while in personal
-daring he rivals our modern ruffians of
-the highway, who perpetrate garotte robberies,
-or plunder their victims with open
-violence.</p>
-
-<p>Many of our London burglars have been
-trained from their boyhood. Some are the
-children of convicted thieves; some have
-for a time lived as sneaks, committing
-petty felonies when residing in low lodging-houses;
-others are the children of honest
-parents, mechanics and tradesmen, led into
-bad company, and driven into criminal
-courses.</p>
-
-<p>In treating of sneaks we alluded to the
-area-sneak, and lobby-sneak, watching a
-favourable opportunity and darting into
-the kitchen and pantry, and sometimes
-entering the apartments on the first floor
-and stealing the plate. We alluded to the
-lead-stealer finding his way to the house-top,
-and to the attic-thief adroitly slipping
-downstairs to the apartments below, and
-carrying away valuables, jewellery, plate,
-and money. Here we see the points of
-transition, from the petty felon to the
-daring midnight robber plundering with
-violence.</p>
-
-<p>We shall in the outset offer a few general
-remarks on the manner in which housebreaking
-and burglaries are effected in
-London, and then proceed to a more detailed
-account of the various modes pursued
-in the different districts.</p>
-
-<p><i>Breaking into houses, shops, and warehouses</i>
-is accomplished in various ways,
-such as picking the locks with skeleton
-keys; inserting a thin instrument between
-the sashes and undoing the catch of the
-windows, which enables the thieves to lift up
-the under sash; getting over the walls at
-the back, and breaking open a door or
-window which is out of sight of the street,
-or other public place; lifting the cellar-flap
-or area-grating; getting into an empty
-house next door, or a few doors off, and
-passing from the roof to that of the house
-they intend to rob; entering by an attic-window,
-or trap-door, and if there are neither
-window nor door on the roof, taking off
-some of the tiles and entering the house.
-Sometimes the thieves will make an entry
-through a brick wall in an adjoining building,
-or climb the waterspout to get in at
-the window. These are the general modes
-of breaking into houses.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes when doors are fastened with
-a padlock outside, and no other lock on
-the door, thieves will get a padlock as near
-like it as possible. They will then break
-off the proper lock, one of them will enter
-the house, and an accomplice will put on a
-lock as like it as possible to deceive the
-police, while one or more inside will meantime
-pack up the goods. Sometimes a
-well-dressed thief waylays a servant-girl
-going out on errands in the evening, professes
-to fall in love with her, and gets into
-her confidence, till she perhaps admits him
-into the house when her master and
-mistress are out. Having confidence in
-him she shows him over the house, and
-informs him where the valuables are kept.
-If the house is well secured, so that there
-will be difficulty of breaking in by night,
-he manages to get an accomplice inside to
-secrete himself till the family has gone to
-bed, when he admits one or more of his
-companions into the house. They pack up
-all they can lay hold of, such as valuables
-and jewels. On such occasions there is
-generally one on the outlook outside, who
-follows the policeman unobserved, and
-gives the signal to the parties inside when
-it is safe to come out.</p>
-
-<p>In warehouses one of the thieves frequently
-slips in at closing-time, when only
-a few servants are left behind, and are
-busy shutting up. He secretes himself
-behind goods in the warehouse, and when
-all have retired for the night, and the door
-locked, he opens it and lets in his companions
-to pack up the booty. Should it
-consist of heavy goods, they generally have
-a cart to take it away. They are sometimes
-afraid to engage a cabman unless<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[335]</a></span>
-they can get him to connive at the theft,
-and, besides, the number of the cab can be
-taken. They get the goods away in the
-following manner. If consisting of bulky
-articles, such as cloth, silks, &amp;c., they fill
-large bags, similar to sacks, and get as
-much as they think the cart can conveniently
-hold, placed near the door. When
-the policeman has passed by on his round,
-the watch stationed outside gives the
-signal; the door is opened, the cart drives
-up, and four or five sacks are handed into
-it by two thieves in about a minute, when
-the vehicle retires. It is loaded and goes
-off sooner than a gentleman would take his
-carpet-bag and portmanteau into a cab
-when going to a railway-station. The cart
-proceeds with the driver in one way, while
-the thieves walk off in a different direction.
-They close the outer door after them when
-they enter a shop or warehouse, most of
-which have spring locks. When the policeman
-comes round on his beat he finds
-the door shut, and there is nothing to
-excite his suspicion. The cart is never
-seen loitering at the door above a couple of
-minutes, and does not make its appearance
-on the spot till the robbery is about
-to be committed, when the signal is given.</p>
-
-<p>Lighter goods, such as jewellery, or goods
-of less bulk, are generally taken away in
-carpet bags in time to catch an early
-train, often about five or six o’clock, and
-the robbers being respectably-dressed, and
-in a neighbourhood where they are not
-known, pass on in most cases unmolested.
-Sometimes they pack up the goods in
-hampers, as if they were going off to some
-railway-station. When there is no one
-sleeping on the premises, and when they
-have come to learn where the party lives
-who keeps the keys, they watch him home
-at night after locking up, and set a watch
-on his house, that their confederates may
-not be disturbed when rifling the premises.
-If they are to remove the goods in the
-morning they do it about an hour before
-the warehouse is usually opened, so
-that the neighbours are taken off their
-guard, supposing the premises are opened
-a little earlier than usual in consequence of
-being busy. Sometimes they stand and
-see the goods taken out, and pay no particular
-attention to it. In the event of the
-person who keeps the keys coming up
-sooner than usual, the man keeping watch
-hastens forward and gives the signal to his
-companions, if they have not left the warehouse.</p>
-
-<p>It often happens when they have got an
-entry into a house, they have to break their
-way into the apartments in the interior to
-reach the desired booty, such as wrenching
-open an inner door with a small crowbar
-they term a jemmy, cutting a panel out of
-a door, or a partition, with a cutter similar
-to a centrebit, which works with two or
-three knives; this is done very adroitly in
-a short space of time, and with very little
-noise. At other times, when on the floor
-above, they cut through one or more boards
-in the flooring, and frequently cut panes of
-glass in the windows with a knife or awl.</p>
-
-<p>They get information as to the property
-in warehouses from porters and others unwittingly
-by leading them into conversation
-regarding the goods on the premises,
-the silks they have got, &amp;c., and find out
-the part of the premises where they are to
-be found. Sometimes they go in to inspect
-them on the pretence of looking at some
-articles of merchandise.</p>
-
-<p>It occasionally happens servants are in
-league with thieves, and give them information
-as to the hour when to come, and the
-easiest way to break in. Sometimes servants
-basely admit the thieves into the
-premises to steal, and give them impressions
-of the keys, which enables them
-to make other keys to enter the house.
-Thieves sometimes take a blank key without
-wards, cover it with wax, work it in the
-keyhole against the wards of the lock, and
-by that means the impression is left in the
-wax. They then take it home and make a
-similar key. When looking into the lock
-they frequently strike a match on the doorway,
-and pretend to be lighting a pipe or
-cigar, which prevents passers by suspecting
-their object.</p>
-
-<p>These are the general modes of housebreaking
-and burglary over the metropolis,
-but in order that we may have a more vivid
-and thorough conception of the subject, we
-shall give a more graphic detail of these
-felonies. We shall first advert to breaking
-into shops and warehouses, and then
-proceed to describe burglaries in various
-parts of the metropolis.</p>
-
-<p>It frequently occurs that a thief enters a
-warehouse, or large shop, and secretes himself
-behind some goods, or in the cellar, or
-up the chimney. This could be done at
-any hour of the day, but is frequently
-managed when the servants or shopmen
-are out dining at mid-day, or towards
-evening, when the places of business are
-about to be closed. The thief may be respectably
-dressed, or not, according to the
-nature of the place of business. A person
-may call with some fictitious message,
-and keep one or more of the servants or
-shopmen in conversation while a confederate
-could meantime slip into the shop or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[336]</a></span>
-warehouse, and if detected would seldom
-be suspected of being connected with this
-party. They sometimes hover for days in
-the neighbourhood of shops and warehouses
-they intend to plunder, and watch
-the most favourable opportunity to effect
-this object.</p>
-
-<p>Towards evening when the servants are
-all gone, and the place of business closed,
-the rest of his companions come to the
-spot, consisting of one or more men, a
-woman being occasionally employed. While
-they are aware that one of their gang is
-secreted on the premises, as a precaution
-they sometimes knock at the door or ring
-the bell to ascertain if the servants or
-shopmen are gone. Should they be lingering
-in the premises, arranging the goods,
-engaged with their business-books, accounts, or
-otherwise, they ask for Mr. So-and-so,
-or have some other fictitious message.</p>
-
-<p>On the departure of the people belonging
-to the shop, the thief inside generally
-opens the door to his companions on the
-given signal, when they proceed to rifle the
-premises of Manchester goods, cottons,
-silks, shawls, satins, or otherwise, and to
-store them into large bags they bring with
-them, which they place beside the door,
-when filled, to be conveniently carried
-away. They wrench open the desks, money-drawers,
-and other lockfasts with a jemmy,
-chisel, or screw-driver, as well as any doors
-which may be locked, occasionally using
-the cutter and saw, or other tools, and
-pierce through brick and other partition
-walls with an auger or other instrument.
-In many cases the doors of the apartments
-in warehouses are left open so that the
-thief has free access to the property.</p>
-
-<p>Meantime a man or woman is watching
-outside while the thieves are busy plundering
-within, keeping a special look-out for
-the policeman proceeding on his beat.
-They have many ingenious expedients to
-decoy him away, by conversation or otherwise.
-The policeman is generally from
-fifteen to twenty minutes in going round
-his beat, so that they have ample time to
-carry off the booty.</p>
-
-<p>While the thieves are busy collecting
-their spoil, the door is shut with a spring
-lock, or fastened with a padlock by means
-of a key they may have made for the purpose,
-so that the policeman has no suspicion
-of what is passing within. The
-former frequently remain for several hours
-on the premises, while a person outside is
-keeping watch, waiting to hear their signal
-when they have got the booty packed and
-ready. Should the coast be clear outside,
-notice is conveyed to the cart or cab, loitering
-somewhere in the vicinity, or which
-drives up at a certain hour, when the door
-opens. The plunder is quickly handed into
-the vehicle, which drives smartly away.
-The door is then shut, and the robbers
-walk off, possibly in a different direction to
-that in which the conveyance is gone.</p>
-
-<p>Burglaries from <i>jewellers’ shops</i> are frequently
-effected by means of skeleton keys,
-or otherwise, by one or more men. A
-woman often carries the tools to the shop,
-and keeps watch. So soon as a favourable
-opportunity occurs they unlock the door
-and enter the premises, while a man or
-woman watches outside, the woman perhaps
-walking along the street as though she
-were a common prostitute, or familiarly
-accosting the policeman or other persons
-she meets, and decoying them away from
-the shop. In some cases, when she has not
-succeeded in getting the policeman away,
-she pretends to fall down in a fit, when he
-has possibly to take her to the nearest surgeon.
-Sometimes the woman feigns to be
-drunk, and is taken to the police station,
-which takes him off his beat. In the meanwhile
-the parties inside, with jemmy, chisel,
-saw, or other tools, and with silent lights
-and taper or dark lantern, break open the
-glass cases and boxes, and steal gold and
-silver watches, gold chains, brooches, pins,
-and other jewellery, which they deposit in
-a small carpet-bag, as well as rifle money
-from the desk.</p>
-
-<p>Jewellers’ shops are sometimes entered by
-the thief getting into an unoccupied house
-next door, or two or three houses off, and
-proceeding along the roofs to the attic or
-roof of the house to be robbed, and going in
-by the attic window, or removing a few of
-the slates. The thieves then go downstairs
-and cut their way through the door or partition,
-and effect an entry into the shop.</p>
-
-<p>Most of the robberies in jewellers’ shops
-have of late years been committed by means
-of false keys, or by cutting out a hole in the
-door or shutter with a cutter, which is
-done in a short space of time, and when
-the instrument is moistened it makes very
-little noise. This hole is covered with a
-piece of paper painted of the same colour
-as the door, and is pasted on, which prevents
-the police having any suspicion.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes jewellers’ shops are entered
-by persons lodging in the floor above, or
-having access to it, and then cutting
-through the flooring and descending into
-the jeweller’s shop by means of a rope-ladder
-they attach to the floor. At other
-times they are entered by cutting through
-the solid brick wall at the back of the shop.</p>
-
-<p>Several years ago a very remarkable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[337]</a></span>
-burglary took place at Mr. Acutt’s large
-linen-drapery establishment in the Westminster
-Road. About four o’clock in the
-morning the policeman on duty heard a
-man give the signal at a shop-door. The
-constable believing thieves to be on the
-premises sprung his rattle, roused up the
-inmates, and got the assistance of several
-other constables. When they entered the
-shop they found upwards of 30<i>l.</i> worth of
-silks and satins, and other valuables packed
-up in bundles ready to be carried off.
-They found two thieves who had gained an
-entrance by getting over some closets,
-scaling a wall by means of the rain-spout,
-and walking along a high wall about nine
-inches thick. They then removed the sky-light
-at the back, and let themselves down
-into the shop by a rope-ladder. By this
-means they got into the shop of Mr. Acutt.</p>
-
-<p>On being scared by the police they
-jumped from one house to another, eight
-feet apart, over a height of about fifty feet,
-and there concealed themselves behind a
-stack of chimneys. Several policeman
-mounted to the roofs, but could not find
-them; and no one would venture to leap
-to the adjoining houses, whither the thieves
-had gone. An inspector of police ordered
-two men in plain clothes to be on the
-watch, believing they must be concealed
-somewhere on the housetops.</p>
-
-<p>About eight o’clock in the morning a
-man of the name of Fitzgerald was out in
-a back court of an adjoining house washing
-himself, when the thieves came down by
-a spout twenty feet long communicating
-with the water cistern. On getting down
-one of them jumped on the back of Fitzgerald.
-He shouted out “murder and
-police,” when two constables came up and
-took both of the thieves into custody.</p>
-
-<p>On the trial it was said the prisoners’
-women had given several pounds to bribe
-this man, and he pretended he could not
-identify them, and they were acquitted.
-They have since been transported for other
-burglaries.</p>
-
-<p>One of them was a man of thirty years of
-age, about five feet nine inches high, slim
-made, with a most daring countenance.
-The other was of middle stature, about
-twenty-six years of age, with pleasing appearance.</p>
-
-<p>Another burglary took place in a silk
-warehouse in Cheapside in 1842. The
-burglars were admitted into an adjoining
-carpet warehouse by one of the warehousemen
-on a Saturday night, and broke through
-a brick-wall eight or nine inches thick, and
-made an entry into the silk warehouse.
-They did not steal any carpets, as they
-were too bulky. Goods were seen to be
-taken away by a cab on the Sunday afternoon.
-The padlock was meantime secure
-on the outdoor, so that the police had no
-suspicion.</p>
-
-<p>The robbery was discovered on the
-Monday morning, when it was found from
-1500<i>l.</i> to 2000<i>l.</i> had been carried off, and
-that a 100<i>l.</i> bank note had also been taken
-from the desk of the carpet warehouse.</p>
-
-<p>Soon after the foreman of the latter
-business establishment absconded, and has
-not since been heard of, and there is
-strong suspicion he had connived with the
-burglars.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Number of cases of breaking into shops, &amp;c., in the Metropolitan districts for 1860</td><td>104</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto ditto in the City</td><td>20</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">124</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Value of property thereby abstracted in the Metropolitan districts</td><td>£1,899</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto ditto in the City</td><td>461</td><td>10</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">£2,360</td><td class="total">10</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>We shall now treat of the <i>burglaries</i> in
-the metropolis, commencing with the lower,
-and proceeding to notice the higher burglars,
-termed the “cracksmen.”</p>
-
-<p>Burglaries in the working districts of the
-metropolis are effected in various ways&mdash;by
-one man mounting the shoulders of another
-and getting into a first-floor window, similar
-to acrobats, by climbing over walls leading
-to the rear of premises, cutting or breaking
-a pane of glass, and then unfastening the
-catch; or by pushing back the catch of
-the window with a sharp instrument, or
-by cutting a panel of a door with a sharp
-tool, such as an American “auger.” Frequently
-they force the lock of the door
-with a jemmy. The lower class of burglars
-who have not proper tools sometimes
-use a screw-driver instead of a jemmy. In
-the forcing of the locks of drawers or
-boxes, in search of property, they use a
-small chisel with a fine edge, and occasionally
-an old knife.</p>
-
-<p>There are frequently three persons employed
-in these burglaries&mdash;two to enter a
-house, and one to keep watch outside, to see
-that there is no person passing likely to
-detect. This man is generally termed a
-“crow.” Sometimes a woman, called a
-“canary,” carries the tools, and watches
-outside.</p>
-
-<p>These low burglars carry off a booty of
-such small value that they are necessi<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[338]</a></span>tated
-frequently to commit depredations.
-They steal male and female wearing apparel,
-and small articles of plate or jewellery, such
-as teaspoons or a watch.</p>
-
-<p>They are from seventeen years of age
-and upwards, and reside in the Borough,
-Whitechapel, St. Giles, Shoreditch, and
-other low localities.</p>
-
-<p>There is another kind of burglary committed
-by persons concealing themselves
-on the premises, which is often done in
-public-houses. The parties enter before
-the house is closed, by concealing themselves
-in the coal-cellar, skittle-ground, or
-other place where they are unobserved
-by those in charge of the house. These
-burglaries are done by low people, with
-whose previous mode of living the police
-are generally not acquainted. Very frequently
-they steal cigars, money in the till
-or on the shelves of the bar, left to give
-change to customers in the morning. There
-is another mode of entering public-houses,
-by the cellar flaps from the pavement in
-front of the house, or by going through the
-fanlight, and stealing property as before
-described, and returning the same way,
-sometimes letting themselves out by the
-front door, which has often a spring lock.</p>
-
-<p>These burglaries are generally done at
-midnight, or between 1 and 5 o’clock.</p>
-
-<p>There is a higher class of burglaries committed
-at fashionable residences over the
-metropolis, and at the mansions of the
-gentry and nobility, many of them in the
-West-end districts.</p>
-
-<p>The houses to be robbed are carefully
-watched for several weeks, sometimes for
-months, before the burglary is attempted.
-The thieves take great precautions in such
-cases. They glean information secretly as
-to the inmates of the house; where they
-sleep, and where valuable property is kept.
-Sometimes this is done by watching the
-lights over the house for successive nights.
-These burglaries are often “put up” by the
-persons who execute them. They frequently
-get some of their more engaging companions
-to court one of the servant girls, give her
-small presents, and gain her favour, with
-the ultimate object of gaining access to the
-house and plundering it. At other times,
-though more rarely, they endeavour to become
-acquainted with the male servants of
-the house&mdash;the butler, valet, coachman,
-or groom. Sometimes they try to learn
-from the servants through other parties
-becoming acquainted with them, if they
-cannot succeed themselves. At other times
-they gather information from tradesmen
-who are called to the house on jobbing
-work, such as painters, plumbers, glaziers,
-bell-hangers, tinsmiths, and others, some
-of whom live near the burglars in low
-neighbourhoods, or are frequently to be
-seen in the evenings in their company.
-We can point our finger at three of these
-base wretches. One of them lives in Whitefriars,
-Fleet Street, another in Tottenham-court
-Road, and a third in Newell Street,
-Wardour Street, Oxford Street. These three
-persons get up many of the burglaries
-in the West-end and other parts of the
-metropolis, where they have work to do,
-when they find a suitable place. Some of
-them have put up burglaries for thirteen or
-fourteen years, and none of them have been
-detected, though suspected by the police.
-They never have a hand in the burglaries
-themselves, but secure a part of the booty.
-These “putters up” are from thirty to
-thirty-five years of age, and one of them
-has been convicted of a felony.</p>
-
-<p>If the burglars cannot enter by the back
-of the premises, they go to the first-floor
-window in front, where there are no shutters.
-It matters not whether it be public
-or not; they will enter in a couple of
-minutes the premises by cutting the glass
-and undoing the catch.</p>
-
-<p>The dwelling-houses in the West-end
-have often been entered by the first-floor
-window; and servants have many times
-been wrongfully charged with these burglaries,
-and lost their places in consequence.</p>
-
-<p>Burglars generally leave their haunts to
-plunder about twelve o’clock at midnight,
-often driving up in a cab to a short distance
-from the spot where the burglary is to be
-attempted; but they frequently do not
-enter the house till one or two in the
-morning. In general, they take some
-liquor, such as gin and brandy, to keep up
-their spirits, as they call it. The one who
-is to watch outside generally takes up his
-position first, and the others follow. This
-is arranged so that the persons who enter&mdash;generally
-two, sometimes three&mdash;should
-not be seen by the policeman or others
-near the house.</p>
-
-<p>When the latter come up, and find their
-companion at his post, and see the coast
-clear, they instantly proceed to enter the
-house, in front or behind, by the door or
-windows. Expert burglars go separate, to
-avoid suspicion.</p>
-
-<p>On entering the house, they go about the
-work very cautiously and quietly, taking
-off their shoes, some walking in their stockings,
-and others with India-rubber overalls.
-If disturbed they very seldom leave
-their shoes or boots behind them.</p>
-
-<p>Their chief object is to get plate, jewellery,
-cash, and other valuables. The drawing-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[339]</a></span>room
-is usually on the first-floor in front;
-sometimes the whole of the first-floor is a
-drawing-room. They often find valuables in
-the drawing-room. They search parlour,
-kitchen, and pantry, and even open the servant’s
-workbox for her small savings.</p>
-
-<p>When they cannot get enough jewellery
-and plate they carry off wearing apparel.
-They often take money in the drawing-room
-from writing-desks and ladies work-boxes.
-Experienced burglars do not spare
-time and trouble to look well for their
-plunder.</p>
-
-<p>This is the general course adopted on
-entering a dwelling-house. In entering a
-shop, if they can find sufficient money to
-satisfy them, they do not carry off bulky
-property, but if there is no money in the
-desk or tills they rifle the goods, if they are
-of value.</p>
-
-<p>In West-end robberies there are often
-two good cracksmen, one to keep watch
-outside, while another is busy at his work
-of plunder within. The person outside
-has to be on the alert, as he has generally
-to keep watch over an experienced officer,
-and to let his companions know when it is
-safe for them to work or to come out.</p>
-
-<p>When a catch is in the centre of the
-window it is opened with a knife. If there
-should be one on each side they will cut a
-pane of glass in less than fifteen seconds,
-and undo them. The burglars seldom
-think of carrying a diamond with them, but
-generally cut the glass with a knife, as the
-starglazers do.</p>
-
-<p>The shutters behind the window frame
-are often cut with what the burglars term
-a cutter. It cuts with two knives, with a
-centrebit stock, and makes a hole sufficiently
-large to admit the burglar’s arm.</p>
-
-<p>When the shutters are opened there are
-often iron bars to guard the window. The
-burglars tie a piece of strong cord or rope
-about two of the bars, and insert a piece of
-wood about a foot in length between this
-rope, and twist the wood. The bar is
-thereby bent sufficient to allow them to
-enter, or it gives way in the socket. These
-bars are sometimes forced asunder by a
-small instrument called a jack, by which a
-worm worked by a small handle displaces
-them. The rope and stick are used when
-they have not a jack. The latter can
-be conveniently carried in the trousers
-pocket.</p>
-
-<p>Woodwork, such as shutters, doors, and
-partitions, is often cut in late years with
-the cutter, instead of the jemmy, as the
-former is a more effective tool, and makes
-an opening more expeditiously. With this
-instrument a door or shutter can be
-pierced sufficiently large to admit the arm
-in a few minutes.</p>
-
-<p>A brick wall requires more time. If there
-are no persons within hearing, an opening
-can be made sufficiently large for a man to
-pass through, in an hour. If there are
-people near the apartment, it requires
-to be more softly done, and frequently
-occupies two or three hours, even when
-done by an expert burglar. They generally
-pierce one brick with an auger, and
-displace it; after the first brick is out,
-they work with a jemmy, and take the
-mortar out, then pierce a brick on the
-other side of the wall.</p>
-
-<p>Burglars cannot pick Chubb’s patent
-locks. The best way to secure premises
-where no person sleeps is to have a good
-patent lock on the outer door, with an iron
-bar outside fastened by a patent Chubb
-lock. This acts with double safety. If they
-break it off on the outside, the policeman
-easily detects it when he comes round on
-his beat, which he is sure to do before they
-have got the other lock opened, and this
-prevents them getting in that way. If they
-break in from the roof, or from the back,
-by cutting round the lock of an inside door,
-they do not get the outside door opened,
-and cannot get away any bulky goods. By
-this means the warehouse is more safe
-than if it were fastened any other way.</p>
-
-<p>Common locks on doors are so easily
-picked by thieves that no warehouse ought
-to be left fastened in this way, unless there
-is a watchman over it.</p>
-
-<p>Some cracksmen have what is called a
-petter-cutter, that is, a cutter for iron
-safes; an instrument made similar to a
-centrebit, in which drills are fixed. They
-fasten this into the keyhole by a screw
-with a strong pressure outside. The
-turning part is so fixed that the drills cut
-a piece out over the keyhole sufficiently
-large to get to the wards of the lock. They
-then pull the bolt of the lock back and
-open the door.</p>
-
-<p>Chubb’s locks on iron safes are now
-made drill proof, so that they cannot be
-pierced.</p>
-
-<p>Any person sleeping in a room, with
-valuable property in his possession, ought
-to have a chain on the door, like a street-door
-chain, as the common locks are so
-easily picked, and the masked thief, with
-dark lantern, can creep into the room without
-being heard. The rattling of the chain
-is sure to awaken the person sleeping.</p>
-
-<p>Expert burglars are generally equipped
-with good tools. They have a jemmy, a
-cutter, a dozen of betties, better known as
-picklocks, a jack to remove iron bars, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[340]</a></span>
-dark lantern or a taper and some silent
-lights, and a life-preserver, and sometimes
-have a cord or rope with them, which can
-be easily converted into a rope ladder. A
-knife is often used in place of a chisel for
-opening locks, drawers, or desks. They
-often carry masks on their face, so that
-they might not be identified. The dark
-lantern is very small, with oil and cotton
-wick, and sometimes only shows a light
-about the size of a shilling, so that the reflection
-is not seen on the street without.
-Burglars often use the jemmy in place of
-picklocks. When they go out with their
-tools, they usually carry them wrapped up
-with list, so that they can throw them away
-without making a noise, should a policeman
-stop them, or attempt to arrest them.
-These are easily carried in the coat pocket,
-as they are not bulky. There are parties&mdash;sometimes
-old convicts&mdash;who lend tools
-out on hire.</p>
-
-<p>When discovered by the inmates they
-are generally disposed to make their escape
-rather than to fight, and try to avoid violence
-unless hotly pursued. If driven to
-extremity, they are ready to use the life-preserver,
-jemmy, or other weapon.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes they carry a life-preserver of
-a peculiar style, consisting of a small ball
-attached to a piece of gut, that fastens
-round the wrist. With this instrument,
-easily carried in the palm of the hand, they
-can strike the persons who oppose them
-senseless, and severely injure them.</p>
-
-<p>In going up and down stairs, they often
-creep up not in the centre but the side of
-the stair, to avoid being heard, as it
-is apt to creak beneath the footstep, and
-they generally take off their shoes to move
-more stealthily along.</p>
-
-<p>They often use the cutter to make an
-opening in the middle of the panel sufficiently
-large to admit the arm, to undo
-locks or bolts they cannot reach outside.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes when the key is inside, and
-the door locked, they open it with a small
-pair of plyers; others use a long piece of
-wire, with a hoop put through the keyhole
-to lay hold of the bowl of the key. When
-the hook is fastened in it, they can as easily
-undo the lock as if they turned the key
-from the inside. Some burglars prefer the
-wire, others use the plyers. They generally
-prefer the cutter to the centre-bit in
-removing any woodwork. It resembles the
-centre-bit, but takes a much larger piece
-out, and does so more speedily. The cutter
-costs from 15<i>s.</i> to 1<i>l.</i> In the absence
-of a cutter, they sometimes work with a
-couple of gimlets and a knife, but this requires
-more time and makes more noise,
-though not sufficient to disturb the inmates
-of the house, if used expertly.</p>
-
-<p>At the back of the house they enter
-through the kitchen window on the basement,
-or by the parlour window above it
-on the first floor, or by the window of the
-staircase alongside of the latter.</p>
-
-<p>If experienced burglars, they listen at
-the doors of the apartments, and know by
-the breathing in general if the inmates are
-sound asleep. They sometimes begin their
-operations by going up to the highest floor,
-and work their way down, carrying off the
-plunder. After having finished what they
-call their work, they await the signal from
-the “watch” set outside. These signals
-are sometimes given by one or more coughs;
-some give a whistle, or sing a certain song,
-or tap on the door or shutter, or make a
-particular cry, understood between the
-parties.</p>
-
-<p>Should the plunder be bulky, they will
-have a cart or a cab, or a costermonger’s
-barrow, ready on a given signal to carry it
-away. They in general wait for the time
-when the police are changed, if the inmates
-are not getting up, sometimes coming
-out at the front door, but oftener at the
-back.</p>
-
-<p>A remarkable case of burglary was committed
-in a dwelling-house in a fashionable
-square in the West-end about twelve
-months ago, and was effected in this manner.
-One day a well-dressed young man
-passed by an area and took special notice
-of the cook, who happened to be looking
-out of the window. Another day the same
-young man in passing by accosted this servant,
-and made an appointment to meet
-her on a certain occasion to go out to
-walk. This correspondence lasted for a
-short time, when the young man was invited
-to tea at the house, to spend a social
-evening. He was accompanied by a “pal”
-of his, a young Frenchman, who courted
-the housemaid, while the other made love
-to the cook. During their visit to the
-house, the family being then absent, one
-of the young men pretended to be very
-unwell, and thought a walk in the garden
-at the back of the house would be beneficial
-to him, and was accompanied there by one
-of the servant girls.</p>
-
-<p>Meanwhile the housemaid and her friend
-had adjourned to one of the upper rooms.
-It was proposed by the Frenchman that his
-lady-love should partake of some gin or
-brandy as refreshment, to which she consented.
-He went out for the purpose of
-purchasing it, while she went down stairs
-to the kitchen. On his going out he left
-the front-door open, by which one of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[341]</a></span>
-confederates, a third party, entered the
-house, and passed upstairs, broke open
-several lockfasts, and stole the whole of the
-plate.</p>
-
-<p>The Frenchman, meanwhile, returned
-with the liquor, and went downstairs to
-the kitchen, where he made merry with
-his fair lady and her companions. When
-they were seated regaling themselves over
-this liquor the door-bell rang. One of the
-girls went to the door and found no person
-there. This was a signal agreed on between
-the thieves. One of the young men still
-pretending to feel unwell proposed to go
-home with his companion, promising to call
-on a future occasion, when they would be
-able to spend a more comfortable evening
-than they had done on account of his illness.</p>
-
-<p>One of the servants, on going upstairs
-after their departure, found the plate stolen.
-Information was given to the police, when
-these agreeable young men and their unknown
-friend were found to belong to a
-gang of most expert thieves. They were
-tried at Westminster Sessions for this offence,
-and sentenced to three years’ penal
-servitude.</p>
-
-<p>About eighteen months ago, two desperate
-burglars attempted to enter a fashionable
-dwelling-house at Westbourne Park,
-Paddington, belonging to a merchant in the
-City. One of them was a tall, raw-boned,
-muscular man, of about twenty-five years
-of age, dressed in a blue frock coat, dark
-cord trousers, black vest and beaver hat.
-The other was a man of thirty years of age,
-short and stout, nearly similarly attired.
-The first had the appearance of a blacksmith,
-with a determined countenance;
-the other had a more pleasing aspect, yet
-resolute. They were armed with a long
-chisel and heavy crowbar.</p>
-
-<p>They got over several walls, and came up
-along the back to this dwelling-house in the
-centre of these villas, situated on the edge
-of the Great Western Railway. On reaching
-the garden they went direct to the
-window of the dining-room on the ground-floor.</p>
-
-<p>As there had been several burglaries
-committed in the neighbourhood of those
-villas about this time, an experienced and
-able detective officer was sent out to watch.</p>
-
-<p>While the detective, a tall, powerful, resolute
-man, was sitting alone in the dusk
-under a tree in an adjoining garden, and
-another criminal officer was stationed a
-short distance off, at about two o’clock in
-the morning the former officer heard the
-shutters crash in the windows of an adjoining
-house nearly in front of where he stood.
-The burglars had approached so softly he
-did not hear their footsteps, and was not
-aware of their presence till then. On hearing
-this noise he drew close to the house,
-and was seen by one of the thieves&mdash;the
-shortest one called Jack. The detective
-officer immediately sprung his rattle, rushed
-on this man and seized him. His companion
-on this ran from the end of the house and
-struck the officer across the back with a
-heavy crowbar. By a sudden movement
-of his body the latter partially avoided the
-force of the blow. Had it struck him on
-the head it would have killed him on the
-spot; and being a strong muscular man he
-knocked the shorter man down with a
-heavy walking-stick he had in his hand,
-and at the same time rushed on his taller
-companion, seized him by the throat, and
-endeavoured to wrench the iron bar from
-his grasp.</p>
-
-<p>The other burglar had meantime made
-his escape into an adjoining garden, and
-was captured, after a desperate struggle,
-by the other criminal officer, who had come
-up.</p>
-
-<p>During the scuffle between the officers
-and burglars the proprietor of the house,
-in a panic, threw up his bedroom window
-looking into the garden at the back of
-the house, and, without giving any call,
-fired off a pistol. He did this to alarm the
-neighbourhood, not being aware that the
-officers were so near him, and supposing
-that the burglars were in his house.</p>
-
-<p>The other burglar was secured after a
-determined struggle, and both were with
-difficulty conveyed to the Marylebone police
-station by five strong officers. They
-were next day taken before the magistrates,
-and charged with attempting to enter this
-house, and with assaulting the officers in
-the execution of their duty. They were
-sentenced to three months each in Clerkenwell
-prison, with hard labour for the former
-offence, and with a similar punishment
-for the latter.</p>
-
-<p>About two years ago a burglary was committed
-in Charles Street, Gloucester Terrace,
-Paddington, opposite the Cleveland
-Arms, by two men and a woman. One of
-the men was about forty-six years of age, an
-old desperate burglar, who had been twice
-transported, and was then on ticket-of-leave.
-Shortly before, he had been apprehended in
-St. George’s burying-ground, at the rear of
-some houses in the Bayswater road, with
-a screw-driver, jemmy, and dark lantern,
-when he was sentenced to three months’
-imprisonment as a rogue and vagabond.</p>
-
-<p>He was a stout man, with very bushy
-whiskers, of a coarse appearance. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[342]</a></span>
-other was a young man about nineteen,
-dressed as a mechanic, of a cheerful countenance,
-with brown hair and moustache.
-The woman was about twenty-three years
-of age, short and stout, with an engaging
-appearance.</p>
-
-<p>During the night, they had forced open
-an iron grating in front of a house in
-Charles Street, Paddington, and had let
-themselves down into the area. They bored
-three holes with a centre-bit in the door
-of the house, then cut the panel, and put
-their arm through, and undoing the fastening
-of the door, got into the kitchen. From
-this they went up to a door leading to the
-staircase, which was locked. They cut
-several holes with the centre-bit, and made
-an opening in this door in like manner.
-They then went upstairs to the first-floor,
-and stole a quantity of wearing apparel,
-and some jewellery, such as rings, studs,
-&amp;c., and also a watch.</p>
-
-<p>The inmates were sleeping at the top
-of the house, and had not been disturbed
-by these operations. The property rifled
-amounted to about 15<i>l.</i></p>
-
-<p>One of the burglars left his hat behind
-him and a pair of old boots. The detective
-officer sent after them knew the hat to belong
-to this old-returned convict; went to
-Lisson Grove and arrested both the men,
-who happened to be together, and found
-part of the wearing apparel upon them.
-The remaining part of the property was
-traced as having been pledged by the woman,
-who was also apprehended. They
-were committed for trial for the burglary,
-and tried at the Old Bailey. The old man
-being an inveterate offender was sentenced
-to fifteen years’ penal servitude; the others,
-who had been previously convicted, to four
-years’; and the girl to twelve months’ imprisonment.</p>
-
-<p>In the month of October, 1850, a burglary
-was committed by three men in the
-Regent’s Park, which attracted considerable
-attention. One of them, named William
-Dyson, called the Galloway Doctor, was five
-feet six inches high, pockpitted, with pale
-face and red whiskers, and about thirty-two
-years of age; James Mahon, alias
-Holmsdale, five feet ten inches high, was
-robust in form, and aged thirty-four years;
-John Mitchell was five feet six inches high,
-stout made, with a pug nose, and aged forty
-years. They entered the house of Mr.
-Alford, an American merchant, in Regent’s
-Park, at two o’clock in the morning. They
-climbed over a back wall into the garden,
-and got in through a back parlour window
-by pushing back the catch with a knife.
-They then forced the shutters open with a
-jemmy, got into the back-parlour where
-the butler was lying asleep, and unlocked
-the door to go through the house, as it was
-known that Mr. Alford was very wealthy.
-When they got on the staircase one of their
-feet slipped, which awoke the butler, who
-jumped up, and seized Dyson and Mahon,
-and wrestled with them, at the same time
-alarming the other inmates of the house.
-He was knocked down by a blow from a
-life-preserver, on which the burglars made
-their escape by jumping out of the back-parlour
-window again. The butler, on getting
-up, seized his fowling-piece, which lay
-loaded beside him, and told them as they
-were running away to stop, or he would
-fire upon them. He fired, and shot Mitchell
-in the back near the shoulder with
-goose shot, as he was getting over a back
-wall to make his escape.</p>
-
-<p>The police, on hearing the report of the
-gun, came up and secured Holmsdale and
-Dyson in the garden, when they were taken
-to Marylebone police office.</p>
-
-<p>Soon after an anonymous letter was sent
-to the police-station of the M division
-stating there was a man in Surrey Street,
-Blackfriars Road, lying in bed in a certain
-house, who had been shot in the back when
-attempting a burglary in Regent’s Park.
-He had on a woman’s nightcap and nightgown,
-so that if any one went into the
-room they would fancy him to be a female.
-Inspector Berry of the M division went to
-the above house, and found Mitchell in bed
-in female disguise. He was taken into
-custody, and made to dress in his own
-clothes. On examining them there were
-holes in his fustian frock-coat where the
-shot had passed through. He was taken to
-Marylebone police court and put alongside
-the other two prisoners, and identified as
-having been seen in the neighbourhood of
-the Regent’s Park on the morning before the
-burglary was committed. He had been
-seen by the police to leave a notorious
-public-house frequented by burglars, at the
-Old Mint in the Borough. They were
-committed at the Central Criminal Court,
-tried on 25th November, 1850, convicted,
-and sentenced to be transported for life.
-Holmsdale having been previously transported
-for ten years, and Mitchell and
-Dyson also having been formerly convicted.</p>
-
-<p>We took the particulars of the following
-burglary from the lips of a man who was
-a few years ago one of the most experienced
-and expert burglars in the metropolis, and
-give it as an instance of the ingenuity and
-daring of this class of London <span class="lock">brigands:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>In the year 1850 a burglary was attempted
-to be committed at a furrier’s at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[343]</a></span>
-the corner of Regent Street near Oxford
-Street by three cracksmen. One of them,
-Henry Edgar, was about five feet seven
-inches high, of fair complexion, with large
-features, brown hair, and gentlemanly appearance,
-dressed in elegant style, with
-jewellery, rings, and chain, and frilled shirt.
-A second party, Edward Edgar Blackwell,
-was the son of a respectable cutler in Soho,
-about five feet two inches high, of fair
-complexion, teeth out in front, with sullen
-look, also fashionably dressed, though inferior
-to the other. The third person was
-slim made, about five feet six inches high,
-dark complexion, with dark whiskers and
-genteel appearance, a gentle, but keen dark
-eye, and elegantly dressed.</p>
-
-<p>They went to a public-house between ten
-and eleven o’clock, when the two former
-went back into a yard with the pretence of
-going to the water-closet. The publican did
-not miss them. The house was closed at
-twelve o’clock, and they were not discovered.
-The third party went out to give
-them their signals at the time formerly
-arranged between them. He did not give
-them any signal, but they, being impatient
-and accustomed to the work, thought they
-would try it themselves. They went up by a
-fire-escape, and got on to the parapet of the
-furrier’s house, at the corner of Regent
-Street. Here they cut two panes of glass in
-a garret window, with a knife, at the same
-time removing the division between them.
-The servant going to bed in the dark, discovered
-the two men. Giving no alarm, she
-went down stairs to her master. The
-master came up, with two loaded pistols
-in his hand, presented them at the garret-window,
-telling them if they attempted to
-escape he would shoot them. Edward
-Edgar Blackwell was so frightened that he
-lost his presence of mind, and fell from the
-parapet into the yard, a height of three
-storeys, and was killed on the spot. Henry
-Edgar, being more courageous, made a
-desperate leap to the top of a house in
-Regent Street, and got through a trap-door,
-and made his way into a second floor
-front in Argyle Street, where people were
-sleeping, and alarmed them. To prevent
-their taking him, he leaped from a second
-floor window. Some people, passing-by,
-saw him jump from the window, and gave
-information to the police. He was, thereupon,
-arrested, and conveyed in a cab, with
-the dead body of his “pal,” to Vine Street
-police station.</p>
-
-<p>It was afterwards ascertained that his
-ankle was dislocated, and he was removed
-to Middlesex Hospital, where he was
-watched eight hours by successive policemen.
-His friends were allowed to see him,
-and by ingenious means one of them contrived
-to effect his escape. They conveyed
-him from the hospital in a cab to Green
-Street, Friars Street, Blackfriars Road;
-then removed him in a cab to the Commercial
-Road near Whitechapel. Soon
-after, his companions took a house for him
-in Corbett’s Place, Spitalfields, when he
-was given into the hands of the police by a
-brother of one of his “pals,” who went to
-Vine Street station, and lodged information.
-He was arrested before he could
-lay his hand on his pistols, committed for
-trial, and sentenced to penal servitude.</p>
-
-<p>We give the following as an illustration
-of the ingenuity and perseverance of the
-cracksmen of the <span class="lock">metropolis&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>A burglary was committed some years
-since, at a warehouse in the City, where the
-premises were securely fastened in front,
-and the servants were let out by a strong
-door at the back, secured by three strong
-locks. There was no one sleeping on the
-premises. The burglars had first to make
-keys to get through the outer door into the
-premises, and had then to get a key to a
-patent lock for an iron door into a private
-counting-house. They made another key
-for a very strong safe which, when opened,
-had a recess at the bottom enclosed with
-folding doors also secured by a patent lock.
-Before they got to the booty they had to
-make six keys of patent locks.</p>
-
-<p>Not satisfied with this, they made a key
-for the patent lock of another iron door,
-leading to another portion of the premises
-where there was a second iron safe.</p>
-
-<p>They were occupied four months getting
-the whole of these keys to fit, and had to
-watch favourable opportunities when the
-police were absent from that portion of
-their beat.</p>
-
-<p>The thieves, during the night, carried off
-two iron boxes containing railway-shares,
-bills, and similar property to the extent of
-13,000<i>l.</i>, besides other valuable articles.</p>
-
-<p>Through the ingenuity of certain police-officers
-employed to trace the robbery, the
-whole of the scrip and documents were
-recovered while certain unprincipled Jews
-were negotiating to purchase them.</p>
-
-<p>Some burglars, after they have secured
-valuable booty, do not attempt another
-burglary for a time. Others go out the
-very next night, and commit other depredations,
-as they are avaricious for money.
-Some of them lose it by keeping it loosely
-in the house, or placing it in the bank, when
-the women they cohabit with reap the
-benefit. These females often try to induce
-them to save money and place it in their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[344]</a></span>
-name in the bank, so that if their paramour
-gets apprehended, they have the pleasure of
-spending his ill-gotten wealth.</p>
-
-<p>Some cracksmen succeed occasionally in
-rifling large quantities of valuable property
-or money. In such instances they live
-luxuriously, and spend large sums on pleasure,
-women, wine, and gambling. Some
-of them keep their females in splendid
-style, and live in furnished apartments in
-quiet respectable streets. Others are afraid
-to keep women, as the latter are frequently
-the cause of their being brought to justice.</p>
-
-<p>There are some old burglars at present,
-keeping cabs, omnibuses, and public
-houses, whose wealth has been secured
-chiefly from plunder they have rifled from
-premises with their own hands, or received
-from burglars since they have abandoned
-their midnight work. They had the self-command
-to abandon their criminal courses
-after a time, while the most of the others
-have been more shortsighted. Some of
-these persons, though abounding in wealth,
-receive stolen goods, and are ready to open
-their houses at any hour of the night.</p>
-
-<p>There are great numbers of expert cracksmen
-known to the police in different parts of
-the metropolis. Many of these reside on
-the Surrey side, about Waterloo Road and
-Kent Road, in the Borough, Hackney and
-Kingsland Roads, and other localities.
-Some of them have a fine appearance, and
-are fashionably dressed, and would not be
-known, except by persons personally acquainted
-with them.</p>
-
-<p>A number of most expert cracksmen belonging
-to the felon class of Irish cockneys,
-have learned no trade, and have
-no fixed occupation. Others come to their
-ranks who have been carpenters and
-smiths, brass-finishers, shoemakers, mechanics,
-and even tailors. Sometimes fast
-young men have taken to this desperate
-mode of life. Some pickpockets, daring
-in disposition, or driven to extremity have
-become burglars. In a short time they learn
-to use their tools with great expertness;
-great numbers have been trained by a few
-leading burglars; some are as young as sixteen
-or seventeen years; others as old as
-forty or forty-five&mdash;incorrigible old convicts.</p>
-
-<p>Tools are secretly made for them in London,
-Sheffield, Manchester, Birmingham,
-and other places. Some burglars keep a
-set of fine tools of considerable value.
-Others have indifferent instruments, and
-are not so expert.</p>
-
-<p>They find very convenient agents in some
-of the cab-drivers of the metropolis, who
-for a piece of money are very ready to assist
-in conveying them at night to the neighbourhood
-of the houses where they perpetrate
-their burglaries, and in carrying off
-the stolen property, and some of the employers
-of these cab-drivers are as willing
-to receive it at an underprice.</p>
-
-<p>They have no difficulty in finding unprincipled
-people to open their houses to
-receive the stolen property temporarily or
-otherwise. There are many houses of well-known
-receivers; then there are hundreds
-of low public-houses, beer-shops, coffee-shops,
-brothels, and other places of bad
-character, where they can leave it for a
-few hours, or for days, placing one of their
-gang in the house for a time, until they
-have arranged with the receivers to purchase
-it. There are certain well-known
-beer-shops and public-houses where the
-burglars meet with the receivers. They
-meet them in beer-shops in the purlieus of
-Whitechapel, and in the quieter public-houses
-and splendid gin-palaces of the
-West-end.</p>
-
-<p>There are a number of French burglars
-in London, who are as ingenious, daring,
-and expert as the English. There are also
-some Germans and a few Italians, but who
-are not considered so clever.</p>
-
-<p>Few of the cracksmen in the metropolis
-are married&mdash;though some are. They often
-live with prostitutes, or with servants, and
-other females they have seduced. Some
-have children whom they send to school,
-but many of them have none. They frequently
-train up some of their boys to enter
-the fanlights or windows, and to assist
-them in their midnight villanies.</p>
-
-<p>While most of the burglars are city-trained,
-a number come from Liverpool,
-Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, and
-Bristol. These occasionally work with the
-London thieves, and the London thieves go
-occasionally to the provinces to work with
-them. This is done in the event of their
-being well known to the police.</p>
-
-<p>For example, a gang of Liverpool thieves
-might know a house there where valuable
-property could be conveniently reached.
-Their being in the neighbourhood might excite
-suspicion. Under these circumstances
-they sometimes send to thieves they are
-acquainted with in London, who proceed
-thither and plunder the house. Sometimes,
-in similar circumstances, the London
-burglars get persons from the provinces to
-commit robberies in the metropolis&mdash;both
-parties sharing in the booty. In a place
-where they are not known, they do it
-themselves.</p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter illowp91" id="i_i_0793" style="max-width: 75em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_0793h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>CELL, WITH PRISONER AT “CRANK-LABOUR,” IN THE SURREY HOUSE OF CORRECTION.</p></div>
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<p>The burglars in our day are not in general
-such desperate men as those in former
-times. They are better known to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[345]</a></span>
-police than formerly, and are kept under
-more strict surveillance. Many of the
-cracksmen have been repeatedly subjected
-to prison discipline, and have their spirits
-in a great measure subdued. The crime of
-our country is not so bold and open as in
-the days of the redoubtable men whose dark
-deeds are recorded in the Newgate Calendar.
-It has assumed more subtle forms,
-instead of bold swagger and defiance&mdash;and
-has more of the secret, restless, and deceitful
-character of our great arch-enemy.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Number of burglaries in the Metropolitan districts for 1860</td><td>192</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto ditto in the City</td><td>12</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">204</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Value of property abstracted in the Metropolitan districts</td><td>£2,852</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto ditto in the City</td><td>332</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">£3,184</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Narrative of a Burglar.</span></h3>
-
-<p>The following narrative was given us by
-an expert burglar and returned convict we
-met one evening in the West-end of the
-metropolis. For a considerable number of
-years he had been engaged in a long series
-of burglaries connected with several gangs
-of thieves, and had been so singularly cunning
-and adroit in his movements he had
-never been caught in the act of plunder;
-but was at last betrayed into the hands of
-the police by one of his confederates, who
-had quarrelled with him while indulging
-rather freely in liquor. He was often employed
-as a putter up of burglaries in
-various parts of the metropolis, and was
-generally an outsider on the watch while
-some of his pals were rifling the house.
-We visited him at his house in one of the
-gloomiest lanes in a very low neighbourhood,
-inhabited chiefly by thieves and prostitutes,
-and took down from his lips the
-following recital. In the first part of his
-autobiography he was very frank and candid,
-but as he proceeded became more slow
-and calculating in his disclosures. We
-hinted to him he was “timid.” “No,” he
-replied, “I am not timid, but I am cautious,
-which you need not be surprised at.” He
-was then seated by the fire beside his
-paramour, a very clever woman, whose
-history is perhaps as wild and romantic as
-his own. He is a slim-made man, beneath
-the middle size, with a keen dark intelligent
-eye, and about thirty-six years of age. He
-is good-looking, and very smart in his movements,
-and was in the attire of a well-dressed
-mechanic.</p>
-
-<p>“I was born in the city of London in the
-year 1825. My father was foreman to a
-coach and harness-maker in Oxford Street.
-My mother, before her marriage, was a
-milliner. They had eleven children, and I
-was the youngest but two. I had six
-brothers and four sisters. My father had
-a good salary coming in to support his
-family, and we lived in comfort and respectability
-up to his death. He died when I
-was only about eight years old. My mother
-was left with eleven children, with very
-scanty means. Having to support so large
-a family she soon after became reduced in
-circumstances. My eldest brother was
-subject to fits, and died at the age of
-twenty-four years. He occupied my father’s
-place while he lived. My second brother
-went to work at the same shop, but got
-into idle and dissipated habits, and was
-thrown out of employment. He afterwards
-got a situation in a lacemaker’s shop, and
-had to leave for misconduct. He then
-went to a druggist’s, and had to leave for
-the same cause. After this he got a situation
-as potman to a public-house, which
-completed his ruin. He took every opportunity
-to lead his younger brothers astray
-instead of setting us a good example.</p>
-
-<p>“My brother next to him in age did not
-follow his bad courses, but I was not so
-fortunate. I went to school at Mr. Low’s,
-Harp Alley, Farringdon Street, but I did
-not stay there long. At nine years of age
-I was sent out to work, to help to support
-myself. I went to work at cotton-winding,
-and only got 3<i>s.</i> a week. I sometimes
-worked all night, and had 9<i>d.</i> for it, in
-addition to my 3<i>s.</i>, and often gained 3<i>s.</i> a
-week besides the six days’ wages. I was
-very happy then to think I could earn so
-much money, being so young. At this
-time I was only nine years of age. My
-brother tried to tempt me to pilfer from
-my master, but he failed then. I afterwards
-got a better situation at a trunkmaker’s in
-the City. There my mistress and young
-master took a liking to me. I was earning
-7<i>s.</i> a week, and was only ten years of age.
-At this time my brother succeeded in
-tempting me to rob my employers after I
-had been two months in their service. I
-carried off wearing apparel and silver plate
-to the value of several pounds, which my
-brother disposed of, while he only gave me
-a few halfpence. I was suspected to be the
-thief, and was discharged in consequence.
-I got another situation in a bookbinder’s
-shop, and was not eleven years old then.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[346]</a></span>
-My brother did not succeed for two or
-three months to get me to plunder my
-master, although he often tried to prevail
-on me to do so. My master had no plate
-to lose.</p>
-
-<p>“I used to take out boards of books;
-one night my brother met me coming
-from the binder’s with a truck loaded with
-books, stopt me, and pretended to be very
-kind by giving me money to go and buy a
-pie at a pie-shop. When I came out I
-found the books were gone and the truck
-empty. My brother was standing at the
-door waiting me, but he had companions
-who meantime emptied the truck of the
-whole of the contents. I told him he must
-know who had taken them, but he told me
-he did not. He desired me to say to my
-master that a strange man had sent me to
-get a pie for him and one for myself,
-and when I came back the books and the
-man had both disappeared. He told me if
-I did not say this I would get myself into
-trouble and him too. I went and told my
-master the tale my brother had told me.
-He sent for a policeman, and tried to
-frighten me to tell the truth. I would not
-alter from what I had told him, though he
-tried very hard to get me to do so. He
-kept me till Saturday night and discharged
-me, but endeavoured in the meanwhile to
-get me to unfold the truth, so I was thrown
-out of employment again.</p>
-
-<p>“I then went to work at the blacking
-trade, and had a kinder master than ever.
-My wages were 7<i>s.</i> a week. I then made
-up my mind that my brother should not
-tempt me to steal another time. I was in
-this situation a year and nine months before
-my brother succeeded in inducing me
-to commit another robbery. My master
-was very kind and generous to me, increased
-my wages from 7<i>s.</i> to 16<i>s.</i> a week as I was
-becoming of more service to him.</p>
-
-<p>“We made the blacking with sugar-candy
-and other ingredients. I was the
-only lad introduced into the apartment
-where the blacking was made and the sugar-candy
-was kept. My brother tempted me
-to bring him a small quantity of sugar-candy
-at first. I did so, and he threatened
-to let my mother know if I did not fetch
-more. At first I took home 7lbs. of candy,
-and at last would carry off a larger quantity.
-I used to get a trifle of money from my
-brother for this. Being strongly attached
-to him, up to this time he had great influence
-over me.</p>
-
-<p>“One day, after bringing him a quantity
-of sugar-candy, I watched him to see where
-he sold it. He went into a shop in the
-City where the person retailed sweets.
-After he came out of the shop I went in
-and asked the man in the shop if he would
-buy some from me, as I was the brother of
-the young man who had just called in,
-and had got him the sugar-candy. He
-told me he would buy as much as I liked to
-bring.</p>
-
-<p>“I used to bring large quantities to him,
-generally in the evening, and carried it in
-a bag. The sugar-candy I should have
-mixed in the blacking I laid aside till I had
-an opportunity of carrying it to the receiver.
-My master continued to be very
-fond of me, and had strong confidence in
-me until I got a young lad into the shop
-beside me, who knew what I had been
-doing, and informed him of my conduct.
-He wanted to get me discharged, as he
-thought he would get my situation, which
-he did. He told my master I was plundering
-him; but my master would not believe
-him until he pointed out a low coffee-house
-where I used to go, which was frequented
-by bad characters. My master came into
-this den of infamy one evening when I was
-there, and persuaded me to come away with
-him, which I did. He told me he would forget
-all I was guilty of, if I would keep better
-company and behave myself properly in
-future. I conducted myself better for about
-a week, but I had got inveigled into bad
-company through my brother. These lads
-waited about my employer’s premises for
-me at meal-times and at night. At last
-they prevailed on me again to go to the
-same coffee-house. The young lad I had
-got into the shop beside me soon found
-means to acquaint my master. He came
-to see me in the coffee-house again; but I
-had been prevailed on to drink that evening,
-and was the worse of intoxicating
-liquor, although I was not fourteen years
-of age. My master tried all manner of kind
-means to persuade me to leave that house,
-but I would not do so, and insulted him
-for his kindness.</p>
-
-<p>“On the following morning he paid a
-visit to my mother’s house while I was at
-breakfast. My mother and he tried to persuade
-me to go back and finish my week’s
-work, but I was too proud, and would not
-go back. He then paid my mother my
-fortnight’s wages, and said if I would attend
-church twice each week he would again
-take me back into his service. I never attended
-any church at all, for I had then got
-into bad habits, and cared no more about
-work.</p>
-
-<p>“I lived at home with my mother for a
-short time, and she was very kind to me,
-and gave me great indulgence. She wished
-me to remain at home with her to assist in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[347]</a></span>
-her business as a greengrocer, and used to
-allow me from 1<i>s.</i> to 1<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i> of pocket-money
-a day. My old companions still
-followed me about, and prevailed on me to
-go to the Victoria Theatre. On one of these
-occasions I was much struck with the play
-of Oliver Twist. I also saw Jack Sheppard
-performed there, and was much impressed
-with it.</p>
-
-<p>“Soon after this I left my mother’s
-house, and took lodgings at the coffee-house,
-where my master found me, and
-engaged in an open criminal career. About
-this time ladies generally carried reticules
-on their arm. My companions were in the
-habit of following them and cutting the
-strings, and carrying them off. They sometimes
-contained a purse with money and
-other property. I occasionally engaged in
-these robberies for about three months.
-Sometimes I succeeded in getting a considerable
-sum of money; at other times only
-a few shillings.</p>
-
-<p>“I was afterwards prevailed on to join
-another gang of thieves, expert shoplifters.
-They generally confined themselves to the
-stationers’ shops, and carried off silver
-pencil-cases, silver and gold mounted
-scent-bottles, and other articles, and I was
-engaged for a month at this.</p>
-
-<p>“Being well-dressed, I would go into a
-shop and price an article of jewellery, or
-such like valuable, and after getting it in
-my hand would dart out of the shop with
-it. I carried on this system occasionally,
-and was never apprehended, and became
-very venturesome in robbery.</p>
-
-<p>“I was then about sixteen years of age.
-A young man came from sea of the name
-of Philip Scott, who had in former years
-been a playmate of mine. He requested
-me to go to one of the theatres with him,
-when Jack Sheppard was again performed.
-We were both remarkably pleased with the
-play, and soon after determined to try our
-hand at housebreaking.</p>
-
-<p>“He knew of a place in the City where
-some plate could be got at. We went out
-one night with a screw-driver and a knife
-to plunder it. I assisted him in getting
-over a wall at the back of the house. He
-entered from a back-window by pushing the
-catch back with a knife. He had not been
-in above three quarters of an hour when
-he handed me a silver pot and cream-jug
-from the wall. I conveyed these to the
-coffee-shop in which we lodged, when we
-afterwards disposed of them. The young
-man was well acquainted with this house,
-as his father was often employed jobbing
-about it.</p>
-
-<p>“After this I cohabited with a female,
-but my ‘pal’ did not, although we lived in
-the same house.</p>
-
-<p>“Soon after we committed another burglary
-in the south-side of the metropolis, by
-entering the kitchen window of a private
-house at the back. I watched while my
-comrade entered the house. He cut a
-pane of glass out, and drew the catch back.
-After gathering what plate he could find
-lying about, he went up-stairs and got
-some more plate. We sold this to a receiver
-in Clerkenwell for about 9<i>l.</i> 18<i>s.</i>
-From this house we also carried off some
-wearing apparel. Each of us took three
-shirts, two coats and an umbrella.</p>
-
-<p>“Some time after this we made up our
-minds to try another burglary in the city.
-We secreted ourselves in a brewer’s yard
-beside the house we intended to plunder,
-about eight o’clock in the evening, before
-it was shut up. We cut a panel out of a
-shutter in the dining-room window on the
-first floor, but were disturbed when attempting
-this robbery. I ran off and got
-away. My companion was not so fortunate;
-he was captured, and got several
-months’ imprisonment.</p>
-
-<p>“A week after I joined two other burglars.
-We resolved to attempt a burglary
-in a certain shop in the East-end of the
-metropolis. There happened to be a dog
-in the shop. As usual I kept watch outside,
-while the other two entered from the
-first-floor window, which had no shutters.
-So soon as they got in the dog barked.
-They cut the dog’s throat with a knife, and
-began to plunder the shop of pencil cases,
-scent-bottles, postage-stamps, &amp;c., and
-went up-stairs, and carried off pieces of
-plate. The inmates of the house slept in
-the upper part of the house. The property
-when brought to the receiver sold for
-about 42<i>l.</i></p>
-
-<p>“Another burglary was committed by
-us at a haberdasher’s shop in the West-end.
-While I kept watch, the other two
-climbed to the top of a warehouse at the
-back of the shop, wrenched open the
-window on the roof, and having tied a
-rope to an iron bar, they lowered themselves
-down, broke open the desks and
-till, and got a considerable sum of money,
-nearly all in silver. They then went to
-the first-floor drawing-room window over
-the shop, and entered. The door of this
-room being locked, they cut out a panel,
-put their arm through and forced back the
-lock. They found only a small quantity of
-plate along with a handsome gold watch
-and chain. The few articles of plate sold
-for 38<i>s.</i>, and the watch and chain for
-7<i>l.</i> 15<i>s.</i></p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[348]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>“The thieves entered about one o’clock
-at midnight, and went out about a quarter
-past five in the morning.</p>
-
-<p>“These are the only jobs I did with these
-two men, until my comrade came out of
-prison, when we commenced again. We
-committed burglaries in different parts of
-London, at silk-mercers, stationers’ shops,
-and dwelling-houses&mdash;some of considerable
-value; in others the booty was small.</p>
-
-<p>“In these burglaries numbers of other
-parties were engaged with us&mdash;some of
-them belonging to the Borough, others to
-St. Giles’s, Golden Lane, St. Luke’s, and
-other localities.</p>
-
-<p>“In 1850 I took a part in a burglary in
-a shop in the south-side of the metropolis
-along with two other parties. One
-went inside, and the others were on the
-watch without. We got access to the shop
-by the back-yard of a neighbouring public-house,
-which is usually effected in this
-way. One person goes to the bar, and gets
-into conversation with the barmaid, while
-one or more of their ‘pals’ takes a favourable
-opportunity of slipping back into the
-yard or court behind the house. This is
-often done about a quarter of an hour, or
-half an hour, before the house is shut up.
-The party who kept the barmaid in conversation,
-would go to the back of the
-house, and assist the other burglar who
-was to enter the house in getting over the
-wall. So soon as this is effected, his other
-‘pal’ comes out again. If the wall can be
-easily climbed, the party who enters lurks
-concealed in the water-closet, or some of
-the outhouses, till the time of effecting the
-burglary.</p>
-
-<p>“The house intended to be entered is
-sometimes five or six houses away from
-this public-house, and sometimes the next
-house to it.</p>
-
-<p>“When all is ready, the outside man
-gives the signal. The signal given from
-the front, such as a cough or otherwise,
-can be heard by his confederate behind the
-house. On hearing it the latter begins his
-work. In this instance the burglar entered
-the premises by cutting open the
-shutters of a window in the first floor to
-the back. He then cut a pane of glass,
-and removed the catch, and went down
-stairs into the shop, and took from a desk
-about 60<i>l.</i> in money, with several valuable
-snuff-boxes and other articles. He had to
-wait till the morning before he could get out.
-The police seemed to have a suspicion
-that all was not right, but he got out of the
-shop about the time when the police were
-changed.</p>
-
-<p>“I was connected with another burglary,
-committed in the same year in the
-West-end in a linendraper’s shop. It was
-entered from a public-house in the same
-manner as in the one described. The same
-person was engaged inside, while the others
-were stationed outside. The signal to
-begin work was given about one o’clock.
-He had first to remove an iron bar at the
-first floor landing window to the back,
-which he did with his jack. (The bars
-had been seen in the day-time, and we
-brought this instrument to remove them.)
-He removed the bar in ten minutes, cut a
-pane of glass, and removed the two catches.
-By this means he effected an entry into
-the house, and to his surprise found the
-drawing-room was left unlocked. He proceeded
-there, and got nearly a whole service
-of plate. After he had gathered the plate
-up, he made his way toward the shop,
-cutting through the door which intercepted
-him. He went to the desk and
-found 72<i>l.</i> in silver money, and 12<i>l.</i> in
-gold. He also packed up half a dozen of
-new shirts and half a dozen of silk handkerchiefs.</p>
-
-<p>“He was ready to come out of the house,
-but a coffee-stall being opposite, and the
-policeman taking his coffee there, the outside
-man could not give him the signal for
-some time. To the great surprise of the
-burglar in the shop, he heard the servant
-coming down stairs, when he opened the
-door, and rushed suddenly out, while the
-policeman was on the kerb near by. He
-bade the policeman good morning as he
-passed along with two large bundles in his
-hands.</p>
-
-<p>“He had not gone fifty yards round the
-corner of the street, before the servant
-appeared at the door and asked the policeman
-as to the person who had just come out.
-Along with other two constables he gave
-chase to the burglar, but, being an active,
-athletic man, he effected his escape.</p>
-
-<p>“I was engaged with two others in another
-burglary in the West-end soon afterwards.
-Three persons were engaged in it:
-one to enter, and other two ‘pals’ to keep
-watch. We got access to the house by a
-mews, and got on the top of a wall, when
-I gave the end of a rope to my companion
-to hold by while he slid down on the other
-side. The house was entered at the kitchen
-window by removing two narrow bars with
-the jack, and sliding back the catch. There
-was no booty to be found in the kitchen.
-On going up-stairs our ‘pal’ got several
-pieces of plate, and other articles. On
-coming down into the shop, he got a quantity
-of receipt-stamps with a few postage-stamps.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[349]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>“The putter up of this robbery was a
-connection of the people of the house.</p>
-
-<p>“I was connected with another burglary
-in the south-side of the metropolis. A
-man who frequented a public-house there
-put up a burglary in a stationer’s shop.
-Two persons were engaged in it, and got
-access to the premises to be plundered
-from the public-house. He then climbed
-several walls, and got access to the shop by
-a fanlight from behind. Here we found a
-large sum of money in gold and silver,
-which had been deposited in a bureau,
-some plate, and other articles. His ‘pal’
-went to him at half past three, and gave
-him the signal. He came out soon after,
-and had only gone a short distance off
-when he heard a call for the police, and the
-rattle of the policeman was sprung.</p>
-
-<p>“After a desperate struggle with two
-constables, he was arrested and taken to
-the station, with the stolen property in his
-possession. He was tried and found guilty
-of committing the burglary, and for assaulting
-the constables by cutting and
-wounding them, and was sentenced to
-fourteen years’ transportation, having been
-four times previously convicted.</p>
-
-<p>“I have been engaged in many depredations
-from 1840 to 1851, many of which
-were ‘put up’ by myself.</p>
-
-<p>“In the year 1851 I was transported
-several years for burglary. I returned home
-on a ticket of leave in 1854, and was sent
-back in the following year for harbouring
-an escaped convict. I returned home in
-1858, at the expiry of my sentence, and
-since that time have abandoned my former
-criminal life.”</p>
-
-
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Narrative of another Burglar.</span></h3>
-
-<p>One evening as we had occasion to be in a
-narrow dark by-street in St. Giles’s, we
-were accosted by a burglar&mdash;a returned
-convict whom we had met on a former
-occasion in the course of our rambles. We
-had repeatedly heard of this person as one
-of the most daring thieves in the metropolis,
-and were on the look-out for him at
-the very time when he fortunately crossed
-our path. He is a fair-complexioned man,
-of thirty-two years of age, about 5 feet
-2 inches in height, slim made, with a keen
-grey eye. He was dressed in dark trousers,
-brown vest, and a grey frock coat buttoned
-up to the chin, and a cap drawn over his
-eyes. We hesitated at first as to whether
-this little man was capable of executing
-such venturesome feats; when he led us
-along the dark street to an adjoining back-court,
-took off his shoes and stockings, and
-ran up a waterspout to the top of a lofty
-house, and slid down again with surprising
-agility. Before we parted that evening, he
-was recommended to us by another burglar,
-a returned convict, and by another most
-intelligent young man, whom we are sorry
-to say has been a convicted criminal. He
-afterwards paid us a visit, when we were
-furnished with the following <span class="lock">recital:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“I was born in the parish of St. Giles’s
-in the Fields, in the year 1828. My father
-was a soldier in the British service; after
-his discharge he lived for some time in the
-neighbourhood of St. Giles’s. He was an
-Irishman from the county of Limerick.
-My mother belonged to Cork. My eldest
-sister was married to a plasterer in London;
-my second sister has been sentenced to
-four years, and another sister to five years’
-transportation, both for stealing watches
-on different occasions. I have another
-sister, who lately came out of prison after
-eighteen months’ imprisonment, and is
-now living an honest life.</p>
-
-<p>“I was never sent by my parents to
-school, but have learned to read a little by
-my own exertions; I have no knowledge
-of writing and arithmetic. I was sent out
-to get my living at ten years of age by selling
-oranges in the streets in a basket, and
-was very soon led into bad company. I
-sometimes played at pitch and toss, which
-trained me to gamble, and I often lost my
-money by this means.</p>
-
-<p>“I often remained out all night, and slept
-in the dark arches of the Adelphi on straw
-along with some other boys&mdash;one of them
-was a pickpocket who learned me to steal.
-It was not long before I was apprehended
-and committed at the Middlesex Assizes,
-and received six months’ imprisonment.</p>
-
-<p>“At this time I learned to swim, and
-was remarkably expert at it: when the
-tide was out I often used to swim across
-the Thames for sport. I continued to pick
-pockets occasionally for two years, and was
-at one time remanded for a week on a
-criminal charge and afterwards discharged.
-I used to take ladies’ purses by myself,
-and stole handkerchiefs, snuff-boxes, and
-pocketbooks from the tails of gentlemen’s
-coats.</p>
-
-<p>“I left my home on the expiry of my six
-months’ imprisonment for stealing a pocketbook.
-My parents would gladly have taken
-me back, but I would not go. At this time
-I associated with a number of juvenile
-thieves. I had a good suit of clothes,
-which had been purchased before I went to
-prison, and having a respectable appearance
-I took to shop-lifting. I worked at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[350]</a></span>
-this about seven months, when I was
-arrested for stealing a coat at a shop in the
-Borough Road, and was sentenced to three
-months in Brixton Prison.</p>
-
-<p>“When I got out of prison I went to St.
-Giles’s and cohabited with a prostitute. I
-was then about seventeen years of age. She
-was a fair girl, about five feet three inches
-in height, inclined to be stout,&mdash;a very
-handsome girl, about seventeen years of age.
-Her people lived in Tottenham Court Road,
-and were very respectable. She had been
-led astray before I met her, through the bad
-influence of another girl, and was a common
-prostitute. She was very kind-hearted.
-She was not long with me when I engaged
-with other two persons in a housebreaking
-in the West-end of the metropolis. On the
-basement of the house we intended to
-plunder was a counting-house, while the
-upper floors were occupied by the family
-as a dwelling-house. Our chief object was
-to get to the counting-house, which could
-be entered from the back. Our mode of
-entering was this.&mdash;At one o’clock in the
-morning, one of the party was set to watch
-in the street, to give us the signal when
-no one was near&mdash;a young man was on
-the watch, while I and another climbed
-up by a waterspout to the roof of the
-counting-house. There was no other way
-of getting in but by cutting the lead off the
-house and making an opening sufficient for
-us to pass through.</p>
-
-<p>“The signal was given to enter the house,
-but at this time the policeman saw our
-shadow on the roof and sprung his rattle.
-The party who was keeping watch and my
-‘pal’ on the roof both got away, but I hurt
-myself in getting down from the house-top
-to the street. I was apprehended and
-lodged in prison, and was tried at Middlesex
-Assizes and sentenced to nine months’
-imprisonment.</p>
-
-<p>“So soon as the time was expired, I met
-with another gang of burglars, more expert
-than the former. At this time I lived at
-Shoreditch, in the East-end of the metropolis.
-Four of us were associated together,
-averaging from twenty-two to twenty-three
-years of age. We engaged in a burglary in
-the City. It was hard to do. I was one of
-those selected to enter the shop; we had to
-climb over several walls before we reached
-the premises we intended to plunder. We
-cut through a panel of the back door. On
-finding my way into the shop I opened the
-door to my companions. We packed up
-some silks and other goods, and remained
-there very comfortable till the change of
-the policeman in the morning, when a cart
-was drawn up to the door, and the outside
-man gave us the signal. We drew the bolts
-and brought out the bags containing the
-booty, put them into the cart, and closed
-the door after us. We drove off to our
-lodgings, and sent for a person to purchase
-the goods. We got a considerable sum by
-this burglary, which was divided among
-us. I was then about twenty-two years of
-age. Our money was soon expended in
-going to theatres and in gambling, and besides
-we lived very expensively on the best
-viands, with wines and other liquors.</p>
-
-<p>“We perpetrated another burglary in the
-West-end. Three of us were engaged in it;
-one was stationed to watch, while I and
-another pal had to go in. We entered an
-empty house by skeleton-keys, and got into
-the next house; we lifted the trap off and
-got under the roof, and found an under-trap
-was fastened inside. We knew we
-could do nothing without the assistance of
-an umbrella. My comrade went down to
-our pal on the watch, and told him to buy
-an umbrella from some passer-by, the night
-being damp and rainy. We purchased one
-from a man in the vicinity for 2<i>s.</i>; my
-comrade brought it up to me under the roof.
-Having cut away several lathes, I made
-an opening with my knife in the plaster,
-and inserted the closed umbrella through
-it, and opened it with a jerk, to contain the
-falling wood and plaster. I broke some of
-the lathes off, and tore away some of the
-mortar, which fell in the umbrella. We
-effected an entry into the house from the
-roof. On going over the apartments we did
-not find what we expected; after all our
-trouble we only got 35<i>l.</i>, some trinkets,
-and one piece of plate.</p>
-
-<p>“Burglars become more expert at their
-work by experience. Many of them are
-connected with some of the first mechanics
-in the metropolis. Wherever a patent lock
-can be found they frequently get a key to
-fit it. In this way even Chubbs and Bramahs
-can be opened, as burglars endeavour to
-get keys of this description of locks. They
-sometimes give 5<i>l.</i> for the impression of
-a single key, and make one of the same
-description, which serves for the same
-size of such locks on other occasions. An
-experienced burglar thereby has more facilities
-to open locks&mdash;even those which are
-patented.</p>
-
-<p>“I was connected with two pals in another
-burglary in a dwelling-house at the
-West-end. It was arranged that I should
-enter the house. I was lifted to the top of
-a wall about sixteen feet high, at the back
-of the premises, and had to come down by
-the ivy which grew on the garden wall; I
-had to get across another wall. The ivy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[351]</a></span>
-was very thick, so that I had to cut part of
-it away to allow me to get over. I entered
-the house by the window without difficulty,
-having removed the catch in the middle
-with my knife. On a dressing-table in one
-of the bedrooms I found a gold watch, ring
-and chain, with 3<i>l.</i> 15<i>s.</i> in money, and
-a brace of double-barrelled pistols, which
-I secured. In the drawing-room I found
-some desert-spoons, a punch-ladle, and
-other pieces of silver plate&mdash;I looked to
-them to see they had the proper mark
-of silver; I found them to be silver, and
-folded them up carefully and put them
-into my pocket. On looking into some
-concealed drawers in a cabinet I found a
-will and other papers, which I knew were
-of no use to me; I put them back in their
-place and did not destroy any of them. I
-also found several articles of jewellery, and
-a few Irish one-pound notes. I put them
-all carefully in my pocket and came to the
-front-door. The signal was given that the
-cab was ready; I went out, drew the door
-close after me, and went away with the
-booty.</p>
-
-<p>“I entered about half-past eleven o’clock
-at night, and came out at half-past two
-o’clock. I saw a servant-girl sleeping in
-the back-kitchen, and two young ladies
-in a back-parlour. I did not go up to the
-top-floors, but heard them snoring. They
-awoke and spoke two or three times, which
-made me be careful.</p>
-
-<p>“I went along the passage very softly, in
-case I should have awakened the two young
-ladies in the back parlour as well as the
-servant in the kitchen. All was so quiet
-that the least sound in the world would
-have disturbed them.</p>
-
-<p>“I opened the door gently, and came out
-when the signal was given by my comrades.
-It was a cold, wet morning, which was
-favourable to us, as no one was about the
-street to see us, and the policeman was
-possibly, as on similar occasions, standing
-in some corner smoking his pipe. I jumped
-into the cab along with my two pals, and
-went to Westminster. The booty amounted
-to a considerable sum, which was divided
-among us. We spent the next three or
-four weeks very merrily along with our
-girls. On this occasion we gave the cabman
-two sovereigns for his trouble, whether
-the burglary came off or not, and plenty of
-drink.</p>
-
-<p>“A short time after, a person came up to
-me with whom I had associated, and played
-cards over some liquor in the West-end.
-He was a young man out of employment.
-He thus accosted me, ‘Jim, how are you
-getting on?’ I answered, ‘Pretty well.’ He
-asked me if I had any job on hand. I said
-I had not. I inquired if he had anything
-for me to do. He said he would give me
-a turn at the house of an old mistress
-of his. He told me the dressing-case with
-jewels lay in a back room on a table, but
-cautioned me to be very careful the butler
-did not see me, as he was often going up
-and down stairs. Two of us resolved to
-plunder the house. My companion was on
-the outside to watch, while I had to enter
-the house.</p>
-
-<p>“I got in with a skeleton key while they
-were at supper, and got up the stairs without
-any one observing me. On going to
-the back room I was disturbed by a young
-lady coming up stairs. I ran up to the
-second floor above to hide myself, and
-found a bed in the apartment. I concealed
-myself underneath the bed, when the lady
-and her servant came into the room with a
-light. They closed the door and pulled the
-curtains down, when the lady began to
-undress in presence of the servant. The
-servant began to wash her face and neck.
-The lady was a beautiful young creature.
-While lying under the bed I distinctly saw
-the maid put perfume on the lady’s under
-linen. She then began to dress and decorate
-herself, and told the servant she was
-going out to her supper. She said she
-would not be home till two or three o’clock
-in the morning, and did not wish the servant
-to remain up for her, but to leave the
-lamp burning. As soon as she and the
-waiting-maid had left the room, I got out
-of my hiding-place, and on looking around
-saw but a small booty, consisting of a
-small locket and gold chain; a gold pencil-case,
-and silver thimble. As I was returning
-down stairs with them in my pocket to
-get to the first floor back, I got possession
-of a case of jewels, which I thought of
-great value. I returned to the hall, and
-came out about twelve o’clock without any
-signal from my comrade.</p>
-
-<p>“On taking the jewels to a person who
-received such plunder, he told us they were
-of small value, and were not brilliants and
-emeralds as we fancied. They were set in
-pure gold of the best quality, and only
-brought us 22<i>l.</i></p>
-
-<p>“To look at them we fancied they would
-have been worth a much higher sum, and
-were sadly disappointed.</p>
-
-<p>“Soon after we resolved on another
-burglary in the West-end. One kept
-watch without while two of us entered the
-house by a grating underneath the shop
-window, and descended into the kitchen by
-a rope. We got a signal to work. The
-first thing we did was to lift up the kitchen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[352]</a></span>
-window. When we got in we pulled the
-kitchen window down, drew down the
-blind, and lighted our taper. We looked
-round and saw nothing worth removing.
-We went to the staircase to get into the
-shop. As we were wrenching open a chest
-of drawers, a big cat which happened to be
-in the room was afraid of us. We got
-pieces of meat out of the safe and threw
-them to the cat. The animal was so excited
-that it jumped up on the mantelpiece,
-and broke a number of ornaments.
-This disturbed an old gentleman in the
-first-floor front. He called out to his
-servant, ‘John, there is somebody in the
-house.’ We had no means of getting the
-door open, and had to go out by the
-window. The old gentleman came down
-stairs in his nightgown with a brace of
-pistols, just as we were going out of the
-window. He fired, but missed us. I
-jumped so hastily that I hurt my bowels,
-and was conveyed by my companions in a
-cab to Westminster, and lay there for six
-weeks in an enfeebled condition. My money
-was spent, and as my young woman could
-not get any, my companions said you had
-better have a meeting of our “pals.” A
-friendly meeting was held, and they collected
-about 8<i>l.</i> to assist me.</p>
-
-<p>“When I recovered, to my great loss, my
-companion was taken on account of a job
-he had been attempting in Regent’s Park.
-He was committed to the Old Bailey, tried,
-and transported for life. He was a good
-pal of mine, and for a time I supported his
-wife and children. On another occasion, I
-and another comrade met a potman at the
-West-end. He asked us for something to
-drink, as he said he was out of work. We
-did so, and also gave him something to eat.
-We entered into conversation with him.
-He told us about a house he lately served
-in, and said there could be a couple of
-hundreds got there or more before the
-brewer’s bill was paid. We found out
-when the brewer’s bill was to be paid. We
-asked the man where this money was kept.
-He told us that we would find it in the
-second-floor back.</p>
-
-<p>“We made arrangements as to the night
-when we would go. Three of us went out
-as usual. We found the lady of the house
-and her daughter serving at the bar. We
-had to pass the bar to go upstairs. There
-was a row got up in the tap-room with my
-companions. While the landlady ran in to
-see what was the matter, and the daughter
-ran out for the policeman, I slipped upstairs,
-and got into the room. The policeman
-knew one of my companions when he
-came in, and at once suspected there was
-some design. He asked if there had been
-any more besides these two. The landlady
-said there was another. I was coming
-down stairs with the cash-box when I heard
-this conversation. The constable asked
-leave to search the house. I ran with the
-cash-box up the staircase, and looked in
-the back room to see if there was any place
-to get away, but there was none. I took
-the cash-box up to the front garret, and
-was trying to break it open, but in the confusion
-I could not.</p>
-
-<p>“I fled out of the garret window and got
-on the roof to hide from the policeman.
-My footsteps were observed on the carpet
-and on the gutters as I went out and
-slipped in the mud on the roof. I intended
-to throw the cash-box to my companions,
-but they gave me the signal to get away. I
-had just time to take my boots off, when
-another constable came out of the garret
-window of the other house. I had no other
-alternative but to get along the roof where
-they could not follow me, and besides I was
-much nimbler than they. I went to the
-end of the row of houses, and did not go
-down the garret window near me. Seeing
-a waterspout leading to a stable-yard, I
-slipt down it, and climbed up another
-spout to the roof of the stable. I lay there
-for five hours till the police changed.</p>
-
-<p>“I managed to get down and went into
-the stable-yard, when the stable-man cried
-out, ‘Hollo! here he is.’ I saw there was
-no alternative but to fight for it. I had a
-jemmy in my pocket. He laid hold of me,
-when I struck him on the face with it, and
-he fell to the ground. I fled to the door,
-and came out into the main street, returned
-into Piccadilly, and passed through the
-Park gates. On coming home to Westminster
-I found one of my comrades had
-not come home. We sent to the police-station,
-and learned he was there. We
-sent him some provisions, and he gave us
-notice in a piece of paper concealed in
-some bread that I should keep out of the
-way as the police were after me, which
-would aggravate his case.</p>
-
-<p>“I then went to live at Whitechapel.
-Meantime some clever detectives were on
-my track, from information they received
-from the girls we used to cohabit with.
-We heard of this from a quarter some
-would not suspect. He told us to keep out
-of the way, and that he would let us know
-should he get any further information. At
-last my companion was committed for
-trial, tried, and sentenced to seven years’
-transportation. I did not join in any other
-burglary for some time after this, as the
-police were vigilantly looking for me. I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[353]</a></span>
-kept myself concealed in the house of a
-cigar-maker in Whitechapel.</p>
-
-<p>“Another pal and I went one evening to
-a public-house in Whitechapel. My pal
-was a tall, athletic young fellow, of about
-nineteen years, handsomely dressed, with
-gold ring and pin, intelligent and daring.
-We had gone in to have a glass of rum-and-water,
-when we saw a sergeant belonging to
-a regiment of the line sitting in front of
-the bar. He asked us if we would have
-anything to drink. We said we would.
-He called for three glasses of brandy-and-water,
-and asked my companion if he would
-take a cigar. He did so. The sergeant
-said he was a fine young man, and would
-make an excellent soldier. On this he
-pulled out a purse of money and looked
-at the time on his gold watch. My comrade
-looked to me and gave me a signal,
-at the same time saying to the soldier,
-‘Sergeant, I’ll ’list.’ He took the shilling
-offered him, and pretended to give him
-his name and address, giving a false alias,
-so that he should not be able to trace
-him.</p>
-
-<p>“He called for half a pint of rum and
-water, and put down the shilling he received,
-from the sergeant. We took him
-into the bagatelle-room, and tried to get
-him to play with us, as we had a number
-of counterfeit sovereigns and forged
-cheques about us. He would not play except
-for a pint of half-and-half. On this
-he left us, and went in the direction of the
-barracks in Hyde Park. My comrade said
-to me, ‘We shall not leave him till we
-have plundered him.’ I was then the
-worse for liquor. We followed him.
-When he reached the Park gates I whispered
-to my companion that I would garotte
-him if he would assist me. He
-said he would. On this I sprung at his
-neck. Being a stronger man than I, he
-struggled violently. I still kept hold of
-him until he became senseless. My companion
-took his watch, his pocket-book,
-papers, and money, consisting of some
-pieces of gold, and a 5<i>l.</i> note. We sold
-the gold watch and chain for 8<i>l.</i></p>
-
-<p>“Along with my pal, I went into a
-skittle-ground in the City to have a game
-at skittles by ourselves, when two skittle-sharps
-who knew us well quarrelled with us
-about the game. My companion and I
-made a bet with them, which we lost,
-chiefly owing to my fault, which irritated
-him. He said, ‘Never mind; there is
-more money in the world, and we will have
-it ere long, or they shall have us.’ One of
-the skittle-sharps said to us insultingly,
-‘Go and thieve for more, and we will play
-you.’ On this we got angry at them. My
-pal took up his life-preserver, and struck
-the skittle-sharp on the head.</p>
-
-<p>“A policeman was sent for to apprehend
-him. I put the life-preserver in the fire as
-the door was shut on us, and we could not
-get away. On the policeman coming in my
-pal was to be given in charge by the landlord
-and landlady of the house. The
-skittle-sharp who had been struck rose up
-bleeding, and said to the landlord and
-landlady, ‘What do you know of the affair?
-Let us settle the matter between ourselves.’
-The policeman declined to interfere. We
-took brandy-and-water with the skittle-sharps,
-and parted in the most friendly
-terms.</p>
-
-<p>“One day we happened to see a gentleman
-draw a pocket-book out of his coat-pocket,
-and relieve a poor crossing-sweeper with a
-piece of silver. He returned it into his
-pocket. I said to my pal, ‘Here is a piece
-of money for us.’ I followed after him and
-came up to him about Regent’s Park, put
-my hand into his coat-pocket, seized the
-pocket-book, and passed it to my comrade.
-An old woman who kept an apple-stall had
-seen me; and when my back was turned
-went up and told the gentleman. The
-latter followed us until he saw a policeman,
-while I was not aware of it; being eager to
-know the contents of the pocket-book I
-had handed to my comrade, he being at the
-time in distress. We went into a public-house
-to see the contents, and called for a
-glass of brandy-and-water. We found there
-were three 10<i>l.</i> notes and a 5<i>l.</i> note, and
-two sovereigns, with some silver. The
-policeman meantime came in and seized
-my hand, and at the same time took the
-pocket-book from me before I had time to
-prevent him.</p>
-
-<p>“The gentleman laid hold of my companion,
-but was struck to the ground by
-the latter. He then assisted to rescue me
-from the policeman. By the assistance of
-the potman and a few men in the taproom,
-they overpowered me, but my comrade got
-away. I was taken to the police court and
-committed for trial, and was afterwards
-tried and sentenced to seven years transportation.</p>
-
-<p>“On one occasion, after my return from
-transportation, I and a companion of mine
-met a young woman we were well acquainted
-with who belonged to our own
-class of Irish cockneys. She was then a
-servant in a family next door to a surgeon.
-She asked us how we were getting on, and
-treated us to brandy. We asked her if we
-could rifle her mistress’s house, when she
-said she was very kind to her, and she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[354]</a></span>
-would not permit us to hurt a hair of her
-head or to take away a farthing of her
-property. She told us there was a surgeon
-who lived next door&mdash;a young man who
-was out at all hours of the night, and
-sometimes all night. She informed us
-there was nobody in the house but an old
-servant who slept up stairs in a garret.</p>
-
-<p>“The door opened by a latch-key, and
-when the surgeon was out the gas was
-generally kept rather low in the hall. We
-watched him go out one evening at eleven
-o’clock, applied a key to the door, and
-entered the house. The young woman
-promised to give us the signal when the
-surgeon came in. We had not been long
-in when we heard the signal given. I
-got under the sofa in his surgical room;
-the gas used to burn there all night
-while he was out. My companion was
-behind a chest of drawers which stood
-at a small distance from the wall. As
-the surgeon came in I saw him take his
-hat off, when he sat down on the sofa
-above me.</p>
-
-<p>“As he was taking his boots off, he bent
-down and saw one of my feet under the
-sofa. He laid hold of it, and dragged me
-from under the sofa. He was a strong
-man, and kneeled on my back with my face
-turned to the floor. I gave a signal to my
-companion behind him, who struck him a
-violent blow on the back, not to hurt him,
-but to stun him, which felled him to
-the floor. I jumped up and ran out of the
-door with my companion. He ran after us
-and followed us through the street while I
-ran in my stockings. Our female friend,
-the servant, had the presence of mind and
-courage to run into the house and get my
-boots. She carried them into the house of
-her employer, and then looked out and
-gave the alarm of ‘Thieves!’ We got a
-booty of 43<i>l.</i></p>
-
-<p>“One night I went to an Irish penny
-ball in St. Giles’s, and had a dance with a
-young Irish girl of about nineteen years of
-age. This was the first time she saw me.
-I was a good dancer, and she was much
-pleased with me. She was a beautiful and
-handsome girl&mdash;a costermonger, and a good
-dancer. We went out and had some intoxicating
-liquor, which she had not been
-used to. She wished me to make her a
-present of a white silk handkerchief, with
-the shamrock, rose, and thistle on it, and a
-harp in the middle, which I could not
-refuse her. She gave me in exchange a
-green handkerchief from her neck. We
-corresponded after this for some time. She
-did not know then that I was a burglar and
-thief. She asked me my occupation, and I
-told her I was a pianoforte maker. One
-night I asked her to come out with me to
-go to a penny Irish ball. I kept her out
-late, and seduced her. She did not go
-back to her friends any more, but cohabited
-with me.</p>
-
-<p>“One night after this we went to a
-public singing-room, and I got jealous by
-her taking notice of another young man.
-I did not speak to her that night about it.
-Next morning I told her it was better that
-she should go home to her friends, as I
-would not live with her any more.</p>
-
-<p>“She cried over it, and afterwards went
-home. Her friends got her a situation in
-the West-end as a servant, but she was
-pregnant at the time with a child to me.
-She was not long in service before her
-young master fell in love with her, and
-kept her in fashionable style, which he has
-continued to do ever since. She now lives
-in elegant apartments in the West-end,
-and her boy, my son, is getting a college
-education. I do not take any notice of
-them now.</p>
-
-<p>“One night on my return from transportation
-I met two old associates. They
-asked me how I was, and told me they
-were glad to see me. They inquired how
-I was getting on. I told them I was not
-getting along very well. They asked me if
-I was associated with any one. I told them
-I was not, and was willing to go out with
-them to a bit of work. These men were
-burglars, and wished me to join them in
-plundering a shop in the metropolis. I
-told them I did not mind going with them.
-They arranged I should enter the shop
-along with another ‘pal,’ and the other
-was to keep watch. On the night appointed
-for the work we met an old watchman,
-and asked him what o’clock it was.
-One of our party pretended to be drunk,
-and said he would treat him to two or
-three glasses of rum. Meantime I and my
-companion entered the house by getting
-over a back wall and entering a window
-there by starring the glass, and pulling the
-catch back. When we got in we did not
-require to break open any lockfast. We
-packed up apparel of the value of 60<i>l.</i>
-We remained in the shop till six o’clock,
-when the change of officers took place.
-The door was then unbolted&mdash;a cab was
-drawn up to the shop. I shut the door
-and went off in one direction on foot, while
-one ‘pal’ went off in a cab, and the other
-to the receiver at Whitechapel.</p>
-
-<p>“I have been engaged in about eighteen
-burglaries besides other depredations, some
-of them in fashionable shops and dwelling-houses
-in the West-end. Some of them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[355]</a></span>
-have been effected by skeleton keys, others
-by climbing waterspouts, at which I am
-considered to be extraordinary nimble, and
-others by obtaining an entry through the
-doors or windows. I have been imprisoned
-seven times in London and elsewhere, and
-have been twice transported. Altogether
-I have been in prison for about fourteen
-years.</p>
-
-<p>“My first wife died broken-hearted the
-second time I was transported. Since I
-came home this last time I have lived an
-honest, industrious life with my second
-wife and family.”</p>
-
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">PROSTITUTE THIEVES.</h2>
-
-</div>
-
-<p>On taking up this subject, although it is
-treated comprehensively in another part
-of this work, we found it impossible to
-draw an exact distinction between prostitution
-and the prostitute thieves. Even
-at the risk of a little repetition we now
-give a short resumé of the whole subject,
-dwelling particularly on the part more
-especially in our province&mdash;the Prostitute
-Thieves of London.</p>
-
-<p>The prostitution of the metropolis, so
-widely ramified like a deadly upas tree
-over the length and breadth of its districts,
-may be divided into four classes, determined
-generally by the personal qualities,
-bodily and mental, of the prostitute, by
-the wealth and position of the person who
-supports her, and by the localities in which
-she resides and gains her ignoble livelihood.</p>
-
-<p>The first class consists of those who are
-supported by gentlemen in high position
-in society, wealthy merchants and professional
-men, gentry and nobility, and are
-kept as <i>seclusives</i>.</p>
-
-<p>The second class consists of the better
-educated and more genteel girls, who live in
-open prostitution, some of them connected
-with respectable middle-class families.</p>
-
-<p>The third class is composed of domestic
-servants and the daughters of labourers,
-mechanics, and others in the humbler
-walks in life.</p>
-
-<p>The fourth class comprises old worn-out
-prostitutes sunk in poverty and debasement.</p>
-
-<p>We may take each class of prostitutes
-and illustrate it in the order set down,
-extending our field of observation over the
-wide districts of the metropolis; or we may
-select several leading districts as representatives
-of the whole, and proceed in more
-minute detail. We adopt the latter plan, as
-it presents us with a fuller and more graphic
-view of the subject.</p>
-
-<p>The first class consists of young ladies,
-in many cases well-educated and well-connected,
-such as the daughters of professional
-men, physicians, lawyers, clergymen, and
-military officers, as well as of respectable
-farmers, merchants, and other middle-class
-people, and governesses; also of many persons
-possessed of high personal attractions&mdash;ballet-girls,
-milliners, dressmakers and
-shop-girls, chambermaids and table-maids
-in aristocratic families or at first-class
-hotels. Many of them are brought from
-happy homes in the provinces to London
-by fashionable villains, military or civilian,
-and basely seduced, and kept to minister
-to their lust. Others are seduced in the
-metropolis while residing with their parents,
-or when pursuing their avocations in shops,
-dwelling-houses, or hotels.</p>
-
-<p>Many a young lady from the provinces
-has been entrapped by wealthy young men,
-frequently young military officers, who
-have met them at ball-rooms, where they
-may have shone in all the beauty of health
-and innocence, the darlings of their home,
-the pride of their parents’ hearts, and the
-“cynosure of every eye,” or these fashionable
-rakes may have got introduced to
-their families, and been shown marked
-kindness. But in return they entice the
-poor girls from their parents, dishonour
-them, and destroy the peace of their homes
-for ever.</p>
-
-<p>Many young ladies possessing fair accomplishments
-are also entrapped in the metropolis&mdash;at
-the Argyle Rooms, Holborn Assembly-room,
-and other fashionable resorts.
-In many cases pretty young girls, servants
-in noblemen’s families, barmaids, waiting-maids
-in hotels, and chambermaids, may
-have attracted the attention of gay gentlemen
-who had induced them to cohabit
-with them, or to live in apartments provided
-for them, where they are kept in
-grand style. Some are maintained at the
-rate of 800<i>l.</i> a year, keep a set of servants,
-drive out in their brougham, and occasionally
-ride in Rotten Row. Others are supported
-at still greater expense.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[356]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>As a general rule they do not live in the
-same house with the gentleman, though
-sometimes they do. Such women are often
-kept by wealthy merchants, officers in the
-army, members of the House of Commons
-and House of Peers, and others in
-high life.</p>
-
-<p>As a rule gay ladies keep faithful to the
-gentlemen who support them. Many of
-them ride in Rotten Row with a groom behind
-them, attend the theatres and operas,
-and go to Brighton, Ramsgate, and Margate,
-and over to Paris.</p>
-
-<p>When the young women they fancy
-are not well educated, tutors and governesses
-are provided to train them in accomplishments,
-to enable them to move with
-elegance and grace in the drawing-room, or
-to travel on the Continent. They are
-taught French, music, drawing, and the
-higher accomplishments.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes these girls belong to the
-lower orders of society, and may have been
-selected for their beauty and fascination.
-The daughter of a labouring man, a beautiful
-girl, is kept by a gentleman in high position
-at St. John’s Wood at the rate of
-800<i>l.</i> a year. She has now received a lady’s
-education, rides in Rotten Row, has a set
-of servants, moves in certain fashionable
-circles, keeps aloof from the gaiety of
-the Haymarket, and lives as though she
-were a married woman.</p>
-
-<p>Let us take another illustration. A young
-girl was brought up to London several
-years ago by a military man. He kept her
-for three weeks, and then left her in a
-coffee-shop in Panton Street as a dressed
-lodger. She has since been kept at Chelsea
-by a gentleman in a Government situation,
-and occasionally drives out in her chaise
-with her groom behind. She frequents the
-Argyle Rooms and the cafés, the Carlton
-supper-rooms, and Sally’s. She was brought
-away from the provinces when she was
-seventeen, and is now about twenty-five
-years of age.</p>
-
-<p>These females are kept from ages varying
-from sixteen and upwards, and live chiefly
-in the suburbs of the metropolis&mdash;Brompton,
-Chelsea, St. John’s Wood, Haverstock
-Hill, and on the Hampstead Road.</p>
-
-<p>This class of ladies are often kept by
-elderly men, military, naval, or otherwise,
-some of them having wives and families.
-In such cases the former sometimes have a
-younger fancy-man. They visit him by
-private arrangement, and keep it very
-quiet. Occasionally such things do come
-to light, and the elderly gentlemen part
-with them.</p>
-
-<p>They dress very expensively in silks,
-satins, and muslins, in most fashionable
-style, glittering with costly jewellery, perhaps
-of the value of 150<i>l.</i>, like the first
-ladies in the land. Sometimes they become
-intemperate, and are abandoned by their
-paramours, and in the course of a short
-time pawn their jewels and fine dresses,
-and betake themselves to prostitution in
-the Waterloo Road, and ultimately go with
-the most degraded labouring men for a few
-coppers.</p>
-
-<p>Many of them are very unfortunate, and
-are discarded by the gentlemen who support
-them on the slightest caprice, perhaps
-to give way to some other young woman.
-To secure his object he occasionally maltreats
-her, and attempts to create a misunderstanding
-between them, or he absents
-himself from her for a time, meantime taking
-care to introduce some person stealthily
-into her company to ensnare her, and find
-some pretext to abandon her, so that her
-friends may have no ground for an action
-at law against him.</p>
-
-<p>In some instances these females after
-having run their fashionable career, get
-married; in others they may have managed
-to save some money to provide for the
-future. But in too many cases they are
-heartlessly abandoned by the men who
-formerly supported them, and glide down
-step by step into lower degradation, till
-many of them come to the workhouse, or
-the hospital, or to some secluded garret,
-or it may be rush into a suicide’s grave.
-Volumes might be written on this tragical
-theme, where fact would far transcend the
-heart-rending recitals of fiction.</p>
-
-<p>Having briefly adverted to the higher
-order of prostitutes, kept as seclusives by
-men of wealth, high station, and title, we
-shall now turn our attention to the open
-prostitutes who traverse the streets of the
-metropolis for their livelihood. With this
-view, we shall not treat first of the lower
-order of prostitutes, and proceed to the
-higher, but keeping in mind the principle
-with which we started&mdash;the progressive
-downward nature of crime,&mdash;we shall commence
-at the higher order of prostitutes,
-and afterwards notice the more debased.
-At the same time we shall select several
-of the more prominent localities as a
-sample of the whole districts of this vast
-metropolis. We shall notice the Haymarket,
-Bishopgate Street, and Waterloo
-Road, the Parks, Westminster, and Ratcliff
-Highway. We shall first advert to</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">The Prostitutes of the Haymarket.</span></h3>
-
-<p>A stranger on his coming to London,
-after visiting the Crystal Palace, British<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[357]</a></span>
-Museum, St. James’s Palace, and Buckingham
-Palace, and other public buildings,
-seldom leaves the capital before he makes
-an evening visit to the Haymarket and Regent
-Street. Struck as he is with the dense
-throng of people who crowd along London
-Bridge, Fleet Street, Cheapside, Holborn,
-Oxford Street, and the Strand, perhaps no
-sight makes a more striking impression on
-his mind than the brilliant gaiety of
-Regent Street and the Haymarket. It is
-not only the architectural splendour of the
-aristocratic streets in that neighbourhood,
-but the brilliant illumination of the shops,
-cafés, Turkish divans, assembly halls, and
-concert rooms, and the troops of elegantly
-dressed courtesans, rustling in silks and
-satins, and waving in laces, promenading
-along these superb streets among throngs
-of fashionable people, and persons apparently
-of every order and pursuit, from the
-ragged crossing-sweeper and tattered shoe-black
-to the high-bred gentleman of fashion
-and scion of nobility.</p>
-
-<p>Not to speak of the first class of kept
-women, who are supported by men of opulence
-and rank in the privacy of their own
-dwellings, the whole of the other classes
-are to be found in the Haymarket, from
-the beautiful girl with fresh blooming
-cheek, newly arrived from the provinces,
-and the pale, elegant, young lady from a
-milliner’s shop in the aristocratic West-end,
-to the old, bloated women who have
-grown grey in prostitution, or become invalid
-through venereal disease.</p>
-
-<p>We shall first advert to the highest class
-who walk the Haymarket, which in our
-general classification we have termed the
-second class of prostitutes.</p>
-
-<p>They consist of the better educated and
-more genteel girls, some of them connected
-with respectable middle-class families. We
-do not say that they are well-educated and
-genteel, but either well-educated or genteel.
-Some of these girls have a fine appearance,
-and are dressed in high style,
-yet are poorly educated, and have sprung
-from an humble origin. Others, who are
-more plainly dressed, have had a lady’s
-education, and some are not so brilliant in
-their style, who have come from a middle-class
-home. Many of these girls have at
-one time been milliners or sewing girls in
-genteel houses in the West-end, and have
-been seduced by shopmen, or by gentlemen
-of the town, and after being ruined in
-character, or having quarrelled with their
-relatives, may have taken to a life of prostitution;
-others have been waiting maids
-in hotels, or in service in good families,
-and have been seduced by servants in the
-family, or by gentlemen in the house, and
-betaken themselves to a wild life of pleasure.
-A considerable number have come
-from the provinces to London, with unprincipled
-young men of their acquaintance,
-who after a short time have deserted them,
-and some of them have been enticed by
-gay gentlemen of the West-end, when on
-their provincial tours. Others have come
-to the metropolis in search of work, and
-been disappointed. After spending the
-money they had with them, they have resorted
-to the career of a common prostitute.
-Others have come from provincial
-towns, who had not a happy home, with
-a stepfather or stepmother. Some are
-young milliners and dressmakers at one
-time in business in town, but being unfortunate,
-are now walking the Haymarket. In
-addition to these, many of them are seclusives
-turned away or abandoned by the
-persons who supported them, who have
-recourse to a gay life in the West-end.
-There are also a considerable number of
-French girls, and a few Belgian and
-German prostitutes who promenade this
-locality. You see many of them walking
-along in black silk cloaks or light grey
-mantles&mdash;many with silk paletots and wide
-skirts, extended by an ample crinoline,
-looking almost like a pyramid, with the
-apex terminating at the black or white
-satin bonnet, trimmed with waving ribbons
-and gay flowers. Some are to be seen with
-their cheeks ruddy with rouge, and here and
-there a few rosy with health. Many of them
-looking cold and heartless; others with an
-interesting appearance. We observe them
-walking up and down Regent Street and
-the Haymarket, often by themselves, one
-or more in company, sometimes with a
-gallant they have picked up, calling at the
-wine-vaults or restaurants to get a glass of
-wine or gin, or sitting down in the brilliant
-coffee-rooms, adorned with large mirrors,
-to a cup of good bohea or coffee. Many of
-the more faded prostitutes of this class frequent
-the Pavilion to meet gentlemen and
-enjoy the vocal and instrumental music
-over some liquor. Others of higher style
-proceed to the Alhambra Music Hall, or to
-the Argyle Rooms, rustling in splendid
-dresses, to spend the time till midnight,
-when they accompany the gentlemen they
-may have met there to the expensive
-supper-rooms and night-houses which
-abound in the neighbourhood.</p>
-
-<p>In the course of the evening, we see
-many of the girls proceeding with young
-and middle aged, and sometimes silver-headed
-frail old men, to Oxenden Street,
-Panton Street, and James Street, near the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[358]</a></span>
-Haymarket, where they enter houses of
-accommodation, which they prefer to going
-with them to their lodgings. Numbers of
-French girls may be seen in the Haymarket,
-and the neighbourhood of Tichbourne
-Street and Great Windmill Street,
-many of them in dark silk paletots and
-white or dark silk bonnets, trimmed with
-gay ribbons and flowers, or walking up
-Regent Street in the neighbourhood of All
-Souls’ Church, Langham Place, and Portland
-Place, or coming down Regent Street
-to Waterloo Place and Pall Mall, and hovering
-near the palatial mansions or the Clubs;
-or they might be seen decoying gents to
-their apartments in Queen Street, off
-Regent’s Quadrant, from which locality
-they were lately forcibly ejected by the
-police. Most of these French girls have
-bullies, or what they term by a softer term
-‘fancy men,’ who cohabit with them.
-These base wretches live on the prostitution
-of these miserable girls,&mdash;hang as
-loafers in their houses or about the streets,
-and many of them, as we might expect, are
-gamblers and swindlers. Several of them,
-we blush to say, are political refugees,
-exiles for fighting at the barricades of
-Paris, for the liberty of their country;
-while they live here with courtesans in
-the purlieus of Haymarket, in the most
-infamous and degrading of all bondage.</p>
-
-<p>The generality of the girls of the Haymarket
-have no bullies, but live in furnished
-apartments&mdash;one or more&mdash;in various localities
-of the metropolis. Many live in
-Dean Street, Soho, Gerrard Street, Soho,
-King Street, Soho, and Church Street,
-Soho, in Tennison Street, Waterloo Road,
-at Pimlico and Chelsea, several of the
-streets leading into Fitzroy Square, and
-other neighbourhoods, and pay a weekly
-rent varying from seven shillings to a guinea,
-which has to be regularly paid on the day
-it is due. In many cases little forbearance
-is shown by their heartless landladies. Many
-of these girls have gentlemen who statedly
-visit them at their lodgings, some of
-whom are married men. Most of them are
-very thoughtless and extravagant, with
-handfuls of money to-day, and in poverty
-and miserable straits to-morrow, driven to
-the necessity of pawning their dresses.
-Hence there are many changes in their
-life. At one time they are in splendid
-dress, and at another time in the humblest
-attire; occasionally they are assisted by men
-who are interested in them, and restored
-to their former position, when they get
-their clothes out of the hands of the pawnbroker.
-Their living is very precarious, and
-many of them are occasionally exposed to
-privation, degradation, and misery, as they
-are very improvident. They are frequently
-treated to splendid suppers in the Haymarket
-and its vicinity, where they sit
-surrounded with splendour, partaking of
-costly viands amid lascivious smiles; but
-the scene is changed when you follow them
-to their own apartments in Soho or Chelsea,
-where you find them during the day,
-lolling drowsily on their beds, in tawdry
-dress, and in sad dishabille, with dishevelled
-hair, seedy-looking countenance, and
-muddy, dreary eyes&mdash;their voices frequently
-hoarse with bad humour and
-misery.</p>
-
-<p>Large sums of money are spent in luxurious
-riot in the Haymarket; but it has not
-been so much frequented by the gentry and
-nobility for several years past, although
-considerable numbers are to be seen in
-the summer and winter seasons.</p>
-
-<p>Strange midnight scenes were wont to be
-seen occasionally in Queen Street, Regent
-Street, where the French girls reside. Let
-us take an illustration. Some fast man&mdash;young
-or middle aged&mdash;goes with them to
-the cafés and music halls, perhaps proceeds
-to the supper rooms, and after an
-expensive supper, retires with them to
-their domicile in Queen Street. Meantime
-their bully keeps out of sight, or sneaks
-behind the bed-room door. In many cases,
-not contented with the half-guinea or
-guinea given them, their usual hire for
-prostitution, they demand more money
-from their victim. On his declining to
-give it, they refuse to submit to his pleasure,
-and will not return him his money.
-The bully is then called up, and the silly
-dupe is probably unceremoniously turned
-out of doors.</p>
-
-<p>There are few felonies committed by this
-class of prostitutes, as such an imputation
-would be fatal to their mode of livelihood
-in this district, where they are generally
-known, and can be easily traced.</p>
-
-<p>The second class of prostitutes, who
-walk the Haymarket&mdash;the third class in our
-classification&mdash;generally come from the
-lower orders of society. They consist of
-domestic servants of a plainer order, the
-daughters of labouring people, and some of
-a still lower class. Some of these girls are
-of a very tender age&mdash;from thirteen years
-and upwards. You see them wandering
-along Leicester Square, and about the Haymarket,
-Tichbourne Street, and Regent
-Street. Many of them are dressed in a
-light cotton or merino gown, and ill-suited
-crinoline, with light grey, or brown cloak,
-or mantle. Some with pork-pie hat, and
-waving feather&mdash;white, blue, or red; others<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[359]</a></span>
-with a slouched straw-hat. Some of them
-walk with a timid look, others with effrontery.
-Some have a look of artless innocence
-and ingenuousness, others very pert, callous,
-and artful. Some have good features and
-fine figures, others are coarse-looking and
-dumpy, their features and accent indicating
-that they are Irish cockneys. They prostitute
-themselves for a lower price, and
-haunt those disreputable coffee-shops in the
-neighbourhood of the Haymarket and Leicester
-Square, where you may see the
-blinds drawn down, and the lights burning
-dimly within, with notices over the door,
-that “beds are to be had within.”</p>
-
-<p>Many of those young girls&mdash;some of
-them good-looking&mdash;cohabit with young
-pickpockets about Drury Lane, St. Giles’s,
-Gray’s Inn Lane, Holborn, and other localities&mdash;young
-lads from fourteen to eighteen,
-groups of whom may be seen loitering
-about the Haymarket, and often speaking
-to them. Numbers of these girls are artful
-and adroit thieves. They follow persons
-into the dark by-streets of these localities,
-and are apt to pick his pockets, or they
-rifle his person when in the bedroom with
-him in low coffee-houses and brothels.
-Some of these girls come even from Pimlico,
-Waterloo Road, and distant parts of the
-metropolis, to share in the spoils of fast life
-in the Haymarket. They occasionally take
-watches, purses, pins, and handkerchiefs
-from their silly dupes who go with them
-into those disreputable places, and frequently
-are not easily traced, as many of
-them are migratory in their character.</p>
-
-<p>The third and lowest class of prostitutes
-in the Haymarket&mdash;the fourth in our
-classification&mdash;are worn-out prostitutes or
-other degraded women, some of them
-married, yet equally degraded in character.</p>
-
-<p>These faded and miserable wretches skulk
-about the Haymarket, Regent Street, Leicester
-Square, Coventry Street, Panton
-Street and Piccadilly, cadging from the
-fashionable people in the street and from
-the prostitutes passing along, and sometimes
-retire for prostitution into dirty low
-courts near St. James’ Street, Coventry
-Court, Long’s Court, Earl’s Court, and
-Cranbourne Passage, with shop boys, errand
-lads, petty thieves, and labouring men, for
-a few paltry coppers. Most of them steal
-when they can get an opportunity. Occasionally
-a base coloured woman of this class
-may be seen in the Haymarket and its
-vicinity, cadging from the gay girls and
-gentlemen in the streets. Many of the
-poor girls are glad to pay her a sixpence
-occasionally to get rid of her company, as
-gentlemen are often scared away from
-them by the intrusion of this shameless
-hag, with her thick lips, sable black skin,
-leering countenance and obscene disgusting
-tongue, resembling a lewd spirit of darkness
-from the nether world.</p>
-
-<p>Numbers of the women kept by the
-wealthy and the titled may occasionally
-be seen in the Haymarket, which is the
-only centre in the metropolis where all the
-various classes of prostitutes meet. They
-attend the Argyle Rooms and the Alhambra,
-and frequently indulge in the gaieties
-of the supper rooms, where their broughams
-are often seen drawn up at the doors. In
-the more respectable circles they may be
-regarded with aversion, but they here
-reign as the prima-donnas over the fast life
-of the West-end.</p>
-
-<p>Occasionally genteel and beautiful girls
-in shops and workrooms in the West-end,
-milliners, dressmakers, and shop girls, may
-be seen flitting along Regent Street and
-Pall Mall, like bright birds of passage, to
-meet with some gentleman <i>on the sly</i>, and
-to obtain a few quickly-earned guineas to
-add to their scanty salaries. Sometimes
-a fashionable young widow, or beautiful
-young married woman, will find her way in
-those dark evenings to meet with some
-rickety silver-headed old captain loitering
-about Pall Mall. Such things are not
-wondered at by those acquainted with high
-life in London.</p>
-
-<p>We now come to take a survey of the
-general state of prostitution which prevails
-over the metropolis, having Bishopgate,
-Shoreditch, and Waterloo Road more particularly
-in our eye as a sample of the other
-districts. These prostitutes in general
-reside in the dingy lanes and courts off the
-main streets in these localities, and have
-small bed-rooms poorly furnished, for which
-they pay four shillings and upwards a-week.
-They live in disreputable houses, occupied
-from the basement to the attics by prostitutes&mdash;some
-young, others more elderly;
-some living alone, others cohabiting with
-some low wretch of a man, a “tail”
-pickpocket, labourer, or low mechanic.</p>
-
-<p>The prostitutes of these localities generally
-belong to the third and fourth class.
-The better educated and more genteel girls
-who live by prostitution in most cases go
-to the Haymarket. Numbers may occasionally
-be seen in the neighbourhood of
-the Bank of England, at Islington, near the
-Angel tavern, in the City Road, New North
-Road, Paddington, at the Elephant and
-Castle, and other localities; though in
-most cases they only come out occasionally
-<i>on the sly</i>, and are engaged in shops,
-factories, warerooms, and workrooms, dur<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[360]</a></span>ing
-the day, or secluded in their houses,
-supported by tradesmen, mechanics, shopmen,
-clerks, or others, and only live partially
-by prostitution.</p>
-
-<p>We shall refer to the two classes of open
-prostitutes generally to be seen over the
-various districts of the metropolis, such as
-those residing in the disreputable neighbourhoods
-we have mentioned. Some of
-the better class have the appearance of girls
-who serve in coffee-houses, barmaids, and
-servants, and others of the lower orders.
-Numbers of them are good-looking and
-tolerably well dressed. Some have been
-ironing girls, and others have sold small
-wares on the streets, and been engaged in
-similar employment.</p>
-
-<p>Many of these unfortunate girls have
-redeeming traits in their character. Some
-are kind-hearted and honest, and not a few
-are even generous and self-denying. The
-great mass, however, are unprincipled
-and base, ever ready to take an advantage
-when an opportunity occurs. The vast
-majority of them are thieves, similar to the
-third class we have sketched in the Haymarket.
-They not only steal from the
-persons they meet on the street under the
-dark cloud of night in by-streets and
-courts, but take men to their houses, and
-plunder them. They rifle the pockets of
-those who go for a short time with them,
-and steal their gold pins, watches, and
-money. This is generally done in low
-houses of accommodation. They frequently
-decamp with the clothes of their victim,
-who has taken a bed with them for the
-night, and leave him in a strange house in
-a state of nudity. Married men frequently
-get into this sad predicament, but the
-matter is in most cases hushed up. When
-it does get abroad, the party robbed,
-to screen his profligacy from his wife and
-relatives, pretends in many cases that he
-has been drugged.</p>
-
-<p>These prostitutes, some of them good-looking
-and handsome, often accost men in
-the street, retire with them into some by-lane
-or by-street, and patter about their
-pockets, while they encourage him to use
-indecent freedoms with their persons; and
-while they inflame his passions, rifle his
-pockets, and decamp with his money. This
-is frequently done in cases where the man
-does not have carnal connection with them.</p>
-
-<p>They are generally dressed in a light cotton
-or merino gown, a light or brown mantle,
-a straw bonnet trimmed with gaudy ribbons
-and flowers, and sometimes with a
-pork-pie hat and white or red feather.</p>
-
-<p>Some of these girls in those lower localities
-have better traits in their character
-than many of the more brilliant-dressed
-girls in the Haymarket, and are sometimes
-better looking. Not a few of them are
-very sedate, and will not go with any man
-whom they do not like. But there are
-many others more unscrupulous.</p>
-
-<p>When they meet a man the worse of
-liquor, they decoy him into a brothel and
-get his money from him, when they try to
-get up a quarrel with him, and run off
-crying out they are ill-used by the man.
-They do this frequently where they do not
-allow the drunken man to have carnal
-dealings with them&mdash;not from a lustful
-purpose, but to get his money or other
-property.</p>
-
-<p>These girls are fifteen years of age and
-upwards. Some of them, if good-looking,
-get married, and are rescued from the jaws
-of prostitution. Others linger on for a
-time with shattered constitutions, wasted
-by grief, want, anxiety, and irregular life,
-and glide into premature graves. Others
-are sheltered in workhouses, while a considerable
-number become withered or
-brutal, and degenerate into the lowest class
-of abandoned women.</p>
-
-<p>We come now to treat of the lowest
-class of prostitutes&mdash;those old women of
-the town who prowl about the thoroughfares
-and main streets, chiefly in the evenings
-and at midnight. They are often dressed
-in a shabby, dirty cotton skirt, faded dark
-bonnet, and old shoes; some bloated, dissipated,
-and brutal in appearance; others
-pale and wasted by want and suffering.
-Many of them resort to “bilking” for a
-livelihood, that is, they inveigle persons to
-low houses of bad fame, but do not allow
-them to have criminal dealings with them.
-Possibly the bodies of some may be covered
-with dreadful disease, which they take
-care to conceal. While in these houses
-they often indulge in the grossest indecencies,
-too abominable to be mentioned,
-with old grey-headed men on the very edge
-of the grave. Many of these women are
-old convicted thieves of sixty years of age
-and upwards. Strange to say, old men and
-boys go with these withered crones, and
-sometimes fashionable gentlemen on a
-lark are to be seen walking arm in arm with
-them, and even to enter their houses. Few
-of these old women are married, though
-many of them cohabit with low coarse fellows,
-who wink at their conduct, and live
-on the proceeds of their obscenities.</p>
-
-<p>For example, in Granby Street, Waterloo
-Road, there were orgies occasionally indulged
-in by such women, with persons
-having the appearance of gentlemen, too
-abominable to be mentioned.</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[361]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>These belong to the same class of degraded
-women who walk the Haymarket,
-and whom we have described as the most
-abandoned of their sex, who go about
-cadging and occasionally prostituting themselves
-to boys and degraded labouring men.
-They live in the lowest neighbourhoods in
-the east end of the metropolis, such as
-Lower Whitecross Street, Wentworth
-Street, and the low by-streets in Spitalfields,
-and in the lowest slums and by-streets
-about the New Cut, Drury Lane,
-Westminster, and other low localities, with
-dirty, low fellows, dock-labourers, bricklayers’
-labourers, and labourers at the
-workyards and wharfs.</p>
-
-<p>They are in general too ugly to come out
-during the day with their unwashed slatternly
-dress, and in the evenings are often
-seen prowling as cadgers about the streets,
-and even in the dead of night waylaying
-and plundering drunken men; sometimes
-sneaking about alone, at other times two
-in company, and occasionally with a young
-simple girl by their side to screen their
-villainy.</p>
-
-<p>They often resort to prostitution in the
-dark by-streets and courts with the boys
-and men who resort to them, which is
-seldom or never done by the younger girls,
-except by a few outcast or debased creatures
-among them, who might justly be
-comprised in the lowest class.</p>
-
-<p>We now have to notice the “picking-up”
-women, who generally cohabit with
-pickpockets, burglars, clerks, shopmen, and
-others. Their object is to get liquor and
-money from persons as though they were
-prostitutes, without resorting to prostitution.
-For example, we see two well-dressed
-young women in the attire of
-milliners or dressmakers proceeding along
-the City Road in the direction of the Angel
-tavern, Islington. They see a gentleman
-pass, and cast a wistful look at him. He
-returns the glance. They walk on a short
-distance, and look round. The gentleman
-in many cases turns round likewise. He
-will then get a nod or bow from one of
-them. They will walk slowly, and look
-round again. On his going up to them,
-they will enter into conversation. They
-ask the gentleman to treat them, if he
-should not first offer to do so. They
-will then proceed to a gin-palace, where he
-will give them possibly a glass of wine.
-He will ask one of them where she lives.
-She will perhaps reply: “I am afraid to
-tell you. If you were to come to my house,
-it might come to the knowledge of my husband,
-and he would nearly kill me;” adding
-“I don’t mind seeing you again, and we
-will then get better acquainted!” Ultimately
-it may be arranged to go to some
-place which she has chanced to know, for
-the purpose of prostitution, leaving the
-other young woman to wait for her outside.
-The gentleman will then possibly
-give a sum of money. She will either say
-it is not sufficient, and will not allow him
-to have connection with her, or she may
-say she cannot allow him for certain
-reasons; or she may make an excuse that
-she requires to go down-stairs on a pressing
-errand for a moment, or to speak to
-the landlady, when she decamps. Sometimes
-robbing him of his watch, or purse,
-in addition to the sum he gave her.</p>
-
-<p>If he should raise an alarm the occupier
-of the house will request him to give her a
-sum of money for the use of the room, and
-if there is any objection made to pay it, he
-receives ill-treatment and is turned into the
-street.</p>
-
-<p>On other occasions a young woman will
-pretend she is unmarried, and will, in a
-similar ingenious way, endeavour to get
-money from parties she meets in the
-street, and try to escape in a similar way,
-without allowing him to have connection
-with her. She frequently manages to steal
-his watch and to rifle his pockets while he
-may be off his guard.</p>
-
-<p>The object of these women is to get the
-wages of prostitution and an opportunity
-of stealing, without incurring the anger of
-their paramour by prostituting their bodies
-to other men. It happens occasionally they
-are outwitted, as their schemes are beginning
-to be pretty well known. Their pretexts
-are sometimes evaded, and cases
-occur where they yield to prostitution
-rather than give back the money they have
-received, which classes them among prostitutes
-and thieves. Some women resort to
-this as a shift in case of necessity, while
-others pursue it as a mode of livelihood in
-different localities of London.</p>
-
-<p>These persons are to be found over the
-chief districts of the metropolis; miserable,
-poorly-dressed females, as well as respectable-looking
-young women. Some of the
-poorer sort are to be found about Shoreditch,
-Whitechapel, Lambeth, and the
-Borough. Others of the better sort, in
-appearance, are to be met with in the City
-Road, New North Road, King’s Cross, and
-Paddington.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p><i>Hired Prostitutes.</i>&mdash;There are a number
-of female prostitutes kept by Jewesses and
-English women of low character. These
-girls are dressed in good style, in silks and
-light muslin and cotton dresses, with their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[362]</a></span>
-hair put up in ringlets or in fancy nets.
-They are mostly from seventeen to twenty-two
-years of age, some younger and others
-older, some with false hair and ringlets.
-The brothels we refer to are chiefly about
-the West-end. There is often a cigar-shop
-attached to them, and the best looking
-girls are generally found standing by the
-doors, or ogling through the windows to
-decoy the passers-by into their infamous
-dens. Some of these girls have been
-prostitutes from their girlhood, and belong
-to the lowest class in society, their mothers
-having been prostitutes before them. Several
-have been in these houses for a considerable
-number of years, who have kept
-their appearance better than other prostitutes
-who have had a more changeable and
-precarious mode of livelihood. Strange to
-say, some look nearly as young and as
-fresh as they did ten years ago.</p>
-
-<p>You seldom see the old execrable hags
-who keep these houses loitering about the
-doors or standing at the windows. They
-generally keep out of sight, but are sometimes
-to be seen peering through the edge
-of the window-blinds, which are generally
-drawn down, in the first floor above; or you
-may occasionally see them in the back
-parlour, skulking about. They are often
-very stout, and look like matrons in the
-maturity of life. They take gentlemen into
-their houses during the day as well as during
-the evening, but mostly in the evening.</p>
-
-<p>The girls are then dressed in gaudy
-finery, with shining head-dresses and jewellery
-glittering on their breast over their
-light dresses. Yet there is a low vulgarity
-in their appearance which repels and disgusts;
-they look, in many cases, so sensual
-and debased. They use no art to conceal
-the life they are leading, as some other
-prostitutes do, who try so far to screen the
-baseness of their profligacy.</p>
-
-<p>They generally keep old female servants
-they call “slaveys” to do the drudgery
-work of the house. These degraded women
-live in the house with them, wash their
-clothes, get their meals ready, clean their
-boots, brush their clothes, run errands for
-them out of doors, and show gentlemen
-into the bed-rooms.</p>
-
-<p>There is often a man in these brothels,
-a paramour of the old bawd, who is a loafer
-about the house, and is occasionally employed
-to act as a bully. These men are
-in general rough-looking men, dressed in
-black shabby clothes, and in many cases
-look more degraded than common thieves.
-Some are dissipated and pale, others are
-bloated, their faces covered with pimples
-and blotches.</p>
-
-<p>As we pass along Wych Street, Strand,
-in the dark evenings, we see several of the
-brothels we refer to. There the cigar shops
-are lit up, and the girls are arrayed in their
-best attire, and beaming their most inviting
-smiles to entrap the unwary. We may see
-brilliant lights in the rooms on the flat
-above through chinks in the shutters and
-blinds, where orgies are nightly transacted
-too gross and disgusting to mention.</p>
-
-<p>Brothels of the same kind are to be found
-in Exeter Street and Chandos Street, Strand,
-and other localities of the metropolis.</p>
-
-<p>These girls occasionally walk the Strand
-and Holborn to decoy gentlemen into their
-dwellings. They generally belong to the
-third class of prostitutes and the lowest
-class of society. Some may have come
-down through dissipation from the second
-class, and have formerly been in better positions.
-They do not steal from persons
-when sober, as they could be so easily detected,
-and as this would injure the brothel;
-but they occasionally pilfer from drunken
-men, where they are able to do it with impunity.
-Some of them occasionally get as
-much money as many of the more genteel
-girls in the Haymarket.</p>
-
-<p>They never take clothes from the gentlemen
-who enter their houses, but occasionally
-give him rough treatment should he
-enter their house without plenty of money
-in his purse.</p>
-
-<p>They chiefly confine their pilfering depredations
-to drunken men. As they walk
-in the evenings along the crowded thoroughfares
-lighted up by the street lamps, and
-the bright illumination of the shop windows,
-the “slaveys” walk frequently at a
-short distance behind them, to see that they
-do not receive gentlemen without the
-knowledge of the keepers of the brothel,
-and to watch that they do not run away
-with the clothes. The slaveys are paid
-something additional for every gentleman
-the girls go with, which stimulates them to
-look better after them, and promotes the
-selfish ends of the execrable old bawd who
-hires them.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p><i>Park Women.</i>&mdash;There are three kinds of
-women who usually resort to the parks.
-We find numbers of kept women of the
-highest class maintained by persons in high
-life, such as have been governesses, ladies-maids,
-and the daughters of respectable
-tradesmen and others, promenading in
-Hyde Park. They live in fashionable style
-at Brompton and other localities. In summer
-they come to the park about half-past
-five or six in the afternoon. There are
-not so many in the winter time, when the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[363]</a></span>
-season is cold, and the landscape faded.
-While gentlemen and ladies are taking
-their evening’s ride, these ladies often walk
-along Rotten Row as far as Kensington
-Gardens, and frequently have a little pet
-dog, with a ribbon or string attached to
-it.</p>
-
-<p>These females are dressed in the most
-fashionable and expensive style, in silk
-and satin dresses, with expensive shawls,
-mantles, or paletots, and have light muslin
-dresses in summer. On such occasions
-there are great numbers of fashionable
-gentlemen riding on horseback and walking
-along the side of the drive.</p>
-
-<p>There are a great many seats placed on
-the grass at Rotten Row in the summer,
-where these ladies sit and talk with gentlemen.
-They are generally from eighteen to
-twenty-four years of age, in the full bloom
-of life and beauty. The gentlemen consist
-of blooming youths and old tottering gallants
-of sixty, civilians and military, professional
-men, gentry, and nobility.</p>
-
-<p>These ladies sit chatting together with
-hundreds of people seated around them in
-this gay promenade. Many assignations
-are thus made as to when and where to
-meet. They are sometimes seated close by
-the Serpentine under the trees in the dusk
-of the summer evenings, and middle-aged
-gentlemen&mdash;sometimes elderly&mdash;often come
-and meet them, and sit and converse beside
-them under the starlit gloom of the
-park, with few persons near them.</p>
-
-<p>There is another class of females who
-visit the parks, consisting of servants and
-the daughters of labouring men and poor
-mechanics. In general, they are poorly
-educated, but respectably dressed, and belong,
-according to our classification, to the
-third class of prostitutes. They generally
-come out in the evening for the purpose of
-prostitution. Many of them are fresh-looking,
-averaging in age from fifteen to
-twenty-five, and are to be found all over
-the park, chiefly from Stanhope Gate to
-Victoria Gate, where they sit on the seats
-with men of respectable appearance&mdash;tradesmen
-and others. These females often
-use indecent liberties with gentlemen without
-having connexion with them. This is
-done in the evening from dusk up to the
-time of shutting the park, and during this
-sensual excitement robberies are frequently
-effected by the women of purses, watches,
-pins, and other property. Information is
-sometimes given to the police, but these
-felonies are often concealed by the persons
-plundered, as they are ashamed to make it
-known. Many of these dupes are married
-men, who would be sadly disgraced were
-the news to come to the ears of their wives
-and families.</p>
-
-<p>A third class of females who attend the
-parks are the lowest old prostitutes, dissipated,
-debased wretches, from twenty-five
-to fifty year’s of age. They generally frequent
-the Lovers’ Walk, from Grosvenor
-Gate to the statue of Achilles, and are to
-be seen in other parts of the park near the
-Marble Arch.</p>
-
-<p>They are miserably dressed, many of them
-having barely rags to cover their wretchedness.
-They are utterly shameless in their
-habits. We find them dressed in a dirty
-cotton gown, nearly black, an old faded
-ragged shawl and tattered old boots, with
-scarcely a sole to them. Some are blotched
-in appearance; others are pale, shrivelled,
-and haggard, miserable spectacles.</p>
-
-<p>They may sometimes be seen sitting on
-the settles in the parks from dusk till the
-time of closing the gates of the park.
-These women indulge in the same obscene
-practices as the girls we have already mentioned,
-with a lower class of people, such
-as gentlemen’s servants, labouring men,
-and low mechanics, and sometimes have
-connexion with them in the park. On
-such occasions, these filthy hags are busy
-rifling the pockets of their victims.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p><i>Soldiers’ Women.</i>&mdash;There is only one class
-of prostitutes termed soldiers’ women,
-who live in Westminster. They chiefly
-reside in the courts leading out of Orchard
-Street, St. Ann Street, Old Pye Street,
-New Pye Street, Castle Lane, Gardener’s
-Lane, York Street, and Blue Anchor Yard.
-They are from sixteen to thirty years of age,
-and several even older. Some have been
-in the streets for seventeen years and upwards.
-They live in the greatest poverty,
-covered with rags and filth, and many of
-them covered with horrid sores, and eruptions
-on their body, arms, and legs, presenting
-in many cases a revolting appearance.
-Many of them have not the delicacy of
-females, and live as pigs in a sty. This is
-not exaggeration. On the officers of police
-entering their houses, they often find them
-in a state of nudity. They have no feeling
-of shame, and conduct themselves with the
-greatest indifference. Two of them generally
-occupy a room. They often take two
-other lodgers into their room, and lie on
-the floor. Their furniture consists of an
-old deal table, one or two old rickety
-chairs, a few broken cups and saucers, a
-wooden table, a wash-hand basin and
-chamber utensil, and an old shattered bedstead
-with scarcely any bedding. These
-rooms&mdash;generally about ten feet square&mdash;are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[364]</a></span>
-let under the name of furnished apartments,
-and there is generally a deputy employed
-to collect the rents of the house.
-These girls pay on an average 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> or 4<i>s.</i>
-of weekly rent. Many of them pay 8<i>d.</i> or
-10<i>d.</i> for the room per day, as the landladies
-do not trust them a week’s rent. They
-often come home drunk about twelve or
-one o’clock at midnight.</p>
-
-<p>They generally get up in the morning
-about eight or nine o’clock. If they have
-any coppers they get in something to eat.
-Food is seldom seen in their cupboards, as
-they generally have only enough for the
-occasion. After they have had their breakfast&mdash;a
-cup of tea or coffee and bread&mdash;they
-chat with each other over the past
-night’s adventures, and pass the time till
-evening.</p>
-
-<p>In the middle of the day they sometimes
-wash their skirt, the only decent garment
-many of them have&mdash;their under clothing
-being a tissue of rags&mdash;starch and iron it,
-and get it ready towards the evening, when
-they wash themselves and sally forth again.</p>
-
-<p>In the evening, most of them go to some
-low public-house, and sit in company with
-soldiers, who drink and carouse with them.
-The soldiers who sit with them generally
-belong to the Foot Guards, Scots Fusileers,
-Coldstream, and Grenadier Guards.</p>
-
-<p>The Life Guardsmen do not generally
-associate with this class. If a stray soldier
-of the line in other regiments should
-happen to come on a furlough to this
-district, some of the prostitutes decoy him
-to their house, and get money from him
-professedly for prostitution. They slip out
-of the room while he is asleep in bed, and
-spend the money they have got with the
-Foot Guards. Sometimes they bring one
-of the Foot Guards to bully him out of the
-room. They treat civilians in a similar
-manner.</p>
-
-<p>Some of them dress and go out and walk
-with the soldiers during the day, but this
-is seldom. In general they do not go out
-till the evening at dusk.</p>
-
-<p>In some instances the soldiers remain
-absent in the evening, and manage to avoid
-the patrols, and stop carousing with these
-girls till the public-houses close at four
-o’clock in the morning, when they go with
-these prostitutes to their dens, and often
-remain the whole of next day&mdash;sometimes
-remaining for a fortnight with them.</p>
-
-<p>Some of these females are young, strong,
-healthy girls. When they have been for
-some years in this mode of life, they become
-dissipated in appearance, and their constitution
-is often broken up by their irregular
-wild life. The younger girls keep themselves
-more reserved for a time, but the
-bad example of the others very soon induces
-them to abandon themselves to all kinds of
-dissipation.</p>
-
-<p>If a young woman is so unfortunate as to
-come among them and to keep herself
-reserved, the others bully her out of it,
-unless she go to the same excess of dissipation
-as themselves.</p>
-
-<p>Their mode of stealing is to get people
-to their houses, where they plunder them.
-A sober man seldom thinks of going to
-their infamous abodes. In most cases the
-persons who go are the worse for liquor.
-On their way home they go into a public-house
-with the girls, after which they
-accompany them to their room, where they
-get some more liquor.</p>
-
-<p>The companions of a girl may see her
-coming home with a man, and may suppose
-him, from his appearance, to have
-money. They come into the house, and
-get a portion of the drink. In some instances
-the drunken person gives the
-woman money to go out for drink, when
-she decamps, and gets some of the prostitutes
-in the adjoining room to bully him
-out of the place. In other instances the
-girls wait their time till he goes to sleep,
-when they plunder him.</p>
-
-<p>There are seldom fastenings on their
-doors, which are never locked. There is
-an understanding between parties in the
-same house, and some persons in the adjoining
-rooms enter while the man is in bed,
-and carry away his clothes and money.
-He cannot accuse the girl in the room, as
-she is lying in bed beside him.</p>
-
-<p>In some cases the girl disappears during
-the night, and leaves the man naked in the
-room. She may remove to some other
-neighbourhood if the booty is of value,
-and live in some other part of Westminster.
-The dupe is seldom or never able to identify
-her, as he may have been much the worse
-for liquor while in her company.</p>
-
-<p>These prostitutes chiefly look out for
-drunken men, whom they decoy to their
-houses, and afterwards plunder. They
-prowl along Parliament Street and Whitehall
-Place, and other streets in the vicinity.
-A great number of them go as far as
-Knightsbridge, where there are concert
-rooms. They loiter about these localities till
-these places close, and are to be seen about
-the doors of those public-houses where
-persons resort after leaving the concert
-rooms. When they pick up a drunken
-man they bring him home in the manner
-already described.</p>
-
-<p>Many of these girls come from different
-parts of the country, and have formerly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[365]</a></span>
-been servants in town. A good number
-have been orphans left without friends, and
-have been basely seduced. The relatives
-of some have taken them home into the
-provinces, but they have come back again
-to London.</p>
-
-<p>The police constables often find as many
-as four girls in one small room at night&mdash;two
-lying on a miserable bed, and two
-lying on the hard floor, with scarcely any
-covering but their petticoat thrown over
-them. Two soldiers are frequently found
-lying in the room with them, or one is seen
-lying between two girls.</p>
-
-<p>It is surprising that any soldiers, however
-poor, who have an ordinary regard to
-decency, should lie down among such heaps
-of filthy rags; far less should we expect
-such base and unmanly conduct from the
-Queen’s Foot Guards, when we look to the
-fine appearance and manly bearing of many
-of them on parade. It kindles our indignation
-when we learn that not a few of those
-poor degraded females were formerly in the
-service of respectable families, and were
-there seduced and driven to open prostitution
-by some of these unprincipled soldiers,
-who still add to their villainy the despicable
-crime of basely plundering the poor girls
-they have ruined of the wretched earnings
-of their dishonour and crime.</p>
-
-<p>To the honour of the regiments of Foot
-Guards, we are happy to say there are
-many noble and excellent men in their
-ranks, who reflect high credit on our army
-by their exemplary character, and who are
-as benevolent in heart as they are brave on
-the battle-field. Some of these go to the
-other side of the street to avoid meeting
-with their fellow-soldiers when associated
-with degraded women. The others we refer
-to are heartless ruffians in their conduct,
-and a disgrace to the British service.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p><i>Sailors’ Women.</i>&mdash;There are two classes of
-prostitutes termed sailors’ women to be
-found in Ratcliff Highway, near the London
-Docks, at the east end of the metropolis.
-These belong to the third and fourth
-classes in our classification of the prostitutes
-of London.</p>
-
-<p>The better of the two classes are generally
-composed of younger and more respectable-looking
-girls, most of them residing
-in the neighbourhood, others coming
-from a distance. The generality of them
-reside in the Highway and in Palmer’s
-Folly, Albert Square, Albert Street, Seven
-Star Alley, and other adjacent streets and
-alleys. A few strange girls come occasionally
-from the Surrey side, such as Kent
-Street and other localities in the Borough,
-and remain for a few days only, as they
-may have committed some depredation in
-their own district, and wish to be away for
-a short time from the surveillance of the
-police. In like manner some of the girls
-residing in the neighbourhood of Ratcliff
-Highway, when they have plundered a
-sailor, leave the locality for a short time,
-till the ship to which he belonged has set
-sail, when they return again. There are a
-number of very good-looking girls of this
-class, most of them Irish cockneys. There
-are also a few German and Dutch prostitutes
-who frequent the Highway who live
-in Albert Street. These foreign girls do not
-have bullies or fancy men. Some of them
-are good looking, and some are not. They
-generally frequent the German and Dutch
-music and dancing saloons in Ratcliff
-Highway. Both of them attend the public-house
-with the Swedish flag. This class of
-girls frequents the various saloons in the
-Highway. They do not generally steal
-money or watches when they are well paid,
-and but few steal the sailor’s clothes.</p>
-
-<p>They dress tolerably well, in silk and
-merino gowns with crinolines, and bonnets
-gaily attired with flowers and ribbons.
-Many of them have velvet stripes across
-the breast and back of their gowns, and
-large brooches with the portrait of a sailor
-encased in them. They generally lay their
-hair back in front in the French style.</p>
-
-<p>Some of them have fancy men, and others
-have not. Their fancy men in many cases
-are watermen, but being lazy in inclination
-they hang about as loafers, and live on the
-prostitution and crime of the girls they
-cohabit with. These females take their
-dupes to their own houses or into low
-coffee-houses and brothels, or other houses
-of accommodation. Some of them allow
-the sailors to have connexion with them;
-others who cohabit with watermen and
-others, pretend to be prostitutes, and allow
-men to take indecent liberties with them,
-but seldom or never allow them to proceed
-farther.</p>
-
-<p>There is another class of prostitutes to
-be found in Ratcliff Highway, more dissipated
-and abandoned than those we have
-noticed. They reside in or near Bluegate
-Fields, Angel Gardens, and other streets
-and lanes in that neighbourhood. Many
-of them have a robust, coarse, masculine
-frame, some of them with great protruding
-breasts. A few of the same class come
-from a distance, followed by a low, brutal
-man. The latter are termed “cross-girls.”
-They pick up a sailor, take him into some
-dark by-street as if for the purpose of prostitution,
-get all the money they can from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[366]</a></span>
-him, and seldom allow carnal connexion.
-If possible, so soon as they have effected
-their purpose, they run away; this is
-termed “bilking.”</p>
-
-<p>The rough-looking prostitutes of this
-class seldom attend the music saloons, as
-they would be far outshone in personal
-appearance by the younger girls of the
-other class referred to. We see them late
-in the evening skulking about the dark
-lanes, or patrolling the streets, on the
-watch for drunken sailors, whom they take
-into low coffee-houses and beer-shops, and
-sometimes drug by putting snuff, or other
-ingredients&mdash;sometimes laudanum&mdash;in his
-liquor. They look out for north country
-sea-captains and sailors just come ashore,
-and sometimes visit their ships lying in
-the river, at King James’s Stair, Wapping,
-Ratcliff Gross, Horseferry, Regent’s Canal
-Dock, Stone Stairs, or New Crane Stairs,
-Shadwell.</p>
-
-<p>Some of these brutal women have bullies,
-convicted thieves, who are sometimes
-dressed as sailors; some of them are river
-pirates, and from their childhood have led
-a criminal life.</p>
-
-<p>The average age of these prostitutes
-is from twenty to thirty-four. Many
-are slovenly dressed, and very dissipated,
-and callous in appearance. Some of them
-are women of colour, whom we have seen
-brought to the police station at King
-David’s Lane, charged with plundering
-coloured sailors of their money and clothes.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Number of felonies in the metropolitan districts, by prostitutes, during 1860</td><td>692</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto, ditto, in the City</td><td>102</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">794</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Value of property thereby abstracted in the metropolitan districts</td><td>£2,651</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto, ditto, in the City</td><td>323</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">£2,974</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">FELONIES ON THE RIVER THAMES.</h2>
-
-</div>
-
-<p>There are a great number of robberies of
-various descriptions committed on the
-Thames by different parties. These depredations
-differ in value, from the little
-ragged mudlark stealing a piece of rope or
-a few handfuls of coals from a barge, to the
-lighterman carrying off bales of silk several
-hundred pounds in value. When we look
-to the long lines of shipping along each side
-of the river, and the crowds of barges and
-steamers that daily ply along its bosom,
-and the dense shipping in its docks, laden
-with untold wealth, we are surprised at the
-comparatively small aggregate amount of
-these felonies.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">The Mudlarks.</span></h3>
-
-<p>They generally consist of boys and girls,
-varying in age from eight to fourteen or
-fifteen; with some persons of more advanced
-years. For the most part they are ragged,
-and in a very filthy state, and are a peculiar
-class, confined to the river. The parents of
-many of them are coalwhippers&mdash;Irish cockneys&mdash;employed
-getting coals out of the
-ships, and their mothers frequently sell
-fruit in the street. Their practice is to
-get between the barges, and one of them
-lifting the other up will knock lumps of
-coal into the mud, which they pick up
-afterwards; or if a barge is ladened with
-iron, one will get into it and throw iron
-out to the other, and watch an opportunity
-to carry away the plunder in bags to the
-nearest marine-storeshop.</p>
-
-<p>They sell the coals among the lowest
-class of people for a few halfpence. The
-police make numerous detections of these
-offences. Some of the mudlarks receive
-a short term of imprisonment, from three
-weeks to a month, and others two months
-with three years in a reformatory. Some
-of them are old women of the lowest grade,
-from fifty to sixty, who occasionally wade
-in the mud up to the knees. One of them
-may be seen beside the Thames Police-office,
-Wapping, picking up coals in the bed
-of the river, who appears to be about sixty-five
-years of age. She is a robust woman,
-dressed in an old cotton gown, with an old
-straw bonnet tied round with a handkerchief,
-and wanders about without shoes and
-stockings. This person has never been in
-custody. She may often be seen walking
-through the streets in the neighbourhood
-with a bag of coals on her head.</p>
-
-<p>In the neighbourhood of Blackfriars
-Bridge clusters of mudlarks of various ages
-may be seen from ten to fifty years, young
-girls and old women, as well as boys.</p>
-
-<p>They are mostly at work along the coal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[367]</a></span>
-wharves where the barges are lying aground,
-such as at Shadwell and Wapping,
-along Bankside, Borough; above Waterloo
-Bridge, and from the Temple down to St.
-Paul’s Wharf. Some of them pay visits to
-the City Gasworks, and steal coke and coal
-from their barges, where the police have
-made many detections.</p>
-
-<p>As soon as the tide is out they make their
-appearance, and remain till it comes in.
-Many of them commence their career with
-stealing rope or coals from the barges, then
-proceed to take copper from the vessels,
-and afterwards go down into the cabins
-and commit piracy.</p>
-
-<p>These mudlarks are generally strong
-and healthy, though their clothes are in
-rags. Their fathers are robust men. By
-going too often to the public-house they
-keep their families in destitution, and the
-mothers of the poor children are glad to
-get a few pence in whatever way they can.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Sweeping Boys.</span></h3>
-
-<p>This class of boys sail about the river in
-very old boats, and go on board empty
-craft with the pretext of sweeping them.
-They enter barges of all descriptions, laden
-with coffee, sugar, rice, and other goods,
-and steal anything they can lay their hands
-on, often abstracting headfasts, ropes,
-chains, &amp;c. In some instances they cut the
-bags and steal the contents, and dispose of
-the booty to marine-store-dealers. They
-are generally very ragged and wretched in
-appearance, and if pursued take to the
-water like a rat, splashing through the
-mud, and may be seen doing so when
-chased by the police. In general they are
-expert swimmers. Their ages range from
-twelve to sixteen. They are dressed similar
-to the other ragged boys over the metropolis.
-The fathers of most of them are
-coalwhippers, but many of them are orphans.
-They are strong, healthy boys,
-and some of them sleep in empty barges,
-others in low lodging-houses at 3<i>d.</i> a night.
-Some live in empty houses, and many of
-them have not had a shirt on for six
-months, and their rags are covered with
-vermin.</p>
-
-<p>In the summer many sleep in open barges,
-and often in the winter, when they cover
-themselves with old mats, sacks, or tarpaulins.
-Their bodies are inured to this
-inclement life. They never go to church,
-and few of them have been to school.</p>
-
-<p>Two little boys of this class, the one
-nine and the other eleven years of age,
-lived for six months on board an old useless
-barge at Bermondsey, and for other five
-months in an old uninhabited house, and
-had not a clean shirt on during all that
-time. At night they covered themselves
-with old mats and sacks, their clothes being
-in a wretched state. Seeing them in this
-neglected condition, an inspector of police
-took them into custody and brought them
-before a magistrate, with the view to get
-them provided for. The magistrate sent
-them to the workhouse for shelter.</p>
-
-<p>These boys are of the same class with
-the mudlarks before referred to, but are
-generally a few years older.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Sellers of Small Wares.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Felonies are occasionally committed by
-boys who go on board vessels with baskets
-containing combs, knives, laces, &amp;c., giving
-them in exchange for pieces of rope, sometimes
-getting fat and bones from the cooks.
-In many instances the owners are robbed
-by the crew giving away ropes belonging
-to the ship for such wares. These parties
-occasionally pilfer any small article they
-see lying about the ship, sometimes carrying
-off watches when they have an opportunity.
-They generally try to get on board
-foreign vessels about to sail, so that when
-robberies are committed the parties do not
-remain to prosecute them, and the thieves
-are consequently discharged.</p>
-
-<p>They are generally from fourteen to
-eighteen years of age, and many of them
-reside with their parents in Rosemary Lane
-and other low neighbourhoods about the
-East-end.</p>
-
-<p>This is a peculiar class of boys who confine
-their attention to the ships, barges,
-and coasting vessels, and do not commit
-felonies in other parts of the metropolis.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Labourers on Board Ship, &amp;c.</span></h3>
-
-<p>These men are employed to discharge
-cargoes on board steam vessels arriving
-from the coast, and also foreign vessels.
-They are frequently detected pilfering by
-the police, and secreting about their clothes
-small quantities of tallow, coffee, sugar,
-meat, and other portable goods. These
-parties abstract articles from the hold, but
-do not go down into the cabins. They have
-ample opportunity of breaking open some
-of the boxes and packages, and of extracting
-part of the contents. As they have no
-facility to get large quantities on shore,
-they confine themselves to petty pilfering.
-Most of their booty is kept for their own
-consumption, unless they succeed in carrying
-off a large quantity, which rarely occurs.
-In these cases they dispose of it at a chandler’s
-shop.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[368]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Dredgemen or Fishermen.</span></h3>
-
-<p>These are men who are in the habit of
-coming out early in the morning, as the
-tide may suit, for the purpose of dredging
-from the bed of the river coals which are
-occasionally spilled in weighing when being
-transferred into the barges. If these parties
-are not successful in getting coals there,
-they invariably go alongside of a leaded
-barge and carry off coals and throw a
-quantity of mud over them, to make it
-appear as if they had got them from the
-bed of the river. The police have made
-numerous detections. Some have been
-imprisoned, and others have been transported.
-The same class of men go alongside
-of vessels and steal the copper funnels
-and ropes, and go to the nearest landing
-place to sell them to marine-store-dealers,
-who are always in readiness to receive anything
-brought to them. The doors are
-readily opened to them, early and late.</p>
-
-<p>To deceive the police these unprincipled
-dealers have carts calling every morning at
-their shops to take away the metals and
-other goods they may have bought during
-the previous day and night.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Smuggling.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Numerous articles of contraband goods
-are smuggled by seamen on their arrival
-from foreign ports, such as tobacco, liquors,
-shawls, handkerchiefs, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>Several years ago an officer in the Thames
-police was on duty at five in the morning.
-While rowing by the Tower he saw in the
-dusk two chimney sweeps in a boat leaving
-a steam vessel, having with them two bags
-of soot. He boarded the boat along with
-two officers, and asked them if they had
-anything in their possession liable to Custom-house
-duty. They answered they had
-not. Upon searching the bags of soot he
-found several packages of foreign manufactured
-tobacco, weighing 48lbs. The parties
-were arrested and taken to the police station,
-and were fined 100<i>l.</i> each, or six
-months’ imprisonment. Not being able to
-pay, they were imprisoned.</p>
-
-<p>These two sweeps had no doubt carried
-on this illegal traffic for some time, being
-employed on the arrival of the boats to
-clean the funnels and the flues of the
-boilers.</p>
-
-<p>Some time ago a sailor came ashore late
-at night at the Shadwell Dock, who had
-just arrived from America. According to
-the usual custom he was searched, when
-several pounds of tobacco were found concealed
-about his person. He was tried at
-the police court, and sentenced to pay a
-small fine.</p>
-
-<p>In July, 1858, about midnight, a police
-constable was passing East Lane, Bermondsey,
-when he saw a bag at the top of a
-street, containing something rather bulky,
-which aroused his suspicions. On proceeding
-farther he saw a man carrying another
-bag up the street from a boat in the river.
-He got the assistance of another constable,
-and apprehended the man carrying the
-bag, and also the waterman that conveyed
-it ashore. The two bags were found to
-contain 229 lbs. of Cavendish tobacco. Both
-persons were detained in the Thames
-police station, and taken before a magistrate
-at Southwark police court. Prosecution
-was ordered by the Board of
-Customs, and both were fined 100<i>l.</i> each,
-and in default sentenced to six months’
-imprisonment. Being unable to pay the
-fine, they suffered imprisonment.</p>
-
-<p>In February, 1860, information was given
-to an inspector of the Thames police of a
-smuggling traffic which was being carried
-on in the Shadwell Basin, London Docks,
-from an American vessel named the
-Amazon. The steward was in the practice
-of carrying the tobacco about a certain
-hour in the morning from the vessel
-through a private gate at the Shadwell
-Basin. Vigilant watch was kept over this
-gate by the inspector, with the assistance
-of a constable. About eight o’clock in the
-morning he saw a man coming up who
-answered the description given him. He
-followed him into a tobacconist’s shop in
-King David Lane, Shadwell. The officer
-on going in saw a carpet bag handed over
-the counter. He seized it, and brought
-the man with him to the police station. A
-communication was then made to the
-Board of Customs, who sent an officer to
-the Thames police station. On making
-search on board the ship, they found about
-two cwt. of tobacco. The man was tried,
-and sentenced to pay a fine of 100<i>l.</i>, or
-suffer six months’ imprisonment.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Felonies by Lightermen.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Numerous depredations are perpetrated
-by lightermen, employed to navigate barges
-by the owners of various steam-vessels in
-the river or in the docks, and are intrusted
-with valuable cargoes, the value varying
-from 20<i>l.</i> to 20,000<i>l.</i> They have been
-assisted in these robberies by persons little
-suspected by the public, but well known to
-the police.</p>
-
-<p>They have got cargoes from vessels in
-the wharves, or docks, to convey for trans-shipment<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[369]</a></span>
-and delivery along different parts
-of the river, and manage on their way to
-abstract part of the cargo they are in
-charge of. Sometimes these robberies are
-effected on the way, sometimes when they
-are waiting outside the dock for the tide to
-go in. When they have not such articles
-on board their own barges, they remove
-cargoes from other craft while the crew
-may be on shore at supper, or otherwise.
-Sometimes they carry away articles about
-their person, such as tobacco, brandy, wine,
-opium, tea, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>They occasionally steal an empty barge,
-and go alongside of another barge as if
-they were legally employed to put the cargo
-into another craft, and turn the barge into
-some convenient place, where they may
-have a cart or van in readiness to remove
-the property. Sometimes they have a cab
-for this purpose. Two days often elapse
-before the police get information of these
-robberies.</p>
-
-<p>In one instance a barge was taken up
-Bow Creek, with about twenty bundles of
-whalebone and twenty bags of saltpetre,
-which were conveyed away in a van to the
-city. The police traced the booty to a
-marine store-dealer. The value of the property
-was 400<i>l.</i> Two well-known thieves
-were tried for the robbery, but were acquitted.</p>
-
-<p>In April, 1858, Thomas Turnbull and
-Charles Turnbull, brothers, both lightermen
-and notorious river thieves, were
-charged with a robbery from two barges at
-Wapping. Two lightermen were in charge
-of two barges laden, the one with lac dye,
-and the other with cases of wire, near to
-the entrance of the London Docks. These
-men having gone on shore for refreshment,
-the two thieves rowed an empty barge
-alongside the two barges, and took one
-chest of lac dye from one of them, and a
-case of wire card from the other, in value
-about 25<i>l.</i> They took the barge with the
-stolen property over to Rotherhithe, and
-landed at the Elephant Stairs, where it was
-conveyed away in a cart. The property
-was never recovered, but the police, after
-making great exertions, got sufficient evidence
-to convict the parties, who were
-sentenced to eighteen months each at the
-Central Criminal Court.</p>
-
-<p>These unprincipled lightermen could get
-a good livelihood by honest labour, varying
-from 30<i>s.</i> to 2<i>l.</i> a week; but they are dissipated
-and idle in their habits, and resort
-to thieving. They often spend their time
-in dancing and concert-rooms, and are to
-be seen at the Mahagony Bar at Close
-Square and Paddy’s Goose, Ratcliffe Highway.
-They generally cohabit with prostitutes.
-They are a different class of men
-from the tier-rangers, or river pirates, who
-also live with prostitutes. The lightermen’s
-women are generally smart and well-dressed,
-and do not belong to the lowest
-order as those of the tier-rangers do. The
-ages of this class of thieves generally range
-from twenty to thirty years.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">The River Pirates.</span></h3>
-
-<p>This class of robberies is committed
-among the shipping on both sides of the
-river, from London Bridge to Greenhithe,
-but is most prevalent from London Bridge
-to the entrance of the West India Dock.
-The depredations are committed in the
-docks as well as on the river, but not so
-much in the former, as they are better protected.
-Robberies in the docks are generally
-done in the daytime. In the river,
-the chief object the thieves have in view
-is to enter the vessel at midnight, as they
-know that when vessels arrive the seamen
-are often fatigued and worn out, and they
-get a favourable opportunity of getting
-on board and stealing. They steal from
-all classes of vessels, but chiefly from
-brigs and barges. They take any boat
-from the shore and go on board the vessels,
-as if they were seamen, being dressed as
-watermen and seamen. When they get on
-board they go to the cabin or forecastle.
-Their chief object is to secure wearing apparel
-and money. Watches are often to
-be found hanging up in the cabin, and
-clothes are also to be found there. In the
-forecastle the clothes are generally contained
-in a bag hanging up by the side or
-bow of the ship. After they have effected
-their purpose they row ashore and turn the
-boat adrift.</p>
-
-<p>There is another mode of stealing they
-adopt. They get on board the ships as if
-they belonged to some of them, and represent
-they belong to a certain ship in a line
-of vessels commonly called a “tier.” They
-proceed to the forecastle, where if they
-find no one moving about, they go down
-and plunder. If they are seen by any of
-the crew they pretend they belong to some
-other ship, and ask if this ship is named so
-and so. They then say they cannot get on
-board their own ship, and wish the crew to
-allow them to remain for the night.</p>
-
-<p>In many instances the stolen property is
-found on their person, such as coats, vests,
-trousers, boots, &amp;c., and their own clothes
-are left behind. They are generally from
-eighteen to thirty years of age, and are
-powerful athletic men.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[370]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>These robberies are greatly on the decrease,
-owing to the vigilance of the police.</p>
-
-<p>Several years ago there was a cry of police
-between twelve and two o’clock midnight
-on board a vessel lying in Union Tier,
-Wapping. The crew of a police galley proceeded
-to the spot, and ascertained that
-two thieves had been on board a vessel
-there, and had concealed themselves somewhere
-in it, or in the barges alongside.
-After searching some time they discovered
-a notorious river thief in one of the barges.
-He was a stout made man, about five feet
-nine inches in height, and twenty-two years
-of age. A desperate struggle ensued between
-him and the police. He struck the
-inspector with a heavy iron bar on the
-back a very severe blow, which rendered
-him henceforth unfit for active duty.
-The pirate resisted with great desperation,
-and defied the police for some time.</p>
-
-<p>At last they drew their cutlasses, and
-succeeded in taking him. He was brought
-to the police station, convicted, and sentenced
-to three months’ imprisonment. He
-was afterwards indicted for the assault on
-the inspector, and sentenced to fifteen
-months’ hard labour. Since that time he
-has been transported twice for similar
-offences.</p>
-
-<p>A few years since several river pirates
-were suspected of being on board a vessel
-at Bermondsey, where they had stolen a
-silver watch from the cabin. One of the
-gang was detected by the crew of the vessel
-and detained. The crew shouted out for the
-police, when three of their pals drew up to
-the side of the vessel in a small boat, representing
-themselves to be policemen, with
-numbers chalked on their coats. The captain
-of the vessel gave the man into their
-custody, and handed over the watch to one
-of them. Next morning the captain went
-to the police-station to see if the party was
-there. It was then the police heard of the
-robbery, when it was found the supposed
-officers and the thief were a party of river
-pirates who had infested the river for a
-long time. As the ship was just setting
-sail the case was dropped.</p>
-
-<p>Some time ago three constables went on
-duty at midnight in consequence of a number
-of midnight robberies having been
-committed all over the river, especially at
-Deptford, from the ships lying there. They
-went out in a private boat in plain clothes.
-On getting to Deptford they proceeded up
-the creek. After remaining there in the
-dusk about an hour they heard a loud
-knocking, and suspected that some one was
-taking the copper from the bottom of a
-vessel lying there.</p>
-
-<p>The constables drew up to the vessel
-with their boat, and found two men with a
-quantity of copper in a boat, with chisels
-and a chopper they had been using. They
-arrested them, and were coming out of the
-creek with the two boats when they discovered
-two other notorious river thieves
-climbing down the chains of a vessel lying
-alongside the wharf. They had been down
-in the forecastle, and having disturbed
-the crew were making their escape when
-the officers saw them.</p>
-
-<p>The officers thereupon made for the
-vessel, and succeeded in apprehending them,
-and took them into their boat after a desperate
-resistance.</p>
-
-<p>The first two were convicted and sentenced,
-one to three months, and the other
-to six months’ imprisonment, and the latter
-were sentenced to three months each in
-Maidstone gaol.</p>
-
-<p>The Commissioners of Police rewarded
-the constables with a gratuity for their
-vigilance and gallant conduct.</p>
-
-<p>Many of these tier-rangers or river pirates
-have a ruffianly appearance, and generally
-live with prostitutes, on both sides of the
-river, at St. George’s, Bluegate-fields, the
-Borough, and Bermondsey.</p>
-
-<p>They confine themselves to robberies on
-the river, and are frequently transported by
-the time they are thirty years of age.
-Occasionally a returned convict comes back
-for a time, when he generally resumes his
-former villanies, and is again sent abroad.</p>
-
-<p>These tier-rangers in most cases have
-sprung from the ranks of the mudlarks, and
-step by step have advanced further in
-crime, until they have become callous
-brutal ruffians, living as brigands on the
-sides of the river.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Number of felonies, &amp;c., on the river Thames in the metropolitan districts for 1860</td><td>203</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Value of property abstracted thereby</td><td>£712</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Narrative of a Mudlark.</span></h3>
-
-<p>The following narrative was given us by a
-mudlark we found on a float on the river
-Thames at Millwall, to the eastward of
-Ratcliffe Highway. He was then engaged,
-while the tide was in, gathering chips of
-wood in an old basket. We went to the
-river side along with his younger brother, a
-boy of about eleven years of age, we saw
-loitering in the vicinity. On our calling
-to him, he got the use of a boat lying near,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[371]</a></span>
-and came toward us with alacrity. He
-was an Irish lad of about thirteen years of
-age, strong and healthy in appearance, with
-Irish features and accent. He was dressed
-in a brown fustian coat and vest, dirty greasy
-canvas trousers roughly-patched, striped
-shirt with the collar folded down, and a
-cap with a peak.</p>
-
-<p>“I was born in the county of Kerry in
-Ireland in the year 1847, and am now about
-thirteen years of age. My father was a
-ploughman, and then lived on a farm in the
-service of a farmer, but now works at
-loading ships in the London docks. I have
-three brothers and one sister. Two of my
-brothers are older than I. One of them is
-about sixteen, and the other about eighteen
-years of age. My eldest brother is a seaman
-on board a screwship, now on a voyage
-to Hamburg; and the other is a seaman
-now on his way to Naples. My youngest
-brother you saw beside me at the river side.
-My sister is only five years of age, and was
-born in London. The rest of the family
-were all born in Ireland. Our family
-came to London about seven years ago,
-since which time my father has worked
-at the London Docks. He is a strong-bodied
-man of about thirty-four years of age. I was
-sent to school along with my elder brothers
-for about three years, and learned reading,
-writing, and arithmetic. I was able to
-read tolerably well, but was not so proficient
-in writing and arithmetic. One of
-my brothers has been about three years, and
-the other about five years at sea.</p>
-
-<p>“About two years ago I left school, and
-commenced to work as a mudlark on the
-river, in the neighbourhood of Millwall,
-picking up pieces of coal and iron, and
-copper, and bits of canvas on the bed of
-the river, or of wood floating on the surface.
-I commenced this work with a little boy of
-the name of Fitzgerald. When the bargemen
-heave coals to be carried from their
-barge to the shore, pieces drop into the
-water among the mud, which we afterwards
-pick up. Sometimes we wade in the mud
-to the ancle, at other times to the knee.
-Sometimes pieces of coal do not sink, but
-remain on the surface of the mud; at other
-times we seek for them with our hands and
-feet.</p>
-
-<p>“Sometimes we get as many coals about
-one barge as sell for 6<i>d.</i> On other occasions
-we work for days, and only get perhaps as
-much as sells for 6<i>d.</i> The most I ever
-gathered in one day, or saw any of my
-companions gather, was about a shilling’s
-worth. We generally have a bag or a basket
-to put the articles we gather into. I have
-sometimes got so much at one time, that it
-filled my basket twice&mdash;before the tide
-went back. I sell the coals to the poor
-people in the neighbourhood, such as in
-Mary Street and Charles Street, and return
-again and fill my bag or basket and take
-them home or sell them to the neighbours.
-I generally manage to get as many a day
-as sell for 8<i>d.</i></p>
-
-<p>“In addition to this, I often gather a
-basket of wood on the banks of the river,
-consisting of small pieces chipped off planks
-to build the ships or barges, which are
-carried down with the current and driven
-ashore. Sometimes I gather four or five
-baskets of these in a day. When I get a
-small quantity they are always taken
-home to my mother. When successful in
-finding several basketfuls, I generally sell
-part of them and take the rest home. These
-chips or stray pieces of wood are often
-lying on the shore or among the mud, or
-about the floating logs; and at other times
-I seize pieces of wood floating down the
-river a small distance off; I take a boat
-lying near and row out to the spot and
-pick them up. In this way I sometimes
-get pretty large beams of timber. On an
-average I get 4<i>d.</i> or 6<i>d.</i> a-day by finding
-and selling pieces of wood; some days only
-making 2<i>d.</i>, and at other times 3<i>d.</i> We
-sell the wood to the same persons who buy
-the coals.</p>
-
-<p>“We often find among the mud, in the
-bed of the river, pieces of iron; such as
-rivets out of ships, and what is termed
-washers and other articles cast away or
-dropped in the iron-yards in building ships
-and barges. We get these in the neighbourhood
-of Limehouse, where they build boats
-and vessels. I generally get some pieces of
-iron every day, which sells at &frac14;<i>d.</i> a pound,
-and often make 1<i>d.</i> or 2<i>d.</i> a-day, sometimes
-3<i>d.</i>, at other times only a farthing. We sell
-these to the different marine store dealers in
-the locality.</p>
-
-<p>“We occasionally get copper outside
-Young’s dock. Sometimes it is new and at
-other times it is old. It is cut from the
-side of the ship when it is being repaired,
-and falls down into the mud. When the
-pieces are large they are generally picked
-up by the workmen; when small they do
-not put themselves to the trouble of picking
-them up. The mudlarks wade into the bed
-of the river and gather up these and sell
-them to the marine store dealer. The old
-copper sells at 1&frac12;<i>d.</i> a pound, the new copper
-at a higher price. I only get copper occasionally,
-though I go every day to seek for it.</p>
-
-<p>“Pieces of rope are occasionally dropped
-or thrown overboard from the ships or
-barges and are found embedded in the mud<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">[372]</a></span>
-We do not find much of this, but sometimes
-get small pieces. Rope is sold to the
-marine store dealers at &frac12;<i>d.</i> a pound. We
-also get pieces of canvas, which sells at &frac12;<i>d.</i>
-a pound. I have on some occasions got as
-much as three pounds.</p>
-
-<p>“We also pick up pieces of fat along the
-river-side. Sometimes we get four or five
-pounds and sell it at &frac34;<i>d.</i> a pound at the
-marine stores; these are thrown overboard
-by the cooks in the ships, and after floating
-on the river are driven on shore.</p>
-
-<p>“I generally rise in the morning at six
-o’clock, and go down to the river-side with
-my youngest brother you saw beside me at
-the barges. When the tide is out we pick up
-pieces of coal, iron, copper, rope and canvas.
-When the tide is in we pick up chips of
-wood. We go upon logs, such as those you
-saw me upon with my basket, and gather
-them there.</p>
-
-<p>“In the winter time we do not work so
-many hours as in the summer; yet in
-winter we generally are more successful
-than in the long days of summer. A good
-number of boys wade in summer who do
-not come in winter on account of the cold.
-There are generally thirteen or fourteen
-mudlarks about Limehouse in the summer,
-and about six boys steadily there in the
-winter, who are strong and hardy, and well
-able to endure the cold.</p>
-
-<p>“The old men do not make so much as
-the boys because they are not so active;
-they often do not make more than 6<i>d.</i> a
-day while we make 1<i>s.</i> or 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p>
-
-<p>“Some of the mudlarks are orphan boys
-and have no home. In the summer time
-they often sleep in the barges or in sheds
-or stables or cow-houses, with their clothes
-on. Some of them have not a shirt, others
-have a tattered shirt which is never washed,
-as they have no father nor mother, nor
-friend to care for them. Some of these
-orphan lads have good warm clothing;
-others are ragged and dirty, and covered
-with vermin.</p>
-
-<p>“The mudlarks generally have a pound of
-bread to breakfast, and a pint of beer when
-they can afford it. They do not go to
-coffee-shops, not being allowed to go in, as
-they are apt to steal the men’s ‘grub.’
-They often have no dinner, but when they
-are able they have a pound of bread and 1<i>d.</i>
-worth of cheese. I never saw any of them
-take supper.</p>
-
-<p>“The boys who are out all night lie
-down to sleep when it is dark, and rise as
-early as daylight. Sometimes they buy an
-article of dress, a jacket, cap, or pair of
-trousers from a dolly or rag-shop. They
-got a pair of trousers for 3<i>d.</i> or 4<i>d.</i>, an old
-jacket for 2<i>d.</i>, and an old cap for ½<i>d.</i> or 1<i>d</i>.
-When they have money they take a bed
-in a low lodging-house for 2<i>d.</i> or 3<i>d.</i> a
-night.</p>
-
-<p>“We are often chased by the Thames’
-police and the watermen, as the mudlarks
-are generally known to be thieves. I take
-what I can get as well as the rest when I
-get an opportunity.</p>
-
-<p>“We often go on board of coal barges
-and knock or throw pieces of coal over into
-the mud, and afterwards come and take
-them away. We also carry off pieces of
-rope, or iron, or anything we can lay our
-hands on and easily carry off. We often
-take a boat and row on board of empty
-barges and steal small articles, such as
-pieces of canvas or iron, and go down into
-the cabins of the barges for this purpose,
-and are frequently driven off by the police
-and bargemen. The Thames’ police often
-come upon us and carry off our bags and
-baskets with the contents.</p>
-
-<p>“The mudlarks are generally good swimmers.
-When a bargeman gets hold of them
-in his barge on the river, he often throws
-them into the river, when they swim ashore
-and then take off their wet clothes and dry
-them. They are often seized by the police
-in boats, in the middle of the river, and
-thrown overboard, when they swim to the
-shore. I have been chased twice by a
-police galley.</p>
-
-<p>“On one occasion I was swimming a considerable
-way out in the river when I saw
-two or three barges near me, and no one in
-them. I leaped on board of one and went
-down into the cabin, when some of the
-Thames’ police in a galley rowed up to me.
-I ran down naked beneath the deck of the
-barge and closed the hatches, and fastened
-the staple with a piece of iron lying near,
-so that they could not get in to take me.
-They tried to open the hatch, but could
-not do it. After remaining for half-an-hour
-I heard the boat move off. On leaving the
-barge they rowed ashore to get my clothes,
-but a person on the shore took them away,
-so that they could not find them. After I
-saw them proceed a considerable distance
-up the river I swam ashore and got my
-clothes again.</p>
-
-<p>“One day, about three o’clock in the
-afternoon, as I was at Young’s Dock, I saw a
-large piece of copper drop down the side of
-a vessel which was being repaired. On the
-same evening, as a ship was coming out
-of the docks, I stripped off my clothes and
-dived down several feet, seized the sheet of
-copper and carried it away, swimming by
-the side of the vessel. As it was dark, I
-was not observed by the crew nor by any<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[373]</a></span>
-of the men who opened the gates of the
-dock. I fetched it to the shore, and sold
-it that night to a marine store dealer.</p>
-
-<p>“I have been in the habit of stealing
-pieces of rope, lumps of coal, and other
-articles for the last two years; but my
-parents do not know of this. I have never
-been tried before the police court for any
-felony.</p>
-
-<p>“It is my intention to go to sea, as my
-brothers have done, so soon as I can find a
-captain to take me on board his ship. I
-would like this much better than to be a
-coal-heaver on the river.”</p>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">RECEIVERS OF STOLEN PROPERTY.</h2>
-
-</div>
-
-<p>When we look to the number of common
-thieves prowling over the metropolis&mdash;the
-thousands living daily on beggary,
-prostitution, and crime&mdash;we naturally expect
-to find extensive machineries for the receiving
-of stolen property. These receivers
-are to be found in different grades of society,
-from the keeper of the miserable low
-lodging-houses and dolly shops in Petticoat
-Lane, Rosemary Lane, and Spitalfields, in
-the East-end, and Dudley Street and Drury
-Lane in the West-end of the metropolis, to
-the pawnbroker in Cheapside, the Strand,
-and Fleet Street, and the opulent Jews of
-Houndsditch and its vicinity, whose coffers
-are said to be overflowing with gold.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p><i>Dolly Shops.</i>&mdash;As we walk along Dudley
-Street, near the Seven Dials,&mdash;the Petticoat
-Lane of the West-end,&mdash;a curious scene presents
-itself to our notice. There we do not
-find a colony of Jews, as in the East-end,
-but a colony of Irish shopkeepers, with a
-few cockneys and Jews intermingled among
-them. Dudley Street is a noted mart for
-old clothes, consisting principally of male
-and female apparel, and second-hand boots
-and shoes.</p>
-
-<p>We pass by several shops without sign
-boards&mdash;which by the way is a characteristic
-of this strange by-street&mdash;where boots
-and shoes, in general sadly worn, are exposed
-on shelves under the window, or carefully
-ranged in rows on the pavement before the
-shop. We find a middle-aged or elderly
-Irishman with his leathern apron, or a
-young Irish girl brushing shoes at the door,
-in Irish accent inviting customers to enter
-their shop.</p>
-
-<p>We also observe old clothes stores, where
-male apparel is suspended on wooden rods
-before the door, and trousers, vests, and
-coats of different descriptions, piled on
-chairs in front of the shop, or exposed in
-the dirty unwashed windows, while the
-shopmen loiter before the door, hailing the
-customers as they pass by.</p>
-
-<p>Alongside of these we see what is more
-strictly called dolly or leaving shops,&mdash;the
-fertile hot-beds of crime. The dolly shop
-is often termed an unlicensed pawn-shop.
-Around the doorway, in some cases of ordinary
-size, in others more spacious, we see
-a great assortment of articles, chiefly of
-female dress, suspended on the wall,&mdash;petticoats,
-skirts, stays, gowns, shawls, and
-bonnets of all patterns and sizes, the gowns
-being mostly of dirty cotton, spotted and
-striped; also children’s petticoats of different
-kinds, shirt-fronts, collars, handkerchiefs,
-and neckerchiefs exposed in the
-window. As we look into these suspicious-looking
-shops we see large piles of female
-apparel, with articles of men’s dress heaped
-around the walls, or deposited in bundles
-and paper packages on shelves around the
-shop, with strings of clothes hung across
-the apartment to dry, or offered for sale.
-We find in some of the back-rooms, stores
-of shabby old clothes, and one or more
-women of various ages loitering about.</p>
-
-<p>In the evening these dolly shops are dimly
-lighted, and look still more gloomy and
-forbidding than during the day.</p>
-
-<p>Many of these people buy other articles
-besides clothes. They are in the habit of
-receiving articles left with them, and
-charge 2<i>d.</i> or 3<i>d.</i> a shilling on the articles,
-if redeemed in a week. If not redeemed
-for a week, or other specified time, they
-sell the articles, and dispose of them,
-having given the party a miserably small
-sum, perhaps only a sixth or eighth part
-of their value. These shops are frequented
-by common thieves, and by poor dissipated
-creatures living in the dark slums and
-alleys in the vicinity, or residing in low lodging-houses.
-The persons who keep them
-often conceal the articles deposited with
-them from the knowledge of the police,
-and get punished as receivers of stolen
-property. Numbers of such cases occur
-over the metropolis in low neighbourhoods.
-For this reason the keepers of these shops
-are often compelled to remove to other
-localities.</p>
-
-<p>The articles they receive, such as old
-male and female wearing apparel, are also<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">[374]</a></span>
-resetted by keepers of low coffee-houses and
-lodging-houses, and are occasionally bought
-by chandlers, low hairdressers, and others.</p>
-
-<p>They also receive workmen’s tools of an
-inferior quality, and cheap articles of household
-furniture, books, &amp;c., from poor dissipated
-people, beggars, and thieves; many
-of which would be rejected by the licensed
-pawnbrokers.</p>
-
-<p>They are frequently visited by the wives
-and daughters of the poorest labouring
-people, and others, who deposit wearing
-apparel, or bed-linen, with them for a small
-piece of money when they are in want of
-food, or when they wish to get some intoxicating
-liquor, in which many of them
-indulge too freely. They are also haunted
-by the lowest prostitutes on like errands.
-The keepers of dolly shops give more indulgence
-to their regular customers than
-they do to strangers. They charge a less sum
-from them, and keep their articles longer
-before disposing of them.</p>
-
-<p>It frequently occurs that these low traders
-are very unscrupulous, and sell the property
-deposited with them, when they can
-make a small piece of money thereby.</p>
-
-<p>There is a pretty extensive traffic carried
-on in the numerous dolly-shops scattered
-over the metropolis, as we may find from
-the extensive stores heaped up in their
-apartments, in many cases in such dense
-piles as almost to exclude the light of day,
-and from the groups of wretched creatures
-who frequent them&mdash;particularly in the
-evenings.</p>
-
-<p>The principal trade in old clothes is in
-the East-end of the metropolis&mdash;in Rosemary
-Lane, Petticoat Lane, and the dark
-by-streets and alleys in the neighbourhood,
-but chiefly at the Old Clothes Exchange,
-where huge bales are sold in
-small quantities to crowds of traders, and
-sent off to various parts of Scotland, England,
-and Ireland, and exported abroad.
-The average weekly trade has been estimated
-at about 1,500<i>l.</i></p>
-
-<p><i>Pawnbrokers, &amp;c.</i>&mdash;A great amount of
-valuable stolen property passes into the
-hands of pawnbrokers and private receivers.
-The pawnbrokers often give only
-a third or fourth of the value of the article
-deposited with them, which lies secure
-in their hands for twelve months.</p>
-
-<p>A good many of them deal honestly in
-their way, and are termed respectable
-dealers; but some of them deal in an
-illegal manner, and are punished as receivers.
-Many of those who are reputed
-as the most respectable pawnbrokers, receive
-stolen plate, jewellery, watches, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>When <i>plate</i> is stolen, it is sometimes
-carried away on the night of the robbery in
-a cab, or other conveyance, to the house of
-the burglars. Some thieves take it to a
-low beershop, where they lodge for the
-night; others to coffee-shops; others to
-persons living in private houses, pretending
-possibly to be bootmakers, watchmakers,
-copper-plate printers, tailors,
-marine store-dealers, &amp;c. Such parties are
-private receivers well-known to the burglars.
-The doors of their houses are opened
-at any time of the night.</p>
-
-<p>Burglars frequently let them know previously
-when they are going to work, and
-what they expect to get, and the crucible
-or silver pot is kept ready on a slow fire to
-receive the silver plate, sometimes marked
-with the crest of the owner. Within a
-quarter of an hour a large quantity is
-melted down. The burglar does not stay to
-see the plate melted, but makes his bargain,
-gets his money, and goes away.</p>
-
-<p>These private receivers have generally
-an ounce and a quarter for their ounce of
-silver, and the thief is obliged to submit,
-after he has gone into the house. The
-former are understood in many cases to keep
-quantities of silver on hand before they
-sell it to some of the refiners, or other
-dealers, who give them a higher price for
-it, generally 4<i>s.</i> 10<i>d.</i> per ounce. The burglar
-himself obtains only from 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> to
-4<i>s.</i> an ounce.</p>
-
-<p>The receivers we refer to&mdash;well-known
-to the cracksmen of the metropolis&mdash;live
-at White Hart Yard, Catharine Street,
-Strand; Vinegar Yard, Catharine Street,
-Strand; Russell Street, Covent Garden;
-Gravel Lane; Union Street; Friars Street,
-Blackfriars’ Road; Oakley Street, Westminster
-Road; Eagle Street, Holborn;
-King Street, Seven Dials; Wardour Street,
-Oxford Street; Tottenham Place, Tottenham
-Court Road; Upper Afton Place, Newport
-Market; George’s Street, Hampstead
-Road; Clarendon Street, Somers Town; Philip’s
-Buildings, Somers Town; New North-Place
-and Judd Street, Gray’s Inn Road;
-Red Lion Street, Clerkenwell; Wilderness
-Row, Clerkenwell; Golden Lane; Banner
-Street; Banner Row; Long Alley; Tim
-Street; Middlesex Street, Whitechapel;
-Brick Lane, Whitechapel; Halfmoon Passage,
-Union Street, Spitalfields; Whitechapel
-Road; Commercial Road; Rosemary
-Lane, and other localities.</p>
-
-<p>These persons receive plate, silk, satins,
-and other valuable booty.</p>
-
-<p>There are also several refiners in different
-parts of the metropolis who generally have
-silver pots or crucibles on the fire ready to
-melt whatever plate may be taken in. Some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">[375]</a></span>
-of them are German Jews, others are English
-people.</p>
-
-<p>These furnaces are generally in a small
-workshop or parlour at the back of the
-shop. These receivers profess to sell jewellery,
-lace, and other articles, which are exposed
-in the shop windows. They are
-licensed to buy gold and silver, and offer to
-give fair value for precious stones.</p>
-
-<p>The <i>jewellery</i> stolen is taken to these
-same fences and sold at less than a third of
-its value. The names are then erased, and
-the articles are taken to pieces, and sold
-to different jewellers over the metropolis.
-Stolen bank notes and jewellery are often
-sent abroad by these fences to avoid detection.</p>
-
-<p>The following prices are generally received
-from the fences for stolen bank-<span class="lock">notes:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="left" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td>For a </td><td>£5</td><td>bank-note,</td><td>from</td><td>£4 to £4 10<i>s.</i></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="center">„</td><td>10</td><td>do.</td><td class="center">„</td><td>£8 15<i>s.</i> to £9.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="center">„</td><td>20</td><td>do.</td><td>about</td><td>£16 10<i>s.</i></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="center">„</td><td>50</td><td>do.</td><td class="center">„</td><td>£35.</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>As the notes rise in value they give a
-smaller proportionate sum for them, as
-they may have more trouble in getting
-them exchanged.</p>
-
-<p><i>Silks and satins</i>, and such like goods, are
-often conveyed to the fence in a cab on the
-night or morning the robbery is effected;
-the dealer generally gets previous notice,
-and expects to receive them.</p>
-
-<p>In addition to the watch set at the
-house where the robbery is to be committed,
-there is often a watch stationed
-near the house of the receiver to look after
-the movements of the policeman in his
-locality. One of the burglars goes in the cab
-direct from the shop or warehouse where
-the robbery has been committed to the
-house of the receiver, and possibly at a
-short distance from the house gets a quiet
-signal from the watch as to whether it is
-safe to approach. If not, he can make a
-detour with the cab, and come back a little
-afterwards when the coast is clear. The
-burglar and the cabman remove the bags
-of goods into the house of the receiver,
-when the vehicle drives off. The driver of
-the cab is generally paid according to the
-value of the booty.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes these goods are taken to a
-coffee-house, where the people are acquainted
-with the burglars, and where one
-of the burglars remains till the booty is
-sold and removed, or otherwise disposed
-of. The fence, who has got notice of the
-plunder from some of the thieves, often
-comes and takes it away himself. The
-keeper of the coffee-house is well paid for
-his trouble.</p>
-
-<p>Silks and satins are generally sold to the
-fence at 1<i>s.</i> a yard, whatever the quality of
-the fabric. Silk handkerchiefs of excellent
-quality are sold at 1<i>s.</i> each; good broadcloth
-from 4<i>s.</i> to 5<i>s.</i> a yard, possibly worth
-from 1<i>l.</i> 1<i>s.</i> to 1<i>l.</i> 5<i>s.</i>; neckties, sold in the
-shops from 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> to 2<i>s.</i> each, are given
-away for 4<i>d.</i> to 6<i>d.</i> each; kid-gloves, worth
-from 2<i>s.</i> to 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>, are sold at 6<i>d.</i> a pair;
-and women’s boots, worth from 6<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> to
-10<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>, are given for 2<i>s.</i></p>
-
-<p>Silks and satins of the value of 4,500<i>l.</i>
-have been sold for 515<i>l.</i>, the chief proportion
-of the spoil thus coming into the hands
-of the unprincipled receiver.</p>
-
-<p>Numerous cases of receiving stolen property
-are tried at our police-courts and
-sessions, as well as at the Old Bailey. We
-shall only adduce one illustration.</p>
-
-<p>Some time ago a bale of goods was stolen
-from a passage in a warehouse in the City.
-The case was put in the hands of the police.
-They were a peculiar class of goods. Information
-was given to persons in that line
-of business. A few weeks after it was
-ascertained that the stolen property had
-been offered for sale by a person who produced
-a sample. They were ultimately
-traced to a place in the City, not far distant
-from where they had been stolen. They
-were seized by two officers of police. The
-man who was selling them was an agent,
-and had no hand in the robbery. He would
-not give up the name of the person who
-had sent them to him. He was taken into
-custody, and he and the goods were sent
-to the police station.</p>
-
-<p>Seeing the dilemma in which he was
-placed, this man, when in custody, stated
-that he had received the goods from a well-known
-Jewish dealer, who was thereupon
-arrested. On searching his premises the
-officers found a great part of the booty of
-twelve burglaries, and of three other robberies,
-one of them being a quantity of
-jewellery of great value, the whole of the
-property amounting to from 2000<i>l.</i> to 3000<i>l.</i></p>
-
-<p>He was tried, convicted, and sentenced
-to fourteen years’ transportation.</p>
-
-<p>From the statistics of the metropolitan
-police we find the number of houses of bad
-character, which may be used to receive
-stolen property, to be as <span class="lock">follows:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="left" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="right">163 </td><td>houses of receivers of stolen goods.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">255 </td><td>public-houses.</td><td rowspan="4" class="rightbrace"></td><td rowspan="4" class="left">The resort of thieves and prostitutes.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">103 </td><td>beer-shops.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">154 </td><td>coffee-shops.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">101 </td><td>other suspected houses.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">1,706 </td><td>brothels and houses of ill-fame.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right">361 </td><td>tramps’ lodging-houses.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="total right">2,843</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">[376]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Narrative of a Returned Convict.</span></h3>
-
-<p>We give the following brief autobiography
-of a person who has recently returned from
-one of our penal settlements, having been
-transported for life. In character he is
-very different from the generality of our
-London thieves, having hot African blood
-in his veins and being a man of passionate,
-unbridled character. He was formerly a
-daring highway robber. He was introduced
-to us accidentally in Drury-lane, by
-a Bow-street police officer, who occasionally
-acts as a detective. On this occasion the
-latter displayed very little tact and discretion,
-which made it exceedingly difficult for
-us to get from him even the following brief
-<span class="lock">tale:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“I was born in a tent at Southampton,
-on the skirts of a forest, among the gipsies,
-my father and mother being of that stock
-of people. We had generally about seven
-or eight tents in our encampment, and were
-frequently in the forest between Surrey and
-Southampton. The chief of our gang,
-termed the gipsey king, had great influence
-among us. He was then a very old, silver-headed
-man, and had a great number of
-children. I learned when a boy to play the
-violin, and was tolerably expert at it. I
-went to the public-houses and other dwellings
-in the neighbourhood, with three or
-four other gipsey boys, who played the
-triangle and drum, as some of the Italian
-minstrels do. We went during the day and
-often in the evening. At other times we
-had amusement beside the tents, jumping,
-running, and single-stick, and begged from
-the people passing by in the vehicles or on
-foot.</p>
-
-<p>“During the day some of the men of our
-tribe went about the district, and looked out
-over the fields for horses which would suit
-them, and came during the night and stole
-them away. They never carried away
-horses from the stables. They generally got
-their booty along the by-roads, and took
-them to the fairs in the neighbourhood and
-sold them, usually for about 10<i>l.</i> or 12<i>l.</i>
-The horses they stole were generally
-light and nimble, such as might be useful
-to themselves. They disfigured them by
-putting a false mark on them, and by clipping
-their mane and tail. When a horse is
-in good order they keep it for a time till it
-becomes more thin and lank, to make it
-look older. They let the horse generally
-go loose on the side of a road at a distance
-from their encampment, till they have an
-opportunity to sell it; and it is generally
-placed alongside one or two other horses,
-so that it is not so much observed. The
-same person who steals it frequently takes
-it to the fair to be sold.</p>
-
-<p>“The gipsies are not so much addicted
-to stealing from farms as is generally supposed.
-They are assisted in gaining a livelihood
-by their wives and other women
-going over the district telling fortunes.
-Some of them take to hawking for a livelihood.
-This is done by boys and girls, as
-well as old men and women. They sell
-baskets, brushes, brooms, and other
-articles.</p>
-
-<p>“I spent my early years wandering
-among the gipsies till I was thirteen years
-of age, and was generally employed going
-about the country with my violin, along
-with some of my brothers.</p>
-
-<p>“My father died when I was about six
-years of age. A lady in Southampton, of
-the Methodist connexion, took an interest
-in my brothers and me, and we settled
-there with our mother, and afterwards
-learned coach-making. I lived with my
-mother in Southampton for five or six
-years. My brothers were well-behaved, industrious
-boys, but I was wild and disobedient.</p>
-
-<p>“The first depredation I committed was
-when thirteen years old. I robbed my
-mother of a box of old-fashioned coins and
-other articles, and went to Canterbury,
-where I got into company with prostitutes
-and thieves. The little money I had was
-soon spent.</p>
-
-<p>“After this I broke the window of a
-pawnbroker’s shop as a cart was passing
-by, put my hand through the broken pane
-of glass, and carried off a bowl of gold
-and silver coins, and ran off with them and
-made my way to Chatham.</p>
-
-<p>“Some time after this I was, one day at
-noon, in the highway between Chatham and
-Woolwich, when I saw a carriage come up.
-The postillion was driving the horses
-smartly along. A gentleman and lady were
-inside, and the butler and a female servant
-were on the seat behind. I leaped on the
-back of the conveyance as it was driving
-past, and took away the portmanteau with
-the butler’s clothes, and carried it off to
-the adjoining woods. I sold them to a Jew
-at Southampton for 3<i>l.</i> or 4<i>l.</i></p>
-
-<p>“Shortly after I came up to London, and
-became acquainted with a gang of young
-thieves in Ratcliffe Highway. I lived in
-a coffee-house there for about eighteen
-months. The boys gained their livelihood
-picking gentlemen’s pockets, at which I soon
-became expert. After this I joined a gang of
-men, and picked ladies’ pockets, and resided
-for some time at Whitechapel.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_i_0868" style="max-width: 75em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_0868h.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<div class="caption">
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td><span class="small">COMPARTMENT ON THE SIDE FOR VISITORS.</span></td>
-<td><span class="small">COMPARTMENT ON THE SIDE FOR PRISONERS.</span></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<p>FRIENDS VISITING PRISONERS.</p></div>
-</div>
-
-<p>“Several years after I engaged with some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[377]</a></span>
-other men in highway robbery. I recollect
-on one occasion we learned that a person
-was in the habit of going to one of the City
-banks once a week for a large sum of money&mdash;possibly
-to pay his workmen. He was
-generally in the habit of calling at other
-places in town on business, and carried the
-money with him in a blue serge bag. We
-followed him from the bank to several
-places where he made calls, until he came
-to a quiet by-street, near London bridge.
-It was a dark wintry night, and very stormy.
-I rushed upon him and garotted him, while
-one of my companions plundered him of
-his bag. He was a stout old man, dressed
-like a farmer. I was then about twenty-two
-years of age.</p>
-
-<p>“At this time I went to music and
-dancing saloons, and played on my violin.</p>
-
-<p>“Soon after I went to a fair at Maidstone
-with several thieves, all young men like
-myself. One of us saw a farmer in the
-market, a robust middle-aged man, take out
-his purse with a large sum of money. We
-followed him from the market. I went a
-little in advance of my companions for a
-distance of sixteen miles, till we came to a
-lonely cross turning surrounded with woods.
-The night happened to be dark. I went up
-to him and seized him by the leg, and
-pulled him violently off his horse, and my
-companions came up to assist me. While
-he lay on the ground we rifled his pockets
-of a purse containing about 500<i>l.</i> and some
-silver money. He did not make very much
-resistance and we did not injure him. We
-came back to London and shared the booty
-among us.</p>
-
-<p>“About the time of the great gathering
-of the Chartists on Kennington Common,
-in 1848, I broke into a pawnbroker’s shop
-in the metropolis, and stole jewellery to the
-amount of 2,000<i>l.</i>, consisting of watches,
-rings, &amp;c., and also carried off some money.
-I sold the jewels to a Jewish receiver for
-about 500<i>l.</i> I was arrested some time after,
-and tried for this offence, and sentenced to
-transportation for life.</p>
-
-<p>“I returned from one of the penal settlements
-about a year ago, and have since led
-an honest life.”</p>
-
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">COINING.</h2>
-
-</div>
-
-<p>This class of felonies is as prevalent as
-ever in the metropolis, and is carried on in
-many of the low neighbourhoods.</p>
-
-<p>It is generally effected in this way. Take
-a shilling, or other sterling coin, scour it
-well with soap and water; dry it, and then
-grease it with suet or tallow; partly wipe
-this off, but not wholly. Take some plaster
-of Paris, and make a collar either of paper
-or tin. Pour the plaster of Paris on the
-piece of coin in the collar or band round
-it. Leave it until it sets or hardens, when
-the impression will be made. You turn it
-up and the piece sticks in the mould. Turn
-the reverse side, and you take a similar
-impression from it; then you have the
-mould complete. You put the pieces of
-the mould together, and then pare it. You
-make a channel in order to pour the metal
-into it in a state of fusion, having the neck
-of the channel as small as possible. The
-smaller the channel the less the imperfection
-in the “knerling.”</p>
-
-<p>You make claws to the mould, so that it
-will stick together while you pour the
-metal into it. But before doing so, you
-must properly dry it. If you pour the
-hot metal into it when damp, it will fly in
-pieces. This is the general process by
-which counterfeit coin is made. When you
-have your coin cast, there is a “gat,” or
-piece of refuse metal, sticks to it. You
-pair this off with a pair of scissors or a
-knife&mdash;generally a pair of scissors&mdash;then
-you file the edges of the coin to perfect the
-“knerling.”</p>
-
-<p>The coin is then considered finished,
-except the coating. At this time it is of
-a bluish colour, and not in a state fit for
-circulation, as the colour would excite
-suspicion.</p>
-
-<p>You get a galvanic battery with nitric
-acid and sulphuric acid, a mixture of each
-diluted in water to a certain strength. You
-then get some cyanide and attach a copper
-wire to a screw of the battery. Immerse
-that in the cyanide of silver when the process
-of electro-plating commences.</p>
-
-<p>The coin has to pass through another
-process. Get a little lampblack and oil,
-and make it into a sort of composition,
-“slumming” the coin with it. This takes
-the bright colour away, and makes it fit
-for circulation. Then wrap the coins up
-separately in paper so as to prevent them
-rubbing. When coiners are going to cir<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_378" id="Page_378">[378]</a></span>culate
-them, they take them up and rub
-each piece separately. The counterfeit coin
-will then have the greatest resemblance to
-genuine coin, if well-manufactured.</p>
-
-<p>While this is the general mode by which
-it is made, a skilful artificer, or keen-eyed
-detective can trace the workmanship of
-different makers.</p>
-
-<p>Counterfeit coin is manufactured by
-various classes of people&mdash;costermongers,
-mechanics, tailors, and others&mdash;and is
-generally confined to the lower classes of
-various ages. Girls of thirteen years of age
-sometimes assist in making it.</p>
-
-<p>It is made in Westminster, Clerkenwell,
-the Borough, Lambeth, Drury Lane, the
-Seven Dials, Lisson Grove, and other low
-neighbourhoods of the metropolis, at all
-hours of the day and night.</p>
-
-<p>There are generally two persons engaged
-in making it&mdash;sometimes four. In nine
-cases out of ten, men and women are employed
-in it together. The man generally
-holds the mould with an iron clamp, that
-is an iron hook doubled in the shape of
-plyers or tongues to prevent the heat from
-burning their hands. The women generally
-pour the metal into it. One person could
-make the coin alone, but this would be too
-tedious. While engaged in this work, they
-fasten the doors of their room or dwelling,
-and have generally a person on the look-out
-they term a “crow,” in case the officers of
-justice should make their appearance, and
-detect them in the act.</p>
-
-<p>The officers make a simultaneous rush
-into the house after having forced open the
-door with a blow from a sledge-hammer,
-so as to detect the parties in the very act
-of coining. On such occasions the men
-endeavour to destroy the mould, while the
-women throw the counterfeit coin into
-the fire, or into the melted metal, which
-effectually injures it. This is done to prevent
-the officers getting these articles into
-their possession, as evidence against them.</p>
-
-<p>The coiners frequently throw the hot
-metal at the officers, or the acids they use
-in their coining processes, or they attempt
-to strike them with a chair or stool, or
-other weapon that comes in their way. In
-most cases they resist until they are overpowered
-and secured.</p>
-
-<p>Counterfeit coin is generally made of
-Britannia metal spoons and other ingredients,
-and very seldom of pewter pots,
-though formerly this was the case.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes four impressions are cast
-from each mould at the same instant; in
-other cases two or three. If too near each
-other the powerful heat of the metal in
-casting half-crowns or crowns would make
-the mould fly. Hence there must be spaces
-between each impression. Smaller coins,
-such as sixpences or shillings, can be placed
-nearer each other in the mould. On each
-occasion when they cast the coin they blow
-the dust off the mould to keep it perfectly
-clear, so as not to injure in the slightest
-degree the impression. When the latter
-is imperfect a new mould must be made.
-The coiner can use the same mould again
-in less than a minute to make other counterfeit
-coins.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes a quart basinful is made on a
-single occasion; at other times a very small
-quantity only.</p>
-
-<p>The coiners have agents at different
-public-houses to dispose of their counterfeit
-coin, and some of them stand in the
-street to sell it. Sometimes it is sold to
-their private agents in their own dwellings,
-or sent out to parties who purchase it from
-them. The latter parties generally pay 1<i>d.</i>
-for a shilling’s worth. Then these agents
-sell it to the utterers for 2<i>d.</i> a shilling, 3<i>d.</i>
-for two shillings, 3&frac12;<i>d.</i> for a half-crown, and
-4<i>d.</i> a crown. Some coiners charge 5<i>d.</i> for
-five shillings’ worth.</p>
-
-<p>The detection of counterfeit coin in the
-metropolis is under the able management
-of Mr. Brennan, a skilful and experienced
-public officer, who keeps a keen surveillance
-over this department of crime.</p>
-
-<p>In 1855 Mr. Brennan, along with Inspector
-Bryant of G division, and other
-officers, went to the neighbourhood of Kent
-Street for the purpose of apprehending a
-person of the name of Green, better known
-by the cognomen of “Charcoal.” The
-street door was open, and the officers proceeded
-to the top floor up a winding staircase.
-The house consisted of three floors.
-On passing upstairs they were met by three
-men on the top landing, very robust, their
-ages averaging from twenty-four to thirty-six.
-One of them, named Brown, was a
-noted Devonshire wrestler, and a powerful-bodied
-man.</p>
-
-<p>These men attempted to force their way
-down. Mr. Brennan manfully resisted and
-tried to keep them up, and force them back
-into the room. Brown leaped over him
-while struggling with the other two. On
-Mr. Brennan’s son and Inspector Bryant
-coming up to his assistance, the other two
-men were arrested and secured in the yard.</p>
-
-<p>A third man came out of the room and
-was passing by Mr. Brennan, and in doing
-so hit him on the head with a saucepan,
-and forced him against the staircase window.
-His son came up to his assistance,
-when he struck this new assailant on the
-arm with a crowbar, and partially disabled<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_379" id="Page_379">[379]</a></span>
-him. At this time the frame of the staircase
-window gave way, and he fell into the
-court.</p>
-
-<p>One of the men in the house jumped from
-the window of the staircase on the roof of
-a shed, and fell right through it, and was
-followed by Constable Neville of the G
-division, who jumped after him and secured
-him. The former was a man of about five
-feet eight inches high, powerfully built.
-Other two men were beat back into the
-room and secured along with two women.
-Five out of a party of seven men were
-arrested, and the other two effected their
-escape. The officers only expected to see
-one man and a woman coining in this
-house.</p>
-
-<p>After they succeeded in forcing the two
-men back into the room, the man named
-“Charcoal” struggled desperately, and used
-every effort to smash the mould. They
-found sufficient fragments of it as evidence
-against them that they had been making
-half-crowns, shillings, and sixpences, besides
-a large quantity of counterfeit coin.</p>
-
-<p>The officers were obliged to remain in the
-house and yard until they sent to the police
-station for additional assistance. The
-prisoners were tried at the Old Bailey and
-sentenced to various terms of imprisonment,
-from six months to fourteen years.
-The Recorder from the bench recommended
-to Mr. Brennan a compensation of 10<i>l.</i> for
-the manly and efficient part he had acted
-on this trying occasion.</p>
-
-<p>In 1845 Mr. Brennan received information
-that a man who resided at Bath Place,
-Old Street Road, was making counterfeit
-coin. This house consisted of two rooms,
-the one above the other. Mr. Brennan
-went there, accompanied by Sergeant Cole
-of the G division, leaving a police constable
-at the end of the court. He broke open
-the door with a sledge-hammer, and attempted
-to run upstairs, and was met at
-the door by the coiner, who tried to rush
-back into the room, when the former seized
-him by a leathern apron he had on. In the
-struggle both he and Mr. Brennan were
-hurled down to the bottom of the staircase,
-a distance of eleven steps. The officer was
-severely injured on the back of the head,
-and the coiner’s knee struck against his
-belly, yet this brave officer, though severely
-injured, kept hold of the coiner.</p>
-
-<p>At this time Cole was struggling with
-the coiner’s wife and daughter, while their
-bull-dog seized him by the leg of his trousers.
-The dog kept hold of him for about
-twenty-five minutes. Latterly the three
-parties were secured.</p>
-
-<p>Meanwhile the constable whom he had
-left at the end of the court heard the disturbance,
-and entered and assisted in securing
-the prisoners.</p>
-
-<p>The woman was tall and masculine in
-appearance, and the girl was thirteen years
-of age.</p>
-
-<p>On securing this desperate coiner Mr.
-Brennan proceeded upstairs, and found
-four galvanic batteries in full play, and
-about five hundred pieces of counterfeit
-coin in various stages of manufacture&mdash;crowns,
-half-crowns, shillings, and sixpences.
-The prisoner was committed to
-Newgate for trial. His wife was acquitted,
-she having acted under his direction. He
-was sentenced to fifteen years’ transportation.
-The girl was sentenced to two years’
-imprisonment for the exceedingly active
-part she had taken in the affair.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Brennan on this occasion was severely
-injured in his gallant struggle.</p>
-
-<p>Several years ago Mr. Brennan went to
-apprehend a man of the name of Morris
-near Westminster. The street-door of the
-house, which consisted of three stories, was
-shut, but was suddenly burst open by the
-blow of a sledge-hammer. On running up
-to the top floor he found his hat struck
-against something, and found there was a
-flap let down over the “well” of the staircase,
-which was dreadfully armed with
-iron spikes of about three or four inches
-long, and about the same distance apart,
-and it seemed utterly impossible to force it
-up.</p>
-
-<p>The man meantime effected his escape
-through the roof, and ran along the roofs
-and jumped a depth of twenty-five feet on
-the roof of a shed, and was much injured.
-He was carried away by his friends to
-Birmingham, and kept in an hospital till
-he recovered. He then left London for two
-years.</p>
-
-<p>Afterwards he made his appearance in
-the neighbourhood of Kent Street in the
-Borough, where Mr. Brennan went to apprehend
-him, assisted by several other
-officers. He paid him a visit at seven
-o’clock on a winter’s evening. The coiner
-was sitting in the middle of the floor
-making half-crowns. One of the windows
-of the house was open. On hearing the
-officers approach he jumped clean out of
-the window on the back of an officer who
-was stationed there to watch&mdash;the height
-of one story. Mr. Brennan followed him
-as he ran off without his coat along some
-adjoining streets, and caught sight of him
-passing through a back door that led into
-some gardens. Here he fled into a house,
-the floor of which went down a step. There
-was a bed in the room with three children<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_380" id="Page_380">[380]</a></span>
-in it. Mr. Brennan missed his footing, and
-fell across the bed, and narrowly escaped
-injuring one of the children by the fall.
-The father and mother of the children were
-standing at the fire. The man stepped
-forward to the officer and was about to use
-violence, when Mr. Brennan told him who
-he was and his errand, which quieted him.</p>
-
-<p>Meantime Mr. Brennan tripped up the
-coiner as he was endeavouring to escape,
-and threw him on the floor, secured him
-and put him into a cab, where a low mob,
-which had meantime gathered in this
-disreputable neighbourhood, tried to rescue
-the coiner from the hands of the officers.
-They threw brickbats, stones, and other
-missiles to rescue the prisoner.</p>
-
-<p>While the officers were conveying him to
-the police-station this coiner while handcuffed
-endeavoured to throw himself in a
-fit of frantic passion beneath the wheels of
-a waggon to destroy himself, but was
-prevented by the officers. When in Horsemonger
-Gaol he refused for a time to take
-any food.</p>
-
-<p>He was tried at the Old Bailey, and
-sentenced to thirty years’ transportation
-for coining and assaulting the officers in the
-execution of their duty.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Number of cases of coining in the metropolitan districts for 1860</td><td>6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto ditto in the City</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">6</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Number of cases of putting or uttering base coin, &amp;c., in the metropolitan districts</td><td>616</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Forgers.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Forgery is the fraudulent making or altering
-a written instrument, to the detriment
-of another person. To constitute a
-forgery it is not necessary that the whole
-instrument should be fictitious. Making
-an insertion, alteration, or erasure, on any
-material part of a genuine document, by
-which any of the lieges may be defrauded;
-the insertion of a false signature to a true
-instrument, or a real signature to a false
-one, or the altering of the date of a bill
-after acceptance, are all forgeries. There
-are different classes of these. For example,
-there are forgeries of bank notes, of cheques,
-of acceptances, wills, and other documents.</p>
-
-<p><i>Bank Notes.</i>&mdash;There are many forgeries
-of Bank of England notes, executed principally
-at Birmingham. In the engraving
-and general appearance the counterfeit so
-closely resembles the genuine note, that an
-inexperienced eye might be easily deceived.
-The best way to detect them is carefully to
-look to the water-mark embossed in the
-paper, which is not like a genuine note.
-When the back of the former is carefully
-inspected, the water-mark will be found to
-be indented, or pressed into the paper.
-The paper of a forged note is generally of a
-darker colour than a good one. To take
-persons off their guard, forgers frequently
-make the notes very dirty, so as to give
-them the appearance of a much-worn good
-note. They are frequently uttered by pretended
-horse-dealers, in fairs and markets,
-and at hotels and public-houses by persons
-who pretend to be travellers, and who
-order goods from tradespeople in the provincial
-towns, and pay them with forged
-notes. This is often done before banking-hours
-on the Monday, when they might be
-detected, but by this time the person who
-may have offered them has left the town.
-This is the common way of putting them
-off in London and the other towns in England.
-Sometimes they utter them by sending
-a woman, dressed as a servant, to a public-house
-or to a tradesman for some article,
-and in this manner get them exchanged&mdash;perhaps
-giving the address of her master
-as residing in the vicinity, which is sure to
-be false. Tradesmen are frequently taken
-off their guard by this means, and give an
-article, often of small value, with the change
-in return for a note. They sometimes
-do not discover it to be false till several
-days afterwards, when it is taken to the
-bank and detected there.</p>
-
-<p>An experienced banking clerk or a keen-eyed
-detective, accustomed to inspect
-such notes, know them at once. It sometimes
-happens they are so well executed
-that they pass through provincial banks,
-and are not detected till they come to the
-Bank of England.</p>
-
-<p>They generally consist of 5<i>l.</i> or 10<i>l.</i> notes,
-and are given to agents who sell them to
-the utterer, and the makers are not known
-to them. Knowingly to have in our possession
-a forged bank note, without a lawful
-excuse, the proof of which lies on the
-party charged, or to have forging instruments
-in our possession, is a criminal offence.</p>
-
-<p>There are also forged notes of provincial
-banks, but these are not so numerous as
-those of the Bank of England. The provincial
-banks have generally colours and
-engine-turned engraving on their notes.
-Some have a portion of the note pink,
-green, or other colours, more difficult and
-expensive to forge than the Bank of England
-note, which is on plain paper with an
-elaborate water-mark.</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_381" id="Page_381">[381]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Numerous cases occur before the criminal
-courts, where utterers of forged notes
-are convicted and punished.</p>
-
-<p>A case of this kind was tried at Guildhall,
-in October, 1861. A marine-store dealer in
-Lower Whitecross-street was charged with
-feloniously uttering two forged Bank of
-England notes for 5<i>l.</i> and 10<i>l.</i>, with the intent
-to defraud Mr. Crouch, the proprietor
-of the “Queen’s Head” tavern, in Whitecross
-Street.</p>
-
-<p>The store-dealer had waited on him to
-get them exchanged. Mr. Crouch paid
-them to his distiller, who took them to the
-Bank of England, when they were sent back,
-detected as forgeries.</p>
-
-<p>The prisoner was committed to Newgate.</p>
-
-<p>Many forged notes of the Bank of England
-are now in circulation. They may be
-detected by wetting them, when the water-mark
-disappears. The vignette is often
-clumsily engraved. In other respects the
-forgery is cleverly executed.</p>
-
-<p><i>Cheques.</i>&mdash;A cheque is a draft or order on
-a banker, by a person who has money in the
-bank, directing the banker to pay the sum
-named therein to the bearer or the person
-named in the cheque, which must be signed
-by the drawer. Cheques are generally payable
-to the bearer, but sometimes made
-payable to the person who is named therein.
-The place of issue must be named, and
-the check must bear the date of issue. A
-<i>crossed</i> cheque has the name of a banker
-written across the face of it, and must be
-paid through that banker. If presented by
-any other person it is not paid without
-rigid inquiry. The word banker includes
-any person, corporation, or Joint-Stock
-Company, acting as bankers.</p>
-
-<p>The form of the cheque is seldom forged;
-it is generally the signature. Sometimes
-the body of the cheque that contains the
-genuine signature is forged. For instance,
-in a cheque for eight pounds the letter “y”
-may be added to the word “eight,” which
-makes it “eighty;” and a cypher appended
-to the figure “8” making it “80,” to correspond
-with the writing. The forms of
-cheques are frequently obtained by means of
-a forged order, such as A knowing B to
-have an account at a bank, A writes a
-letter to the banker purporting to come
-from B, asking for a cheque-book, which the
-banker frequently sends on the faith of the
-letter being genuine. Sometimes cheque-books
-are stolen by burglars and other
-thieves who enter business premises. By
-some device they get the signature of a
-person who has money in that bank, and
-forge it to the stolen cheques. It has
-been known for forgers who wanted to obtain
-money from a bank, to go to a solicitor
-whom they knew kept a bank account.
-One of them would instruct the solicitor to
-enter an action against one of his confederates
-for a pretended debt. After proceedings
-had been instituted the party
-would pay the amount claimed to the solicitor;
-and his companion, who had given
-instructions in reference to the action, then
-goes and gets a cheque for the amount,
-and by that means obtains the genuine
-signature, and is enabled to insert a facsimile
-of it in forged cheques. By this
-means he obtains money from the bank.
-Cases of this kind very frequently occur.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes forgeries are done by clerks
-and others who have an opportunity of
-getting the signature of their employer.
-They forge his name, or alter the body of
-the cheque. In many commercial houses
-the body of the cheque is filled up by the
-confidential clerk and taken to the head of
-the firm, who signs it. These forgeries are
-sometimes for a small sum, at other times
-for a large amount.</p>
-
-<p>Several cases of uttering forged cheques
-were lately tried before the police-courts.</p>
-
-<p>A respectable-looking young woman, who
-described herself as a domestic servant,
-was brought before the Lord Mayor, charged
-with uttering a cheque for 5<i>l.</i> 18<i>s.</i>, purporting
-to be signed by Mr. W. P. Bennett,
-with intent to defraud a banking firm
-in London. She had recently been on a
-visit to London, and had been lent a small
-sum of money by another servant in town,
-along with some dresses, amounting to
-10<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p>
-
-<p>On the 30th October the latter young
-woman received a letter from the prisoner,
-enclosing a forged cheque, and at the same
-time stating that a young man with whom
-she had been keeping company had died,
-and had given her this cheque to get cashed.
-If the servant could not get away to get
-the cheque cashed, the prisoner wished her
-to lend her what she was able, to go to the
-young man’s funeral. On presenting the
-cheque at the banker’s the forgery was discovered.</p>
-
-<p>It appeared from the evidence that the
-prisoner had been lodging in the same
-house with Mr. Bennett, whose signature
-she forged.</p>
-
-<p>A young man of respectable appearance
-residing in the neighbourhood of Fleet
-Street, was tried at Guildhall lately, charged
-with uttering a cheque for 6<i>l.</i>, well knowing
-the same to be a forgery. He had gone to
-the landlord of a public-house in Essex
-Street, Bouverie Street, and asked him to
-cash it. It was drawn by Josiah Evans in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_382" id="Page_382">[382]</a></span>
-favour of C. B. Bennett, Esq., and indorsed
-by the latter. The cheque was on Sir Benjamin
-Hayward, Bart., &amp; Co., of Manchester.
-When presented at the bank, it was returned
-with a note stating that no such
-person had an account there, and they did
-not know any of the names. The criminal
-was then arrested, and committed for trial.</p>
-
-<p><i>Forged Acceptance.</i>&mdash;A bill of exchange is
-a mercantile contract written on a slip of
-paper, whereby one person requests another
-to pay money on his account to a
-third person at the time therein specified.
-The person who draws the bill is termed
-the drawer, the party to whom it is addressed
-before acceptance is called the
-drawee&mdash;afterwards the acceptor. The
-party for whom it is drawn is termed the
-payee, who indorses the bill, and is then
-styled the indorser, and the party to whom
-he transfers it is called the indorsee. The
-person in possession of the bill is termed
-the holder.</p>
-
-<p>An acceptance is an engagement to pay
-the bill, the person writing the word accepted
-across the bill with his name
-under it. This may be <i>absolute</i> or <i>qualified</i>.
-An <i>absolute</i> acceptance is an engagement to
-pay the bill according to its request. A
-<i>qualified</i> acceptance undertakes to do it
-conditionally.</p>
-
-<p>Bills are either inland or foreign. The
-inland bill is on one piece of paper; foreign
-bills generally consist of three parts called a
-“set;” so that should the bearer lose one,
-he may receive payment for the other.
-Each part contains a condition that it shall
-be paid provided the others are unpaid.
-These bills require to have a stamp of
-proper value to make them valid.</p>
-
-<p>Forgeries of bills seldom consist of the
-whole bill, but either the acceptor’s signature,
-or that of the drawer, or the indorser.
-Sometimes the contents of the
-bill is altered to make it payable earlier.</p>
-
-<p>These forgeries are not so numerous, and
-are frequently done by parties who get the
-bills in a surreptitious way. It often happens
-that one party draws the bill in another
-name, forging the acceptance, and
-passes it to a third party who is innocent
-of the forgery. If the person who forged
-the acceptance, pays the money to the
-bank where the bill is payable when it is
-due, the forgery is not detected. When he
-is not able to pay in the money it is discovered.
-It happens in this way: A B and
-C are commercial men, A stands well in
-the commercial world; B draws a bill in
-his name, and without his knowledge. The
-name of A being good, the bill passes to C
-without any suspicion. If B can meet it
-at the time it is due, A does not know that
-his name has been used.</p>
-
-<p>If the bill is not paid at the proper time,
-C takes it to A, and thus discovers the
-forgery.</p>
-
-<p><i>Forged Wills.</i>&mdash;A will is a written document
-in which the testator disposes of his
-property after his death. It is not necessary
-that it should be written on stamped
-paper, as no stamp duty is required till the
-death of the testator, when the will is
-proved in court in the district where he
-resided. The essentials are that it should
-be legible, and so intelligible, that the testator’s
-intention can be clearly understood.</p>
-
-<p>If the will is not signed by the testator,
-it must be signed by some other person by
-his direction, and in his presence; two or
-more witnesses being present who must
-attest that the will was signed, and the signature
-acknowledged by the testator in
-their presence.</p>
-
-<p>No will is valid unless signed at the foot
-of the page, or at the end by the testator, or
-by some other person in his presence, and
-by his direction. Marriage revokes a will
-previously made.</p>
-
-<p>A codicil is a supplement, or addition to
-the will, altering some part, or making an
-addition. It may be written on the same
-document, or on another paper, and folded
-up with the original instrument. There
-can only be one will, yet there may be a
-number of codicils attached to it, and the
-last is equally binding as the first, if they
-are not contradictory.</p>
-
-<p>Forgeries of wills are generally done by
-relations, who get a fictitious will prepared
-in their favour contrary to the genuine
-will. On the death of the supposed testator,
-the forged will is put forth as the
-genuine one, and the other is destroyed.</p>
-
-<p>All parties expecting property on the
-death of a relative or friend, and finding
-none, should be careful to have the signatures
-of the witnesses examined, to test
-whether they are genuine; and also the
-signature of the testator.</p>
-
-<p>Every will can be seen at the district
-court, where they are proved, on the payment
-of a shilling. Such an examination
-is the only likely method of detecting the
-forgery.</p>
-
-<p>There are several other classes of forgery
-in addition to those already noticed, such as
-forging certificates of character, and bills
-of lading.</p>
-
-<p>A case of the latter kind was recently
-tried at Guildhall. A merchant, near the
-Haymarket, and an artist also in the West-end,
-were arraigned with having feloniously
-forged and altered certain bills of lading;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_383" id="Page_383">[383]</a></span>
-one of these represented ten casks of alkali
-amounting to the value of 84<i>l.</i>, and another,
-twenty-six casks of alkali worth 140<i>l.</i>, with
-the intention of defrauding certain merchants
-in London. All the bills of lading
-were with one exception to a certain extent
-genuine, that is, were filled up in the first
-instance. But after being signed by the
-wharfinger, they were altered by the introduction
-of words and figures, to represent
-a larger quantity of goods than had been
-shipped. The prisoners were committed
-for trial.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Number of cases of forgery in the metropolitan districts for the year 1860</td><td>27</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto ditto in the City</td><td>20</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">47</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Amount of loss thereby in the metropolitan districts</td><td>£254</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto ditto in the City</td><td>736</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">£990</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CHEATS.</h2>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Embezzlers.</span></h3>
-
-</div>
-
-<p>This is the crime of a servant appropriating
-to his own use the money or goods
-received by him on account of his master,
-and is perpetrated in the metropolis by
-persons both in inferior and superior positions.</p>
-
-<p>Were a party to advance money or goods
-to an acquaintance or friend, for which the
-latter did not give a proper return, the case
-would be different, and require to be sued
-for in a civil action.</p>
-
-<p>Embezzlement is often committed by
-journeymen bakers entrusted by their
-employers with quantities of bread to distribute
-to customers in different parts of
-the metropolis, by brewer’s draymen delivering
-malt liquors, by carmen and others
-engaged in their various errands. A case
-of this kind occurred recently. A carman
-in the service of a coal merchant in the
-West-end was charged with embezzling
-6<i>l.</i> 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> He had been in the habit of
-going out with coals to customers, and was
-empowered to receive the money, but had
-gone into a public-house on his return, got
-intoxicated, and lost the whole of his cash.
-He was tried at Westminster Police Court,
-and sentenced to pay a fine of 10<i>l.</i> with
-costs. This crime is frequent among this
-class. The chief inducements which lead
-to it are the habits of drinking, prevalent
-among them, gambling in beer-shops, attending
-music-saloons, such as the Mogul,
-Drury Lane, and Paddy’s Goose, Ratcliffe
-Highway, and attending running matches.
-Their pay is not sufficient to enable
-them to indulge in those habits, and this
-leads them to commit the crime of embezzlement.</p>
-
-<p>Persons in trade frequently send out
-their shopmen to receive orders, and obtain
-payment for goods supplied to families
-at their residence, and are occasionally entrusted
-with goods on stalls. In June,
-1861, a respectable-looking young man, was
-placed at the bar of the Southwark Police
-Court, charged with having embezzled 39<i>l.</i>,
-the property of a bookselling firm in the
-Strand. He had been entrusted with a
-stall where he sold books and newspapers,
-and was called to account for the receipts
-daily. One day he neglected to send 8<i>l.</i>,
-the receipts of the previous Saturday, and
-for other seven days he had given no proper
-count and reckoning. He admitted the
-neglect, and confessed he had appropriated
-the money. He was paid at the rate of
-1<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i> a month, which with commission
-amounted to about 6<i>l.</i> or 7<i>l.</i></p>
-
-<p>A clerk and salesman in the service of a
-draper in Camberwell, was charged with
-embezzling various sums of money belonging
-to his employer. It was his duty each
-night to account for the goods he disposed
-of, and the money he received. One morning
-he went out with a quantity of goods,
-and did not return at the proper time,
-when his employer found him in a beershop
-in the Blackfriars Road. On asking
-him what had become of the goods, he
-replied he had left them at a public-house
-in the Borough, which was untrue. In the
-account-book found upon him it was ascertained
-that he had received several sums of
-money he had not accounted for.</p>
-
-<p>A robbery by a young man of this class
-was very ingeniously detected a few weeks
-ago, and brought before the Marlborough
-Police Court.</p>
-
-<p>A shopman to a cheesemonger in Oxford<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_384" id="Page_384">[384]</a></span>
-Street was charged with stealing money
-from the till. He had been in his employer’s
-service for ten months, and served
-at the counter along with three other shopmen.
-The cheesemonger having found a
-considerable deficiency in his receipts suspected
-his honesty, especially as he was in
-the habit of attending places of amusement,
-and indulging in other extravagances
-he knew were beyond his means. He
-marked three half-crowns, and put them in
-the till to which the young man had access.
-Soon after he saw the latter put in his
-hand, and take out a piece of money. He
-made an excuse to send the shopman out
-for a moment, and on examining the till,
-missed one of the marked pieces of money.
-He thereupon gave information to the police,
-and again placed money in the till
-similarly marked, leaving a police-officer
-on the watch. The shopman was again
-detected, he was then arrested, and taken
-to the police-station.</p>
-
-<p>Many young men of this class are wretchedly
-paid by their employers, and have
-barely enough to maintain them and keep
-them in decent clothing. Many of them
-spend their money foolishly on extravagant
-dress, or associating with girls, attending
-music-saloons, such as Weston’s, in Holborn;
-the Pavilion, near the Haymarket;
-Canterbury Hall; the Philharmonic, Islington;
-and others. Some frequent the Grecian
-Theatre, City Road, and other gay
-resorts, and are led into crime. In one
-season eighteen girls were known to have
-been seduced by fast young men, and to become
-prostitutes through attending music-saloons
-in the neighbourhood of Tottenham
-Court Road.</p>
-
-<p>Embezzlements are occasionally committed
-by females of various classes. Some
-of them, by fraudulent representations, obtain
-goods from various tradesmen, consisting
-of candles, soap, sugar, as on account
-of their customers. Some women of
-a higher class, such as dressmakers, and
-others, are entrusted with merinos, silks,
-satins, and other drapery goods which they
-embezzle.</p>
-
-<p>A young married woman was lately tried
-at Guildhall, on a charge of disposing
-of a quantity of silk entrusted to her.
-It appeared from the evidence of the
-salesman of the silk manufacturer, that
-this female applied to him for work, at
-same time producing a written recommendation,
-purporting to come from a person
-known by the firm. Materials to the value
-of 5<i>l.</i> 15<i>s.</i> were given her to be wrought up
-into an article of dress. On applying for
-it at the proper time, he found she had sold
-the materials, and had left her lodging.
-While the work was supposed to be in progress,
-the firm had also given her 2<i>l.</i> 13<i>s.</i>,
-on partial payment. She pleaded poverty
-as the cause of her embezzling the goods.</p>
-
-<p>Parties connected with public societies
-occasionally embezzle the money committed
-to their charge. The secretary of a
-friendly society in the east-end, was brought
-before the Thames Police Court, charged
-with embezzling various sums of money
-he had received on account of the society.
-The secretary of another friendly society
-on the Surrey side, was lately charged at
-Southwark Police Court with embezzling
-upwards of 100<i>l.</i> This society has branches
-in all parts of the kingdom, but the central
-office is in the metropolis. The secretary
-had been in their service for upwards of
-two years, at a fixed salary. It was his
-duty to receive contributions from the
-country, and town members; and to account
-for the same to the treasurer. He recently
-absconded, when large defalcations were
-discovered amounting to upwards of 100<i>l.</i></p>
-
-<p>A considerable number of embezzlements
-are committed by commercial travellers,
-and by clerks in lawyers’ offices, banks, commercial
-firms, and government offices. Some
-of them of great and serious amounts.</p>
-
-<p>Tradesmen and others in the middle
-class, and some respectable labouring men,
-and mechanics, place their sons in counting-houses,
-or other establishments superior
-to their own position; these foolishly
-try to maintain the appearance of their
-fellow-clerks who have ampler pecuniary
-means. This often leads to embezzling
-the property of the employer or firm.</p>
-
-<p>Crimes of this class are occasionally committed
-by lawyers’ clerks, who are in many
-cases wretchedly paid, as well as by some
-who have handsome salaries. Numerous
-embezzlements are also perpetrated in commercial
-firms, by their servants; some of
-them to the value of many thousand pounds.</p>
-
-<p>A commercial traveller was lately brought
-up at the Mansion House, charged with
-embezzlement. It appears he travelled for
-a firm in the City, and had been above ten
-years in their service at a salary of 1<i>l.</i> 1<i>s.</i>
-per day. It was his duty to take orders
-and collect accounts as they became due.
-Some days he received from the customers
-certain sums and afterwards paid a less
-amount to the firm, keeping the rest of the
-money in his hands, which he appropriated.
-Another day he received a sum of money
-he never accounted for. He was committed
-for trial.</p>
-
-<p>An embezzlement was committed by a
-cashier to a commercial firm in the City.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_385" id="Page_385">[385]</a></span>
-It appeared from the evidence, he had been
-in the service of his employers for ten years,
-and kept the petty cash-book; with an account
-of all sums paid. He had to account
-for the amounts given him as petty cash,
-and for disbursements whenever he should
-be called.</p>
-
-<p>From the extravagant style in which he
-was living, which reached the ear of the
-firm, their suspicions were aroused, and
-one of them asked him to bring his books
-into the counting-house, and render the
-customary account of the petty cash. His
-employer discovered the balance of some of
-the pages did not correspond with the
-balance brought forward, and asked the
-cashier to account for it; when he acknowledged
-that he had appropriated the difference
-to his own use.</p>
-
-<p>Several items were then pointed out,
-ranging over a number of months, in which
-he had plundered his employers of several
-hundred pounds. This was effected in a
-very simple way; by carrying the balance
-of the cash in hand to the top of next page
-100<i>l.</i> less than it was on the preceding
-page, and by calling the disbursements
-when his employers checked the accounts,
-100<i>l.</i> more than they really were.</p>
-
-<p>The books of commercial firms are frequently
-falsified in other modes, to effect
-embezzlements.</p>
-
-<p>These defalcations often arise from fast
-life, extravagant habits, and gambling.
-Many fashionable clerks in lawyers’ offices,
-banks, and Government offices, frequent
-the Oxford and Alhambra music halls, the
-West-end theatres, concerts, and operas.
-They attend the Holborn Assembly-room
-and the Argyle Rooms, and are frequently
-to be seen at masked balls, and at Cremorne
-Gardens during the season. They occasionally
-indulge in midnight carousals in the
-Turkish divans and supper-rooms. Some
-Government clerks have high salaries, and
-keep a mistress in fashionable style, with
-brougham and coachman, and footman;
-others maintain their family in a style
-their salary is unable to support, all of
-which lead them step by step to embezzlement
-and ruin.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Number of cases of embezzlement in the Metropolitan districts for 1860</td><td>223</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto ditto in the City</td><td>70</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">293</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Value of money and property abstracted thereby in the Metropolitan districts&mdash;</td><td>£5,271</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto ditto in the City</td><td>2,660</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">£7,931</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Magsmen, or Sharpers.</span></h3>
-
-<p>This is a peculiar class of unprincipled
-men, who play tricks with cards, skittles, &amp;c.
-&amp;c., and lay wagers with the view of cheating
-those strangers who may have the misfortune
-to be in their company.</p>
-
-<p>Their mode of operation is this: There
-are generally three of them in a gang&mdash;seldom
-or never less. They go out together,
-but do not walk beside each other
-when they are at work. One may be on
-the one side of the street, and the other
-two arm-in-arm on the other. They generally
-dress well, and in various styles, some
-are attired as gentlemen, others as country
-farmers. In one gang, a sharper is dressed
-as a coachman in livery, and in another
-they have a confederate attired as a parson,
-and wearing green spectacles.</p>
-
-<p>Many of them start early in the morning
-from the bottom of Holborn Hill, and
-branch off in different directions in search
-of dupes. They frequent Fleet Street,
-Oxford Street, Strand, Regent Street, Shoreditch,
-Whitechapel, Commercial Road, the
-vicinity of the railway stations, and the
-docks. They are generally to be seen wandering
-about the streets till four o’clock in
-the afternoon, unless they have succeeded
-in picking up a stranger likely to be a victim.
-They visit the British Museum, St. Paul’s,
-Westminster Abbey, and the Crystal Palace,
-&amp;c., and on market days attend the
-fairs.</p>
-
-<p>The person who walks the street in front
-of the gang, is generally the most engaging
-and social; the other two keep in sight,
-and watch his movements. As the former
-proceeds along he keenly observes the persons
-passing. If he sees a countryman or a
-foreigner pass who appears to have money,
-or a person loitering by a shop-window, he
-steps up to him and probably enters into
-conversation regarding some object in sight.</p>
-
-<p>For instance, in passing Somerset House
-in the Strand, he will go up to him and ask
-what noble building that is, hinting at the
-same time that he is a stranger in London.
-It frequently occurs that the individual
-he addresses is also a stranger in London.
-Having entered into conversation, the first
-object he has in view is to learn from the
-person the locality to which he belongs.
-The sharp informs him he has some relation
-there, or knows some person in the
-town or district. (Many of the magsmen
-have travelled a good deal, and are acquainted
-with many localities, some of them
-speak several foreign languages.) He may
-then represent that he has a good deal of
-property, and is going back to this village<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_386" id="Page_386">[386]</a></span>
-to give so much money to the poor. It
-sometimes occurs in the course of conversation
-he proposes to give the stranger a
-sum of money to distribute among the
-poor of his district, as he is specially interested
-in them, and may at the same time
-produce his pocket-book, with a bundle of
-flash notes. This may occur in walking
-along the street. He will then propose to
-enter a beer-shop, or gin-palace to have a
-glass of ale or wine. They go in accordingly.
-When standing at the bar, or seated in the
-parlour, one of his confederates, enters, and
-calls for a glass of liquor.</p>
-
-<p>This party appears to be a total stranger
-to his companion. He soon enters as it
-were casually into conversation, and they
-possibly speak of their bodily strength. A
-bet is made that one of them cannot throw
-a weight as many yards as the other. They
-make a wager, and the stranger is asked to
-go with them as a referee, to decide the
-bet. They may call a cab, and adjourn to
-some well-known skittle-alley. On going
-there they find another confederate, who
-also pretends to be unacquainted with the
-others. One of the two who made the
-wager as to throwing the weight may pace
-the skittle-ground to find its dimensions,
-and pretend it is not long enough.</p>
-
-<p>They will then possibly propose to have
-a game at skittles, and will bet with each
-other that they will throw down the pins
-in so many throws.</p>
-
-<p>The sharp who introduced the stranger,
-and assumes to be his friend, always is
-allowed to win, perhaps from 5<i>s.</i> to 10<i>s.</i>, or
-more, as the case may be. He plays well,
-and the other is not so good. Up to this
-time the intended victim has no hand in
-the game. Another bet is made, and the
-stranger is possibly induced to join in it
-with his agreeable companion, and it is
-generally arranged that he wins the first
-time.</p>
-
-<p>He is persuaded to bet for a higher
-amount by himself, and not in partnership,
-which he loses, and continues to do so
-every time till he has lost all he possessed.</p>
-
-<p>He is invariably called out to the bar by
-the man who introduced him to the house,
-when they have a glass together, and in the
-meantime the others escape.</p>
-
-<p>The sharp will say to the victim after
-staying there a short time, “I believe these
-men not to be honest; I’ll go and see where
-they have gone, and try and get your money
-back.” He goes out with the pretence of
-looking after them, and walks off. The
-victim proceeds in search of them, and finds
-they have decamped leaving him penniless.</p>
-
-<p>They have a very ingenious mode of finding
-out if the person they accost has money
-in his pocket. This is done after he is introduced
-into the public-house when getting
-a glass of ale. The second confederate
-comes in invariably. The two magsmen
-begin to converse as to the money they
-have with them. One pretends he has so
-much money, which the other will dispute.
-They possibly appear to get very angry,
-and one of them makes a bet that he can
-produce more money than any in the company.
-They then take out their cash, and
-induce the stranger to do so, to find which
-of them has got the highest amount. They
-thus learn how much money he has in his
-possession.</p>
-
-<p>When they find he has a sufficient sum,
-they adjourn to a house they are accustomed
-to use for the purpose of paying the sum
-lost by the wager. It generally happens
-the stranger has most, and wins the
-bet.</p>
-
-<p>On arriving at this house they wish a
-stamped receipt for the cash. Being a
-stranger he is asked as a security to leave
-something as a deposit till he returns. At
-the same time this sharp takes out a bag of
-money containing medals instead of sovereigns,
-or a pocket-book with flash notes.</p>
-
-<p>He soon comes back with a receipt stamp,
-but a dispute invariably arises whether it
-will do. He suggests that some one else
-should go and get one. The stranger is
-urged to go for one. In the same manner
-he leaves money on the table as a security
-that he will return.</p>
-
-<p>He may not know where to get the receipt
-stamp, and one of them proposes to
-accompany him. They walk along some
-distance together, when this man will say,
-“I don’t much like these two men you
-have left your money with; do you know
-them?” He will then advise him to go
-back, and see if his cash is all right. On
-his return he finds them both gone, and his
-money has also disappeared.</p>
-
-<p>We shall now notice several of the tricks
-they practise to delude their victims.</p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter illowp94" id="i_i_0896" style="max-width: 75em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_0896h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>LIBERATION OF PRISONERS FROM COLDBATH FIELDS HOUSE OF CORRECTION.</p></div>
-</div>
-
-<p><i>The Card tricks.</i>&mdash;These are not often
-practised in London but generally at
-racecourses and country fairs, or where any
-pastime is going on. Only three cards are
-used. There is one picture card along
-with two others. They play with them
-generally on the ground or on their knee.
-There are always several persons in a gang
-at this game. One works the cards, shuffling
-them together, and then deals them on
-the ground. They bet two to one no one
-will find the picture card (the Knave, King,
-or Queen). One of the confederates makes
-a bet that he can find it, and throws down<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_387" id="Page_387">[387]</a></span>
-a sovereign or half-sovereign, as the case
-may be.</p>
-
-<p>He picks up one of the cards, which will
-be the picture card, or the one they propose
-to find. The sharp dealing the cards
-bets that no one will find the same card
-again. Some simpleton in the crowd will
-possibly bet from 1<i>l.</i> to 10<i>l.</i> that he can find
-it. He picks up a card, which is not the
-picture card and cannot be, as it has been
-secretly removed from the pack, and another
-card has been substituted in its place.</p>
-
-<p><i>Skittles.</i>&mdash;They generally depend on the
-ability of one of their gang when engaged
-in this game, so that he shall be able to
-take the advantage when wanted. When
-they bet and find their opponent is expert,
-he is expected to be able to beat him. In
-every gang there is generally one superior
-player. He may pretend to play indifferently
-for a time, but has generally superior
-skill, and wins the bet.</p>
-
-<p><i>Thimble and Pea.</i>&mdash;It is done in this way.
-There are three thimbles and a pea. These
-are generally worked by a man dressed as
-a countryman, with a smock-frock, at
-country fairs, race-courses, and other places
-without the metropolitan police district.
-They commence by working the pea from
-one thimble to another, similar to the card
-trick, and bet in the same way until some
-person in the company&mdash;not a confederate&mdash;will
-bet that he can find the pea. He
-lifts up one of the thimbles and ascertains
-that it is not there. Meantime the pea has
-been removed. It is secreted under the
-thumb nail of the sharp, and is not under
-either of the thimbles.</p>
-
-<p><i>The Lock.</i>&mdash;While the sharps are seated in
-a convenient house with their dupe, a man,
-a confederate of theirs, may come in,
-dressed as a hawker, offering various articles
-for sale. He will produce a lock which can
-be easily opened by a key in their presence.
-He throws the lock down on the table and
-bets any one in the room they cannot open
-it. One of his companions will make a bet
-that he can open it. He takes it up, opens
-it easily, and wins the wager.</p>
-
-<p>He will show the stranger how it is
-opened; after which, by a swift movement
-of his hand, he substitutes another similar
-lock in its place which cannot be opened.
-The former is induced possibly to bet that
-he is able to open it.</p>
-
-<p>The lock is handed to him; he thinks it
-is the same and tries to open it, but does
-not succeed, and loses his wager.</p>
-
-<p>There are various other tricks somewhat
-of a similar character, on which they lay
-wagers and plunder their dupes. They have
-a considerable number of moves with cards,
-and are ever inventing new dodges or
-“pulls” as they term them.</p>
-
-<p>They chiefly confine themselves on most
-occasions to the tricks we have noticed.
-Sometimes, however, they play at whist,
-cribbage, roulette, loo, and other card
-games, and manage to get the advantage in
-many ways. One of them will look at the
-cards of his opponent when playing, and
-will telegraph to some of the others by
-various signs and motions, understood
-among themselves, but unintelligible to a
-stranger.</p>
-
-<p>The same sharpers who walk the streets
-of London attend country fairs and race-courses,
-in different dress and appearance,
-as if they had no connexion with each
-other.</p>
-
-<p>It often happens one of them is arrested
-for these offences and is remanded. Before
-the expiry of the time his confederates generally
-manage to see the dupe, and restore
-his property on the condition he shall keep
-out of the way and allow the case to drop.
-The female who cohabits with him, or possibly
-his wife, may call on him for this purpose,
-and give him part or the whole of his
-money.</p>
-
-<p>Their ages average from twenty to sixty
-years. Many of them are married and have
-families; others cohabit with well-dressed
-women&mdash;pickpockets and shoplifters.</p>
-
-<p>Some are in better condition than others.
-They are occasionally shabbily dressed and
-in needy condition; at other times in most
-respectable attire&mdash;some appear as men of
-fashion.</p>
-
-<p>They are generally very heartless in plundering
-their dupes. Not content with
-stripping him of the money he may have
-on his person&mdash;sometimes a large sum&mdash;they
-try to get the cash he has deposited in
-the bank, and strip him of his watch and
-chain, leaving him without a shilling in his
-pocket.</p>
-
-<p>There is no formal association between
-the several gangs, yet from their movements
-there appears to be an understanding between
-them. For example, if a certain
-gang has plundered a victim in Oxford
-Street, it will likely remove to another district
-for a time, and another party of magsmen
-will take their place.</p>
-
-<p>Magsmen are of various grades. Some
-are broken-down tradesmen, others have
-been brokers and publicans and french-polishers,
-while part of their number are
-convicted felons. Numbers of them are betting-men
-and attend races; indeed most of
-them are connected with this disreputable
-class. Many of them reside in the neighbourhood
-of Waterloo Road and King’s<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_388" id="Page_388">[388]</a></span>
-Cross, and in quiet streets over the metropolis.</p>
-
-<p>They are frequently brought before the
-police-courts, charged with conspiracy with
-intent to defraud; but the matter is in
-general secretly arranged with the prosecutor,
-and the case is allowed to drop.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes when the sharps cannot manage
-to defraud the strangers they meet
-with, they snatch their money from them
-with violence.</p>
-
-<p>In the beginning of November, 1861,
-two sharps were brought before the Croydon
-police-court, charged with being concerned,
-with others not in custody, in
-stealing 116<i>l.</i>, the property of a baker,
-residing in the country.</p>
-
-<p>As the prosecutor, a young man, was
-going along a country road he met one of
-the sharps and a man not in custody. At
-this time there were four men on the road
-playing cards. He remained for a few
-minutes looking at them. The man who
-was the companion of the sharp asked
-him to accompany him to a railway hotel,
-and ordered a glass of ale for himself.</p>
-
-<p>A man not in custody then asked a sharp
-to lend him some money, saying he would
-get him good security; upon which the
-latter offered to lend him the sum of 50<i>l.</i>
-at five per cent. interest. On the stranger
-being represented to this person as a friend,
-he offered to lend him as large a sum of
-money as he could produce himself, to
-show that he was a respectable and substantial
-person. The sharp then told the
-baker to go home and get 100<i>l.</i> and he
-would lend him that sum. He did so, one
-of the sharps accompanying him nearly all
-the way to his house. The dupe returned
-with a 10<i>l.</i> note. They told him it was not
-enough, and wished him to leave it in their
-hands and to bring 100<i>l.</i> He went out
-leaving the 10<i>l.</i> on the table as security for
-his coming back with more money.</p>
-
-<p>He returned with 100<i>l.</i> in bank notes and
-gold and counted it out on the table.
-The sharp pretended then to be willing to
-lend 100<i>l.</i> at five per cent., but added that he
-must have a stamped receipt. The dupe left
-his money on the table covered with his
-handkerchief, and went out to get a stamp,
-and on his return found the sharps and his
-money had disappeared.</p>
-
-<p>A few days after, the victim happening to
-be in London, saw one of them in the
-street, and gave him into custody.</p>
-
-<p>A few weeks ago three skittle-sharps,
-well-dressed men, were brought before the
-Southwark police court, charged with robbing
-a country waiter of 40<i>l.</i> in Bank
-of England notes. It appeared from the
-evidence, that the prosecutor met a man
-in High Street, Southwark, on an afternoon,
-who offered to show him the way to the
-Borough Road. They entered a public-house
-on the way, when the other prisoners
-came in. One of them pulled out a number
-of notes, and said he had just come into
-possession of a fortune. It was suggested, in
-the course of conversation, they should go
-to another house to throw a weight, and the
-prosecutor was to go and see they had fair
-play.</p>
-
-<p>They accordingly went to another house,
-but instead of throwing the weight, skittles
-were introduced, and they played several
-games. The prosecutor lost a sovereign,
-which was all the money he had with him.
-One of the sharps bet 20<i>l.</i> that the waiter
-could not produce 60<i>l.</i> within three hours.
-He accepted the bet and went with two of
-them to Blackheath, and returned to the
-public house with the money, amounting to
-40<i>l.</i> in bank notes and 20<i>l.</i> in gold. They
-went to the skittle-ground, when one of
-them snatched the notes out of his hand,
-and they all decamped.</p>
-
-<p>They were apprehended that night by
-Mr. Jones, detective at Tower Street station.</p>
-
-<p>The statistics of this class of crime will
-be given when we come to treat of
-swindlers.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Swindlers.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Swindling is carried on very extensively
-in the metropolis in different classes of
-society, from the young man who strolls
-into a coffeehouse in Shoreditch or Bishopsgate,
-and decamps without paying his
-night’s lodging, to the fashionable rogue
-who attends the brilliant assemblies in the
-West-end. It occurs in private life and
-in the commercial world in different departments
-of business. Large quantities of
-goods are sent from the provinces to parties
-in London, who give orders and are
-entirely unknown to those who send them,
-and fictitious references are given, or
-references to confederates in town connected
-with them.</p>
-
-<p>We select a few illustrations of various
-modes of swindling which prevail over the
-metropolis.</p>
-
-<p>A young man calls at a coffeehouse, or
-hotel, or a private lodging, and represents
-that he is the son of a gentleman in good
-position, or that he is in possession of
-certain property, left him by his friends,
-or that he has a situation in the neighbourhood,
-and after a few days or weeks<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_389" id="Page_389">[389]</a></span>
-decamps without paying his bill, perhaps
-leaving behind him an empty carpet bag,
-or a trunk, containing a few articles of no
-value.</p>
-
-<p>An ingenious case of swindling occurred
-in the City some time since. A fashionably
-attired young man occupied a small office
-in White Lion Court, Cornhill, London. It
-contained no furniture, except two chairs
-and a desk. He obtained a number of
-bracelets from different jewellers, and
-quantities of goods from different tradesmen
-to a considerable amount, under false
-pretences. He was apprehended and tried
-before the police court, and sentenced to
-twelve months’ imprisonment with hard
-labour.</p>
-
-<p>At the time of his arrest he had obtained
-possession of a handsome residence at
-Abbey Wood, Kent, which was evidently intended
-as a place of reference, where no
-doubt he purposed to carry on a profitable
-system of swindling.</p>
-
-<p>Swindlers have many ingenious modes of
-obtaining goods, sometimes to a very considerable
-amount, from credulous tradesmen,
-who are too often ready to be duped
-by their unprincipled devices. For example,
-some of them of respectable or fashionable
-appearance may pretend they are about to
-be married, and wish to have their house
-furnished. They give their name and address,
-and to avoid suspicion may even
-arrange particulars as to the manner in
-which the money is to be paid. A case of
-this kind occurred in Grove Terrace, where
-a furniture-dealer was requested to call on
-a swindler by a person who pretended to
-be his servant, and received directions to
-send him various articles of furniture. The
-goods were accordingly sent to the house.
-On a subsequent day the servant called on
-him at his premises, with a well-dressed
-young lady, whom she introduced as the
-intended wife of her employer, and said
-they had called to select some more
-goods. They selected a variety of articles,
-and desired they should be added to the
-account. One day the tradesman called
-for payment, and was told the gentleman
-was then out of town, but would call on
-him as soon as he returned. Soon after
-he made another call at the house, which
-he found closed up, and that he had been
-heartlessly duped. The value of the goods
-amounted to 58<i>l.</i> 18<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i></p>
-
-<p>Swindling is occasionally carried on in
-the West-end in a bold and brilliant style
-by persons of fashionable appearance and
-elegant address. A lady-like person who
-assumed the name of Mrs. Gordon, and
-sometimes Mrs. Major Gordon, and who
-represented her husband to be in India,
-succeeded in obtaining goods from different
-tradesmen and mercantile establishments
-at the West-end to a great amount,
-and gave references to a respectable firm
-as her agents. Possessing a lady-like appearance
-and address, she easily succeeded
-in obtaining a furnished residence at St.
-John’s Wood, and applied to a livery stable-keeper
-for the loan of a brougham, hired
-a coachman, and got a suit of livery for him,
-and appeared in West-end assemblies as a
-lady of fashion. After staying about a fortnight
-at St. John’s Wood she left suddenly,
-without settling with any of her creditors.
-She addressed a letter to each of them,
-requesting that their account should be
-sent to her agents, and payment would be
-made as soon as Captain Gordon’s affairs
-were settled. She expressed regret that
-she had been called away so abruptly on
-urgent business.</p>
-
-<p>She was usually accompanied by a little
-girl, about eleven years of age, her daughter,
-and by an elderly woman, who attended
-to domestic duties.</p>
-
-<p>She was afterwards convicted at Marylebone
-police court, under the name of Mrs.
-Helen Murray, charged with obtaining
-large quantities of goods from West-end
-tradesmen by fraudulent means.</p>
-
-<p>A considerable traffic in commercial
-swindling in various forms is carried on in
-London. Sometimes fraudulently under
-the name of another well-known firm; at
-other times under the name of a fictitious
-firm.</p>
-
-<p>A case of this kind was tried at the
-Liverpool assizes, which illustrates the
-fraudulent system we refer to. Charles
-Howard and John Owen were indicted for
-obtaining goods on false pretences. In
-other counts of their indictment they were
-charged with having conspired with another
-man named Bonar Russell&mdash;not in
-custody&mdash;with obtaining goods under false
-pretences. The prosecutor Thomas Parkenson
-Luthwaite, a currier at Barton in
-Westmoreland, received an order by letter
-from John Howard and Co. of Droylesden,
-near Manchester, desiring him to send them
-a certain quantity of leather, and reference
-was given as to their respectability. The
-prosecutor sent the leather and a letter by
-post containing the invoice. The leather
-duly arrived at Droylesden; but the police
-having received information gave notice to
-the railway officials to detain it, until they
-got further knowledge concerning them.
-Howard and Russell went to the station,
-but were told they could not get the
-leather, as there was no such firm as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_390" id="Page_390">[390]</a></span>
-Howard and Co. at Droylesden. Howard
-replied that there was&mdash;that he lived there.
-It was subsequently arranged that the
-goods should be delivered, on the party
-producing a formal order. On the next day,
-Owen came with a horse and cart to Droylesden
-station, and asked for the goods, at
-the same time producing his order.</p>
-
-<p>They were delivered to him, when he
-put them in his cart and drove off. Two
-officers of police in plain clothes accosted
-him, and asked for a ride in his cart which
-he refused. The officers followed him, and
-found he did not go to Droylesden, but to
-a house at Hulme near Manchester, as he
-had been directed. This house was searched,
-and Howard and Russell were arrested.
-Howard having been admitted to bail, did
-not appear at the trial.</p>
-
-<p>On farther inquiries it was found there
-was no such firm as John Howard and Co.
-at Droylesden, but that Howard and Russell
-had taken a house there which was not
-furnished, and where they went occasionally
-to receive letters addressed to Howard
-and Co., Droylesden. Owen was acquitted;
-Howard was found guilty of conspiracy
-with intent to defraud.</p>
-
-<p>A number of cases occur where swindlers
-attempt to cheat different societies in
-various ways. Two men were tried at the
-police court a few days ago for unlawfully
-attempting to cheat and defraud a loan
-society to obtain 5<i>l.</i> The prisoners formed
-part of a gang of swindlers, who operated
-in this way:&mdash;Some of them took a house
-for the purpose of giving references to
-others, who applied to loan societies for an
-advance of money, and produced false
-receipts for rent and taxes. They had
-carried on this system for years, and many
-of them had been convicted. Some of the
-gang formerly had an office in Holborn,
-where they defrauded young men in search
-of situations by getting them to leave a
-sum of money as security. They were
-tried and convicted on this charge.</p>
-
-<p>There is another heartless system of base
-swindling perpetrated by a class of cheats,
-who pretend to assist parties in getting
-situations, and hold out flaming inducements
-through advertisements in the newspapers
-to working men, servants, clerks,
-teachers, clergymen, and others; and contrive
-to get a large income by duping the
-public.</p>
-
-<p>A swindler contrived to obtain sums of
-5<i>s.</i> each in postage stamps, or post-office
-orders, from a large number of people,
-under pretence of obtaining situations for
-them as farm bailiffs. An advertisement
-was inserted in the newspaper, and in reply
-to the several applicants, a letter was
-returned, stating that although the applicant
-was among the leading competitors
-another party had secured the place. At
-the same time another attempt was made
-to inveigle the dupe, under the pretence
-of paying another fee of 5<i>s.</i>, with the
-hope of obtaining a similar situation in
-prospect. The swindler intimated that the
-only interest he had in the matter was the
-agent’s fee, charged alike to the employer
-and the employed, and generally paid in
-advance. He desired that letters addressed
-to him should be directed to 42, Sydney
-Street, Chorlton-upon-Medlock. He had
-an empty house there, taken for the purpose,
-with the convenience of a letter-box
-in the door into which the postman dropped
-letters twice a day. A woman came
-immediately after each post and took them
-away.</p>
-
-<p>On arresting the woman, the officers
-found in her basket 87 letters, 44 of them
-containing 5<i>s.</i> in postage stamps, or a post-office
-order payable to the swindler himself.
-Nearly all the others were letters from
-persons at a distance from a post office, who
-were unable to remit the 5<i>s.</i>, but promised
-to send the money when they got an opportunity.</p>
-
-<p>On a subsequent day, 120 letters were
-taken out of the letter-box, most of them
-containing a remittance. This system had
-been in operation for a month. One day
-190 letters were delivered by one post. It
-was estimated that no fewer than 3000
-letters had come in during the month,
-most of them enclosing 5<i>s.</i>; and it is supposed
-the swindler had received about
-700<i>l.</i>, a handsome return for the price of a
-few advertisements in newspapers, a few
-lithographed circulars, a few postage-stamps,
-and a quarter of a year’s rent of
-an empty house.</p>
-
-<p>Another case of a similar kind, occurred
-at the Maidstone assizes. Henry Moreton,
-aged 43, a tall gentlemanly man, and a
-young woman aged 19 years, were indicted
-for conspiring to obtain goods and money
-by false pretences. The name given by
-the male prisoner was known to be an assumed
-one. It was stated that he was
-well connected and formerly in a good
-position in society.</p>
-
-<p>At the trial, a witness deposed that an
-advertisement had appeared in a Cornish
-newspaper, addressed to Cornish miners,
-stating they could be sent out to Australia
-by an English gold-mining company, and
-would be paid 20<i>l.</i> of wages per month, to
-commence on their arrival at the mines.
-The advertisement also stated that if 1<i>s.</i> or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_391" id="Page_391">[391]</a></span>
-twelve postage stamps were sent to Mr.
-Henry Moreton, Chatham, a copy of the
-stamped agreement and full particulars
-as to the company, would be given.</p>
-
-<p>The prisoner was arrested, and 41 letters
-found in his possession, addressed to
-“Mr. H. Moreton, Chatham:” 25 of the
-letters contained twelve postage stamps
-each and some of them had 1<i>s.</i> inside. It
-was ascertained the female cohabited with
-him. It appeared that he had pawned 482
-stamps on the 14th February, for 1<i>l.</i> 15<i>s.</i>, 289
-on the 21st, for 1<i>l.</i>, and 744 on another day.</p>
-
-<p>Eighty-two letters came in one day chiefly
-from Ireland and Cornwall.</p>
-
-<p>On searching a box in his room they
-found a large quantity of Irish and Cornish
-newspapers, many of them containing the
-advertisement referred to.</p>
-
-<p>He was found guilty, and was sentenced
-to hard labour for fifteen months. The
-young woman was acquitted.</p>
-
-<p>The judge, in passing sentence, observed
-that the prisoner had been convicted of
-swindling poor people, and his being respectably
-connected aggravated the case.</p>
-
-<p>We give the following illustration of an
-English swindler’s adventures on the Continent.</p>
-
-<p>A married couple were tried at Pau, on a
-charge of swindling. The husband represented
-himself to be the son of a colonel in
-the English army and of a Neapolitan princess.
-His wife pretended to be the
-daughter of an English general. They said
-they were allied to the families of the
-Dukes of Norfolk, Leinster, and Devonshire.
-They came in a post-chaise to the
-Hotel de France, accompanied by several
-servants, lived in the style of persons of
-the highest rank, and run up a bill of
-6000 francs. As the landlord declined to
-give credit for more, they took a château,
-which they got fitted up in a costly way.
-They paid 2500 francs for rent, and were
-largely in debt to the butcher, tailor, grocer,
-and others. The lady affected to be very
-pious, and gave 895 francs to the abbé for
-masses.</p>
-
-<p>An English lady who came from Brussels
-to give evidence, stated that her husband
-had paid 50,000 francs to release them from
-a debtors’ prison at Cologne, as he believed
-them to be what they represented. It was
-shown at the trial that they had received
-letters from Lord Grey, the King of Holland,
-and other distinguished personages.
-They were convicted of swindling, and condemned
-to one year’s imprisonment, or to
-pay a fine of 200 francs.</p>
-
-<p>On hearing the sentence the woman
-uttered a piercing cry and fainted in her
-husband’s arms, but soon recovered. They
-were then removed to prison.</p>
-
-<p>The assumption of a variety of names,
-some of them of a high-sounding and
-pretentious character, is resorted to by
-swindlers giving orders for goods by letter
-from a distance&mdash;an address is also assumed
-of a nature well calculated to deceive: as
-an instance, we may mention that an individual
-has for a long period of time fared
-sumptuously upon the plunder obtained by
-his fraudulent transactions, of whose aliases
-and pseudo residences the following are
-but a <span class="lock">few:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>Creighton Beauchamp Harper; the Russets,
-near Edenbridge.</p>
-
-<p>Beauchamp Harper; Albion House, Rye.</p>
-
-<p>Charles Creighton Beauchamp Harper;
-ditto.</p>
-
-<p>Neanberrie Harper, M. N. I.; The Broadlands,
-Winchelsea.</p>
-
-<p>Beauchamp Harper; Halden House,
-Lewes.</p>
-
-<p>R. E. Beresford; The Oaklands, Chelmsford.</p>
-
-<p>The majority of these residencies existed
-only in the imagination of this indefatigable
-cosmopolite. In some cases he had christened
-a paltry tenement let at the rent of
-a few shillings per week “House;” a small
-cottage in Albion Place, Rye, being magnified
-into “Albion House.” When an address
-is assumed having no existence, his
-plan is to request the postmaster of the
-district to send the letters, &amp;c., to his real
-address&mdash;generally some little distance off&mdash;a
-similar notice also being given at the
-nearest railway station. The goods ordered
-are generally of such a nature as to lull
-suspicion, viz., a gun, as “I am going to a
-friend’s grounds to shoot and I want one
-immediately;” “a silver cornet;” “two
-umbrellas, one for me and one for Mrs.
-Harper;” “a fashionable bonnet with extra
-strings, young looking, for Mrs. Harper;”
-“white lace frock for Miss Harper, immediately;”
-“a violet-coloured velvet bonnet
-for my sister,” &amp;c., &amp;c., &amp;c., ad infinitum.</p>
-
-<p>A person, pretending to be a German
-baron, some time ago ordered and received
-goods to a large amount from merchants in
-Glasgow. It was ascertained he was a
-swindler. He was a man of about forty
-years of age, 5 feet 8 inches high, and was
-accompanied by a lady about twenty-five
-years of age. They were both well-educated
-people, and could speak the English language
-fluently.</p>
-
-<p>A fellow, assuming the name of the Rev.
-Mr. Williams, pursued a romantic and adventurous
-career of swindling in different
-positions in society, and was an adept in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_392" id="Page_392">[392]</a></span>
-deception. On one occasion, by means of
-forged credentials, he obtained an appointment
-as curate in Northamptonshire, where
-he conducted himself for some time with a
-most sanctimonious air. Several marriages
-were celebrated by him, which were apparently
-satisfactorily performed. He obtained
-many articles of jewellery from firms
-in London, who were deceived by his appearance
-and position. He wrote several
-modes of handwriting, and had a plausible
-manner of insinuating himself into the good
-graces of his victims.</p>
-
-<p>He died a very tragical death. Having
-been arrested for swindling he was taken
-to Northampton. On his arrival at the
-railway station there, he threw himself
-across the rails and was crushed to death
-by the train.</p>
-
-<p>There is a mode of extracting money from
-the unwary, practised by a gang of swindlers
-by means of <i>mock auctions</i>. They dispose
-of watches, never intended to keep time,
-and other spurious articles, and have confederates,
-or decoys, who pretend to bid for
-the goods at the auctions, and sometimes
-buy them at an under price; but they are
-by arrangement returned soon after, and
-again offered for sale.</p>
-
-<p>We have been favoured with some of the
-foregoing particulars by the officials of
-Stubbs’ Mercantile Offices; the courtesy of
-the secretary having also placed the register
-of that extensive establishment at our service.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Number of cases of fraud and conspiracy with intent to defraud in the Metropolitan districts for 1860</td><td>325</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto ditto in the City</td><td>51</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">376</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<div class="center nobreak">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Value of property thereby abstracted in the Metropolitan district</td><td>£3,443</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ditto ditto in the City</td><td>2,429</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">£5,872</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_393" id="Page_393">[393]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">BEGGARS AND CHEATS.</h2>
-
-</div>
-
-<p>In primitive times beggars were recognised
-as a legitimate component part in
-the fabric of society. Socially, and apart
-from state government, there were, during
-the patriarchal period, three states of the
-community, and these were the landowners,
-their servants, and the dependants of both&mdash;beggars.
-There was no disgrace attached
-to the name of beggar at this time,
-for those who lived by charity were persons
-who were either too old to work or were
-incapacitated from work by bodily affliction.
-This being the condition of the
-beggars of the early ages, it was considered
-no less a sacred than a social duty to protect
-them and relieve their wants. Many
-illustrious names, both in sacred and
-profane history, are associated with systematic
-mendicancy, and the very name of
-“beggar” has derived a sort of classic dignity
-from this circumstance. Beggars are
-frequently mentioned with honour in the
-Old Testament; and in the New, one of the
-most touching incidents in our Lord’s history
-has reference to “a certain beggar
-named Lazarus, which was laid at the rich
-man’s gate.” Nor must it be forgotten
-that the father of poetry, the immortal
-Homer, was a beggar and blind, and went
-about singing his own verses to excite
-charity. The name of Belisarius is more
-closely associated with the begging exploits
-ascribed to him than with his great historical
-conquests. “Give a halfpenny to a
-poor man” was as familiar a phrase in
-Latin in the old world as it is to-day in
-the streets of London. It would be tedious
-to enumerate all the instances of honourable
-beggary which are celebrated in history,
-or even to glance at the most notable
-of them; it will be enough for the purpose
-we have in view if I direct attention to
-the aspects of beggary at a few marked
-periods of history.</p>
-
-<p>It will be found that imposture in beggary
-has invariably been the offspring of a
-high state of civilization, and has generally
-had its origin in large towns. When mendicancy
-assumes this form it becomes a
-public nuisance, and imperatively calls for
-prohibitive laws. The beggar whose poverty
-is not real, but assumed, is no longer
-a beggar in the true sense of the word,
-but a cheat and an impostor, and as such
-he is naturally regarded, not as an object for
-compassion, but as an enemy to the state.
-In all times, however, the real beggar&mdash;the
-poor wretch who has no means of
-gaining a livelihood by his labour, the
-afflicted outcast, the aged, the forsaken,
-and the weak&mdash;has invariably commanded
-the respect and excited the compassion of
-his more fortunate fellow-men. The traces
-of this consideration for beggars which we
-find in history are not a little remarkable.
-In the early Saxon times the relief of beggars
-was one of the most honourable duties
-of the mistress of the house. Our beautiful
-English word “lady” derives its origin
-from this practice. The mistress of a
-Saxon household gave away bread with her
-own hand to the poor, and thence she was
-called “<i>lef day</i>” or bread giver, which at
-a later period was rendered into <i>lady</i>. A
-well-known incident in the life of Alfred
-the Great shows how sacred a duty the
-giving of alms was regarded at that period.
-In early times beggary had even a romantic
-aspect. Poets celebrated the wanderings
-of beggars in so attractive a manner
-that great personages would sometimes
-envy the condition of the ragged mendicant
-and imitate his mode of life. James
-V. of Scotland was so enamoured of the
-life of the gaberlunzie man that he assumed
-his wallet and tattered garments, and wandered
-about among his subjects begging
-from door to door, and singing ballads for
-a supper and a night’s lodging. The beggar’s
-profession was held in respect at that
-time, for it had not yet become associated
-with imposture; and as the country beggars
-were also ballad-singers and story-tellers,
-their visits were rather welcome
-than otherwise. It must also be taken
-into account that beggars were not numerous
-at this period.</p>
-
-<p>It would appear that beggars first began
-to swarm and become troublesome and
-importunate shortly after the Reformation.
-The immediate cause of this was the abolition
-and spoliation of the monasteries and
-religious houses by Henry VIII. Whatever
-amount of evil they may have done,
-the monasteries did one good thing&mdash;they
-assisted the poor and provided for many
-persons who were unable to provide for
-themselves. When the monasteries were
-demolished and their revenues confiscated,
-these dependent persons were cast upon
-the world to seek bread where they could
-find it. As many of them were totally unaccustomed
-to labour, they had no resource
-but to beg. The result was that the coun<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_394" id="Page_394">[394]</a></span>try
-was soon overrun with beggars, many
-of whom exacted alms by violence and by
-threats. In the course of the next reign
-we hear of legislative enactments for the
-suppression of beggary. The first efforts
-in this direction wholly failed to abate the
-nuisance, and more stringent acts were
-passed. In the reign of Charles II. begging
-had become so profitable that a great many
-Irish came over to this country to pursue
-it as a trade.</p>
-
-<p>The evil then became so intolerable that
-a royal proclamation was issued, specially
-directed to check the importation of beggars
-from Ireland. It is intituled “A Proclamation
-for the speedy rendering away of
-the Irishe Beggars out of this Kingdome
-into their owne Countrie and for the Suppressing
-and Ordering of Rogues and Vagabonds
-according to the Laws,” which
-recites that: “Whereas this realme hath of
-late been pestered with great numbers of
-Irishe beggars who live here idly and dangerously,
-and are of ill example to the
-natives of this kingdome; and, whereas
-the multitude of English rogues and vagabonds
-doe much more abound than in former
-tymes&mdash;some wandering and begging
-under the colour of soldiers and mariners,
-others under the pretext of impotent persons,
-whereby they become a burthen to
-the good people of the land, all which happeneth
-by the neglect of the due execution
-of the lawes, formerly with great providence
-made, for relief of the true poore and indigent,
-and for the punishment of sturdy
-rogues and vagabonds; for the reforming
-therefore of soe great a mischiefe, and to
-prevent the many dangers which will ensue
-by the neglect thereof, the king, by the
-advice of his privy council and of his
-judges, commands that all the laws and
-statutes now in force for the punishment
-of rogues and vagabonds be duly putt in
-execution; and more particularly that all
-Irishe beggars, which now are in any part
-of this kingdome, wandering or begging,
-under what pretence soever, shall forthwith
-depart this realme and return to their owne
-countries, and there abide.” And it is
-further directed that all such beggars “shall
-be conveyed from constable to constable to
-Bristoll, Mynhead, Barstable, Chester, Lyrepool,
-Milford-haven, and Workington, or
-such of them as shall be most convenient.”</p>
-
-<p>We see by this that the state of mendicancy
-in 1629, was very much what it is now,
-and that the artifices and dodges resorted
-to at that period were very similar to, and
-in many cases, exactly the same, as the more
-modern impostures which I shall have to
-expose in the succeeding pages.</p>
-
-
-<h3>THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF
-THE POOR LAWS.</h3>
-
-<p>An Act passed in 1536 (27 Henry VIII.
-c. 25) is the first by which voluntary charity
-was converted into compulsory payment.
-It enacts that the head officers of
-every parish to which the impotent or
-able-bodied poor may resort under the provisions
-of the Act of 1531, shall receive and
-keep them, so that none shall be compelled
-to beg openly. The able-bodied
-were to be kept to constant labour, and
-every parish making default, was to forfeit
-20<i>s.</i> a month. The money required for the
-support of the poor, was to be collected
-partly by the head officers of corporate
-towns and the churchwardens of parishes,
-and partly was to be derived from collections
-in the churches, and on various occasions
-where the clergy had opportunities
-for exhorting the people to charity. Alms-giving
-beyond the town or parish was prohibited
-on forfeiture of ten times the
-amount given. A “sturdy beggar” was to
-be whipped the first time he was detected
-in begging; to have his right ear cropped
-for the second offence; and if again guilty
-of begging was to be indicted for “wandering,
-loitering, and idleness,” and if convicted
-was “to suffer execution of death
-as a felon and an enemy of the Commonwealth.”
-The severity of this act prevented
-its execution, and it was repealed by 1
-Edward VI. c. 3 (1547). Under this
-statute, every able-bodied person who
-should not apply himself to some honest
-labour, or offer to serve for even meat and
-drink, was to be taken for a vagabond,
-branded on the shoulder and adjudged a
-slave for two years to any one who should
-demand him, to be fed on bread and water
-and refuse meat and made to work by being
-beaten, chained, or otherwise treated. If
-he ran away during the two years, he was
-to be branded on the cheek and adjudged a
-slave for life, and if he ran away again he
-was to suffer death as a felon. If not demanded
-as a slave he was to be kept to
-hard labour on the highway in chains.
-The impotent poor were to be passed to
-their place of birth or settlement from the
-hands of one parish constable to those of
-another.</p>
-
-<p>The statute was repealed three years
-afterwards and that of 1531 was revived.
-In 1551 an Act was passed which directed
-that a book should be kept in every parish
-containing the names of the householders
-and of the impotent poor; that collectors
-of alms should be appointed who should<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_395" id="Page_395">[395]</a></span>
-“gently ask every man and woman what
-they of their charity will give weekly to
-the relief of the poor.” If any one able to
-give should refuse, or discourage others
-from giving, the ministers and churchwardens
-were to exhort him, and failing of
-success, the bishop was to admonish him
-on the subject. This Act, and another
-made to enforce it, which was passed in
-1555, were wholly ineffectual, and in 1563
-it was re-enacted (5 Elizabeth c. 3), with
-the addition that any person able to contribute
-and refusing should be cited by the
-bishop to appear at the next sessions before
-the justices, where if he would not be persuaded
-to give, the justices were to tax him
-according to their discretion, and on his
-refusal he was to be committed to gaol until
-the sum taxed should be paid, with all
-arrears.</p>
-
-<p>The next statute on the subject, which
-was passed in 1572 (14 Eliz. c. 5), shows
-how ineffectual the previous statutes had
-been. It enacted that all rogues, vagabonds
-and sturdy beggars, including in this
-description “all persons whole and mighty
-in body, able to labour, not having land or
-master, nor using any lawful merchandise,
-craft or mystery, and all common labourers,
-able in body, loitering and refusing to work
-for such reasonable wage as is commonly
-given,” should “for the first offence be
-grievously whipped and burned through
-the gristle of the right ear with a hot iron
-of the compass of an inch about;” for the
-second should be deemed felons; and for
-the third should suffer death as felons
-without benefit of clergy.</p>
-
-<p>For the relief and sustentation of the
-aged and impotent poor, the justices of the
-peace within their several districts were
-“by their good discretion” to tax and
-assess all the inhabitants dwelling therein.
-Any one refusing to contribute was to be
-imprisoned until he should comply with
-the assessment. By the statutes 39 of
-Elizabeth, c. 3 and 4 (1598), every able-bodied
-person refusing to work for the
-ordinary wages was to be “openly whipped
-until his body should be bloody, and forthwith
-sent from parish to parish, the most
-strait way to the parish where he was
-born, there to put himself to labour as a
-true subject ought to do.”</p>
-
-<p>The next Act, the 43 Elizabeth, c. 2, has
-been in operation from the time of its
-enactment in 1601 to the present day. A
-change in the mode of administration was,
-however, effected by the Poor Law Amendment
-Act (4 and 5 Wm. IV. c. 76) which was
-passed in 1834. During that long period
-many abuses crept into the administration
-of the laws relating to the poor, so that in
-practice their operation impaired the character
-of the most numerous class, and
-was injurious to the whole country. In its
-original provisions the Act of Elizabeth
-directed the overseers of the poor in every
-parish to “take order for setting to work
-the children of all such parents as shall
-not be thought able to maintain their
-children,” as well as all such persons as,
-having no means to maintain them, use no
-ordinary trade to get their living by. For
-this purpose they were empowered to
-raise weekly, or otherwise, by “taxation of
-every inhabitant, parson, vicar, and other;
-and of every occupier of lands, houses,
-tithes, mines, &amp;c., such sums of money as
-they shall require for providing a sufficient
-stock of flax, hemp, wool and other ware,
-or stuff to set the poor on work; and also
-competent sums for relief of lame, blind,
-old and impotent persons, and for putting
-out children as apprentices.” Power was
-given to the justices to send to the house
-of correction or common gaol all persons
-who would not work. The churchwardens
-and overseers were further empowered to
-build poor houses at the charge of the
-parish for the reception of the impotent
-poor only. The justices were further empowered
-to assess all persons of sufficient
-ability for the relief and maintenance of
-their children, grandchildren, and parents.
-The parish officers were also empowered to
-bind as apprentices any children who should
-be chargeable to the parish.</p>
-
-<p>These simple provisions were in course
-of time greatly perverted, and many abuses
-were introduced into the administration of
-the poor law. One of the most mischievous
-practices was that which was established
-by the justices for the county of Berks in
-1795, when, in order to meet the wants of
-the labouring population, caused by the
-high price of provisions, an allowance in
-proportion to the number of his family was
-made out of the parish fund to every
-labourer who applied for relief. This
-allowance fluctuated with the price of the
-gallon loaf of second flour, and the scale
-was so adjusted as to return to each family
-the sum which in given number of loaves
-would cost beyond the price in years of ordinary
-abundance. This plan was conceived
-in a spirit of benevolence; but the readiness
-with which it was adopted in all parts
-of England clearly shows the want of sound
-views on the subject. Under the allowance
-system the labourer received a part of his
-means of subsistence in the form of a parish
-gift, and as the fund out of which it was
-provided was raised from the contributions<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_396" id="Page_396">[396]</a></span>
-of those who did not employ labourers, as
-well as of those who did, their employers
-being able in part to burthen others with
-the payment for their labour had a direct
-interest in perpetuating the system.
-Those who employed labourers looked
-upon the parish contribution as part of the
-fund out of which they were to be paid,
-and accordingly lowered their rate of wages.
-The labourers also looked on the fund as a
-source of wage. The consequence was,
-that the labourer looked to the parish, and
-as a matter of right, without any regard to
-his real wants, and he received the wages
-of his labour as only one and a secondary
-source of the means of subsistence. His
-character as a labourer became of less
-value, his value as a labourer being thus
-diminished, under the combined operation
-of these two causes.</p>
-
-<p>In 1832 a commission was appointed by
-the Crown, under whose direction inquiries
-were made through England and Wales, and
-the actual condition of the labouring classes
-in every parish was ascertained, with the
-view of showing the evils of the existing
-practice and of suggesting some remedy.</p>
-
-<p>The labour of this inquiry was great;
-but in a short time a report was presented
-by the commissioners, which explained the
-operation of the law as administered, with
-its effects upon different classes, and suggested
-remedial measures. This report
-was presented in 1834, and was followed
-by the passing of the Poor Law Amendment
-Act (4 and 5 Wm. IV. c. 76) in August
-of the same year. This Act was again
-amended by the 7 and 8 Victoria, c. 101
-(9th August 1844).</p>
-
-<p>The chief provisions of this law are the
-appointment of a central board of three
-commissioners in London for the general
-superintendence and control of all bodies
-charged with the management of funds for
-the relief of the poor. There are nine
-assistant commissioners; each of whom
-has a district; the assistant commissioners
-are appointed by and removable by the
-commissioners; and the whole is under the
-direction of the President of the Poor Law
-Board. The administration of relief to
-the poor is under the control of the commissioners,
-who make rules and regulations
-for the purpose. They are empowered to
-order workhouses to be built, hired, altered,
-or enlarged, with the consent of a majority
-of a board of guardians. They have the
-power of uniting several parishes for the
-purposes of a more effective and economical
-administration of poor relief, but so that
-the actual charge in respect to its own poor
-is defrayed by each parish. These united
-parishes or unions are managed by Boards
-of Guardians, annually elected by the rate-payers
-of the various parishes; but the
-masters of the workhouses and other paid
-officers are under the orders of the commissioners,
-and removable by them. The
-system of paying wages partly out of poor-rates
-is discontinued, and, except in ordinary
-cases, of which the commissioners
-are the judges, the relief is only to be
-given to able-bodied persons, or to their
-families, within the walls of the workhouse.</p>
-
-<p>A glance at some of the clauses of the
-Act 7 and 8 Victoria will show the present
-condition of the machinery of the Poor
-Law, as regards the latest reforms.</p>
-
-<p>Chapter 101, sect. 12, empowers the
-Poor Law Commissioners to prescribe the
-duties of the masters to whom poor children
-may be apprenticed, and the terms
-and conditions of the indentures of apprenticeship:
-and no poor children are in future
-to be apprenticed by the overseers of any
-parish included in any union, or subject
-to a Board of Guardians under the provisions
-of the 4 and 5 Wm. IV. c. 76; but
-it is declared to be lawful for the guardians
-of such union or parish to bind poor
-children apprentices. The 13th section
-abolishes so much of the 43 Eliz., c. 2, and
-of the 8 and 9 William III. c. 3, and of all
-other Acts, as compels any person to receive
-any poor child as an apprentice.</p>
-
-<p>The 14th and following sections make
-some new regulations as to the number of
-votes of owners of property and rate-payers
-in the election of guardians and in
-other cases where the consent of the
-owners and rate-payers is required for any
-of the purposes of the 4 and 5 Wm. IV.
-c. 76.</p>
-
-<p>The 18th section empowers the commissioners,
-having due regard to the relative
-population or circumstances of any parish,
-included in a union, to alter the number
-of guardians to be elected for such parish
-without such consent as is required by the
-Act of William.</p>
-
-<p>This section also empowers the commissioners
-to divide parishes which have
-more than 20,000 inhabitants, according
-to the census then last published, into
-wards for the purpose of electing guardians,
-and to determine the number of guardians
-to be elected for each ward.</p>
-
-<p>The 25th section provides that so long
-as any woman’s husband is beyond the
-seas, or in custody of the law, or in confinement
-in a licensed house or asylum as
-a lunatic or idiot, all relief given to such
-a woman, or to her child or children, shall<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_397" id="Page_397">[397]</a></span>
-be given in the same manner, and subject
-to the same conditions as if she was a
-widow; but the obligation or liability of
-the husband in respect of such relief continues
-as before.</p>
-
-<p>The 26th section empowers the guardians
-of a parish or union to give relief to
-widows under certain conditions, who at
-the time of their husband’s death were
-resident with them in some place other
-than the parish of their legal settlement,
-and not situated in any union in which
-such parish is comprised.</p>
-
-<p>The 32nd section provides that the commissioners
-may combine parishes and
-unions in England for the audit of accounts.
-By the 40th section the commissioners
-may, subject to certain restrictions
-there mentioned, combine unions or parishes
-not in union, or such parishes and
-unions, into school districts for the management
-of any class or classes of infant
-poor not above the age of 16 years, being
-chargeable to any such parish or union,
-or who are deserted by their parents, or
-whose parent, or surviving parent, or
-guardians are consenting to the placing of
-such children in the school of such district.</p>
-
-<p>By the 41st section the commissioners
-are empowered to declare parishes, or
-unions, or parishes and unions within the
-district of the metropolitan police, or the
-city of London, &amp;c., to be combined into
-districts for the purpose of founding and
-managing asylums for the temporary relief
-and setting to work therein of destitute
-homeless poor who are not charged with
-any offence, and who may apply for relief,
-or become chargeable to the poors’ rates
-within any such parish or union.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Statistics of the Poor Laws.</span></h4>
-
-<p>The salaries and expenses of the commissioners
-for carrying into execution the
-Poor Law Acts in England and Ireland
-amount to about 56,000<i>l.</i></p>
-
-<p>The following statements will show the
-number of paupers, and the amounts expended
-in relieving their wants at various
-periods since the year 1783.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right tableleft" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td>The average sum expended for the years 1783, 1784, and 1785, was</td><td>£1,912,241</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1801</td><td>4,017,871</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1811</td><td>6,656,105</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1821</td><td>6,959,249</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1831</td><td>6,798,888</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1832</td><td>7,036,969</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1833</td><td>6,790,799</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1834</td><td>6,317,254</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1835</td><td>5,526,418</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1836</td><td>4,717,630</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1837</td><td>4,044,741</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1838</td><td>4,123,604</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1839</td><td>4,421,714</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1840</td><td>4,576,965</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1841</td><td>4,760,929</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1842</td><td>4,911,498</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1843</td><td>5,208,027</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1844</td><td>4,976,093</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1860</td><td>5,454,964</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>Number of indoor and outdoor paupers relieved
-during the following years:</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th></th><th>Paupers.</th><th>Proportion per cent. to Population.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>1803</td><td>1,040,716</td><td class="center">12</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1815</td><td>1,319,851</td><td class="center">13</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1832</td><td>1,429,356</td><td class="center">&#x2007;9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1844</td><td>1,477,561</td><td class="center">&#x2007;9·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1860</td><td>844,633</td><td class="center">&#x2007;4·3</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>In the last report of the Poor Law Board
-(that for 1860) it is stated that for twenty-two
-years preceding the Poor Law Amendment
-Act in 1834 the average annual
-disbursement for the relief of the poor was
-6,505,037<i>l.</i>, while for the subsequent 25
-years it has only been 5,169,073<i>l.</i>, the supposed
-annual saving by the new law being
-1,335,964<i>l.</i> The average annual cost of the
-new union-workhouses has been about
-200,000<i>l.</i>, and the salaries of the paid
-Union-officers about 600,000<i>l.</i></p>
-
-<p>The strikes of 1860 told severely upon
-the returns. On July 1st, 1860, there were
-1,751 able-bodied men receiving relief more
-than on the same day of the previous
-year. On new year’s day of 1860 there
-were 40,972 more persons of all classes
-in receipt of relief than on the first day of
-the preceding year. There were 6,720 more
-able-bodied men in receipt of relief, and
-7,026 more able-bodied women.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Report of the Poor Law Board (1860).</span></h4>
-
-<p>The usual statistics of this report show
-that in the year 1860 the sum of 5,454,964<i>l.</i>
-was expended for the relief of the poor in
-England and Wales, being at the rate per
-head of the estimated population, of 5<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>
-The net annual value of the rateable property
-at the present time (1860) is 71 millions.</p>
-
-<p>The inefficiency of the Poor Law to meet
-the wants of the destitute in times of great
-and prevailing distress has been demonstrated
-over and over again, and at no
-period more pointedly and decisively than
-during the year 1860. On this subject
-we subjoin the remarks of a writer in
-the <i>Times</i> (Feb. 11, 1861). “It is an
-admitted and notorious fact, that after a
-fortnight’s frost the police courts were
-besieged by thousands who professed to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_398" id="Page_398">[398]</a></span>
-be starving; the magistrates and officers
-of the court undertook the office of almoners
-in addition to their other laborious duties;
-the public poured in their contributions
-as they would for the victims
-of a terrible disaster; for a time we had
-in a dozen places a scene that rather took
-one back to the indiscriminate dole before
-the convent door, or the largess flung by
-the hand among the crowd at a royal progress
-than to an institution or custom of
-this sensible age. To some it naturally
-occurred that the Poor Law ought to have
-dispensed with this extraordinary exhibition;
-to others that no law could meet the
-emergency.... It was the saturnalia
-if not of mendicancy, at least of destitution.
-The police stood aside while beggars possessed
-the thoroughfares on the sole plea
-of an extraordinary visitation. There was
-a fortnight’s frost, so it was allowable to
-one class to hold a midnight fair on the
-Serpentine, and to another to insist on
-being maintained at the expense of the
-public. Was all this right and proper?
-We had thought that the race of sturdy
-vagrants and valiant beggars was extinct,
-or at least that they dared no longer show
-themselves. But here they were in open
-day like the wretches which are said to
-emerge out of darkness on the day of a
-revolution.... When such is the fact,
-and when it is now admitted by all to have
-been not only exceptional, but highly exceptionable,
-we may leave others to find
-out the right shoulders on which the
-blame should be laid. For our part we
-hold that a Poor Law ought to be as proof
-against a long frost, or any other general
-visitation&mdash;and there are many more serious&mdash;as
-a ship ought to be against a
-storm, or an embankment against an inundation.”</p>
-
-<p>On the occasion here referred to the
-Poor Law gave relief to 23,000; but sent
-away 17,000 empty-handed, who would
-have starved but for the open-handed
-charity of the public, dispensed in the
-most liberal spirit by the metropolitan
-magistrates.</p>
-
-<p>Mendicancy has always increased to an
-alarming extent after a war, and during
-the time of war, if it has been protracted.
-There is no doubt that the calamities of
-war reduce many respectable persons to
-want; but at the same time the circumstances
-which attend a period of commotion
-and trouble always afford opportunities
-to impostors. Mendicancy had reached
-a fearful pitch during the last great war with
-France; and in 1816, the year after the
-battle of Waterloo, the large towns were
-so infested by beggars of every description
-that it was deemed necessary to appoint a
-select committee of the House of Commons
-to consider what could be done to abate the
-nuisance. The report of this committee
-furnishes some interesting particulars of
-the begging impostures of the time and of
-the gains of beggars.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Street Beggars in 1816.</span></h4>
-
-<p>It was clearly proved that a man with a
-dog got 30<i>s.</i> in one day.</p>
-
-<p>Two houses in St. Giles’s frequented by
-from 200 to 300 beggars. It was proved
-that each beggar made on an average from
-3<i>s.</i> to 5<i>s.</i> a day. They had grand suppers
-at midnight, and drank and sang songs
-until day-break.</p>
-
-<p>A negro beggar retired to the West
-Indies, with a fortune of 1,500<i>l.</i></p>
-
-<p>The value of 15<i>s.</i> 20<i>s.</i> and 30<i>s.</i> found
-upon ordinary street beggars. They get
-more by begging than they can by work;
-they get so much by begging that they
-never apply for parochial relief.</p>
-
-<p>A manufacturer in Spitalfields stated
-that there were instances of his own people
-leaving profitable work for the purpose of
-begging.</p>
-
-<p>It was proved that many beggars paid
-50<i>s.</i> a week for their board.</p>
-
-<p>Beggars stated that they go through 40
-streets in a day, and that it is a poor street
-that does not yield 2<i>d.</i></p>
-
-<p>Beggars are furnished with children at
-houses in Whitechapel and Shoreditch;
-some who look like twins.</p>
-
-<p>A woman with twins who never grew
-older sat for ten years at the corner of a
-street.</p>
-
-<p>Children let out by the day, who carried
-to their parents 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> a day as the price
-paid by the persons who hired them.</p>
-
-<p>A little boy and a little girl earned 8<i>s.</i>
-a day. An instance is stated of an old
-woman who kept a night school for instructing
-children in the street language,
-and how to beg.</p>
-
-<p>The number of beggars infesting London
-at this time (1816) was computed to be
-16,000, of which 6,300 were Irish. We
-glean further from the report respecting
-them.</p>
-
-<p>It appears by the evidence of the person
-who contracts for carrying vagrants in and
-through the county of Middlesex, that he
-has passed as many as 12,000 or 13,000 in a
-year; but no estimate can be formed from
-that, as many of them are passed several
-times in the course of the year. And it is
-proved that these people are in the course
-of eight or ten days in the same situation;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_399" id="Page_399">[399]</a></span>
-as they find no difficulty in escaping as
-soon as they are out of the hands of the
-Middlesex contractor.</p>
-
-<p>A magistrate in the office at Whitechapel,
-thinks there is not one who is not worthless.</p>
-
-<p>The rector of Saint Clement Danes describes
-them as living very well, especially
-if they are pretty well maimed, blind, or
-if they have children.</p>
-
-<p>Beggars scarify their feet to make the
-blood come; share considerable sums of
-money, and get scandalously drunk,
-quarrel, and fight, and one teaches the
-other the mode of extorting money; they
-are the worst of characters, blasphemous
-and abusive; when they are detected as
-impostors in one parish they go into another.</p>
-
-<p>They eat no broken victuals; but have
-ham, beef, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>Forty or fifty sleep in a house, and are
-locked in lest they should carry anything
-away, and are let out in the morning all
-at once.</p>
-
-<p>Tear their clothes for an appearance of
-distress.</p>
-
-<p>Beggars assemble in a morning, and agree
-what route each shall take. At some of
-the houses, the knives and forks chained
-to the tables, and other articles chained to
-the walls.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Mendicant Pensioners.</span></h4>
-
-<p>Some who have pensions as soldiers or
-sailors were among those who apply by
-letters for charity; one sailor who had lost
-a leg is one of the most violent and desperate
-characters in the metropolis.</p>
-
-<p>Among beggars of the very worst class
-there are about 30 Greenwich pensioners,
-who have instruments of music, and go
-about in parties.</p>
-
-<p>A marine who complained that he had
-but 7<i>l.</i> a year pension, said he could make
-a day’s work in an hour in any square in
-London.</p>
-
-<p>A pensioner who had 18<i>l.</i> a year from
-Chelsea, when taken up for begging had
-bank-notes concealed in his waistcoat, and
-on many of that description frequently 8<i>s.</i>
-10<i>s.</i> or 12<i>s.</i> are found, that they have got in
-a day.</p>
-
-<p>Chelsea pensioners beg in all directions
-at periods between the receipts of their
-pensions.</p>
-
-<p>A Chelsea pensioner who receives 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>
-a day is one of the most notorious beggars
-who infest the town.</p>
-
-<p>A Greenwich pensioner of 7<i>l.</i> a year,
-gets from 5<i>s.</i> to 10<i>s.</i> for writing begging
-letters.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Begging Letter Writers in 1816.</span></h4>
-
-<p>Some thousand applications by letters are
-made for charity to ladies, noblemen, and
-gentlemen in the metropolis; two thousand
-on an average were within the knowledge
-of one individual who was employed to
-make inquiries. Several persons subsist
-by writing letters; one woman profits by
-the practice, who receives a guinea a week
-as a legacy from a relation, and has laid
-out 200<i>l.</i> in the funds. Letters have been
-written by the same person in five or six
-different hands.</p>
-
-<p>Persons who write begging letters are
-called twopenny-post beggars.</p>
-
-<p>A man who keeps a school writes begging
-letters for 2<i>d.</i> each.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>These extracts, culled here and there
-from a voluminous report, will suffice to
-give an idea of the state of mendicancy in
-the metropolis at the beginning of the century.
-The public were so shocked and
-startled by the systematic impostures that
-were brought to light that an effort was
-made to protect the charitable by means
-of an organized system of inquiry into
-the character, and condition of all persons
-who were found begging. The result of
-this effort was the establishment in 1818
-of the now well-known</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Mendicity Society.</span></h4>
-
-<p>The object of this Society was to protect
-noblemen, gentlemen, and other persons
-accustomed to dispense large sums in charity
-from being imposed upon by cheats
-and pretenders, and at the same time to
-provide, on behalf of the public, a police
-system, whose sole and special function
-should be the suppression of mendicancy.</p>
-
-<p>The plan of the Society is as follows:&mdash;The
-subscribers receive printed tickets
-from the Society, and these they give to beggars
-instead of money. The ticket refers
-the beggar to the Society’s office, and there
-his case is enquired into. If he be a deserving
-person relief is afforded him from
-funds placed at the disposal of the Society
-by its subscribers. If he is found to be an
-impostor he is arrested and prosecuted at
-the instance of the Society. Governors of
-this Society may obtain tickets for distribution
-at any time. The annual payment
-of one guinea constitutes the donor a governor,
-and the payment of ten guineas at
-one time, or within one year, a governor
-for life. A system of inquiry into the
-merits of persons who are in the habit of
-<span class="smcap lowercase">BEGGING BY LETTER</span> has been incorporated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_400" id="Page_400">[400]</a></span>
-with the Society’s proceedings, and the following
-persons are entitled to refer such
-letters to the office for investigation, it
-being understood that the eventual grant
-of relief rests with the subscriber sending
-the <span class="lock">case:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>I. All contributors to the general funds
-of the Society to the amount of
-twenty guineas.</p>
-
-<p>II. All contributors to the general funds
-of the Society to the amount of
-ten guineas, and who also subscribe
-<span class="smcap lowercase">ONE GUINEA</span> annually.</p>
-
-<p>III. All subscribers of two guineas and
-upwards per annum.</p></div>
-
-<p>So successful have been the efforts of this
-Society in protecting the charitable from
-the depredations of begging-letter writers
-and other mendicants, that now almost
-every public man whose prominent position
-marks him out for their appeals, contributes
-to the Society, either by subscriptions
-or donation. The Queen herself is
-the Patron; the President is the Marquis
-of Westminster, and among the Vice-Presidents
-may be counted three dukes, three
-marquises, eight earls, one viscount, a
-bishop, and a long list of lords and members
-of parliament. Altogether the Society
-has about 2,400 subscribers, whose donations
-and subscriptions range from 100<i>l.</i>
-and 50<i>l.</i> to 2<i>l.</i> and 1<i>l.</i> The total amount
-of the Society’s income for 1860 was
-3,913<i>l.</i> 14<i>s.</i> 2<i>d.</i>, of which 3,010<i>l</i> 13<i>s.</i> 9<i>d.</i>
-was derived from subscriptions and donations,
-the remainder being derived from
-legacies, interest on stock and the profits
-of the Society’s works. The expenditure
-for the same year was 3,169<i>l.</i> 16<i>s.</i> 10<i>d.</i>, and
-the amount expended in the relief of mendicants,
-906<i>l.</i> 9<i>s.</i></p>
-
-<p>The meals given in 1860 to persons who
-were found to be deserving were 42,192.</p>
-
-<p>The unregistered cases (that is, those
-not thought to require a special investigation)
-were 4,224, and the registered cases
-430.</p>
-
-<p>The vagrants apprehended were 739; of
-whom 350 were convicted.</p>
-
-<p>The following Table sets forth the whole
-of the cases that came under the notice of
-the Society in 1860.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Number of registered cases in 1860</td><td>430</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2" colspan="2">Of which there appeared to belong&mdash;</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">To parishes in London</td><td>151</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Country</td><td>142</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Ireland</td><td>82</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Scotland</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wales</td><td>8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">France</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">East Indies</td><td>7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">West Indies</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">America</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Italy</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Africa</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">China</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Switzerland</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Germany</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Poland</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Unknown</td><td>7</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="2">&mdash;</td><td>430</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<p>Alleged causes of distress.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Want of employment</td><td>395</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Age and infirmity</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Failure in business</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Foreigners and others desirous of returning home</td><td>22</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sickness and accidents</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Want of clothing</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Loss of stock, tools, &amp;c.</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Loss of character</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Loss of relations and friends by death, desertion, imprisonment, &amp;c.</td><td>4</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="2">&mdash;</td><td>430</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<p>The various cases were disposed of as
-<span class="lock">follows:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Referred to London parishes; most of whom were admitted into workhouses, or obtained relief through the interference of the Society, some being previously relieved with money, food, and clothing</td><td>15</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Relieved with clothing and sent to their respective parishes</td><td>9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Provided with situations, clothing, tools, goods, or other means of effectually supporting themselves</td><td>8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">New apprehended cases by the Society’s constables during 1860: a large number of whom were committed by the magistrates as vagrants; others were referred to the Society, and sent to work, the men at the mill, and stone-breaking, and the women at oakum-picking; and several were assisted with the means of returning home</td><td>376</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Proved on investigation to be undeserving</td><td>4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Employed at the mill and oakum picking (not apprehended cases)</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Placed in hospitals and assisted with clothing</td><td>4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Relieved weekly, where distress appeared temporary, and clothes, blankets, shoes, &amp;c. given</td><td>13</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Total</td><td class="total">430</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<p>The following Table exhibits a statement
-of the Society’s proceedings from the first
-year of its formation to the year <span class="lock">1860:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th>Years.</th><th>Cases registered.</th><th>Vagrants committed.</th><th>Meals given.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>1818</td><td>3,284</td><td>385</td><td>16,827</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1819</td><td>4,682</td><td>580</td><td>33,013</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1820</td><td>4,546</td><td>359</td><td>46,407</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1821</td><td>2,339</td><td>324</td><td>28,542</td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_401" id="Page_401">[401]</a></span>1822</td><td>2,235</td><td>287</td><td>22,232</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1823</td><td>1,493</td><td>193</td><td>20,152</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1824</td><td>1,441</td><td>195</td><td>25,396</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1825</td><td>1,096</td><td>381</td><td>19,600</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1826</td><td>833</td><td>300</td><td>22,972</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1827</td><td>806</td><td>403</td><td>35,892</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1828</td><td>1,284</td><td>786</td><td>21,066</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1829</td><td>671</td><td>602</td><td>26,286</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1830</td><td>848</td><td>&mdash;</td><td>105,488</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1831</td><td>1,285</td><td>&mdash;</td><td>79,156</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1832</td><td>1,040</td><td>&mdash;</td><td>73,315</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1833</td><td>624</td><td>&mdash;</td><td>37,074</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1834</td><td>1,226</td><td>652</td><td>30,513</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1835</td><td>1,408</td><td>1,510</td><td>84,717</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1836</td><td>946</td><td>1,004</td><td>68,134</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1837</td><td>1,087</td><td>1,090</td><td>87,454</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1838</td><td>1,041</td><td>873</td><td>155,348</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1839</td><td>1,055</td><td>962</td><td>110,943</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1840</td><td>706</td><td>752</td><td>113,502</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1841</td><td>997</td><td>1,119</td><td>195,625</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1842</td><td>1,233</td><td>1,306</td><td>128,914</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1843</td><td>1,148</td><td>1,018</td><td>167,126</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1844</td><td>1,184</td><td>937</td><td>174,229</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1845</td><td>1,001</td><td>868</td><td>165,139</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1846</td><td>980</td><td>778</td><td>148,569</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1847</td><td>910</td><td>625</td><td>239,171</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1848</td><td>1,161</td><td>979</td><td>148,661</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1849</td><td>1,043</td><td>905</td><td>64,251</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1850</td><td>787</td><td>570</td><td>94,106</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1851</td><td>1,150</td><td>900</td><td>102,140</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1852</td><td>658</td><td>607</td><td>67,985</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1853</td><td>419</td><td>354</td><td>62,788</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1854</td><td>332</td><td>326</td><td>52,212</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1855</td><td>235</td><td>239</td><td>52,731</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1856</td><td>325</td><td>293</td><td>49,806</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1857</td><td>354</td><td>358</td><td>54,074</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1858</td><td>329</td><td>298</td><td>43,836</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1859</td><td>364</td><td>305</td><td>40,256</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1860</td><td>430</td><td>350</td><td>42,192</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td class="total">51,016</td><td class="total">24,773</td><td class="total">3,357,834</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<p>Total number of apprehended cases in <span class="lock">1860:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Committed</td><td>350</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Discharged</td><td>389</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="2">&mdash;&mdash;</td><td>739</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Non-registered cases during the year</td><td>4,224</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Registered cases</td><td>430</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="2">&mdash;&mdash;</td><td>4,654</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>I will now give a few examples of the
-cases which ordinarily come under the
-notice of the Society.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">A Deserving Case.</span></h4>
-
-<p>A. L. and her sister, the one a widow,
-70, the other a single woman, 55, applied
-for relief under the following circumstances.
-They had for many years been
-supporting themselves by making children’s
-leather-covered toy balls, at one
-time earning a comfortable living; but
-their means were reduced from time to
-time by the introduction of India-rubber
-and gutta-percha, until at last five pence
-per dozen was all they could obtain for
-their labour; and it required both to apply
-themselves for many hours to earn that
-small amount; still, to avoid the workhouse,
-they toiled on, until the destruction
-of Messrs. Payne’s toy warehouse in Holborn,
-which threw them entirely out of
-work, and reduced them to absolute want.
-It was thus they were found in the winter
-having been frequently without food, fire,
-or candle, nearly perishing with cold, and
-in fear of being turned into the streets for
-arrears of rent. Inquiry having been instituted
-as to their character, which was
-found to be exceedingly good, they were
-relieved for three months with money and
-food weekly, besides bedding and clothing
-being given to them from the Society’s
-stores.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Another.</span></h4>
-
-<p>E. W., the applicant, a widow of a journeyman
-carpenter, who, in consequence of his
-protracted illness and want of employment,
-was at the time of his death destitute, and
-in her confinement at the time she was
-visited by the Society. She had three
-young children incapable of contributing
-to their own support, and the parish officers
-in consequence were relieving her
-with a trifle weekly; but she was in a very
-low state for want of nourishment. The
-referee expressed it as his opinion that she
-was a very deserving woman, and that on
-two or three occasions he had afforded her
-assistance, and had much pleasure in recommending
-her case. Assistance was in
-consequence given her for several weeks,
-for which she appeared very grateful.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">An Impostor.</span></h4>
-
-<p>J. C. This man, who has been seventeen
-times apprehended by the Society’s
-constables, and as many more by the police,
-was taken into custody for begging.
-He is an old man, and his age usually
-excites the sympathy of the public; but
-he is a gross impostor, and for the last
-fifteen years has been about the streets,
-imposing upon the benevolent. He has
-been convicted of stealing books, newspapers,
-and on one occasion an inkstand
-from a coffee house. His appeals to the
-benevolent in the streets are very pertinacious,
-and persons frequently give him
-money for the purpose of getting rid of
-him. He had, when last taken into
-custody, 2<i>l.</i> 9<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> secreted about his
-person, part in his stockings, which he
-stated had been given to him to enable
-him to leave the country, and a variety of
-what he represented to be original verses<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_402" id="Page_402">[402]</a></span>
-was found in his possession and produced
-before the magistrate, to whom he appealed
-to sympathise with a poor author.
-“Pray, sir,” said he, “look at my verses;
-you will find that they are such as would
-be written by a man of scholastic attainments;
-they breathe a sentiment of love
-and charity, and of generosity to the poor;
-they are of scientific interest, and fit for
-the perusal of royalty.” His sentence to
-a month’s imprisonment only evidently
-surprised him, for which he thanked the
-magistrate; but he continued in a suppressed
-tone of voice: “But, sir, what
-about my money?” On being informed
-that, on account of his age, it should be
-returned to him when his time of imprisonment
-expired, he indulged in a rhapsody
-of delight, but begged that his emotion
-might not be misconstrued. “It is not
-the love of money, sir,” addressing the
-magistrate, “that moves me thus; it is a
-far higher feeling; I have an affectionate
-heart, sir,&mdash;it is gratitude.”</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Another Impostor.</span></h4>
-
-<p>E. M. C. This man applied for relief
-during the severity of the winter of
-1860-1, representing himself as in much
-distress for want of employment; that he
-had a wife ill at home, confined to her bed,
-and having been for a long time out of
-work, his three children were wanting food.
-Work was accordingly given to him at the
-Society’s mill, and he was supplied with
-food for the immediate wants of his family,
-pending inquiry into the truthfulness of
-his story. It was found that he was a
-single man, who, for deceptive purposes,
-had adopted the name of a woman with
-whom he was living, and who had separated
-from her husband but a short time
-previously, and was tutoring her children
-in all imaginable kinds of vice. It was also
-ascertained that the police had strict
-orders to watch the man’s movements, for
-he was known as an associate of characters
-of the worst description. He was consequently
-discharged from the Society’s
-works, with a caution against applying to
-the benevolent for their sympathy in the
-future.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>The following is the case of a person
-who applied for charity by letter, whose
-case was found to be a deserving <span class="lock">one:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>J. W. A middle-aged man of creditable
-appearance, who had for many years obtained
-a livelihood for himself and family
-(consisting of his wife and six children)
-as a clerk and salesman to a respectable
-firm, being thrown out of his situation
-through his employer’s embarrassed circumstances,
-became gradually reduced to destitution,
-and therefore made application
-for assistance to a subscriber to the Society.
-It appeared upon investigation that
-he had been most regular in his attention
-to his duties, strictly honest, industrious,
-and sober, and just at the time of the inquiry
-it fortunately happened that he procured
-another situation, but was hampered
-with trifling debts which he incurred while
-out of employment, which it was necessary
-to discharge, as well as procure suitable
-clothing. His character having proved
-satisfactory, the subscriber applied to
-directed a handsome donation to be appropriated
-to his assistance, whereby he
-was enabled to overcome his difficulties.
-He showed himself most grateful for the
-assistance.</p>
-
-<p>I shall now, by way of contrast, give
-the case of two beggars by letter, who were
-found to be rank <span class="lock">impostors:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>H. G. This man and his wife have been
-known to the Society for many years as
-two of the most persevering and impudent
-impostors that ever came under its cognizance.
-The man, although possessing
-considerable ability, and having a respectable
-situation as a clerk in a public institution,
-had become such an habitual
-drunkard as to be quite reckless as to what
-false representations he put forth to obtain
-charitable assistance; and finding himself
-detected in his various fabricated tales
-of distress, had the impudence to apply to
-a subscriber by letter, wherein he represented
-that his wife had died after several
-months’ severe affliction, which upon inquiry
-turned out untrue, his wife being
-alive and well, and they were living together
-at the very time the letter was
-written. Notwithstanding he was thus
-foiled in his endeavours to impose, a few
-weeks afterwards the wife had the assurance
-to send a letter to another subscriber,
-craving assistance on account of the death
-of her husband, and in order to carry out
-the deception she dressed herself in
-widow’s weeds. The gentleman applied to,
-however, having some misgivings as to her
-representations, fortunately forwarded her
-appeal to the Society, where it was ascertained
-that her husband was also alive and
-well.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">A Well-Educated Beggar.</span></h4>
-
-<p>J. R. P. F. A man about 45 years of
-age, the son of a much respected clergyman
-in Lancashire, who had received a
-good classical education, and was capable
-of gaining an excellent livelihood, applied<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_403" id="Page_403">[403]</a></span>
-to various persons for aid, in consequence,
-as he said, of being in great distress
-through want of a situation. He carefully
-selected those gentlemen who were well
-acquainted with, and respected, his father,
-some of whom, mistrusting his representations,
-forwarded the letters to the Mendicity
-Society for inquiry, which proved the
-applicant to be a most depraved character,
-who had been a source of great trouble to
-his parents for many years, they having
-provided him with situations (as teacher in
-various respectable establishments) from
-time to time, and also furnished him with
-means of clothing himself respectably; but
-on every occasion he remained in his employment
-but a very short time, before he
-gave way to his propensity to drink, and
-so disgraced himself that his employers
-were glad to get rid of him; whereupon he
-made away with his clothing to indulge
-his vicious propensity.</p>
-
-<p>I will now proceed to give an account of
-the beggars of London, as they have come
-under my notice in the course of the present
-inquiry.</p>
-
-
-<h3>BEGGING-LETTER WRITERS.</h3>
-
-<p>Foremost among beggars, by right of pretension
-to blighted prospects and correct
-penmanship, stands the Begging-Letter
-Writer. He is the connecting link between
-mendicity and the observance of external
-respectability. He affects white cravats,
-soft hands, and filbert nails. He oils his
-hair, cleans his boots, and wears a portentous
-stick-up collar. The light of other
-days of gentility and comfort casts a halo
-of “deportment” over his well-brushed,
-white-seamed coat, his carefully darned
-black-cloth gloves, and pudgy gaiters. He
-invariably carries an umbrella, and wears a
-hat with an enormous brim. His once
-raven hair is turning grey, and his well-shaved
-whiskerless cheeks are blue as with
-gunpowder tattoo. He uses the plainest
-and most respectable of cotton pocket-handkerchiefs,
-and keeps his references as
-to character in the most irreproachable of
-shabby leather pocket-books. His mouth
-is heavy, his under-lip thick, sensual, and
-lowering, and his general expression of
-pious resignation contradicted by restless,
-bloodshot eyes, that flash from side
-to side, quick to perceive the approach of
-a compassionate-looking clergyman, a female
-devotee, or a keen-scented member
-of the Society for the Suppression of Mendicity.</p>
-
-<p>Among the many varieties of mendacious
-beggars, there is none so detestable as this
-hypocritical scoundrel, who, with an ostentatiously-submissive
-air, and false pretence
-of faded fortunes, tells his plausible tale of
-undeserved suffering, and extracts from the
-hearts and pockets of the superficially
-good-hearted their sympathy and coin.
-His calling is a special one, and requires
-study, perseverance, and some personal
-advantages. The begging-letter writer
-must write a good hand, speak grammatically,
-and have that shrewd perception of
-character peculiar to fortune-tellers, horoscopists,
-cheap-jacks, and pedlars. He
-“must read and write, and cast accounts;”
-have an intuitive knowledge of the “nobility
-and landed gentry;” be a keen
-physiognomist, and an adept at imitation
-of handwritings, old documents, quaint
-ancient orthography, and the like. He
-must possess an artistic eye for costume,
-an unfaltering courage, and have tears and
-hysterics at immediate command.</p>
-
-<p>His great stock-in-trade is his register.
-There he carefully notes down the names,
-addresses, and mental peculiarities of his
-victims, and the character and pretence
-under which he robbed them of their
-bounty. It would not do to tell the same
-person the same story <i>twice</i>, as once happened
-to an unusually audacious member
-of the fraternity, who had obtained money
-from an old lady for the purpose of burying
-his wife, for whose loss he, of course,
-expressed the deepest grief. Confident in
-the old lady’s kindness of heart and weakness
-of memory, three months after his
-bereavement he again posted himself before
-the lady’s door, and gave vent to violent
-emotion.</p>
-
-<p>“Dear me!” thought the old lady,
-“there’s that poor man who lost his wife
-some time ago.” She opened the window,
-and, bidding the vagabond draw nearer,
-asked him what trouble he was in at present.</p>
-
-<p>After repeated questioning the fellow
-gurgled out, “That the wife of his bosom,
-the mother of his children, had left him
-for that bourne from which no traveller
-returns, and that owing to a series of unprecedented
-and unexpected misfortunes
-he had not sufficient money to defray the
-funeral expenses, and&mdash;”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, nonsense!” interrupted the old
-lady. “You lost your wife a quarter of a
-year ago. You couldn’t lose her twice;
-and as to marrying again, and losing
-again in that short time, it is quite impossible!”</p>
-
-<p>I subjoin some extracts from a Register
-kept by a begging-letter writer, and who
-was detected and <span class="lock">punished:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_404" id="Page_404">[404]</a></span></p>
-
-<p class="break">
-<i>Cheltenham.</i> <i>May 14, 1842.</i><br />
-</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Rev. John Furby.</span>&mdash;Springwood Villa.&mdash;Low
-Church.&mdash;Fond of architecture&mdash;Dugdale’s Monastica&mdash;Son
-of architect&mdash;Lost his life in the
-“Charon,” U.S. packet&mdash;£2, and suit of clothes&mdash;Got
-reference.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Branxholme.</span>&mdash;Clematis Cottage&mdash;Widow&mdash;Through
-Rev. Furby, £3 and prayer-book.</p></div>
-
-<p>
-<i>Gloucester.</i> <i>May 30.</i><br />
-</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Captain Daniels.</span>&mdash; &mdash;&mdash; Street.&mdash;Widow&mdash;Son
-drowned off Cape, as purser of same ship,
-“The Thetis”&mdash;£5 and old sea-chest. N.B.:
-Vamosed next day&mdash;Captain returned from London&mdash;Gaff
-blown in county paper. Mem.: Not
-to visit neighbourhood for four years.</p></div>
-
-<p>
-<i>Lincoln.</i> <i>June 19.</i><br />
-</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Andrew Taggart.</span>&mdash; &mdash;&mdash; street.&mdash;Gentleman&mdash;Great
-abolitionist of slave trade&mdash;As tradesman
-from U.S., who had lost his custom by aiding
-slope of fugitive female slave&mdash;By name Naomi
-Brown&mdash;£5. N.B.: To work him again, for he
-is good.</p></div>
-
-<p>
-<i>Grantham.</i> <i>July 1.</i><br />
-</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Charles James Campion.</span>&mdash;Westby House.&mdash;Gentleman&mdash;Literary&mdash;Writes
-plays and novels&mdash;As
-distant relative of George Frederick Cooke, and
-burnt-out bookseller&mdash;£2 2<i>s.</i> N.B.: Gave me
-some of his own books to read&mdash;Such trash&mdash;·
-Cadger in one&mdash;No more like cadger than I’m
-like Bobby Peel&mdash;Went to him again on 5th&mdash;Told
-him thought it wonderful, and the best
-thing out since Vicar of Wakefield&mdash;Gave me £1
-more&mdash;Very good man&mdash;To be seen to for the
-future.</p></div>
-
-<p>
-<i>Huntingdon.</i> <i>July 15.</i><br />
-</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Siddick.</span>&mdash; &mdash;&mdash; Street.&mdash;Widow&mdash;Cranky&mdash;Baptist&mdash;As
-member of persuasion from persecution
-of worldly-minded relatives&mdash;£10&mdash;Gave
-her address in London&mdash;Good for a £5 every
-year&mdash;Recognized inspector&mdash;Leave to-night.</p></div>
-
-<p>There are, of course, many varieties of
-the begging-letter writer; but although
-each and all of them have the same pretensions
-to former respectability, their
-mode of levying contributions is entirely
-different. There are but few who possess
-the versatility of their great master&mdash;Bampfylde
-Moore Carew; and it is usual
-for every member of the fraternity to chalk
-out for himself a particular “line” of imposition&mdash;a
-course of conduct that renders
-him perfect in the part he plays, makes
-his references and certificates continually
-available, and prevents him from “jostling”
-or coming into collision with others of his
-calling who might be “on the same lay as
-himself, and spoil his game!” Among the
-many specimens, one of the most prominent
-is the</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Decayed Gentleman.</span></h4>
-
-<p>The conversation of this class of mendicant
-is of former greatness, of acquaintance
-among the nobility and gentry of a particular
-county&mdash;always a distant one from
-the scene of operations&mdash;of hunting, races,
-balls, meets, appointments to the magistracy,
-lord-lieutenants, contested elections,
-and marriages in high life. The knowledge
-of the things of which he talks so fluently
-is gleaned from files of old county newspapers.
-When at fault, or to use his own
-phrase, “pounded,” a ready wit, a deprecating
-shrug, and a few words, such as,
-“Perhaps I’m mistaken&mdash;I used to visit
-a good deal there, and was introduced
-to so many who have forgotten me now&mdash;my
-memory is failing, like everything
-else”&mdash;extricate him from his difficulty,
-and increase his capital of past prosperity
-and present poverty. The decayed gentleman
-is also a great authority on wines&mdash;by
-right of a famous sample&mdash;his father “laid
-down” in eighteen eleven, “the comet year
-you know,” and is not a little severe upon
-his past extravagance. He relishes the retrospection
-of the heavy losses he endured
-at Newmarket, Doncaster, and Epsom in
-“forty-two and three,” and is pathetic on
-the subject of the death of William Scott.
-The cause of his ruin he attributes usually
-to a suit in the Court of Chancery, or the
-“fatal and calamitous Encumbered Irish
-Estates Bill.” He is a florid impostor, and
-has a jaunty sonorous way of using his
-clean, threadbare, silk pocket-handkerchief,
-that carries conviction even to the most
-sceptical.</p>
-
-<p>It is not uncommon to find among these
-degraded mendicants one who has really
-been a gentleman, as far as birth and education
-go, but whose excesses and extravagances
-have reduced him to mendicity.
-Such cases are the most hopeless. Unmindful
-of decent pride, and that true gentility
-that rises superior to circumstance,
-and finds no soil upon the money earned
-by labour, the lying, drunken, sodden
-wretch considers work “beneath him;”
-upon the shifting quicksands of his own
-vices rears an edifice of vagabond vanity,
-and persuades himself that, by forfeiting
-his manhood, he vindicates his right to the
-character of gentleman.</p>
-
-<p>The letters written by this class of beggar
-generally run as follows. My readers
-will, of course, understand that the names
-and places mentioned are the only portions
-of the epistles that are fictitious.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-<p class="right">
-“<i>Three Mermaids Inn, Pond Lane.</i><br />
-<i>April&mdash;, 18&nbsp;&nbsp;.</i></p>
-<p>
-“<span class="smcap">Sir</span>, or <span class="smcap">Madam</span>,<br />
-</p>
-
-<p>“Although I have not the honour to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_405" id="Page_405">[405]</a></span>
-be personally acquainted with you, I have
-had the advantage of an introduction to a
-member of your family, Major Sherbrook,
-when with his regiment at Malta; and my
-present disadvantageous circumstances emboldens
-me to write to you, for the claims
-of affliction upon the heart of the compassionate
-are among the holiest of those kindred
-ties that bind man to his fellow-being.</p>
-
-<p>“My father was a large landed proprietor
-at Peddlethorpe, &mdash;&mdash;shire. I, his only
-son, had every advantage that birth and
-fortune could give me claim to. From an
-informality in the wording of my father’s
-will, the dishonesty of an attorney, and the
-rapacity of some of my poor late father’s
-distant relatives, the property was, at his
-death, thrown into Chancery, and for the
-last four years I have been reduced to&mdash;comparatively
-speaking&mdash;starvation.</p>
-
-<p>“With the few relics of my former prosperity
-I have long since parted. My
-valued books, and, I am ashamed to own,
-my clothes, are gone. I am now in the last
-stage of destitution, and, I regret to say,
-in debt to the worthy landlord of the
-tavern from which I write this, to the
-amount of eight and sixpence. My object
-in coming to this part of the country was
-to see an old friend, whom I had hoped
-would have assisted me. We were on the
-same form together at Rugby&mdash;Mr. Joseph
-Thurwood of Copesthorpe. Alas! I find
-that he died three months ago.</p>
-
-<p>“I most respectfully beg of you to grant
-me some trifling assistance. As in my
-days of prosperity I trust my heart was
-never deaf to the voice of entreaty, nor my
-purse closed to the wants of the necessitous;
-so dear sir, or madam, I hope that
-my request will not be considered by you
-as impertinent or intrusive.</p>
-
-<p>“I have the honour to enclose you some
-testimonials as to my character and former
-station in society; and trusting that the
-Almighty Being may never visit you with
-that affliction which it has been His all-wise
-purpose to heap on me, I am</p>
-
-<p class="sig">
-“Your most humble and<br />
-“Obliged servant,<br />
-“<span class="smcap">Frederick Maurice Stanhope</span>,<br />
-</p>
-
-<p>“Formerly of Stanhope House, &mdash;&mdash;shire.”</p></div>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">The Broken-down Tradesman</span></h4>
-
-<p>is a sort of retail dealer in the same description
-of article as the decayed gentleman.
-The unexpected breaking of fourteen
-of the most respectable banking-houses in
-New York, or the loss of the cargoes of two
-vessels in the late autumnal gales, or the
-suspension of payment of Haul, Strong, and
-Chates, “joined and combined together
-with the present commercial crisis, has
-been the means of bringing him down to
-his present deplorable situation,” as his
-letter runs. His references are mostly
-from churchwardens, bankers, and dissenting
-clergymen, and he carries about a fictitious
-set of books&mdash;day-book, ledger, and
-petty-cash-book, containing entries of debts
-of large amounts, and a dazzling display of
-the neatest and most immaculate of commercial
-cyphering. His conversation, like
-his correspondence, is a queer jumble of
-arithmetic and scripture. He has a wife
-whose appearance is in itself a small income.
-She folds the hardest-working-looking
-of hands across the cleanest of white
-aprons, and curtseys with the humility of
-a pew-opener. The clothes of the worthy
-couple are shabby, but their persons and
-linen are rigorously clean. Their cheeks
-shine with yellow soap, as if they were
-rasped and bee’s-waxed every morning.
-The male impostor, when fleecing a victim,
-has a habit of washing his hands
-“with invisible soap and imperceptible
-water,” as though he were waiting on a
-customer. The wedded pair&mdash;and, generally,
-they are really married&mdash;are of congenial
-dispositions and domestic turn of
-mind, and get drunk, and fight each other,
-or go half-price to the play according to
-their humour. It is usually jealousy that
-betrays them. The husband is unfaithful,
-and the wife “peaches;” through her
-agency the police are put upon the track,
-and the broken-down tradesman is committed.
-In prison he professes extreme
-penitence, and has a turn for scriptural
-quotation, that stands him in good stead.</p>
-
-<p>On his release he takes to itinerant
-preaching, or political lecturing. What
-becomes of him after those last resources
-it is difficult to determine. The chances
-are that he again writes begging letters,
-but “on a different lay.”</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">The Distressed Scholar</span></h4>
-
-<p>is another variety of the same species, a
-connecting link between the self-glorification
-of the decayed gentleman and the
-humility of the broken-down tradesman.
-He is generally in want of money to pay
-his railway-fare, or coach-hire to the north
-of England, where he has a situation as
-usher to an academy&mdash;or he cannot seek
-for a situation for want of “those clothes
-which sad necessity has compelled him to
-part with for temporary convenience.” His
-letters, written in the best small hand, with
-the finest of upstrokes and fattest of downstrokes,
-are after this fashion:</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_406" id="Page_406">[406]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-<p class="right">
-“<i>Star Temperance Coffee House</i>,<br />
-“<i>Gravel Walk</i>.</p>
-<p>
-“<span class="smcap">Sir</span>, or <span class="smcap">Madam</span>,<br />
-</p>
-
-<p>“I have the honour to lay my case
-before you, humbly entreating your kind
-consideration.</p>
-
-<p>“I am a tutor, and was educated at
-St. &mdash;&mdash;’s College, Cambridge. My last situation
-was with the Rev. Mr. Cross, Laburnum
-House, near Dorking. I profess English,
-Latin, Greek, mathematics, and the higher
-branches of arithmetic, and am well read
-in general literature, ancient and modern.
-‘<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Rudem esse omnino in nostris poetis est
-inertissimæ signitiæ signum.</span>’</p>
-
-<p>“I am at present under engagement to
-superintend the scholastic establishment
-of Mr. Tighthand of the classical and commercial
-academy &mdash;&mdash;, Cumberland, but
-have not the means of defraying the expenses
-of my journey, nor of appearing
-with becoming decency before my new
-employer and my pupils.</p>
-
-<p>“My wardrobe is all pledged for an
-amount incommensurate with its value,
-and I humbly and respectfully lay my case
-before you, and implore you for assistance,
-or even a temporary accommodation.</p>
-
-<p>“I am aware that impostors, armed with
-specious stories, often impose on the kind-hearted
-and the credulous. ‘<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Nervi atque
-artus est sapientiæ&mdash;non temere credere.</span>’
-I have therefore the honour to forward you
-the enclosed testimonials from my former
-employers and others as to my character
-and capacity.</p>
-
-<p>“That you may never be placed in such
-circumstances as to compel you to indite
-such an epistle as the one I am at present
-penning is my most fervent wish. Rely
-upon it, generous sir&mdash;or madam&mdash;that,
-should you afford me the means of gaining
-an honourable competence, you shall never
-have to repent your timely benevolence.
-If, however, I should be unsuccessful in
-my present application, I must endeavour
-to console myself with the words of the
-great poet. ‘<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Ætas ipsa solatium omnibus
-affert</span>,’ or with the diviner precept: ‘And
-this too shall pass away.’</p>
-
-<p>“I have, sir&mdash;or madam&mdash;the honour
-to be</p>
-
-<p class="sig">
-“Your humble and obedient servant,<br />
-
-“<span class="smcap">Horace Humm</span>.”
-</p></div>
-
-<p>A gracefully flourished swan, with the
-date in German text on his left wing, terminates
-the letter.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">The Kaggs Family.</span></h4>
-
-<p>This case of cleverly organized swindling
-fell beneath the writer’s personal observation.</p>
-
-<p>In a paved court, dignified with the
-name of a market, leading into one of the
-principal thoroughfares of London, dwelt
-a family whom, from fear of an action for
-libel which, should they ever read these
-lines, they would assuredly bring, I will
-call Kaggs. Mr. Kaggs, the head of the
-family, had commenced life in the service
-of a nobleman. He was a tall, portly man,
-with a short nose, broad truculent mouth,
-and a light, moist eye. His personal advantages
-and general conduct obtained
-him promotion, and raised him from the
-servants’ hall to the pantry. When he
-was thirty years of age, he was butler in
-the family of a country gentleman, whose
-youngest daughter fell in love, ran away
-with, and&mdash;married him. The angry father
-closed his doors against them, and steeled
-his heart to the pathetic appeals addressed
-to him by every post. Mr. Kaggs, unable
-to obtain a character from his last place,
-found himself shut out from his former
-occupation. His wife gave promise of
-making an increase to the numbers of the
-family, and to use Mr. Kaggs’s own pantry
-vernacular, “he was flyblown and frostbitten
-every joint of him.”</p>
-
-<p>It was then that he first conceived the
-idea of making his wife’s birth and parentage
-a source of present income and provision
-for old age. She was an excellent
-penwoman, and for some months had had
-great practice in the composition of begging
-letters to her father. Mr. Kaggs’s
-appearance being martial and imposing,
-he collected what information he could
-find upon the subject, and passed himself
-off for a young Englishman of good family,
-who had been an officer in the Spanish
-army, and served “under Evans!” Mrs.
-Kaggs’s knowledge of the county families
-stood them in good stead, and they begged
-themselves through England, Scotland, and
-Wales, and lived in a sort of vulgar luxury,
-at no cost but invention, falsehood, and a
-ream or so of paper.</p>
-
-<p>It was some few years ago that I first
-made their acquaintance. Mrs. Kaggs had
-bloomed into a fine elderly woman, and
-Mr. Kaggs’s nose and stomach had widened
-to that appearance of fatherly responsibility
-and parochial importance that was
-most to be desired. The wife had sunk to
-the husband’s level, and had brought up
-her children to tread in the same path.
-Their family, though not numerous, was a
-blessing to them, for each child, some way
-or other, contrived to bring in money. It
-was their parents’ pride that they had
-given their offspring a liberal education.
-As soon as they were of an age capable of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_407" id="Page_407">[407]</a></span>
-receiving instruction, they were placed at
-a respectable boarding-school, and, although
-they only stayed in it one half-year,
-they went to another establishment for the
-next half-year, and so managed to pick up
-a good miscellaneous education, and at the
-same time save their parents the cost of
-board and lodging.</p>
-
-<p>James Julian Kaggs, the eldest and only
-son, was in Australia, “doing well,” as his
-mamma would often say&mdash;though in what
-particular business or profession was a
-subject on which she preserved a discreet
-silence. As I never saw the young man
-in question, I am unable to furnish any
-information respecting him.</p>
-
-<p>Catherine Kaggs, the eldest daughter,
-was an ugly and vulgar girl, on whom a
-genteel education and her mother’s example
-of elegance and refinement had been
-thrown away. Kitty was a sort of Cinderella
-in the family, and being possessed
-of neither tact nor manner to levy contributions
-on the charitable, was sentenced
-to an out-door employment, for which she
-was well fitted. She sold flowers in the
-thoroughfare, near the market.</p>
-
-<p>The second daughter, Betsey, was the
-pride of her father and mother, and the
-mainstay of the family. Tall, thin, and
-elegant, interesting rather than pretty, her
-pale face and subdued manners, her long
-eyelashes, soft voice, and fine hands, were
-the very requisites for the personation of
-beggared gentility and dilapidated aristocracy.
-Mrs. Kaggs often said, “That poor
-Kitty was her father’s girl, a Kaggs all over&mdash;but
-that Bessie was a Thorncliffe (her
-own maiden name) and a lady every inch!”</p>
-
-<p>The other children were a boy and girl
-of five and three years old, who called Mrs.
-Kaggs “Mamma,” but who appeared much
-too young to belong to that lady in any
-relation but that of grand-children. Kitty,
-the flower girl, was passionately fond of
-them, and “Bessie” patronized them in
-her meek, maidenly way, and called them
-her dear brother and sister.</p>
-
-<p>In the height of the season Miss Bessie
-Kaggs, attired in shabby black silk, dark
-shawl, and plain bonnet, would sally forth
-to the most aristocratic and fashionable
-squares, attended by her father in a white
-neck-cloth, carrying in one hand a small
-and fragile basket, and in the other a heavy
-and respectable umbrella. Arrived at the
-mansion of the intended victim, Miss Bessie
-would give a pretentious knock, and relieve
-her father of the burthen of the fragile
-basket. As the door opened, she would
-desire her parent, who was supposed to be
-a faithful retainer, to wait, and Mr. Kaggs
-would touch his hat respectfully and retire
-meekly to the corner of the square, and
-watch the placards in the public-house in
-the next street.</p>
-
-<p>“Is Lady &mdash;&mdash; within?” Miss Betsey
-would inquire of the servant.</p>
-
-<p>If the porter replied that his lady was
-out, or that she could not receive visitors,
-except by appointment, Miss Betsey would
-boldly demand pen, ink, and paper, and sit
-down and write, in a delicate, lady’s hand,
-to the following <span class="lock">effect:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“Miss Thirlbrook presents her compliments
-to the Countess of &mdash;&mdash;, and most
-respectfully requests the honour of enrolling
-the Countess’s name among the list of
-ladies who are kindly aiding her in disposing
-of a few necessaries for the toilette.</p>
-
-<p>“Miss Thirlbrook is reduced to this extreme
-measure from the sad requirements
-of her infirm father, formerly an officer in
-his Majesty’s &mdash;d Regiment, who, from a
-position of comfort and affluence, is now
-compelled to seek aid from the charitable,
-and to rely on the feeble exertions of his
-daughter: a confirmed cripple and valetudinarian,
-he has no other resource.</p>
-
-<p>“The well-known charity of the Countess
-of &mdash;&mdash; has induced Miss Thirlbrook to
-make this intrusion on her time. Miss T.
-will do herself the honour of waiting upon
-her ladyship on Thursday, when she
-<i>earnestly entreats</i> the favour of an interview,
-or an inspection of the few articles
-she has to dispose of.”</p>
-
-<p><i>Monday.</i></p>
-
-<p>This carefully concocted letter&mdash;so different
-from the usual appeals&mdash;containing no
-references to other persons as to character
-or antecedents, generally had its effect,
-and in a few days Miss Betsey would find
-herself tête-à-tête with the Countess &mdash;&mdash;.</p>
-
-<p>On entering the room she would make a
-profound curtsey, and, after thanking her
-ladyship for the honour, would open the
-fragile basket, which contained a few
-bottles of scent, some fancy soaps, ornamental
-envelopes, and perforated note-papers.</p>
-
-<p>“Sit down, Miss Thirlbrook,” the Countess
-would open the conversation. “I see
-the articles. Your note, I think, mentioned
-something of your being in less
-fortunate&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
-
-<p>Miss Betsey would lower her eyelashes
-and bend her head&mdash;not <i>too</i> deferentially,
-but as if bowing to circumstances for her
-father&mdash;her dear father’s sake&mdash;for this
-was implied by her admirably concealed
-histrionic capability.</p>
-
-<p>The lady would then suggest that she
-had a great many claims upon her con<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_408" id="Page_408">[408]</a></span>sideration,
-and would delicately inquire
-into the pedigree and circumstances of
-Lieutenant Thirlbrook, formerly of his
-Majesty’s &mdash;d Regiment.</p>
-
-<p>Miss Betsey’s replies were neither too
-ready nor too glib. She suffered herself
-to be drawn out, but did not advance a
-statement, and so established in her
-patroness’s mind the idea that she had
-to deal with a very superior person. The
-sum of the story of this interesting scion
-of a fallen house was, that her father was
-an old Peninsular officer&mdash;as would be
-seen by a reference to the Army List (Miss
-Betsey had found the name in an old list);
-that he had left the service during the
-peace in 1814; that a ruinous lawsuit,
-arising from railway speculations, and an
-absconding agent, had reduced them to&mdash;to&mdash;to
-their present position&mdash;and that
-six years ago, an old wound&mdash;received at
-Barossa&mdash;had broken out, and laid her
-father helpless on a sick bed. “I know
-that these articles,” Betsey would conclude,
-pointing to the fancy soaps and stationery,
-“are not such perhaps as your ladyship is
-accustomed to; but if you would kindly
-aid me by purchasing some of them&mdash;if
-ever so few&mdash;you would materially assist
-us; and I hope that&mdash;that we should not
-prove&mdash;either undeserving or ungrateful.”</p>
-
-<p>When, as sometimes happened, ladies
-paid a visit to Lieut. Thirlbrook, everything
-was prepared for their reception with
-a dramatic regard for propriety. The
-garret was made as clean and as uncomfortable
-as possible. Mr. Kaggs was put to
-bed, and the purpled pinkness of his complexion
-toned down with violet powder
-and cosmetics. A white handkerchief,
-with the Thirlbrook crest in a corner, was
-carelessly dropped upon the coverlid. A
-few physic bottles, an old United Service
-paper, and a ponderous Bible lay upon a
-ricketty round table beside him. Mrs.
-Kaggs was propped up with pillows in an
-arm-chair near the fireplace, and desired
-to look rheumatic and resigned. Kitty
-was sent out of the way; and the two
-children were dressed up in shabby black,
-and promised plums if they would keep
-quiet. Miss Betsey herself, in grey stuff
-and an apron, meek, mild, and matronly
-beyond her years, glided about softly, like
-a Sister of Mercy connected with the
-family.</p>
-
-<p>My readers must understand that Mr.
-Kaggs was the sole tenant of the house he
-lived in, though he pretended that he only
-occupied the garrets as a lodger.</p>
-
-<p>During the stay of the fashionable Samaritans
-Lieut. Thirlbrook&mdash;who had received
-a wound in his leg at Barossa, under
-the Duke&mdash;would say but little, but now
-and then his mouth would twitch as with
-suppressed pain. The visitors were generally
-much moved at the distressing scene.
-The gallant veteran&mdash;the helpless old lady&mdash;the
-sad and silent children&mdash;and the
-ministering angel of a daughter, were an
-impressive spectacle. The ladies would
-promise to exert themselves among their
-friends, and do all in their power to relieve
-them.</p>
-
-<p>“Miss Thirlbrook,” they would ask, as
-Miss Betsey attended them to the street-door,
-“those dear children are not your
-brother and sister, are they?”</p>
-
-<p>Betsey would suppress a sigh, and say,
-“They are the son and daughter of my
-poor brother, who was a surgeon in the
-Navy&mdash;they are orphans. My brother died
-on the Gold Coast, and his poor wife soon
-followed him. She was delicate, and could
-not bear up against the shock. The poor
-things have only us to look to, and we do
-for them what little lies in our power.”</p>
-
-<p>This last stroke was a climax. “She
-never mentioned them before!” thought
-the ladies. “What delicacy! What high
-feeling! These are not common beggars,
-who make an exaggerated statement of
-their griefs.”</p>
-
-<p>“Miss Thirlbrook, I am sure you will
-pardon me for making the offer; but those
-dear children upstairs do not look strong.
-I hope you will not be offended by my
-offering to send them a luncheon now and
-then&mdash;a few delicacies&mdash;nourishing things&mdash;to
-do them good.”</p>
-
-<p>Miss Betsey would curtsey, lower her
-eyelids, and say, softly, “They <i>are not</i>
-strong.”</p>
-
-<p>“I’ll send my servant as soon as I get
-home. Pray use this trifle for the present,”
-(the lady would take out her purse,) “and
-good morning, Miss Thirlbrook. I must
-shake hands with you. I consider myself
-fortunate in having made your acquaintance.”</p>
-
-<p>Betsey’s eyes would fill with tears, and
-as she held the door open, the expression
-of her face would plainly say: “Not only
-for myself, oh dear and charitable ladies,
-but for my father&mdash;my poor father&mdash;who
-was wounded, at Barossa, in the leg&mdash;do
-I thank you from the depths of a profoundly
-grateful heart.”</p>
-
-<p>When the basket arrived, Miss Betsey
-would sit down with her worthy parents
-and enjoy whatever poultry or meat had
-not been touched; but anything that had
-been cut, anything “second-hand,” that
-dainty and haughty young lady would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_409" id="Page_409">[409]</a></span>
-instruct her sister Kitty to give to the
-poor beggars.</p>
-
-<p>This system of swindling could not, of
-course, last many years, and when the
-west end of London became too hot to
-hold them, the indefatigable Kaggses put an
-advertisement into the <i>Times</i> and <i>Morning
-Post</i>, addressed to the charitable and humane,
-saying that “a poor, but respectable
-family, required a small sum to enable
-them to make up the amount of their
-passage to Australia, and that they could
-give the highest references as to character.”</p>
-
-<p>The old certificates were hawked about,
-and for more than two years they drove a
-roaring trade in money, outfits, and necessaries
-for a voyage. Mr. Kaggs, too, made
-a fortunate hit. He purchased an old
-piano, and raffled it at five shillings a head.
-Each of his own family took a chance. At
-the first raffle Miss Betsey won it, at the
-second, Miss Kitty, on the third, Mr. Kaggs,
-on the fourth, his faithful partner, and on
-the fifth and last time, a particular friend
-of Miss Kitty’s, a young lady in the green-grocery
-line. This invaluable piece of
-furniture was eventually disposed of by
-private contract to a dealer in Barret’s
-Court, Oxford Street, and, a few days after,
-the Kaggs family really sailed for Melbourne,
-and I have never since heard of
-them.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>Among the begging-letter fraternity there
-are not a few persons who affect to be
-literary men. They have at one time or
-another been able to publish a pamphlet, a
-poem, or a song&mdash;generally a patriotic one,
-and copies of these works&mdash;they always
-call them “works”&mdash;they constantly carry
-about with them to be ready for any customer
-who may turn up. I have known a
-notable member of this class of beggars for
-some years. He was introduced to me as
-a literary man by an innocent friend who
-really believed in his talent. He greeted
-me as a brother craftsman, and immediately
-took from the breast-pocket of his threadbare
-surtout a copy of one of his works.
-“Allow me,” he said, “to present you with
-my latest work; it is dedicated, you will
-perceive, to the Right Honourable the Earl
-of Derby&mdash;here is a letter from his lordship
-complimenting me in the most handsome
-terms;” and before I could look into the
-book, the author produced from a well-worn
-black pocket-book a dirty letter distinguished
-by a large red seal. Sure
-enough it was a genuine letter beginning
-“The Earl of Derby presents his compliments,”
-and going on to acknowledge the
-receipt of a copy of Mr. Driver’s work.
-Mr. Driver&mdash;I will call my author by that
-name&mdash;produced a great many other letters,
-all from persons of distinction, and the
-polite terms in which they were expressed
-astonished me not a little. I soon, however,
-discovered the key to all this condescension.
-The work was a political one,
-glorifying the Conservative party, and
-abounding with all sorts of old-fashioned
-Tory sentiments. The letters Mr. Driver
-showed me were of course all from tories.
-The “work” was quite a curiosity. It
-was called a political novel. It had for
-its motto, “<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Pro Rege, Lege, Aris et Focis</span>,”
-and the dedication to the Right Honourable
-the Earl of Derby was displayed over a
-whole page in epitaph fashion. At the
-close of our interview Mr. Driver pointed
-out to me that the price of the work was
-two shillings. Understanding the hint, I
-gave him that amount, when he called for
-pen and ink, and wrote on the fly leaf of
-the work, “To &mdash;&mdash; &mdash;&mdash;, Esq., with the sincere
-regards of the author.&mdash;J. Fitzharding
-Driver.” On looking over the book&mdash;it was
-a mere paper-covered pamphlet of some
-hundred pages&mdash;I found that the story was
-not completed. I mentioned this to Mr.
-Driver the next time I met him, and he
-explained that he meant to go to press&mdash;that
-was a favourite expression of his&mdash;to
-go to press with the second volume shortly.
-Ten years, however, have elapsed since
-then, and Mr. Driver has not yet gone to
-press with his second volume. The last
-time I met him he offered me the original
-volume as his “last new work,” which he
-presumed I had never seen. He also informed
-me that he was about to publish a
-patriotic song in honour of the Queen.
-Would I subscribe for a copy&mdash;only three-and-sixpence&mdash;and
-he would leave it for
-me? Mr. Driver had forgotten that I had
-subscribed for this very song eight years
-previously. He showed me the selfsame
-MS. of the new national anthem, which I
-had perused so long ago. The paper had
-become as soft and limp and dingy as a
-Scotch one-pound note, but it had been
-worth a good many one-pound notes to
-Mr. Fitzharding Driver. Mr. Driver has
-lived upon this as yet unpublished song,
-and that unfinished political novel, for ten
-years and more. I have seen him often
-enough to know exactly his <i>modus operandi</i>.
-Though practically a beggar Mr. Driver is
-no great rogue. Were you to dress him
-well, he might pass for a nobleman. As it
-is, in his shabby genteel clothes he looks a
-broken-down swell. And so in fact he is.
-In his young days he had plenty of money,
-and went the pace among the young bloods<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_410" id="Page_410">[410]</a></span>
-of Bond Street. Mr. Driver’s young days
-were the days of the Regent. He drove a
-dashing phaeton-and-four then, and lounged
-and gambled, and lived the life of a man
-about town. He tells you all that with
-great pride, and also how he came to grief,
-though this part of the story is not so
-clear. There is no doubt that he had considerable
-acquaintance among great people
-in his prosperous days. He lives now
-upon his works, and the public-house
-parlours of the purlieus of the west-end
-serve him as publishing houses. He is a
-great political disputant, and his company
-is not unwelcome in those quarters. He
-enters, takes his seat, drinks his glass,
-joins in the conversation, and, as he says
-himself, shows that he is a man of parts.
-In this way he makes friends among the
-tradesmen who visit these resorts. They
-soon find out that he is poor, and an author,
-and moved both to pity and admiration,
-each member of the company purchases a
-copy of that unfinished political novel, or
-subscribes for that new patriotic song,
-which I expect will yet be in the womb of
-the press when the crack of doom comes.
-I think Mr. Driver has pretty well used up
-all the quiet parlours of W. district by this
-time. Not long ago I had a letter from
-him enclosing a prospectus of a new work
-to be entitled “Whiggery, or the Decline
-of England,” and soliciting a subscription
-to enable him to go to press with the first
-edition. I have no doubt that every conservative
-member of both houses of Parliament
-has had a copy of that prospectus.
-Mr. Fitzharding Driver will call at their
-houses for an answer, and some entirely
-out of easy charity, and others from a party
-feeling of delight at the prospect of the
-Whigs being abused in a book even by
-this poor beggar, will send him down half-crowns,
-and enable the poor wretch to eat
-and drink for a few months longer. On
-more than one occasion while I have known
-him, Mr. Driver has been on the point of
-“being well off again,” to use his own expression.
-His behaviour under the prospect
-was characteristic of the man, his
-antecedents, and his mode of life. He
-touched up his seedy clothes, had some
-cotton-velvet facings put to his threadbare
-surtout, revived his hat, mounted a
-pair of shabby patent-leather boots, provided
-himself with a penny cane, adorned
-with an old silk tassel, and appeared each
-day with a flower in his button-hole. In
-addition to these he had sewn into the
-breast of his surtout a bit of parti-coloured
-ribbon to look like a decoration. In this
-guise he came up to me at the Crystal
-Palace one day, and appeared to be in great
-glee. His ogling and mysterious manner
-puzzled me. Judge of my astonishment
-when this hoary, old, tottering, toothless
-beggar informed me, with many self-satisfied
-chuckles, that a rich widow, “a fine dashing
-woman, sir,” had fallen in love with
-him, and was going to marry him. The
-marriage did not come off, the pile is worn
-away from the velvet facings, the patent-leather
-boots have become mere shapeless
-flaps of leather, the old broad-brimmed
-hat is past the power of reviver, and the
-Bond Street buck of the days of the Regent
-now wanders from public-house to public-house
-selling lucifer-matches. He still
-however carries with him a copy of his
-“work,” the limp and worn MS. of his
-anthem, and the prospectus of “Whiggery,
-or the Decline of England.” These and
-the letters from distinguished personages
-stand him in better stead than the lucifer-matches,
-when he lights upon persons of
-congenial sympathies.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Advertising Begging-letter Writers.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Among many begging-letter writers who
-appealed to sentiment, the most notorious
-and successful was a man of the name of
-Thomas Stone, alias Stanley, alias Newton.
-He had been in early life transported for
-forgery, and afterwards was tried for perjury;
-and when his ordinary methods of
-raising money had been detected and exposed,
-he resorted to the ingenious expedient
-of sending an advertisement to the
-<i>Times</i>, of which the following is a <span class="lock">copy:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-<p class="center">
-“To the Charitable and Affluent.<br />
-</p>
-
-<p>“At the eleventh hour a young and most
-unfortunate lady is driven by great distress
-to solicit from those charitable and humane
-persons who ever derive pleasure from benevolent
-acts, some little <i>pecuniary assistance</i>.
-The advertiser’s condition is almost
-hopeless, being, alas! friendless, and reduced
-to the last extremity. The smallest
-aid would be most thankfully acknowledged,
-and the fullest explanation given. Direct
-Miss T. C. M., Post-office, Great Randolph
-St., Camden New Town.”</p></div>
-
-<p>This touching appeal was read by a philanthropic
-gentleman, who sent the advertiser
-5<i>l.</i>, and afterwards 1<i>l.</i> more, to
-which he received a reply in the following
-<span class="lock">words:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>“<span class="smcap">Sir</span>,&mdash;I again offer my gratitude for your
-charitable kindness. I am quite unable to
-speak the promptings of my heart for your
-great goodness to me, an entire stranger, but
-you may believe me, sir, I am very sincerely
-thankful. You will, I am sure, be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_411" id="Page_411">[411]</a></span>
-happy to hear I have paid the few trifling
-demands upon me, and also obtained sufficient
-of my wearing apparel to make a
-decent appearance; but it has swallowed
-up the whole of your generous bounty, or I
-should this day have moved to the Hampstead
-Road, where a far more comfortable
-lodging has been offered me, and where,
-sir, if you would condescend to call I
-would cheerfully and with pleasure relate
-my circumstances in connexion with my
-past history, and I do hope you might
-consider me worthy of your further notice.
-But it is my earnest desire to support myself
-and my dearest child by my own industry.
-As I mentioned before, I have
-youth and health, and have received a
-good education, but alas! I fear I shall
-have a great difficulty in obtaining employment
-such as I desire, for I have fallen!
-I am a mother, and my dear poor boy is the
-child of sin. But I was deceived&mdash;cruelly
-deceived by a base and heartless villain.
-A licence was purchased for our marriage;
-I believed all; my heart knew no guile;
-the deceptions of the world I had scarcely
-ever heard of; but too soon I found myself
-destroyed and lost, the best affections
-of my heart trampled upon, and myself
-infamous and disgraced. But I did not
-continue to live in sin. Oh no! I despised
-and loathed the villain who so
-deceived me. Neither have I received,
-nor would I, one shilling from him. I
-think I stated in my first letter I am the
-daughter of a deceased merchant; such is
-the case; and had I some friends to interest
-themselves for me, I do think it
-would be found I am entitled to some property;
-however, it would be first necessary
-to explain personally every circumstance,
-and to you, sir, I would unreservedly explain
-all. And oh! I do earnestly hope
-you would, after hearing my sad tale, think
-there was some little palliation of my guilt.</p>
-
-<p>“In answer to the advertisement I had
-inserted, I received many offers of assistance,
-but they contained overtures of such
-a nature that I could not allow myself to
-reply to any of them. You, sir, have been
-my best friend, and may God bless you for
-your sympathy and kindness. I am very
-desirous to remove, but cannot do so without
-a little money in my pocket. Your
-charity has enabled me to provide all I
-required, and paid that which I owed,
-which has been a great relief to my mind.
-I hope and trust that you will not think
-me covetous or encroaching upon your
-goodness, in asking you to assist me with
-a small sum further, for the purpose named.
-Should you, however, decline to do so, believe
-me, I should be equally grateful; and
-it is most painful and repugnant to my feelings
-to ask, but I know not to whom else to
-apply. Entreating your early reply, however
-it may result, and with every good
-wish, and the sincerest and warmest acknowledgments
-of my heart, believe, sir, always
-your most thankful and humble servant,</p>
-
-<p class="sig">
-<span class="smcap">“Frances Thorpe</span>.
-</p>
-
-<p>“Please direct T. C. M., Post-office, Crown
-Street, Gray’s Inn Road.”</p></div>
-
-<p>With the same sort of tale, varying the
-signature to Fanny Lyons, Mary Whitmore,
-and Fanny Hamilton, &amp;c., Mr. Stone
-continued to victimize the public, until the
-Society for the Suppression of Mendicity
-laid him by the heels. He was committed
-for trial at Clerkenwell Sessions, and sentenced
-to transportation for seven years.</p>
-
-<p>I must content myself with these few
-specimens of the begging-letter impostors;
-it would be impossible to describe every
-variety. Sometimes they are printers,
-whose premises have been destroyed by
-fire; at others, young women who have
-been ruined by noblemen and are anxious
-to retrieve themselves; or widows of naval
-officers who have perished in action or by
-sickness. There was a long run upon “aged
-clergymen, whose sands of life were fast
-running out,” but the fraud became so
-common that it was soon “blown.”</p>
-
-<p>The greatest blow that was ever struck
-at this species of imposition was the establishment
-of the Begging-Letter Department
-by the Society for the Suppression of
-Mendicity. In the very first case they investigated
-they found the writer&mdash;who had
-penned a most touching letter to a well-known
-nobleman&mdash;crouching in a fireless
-garret in one of the worst and lowest
-neighbourhoods of London. This man
-was discovered to be the owner and occupier
-of a handsomely-furnished house in
-another part of the town, where his wife
-and family lived in luxury. The following
-is a specimen of a most artful begging
-letter from America.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-<p class="right">
-<i>Ellicot’s Mills, Howard Co., Maryland,<br />
-United States</i>,<br />
-<i>June</i> 6, 1859.
-</p>
-
-<p>“<span class="smcap">My dearest Friend</span>,</p>
-
-<p>“Why&mdash;why have you not written,
-and sent me the usual remittances? Your
-silence has caused me the greatest uneasiness.
-Poor dear Frederick is dying and we
-are in the extremest want. The period to
-hear from you has past some time, and no
-letter. It is very strange! What can it
-mean?</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_412" id="Page_412">[412]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>“In a short time your poor suffering son
-will be at rest. I shall then trouble you
-no more; but&mdash;oh! I beseech you, do not
-permit your poor son to die in want. I
-have expended my last shilling to procure
-him those little necessaries he must and
-shall have. Little did I think when, long,
-long years ago, I deserted all, that you might
-be free and happy, that you would fail me
-in this terrible hour of affliction&mdash;but you
-have not&mdash;I know you have not. You
-must have sent, and the letter miscarried.
-Your poor dying son sends his fondest
-love. Poor dear fellow!&mdash;he has never
-known a father’s care; still, from a child,
-he has prayed for, revered, and loved you&mdash;he
-is now going to his Father in heaven,
-and, when he is gone my widowed heart
-will break. When I look back upon the
-long past, although broken-hearted and
-crushed to the earth, yet I cannot tutor
-my heart to regret it, for I dearly loved you.
-Yes, and proved it, dearest friend, by forsaking
-and fleeing with my poor fatherless
-boy to this strange and distant land, that
-you might be free and happy with those so
-worthy of you; and, believe me when I say,
-that your happiness has been my constant
-prayer. In consequence of poor dear
-Frederick’s sickness we are in the greatest
-distress and want. I have been compelled
-to forego all exertion, and attend solely
-upon him; therefore, do, I pray you, send
-me, without an instant’s delay, a 10<i>l.</i> note.
-I must have it, or I shall go mad. Your
-poor suffering boy must not die in misery
-and want. Send the money by return
-mail, and send a Bank of England note, for
-I am now miles away from where I could
-get a draught cashed. I came here for the
-benefit of poor dear Frederick, but I fear it
-has done him no good. We are now among
-strangers, and in the most abject distress,
-and unless you send soon, your afflicted unoffending
-boy will starve to death. I can
-no longer bear up against poverty, sickness,
-and your unkindness; but you must have
-sent; your good, kind heart would not
-permit you to let us die in want. God
-bless you, and keep you and yours. May
-you be supremely happy! Bless you! In
-mercy send soon, for we are in extremest
-want.</p>
-
-<p class="sig">
-“Remaining faithfully,<br />
-
-“Your dearest friend,<br />
-
-“<span class="smcap">Kate Stanley</span>.
-</p>
-
-<p>“Pay the postage of your letter to me, or
-I shall not be able to obtain it, for I am
-selling everything to live.”</p></div>
-
-<p>The above affecting letter was received
-by the widow of a London merchant six
-months after his death. The affair was
-investigated and proved to be an imposture.
-The moral character of Mr. &mdash;&mdash;
-had been irreproachable. American begging-letter
-writers read the obituaries
-in English newspapers and ply their trade,
-while the loss of the bereaved relatives of
-the man whose memory they malign is
-recent.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Ashamed Beggars.</span></h3>
-
-<p>By the above title I mean those tall, lanthorn-jawed
-men, in seedy well-brushed
-clothes, who, with a ticket on their breasts,
-on which a short but piteous tale is written
-in the most respectable of large-hand, and
-with a few boxes of lucifer-matches in their
-hands, make no appeal by word of mouth,
-but invoke the charity of passers-by by
-meek glances and imploring looks&mdash;fellows
-who, having no talent for “patter,” are
-gifted with great powers of facial pathos,
-and make expression of feature stand in
-lieu of vocal supplication. For some years
-I have watched a specimen of this class,
-who has a regular “beat” at the west end
-of London. He is a tall man, with thin
-legs and arms, and a slightly-protuberant
-stomach. His “costume” (I use the word
-advisedly, for he is really a great actor of
-pantomime,) consists of an old black dress-coat,
-carefully buttoned, but left sufficiently
-open at the top to show a spotlessly white
-shirt, and at the bottom, to exhibit an old
-grey waistcoat; and a snowy apron, which
-he wears after the fashion of a Freemason,
-forgetting that real tradesmen are never
-seen in their aprons except behind the
-counter. A pair of tight, dark, shabby
-trousers, black gaiters without an absent
-button, and heavy shoes of the severest
-thickness, cover his nether man. Round
-his neck is a red worsted comforter, which
-neatly tied at the throat, descends straight
-and formally beneath his coat, and exhibits
-two fringed ends, which fall, in agreeable
-contrast of colour, over the before-mentioned
-apron. I never remember seeing a
-beggar of this class without an apron and
-a worsted comforter&mdash;they would appear
-to be his stock-in-trade, a necessary portion
-of his outfit; the white apron to relieve
-the sombre hue of his habiliments,
-and show up their well-brushed shabbiness;
-the scarlet comforter to contrast with the
-cadaverous complexion which he owes to
-art or nature. In winter the comforter
-also serves as an advertisement that his
-great-coat is gone.</p>
-
-<p>The man I am describing wears a “pad”
-round his neck, on which is <span class="lock">written&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_413" id="Page_413">[413]</a></span></p>
-
-<p class="center">
-Kind Friends and Christian Brethren!<br />
-I was once a<br />
-Respectable Tradesman,<br />
-doing a Good Business;<br />
-till Misfortune reduced me to<br />
-this Pass!<br />
-Be kind enough to Buy<br />
-some of the Articles I offer,<br />
-and you will confer a<br />
-Real Charity!
-</p>
-
-<p>In his hands, on which he wears scrupulously-darned
-mittens, he carries a box or
-two of matches, or a few quires of note-paper
-or envelopes, and half-a-dozen small
-sticks of sealing-wax. He is also furnished
-with a shabby-genteel looking boy of about
-nine years old, who wears a Shakesperian
-collar, and the regulation worsted comforter,
-the ends of which nearly trail upon the
-ground. The poor child, whose features
-do not in the least resemble the man’s, and
-who, too young to be his son, is too old to
-be his grandson, keeps his little hands in
-his large pockets, and tries to look as unhappy
-and half-starved as he can.</p>
-
-<p>But the face of the beggar is a marvellous
-exhibition! His acting is admirable!
-Christian resignation and its consequent
-fortitude are written on his brow. His
-eyes roll imploringly, but no sound escapes
-him. The expression of his features almost
-pronounces, “Christian friend, purchase my
-humble wares, for <i>I scorn to beg</i>. I am
-starving, but tortures shall not wring the
-humiliating secret from my lips.” He exercises
-a singular fascination over old ladies,
-who slide coppers into his hand quickly,
-as if afraid that they shall hurt his feelings.
-He pockets the money, heaves a sigh, and
-darts an abashed and grateful look at them
-that makes them feel how keenly he appreciates
-their delicacy. When the snow is
-on the ground he now and then introduces
-a little shiver, and with a well-worn pocket-handkerchief
-stifles a cough that he intimates
-by, a despairing dropping of his eyelids,
-is slowly killing him.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">The Swell Beggar.</span></h3>
-
-<p>A singular variety of this sort of mendicant
-used to be seen some years ago in the
-streets of Cambridge. He had been a gentleman
-of property, and had studied at one
-of the colleges. Race-courses, billiard-tables,
-and general gambling had reduced
-him to beggary; but he was too proud to
-ask alms. As the “Ashamed Beggar” fortifies
-himself with a “pad,” this swell-beggar
-armed himself with a broom. He
-swept a crossing. His clothes&mdash;he always
-wore evening-dress&mdash;were miserably ragged
-and shabby; his hat was a broken Gibus,
-but he managed to have good and fashionable
-boots; and his shirt collar, and wrist-bands
-were changed every day. A white
-cambric handkerchief peeped from his coat-tail
-pocket, and a gold eye-glass dangled
-from his neck. His hands were lady-like;
-his nails well-kept; and it was impossible
-to look at him without a mingled feeling of
-pity and amusement.</p>
-
-<p>His plan of operations was to station
-himself at his crossing at the time the
-ladies of Cambridge were out shopping.
-His antics were curiously funny. Dangling
-his broom between his fore-finger and
-thumb, as if it were a light umbrella or
-riding-whip, he would arrive at his stand,
-and look up at the sky to see what sort of
-weather might be expected. Then tucking
-the broom beneath his arm he would
-take off his gloves, fold them together
-and put them into his coat-pockets, sweep
-his crossing carefully, and when he had
-finished, look at it with admiration. When
-ladies crossed, he would remove his broken
-hat, and smile with great benignity, displaying
-at the same time a fine set of
-teeth. On wet days his attentions to
-the fair sex knew no bounds. He would
-run before them and wipe away every little
-puddle in their path. On receiving a gratuity,
-which was generally in silver, he
-would remove his hat and bow gracefully
-and gratefully. When gentlemen walked
-over his crossing he would stop them, and,
-holding his hat in the true mendicant
-fashion, request the loan of a shilling.
-With many he was a regular pensioner.
-When a mechanic or poor-looking person
-offered him a copper, he would take it, and
-smile his thanks with a patronising air, but
-he never took off his hat to less than sixpence.
-He was a jovial and boastful beggar,
-and had a habit of jerking at his stand-up
-collar, and pulling at his imperial coxcombically.
-When he considered his day’s
-work over, he would put on his gloves, and,
-dangling his broom in his careless elegant
-way, trip home to his lodging. He never
-used a broom but one day, and gave the old
-ones to his landlady. The undergraduates
-were kind to him, and encouraged his follies;
-but the college dons looked coldly on
-him, and when they passed him he would
-assume an expression of impertinent indifference
-<i>as if he cut them</i>. I never heard
-what became of him. When I last saw
-him he looked between forty and fifty years
-of age.</p>
-
-
-<h3><span class="smcap">Clean Family Beggars.</span></h3>
-
-<p>Clean Family Beggars are those who beg
-or sing in the streets, in numbers varying<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_414" id="Page_414">[414]</a></span>
-from four to seven. I need only particularize
-one “gang” or “party,” as their
-appearance and method of begging will do
-as a sample of all others.</p>
-
-<p>Beggars of this class group themselves
-artistically. A broken-down looking man,
-in the last stage of seediness, walks hand-in-hand
-with a pale-faced, interesting little
-girl. His wife trudges on his other side, a
-baby in one arm; a child just able to walk
-steadies itself by the hand that is disengaged;
-two or three other children cling
-about the skirts of her gown, one occasionally
-detaching himself or herself&mdash;as a kind
-of rear or advanced guard from the main
-body&mdash;to cut off stragglers and pounce
-upon falling halfpence, or look piteously
-into the face of a passer-by. The clothes of
-the whole troop are in that state when
-seediness is dropping into rags; but their
-hands and faces are perfectly clean&mdash;their
-skins literally shine&mdash;perhaps from the
-effect of a plentiful use of soap, <i>which they
-do not wash off before drying themselves with
-a towel</i>. The complexions of the smaller
-children, in particular, glitter like sandpaper,
-and their eyes are half-closed, and
-their noses corrugated, as with constant and
-compulsory ablution. The baby is a wonderful
-specimen of washing and getting-up
-of ornamental linen. Altogether, the Clean
-Family Beggars form a most attractive
-picture for quiet and respectable streets,
-and “pose” themselves for the admiration
-of the thrifty matrons, who are their best
-supporters.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes the children of the Clean
-Family Beggars sing&mdash;sometimes the father
-“patters.” This morning a group passed
-my window, who both sang and “pattered.”
-The mother was absent, and the two eldest
-girls knitted and crochetted as they walked
-along. The burthen of the song which the
-children shrieked out in thin treble, was,</p>
-
- <div class="poetry-container"><div class="poetry"><div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse">“And the wild flowers are springing on the plain.”</div>
-</div></div></div>
-
-<p>The rest of the words were undistinguishable.
-When the little ones had finished,
-the man, who evidently prided himself
-upon his powers of eloquence, began, in a
-loud, authoritative, oratorical <span class="lock">tone:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“My dear friends,&mdash;It is with great pain,
-and affliction, and trouble, that I present
-myself and my poo&mdash;oor family before
-you, in this wretched situation, at the present
-moment; but what can I do? Work
-I cannot obtain, and my little family ask me
-for bread! Yes, my dear friends&mdash;my little
-family ask me for bread! Oh, my dear
-friends, conceive what your feelin’s would
-be, if, like me, at the present moment your
-poo&mdash;oor dear children asked for bread,
-and you had it not to give them! What
-then could you do? God send, my dear
-friends, that no individual, no father of a
-family, nor mother, nor other individual,
-<i>with</i> children, will ever, or ever may be
-drove to do what&mdash;or, I should say, that
-which I am now a-doing of, at the present
-moment. If any one in this street, or in
-the next, or in any of the streets in this
-affluent neighbourhood, had found theirselves
-in the situation, in which I was
-placed this morning, it would be hard to
-say what they could, or would have done;
-and I assure you, my dear friends,&mdash;yes, I
-assure you, from my heart, that it is very
-possible that many might have been drove
-to have done, or do worse, than what I am
-a doing of, for the sake of my poo&mdash;oor
-family, at the present moment, if they
-had been drove, by suffering, as I and my
-poo&mdash;oor wife have been the morning of
-this very day. My wife, my kind friends,
-is now unfortunately ill through unmerited
-starvation, and is ill a-bed, from which, at
-the present moment, she cannot rise.
-Want we have known together, my dear
-friends, and so has our poo&mdash;oor family,
-and baby, only eight months old. God
-send, my dear friends, that none of you,
-and none of your dear babes, and families,
-that no individual, which now is listening
-to my deep distress, at the present moment,
-may ever know the sufferin’s to
-which we have been reduced, is my fervent
-prayer! All I want to obtain is a meal’s
-victuals for my poo&mdash;oor family!”</p>
-
-<p>(Here the man caught my eye, and immediately
-shifted his ground.)</p>
-
-<p>“You will ask me, my dear friends,” he
-continued, in an argumentative manner,
-“you will ask me how and why it is, and
-what is the reason, which I cannot obtain
-work? Alas! my dear friends, it is unfortunately
-so at the present moment. I am
-a silk-weaver in Bethnal Green, by trade,
-and the noo International Treaty with
-France, which Mr. Cobden&mdash;” (here he
-kept his eye on me, as if the political
-reason were intended for my especial
-behoof)&mdash;“which <i>Mr. Cobden</i>, my dear
-friends, was depooted to go to the French
-emperor, Louis Napoleon, to agree upon,
-betwixt this country and France, which
-the French manufacturers sends goods
-into this country, without paying no dooty,
-and undersells the native manufacturers,
-though, my dear friends, our workmanship
-is as good, and English silk as genuine
-as French, I do assure you. Leastways,
-there is no difference, except in
-pattern, and, through the neglect of them
-as ought to look after it better, that is, to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_415" id="Page_415">[415]</a></span>
-see we had the best designs; for design is
-the only thing&mdash;I mean design and pattern&mdash;in
-which they can outdo us; and also,
-my dear friends, ladies as go to shops will
-ask for foreign goods&mdash;it is more to their
-taste than English, at the present moment;
-and so it is, that many poo&mdash;oor families
-at Bethnal Green and Spitalfields&mdash;and
-Coventry likewise, is redooced to the
-situation which I myself&mdash;that is, to ask
-your charity&mdash;am a doing of&mdash;at the
-present moment.”</p>
-
-<p>I gave a little girl a penny, and the man,
-still fixing me with his eye, <span class="lock">continued&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“You will ask me, my dear friends,
-praps, how it is that I do not apply to the
-parish? why not to get relief for myself,
-my de&mdash;ar wife, and little family? My
-kind friends, you do not know the state in
-which things is with the poor weavers of
-Bethnal Green, and, at the present moment,
-Spitalfields likewise. It comes of the want
-of knowledge of the real state of this rich
-and ’appy country, its material prosperity
-and resources, which you, at this end of
-the town, can form no idea of. There is
-now sixteen or seventeen thousand people
-out of work. Yes, my dear friends, in
-about two parishes, there is sixteen or
-seventeen thousand individuals&mdash;I mean,
-of course, counting their poo&mdash;oor families
-and all, which at the present moment,
-cannot obtain bread. Oh, my dear friends,
-how grateful ought you be to God that
-you and your dear families, are not out of
-work, and can obtain a meal’s victuals, and
-are not like the sufferin’ weavers of Bethnal
-Green&mdash;and Spitalfields, and Coventry
-likewise, through the loss of trade; for,
-my dear friends, if you were like me, forced
-to what I am doing now at the present
-moment, &amp;c., &amp;c., &amp;c.”</p>
-
-
-<h3>NAVAL AND MILITARY BEGGARS</h3>
-
-<p>are most frequently met with in towns
-situated at some distance from a seaport or
-a garrison. As they are distinct specimens
-of the same tribe, they must be separately
-classified. The more familiar nuisance
-is the</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Turnpike Sailor.</span></h4>
-
-<p>This sort of vagabond has two lays, the
-“merchant” lay, and the “R’yal Navy”
-lay. He adopts either one or the other
-according to the exigencies of his wardrobe,
-his locality, or the person he is addressing.
-He is generally the offspring of some inhabitant
-of the most notorious haunts of a
-seaport town, and has seldom been at sea,
-or when he has, has run away after the first
-voyage. His slang of seamanship has been
-picked up at the lowest public-houses in
-the filthiest slums that offer diversion to
-the genuine sailor.</p>
-
-<p>When on the “merchant lay” his attire
-consists of a pair of tattered trousers, an
-old guernsey-shirt, and a torn straw-hat.
-One of his principal points of “costume”
-is his bare feet. His black silk handkerchief
-is knotted jauntily round his throat
-after the most approved models at the
-heads of penny ballads, and the outsides of
-songs. He wears small gold earrings, and
-has short curly hair in the highest and
-most offensive state of glossy greasiness.
-His hands and arms are carefully tattooed&mdash;a
-foul anchor, or a long-haired mermaid
-sitting on her tail and making her toilette,
-being the favourite cartoons. In his gait
-he endeavours to counterfeit the roll of a
-true seaman, but his hard feet, knock-knees,
-and imperceptibly acquired turnpike-trot
-betray him. His face bears the stamp of
-diabolically low cunning, and it is impossible
-to look at him without an association
-with a police-court. His complexion
-is coarse and tallowy, and has none of the
-manly bronze that exposure to the weather,
-and watching the horizon give to the real tar.</p>
-
-<p>I was once walking with a gentleman
-who had spent the earlier portion of his
-life at sea, when a turnpike sailor shuffled
-on before us. We had just been conversing
-on nautical affairs, and I said to <span class="lock">him&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“Now, there is a brother sailor in distress;
-of course you will give him something?”</p>
-
-<p>“<i>He</i> a sailor!” said my friend, with
-great disgust. “Did you see him spit?”</p>
-
-<p>The fellow had that moment expectorated.</p>
-
-<p>I answered that I had.</p>
-
-<p>“He spit to wind’ard!” said my friend.</p>
-
-<p>“What of that?” said I.</p>
-
-<p>“A regular landsman’s trick,” observed
-my friend. “A real sailor never spits to
-wind’ard. <i>Why, he could’nt.</i>”</p>
-
-<p>We soon passed the fellow, who pulled at
-a curl upon his forehead, and began in a
-gruff voice, intended to convey the idea of
-hardships, storms, shipwrecks, battles,
-and privations. “God&mdash;bless&mdash;your&mdash;’onors&mdash;give&mdash;a&mdash;copper&mdash;to&mdash;a&mdash;poor&mdash;sailor&mdash;as&mdash;hasn’t&mdash;spliced&mdash;the&mdash;main&mdash;jaw&mdash;since&mdash;the&mdash;day&mdash;’fore&mdash;yesterday&mdash;at&mdash;eight&mdash;bells&mdash;God&mdash;love&mdash;yer&mdash;’onors&mdash;do!&mdash;I&mdash;avent&mdash;tasted&mdash;sin’&mdash;the&mdash;day&mdash;’fore&mdash;yesterday&mdash;so&mdash;drop&mdash;a&mdash;cop&mdash;poor&mdash;seaman&mdash;do.”</p>
-
-<p>My friend turned round and looked the
-beggar full in the face.</p>
-
-<p>“What ship?” he asked, quickly.</p>
-
-<p>The fellow answered glibly.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_416" id="Page_416">[416]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>“What captain?” pursued my friend.</p>
-
-<p>The fellow again replied boldly, though
-his eyes wandered uneasily.</p>
-
-<p>“What cargo?” asked my inexorable
-companion.</p>
-
-<p>The beggar was not at fault, but answered
-correctly.</p>
-
-<p>The name of the port, the reason of his
-discharge, and other questions were asked
-and answered; but the man was evidently
-beginning to be embarrassed. My friend
-pulled out his purse as if to give him something.</p>
-
-<p>“What are you doing here?” continued
-the indefatigable inquirer. “Did you
-leave the coast for the purpose of trying to
-find a ship <i>here</i>?” (We were in Leicester.)</p>
-
-<p>The man stammered and pulled at his
-useful forelock to get time to collect his
-thoughts and invent a good lie.</p>
-
-<p>“He had a friend in them parts as he
-thought could help him.”</p>
-
-<p>“How long since you were up the
-Baltic?”</p>
-
-<p>“Year&mdash;and&mdash;a&mdash;arf,&mdash;yer&mdash;’onor.”</p>
-
-<p>“Do you know Kiel?”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes,&mdash;yer&mdash;’onor.”</p>
-
-<p>“D’ye know the ‘British Flag’ on the
-quay there?”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes,&mdash;yer&mdash;’onor.”</p>
-
-<p>“Been there often?”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes,&mdash;yer&mdash;’onor.”</p>
-
-<p>“Does Nick Johnson still keep it?”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes,&mdash;yer&mdash;’onor.”</p>
-
-<p>“Then,” said my friend, after giving vent
-to a strong opinion as to the beggar’s
-veracity, “I’d advise you to be off quickly,
-for there’s a policeman, and if I get within
-hail of him I shall tell him you’re an impostor.
-There’s no such house on the
-quay. Get out, you scoundrel!”</p>
-
-<p>The fellow shuffled off, looking curses,
-but not daring to express them.</p>
-
-<p>On the “R’yal Navy” lay, the turnpike
-sailor assumes different habiliments, and
-altogether a smarter trim. He wears coarse
-blue trousers symmetrically cut about the
-hips, and baggy over the foot. A “jumper,”
-or loose shirt of the same material, a tarpaulin
-hat, with the name of a vessel in
-letters of faded gold, is struck on the back
-of his neck, and he has a piece of whipcord,
-or “lanyard” round his waist, to which is
-suspended a jack-knife, which if of but
-little service in fighting the battles of his
-country has stood him in good stead in
-silencing the cackling of any stray poultry
-that crossed his road, or in frightening
-into liberality the female tenant of a solitary
-cottage. This “patter,” or “blob,” is
-of Plymouth, Portsmouth, Cawsen’ Bay,
-Hamoaze&mdash;ships paid off, prize-money, the
-bo’sen and the first le’tenant. He is always
-an able-bodied, never an ordinary seaman,
-and cannot get a ship “becos” orders
-is at the Hadmiralty as no more isn’t to
-be put into commission. Like the fictitious
-merchant-sailor he calls every landsman
-“your honour,” in accordance with the
-conventional rule observed by the jack tars
-in nautical dramas. He exhibits a stale
-plug of tobacco, and replaces it in his jaw
-with ostentatious gusto. His chief victims
-are imaginative boys fresh from “Robinson
-Crusoe,” and “Tales of the Ocean,” and old
-ladies who have relatives at sea. For
-many months after a naval battle he is in
-full force, and in inland towns tells highly-spiced
-narratives of the adventures of his
-own ship and its gallant crew in action.
-He is profuse in references to “the cap’en,”
-and interlards his account with, “and the
-cap’en turns round, and he says to me, he
-says&mdash;” He feels the pulse of his listener’s
-credulity through their eyes, and throws
-the hatchet with the enthusiasm of an
-artist. “When we boarded ’em,” I heard
-one of these vagabonds say&mdash;“oh, when
-we boarded ’em!” but it is beyond the
-power of my feeble pen to relate the deeds
-of the turnpike true blue, and his ship and
-its gallant, gallant crew, when they boarded
-’em, I let him run out his yarn, and then
-said, “I saw the account of the action in
-the papers, but they said nothing of boarding.
-As I read it, the enemy were in too
-shallow water to render that manœuvre
-possible; but that till they struck their
-flag, and the boats went out to take possession,
-the vessels were more than half a
-mile apart.”</p>
-
-<p>This would have posed an ordinary
-humbug, but the able-bodied liar immediately,
-and with great apparent disgust,
-said, “The papers! the noo&mdash;o&mdash;o&mdash;s-papers!
-d&mdash;&mdash;n the noo&mdash;o&mdash;o&mdash;s&mdash;papers.
-You don’t believe what they says, sure<i>ly</i>.
-Look how they sarved out old Charley
-Napier. Why, sir, <i>I was there, and I ought
-to know</i>.”</p>
-
-<p>At times the turnpike sailor roars out a
-song in praise of British valour by sea;
-but of late this “lay” has been unfrequent.
-At others he borrows an interesting-looking
-little girl, and tying his arm up in a
-sling, adds his wounds and a motherless
-infant to his other claims upon the public
-sympathy. After a heavy gale and the loss of
-several vessels, he appears with a fresh tale
-and a new suit of carefully chosen rags.
-When all these resources fail him he is
-compelled to turn merchant, or “duffer,”
-and invests a small capital in a few hundred
-of the worst, and a dozen or two of the very<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_417" id="Page_417">[417]</a></span>
-best, cigars. If he be possessed of no
-capital he steals them. He allows his
-whiskers to grow round his face, and lubricates
-them in the same liberal manner as
-his shining hair. He buys a pea-coat,
-smart waistcoat, and voluminous trousers,
-discards his black neckerchief for a scarlet
-one, the ends of which run through a
-massive ring. He wears a large pair of
-braces over his waistcoat, and assumes a
-half-foreign air, as of a mariner just returned
-from distant climes. He accosts
-you in the streets mysteriously, and asks
-you if you want “a few good cigars?” He
-tells you they are smuggled, that he “run”
-them himself, and that the “Custom-’us
-horficers” are after him. I need hardly
-inform my reader that the cigar he offers
-as a sample is excellent, and that, should
-he be weak enough to purchase a few boxes
-he will not find them “according to
-sample.” Not unfrequently, the cigar-“duffer”
-lures his victim to some low
-tavern to receive his goods, where in lieu
-of tobacco, shawls, and laces, he finds a
-number of cut-throat-looking confederates,
-who plunder and illtreat him.</p>
-
-<p>It must not be forgotten that at times a
-begging sailor may be met, who has really
-been a seaman, and who is a proper object
-of benevolence. When it is so, he is invariably
-a man past middle age, and offers
-for sale or exhibition a model of a man-of-war
-or a few toy yachts. He has but little
-to say for himself, and is too glad for the
-gift of a pair of landsmen’s trousers to trouble
-himself about their anti-nautical cut.
-In fact, the real seaman does not care for
-costume, and is as frequently seen in an
-old shooting-coat as a torn jacket; but
-despite his habiliments, the true salt oozes
-out in the broad hands that dangle heavily
-from the wrists, as if wanting to grip a
-rope or a handspike; in the tender feet
-accustomed to the smooth planks of
-the deck, and in the settled, far-off look of
-the weather-beaten head, with its fixed expression
-of the aristocracy of subordination.</p>
-
-<p>In conclusion, a real sailor is seldom or
-never seen inland, where he can have no
-chance of employment, and is removed
-from the sight of the sea, docks, shipmates,
-and all things dear and familiar to him.
-He carries his papers about him in a small
-tin box, addresses those who speak to him
-as “sir” and “marm,” and never as “your
-honour” or “my lady;” is rather taciturn
-than talkative, and rarely brags of what he
-has seen, or done, or seen done. In these
-and all other respects he is the exact opposite
-of the turnpike sailor.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Street Campaigners.</span></h4>
-
-<p>Soldier beggars may be divided into
-three classes: those who really have been
-soldiers and are reduced to mendicancy,
-those who have been ejected from the
-army for misconduct, and those with whom
-the military dress and bearing are pure
-assumptions.</p>
-
-<p>The difference between these varieties is
-so distinct as to be easily detected. The
-first, or soldier proper, has all the evidence
-of drill and barrack life about him;
-the eye that always “fronts” the person
-he addresses; the spare habit, high cheekbones,
-regulation whisker, stiff chin, and
-deeply-marked line beneath from ear to ear.
-He carries his papers about him, and when
-he has been wounded or seen service, is
-modest and retiring as to his share of
-glory. He can give little information as
-to the incidents of an engagement, except
-as regards the deeds of his own company,
-and in conversation speaks more of the
-personal qualities of his officers and comrades
-than of their feats of valour. Try
-him which way you will he never will confess
-that he has killed a man. He compensates
-himself for his silence on the
-subject of fighting by excessive grumbling
-as to the provisions, quarters, &amp;c., to
-which he has been forced to submit in the
-course of his career. He generally has a
-wife marching by his side&mdash;a tall strapping
-woman, who looks as if a long course of
-washing at the barracks had made her half
-a soldier. Ragged though he be, there is
-a certain smartness about the soldier proper,
-observable in the polish of his boots,
-the cock of his cap, and the disposition of
-the leather strap under his lower lip. He
-invariably carries a stick, and when a soldier
-passes him, casts on him an odd sort
-of look, half envying, half pitying, as if he
-said, “Though you are better fed than I,
-you are not so free!”</p>
-
-<p>The soldier proper has various occupations.
-He does not pass all his time in
-begging: he will hold a horse, clean knives
-and boots, sit as a model to an artist, and
-occasionally take a turn at the wash-tub.
-Begging he abhors, and is only driven to it
-as a last resource.</p>
-
-<p>If my readers would inquire why a man
-so ready to work should not be able to obtain
-employment, he will receive the answer
-that universally applies to all questions of
-hardship among the humbler classes&mdash;the
-vice of the discharged soldier is intemperance.</p>
-
-<p>The second sort of soldier-beggar is one
-of the most dangerous and violent of men<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_418" id="Page_418">[418]</a></span>dicants.
-Untamable even by regimental
-discipline, insubordinate by nature, he has
-been thrust out from the army to prey
-upon society. He begs but seldom, and is
-dangerous to meet with after dark upon a
-lonely road, or in a sequestered lane. Indeed,
-though he has every right to be
-classed among those who will not work, he
-is not thoroughly a beggar, but will be met
-with again, and receive fuller justice at our
-hands, in the, to him, more congenial catalogue
-of thieves.</p>
-
-<p>The third sort of street campaigner is a
-perfect impostor, who being endowed,
-either by accident or art, with a broken
-limb or damaged feature, puts on an old
-military coat, as he would assume the
-dress of a frozen-out gardener, distressed
-dock-yard labourer, burnt-out tradesman,
-or scalded mechanic. He is imitative, and
-in his time plays many parts. He “gets
-up” his costume with the same attention
-to detail as the turnpike sailor. In crowded
-busy streets he “stands pad,” that is, with
-a written statement of his hard case slung
-round his neck, like a label round a decanter.
-His bearing is most military; he
-keeps his neck straight, his chin in, and his
-thumbs to the outside seams of his trousers;
-he is stiff as an embalmed preparation,
-for which, but for the motion of his
-eyes, you might mistake him. In quiet
-streets and in the country he discards his
-“pad” and begs “on the blob,” that is, he
-“patters” to the passers-by, and invites
-their sympathy by word of mouth. He is
-an ingenious and fertile liar, and seizes occasions
-such as the late war in the Crimea
-and the mutiny in India as good distant
-grounds on which to build his fictions.</p>
-
-<p>I was walking in a high-road, when
-I was accosted by a fellow dressed in an
-old military tunic, a forage-cap like a
-charity boy’s, and tattered trousers, who
-limped along barefoot by the aid of a stick.
-His right sleeve was empty, and tied up to
-a button-hole at his breast, <i>à la</i> Nelson.</p>
-
-<p>“Please your honour,” he began, in a
-doleful exhausted voice, “bestow your charity
-on a poor soldier which lost his right
-arm at the glorious battle of Inkermann.”</p>
-
-<p>I looked at him, and having considerable
-experience in this kind of imposition, could
-at once detect that he was “acting.”</p>
-
-<p>“To what regiment did you belong?” I
-asked.</p>
-
-<p>“The Thirty &mdash;, sir.”</p>
-
-<p>I looked at his button and read Thirty &mdash;</p>
-
-<p>“I haven’t tasted bit o’ food, sir, since
-yesterday at half-past four, and then a lady
-give me a cruster bread,” he continued.</p>
-
-<p>“The Thirty &mdash;!” I repeated. “I knew
-the Thirty &mdash;. Let me see&mdash;who was the
-colonel?”</p>
-
-<p>The man gave me a name, with which I
-suppose he was provided.</p>
-
-<p>“How long were you in the Thirty &mdash;?”
-I inquired.</p>
-
-<p>“Five year, sir.”</p>
-
-<p>“I had a schoolfellow in that regiment,
-Captain Thorpe, a tall man with red whiskers&mdash;did
-you know him?”</p>
-
-<p>“There was a captain, sir, with large red
-whiskers, and I think his name was Thorpe;
-but he warn’t captain of my company, so I
-didn’t know for certain,” replied the man,
-after an affected hesitation.</p>
-
-<p>“The Thirty &mdash; was one of the first of
-our regiments that landed, I think?” I remarked.</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, your honour, it were.”</p>
-
-<p>“You impudent impostor!” I said; “the
-Thirty &mdash; did not go out till the spring of
-’55. How dare you tell me you belonged
-to it?”</p>
-
-<p>The fellow blenched for a moment, but
-rallied and said, “I didn’t like to contradict
-your honour for fear you should be
-angry and wouldn’t give me nothing.”</p>
-
-<p>“That’s very polite of you,” I said, “but
-still I have a great mind to give you into
-custody. Stay; tell me who and what you
-are, and I will give you a shilling and let
-you go.”</p>
-
-<p>He looked up and down the road, measured
-me with his eye, abandoned the idea
-of resistance, and replied:</p>
-
-<p>“Well, your honour, if you won’t be too
-hard on a poor man which finds it hard
-to get a crust anyhow or way, I don’t
-mind telling you I never was a soldier.”
-I give his narrative as he related it to me.</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t know who my parents ever was.
-The fust thing as I remember was the
-river side (the Thames), and running in low
-tide to find things. I used to beg, hold
-hosses, and sleep under dry arches. I
-don’t remember how I got any clothes.
-I never had a pair of shoes or stockings
-till I was almost a man. I fancy I am now
-nearly forty years of age.</p>
-
-<p>“An old woman as kep a rag and iron
-shop by the water-side give me a lodging
-once for two years. We used to call her
-‘Nanny;’ but she turned me out when she
-caught me taking some old nails and a
-brass cock out of her shop; I was hungry
-when I done it, for the old gal gi’ me no
-grub, nothing but the bare floor for a bed.</p>
-
-<p>“I have been a beggar all my life, and
-begged in all sorts o’ ways and all sorts
-o’ lays. I don’t mean to say that if I see
-anything laying about handy that I don’t
-mouch it (<i>i. e.</i> steal it). Once a gentle<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_419" id="Page_419">[419]</a></span>man
-took me into his house as his servant.
-He was a very kind man; I had a good
-place, swell clothes, and beef and beer as
-much as I liked; but I couldn’t stand the
-life, and I run away.</p>
-
-<p>“The loss o’ my arm, sir, was the best
-thing as ever happen’d to me: it’s been a
-living to me; I turn out with it on all sorts
-o’ lays, and it’s as good as a pension. I lost
-it poaching; my mate’s gun went off by
-accident, and the shot went into my arm,
-I neglected it, and at last was obliged to go
-to a orspital and have it off. The surgeon
-as ampitated it said that a little longer
-and it would ha’ mortified.</p>
-
-<p>“The Crimea’s been a good dodge to a
-many, but it’s getting stale; all dodges are
-getting stale; square coves (<i>i. e.</i>, honest
-folks) are so wide awake.”</p>
-
-<p>“Don’t you think you would have found
-it more profitable, had you taken to labour
-or some honester calling than your present
-one?” I asked.</p>
-
-<p>“Well, sir, p’raps I might,” he replied;
-“but going on the square is so dreadfully
-confining.”</p>
-
-
-<h3>FOREIGN BEGGARS.</h3>
-
-<p>These beggars appeal to the sympathies
-as “strangers”&mdash;in a foreign land, away
-from friends and kindred, unable to make
-their wants known, or to seek work, from
-ignorance of the language.</p>
-
-<p>In exposing the shams and swindles that
-are set to catch the unwary, I have no wish
-to check the current of real benevolence.
-Cases of distress exist, which it is a pleasure
-and a duty to relieve. I only expose
-the “dodges” of the beggar by profession&mdash;the
-beggar by trade&mdash;the beggar who
-lives by begging, and nothing else, except,
-as in most cases, where he makes the two
-ends of idleness and self-indulgence meet,&mdash;by
-thieving.</p>
-
-<p>Foreign beggars are generally so mixed
-up with political events, that in treating of
-them, it is more than usually difficult to
-detect imposition from misfortune. Many
-high-hearted patriots have been driven to
-this country by tyrants and their tools,
-but it will not do to mistake every vagabond
-refugee for a noble exile, or to accept
-as a fact that a man who cannot live in
-his own country, is necessarily persecuted
-and unfortunate, and has a claim to be
-helped to live in this.</p>
-
-<p>The neighbourhood of Leicester Square
-is, to the foreign political exile, the foreign
-political spy, the foreign fraudulent tradesman,
-the foreign escaped thief, and the
-foreign convict who has served his time,
-what, in the middle-ages, sanctuary was to
-the murderer. In this modern Alsatia&mdash;happily
-for us, guarded by native policemen
-and detectives of every nation in the world&mdash;plots
-are hatched, fulminating powder prepared,
-detonating-balls manufactured, and
-infernal machines invented, which, wielded
-by the hands of men whose opinions are so
-far beyond the age in which they live, that
-their native land has cast them out for ever;
-are destined to overthrow despotic governments,
-restore the liberty of the subject,
-and, in a wholesale sort of way, regenerate
-the rights of man.</p>
-
-<p>Political spies are the monied class among
-these philanthropic desperadoes. The
-political regenerators, unless furnished with
-means from some special fund, are the
-most miserable and abject. Mr. Thackeray
-has observed that whenever an Irishman is
-in difficulties he always finds another Irishman
-worse off than himself, who talks over
-creditors, borrows money, runs errands,
-and makes himself generally useful to his
-incarcerated fellow-countryman. This observation
-will apply equally to foreigners.</p>
-
-<p>There is a timid sort of refugee, who
-lacking the courage to arrive at political
-eminence or cash, by means of steel, or
-poison, is a hanger-on of his bolder and
-less scrupulous compatriot. This man,
-when deserted by his patron, is forced to
-beg. The statement that he makes as to
-his reasons for leaving the dear native land
-that the majority of foreigners are so ready
-to sing songs in praise of, and to quit,
-must be, of course, received with caution.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">The French Beggar.</span></h4>
-
-<p>My reader has most likely, in a quiet
-street, met a shabby little man, who stares
-about him in a confused manner, as if he
-had lost his way. As soon as he sees a
-decently-dressed person he shuffles up to
-him, and taking off a “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">casquette</span>” with
-considerably more brim than body, makes
-a slight bow, and says in a plaintive voice.
-“<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Parlez Français, m’sieu?</span>”</p>
-
-<p>If you stop and, in an unguarded moment,
-answer “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Oui</span>,” the beggar takes from
-his breast-pocket a greasy leather book,
-from which he extracts a piece of carefully
-folded paper, which he hands you with a
-pathetic shrug.</p>
-
-<p>The paper, when opened, contains a small
-slip, on which is written in a light, foreign
-<span class="lock">hand&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“You are requested to direct the bearer
-to the place to which he desires to go, as
-he cannot speak English!”</p>
-
-<p>The beggar then, with a profusion of
-bows, points to the larger paper.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_420" id="Page_420">[420]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>“<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Mais, m’sieu, ayez la bonté de lire. C’est
-Anglais.</span>”</p>
-
-<p>The larger paper contains a statement in
-French and English, that the bearer Jean
-Baptiste Dupont is a native of Troyes,
-Champagne, and a fan-maker by trade; that
-paralysis in the hand has deprived him of
-the power of working; that he came to
-England to find a daughter, who had
-married an Englishman and was dwelling
-in Westminster, but that when he arrived
-he found they had parted for Australia;
-that he is fifty-two years of age, and is a
-deserving object of compassion, having no
-means of returning to Troyes, being an
-entire stranger to England, and having no
-acquaintances or friends to assist him.</p>
-
-<p>This statement is without any signature,
-but no sooner have you read it than the
-beggar, who would seem to have a blind
-credence in the efficacy of documents, draws
-from his pocket-book a certificate of birth,
-a register of marriage, a passport, and a
-permission to embark, which, being all in
-a state of crumpled greasiness, and printed
-and written in French, so startles and
-confounds the reader, that he drops something
-into the man’s hand and passes on.</p>
-
-<p>I have been often stopped by this sort of
-beggar. In the last case I met with I held
-a long talk with the man&mdash;of course, in his
-own language, for he will seldom or never
-be betrayed into admitting that he has
-any knowledge of English.</p>
-
-<p>“<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Parlez Français, m’sieu?</span>”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, I do,” I answered. “What do
-you want?”</p>
-
-<p>“Deign, monsieur, to have the bounty to
-read this paper which I have the honour to
-present to monsieur.”</p>
-
-<p>“Oh, never mind the papers!” I said,
-shortly. “Can’t you speak English?”</p>
-
-<p>“Alas, monsieur, no!”</p>
-
-<p>“Speak French, then!”</p>
-
-<p>My quick speaking rather confused the
-fellow, who said that he was without bread,
-and without asylum; that he was a <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">tourneur</span>
-and <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ebeniste</span> (turner, worker in ebony
-and ivory, and cabinet-maker in general)
-by trade, that he was a stranger, and
-wished to raise sufficient money to enable
-him to return to France.</p>
-
-<p>“Why did you come over to England?”
-I asked.</p>
-
-<p>“I came to work in London,” he said,
-after pretending not to understand my
-question the first time.</p>
-
-<p>“Where?” I inquired.</p>
-
-<p>At first I understood him to answer
-Sheffield, but I at last made out that he
-meant Smithfield.</p>
-
-<p>“What was your master’s name?”</p>
-
-<p>“I do not comprehend, monsieur&mdash;if
-monsieur will deign to read&mdash;”</p>
-
-<p>“You comprehend me perfectly well;
-don’t pretend that you don’t&mdash;that is only
-shuffling (<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">tracasserie</span>).</p>
-
-<p>“The name of my master was Johnson.”</p>
-
-<p>“Why did you leave him?” I inquired.</p>
-
-<p>“He is dead, monsieur.”</p>
-
-<p>“Why did you not return to France at
-his death?” was my next question.</p>
-
-<p>“Monsieur, I tried to obtain work in
-England,” said the beggar.</p>
-
-<p>“How long did you work for Mr.
-Johnson?”</p>
-
-<p>“There was a long time, monsieur, that&mdash;”</p>
-
-<p>“How long?” I repeated. “How many
-years?”</p>
-
-<p>“Since two years.”</p>
-
-<p>“And did you live in London two years,
-and all that time learn to speak no
-English?”</p>
-
-<p>“Ah, monsieur, you embarrass me. If
-monsieur will not deign to aid me, it must
-be that I seek elsewhere&mdash;”</p>
-
-<p>“But tell me how it was you learnt no
-English,” I persisted.</p>
-
-<p>“Ah, monsieur, my comrades in the
-shop were all French.”</p>
-
-<p>“And you want to get back to France?”</p>
-
-<p>“Ah, monsieur, it is the hope of my
-life.”</p>
-
-<p>“Come to me to-morrow morning at
-eleven o’clock&mdash;there is my address.” I
-gave him the envelope of a letter. “I am
-well acquainted with the French Consul at
-London Bridge, and at my intercession I
-am sure that he will get you a free passage
-to Calais; if not, and I find he considers
-your story true, I will send you at my own
-expense. Good night!”</p>
-
-<p>Of course the man did not call in the
-morning, and I saw no more of him.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Destitute Poles.</span></h4>
-
-<p>It is now many years since the people of
-this country evinced a strong sympathy
-for Polish refugees. Their gallant struggle,
-compulsory exile, and utter national and
-domestic ruin raised them warm friends in
-England; and committees for the relief of
-destitute Poles, balls for the benefit of
-destitute Poles, and subscriptions for the
-relief of the destitute Poles were got up in
-every market-town. Shelter and sustenance
-were afforded to many gentlemen of
-undoubted integrity, who found themselves
-penniless in a strange land, and the aristocracy
-fêted and caressed the best-born
-and most gallant. To be a Pole, and in
-distress, was almost a sufficient introduction,
-and there were few English families
-who did not entertain as friend or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_421" id="Page_421">[421]</a></span>
-visitor one of these unfortunate and suffering
-patriots.</p>
-
-<p>So excellent an opportunity for that class
-of foreign swindlers which haunt roulette-tables,
-and are the pest of second-rate
-hotels abroad, was of course made use of.
-Crowds of adventurers, “got up” in furs,
-and cloaks, and playhouse dresses, with
-padded breasts and long moustachios,
-flocked to England, and assuming the title
-of count, and giving out that their patrimony
-had been sequestered by the Emperor
-of Russia, easily obtained a hearing
-and a footing in many English families,
-whose heads would not have received one
-of their own countrymen except with the
-usual credentials.</p>
-
-<p>John Bull’s partiality for foreigners is
-one of his well-known weaknesses; and
-valets, cooks, and couriers in their masters
-clothes, and sometimes with the titles of
-that master whom they had seen shot down
-in battle, found themselves objects of
-national sympathy and attention. Their
-success among the fair sex was extraordinary;
-and many penniless adventurers,
-with no accomplishments beyond card-sharping,
-and a foreign hotel waiter’s
-smattering of continental languages, allied
-themselves to families of wealth and respectability.
-All, of course, were not so
-fortunate; and after some persons had been
-victimized, a few inquiries made, and the
-real refugee gentlemen and soldiers had indignantly
-repudiated any knowledge of the
-swindlers or their pretensions, the pseudo-Polish
-exiles were compelled to return to
-their former occupations. The least able
-and least fortunate were forced to beg, and
-adopted exactly the same tactics as the
-French beggar, except that instead of certificates
-of birth, and passports, he exhibited
-false military documents, and told lying
-tales of regimental services, Russian prisons,
-and miraculous escapes.</p>
-
-<p>The “destitute Pole” is seldom met with
-now, and would hardly have demanded a
-notice if I had not thought it right to show
-how soon the unsuccessful cheat or swindler
-drops down into the beggar, and to what a
-height the “Polish fever” raged some
-thirty years ago. It would be injustice to a
-noble nation if I did not inform my reader
-that but few of the false claimants to
-British sympathy were Poles at all. They
-were Russians, Frenchmen, Hungarians,
-Austrians, Prussians, and Germans of all
-sorts.</p>
-
-<p>The career of one fellow will serve to
-show with what little ingenuity the credulous
-can be imposed on. His real name is
-lost among his numerous aliases, neither do
-I know whether he commenced life as a
-soldier, or as a valet; but I think it probable
-that he had combined those occupations
-and been regimental servant to an
-officer. He came to London in the year
-1833 under the name of Count Stanislas
-Soltiewski, of Ostralenka; possessed of a
-handsome person and invulnerable audacity,
-he was soon received into decent
-society, and in 1837 married a lady of
-some fortune, squandered her money, and
-deserted her. He then changed his name
-to Levieczin, and travelled from town to
-town, giving political lectures at town-halls,
-assembly-rooms, and theatres. In
-1842 he called himself Doctor Telecki, said
-he was a native of Smolensk, and set up a
-practice in Manchester, where he contracted
-a large amount of debts. From Manchester
-he eloped with one of his patients, a young
-lady to whom he was married in 1845, in
-Dublin, in which place he again endeavoured
-to practise as a physician. He
-soon involved himself in difficulties, and
-quitted Dublin, taking with him funds
-which had been entrusted to him as treasurer
-of a charitable institution. He left
-his second wife, and formed a connexion
-with another woman, travelled about,
-giving scientific lectures, and sometimes
-doing feats of legerdemain. He again
-married a widow lady who had some
-four or five hundred pounds, which he
-spent, after which he deserted her. He
-then became the scourge and terror of
-hotel-keepers, and went from tavern to
-tavern living on every luxury, and, when
-asked for money, decamping, and leaving
-behind him nothing but portmanteaus
-filled with straw and bricks. He returned
-to England and obtained a situation in a
-respectable academy as a teacher of French
-and the guitar. Here he called himself
-Count Hohenbreitenstein-Boitzenburg.</p>
-
-<p>Under this name he seduced a young
-lady, whom he persuaded he could not
-marry on account of her being a Protestant,
-and of his being a Count of the Holy Roman
-Empire in the pontifical degree. By
-threatening exposure he extracted a large
-sum of money from her friends, with which
-he returned to London, where he lived for
-some time by begging letters, and obtaining
-money on various false pretences. His
-first wife discovered him, and he was
-charged with bigamy, but owing to some
-technical informality was not convicted.
-He then enlisted in the 87th regiment,
-from which he shortly after deserted. He
-became the associate of thieves and the
-prostitutes who live in the neighbourhood
-of Waterloo Road. After being several<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_422" id="Page_422">[422]</a></span>
-times imprisoned for petty thefts he at
-length earned a miserable living by conjuring
-in low public-houses, where he
-announced himself as the celebrated Polish
-professor of legerdemain, Count Makvicz.</p>
-
-<p>He died in August, 1852, and, oddly
-enough, in a garret in Poland Street, Oxford
-Street.</p>
-
-<p>Of modern Polish swindlers and beggars,
-the most renowned is Adolphus Czapolinski.
-This “shabby genteel man of military appearance”&mdash;I
-quote the daily papers,&mdash;“has
-been several times incarcerated, has again
-offended, and been again imprisoned. His
-fraudulent practices were first discovered
-in 1860.” The following is from the <i>Times</i>,
-of June the 5th of that <span class="lock">year:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“<span class="smcap">Bow Street.</span>&mdash;A military-looking man,
-who said his name was Lorenzo Noodt, and
-that he had served as captain in one of our
-foreign legions during the Crimean war,
-was brought before Mr. Henry on a charge
-of attempting to obtain money by false and
-fraudulent pretences from the Countess of
-Waldegrave.”</p>
-
-<p>Mr. George Granville Harcourt (the husband
-of Lady Waldegrave), deposed:</p>
-
-<p>“I saw the prisoner to-day at my house
-in Carlton Gardens, where he called by my
-request in reference to a letter which Lady
-Waldegrave had received from him. It was
-a letter soliciting charitable contributions,
-and enclosing three papers. The first purported
-to be a note from Lady Stafford,
-enclosing a post-office order for 3<i>l.</i> I know
-her ladyship’s handwriting, and this is like
-it, but I cannot say whether it is genuine.
-The second is apparently a note from Colonel
-Macdonald, sending him a post-office order
-for 4<i>l.</i> on the part of the Duke of Cambridge.
-The third is a note purporting to be written
-by the secretary of the Duke d’Aumale.
-This note states that the duke approves
-this person’s departure for Italy, and desires
-his secretary to send him 5<i>l.</i> We were
-persuaded that it could not be genuine, in
-the first place, as we have the honour of
-being intimate with the Duke d’Aumale.
-We perfectly well knew that he would not
-say to this individual, or to any one else,
-that he approved his departure for Italy;
-in the second place, there are mistakes
-in the French which render it impossible
-that the duke’s secretary should have
-written it; in the third place, the name is
-not that of the secretary, though resembling
-it. Under all the circumstances, I took an
-opportunity of asking both the secretary
-and the Duke d’Aumale whether they had
-any knowledge of this communication, and
-they stated that they knew nothing of it.
-The duke said that it was very disagreeable
-to him that he should be supposed to be
-interfering to forward the departure of persons
-to Italy, which would produce an impression
-that he was meddling in the affairs
-of that country. I wrote to the prisoner
-to call on me, in order to receive back his
-papers. At first another man called, but
-on his addressing me in French I said,
-‘You are an Italian, not a German. I want
-to see the captain himself.’ To-day the
-prisoner called. I showed the papers, and
-asked him if they were the letters he had
-received, and if he had received the money
-referred to in those letters. To both questions
-he replied in the affirmative. The
-officer Horsford, with whom I had communicated
-in the meanwhile, was in the next
-room. I called him in, and he went up to
-Captain Noodt, telling him he was his prisoner.
-He asked why? Horsford replied,
-for attempting to obtain money by means
-of a forged letter. He then begged me not
-to ruin him, and said that the letter was
-not written by him.”</p>
-
-<p>The prisoner’s letter to Lady Waldegrave
-was then read as <span class="lock">follows:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p><span class="smcap">“Milady Countess</span>,</p>
-
-<p>“I am foreigner, but have the rank of
-captain by my service under English colours
-in the Crimean war, being appointed by
-her Majesty’s brevet. I have struggled
-very hard, after having been discharged
-from the service, but, happily, I have been
-temporarily assisted by some persons of
-distinction, and the Duke of Cambridge.
-To-day, milady Countess, I have in object
-to ameliorate or better my condition, going
-to accept service in Italian lawful army,
-where by the danger I may obtain advancement.
-Being poor, I am obliged to solicit
-of my noble patrons towards my journey.
-The Duc d’Aumale, the Marchioness of
-Stafford, &amp;c., kindly granted me their contributions.
-Knowing your ladyship’s connexion
-with those noble persons, I take the
-liberty of soliciting your ladyship’s kind contribution
-to raise any funds for my outfit
-and journey. In ‘appui’ of my statements I
-enclose my captain’s commission and letters,
-and, in recommending myself to your ladyship’s
-consideration, I present my homage,
-and remain,</p>
-
-<p class="sig">
-“Your humble servant,<br />
-
-“<span class="smcap">Captain L. B. Noodt</span>.”
-</p></div>
-
-<p>The letter of the pretended secretary was
-as <span class="lock">follows:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>“<span class="smcap" lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Monsieur le Capitaine</span>,</p>
-
-<p lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">“Son altesse Monseigneur le Duc d’Aumale
-approuve votre départ pour l’Italie,
-et pour vous aider dans la dépense de votre<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_423" id="Page_423">[423]</a></span>
-voyage m’a chargé de vous transmettre 5<i>l.</i>,
-ci inclus, que vous m’obligerez de m’en
-accuser la reception.</p>
-
-<p lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">“Agréez, monsieur le capitaine, l’assurance
-de ma consideration distinguée.</p>
-
-<p class="sig" lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">
-“Votre humble serviteur,<br />
-
-“<span class="smcap">Chs. Couleuvrier</span>, Sec.”
-</p></div>
-
-<p>The prisoner, <i>who appeared much agitated</i>,
-acknowledged the dishonesty of his conduct,
-but appealed to the pity of Mr. Harcourt,
-saying that he had suffered great
-hardships, and had been driven to this act
-by want. <i>It was sad that an officer bearing
-the Queen’s commission should be so humiliated.</i>
-The letter was not written by himself, but
-by a Frenchman who led him into it.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Henry said he had brought the humiliation
-on himself. He must be well
-aware that the crime of forgery was punished
-as severely in his own country as
-here. The prisoner should have the opportunity
-of producing the writer of the letter,
-or of designating him to the police. On
-the recommendation to mercy of Mr. Harcourt,
-he was only sentenced to one month’s
-imprisonment.</p>
-
-<p>On July the 9th he was brought up to
-Marlborough Street by Horsford, the officer
-of the Mendicity Society, charged with obtaining
-by false and fraudulent pretences
-the sum of 3<i>l.</i> from Lady Stafford. Since
-his imprisonment it had been discovered
-that his real name was Adolphus Czapolinski,
-and that he was a Pole. The real
-Captain Noodt was in a distant part of the
-kingdom, and Czapolinski had obtained
-surreptitious possession of his commission,
-and assumed his name. The indefatigable
-Mr. Horsford had placed himself in communication
-with the secretary of the Polish
-Association, who had known the prisoner
-(Czapolinski) for twenty-five years. It
-would seem that in early life he had been
-engaged under various foreign powers, and
-in 1835 he came to this country and earned
-a scanty maintenance as a teacher of languages;
-that he was addicted to drinking,
-begging, and thieving, and upon one occasion,
-when usher in a school, he robbed
-the pupils of their clothes, and even fleeced
-them of their trifling pocket-money. While
-in the House of Detention he had written
-to Captain Wood, the secretary of the Mendicity
-Society, offering to turn approver.
-The letter in question ran <span class="lock">thus:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>“<span class="smcap">Sir</span>,&mdash;Permit me to make you a request,
-which is, not to press your prosecution
-against me, and I most solemnly promise
-you that for this favour all my endeavours
-will be to render you every assistance for
-all the information you should require. I
-was very wrong to not speak to you when
-I was at your office, but really I was not
-guilty of this charge, because the letter
-containing the post-office order was delivered
-to Captain Noodt. I was only the
-messenger from Lady Stafford.</p>
-
-<p>“Look, Captain Wood, I know much,
-and no one can be so able to render you
-the assistance and information of all the
-foreigners than me. Neither any of your
-officers could find the way; but if you charge
-me to undertake to find I will, on only one
-condition&mdash;that you will stop the prosecution.
-The six weeks of detention were
-quite sufficient punishment to me for the
-first time; and let it be understood that
-for your condescension to stop the prosecution
-all my services shall be at your
-orders, whenever you shall require, without
-any remuneration. My offers will be very
-advantageous to you under every respect.
-Send any of your clerks to speak with me
-to make my covenant with you, and you
-will be better convinced of my good intentions
-to be serviceable to you.</p>
-
-<p class="sig">
-“I am, &amp;c.,<br />
-
-“<span class="smcap">A. Czapolinski</span>.”
-</p></div>
-
-<p>He was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment
-and hard labour.</p>
-
-<p>Czapolinski is one of the most extraordinary
-of the beggars of the present day.
-He raises money both by personal application
-and by letter. He has been known to
-make from 20<i>l.</i> to 60<i>l.</i> per day. He is a
-great gambler, and has been seen to lose&mdash;and
-to pay&mdash;upwards of 100<i>l.</i> at a gambling
-house in the neighbourhood of Leicester
-Square in the course of a single night
-and morning.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Hindoo Beggars</span></h4>
-
-<p>Are those spare, snake-eyed Asiatics who
-walk the streets, coolly dressed in Manchester
-cottons, or chintz of a pattern commonly
-used for bed-furniture, to which the
-resemblance is carried out by the dark,
-polished colour of the thin limbs which it
-envelopes. They very often affect to be
-converts to the Christian religion, and give
-away tracts; with the intention of entrapping
-the sympathy of elderly ladies. They
-assert that they have been high-caste Brahmins,
-but as untruth, even when not acting
-professionally, is habitual to them, there is
-not the slightest dependence to be placed on
-what they say. Sometimes, in the winter,
-they “do shallow,” that is, stand on the
-kerb-stone of the pavement, in their thin,
-ragged clothes, and shiver as with cold and
-hunger, or crouch against a wall and whine
-like a whipped animal; at others they turn<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_424" id="Page_424">[424]</a></span>
-out with a small, barrel-shaped drum, on
-which they make a monotonous noise with
-their fingers, to which music they sing and
-dance. Or they will “stand pad with a
-fakement,” <i>i. e.</i> wear a placard upon their
-breasts, that describes them as natives of
-Madagascar, in distress, converts to Christianity,
-anxious to get to a seaport where
-they can work their passage back. This is
-a favourite artifice with Lascars&mdash;or they
-will sell lucifers, or sweep a crossing, or do
-anything where their picturesque appearance,
-of which they are proud and conscious,
-can be effectively displayed. They
-are as cunning as they look, and can detect
-a sympathetic face among a crowd. They
-never beg of soldiers, or sailors, to whom
-they always give a wide berth as they pass
-them in the streets.</p>
-
-<p>From the extraordinary mendacity of
-this race of beggars&mdash;a mendacity that
-never falters, hesitates, or stumbles, but
-flows on in an unbroken stream of falsehood,&mdash;it
-is difficult to obtain any reliable
-information respecting them. I have, however,
-many reasons for believing that the
-following statement, which was made to
-me by a very dirty and distressed Indian,
-is moderately true. The man spoke English
-like a cockney of the lowest order. I shall
-not attempt to describe the peculiar accent
-or construction which he occasionally gave
-to it.</p>
-
-<p>“My name is Joaleeka. I do not know
-where I was born. I never knew my father.
-I remember my mother very well. From
-the first of my remembrance I was at
-Dumdum, where I was servant to a European
-officer&mdash;a great man&mdash;a prince&mdash;who
-had more than a hundred servants
-beside me. When he went away to fight,
-I followed among others&mdash;I was with the
-baggage. I never fought myself, but I have
-heard the men (Sepoys) say that the
-prince, or general, or colonel, liked nothing
-so well as fighting, except tiger-hunting.
-He was a wonderful man, and his soldiers
-liked him very much. I travelled over a
-great part of India with Europeans. I went
-up country as far as Secunderabad, and
-learned to speak English very well&mdash;so well
-that, when I was quite a young man, I was
-often employed as interpreter, for I caught
-up different Indian languages quickly. At
-last I got to interpret so well that I was
-recommended to &mdash;&mdash;, a great native prince
-who was coming over to England. I was
-not his interpreter, but interpreter to his
-servants. We came to London. We stopped
-in an hotel in Vere-street, Oxford-street.
-We stayed here some time. Then my chief
-went over to Paris, but he did not take all
-his servants with him. I stopped at the
-hotel to interpret for those who remained.
-It was during this time that I formed a
-connexion with a white woman. She was
-a servant in the hotel. I broke my caste,
-and from that moment I knew that it would
-not do for me to go back to India. The
-girl fell in the family-way, and was sent
-out of the house. My fellow-servants knew
-of it, and as many of them hated me, I
-knew that they would tell my master on
-his return. I also knew that by the
-English laws in England I was a free man,
-and that my master could not take me
-back against my will. If I had gone back,
-I should have been put to death for breaking
-my caste. When my master returned
-from France, he sent for me. He told me
-that he had heard of my breaking my
-caste, and of the girl, but that he should
-take no notice of it; that I was to return
-to Calcutta with him, where he would get
-me employment with some European
-officer; that I need not fear, as he would
-order his servants to keep silent on the
-subject. I salaamed and thanked him, and
-said I was his slave for ever; but at the
-same time I knew that he would break his
-word, and that when he had me in his
-power, he would put me to death. He was
-a very severe man about caste. I attended
-to all my duties as before, and all believed
-that I was going back to India&mdash;but the
-very morning that my master started for
-the coast, I ran away. I changed my
-clothes at the house of a girl I knew&mdash;not
-the same one as I had known at the hotel,
-but another. This one lived at Seven Dials.
-I stopped in-doors for many days, till this
-girl, who could read newspapers, told me
-that my master had sailed away. I felt
-very glad, for though I knew my master
-could not force me to go back with him,
-yet I was afraid for all that, for he knew
-the King and the Queen, and had been
-invited by the Lord Mayor to the City. I
-liked England better than India, and
-English women have been very kind to me.
-I think English women are the handsomest
-in the world. The girl in whose house I
-hid, showed me how to beg. She persuaded
-me to turn Christian, because she thought
-that it would do me good&mdash;so I turned
-Christian. I do not know what it means,
-but I am a Christian, and have been for
-many years. I married that girl for some
-time. I have been married several times.
-I do not mean to say that I have ever been
-to church as rich folks do; but I have been
-married without that. Sometimes I do
-well, and sometimes badly. I often get a
-pound or two by interpreting. I am not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_425" id="Page_425">[425]</a></span>
-at all afraid of meeting any Indian who
-knew me, for if they said anything I did
-not like, I should call out “Police!” I
-know the law better than I did. Every
-thing is free in England. You can do what
-you like, if you can pay, or are not found
-out. I do not like policemen. After the
-mutiny in 1857 I did very badly. No one
-would look at a poor Indian then&mdash;much
-less give to him. I knew that the English
-would put it down soon, because I know
-what those rascals over there are like. I
-am living now in Charles Street, Drury
-Lane. I have been married to my present
-wife six years. We have three children
-and one dead. My eldest is now in the
-hospital with a bad arm. I swept a crossing
-for two years; that was just before the
-mutiny. All that knew me used to chaff
-me about it, and call me Johnny Sepoy.
-My present wife is Irish, and fought two
-women about it. They were taken to Bow-street
-by a policeman, but the judge would
-not hear them. My wife is a very good
-wife to me, but she gets drunk too often.
-If it were not for that, I should like her
-better. I ran away from her once, but she
-came after me with all the children. Sometimes
-I make twelve shillings a week. I
-could make much more by interpreting,
-but I do not like to go among the nasty
-natives of my country. I believe I am
-more than fifty years of age.”</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Negro Beggars.</span></h4>
-
-<p>The negro beggar so nearly resembles
-the Hindoo that what I have said of one,
-I could almost say of the other. There are,
-however, these points of difference. The
-negro mendicant, who is usually an American
-negro, never studies the picturesque
-in his attire. He relies on the abject
-misery and down-trodden despair of his
-appearance, and generally represents himself
-as a fugitive slave&mdash;with this exception,
-his methods of levying contributions
-are precisely the same as his lighter-skinned
-brother’s.</p>
-
-<p>Some years ago it was a common thing
-to see a negro with tracts in his hand, and
-a placard upon his breast, upon which was
-a wood-cut of a black man, kneeling, his
-wrists heavily chained, his arms held high
-in supplication, and round the picture,
-forming a sort of proscenium or frame, the
-words: “Am I not a man and a brother?”
-At the time that the suppression of the
-slave trade created so much excitement,
-this was so excellent a “dodge” that many
-white beggars, fortunate enough to possess
-a flattish or turned-up nose, <i>dyed themselves
-black</i> and “stood pad” as real Africans.
-The imposture, however, was soon detected
-and punished.</p>
-
-<p>There are but few negro beggars to be
-seen now. It is only common fairness to
-say that negroes seldom, if ever, shirk
-work. Their only trouble is to obtain it.
-Those who have seen the many negroes
-employed in Liverpool, will know that they
-are hard-working, patient, and, too often,
-underpaid. A negro will sweep a crossing,
-run errands, black boots, clean knives and
-forks, or dig, for a crust and a few pence.
-The few impostors among them are to be
-found among those who go about giving
-lectures on the horrors of slavery, and
-singing variations on the “escapes” in
-that famous book ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin.’
-Negro servants are seldom read of in
-police reports, and are generally found to
-give satisfaction to their employers. In
-the east end of London negro beggars are
-to be met with, but they are seldom beggars
-by profession. Whenever they are
-out of work they have no scruples, but
-go into the streets, take off their hats, and
-beg directly.</p>
-
-<p>I was accosted by one in Whitechapel,
-from whom I obtained the following <span class="lock">statement:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“My father was a slave, so was my
-mother. I have heard my father say so. I
-have heard them tell how they got away,
-but I forget all about it. It was before I
-was born. I am the eldest son. I had
-only one brother. Three years after his
-birth my mother died. My father was a
-shoe-black in New York. He very often
-had not enough to eat. My brother got a
-place as a servant, but I went out in the
-streets to do what I could. About the
-same time that my father, who was an old
-man, died, my brother lost his place. We
-agreed to come to England together. My
-brother had been living with some Britishers,
-and he had heard them say that
-over here niggers were as good as whites;
-and that the whites did not look down on
-them and illtreat them, as they do in
-New York. We went about and got odd
-jobs on the quay, and at last we hid ourselves
-in the hold of a vessel, bound for
-Liverpool. I do not know how long we
-were hid, but I remember we were terribly
-frightened lest we should be found out
-before the ship got under weigh. At last
-hunger forced us out, and we rapped at
-the hatches; at first we were not heard,
-but when we shouted out, they opened
-the hatches, and took us on deck. They
-flogged us very severely, and treated us
-shamefully all the voyage. When we got
-to Liverpool, we begged and got odd jobs.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_426" id="Page_426">[426]</a></span>
-At last we got engaged in a travelling
-circus, where we were servants, and used
-to ride about with the band in beautiful
-dresses, but the grooms treated us so
-cruelly that we were forced to run away
-from that. I forget the name of the place
-that we were performing at, but it was not
-a day’s walk from London. We begged
-about for some time. At last, my brother&mdash;his
-name is Aaron&mdash;got to clean the knives
-and forks at a slap-bang (an eating-house)
-in the city. He was very fortunate, and
-used to save some bits for me. He never
-takes any notice of me now. He is doing
-very well. He lives with a great gentleman
-in Harewood-square, and has a coat with
-silver buttons, and a gold-laced hat. He
-is very proud, and I do not think would
-speak to me if he saw me. I don’t know
-how I live, or how much I get a week. I
-do porter’s work mostly, but I do anything
-I can get. I beg more than half the year.
-I have no regular lodging. I sleep where
-I can. When I am in luck, I have a bed.
-It costs me threepence. At some places
-they don’t care to take a man of colour in.
-I sometimes get work in Newgate-market,
-carrying meat, but not often. Ladies give
-me halfpence oftener than men. The
-butchers call me ‘Othello,’ and ask me
-why I killed my wife. I have tried to get
-aboard a ship, but they won’t have me. I
-don’t know how old I am, but I know that
-when we got to London, it was the time
-the Great Exhibition was about. I can lift
-almost any weight when I have had a bit
-of something to eat. I don’t care for beer.
-I like rum best. I have often got drunk,
-but never when I paid for it myself.”</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>The following cases of genuine distress
-fell under my notice. My readers will observe
-the difference of tone, the absence of
-clap-trap, and desire to enlarge upon a
-harrowing fact of those unfortunates who
-have been reduced to beggary, compared
-with the practised shuffle and conventional
-whine of the mendicant by profession.</p>
-
-<p>I was standing with a friend at the
-counter of a tavern in Oxford Street, when
-a man came in and asked me to help him
-with a penny.</p>
-
-<p>I saw at a glance that he was a workman
-at some hard-working trade. His face was
-bronzed, and his large, hard hands were
-unmistakably the hands of a labourer. He
-kept his eyes fixed on me as he spoke, and
-begged with a short pipe in his mouth.</p>
-
-<p>I asked him if he would have some beer?</p>
-
-<p>“Thank ye, sir, I don’t want beer so much
-as I want a penny loaf. I haven’t tasted
-since morn, and I’m not the man I was
-fifteen year ago, and I feel it.”</p>
-
-<p>“Will you have some bread-and-cheese
-and beer?” I asked.</p>
-
-<p>“Thank ye, sir; bread-and-cheese and
-beer, and thank ye, sir; for I’m beginning
-to feel I want something.”</p>
-
-<p>I asked the man several questions, and
-he made the following <span class="lock">statement:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“I’m a miner, sir, and I’ve been working
-lately five mile from Castleton in Darbyshire.
-Why did I leave it? Do you want
-me to tell the truth, now&mdash;the real truth?
-Well then I’ll tell you the real truth. I got
-drunk&mdash;you asked me for the real truth,
-and now you’ve got it. I’ve been a miner
-all my life, and been engaged in all the
-great public works. I call a miner a man
-as can sink a shaft in anything, barring he’s
-not stopped by water. I’ve got a wife and
-two children. I left them at Castleton.
-They’re all right. I left them some money.
-I’ve worked in eighteen inches o’ coal. I
-mean in a chamber only eighteen inches
-wide. You lay on your side and pick like
-this. (Here he threw himself on the floor,
-and imitated the action of a coal-miner
-with his pick.) I’ve worked under young
-Mr. Brunel very often. He were not at all
-a gentleman unlike you, sir, only he were
-darker. My last wages was six shilling a-day.
-I expect soon to be in work again,
-for I know lots o’ miners in London, and I
-know where they want hands. I could get
-a bed and a shilling this minute if I knew
-where my mates lived; but to-day, when I
-got to the place where they work, they’d
-gone home, and I couldn’t find out in what
-part of London they lived. We miners
-always assist each other, when we’re on
-the road. I’ve worked in lead and copper,
-sir, as well as coal, and have been a very
-good man in my time. I am just forty
-year old, and I think I’ve used myself too
-much when I were young. I knows the
-Cornish mines well. I’m sure to get work
-in the course of the week, for I’m well
-known to many on ’em up at Notting Hill.
-I once worked in a mine where there were a
-pressure of fifty pound to the square foot
-of air. You have to take your time about
-everything you do there&mdash;you can’t work
-hard in a place like that. Thank you, sir,
-much obliged to you.”</p>
-
-<p>One evening in the parish of Marylebone
-an old man who was selling lucifer-matches
-put his finger to his forehead, and offered
-me a box. “Ha’penny a box, sir,” he
-said.</p>
-
-<p>I told him to follow me; an old woman
-also accompanied us. He made the following
-<span class="lock">statement:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_427" id="Page_427">[427]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>“My name is John Wood&mdash;that’s my
-wife. I am sixty-five years of age; she’s
-seventy-five&mdash;ten years older than I am.
-I kept a shop round this street, sir, four-and-twenty
-years. I’ve got a settlement
-in this parish, but we neither of us like to
-go into the union&mdash;they’d separate us, and
-we like to be together for the little time
-we shall be here. The reason we went to
-the bad was, I took a shop at Woolwich, and
-the very week I opened it, I don’t know
-how many hundred men were not discharged
-from the Arsenal and Dockyard.
-I lost £350 there; after that we tried many
-things; but everything failed. This is not
-a living. I stood four hours last night,
-and took twopence-ha’penny. We lodge
-in Warde’s Buildings. We pay one and
-ninepence a-week. We’ve got sticks of
-our own,&mdash;that is a bed, and a table. We
-are both of us half-starved. It is hard&mdash;very
-hard. I’m as weak as a rat, and so is my
-wife. We’ve tried to do something better,
-but we can’t. If I could get some of the
-folks that once knew me to assist me, I
-might buy a few things, and make a living
-out of them. We’ve been round to ’em to
-ask ’em, but they don’t seem inclined to
-help us. People don’t, sir, when you’re
-poor. I used to feel that myself one time,
-but I know better now. Good night, sir,
-and thank you.”</p>
-
-<p>In the same neighbourhood I saw an
-elderly man who looked as if he would beg
-of me if he dared. I turned round to look
-at him, and saw that his eyes were red as
-if with crying, and that he carried a rag in
-his hand with which he kept dabbing them.
-I gave him a few pence.</p>
-
-<p>“Thank you, sir,” he said; “God bless
-you. Excuse me, sir, but my eyes is bad&mdash;I
-suffer from the erysipelas&mdash;that is what
-brought me to this. Kindness rather overcomes
-me&mdash;I’ve not been much used to it
-of late.”</p>
-
-<p>He made the following statement:</p>
-
-<p>“I have been a gentleman’s servant,
-sir, but I lost my place through the erysipelas.
-I was mad with it, and confined in
-Bedlam for four years. The last place I
-was in service at was Sir H&mdash;&mdash; H&mdash;&mdash;’s
-(he mentioned the name of an eminent
-banker). Sir H&mdash;&mdash; was very kind to me.
-I clean his door-plate now, for which I get
-a shilling a-week&mdash;that’s all the dependence
-I have now. The servants behave bad to
-me. Sir H&mdash;&mdash; said that I was to go into
-the kitchen now and then; but they never
-give me anything. I don’t get half enough
-to eat, and it makes me very weak. I’m
-weak enough naturally, and going without
-makes me worse. I lodge over in Westminster.
-I pay threepence a-night, or
-eighteenpence a-week. There are three
-others in the same room as me. I hold
-horses sometimes, and clean knives and
-forks when I can get it to do; but people
-like younger men than me to do odd jobs.
-I can’t do things quick enough, and I’m so
-nervous that I ain’t handy. I can go into
-the workhouse, and I think I shall in the
-winter; but the confinement of it is terrible
-to me. I’d like to keep out of it if I can.
-My shilling a-week don’t pay my rent, and
-I find it very hard to get on at all. Nobody
-can tell what I go through. I suppose
-I must go into the workhouse at last.
-They’re not over kind to you when you’re
-in. Every day the first thing I try to get
-is the threepence for my lodging. I pay
-nightly, then I don’t have anything to pay
-on Sundays. I don’t know any trade;
-gentlemen’s servants never do. I used to
-have the best of everything when I was in
-service. God bless you, sir, and thank
-you. I’m very much obliged to you.”</p>
-
-
-<h3>DISASTER BEGGARS.</h3>
-
-<p>This class of street beggars includes shipwrecked
-mariners, blown-up miners, burnt-out
-tradesmen, and lucifer droppers. The
-majority of them are impostors, as is the
-case with all beggars who pursue begging
-pertinaciously and systematically. There
-are no doubt genuine cases to be met with,
-but they are very few, and they rarely obtrude
-themselves. Of the shipwrecked
-mariners I have already given examples
-under the head of Naval and Military Beggars.
-Another class of them, to which I
-have not referred, is familiar to the London
-public in connection with rudely executed
-paintings representing either a shipwreck,
-or more commonly the destruction
-of a boat by a whale in the North Seas.
-This painting they spread upon the pavement,
-fixing it at the corners, if the day be
-windy, with stones. There are generally
-two men in attendance, and in most cases
-one of the two has lost an arm or a leg.
-Occasionally both of them have the advantage
-of being deprived of either one or
-two limbs. Their misfortune so far is not
-to be questioned. A man who has lost
-both arms, or even one, is scarcely in a
-position to earn his living by labour, and
-is therefore a fit object for charity. It is
-found, however, that in most instances the
-stories of their misfortunes printed underneath
-their pictures are simply inventions,
-and very often the pretended sailor has
-never been to sea at all. In one case which
-I specially investigated, the man had been
-a bricklayer, and had broken both his arms<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_428" id="Page_428">[428]</a></span>
-by falling from a scaffold. He received
-some little compensation at the time, but
-when that was spent he went into the
-streets to beg, carrying a paper on his
-breast describing the cause of his misfortune.
-His first efforts were not successful.
-His appearance (dressed as he was in
-workman’s clothes) was not sufficiently
-picturesque to attract attention, and his
-story was of too ordinary a kind to excite
-much interest. He had a very hard life of
-it for some length of time; for, in addition
-to the drawback arising from the uninteresting
-nature of his case, he had had no
-experience in the art of begging, and his
-takings were barely sufficient to procure
-bread. From this point I will let him tell
-his own <span class="lock">story:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">A Shipwrecked Mariner.</span></h4>
-
-<p>“I had only taken a penny all day, and
-I had had no breakfast, and I spent the
-penny in a loaf. I was three nights behind
-for my lodging, and I knew the door
-would be shut in my face if I did not take
-home sixpence. I thought I would go to
-the workhouse, and perhaps I might get a
-supper and a lodging for that night. I
-was in Tottenham Court-road by the chapel,
-and it was past ten o’clock. The people
-were thinning away, and there seemed no
-chance of anything. So says I to myself
-I’ll start down the New Road to the work’ouse.
-I knew there was a work’ouse down
-that way, for I worked at a ’ouse next it
-once, and I used to think the old paupers
-looked comfortable like. It came across
-me all at once, that I one time said to one
-of my mates, as we was sitting on the scaffold,
-smoking our pipes, and looking over
-the work’ouse wall, ‘Jem, them old chaps
-there seems to do it pretty tidy; they have
-their soup and bread, and a bed to lie on,
-and their bit o’ baccy, and they comes out
-o’ a arternoon and baskes in the sun, and
-has their chat, and don’t seem to do no
-work to hurt ’em.’ And Jem he says,
-‘it’s a great hinstitooshin, Enery,’ says he,
-for you see Jem was a bit of a scollard, and
-could talk just like a book. ‘I don’t know
-about a hinstitooshin, Jem,’ says I, ‘but
-what I does know is that a man might do
-wuss nor goe in there and have his grub
-and his baccy regular, without nought to
-stress him, like them old chaps.’ Somehow
-or other that ’ere conversation came
-across me, and off I started to the work’ouse.
-When I came to the gate I saw a
-lot of poor women and children sitting on
-the pavement round it. They couldn’t
-have been hungrier than me, but they were
-awful ragged, and their case looked wuss.
-I didn’t like to go in among them, and I
-watched a while a little way off. One
-woman kep on ringing the bell for a long
-time, and nobody came, and then she got
-desperate, and kep a-pulling and ringing
-like she was mad, and at last a fat man came
-out and swore at her and drove them all
-away. I didn’t think there was much
-chance for me if they druv away women
-and kids, and such as them, but I thought
-I would try as I was a cripple, and had lost
-both my arms. So I stepped across the
-road, and was just agoing to try and pull
-the bell with my two poor stumps when
-some one tapped me on the shoulder. I
-turned round and saw it was a sailor-like
-man, without ne’er an arm like myself,
-only his were cut off short at the shoulder.
-‘What are you agoing to do?’ says he. ‘I
-was agoing to try and ring the work’ouse
-bell,’ says I. ‘What for?’ says he. ‘To
-ask to be took in,’ says I. And then the
-sailor man looks at me in a steady kind of
-way, and says, ‘Want to get into the work’ouse,
-and you got ne’er an arm? You’re a
-infant,’ says he. ‘If you had only lost
-one on ’em now, I could forgive you, but&mdash;’
-‘But surely,’ says I, ‘it’s a greater misfortune
-to lose two nor one; half a loaf’s
-better nor no bread, they say.’ ‘You’re a
-infant,’ says he again. ‘One off aint no
-good; both on ’em’s the thing. Have you
-a mind to earn a honest living,’ says he,
-quite sharp. ‘I have,’ says I; ‘anything
-for a honest crust.’ ‘Then,’ says he, ‘come
-along o’ me.’ So I went with the sailor
-man to his lodging in Whitechapel, and a
-very tidy place it was, and we had beefsteaks
-and half a gallon o’ beer, and a pipe,
-and then he told me what he wanted me
-to do. I was to dress like him in a sailor’s
-jacket and trousers and a straw ’at, and
-stand o’ one side of a picture of a shipwreck,
-vile he stood on the ’tother. And
-I consented, and he learned me some sailors’
-patter, and at the end of the week he got
-me the togs, and then I went out with
-him. We did only middlin the first day,
-but after a bit the coppers tumbled in like
-winkin’. It was so affectin’ to see two
-mariners without ne’er an arm between
-them, and we had crowds round us. At
-the end of the week we shared two pound
-and seven shillings, which was more nor a
-pound than my mate ever did by his self.
-He always said it was pilin’ the hagony to
-have two without ne’er an arm. My mate
-used to say to me, ‘Enery, if your stumps
-had only been a trifle shorter, we might
-ha’ made a fortun by this time; but you
-waggle them, you see, and that frightens
-the old ladies.’ I did well when Trafalgar<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_429" id="Page_429">[429]</a></span>
-Jack was alive. That was my mate, sir;
-but he died of the cholera, and I joined
-another pal who had a wooden leg; but he
-was rough to the kids, and got us both into
-trouble. How do I mean rough to the
-kids? Why, you see, the kids used to
-swarm round us to look at the pictur
-just like flies round a sugar-cask, and that
-crabbed the business. My mate got savage
-with them sometimes, and clouted their
-heads, and one day the mother o’ one o’
-the brats came up a-screaming awful and
-give Timber Bill, as we called him, into
-custody, and he was committed for a rogue
-and vagabond. Timber Bill went into the
-nigger line arterwards and did well. You
-may have seen him, sir. He plays the
-tambourine, and dances, and the folks
-laugh at his wooden leg, and the coppers
-come in in style. Yes, I’m still in the old
-line, but it’s a bad business now.”</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Blown-up Miners.</span></h4>
-
-<p>These are simply a variety of the large
-class of beggars who get their living in the
-streets, chiefly by frequenting public-houses
-and whining a tale of distress. The impostors
-among them&mdash;and they are by far the
-greater number&mdash;do not keep up the character
-of blown-up miners all the year
-round, but time the assumption to suit
-some disaster which may give colour to
-their tale. After a serious coal-mine accident
-“blown-up miners” swarm in such
-numbers all over the town that one might
-suppose the whole of the coal-hands of the
-north had been blown south by one explosion.
-The blown-up miner has the
-general appearance of a navvy; he wears
-moleskin trousers turned up nearly to the
-knees, a pair of heavy-laced boots, a sleeved
-waistcoat, and commonly a shapeless felt
-hat of the wide-awake fashion. He wears
-his striped shirt open at the neck, showing
-a weather-browned and brawny chest. The
-state of his hands and the colour of his
-skin show that he has been accustomed to
-hard work, but his healthy look and fresh
-colour give the lie direct to his statement
-that he has spent nearly the whole of his
-life in working in the dark many hundred
-feet beneath the surface of the earth.
-Many of them do not pretend that they
-have been injured by the explosion of the
-mine, but only that they have been thrown
-out of work. These are mostly excavators
-and bricklayers’ labourers, who are out of
-employ in consequence of a stoppage of
-the works on which they have been engaged,
-or more often, as I have proved by
-inquiry, in consequence of their own misconduct
-in getting drunk and absenting
-themselves from their labour. These impostors
-are easily detected. If you cross-question
-them as to the truth of their
-stories, and refer to names and places
-which they ought to be acquainted with if
-their representations were genuine, they
-become insolent and move away from you.
-There are others, however, who are more
-artful, and whose tales are borne out by
-every external appearance, and also by a
-complete knowledge of the places whence
-they pretend to have come. These men,
-though sturdy and horny-fisted, have a
-haggard, pallid look, which seems to accord
-well with the occupation of the miner.
-They can converse about mining operations,
-they describe minutely the incidents
-of the accident by which they suffered,
-and they have the names of coal-owners
-and gangsmen ever ready on their
-tongues. In addition to this they bare
-some part of their bodies&mdash;the leg or the
-arm&mdash;and show you what looks like a huge
-scald or burn. These are rank impostors,
-denizens of Wentworth-street and Brick-lane,
-and who were never nearer to Yorkshire
-than Mile-end gate in their lives.
-Having met with one or two specimens
-of “real” distressed miners, I can speak
-with great certainty of the characteristics
-which mark out the impostor. For many
-years past there has always been an abundance
-of work for miners and navigators;
-indeed the labour of the latter has often
-been at a premium; cases of distress arise
-among them only from two causes&mdash;ill-health
-and bodily disaster. If they are in
-health and found begging it is invariably
-during a long journey from one part of the
-country to another. The look and manner
-of these miners forbids the idea of their
-being systematic mendicants or impostors.
-They want something to help them on the
-road, and they will be as grateful for a
-hunck of bread and cheese as for money.
-If you cross-question these men they never
-show an uncomfortable sense of being
-under examination, but answer you frankly
-as if you were merely holding a friendly
-conversation with them. Miners are very
-charitable to each other, and they think it
-no shame to seek aid of their betters when
-they really need it. Of the device called
-the “scaldrum dodge,” by which beggars
-of this class produce artificial sores, I shall
-have to treat by-and-bye.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Burnt-out Tradesmen.</span></h4>
-
-<p>With many begging impostors the assumption
-of the “burnt-out tradesman”
-is simply a change of character to suit circumstances;
-with others it is a fixed and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_430" id="Page_430">[430]</a></span>
-settled rôle. The burnt-out tradesman
-does not beg in the streets by day; he
-comes out at night, and his favourite
-haunts are the private bars of public-houses
-frequented by good company. In
-the day-time he begs by a petition, which
-he leaves at the houses of charitable persons
-with an intimation that he will call again
-in an hour. In the evening he is made
-up for his part. He lurks about a public-house
-until he sees a goodly company
-assembled in the private bar, and then,
-when the “gents,” as he calls them, appear
-to be getting happy and comfortable, he
-suddenly appears among them, and moves
-them by the striking contrast which his
-personal appearance and condition offers
-to theirs. Like many others of his class
-he has studied human nature to some
-purpose, and he knows at a glance the
-natures with which he has to deal. Noisy
-and thoughtless young men, like clerks and
-shopmen, he avoids. They are generally
-too much occupied with themselves to
-think of him or his misfortunes; and
-having had no experience of a responsible
-position, the case of a reduced tradesman
-does not come home to them. A quiet
-and sedate company of middle-aged tradesmen
-best suits his purpose. They know
-the difficulties and dangers of trade, and
-maybe there are some of them who are
-conscious that ruin is impending over
-themselves. To feeling men of this class
-it is a terrible shock to see a man, who has
-once been well-to-do like themselves, reduced
-to get a living by begging. The
-burnt-out tradesman’s appearance gives
-peculiar force to his appeal. He is dressed
-in a suit of black, greasy and threadbare,
-which looks like the last shreds of
-the dress suit which he wore on high days
-and holidays, when he was thriving and
-prosperous. His black satin stock, too,
-is evidently a relict of better days. His
-hat is almost napless; but it is well
-brushed&mdash;indicating care and neatness on
-the part of its owner. His shoes are mere
-shapeless envelopes of leather, but the
-uppers are carefully polished, and the
-strings neatly tied. When the burnt-out
-tradesman enters a bar he allows his appearance
-to have its due effect before he
-opens his mouth, or makes any other demonstration
-whatever. In this he seems
-to imitate the practice of the favourite
-comedian, who calculates upon being able
-to bespeak the favour of his audience by
-merely showing his face. The beggar,
-after remaining motionless for a moment,
-to allow the company fully to contemplate
-his miserable appearance, suddenly and
-unexpectedly advances one of his hands,
-which until now has been concealed behind
-his coat, and exposes to view a box
-of matches. Nothing can surpass the
-artistic skill of this mute appeal. The
-respectable look, and the poor, worn
-clothes, first of all&mdash;the patient, broken-hearted
-glance accompanied by a gentle
-sigh&mdash;and then the box of matches! What
-need of a word spoken. Can you not read
-the whole history? Once a prosperous
-tradesman, the head of a family, surrounded
-by many friends. Now, through misfortune,
-cast out of house and home, deserted
-by his friends, and reduced to wander the
-streets and sell matches to get his children
-bread. Reduced to sell paltry matches!
-he who was in a large way once, and kept
-clerks to register his wholesale transactions!
-It is seldom that this artist requires
-to speak. No words will move men
-who can resist so powerful an appeal.
-When he does speak he does not require
-to say more than&mdash;“I am an unfortunate
-tradesman, who lost everything I possessed
-in the world by a disastrous fire&mdash;” Here
-the halfpence interrupt his story, and he
-has no need to utter another word, except
-to mutter his humble thanks.</p>
-
-<p>There are a great many beggars of this
-class, and they nearly all pursue the same
-method. They are most successful among
-tradesmen of the middle class, and among
-the poor working people. One of them
-told me that the wives of working men
-were, according to his experience, the most
-tender-hearted in London. “The upper
-classes, the swells, aint no good,” he said;
-“they subscribe to the Mendicity Society,
-and they thinks every beggar an imposture.
-The half-and-half swells, shopmen and the
-likes, aint got no hearts, and they aint got
-no money, and what’s the good. Tradesmen
-that aint over well off have a fellow
-feeling; but the workmen’s wives out a-marketing
-of a Saturday night are no
-trouble. They always carries coppers&mdash;change
-out of sixpence or a something&mdash;in
-their hands, and when I goes in where
-they are a havin’ their daffies&mdash;that’s drops
-o’ gin, sir&mdash;they looks at me, and says,
-‘Poor man!’ and drops the coppers, whatever
-it is, into my hand, and p’raps asks
-me to have a half-pint o’ beer besides.
-They’re good souls, the workmen’s wives.”</p>
-
-<p>There is a well-known beggar of this
-class who dresses in a most unexceptionable
-manner. His black clothes are new
-and glossy, his hat and boots are good, and
-to heighten the effect he wears a spotless
-white choker. He is known at the west
-end by the name of the “Bishop of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_431" id="Page_431">[431]</a></span>
-London.” His aspect is decidedly clerical.
-He has a fat face, a double chin, his hat
-turns up extensively at the brim, and, as I
-have said, he wears a white neck-cloth.
-When he enters a bar the company imagine
-that he is about to order a bottle of
-champagne at least; but when he looks
-round and produces the inevitable box of
-matches, the first impression gives way
-either to compassion or extreme wonder.
-So far as my experience serves me, this
-dodge is not so successful as the one I have
-just described. A person with the most
-ordinary reasoning powers must know that
-a man who possesses clothes like those
-need not be in want of bread; but if the
-power of reasoning were universally allotted
-to mankind, there would be a poor chance
-for the professional beggar. There never
-was a time or place in which there were
-not to be found men anxious to avoid
-labour, and yet to live in ease and enjoyment,
-and there never was a time in which
-other men were not, from their sympathy,
-their fears, or their superstition, ready to
-assist the necessitous, or those who appeared
-to be so, and liable to be imposed
-upon or intimidated, according as the
-beggar is crafty or bold.</p>
-
-<p>As a rule the burnt-out tradesmen whom
-I have described are impostors, who make
-more by begging than many of those who
-relieve them earn by hard and honest
-labour. The petitions which they leave
-at houses are very cleverly drawn out. They
-are generally the composition of the professional
-screevers, whose practices I shall
-have to describe by-and-by. They have a
-circumstantial account of the fire by which
-the applicant “lost his all,” and sometimes
-furnish an inventory of the goods that
-were destroyed. They are attested by the
-names of clergymen, churchwardens, and
-other responsible persons, whose signatures
-are imitated with consummate art in every
-variety of ink. Some specimens of these
-petitions and begging letters will be found
-under the head of “Dependants of
-Beggars.”</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Lucifer Droppers.</span></h4>
-
-<p>The lucifer droppers are impostors to a
-man&mdash;to a boy&mdash;to a girl. Men seldom,
-if ever, practise this “dodge.” It is children’s
-work; and the artful way in which
-boys and girls of tender years pursue it,
-shows how systematically the seeds of
-mendicancy and crime are implanted in the
-hearts of the young Arab tribes of London.
-The artfulness of this device is of the most
-diabolical kind; for it trades not alone
-upon deception, but upon exciting sympathy
-with the guilty at the expense of
-the innocent. A boy or a girl takes up a
-position on the pavement of a busy street,
-such as Cheapside or the Strand. He, or
-she&mdash;it is generally a girl&mdash;carries a box or
-two of lucifer matches, which she offers for
-sale. In passing to and fro she artfully
-contrives to get in the way of some gentleman
-who is hurrying along. He knocks
-against her and upsets the matches which
-fall in the mud. The girl immediately
-begins to cry and howl. The bystanders,
-who are ignorant of the trick, exclaim in
-indignation against the gentleman who
-has caused a poor girl such serious loss,
-and the result is that either the gentleman,
-to escape being hooted, or the ignorant
-passers by, in false compassion, give the
-girl money. White peppermint lozenges
-are more often used than lucifers. It looks
-a hopeless case, indeed, when a trayful of
-white lozenges fall in the mud.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Bodily Afflicted Beggars.</span></h4>
-
-<p>Beggars who excite charity by exhibiting
-sores and bodily deformities are not so
-commonly to be met with in London as
-they were some years ago. The officers of
-the Mendicity Society have cleared the
-streets of nearly all the impostors, and the
-few who remain are blind men and cripples.
-Many of the blind men are under the protection
-of a Society, which furnishes them
-with books printed in raised type which
-they decipher by the touch. Others provide
-their own books, and are allowed to
-sit on door steps or in the recesses of the
-bridges without molestation from the police.
-It has been found on inquiry that
-these afflicted persons are really what they
-appear to be&mdash;poor, helpless, blind creatures,
-who are totally incapacitated from
-earning a living, and whom it would be
-heartless cruelty to drive into the workhouse,
-where no provision is made for their
-peculiar wants.</p>
-
-<p>The bodily afflicted beggars of London
-exhibit seven varieties. 1. Those having
-real or pretended sores, vulgarly known as
-the “Scaldrum Dodge.” 2. Having swollen
-legs. 3. Being crippled, deformed, maimed,
-or paralyzed. 4. Being blind. 5. Being
-subject to fits. 6. Being in a decline. 7.
-“Shallow Coves,” or those who exhibit
-themselves in the streets, half-clad, especially
-in cold weather.</p>
-
-<p>First, then, as to those having real or
-pretended sores. As I have said, there are
-few beggars of this class left. When the
-officers of the Mendicity Society first
-directed their attention to the suppression
-of this form of mendicancy, it was found<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_432" id="Page_432">[432]</a></span>
-that the great majority of those who exhibit
-sores were unmitigated impostors.
-In nearly all the cases investigated the
-sores did not proceed from natural causes,
-but were either wilfully produced or simulated.
-A few had lacerated their flesh in
-reality; but the majority had resorted to
-the less painful operation known as the
-“Scaldrum Dodge.” This consists in covering
-a portion of the leg or arm with
-soap to the thickness of a plaister, and
-then saturating the whole with vinegar.
-The vinegar causes the soap to blister and
-assume a festering appearance, and thus
-the passer-by is led to believe that the
-beggar is suffering from a real sore. So well
-does this simple device simulate a sore that
-the deception is not to be detected even by
-close inspection. The “Scaldrum Dodge” is
-a trick of very recent introduction among
-the London beggars. It is a concomitant
-of the advance of science and the progress
-of the art of adulteration. It came in with
-penny postage, daguerreotypes, and other
-modern innovations of a like description.
-In less scientific periods within the present
-century it was wholly unknown; and sores
-were produced by burns and lacerations
-which the mendicants inflicted upon themselves
-with a ruthless hand. An old man
-who has been a beggar all his life, informed
-me that he had known a man prick the
-flesh of his leg all over, in order to produce
-blood and give the appearance of an ulcerous
-disease. This man is a cripple and
-walks about upon crutches, selling stay
-laces. He is now upwards of seventy years
-of age. At my solicitation he made the
-following statement without any apparent
-reserve.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Seventy Years a Beggar.</span></h4>
-
-<p>“I have been a beggar ever since I was
-that high&mdash;ever since I could walk. No,
-I was not born a cripple. I was thirty
-years of age before I broke my leg. That
-was an accident. A horse and cart drove
-over me in Westminster. Well; yes I was
-drunk. I was able-bodied enough before
-that. I was turned out to beg by my
-mother. My father, I’ve heard, was a soldier;
-he went to Egypt, or some foreign
-part, and never came back. I never was
-learnt any trade but begging, and I couldn’t
-turn my hand to nothing else. I might
-have been learnt the shoemaking; but
-what was the use? Begging was a better
-trade then; it isn’t now though. There
-was fine times when the French war was
-on. I lived in Westminster then. A man
-as they called Copenhagen Jack, took a
-fancy to me, and made me his valet. I
-waited upon, fetched his drink, and so
-forth. Copenhagen Jack was a captain;
-no not in the army, nor in the navy
-neither. He was the captain of the Pye-Street
-beggars. There was nigh two hundred
-of them lived in two large houses, and Jack
-directed them. Jack’s word was law, I
-assure you. The boys&mdash;Jack called them
-his boys, but there was old men among
-them, and old women too&mdash;used to come
-up before the captain every morning before
-starting out for the day, to get their
-orders. The captain divided out the districts
-for them, and each man took his
-beat according to his directions. It was
-share and share alike, with an extra for the
-captain. There was all manner of “lays;”
-yes, cripples and darkies. We called them
-as did the blind dodge, darkies,&mdash;and
-“shakers” them as had fits,&mdash;and shipwrecked
-mariners, and&mdash;the scaldrum
-dodge, no; that’s new; but I know what
-you mean. They did the real thing then&mdash;scrape
-the skin off their feet with a bit of
-glass until the blood came. Those were
-fine times for beggars. I’ve known many
-of ’em bring in as much as thirty shillings
-a day, some twenty, some fifteen. If a
-man brought home no more than five or
-six shillings, the captain would enter him,
-make a note of him, and change his beat.
-Yes, we lived well. I’ve known fifty sit
-down to a splendid supper, geese and turkeys,
-and all that, and keep it up until
-daylight, with songs and toasts. No; I
-didn’t beg then; but I did before, and I
-did after. I begged after, when the captain
-came to misfortune. He went a walking
-one day in his best clothes, and got
-pressed, and never came back, and there
-was a mutiny among them in Pye-Street,
-and I nearly got murdered. You see, they
-were jealous of me, because the captain
-petted me. I used to dress in top-boots
-and a red coat when I waited on the captain.
-It was his fancy. Romancing? I
-don’t know what you mean. Telling lies,
-oh! It’s true by &mdash;&mdash;. There’s nothing
-like it nowadays. The new police and
-this b&mdash;&mdash; Mendicity Society has spoilt it
-all. Well, they skinned me; took off my
-fine coat and boots, and sent me out on
-the orphan lay in tatters. I sat and
-cried all day on the door steps, for I was
-really miserable now my friend was gone,
-and I got lots of halfpence, and silver too,
-and when I took home the swag, they
-danced round me and swore that they
-would elect me captain if I went on like
-that; but there was a new captain made,
-and when they had their fun out, he came
-and took the money away, and kicked me<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_433" id="Page_433">[433]</a></span>
-under the table. I ran away the next day,
-and went to a house in St. Giles’s, where I
-was better treated. There was no captain
-there; the landlord managed the house,
-and nobody was master but him. There
-was nigh a hundred beggars in that house,
-and some two or three hundred more in
-the houses next it. The houses are not
-standing now. They were taken down
-when New Oxford-street was built; they
-stood on the north side. Yes; we lived well
-in St. Giles’s&mdash;as well as we did in Westminster.
-I have earned 8, 10, 15, ay, 30 shillings
-a day, and more nor that sometimes.
-I can’t earn one shilling now. The folks
-don’t give as they did. They think every
-body an imposture now. And then the
-police won’t let you alone. No; I told you
-before, I never was anything else but a
-beggar. How could I? It was the trade
-I was brought up to. A man must follow
-his trade. No doubt I shall die a beggar,
-and the parish will bury me.”</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Having Swollen Legs.</span></h4>
-
-<p>Beggars who lie on the pavement and
-expose swollen legs, are very rarely to be
-met with now. The imposture has been
-entirely suppressed by the police and the
-officers of the Mendicity Society. This is
-one of the shallowest of all the many
-“dodges” of the London beggars. On reflection
-any one, however slightly acquainted
-with the various forms of disease,
-must know that a mere swelling cannot be
-a normal or chronic condition of the
-human body. A swelling might last a few
-days, or a week; but a swelling of several
-years’ standing is only to be referred to the
-continued application of a poisonous ointment,
-or to the binding of the limb with
-ligatures, so as to confine the blood and
-puff the skin.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Cripples.</span></h4>
-
-<p>Various kinds of cripples are still to be
-found, begging in the streets of London.
-As a rule the police do not interfere with
-them, unless they know them to be impostors.
-A certain number of well-known
-cripples have acquired a sort of prescriptive
-right to beg where they please.
-The public will be familiar with the personal
-appearance of many of them. There
-is the tall man on crutches, with his foot
-in a sling, who sells stay laces; the poor
-wretch without hands, who crouches on
-the pavement and writes with the stumps
-of his arms; the crab-like man without
-legs, who sits strapped to a board, and
-walks upon his hands; the legless man who
-propels himself in a little carriage, constructed
-on the velocipede principle; the
-idiotic-looking youth, who “stands pad
-with a fakement,” shaking in every limb as
-if he were under the influence of galvanism.
-These mendicants are not considered to be
-impostors, and are allowed to pursue begging
-as a regular calling. I cannot think,
-however, that the police exercise a wise
-discretion in permitting some of the more
-hideous of these beggars to infest the
-streets. Instances are on record of nervous
-females having been seriously frightened,
-and even injured, by seeing men without
-legs or arms crawling at their feet. A case
-is within my own knowledge, where the
-sight of a man without legs or arms had
-such an effect upon a lady in the family
-way that her child was born in all respects
-the very counterpart of the object that
-alarmed her. It had neither legs nor arms.
-This occurrence took place at Brighton
-about eleven years ago. I have frequently
-seen ladies start and shudder when the
-crab-like man I have referred to has suddenly
-appeared, hopping along at their feet.
-I am surprised that there is no home or
-institution for cripples of this class. They
-are certainly deserving of sympathy and
-aid; for they are utterly incapacitated from
-any kind of labour. Impostors are constantly
-starting up among this class of
-beggars; but they do not remain long undetected.
-A man was lately found begging,
-who pretended that he had lost his
-right arm. The deception at the first
-glance was perfect. His right sleeve hung
-loose at his side, and there appeared to be
-nothing left of his arm but a short stump.
-On being examined at the police office, his
-arm was found strapped to his side, and
-the stump turned out to be a stuffing of
-bran. Another man simulated a broken
-leg by doubling up that limb and strapping
-his foot and ankle to his thigh. Paralysis
-is frequently simulated with success until
-the actor is brought before the police surgeon,
-when the cheat is immediately detected.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">A Blind Beggar.</span></h4>
-
-<p>A blind beggar, led by a dog, whom I accosted
-in the street, made the following voluntary
-statement. I should mention that
-he seemed very willing to answer my questions,
-and while he was talking kept continually
-feeling my clothes with his finger
-and thumb. The object of this, I fancy,
-must have been to discover whether I was
-what persons of his class call a “gentleman”
-or a poor man. Whether he had
-any thoughts of my being an officer I cannot
-say.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_434" id="Page_434">[434]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>“I am sixty years of age: you wouldn’t
-think it, perhaps, but I am. No, I was
-not born blind; I lost my sight in the small-pox,
-five and twenty years ago. I have
-been begging on the streets eighteen years.
-Yes, my dog knows the way home. How
-did I teach him that? why, when I had
-him first, the cabmen and busmen took
-him out to Camden Town, and Westminster,
-and other places, and then let him
-go. He soon learnt to find his way home.
-No, he is not the dog I had originally; that
-one died; he was five and twenty years old
-when he died. Yes, that was a very old age
-for a dog. I had this one about five years
-ago. Don’t get as much as I used to do?
-No, no, my friend. I make about a shilling
-a-day, never&mdash;scarcely never&mdash;more,
-sometimes less&mdash;a good deal less; but some
-folks are very kind to me. I live at Poole’s-place,
-Mount Pleasant. There are a good
-many engineers about there, and their
-wives are very kind to me; they have always
-a halfpenny for me when I go that
-way. I have my beats. I don’t often
-come down this way (Gower-street), only
-once a month. I always keep on this side
-of Tottenham Court-road; I never go over
-the road; my dog knows that. I am going
-down there,” (pointing); “that’s Chenies-street.
-Oh, I know where I am: next turning
-to the right is Alfred-street, the next
-to the left is Francis-street, and when I
-get to the end of that the dog will stop;
-but I know as well as him. Yes, he’s a
-good dog, but never the dog I used to
-have; he used always to stop when there
-was anybody near, and pull when there
-was nobody. He was what I call a steady
-dog, this one is young and foolish like; he
-stops sometimes dead, and I goes on talking,
-thinking there is a lady or gentleman
-near; but it’s only other dogs that he’s
-stopping to have a word with. No, no, no,
-sir.” This he said when I dropped some
-more coppers into his hat, having previously
-given him a penny. “I don’t want
-that. I think I know your voice, sir; I’m
-sure I’ve heard it before. No! ah, then
-I’m mistaken.” Here again he felt my
-coat and waistcoat with an inquiring touch:
-apparently satisfied, he continued, “I’ll tell
-you, sir, what I wouldn’t tell to every one;
-I’ve as nice a little place at Mount Pleasant
-as you would desire to see. You wouldn’t
-think I was obliged to beg if you saw it.
-Why, sir, I beg many times when I’ve as
-much as sixteen shillings in my pocket;
-leastwise not in my pocket, but at home.
-Why you see, sir, there’s the winter
-months coming on, and I lays by what I
-can against the wet days, when I can’t go
-out. There’s no harm in that, sir. Well,
-now, sir, I’ll tell you: there’s a man up
-there in Sussex-street that I know, and he
-said to me just now, as I was passing the
-public house, ‘Come in, John, and have a
-drop of something.’ ‘No, thank ye,’ says
-I, ‘I don’t want drink; if you want to give
-me anything give me the money.’ ‘No,’
-says he, ‘I won’t do that, but if you come
-in and have something to drink I’ll give
-you sixpence.’ Well, sir, I wouldn’t go.
-It wouldn’t do, you know, for the likes of
-me, a blind man getting his living by begging,
-to be seen in a public-house; the
-people wouldn’t know, sir, whether it was
-my money that was paying for it or not.
-I never go into a public-house; I has my
-drop at home. Oh, yes, I am tired&mdash;tired
-of it; but I’ll tell you, sir, I think I’ll get
-out of it soon. Do you know how that is,
-sir? Well, I think I shall get on to Day
-and Martin’s Charity in October; I’m promised
-votes, and I’m in hopes this time.
-God bless you, sir.”</p>
-
-<p>There was for many years in the city a
-blind man with a dog, who was discovered
-to be a rank impostor. The boys found it
-out long before the police did. They used
-to try and take the money out of the little
-basket that the dog carried in his mouth,
-but they never succeeded. The moment a
-boy approached the basket the blind man
-ran at him with his stick, which proved, of
-course, that the fellow could see. Some of
-my readers may recollect seeing in the
-papers an account of a respectable young
-girl who ran away from her home and took
-up with this blind man. She cohabited
-with him, in fact, and it was found that
-they lived in extravagance and luxury on
-the blind beggar’s daily takings.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Beggars subject to Fits</span></h4>
-
-<p>are impostors, I may say, wholly without
-exception. Some of them are the associates
-and agents of thieves, and fall down in the
-street in assumed fits in order to collect a
-crowd and afford a favourable opportunity
-to the pickpockets, with whom they are in
-league. The simulation of fits is no mean
-branch of the beggar’s art of deception.
-The various symptoms&mdash;the agitation of
-the muscles, the turning up of the whites
-of the eyes, the pallor of the face and the
-rigidity of the mouth and jaw&mdash;are imitated
-to a nicety; and these symptoms are sometimes
-accompanied by copious frothing at
-the mouth. I asked Mr. Horsford, of the
-Mendicity Society, how this was done, and
-received the laconic answer&mdash;“Soap.” And
-this brought to my memory that I had
-once seen an actor charge his mouth with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_435" id="Page_435">[435]</a></span>
-a small piece of soap to give due <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">vraissemblance</i>
-to the last scene of <i>Sir Giles Overreach</i>.
-I was shown an old woman who
-was in the habit of falling down in assumed
-fits simply to get brandy. She looked very
-aged and poor, and I was told she generally
-had her fits when some well-dressed gentleman
-was passing with a lady on his arm.
-She generally chose the scene of her performance
-close to the door of a public-house,
-into which some compassionate
-person might conveniently carry her. She
-was never heard to speak in her fits except
-to groan and mutter “brandy,” when that
-remedy did not appear to suggest itself to
-those who came to her aid. An officer said
-to me, “I have known that old woman have
-so many fits in the course of the day that
-she has been found lying in the gutter dead
-drunk from the effect of repeated restoratives.
-She has been apprehended and punished
-over and over again, but she returns
-to the old dodge the minute she gets out.
-She is on the parish; but she gets money
-as well as brandy by her shamming.”</p>
-
-<p>I have heard that there are persons who
-purposely fall into the Serpentine in order
-to be taken to the receiving-house of the Humane
-Society, and recovered with brandy.
-One man repeated the trick so often that
-at last the Society’s men refused to go to
-his aid. It is needless to say that he soon
-found his way out of the water unaided,
-when he saw that his dodge was detected.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Being in a Decline.</span></h4>
-
-<p>No form of poverty and misfortune is
-better calculated to move the hearts of the
-compassionate than this. You see crouching
-in a corner, a pale-faced, wan young man,
-apparently in the very last stage of consumption.
-His eyes are sunk in his head,
-his jaw drops, and you can almost see his
-bones through his pallid skin. He appears
-too exhausted to speak; he coughs at intervals,
-and places his hand on his chest as if
-in extreme pain. After a fit of coughing
-he pants pitifully, and bows his head feebly
-as if he were about to die on the spot. It
-will be noticed, however, as a peculiarity
-distinguishing nearly all these beggars, that
-the sufferers wear a white cloth bound
-round their heads overtopped by a black
-cap. It is this white cloth, coupled with a
-few slight artistic touches of colour to the
-face, that produces the interesting look of
-decline. Any person who is thin and of
-sallow complexion may produce the same
-effect by putting on a white night-cap, and
-applying a little pink colour round the eyes.
-It is the simple rule observed by comedians,
-when they make up for a sick man or a
-ghost. These beggars are all impostors;
-and they are now so well known to the
-police that they never venture to take up a
-fixed position during the day, but pursue
-their nefarious calling at night at public-houses
-and other resorts where they can
-readily make themselves scarce should an
-officer happen to spy them out.</p>
-
-
-<h4>“<span class="smcap">Shallow Coves.</span>”</h4>
-
-<p>This is the slang name given to beggars
-who exhibit themselves in the streets half
-clad, especially in cold weather. There are
-a great many of these beggars in London,
-and they are enabled to ply their trade
-upon the sympathies of the public with
-very little check, owing to the fact that
-they mostly frequent quiet streets, and
-make a point of moving on whenever they
-see a policeman approaching. A notorious
-“shallow cove,” who frequents the neighbourhood
-of the Strand and St. Martin’s
-Lane, must be well known to many of my
-readers. His practice is to stand at the
-windows of bakers and confectioners, and
-gaze with an eager famished look at the
-bread and other eatables. His almost
-naked state, his hollow, glaring eye, like
-that of a famished dog, his long thin cheek,
-his matted hair, his repeated shrugs of uneasiness
-as if he were suffering from cold or
-vermin, present such a spectacle of wretchedness
-as the imagination could never
-conceive. He has no shirt, as you can see
-by his open breast; his coat is a thing of
-mere shreds; his trousers, torn away in
-picturesque jags at the knees, are his only
-other covering, except a dirty sodden-looking
-round-crowned brown felt hat, which
-he slouches over his forehead in a manner
-which greatly heightens his aspect of misery.
-I was completely taken in when I first saw
-this man greedily glaring in at a baker’s
-window in St. Martin’s Lane. I gave him
-twopence to procure a loaf, and waited to
-see him buy it, anxious to have the satisfaction
-of seeing him appease such extreme
-hunger as I had never&mdash;I thought&mdash;witnessed
-before. He did not enter the shop
-with the alacrity I expected. He seemed
-to hesitate, and presently I could see that
-he was casting stealthy glances at me. I
-remained where I was, watching him; and
-at last when he saw I was determined to
-wait, he entered the shop. I saw him
-speak to the woman at the counter and
-point at something; but he made no purchase,
-and came out without the bread,
-which I thought he would have devoured
-like a wolf, when he obtained the money
-to procure it. Seeing me still watching him,
-he moved away rapidly. I entered the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_436" id="Page_436">[436]</a></span>
-shop, and asked if he had bought anything.
-“Not he, he don’t want any bread,”
-said the mistress of the shop, “I wish the
-police would lock him up, or drive him
-away from here, for he’s a regular nuisance.
-He pretends to be hungry, and then when
-people give him anything, he comes in here
-and asks if I can sell him any bits. He
-knows I won’t, and he don’t want ’em. He
-is a regular old soldier, he is, sir.”</p>
-
-<p>I received confirmation of this account
-from Mr. Horsford, who said that the
-fellow had been sent to prison at least
-thirty times. The moment he gets out he
-resorts to his old practices. On one occasion,
-when he was taken, he had thirteen shillings
-in his pocket,&mdash;in coppers, sixpences and
-threepenny and fourpenny bits. Softhearted
-old ladies who frequent the pastry-cooks
-are his chief victims.</p>
-
-<p>“Shallow coves” have recently taken to
-Sunday begging. They go round the quiet
-streets in pairs, and sing psalm tunes during
-church hours. They walk barefooted,
-without hats, and expose their breasts to
-show that they have no under clothing.</p>
-
-<p>The “shallow cove” is a very pitiable
-sight in winter, standing half naked, with his
-bare feet on the cold stones. But give him
-a suit of clothes and shoes and stockings,
-and the next day he will be as naked and
-as wretched-looking as he is to-day. Nakedness
-and shivers are his stock in trade.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Famished Beggars.</span></h4>
-
-<p>The famished beggars, that is, those who
-“make up” to look as if they were starving,
-pursue an infinite variety of dodges.
-The most common of all is to stand in some
-prominent place with a placard on the
-breast, bearing an inscription to the effect
-that the beggar is “starving,” or that he
-has “a large family entirely dependent
-upon him.” The appeal is sometimes
-made more forcible by its brevity, and the
-card bears the single word, “Destitute.”
-In every case where the beggar endeavours
-to convey starvation by his looks and
-dress it may be relied upon that he is an
-impostor, a lazy fellow, who prefers begging
-to work, because it requires less exertion
-and brings him more money. There
-are some, however,&mdash;blind men and old
-persons&mdash;who “stand pad,” that is to say,
-beg by the exhibition of a written or
-printed paper, who are not impostors;
-they are really poor persons who are incapacitated
-from work, and who beg from
-day to day to earn a living. But these
-beggars do not get up an appearance of
-being starved, and indeed some of them
-look very fat and comfortable.</p>
-
-<p>The beggars who chalk on the pavement
-“I am starving,” in a round scholastic
-hand, are not of this class. It does not require
-much reflection to discern the true
-character of such mendicants. As I have
-frequently had occasion to observe, the
-man who begs day after day, and counts
-his gains at the rate of from twelve to
-twenty shillings a week, cannot be starving.
-You pass one of these beggars in the morning,
-and you hear the coppers chinking on
-the pavement as they are thrown to him
-by the thoughtless or the credulous; you
-pass him again in the evening, and there
-is still the inscription “I am starving.”
-This beggar adds hypocrisy to his other
-vices. By his writing on the pavement he
-would give you to understand that he is
-too much ashamed to beg by word of
-mouth. As he crouches beside his inscription
-he hides his head. The writing,
-too, is a false pretence. “I am starving”
-is written in so good a hand that you are
-led to believe that the wretch before you
-has had a good education, that he has
-seen better days, and is now the victim of
-misfortune, perhaps wholly undeserved.
-It should be known, however, that many
-of these beggars cannot write at all; they
-could not write another sentence except
-“I am starving” if it were to save their
-lives. There are persons who teach the
-art of writing certain sentences to beggars,
-but their pupils learn to trace the letters
-mechanically. This is the case with the
-persons who draw in coloured chalk on the
-pavement. They can draw a mackerel, a
-broken plate, a head of Christ, and a certain
-stereotyped sea-view with a setting
-sun, but they cannot draw anything else,
-and these they trace upon a principle utterly
-unknown to art. There is one beggar
-of this class who frequents the King’s-Cross
-end of the New Road, who writes his
-specimens backwards, and who cannot do
-it any other way. He covers a large flag-stone
-with “copies” in various hands, and
-they are all executed in the true “copper-plate”
-style. They are all, however, written
-backwards.</p>
-
-<p>The distinction made by the magistrates
-and the police between those who draw
-coloured views and those who merely write
-“I am starving” in white chalk, exhibits a
-nicety of discrimination which is not a
-little amusing. When the officers of the
-Mendicity Society first began to enforce
-their powers with rigour (in consequence
-of the alarming increase of mendicancy)
-they arrested these flag-stone artists with
-others. The magistrates, however, showed
-an unwillingness to commit them, and at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_437" id="Page_437">[437]</a></span>
-length it was laid down as a rule that these
-men should not be molested unless they
-obstructed a thoroughfare or created a disturbance.
-This decision was grounded
-upon the consideration that these street
-artists did some actual work for the money
-they received from the public; they drew
-a picture and exhibited it, and might
-therefore be fairly regarded as pursuing an
-art. So the chalkers of mackerel were
-placed in the category of privileged street
-exhibitors. The “I am starving” dodge,
-however, has been almost entirely suppressed
-by the persevering activity of Mr.
-Horsford and his brother officers of the
-Mendicity Society.</p>
-
-<p>One of the latest devices of famished
-beggars which has come under my notice
-I shall denominate</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">The Choking Dodge.</span></h4>
-
-<p>A wretched-looking man, in a state of
-semi-nudity, having the appearance of
-being half starved and exhausted, either
-from want of food or from having walked
-a long way, sat down one day on the door-step
-of the house opposite mine. I was
-struck by his wretched and forlorn appearance,
-and particularly by his downcast
-looks. It seemed as if misery had not
-only worn him to the bone, but had crushed
-all his humanity out of him. He was
-more like a feeble beast, dying of exhaustion
-and grovelling in the dust, than a man.
-Presently he took out a crust of dry bread
-and attempted to eat it. It was easy to see
-that it was a hard crust, as hard as stone,
-and dirty, as if it had lain for some days
-in the street. The wretch gnawed at it as
-a starved dog gnaws at a bone. The crust
-was not only hard, but the beggar’s jaws
-seemed to want the power of mastication.
-It seemed as if he had hungered so long
-that food was now too late. At length he
-managed to bite off a piece; but now another
-phase of his feebleness was manifested&mdash;he
-could not swallow it. He tried to get
-it down, and it stuck in his throat. You
-have seen a dog with a bone in his throat,
-jerking his head up and down in his effort
-to swallow: that was the action of this
-poor wretch on the door-step. I could not
-but be moved by this spectacle, and I
-opened the window and called to the man.
-He took no heed of me. I called again.
-Still no heed; misery had blunted all his
-faculties. He seemed to desire nothing
-but to sit there and choke. I went over
-to him, and, tapping him on the shoulder,
-gave him twopence, and told him to go to
-the public house and get some beer to wash
-down his hard meal. He rose slowly, gave
-me a look of thanks, and went away in the
-direction of the tavern. He walked more
-briskly than I could have conceived possible
-in his case, and something prompted me
-to watch him. I stood at my door looking
-after him, and when he got near the public-house
-he turned round. I knew at
-once that he was looking to see if I were
-watching him. The next minute he turned
-aside as if to enter the public-house. The
-entrance stood back from the frontage of
-the street, and I could not tell, from where
-I stood, whether he had gone into the
-house or not. I crossed to the other
-side, where I could see him without being
-noticed. He had not entered the house,
-but was standing by the door. When
-he had stood there for a few minutes
-he peeped out cautiously, and looked down
-the street towards the place where he
-had left me. Being apparently satisfied
-that all was right, he emerged from the
-recess and walked on. I was now determined
-to watch him further. I had not
-long to wait for conclusive evidence of the
-imposture which I now more than suspected.
-The man walked slowly along
-until he saw some persons at a first-floor
-window, when he immediately sat down
-on a door-step opposite and repeated the
-elaborate performance with the hard crust
-which I have already described. This I
-saw him do four times before he left the
-street, in each case getting money. It is
-needless to say that this fellow was a rank
-impostor. One of his class was apprehended
-some time ago&mdash;it might have been
-this very man&mdash;and no less than seven shillings
-were found upon him. These men
-frequent quiet bye-streets, and never, or
-rarely, beg in the busy thoroughfares. I
-will give another case, which I shall call</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">The Offal-Eater.</span></h4>
-
-<p>The most notable instance of this variety
-of the famished beggars which has come
-under my notice is that of a little old man
-who frequents the neighbourhood of Russell-square.
-I have known him now for two
-years, and I have seen him repeat his performance
-at least a score of times. The
-man has the appearance of a cutler. He
-wears a very old and worn, but not ragged,
-velveteen coat with large side pockets, a
-pair of sailor’s blue trousers a good deal
-patched, a very, very bad pair of shoes, and
-a chimney-pot hat, which seems to have
-braved the wind and rain for many years,
-been consigned to a dust-bin, and then
-recovered for wear. He is below the average
-height, and appears to be about seventy
-years of age. This little old man makes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_438" id="Page_438">[438]</a></span>
-his appearance in my street about eleven
-o’clock in the forenoon. He walks down
-the pavement listlessly, rubbing his hands
-and looking about him on every side in a
-vacant bewildered manner, as if all the
-world were strange to him, and he had no
-home, no friend, and no purpose on the
-face of the earth. Every now and then he
-stops and turns his face towards the street,
-moving himself uneasily in his clothes,
-as if he were troubled with vermin. All
-this time he is munching and mumbling
-some food in a manner suggestive of a
-total want of teeth. As he pauses he looks
-about as if in search of something. Presently
-you see him pick up a small piece of
-bread which has been thrown out to the
-sparrows. He wipes it upon his velveteen
-coat and begins to eat it. It is a long process.
-He will stand opposite your window
-for full ten minutes mumbling that small
-piece of bread, but he never looks up to
-inspire compassion or charity; he trusts
-to his pitiful mumblings to produce the
-desired effect, and he is not disappointed.
-Coppers are flung to him from every window,
-and he picks them up slowly and listlessly,
-as if he did not expect such aid,
-and scarcely knew how to apply it. I
-have given him money several times, but
-that does not prevent him from returning
-again and again to stand opposite my windows
-and mumble crusts picked out of the
-mud in the streets. One day I gave him a
-lump of good bread, but in an hour after I
-found him in an adjacent street exciting
-charity in the usual way. This convinced
-me that he was an artful systematic beggar,
-and this impression was fully confirmed
-on my following him into a low
-beer-shop in St. Giles’s and finding him
-comfortably seated with his feet up in a
-chair, smoking a long pipe, and discussing
-a pot of ale. He knew me in a moment,
-dropped his feet from the chair, and tried
-to hide his pipe. Since that occasion he
-has never come my way.</p>
-
-
-<h3>PETTY TRADING BEGGARS.</h3>
-
-<p>This is perhaps the most numerous
-class of beggars in London. Their trading
-in such articles as lucifers, boot-laces,
-cabbage-nets, tapes, cottons, shirt-buttons,
-and the like, is in most cases a mere
-“blind” to evade the law applying to
-mendicants and vagrants. There are very
-few of the street vendors of such petty
-articles as lucifers and shirt-buttons who
-can make a living from the profits of their
-trade. Indeed they do not calculate upon
-doing so. The box of matches, or the
-little deal box of cottons, is used simply as
-a passport to the resorts of the charitable.
-The police are obliged to respect the trader,
-though they know very well that under
-the disguise of the itinerant merchant
-there lurks a beggar.</p>
-
-<p>Beggars of this class use their trade to
-excite compassion and obtain a gift rather
-than to effect a sale. A poor half-clad
-wretch stands by the kerb exposing for
-sale a single box of matches, the price
-being “only a halfpenny.” A charitable
-person passes by and drops a halfpenny or
-a penny into the poor man’s hand, and
-disdains to take the matches. In this
-way a single box will be sufficient for a
-whole evening’s trading, unless some person
-should insist upon an actual “transaction,”
-when the beggar is obliged to procure
-another box at the nearest oilman’s.
-There are very few articles upon which an
-actual profit is made by legitimate sale.
-Porcelain shirt-buttons, a favourite commodity
-of the petty trading beggars, would not
-yield the price of a single meal unless the
-seller could dispose of at least twenty
-dozen in a day. Cottons, stay-laces, and
-the like, can now be obtained so cheaply at
-the shops, that no one thinks of buying
-these articles in the streets unless it be in a
-charitable mood. Almost the only commodities
-in which a legitimate trade is carried
-on by the petty traders of the streets are
-flowers, songs, knives, combs, braces,
-purses, portmonnaies. The sellers of
-knives, combs, &amp;c., are to a certain extent
-legitimate traders, and do not calculate
-upon charity. They are cheats, perhaps,
-but not beggars. The vendors of flowers
-and songs, though they really make an
-effort to sell their goods, and often realize
-a tolerable profit, are nevertheless beggars,
-and trust to increase their earnings by obtaining
-money without giving an equivalent.
-A great many children are sent out
-by their parents to sell flowers during the
-summer and autumn. They find their
-best market in the bars of public-houses,
-and especially those frequented by prostitutes.
-If none else give prostitutes a good
-character, the very poor do. “I don’t
-know what we should do but for them,”
-said an old beggar-woman to me one day.
-“They are good-hearted souls&mdash;always kind
-to the poor. I hope God will forgive
-them.” I have had many examples of this
-sympathy for misfortune and poverty on
-the part of the fallen women of the streets.
-A fellow feeling no doubt makes them
-wondrous kind. They know what it is to
-be cast off, and spurned, and despised;
-they know, too, what it is to starve, and,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_439" id="Page_439">[439]</a></span>
-like the beggars, they are subject to the
-stern “move on” of the policeman.</p>
-
-<p>The relations which subsist between the
-prostitutes and the beggars reveal some
-curious traits. Beggars will enter a public-house
-because they see some women at
-the bar who will assist their suit. They
-offer their little wares to some gentlemen
-at the bar, and the women will say, “Give
-the poor devil something,” or “buy bouquets
-for us,” or if the commodity should
-be laces or buttons, they say, “Don’t take
-the poor old woman’s things; give her the
-money.” And the gentlemen, just to show
-off, and appear liberal, do as they are told.
-Possibly, but for the pleading of their gay
-companions, they would have answered
-the appeal with a curse and gruff command
-to begone. I once saw an old woman kiss
-a bedizened prostitute’s hand, in real
-gratitude for a service of this kind. I
-don’t know that I ever witnessed anything
-more touching in my life. The woman,
-who a few minutes before had been flaunting
-about the bar in the reckless manner
-peculiar to her class, was quite moved by
-the old beggar’s act, and I saw a tear
-mount in her eye and slowly trickle down
-her painted cheek, making a white channel
-through the rouge as it fell. But in a
-moment she dashed it away, and the next
-was flaunting and singing as before. Prostitutes
-are afraid to remain long under
-the influence of good thoughts. They
-recal their days of innocence, and overpower
-them with an intolerable sadness&mdash;a
-sadness which springs of remorse.
-The gay women assume airs of patronage
-towards the beggars, and as such are looked
-up to; but a beggar-woman, however poor,
-and however miserable, if she is conscious
-of being virtuous, is always sensible of her
-superiority in that respect. She is thankful
-for the kindness of the “gay lady,” and
-extols her goodness of heart; but she pities
-while she admires, and mutters as a last
-word, “May God forgive her.” Thus does
-one touch of nature make all the world
-akin, and thus does virtue survive all the
-buffets of evil fortune to raise even a
-beggar to the level of the most worthy,
-and be a treasure dearer and brighter than
-all the pleasures of the world.</p>
-
-<p>The sellers of flowers and songs are
-chiefly boys and young girls. They buy
-their flowers in Covent Garden, when the
-refuse of the market is cleared out, and
-make them up into small bouquets, which
-they sell for a penny. When the flower
-season is over they sell songs&mdash;those
-familiar productions of Ryle, Catnach and
-company, which, it is said, the great Lord
-Macaulay was wont to collect and treasure
-up as collateral evidences of history. Some
-of the boys who pursue this traffic are
-masters of all the trades that appertain to
-begging. I have traced one boy, by the
-identifying mark of a most villanous squint,
-through a career of ten years. When I first
-saw him he was a mere child of about four
-years of age. His mother sent him with a
-ragged little girl (his sister) into public-house
-bars to beg. Their diminutive size attracted
-attention and excited charity. By-and-by,
-possibly in consequence of the
-interference of the police, they carried
-pennyworths of flowers with them, at other
-times matches, and at others halfpenny
-sheets of songs. After this the boy and
-the girl appeared dressed in sailor’s costume,
-(both as boys,) and sung duets. I
-remember that one of the duets, which
-had a spoken part, was not very decent;
-the poor children evidently did not understand
-what they said; but the thoughtless
-people at the bar laughed and gave them
-money. By-and-by the boy became too
-big for this kind of work, and I next met
-him selling fuzees. After the lapse of about
-a year he started in the shoe-black line. His
-station was at the end of Endell Street,
-near the baths; but as he did not belong
-to one of the regularly organized brigades,
-he was hunted about by the police, and
-could not make a living. On the death
-of the crossing-sweeper at the corner he
-succeeded to that functionary’s broom, and
-in his new capacity was regarded by the
-police as a useful member of society. The
-last time I saw him he was in possession
-of a costermonger’s barrow selling mackerel.
-He had grown a big strong fellow, but I
-had no difficulty in identifying the little
-squinting child, who begged, and sold
-flowers and songs in public-house bars, with
-the strong loud-lunged vendor of mackerel.
-I suppose this young beggar may be said
-to have pursued an honourable career, and
-raised himself in the world. Many who
-have such an introduction to life finish
-their course in a penal settlement.</p>
-
-<p>There are not a few who assume the
-appearance of petty traders for the purpose
-of committing thefts, such as picking a
-gentleman’s pocket when he is intoxicated,
-and slinking into parlours to steal bagatelle
-balls. Police spies occasionally disguise
-themselves as petty traders. There
-is a well-known man who goes about with
-a bag of nuts, betting that he will tell
-within two how many you take up in your
-hand. This man is said to be a police spy.
-I have not been able to ascertain whether
-this is true or not; but I am satisfied that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_440" id="Page_440">[440]</a></span>
-the man does not get his living by his nut
-trick. In the day-time he appears without
-his nuts, dressed in a suit of black, and
-looking certainly not unlike a policeman
-in mufti.</p>
-
-<p>Among the petty trading beggars there
-are a good many idiots and half-witted
-creatures, who obtain a living&mdash;and a very
-good one too&mdash;by dancing in a grotesque
-and idiotic manner on the pavement to
-amuse children. Some of them are not
-such idiots as they appear, but assume
-a half-witted appearance to give oddness to
-their performance, and excite compassion
-for their misfortune. The street boys are
-the avengers of this imposition upon society.</p>
-
-<p>The idiot performer has a sad life of it
-when the boys gather about him. They
-pull his clothes, knock off his hat, and
-pelt him with lime and mud. But this
-persecution sometimes redounds to his
-advantage; for when the grown-up folks
-see him treated thus, they pity him the
-more. These beggars always take care to
-carry something to offer for sale. Halfpenny
-songs are most commonly the merchandise.</p>
-
-<p>The little half-witted Italian man who
-used to go about grinding an organ that
-“had no inside to it,” as the boys said,
-was a beggar of this class, and I really
-think he traded on his constant persecution
-by the <i>gamins</i>. Music, of course, he made
-none, for there was only one string left in
-his battered organ; but he always acted so
-as to convey the idea that the boys had
-destroyed his instrument. He would turn
-away at the handle in a desperate way, as
-if he were determined to spare no effort to
-please his patrons; but nothing ever came
-of it but a feeble tink-a-tink at long
-intervals. If his organ could at any time
-have been spoiled, certainly the boys might
-have done it; for their great delight was to
-put stones in it, and batter in its deal back
-with sticks. I am informed that this man
-had a good deal more of the rogue than of
-the fool in his composition. A gentleman
-offered to have his organ repaired for him;
-but he declined; and at length when the
-one remaining string gave way he would
-only have that one mended. It was his
-“dodge” to grind the air, and appear to be
-unconscious that he was not discoursing
-most eloquent music.</p>
-
-<p>Tract-selling in the streets is a line
-peculiar to the Hindoos. I find that the
-tracts are given to them by religious people,
-and that they are bought by religious
-people, who are not unfrequently the very
-same persons who provided the tracts.
-Very few petty trading beggars take to
-tract-selling from their own inspiration;
-for in good sooth it does not pay, except
-when conducted on the principle I have
-just indicated. Some find it convenient
-to exhibit tracts simply to evade the law
-applying to beggars and vagrants; but they
-do not use them if they can procure a
-more popular article. In these remarks
-it is very far from my intention to speak
-of “religious people” with any disrespect.
-I merely use the expression “religious
-people” to denote those who employ
-themselves actively and constantly in disseminating
-religious publications among
-the people. Their motives and their efforts
-are most praiseworthy, and my only regret
-is that their labours are not rewarded by a
-larger measure of success.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">An Author’s Wife.</span></h4>
-
-<p>In the course of my inquiry into the
-habits, condition, and mode of life of the
-petty trading beggars of London, I met
-with a young woman who alleged that the
-publications she sold were the production
-of her husband. I encountered her at the
-bar of a tavern, where I was occupied in
-looking out for “specimens” of the class
-of beggars, which I am now describing.
-She entered the bar modestly and with
-seeming diffidence. She had some printed
-sheets in her hand. I asked her what they
-were. She handed me a sheet. It was
-entitled the <i>Pretty Girls of London</i>. It
-was only a portion of the work, and on the
-last page was printed “to be continued.”
-“Do you bring this out in numbers?” I
-asked. “Yes, sir,” she replied, “it is
-written by my husband, and he is continuing
-it from time to time.” “Are you
-then his publisher?” I inquired. “Yes,
-sir, my husband is ill a-bed, and I am
-obliged to go out and sell his work for
-him?” I looked through the sheet, and I
-saw that it was not a very decent work.
-“Have you ever read this?” I enquired.
-“Oh yes, sir, and I think it’s very clever;
-don’t you think so, sir?” It certainly was
-written with some little ability, and I said
-so; but I objected to its morality. Upon
-which she replied, “But it’s what takes,
-sir.” She sold several copies while I was
-present, at twopence each; but one or two
-gave her fourpence and sixpence. As she
-was leaving I made further inquiries about
-her husband. She said he was an author
-by profession, and had seen better days.
-He was very ill, and unable to work. I
-asked her, to give me his address as I might
-be of some assistance to him. This request
-seemed to perplex her; and at length she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_441" id="Page_441">[441]</a></span>
-said, she was afraid her husband would
-not like to see me; he was very proud. I
-have since ascertained that this author’s
-pretty little wife is a dangerous impostor.
-She lives, or did live at the time I met her,
-at the back of Clare Market, with a man
-(not her husband) who was well known to
-the police as a notorious begging-letter
-writer. He was not the author of anything
-but those artful appeals, with forged signatures,
-of which I have given specimens
-under the heading of “Screevers.” I was
-also assured by an officer that the pretended
-author’s wife had on one occasion been
-concerned in decoying a young man to a
-low lodging near Lincoln’s Inn Fields, where
-the unsuspecting youth was robbed and
-maltreated.</p>
-
-
-<h3>DEPENDANTS OF BEGGARS.</h3>
-
-<p>The dependants of beggars may be divided
-into screevers proper; i.e., writers
-of “slums and fakements” for those who
-live by “screeving,” and referees, or those
-who give characters to professional beggars
-when references are required. Beggars
-are generally born and bred to the
-business. Their fathers and mothers were
-beggars before them, and they have an hereditary
-right to the calling. The exceptions
-to this rule are those who have fallen into
-mendicancy, and follow it from necessity,
-and those who have flown to it in a moment
-of distress, and finding it more lucrative
-than they supposed, adopted it
-from choice. Hence it follows that the
-majority are entirely destitute of education;
-and by education I mean the primary
-arts of reading and writing. Where there
-is demand there is supply, and the wants
-of mendicants who found their account in
-“pads,” and “slums,” and “fakements,”
-created “screevers.”</p>
-
-<p>The antecedents of the screever are
-always more or less&mdash;and generally more&mdash;disreputable.
-He has been a fraudulent
-clerk imprisoned for embezzlement; or a
-highly-respected treasurer to a philanthropic
-society, who has made off with the
-funds entrusted to him; or a petty forger,
-whose family have purchased silence, and
-“hushed up” a scandal; or, more frequently,
-that most dangerous of convicts,
-the half-educated convict&mdash;who has served
-his time or escaped his bonds.</p>
-
-<p>Too proud to beg himself, or, more probably,
-too well known to the police to dare
-face daylight; ignorant of any honest calling,
-or too idle to practise it; without
-courage to turn thief or informer; lazy,
-dissolute, and self-indulgent, the screever
-turns his little education to the worst of
-purposes, and prepares the forgery he leaves
-the more fearless cadger to utter.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>The following are specimens of the
-screever’s work, copied from the original
-documents in the possession of Mr. Horsford,
-of the Mendicity <span class="lock">Society:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-<p class="right">
-“Parish of Battersea;<br />
-County of Surrey.
-</p>
-
-<p>“This memorial sheweth that Mr. Alexander
-Fyfe, a native of Port Glasgow N.B.
-and for several years carrying on the business
-of a NURSERY and SEEDSMAN in
-this parish, became security for his son in
-law Andrew Talfour of Bay st. Port Glasgow
-who in October last privately disposed
-of his effects and absconded to the colonies,
-leaving his wife and six children totally
-unprovided for and the said Mr. Alexander
-Fyfe responsible for the sum of £1350.
-the sudden reverse of fortune together with
-other domestic afflictions so preyed on the
-mind of Mr. Fyfe that he is now an inmate
-of a LUNATIC ASYLUM.</p>
-
-<p>“The said Mr. Fyfe together with his
-family have hitherto maintained the character
-of HONESTY and INDUSTRY in
-consideration of which I have been earnestly
-solicited by a few Benevolent persons
-to draw up this statement on behalf
-of the bereaved family. I have therefore
-taken on myself the responsibillity of so
-doing trusting those whom Providence has
-given the means will lend their timely aid
-in rescuing a respectable family from the
-ruin that inevitably awaits them.</p>
-
-<p>“GIVEN under my Hand at the VESTRY
-in the aforesaid parish of Battersea and
-County of Surrey this Twenty-Fourth day
-of February in the year of Our Lord 1851.”</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left i2">John Thomas Freeman,</td><td></td><td>£3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i4">Vestry Clerk,</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">J. S. Jenkinson</td><td>£5</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Vicar of Battersea.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Watson and Co.</td><td>£5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">John Forster &amp; Co.</td><td>£5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Revd. J. Twining</td><td>2</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Alderman J. Humphery</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sir George Pollock</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Southlands.</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td>£.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Henry Mitton</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wm. Downs</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oak wharf.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Mrs. Broadley Wilson</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sir Henry B. Houghton</td><td>£5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Mrs. Adm<sup>l</sup> Colin Campbell</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Col. J. Mc Donall</td><td>£5 </td><td>paid.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_442" id="Page_442">[442]</a></span>Anonymous</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Mrs. Col. Forbes</td><td>£3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Col. W. Mace paid</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">P. H. Gillespie</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Minister of the Scotch Church</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Battersea Rise</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">3d March /51</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Messrs. Moffat, Gillespie &amp; Co.</td><td>5</td><td>pd.</td></tr>
-
-</table></div>
-</div>
-
-<p>My readers will perceive that the above
-document is written in a semi-legal style,
-with a profuse amount of large capitals,
-and minute particularity in describing localities,
-though here and there an almost
-ostentatious indifference exists upon the
-same points. Thus we are told that the
-parish of Battersea is in the county of
-Surrey, and that Port Glasgow is in North
-Britain, while on the other hand we are
-only informed that the absconding Andrew
-Talfour, of Bay Street, Port Glasgow, N.B.,
-made off to the <i>colonies</i>, which, considering
-the vast extent of our colonial possessions,
-is vague, to say the least of it. It must
-also be allowed that, the beginning the
-word “benevolent” in the second paragraph
-with a capital B is equally to the credit of
-the writer’s head and heart. It is odd
-that after having spelt “responsible” so
-correctly, the writer should have indulged a
-playful fancy with “responsibi<i>ll</i>ity;” but
-perhaps trifling orthographical lapses may
-be in keeping with the assumed character of
-vestry-clerk. Critically speaking, the weak
-point of this composition is its punctuation;
-its strong point the concluding paragraph,
-“the GIVEN under my hand at the
-VESTRY,” which carries with it the double
-weight of a royal proclamation, and the
-business-like formality of an Admiralty
-contract; but the composition and caligraphy
-are trifles&mdash;the real genius lies in
-the signatures.</p>
-
-<p>I wish my readers could see the names
-attached to this “Memorial” as they lay
-before me. The first, “J. S. Jenkinson,”
-is written in the most clerical of hands;
-“Watson and Co.” is round and commercial;
-“John Forster &amp; Co.” the same;
-the “Revd J. Twining” scholarly and
-easy; “Alderman J. Humphery” stiff and
-upright. These names are evidently copied
-from the Red Book and Directory; some
-are purely fictitious; many are cleverly
-executed forgeries.</p>
-
-<p>The ingenuity of the concocter and compiler&mdash;of
-the sympathiser with the woes
-of Mr. Alexander Fyfe of Port Glasgow,
-N.B.&mdash;was exercised in vain. The imposture
-was detected; he was taken to a
-police-court, condemned, and sentenced.</p>
-
-<p>Here is the case of another unfortunate
-Scotchman from the pen of the same gifted
-author. The handwriting, the wording,
-the capitals, and the N.B.’s, are identical
-with those of the warm-hearted vestry-clerk
-of Battersea.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>“These are to certify that Mr. Alexr. Malcolm
-Ship-Owner and General Merchant,
-was on his passage from FRASERBURGH.
-ABERDEENSHIRE. N.B. on the night of
-the 3d. inst when his vessel the Susan and
-Mary of Fraserburgh laden with Corn was
-run down by a “steamer name unknown”
-the Crew consisting of Six persons narrowly
-escaping with their lives.</p>
-
-<p>“Mr. Malcolm sustained a loss of property
-by the appalling event to the amount of
-£370. and being a person of exemplary character
-with a numerous family entirely depending
-upon him for support his case has
-excited the greatest sympathy, it has therefore
-been proposed by a few of his friends
-to enter into a subscription on his behalf
-with a view of raising by voluntary contributions
-a sufficient sum to release him
-from his present embarrassed situation.</p>
-
-<p>“I have known him for several years a
-constant trader to this wharf, and consider
-him worthy of every sympathy.”</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Leith and Glasgow Wharf</td><td rowspan="2" class="rightbrace"></td><td>Joseph Adams</td><td>£5</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">London May 6th. 1847</td><td>Geo. Carroll</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">A. Nichol &amp; Sons</td><td>pd.</td><td></td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">P. Laurie</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">Vivian &amp; Sons</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">J. H. Petty</td><td>2</td><td>pd</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">Messrs. Drummond</td><td>£5</td><td>pd.</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">Cranford Colvin &amp; Co.</td><td>£3</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">Baring Brothers</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">Curries &amp; Co.</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">Jono. Price</td><td>5</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">Reid, Irving &amp; Co.</td><td>£5</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-
-<p>The signatures attached to this are imitations
-of the handwriting of various firms,
-each distinct, individual, and apparently
-genuine.</p>
-
-<p>The next “screeve” takes the form of a
-resolution at a public <span class="lock">meeting:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-<p class="right">
-“Notting-Hill, District<br />
-Parish of Kensington<br />
-August 6th, 1857
-</p>
-
-<p>“The Gentry and Clergy of this neighbourhood
-will no doubt remember that the
-late Mr. Edward Wyatt, (for many years a
-respectable tradesman in this parish) died
-in embarrassed circumstances in 1855,
-leaving a Widow and Seven Children totally
-unprovided for, the eldest of whom a
-fine Girl 19 years of age having been a
-Cripple from her Birth has received a liberal
-education and is considered a competent
-person to superintend a SEMINARY for
-the tuition of young females which would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_443" id="Page_443">[443]</a></span>
-materially assist her Mother in supporting
-a numerous family.</p>
-
-<p>“A meeting was convened on Monday
-evening the 3rd inst (the Revd J. P. Gall,
-Incumbent of St. Johns, in the Chair)
-when it was unanimously proposed to enter
-into a subscription with a view of raising
-by voluntary contributions the sum of £40
-in order to establish the afflicted girl in
-this praiseworthy undertaking, I have been
-instructed by the Parochial Authorities to
-draw up this statement and therefore take
-upon myself the responsibility of so doing
-knowing the case to be one meriting sympathy.</p>
-
-<p class="sig">
-“Signed<br />
-By order of the Chairman<br />
-Reuben Green<br />
-Vestry Clerk”
-</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">Subscriptions received at the Meeting, </td><td>£11 </td><td>13 </td><td>6</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">Revd J. P. Gill</td><td>£1</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">Mrs. W. Money</td><td></td><td>10</td><td>0 </td><td>pd</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">Chushington</td><td>£1</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">Mrs Coventry paid</td><td></td><td>10/</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">J. &amp; W. S. Huntley</td><td rowspan="3" class="rightbrace"></td><td rowspan="3">pd</td><td rowspan="3">1</td><td rowspan="3">1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Addison Terrace</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Notting Hill</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="2" class="left">Mrs. Cribb</td><td>pd</td><td></td><td>5</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">The Misses Shorland</td><td></td><td>7</td><td>6</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left i2">Mrs Harris</td><td></td><td>5</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">Miss Hall Lansdowne Crescent</td><td></td><td>10/</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="2" class="left i2">W. Atkinson</td><td>pd</td><td></td><td>5</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left i2">Thos Jacomb</td><td></td><td>5</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="2" class="left i2">Miss J. Robertson</td><td>paid</td><td></td><td>5</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left i2">The Misses Howard</td><td></td><td>5</td><td>0</td></tr>
-
-</table></div>
-</div>
-
-<p>The above letter is written in a better
-style than those preceding it. Great talent
-is exhibited in the imitations of “lady’s-hand.”
-The signatures “Mrs. Coventry,”
-“Mrs. Cribb,” “The Misses Howard,” and
-“Mrs. Harris” (surely this screever must
-have been familiar with the works of
-Dickens), are excellently done, but are surpassed
-by the clever execution of the letters
-forming the names, “The Misses Shorland”
-and “Miss Hall Lansdowne Crescent,” which
-are masterpieces of feminine caligraphy.</p>
-
-<p>The following note was sent to its address,
-accompanied by a memorial in one
-of the House of Commons envelopes, but
-the faulty grammar, so unlike the style in
-which a member of Parliament ought to
-write, betrayed it.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-<p class="right">
-“Committee Room No. 3<br />
-House of Commons
-</p>
-
-<p>“Mr. J. Whatman presents his respectful
-compliments to the Revd. W. Smith Marriott
-at the earnest request of the poor
-families (whose case will be fully explained
-on perusal of the accompanying document
-in the bearer’s possession), begs to submit
-it for that gentlemen’s charitable consideration.</p>
-
-<p>“The persons whom this concerns are
-natives of Cranbrook Gondhurst, Brenchley
-&amp;c and bears unexceptionable characters,
-they have the honor of knowing Mr.
-Marriott at Worsmorden and trust he will
-add his signature to the list of subscribers,
-for which favour they will feel grateful.</p>
-
-<p>“J. Whatman takes more than ordinary
-interest in this case having a knowledge of
-its authenticity, he therefore trusts that
-the motives which actuates him in complying
-with the request will be deemed a
-sufficient apology.</p>
-
-<p class="sig">
-Friday Evening<br />
-May 28, 1858”<br />
-</p>
-
-<p>“This Memorial sheweth that Mr. Henry
-Shepherd a General Carrier from EWELL,
-CHEAM, SUTTON &amp;c. to LONDON VIA
-Mitchem, Morden, Tooting and Clapham,
-was returning home on the Evening of
-Thursday the 26th inst when near the
-Elephant and Castle, his Horse took fright
-at a Band of street Musicians and ran off
-at a furious pace, the Van coming in contact
-with a Timber carriage was dashed to
-pieces, the Animal received such injuries
-as caused its death, and Mr. SHEPHERD
-endeavouring to save the property entrusted
-to his care for delivery had his Right Leg
-fractured and is now an inmate of GUYS
-HOSPITAL.</p>
-
-<p>“On further investigation We find his loss
-exceeds £70. and knowing him to be an
-Industrious, Honest man, with a large
-family depending upon his exertions for
-support We earnestly beg leave to recommend
-his case to the notice of the Gentry
-and Clergy of his neighbourhood, trusting
-their united Donations in conjunction with
-our mutual assistance will release a deserving
-family from their present unfortunate
-position in life.</p>
-
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">“GIVEN under Our</td><td class="rightbrace" rowspan="4"></td><td class="left" rowspan="4">William Harmer</td><td>£</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hands this 30th day of</td><td> 2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">August in the Year of</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Our Lord 1858”</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">Geo. Stone Ewell</td><td>£2</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">Sir Geo. L. Glyn</td><td>2</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">F. Gosling</td><td>2</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">Revd W. H. Vernon</td><td>£1</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">Morton Stubbs</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Sutton</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">Edmund Antrobus</td><td>£2</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">pd to Bearer</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">2d/9th/58</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">W. R. G. Farmer</td><td>£2</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3"></td><td>pd.</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">Revd. R. Bouchier</td><td colspan="2">£2 pd.</td></tr>
-
-</table></div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_444" id="Page_444">[444]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>My readers must admire the ingenuity
-of this letter. The <i>VIA</i> Mitchem looks
-so formal and convincing. The grouping
-of the circumstances&mdash;the “local colouring,”
-as the critics would call it, which
-contributed to the ruin of the ill-fated
-general carrier Henry Shepherd&mdash;is excellent.&mdash;“Near
-the Elephant and Castle
-his horse took fright at a band of street
-musicians.” What more natural? “Ran
-off at a furious pace. The van, coming in
-contact with a timber carriage, was <i>dashed
-to pieces</i>. The Animal,” not the horse&mdash;that
-would have been tautological, and
-Animal with a capital A. “The Animal
-received such injuries as <i>caused its death</i>,
-and Mr. Shepherd, endeavouring to save
-the property entrusted to his care&mdash;.” Admirable
-man! Devoted carrier!&mdash;leaving
-his van to smash&mdash;his horse to perish as
-they might, that the goods confided to him
-might receive no hurt. “... endeavouring
-to save the property entrusted to his
-care for delivery, had his <i>right leg fractured</i>,
-and is now an inmate of Guy’s Hospital.”</p>
-
-<p>This is as well conceived and carried out
-as Sheridan’s pistol-bullet that misses its
-mark, “strikes a bronze Hercules in the
-mantel-piece, glances off through the
-window, and wounds the postman who was
-coming to the door with a double letter
-from Northamptonshire!”</p>
-
-<p>The word “Paid” and its abbreviation pd.
-is scattered here and there artistically
-among the subscriptions. A small note
-in a different hand, in a corner of the last
-page shows the fate of industry and talent
-misapplied. It <span class="lock">runs:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>“Taken from Thos. Shepherd, Sept. 13.
-Mansion House. Lord Mayor Sir A. Carden.
-Committed for 3 months.</p>
-
-<p class="sig">
-“<span class="smcap">J. W. Horsford.</span>”
-</p></div>
-
-<p>The last instance I shall cite is peculiar,
-from the elaborate nature of the deception,
-and from containing a forgery of the signature
-of Lord Brougham. The screever, in
-this case, has taken a regularly printed
-Warrant, Execution, or Distress for Rent,
-filled it up with the name of Mrs. Julia
-Thompson, &amp;c., and placed an imaginary
-inventory to a fictitious seizure. The word
-“Patent” is spelt “Pattent,” which might
-be allowable in a broker’s man, but when
-“Ewer” is written “Ure,” I think he is
-too hard upon the orthography peculiar to
-the officers of the Sheriff of Middlesex,
-particularly as it is evident from the rest
-of the filling-in of the form that the error
-is intentional. Not only law but science
-is invoked in aid of this capital case of
-sham real distress. “Pleuro-Pneumonia”
-looks veterinary and veracious enough to
-carry conviction to the hearts of the most
-sceptical.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-<div class="sidenote">
-<p>
-Removing any goods off the premises to avoid a distress or any
-person aiding, assisting, or concealing the same, will subject themselves
-to double the value of such effects so removed or concealed,
-or suffer imprisonment in the House of Correction, there to be
-kept to hard labour without Bail or Mainprize for Six Months,
-pursuant to the Act 11th George 2nd.</p>
-
-<p>
-Sold by G. H. Beckford, Law Stationer, 122, Chancery Lane.</p></div>
-<p>
-“TAKE NOTICE, That by
-the authority and on the behalf
-of your Landlord, Thos.
-Young, I have this Sixteenth
-day of April in the year of Our
-Lord One thousand eight hundred
-and fifty-six distrained
-the several goods and chattels
-specified in the Schedule or
-Inventory hereinunder written
-in</p>
-
-<p>
-19 Praed Street<br />
-in the Parish of<br />
-</p>
-
-<p>Paddington in the County of
-Middlesex, for Twenty-nine
-pounds, being Twelve Months
-and arrears Rent due to the
-said Mr. Thos. Young</p>
-
-<p>
-at Ninth Febry last<br />
-</p>
-
-<p>and if you shall not pay the
-said Twelve Months and
-Arrears Rent so due and in
-arrear as aforesaid together with the costs
-and charges of this distress or replevy the
-said goods and chattels within five days
-from the date hereof I shall cause the said
-goods and chattels to be appraised and
-sold, pursuant to the statute in that case
-made and provided.</p>
-
-<p>“Given under my hand the day and
-year above written.</p>
-
-<p class="sig">
-“<span class="smcap">J. W. Russell.</span><br />
-<br />
-“Sworn Broker, &amp;c.
-</p>
-
-<p>“To Mrs. Julia Thompson.”</p></div>
-
-
-<p>The Schedule or Inventory above referred <span class="lock">to:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<ul>
-<li>Mahogany Drawers</li>
-<li>Mahogany Dining Tables</li>
-<li>Six Mahogany Seated Chairs</li>
-<li>Two Arm Do. Do.</li>
-<li>One Eight-Day clock</li>
-<li>Six Oil Paintings Gilt Frames</li>
-<li>One Large Pier Glass</li>
-<li>Carpet and Hearthrug</li>
-<li>Fender and Fire-irons</li>
-<li>Quantity of Chimney Ornaments</li>
-<li>Six Kitchen Chairs</li>
-<li>One Long Table Deal</li>
-<li>One Large Copper Boiler</li>
-<li>Two Copper Kettles</li>
-<li>Pattent Mangle</li>
-<li>One Large Water Butt</li>
-<li>Two Washing Tubs</li>
-<li>1&frac12; Doz. of Knifes and Forkes</li>
-<li>Quantity of Earthenware &amp;c. &amp;c.</li>
-<li>Two Feather Beds &amp; Bedding</li>
-<li>One Flock Do Do.</li>
-<li>Two Mahogany Bedsteads</li>
-<li>One French Do</li>
-<li><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_445" id="Page_445">[445]</a></span>Washhand stand Ure &amp;c.</li>
-<li>Two Hair Mattresses</li>
-<li>Three Bedroom Chairs</li>
-<li>One set of Bedroom Carpeting</li>
-<li>Staircase Carpeting, Brass Rods &amp;c.</li>
-<li>One Milch Cow</li>
-<li>One Cart Mare</li>
-<li>One Dung Cart</li>
-<li>One Wheelbarrow</li>
-<li>Three Cwt. of Hay</li>
-<li>Quantity of Manure</li>
-<li>And Sundry Dairy Utensils</li>
-<li>&amp;c. &amp;c. &amp;c.</li>
-
-</ul>
-
-</div>
-
-<p>On the back of this legal document is
-written:</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>“This memorial sheweth that Mrs. Julia
-Thompson, widow, Cowkeeper and Dairywoman
-has since the demise of her husband
-which took place in 1849 supported
-a family consisting of six children by the
-assistance of a small Dairy the Pleuro-Pneumonia
-a disease Among Cattle has
-prevailed in the neighbourhood for several
-weeks during which time she has lost five
-Milch Cows estimated at £75. „ „ which
-will end in her entire ruin unless aided by
-the Hands of the Benevolent whose Donations
-in conjunction with Our mutual assistance
-will We trust enable Mrs. Thompson
-to realize some part of her lost property
-to follow her Business As before.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left i4">H. Peters</td><td>£3</td><td>3</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">April 17th, 1856</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Chaplin &amp; Horne</td><td>£2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Mrs. Gore</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Revd J. W. Buckley</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Revd John Miles</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Mrs. J. Shaw</td><td>2</td><td>paid</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">C. Lushington</td><td>3</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">W. H. Ormsby</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">C. Molyneux</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Miss Ferrers</td><td>2</td><td>paid</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">W. Emmitt</td><td>2</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Anonymous</td><td>2</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Misses Gregg</td><td>2</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Miss Browne</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">J. B. White &amp; Bros</td><td>3</td><td>pd</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Thos Slater</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">W. T. Bird</td><td>2</td><td>pd.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Miss Hamilton</td><td>3</td><td>paid</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Revd. J. A. Toole</td><td>2</td><td>paid</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Mr. Hopgood</td><td>2</td><td>Paid</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">A Friend to the Widow</td><td>3</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="4" class="left i4">Paid to Mr. Pegg</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Richd Green</td><td>£2</td><td>pd</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Revd A. M. Campbell</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">W. P. France</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">W. M. N. Reilly</td><td>2</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Mrs. Forbes</td><td>2</td><td>pd</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">R. Gurney</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">J. Spurling</td><td>2</td><td>pd</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Geo. R. Ward</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Miss Brown</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Mrs Needham</td><td>2</td><td>Paid</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Mr Davidson</td><td>£2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Mrs. H. Scott Waring</td><td>3</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Mrs Hall</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Saml. Venables</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Revd. A. Taylor</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Revd. H. V. Le Bas</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Thomas Bunting</td><td>2</td><td>pd.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Mrs &amp; Miss Vullamy</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Revd. C. Smalley</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Miss Smalley</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Lord Brougham</td><td>2”</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-
-<p>The two most notorious “screevers” of
-the present day are Mr. Sullivan and Mr.
-Johnson of Westminster, or as he is proud
-of being called, “Johnson the Schemer.”</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Referees</span></h4>
-
-<p>are generally keepers of low lodging-houses,
-brothels, &amp;c., or small tradesmen who supply
-thieves and beggars with chandlery, &amp;c.
-When applied to for the character of any
-of their friends and confederates, they give
-them an excellent recommendation&mdash;but
-are careful not to <i>overdo</i> it. With that
-highest sort of artfulness that conceals artfulness,
-they know when to stop, and
-seldom or never betray themselves by saying
-too much.</p>
-
-<p>“Mrs. Simmons!” said one of them in
-answer to an application for character&mdash;“ah,
-yes, sir, I known her a good many
-years, and a very honest, hard-working, industrious,
-sober sort of a person I always
-knowed her to be, at least as far as <i>I</i> see&mdash;I
-never see nothing wrong in the woman
-for <i>my</i> part. The earliest-uppest, and
-downest-latest woman I ever see, and well
-she need be, with that family of hers&mdash;nine
-on ’em, and the eldest girl a idiot. When
-first I knew her, sir, her husband was alive,
-and then Susan&mdash;that’s the idiot, sir, were
-a babe in arms&mdash;her husband was a bad
-man to her, sir&mdash;the way that man drunk
-and spent his money among all the lowest
-girls and corner-coves was awful to see,&mdash;I
-mean by corner-coves them sort of men
-who is always a standing at the corners of
-the streets and chaffing respectable folks a
-passing by&mdash;we call them corner-coves
-about here; but as to poor Mrs. Simmons,
-sir, that husband of hers <i>tret</i> her awful&mdash;though
-he’s dead and gone now, poor man,
-and perhaps I have no right to speak ill on
-the dead. He had some money with her
-too&mdash;two hundred pound I heard&mdash;her
-father was a builder in a small way&mdash;and
-lived out towards Fulham&mdash;a very deserving
-woman I always found her, sir, and I
-have helped her a little bit myself, not
-much of course, for my circumstances
-would not allow of it; I’ve a wife and family
-myself&mdash;and I have often been wish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_446" id="Page_446">[446]</a></span>ful
-I could help her more, but what can a
-man do as has to pay his rent and taxes,
-and bring up his family respectable? When
-her last baby but two had the ring-worm
-we helped her now and then with a loaf of
-bread&mdash;poor thing&mdash;it ran right through
-the family, that ring-worm did&mdash;six on
-’em had it at the same time, she told us&mdash;and
-then they took the measles&mdash;the most
-unluckiest family in catching things as goes
-about I never saw&mdash;but as to Mrs. Simmons
-herself, sir, poor thing&mdash;a more hard-workinger
-and honester woman I never,
-&amp;c., &amp;c., &amp;c.”</p>
-
-
-<h3>DISTRESSED OPERATIVE BEGGARS.</h3>
-
-<p>All beggars are ingenious enough to make
-capital of public events. They read the
-newspapers, judge the bent of popular
-sympathy, and decide on the “lay” to be
-adopted. The “Times” informs its readers
-that two or three hundred English navigators
-have been suddenly turned adrift in
-France. The native labourers object to
-the employment of aliens, and our stalwart
-countrymen have been subjected to insult
-as well as privation. The beggar’s
-course is taken; he goes to Petticoat Lane,
-purchases a white smock frock, a purple or
-red plush waistcoat profusely ornamented
-with wooden buttons, a coloured cotton
-neckerchief, and a red nightcap. If procurable
-“in the Lane,” he also buys a
-pair of coarse-ribbed grey worsted-stockings,
-and boots whose enormous weight is
-increased by several pounds of iron nails in
-their thick soles; even then he is not perfect,
-he seeks a rag and bottle and old iron
-shop&mdash;your genuine artist-beggar never asks
-for what is new, he prefers the worn, the
-used, the ragged and the rusty&mdash;and bargains
-for a spade. The proprietor of the shop
-knows perfectly well that his customer requires
-an article for show, not service, and
-they part with a mutual grin, and the
-next day every street swarms with groups
-of distressed navigators. Popular feeling
-is on their side, and halfpence shower
-round them. Meanwhile the poor fellows
-for whom all this generous indignation is
-evoked are waiting in crowds at a French
-port till the British Consul passed them
-over to their native soil as paupers.</p>
-
-<p>The same tactics are pursued with manufactures.
-Beggars read the list of patents,
-and watch the effect of every fresh discovery
-in mechanics on the operatives of
-Lancashire and Yorkshire. A new machine
-is patented. So many hands are thrown
-out of work. So many beggars, who have
-never seen Lancashire, except when on the
-tramp, are heard in London. A strike
-takes place at several mills, pretended
-“hands” next day parade the streets. Even
-the variability of our climate is pressed
-into the “cadging” service; a frost locks
-up the rivers, and hardens the earth, rusty
-spades and gardening tools are in demand,
-and the indefatigable beggar takes the
-pavement in another “fancy dress.” Every
-social shipwreck is watched and turned to
-account by these systematic land-wreckers,
-who have reduced false signals to a regular
-code, and beg by rule and line and chart
-and compass.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Starved-out Manufacturers</span></h4>
-
-<p>parade in gangs of four and five, or with
-squalid wives and a few children. They wear
-paper-caps and white aprons with “bibs”
-to them, or a sort of cross-barred pinafore,
-called in the manufacturing districts a
-“chequer-brat.” Sometimes they make a
-“pitch,” that is, stand face to face, turning
-their backs upon a heartless world, and
-sing. The well-known ditty of</p>
-
- <div class="poetry-container"><div class="poetry"><div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse">“We are all the way from Manches-ter</div>
- <div class="verse">And we’ve got no work to do!”</div>
-</div></div></div>
-
-<p>set to the tune of, “Oh let us be joyful,”
-was first introduced by this class of beggars.
-Or they will carry tapes, stay-laces, and
-papers of buttons, and throw imploring
-looks from side to side, and beg by implication.
-Or they will cock their chins up
-in the air, so as to display the unpleasantly
-prominent apples in their bony throats, and
-drone a psalm. When they go out “on
-the blob,” they make a long oration, not
-in the Lancashire or Yorkshire dialects,
-but in a cockney voice, of a strong Whitechapel
-flavour. The substance of the speech
-varies but slightly from the “patter” of
-the hand-loom weaver; indeed, the Nottingham
-“driz” or lace-man, the hand on
-strike, the distressed weaver, and the
-“operative” beggar, generally bear so
-strong a resemblance to each other, that
-they not only look like but sometimes positively
-<i>are</i> one and the same person.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Unemployed Agriculturists</span>
-and
-<span class="smcap">Frozen-out Gardeners</span></h4>
-
-<p>are seen during a frost in gangs of from
-six to twenty. Two gangs generally
-“work” together, that is, while one gang
-begs at one end of a street, a second gang
-begs at the other. Their mode of procedure
-their “programme,” is very simple. Upon
-the spades which they carry is chalked
-“frozen-out!” or “starving!” and they enhance
-the effect of this “slum or fake<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_447" id="Page_447">[447]</a></span>ment,”
-by shouting out sturdily “frozen
-out,” “We’re all frozen-out!” The gardeners
-differ from the agriculturists or “navvies”
-in their costume. They affect aprons and
-old straw hats, their manner is less demonstrative,
-and their tones less rusty and unmelodious.
-The “navvies” roar; the gardeners
-squeak. The navvies’ petition is made
-loud and lustily, as by men used to work
-in clay and rock; the gardeners’ voice is
-meek and mild, as of a gentle nature trained
-to tend on fruits and flowers. The young
-bulky, sinewy beggar plays navvy; the
-shrivelled, gravelly, pottering, elderly cadger
-performs gardener.</p>
-
-<p>There can be no doubt that in times of
-hardship many honest labourers are forced
-into the streets to beg. A poor hard-working
-man, whose children cry to him
-for food, can feel no scruple in soliciting
-charity,&mdash;against such the writer of these
-pages would urge nothing; all credit to the
-motive that compels them unwillingly to
-ask alms; all honour to the feeling that
-prompts the listener to give. It is not the
-purpose of the author of this work to write
-down every mendicant an impostor, or
-every almsgiver a fool; on the contrary,
-he knows how much real distress, and
-how much real benevolence exist, and he
-would but step between the open hand of
-true charity, and the itching palm of the
-professional beggar, who stands between
-the misery that asks and the philanthropy
-that would relieve.</p>
-
-<p>The winter of 1860-61 was a fine harvest
-for the “frozen out” impostors, some few
-of whom, happily, reaped the reward of
-their deserts in the police-courts. Three
-strong hearty men were brought up at one
-office; they said that they were starving,
-and they came from Horselydown; when
-searched six shillings and elevenpence
-were found upon them; they reiterated
-that they were starving and were out of
-work, on which the sitting magistrate
-kindly provided them with both food and
-employment, by sentencing them to seven
-days’ hard labour.</p>
-
-<p>The “profits” of the frozen-out gardener
-and agriculturist are very large, and generally
-quadruples the sum earned by honest
-labour. In the February of 1861, four of
-these “distressed navvies” went into a
-public-house to divide the “swag” they
-had procured by one day’s shouting. Each
-had a handkerchief filled with bread and
-meat and cheese. They called for pots of
-porter and drank heartily, and when the
-reckoning was paid and the spoils equally
-divided, the share of each man was seven
-shillings.</p>
-
-<p>The credulity of the public upon one
-point has often surprised me. A man
-comes out into the streets to say that he is
-starving, a few halfpence are thrown to
-him. If really hungry he would make for
-the nearest baker’s shop; but no, he picks
-up the coppers, pockets them, and proclaims
-again that he is starving, though he
-has the means of obtaining food in his
-fingers. Not that this obvious anachronism
-stops the current of benevolence or the
-chink of coin upon the stones&mdash;the fainting,
-famished fellow walks leisurely up the
-street, and still bellows out in notes of
-thunder, “I am starving!” If one of my
-readers will try when faint and exhausted
-to produce the same tone in the open air,
-he will realize the impossibility of shouting
-and starving simultaneously.</p>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Hand-loom Weavers and Others deprived
-of their Living by Machinery.</span></h4>
-
-<p>As has been before stated, the regular
-beggar seizes on the latest pretext for a
-plausible tale of woe. Improvements in
-mechanics, and consequent cheapness to the
-many, are usually the causes of loss to the
-few. The sufferings of this minority is
-immediately turned to account by veteran
-cadgers, who rush to their wardrobes of
-well-chosen rags, attire themselves in appropriate
-costume, and ply their calling with
-the last grievance out. When unprovided
-with “patter,” they seek the literati of
-their class, and buy a speech; this they
-partly commit to memory, and trust to
-their own ingenuity to improvise any little
-touches that may prove effective. Many
-“screevers, slum-scribblers, and fakement-dodgers”
-eke out a living by this sort of
-authorship. Real operatives seldom stir
-from their own locality. The sympathy of
-their fellows, their natural habits, and the
-occasional relief afforded by the parish
-bind them to their homes, and the “distressed
-weaver” is generally a spurious
-metropolitan production. The following is
-a copy of one of their prepared orations:</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>“My kind Christian Friends,</p>
-
-<p>“We are poor working-men from &mdash;&mdash;
-which cannot obtain bread by our labour,
-owing to the new alterations and inventions
-which the master-manufacturers have introduced,
-which spares them the cost of
-employing hands, and does the work by
-machinery instead. Yes, kind friends,
-machinery and steam-engines now does
-the work, which formerly was done by our
-hands and work and labour. Our masters
-have turned us off, and we are without
-bread and knowing no other trade but that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_448" id="Page_448">[448]</a></span>
-which we was born and bred to, we are
-compelled to ask your kind assistance, for
-which, be sure of it, we shall be ever
-grateful. As we have said, masters now
-employs machinery and steam-engines
-instead of men, forgetting that steam-engines
-have no families of wives or children,
-and consequently are not called on
-to provide for them. We are without bread
-to put into our mouths, also our wives and
-children are the same. Foreign competition
-has drove our masters to this step, and we
-working-men are the sufferers thereby.
-Kind friends, drop your compassion on us:
-the smallest trifle will be thankfully
-received, and God will bless you for the
-relief you give to us. May you never know
-what it is to be as we are now, drove from
-our work, and forced to come out into the
-streets to beg your charity from door to
-door. Have pity on us, for our situation is
-most wretched. Our wives and families
-are starving, our children cry to us for
-bread, and we have none to give them.
-Oh, my friends, look down on us with
-compassion. We are poor working-men,
-weavers from &mdash;&mdash; which cannot obtain
-bread by our labour owing to the new inventions
-in machinery, which, &amp;c. &amp;c. &amp;c.”</p></div>
-
-<p>In concluding this section of our work,
-I would commend to the notice of my
-readers the following observations on alms-<span class="lock">giving:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>The poor will never cease from the
-land. There always will be exceptional
-excesses and outbreaks of distress that no
-plan could have provided against, and
-there always will be those who stand with
-open palm to receive, in the face of heaven,
-our tribute of gratitude for our own
-happier lot. Yet there is a duty of the
-head as well as of the heart, and we are
-bound as much to use our reason as to
-minister of our abundance. The same
-heaven that has rewarded our labours, and
-filled our garners or our coffers, or at least,
-given us favour in the sight of merchants
-and bankers, has given us also brains, and
-consequently a charge to employ them.
-So we are bound to sift appeals, and consider
-how best to direct our benevolence.
-Whoever thinks that charity consists in
-mere giving, and that he has only to put
-his hand in his pocket, or draw a check in
-favour of somebody who is very much in
-want of money, and looks very grateful for
-favours to be received, will find himself
-taught better, if not in the school of adversity,
-at least by many a hard lesson
-of kindness thrown away, or perhaps very
-brutishly repaid. As animals have their
-habits, so there is a large class of mankind
-whose single cleverness is that of representing
-themselves as justly and naturally
-dependent on the assistance of others, who
-look paupers from their birth, who seek
-givers and forsake those who have given
-as naturally as a tree sends its roots into
-new soil and deserts the exhausted. It is
-the office of reason&mdash;reason improved by
-experience&mdash;to teach us not to waste our
-own interest and our resources on beings
-that will be content to live on our bounty,
-and will never return a moral profit to our
-charitable industry. The great opportunities
-or the mighty powers that heaven may
-have given us, it never meant to be lavished
-on mere human animals who eat, drink
-and sleep, and whose only instinct is to
-find out a new caterer when the old one is
-exhausted.</p>
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_449" id="Page_449">[449]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">APPENDIX.</h2>
-
-
-
-
-<p class="center p2"><span class="x-large">MAPS AND TABLES</span><br />
-
-ILLUSTRATING THE CRIMINAL STATISTICS OF EACH OF THE COUNTIES
-OF ENGLAND AND WALES IN 1851.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td></td><td><span class="small">PAGE</span></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="smcap">Map showing the Density of the Population</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_451">451</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_452">452</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="smcap">Map showing the Intensity of Criminality</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_455">455</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_456">456</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="smcap">Map showing the Intensity of Ignorance</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_459">459</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_460">460</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of Ignorance among Criminals</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_462">462</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of Relative Degrees of Criminality</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_464">464</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Comparative Educational Tables</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_465">465</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="smcap">Map showing the Number of Illegitimate Children</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_467">467</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_468">468</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="smcap">Map showing the Number of Early Marriages</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_471">471</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_472">472</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="smcap">Map showing the Number of Females</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_475">475</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_476">476</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="smcap">Map showing Committals for Rape</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_477">477</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_479">479</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="smcap">Map showing Committals for Carnally abusing Girls</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_481">481</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_482">482</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="smcap">Map showing Committals for Disorderly Houses</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_485">485</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_486">486</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="smcap">Map showing Concealment of Births</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_489">489</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_490">490</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="smcap">Map showing Attempts at Miscarriage</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_493">493</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_494">494</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="smcap">Map showing Assaults with Intent</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_497">497</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_498">498</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="smcap">Map showing Committals for Bigamy</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_499">499</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_500">500</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="smcap">Map showing Committals for Abduction</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_501">501</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_502">502</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="smcap">Map showing the Criminality of Females</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_503">503</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left i2">Table of ditto</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_504">504</a></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<p><span class="pagenum">
-<a name="Page_451" id="Page_451">[451]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter break illowp61" id="i_i_1024" style="max-width: 61.875em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_1024h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>
-<span class="x-large b">MAP</span><br />
-SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PERSONS TO EVERY 100 ACRES;<br />
-OR<br />
-<span class="x-large">THE DENSITY OF THE POPULATION</span><br />
-IN EACH OF THE COUNTIES OF<br />
-<span class="x-large">ENGLAND AND WALES</span><br />
-in 1851</p>
-
-<p>⁂ The counties printed <i>black</i>
-are those in which the Population
-is <i>above</i> the average density.</p>
-
-<p>The counties left <i>white</i>
-are those in which the Population
-is <i>below</i> the average density.</p>
-
-<p>The average has been
-calculated from the
-last returns of the
-Registrar-General.
-</p></div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_452" id="Page_452">[452]</a></span></p>
-
-<h3>TABLE SHOWING THE
-DENSITY OF THE POPULATION IN THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES IN ENGLAND AND WALES
-IN 1851.</h3>
-
-
-<div class="mobile">
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2">COUNTIES.</th><th colspan="2">Dimensions.</th><th colspan="6">Houses.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>Square Miles.</th><th>Statute Acres.</th><th>Number of Inhabited Houses.</th><th>Number of Uninhabited Houses.</th><th>Number of Houses Building.</th><th>Total Number of Houses, 1851.</th><th>Total Number of Houses, 1841.</th><th>Increase of Houses per cent., 1841-51.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>465</td><td>297,632</td><td>25,694</td><td>676</td><td>126</td><td>26,496</td><td>22,877</td><td>15.8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>741</td><td>473,920</td><td>39,462</td><td>1,563</td><td>211</td><td>41,236</td><td>39,660</td><td>4.0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>725</td><td>463,880</td><td>29,217</td><td>1,103</td><td>89</td><td>30,409</td><td>28,860</td><td>5.4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>838</td><td>536,313</td><td>38,773</td><td>1,777</td><td>204</td><td>40,754</td><td>35,799</td><td>13.8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>1014</td><td>649,050</td><td>79,849</td><td>4,248</td><td>756</td><td>84,853</td><td>75,103</td><td>13.0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>1336</td><td>854,770</td><td>68,214</td><td>4,528</td><td>353</td><td>73,095</td><td>71,913</td><td>1.6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>1515</td><td>969,490</td><td>36,771</td><td>1,531</td><td>238</td><td>38,540</td><td>37,160</td><td>3.7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>1036</td><td>663,180</td><td>52,482</td><td>2,411</td><td>423</td><td>55,316</td><td>49,477</td><td>1.2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>2557</td><td>1,636,450</td><td>99,104</td><td>6,016</td><td>765</td><td>105,885</td><td>102,424</td><td>3.4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>980</td><td>627,220</td><td>34,771</td><td>1,554</td><td>218</td><td>36,543</td><td>35,400</td><td>3.2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>1062</td><td>679,530</td><td>68,989</td><td>3,030</td><td>595</td><td>72,614</td><td>61,940</td><td>17.2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>1530</td><td>979,000</td><td>68,383</td><td>3,353</td><td>364</td><td>72,100</td><td>65,570</td><td>10.0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>1235</td><td>790,470</td><td>78,385</td><td>4,961</td><td>393</td><td>83,739</td><td>79,953</td><td>4.7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>850</td><td>543,800</td><td>20,453</td><td>983</td><td>69</td><td>21,505</td><td>21,119</td><td>1.8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>626</td><td>400,350</td><td>33,954</td><td>1,189</td><td>214</td><td>35,357</td><td>32,687</td><td>8.2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>379</td><td>242,250</td><td>12,472</td><td>641</td><td>62</td><td>13,175</td><td>11,676</td><td>12.8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>1519</td><td>972,240</td><td>108,386</td><td>5,516</td><td>1290</td><td>115,192</td><td>101,717</td><td>13.3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>1746</td><td>1,117,260</td><td>356,436</td><td>17,453</td><td>3470</td><td>377,359</td><td>322,148</td><td>17.1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>799</td><td>511,340</td><td>49,968</td><td>1,599</td><td>198</td><td>51,765</td><td>49,470</td><td>4.6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>2600</td><td>1,663,850</td><td>79,667</td><td>3,394</td><td>579</td><td>83,640</td><td>74,138</td><td>12.8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>280</td><td>179,590</td><td>242,798</td><td>12,213</td><td>3276</td><td>258,287</td><td>222,443</td><td>16.1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>507</td><td>324,310</td><td>32,901</td><td>1,473</td><td>183</td><td>34,557</td><td>30,099</td><td>4.8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>2019</td><td>1,292,300</td><td>91,143</td><td>3,312</td><td>449</td><td>94,904</td><td>88,378</td><td>7.4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>1011</td><td>646,810</td><td>43,945</td><td>1,478</td><td>238</td><td>45,661</td><td>42,358</td><td>7.8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>1821</td><td>1,165,430</td><td>47,509</td><td>2,060</td><td>384</td><td>49,953</td><td>55,337</td><td>10.8<a name="FNanchor_95_95m" id="FNanchor_95_95m"></a><a href="#Footnote_95_95m" class="fnanchor">[95]</a></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>822</td><td>525,800</td><td>59,427</td><td>1,481</td><td>267</td><td>61,175</td><td>57,611</td><td>6.2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>730</td><td>467,230</td><td>34,922</td><td>1,323</td><td>105</td><td>36,350</td><td>34,151</td><td>6.4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>152</td><td>97,500</td><td>4,961</td><td>153</td><td>18</td><td>5,132</td><td>4,899</td><td>4.8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>1351</td><td>864,360</td><td>48,842</td><td>2,184</td><td>112</td><td>51,138</td><td>50,131</td><td>2.0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>1606</td><td>1,028,090</td><td>87,776</td><td>5,090</td><td>396</td><td>93,252</td><td>90,947</td><td>2.6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>1591</td><td>1,018,550</td><td>74,588</td><td>3,471</td><td>617</td><td>78,676</td><td>69,807</td><td>12.7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>1150</td><td>736,290</td><td>120,501</td><td>4,526</td><td>962</td><td>125,989</td><td>107,941</td><td>16.7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>1436</td><td>918,760</td><td>69,479</td><td>3,098</td><td>424</td><td>73,001</td><td>67,050</td><td>8.9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>741</td><td>474,480</td><td>109,453</td><td>5,717</td><td>1663</td><td>116,838</td><td>101,121</td><td>15.6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>1419</td><td>907,920</td><td>59,308</td><td>2,220</td><td>609</td><td>62,137</td><td>58,506</td><td>6·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>887</td><td>567,930</td><td>98,323</td><td>4,609</td><td>977</td><td>103,909</td><td>90,868</td><td>14·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>759</td><td>485,990</td><td>11,247</td><td>530</td><td>94</td><td>11,871</td><td>11,783</td><td>0·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>1356</td><td>8,060</td><td>49,061</td><td>2,223</td><td>171</td><td>51,455</td><td>49,918</td><td>3·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>718</td><td>9,710</td><td>52,055</td><td>2,753</td><td>362</td><td>55,170</td><td>49,371</td><td>11·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>5733</td><td>3,669,510</td><td>358,694</td><td>16,469</td><td>3244</td><td>378,417</td><td>341,147</td><td>10·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Travelling</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>3194</td><td>2,044,160</td><td>83,091</td><td>3,720</td><td>522</td><td>87,333</td><td>85,847</td><td>8·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>4231</td><td>2,707,840</td><td>119,507</td><td>5,269</td><td>844</td><td>125,620</td><td>115,822</td><td>1·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="smcap">Total for England and Wales</span></td><td class="total">57,067</td><td class="total">36,522,615</td><td class="total">3,280,961</td><td class="total">152,898</td><td class="total">26,534</td><td class="total">3,460,393</td><td class="total">3,144,626</td><td class="total">10·0</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th colspan="5">Population, 1851.</th><th colspan="4">Density.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>Males.</th><th>Females.</th><th>Total Population, 1851.</th><th>Total Population, 1841.</th><th>Increase of Population per cent., 1841-51.</th><th>No. of Persons to each 100 acres.</th><th>No. of acres to each Person.</th><th>No. of acres to each House.</th><th>No. of Persons to each Inhabited House.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>62,420</td><td>67,369</td><td>129,789</td><td>112,378</td><td>16</td><td>43.5</td><td>2.3</td><td>11.2</td><td>5.1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>99,227</td><td>99,927</td><td>199,154</td><td>189,227</td><td>5</td><td>41.7</td><td>2.4</td><td>11.5</td><td>5.0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>70,784</td><td>72,886</td><td>143,670</td><td>138,248</td><td>4</td><td>31.3</td><td>3.2</td><td>15.2</td><td>4.9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>95,505</td><td>96,351</td><td>191,856</td><td>169,638</td><td>13</td><td>35.8</td><td>2.8</td><td>13.1</td><td>4.9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>206,715</td><td>216,723</td><td>423,438</td><td>368,115</td><td>15</td><td>65.2</td><td>1.5</td><td>7.6</td><td>5.3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>171,979</td><td>184,683</td><td>356,662</td><td>343,265</td><td>4</td><td>41.7</td><td>2.4</td><td>11.6</td><td>5.2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>96,106</td><td>99,381</td><td>195,487</td><td>177,807</td><td>10</td><td>20.0</td><td>5.0</td><td>25.1</td><td>5.3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>129,379</td><td>131,328</td><td>260,707</td><td>239,791</td><td>9</td><td>40.0</td><td>2.5</td><td>11.9</td><td>5.0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>271,579</td><td>300,628</td><td>572,207</td><td>534,883</td><td>6</td><td>34.5</td><td>2.9</td><td>15.4</td><td>5.7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>85,816</td><td>91,781</td><td>177,597</td><td>167,689</td><td>6</td><td>28.6</td><td>3.5</td><td>17.1</td><td>5.1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>206,666</td><td>204,866</td><td>411,532</td><td>325,854</td><td>26</td><td>62.5</td><td>1.6</td><td>9.3</td><td>5.9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>172,161</td><td>171,755</td><td>343,916</td><td>320,605</td><td>7</td><td>34.5</td><td>2.9</td><td>13.5</td><td>5.0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>198,122</td><td>221,353</td><td>419,475</td><td>395,533</td><td>6</td><td>53.0</td><td>1.9</td><td>9.4</td><td>5.3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>49,694</td><td>49,418</td><td>99,112</td><td>96,515</td><td>3</td><td>18.2</td><td>5.5</td><td>25.3</td><td>4.8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>86,331</td><td>87,632</td><td>173,963</td><td>162,394</td><td>7</td><td>43.5</td><td>2.3</td><td>11.3</td><td>5.1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>29,984</td><td>30,336</td><td>60,320</td><td>55,565</td><td>9</td><td>25.0</td><td>4.0</td><td>18.3</td><td>4.8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>308,115</td><td>311,092</td><td>619,207</td><td>540,275</td><td>14</td><td>63.6</td><td>1.6</td><td>8.4</td><td>5.7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1,005,627</td><td>1,058,286</td><td>2,063,913</td><td>1,696,377</td><td>22</td><td>200.0</td><td>.5</td><td>2.9</td><td>5.8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>115,295</td><td>119,643</td><td>234,938</td><td>220,263</td><td>7</td><td>45.4</td><td>2.2</td><td>9.9</td><td>4.7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>201,027</td><td>199,239</td><td>400,266</td><td>356,226</td><td>12</td><td>23.8</td><td>4.2</td><td>19.9</td><td>5.0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>885,614</td><td>1,010,096</td><td>1,895,710</td><td>1,582,538</td><td>20</td><td>1059.0</td><td>.09</td><td>.7</td><td>7.9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>92,095</td><td>85,070</td><td>177,165</td><td>150,544</td><td>17</td><td>55.5</td><td>1.8</td><td>9.3</td><td>5.4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>210,360</td><td>223,443</td><td>433,803</td><td>404,971</td><td>7</td><td>33.3</td><td>3.0</td><td>13.6</td><td>4.8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>106,533</td><td>107,251</td><td>213,784</td><td>198,518</td><td>7</td><td>33.3</td><td>3.0</td><td>14.1</td><td>4.9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>149,158</td><td>154,377</td><td>303,535</td><td>265,636</td><td>13</td><td>25.6</td><td>3.9</td><td>23.3</td><td>6.3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>144,428</td><td>150,010</td><td>294,438</td><td>270,535</td><td>9</td><td>55.5</td><td>1.8</td><td>8.6</td><td>5.0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>85,449</td><td>84,837</td><td>170,286</td><td>163,216</td><td>4</td><td>37.0</td><td>2.7</td><td>12.8</td><td>4.9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>12,270</td><td>12,002</td><td>24,272</td><td>23,151</td><td>5</td><td>25.0</td><td>4.0</td><td>19.0</td><td>4.9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>122,022</td><td>122,997</td><td>245,019</td><td>241,685</td><td>1</td><td>28.6</td><td>3.5</td><td>16.9</td><td>5.0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>216,716</td><td>239,521</td><td>456,237</td><td>448,793</td><td>2</td><td>43.5</td><td>2.3</td><td>11.0</td><td>5.2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>199,834</td><td>202,199</td><td>402,033</td><td>348,298</td><td>13</td><td>38.4</td><td>2.6</td><td>12.9</td><td>5.3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>320,394</td><td>310,112</td><td>630,506</td><td>528,867</td><td>20</td><td>83.3</td><td>1.2</td><td>5.8</td><td>5.2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>165,267</td><td>170,724</td><td>335,991</td><td>314,467</td><td>7</td><td>37.0</td><td>2.7</td><td>12.5</td><td>4.8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>325,155</td><td>359,650</td><td>684,805</td><td>586,816</td><td>17</td><td>144.0</td><td>.7</td><td>4.0</td><td>6.3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>166,828</td><td>172,600</td><td>339,428</td><td>302,081</td><td>12</td><td>37·0</td><td>2·7</td><td>14·6</td><td>5·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>235,263</td><td>244,716</td><td>479,979</td><td>408,814</td><td>18</td><td>83·3</td><td>1·2</td><td>·54</td><td>4·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>29,064</td><td>29,316</td><td>58,380</td><td>56,609</td><td>3</td><td>12·0</td><td>8·3</td><td>40·9</td><td>5·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>118,839</td><td>122,164</td><td>241,003</td><td>242,772</td><td>0·7</td><td>27·7</td><td>3·6</td><td>16·8</td><td>4·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>126,739</td><td>132,023</td><td>258,762</td><td>230,387</td><td>13</td><td>55·5</td><td>1·8</td><td>8·5</td><td>5·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>886,845</td><td>901,922</td><td>1,788,767</td><td>1,582,977</td><td>13</td><td>48·7</td><td>2·5</td><td>9·7</td><td>4·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>5,016</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td>200,538</td><td>203,622</td><td>404,160</td><td>388,106</td><td>4</td><td>19·</td><td>5·1</td><td>23·2</td><td>4·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>300,645</td><td>306,851</td><td>607,496</td><td>528,849</td><td>14</td><td>22·2</td><td>4·5</td><td>21·5</td><td>5·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="total">8,762,588</td><td class="total">9,160,180</td><td class="total">17,922,768</td><td class="total">15,804,294</td><td class="total">13</td><td class="total">49·7</td><td class="total">2·0</td><td class="total">10·5</td><td class="total">5·5</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-</div>
-
-<div class="nomobile">
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2">COUNTIES.</th><th colspan="2">Dimensions.</th><th colspan="6">Houses.</th><th colspan="5">Population, 1851.</th><th colspan="4">Density.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>Square Miles.</th><th>Statute Acres.</th><th>Number of Inhabited Houses.</th><th>Number of Uninhabited Houses.</th><th>Number of Houses Building.</th><th>Total Number of Houses, 1851.</th><th>Total Number of Houses, 1841.</th><th>Increase of Houses per cent., 1841-51.</th><th>Males.</th><th>Females.</th><th>Total Population, 1851.</th><th>Total Population, 1841.</th><th>Increase of Population per cent., 1841-51.</th><th>No. of Persons to each 100 acres.</th><th>No. of acres to each Person.</th><th>No. of acres to each House.</th><th>No. of Persons to each Inhabited House.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>465</td><td>297,632</td><td>25,694</td><td>676</td><td>126</td><td>26,496</td><td>22,877</td><td>15.8</td><td>62,420</td><td>67,369</td><td>129,789</td><td>112,378</td><td>16</td><td>43.5</td><td>2.3</td><td>11.2</td><td>5.1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>741</td><td>473,920</td><td>39,462</td><td>1,563</td><td>211</td><td>41,236</td><td>39,660</td><td>4.0</td><td>99,227</td><td>99,927</td><td>199,154</td><td>189,227</td><td>5</td><td>41.7</td><td>2.4</td><td>11.5</td><td>5.0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>725</td><td>463,880</td><td>29,217</td><td>1,103</td><td>89</td><td>30,409</td><td>28,860</td><td>5.4</td><td>70,784</td><td>72,886</td><td>143,670</td><td>138,248</td><td>4</td><td>31.3</td><td>3.2</td><td>15.2</td><td>4.9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>838</td><td>536,313</td><td>38,773</td><td>1,777</td><td>204</td><td>40,754</td><td>35,799</td><td>13.8</td><td>95,505</td><td>96,351</td><td>191,856</td><td>169,638</td><td>13</td><td>35.8</td><td>2.8</td><td>13.1</td><td>4.9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>1014</td><td>649,050</td><td>79,849</td><td>4,248</td><td>756</td><td>84,853</td><td>75,103</td><td>13.0</td><td>206,715</td><td>216,723</td><td>423,438</td><td>368,115</td><td>15</td><td>65.2</td><td>1.5</td><td>7.6</td><td>5.3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>1336</td><td>854,770</td><td>68,214</td><td>4,528</td><td>353</td><td>73,095</td><td>71,913</td><td>1.6</td><td>171,979</td><td>184,683</td><td>356,662</td><td>343,265</td><td>4</td><td>41.7</td><td>2.4</td><td>11.6</td><td>5.2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>1515</td><td>969,490</td><td>36,771</td><td>1,531</td><td>238</td><td>38,540</td><td>37,160</td><td>3.7</td><td>96,106</td><td>99,381</td><td>195,487</td><td>177,807</td><td>10</td><td>20.0</td><td>5.0</td><td>25.1</td><td>5.3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>1036</td><td>663,180</td><td>52,482</td><td>2,411</td><td>423</td><td>55,316</td><td>49,477</td><td>1.2</td><td>129,379</td><td>131,328</td><td>260,707</td><td>239,791</td><td>9</td><td>40.0</td><td>2.5</td><td>11.9</td><td>5.0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>2557</td><td>1,636,450</td><td>99,104</td><td>6,016</td><td>765</td><td>105,885</td><td>102,424</td><td>3.4</td><td>271,579</td><td>300,628</td><td>572,207</td><td>534,883</td><td>6</td><td>34.5</td><td>2.9</td><td>15.4</td><td>5.7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>980</td><td>627,220</td><td>34,771</td><td>1,554</td><td>218</td><td>36,543</td><td>35,400</td><td>3.2</td><td>85,816</td><td>91,781</td><td>177,597</td><td>167,689</td><td>6</td><td>28.6</td><td>3.5</td><td>17.1</td><td>5.1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>1062</td><td>679,530</td><td>68,989</td><td>3,030</td><td>595</td><td>72,614</td><td>61,940</td><td>17.2</td><td>206,666</td><td>204,866</td><td>411,532</td><td>325,854</td><td>26</td><td>62.5</td><td>1.6</td><td>9.3</td><td>5.9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>1530</td><td>979,000</td><td>68,383</td><td>3,353</td><td>364</td><td>72,100</td><td>65,570</td><td>10.0</td><td>172,161</td><td>171,755</td><td>343,916</td><td>320,605</td><td>7</td><td>34.5</td><td>2.9</td><td>13.5</td><td>5.0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>1235</td><td>790,470</td><td>78,385</td><td>4,961</td><td>393</td><td>83,739</td><td>79,953</td><td>4.7</td><td>198,122</td><td>221,353</td><td>419,475</td><td>395,533</td><td>6</td><td>53.0</td><td>1.9</td><td>9.4</td><td>5.3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>850</td><td>543,800</td><td>20,453</td><td>983</td><td>69</td><td>21,505</td><td>21,119</td><td>1.8</td><td>49,694</td><td>49,418</td><td>99,112</td><td>96,515</td><td>3</td><td>18.2</td><td>5.5</td><td>25.3</td><td>4.8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>626</td><td>400,350</td><td>33,954</td><td>1,189</td><td>214</td><td>35,357</td><td>32,687</td><td>8.2</td><td>86,331</td><td>87,632</td><td>173,963</td><td>162,394</td><td>7</td><td>43.5</td><td>2.3</td><td>11.3</td><td>5.1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>379</td><td>242,250</td><td>12,472</td><td>641</td><td>62</td><td>13,175</td><td>11,676</td><td>12.8</td><td>29,984</td><td>30,336</td><td>60,320</td><td>55,565</td><td>9</td><td>25.0</td><td>4.0</td><td>18.3</td><td>4.8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>1519</td><td>972,240</td><td>108,386</td><td>5,516</td><td>1290</td><td>115,192</td><td>101,717</td><td>13.3</td><td>308,115</td><td>311,092</td><td>619,207</td><td>540,275</td><td>14</td><td>63.6</td><td>1.6</td><td>8.4</td><td>5.7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>1746</td><td>1,117,260</td><td>356,436</td><td>17,453</td><td>3470</td><td>377,359</td><td>322,148</td><td>17.1</td><td>1,005,627</td><td>1,058,286</td><td>2,063,913</td><td>1,696,377</td><td>22</td><td>200.0</td><td>.5</td><td>2.9</td><td>5.8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>799</td><td>511,340</td><td>49,968</td><td>1,599</td><td>198</td><td>51,765</td><td>49,470</td><td>4.6</td><td>115,295</td><td>119,643</td><td>234,938</td><td>220,263</td><td>7</td><td>45.4</td><td>2.2</td><td>9.9</td><td>4.7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>2600</td><td>1,663,850</td><td>79,667</td><td>3,394</td><td>579</td><td>83,640</td><td>74,138</td><td>12.8</td><td>201,027</td><td>199,239</td><td>400,266</td><td>356,226</td><td>12</td><td>23.8</td><td>4.2</td><td>19.9</td><td>5.0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>280</td><td>179,590</td><td>242,798</td><td>12,213</td><td>3276</td><td>258,287</td><td>222,443</td><td>16.1</td><td>885,614</td><td>1,010,096</td><td>1,895,710</td><td>1,582,538</td><td>20</td><td>1059.0</td><td>.09</td><td>.7</td><td>7.9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>507</td><td>324,310</td><td>32,901</td><td>1,473</td><td>183</td><td>34,557</td><td>30,099</td><td>4.8</td><td>92,095</td><td>85,070</td><td>177,165</td><td>150,544</td><td>17</td><td>55.5</td><td>1.8</td><td>9.3</td><td>5.4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>2019</td><td>1,292,300</td><td>91,143</td><td>3,312</td><td>449</td><td>94,904</td><td>88,378</td><td>7.4</td><td>210,360</td><td>223,443</td><td>433,803</td><td>404,971</td><td>7</td><td>33.3</td><td>3.0</td><td>13.6</td><td>4.8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>1011</td><td>646,810</td><td>43,945</td><td>1,478</td><td>238</td><td>45,661</td><td>42,358</td><td>7.8</td><td>106,533</td><td>107,251</td><td>213,784</td><td>198,518</td><td>7</td><td>33.3</td><td>3.0</td><td>14.1</td><td>4.9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>1821</td><td>1,165,430</td><td>47,509</td><td>2,060</td><td>384</td><td>49,953</td><td>55,337</td><td>10.8<a name="FNanchor_95_95" id="FNanchor_95_95"></a><a href="#Footnote_95_95" class="fnanchor">[95]</a></td><td>149,158</td><td>154,377</td><td>303,535</td><td>265,636</td><td>13</td><td>25.6</td><td>3.9</td><td>23.3</td><td>6.3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>822</td><td>525,800</td><td>59,427</td><td>1,481</td><td>267</td><td>61,175</td><td>57,611</td><td>6.2</td><td>144,428</td><td>150,010</td><td>294,438</td><td>270,535</td><td>9</td><td>55.5</td><td>1.8</td><td>8.6</td><td>5.0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>730</td><td>467,230</td><td>34,922</td><td>1,323</td><td>105</td><td>36,350</td><td>34,151</td><td>6.4</td><td>85,449</td><td>84,837</td><td>170,286</td><td>163,216</td><td>4</td><td>37.0</td><td>2.7</td><td>12.8</td><td>4.9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>152</td><td>97,500</td><td>4,961</td><td>153</td><td>18</td><td>5,132</td><td>4,899</td><td>4.8</td><td>12,270</td><td>12,002</td><td>24,272</td><td>23,151</td><td>5</td><td>25.0</td><td>4.0</td><td>19.0</td><td>4.9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>1351</td><td>864,360</td><td>48,842</td><td>2,184</td><td>112</td><td>51,138</td><td>50,131</td><td>2.0</td><td>122,022</td><td>122,997</td><td>245,019</td><td>241,685</td><td>1</td><td>28.6</td><td>3.5</td><td>16.9</td><td>5.0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>1606</td><td>1,028,090</td><td>87,776</td><td>5,090</td><td>396</td><td>93,252</td><td>90,947</td><td>2.6</td><td>216,716</td><td>239,521</td><td>456,237</td><td>448,793</td><td>2</td><td>43.5</td><td>2.3</td><td>11.0</td><td>5.2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>1591</td><td>1,018,550</td><td>74,588</td><td>3,471</td><td>617</td><td>78,676</td><td>69,807</td><td>12.7</td><td>199,834</td><td>202,199</td><td>402,033</td><td>348,298</td><td>13</td><td>38.4</td><td>2.6</td><td>12.9</td><td>5.3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>1150</td><td>736,290</td><td>120,501</td><td>4,526</td><td>962</td><td>125,989</td><td>107,941</td><td>16.7</td><td>320,394</td><td>310,112</td><td>630,506</td><td>528,867</td><td>20</td><td>83.3</td><td>1.2</td><td>5.8</td><td>5.2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>1436</td><td>918,760</td><td>69,479</td><td>3,098</td><td>424</td><td>73,001</td><td>67,050</td><td>8.9</td><td>165,267</td><td>170,724</td><td>335,991</td><td>314,467</td><td>7</td><td>37.0</td><td>2.7</td><td>12.5</td><td>4.8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>741</td><td>474,480</td><td>109,453</td><td>5,717</td><td>1663</td><td>116,838</td><td>101,121</td><td>15.6</td><td>325,155</td><td>359,650</td><td>684,805</td><td>586,816</td><td>17</td><td>144.0</td><td>.7</td><td>4.0</td><td>6.3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>1419</td><td>907,920</td><td>59,308</td><td>2,220</td><td>609</td><td>62,137</td><td>58,506</td><td>6·2</td><td>166,828</td><td>172,600</td><td>339,428</td><td>302,081</td><td>12</td><td>37·0</td><td>2·7</td><td>14·6</td><td>5·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>887</td><td>567,930</td><td>98,323</td><td>4,609</td><td>977</td><td>103,909</td><td>90,868</td><td>14·4</td><td>235,263</td><td>244,716</td><td>479,979</td><td>408,814</td><td>18</td><td>83·3</td><td>1·2</td><td>·54</td><td>4·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>759</td><td>485,990</td><td>11,247</td><td>530</td><td>94</td><td>11,871</td><td>11,783</td><td>0·8</td><td>29,064</td><td>29,316</td><td>58,380</td><td>56,609</td><td>3</td><td>12·0</td><td>8·3</td><td>40·9</td><td>5·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>1356</td><td>8,060</td><td>49,061</td><td>2,223</td><td>171</td><td>51,455</td><td>49,918</td><td>3·1</td><td>118,839</td><td>122,164</td><td>241,003</td><td>242,772</td><td>0·7</td><td>27·7</td><td>3·6</td><td>16·8</td><td>4·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>718</td><td>9,710</td><td>52,055</td><td>2,753</td><td>362</td><td>55,170</td><td>49,371</td><td>11·8</td><td>126,739</td><td>132,023</td><td>258,762</td><td>230,387</td><td>13</td><td>55·5</td><td>1·8</td><td>8·5</td><td>5·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>5733</td><td>3,669,510</td><td>358,694</td><td>16,469</td><td>3244</td><td>378,417</td><td>341,147</td><td>10·9</td><td>886,845</td><td>901,922</td><td>1,788,767</td><td>1,582,977</td><td>13</td><td>48·7</td><td>2·5</td><td>9·7</td><td>4·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Travelling</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>5,016</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>3194</td><td>2,044,160</td><td>83,091</td><td>3,720</td><td>522</td><td>87,333</td><td>85,847</td><td>8·5</td><td>200,538</td><td>203,622</td><td>404,160</td><td>388,106</td><td>4</td><td>19·</td><td>5·1</td><td>23·2</td><td>4·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>4231</td><td>2,707,840</td><td>119,507</td><td>5,269</td><td>844</td><td>125,620</td><td>115,822</td><td>1·7</td><td>300,645</td><td>306,851</td><td>607,496</td><td>528,849</td><td>14</td><td>22·2</td><td>4·5</td><td>21·5</td><td>5·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="smcap">Total for England and Wales</span></td><td>57,067</td><td>36,522,615</td><td>3,280,961</td><td>152,898</td><td>26,534</td><td>3,460,393</td><td>3,144,626</td><td>10·0</td><td>8,762,588</td><td>9,160,180</td><td>17,922,768</td><td>15,804,294</td><td>13</td><td>49·7</td><td>2·0</td><td>10·5</td><td>5·5</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_453" id="Page_453">[453]</a></span></p>
-
-<h3>LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE ORDER OF THE
-DENSITY OF THEIR POPULATION, AS
-SHOWN BY THE NUMBER OF PERSONS
-TO EVERY 100 ACRES.</h3>
-
-
-<h4><i>Counties above the Average.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>1059·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>200·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>144·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>83·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York, West Riding</td><td>83·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>65·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>63·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>62·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>55·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>83·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>55·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>55·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>53·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Average for England and Wales</td><td>49·7</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<h5><i>Counties below the Average.</i></h5>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>45·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>43·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>43·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>43·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>41·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>41·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>40·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>38·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>37·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>37·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>37·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>35·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>34·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>34·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>33·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>33·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York, East Riding</td><td>33·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>31·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>28·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Shropshire</td><td>28·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>27·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>25·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Huntingdon</td><td>25·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>25·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>23·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>22·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>20·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>19·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>18·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York, North Riding</td><td>15·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>12·0</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<h4>COMPARISON OF THE DENSITY OF THE POPULATION IN 1841 and 1851.</h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th></th><th>1841.</th><th>1851.</th><th></th><th>1841.</th><th>1851.</th></tr>
-<tr><th><i>Agricultural Counties.</i></th><th></th><th></th><th><i>Mining Counties.</i></th><th></th><th></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>21·7</td><td>23·8</td><td class="left">Durham</td><td>47·6</td><td>62·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>22·7</td><td>25·0</td><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>41·6</td><td>41·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Huntingdon</td><td>25·0</td><td>25·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>30·3</td><td>35·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>35·7</td><td>34·5</td><th><i>Manufacturing and Sub-Mining Counties.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>32·2</td><td>37·0</td><td class="left">Derby</td><td>41·6</td><td>40·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>20·8</td><td>18·2</td><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>71·4</td><td>83·3</td></tr>
-
-<tr><th><i>Agricultural and Sub-Manufacturing Counties.</i></th><th></th><th></th><th><i>Agricultural and Sub-Mining Counties.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>11·6</td><td>12·0</td><td class="left">Shropshire</td><td>28·5</td><td>28·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>32·2</td><td>33·3</td><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>19·3</td><td>19·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>33·3</td><td>37·0</td><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>19·0</td><td>22·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>40·0</td><td>43·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>37·0</td><td>43·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Buckingham</td><td>33·3</td><td>31·3</td><th><i>Sub-Agricultural and Sub-Mining Counties.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>31·2</td><td>33·3</td><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>21·2</td><td>25·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>34·4</td><td>37·0</td><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>18·5</td><td>20·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>34·4</td><td>41·7</td><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>43·0</td><td>55·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hants</td><td>47·6</td><td>38·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>30·3</td><td>27·7</td><th><i>Metropolitan County.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>27·7</td><td>28·6</td><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>1000·0</td><td>1059·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>41·6</td><td>43·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>32·2</td><td>34·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><th><i>Sub-Metropolitan Counties.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><th><i>Sub-Agricultural and Sub-Manufacturing County.</i></th><td></td><td></td><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>125·0</td><td>144·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>55·5</td><td>26·1</td><td class="left">Kent</td><td>55·5</td><td>63·6</td></tr>
-
-<tr><th><i>Manufacturing Counties.</i></th><td></td><td></td><td class="left" rowspan="2">Note.&mdash;An <i>Agricultural</i> county has <i>more</i> than 10 per cent., and a <i>Sub-Agricultural</i> county <i>less</i> than 10 per cent. of its population employed in agriculture.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>166·6</td><td>200·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Yorkshire</td><td>42·6</td><td>48·7</td><td class="left" rowspan="2">A <i>Manufacturing</i> county has <i>more</i> than 15 per cent., and a <i>Sub-Manufacturing</i> county <i>less</i> than 15 per cent. of its population employed in manufacture.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>58·8</td><td>65·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>47·6</td><td>55·5</td><td class="left" rowspan="2">A <i>Mining</i> county has <i>more</i> than 5 per cent., and a <i>Sub-Mining</i> county <i>less</i> than 5 per cent. of its population employed in mining.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>43·0</td><td>45·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>71·4</td><td>83·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>52·6</td><td>55·5</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<p><span class="pagenum">
-<a name="Page_455" id="Page_455">[455]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="figcenter break illowp60" id="i_i_1030" style="max-width: 60.375em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_1030h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>
-<span class="x-large b">MAP</span><br />
-SHOWING THE NUMBER OF THE CRIMINAL OFFENDERS TO EVERY
-10,000 OF THE POPULATION;<br />
-OR<br />
-<span class="x-large">THE INTENSITY OF THE CRIMINALITY</span><br />
-IN EACH COUNTY OF<br />
-<span class="x-large">ENGLAND AND WALES.</span></p>
-
-
-
-<p>⁂ The counties printed <i>black</i>
-are those in which the number of
-Criminals is <i>above</i> the average.</p>
-
-<p>The counties left <i>white</i> are those
-in which the number of
-Criminals is <i>below</i> the average.</p>
-
-<p>The average has been
-calculated from the
-returns for the last
-ten years.
-</p></div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_456" id="Page_456">[456]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<h4>TABLE SHOWING THE CRIMINALITY OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES IN ENGLAND AND WALES
-IN THE UNDERMENTIONED YEARS.</h4>
-
-
-<div class="mobile">
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2">COUNTIES.</th><th rowspan="2">Average Population from 1841-50.</th><th colspan="8">Total number of Persons committed for Trial or Bailed.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1841.</th><th>1842.</th><th>1843.</th><th>1844.</th><th>1845.</th><th>1846.</th><th>1847.</th><th>1848.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>121,083</td><td>191</td><td>229</td><td>202</td><td>188</td><td>155</td><td>185</td><td>178</td><td>204</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>194,763</td><td>306</td><td>333</td><td>328</td><td>287</td><td>260</td><td>250</td><td>335</td><td>360</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>140,959</td><td>287</td><td>277</td><td>313</td><td>280</td><td>286</td><td>283</td><td>315</td><td>310</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>180,747</td><td>240</td><td>241</td><td>257</td><td>297</td><td>239</td><td>276</td><td>255</td><td>244</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>395,919</td><td>943</td><td>1086</td><td>1018</td><td>777</td><td>688</td><td>767</td><td>871</td><td>1070</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>349,991</td><td>295</td><td>282</td><td>301</td><td>269</td><td>272</td><td>280</td><td>341</td><td>272</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>186,762</td><td>151</td><td>115</td><td>109</td><td>138</td><td>118</td><td>147</td><td>120</td><td>130</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>250,249</td><td>277</td><td>322</td><td>322</td><td>279</td><td>186</td><td>277</td><td>214</td><td>264</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>554,738</td><td>687</td><td>716</td><td>740</td><td>715</td><td>720</td><td>721</td><td>949</td><td>924</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>172,736</td><td>284</td><td>241</td><td>252</td><td>203</td><td>218</td><td>225</td><td>307</td><td>287</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>368,787</td><td>215</td><td>266</td><td>300</td><td>376</td><td>203</td><td>249</td><td>279</td><td>334</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>332,363</td><td>647</td><td>758</td><td>710</td><td>596</td><td>554</td><td>602</td><td>603</td><td>689</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>407,504</td><td>1236</td><td>1252</td><td>1186</td><td>1071</td><td>929</td><td>884</td><td>1092</td><td>1042</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>97,813</td><td>245</td><td>259</td><td>238</td><td>230</td><td>226</td><td>158</td><td>212</td><td>270</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>168,178</td><td>319</td><td>338</td><td>265</td><td>271</td><td>244</td><td>243</td><td>291</td><td>348</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>57,942</td><td>62</td><td>68</td><td>68</td><td>79</td><td>88</td><td>81</td><td>89</td><td>104</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>585,249</td><td>962</td><td>1155</td><td>977</td><td>911</td><td>831</td><td>815</td><td>889</td><td>1020</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>1,881,261</td><td>3987</td><td>4497</td><td>3677</td><td>2893</td><td>2852</td><td>3072</td><td>3456</td><td>3778</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>227,621</td><td>466</td><td>492</td><td>509</td><td>481</td><td>328</td><td>358</td><td>335</td><td>346</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>378,246</td><td>349</td><td>507</td><td>563</td><td>542</td><td>389</td><td>419</td><td>506</td><td>504</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>1,740,814</td><td>3586</td><td>4094</td><td>4260</td><td>4027</td><td>4440</td><td>4641</td><td>5175</td><td>4856</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>164,093</td><td>364</td><td>264</td><td>261</td><td>278</td><td>196</td><td>217</td><td>282</td><td>298</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>419,463</td><td>666</td><td>808</td><td>782</td><td>788</td><td>642</td><td>720</td><td>751</td><td>689</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>206,496</td><td>342</td><td>346</td><td>270</td><td>294</td><td>302</td><td>270</td><td>243</td><td>307</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>284,777</td><td>226</td><td>245</td><td>290</td><td>294</td><td>189</td><td>169</td><td>189</td><td>201</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>282,584</td><td>329</td><td>374</td><td>353</td><td>348</td><td>267</td><td>286</td><td>343</td><td>364</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>166,751</td><td>323</td><td>334</td><td>328</td><td>296</td><td>309</td><td>228</td><td>299</td><td>296</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>23,711</td><td>14</td><td>48</td><td>39</td><td>23</td><td>28</td><td>26</td><td>41</td><td>52</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>243,352</td><td>416</td><td>470</td><td>534</td><td>449</td><td>308</td><td>227</td><td>267</td><td>305</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>452,515</td><td>991</td><td>1148</td><td>967</td><td>1039</td><td>873</td><td>701</td><td>774</td><td>888</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>377,040</td><td>677</td><td>702</td><td>676</td><td>517</td><td>619</td><td>608</td><td>737</td><td>728</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>579,686</td><td>1059</td><td>1485</td><td>1175</td><td>885</td><td>717</td><td>851</td><td>1028</td><td>1120</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>325,336</td><td>482</td><td>527</td><td>585</td><td>630</td><td>407</td><td>471</td><td>505</td><td>495</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>635,917</td><td>923</td><td>1017</td><td>867</td><td>941</td><td>942</td><td>958</td><td>1315</td><td>1296</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>320,944</td><td>539</td><td>550</td><td>493</td><td>409</td><td>409</td><td>468</td><td>522</td><td>546</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>444,558</td><td>1046</td><td>1003</td><td>1045</td><td>894</td><td>769</td><td>799</td><td>998</td><td>1257</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmoreland</td><td>57,494</td><td>33</td><td>39</td><td>44</td><td>24</td><td>46</td><td>74</td><td>33</td><td>47</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>241,887</td><td>506</td><td>548</td><td>464</td><td>432</td><td>379</td><td>436</td><td>502</td><td>465</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>244,574</td><td>566</td><td>609</td><td>679</td><td>603</td><td>563</td><td>535</td><td>620</td><td>681</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>1,686,461</td><td>1895</td><td>2598</td><td>2304</td><td>1691</td><td>1417</td><td>1560</td><td>1794</td><td>2036</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>396,161</td><td>251</td><td>279</td><td>294</td><td>283</td><td>269</td><td>220</td><td>307</td><td>332</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>568,430</td><td>377</td><td>387</td><td>546</td><td>514</td><td>426</td><td>350</td><td>471</td><td>590</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="smcap">Total for England and Wales</span></td><td class="total">16,918,458</td><td class="total">27,760</td><td class="total">31,309</td><td class="total">29,591</td><td class="total">26,542</td><td class="total">24,303</td><td class="total">25,107</td><td class="total">28,833</td><td class="total">30,349</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th colspan="2"></th><th rowspan="2">Total for 10 years.</th><th rowspan="2">Average per Year.</th><th rowspan="2">Proportion to the Population.</th><th rowspan="2">Number of Criminals to every 10,000 of Population.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1849.</th><th>1850.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>162</td><td>161</td><td>1,855</td><td>185</td><td>1 in 654</td><td>15·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>358</td><td>318</td><td>3,135</td><td>313</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 622</td><td>16·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>287</td><td>242</td><td>2,880</td><td>288</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 489</td><td>20·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>309</td><td>302</td><td>2,660</td><td>266</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 679</td><td>14·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>861</td><td>900</td><td>8,981</td><td>898</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 440</td><td>22·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>277</td><td>226</td><td>2,815</td><td>281</td><td>„ 1245</td><td>8·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>159</td><td>146</td><td>1,333</td><td>133</td><td>„ 1404</td><td>7·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>245</td><td>255</td><td>2,641</td><td>264</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 947</td><td>10·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>893</td><td>807</td><td>7,872</td><td>787</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 704</td><td>14·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>326</td><td>190</td><td>2,533</td><td>253</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 682</td><td>14·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>321</td><td>358</td><td>2,901</td><td>290</td><td>„ 1271</td><td>7·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>587</td><td>631</td><td>6,377</td><td>638</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 520</td><td>19·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1063</td><td>920</td><td>10,675</td><td>1067</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 381</td><td>26·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>242</td><td>252</td><td>2,332</td><td>233</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 419</td><td>23·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>318</td><td>315</td><td>2,952</td><td>295</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 570</td><td>17·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>93</td><td>90</td><td>822</td><td>82</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 706</td><td>14·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>980</td><td>958</td><td>9,598</td><td>960</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 609</td><td>16·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3290</td><td>3340</td><td>34,842</td><td>3484</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 539</td><td>18·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>299</td><td>300</td><td>3,914</td><td>391</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 582</td><td>17·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>529</td><td>528</td><td>4,836</td><td>484</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 781</td><td>12·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3861</td><td>3732</td><td>42,672</td><td>4267</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 407</td><td>24·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>370</td><td>433</td><td>2,963</td><td>296</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 554</td><td>18·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>633</td><td>705</td><td>7,184</td><td>718</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 584</td><td>17·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>327</td><td>248</td><td>2,949</td><td>295</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 699</td><td>14·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>261</td><td>283</td><td>2,347</td><td>235</td><td>„ 1211</td><td>8·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>341</td><td>325</td><td>3,330</td><td>333</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 848</td><td>11·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>303</td><td>252</td><td>2,968</td><td>297</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 591</td><td>17·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>35</td><td>27</td><td>333</td><td>33</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 718</td><td>13·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>347</td><td>307</td><td>3,630</td><td>363</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 670</td><td>14·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>885</td><td>754</td><td>9,020</td><td>902</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 501</td><td>19·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>751</td><td>686</td><td>6,701</td><td>670</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 562</td><td>17·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1009</td><td>1053</td><td>10,382</td><td>1038</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 558</td><td>17·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>537</td><td>472</td><td>5,111</td><td>511</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 636</td><td>15·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1109</td><td>1030</td><td>10,398</td><td>1040</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 611</td><td>16·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>502</td><td>480</td><td>4918</td><td>492</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 652</td><td>15·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>910</td><td>880</td><td>9601</td><td>960</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 463</td><td>21·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>57</td><td>70</td><td>467</td><td>47</td><td>„ 1223</td><td>8·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>452</td><td>386</td><td>4570</td><td>457</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 529</td><td>18·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>653</td><td>607</td><td>6116</td><td>612</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 399</td><td>25·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2022</td><td>1915</td><td>19,232</td><td>1923</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 876</td><td>11·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>338</td><td>316</td><td>2889</td><td>289</td><td>„ 1370</td><td>7·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>514</td><td>613</td><td>4788</td><td>479</td><td>„ 1186</td><td>8·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="total">27,816</td><td class="total">26,813</td><td class="total">278,423</td><td class="total">27,842</td><td class="total">„ 607</td><td class="total">16·4</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="nomobile">
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2">COUNTIES.</th><th rowspan="2">Average Population from 1841-50.</th><th colspan="10">Total number of Persons committed for Trial or Bailed.</th><th rowspan="2">Total for 10 years.</th><th rowspan="2">Average per Year.</th><th rowspan="2">Proportion to the Population.</th><th rowspan="2">Number of Criminals to every 10,000 of Population.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1841.</th><th>1842.</th><th>1843.</th><th>1844.</th><th>1845.</th><th>1846.</th><th>1847.</th><th>1848.</th><th>1849.</th><th>1850.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>121,083</td><td>191</td><td>229</td><td>202</td><td>188</td><td>155</td><td>185</td><td>178</td><td>204</td><td>162</td><td>161</td><td>1,855</td><td>185</td><td>1 in 654</td><td>15·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>194,763</td><td>306</td><td>333</td><td>328</td><td>287</td><td>260</td><td>250</td><td>335</td><td>360</td><td>358</td><td>318</td><td>3,135</td><td>313</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 622</td><td>16·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>140,959</td><td>287</td><td>277</td><td>313</td><td>280</td><td>286</td><td>283</td><td>315</td><td>310</td><td>287</td><td>242</td><td>2,880</td><td>288</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 489</td><td>20·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>180,747</td><td>240</td><td>241</td><td>257</td><td>297</td><td>239</td><td>276</td><td>255</td><td>244</td><td>309</td><td>302</td><td>2,660</td><td>266</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 679</td><td>14·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>395,919</td><td>943</td><td>1086</td><td>1018</td><td>777</td><td>688</td><td>767</td><td>871</td><td>1070</td><td>861</td><td>900</td><td>8,981</td><td>898</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 440</td><td>22·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>349,991</td><td>295</td><td>282</td><td>301</td><td>269</td><td>272</td><td>280</td><td>341</td><td>272</td><td>277</td><td>226</td><td>2,815</td><td>281</td><td>„ 1245</td><td>8·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>186,762</td><td>151</td><td>115</td><td>109</td><td>138</td><td>118</td><td>147</td><td>120</td><td>130</td><td>159</td><td>146</td><td>1,333</td><td>133</td><td>„ 1404</td><td>7·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>250,249</td><td>277</td><td>322</td><td>322</td><td>279</td><td>186</td><td>277</td><td>214</td><td>264</td><td>245</td><td>255</td><td>2,641</td><td>264</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 947</td><td>10·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>554,738</td><td>687</td><td>716</td><td>740</td><td>715</td><td>720</td><td>721</td><td>949</td><td>924</td><td>893</td><td>807</td><td>7,872</td><td>787</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 704</td><td>14·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>172,736</td><td>284</td><td>241</td><td>252</td><td>203</td><td>218</td><td>225</td><td>307</td><td>287</td><td>326</td><td>190</td><td>2,533</td><td>253</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 682</td><td>14·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>368,787</td><td>215</td><td>266</td><td>300</td><td>376</td><td>203</td><td>249</td><td>279</td><td>334</td><td>321</td><td>358</td><td>2,901</td><td>290</td><td>„ 1271</td><td>7·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>332,363</td><td>647</td><td>758</td><td>710</td><td>596</td><td>554</td><td>602</td><td>603</td><td>689</td><td>587</td><td>631</td><td>6,377</td><td>638</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 520</td><td>19·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>407,504</td><td>1236</td><td>1252</td><td>1186</td><td>1071</td><td>929</td><td>884</td><td>1092</td><td>1042</td><td>1063</td><td>920</td><td>10,675</td><td>1067</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 381</td><td>26·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>97,813</td><td>245</td><td>259</td><td>238</td><td>230</td><td>226</td><td>158</td><td>212</td><td>270</td><td>242</td><td>252</td><td>2,332</td><td>233</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 419</td><td>23·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>168,178</td><td>319</td><td>338</td><td>265</td><td>271</td><td>244</td><td>243</td><td>291</td><td>348</td><td>318</td><td>315</td><td>2,952</td><td>295</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 570</td><td>17·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>57,942</td><td>62</td><td>68</td><td>68</td><td>79</td><td>88</td><td>81</td><td>89</td><td>104</td><td>93</td><td>90</td><td>822</td><td>82</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 706</td><td>14·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>585,249</td><td>962</td><td>1155</td><td>977</td><td>911</td><td>831</td><td>815</td><td>889</td><td>1020</td><td>980</td><td>958</td><td>9,598</td><td>960</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 609</td><td>16·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>1,881,261</td><td>3987</td><td>4497</td><td>3677</td><td>2893</td><td>2852</td><td>3072</td><td>3456</td><td>3778</td><td>3290</td><td>3340</td><td>34,842</td><td>3484</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 539</td><td>18·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>227,621</td><td>466</td><td>492</td><td>509</td><td>481</td><td>328</td><td>358</td><td>335</td><td>346</td><td>299</td><td>300</td><td>3,914</td><td>391</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 582</td><td>17·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>378,246</td><td>349</td><td>507</td><td>563</td><td>542</td><td>389</td><td>419</td><td>506</td><td>504</td><td>529</td><td>528</td><td>4,836</td><td>484</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 781</td><td>12·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>1,740,814</td><td>3586</td><td>4094</td><td>4260</td><td>4027</td><td>4440</td><td>4641</td><td>5175</td><td>4856</td><td>3861</td><td>3732</td><td>42,672</td><td>4267</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 407</td><td>24·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>164,093</td><td>364</td><td>264</td><td>261</td><td>278</td><td>196</td><td>217</td><td>282</td><td>298</td><td>370</td><td>433</td><td>2,963</td><td>296</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 554</td><td>18·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>419,463</td><td>666</td><td>808</td><td>782</td><td>788</td><td>642</td><td>720</td><td>751</td><td>689</td><td>633</td><td>705</td><td>7,184</td><td>718</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 584</td><td>17·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>206,496</td><td>342</td><td>346</td><td>270</td><td>294</td><td>302</td><td>270</td><td>243</td><td>307</td><td>327</td><td>248</td><td>2,949</td><td>295</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 699</td><td>14·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>284,777</td><td>226</td><td>245</td><td>290</td><td>294</td><td>189</td><td>169</td><td>189</td><td>201</td><td>261</td><td>283</td><td>2,347</td><td>235</td><td>„ 1211</td><td>8·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>282,584</td><td>329</td><td>374</td><td>353</td><td>348</td><td>267</td><td>286</td><td>343</td><td>364</td><td>341</td><td>325</td><td>3,330</td><td>333</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 848</td><td>11·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>166,751</td><td>323</td><td>334</td><td>328</td><td>296</td><td>309</td><td>228</td><td>299</td><td>296</td><td>303</td><td>252</td><td>2,968</td><td>297</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 591</td><td>17·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>23,711</td><td>14</td><td>48</td><td>39</td><td>23</td><td>28</td><td>26</td><td>41</td><td>52</td><td>35</td><td>27</td><td>333</td><td>33</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 718</td><td>13·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>243,352</td><td>416</td><td>470</td><td>534</td><td>449</td><td>308</td><td>227</td><td>267</td><td>305</td><td>347</td><td>307</td><td>3,630</td><td>363</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 670</td><td>14·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>452,515</td><td>991</td><td>1148</td><td>967</td><td>1039</td><td>873</td><td>701</td><td>774</td><td>888</td><td>885</td><td>754</td><td>9,020</td><td>902</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 501</td><td>19·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>377,040</td><td>677</td><td>702</td><td>676</td><td>517</td><td>619</td><td>608</td><td>737</td><td>728</td><td>751</td><td>686</td><td>6,701</td><td>670</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 562</td><td>17·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>579,686</td><td>1059</td><td>1485</td><td>1175</td><td>885</td><td>717</td><td>851</td><td>1028</td><td>1120</td><td>1009</td><td>1053</td><td>10,382</td><td>1038</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 558</td><td>17·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>325,336</td><td>482</td><td>527</td><td>585</td><td>630</td><td>407</td><td>471</td><td>505</td><td>495</td><td>537</td><td>472</td><td>5,111</td><td>511</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 636</td><td>15·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>635,917</td><td>923</td><td>1017</td><td>867</td><td>941</td><td>942</td><td>958</td><td>1315</td><td>1296</td><td>1109</td><td>1030</td><td>10,398</td><td>1040</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 611</td><td>16·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>320,944</td><td>539</td><td>550</td><td>493</td><td>409</td><td>409</td><td>468</td><td>522</td><td>546</td><td>502</td><td>480</td><td>4918</td><td>492</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 652</td><td>15·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>444,558</td><td>1046</td><td>1003</td><td>1045</td><td>894</td><td>769</td><td>799</td><td>998</td><td>1257</td><td>910</td><td>880</td><td>9601</td><td>960</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 463</td><td>21·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmoreland</td><td>57,494</td><td>33</td><td>39</td><td>44</td><td>24</td><td>46</td><td>74</td><td>33</td><td>47</td><td>57</td><td>70</td><td>467</td><td>47</td><td>„ 1223</td><td>8·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>241,887</td><td>506</td><td>548</td><td>464</td><td>432</td><td>379</td><td>436</td><td>502</td><td>465</td><td>452</td><td>386</td><td>4570</td><td>457</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 529</td><td>18·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>244,574</td><td>566</td><td>609</td><td>679</td><td>603</td><td>563</td><td>535</td><td>620</td><td>681</td><td>653</td><td>607</td><td>6116</td><td>612</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 399</td><td>25·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>1,686,461</td><td>1895</td><td>2598</td><td>2304</td><td>1691</td><td>1417</td><td>1560</td><td>1794</td><td>2036</td><td>2022</td><td>1915</td><td>19,232</td><td>1923</td><td>„&nbsp;&nbsp; 876</td><td>11·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>396,161</td><td>251</td><td>279</td><td>294</td><td>283</td><td>269</td><td>220</td><td>307</td><td>332</td><td>338</td><td>316</td><td>2889</td><td>289</td><td>„ 1370</td><td>7·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>568,430</td><td>377</td><td>387</td><td>546</td><td>514</td><td>426</td><td>350</td><td>471</td><td>590</td><td>514</td><td>613</td><td>4788</td><td>479</td><td>„ 1186</td><td>8·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="smcap">Total for England and Wales</span></td><td class="total">16,918,458</td><td class="total">27,760</td><td class="total">31,309</td><td class="total">29,591</td><td class="total">26,542</td><td class="total">24,303</td><td class="total">25,107</td><td class="total">28,833</td><td class="total">30,349</td><td class="total">27,816</td><td class="total">26,813</td><td class="total">278,423</td><td class="total">27,842</td><td class="total">„ 607</td><td class="total">16·4</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_457" id="Page_457">[457]</a></span></p>
-
-<h3>LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE ORDER OF THEIR
-CRIMINALITY, AS SHOWN BY THE NUMBER
-OF CRIMINALS TO EVERY 10,000 OF THE
-POPULATION.</h3>
-
-
-<h4><i>Counties above the Average in
-Crime.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>26·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>25·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>24·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>23·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>22·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>21·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>20·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>19·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>19·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>18·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>18·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>18·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>17·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>17·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>17·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>17·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>17·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>17·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Average for all England and Wales</td><td>16·4</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<h4><i>Counties above the Average in
-Crime.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>16·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>16·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>16·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>15·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>15·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>15·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>14·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>14·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>14·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>14·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>14·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>13·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>12·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>11·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>11·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>10·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>8·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>8·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>8·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>8·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>7·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>7·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>7·1</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<h3>THE YEARS OF CRIME.</h3>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th>Years.</th><th>Number of Criminal Offenders.</th><th>Population.</th><th>Number of Criminals to every 10,000 people.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>1811</td><td>5,337</td><td>10,150,615</td><td>5·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1812</td><td>6,576</td><td>10,332,441</td><td>6·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1813</td><td>7,164</td><td>10,515,267</td><td>6·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1814</td><td>6,390</td><td>10,689,093</td><td>5·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1815</td><td>7,818</td><td>10,881,919</td><td>7·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1816</td><td>9,091</td><td>11,064,745</td><td>8·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1817</td><td>13,932</td><td>11,247,571</td><td>11·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1818</td><td>13,567</td><td>11,430,397</td><td>11·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1819</td><td>14,254</td><td>11,613,223</td><td>12·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1820</td><td>13,710</td><td>11,796,049</td><td>11·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total for 10 years</td><td class="total">97,839</td><td class="total">109,630,320</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Average ditto.</td><td class="total">9,783</td><td class="total">10,963,032</td><td class="total">8·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1821</td><td>13,115</td><td>11,978,875</td><td>10·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1822</td><td>12,241</td><td>12,170,706</td><td>10·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1823</td><td>12,263</td><td>12,362,537</td><td>9·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1824</td><td>13,698</td><td>12,554,368</td><td>10·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1825</td><td>14,437</td><td>12,746,199</td><td>11·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1826</td><td>16,164</td><td>12,938,030</td><td>12·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1827</td><td>17,924</td><td>13,129,861</td><td>13·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1828</td><td>16,564</td><td>13,321,692</td><td>12·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1829</td><td>18,675</td><td>13,531,523</td><td>13·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1830</td><td>18,107</td><td>13,705,354</td><td>13·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total for 10 years</td><td class="total">153,188</td><td class="total">128,421,145</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Average ditto</td><td class="total">15,318</td><td class="total">12,842,114</td><td class="total">11·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1831</td><td>19,647</td><td>13,897,187</td><td>14·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1832</td><td>20,829</td><td>14,098,142</td><td>14·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1833</td><td>20,072</td><td>14,299,097</td><td>14·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1834</td><td>22,451</td><td>14,500,052</td><td>15·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1835</td><td>20,731</td><td>14,701,007</td><td>14·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1836</td><td>20,984</td><td>14,901,962</td><td>14·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1837</td><td>23,612</td><td>15,102,917</td><td>15·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1838</td><td>23,094</td><td>15,303,872</td><td>15·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1839</td><td>24,443</td><td>15,504,827</td><td>15·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1840</td><td>27,187</td><td>15,705,782</td><td>17·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total in 10 years</td><td class="total">223,050</td><td class="total">148,114,825</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Average ditto</td><td class="total">22,305</td><td class="total">14,811,482</td><td class="total">15·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1841</td><td>27,750</td><td>15,914,148</td><td>17·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1842</td><td>31,309</td><td>16,115,010</td><td>19·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1843</td><td>29,591</td><td>16,315,872</td><td>18·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1844</td><td>26,542</td><td>16,516,734</td><td>16·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1845</td><td>24,303</td><td>16,717,596</td><td>14·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1846</td><td>25,107</td><td>16,918,458</td><td>14·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1847</td><td>28,833</td><td>17,119,320</td><td>16·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1848</td><td>30,349</td><td>17,320,182</td><td>17·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1849</td><td>27,816</td><td>17,521,044</td><td>15·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1850</td><td>26,813</td><td>17,721,906</td><td>15·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total for 10 years</td><td class="total">278,413</td><td class="total">168,180,270</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Average ditto</td><td class="total">27,841</td><td class="total">16,818,027</td><td class="total">16·5</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum">
-<a name="Page_459" id="Page_459">[459]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="figcenter break illowp53" id="i_i_1036" style="max-width: 53.3125em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_1036h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>
-<span class="x-large b">MAP</span><br />
-SHOWING THE NUMBER WHO SIGNED THE MARRIAGE REGISTER WITH MARKS
-IN EVERY 100 PERSONS MARRIED;<br />
-OR<br />
-<span class="x-large">THE INTENSITY OF IGNORANCE</span><br />
-IN EACH COUNTY OF<br />
-<span class="x-large">ENGLAND AND WALES.</span></p>
-
-
-<p>⁂ The counties printed
-<i>black</i> are those in which the
-number who signed the Marriage
-Register with Marks is
-<i>above</i> the Average.</p>
-
-<p>The counties left <i>white</i> are
-those in which the number who
-signed the Marriage Register
-with Marks is <i>below</i>
-the Average.</p>
-
-<p>The Average has been
-calculated for the ten
-years from 1839 to 1848.
-</p></div>
-</div>
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_460" id="Page_460">[460]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<h3>TABLE SHOWING THE IGNORANCE OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, DEDUCED FROM THE NUMBER
-WHO SIGNED THE MARRIAGE REGISTER WITH MARKS IN THE UNDERMENTIONED YEARS.</h3>
-
-<div class="mobile">
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2">COUNTIES.</th><th rowspan="2">Average Annual No. of Persons married, 1839-48.</th><th colspan="6">Number of Males and Females who signed the Marriage Register with Marks.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1839.</th><th>1840.</th><th>1841.</th><th>1842.</th><th>1843.</th><th>1844.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>1,850</td><td>1,112</td><td>1,148</td><td>956</td><td>921</td><td>1,028</td><td>1,110</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>2,588</td><td>1,036</td><td>1,131</td><td>1,061</td><td>1,063</td><td>1,111</td><td>1,079</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>1,920</td><td>979</td><td>1,008</td><td>820</td><td>918</td><td>882</td><td>918</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>2,784</td><td>1,269</td><td>1,372</td><td>1,495</td><td>1,389</td><td>1,281</td><td>1,330</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>5,160</td><td>2,343</td><td>2,510</td><td>2,350</td><td>2,096</td><td>2,366</td><td>2,403</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>4,894</td><td>2,150</td><td>2,148</td><td>2,128</td><td>2,312</td><td>2,284</td><td>2,141</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>2,072</td><td>470</td><td>563</td><td>527</td><td>539</td><td>506</td><td>500</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>3,652</td><td>1,521</td><td>1,490</td><td>1,321</td><td>1,061</td><td>1,351</td><td>1,455</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>8,678</td><td>2,603</td><td>1,817</td><td>2,744</td><td>2,971</td><td>2,995</td><td>3,055</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>2,358</td><td>725</td><td>930</td><td>785</td><td>852</td><td>449</td><td>945</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>5,770</td><td>1,900</td><td>2,083</td><td>2,001</td><td>1,830</td><td>1,771</td><td>1,825</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>4,228</td><td>1,964</td><td>2,215</td><td>2,103</td><td>2,062</td><td>2,110</td><td>2,157</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>6,918</td><td>2,329</td><td>2,541</td><td>2,347</td><td>2,197</td><td>2,393</td><td>2,277</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>1,268</td><td>462</td><td>463</td><td>522</td><td>548</td><td>609</td><td>516</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>1,976</td><td>1,189</td><td>1,045</td><td>1,057</td><td>954</td><td>1,083</td><td>1,038</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>904</td><td>391</td><td>465</td><td>453</td><td>446</td><td>439</td><td>413</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>8,094</td><td>2,431</td><td>2,382</td><td>2,476</td><td>2,488</td><td>2,556</td><td>2,502</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>34,068</td><td>16,411</td><td>15,793</td><td>16,096</td><td>14,626</td><td>17,820</td><td>19,850</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>3,460</td><td>1,494</td><td>1,504</td><td>1,281</td><td>1,189</td><td>1,416</td><td>1,505</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>5,530</td><td>1,944</td><td>2,209</td><td>2,174</td><td>2,082</td><td>1,959</td><td>1,998</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>31,590</td><td>5,134</td><td>5,569</td><td>5,242</td><td>5,045</td><td>5,416</td><td>6,141</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>2,562</td><td>1,646</td><td>1,697</td><td>1,283</td><td>1,091</td><td>1,110</td><td>1,228</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>6,042</td><td>2,485</td><td>2,772</td><td>2,514</td><td>2,832</td><td>2,816</td><td>2,901</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>3,194</td><td>1,338</td><td>1,489</td><td>1,377</td><td>1,220</td><td>1,404</td><td>1,441</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>4,094</td><td>1,149</td><td>1,264</td><td>1,108</td><td>965</td><td>1,013</td><td>811</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>4,168</td><td>1,715</td><td>1,724</td><td>1,645</td><td>1,642</td><td>1,742</td><td>1,953</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>2,316</td><td>826</td><td>961</td><td>951</td><td>957</td><td>929</td><td>889</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>216</td><td>115</td><td>92</td><td>125</td><td>99</td><td>97</td><td>69</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>3,180</td><td>1,647</td><td>1,568</td><td>1,497</td><td>1,533</td><td>1,392</td><td>1,496</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>6,226</td><td>2,300</td><td>2,608</td><td>2,705</td><td>2,643</td><td>2,654</td><td>2,643</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>5,768</td><td>1,614</td><td>1,801</td><td>2,049</td><td>1,959</td><td>1,910</td><td>1,977</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>8,292</td><td>3,886</td><td>4,045</td><td>3,552</td><td>3,065</td><td>3,335</td><td>3,937</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>4,738</td><td>2,173</td><td>2,353</td><td>2,342</td><td>2,057</td><td>2,124</td><td>2,304</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>10,374</td><td>2,128</td><td>2,260</td><td>2,180</td><td>2,129</td><td>2,205</td><td>2,185</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>4,268</td><td>1,452</td><td>1,480</td><td>1,400</td><td>1,364</td><td>1,443</td><td>1,427</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>6,494</td><td>1,512</td><td>2,470</td><td>2,294</td><td>2,052</td><td>2,415</td><td>2,516</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>780</td><td>195</td><td>191</td><td>177</td><td>185</td><td>193</td><td>225</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>3,236</td><td>1,495</td><td>1,603</td><td>1,550</td><td>1,487</td><td>1,522</td><td>1,527</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>5,536</td><td>3,201</td><td>3,098</td><td>2,934</td><td>2,588</td><td>2,528</td><td>2,974</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>26,664</td><td>11,439</td><td>11,899</td><td>10,726</td><td>10,503</td><td>11,099</td><td>12,970</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>5,164</td><td>3,028</td><td>3,022</td><td>2,999</td><td>2,925</td><td>2,694</td><td>2,737</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>8,152</td><td>4,382</td><td>4,532</td><td>4,378</td><td>4,093</td><td>4,190</td><td>4,617</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total for England and Wales</td><td class="total">261,340</td><td class="total">100,616</td><td class="total">104,335</td><td class="total">99,634</td><td class="total">94,996</td><td class="total">101,235</td><td class="total">107,985</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th colspan="4"></th><th rowspan="2">Total for 10 years.</th><th rowspan="2">Annual Average.</th><th rowspan="2">No. of Persons who signed with Marks in every 100 married.</th><th rowspan="2">Per Cent. above and below the Average.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1845.</th><th>1846.</th><th>1847.</th><th>1848.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>1,095</td><td>1,124</td><td>957</td><td>1,003</td><td>10,454</td><td>1,045</td><td>56</td><td>†40·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1,070</td><td>1,137</td><td>1,118</td><td>1,164</td><td>10,970</td><td>1,097</td><td>42</td><td>† 5·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>975</td><td>1,074</td><td>906</td><td>999</td><td>9,479</td><td>948</td><td>49</td><td>†22·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1,471</td><td>1,398</td><td>1,213</td><td>1,328</td><td>13,546</td><td>1,355</td><td>45</td><td>†12·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2,777</td><td>2,608</td><td>2,121</td><td>2,503</td><td>24,017</td><td>2,408</td><td>46</td><td>†15·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2,338</td><td>2,407</td><td>2,102</td><td>2,146</td><td>22,156</td><td>2,216</td><td>45</td><td>†12·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>581</td><td>647</td><td>520</td><td>350</td><td>5,203</td><td>520</td><td>25</td><td>*37·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1,642</td><td>1,544</td><td>1,382</td><td>1,377</td><td>14,144</td><td>1,414</td><td>39</td><td>* 2·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3,312</td><td>3,224</td><td>2,782</td><td>1,981</td><td>27,484</td><td>2,748</td><td>32</td><td>*20·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1,033</td><td>905</td><td>941</td><td>923</td><td>8,488</td><td>849</td><td>36</td><td>*10·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2,375</td><td>2,378</td><td>2,376</td><td>2,327</td><td>20,866</td><td>2,087</td><td>36</td><td>*10·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2,246</td><td>2,163</td><td>1,977</td><td>1,963</td><td>20,960</td><td>2,096</td><td>50</td><td>†25·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2,578</td><td>2,698</td><td>2,215</td><td>2,304</td><td>23,879</td><td>2,388</td><td>35</td><td>*12·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>598</td><td>576</td><td>424</td><td>488</td><td>5,206</td><td>521</td><td>41</td><td>† 2·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1,153</td><td>1,102</td><td>947</td><td>1,013</td><td>10,581</td><td>1,058</td><td>54</td><td>†35·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>434</td><td>466</td><td>438</td><td>440</td><td>4,385</td><td>439</td><td>49</td><td>†22·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2,944</td><td>2,855</td><td>2,569</td><td>2,481</td><td>25,684</td><td>2,568</td><td>32</td><td>*20·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>22,177</td><td>20,709</td><td>16,588</td><td>18,161</td><td>178,231</td><td>17,823</td><td>52</td><td>†30·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1,518</td><td>1,579</td><td>1,329</td><td>1,441</td><td>14,256</td><td>1,426</td><td>41</td><td>† 2·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2,232</td><td>2,166</td><td>2,159</td><td>2,436</td><td>21,359</td><td>2,136</td><td>39</td><td>* 2·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>6,456</td><td>6,163</td><td>5,666</td><td>5,433</td><td>56,265</td><td>5,627</td><td>18</td><td>*55·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1,722</td><td>1,982</td><td>1,720</td><td>1,574</td><td>15,053</td><td>1,505</td><td>59</td><td>†47·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3,120</td><td>2,964</td><td>2,783</td><td>2,855</td><td>28,042</td><td>2,804</td><td>46</td><td>†15·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1,504</td><td>1,467</td><td>1,253</td><td>1,332</td><td>13,825</td><td>1,383</td><td>43</td><td>† 7·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1,214</td><td>1,244</td><td>1,190</td><td>1,328</td><td>11,286</td><td>1,129</td><td>28</td><td>*30·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2,000</td><td>1,834</td><td>1,635</td><td>1,760</td><td>17,650</td><td>1,765</td><td>42</td><td>† 5·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>831</td><td>880</td><td>869</td><td>843</td><td>8,936</td><td>894</td><td>39</td><td>* 2·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>73</td><td>99</td><td>152</td><td>118</td><td>1,039</td><td>104</td><td>49</td><td>†22·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1,428</td><td>1,544</td><td>1,532</td><td>1,661</td><td>15,298</td><td>1,530</td><td>48</td><td>†20·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2,598</td><td>2,632</td><td>2,183</td><td>2,360</td><td>25,326</td><td>2,533</td><td>41</td><td>† 2·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2,181</td><td>2,185</td><td>2,019</td><td>1,875</td><td>19,570</td><td>1,957</td><td>34</td><td>*15·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>5,091</td><td>4,920</td><td>6,423</td><td>5,263</td><td>43,517</td><td>4,352</td><td>52</td><td>†30·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2,436</td><td>2,389</td><td>2,325</td><td>2,354</td><td>22,857</td><td>2,286</td><td>48</td><td>†20·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2,473</td><td>2,451</td><td>2,134</td><td>2,039</td><td>22,184</td><td>2,218</td><td>21</td><td>*47·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1,594</td><td>1,534</td><td>1,512</td><td>1,371</td><td>14,577</td><td>1,458</td><td>34</td><td>*15·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2,670</td><td>2,958</td><td>2,870</td><td>2,855</td><td>24,612</td><td>2,461</td><td>38</td><td>* 5·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>237</td><td>321</td><td>220</td><td>135</td><td>2,079</td><td>208</td><td>27</td><td>*32·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1,685</td><td>1,642</td><td>1,481</td><td>1,528</td><td>15,520</td><td>1,552</td><td>48</td><td>†20·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3,744</td><td>4,192</td><td>1,871</td><td>1,643</td><td>28,773</td><td>2,877</td><td>52</td><td>†30·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>13,395</td><td>12,688</td><td>11,797</td><td>11,930</td><td>118,446</td><td>11,845</td><td>44</td><td>†10·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2,916</td><td>3,219</td><td>2,904</td><td>1,951</td><td>28,395</td><td>2,840</td><td>55</td><td>†37·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>4,978</td><td>5,565</td><td>4,703</td><td>4,811</td><td>46,249</td><td>4,625</td><td>57</td><td>†42·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="total">118,894</td><td class="total">117,633</td><td class="total">104,306</td><td class="total">105,937</td><td class="total">1,050,907</td><td class="total">105,091</td><td class="total">40</td><td class="total"></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="nomobile">
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2">COUNTIES.</th><th rowspan="2">Average Annual No. of Persons married, 1839-48.</th><th colspan="10">Number of Males and Females who signed the Marriage Register with Marks.</th><th rowspan="2">Total for 10 years.</th><th rowspan="2">Annual Average.</th><th rowspan="2">No. of Persons who signed with Marks in every 100 married.</th><th rowspan="2">Per Cent. above and below the Average.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1839.</th><th>1840.</th><th>1841.</th><th>1842.</th><th>1843.</th><th>1844.</th><th>1845.</th><th>1846.</th><th>1847.</th><th>1848.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>1,850</td><td>1,112</td><td>1,148</td><td>956</td><td>921</td><td>1,028</td><td>1,110</td><td>1,095</td><td>1,124</td><td>957</td><td>1,003</td><td>10,454</td><td>1,045</td><td>56</td><td>†40·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>2,588</td><td>1,036</td><td>1,131</td><td>1,061</td><td>1,063</td><td>1,111</td><td>1,079</td><td>1,070</td><td>1,137</td><td>1,118</td><td>1,164</td><td>10,970</td><td>1,097</td><td>42</td><td>† 5·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>1,920</td><td>979</td><td>1,008</td><td>820</td><td>918</td><td>882</td><td>918</td><td>975</td><td>1,074</td><td>906</td><td>999</td><td>9,479</td><td>948</td><td>49</td><td>†22·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>2,784</td><td>1,269</td><td>1,372</td><td>1,495</td><td>1,389</td><td>1,281</td><td>1,330</td><td>1,471</td><td>1,398</td><td>1,213</td><td>1,328</td><td>13,546</td><td>1,355</td><td>45</td><td>†12·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>5,160</td><td>2,343</td><td>2,510</td><td>2,350</td><td>2,096</td><td>2,366</td><td>2,403</td><td>2,777</td><td>2,608</td><td>2,121</td><td>2,503</td><td>24,017</td><td>2,408</td><td>46</td><td>†15·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>4,894</td><td>2,150</td><td>2,148</td><td>2,128</td><td>2,312</td><td>2,284</td><td>2,141</td><td>2,338</td><td>2,407</td><td>2,102</td><td>2,146</td><td>22,156</td><td>2,216</td><td>45</td><td>†12·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>2,072</td><td>470</td><td>563</td><td>527</td><td>539</td><td>506</td><td>500</td><td>581</td><td>647</td><td>520</td><td>350</td><td>5,203</td><td>520</td><td>25</td><td>*37·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>3,652</td><td>1,521</td><td>1,490</td><td>1,321</td><td>1,061</td><td>1,351</td><td>1,455</td><td>1,642</td><td>1,544</td><td>1,382</td><td>1,377</td><td>14,144</td><td>1,414</td><td>39</td><td>* 2·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>8,678</td><td>2,603</td><td>1,817</td><td>2,744</td><td>2,971</td><td>2,995</td><td>3,055</td><td>3,312</td><td>3,224</td><td>2,782</td><td>1,981</td><td>27,484</td><td>2,748</td><td>32</td><td>*20·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>2,358</td><td>725</td><td>930</td><td>785</td><td>852</td><td>449</td><td>945</td><td>1,033</td><td>905</td><td>941</td><td>923</td><td>8,488</td><td>849</td><td>36</td><td>*10·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>5,770</td><td>1,900</td><td>2,083</td><td>2,001</td><td>1,830</td><td>1,771</td><td>1,825</td><td>2,375</td><td>2,378</td><td>2,376</td><td>2,327</td><td>20,866</td><td>2,087</td><td>36</td><td>*10·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>4,228</td><td>1,964</td><td>2,215</td><td>2,103</td><td>2,062</td><td>2,110</td><td>2,157</td><td>2,246</td><td>2,163</td><td>1,977</td><td>1,963</td><td>20,960</td><td>2,096</td><td>50</td><td>†25·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>6,918</td><td>2,329</td><td>2,541</td><td>2,347</td><td>2,197</td><td>2,393</td><td>2,277</td><td>2,578</td><td>2,698</td><td>2,215</td><td>2,304</td><td>23,879</td><td>2,388</td><td>35</td><td>*12·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>1,268</td><td>462</td><td>463</td><td>522</td><td>548</td><td>609</td><td>516</td><td>598</td><td>576</td><td>424</td><td>488</td><td>5,206</td><td>521</td><td>41</td><td>† 2·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>1,976</td><td>1,189</td><td>1,045</td><td>1,057</td><td>954</td><td>1,083</td><td>1,038</td><td>1,153</td><td>1,102</td><td>947</td><td>1,013</td><td>10,581</td><td>1,058</td><td>54</td><td>†35·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>904</td><td>391</td><td>465</td><td>453</td><td>446</td><td>439</td><td>413</td><td>434</td><td>466</td><td>438</td><td>440</td><td>4,385</td><td>439</td><td>49</td><td>†22·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>8,094</td><td>2,431</td><td>2,382</td><td>2,476</td><td>2,488</td><td>2,556</td><td>2,502</td><td>2,944</td><td>2,855</td><td>2,569</td><td>2,481</td><td>25,684</td><td>2,568</td><td>32</td><td>*20·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>34,068</td><td>16,411</td><td>15,793</td><td>16,096</td><td>14,626</td><td>17,820</td><td>19,850</td><td>22,177</td><td>20,709</td><td>16,588</td><td>18,161</td><td>178,231</td><td>17,823</td><td>52</td><td>†30·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>3,460</td><td>1,494</td><td>1,504</td><td>1,281</td><td>1,189</td><td>1,416</td><td>1,505</td><td>1,518</td><td>1,579</td><td>1,329</td><td>1,441</td><td>14,256</td><td>1,426</td><td>41</td><td>† 2·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>5,530</td><td>1,944</td><td>2,209</td><td>2,174</td><td>2,082</td><td>1,959</td><td>1,998</td><td>2,232</td><td>2,166</td><td>2,159</td><td>2,436</td><td>21,359</td><td>2,136</td><td>39</td><td>* 2·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>31,590</td><td>5,134</td><td>5,569</td><td>5,242</td><td>5,045</td><td>5,416</td><td>6,141</td><td>6,456</td><td>6,163</td><td>5,666</td><td>5,433</td><td>56,265</td><td>5,627</td><td>18</td><td>*55·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>2,562</td><td>1,646</td><td>1,697</td><td>1,283</td><td>1,091</td><td>1,110</td><td>1,228</td><td>1,722</td><td>1,982</td><td>1,720</td><td>1,574</td><td>15,053</td><td>1,505</td><td>59</td><td>†47·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>6,042</td><td>2,485</td><td>2,772</td><td>2,514</td><td>2,832</td><td>2,816</td><td>2,901</td><td>3,120</td><td>2,964</td><td>2,783</td><td>2,855</td><td>28,042</td><td>2,804</td><td>46</td><td>†15·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>3,194</td><td>1,338</td><td>1,489</td><td>1,377</td><td>1,220</td><td>1,404</td><td>1,441</td><td>1,504</td><td>1,467</td><td>1,253</td><td>1,332</td><td>13,825</td><td>1,383</td><td>43</td><td>† 7·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>4,094</td><td>1,149</td><td>1,264</td><td>1,108</td><td>965</td><td>1,013</td><td>811</td><td>1,214</td><td>1,244</td><td>1,190</td><td>1,328</td><td>11,286</td><td>1,129</td><td>28</td><td>*30·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>4,168</td><td>1,715</td><td>1,724</td><td>1,645</td><td>1,642</td><td>1,742</td><td>1,953</td><td>2,000</td><td>1,834</td><td>1,635</td><td>1,760</td><td>17,650</td><td>1,765</td><td>42</td><td>† 5·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>2,316</td><td>826</td><td>961</td><td>951</td><td>957</td><td>929</td><td>889</td><td>831</td><td>880</td><td>869</td><td>843</td><td>8,936</td><td>894</td><td>39</td><td>* 2·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>216</td><td>115</td><td>92</td><td>125</td><td>99</td><td>97</td><td>69</td><td>73</td><td>99</td><td>152</td><td>118</td><td>1,039</td><td>104</td><td>49</td><td>†22·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>3,180</td><td>1,647</td><td>1,568</td><td>1,497</td><td>1,533</td><td>1,392</td><td>1,496</td><td>1,428</td><td>1,544</td><td>1,532</td><td>1,661</td><td>15,298</td><td>1,530</td><td>48</td><td>†20·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>6,226</td><td>2,300</td><td>2,608</td><td>2,705</td><td>2,643</td><td>2,654</td><td>2,643</td><td>2,598</td><td>2,632</td><td>2,183</td><td>2,360</td><td>25,326</td><td>2,533</td><td>41</td><td>† 2·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>5,768</td><td>1,614</td><td>1,801</td><td>2,049</td><td>1,959</td><td>1,910</td><td>1,977</td><td>2,181</td><td>2,185</td><td>2,019</td><td>1,875</td><td>19,570</td><td>1,957</td><td>34</td><td>*15·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>8,292</td><td>3,886</td><td>4,045</td><td>3,552</td><td>3,065</td><td>3,335</td><td>3,937</td><td>5,091</td><td>4,920</td><td>6,423</td><td>5,263</td><td>43,517</td><td>4,352</td><td>52</td><td>†30·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>4,738</td><td>2,173</td><td>2,353</td><td>2,342</td><td>2,057</td><td>2,124</td><td>2,304</td><td>2,436</td><td>2,389</td><td>2,325</td><td>2,354</td><td>22,857</td><td>2,286</td><td>48</td><td>†20·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>10,374</td><td>2,128</td><td>2,260</td><td>2,180</td><td>2,129</td><td>2,205</td><td>2,185</td><td>2,473</td><td>2,451</td><td>2,134</td><td>2,039</td><td>22,184</td><td>2,218</td><td>21</td><td>*47·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>4,268</td><td>1,452</td><td>1,480</td><td>1,400</td><td>1,364</td><td>1,443</td><td>1,427</td><td>1,594</td><td>1,534</td><td>1,512</td><td>1,371</td><td>14,577</td><td>1,458</td><td>34</td><td>*15·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>6,494</td><td>1,512</td><td>2,470</td><td>2,294</td><td>2,052</td><td>2,415</td><td>2,516</td><td>2,670</td><td>2,958</td><td>2,870</td><td>2,855</td><td>24,612</td><td>2,461</td><td>38</td><td>* 5·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>780</td><td>195</td><td>191</td><td>177</td><td>185</td><td>193</td><td>225</td><td>237</td><td>321</td><td>220</td><td>135</td><td>2,079</td><td>208</td><td>27</td><td>*32·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>3,236</td><td>1,495</td><td>1,603</td><td>1,550</td><td>1,487</td><td>1,522</td><td>1,527</td><td>1,685</td><td>1,642</td><td>1,481</td><td>1,528</td><td>15,520</td><td>1,552</td><td>48</td><td>†20·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>5,536</td><td>3,201</td><td>3,098</td><td>2,934</td><td>2,588</td><td>2,528</td><td>2,974</td><td>3,744</td><td>4,192</td><td>1,871</td><td>1,643</td><td>28,773</td><td>2,877</td><td>52</td><td>†30·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>26,664</td><td>11,439</td><td>11,899</td><td>10,726</td><td>10,503</td><td>11,099</td><td>12,970</td><td>13,395</td><td>12,688</td><td>11,797</td><td>11,930</td><td>118,446</td><td>11,845</td><td>44</td><td>†10·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>5,164</td><td>3,028</td><td>3,022</td><td>2,999</td><td>2,925</td><td>2,694</td><td>2,737</td><td>2,916</td><td>3,219</td><td>2,904</td><td>1,951</td><td>28,395</td><td>2,840</td><td>55</td><td>†37·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>8,152</td><td>4,382</td><td>4,532</td><td>4,378</td><td>4,093</td><td>4,190</td><td>4,617</td><td>4,978</td><td>5,565</td><td>4,703</td><td>4,811</td><td>46,249</td><td>4,625</td><td>57</td><td>†42·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total for England and Wales</td><td>261,340</td><td>100,616</td><td>104,335</td><td>99,634</td><td>94,996</td><td>101,235</td><td>107,985</td><td>118,894</td><td>117,633</td><td>104,306</td><td>105,937</td><td>1,050,907</td><td>105,091</td><td>40</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_461" id="Page_461">[461]</a></span></p>
-
-<h3>LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE ORDER OF
-THEIR IGNORANCE, AS SHOWN BY THE
-NUMBER WHO SIGNED THE MARRIAGE
-REGISTER WITH MARKS IN EVERY 100
-PERSONS MARRIED.</h3>
-
-<h4><i>Counties above the Average,
-or most Ignorant.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>59</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>57</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>56</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>55</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>54</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>52</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>52</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>52</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>50</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>49</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>49</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>49</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>48</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>48</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>48</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>46</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>46</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>45</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>45</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>44</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>43</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>42</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>42</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>41</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>41</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>41</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<h4><i>Counties below the Average,
-or least Ignorant.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>39</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>39</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>39</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>38</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>36</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>36</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>35</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>34</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>34</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>32</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>32</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>28</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>27</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>25</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>21</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>18</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Average for England and Wales</td><td>40</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<h3>THE CRIME AND IGNORANCE OF THE SEVERAL COUNTIES COMPARED.</h3>
-
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2"></th><th colspan="3">Percentage above and below the Average.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>In No. of Criminals.</th><th>In No. signing Register with Marks.</th><th>In No. of Criminals unable to read and write.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Counties having great Crime and great Ignorance.</i></td><td colspan="3"></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td> †52·4</td><td> †36·0</td><td> † 8·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td> †37·8</td><td> †15·0</td><td> † 9·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td> †45·1</td><td> † 2·5</td><td> †41·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td> †24·4</td><td> †22·5</td><td> † 6·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td> †21·3</td><td> † 2·5</td><td> † 7·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td> †16·4</td><td> †25·0</td><td> †24·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td> †12·8</td><td> †30·0</td><td> †22·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td> † 6·7</td><td> †35·0</td><td> †29·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td> † 4·2</td><td> †15·0</td><td> †19·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Counties having little Crime and little Ignorance.</i></td><td colspan="3"></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td> *56·7</td><td> *37·5</td><td> *15·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td> *50·6</td><td> *32·5</td><td> *38·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td> *50·0</td><td> *30·0</td><td> *19·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td> *36·0</td><td> * 2·5</td><td> *23·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td> *22·0</td><td> * 2·5</td><td> *14·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td> *14·0</td><td> *20·0</td><td> *12·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td> * 6·7</td><td> *15·0</td><td> * 4·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td> * ·6</td><td> *47·5</td><td> *13·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Counties having great Crime, and in which the Ignorance Tests are contradictory.</i></td><td colspan="3"></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td> †31·7</td><td> * 5·0</td><td> † 9·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td> †15·2</td><td> †20·0</td><td> *20·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td> † 9·7</td><td> †47·0</td><td> *12·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td> † 9·1</td><td> †30·0</td><td> * 3·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td> † 4·2</td><td> † 2·5</td><td> *11·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Counties having great Crime and little Ignorance.</i></td><td colspan="3"></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td> †59·1</td><td> *12·5</td><td> *11·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td> †49·4</td><td> *55·0</td><td> *21·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td> † 8·5</td><td> * 2·5</td><td> * ·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td> † 7·9</td><td> *15·0</td><td> *13·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Counties having little Crime and great Ignorance.</i></td><td colspan="3"></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td> *56·1</td><td> †37·5</td><td> †20·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td> *48·7</td><td> †42·5</td><td> †14·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hants</td><td> *14·0</td><td> †22·5</td><td> † 1·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td> *13·4</td><td> † 7·5</td><td> † 1·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td> * 9·1</td><td> †20·0</td><td> †25·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td> * 7·3</td><td> †40·0</td><td> †28·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td> * 4·2</td><td> †20·0</td><td> † 8·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Counties having little Crime, and in which the Ignorance Tests are contradictory.</i></td><td colspan="3"></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td> *51·8</td><td> *10·0</td><td> † 1·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td> *51·2</td><td> †12·5</td><td> * 6·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td> *30·5</td><td> †10·0</td><td> * 8·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td> *28·0</td><td> † 5·0</td><td> * 5·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td> *21·4</td><td> † 5·0</td><td> * 4·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td> *15·2</td><td> †22·5</td><td> * 2·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td> *10·3</td><td> †12·5</td><td> * 2·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td> *10·0</td><td> *10·0</td><td> † 4·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td></td><td> *20·0</td><td> † 6·3</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_462" id="Page_462">[462]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<h3>TABLE SHOWING THE AMOUNT OF IGNORANCE AMONGST THE CRIMINALS IN THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND
-WALES IN THE UNDERMENTIONED YEARS.</h3>
-
-<div class="mobile">
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2">COUNTIES.</th><th rowspan="2">Average Annual Number of Criminals from 1839-1848.</th><th colspan="6">Number of Criminals who could neither read nor write.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1839.</th><th>1840.</th><th>1841.</th><th>1842.</th><th>1843.</th><th>1844.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>181</td><td>39</td><td>72</td><td>90</td><td>110</td><td>80</td><td>81</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>313</td><td>103</td><td>121</td><td>97</td><td>113</td><td>48</td><td>75</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>285</td><td>89</td><td>107</td><td>87</td><td>112</td><td>113</td><td>91</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>249</td><td>79</td><td>65</td><td>90</td><td>78</td><td>80</td><td>77</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>904</td><td>285</td><td>370</td><td>334</td><td>333</td><td>336</td><td>259</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>294</td><td>81</td><td>95</td><td>82</td><td>80</td><td>82</td><td>65</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>130</td><td>39</td><td>30</td><td>26</td><td>45</td><td>37</td><td>41</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>263</td><td>74</td><td>48</td><td>66</td><td>92</td><td>77</td><td>61</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>755</td><td>143</td><td>154</td><td>146</td><td>144</td><td>204</td><td>235</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>258</td><td>84</td><td>107</td><td>96</td><td>75</td><td>95</td><td>73</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>260</td><td>70</td><td>33</td><td>56</td><td>88</td><td>96</td><td>138</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>638</td><td>213</td><td>297</td><td>302</td><td>295</td><td>290</td><td>219</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>1067</td><td>326</td><td>322</td><td>370</td><td>414</td><td>330</td><td>211</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>229</td><td>102</td><td>120</td><td>121</td><td>107</td><td>107</td><td>83</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>288</td><td>147</td><td>133</td><td>146</td><td>119</td><td>98</td><td>111</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>77</td><td>20</td><td>33</td><td>21</td><td>22</td><td>26</td><td>27</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>942</td><td>348</td><td>251</td><td>353</td><td>371</td><td>330</td><td>301</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>3462</td><td>1143</td><td>1391</td><td>1556</td><td>1947</td><td>1423</td><td>992</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>419</td><td>141</td><td>159</td><td>135</td><td>141</td><td>137</td><td>135</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>458</td><td>117</td><td>119</td><td>99</td><td>133</td><td>131</td><td>134</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>4230</td><td>927</td><td>882</td><td>980</td><td>800</td><td>1033</td><td>933</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>272</td><td>83</td><td>94</td><td>112</td><td>73</td><td>79</td><td>67</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>727</td><td>285</td><td>266</td><td>258</td><td>308</td><td>284</td><td>290</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>291</td><td>96</td><td>92</td><td>118</td><td>111</td><td>92</td><td>90</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>214</td><td>24</td><td>57</td><td>45</td><td>58</td><td>75</td><td>96</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>333</td><td>104</td><td>108</td><td>91</td><td>102</td><td>112</td><td>115</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>308</td><td>113</td><td>134</td><td>106</td><td>99</td><td>117</td><td>84</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>29</td><td>4</td><td> &mdash;</td><td>1</td><td>11</td><td>13</td><td>8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>367</td><td>136</td><td>176</td><td>182</td><td>173</td><td>215</td><td>164</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>935</td><td>281</td><td>410</td><td>352</td><td>363</td><td>333</td><td>360</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>664</td><td>215</td><td>207</td><td>188</td><td>186</td><td>159</td><td>126</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>1017</td><td>233</td><td>271</td><td>324</td><td>465</td><td>313</td><td>304</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>511</td><td>187</td><td>201</td><td>184</td><td>188</td><td>195</td><td>198</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>1026</td><td>315</td><td>320</td><td>274</td><td>300</td><td>223</td><td>233</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>498</td><td>173</td><td>173</td><td>176</td><td>191</td><td>143</td><td>111</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>959</td><td>293</td><td>396</td><td>403</td><td>363</td><td>392</td><td>267</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>41</td><td>8</td><td>6</td><td>5</td><td>5</td><td>6</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>462</td><td>132</td><td>145</td><td>146</td><td>127</td><td>116</td><td>100</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>594</td><td>169</td><td>275</td><td>244</td><td>250</td><td>242</td><td>204</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>1878</td><td>553</td><td>572</td><td>531</td><td>776</td><td>621</td><td>444</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>274</td><td>84</td><td>110</td><td>92</td><td>122</td><td>116</td><td>107</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>435</td><td>108</td><td>136</td><td>135</td><td>138</td><td>174</td><td>188</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="smcap">Total for England and Wales</span></td><td class="total">27,542</td><td class="total">196</td><td class="total">9058</td><td class="total">9220</td><td class="total">10,128</td><td class="total">9173</td><td class="total">7901</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th colspan="4"></th><th rowspan="2">Total for 10 years.</th><th rowspan="2">Average Number per Year.</th><th rowspan="2">No. of Criminals who can neither read nor write in every 100.</th><th rowspan="2">Per Cent. above and below the Average.<br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1845.</th><th>1846.</th><th>1847.</th><th>1848.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>64</td><td>66</td><td>64</td><td>79</td><td>745</td><td>74</td><td>40·8</td><td>†28·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>79</td><td>88</td><td>100</td><td>127</td><td>951</td><td>95</td><td>30·3</td><td>* 4·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>95</td><td>89</td><td>105</td><td>82</td><td>970</td><td>97</td><td>34·0</td><td>† 6·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>69</td><td>78</td><td>75</td><td>81</td><td>772</td><td>77</td><td>30·9</td><td>* 2·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>230</td><td>296</td><td>336</td><td>371</td><td>3,150</td><td>315</td><td>34·8</td><td>† 9·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>90</td><td>89</td><td>125</td><td>86</td><td>875</td><td>87</td><td>29·6</td><td>* 6·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>21</td><td>46</td><td>32</td><td>37</td><td>354</td><td>35</td><td>26·9</td><td>*15·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>53</td><td>63</td><td>41</td><td>64</td><td>642</td><td>64</td><td>24·3</td><td>*23·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>211</td><td>248</td><td>307</td><td>295</td><td>2,087</td><td>209</td><td>27·7</td><td>*12·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>83</td><td>64</td><td>93</td><td>84</td><td>864</td><td>86</td><td>33·3</td><td>† 4·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>66</td><td>78</td><td>97</td><td>120</td><td>842</td><td>84</td><td>32·3</td><td>† 1·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>188</td><td>242</td><td>254</td><td>224</td><td>2,524</td><td>252</td><td>39·5</td><td>†24·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>210</td><td>235</td><td>293</td><td>276</td><td>2,987</td><td>299</td><td>28·0</td><td>*11·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>96</td><td>64</td><td>112</td><td>115</td><td>1,027</td><td>103</td><td>45·0</td><td>†41·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>90</td><td>82</td><td>121</td><td>148</td><td>1,195</td><td>119</td><td>41·3</td><td>†29·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>32</td><td>14</td><td>21</td><td>36</td><td>252</td><td>25</td><td>32·4</td><td>† 1·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>301</td><td>267</td><td>305</td><td>368</td><td>3,195</td><td>319</td><td>33·8</td><td>† 6·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1023</td><td>1097</td><td>1283</td><td>1389</td><td>13,444</td><td>1344</td><td>38·8</td><td>†22·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>87</td><td>96</td><td>66</td><td>82</td><td>1,179</td><td>118</td><td>28·1</td><td>*11·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>112</td><td>125</td><td>136</td><td>137</td><td>1,243</td><td>124</td><td>27·1</td><td>*14·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1230</td><td>1177</td><td>1280</td><td>1322</td><td>10,564</td><td>1056</td><td>24·9</td><td>*21·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>34</td><td>45</td><td>81</td><td>95</td><td>763</td><td>76</td><td>27·9</td><td>*12·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>254</td><td>271</td><td>293</td><td>247</td><td>2,756</td><td>276</td><td>37·9</td><td>†19·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>107</td><td>86</td><td>56</td><td>93</td><td>941</td><td>94</td><td>32·3</td><td>† 1·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>44</td><td>45</td><td>49</td><td>57</td><td>550</td><td>55</td><td>25·7</td><td>*19·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>79</td><td>88</td><td>95</td><td>106</td><td>1,000</td><td>100</td><td>30·0</td><td>* 5·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>93</td><td>64</td><td>90</td><td>73</td><td>973</td><td>97</td><td>31·5</td><td>* ·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>12</td><td>8</td><td>15</td><td>17</td><td>89</td><td>9</td><td>31·0</td><td>* 2·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>104</td><td>89</td><td>112</td><td>119</td><td>1,470</td><td>147</td><td>40·0</td><td>†25·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>298</td><td>224</td><td>266</td><td>313</td><td>3,200</td><td>320</td><td>34·1</td><td>† 7·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>153</td><td>193</td><td>213</td><td>194</td><td>1,834</td><td>183</td><td>27·5</td><td>*13·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>212</td><td>263</td><td>354</td><td>387</td><td>3,126</td><td>313</td><td>30·7</td><td>* 3·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>113</td><td>159</td><td>159</td><td>179</td><td>1,763</td><td>176</td><td>34·4</td><td>† 8·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>223</td><td>218</td><td>348</td><td>340</td><td>2,824</td><td>282</td><td>27·4</td><td>*13·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>97</td><td>151</td><td>136</td><td>168</td><td>1,519</td><td>152</td><td>30·5</td><td>* 4·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>237</td><td>234</td><td>324</td><td>440</td><td>3,349</td><td>335</td><td>34·9</td><td>† 9·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>11</td><td>20</td><td>5</td><td>9</td><td>78</td><td>8</td><td>19·5</td><td>*38·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>85</td><td>101</td><td>118</td><td>104</td><td>1,174</td><td>117</td><td>25·3</td><td>*20·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>210</td><td>195</td><td>229</td><td>232</td><td>2,250</td><td>225</td><td>34·5</td><td>† 8·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>378</td><td>453</td><td>528</td><td>619</td><td>5,475</td><td>547</td><td>29·1</td><td>* 8·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>81</td><td>79</td><td>126</td><td>136</td><td>1,053</td><td>105</td><td>38·3</td><td>†20·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>183</td><td>108</td><td>187</td><td>240</td><td>1,593</td><td>159</td><td>36·5</td><td>†14·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="total">7438</td><td class="total">7698</td><td class="total">9050</td><td class="total">9691</td><td class="total">87,553</td><td class="total">8755</td><td class="total">31·8</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="nomobile">
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2">COUNTIES.</th><th rowspan="2">Average Annual Number of Criminals from 1839-1848.</th><th colspan="10">Number of Criminals who could neither read nor write.</th><th rowspan="2">Total for 10 years.</th><th rowspan="2">Average Number per Year.</th><th rowspan="2">No. of Criminals who can neither read nor write in every 100.</th><th rowspan="2">Per Cent. above and below the Average. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1839.</th><th>1840.</th><th>1841.</th><th>1842.</th><th>1843.</th><th>1844.</th><th>1845.</th><th>1846.</th><th>1847.</th><th>1848.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>181</td><td>39</td><td>72</td><td>90</td><td>110</td><td>80</td><td>81</td><td>64</td><td>66</td><td>64</td><td>79</td><td>745</td><td>74</td><td>40·8</td><td>†28·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>313</td><td>103</td><td>121</td><td>97</td><td>113</td><td>48</td><td>75</td><td>79</td><td>88</td><td>100</td><td>127</td><td>951</td><td>95</td><td>30·3</td><td>* 4·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>285</td><td>89</td><td>107</td><td>87</td><td>112</td><td>113</td><td>91</td><td>95</td><td>89</td><td>105</td><td>82</td><td>970</td><td>97</td><td>34·0</td><td>† 6·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>249</td><td>79</td><td>65</td><td>90</td><td>78</td><td>80</td><td>77</td><td>69</td><td>78</td><td>75</td><td>81</td><td>772</td><td>77</td><td>30·9</td><td>* 2·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>904</td><td>285</td><td>370</td><td>334</td><td>333</td><td>336</td><td>259</td><td>230</td><td>296</td><td>336</td><td>371</td><td>3,150</td><td>315</td><td>34·8</td><td>† 9·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>294</td><td>81</td><td>95</td><td>82</td><td>80</td><td>82</td><td>65</td><td>90</td><td>89</td><td>125</td><td>86</td><td>875</td><td>87</td><td>29·6</td><td>* 6·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>130</td><td>39</td><td>30</td><td>26</td><td>45</td><td>37</td><td>41</td><td>21</td><td>46</td><td>32</td><td>37</td><td>354</td><td>35</td><td>26·9</td><td>*15·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>263</td><td>74</td><td>48</td><td>66</td><td>92</td><td>77</td><td>61</td><td>53</td><td>63</td><td>41</td><td>64</td><td>642</td><td>64</td><td>24·3</td><td>*23·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>755</td><td>143</td><td>154</td><td>146</td><td>144</td><td>204</td><td>235</td><td>211</td><td>248</td><td>307</td><td>295</td><td>2,087</td><td>209</td><td>27·7</td><td>*12·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>258</td><td>84</td><td>107</td><td>96</td><td>75</td><td>95</td><td>73</td><td>83</td><td>64</td><td>93</td><td>84</td><td>864</td><td>86</td><td>33·3</td><td>† 4·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>260</td><td>70</td><td>33</td><td>56</td><td>88</td><td>96</td><td>138</td><td>66</td><td>78</td><td>97</td><td>120</td><td>842</td><td>84</td><td>32·3</td><td>† 1·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>638</td><td>213</td><td>297</td><td>302</td><td>295</td><td>290</td><td>219</td><td>188</td><td>242</td><td>254</td><td>224</td><td>2,524</td><td>252</td><td>39·5</td><td>†24·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>1067</td><td>326</td><td>322</td><td>370</td><td>414</td><td>330</td><td>211</td><td>210</td><td>235</td><td>293</td><td>276</td><td>2,987</td><td>299</td><td>28·0</td><td>*11·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>229</td><td>102</td><td>120</td><td>121</td><td>107</td><td>107</td><td>83</td><td>96</td><td>64</td><td>112</td><td>115</td><td>1,027</td><td>103</td><td>45·0</td><td>†41·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>288</td><td>147</td><td>133</td><td>146</td><td>119</td><td>98</td><td>111</td><td>90</td><td>82</td><td>121</td><td>148</td><td>1,195</td><td>119</td><td>41·3</td><td>†29·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>77</td><td>20</td><td>33</td><td>21</td><td>22</td><td>26</td><td>27</td><td>32</td><td>14</td><td>21</td><td>36</td><td>252</td><td>25</td><td>32·4</td><td>† 1·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>942</td><td>348</td><td>251</td><td>353</td><td>371</td><td>330</td><td>301</td><td>301</td><td>267</td><td>305</td><td>368</td><td>3,195</td><td>319</td><td>33·8</td><td>† 6·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>3462</td><td>1143</td><td>1391</td><td>1556</td><td>1947</td><td>1423</td><td>992</td><td>1023</td><td>1097</td><td>1283</td><td>1389</td><td>13,444</td><td>1344</td><td>38·8</td><td>†22·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>419</td><td>141</td><td>159</td><td>135</td><td>141</td><td>137</td><td>135</td><td>87</td><td>96</td><td>66</td><td>82</td><td>1,179</td><td>118</td><td>28·1</td><td>*11·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>458</td><td>117</td><td>119</td><td>99</td><td>133</td><td>131</td><td>134</td><td>112</td><td>125</td><td>136</td><td>137</td><td>1,243</td><td>124</td><td>27·1</td><td>*14·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>4230</td><td>927</td><td>882</td><td>980</td><td>800</td><td>1033</td><td>933</td><td>1230</td><td>1177</td><td>1280</td><td>1322</td><td>10,564</td><td>1056</td><td>24·9</td><td>*21·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>272</td><td>83</td><td>94</td><td>112</td><td>73</td><td>79</td><td>67</td><td>34</td><td>45</td><td>81</td><td>95</td><td>763</td><td>76</td><td>27·9</td><td>*12·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>727</td><td>285</td><td>266</td><td>258</td><td>308</td><td>284</td><td>290</td><td>254</td><td>271</td><td>293</td><td>247</td><td>2,756</td><td>276</td><td>37·9</td><td>†19·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>291</td><td>96</td><td>92</td><td>118</td><td>111</td><td>92</td><td>90</td><td>107</td><td>86</td><td>56</td><td>93</td><td>941</td><td>94</td><td>32·3</td><td>† 1·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>214</td><td>24</td><td>57</td><td>45</td><td>58</td><td>75</td><td>96</td><td>44</td><td>45</td><td>49</td><td>57</td><td>550</td><td>55</td><td>25·7</td><td>*19·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>333</td><td>104</td><td>108</td><td>91</td><td>102</td><td>112</td><td>115</td><td>79</td><td>88</td><td>95</td><td>106</td><td>1,000</td><td>100</td><td>30·0</td><td>* 5·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>308</td><td>113</td><td>134</td><td>106</td><td>99</td><td>117</td><td>84</td><td>93</td><td>64</td><td>90</td><td>73</td><td>973</td><td>97</td><td>31·5</td><td>* ·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>29</td><td>4</td><td> &mdash;</td><td>1</td><td>11</td><td>13</td><td>8</td><td>12</td><td>8</td><td>15</td><td>17</td><td>89</td><td>9</td><td>31·0</td><td>* 2·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>367</td><td>136</td><td>176</td><td>182</td><td>173</td><td>215</td><td>164</td><td>104</td><td>89</td><td>112</td><td>119</td><td>1,470</td><td>147</td><td>40·0</td><td>†25·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>935</td><td>281</td><td>410</td><td>352</td><td>363</td><td>333</td><td>360</td><td>298</td><td>224</td><td>266</td><td>313</td><td>3,200</td><td>320</td><td>34·1</td><td>† 7·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>664</td><td>215</td><td>207</td><td>188</td><td>186</td><td>159</td><td>126</td><td>153</td><td>193</td><td>213</td><td>194</td><td>1,834</td><td>183</td><td>27·5</td><td>*13·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>1017</td><td>233</td><td>271</td><td>324</td><td>465</td><td>313</td><td>304</td><td>212</td><td>263</td><td>354</td><td>387</td><td>3,126</td><td>313</td><td>30·7</td><td>* 3·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>511</td><td>187</td><td>201</td><td>184</td><td>188</td><td>195</td><td>198</td><td>113</td><td>159</td><td>159</td><td>179</td><td>1,763</td><td>176</td><td>34·4</td><td>† 8·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>1026</td><td>315</td><td>320</td><td>274</td><td>300</td><td>223</td><td>233</td><td>223</td><td>218</td><td>348</td><td>340</td><td>2,824</td><td>282</td><td>27·4</td><td>*13·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>498</td><td>173</td><td>173</td><td>176</td><td>191</td><td>143</td><td>111</td><td>97</td><td>151</td><td>136</td><td>168</td><td>1,519</td><td>152</td><td>30·5</td><td>* 4·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>959</td><td>293</td><td>396</td><td>403</td><td>363</td><td>392</td><td>267</td><td>237</td><td>234</td><td>324</td><td>440</td><td>3,349</td><td>335</td><td>34·9</td><td>† 9·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>41</td><td>8</td><td>6</td><td>5</td><td>5</td><td>6</td><td>3</td><td>11</td><td>20</td><td>5</td><td>9</td><td>78</td><td>8</td><td>19·5</td><td>*38·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>462</td><td>132</td><td>145</td><td>146</td><td>127</td><td>116</td><td>100</td><td>85</td><td>101</td><td>118</td><td>104</td><td>1,174</td><td>117</td><td>25·3</td><td>*20·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>594</td><td>169</td><td>275</td><td>244</td><td>250</td><td>242</td><td>204</td><td>210</td><td>195</td><td>229</td><td>232</td><td>2,250</td><td>225</td><td>34·5</td><td>† 8·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>1878</td><td>553</td><td>572</td><td>531</td><td>776</td><td>621</td><td>444</td><td>378</td><td>453</td><td>528</td><td>619</td><td>5,475</td><td>547</td><td>29·1</td><td>* 8·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>274</td><td>84</td><td>110</td><td>92</td><td>122</td><td>116</td><td>107</td><td>81</td><td>79</td><td>126</td><td>136</td><td>1,053</td><td>105</td><td>38·3</td><td>†20·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>435</td><td>108</td><td>136</td><td>135</td><td>138</td><td>174</td><td>188</td><td>183</td><td>108</td><td>187</td><td>240</td><td>1,593</td><td>159</td><td>36·5</td><td>†14·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="smcap">Total for England and Wales</span></td><td class="total">27,542</td><td class="total">8196</td><td class="total">9058</td><td class="total">9220</td><td class="total">10,128</td><td class="total">9173</td><td class="total">7901</td><td class="total">7438</td><td class="total">7698</td><td class="total">9050</td><td class="total">9691</td><td class="total">87,553</td><td class="total">8755</td><td class="total">31·8</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_463" id="Page_463">[463]</a></span></p>
-
-<h3>LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE ORDER
-OF THE IGNORANCE AMONGST
-THEIR CRIMINALS, AS SHOWN BY
-THE NUMBER OF PERSONS WHO
-COULD NEITHER READ NOR WRITE
-IN EVERY 100 CRIMINALS.</h3>
-
-
-<h4><i>Counties above the
-Average.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>45·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>41·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>40·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>40·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>39·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>38·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>38·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>37·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>36·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>34·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>34·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>34·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>34·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>34·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>34·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>33·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>33·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>32·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>32·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>32·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Average for England and Wales</td><td class="total">31·8</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<h4><i>Counties below the
-Average.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>31·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>31·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>30·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>30·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>30·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>30·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>30·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>29·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>29·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>28·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>28·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>27·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>27·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>27·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>27·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>27·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>26·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>25·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>25·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>24·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>24·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>19·5</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<h3>THE COUNTIES ARRANGED CRIMINALLY
-AND TOPOGRAPHICALLY (<i>to show the local
-association of crime</i>).</h3>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Division I.</span>&mdash;<i>Northern,
-Welsh, and Cornish
-Counties.</i></h4>
-
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th></th><th>No. of Criminals in 10,000.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>7·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>7·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>8·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>8·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>7·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>8·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>8·0</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Division II.</span>&mdash;<i>York and
-N. Midland Counties.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>11·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>10·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>11·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>12·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>13·9</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Division III.</span>&mdash;<i>S. Midland
-&amp; Eastern Counties.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>14·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>14·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>14·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>15·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>15·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>17·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>19·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>17·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Herts</td><td>17·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>20·4</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Division IV.</span>&mdash;<i>South
-Eastern and South
-Western.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>12·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>14·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>14·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>15·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>16·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>16·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hants</td><td>17·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>18·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>19·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>18·0</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Division V.</span>&mdash;<i>Western
-and North Western.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Shropshire</td><td>14·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicestershire</td><td>17·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>17·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>18·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>22·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>21·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>23·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>25·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>26·1</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Division VI.</span>&mdash;<i>Metropolitan.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>24·5</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>The Northern, Welsh, and Cornish Counties range
-in criminality from 7·1 to 8·4 in 10,000.</p>
-
-<p>York and the N. Midland Counties, from 11·4 to 13·9.</p>
-
-<p>The S. Midland and Eastern Counties, from 14·1 to
-20·4.</p>
-
-<p>The S. Eastern and S. Western, from 12·9 to 19·9.</p>
-
-<p>The Western and N. Western, from 14·9 to 26·1.</p>
-
-<p>The Metropolitan, 24·5.</p></div>
-
-<h3>TABLE SHOWING THE RELATIVE CRIMINALITY AND IGNORANCE OF
-THE SEVERAL COUNTIES, ARRANGED ACCORDING
-TO THE OCCUPATION OF THEIR INHABITANTS.</h3>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th></th><th>No. of Criminals in every 10,000 of Pop.</th><th>No. of Persons who signed with Marks in every 100 married.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Agricultural Counties.</i></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>12</td><td>39</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>13</td><td>49</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Huntingdon</td><td>14</td><td>49</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>14</td><td>45</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>19</td><td>50</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>15</td><td>34</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>23</td><td>41</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Agricultural and Sub-Manufacturing Counties.</i></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>8</td><td>27</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>17</td><td>46</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>15</td><td>48</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>17</td><td>54</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>15</td><td>56</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Buckingham</td><td>20</td><td>49</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>14</td><td>43</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>17</td><td>39</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>12</td><td>42</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hants</td><td>17</td><td>34</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>18</td><td>48</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>14</td><td>36</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>19</td><td>41</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Sub-Agricul. and Sub-Manufact. County.</i></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>26</td><td>35</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Manufacturing Counties.</i></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>18</td><td>52</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Yorkshire</td><td>11</td><td>44</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>22</td><td>46</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>11</td><td>42</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>17</td><td>41</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>21</td><td>38</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>25</td><td>52</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Mining Counties.</i></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>7</td><td>36</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>8</td><td>45</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Manufacturing and Sub-Mining Counties.</i></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>10</td><td>39</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>17</td><td>52</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Agricultural and Sub-Mining Counties.</i></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>14</td><td>48</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>7</td><td>55</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>8</td><td>57</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Sub-Agricultural and Sub-Mining Counties.</i></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>8</td><td>28</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>7</td><td>25</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>18</td><td>59</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Metropolitan County.</i></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>24</td><td>18</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Sub-Metropolitan Counties.</i></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>16</td><td>21</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>16</td><td>32</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<p>For definition of Agricultural, Manufacturing, and Mining Counties, see
-Table of Density of Population, No. 37.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_464" id="Page_464">[464]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="figcenter break illowp100" id="i_i_1046" style="max-width: 75em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_1046h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>
-TABLE SHOWING THE
-RELATIVE DEGREES OF CRIMINALITY AND IGNORANCE IN THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES IN ENGLAND AND WALES.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">The Average taken for Ten Years.</span></p>
-
-<p><i>The thin line represents Ignorance. The thick line represents Crime.</i></p></div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_465" id="Page_465">[465]</a></span></p>
-
-<h3>EDUCATION OF CRIMINALS (ENGLAND
-AND WALES).</h3>
-
-
-
-<h4>TABLE SHOWING THE DEGREES OF INSTRUCTION
-OF PERSONS OF ALL AGES COMMITTED
-TO PRISON FROM 1839 TO 1848.</h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th>Years.</th><th>Unable to read or write.</th><th>Able to read and write imperfectly.</th><th>Able to read and write well.</th><th>Superior Instruction.</th><th>Instruction could not be ascertained.</th><th>Total.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>1839</td><td>8,196</td><td>13,071</td><td>2462</td><td>78</td><td>636</td><td>24,443</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1840</td><td>9,058</td><td>15,109</td><td>2253</td><td>101</td><td>666</td><td>27,187</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1841</td><td>9,220</td><td>15,732</td><td>2053</td><td>26</td><td>629</td><td>27,760</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1842</td><td>10,128</td><td>18,260</td><td>2121</td><td>69</td><td>731</td><td>31,309</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1843</td><td>9,173</td><td>17,045</td><td>2371</td><td>140</td><td>862</td><td>29,591</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1844</td><td>7,901</td><td>15,735</td><td>2165</td><td>111</td><td>639</td><td>26,542</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1845</td><td>7,438</td><td>14,179</td><td>2037</td><td>89</td><td>560</td><td>24,303</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1846</td><td>7,698</td><td>14,942</td><td>1936</td><td>85</td><td>446</td><td>25,107</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1847</td><td>9,050</td><td>16,980</td><td>2245</td><td>82</td><td>476</td><td>28,833</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1848</td><td>9,691</td><td>17,111</td><td>2984</td><td>81</td><td>482</td><td>30,349</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<h4>TABLE SHOWING THE CENTESIMAL DEGREES
-OF INSTRUCTION OF PERSONS OF ALL AGES
-COMMITTED TO PRISON FROM 1839 TO
-1848.</h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th>Years.</th><th>Unable to read or write.</th><th>Able to read and write imperfectly.</th><th>Able to read and write well.</th><th>Superior Instruction.</th><th>Instruction could not be ascertained.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>1839</td><td>33·53</td><td>53·48</td><td>10·07</td><td>0·32</td><td>2·60</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1840</td><td>33·32</td><td>55·57</td><td>8·29</td><td>0·37</td><td>2·45</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1841</td><td>33·21</td><td>56·67</td><td>7·40</td><td>0·45</td><td>2·27</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1842</td><td>32·35</td><td>58·32</td><td>6·77</td><td>0·22</td><td>2·34</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1843</td><td>31·00</td><td>57·60</td><td>8·02</td><td>0·47</td><td>2·91</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1844</td><td>29·77</td><td>59·28</td><td>8·42</td><td>0·42</td><td>2·41</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1845</td><td>30·61</td><td>58·34</td><td>8·38</td><td>0·37</td><td>2·30</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1846</td><td>30·66</td><td>59·51</td><td>7·71</td><td>0·34</td><td>1·78</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1847</td><td>31·39</td><td>58·89</td><td>7·79</td><td>0·28</td><td>1·65</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1848</td><td>31·93</td><td>56·38</td><td>9·83</td><td>0·27</td><td>1·59</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>⁂ “The instruction of the offenders,” say the
-Criminal Returns of 1848, “has been without much
-variation, exhibiting, on a comparison of the last
-ten years, a <i>decreased</i> proportion of those entirely
-uninstructed;” and it may be added a corresponding
-<i>increase</i> of those who are able to read and write
-imperfectly.</p>
-
-<h3>THE STATE OF EDUCATION AND DENSITY
-OF THE POPULATION IN THE SEVERAL
-COUNTIES COMPARED.</h3>
-
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2"><i>Counties having great Ignorance and great density of Population.</i></th><th colspan="2">Percentage above and below the Average.</th><th rowspan="2"><i>Counties having little Ignorance and great density of Population.</i></th><th colspan="2">Percentage above and below the Average.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>In No. signing register with Marks.</th><th>In No. of Persons to 100 Acres.</th><th>In No. signing register with Marks.</th><th>In No. of Persons to 100 Acres.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>†47</td><td>† 9</td><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>*55</td><td>†2030</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>†30</td><td>†270</td><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>*47</td><td>† 189</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>†30</td><td>† 72</td><td class="left">Kent</td><td>*20</td><td>† 28</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>†30</td><td>† 13</td><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>*12</td><td>† 6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>†15</td><td>† 31</td><td class="left">Durham</td><td>*10</td><td>† 21</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>†5</td><td>† 12</td><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>* 5</td><td>† 70</td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="3"><i>Counties having little Ignorance and little density of Population.</i></th><th colspan="3"><i>Counties having great Ignorance and little density of Population.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>*37</td><td>*59</td><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>†42</td><td>*55</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>*32</td><td>*75</td><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>†40</td><td>*12</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumb</td><td>*30</td><td>*48</td><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>†37</td><td>*60</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>*20</td><td>*30</td><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>†35</td><td>*12</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>*15</td><td>*25</td><td class="left">Essex</td><td>†25</td><td>*29</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>*15</td><td>*20</td><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>†22</td><td>*37</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>*10</td><td>*43</td><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>†22</td><td>*49</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>* 2</td><td>*26</td><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>†22</td><td>*49</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>* 2</td><td>*51</td><td class="left">Salop</td><td>†20</td><td>*42</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>* 2</td><td>*20</td><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>†20</td><td>*26</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" rowspan="10"></td><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>†20</td><td>*44</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>†15</td><td>*32</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>†12</td><td>*28</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>†12</td><td>*16</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>†10</td><td>* 2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>† 7</td><td>*33</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>† 5</td><td>*15</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>† 2</td><td>*63</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>† 2</td><td>* 7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>† 2</td><td>*10</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>⁂ The rule appears to be, that those counties are the <i>most</i>
-ignorant in which the population is the <i>least</i> dense.</p>
-
-
-<h3>THE CRIME AND DENSITY OF THE POPULATION
-OF THE SEVERAL COUNTIES
-COMPARED.</h3>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="lightborder right" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2"><i>Counties having great Crime and great density of Population.</i></th><th colspan="2">Percentage above and below the Average.</th><th rowspan="2"><i>Counties having great Crime and little density of Population.</i></th><th colspan="2">Percentage above and below the Average.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>In Number of Criminals.</th><th>In No. of Persons to 100 Acres.</th><th>In Number of Criminals.</th><th>In No. of Persons to 100 Acres.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>†59·1</td><td>† 6·4</td><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>†45·1</td><td>*63·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>†52·4</td><td>† 13·3</td><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>†24·4</td><td>*37·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>†49·4</td><td>†2030·8</td><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>†21·3</td><td>*10·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>†37·8</td><td>† 31·2</td><td class="left">Essex</td><td>†16·4</td><td>*29·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>†31·7</td><td>† 70·0</td><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>†15·2</td><td>*44·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>†12·8</td><td>† 270·6</td><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>† 8·5</td><td>*26·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>† 9·7</td><td>† 9·9</td><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>† 7·9</td><td>*20·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>† 9·1</td><td>† 72·2</td><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>† 6·7</td><td>*12·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" rowspan="2"></td><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>† 4·2</td><td>* 7·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>† 4·2</td><td>*32·6</td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="3"><i>Counties having little Crime and little density of Population.</i></th><th colspan="3"><i>Counties having little Crime and great density of Population.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>*56·7</td><td>*59·6</td><td class="left">Durham</td><td>*51·8</td><td>† 21·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>*56·1</td><td>*60.4</td><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>*28·0</td><td>† 12·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>*51·2</td><td>*16·3</td><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>* ·6</td><td>†189·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>*50·6</td><td>*75·9</td><td class="left">Kent</td><td></td><td>† 28·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumb</td><td>*50·0</td><td>*48·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>*48·7</td><td>*55·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>*36·0</td><td>*20·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>*30·5</td><td>* 2·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>*22·0</td><td>*51·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>*21·4</td><td>*15·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>*14·0</td><td>*49·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>*14·0</td><td>*30·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>*15·2</td><td>*49·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>*13·4</td><td>*33·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>*10·3</td><td>*28·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>*10·0</td><td>*43·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>* 9·1</td><td>*42·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>* 7·3</td><td>*12·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>* 6·7</td><td>*25·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>* 4·2</td><td>*26·6</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>⁂ The rule appears to be, that those counties are the least
-criminal in which the population is the least dense.</p>
-
-<p>N.B. The † prefixed to a number denotes that it is <i>above</i>, the * that it is <i>below</i> the average by the percentage which it expresses.</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum">
-<a name="Page_467" id="Page_467">[467]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter break illowp62" id="i_i_1050" style="max-width: 62.9375em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_1050h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>
-<span class="x-large b">MAP</span><br />
-SHOWING<br />
-<span class="x-large">THE NUMBER OF ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN</span><br />
-IN EVERY 1000 BIRTHS,<br />
-IN EACH COUNTY OF<br />
-<span class="x-large">ENGLAND AND WALES.</span></p>
-
-<p>⁂ The counties printed <i>black</i> are those in
-which the number of Illegitimate Births is
-<i>above</i> the Average.</p>
-
-<p>The counties left <i>white</i> are
-those in which the number of
-Illegitimate Births is <i>below</i>
-the Average.</p>
-
-<p>The Average is taken for
-four years (as long as the returns
-will allow).</p>
-
-<p><i>The Average for all England and Wales is 67 in every 1000.</i></p></div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_468" id="Page_468">[468]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<h3>A TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF ILLEGITIMATE BIRTHS IN ENGLAND AND WALES IN THE UNDERMENTIONED YEARS.</h3>
-
-<p class="center">⁂ <i>The average is calculated for as long a series of years as the returns of the Registrar General will permit.</i></p>
-
-<div class="mobile">
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2">COUNTIES.</th><th rowspan="2">Total Number of Birth for 1845-48.</th><th rowspan="2">Average per Year.</th><th colspan="4">Number of Illegitimate Births</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1845.</th><th>1846.</th><th>1847.</th><th>1848.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>17,384</td><td>4,346</td><td>355</td><td>349</td><td>302</td><td>338</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>23,195</td><td>5,799</td><td>463</td><td>472</td><td>438</td><td>470</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>17,984</td><td>4,496</td><td>328</td><td>329</td><td>296</td><td>306</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>25,546</td><td>6,386</td><td>441</td><td>407</td><td>442</td><td>404</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>51,396</td><td>12,599</td><td>1188</td><td>1190</td><td>1064</td><td>1072</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>45,017</td><td>11,254</td><td>576</td><td>537</td><td>515</td><td>508</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>23,541</td><td>5,885</td><td>647</td><td>641</td><td>629</td><td>638</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>32,295</td><td>8,074</td><td>672</td><td>670</td><td>674</td><td>610</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>64,802</td><td>16,200</td><td>789</td><td>889</td><td>758</td><td>837</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>20,529</td><td>5,132</td><td>364</td><td>331</td><td>309</td><td>366</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>54,916</td><td>13,729</td><td>804</td><td>821</td><td>812</td><td>859</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>41,356</td><td>10,339</td><td>588</td><td>673</td><td>590</td><td>634</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>49,444</td><td>12,361</td><td>811</td><td>855</td><td>720</td><td>767</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>10,984</td><td>2,746</td><td>273</td><td>305</td><td>254</td><td>263</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>21,590</td><td>5,397</td><td>402</td><td>414</td><td>368</td><td>367</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>8,179</td><td>2,045</td><td>116</td><td>100</td><td>80</td><td>98</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>73,836</td><td>18,459</td><td>1015</td><td>1008</td><td>976</td><td>995</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>293,023</td><td>73,256</td><td>5929</td><td>5897</td><td>5477</td><td>5384</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>29,512</td><td>7,378</td><td>640</td><td>624</td><td>531</td><td>536</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>49,546</td><td>12,386</td><td>843</td><td>845</td><td>773</td><td>821</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>217,523</td><td>54,381</td><td>2048</td><td>2254</td><td>2201</td><td>2298</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>21,995</td><td>5,499</td><td>247</td><td>266</td><td>253</td><td>309</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>52,387</td><td>13,097</td><td>1424</td><td>1440</td><td>1295</td><td>1336</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>27,674</td><td>6,918</td><td>440</td><td>420</td><td>395</td><td>411</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>37,523</td><td>9,381</td><td>668</td><td>678</td><td>715</td><td>679</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>35,244</td><td>8,811</td><td>895</td><td>827</td><td>775</td><td>736</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>20,886</td><td>5,221</td><td>368</td><td>468</td><td>386</td><td>361</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>2,825</td><td>706</td><td>52</td><td>34</td><td>30</td><td>45</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>25,899</td><td>6,475</td><td>676</td><td>658</td><td>593</td><td>632</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>53,509</td><td>13,377</td><td>903</td><td>860</td><td>796</td><td>830</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>46,726</td><td>11,681</td><td>704</td><td>711</td><td>688</td><td>709</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>77,972</td><td>19,493</td><td>1240</td><td>1283</td><td>1409</td><td>1433</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>42,055</td><td>10,514</td><td>937</td><td>950</td><td>849</td><td>846</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>81,968</td><td>20,492</td><td>855</td><td>911</td><td>930</td><td>915</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>38,454</td><td>9,613</td><td>657</td><td>669</td><td>695</td><td>626</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>58,938</td><td>14,734</td><td>779</td><td>835</td><td>830</td><td>879</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>7,073</td><td>1,793</td><td>179</td><td>147</td><td>149</td><td>149</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>29,008</td><td>7,252</td><td>521</td><td>549</td><td>485</td><td>469</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>40,561</td><td>10,140</td><td>768</td><td>885</td><td>512</td><td>553</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>231,444</td><td>57,861</td><td>4266</td><td>4317</td><td>4030</td><td>4106</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>43,268</td><td>10,817</td><td>872</td><td>854</td><td>830</td><td>832</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>72,188</td><td>18,047</td><td>1407</td><td>1256</td><td>1271</td><td>1300</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total for England and Wales</td><td class="total">2,219,170</td><td class="total">554,792</td><td class="total">38,241</td><td class="total">38,259</td><td class="total">36,125</td><td class="total">36,747</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th>Total for 4 Years.</th><th>Average per Year.</th><th>Proportion to all Births, 1 in every</th><th>Number of Illegitimate in every 1000 Births.</th><th>Per Cent. above and below the Average. <br />† denotes above <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below</th></tr>
-<tr><td>1,344</td><td>336</td><td>12·9</td><td>77</td><td>†14·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1,843</td><td>461</td><td>12·5</td><td>79</td><td>†17·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1,259</td><td>315</td><td>14·2</td><td>70</td><td>†4·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1,694</td><td>423</td><td>15·0</td><td>66</td><td>*1·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>4,514</td><td>1128</td><td>11·3</td><td>89</td><td>†32·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2,136</td><td>534</td><td>21·0</td><td>47</td><td>*29·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2,555</td><td>639</td><td>9·2</td><td>108</td><td>†61·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2,626</td><td>656</td><td>12·2</td><td>81</td><td>†20·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3,273</td><td>818</td><td>19·7</td><td>50</td><td>*25·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1,370</td><td>342</td><td>14·9</td><td>66</td><td>*1·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3,296</td><td>824</td><td>16·3</td><td>60</td><td>*10·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2,485</td><td>621</td><td>16·6</td><td>60</td><td>*10·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3,153</td><td>788</td><td>15·6</td><td>64</td><td>*4·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1,095</td><td>274</td><td>10·0</td><td>100</td><td>†49·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1,551</td><td>388</td><td>13·9</td><td>72</td><td>†7·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>394</td><td>98</td><td>20·7</td><td>48</td><td>*28·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3,994</td><td>998</td><td>14·8</td><td>54</td><td>*19·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>22,687</td><td>5672</td><td>12·9</td><td>77</td><td>†14·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2,331</td><td>583</td><td>12·6</td><td>79</td><td>†17·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3,282</td><td>820</td><td>15·0</td><td>66</td><td>*1·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>8,801</td><td>2200</td><td>24·7</td><td>40</td><td>*40·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1,075</td><td>269</td><td>20·4</td><td>49</td><td>*26·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>5,495</td><td>1374</td><td>9·5</td><td>105</td><td>†56·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1,666</td><td>416</td><td>16·6</td><td>60</td><td>*10·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2,740</td><td>685</td><td>13·6</td><td>73</td><td>†8·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3,233</td><td>808</td><td>10·9</td><td>91</td><td>†35·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1,583</td><td>396</td><td>13·1</td><td>76</td><td>†13·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>161</td><td>40</td><td>17·5</td><td>56</td><td>*16·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2,559</td><td>640</td><td>10·1</td><td>99</td><td>†47·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3,389</td><td>847</td><td>15·7</td><td>63</td><td>*6·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2,812</td><td>703</td><td>16·6</td><td>60</td><td>*10·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>5,365</td><td>1341</td><td>14·5</td><td>69</td><td>†3·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3,582</td><td>895</td><td>11·7</td><td>85</td><td>†26·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3,611</td><td>903</td><td>22·6</td><td>44</td><td>*34·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2,647</td><td>662</td><td>14·5</td><td>68</td><td>†1·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3,323</td><td>831</td><td>17·7</td><td>56</td><td>*16·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>624</td><td>156</td><td>11·3</td><td>87</td><td>†29·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2,024</td><td>506</td><td>14·3</td><td>69</td><td>†3·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2,718</td><td>679</td><td>14·9</td><td>66</td><td>*1·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>16,619</td><td>4155</td><td>13·9</td><td>71</td><td>†6·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3,388</td><td>847</td><td>12·7</td><td>78</td><td>†16·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>5,234</td><td>1308</td><td>13·7</td><td>72</td><td>†7·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="total">149,642</td><td class="total">37,410</td><td class="total">14·8</td><td class="total">67</td><td class="total"></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="nomobile">
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2">COUNTIES.</th><th rowspan="2">Total Number of Birth for 1845-48.</th><th rowspan="2">Average per Year.</th><th colspan="4">Number of Illegitimate Births</th><th rowspan="2">Total for 4 Years.</th><th rowspan="2">Average per Year.</th><th rowspan="2">Proportion to all Births, 1 in every</th><th rowspan="2">Number of Illegitimate in every 1000 Births.</th><th rowspan="2">Per Cent. above and below the Average. <br />† denotes above <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1845.</th><th>1846.</th><th>1847.</th><th>1848.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>17,384</td><td>4,346</td><td>355</td><td>349</td><td>302</td><td>338</td><td>1,344</td><td>336</td><td>12·9</td><td>77</td><td>†14·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>23,195</td><td>5,799</td><td>463</td><td>472</td><td>438</td><td>470</td><td>1,843</td><td>461</td><td>12·5</td><td>79</td><td>†17·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>17,984</td><td>4,496</td><td>328</td><td>329</td><td>296</td><td>306</td><td>1,259</td><td>315</td><td>14·2</td><td>70</td><td>†4·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>25,546</td><td>6,386</td><td>441</td><td>407</td><td>442</td><td>404</td><td>1,694</td><td>423</td><td>15·0</td><td>66</td><td>*1·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>51,396</td><td>12,599</td><td>1188</td><td>1190</td><td>1064</td><td>1072</td><td>4,514</td><td>1128</td><td>11·3</td><td>89</td><td>†32·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>45,017</td><td>11,254</td><td>576</td><td>537</td><td>515</td><td>508</td><td>2,136</td><td>534</td><td>21·0</td><td>47</td><td>*29·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>23,541</td><td>5,885</td><td>647</td><td>641</td><td>629</td><td>638</td><td>2,555</td><td>639</td><td>9·2</td><td>108</td><td>†61·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>32,295</td><td>8,074</td><td>672</td><td>670</td><td>674</td><td>610</td><td>2,626</td><td>656</td><td>12·2</td><td>81</td><td>†20·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>64,802</td><td>16,200</td><td>789</td><td>889</td><td>758</td><td>837</td><td>3,273</td><td>818</td><td>19·7</td><td>50</td><td>*25·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>20,529</td><td>5,132</td><td>364</td><td>331</td><td>309</td><td>366</td><td>1,370</td><td>342</td><td>14·9</td><td>66</td><td>*1·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>54,916</td><td>13,729</td><td>804</td><td>821</td><td>812</td><td>859</td><td>3,296</td><td>824</td><td>16·3</td><td>60</td><td>*10·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>41,356</td><td>10,339</td><td>588</td><td>673</td><td>590</td><td>634</td><td>2,485</td><td>621</td><td>16·6</td><td>60</td><td>*10·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>49,444</td><td>12,361</td><td>811</td><td>855</td><td>720</td><td>767</td><td>3,153</td><td>788</td><td>15·6</td><td>64</td><td>*4·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>10,984</td><td>2,746</td><td>273</td><td>305</td><td>254</td><td>263</td><td>1,095</td><td>274</td><td>10·0</td><td>100</td><td>†49·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>21,590</td><td>5,397</td><td>402</td><td>414</td><td>368</td><td>367</td><td>1,551</td><td>388</td><td>13·9</td><td>72</td><td>†7·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>8,179</td><td>2,045</td><td>116</td><td>100</td><td>80</td><td>98</td><td>394</td><td>98</td><td>20·7</td><td>48</td><td>*28·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>73,836</td><td>18,459</td><td>1015</td><td>1008</td><td>976</td><td>995</td><td>3,994</td><td>998</td><td>14·8</td><td>54</td><td>*19·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>293,023</td><td>73,256</td><td>5929</td><td>5897</td><td>5477</td><td>5384</td><td>22,687</td><td>5672</td><td>12·9</td><td>77</td><td>†14·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>29,512</td><td>7,378</td><td>640</td><td>624</td><td>531</td><td>536</td><td>2,331</td><td>583</td><td>12·6</td><td>79</td><td>†17·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>49,546</td><td>12,386</td><td>843</td><td>845</td><td>773</td><td>821</td><td>3,282</td><td>820</td><td>15·0</td><td>66</td><td>*1·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>217,523</td><td>54,381</td><td>2048</td><td>2254</td><td>2201</td><td>2298</td><td>8,801</td><td>2200</td><td>24·7</td><td>40</td><td>*40·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>21,995</td><td>5,499</td><td>247</td><td>266</td><td>253</td><td>309</td><td>1,075</td><td>269</td><td>20·4</td><td>49</td><td>*26·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>52,387</td><td>13,097</td><td>1424</td><td>1440</td><td>1295</td><td>1336</td><td>5,495</td><td>1374</td><td>9·5</td><td>105</td><td>†56·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>27,674</td><td>6,918</td><td>440</td><td>420</td><td>395</td><td>411</td><td>1,666</td><td>416</td><td>16·6</td><td>60</td><td>*10·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>37,523</td><td>9,381</td><td>668</td><td>678</td><td>715</td><td>679</td><td>2,740</td><td>685</td><td>13·6</td><td>73</td><td>†8·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>35,244</td><td>8,811</td><td>895</td><td>827</td><td>775</td><td>736</td><td>3,233</td><td>808</td><td>10·9</td><td>91</td><td>†35·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>20,886</td><td>5,221</td><td>368</td><td>468</td><td>386</td><td>361</td><td>1,583</td><td>396</td><td>13·1</td><td>76</td><td>†13·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>2,825</td><td>706</td><td>52</td><td>34</td><td>30</td><td>45</td><td>161</td><td>40</td><td>17·5</td><td>56</td><td>*16·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>25,899</td><td>6,475</td><td>676</td><td>658</td><td>593</td><td>632</td><td>2,559</td><td>640</td><td>10·1</td><td>99</td><td>†47·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>53,509</td><td>13,377</td><td>903</td><td>860</td><td>796</td><td>830</td><td>3,389</td><td>847</td><td>15·7</td><td>63</td><td>*6·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>46,726</td><td>11,681</td><td>704</td><td>711</td><td>688</td><td>709</td><td>2,812</td><td>703</td><td>16·6</td><td>60</td><td>*10·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>77,972</td><td>19,493</td><td>1240</td><td>1283</td><td>1409</td><td>1433</td><td>5,365</td><td>1341</td><td>14·5</td><td>69</td><td>†3·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>42,055</td><td>10,514</td><td>937</td><td>950</td><td>849</td><td>846</td><td>3,582</td><td>895</td><td>11·7</td><td>85</td><td>†26·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>81,968</td><td>20,492</td><td>855</td><td>911</td><td>930</td><td>915</td><td>3,611</td><td>903</td><td>22·6</td><td>44</td><td>*34·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>38,454</td><td>9,613</td><td>657</td><td>669</td><td>695</td><td>626</td><td>2,647</td><td>662</td><td>14·5</td><td>68</td><td>†1·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>58,938</td><td>14,734</td><td>779</td><td>835</td><td>830</td><td>879</td><td>3,323</td><td>831</td><td>17·7</td><td>56</td><td>*16·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>7,073</td><td>1,793</td><td>179</td><td>147</td><td>149</td><td>149</td><td>624</td><td>156</td><td>11·3</td><td>87</td><td>†29·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>29,008</td><td>7,252</td><td>521</td><td>549</td><td>485</td><td>469</td><td>2,024</td><td>506</td><td>14·3</td><td>69</td><td>†3·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>40,561</td><td>10,140</td><td>768</td><td>885</td><td>512</td><td>553</td><td>2,718</td><td>679</td><td>14·9</td><td>66</td><td>*1·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>231,444</td><td>57,861</td><td>4266</td><td>4317</td><td>4030</td><td>4106</td><td>16,619</td><td>4155</td><td>13·9</td><td>71</td><td>†6·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>43,268</td><td>10,817</td><td>872</td><td>854</td><td>830</td><td>832</td><td>3,388</td><td>847</td><td>12·7</td><td>78</td><td>†16·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>72,188</td><td>18,047</td><td>1407</td><td>1256</td><td>1271</td><td>1300</td><td>5,234</td><td>1308</td><td>13·7</td><td>72</td><td>†7·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total for England and Wales</td><td class="total">2,219,170</td><td class="total">554,792</td><td class="total">38,241</td><td class="total">38,259</td><td class="total">36,125</td><td class="total">36,747</td><td class="total">149,642</td><td class="total">37,410</td><td class="total">14·8</td><td class="total">67</td><td class="total"></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-<p> <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_469" id="Page_469">[469]</a></span></p>
-
-<h3>LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE ORDER OF THEIR
-ILLEGITIMATE BIRTHS, AS SHOWN BY THE
-NUMBER OF ILLEGITIMATES IN EVERY 1000
-CHILDREN BORN.</h3>
-
-
-<h4><i>Counties above the Average.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>108</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>105</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>100</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>99</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>91</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>89</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>87</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>85</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>81</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>79</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>79</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>78</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>77</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>77</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>76</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>73</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>72</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>72</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>71</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>70</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>69</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>69</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>68</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<h4><i>Counties below the Average.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>66</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>66</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>66</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>66</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>64</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>63</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>60</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>60</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>60</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>60</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>56</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>56</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>54</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>50</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>49</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>48</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>47</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>44</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>40</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Average for England and Wales</td><td class="total">67</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<h3>THE EARLY MARRIAGES AND THE INCREASE OF THE POPULATION
-IN EACH COUNTY COMPARED.</h3>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2"><i>Counties in which the Increase of the Population and the number of Early Marriages are both above the Average.</i></th><th rowspan="2">Rate of Increase of the Population from 1841 to 1851 per cent.</th><th colspan="2">Annual No. of Early Marriages in every 1000 Marriages, from 1844-48.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>Among Males.</th><th>Among Females.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>22</td><td>50</td><td>139</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>20</td><td>62</td><td>176</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>16</td><td>109</td><td>235</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>15</td><td>54</td><td>151</td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="4"><i>Counties in which the Increase of the Population and the number of Early Marriages are both below the Average.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>13</td><td>39</td><td>124</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>13</td><td>25</td><td>118</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>10</td><td>33</td><td>105</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>6</td><td>42</td><td>104</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>6</td><td>22</td><td>82</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>5</td><td>36</td><td>128</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>4</td><td>32</td><td>131</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>4</td><td>27</td><td>77</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>3</td><td>17</td><td>79</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>3</td><td>32</td><td>128</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>1</td><td>29</td><td>95</td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="4"><i>Counties in which the Increase of the Population and the Early Marriages among Females are above the Average and those among Males below it.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>26</td><td>35</td><td>142</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>14</td><td>46</td><td>140</td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="4"><i>County in which the Increase of the Population and Early Marriages among Females are below the Average, and those among Males above it.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>18</td><td>46</td><td>131</td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="4"><i>Counties in which the Increase of the Population is below the Average, and the number of Early Marriages is above it.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>13</td><td>73</td><td>227</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>13</td><td>56</td><td>151</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>13</td><td>57</td><td>187</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>9</td><td>99</td><td>336</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>9</td><td>60</td><td>158</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>9</td><td>46</td><td>138</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>7</td><td>57</td><td>204</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>7</td><td>75</td><td>210</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>7</td><td>50</td><td>148</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>7</td><td>52</td><td>1623</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>7</td><td>71</td><td>190</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>7</td><td>79</td><td>179</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>5</td><td>148</td><td>143</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>4</td><td>94</td><td>743</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>4</td><td>46</td><td>151</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>0·7</td><td>68</td><td>164</td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="4"><i>Counties in which the Increase of Population is above the Average, and the number of Early Marriages is below it.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>20</td><td>18</td><td>85</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>17</td><td>16</td><td>91</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>17</td><td>28</td><td>105</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>14</td><td>30</td><td>82</td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="4"><i>Counties in which the Increase of the Population and the Early Marriages among Males are below the Average and those among Females above it.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>12</td><td>39</td><td>153</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>12</td><td>38</td><td>160</td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="4"><i>Counties in which the Increase of the Population and Early Marriages among Females is below the Average and those among Males above it.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>2</td><td>47</td><td>112</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>6</td><td>47</td><td>125</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<p><span class="pagenum">
-<a name="Page_471" id="Page_471">[471]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="figcenter break illowp55" id="i_i_1056" style="max-width: 55.625em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_1056h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>
-<span class="x-large b">MAP</span><br />
-SHOWING<br />
-<span class="x-large">THE NUMBER OF EARLY MARRIAGES AMONGST MALES</span><br />
-IN EVERY 1000 MARRIAGES,<br />
-IN EACH COUNTY OF<br />
-<span class="x-large">ENGLAND AND WALES.</span></p>
-
-<p>⁂ The counties printed <i>black</i> are those in
-which the number of Improvident Marriages is
-<i>above</i> the Average.</p>
-
-<p>The counties left <i>white</i> are those in which the
-number of Improvident Marriages
-is <i>below</i> the Average.</p>
-
-<p>The Average is taken
-for five years (as long as
-the returns will allow).</p>
-
-<p><i>The Average for all England and Wales is 43 in 1,000.</i></p></div>
-</div>
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_472" id="Page_472">[472]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<h3>TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF EARLY MARRIAGES OF MALES AND FEMALES IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES
-FOR THE UNDERMENTIONED YEARS.</h3>
-
-<p class="center">⁂ <i>The returns of the Registrar do not admit of the average being calculated from a longer series of years.</i></p>
-
-
-<div class="mobile">
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="3">COUNTIES.</th><th rowspan="3">Annual Average Number of Marriages from 1844-48.</th><th colspan="6">Number of Early Marriages.</th></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="2">1844.</th><th colspan="2">1845.</th><th colspan="2">1846.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>Males</th><th>Females</th><th>Males</th><th>Females</th><th>Males</th><th>Females</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>960</td><td>102</td><td>237</td><td>103</td><td>216</td><td>108</td><td>238</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>1,322</td><td>52</td><td>186</td><td>61</td><td>182</td><td>62</td><td>201</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>974</td><td>66</td><td>181</td><td>66</td><td>175</td><td>87</td><td>196</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>1,428</td><td>115</td><td>324</td><td>89</td><td>308</td><td>112</td><td>349</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>2,764</td><td>153</td><td>393</td><td>175</td><td>427</td><td>154</td><td>455</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>2,510</td><td>86</td><td>312</td><td>84</td><td>348</td><td>80</td><td>334</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>1,060</td><td>31</td><td>88</td><td>54</td><td>145</td><td>28</td><td>133</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>1,954</td><td>86</td><td>276</td><td>76</td><td>243</td><td>104</td><td>289</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>4,574</td><td>84</td><td>324</td><td>95</td><td>352</td><td>104</td><td>367</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>1,209</td><td>62</td><td>155</td><td>64</td><td>161</td><td>46</td><td>130</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>3,137</td><td>82</td><td>353</td><td>110</td><td>468</td><td>118</td><td>463</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>2,154</td><td>125</td><td>454</td><td>133</td><td>436</td><td>116</td><td>415</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>3,568</td><td>133</td><td>350</td><td>162</td><td>378</td><td>180</td><td>414</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>648</td><td>15</td><td>47</td><td>10</td><td>61</td><td>11</td><td>60</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>1,009</td><td>86</td><td>218</td><td>77</td><td>229</td><td>83</td><td>227</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>455</td><td>77</td><td>370</td><td>41</td><td>91</td><td>29</td><td>110</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>4,339</td><td>98</td><td>584</td><td>112</td><td>614</td><td>128</td><td>659</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>18,785</td><td>831</td><td>2310</td><td>1040</td><td>2729</td><td>1005</td><td>2784</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>1,827</td><td>160</td><td>330</td><td>168</td><td>359</td><td>150</td><td>321</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>2,862</td><td>112</td><td>393</td><td>115</td><td>430</td><td>82</td><td>453</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>16,859</td><td>249</td><td>1262</td><td>360</td><td>1477</td><td>329</td><td>1606</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>1,395</td><td>28</td><td>119</td><td>38</td><td>149</td><td>43</td><td>147</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>3,189</td><td>164</td><td>467</td><td>173</td><td>448</td><td>158</td><td>472</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>1,648</td><td>109</td><td>317</td><td>136</td><td>354</td><td>112</td><td>326</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>2,161</td><td>68</td><td>219</td><td>79</td><td>283</td><td>98</td><td>310</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>2,204</td><td>148</td><td>369</td><td>133</td><td>365</td><td>139</td><td>365</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>1,154</td><td>53</td><td>172</td><td>52</td><td>190</td><td>56</td><td>156</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>164</td><td>2</td><td>10</td><td>5</td><td>16</td><td>4</td><td>14</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>1,596</td><td>36</td><td>144</td><td>32</td><td>118</td><td>62</td><td>165</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>3,159</td><td>144</td><td>375</td><td>159</td><td>328</td><td>166</td><td>385</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>3,085</td><td>77</td><td>370</td><td>81</td><td>414</td><td>100</td><td>370</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>4,807</td><td>215</td><td>634</td><td>278</td><td>818</td><td>285</td><td>835</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>2,453</td><td>115</td><td>367</td><td>133</td><td>401</td><td>139</td><td>420</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>5,550</td><td>84</td><td>485</td><td>90</td><td>523</td><td>108</td><td>532</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>2,231</td><td>83</td><td>320</td><td>98</td><td>355</td><td>95</td><td>411</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>3,650</td><td>130</td><td>383</td><td>158</td><td>437</td><td>175</td><td>482</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>436</td><td>10</td><td>44</td><td>11</td><td>40</td><td>22</td><td>80</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>1,681</td><td>117</td><td>265</td><td>108</td><td>294</td><td>134</td><td>308</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>2,796</td><td>151</td><td>421</td><td>201</td><td>583</td><td>254</td><td>604</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>14,399</td><td>828</td><td>2586</td><td>934</td><td>2868</td><td>841</td><td>2774</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>2,643</td><td>75</td><td>200</td><td>75</td><td>186</td><td>65</td><td>224</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>4,337</td><td>113</td><td>280</td><td>118</td><td>377</td><td>141</td><td>417</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total for England &amp; Wales</td><td class="total">139,146</td><td class="total">5515</td><td class="total">17,410</td><td class="total">6287</td><td class="total">19,376</td><td class="total">6313</td><td class="total">20,001</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th colspan="4">Number of Early Marriages.</th><th rowspan="2" colspan="2">Total for 5 years.</th></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="2">1847.</th><th colspan="2">1848.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>Males</th><th>Females</th><th>Males</th><th>Females</th><th>Males</th><th>Females</th></tr>
-<tr><td>115</td><td>221</td><td>96</td><td>218</td><td>524</td><td>1,130</td></tr>
-<tr><td>74</td><td>204</td><td>70</td><td>171</td><td>319</td><td>944</td></tr>
-<tr><td>76</td><td>179</td><td>67</td><td>213</td><td>362</td><td>944</td></tr>
-<tr><td>96</td><td>311</td><td>115</td><td>328</td><td>527</td><td>1,620</td></tr>
-<tr><td>132</td><td>372</td><td>136</td><td>446</td><td>750</td><td>2,093</td></tr>
-<tr><td>86</td><td>313</td><td>68</td><td>341</td><td>404</td><td>1,648</td></tr>
-<tr><td>23</td><td>94</td><td>38</td><td>97</td><td>174</td><td>557</td></tr>
-<tr><td>82</td><td>270</td><td>109</td><td>275</td><td>457</td><td>1,353</td></tr>
-<tr><td>97</td><td>401</td><td>124</td><td>430</td><td>504</td><td>1,874</td></tr>
-<tr><td>57</td><td>166</td><td>57</td><td>147</td><td>286</td><td>759</td></tr>
-<tr><td>124</td><td>462</td><td>115</td><td>489</td><td>549</td><td>2,235</td></tr>
-<tr><td>123</td><td>411</td><td>121</td><td>462</td><td>618</td><td>2,178</td></tr>
-<tr><td>114</td><td>340</td><td>163</td><td>372</td><td>752</td><td>1,854</td></tr>
-<tr><td>14</td><td>47</td><td>7</td><td>42</td><td>57</td><td>257</td></tr>
-<tr><td>68</td><td>193</td><td>68</td><td>192</td><td>382</td><td>1,059</td></tr>
-<tr><td>42</td><td>94</td><td>37</td><td>102</td><td>226</td><td>767</td></tr>
-<tr><td>108</td><td>567</td><td>128</td><td>625</td><td>574</td><td>3,049</td></tr>
-<tr><td>773</td><td>2330</td><td>1100</td><td>2864</td><td>4749</td><td>13,017</td></tr>
-<tr><td>125</td><td>277</td><td>124</td><td>347</td><td>727</td><td>1,634</td></tr>
-<tr><td>110</td><td>417</td><td>138</td><td>509</td><td>557</td><td>2,202</td></tr>
-<tr><td>322</td><td>1428</td><td>286</td><td>1437</td><td>1546</td><td>7,210</td></tr>
-<tr><td>44</td><td>157</td><td>44</td><td>165</td><td>197</td><td>737</td></tr>
-<tr><td>144</td><td>444</td><td>164</td><td>504</td><td>803</td><td>2,335</td></tr>
-<tr><td>110</td><td>287</td><td>119</td><td>281</td><td>586</td><td>1,565</td></tr>
-<tr><td>97</td><td>255</td><td>77</td><td>278</td><td>419</td><td>1,345</td></tr>
-<tr><td>113</td><td>302</td><td>130</td><td>341</td><td>663</td><td>1,742</td></tr>
-<tr><td>51</td><td>163</td><td>57</td><td>196</td><td>269</td><td>877</td></tr>
-<tr><td>11</td><td>34</td><td>6</td><td>33</td><td>28</td><td>107</td></tr>
-<tr><td>52</td><td>151</td><td>55</td><td>177</td><td>237</td><td>755</td></tr>
-<tr><td>116</td><td>319</td><td>159</td><td>371</td><td>744</td><td>1,778</td></tr>
-<tr><td>67</td><td>304</td><td>70</td><td>367</td><td>395</td><td>1,825</td></tr>
-<tr><td>391</td><td>1045</td><td>319</td><td>907</td><td>1488</td><td>4,239</td></tr>
-<tr><td>123</td><td>394</td><td>128</td><td>420</td><td>638</td><td>2,002</td></tr>
-<tr><td>86</td><td>536</td><td>70</td><td>462</td><td>438</td><td>2,538</td></tr>
-<tr><td>72</td><td>345</td><td>79</td><td>356</td><td>427</td><td>1,787</td></tr>
-<tr><td>176</td><td>502</td><td>212</td><td>597</td><td>851</td><td>2,401</td></tr>
-<tr><td>17</td><td>64</td><td>8</td><td>50</td><td>68</td><td>278</td></tr>
-<tr><td>99</td><td>246</td><td>115</td><td>282</td><td>573</td><td>1,395</td></tr>
-<tr><td>93</td><td>272</td><td>89</td><td>240</td><td>788</td><td>2,120</td></tr>
-<tr><td>747</td><td>2649</td><td>794</td><td>2619</td><td>4144</td><td>13,496</td></tr>
-<tr><td>67</td><td>207</td><td>79</td><td>211</td><td>361</td><td>1,028</td></tr>
-<tr><td>129</td><td>345</td><td>150</td><td>372</td><td>651</td><td>1,791</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="total">5566</td><td class="total">18,118</td><td class="total">6091</td><td class="total">19,336</td><td class="total">29,772</td><td class="total">94,241</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th colspan="2">Average per year.</th><th colspan="2">Proportion to all Marriages, 1 in every</th><th colspan="2">Number of early Marriages to every 1000.</th><th colspan="2">Per Cent. above and below the Average. <br />† denotes above <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below</th></tr>
-
-<tr><th>Males</th><th>Females</th><th>Males</th><th>Females</th><th>Males</th><th>Females</th><th>Males</th><th>Females</th></tr>
-<tr><td>105</td><td>226</td><td>9·1</td><td>4·2</td><td>109</td><td>235</td><td>†153</td><td>†74</td></tr>
-<tr><td>64</td><td>189</td><td>20·6</td><td>6·9</td><td>48</td><td>143</td><td>†12</td><td>†6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>72</td><td>189</td><td>13·5</td><td>5·1</td><td>74</td><td>194</td><td>†72</td><td>†44</td></tr>
-<tr><td>105</td><td>324</td><td>13·6</td><td>4·4</td><td>73</td><td>227</td><td>†70</td><td>†68</td></tr>
-<tr><td>150</td><td>419</td><td>18·4</td><td>6·5</td><td>54</td><td>151</td><td>†25</td><td>†12</td></tr>
-<tr><td>81</td><td>330</td><td>30·9</td><td>7·6</td><td>32</td><td>131</td><td>*25</td><td>*3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>35</td><td>111</td><td>30·2</td><td>9·5</td><td>33</td><td>105</td><td>*23</td><td>*22</td></tr>
-<tr><td>91</td><td>271</td><td>21·4</td><td>7·2</td><td>46</td><td>138</td><td>†7</td><td>†2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>101</td><td>375</td><td>45·2</td><td>12·1</td><td>22</td><td>82</td><td>*49</td><td>*39</td></tr>
-<tr><td>57</td><td>152</td><td>21·2</td><td>7·9</td><td>47</td><td>125</td><td>†9</td><td>*7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>110</td><td>447</td><td>28·5</td><td>7·0</td><td>35</td><td>142</td><td>*19</td><td>†5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>124</td><td>436</td><td>17·3</td><td>4·9</td><td>57</td><td>202</td><td>†33</td><td>†50</td></tr>
-<tr><td>150</td><td>371</td><td>23·7</td><td>9·6</td><td>42</td><td>104</td><td>*2</td><td>*23</td></tr>
-<tr><td>11</td><td>51</td><td>58·9</td><td>12·7</td><td>17</td><td>79</td><td>*60</td><td>*41</td></tr>
-<tr><td>76</td><td>212</td><td>13·2</td><td>4·7</td><td>75</td><td>210</td><td>†74</td><td>†56</td></tr>
-<tr><td>45</td><td>153</td><td>10·1</td><td>2·9</td><td>99</td><td>336</td><td>†130</td><td>†149</td></tr>
-<tr><td>115</td><td>610</td><td>37·7</td><td>7·1</td><td>26</td><td>140</td><td>*40</td><td>†4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>950</td><td>2603</td><td>19·7</td><td>7·2</td><td>50</td><td>139</td><td>†16</td><td>†3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>145</td><td>327</td><td>12·6</td><td>5·5</td><td>79</td><td>179</td><td>†84</td><td>†33</td></tr>
-<tr><td>111</td><td>440</td><td>25·7</td><td>6·5</td><td>39</td><td>153</td><td>*9</td><td>†13</td></tr>
-<tr><td>309</td><td>1442</td><td>54·5</td><td>11·6</td><td>18</td><td>85</td><td>*58</td><td>*37</td></tr>
-<tr><td>39</td><td>147</td><td>35·7</td><td>9·4</td><td>28</td><td>105</td><td>*35</td><td>*22</td></tr>
-<tr><td>161</td><td>467</td><td>19·8</td><td>6·8</td><td>50</td><td>146</td><td>†16</td><td>†81</td></tr>
-<tr><td>117</td><td>313</td><td>14·0</td><td>5·2</td><td>71</td><td>190</td><td>†65</td><td>†41</td></tr>
-<tr><td>84</td><td>269</td><td>24·5</td><td>8·0</td><td>39</td><td>124</td><td>*9</td><td>*81</td></tr>
-<tr><td>133</td><td>348</td><td>16·5</td><td>6·3</td><td>60</td><td>158</td><td>†40</td><td>†17</td></tr>
-<tr><td>54</td><td>175</td><td>21·3</td><td>6·5</td><td>46</td><td>151</td><td>†7</td><td>†12</td></tr>
-<tr><td>6</td><td>21</td><td>27·3</td><td>7·8</td><td>36</td><td>128</td><td>*16</td><td>*5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>47</td><td>151</td><td>33·9</td><td>10·5</td><td>29</td><td>95</td><td>*33</td><td>*30</td></tr>
-<tr><td>149</td><td>356</td><td>21·2</td><td>8·8</td><td>47</td><td>112</td><td>†9</td><td>*17</td></tr>
-<tr><td>79</td><td>365</td><td>39·0</td><td>8·4</td><td>25</td><td>118</td><td>*42</td><td>*13</td></tr>
-<tr><td>298</td><td>848</td><td>16·1</td><td>5·6</td><td>62</td><td>176</td><td>†44</td><td>†30</td></tr>
-<tr><td>128</td><td>400</td><td>19·1</td><td>6·1</td><td>52</td><td>163</td><td>†21</td><td>†21</td></tr>
-<tr><td>88</td><td>508</td><td>63·0</td><td>10·9</td><td>16</td><td>91</td><td>*63</td><td>*25</td></tr>
-<tr><td>85</td><td>357</td><td>26·2</td><td>6·2</td><td>38</td><td>160</td><td>*12</td><td>†19</td></tr>
-<tr><td>170</td><td>480</td><td>21·4</td><td>7·6</td><td>46</td><td>131</td><td>†7</td><td>*3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>14</td><td>56</td><td>31·1</td><td>7·7</td><td>32</td><td>128</td><td>*25</td><td>*5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>115</td><td>279</td><td>14·6</td><td>6·0</td><td>68</td><td>164</td><td>†58</td><td>†21</td></tr>
-<tr><td>158</td><td>424</td><td>17·6</td><td>6·5</td><td>56</td><td>151</td><td>†30</td><td>†12</td></tr>
-<tr><td>829</td><td>2699</td><td>17·3</td><td>5·3</td><td>57</td><td>187</td><td>†33</td><td>†39</td></tr>
-<tr><td>72</td><td>206</td><td>36·7</td><td>12·8</td><td>27</td><td>77</td><td>*37</td><td>*43</td></tr>
-<tr><td>130</td><td>358</td><td>33·3</td><td>12·1</td><td>30</td><td>82</td><td>*30</td><td>*39</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="total">5954</td><td class="total">18,848</td><td class="total">23·3</td><td class="total">7·3</td><td class="total">43</td><td class="total">135</td><td class="total"></td><td class="total"></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="nomobile">
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="3">COUNTIES.</th><th rowspan="3">Annual Average Number of Marriages from 1844-48.</th><th colspan="10">Number of Early Marriages.</th><th rowspan="2" colspan="2">Total for 5 years.</th><th rowspan="2" colspan="2">Average per year.</th><th rowspan="2" colspan="2">Proportion to all Marriages, 1 in every</th><th rowspan="2" colspan="2">Number of early Marriages to every 1000.</th><th rowspan="2" colspan="2">Per Cent. above and below the Average. <br />† denotes above <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below</th></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="2">1844.</th><th colspan="2">1845.</th><th colspan="2">1846.</th><th colspan="2">1847.</th><th colspan="2">1848.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>Males</th><th>Females</th><th>Males</th><th>Females</th><th>Males</th><th>Females</th><th>Males</th><th>Females</th><th>Males</th><th>Females</th><th>Males</th><th>Females</th><th>Males</th><th>Females</th><th>Males</th><th>Females</th><th>Males</th><th>Females</th><th>Males</th><th>Females</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>960</td><td>102</td><td>237</td><td>103</td><td>216</td><td>108</td><td>238</td><td>115</td><td>221</td><td>96</td><td>218</td><td>524</td><td>1,130</td><td>105</td><td>226</td><td>9·1</td><td>4·2</td><td>109</td><td>235</td><td>†153</td><td>†74</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>1,322</td><td>52</td><td>186</td><td>61</td><td>182</td><td>62</td><td>201</td><td>74</td><td>204</td><td>70</td><td>171</td><td>319</td><td>944</td><td>64</td><td>189</td><td>20·6</td><td>6·9</td><td>48</td><td>143</td><td>†12</td><td>†6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>974</td><td>66</td><td>181</td><td>66</td><td>175</td><td>87</td><td>196</td><td>76</td><td>179</td><td>67</td><td>213</td><td>362</td><td>944</td><td>72</td><td>189</td><td>13·5</td><td>5·1</td><td>74</td><td>194</td><td>†72</td><td>†44</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>1,428</td><td>115</td><td>324</td><td>89</td><td>308</td><td>112</td><td>349</td><td>96</td><td>311</td><td>115</td><td>328</td><td>527</td><td>1,620</td><td>105</td><td>324</td><td>13·6</td><td>4·4</td><td>73</td><td>227</td><td>†70</td><td>†68</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>2,764</td><td>153</td><td>393</td><td>175</td><td>427</td><td>154</td><td>455</td><td>132</td><td>372</td><td>136</td><td>446</td><td>750</td><td>2,093</td><td>150</td><td>419</td><td>18·4</td><td>6·5</td><td>54</td><td>151</td><td>†25</td><td>†12</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>2,510</td><td>86</td><td>312</td><td>84</td><td>348</td><td>80</td><td>334</td><td>86</td><td>313</td><td>68</td><td>341</td><td>404</td><td>1,648</td><td>81</td><td>330</td><td>30·9</td><td>7·6</td><td>32</td><td>131</td><td>*25</td><td>*3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>1,060</td><td>31</td><td>88</td><td>54</td><td>145</td><td>28</td><td>133</td><td>23</td><td>94</td><td>38</td><td>97</td><td>174</td><td>557</td><td>35</td><td>111</td><td>30·2</td><td>9·5</td><td>33</td><td>105</td><td>*23</td><td>*22</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>1,954</td><td>86</td><td>276</td><td>76</td><td>243</td><td>104</td><td>289</td><td>82</td><td>270</td><td>109</td><td>275</td><td>457</td><td>1,353</td><td>91</td><td>271</td><td>21·4</td><td>7·2</td><td>46</td><td>138</td><td>†7</td><td>†2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>4,574</td><td>84</td><td>324</td><td>95</td><td>352</td><td>104</td><td>367</td><td>97</td><td>401</td><td>124</td><td>430</td><td>504</td><td>1,874</td><td>101</td><td>375</td><td>45·2</td><td>12·1</td><td>22</td><td>82</td><td>*49</td><td>*39</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>1,209</td><td>62</td><td>155</td><td>64</td><td>161</td><td>46</td><td>130</td><td>57</td><td>166</td><td>57</td><td>147</td><td>286</td><td>759</td><td>57</td><td>152</td><td>21·2</td><td>7·9</td><td>47</td><td>125</td><td>†9</td><td>*7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>3,137</td><td>82</td><td>353</td><td>110</td><td>468</td><td>118</td><td>463</td><td>124</td><td>462</td><td>115</td><td>489</td><td>549</td><td>2,235</td><td>110</td><td>447</td><td>28·5</td><td>7·0</td><td>35</td><td>142</td><td>*19</td><td>†5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>2,154</td><td>125</td><td>454</td><td>133</td><td>436</td><td>116</td><td>415</td><td>123</td><td>411</td><td>121</td><td>462</td><td>618</td><td>2,178</td><td>124</td><td>436</td><td>17·3</td><td>4·9</td><td>57</td><td>202</td><td>†33</td><td>†50</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>3,568</td><td>133</td><td>350</td><td>162</td><td>378</td><td>180</td><td>414</td><td>114</td><td>340</td><td>163</td><td>372</td><td>752</td><td>1,854</td><td>150</td><td>371</td><td>23·7</td><td>9·6</td><td>42</td><td>104</td><td>*2</td><td>*23</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>648</td><td>15</td><td>47</td><td>10</td><td>61</td><td>11</td><td>60</td><td>14</td><td>47</td><td>7</td><td>42</td><td>57</td><td>257</td><td>11</td><td>51</td><td>58·9</td><td>12·7</td><td>17</td><td>79</td><td>*60</td><td>*41</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>1,009</td><td>86</td><td>218</td><td>77</td><td>229</td><td>83</td><td>227</td><td>68</td><td>193</td><td>68</td><td>192</td><td>382</td><td>1,059</td><td>76</td><td>212</td><td>13·2</td><td>4·7</td><td>75</td><td>210</td><td>†74</td><td>†56</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>455</td><td>77</td><td>370</td><td>41</td><td>91</td><td>29</td><td>110</td><td>42</td><td>94</td><td>37</td><td>102</td><td>226</td><td>767</td><td>45</td><td>153</td><td>10·1</td><td>2·9</td><td>99</td><td>336</td><td>†130</td><td>†149</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>4,339</td><td>98</td><td>584</td><td>112</td><td>614</td><td>128</td><td>659</td><td>108</td><td>567</td><td>128</td><td>625</td><td>574</td><td>3,049</td><td>115</td><td>610</td><td>37·7</td><td>7·1</td><td>26</td><td>140</td><td>*40</td><td>†4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>18,785</td><td>831</td><td>2310</td><td>1040</td><td>2729</td><td>1005</td><td>2784</td><td>773</td><td>2330</td><td>1100</td><td>2864</td><td>4749</td><td>13,017</td><td>950</td><td>2603</td><td>19·7</td><td>7·2</td><td>50</td><td>139</td><td>†16</td><td>†3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>1,827</td><td>160</td><td>330</td><td>168</td><td>359</td><td>150</td><td>321</td><td>125</td><td>277</td><td>124</td><td>347</td><td>727</td><td>1,634</td><td>145</td><td>327</td><td>12·6</td><td>5·5</td><td>79</td><td>179</td><td>†84</td><td>†33</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>2,862</td><td>112</td><td>393</td><td>115</td><td>430</td><td>82</td><td>453</td><td>110</td><td>417</td><td>138</td><td>509</td><td>557</td><td>2,202</td><td>111</td><td>440</td><td>25·7</td><td>6·5</td><td>39</td><td>153</td><td>*9</td><td>†13</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>16,859</td><td>249</td><td>1262</td><td>360</td><td>1477</td><td>329</td><td>1606</td><td>322</td><td>1428</td><td>286</td><td>1437</td><td>1546</td><td>7,210</td><td>309</td><td>1442</td><td>54·5</td><td>11·6</td><td>18</td><td>85</td><td>*58</td><td>*37</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>1,395</td><td>28</td><td>119</td><td>38</td><td>149</td><td>43</td><td>147</td><td>44</td><td>157</td><td>44</td><td>165</td><td>197</td><td>737</td><td>39</td><td>147</td><td>35·7</td><td>9·4</td><td>28</td><td>105</td><td>*35</td><td>*22</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>3,189</td><td>164</td><td>467</td><td>173</td><td>448</td><td>158</td><td>472</td><td>144</td><td>444</td><td>164</td><td>504</td><td>803</td><td>2,335</td><td>161</td><td>467</td><td>19·8</td><td>6·8</td><td>50</td><td>146</td><td>†16</td><td>†81</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>1,648</td><td>109</td><td>317</td><td>136</td><td>354</td><td>112</td><td>326</td><td>110</td><td>287</td><td>119</td><td>281</td><td>586</td><td>1,565</td><td>117</td><td>313</td><td>14·0</td><td>5·2</td><td>71</td><td>190</td><td>†65</td><td>†41</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>2,161</td><td>68</td><td>219</td><td>79</td><td>283</td><td>98</td><td>310</td><td>97</td><td>255</td><td>77</td><td>278</td><td>419</td><td>1,345</td><td>84</td><td>269</td><td>24·5</td><td>8·0</td><td>39</td><td>124</td><td>*9</td><td>*81</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>2,204</td><td>148</td><td>369</td><td>133</td><td>365</td><td>139</td><td>365</td><td>113</td><td>302</td><td>130</td><td>341</td><td>663</td><td>1,742</td><td>133</td><td>348</td><td>16·5</td><td>6·3</td><td>60</td><td>158</td><td>†40</td><td>†17</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>1,154</td><td>53</td><td>172</td><td>52</td><td>190</td><td>56</td><td>156</td><td>51</td><td>163</td><td>57</td><td>196</td><td>269</td><td>877</td><td>54</td><td>175</td><td>21·3</td><td>6·5</td><td>46</td><td>151</td><td>†7</td><td>†12</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>164</td><td>2</td><td>10</td><td>5</td><td>16</td><td>4</td><td>14</td><td>11</td><td>34</td><td>6</td><td>33</td><td>28</td><td>107</td><td>6</td><td>21</td><td>27·3</td><td>7·8</td><td>36</td><td>128</td><td>*16</td><td>*5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>1,596</td><td>36</td><td>144</td><td>32</td><td>118</td><td>62</td><td>165</td><td>52</td><td>151</td><td>55</td><td>177</td><td>237</td><td>755</td><td>47</td><td>151</td><td>33·9</td><td>10·5</td><td>29</td><td>95</td><td>*33</td><td>*30</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>3,159</td><td>144</td><td>375</td><td>159</td><td>328</td><td>166</td><td>385</td><td>116</td><td>319</td><td>159</td><td>371</td><td>744</td><td>1,778</td><td>149</td><td>356</td><td>21·2</td><td>8·8</td><td>47</td><td>112</td><td>†9</td><td>*17</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>3,085</td><td>77</td><td>370</td><td>81</td><td>414</td><td>100</td><td>370</td><td>67</td><td>304</td><td>70</td><td>367</td><td>395</td><td>1,825</td><td>79</td><td>365</td><td>39·0</td><td>8·4</td><td>25</td><td>118</td><td>*42</td><td>*13</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>4,807</td><td>215</td><td>634</td><td>278</td><td>818</td><td>285</td><td>835</td><td>391</td><td>1045</td><td>319</td><td>907</td><td>1488</td><td>4,239</td><td>298</td><td>848</td><td>16·1</td><td>5·6</td><td>62</td><td>176</td><td>†44</td><td>†30</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>2,453</td><td>115</td><td>367</td><td>133</td><td>401</td><td>139</td><td>420</td><td>123</td><td>394</td><td>128</td><td>420</td><td>638</td><td>2,002</td><td>128</td><td>400</td><td>19·1</td><td>6·1</td><td>52</td><td>163</td><td>†21</td><td>†21</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>5,550</td><td>84</td><td>485</td><td>90</td><td>523</td><td>108</td><td>532</td><td>86</td><td>536</td><td>70</td><td>462</td><td>438</td><td>2,538</td><td>88</td><td>508</td><td>63·0</td><td>10·9</td><td>16</td><td>91</td><td>*63</td><td>*25</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>2,231</td><td>83</td><td>320</td><td>98</td><td>355</td><td>95</td><td>411</td><td>72</td><td>345</td><td>79</td><td>356</td><td>427</td><td>1,787</td><td>85</td><td>357</td><td>26·2</td><td>6·2</td><td>38</td><td>160</td><td>*12</td><td>†19</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>3,650</td><td>130</td><td>383</td><td>158</td><td>437</td><td>175</td><td>482</td><td>176</td><td>502</td><td>212</td><td>597</td><td>851</td><td>2,401</td><td>170</td><td>480</td><td>21·4</td><td>7·6</td><td>46</td><td>131</td><td>†7</td><td>*3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>436</td><td>10</td><td>44</td><td>11</td><td>40</td><td>22</td><td>80</td><td>17</td><td>64</td><td>8</td><td>50</td><td>68</td><td>278</td><td>14</td><td>56</td><td>31·1</td><td>7·7</td><td>32</td><td>128</td><td>*25</td><td>*5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>1,681</td><td>117</td><td>265</td><td>108</td><td>294</td><td>134</td><td>308</td><td>99</td><td>246</td><td>115</td><td>282</td><td>573</td><td>1,395</td><td>115</td><td>279</td><td>14·6</td><td>6·0</td><td>68</td><td>164</td><td>†58</td><td>†21</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>2,796</td><td>151</td><td>421</td><td>201</td><td>583</td><td>254</td><td>604</td><td>93</td><td>272</td><td>89</td><td>240</td><td>788</td><td>2,120</td><td>158</td><td>424</td><td>17·6</td><td>6·5</td><td>56</td><td>151</td><td>†30</td><td>†12</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>14,399</td><td>828</td><td>2586</td><td>934</td><td>2868</td><td>841</td><td>2774</td><td>747</td><td>2649</td><td>794</td><td>2619</td><td>4144</td><td>13,496</td><td>829</td><td>2699</td><td>17·3</td><td>5·3</td><td>57</td><td>187</td><td>†33</td><td>†39</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>2,643</td><td>75</td><td>200</td><td>75</td><td>186</td><td>65</td><td>224</td><td>67</td><td>207</td><td>79</td><td>211</td><td>361</td><td>1,028</td><td>72</td><td>206</td><td>36·7</td><td>12·8</td><td>27</td><td>77</td><td>*37</td><td>*43</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>4,337</td><td>113</td><td>280</td><td>118</td><td>377</td><td>141</td><td>417</td><td>129</td><td>345</td><td>150</td><td>372</td><td>651</td><td>1,791</td><td>130</td><td>358</td><td>33·3</td><td>12·1</td><td>30</td><td>82</td><td>*30</td><td>*39</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total for England &amp; Wales</td><td class="total">139,146</td><td class="total">5515</td><td class="total">17,410</td><td class="total">6287</td><td class="total">19,376</td><td class="total">6313</td><td class="total">20,001</td><td class="total">5566</td><td class="total">18,118</td><td class="total">6091</td><td class="total">19,336</td><td class="total">29,772</td><td class="total">94,241</td><td class="total">5954</td><td class="total">18,848</td><td class="total">23·3</td><td class="total">7·3</td><td class="total">43</td><td class="total">135</td><td class="total"></td><td class="total"></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_473" id="Page_473">[473]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<h3>LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE ORDER OF THEIR EARLY
-MARRIAGES, AS SHOWN BY THE NUMBER OF MARRIAGES,
-UNDER TWENTY-ONE YEARS OF AGE, IN
-EVERY 1000 MARRIAGES.</h3>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Amongst Males.</span></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th colspan="2"><i>Counties above the Average.</i></th><th colspan="2"><i>Counties below the Average.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>109</td><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>42</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>99</td><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>39</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>79</td><td class="left">Northumb.</td><td>39</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>75</td><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>38</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>74</td><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>36</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>73</td><td class="left">Durham</td><td>35</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northamp.</td><td>71</td><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>33</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>68</td><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>32</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>62</td><td class="left">Westmor.</td><td>32</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>60</td><td class="left">S. Wales</td><td>30</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>57</td><td class="left">Salop</td><td>29</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>57</td><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>28</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>56</td><td class="left">N. Wales</td><td>27</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>54</td><td class="left">Kent</td><td>26</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>52</td><td class="left">Southamp.</td><td>25</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>50</td><td class="left">Devon</td><td>22</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>50</td><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>18</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>48</td><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>17</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>47</td><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>16</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>47</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>46</td><td class="left" rowspan="3">Average for England and Wales</td><td rowspan="3" class="total">43</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>46</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>46</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Amongst Females.</span></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th colspan="2"><i>Counties above the Average.</i></th><th colspan="2"><i>Counties below the Average.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Huntingdon</td><td>336</td><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>131</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>235</td><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>131</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>227</td><td class="left">Westmor.</td><td>128</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>210</td><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>128</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>204</td><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>125</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>194</td><td class="left">Northumb.</td><td>124</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northamp.</td><td>190</td><td class="left">Southamp.</td><td>118</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>187</td><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>112</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>179</td><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>105</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>176</td><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>105</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>164</td><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>104</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>162</td><td class="left">Shropshire</td><td>95</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>160</td><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>91</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>158</td><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>85</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>153</td><td class="left">Devon</td><td>82</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>151</td><td class="left">S. Wales</td><td>82</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>151</td><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>79</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>151</td><td class="left">N. Wales</td><td>77</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>148</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>143</td><td class="left" rowspan="3">Average for England and Wales</td><td rowspan="3" class="total">135</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>142</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>140</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>139</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>138</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>⁂ The rule is, that where the greatest number of males marry at an
-early age, the greatest number of females do so likewise&mdash;the exceptions
-being Dorset, Somerset, and Warwick, among the males, and Sussex,
-Lincoln, Durham, and Kent among the females.</p>
-
-<p>††† There are, on an average, rather more than 3 females married at an
-early age to every male.</p>
-
-<h3>THE ILLEGITIMATE BIRTHS AND EARLY MARRIAGES IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES COMPARED.</h3>
-<p class="center">(† denotes <i>plus</i>.) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (* denotes <i>minus</i>.)</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="3"><i>Counties in which the Illegitimate Births and the Early Marriages are both above the Average.</i></th><th colspan="3">Percent. above &amp; below the Aver.</th></tr>
-<tr><th rowspan="2">In No. of Illegitimate Births.</th><th colspan="2">In No. of Early Marriages.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>Among Males.</th><th>Among Females.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>†56</td><td>† 16</td><td>†81</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>†35</td><td>† 40</td><td>†17</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>†26</td><td>† 21</td><td>†17</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>†26</td><td>† 21</td><td>†17</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>†26</td><td>† 21</td><td>†21</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>†20</td><td>† 7</td><td>† 2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>†32</td><td>† 25</td><td>†12</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>†17</td><td>† 84</td><td>†33</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>†17</td><td>† 12</td><td>† 6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>†14</td><td>† 16</td><td>† 3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>†14</td><td>†153</td><td>†74</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>†13</td><td>† 7</td><td>†12</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>† 7</td><td>† 74</td><td>†56</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>† 6</td><td>† 33</td><td>†39</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>† 4</td><td>† 72</td><td>†44</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>† 3</td><td>† 44</td><td>†30</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>† 3</td><td>† 58</td><td>†21</td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="4"><i>Counties in which the Illegitimate Children and Early Marriages are both below the Average.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>*40</td><td>*58</td><td>*37</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>*34</td><td>*63</td><td>*25</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>*29</td><td>*25</td><td>* 3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>*26</td><td>*35</td><td>*22</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>*25</td><td>*49</td><td>*39</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>*16</td><td>*16</td><td>* 5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>*10</td><td>*42</td><td>*13</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>* 4</td><td>* 2</td><td>*23</td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="4"><i>Counties in which the Illegitimate Children and Early Marriages among Males are both below the Average, and those among Females above it.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>*19</td><td>*40</td><td>† 4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>*10</td><td>*19</td><td>† 5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>* 1</td><td>* 9</td><td>†13</td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="4"><i>Exceptional County.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>† 1</td><td>*12</td><td>†19</td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="4"><i>Counties in which the Illegitimate Births are above the Average and the Early Marriages below it.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>†61</td><td>*23</td><td>*22</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>†49</td><td>*60</td><td>*41</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>†47</td><td>*33</td><td>*30</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>†29</td><td>*25</td><td>* 5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>†16</td><td>*37</td><td>*43</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>† 8</td><td>* 9</td><td>*81</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>† 7</td><td>*30</td><td>*39</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left" colspan="4">⁂ In the majority of these counties some peculiar form of courtship (as “night courtship” and “bundling”) prevails.</td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="4"><i>Counties in which the Illegitimate Children are below the Average, and the Early Marriages above it.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>*28</td><td>†130</td><td>†149</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>*10</td><td>† 65</td><td>† 41</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>*10</td><td>† 33</td><td>† 50</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>* 1</td><td>† 30</td><td>† 12</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>* 1</td><td>† 70</td><td>† 68</td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="4"><i>Counties in which the Illegitimate Children and the Early Marriages among Females are both below the Average, and those among Males above it.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>*16</td><td>†7</td><td>* 3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>* 6</td><td>†9</td><td>*17</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>* 1</td><td>†9</td><td>* 7</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<p>⁂ The rule appears to be, that in those counties in which there are the greatest number of Early Marriages,
-there are (<i>generally</i>) the greatest number of Illegitimate Children, and <i>vice versâ</i>.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum">
-<a name="Page_475" id="Page_475">[475]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="figcenter break illowp58" id="i_i_1062" style="max-width: 58.8125em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_1062h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>
-<span class="x-large b">MAP</span><br />
-SHOWING<br />
-<span class="x-large">THE NUMBER OF FEMALES TO EVERY 100 MALES</span><br />
-IN EACH OF THE COUNTIES OF<br />
-<span class="x-large">ENGLAND &amp; WALES.</span></p>
-
-<p>⁂ The counties printed <i>black</i>
-are those in which the proportion of
-Females to Males is <i>above</i> the Average.</p>
-
-<p>The counties left <i>white</i> are those
-in which the proportion of Females
-to Males is <i>below</i> the Average.</p>
-
-<p><i>The Average for all England and Wales is 105 Females to every 100 Males.</i></p></div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_476" id="Page_476">[476]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<h3>TABLE SHOWING THE PROPORTION OF FEMALES
-TO MALES IN THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES
-OF ENGLAND AND WALES.</h3>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2">COUNTIES.</th><th colspan="2">1851.</th><th rowspan="2">Number of Females to every 100 Males.</th><th rowspan="2">Proportion per Cent. above and below the Average. † denotes above. * below.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>Male Population.</th><th>Female Population.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>62,420</td><td>67,369</td><td>108</td><td>†2·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>99,227</td><td>99,927</td><td>101</td><td>*3·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>70,784</td><td>72,886</td><td>103</td><td>*1·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>95,505</td><td>96,351</td><td>101</td><td>*3·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>206,715</td><td>216,723</td><td>105</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>171,979</td><td>184,683</td><td>107</td><td>†1·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>96,106</td><td>99,381</td><td>103</td><td>*1·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>129,379</td><td>131,328</td><td>101</td><td>*3·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>271,579</td><td>300,628</td><td>111</td><td>†5·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>85,816</td><td>91,781</td><td>107</td><td>†1·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>206,666</td><td>204,866</td><td>99</td><td>*5·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>172,161</td><td>171,755</td><td>100</td><td>*4·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>198,122</td><td>221,353</td><td>112</td><td>†6·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>49,694</td><td>49,418</td><td>99</td><td>*5·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>86,331</td><td>87,632</td><td>102</td><td>*2·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>29,984</td><td>30,336</td><td>101</td><td>*3·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>308,115</td><td>311,092</td><td>101</td><td>*3·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>1,005,627</td><td>1,058,286</td><td>105</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>115,295</td><td>119,643</td><td>104</td><td>*1·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>201,027</td><td>199,239</td><td>99</td><td>*5·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>885,614</td><td>1,010,096</td><td>114</td><td>†8·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>92,095</td><td>85,070</td><td>92</td><td>*12·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>210,360</td><td>223,443</td><td>106</td><td>†1·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>106,533</td><td>107,251</td><td>101</td><td>*3·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>149,158</td><td>154,377</td><td>103</td><td>*1·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>144,428</td><td>150,010</td><td>104</td><td>*1·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>85,449</td><td>84,837</td><td>99</td><td>*5·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>12,270</td><td>12,002</td><td>98</td><td>*6·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>122,022</td><td>122,997</td><td>101</td><td>*3·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>216,716</td><td>239,521</td><td>111</td><td>†5·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>199,834</td><td>202,199</td><td>101</td><td>*3·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>320,394</td><td>310,112</td><td>97</td><td>*7·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>165,267</td><td>170,724</td><td>103</td><td>*1·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>325,155</td><td>359,650</td><td>111</td><td>†5·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>166,828</td><td>172,600</td><td>103</td><td>*1·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>235,263</td><td>244,716</td><td>104</td><td>*1·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>29,064</td><td>29,316</td><td>101</td><td>*3·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>113,839</td><td>122,164</td><td>103</td><td>*1·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>126,739</td><td>132,023</td><td>104</td><td>*1·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>886,845</td><td>901,922</td><td>102</td><td>*2·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>200,538</td><td>203,622</td><td>102</td><td>*2·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>300,645</td><td>306,851</td><td>102</td><td>*2·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="smcap">Total for England and Wales</span></td><td class="total">8,762,588</td><td class="total">9,160,180</td><td class="total">105</td><td class="total"></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<h3>LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE
-ORDER OF THEIR PROPORTION
-OF FEMALE TO MALE
-POPULATION, AS SHOWN
-BY THE NUMBER OF FEMALES
-TO EVERY 100
-MALES.</h3>
-
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Counties above
-the Average.</span></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex </td><td>114</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester </td><td>112</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon </td><td>111</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset </td><td>111</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey </td><td>111</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford </td><td>108</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall </td><td>107</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset </td><td>107</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk </td><td>106</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Average for England &amp; Wales </td><td class="total">105</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<h4><span class="smcap">Counties below
-the Average.</span></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>105</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>105</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>104</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>104</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>104</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>104</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>103</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>103</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumb.</td><td>103</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>103</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>103</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>103</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>102</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>102</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>102</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>102</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>101</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>101</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>101</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>101</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>101</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>101</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>101</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>101</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>101</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>100</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>99</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>99</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>99</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>99</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>98</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>97</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>92</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<h3>THE EXCESS OF FEMALES AND ILLEGITIMATE
-BIRTHS COMPARED.</h3>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2"><i>Counties in which the Number of Females and Illegitimate Births are both above the Average.</i></th><th colspan="2">Percentage above and below the Average. † denotes above and * below.</th><th rowspan="2"><i>Counties in which the Number of Females is above and of the Illegitimate Births is below the Average.</i></th><th colspan="2">Percentage above and below the Average. † denotes above and * below.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>In No. of Females to Males.</th><th>In No. of Illegitimate Births.</th><th>In No. of Females to Males.</th><th>In No. of Illegitimate Births.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>† 3</td><td>†14</td><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>† 8</td><td>*40</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>† 1</td><td>†56</td><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>† 6</td><td>* 4</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" rowspan="5"></td><td class="left">Devon</td><td>† 5</td><td>*25</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>† 5</td><td>*34</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>† 5</td><td>* 6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>† 2</td><td>*29</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>† 1</td><td>* 1</td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="3"><i>Counties in which the Number of Females and Illegitimate Births are both below the Average.</i></th><th colspan="3"><i>Counties in which the Number of Females is below the Average and the Illegitimate Births above it.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>*12</td><td>*26</td><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>* 7</td><td>† 3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>* 6</td><td>*16</td><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>* 5</td><td>†13</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>* 5</td><td>* 1</td><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>* 5</td><td>†49</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>* 5</td><td>*10</td><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>* 3</td><td>†29</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>* 4</td><td>*10</td><td class="left">Salop</td><td>* 3</td><td>†47</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>* 3</td><td>*28</td><td class="left">Derby</td><td>* 3</td><td>†20</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>* 3</td><td>*10</td><td class="left">Berks</td><td>* 3</td><td>†17</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>* 3</td><td>*19</td><td class="left">York</td><td>* 2</td><td>† 6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>* 3</td><td>* 1</td><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>* 2</td><td>† 7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>* 3</td><td>*10</td><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>* 2</td><td>† 7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>* 1</td><td>*16</td><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>* 2</td><td>† 6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>* 1</td><td>* 1</td><td class="left">Northumb.</td><td>* 1</td><td>† 8</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" rowspan="9"></td><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>* 1</td><td>†61</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>* 1</td><td>† 3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>* 1</td><td>†26</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>* 1</td><td>† 4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>* 1</td><td>†35</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>* 1</td><td>†17</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>* 1</td><td>† 1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>..</td><td>†14</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>..</td><td>†32</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<p>
-⁂ The rule appears to be, that in those counties in which
-the number of females, in proportion to the males, is the <i>smallest</i>,
-the number of illegitimate births is the <i>greatest</i>, and where
-it is the <i>greatest</i>, the illegitimate births are the <i>smallest</i>.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_477" id="Page_477">[477]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter break illowp58" id="i_i_1066" style="max-width: 58.1875em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_1066h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>
-<span class="x-large b">MAP</span><br />
-SHOWING<br />
-<span class="x-large">THE NUMBER OF PERSONS COMMITTED FOR RAPE</span><br />
-IN EVERY 10,000,000 OF THE POPULATION,<br />
-IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES OF<br />
-<span class="x-large">ENGLAND AND WALES.</span></p>
-
-<p>⁂ The counties printed <i>black</i> are
-those in which the number committed
-for Rape is <i>above</i> the Average.</p>
-
-<p>The counties left <i>white</i> are those in
-which the number committed for
-Rape is <i>below</i>
-the Average.</p>
-
-<p>The Average
-has been calculated
-for the
-ten years from
-1841 to 1850.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center i">
-<table class="center" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td>The Average for all England and Wales is </td><td class="right">68 </td><td>in every </td><td>10,000,000 People.</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Monmouth (the highest)</td><td class="right">171</td><td>„</td><td>„</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Nottingham (the lowest)</td><td class="right">28</td><td>„</td><td>„</td></tr>
-</table>
-</div>
-
-</div>
-</div>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_478" id="Page_478">[478]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<h3>TABLE SHOWING THE CRIMINALITY OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES WITH REGARD TO RAPE.</h3>
-
-<div class="mobile">
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2">COUNTIES.</th><th rowspan="2">Average Population from 1841-50.</th><th colspan="10">Total Number Committed for Rape.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1841.</th><th>1842.</th><th>1843.</th><th>1844.</th><th>1845.</th><th>1846.</th><th>1847.</th><th>1848.</th><th>1849.</th><th>1850.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>121,083</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>194,763</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>140,959</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>7</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>5</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>180,747</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>395,919</td><td>1</td><td>9</td><td>7</td><td>6</td><td>..</td><td>7</td><td>1</td><td>11</td><td>2</td><td>6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>349,991</td><td>7</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>186,762</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>250,249</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>554,738</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>172,736</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>368,787</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>8</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td>9</td><td>7</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>332,363</td><td>2</td><td>10</td><td>2</td><td>12</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>407,504</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>7</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>97,813</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>168,178</td><td>..</td><td>6</td><td>..</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>57,942</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>585,249</td><td>1</td><td>10</td><td>7</td><td>8</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>1,881,261</td><td>8</td><td>8</td><td>11</td><td>12</td><td>10</td><td>8</td><td>12</td><td>12</td><td>4</td><td>9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>227,621</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>378,246</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>1,740,814</td><td>9</td><td>13</td><td>11</td><td>8</td><td>12</td><td>12</td><td>15</td><td>15</td><td>11</td><td>9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>164,093</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>5</td><td>4</td><td>6</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>419,463</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>7</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>206,496</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>284,777</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>6</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>282,584</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>166,751</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>23,711</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>243,352</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>452,515</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>6</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>377,040</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>579,686</td><td>6</td><td>4</td><td>8</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>10</td><td>8</td><td>6</td><td>17</td><td>13</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>325,336</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>635,917</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>6</td><td>1</td><td>7</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>4</td><td>4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>320,944</td><td>5</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>444,558</td><td>..</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>57,494</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>241,887</td><td>3</td><td>6</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>244,574</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>8</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>1,686,461</td><td>5</td><td>12</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>12</td><td>17</td><td>7</td><td>14</td><td>15</td><td>15</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>396,161</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>568,430</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total for England and Wales</td><td class="total">16,918,458</td><td class="total">78</td><td class="total">118</td><td class="total">127</td><td class="total">127</td><td class="total">86</td><td class="total">139</td><td class="total">97</td><td class="total">124</td><td class="total">121</td><td class="total">137</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th>Total for 10 years.</th><th>Annual Average.</th><th>No. committed annually for Rape in every 10,000,000 Persons.</th><th>Proportion per Cent above and below the Aver. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>8</td><td>·8</td><td>66</td><td>*2·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>12</td><td>1·2</td><td>62</td><td>*8·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>22</td><td>2·2</td><td>156</td><td>†129·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>10</td><td>1·0</td><td>55</td><td>*19·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>50</td><td>5·0</td><td>126</td><td>†85·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>24</td><td>2·4</td><td>68</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td>7</td><td>·7</td><td>37</td><td>*45·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>12</td><td>1·2</td><td>48</td><td>*29·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>27</td><td>2·7</td><td>49</td><td>*27·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>9</td><td>·9</td><td>52</td><td>*23·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>47</td><td>4·7</td><td>127</td><td>†86·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>42</td><td>4·2</td><td>126</td><td>†85·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>28</td><td>2·8</td><td>69</td><td>†1·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>5</td><td>·5</td><td>51</td><td>*25·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>24</td><td>2·4</td><td>143</td><td>†110·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>52</td><td>*23·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>35</td><td>3·5</td><td>60</td><td>*11·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>94</td><td>9·4</td><td>50</td><td>*26·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>16</td><td>1·6</td><td>70</td><td>†2·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>13</td><td>1·3</td><td>34</td><td>*50·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>115</td><td>11·5</td><td>66</td><td>*2·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>29</td><td>2·9</td><td>177</td><td>†145·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>39</td><td>3·9</td><td>93</td><td>†36·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>15</td><td>1·5</td><td>73</td><td>†7·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>16</td><td>1·6</td><td>56</td><td>*17·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>8</td><td>·8</td><td>28</td><td>*58·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>15</td><td>1·5</td><td>90</td><td>†32·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>84</td><td>†23·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>15</td><td>1·5</td><td>62</td><td>*8·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>26</td><td>2·6</td><td>57</td><td>*16·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>29</td><td>2·9</td><td>77</td><td>†13·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>81</td><td>8·1</td><td>140</td><td>†105·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>20</td><td>2·0</td><td>61</td><td>*10·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>35</td><td>3·5</td><td>55</td><td>*19·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>17</td><td>1·7</td><td>53</td><td>*22·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>19</td><td>1·9</td><td>43</td><td>*36·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>4</td><td>·4</td><td>70</td><td>†2·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>23</td><td>2·3</td><td>95</td><td>†39·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>24</td><td>2·4</td><td>9</td><td>†44·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>102</td><td>10·2</td><td>60</td><td>*11·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>12</td><td>1·2</td><td>30</td><td>*55·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>20</td><td>2·0</td><td>35</td><td>*48·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="total">1154</td><td class="total">115·4</td><td class="total">68</td><td class="total"></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="nomobile">
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2">COUNTIES.</th><th rowspan="2">Average Population from 1841-50.</th><th colspan="10">Total Number Committed for Rape.</th><th rowspan="2">Total for 10 years.</th><th rowspan="2">Annual Average.</th><th rowspan="2">No. committed annually for Rape in every 10,000,000 Persons.</th><th rowspan="2">Proportion per Cent above and below the Aver. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1841.</th><th>1842.</th><th>1843.</th><th>1844.</th><th>1845.</th><th>1846.</th><th>1847.</th><th>1848.</th><th>1849.</th><th>1850.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>121,083</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>8</td><td>·8</td><td>66</td><td>*2·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>194,763</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>12</td><td>1·2</td><td>62</td><td>*8·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>140,959</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>7</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>22</td><td>2·2</td><td>156</td><td>†129·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>180,747</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>10</td><td>1·0</td><td>55</td><td>*19·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>395,919</td><td>1</td><td>9</td><td>7</td><td>6</td><td>..</td><td>7</td><td>1</td><td>11</td><td>2</td><td>6</td><td>50</td><td>5·0</td><td>126</td><td>†85·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>349,991</td><td>7</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>24</td><td>2·4</td><td>68</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>186,762</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>7</td><td>·7</td><td>37</td><td>*45·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>250,249</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>12</td><td>1·2</td><td>48</td><td>*29·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>554,738</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>5</td><td>27</td><td>2·7</td><td>49</td><td>*27·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>172,736</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>9</td><td>·9</td><td>52</td><td>*23·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>368,787</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>8</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td>9</td><td>7</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>4</td><td>47</td><td>4·7</td><td>127</td><td>†86·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>332,363</td><td>2</td><td>10</td><td>2</td><td>12</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>42</td><td>4·2</td><td>126</td><td>†85·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>407,504</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>7</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>7</td><td>28</td><td>2·8</td><td>69</td><td>†1·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>97,813</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>5</td><td>·5</td><td>51</td><td>*25·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>168,178</td><td>..</td><td>6</td><td>..</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>24</td><td>2·4</td><td>143</td><td>†110·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>57,942</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>52</td><td>*23·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>585,249</td><td>1</td><td>10</td><td>7</td><td>8</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>35</td><td>3·5</td><td>60</td><td>*11·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>1,881,261</td><td>8</td><td>8</td><td>11</td><td>12</td><td>10</td><td>8</td><td>12</td><td>12</td><td>4</td><td>9</td><td>94</td><td>9·4</td><td>50</td><td>*26·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>227,621</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>16</td><td>1·6</td><td>70</td><td>†2·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>378,246</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>13</td><td>1·3</td><td>34</td><td>*50·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>1,740,814</td><td>9</td><td>13</td><td>11</td><td>8</td><td>12</td><td>12</td><td>15</td><td>15</td><td>11</td><td>9</td><td>115</td><td>11·5</td><td>66</td><td>*2·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>164,093</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>5</td><td>4</td><td>6</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>29</td><td>2·9</td><td>177</td><td>†145·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>419,463</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>7</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>9</td><td>39</td><td>3·9</td><td>93</td><td>†36·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>206,496</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>15</td><td>1·5</td><td>73</td><td>†7·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>284,777</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>6</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>16</td><td>1·6</td><td>56</td><td>*17·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>282,584</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>8</td><td>·8</td><td>28</td><td>*58·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>166,751</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>15</td><td>1·5</td><td>90</td><td>†32·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>23,711</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>84</td><td>†23·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>243,352</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>5</td><td>15</td><td>1·5</td><td>62</td><td>*8·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>452,515</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>6</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>26</td><td>2·6</td><td>57</td><td>*16·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>377,040</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td>29</td><td>2·9</td><td>77</td><td>†13·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>579,686</td><td>6</td><td>4</td><td>8</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>10</td><td>8</td><td>6</td><td>17</td><td>13</td><td>81</td><td>8·1</td><td>140</td><td>†105·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>325,336</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>20</td><td>2·0</td><td>61</td><td>*10·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>635,917</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>6</td><td>1</td><td>7</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>35</td><td>3·5</td><td>55</td><td>*19·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>320,944</td><td>5</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>17</td><td>1·7</td><td>53</td><td>*22·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>444,558</td><td>..</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>19</td><td>1·9</td><td>43</td><td>*36·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>57,494</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>·4</td><td>70</td><td>†2·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>241,887</td><td>3</td><td>6</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>23</td><td>2·3</td><td>95</td><td>†39·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>244,574</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>8</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>24</td><td>2·4</td><td>9</td><td>†44·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>1,686,461</td><td>5</td><td>12</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>12</td><td>17</td><td>7</td><td>14</td><td>15</td><td>15</td><td>102</td><td>10·2</td><td>60</td><td>*11·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>396,161</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>12</td><td>1·2</td><td>30</td><td>*55·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>568,430</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>20</td><td>2·0</td><td>35</td><td>*48·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total for England and Wales</td><td class="total">16,918,458</td><td class="total">78</td><td class="total">118</td><td class="total">127</td><td class="total">127</td><td class="total">86</td><td class="total">139</td><td class="total">97</td><td class="total">124</td><td class="total">121</td><td class="total">137</td><td class="total">1154</td><td class="total">115·4</td><td class="total">68</td><td class="total"></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_479" id="Page_479">[479]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>⁂ The proportionate number of persons perpetrating this crime has been calculated with reference to the <i>entire</i> population, instead of the <i>male part of it only</i>, as at the first glance
-might seem necessary, males only being capable of committing the above offence. But it was found, on examination, that the intensity of the criminality in the several
-counties in this respect was influenced by the relative number of females. Monmouth contains the greatest number of males in proportion to females; so that, were the male population
-alone considered, the criminality of that county in the above respect would be considerably decreased. But the fact of there being more rapes in Monmouth than elsewhere
-would appear to be owing to the very excess of males over females in that county; the average, therefore, has been calculated from the entire population.</p>
-
-
-<h3>LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE
-ORDER OF THEIR CRIMINALITY
-WITH REGARD
-TO RAPE, AS SHOWN BY
-THE NUMBER COMMITTED
-FOR THIS OFFENCE IN
-EVERY 10,000,000 OF THE
-POPULATION.</h3>
-
-<h4><i>Counties above
-the Average.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>177</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>156</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>143</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>140</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>127</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>126</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>126</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>98</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>95</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>93</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>90</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>84</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southamp.</td><td>77</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northamp.</td><td>73</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>70</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmor.</td><td>70</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>69</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Average for England and Wales</td><td class="total">68</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<h4><i>Counties below
-the Average.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>68</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>66</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>66</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>62</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>62</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>61</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>60</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>60</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>57</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumb.</td><td>56</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>55</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>55</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>53</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>52</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>52</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>51</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>50</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>49</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>48</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>43</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>37</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">S. Wales</td><td>35</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>34</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">N. Wales</td><td>30</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>28</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<h3>THE CRIME OF RAPE COMPARED WITH THE NUMBER OF ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN
-IN EACH COUNTY</h3>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2"><i>Counties in which the Number of Rapes and the Number of Illegitimate Births are both above the Average.</i></th><th colspan="2">Percentage above and below the Average. <br />† denotes above.<br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th><th rowspan="2"><i>Counties in which the Number of Rapes is above and the Number of Illegitimate Births below the Average.</i></th><th colspan="2">Percentage above and below the Average. <br />† denotes above.<br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>In Number of Rapes.</th><th>In No. of Illegitimate Births.</th><th>In Number of Rapes.</th><th>In No. of Illegitimate Births.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>†129·4</td><td>† 4·4</td><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>†145·6</td><td>*26·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>†110·3</td><td>† 7·4</td><td class="left">Durham</td><td>† 86·8</td><td>*10·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>†105·9</td><td>† 3·0</td><td class="left">Essex</td><td>† 85·3</td><td>*10·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>† 85·3</td><td>†32·8</td><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>† 44·1</td><td>* 1·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>† 39·7</td><td>† 3·0</td><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>† 23·5</td><td>*16·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>† 36·8</td><td>†56·7</td><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>† 13·2</td><td>*10·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>† 32·4</td><td>†13·4</td><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>† 7·4</td><td>*10·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>† 2·9</td><td>†17·9</td><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>† 1·5</td><td>* 4·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>† 2·9</td><td>†29·8</td><td colspan="3"></td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="3"><i>Counties in which the Number of Rapes and the Number of Illegitimate Births are both below the Average.</i></th><th colspan="3"><i>Counties in which the Number of Rapes is below and the Number of Illegitimate Births above the Average.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>*50·0</td><td>* 1·5</td><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>*58·8</td><td>†35·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>*36·8</td><td>*16·4</td><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>*55·9</td><td>†16·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>*27·9</td><td>*25·3</td><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>*48·5</td><td>† 7·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>*23·5</td><td>*28·3</td><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>*45·6</td><td>†61·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>*23·5</td><td>* 1·5</td><td class="left">Derby</td><td>*29·4</td><td>†20·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>*19·1</td><td>*34·3</td><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>*26·5</td><td>†14·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>*19·1</td><td>* 1·5</td><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>*25·0</td><td>†49·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>*16·2</td><td>* 6·0</td><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>*22·1</td><td>† 1·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>*11·8</td><td>*19·4</td><td class="left">Northumb.</td><td>*17·6</td><td>† 8·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>* 2·9</td><td>*40·3</td><td class="left">York</td><td>*11·8</td><td>† 6·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>*</td><td>*29·8</td><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>*10·3</td><td>†26·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" rowspan="3"></td><td class="left">Salop</td><td>* 8·8</td><td>†47·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>* 8·8</td><td>†17·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>* 2·9</td><td>†14·9</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>⁂ The rule appears to be, that the crime of Rape is (in
-the majority of cases) the <i>least</i> where the number of Illegitimate
-Children is the <i>greatest</i>.</p>
-
-<h3>THE CRIME OF RAPE COMPARED WITH THE RELATIVE
-NUMBER OF FEMALES TO MALES IN EACH COUNTY.</h3>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2"><i>Counties in which the Number of Rapes and the Number of Females are both above the Average.</i></th><th colspan="2">Percentage above and below the Average. <br />† denotes above.<br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th><th rowspan="2"><i>Counties in which the Number of Rapes is above and the Number of Females below the Average.</i></th><th colspan="2">Percentage above and below the Average. <br />† denotes above.<br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>In Number of Rapes.</th><th>In No. of Females to Males.</th><th>In Number of Rapes.</th><th>In No. of Females to Males.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>†36·8</td><td>†1·0</td><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>†145·6</td><td>*12·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>† 1·5</td><td>†6·7</td><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>†129·4</td><td>* 1·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" rowspan="2"></td><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>†110·3</td><td>* 2·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>†105·9</td><td>* 7·6</td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="3"><i>Counties in which the Number of Rapes and the Number of Females are both below the Average.</i></th><td class="left">Durham</td><td>† 86·8</td><td>* 5·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>*58·8</td><td>*1·0</td><td class="left">Chester</td><td>† 85·3</td><td>*</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>*55·9</td><td>*2·9</td><td class="left">Essex</td><td>† 85·3</td><td>* 4·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>*50·0</td><td>*5·7</td><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>† 44·1</td><td>* 1·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>*48·5</td><td>*2·9</td><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>† 39·7</td><td>* 1·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>*45·6</td><td>*1·9</td><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>† 32·4</td><td>* 5·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>*36·8</td><td>*1·0</td><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>† 23·5</td><td>* 6·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>*29·4</td><td>*3·3</td><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>† 13·2</td><td>* 3·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>*26·5</td><td>*</td><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>† 7·4</td><td>* 3·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>*25·0</td><td>*5·7</td><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>† 2·9</td><td>* 1·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>*23·5</td><td>*3·8</td><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>† 2·9</td><td>* 3·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>*22·1</td><td>*1·9</td><td colspan="3" rowspan="2"></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>*19·1</td><td>*3·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumb.</td><td>*17·6</td><td>*1·9</td><th colspan="3"><i>Counties in which the Number of Rapes is below and the Number of Females above the Average.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>*11·8</td><td>*2·9</td><td class="left">Devon</td><td>*27·9</td><td>† 5·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>*11·8</td><td>*3·8</td><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>*23·5</td><td>† 1·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>*10·3</td><td>*1·9</td><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>*19·1</td><td>† 5·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>* 8·8</td><td>*3·8</td><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>*16·2</td><td>† 5·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>* 8·8</td><td>*3·8</td><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>* 2·9</td><td>† 8·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" rowspan="2"></td><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>* 2·9</td><td>† 2·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>*</td><td>† 1·9</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>⁂ The rule appears to be, that the number of Rapes is the
-<i>greatest</i> in those counties where the number of Females is the <i>least</i>.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum">
-<a name="Page_481" id="Page_481">[481]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="figcenter break illowp58" id="i_i_1073" style="max-width: 58.5625em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_1073h.jpg" alt="" />
-
-<div class="caption"><p>
-<span class="x-large b">MAP</span><br />
-SHOWING THE NUMBER OF<br />
-<span class="x-large">PERSONS COMMITTED FOR CARNALLY ABUSING GIRLS</span><br />
-BETWEEN THE AGE OF TEN AND TWELVE YEARS<br />
-IN EVERY 10,000,000 OF THE POPULATION,<br />
-IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES OF<br />
-<span class="x-large">ENGLAND AND WALES.</span></p>
-
-<p>⁂ The counties printed <i>black</i> are
-those in which the number committed
-for this offence is <i>above</i> the Average.</p>
-
-<p>The counties left <i>white</i> are those in
-which the number committed for the
-same offence is <i>below</i> the Average.</p>
-
-<p>The Average has been calculated
-for the ten years from 1841 to 1850.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center i">
-<table class="center" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td>The Average for all England and Wales is </td><td class="right">3 </td><td>in every </td><td>10,000,000 People.</td></tr>
-<tr><td> Westmoreland (the highest)</td><td class="right">17</td><td>„</td><td>„</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-</div>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_482" id="Page_482">[482]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<h3>TABLE SHOWING THE CRIMINALITY OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES WITH REGARD TO
-CARNALLY ABUSING GIRLS BETWEEN THE AGE OF 10 AND 12 YEARS.</h3>
-
-<div class="mobile">
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2">COUNTIES.</th><th rowspan="2">Average Population from 1841-50.</th><th colspan="7">Total number committed for carnally abusing girls between the age of 10 and 12 years.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1841.</th><th>1842.</th><th>1843.</th><th>1844.</th><th>1845.</th><th>1846.</th><th>1847.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>121,083</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>194,763</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>140,959</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>180,747</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>395,919</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>349,991</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>186,762</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>250,249</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>554,738</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>172,736</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>368,787</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>332,363</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>407,504</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>97,813</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>168,178</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>57,942</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>585,249</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>1,881,261</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>227,621</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>378,246</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>1,740,814</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>164,093</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>419,463</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>206,496</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>284,777</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>282,584</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>166,751</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>23,711</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>243,352</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>452,515</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>377,040</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>579,686</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>325,336</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>635,917</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>320,944</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>444,558</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>57,494</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>241,887</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>244,574</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>1,686,461</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>396,161</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>568,430</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total for England and Wales</td><td class="total">16,918,458</td><td class="total">4</td><td class="total">2</td><td class="total">7</td><td class="total">8</td><td class="total">6</td><td class="total">5</td><td class="total">5</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th colspan="3"></th><th rowspan="2">Total for 10 years.</th><th rowspan="2">Annual Average.</th><th rowspan="2">No. committed annually in every 10,000,000 Persons.</th><th rowspan="2">Proportion per Cent. above and below the Aver. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1848.</th><th>1849.</th><th>1850.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>†100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>5</td><td>†66·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>14</td><td>†366·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>6</td><td>†100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>8</td><td>†166·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>3</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>†100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>†100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>3</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>5</td><td>†66·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>6</td><td>†100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>8</td><td>·8</td><td>14</td><td>†366·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>·4</td><td>2</td><td>*33·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>4</td><td>†33·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>3</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>14</td><td>1·4</td><td>8</td><td>†166·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>5</td><td>†66·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>7</td><td>†133·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>3</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>5</td><td>†66·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>17</td><td>†466·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>4</td><td>†33·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>·4</td><td>16</td><td>†433·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>1</td><td>*66·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="total">9</td><td class="total">8</td><td class="total">2</td><td class="total">56</td><td class="total">5·6</td><td class="total">3</td><td class="total"></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="nomobile">
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2">COUNTIES.</th><th rowspan="2">Average Population from 1841-50.</th><th colspan="10">Total number committed for carnally abusing girls between the age of 10 and 12 years.</th><th rowspan="2">Total for 10 years.</th><th rowspan="2">Annual Average.</th><th rowspan="2">No. committed annually in every 10,000,000 Persons.</th><th rowspan="2">Proportion per Cent. above and below the Aver. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1841.</th><th>1842.</th><th>1843.</th><th>1844.</th><th>1845.</th><th>1846.</th><th>1847.</th><th>1848.</th><th>1849.</th><th>1850.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>121,083</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>†100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>194,763</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>5</td><td>†66·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>140,959</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>14</td><td>†366·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>180,747</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>6</td><td>†100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>395,919</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>8</td><td>†166·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>349,991</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>3</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>186,762</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>†100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>250,249</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>†100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>554,738</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>172,736</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>368,787</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>332,363</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>3</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>407,504</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>5</td><td>†66·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>97,813</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>168,178</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>6</td><td>†100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>57,942</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>585,249</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>8</td><td>·8</td><td>14</td><td>†366·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>1,881,261</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>·4</td><td>2</td><td>*33·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>227,621</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>4</td><td>†33·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>378,246</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>3</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>1,740,814</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>14</td><td>1·4</td><td>8</td><td>†166·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>164,093</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>419,463</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>206,496</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>5</td><td>†66·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>284,777</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>282,584</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>166,751</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>23,711</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>243,352</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>452,515</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>7</td><td>†133·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>377,040</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>3</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>579,686</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>325,336</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>635,917</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>5</td><td>†66·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>320,944</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>444,558</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>57,494</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>17</td><td>†466·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>241,887</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>4</td><td>†33·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>244,574</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>·4</td><td>16</td><td>†433·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>1,686,461</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>1</td><td>*66·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>396,161</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>568,430</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total for England and Wales</td><td class="total">16,918,458</td><td class="total">4</td><td class="total">2</td><td class="total">7</td><td class="total">8</td><td class="total">6</td><td class="total">5</td><td class="total">5</td><td class="total">9</td><td class="total">8</td><td class="total">2</td><td class="total">56</td><td class="total">5·6</td><td class="total">3</td><td class="total"></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_483" id="Page_483">[483]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>⁂ The proportionate number of persons perpetrating the above crime has been calculated with reference to the entire population, instead of the male part of it only, as at the first
-glance might seem necessary, males only being capable of committing the above offence. But it was found, on examination, that the intensity of the criminality in the several
-counties in this respect was influenced by the relative number of females (see comparative table below); the average, therefore, has been calculated from the entire population.</p>
-
-
-<h3>LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE
-ORDER OF THEIR CRIMINALITY
-WITH REGARD
-TO CARNALLY ABUSING
-GIRLS BETWEEN THE
-AGE OF 10 AND 12 YEARS,
-AS SHOWN BY THE NUMBER
-COMMITTED FOR
-THIS OFFENCE IN EVERY
-10,000,000 OF THE POPULATION.</h3>
-
-
-<h4><i>Counties above
-the Average.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Westmor.</td><td>17</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>16</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>14</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>14</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northamp.</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Average for England and Wales</td><td class="total">3</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<h4><i>Counties below
-the Average.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southamp.</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumb.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">N. Wales</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">S. Wales</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<h3>THE CRIME OF RAPE COMPARED WITH THAT OF CARNALLY ABUSING
-CHILDREN IN EACH COUNTY.</h3>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2"><i>Counties in which the Number of Rapes and the Number of Cases of Carnal Abuse are both above the Average.</i></th><th colspan="2">Percentage above and below the Average. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th><th rowspan="2"><i>Counties in which the Number of Rapes is above and the Number of Cases of Carnal Abuse is below the Average.</i></th><th colspan="2">Percentage above and below the Average. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>In Number of Rapes.</th><th>In No. of Cases of Carnal Abuse.</th><th>In Number of Rapes.</th><th>In No. of Cases of Carnal Abuse.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>†129·4</td><td>†366·7</td><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>†145·6</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>†110·3</td><td>†100·0</td><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>†105·9</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>† 85·3</td><td>†166·7</td><td class="left">Durham</td><td>† 86·8</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>† 44·1</td><td>†433·3</td><td class="left">Essex</td><td>† 85·3</td><td>*</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>† 39·7</td><td>† 33·3</td><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>† 36·8</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>† 7·4</td><td>† 66·7</td><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>† 32·4</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>† 2·9</td><td>† 33·3</td><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>† 23·5</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>† 2·9</td><td>†466·6</td><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>† 13·2</td><td>*</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>† 1·5</td><td>† 66·7</td><td colspan="3"></td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="3"><i>Counties in which the No. of Rapes and the No. of Cases of Carnal Abuse are both below the Aver.</i></th><th colspan="3"><i>Counties in which the No. of Rapes is below and the No. of Cases of Carnal Abuses above the Aver.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>*58·8</td><td>*100·0</td><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>*19·1</td><td>† 66·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>*55·9</td><td>*100·0</td><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>*19·1</td><td>†100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>*50·0</td><td>*</td><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>*16·2</td><td>†133·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>*48·5</td><td>*100·0</td><td class="left">Kent</td><td>*11·8</td><td>†355·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>*45·6</td><td>*100·0</td><td class="left">Berks</td><td>* 8·8</td><td>† 66·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>*36·8</td><td>*100·0</td><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>* 2·9</td><td>†166·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>*29·4</td><td>*100·0</td><td colspan="3" rowspan="3"></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>*27·9</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>*26·5</td><td>* 33·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>*25·0</td><td>*100·0</td><td class="left" colspan="3" rowspan="10">⁂ The rule appears to be, that where the Number of Rapes is the <i>greatest</i>, the Number of Cases of Carnally Abusing Children is (generally speaking) the greatest also; and <i>vice versâ</i>, where the Rapes are the least, the carnal abuse of Children is the <i>least</i> likewise.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>*23·5</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>*23·5</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>*22·1</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumb.</td><td>*17·6</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>*11·8</td><td>* 66·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>*10·3</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>* 8·8</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>* 2·9</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>*</td><td>*</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<h3>THE CRIME OF CARNALLY ABUSING CHILDREN
-COMPARED WITH THE NUMBER OF FEMALES TO
-MALES IN EACH COUNTY.</h3>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2"><i>Counties in which the Carnal Abuse of Children and the Number of Females to Males are both above the Average.</i></th><th colspan="2">Percentage above and below the Average. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th><th rowspan="2"><i>Counties in which the Carnal Abuse of Children is above, and the Number of Females to Males below the Average.</i></th><th colspan="2">Percentage above and below the Average. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>In No. of Cases of Carnal Abuse.</th><th>In No. of Females to Males.</th><th>In No. of Cases of Carnal Abuse.</th><th>In No. of Females to Males.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>†166·7</td><td>†8·6</td><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>†466·6</td><td>*3·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>†133·3</td><td>†5·7</td><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>†433·3</td><td>*1·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>† 66·7</td><td>†6·7</td><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>†366·7</td><td>*1·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>† 66·7</td><td>†5·7</td><td class="left">Kent</td><td>†366·7</td><td>*3·8</td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="3" rowspan="4"><i>Counties in which the Carnal Abuse of Children and the No. of Females to Males are both below the Average.</i></th><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>†100·0</td><td>*3·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>†166·7</td><td>*</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>†100·0</td><td>*2·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>† 66·7</td><td>*3·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>*100·0</td><td>* 2·9</td><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>† 66·7</td><td>*3·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>*100·0</td><td>* 2·9</td><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>† 33·3</td><td>*1·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>*100·0</td><td>* 1·0</td><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>† 33·3</td><td>*1·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>*100·0</td><td>* 1·9</td><th colspan="3" rowspan="4"><i>Counties in which the Carnal Abuse of Children is below and the No. of Females to Males above the Average.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>*100·0</td><td>* 1·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>*100·0</td><td>* 7·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>*100·0</td><td>* 3·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>*100·0</td><td>* 6·7</td><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>*100·0</td><td>†1·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>*100·0</td><td>* 5·7</td><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>*100·0</td><td>†1·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>*100·0</td><td>* 1·0</td><td class="left">Devon</td><td>*100·0</td><td>†5·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumb.</td><td>*100·0</td><td>* 1·9</td><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>*100·0</td><td>†2·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>*100·0</td><td>*12·4</td><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>*</td><td>†1·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>*100·0</td><td>* 3·8</td><td colspan="3" rowspan="4"></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>*100·0</td><td>* 5·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>*100·0</td><td>* 5·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>*100·0</td><td>* 3·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>*100·0</td><td>* 1·9</td><td class="left" colspan="3" rowspan="6">⁂ The rule appears to be, that the crime of Carnally Abusing is (generally speaking) the <i>greatest</i> in those Counties where the number of Females is the <i>least</i>.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>* 66·7</td><td>* 2·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>* 33·3</td><td>*</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>*</td><td>* 3·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>*</td><td>* 5·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>*</td><td>* 4·8</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum">
-<a name="Page_485" id="Page_485">[485]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter break illowp59" id="i_i_1080" style="max-width: 59.6875em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_1080h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>
-<span class="x-large b">MAP</span><br />
-SHOWING THE NUMBER OF<br />
-<span class="x-large">PERSONS COMMITTED FOR KEEPING DISORDERLY HOUSES</span><br />
-IN EVERY 10,000,000 OF THE POPULATION,<br />
-IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES OF<br />
-<span class="x-large">ENGLAND AND WALES.</span></p>
-
-<p>⁂ The counties printed <i>black</i> are
-those in which the number of persons
-committed for keeping disorderly
-houses is <i>above</i> the Average.</p>
-
-<p>The counties left <i>white</i> are those in
-which the number of persons committed
-for keeping disorderly houses
-is <i>below</i> the Average.</p>
-
-<p>The Average is calculated for 10
-years.</p>
-
-<p>The counties having no number affixed
-to them are those in which there
-have been no committals for the above
-offence during the last 10
-years.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center i">
-<table class="center" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td>The Average for </td><td>England and Wales is </td><td class="right">79 </td><td>in every 10,000,000 </td><td>of the Population.</td></tr>
-<tr><td>„</td><td>Middlesex (the highest) is</td><td class="right">296</td><td>„</td><td>„</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_486" id="Page_486">[486]</a></span></p>
-
-<h3>TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PERSONS COMMITTED FOR KEEPING
-DISORDERLY HOUSES IN THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES
-OF ENGLAND AND WALES FOR THE UNDERMENTIONED YEARS.</h3>
-
-<div class="mobile">
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2">COUNTIES.</th><th rowspan="2">Average Population from 1841-50.</th><th colspan="10">Number Committed for keeping Disorderly Houses.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1841.</th><th>1842.</th><th>1843.</th><th>1844.</th><th>1845.</th><th>1846.</th><th>1847.</th><th>1848.</th><th>1849.</th><th>1850.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>121,083</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>194,763</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>140,959</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>180,747</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>395,919</td><td>4</td><td>12</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>349,991</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>7</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>6</td><td>5</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>186,762</td><td>7</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>250,249</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>554,738</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>172,736</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>368,787</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>14</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>332,363</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>407,504</td><td>5</td><td>9</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>97,813</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>168,178</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>57,942</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>585,249</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>1,881,261</td><td>85</td><td>55</td><td>45</td><td>27</td><td>24</td><td>16</td><td>14</td><td>32</td><td>42</td><td>4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>227,621</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>378,246</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>7</td><td>1</td><td>7</td><td>3</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>1,740,814</td><td>36</td><td>67</td><td>31</td><td>114</td><td>37</td><td>31</td><td>51</td><td>42</td><td>79</td><td>27</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>164,093</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>419,463</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>206,496</td><td>8</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>284,777</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>13</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>282,584</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>166,751</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>23,711</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>243,352</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>452,515</td><td>7</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>377,040</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>579,686</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>325,336</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>635,917</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>15</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>320,944</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>444,558</td><td>2</td><td>6</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>57,494</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>241,887</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>244,574</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>11</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>1,686,461</td><td>21</td><td>3</td><td>21</td><td>11</td><td>5</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>7</td><td>4</td><td>6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>396,161</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>568,430</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total for England and Wales</td><td class="total">16,918,458</td><td class="total">198</td><td class="total">186</td><td class="total">145</td><td class="total">187</td><td class="total">86</td><td class="total">84</td><td class="total">99</td><td class="total">190</td><td class="total">148</td><td class="total">93</td><td class="total"></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th>Total for 10 Years.</th><th>Annual Average.</th><th>No. committed annually in every 10,000,000 of the Population.</th><th>Proportion per Cent above and below the Aver. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>·9</td><td>46</td><td>*41·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>9</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>4</td><td>·4</td><td>22</td><td>*72·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>33</td><td>3·3</td><td>83</td><td>†5·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>38</td><td>3·8</td><td>109</td><td>†38·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>11</td><td>1·1</td><td>59</td><td>*25·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>8</td><td>*89·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>16</td><td>1·6</td><td>29</td><td>*63·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>5</td><td>·5</td><td>29</td><td>*63·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>19</td><td>1·9</td><td>52</td><td>*34·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>6</td><td>*92·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>24</td><td>2·4</td><td>59</td><td>*25·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>10</td><td>1·0</td><td>102</td><td>†29·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>4</td><td>·4</td><td>24</td><td>*69·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>4</td><td>·4</td><td>70</td><td>*11·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>5</td><td>*93·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>344</td><td>34·4</td><td>183</td><td>†131·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>13</td><td>*83·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>26</td><td>2·6</td><td>69</td><td>*12·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>515</td><td>51·5</td><td>296</td><td>†274·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>6</td><td>·6</td><td>37</td><td>*53·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>4</td><td>·4</td><td>10</td><td>*87·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>18</td><td>1·8</td><td>87</td><td>†10·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>15</td><td>1·5</td><td>53</td><td>*32·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>12</td><td>*84·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>5</td><td>·5</td><td>21</td><td>*73·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>18</td><td>1·8</td><td>40</td><td>*49·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>12</td><td>1·2</td><td>32</td><td>*59·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>17</td><td>1·7</td><td>29</td><td>*63·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>3</td><td>*96·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>24</td><td>2·4</td><td>38</td><td>*51·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>9</td><td>*88·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>15</td><td>1·5</td><td>34</td><td>*57·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>35</td><td>*55·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>8</td><td>·8</td><td>33</td><td>*58·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>26</td><td>2·6</td><td>106</td><td>†34·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>85</td><td>8·5</td><td>50</td><td>*36·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>5</td><td>*93·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="total">1335</td><td class="total">133·5</td><td class="total">79</td><td class="total"></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-
-
-<div class="nomobile">
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2">COUNTIES.</th><th rowspan="2">Average Population from 1841-50.</th><th colspan="10">Number Committed for keeping Disorderly Houses.</th><th rowspan="2">Total for 10 Years.</th><th rowspan="2">Annual Average.</th><th rowspan="2">No. committed annually in every 10,000,000 of the Population.</th><th rowspan="2">Proportion per Cent above and below the Aver. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1841.</th><th>1842.</th><th>1843.</th><th>1844.</th><th>1845.</th><th>1846.</th><th>1847.</th><th>1848.</th><th>1849.</th><th>1850.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>121,083</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>194,763</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>·9</td><td>46</td><td>*41·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>140,959</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>9</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>180,747</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>·4</td><td>22</td><td>*72·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>395,919</td><td>4</td><td>12</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>33</td><td>3·3</td><td>83</td><td>†5·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>349,991</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>7</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>6</td><td>5</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>38</td><td>3·8</td><td>109</td><td>†38·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>186,762</td><td>7</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>11</td><td>1·1</td><td>59</td><td>*25·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>250,249</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>8</td><td>*89·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>554,738</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>16</td><td>1·6</td><td>29</td><td>*63·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>172,736</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>·5</td><td>29</td><td>*63·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>368,787</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>14</td><td>19</td><td>1·9</td><td>52</td><td>*34·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>332,363</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>6</td><td>*92·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>407,504</td><td>5</td><td>9</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>24</td><td>2·4</td><td>59</td><td>*25·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>97,813</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>10</td><td>1·0</td><td>102</td><td>†29·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>168,178</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>·4</td><td>24</td><td>*69·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>57,942</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>·4</td><td>70</td><td>*11·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>585,249</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>5</td><td>*93·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>1,881,261</td><td>85</td><td>55</td><td>45</td><td>27</td><td>24</td><td>16</td><td>14</td><td>32</td><td>42</td><td>4</td><td>344</td><td>34·4</td><td>183</td><td>†131·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>227,621</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>13</td><td>*83·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>378,246</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>7</td><td>1</td><td>7</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>26</td><td>2·6</td><td>69</td><td>*12·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>1,740,814</td><td>36</td><td>67</td><td>31</td><td>114</td><td>37</td><td>31</td><td>51</td><td>42</td><td>79</td><td>27</td><td>515</td><td>51·5</td><td>296</td><td>†274·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>164,093</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>6</td><td>·6</td><td>37</td><td>*53·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>419,463</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>·4</td><td>10</td><td>*87·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>206,496</td><td>8</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>18</td><td>1·8</td><td>87</td><td>†10·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>284,777</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>13</td><td>15</td><td>1·5</td><td>53</td><td>*32·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>282,584</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>166,751</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>12</td><td>*84·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>23,711</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>243,352</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>5</td><td>·5</td><td>21</td><td>*73·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>452,515</td><td>7</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>18</td><td>1·8</td><td>40</td><td>*49·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>377,040</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>8</td><td>12</td><td>1·2</td><td>32</td><td>*59·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>579,686</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>17</td><td>1·7</td><td>29</td><td>*63·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>325,336</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>3</td><td>*96·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>635,917</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>15</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>24</td><td>2·4</td><td>38</td><td>*51·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>320,944</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>9</td><td>*88·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>444,558</td><td>2</td><td>6</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>15</td><td>1·5</td><td>34</td><td>*57·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>57,494</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>35</td><td>*55·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>241,887</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>5</td><td>8</td><td>·8</td><td>33</td><td>*58·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>244,574</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>11</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>26</td><td>2·6</td><td>106</td><td>†34·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>1,686,461</td><td>21</td><td>3</td><td>21</td><td>11</td><td>5</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>7</td><td>4</td><td>6</td><td>85</td><td>8·5</td><td>50</td><td>*36·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>396,161</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>5</td><td>*93·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>568,430</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total for England and Wales</td><td class="total">16,918,458</td><td class="total">198</td><td class="total">186</td><td class="total">145</td><td class="total">187</td><td class="total">86</td><td class="total">84</td><td class="total">99</td><td class="total">190</td><td class="total">148</td><td class="total">93</td><td class="total">1335</td><td class="total">133·5</td><td class="total">79</td><td class="total"></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_487" id="Page_487">[487]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<h3>LIST OF COUNTIES IN THE ORDER OF
-THEIR BROTHELS, AS SHOWN BY THE
-NUMBER OF PERSONS COMMITTED FOR
-KEEPING DISORDERLY HOUSES IN EVERY
-10,000,000 OF THE POPULATION.</h3>
-
-
-<h4><i>Counties above the
-Average.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>296</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>183</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>109</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>106</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>102</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>87</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>83</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Average for England and Wales</td><td class="total">79</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<h4><i>Counties below the
-Average.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>70</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>69</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>59</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>59</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>53</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>52</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>50</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>46</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>40</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>38</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>37</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>35</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>34</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>33</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>32</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>29</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>29</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>29</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>24</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>22</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>21</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>13</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>12</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>10</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>0</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<h3>THE NUMBER OF DISORDERLY HOUSES COMPARED WITH THE NUMBER OF ILLEGITIMATE
-BIRTHS IN EACH COUNTY.</h3>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="lightborder right" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th></th><th colspan="2">Percentage above and below the Average. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th> </tr>
-<tr><th class="left"><i>Counties in which the Number of Disorderly Houses and the Number of Illegitimate Children are both above the Average.</i></th><th>In No. of Disorderly Houses.</th><th>In No. of Illegitimate Children.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>†131·</td><td>†14</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>† 29·</td><td>†49</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>† 5·</td><td>†32</td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="3"><i>Counties in which the Number of Disorderly Houses and the Number of Illegitimate Children are both below the Average.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>*100·</td><td>*16</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>* 93·</td><td>*19</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>* 92·</td><td>*10</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>* 72·</td><td>* 1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>* 63·</td><td>* 1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>* 63·</td><td>*25</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>* 59·</td><td>*10</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>* 57·</td><td>*16</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>* 53·</td><td>*26</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>* 51·</td><td>*34</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>* 49·</td><td>* 6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>* 34·</td><td>*10</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>* 25·</td><td>* 4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>* 12·</td><td>* 1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>* 11·</td><td>*28</td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="3"><i>Counties in which the Number of Disorderly Houses is above and the Number of Illegitimate Children below the Average.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>†131·</td><td>†14</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>†274·</td><td>*40</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>† 38·</td><td>*29</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>† 34·</td><td>* 1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>† 10·</td><td>*10</td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="3"><i>Counties in which the Number of Disorderly Houses is below and the Number of Illegitimate Children above the Average.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>*100·</td><td>† 7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>*100·</td><td>†35</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>*100·</td><td>† 4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>*100·</td><td>†14</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>* 96·</td><td>†26</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>* 93·</td><td>† 6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>* 89·</td><td>†20</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>* 88·</td><td>† 1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>* 87·</td><td>†56</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>* 84·</td><td>†13</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>* 83·</td><td>†17</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>* 73·</td><td>†47</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>* 69·</td><td>† 7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>* 63·</td><td>† 3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>* 58·</td><td>† 3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>* 55·</td><td>†29</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>* 41·</td><td>†17</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>* 36·</td><td>† 6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>* 32·</td><td>† 8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>* 25·</td><td>†61</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p>⁂ The rule appears to be, that the number of Disorderly Houses is the <i>least</i>
-in those Counties where the number of Illegitimate Births is the <i>greatest</i>, and,
-<i>vice versâ</i>, the <i>greatest</i> where the Illegitimates are the <i>least</i>.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum">
-<a name="Page_489" id="Page_489">[489]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter break illowp57" id="i_i_1086" style="max-width: 57.125em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_1086h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>
-<span class="x-large b">MAP</span><br />
-SHOWING THE NUMBER OF CASES OF<br />
-<span class="x-large">CONCEALING THE BIRTHS OF INFANTS</span><br />
-IN EVERY 10,000 ILLEGITIMATE BIRTHS,<br />
-IN EACH COUNTY OF<br />
-<span class="x-large">ENGLAND &amp; WALES.</span></p>
-
-<p>⁂ The counties printed <i>black</i>
-are those in which the number of
-cases is <i>above</i> the Average.</p>
-
-<p>The counties left <i>white</i> are those
-in which the number of cases is
-<i>below</i> the Average.</p>
-
-<p>The Average is taken for the last
-ten years.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="center i" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td>The </td><td>Average for </td><td>all England and Wales is</td><td class="right">17 </td><td>in every 10,000 </td><td>illegitimate births.</td></tr>
-<tr><td>„</td><td>„</td><td>Surrey (the highest)</td><td class="right">39</td><td>„</td><td>„</td></tr>
-<tr><td>„</td><td>„</td><td>Huntingdon and Rutland (the lowest)</td><td class="right">0</td><td>„</td><td>„</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-</div>
-</div>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_490" id="Page_490">[490]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<h3>TABLE SHOWING THE CRIMINALITY OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES WITH REGARD TO THE
-CONCEALMENT OF THE BIRTHS OF INFANTS.</h3>
-<div class="mobile">
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th>COUNTIES.</th><th>Average Yearly No. of Illegitimate Births.</th><th>1841.</th><th>1842.</th><th>1843.</th><th>1844.</th><th>1845.</th><th>1846.</th><th>1847.</th><th>1848.</th><th>1849.</th><th>1850.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>336</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>...</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>461</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>315</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>423</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>...</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>1128</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>3</td><td>...</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>534</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>4</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>639</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>656</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>818</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>8</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>342</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>824</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>7</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>...</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>621</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>4</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>788</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>...</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>...</td><td>3</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>274</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>...</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>388</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>...</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>98</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>998</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>...</td><td>3</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>5672</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>7</td><td>7</td><td>6</td><td>5</td><td>5</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>583</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>820</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>7</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>2200</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>6</td><td>7</td><td>5</td><td>8</td><td>7</td><td>5</td><td>6</td><td>4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>269</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>3</td><td>...</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>1374</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>6</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>...</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>416</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>685</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>...</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>808</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>396</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>40</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>640</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>847</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>703</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>1341</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>6</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>895</td><td>3</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>903</td><td>4</td><td>6</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>662</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>...</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>831</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>...</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>156</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>506</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>...</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>679</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>4155</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>10</td><td>5</td><td>7</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>847</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>1308</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>3</td><td>4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total for England and Wales</td><td class="total">37,410</td><td class="total">51</td><td class="total">49</td><td class="total">66</td><td class="total">87</td><td class="total">53</td><td class="total">78</td><td class="total">65</td><td class="total">60</td><td class="total">75</td><td class="total">66</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th>Total for 10 Years.</th><th>Annual Average.</th><th>No. committed for concealments in every 10,000 Illegitimate Births.</th><th>Proportion per Cent. above and below the Aver. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>6</td><td>*64·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>10</td><td>1·0</td><td>22</td><td>†29·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>10</td><td>*41·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>7</td><td>·7</td><td>17</td><td>.....</td></tr>
-<tr><td>16</td><td>1·6</td><td>54</td><td>*17·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>16</td><td>1·6</td><td>30</td><td>†76·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>5</td><td>·5</td><td>8</td><td>*52·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>8</td><td>·8</td><td>12</td><td>*29·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>23</td><td>2·3</td><td>28</td><td>†64·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>10</td><td>1·0</td><td>29</td><td>†70·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>19</td><td>1·9</td><td>23</td><td>†35·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>16</td><td>1·6</td><td>26</td><td>†53·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>22</td><td>2·2</td><td>28</td><td>†64·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>7</td><td>·7</td><td>26</td><td>†53·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>5</td><td>·5</td><td>13</td><td>*23·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>22</td><td>2·2</td><td>22</td><td>†29·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>50</td><td>5·0</td><td>9</td><td>*47·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>11</td><td>1·1</td><td>19</td><td>†11·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>23</td><td>2·3</td><td>28</td><td>†64·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>54</td><td>5·4</td><td>25</td><td>†47·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>8</td><td>·8</td><td>30</td><td>†76·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>21</td><td>2·1</td><td>15</td><td>*11·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>9</td><td>·9</td><td>22</td><td>†29·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>5</td><td>·5</td><td>7</td><td>*58·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>4</td><td>·4</td><td>5</td><td>*70·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>3</td><td>*82·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>19</td><td>1·9</td><td>14</td><td>*17·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>16</td><td>1·6</td><td>19</td><td>†11·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>26</td><td>2·6</td><td>37</td><td>†117·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>23</td><td>2·3</td><td>17</td><td>.....</td></tr>
-<tr><td>20</td><td>2·0</td><td>22</td><td>†29·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>35</td><td>3·5</td><td>39</td><td>†129·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>16</td><td>1·6</td><td>24</td><td>†41·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>11</td><td>1·1</td><td>13</td><td>*23·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>4</td><td>·4</td><td>26</td><td>†53·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>9</td><td>·9</td><td>18</td><td>†4·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>17</td><td>1·7</td><td>25</td><td>†47·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>49</td><td>4·9</td><td>12</td><td>*29·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>9</td><td>·9</td><td>11</td><td>*35·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>19</td><td>1·9</td><td>15</td><td>*11·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="total">650</td><td class="total">65·0</td><td class="total">17</td><td class="total"></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="nomobile">
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th>COUNTIES. </th><th>Average Yearly No. of Illegitimate Births.</th><th>1841.</th><th>1842.</th><th>1843.</th><th>1844.</th><th>1845.</th><th>1846.</th><th>1847.</th><th>1848.</th><th>1849.</th><th>1850.</th><th>Total for 10 Years.</th><th>Annual Average.</th><th>No. committed for concealments in every 10,000 Illegitimate Births.</th><th>Proportion per Cent. above and below the Aver. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>336</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>6</td><td>*64·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>461</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>10</td><td>1·0</td><td>22</td><td>†29·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>315</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>10</td><td>*41·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>423</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>...</td><td>7</td><td>·7</td><td>17</td><td>.....</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>1128</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>3</td><td>...</td><td>5</td><td>16</td><td>1·6</td><td>54</td><td>*17·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>534</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>16</td><td>1·6</td><td>30</td><td>†76·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>639</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>·5</td><td>8</td><td>*52·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>656</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>8</td><td>·8</td><td>12</td><td>*29·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>818</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>8</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>23</td><td>2·3</td><td>28</td><td>†64·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>342</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>10</td><td>1·0</td><td>29</td><td>†70·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>824</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>7</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>19</td><td>1·9</td><td>23</td><td>†35·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>621</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>16</td><td>1·6</td><td>26</td><td>†53·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>788</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>...</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>...</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>22</td><td>2·2</td><td>28</td><td>†64·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>274</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>7</td><td>·7</td><td>26</td><td>†53·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>388</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>5</td><td>·5</td><td>13</td><td>*23·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>98</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>998</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>...</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>22</td><td>2·2</td><td>22</td><td>†29·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>5672</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>7</td><td>7</td><td>6</td><td>5</td><td>5</td><td>3</td><td>50</td><td>5·0</td><td>9</td><td>*47·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>583</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>11</td><td>1·1</td><td>19</td><td>†11·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>820</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>7</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>23</td><td>2·3</td><td>28</td><td>†64·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>2200</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>6</td><td>7</td><td>5</td><td>8</td><td>7</td><td>5</td><td>6</td><td>4</td><td>54</td><td>5·4</td><td>25</td><td>†47·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>269</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>3</td><td>...</td><td>8</td><td>·8</td><td>30</td><td>†76·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>1374</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>6</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>...</td><td>21</td><td>2·1</td><td>15</td><td>*11·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>416</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>9</td><td>·9</td><td>22</td><td>†29·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>685</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>5</td><td>·5</td><td>7</td><td>*58·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>808</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>·4</td><td>5</td><td>*70·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>396</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>3</td><td>*82·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>40</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>640</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>19</td><td>1·9</td><td>14</td><td>*17·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>847</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>16</td><td>1·6</td><td>19</td><td>†11·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>703</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>26</td><td>2·6</td><td>37</td><td>†117·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>1341</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>6</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>23</td><td>2·3</td><td>17</td><td>.....</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>895</td><td>3</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>20</td><td>2·0</td><td>22</td><td>†29·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>903</td><td>4</td><td>6</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>35</td><td>3·5</td><td>39</td><td>†129·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>662</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>16</td><td>1·6</td><td>24</td><td>†41·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>831</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>11</td><td>1·1</td><td>13</td><td>*23·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>156</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>·4</td><td>26</td><td>†53·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>506</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>9</td><td>·9</td><td>18</td><td>†4·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>679</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>17</td><td>1·7</td><td>25</td><td>†47·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>4155</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>10</td><td>5</td><td>7</td><td>5</td><td>49</td><td>4·9</td><td>12</td><td>*29·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>847</td><td>...</td><td>...</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>...</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>9</td><td>·9</td><td>11</td><td>*35·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>1308</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>...</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>19</td><td>1·9</td><td>15</td><td>*11·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total for England and Wales</td><td class="total">37,410</td><td class="total">51</td><td class="total">49</td><td class="total">66</td><td class="total">87</td><td class="total">53</td><td class="total">78</td><td class="total">65</td><td class="total">60</td><td class="total">75</td><td class="total">66</td><td class="total">650</td><td class="total">65·0</td><td class="total">17</td><td class="total"></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_491" id="Page_491">[491]</a></span></p>
-
-<h3>LIST OF COUNTIES, IN THE ORDER OF
-THEIR CRIMINALITY WITH REGARD TO
-THE CONCEALMENT OF THE BIRTHS OF
-INFANTS, AS SHOWN BY THE NUMBER
-COMMITTED FOR THIS OFFENCE IN EVERY
-10,000 ILLEGITIMATE BIRTHS.</h3>
-
-
-<h4><i>Counties above the
-Average.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>39</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>37</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>30</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>30</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>29</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>28</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>28</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>28</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>26</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>26</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>26</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>25</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>25</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>24</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>23</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>22</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>22</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>22</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>22</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>19</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>19</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>18</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<h4><i>Counties below the
-Average.</i></h4>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>17</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>17</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>15</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>15</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>14</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>14</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>13</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>13</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>12</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>12</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>11</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>10</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>O</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>O</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td>Average for England and Wales</td><td>17</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<h3>THE ATTEMPTS AT CONCEALING THE BIRTHS OF INFANTS AND ILLEGITIMATE BIRTHS
-COMPARED.</h3>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2"><i>Counties in which the Number of cases of Concealing Births and Number of Illegitimate Births are both above the Average.</i></th><th colspan="2">Percentage above and below the Average. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>In No. of Cases of Concealing Births.</th><th>In No. of Illegitimate Births.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>†53·0</td><td>†49·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>†53·0</td><td>†29·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>†41·2</td><td>† 1·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>†29·5</td><td>†17·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>†29·5</td><td>†26·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>†11·8</td><td>†17·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>† 4·1</td><td>† 3·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">The Average for the whole of the above Counties is</td><td>†29·4</td><td>†131·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">(The Number of cases of Concealing Births is 22 in every 10,000 Illegitimate Births, and the Number of Illegitimate Births 88 in every 1000 Births.)</td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="3"><i>Counties in which the No. of cases of Concealing Births and No. of Illegitimate Births are both below the Average.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>* &mdash;&mdash;</td><td>* 1·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>* 23·5</td><td>*16·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>*100·0</td><td>*28·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>*100·0</td><td>*16·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">The Average for the whole of the above Counties is</td><td>* 23·5</td><td>*13·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">(The Number of cases of Concealing Births is 13 in every 10,000 Illegitimate Births, and the Number of Illegitimate Births 58 in every 1000 Births.)</td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="3"><i>Counties in which the Number of cases of Concealing Births is above the Average and the Number of Illegitimate Births below it.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>†129·5</td><td>*34·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>†117·7</td><td>*10·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>† 76·9</td><td>*29·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>† 76·9</td><td>*26·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>† 70·6</td><td>* 1·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>† 64·8</td><td>*25·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>† 64·8</td><td>* 4·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>† 64·8</td><td>* 1·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>† 53·0</td><td>*10·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>† 47·1</td><td>*40·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>† 47·1</td><td>* 1·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>† 35·3</td><td>*10·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>† 29·5</td><td>*19·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>† 29·5</td><td>*10·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>† 11·8</td><td>* 6·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">The Average for the above Counties is</td><td>† 58·9</td><td>*20·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">(The Number of cases of Concealing Births is 27 in every 10,000 Illegitimate Births, and the Number of Illegitimate Births 53 in every 1000 Births.)</td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="3"><i>Counties in which the No. of cases of Concealing Births is below the Average and the No. of Illegitimate Births above it.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>*82·4</td><td>†13·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>*70·6</td><td>†35·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>*64·7</td><td>†14·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>*58·8</td><td>† 8·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>*52·9</td><td>†61·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>*47·1</td><td>†14·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>*29·5</td><td>† 4·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>*35·3</td><td>†16·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>*29·4</td><td>† 6·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>*29·4</td><td>†20·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>*23·5</td><td>† 7·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>*17·6</td><td>†47·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>*17·6</td><td>†32·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>*11·8</td><td>† 7·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>*11·8</td><td>†56·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>*&mdash;&mdash;</td><td>† 3·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">The Average for the whole of the above Counties is</td><td>*29·4</td><td>†17·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">(The Number of cases of Concealing Births is 12 in every 10,000 Illegitimate Births, and the Number of Illegitimate Births 79 in every 1000 Births.)</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<p>
-<span class="pagenum">
-<a name="Page_493" id="Page_493">[493]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="figcenter break illowp55" id="i_i_1092" style="max-width: 55.6875em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_1092h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>
-<span class="x-large b">MAP</span><br />
-SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PROVED CASES OF<br />
-<span class="x-large">ATTEMPTING TO PROCURE THE MISCARRIAGE OF WOMEN</span><br />
-IN EVERY 10,000 ILLEGITIMATE BIRTHS,<br />
-IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES OF<br />
-<span class="x-large">ENGLAND AND WALES.</span></p>
-
-<p>⁂ The counties printed <i>black</i>
-are those in which the cases are
-<i>above</i> the Average.</p>
-
-<p>The counties left <i>white</i> are those
-in which the number of cases is
-<i>below</i> the Average.</p>
-
-<p>The Average is calculated for ten
-years.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center i">
-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td>The Average </td><td>for </td><td>England and Wales is </td><td class="right">1 </td><td>in every </td><td>10,000 </td><td>illegitimate births.</td></tr>
-<tr><td>„</td><td>„ </td><td>Sussex (the highest) </td><td>6</td><td class="right">„</td><td>„</td><td>„</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-</div>
-</div>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_494" id="Page_494">[494]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<h3>TABLE SHOWING THE CRIMINALITY OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES, WITH REGARD TO THE
-ATTEMPTS TO PROCURE THE MISCARRIAGE OF WOMEN.</h3>
-
-<div class="mobile">
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2"><span class="smcap">Counties.</span> </th><th rowspan="2">Average Yearly No. of Illegitimate Births.</th><th colspan="6">Total number committed for attempting to procure the miscarriage of women.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1841.</th><th>1842.</th><th>1843.</th><th>1844.</th><th>1845.</th><th>1846.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>336</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>461</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>315</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>423</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>1128</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>534</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>639</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>656</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>818</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>342</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>824</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>621</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>788</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>274</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>388</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>98</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>998</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>5672</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>583</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>820</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>2200</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>269</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>1374</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>416</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>685</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>808</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>396</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>40</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>640</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>847</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>703</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>1341</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>895</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>903</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>662</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>831</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>156</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>506</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>679</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>4155</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>847</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>1308</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total for England and Wales </td><td class="total">37,410 </td><td class="total">3 </td><td class="total">5 </td><td class="total">13 </td><td class="total">6 </td><td class="total">1 </td><td class="total">4</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th colspan="4"></th><th rowspan="2">Total for 10 Years.</th><th rowspan="2">Annual Average.</th><th rowspan="2">No. committed annually in every 10,000 Illegitimate Births.</th><th rowspan="2">Proportion per Cent. above and below the Aver. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1847.</th><th>1848.</th><th>1849.</th><th>1850.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>2</td><td>†100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>3</td><td>†200·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>4</td><td>†300·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>3</td><td>†200·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>4</td><td>†300·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>1</td><td>....</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>3</td><td>†200·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>0·2</td><td>†80·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>5</td><td>*400·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>1</td><td>....</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>0·9</td><td>*10·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>0·7</td><td>*30·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>5</td><td>†400·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>1</td><td>....</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>4</td><td>†300·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>1</td><td>....</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>1</td><td>....</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>·4</td><td>6</td><td>†500·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>4</td><td>†300·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>6</td><td>·6</td><td>1</td><td>....</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>0·8</td><td>*20·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="total">3</td><td class="total">3</td><td class="total">3</td><td class="total">3</td><td class="total">44</td><td class="total">4·4</td><td class="total">1</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="nomobile">
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2"><span class="smcap">Counties.</span></th><th rowspan="2">Average Yearly No. of Illegitimate Births.</th><th colspan="10">Total number committed for attempting to procure the miscarriage of women.</th><th rowspan="2">Total for 10 Years.</th><th rowspan="2">Annual Average.</th><th rowspan="2">No. committed annually in every 10,000 Illegitimate Births.</th><th rowspan="2">Proportion per Cent. above and below the Aver. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1841.</th><th>1842.</th><th>1843.</th><th>1844.</th><th>1845.</th><th>1846.</th><th>1847.</th><th>1848.</th><th>1849.</th><th>1850.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>Bedford</td><td>336</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Berks</td><td>461</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>2</td><td>†100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Bucks</td><td>315</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Cambridge</td><td>423</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Chester</td><td>1128</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>3</td><td>†200·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Cornwall</td><td>534</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>4</td><td>†300·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Cumberland</td><td>639</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Derby</td><td>656</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>3</td><td>†200·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Devon</td><td>818</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>4</td><td>†300·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Dorset</td><td>342</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Durham</td><td>824</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Essex</td><td>621</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Gloucester</td><td>788</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>1</td><td>....</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Hereford</td><td>274</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Hertford</td><td>388</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>3</td><td>†200·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Hunts</td><td>98</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Kent</td><td>998</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Lancaster</td><td>5672</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>0·2</td><td>†80·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Leicester</td><td>583</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>5</td><td>*400·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Lincoln</td><td>820</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>1</td><td>....</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Middlesex</td><td>2200</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>0·9</td><td>*10·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Monmouth</td><td>269</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Norfolk</td><td>1374</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>0·7</td><td>*30·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Northampton</td><td>416</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>5</td><td>†400·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Northumberland</td><td>685</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>1</td><td>....</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Nottingham</td><td>808</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>4</td><td>†300·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Oxford</td><td>396</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Rutland</td><td>40</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Salop</td><td>640</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Somerset</td><td>847</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Southampton</td><td>703</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Stafford</td><td>1341</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>1</td><td>....</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Suffolk</td><td>895</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>1</td><td>....</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Surrey</td><td>903</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Sussex</td><td>662</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>·4</td><td>6</td><td>†500·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Warwick</td><td>831</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>4</td><td>†300·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Westmorland</td><td>156</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Wilts</td><td>506</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Worcester</td><td>679</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>York</td><td>4155</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>6</td><td>·6</td><td>1</td><td>....</td></tr>
-<tr><td>North Wales</td><td>847</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>South Wales</td><td>1308</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>0·8</td><td>*20·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>Total for England and Wales</td><td class="total">37,410</td><td class="total">3</td><td class="total">5</td><td class="total">13</td><td class="total">6</td><td class="total">1</td><td class="total">4</td><td class="total">3</td><td class="total">3</td><td class="total">3</td><td class="total">3</td><td class="total">44</td><td class="total">4·4</td><td class="total">1</td><td class="total"></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_495" id="Page_495">[495]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<h3>LIST OF COUNTIES, IN THE
-ORDER OF THEIR CRIMINALITY
-WITH REGARD
-TO ATTEMPTING TO PROCURE
-THE MISCARRIAGE
-OF WOMEN, AS SHOWN BY
-THE NUMBER COMMITTED
-FOR THIS OFFENCE IN
-EVERY 10,000 ILLEGITIMATE
-BIRTHS.</h3>
-
-
-<h4><i>Counties above
-the Average.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>2</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<h4><i>Counties below
-the Average.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumb.</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>0·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">S. Wales</td><td>0·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>0·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>0·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southamp.</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmor.</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">N. Wales</td><td>0</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Average for England and Wales</td><td>1</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<h3>THE CONCEALMENT OF THE BIRTHS OF INFANTS
-AND THE ATTEMPTS TO PROCURE THE MISCARRIAGE
-OF WOMEN COMPARED.</h3>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2"><i>Counties in which the Concealment of Births and attempts to procure Miscarriage are both above the Average.</i> </th><th colspan="2">Percentage above and below the Average. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th><th rowspan="2"><i>Counties in which the Concealment of Births is above the Average, and the attempts to procure Miscarriage below it.</i> </th><th colspan="2">Percentage above and below the Average. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>In No. of Concealment of Births. </th><th>In No. of Attempts at Miscarriage </th><th>In No. of Concealment of Births. </th><th>In No. of Attempts at Miscarriage</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td> †76·9</td><td> †300·0</td><td class="left">Surrey</td><td> †129·5</td><td> *100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td> †64·8</td><td> †300·0</td><td class="left">Southampton</td><td> †117·7</td><td> *100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td> †41·2</td><td> †500·0</td><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td> † 76·9</td><td> *100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td> †29·5</td><td> †100·0</td><td class="left">Dorset</td><td> † 70·6</td><td> *100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td> †29·5</td><td> †400·0</td><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td> † 64·8</td><td> * &mdash;&mdash;</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td> †11·8</td><td> †400·0</td><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td> † 64·8</td><td> * &mdash;&mdash;</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">The Average for the whole of the above Counties is </td><td>†41·1</td><td> †300·0</td><td class="left">Essex</td><td> † 53·0</td><td> *100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">(The Number of cases of Concealing Births is 24, and of Attempts at Miscarriage 4 in every 10,000 Illegitimate Births.)</td><td class="left">Hereford</td><td> † 53·0</td><td> *100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="3"><i>Counties in which the Concealment of Births and Attempts to procure Miscarriage are both below the Average.</i></th><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td> † 53·0</td><td> *100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td> *100·0</td><td> *100·0</td><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td> † 47·1</td><td> * 10·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td> *100·0</td><td> *100·0</td><td class="left">Worcester</td><td> † 47·1</td><td> *100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td> * 82·4</td><td> *100·0</td><td class="left">Durham</td><td> † 35·3</td><td> *100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td> * 64·7</td><td> *100·0</td><td class="left">Kent</td><td> † 29·5</td><td> *100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumb.</td><td> * 58·8</td><td> * &mdash;&mdash;</td><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td> † 29·5</td><td> * &mdash;&mdash;</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td> * 52·9</td><td> *100·0</td> <td class="left">Somerset</td><td> † 11·8</td><td> *100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td> * 47·1</td><td> * 80·0</td> <td class="left">Wilts</td><td> † 4·1</td><td> *100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td> * 41·2</td><td> *100·0</td><td class="left">The Average for the whole of the above Counties is</td><td> † 53·0</td><td> * 60·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td> * 35·3</td><td> *100·0</td><td colspan="3" class="left">(The Number of cases of Concealing Births is 26, and Attempts at Miscarriage 0·4 in every 10,000 Illegitimate Births.)</td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td> * 29·4</td><td> * &mdash;&mdash;</td><th colspan="3"><i>Counties in which the Concealment of Births is below the Average, and the Attempts to procure Miscarriage above it.</i></th></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td> * 17·6</td><td> *100·0</td><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td> * 70·6</td><td> †300·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td> * 11·8</td><td> * 20·0</td><td class="left">Derby</td><td> * 29·4</td><td> †200·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td> * 11·8</td><td> * 30·0</td><td class="left">Warwick</td><td> * 23·5</td><td> †300·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td> * &mdash;&mdash;</td><td> * &mdash;&mdash;</td><td class="left">Hertford</td><td> * 23·5</td><td> †200·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td> * &mdash;&mdash;</td><td> *100·0</td><td class="left">Chester</td><td> * 17·6</td><td> †200·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">The Average for the whole of the above Counties is</td><td> * 29·4</td><td> * 30·0</td><td class="left">The Average for the whole of the above Counties is </td><td>* 29·4 </td><td>†200·0</td><td></td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">(The Number of cases of Concealing Births is 14, and Attempts at Miscarriage 0·7 in every 10,000 Illegitimate Births.)</td><td colspan="3" class="left"> (The Number of cases of Concealing Births is 12, and Attempts at Miscarriage 3 in every 10,000 Illegitimate Births.)</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<h3>THE ATTEMPTS TO PROCURE THE MISCARRIAGE OF
-WOMEN AND ILLEGITIMATE BIRTHS COMPARED.</h3>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2"><i>Counties in which the Number of cases of Attempts at Miscarriage and Number of Illegitimate Births are both above the Average.</i></th><th colspan="2">Percentage above and below the Average. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th><th rowspan="2"><i>Counties in which the cases of Attempts at Miscarriage are above the Average and the Number of Illegitimate Births below it.</i></th><th colspan="2">Percentage above and below the Average. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>In No. of Attempts at Miscarriage</th><th>In No. of Illegitimate Births.</th><th>In No. of Attempts at Miscarriage</th><th>In No. of Illegitimate Births.</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>†500·0</td><td>† 1·5</td><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>†400·0</td><td>*10·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>†400·0</td><td>†17·9</td><td class="left">Devon</td><td>†300·0</td><td>*25·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>†300·0</td><td>†35·8</td><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>†300·0</td><td>*16·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>†200·0</td><td>†32·8</td><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>†300·0</td><td>*29·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>†200·0</td><td>†20·9</td><td class="left">The Average for the whole of the above Counties is</td><td>†300·0</td><td>*20·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>†200·0</td><td>† 7·4</td><td colspan="3" class="left">(The Number of cases of Attempts at Miscarriage is 4 in every 10,000 Illegitimate Births, and Number of Illegitimate Births 53 in every 1000 Births.)</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>†100·0</td><td>†17·9</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="3"></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">The Average for the whole of the above Counties is</td><td>†300·0</td><td>†20·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">The number of cases of Attempts at Miscarriage is 4 in 10,000 Illegitimate Births, and Number of Illegitimate Births 81 in every 1000 Births.)</td><th colspan="3"><i>Counties in which the cases of Attempts at Miscarriage are below the Average and the Number of Illegitimate Births above it.</i></th></tr>
-<tr><th colspan="3"><i>Counties in which the cases of Attempts at Miscarriage and Number of Illegitimate Births are both below the Average.</i></th><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>*100·0</td><td>†14·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>*100·0</td><td>* 1·5</td><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>*100·0</td><td>† 4·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>*100·0</td><td>* 1·5</td><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>*100·0</td><td>†61·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>*100·0</td><td>*10·4</td><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>*100·0</td><td>†49·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>*100·0</td><td>*10·4</td><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>*100·0</td><td>†13·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>*100·0</td><td>*28·3</td><td class="left">Salop</td><td>*100·0</td><td>†47·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>*100·0</td><td>*19·4</td><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>*100·0</td><td>†29·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>*100·0</td><td>*26·8</td><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>*100·0</td><td>† 3·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>*100·0</td><td>*16·4</td><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>*100·0</td><td>†16·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>*100·0</td><td>* 6·0</td><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>* 80·0</td><td>†14·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>*100·0</td><td>*10·4</td><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>* 30·0</td><td>†56·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>*100·0</td><td>*34·3</td><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>* 20·0</td><td>† 7·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>*100·0</td><td>* 1·5</td><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>* &mdash;&mdash;</td><td>†26·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>* 10·0</td><td>*40·3</td><td class="left">Northumb.</td><td>* &mdash;&mdash;</td><td>† 8·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>* &mdash;&mdash;</td><td>* 1·5</td><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>* &mdash;&mdash;</td><td>† 3·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>* &mdash;&mdash;</td><td>* 4·5</td><td class="left">York</td><td>* &mdash;&mdash;</td><td>† 6·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">The Average for the whole of the above Counties is</td><td>* 60·0</td><td>* 19·4</td><td class="left">The Average for the whole of the above Counties is</td><td>* 40·0</td><td>†16·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td colspan="3" class="left">(The Number of cases of Attempts at Miscarriage is ·4 in every 10,000 Illegitimate Births, and Number of Illegitimate Births 54 in every 1000 Births.)</td><td class="left" colspan="3">(The Number of cases of Attempts at Miscarriage is ·6 in every 10,000 Illegitimate Births, and Number of Illegitimate Births 78 in every 1000 Births.)</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum">
-<a name="Page_497" id="Page_497">[497]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="figcenter break illowp58" id="i_i_1098" style="max-width: 58.3125em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_1098h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>
-<span class="x-large b">MAP</span><br />
-SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PERSONS COMMITTED FOR<br />
-<span class="x-large">ASSAULTS, WITH INTENT TO RAVISH AND CARNALLY ABUSE,</span><br />
-IN EVERY 1,000,000 OF THE POPULATION,<br />
-IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES OF<br />
-<span class="x-large">ENGLAND &amp; WALES.</span></p>
-
-<p>⁂ The counties printed <i>black</i>
-are those in which the number committed
-for this offence is <i>above</i> the
-Average.</p>
-
-<p>The counties left <i>white</i> are those
-in which the number committed for
-the same offence is <i>below</i> the Average.</p>
-
-<p>The Average has been calculated
-for the ten years, from 1841 to 1850.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center i">
-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td>The Average </td><td>for </td><td>all England and Wales is</td><td class="right">83 </td><td>in every 1,000,000 </td><td>people.</td></tr>
-<tr><td>„</td><td>„</td><td>Worcester (the highest)</td><td class="right">139</td><td>„</td><td>„</td></tr>
-<tr><td>„</td><td>„</td><td>South Wales (the lowest)</td><td class="right">33</td><td>„</td><td>„</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_498" id="Page_498">[498]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<h3>TABLE SHOWING THE CRIMINALITY OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES, WITH
-REGARD TO ASSAULTS WITH INTENT TO RAVISH AND CARNALLY ABUSE.</h3>
-
-<div class="mobile">
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2"><span class="smcap">Counties.</span></th><th rowspan="2">Average Population 1841-50.</th><th colspan="10">Total Number Committed for Assaults, with intent to Ravish and Carnally Abuse.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1841</th><th>1842</th><th>1843</th><th>1844</th><th>1845</th><th>1846</th><th>1847</th><th>1848</th><th>1849</th><th>1850</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>121,083</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>194,763</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>140,959</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>180,747</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>395,919</td><td>7</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>5</td><td>7</td><td>5</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>349,991</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>186,762</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>250,249</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>554,738</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>7</td><td>1</td><td>7</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>172,736</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>368,787</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>7</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>332,363</td><td>2</td><td>6</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>407,504</td><td>6</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>6</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>6</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>97,813</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>168,178</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>57,942</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>585,249</td><td>3</td><td>8</td><td>8</td><td>9</td><td>7</td><td>5</td><td>5</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td>11</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>1,881,261</td><td>13</td><td>19</td><td>21</td><td>21</td><td>26</td><td>15</td><td>15</td><td>15</td><td>11</td><td>6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>227,621</td><td>2</td><td>5</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>378,246</td><td>2</td><td>6</td><td>2</td><td>6</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>1,740,814</td><td>14</td><td>10</td><td>10</td><td>11</td><td>9</td><td>12</td><td>6</td><td>20</td><td>8</td><td>11</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>164,093</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>419,463</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>7</td><td>7</td><td>7</td><td>7</td><td>7</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>206,496</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>284,777</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>282,584</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>166,751</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>23,711</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>243,352</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>452,515</td><td>5</td><td>7</td><td>7</td><td>6</td><td>7</td><td>6</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>377,040</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>7</td><td>7</td><td>2</td><td>7</td><td>1</td><td>7</td><td>3</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>579,686</td><td>4</td><td>7</td><td>11</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>5</td><td>7</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>11</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>325,336</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>635,917</td><td>2</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>10</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>320,944</td><td>..</td><td>7</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>7</td><td>4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>444,558</td><td>5</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>3</td><td>8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>57,494</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>241,887</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>244,574</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>1,686,461</td><td>16</td><td>14</td><td>15</td><td>16</td><td>12</td><td>19</td><td>16</td><td>6</td><td>8</td><td>14</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>396,161</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>7</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td>4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>568,430</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total for England and Wales</td><td class="total">16,918,458</td><td class="total">118</td><td class="total">141</td><td class="total">158</td><td class="total">167</td><td class="total">123</td><td class="total">164</td><td class="total">131</td><td class="total">133</td><td class="total">112</td><td class="total">122</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th>Total for 10 Years.</th><th>Annual Average.</th><th>No. Committed Annually in every 1,000,000.</th><th>Percentage above and below the Average. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>6</td><td>0·6</td><td>50</td><td>*39·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>13</td><td>1·3</td><td>67</td><td>*19·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>13</td><td>1·3</td><td>92</td><td>†10·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>14</td><td>1·4</td><td>77</td><td>* 7·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>46</td><td>4·6</td><td>116</td><td>†39·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>23</td><td>2·3</td><td>66</td><td>*20·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>15</td><td>1·5</td><td>80</td><td>* 3·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>12</td><td>1·2</td><td>48</td><td>*42·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>35</td><td>3·5</td><td>63</td><td>*24·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>13</td><td>1·3</td><td>75</td><td>* 9·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>26</td><td>2·6</td><td>71</td><td>*14·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>28</td><td>2·8</td><td>84</td><td>† 1·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>37</td><td>3·7</td><td>91</td><td>† 9·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>8</td><td>0·8</td><td>82</td><td>* 1·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>13</td><td>1·3</td><td>78</td><td>* 6·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3</td><td>0·3</td><td>52</td><td>*37·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>62</td><td>6·2</td><td>106</td><td>†27·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>162</td><td>16·2</td><td>87</td><td>† 4·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>23</td><td>2·3</td><td>101</td><td>†21·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>29</td><td>2·9</td><td>80</td><td>* 3·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>111</td><td>11·1</td><td>64</td><td>*22·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>17</td><td>1·7</td><td>104</td><td>†25·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>50</td><td>5·0</td><td>119</td><td>†43·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>21</td><td>2·1</td><td>102</td><td>†22·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>16</td><td>1·6</td><td>56</td><td>*32·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>10</td><td>1·0</td><td>36</td><td>*56·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>17</td><td>1·7</td><td>102</td><td>†22·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1</td><td>0·1</td><td>42</td><td>*49·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>14</td><td>1·4</td><td>58</td><td>*30·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>51</td><td>5·1</td><td>115</td><td>†38·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>40</td><td>4·0</td><td>106</td><td>†27·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>58</td><td>5·8</td><td>101</td><td>†21·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>18</td><td>1·8</td><td>56</td><td>*32·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>38</td><td>3·8</td><td>60</td><td>*27·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>32</td><td>3·2</td><td>100</td><td>†20·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>41</td><td>4·1</td><td>92</td><td>†10·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>5</td><td>0·5</td><td>87</td><td>† 4·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>28</td><td>2·8</td><td>116</td><td>†39·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>34</td><td>3·4</td><td>139</td><td>†67·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>136</td><td>13·6</td><td>81</td><td>* 2·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>32</td><td>3·2</td><td>81</td><td>* 2·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>18</td><td>1·8</td><td>33</td><td>*60·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="total">1369</td><td class="total">137·0</td><td class="total">83</td><td class="total"></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="nomobile">
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2"><span class="smcap">Counties.</span></th><th rowspan="2">Average Population 1841-50.</th><th colspan="10">Total Number Committed for Assaults, with intent to Ravish and Carnally Abuse.</th><th rowspan="2">Total for 10 Years.</th><th rowspan="2">Annual Average.</th><th rowspan="2">No. Committed Annually in every 1,000,000.</th><th rowspan="2">Percentage above and below the Average. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1841</th><th>1842</th><th>1843</th><th>1844</th><th>1845</th><th>1846</th><th>1847</th><th>1848</th><th>1849</th><th>1850</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>121,083</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>6</td><td>0·6</td><td>50</td><td>*39·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>194,763</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>13</td><td>1·3</td><td>67</td><td>*19·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>140,959</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>13</td><td>1·3</td><td>92</td><td>†10·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>180,747</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>14</td><td>1·4</td><td>77</td><td>* 7·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>395,919</td><td>7</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>5</td><td>7</td><td>5</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>3</td><td>46</td><td>4·6</td><td>116</td><td>†39·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>349,991</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>23</td><td>2·3</td><td>66</td><td>*20·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>186,762</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>15</td><td>1·5</td><td>80</td><td>* 3·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>250,249</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>12</td><td>1·2</td><td>48</td><td>*42·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>554,738</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>7</td><td>1</td><td>7</td><td>3</td><td>35</td><td>3·5</td><td>63</td><td>*24·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>172,736</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>13</td><td>1·3</td><td>75</td><td>* 9·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>368,787</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>7</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>26</td><td>2·6</td><td>71</td><td>*14·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>332,363</td><td>2</td><td>6</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>28</td><td>2·8</td><td>84</td><td>† 1·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>407,504</td><td>6</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>6</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>6</td><td>5</td><td>37</td><td>3·7</td><td>91</td><td>† 9·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>97,813</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>8</td><td>0·8</td><td>82</td><td>* 1·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>168,178</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>13</td><td>1·3</td><td>78</td><td>* 6·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>57,942</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>0·3</td><td>52</td><td>*37·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>585,249</td><td>3</td><td>8</td><td>8</td><td>9</td><td>7</td><td>5</td><td>5</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td>11</td><td>62</td><td>6·2</td><td>106</td><td>†27·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>1,881,261</td><td>13</td><td>19</td><td>21</td><td>21</td><td>26</td><td>15</td><td>15</td><td>15</td><td>11</td><td>6</td><td>162</td><td>16·2</td><td>87</td><td>† 4·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>227,621</td><td>2</td><td>5</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>23</td><td>2·3</td><td>101</td><td>†21·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>378,246</td><td>2</td><td>6</td><td>2</td><td>6</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>29</td><td>2·9</td><td>80</td><td>* 3·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>1,740,814</td><td>14</td><td>10</td><td>10</td><td>11</td><td>9</td><td>12</td><td>6</td><td>20</td><td>8</td><td>11</td><td>111</td><td>11·1</td><td>64</td><td>*22·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>164,093</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>17</td><td>1·7</td><td>104</td><td>†25·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>419,463</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>7</td><td>7</td><td>7</td><td>7</td><td>7</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>50</td><td>5·0</td><td>119</td><td>†43·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>206,496</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>21</td><td>2·1</td><td>102</td><td>†22·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>284,777</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>16</td><td>1·6</td><td>56</td><td>*32·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>282,584</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>10</td><td>1·0</td><td>36</td><td>*56·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>166,751</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>17</td><td>1·7</td><td>102</td><td>†22·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>23,711</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>0·1</td><td>42</td><td>*49·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>243,352</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>14</td><td>1·4</td><td>58</td><td>*30·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>452,515</td><td>5</td><td>7</td><td>7</td><td>6</td><td>7</td><td>6</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>51</td><td>5·1</td><td>115</td><td>†38·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>377,040</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>7</td><td>7</td><td>2</td><td>7</td><td>1</td><td>7</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>40</td><td>4·0</td><td>106</td><td>†27·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>579,686</td><td>4</td><td>7</td><td>11</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>5</td><td>7</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>11</td><td>58</td><td>5·8</td><td>101</td><td>†21·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>325,336</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>18</td><td>1·8</td><td>56</td><td>*32·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>635,917</td><td>2</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>10</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>38</td><td>3·8</td><td>60</td><td>*27·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>320,944</td><td>..</td><td>7</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>7</td><td>4</td><td>32</td><td>3·2</td><td>100</td><td>†20·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>444,558</td><td>5</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>3</td><td>8</td><td>41</td><td>4·1</td><td>92</td><td>†10·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>57,494</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>5</td><td>0·5</td><td>87</td><td>† 4·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>241,887</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>28</td><td>2·8</td><td>116</td><td>†39·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>244,574</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td>34</td><td>3·4</td><td>139</td><td>†67·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>1,686,461</td><td>16</td><td>14</td><td>15</td><td>16</td><td>12</td><td>19</td><td>16</td><td>6</td><td>8</td><td>14</td><td>136</td><td>13·6</td><td>81</td><td>* 2·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>396,161</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>7</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>32</td><td>3·2</td><td>81</td><td>* 2·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>568,430</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>18</td><td>1·8</td><td>33</td><td>*60·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total for England and Wales</td><td class="total">16,918,458</td><td class="total">118</td><td class="total">141</td><td class="total">158</td><td class="total">167</td><td class="total">123</td><td class="total">164</td><td class="total">131</td><td class="total">133</td><td class="total">112</td><td class="total">122</td><td class="total">1369</td><td class="total">137·0</td><td class="total">83</td><td class="total"></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-
-
-<h3>LIST OF COUNTIES, IN THE ORDER
-OF THEIR CRIMINALITY WITH REGARD
-TO ASSAULTS WITH INTENT
-TO RAVISH AND CARNALLY ABUSE,
-AS SHOWN BY THE NUMBER COMMITTED
-FOR THIS OFFENCE IN
-EVERY 1,000,000 OF THE POPULATION.</h3>
-
-
-<h4><i>Counties above the
-Average.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>139</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>119</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>116</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>116</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>115</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>106</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>106</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>104</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>102</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>102</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>101</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>101</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>100</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>92</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>92</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>91</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>87</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>87</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>84</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<h4><i>Counties below the
-Average.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>82</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>81</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>81</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>80</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>80</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>78</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>77</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>75</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>71</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>67</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>66</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>64</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>63</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>60</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>58</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>56</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>56</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>52</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>50</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>48</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>42</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>36</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>33</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Average for England and Wales</td><td>83</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_499" id="Page_499">[499]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter break illowp53" id="i_i_1101" style="max-width: 53.9375em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_1101h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>
-<span class="x-large b">MAP</span><br />
-SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PERSONS COMMITTED FOR<br />
-<span class="x-large">BIGAMY</span><br />
-IN EVERY 100,000 MARRIAGES,<br />
-IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES OF<br />
-<span class="x-large">ENGLAND AND WALES.</span></p>
-
-<p>⁂ The counties printed <i>black</i> are those
-in which the number committed for this
-offence is <i>above</i> the average.</p>
-
-<p>The counties left <i>white</i> are those in which
-the number committed for the
-same offence is <i>below</i> the average.</p>
-
-<p>The average is calculated for
-the ten years, from 1841 to 1850.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center i">
-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td>The average </td><td>for </td><td>all England and Wales is </td><td class="right">59 </td><td>in every 100,000 </td><td>Marriages.</td></tr>
-<tr><td>„</td><td>„ </td><td>Chester (the highest)</td><td class="right">259</td><td>„</td><td>„</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-</div>
-</div>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_500" id="Page_500">[500]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<h3>TABLE SHOWING THE CRIMINALITY OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES
-WITH REGARD TO BIGAMY.</h3>
-
-<div class="mobile">
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2"><span class="smcap">Counties.</span></th><th rowspan="2">Average Marriages for 10 years, from 1830-48.</th><th colspan="10">Total Number committed for Bigamy.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1841</th><th>1842</th><th>1843</th><th>1844</th><th>1845</th><th>1846</th><th>1847</th><th>1848</th><th>1849</th><th>1850</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>925</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>1,294</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>960</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>1,392</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>2,580</td><td>4</td><td>7</td><td>11</td><td>6</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>12</td><td>6</td><td>9</td><td>8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>2,447</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>1,036</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>1,826</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>4,339</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>1,174</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>2,885</td><td>..</td><td>6</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>2,114</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>3,459</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>634</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>988</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>452</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>4,047</td><td>2</td><td>5</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>17,034</td><td>13</td><td>11</td><td>35</td><td>19</td><td>20</td><td>27</td><td>29</td><td>19</td><td>19</td><td>20</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>1,730</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>2,765</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>15,795</td><td>8</td><td>8</td><td>10</td><td>9</td><td>16</td><td>9</td><td>12</td><td>10</td><td>9</td><td>11</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>1,281</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>3,021</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>1,597</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>2,047</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>2,084</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>1,158</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>158</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>1,590</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>3,113</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>2,884</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>4,146</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>2,369</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>5,187</td><td>2</td><td>7</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>2,134</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>3,247</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>390</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>1,618</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>2,769</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>13,332</td><td>3</td><td>6</td><td>6</td><td>8</td><td>4</td><td>9</td><td>7</td><td>14</td><td>9</td><td>13</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>2,582</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>4,076</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total for England and Wales</td><td class="total">130,670</td><td class="total">50</td><td class="total">65</td><td class="total">107</td><td class="total">69</td><td class="total">62</td><td class="total">82</td><td class="total">84</td><td class="total">88</td><td class="total">83</td><td class="total">82</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th>Total for 10 Years.</th><th>Annual Average.</th><th>No. committed Annually in every 100,000 Marriages.</th><th>Percentage above and below the Average. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>3</td><td>0·3</td><td>32</td><td>* 45·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>7</td><td>0·7</td><td>54</td><td>* 8·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3</td><td>0·3</td><td>22</td><td>* 62·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>67</td><td>6·7</td><td>259</td><td>†338·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2</td><td>0·2</td><td>8</td><td>* 86·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>13</td><td>1·3</td><td>125</td><td>† 11·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>6</td><td>0·6</td><td>33</td><td>* 44·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>14</td><td>1·4</td><td>32</td><td>* 45·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1</td><td>0·1</td><td>9</td><td>* 4·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>28</td><td>2·8</td><td>97</td><td>† 64·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>6</td><td>0·6</td><td>28</td><td>* 52·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>14</td><td>1·4</td><td>40</td><td>* 32·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>4</td><td>0·4</td><td>63</td><td>† 6·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2</td><td>0·2</td><td>44</td><td>* 25·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>21</td><td>2·1</td><td>52</td><td>* 11·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>212</td><td>21·2</td><td>124</td><td>†110·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1</td><td>0·1</td><td>6</td><td>* 89·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>14</td><td>1·4</td><td>51</td><td>* 13·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>102</td><td>10·2</td><td>65</td><td>† 10·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>10</td><td>1·0</td><td>78</td><td>† 32·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>12</td><td>1·2</td><td>39</td><td>* 33·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1</td><td>0·1</td><td>6</td><td>* 89·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>7</td><td>0·7</td><td>34</td><td>* 42·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>5</td><td>0·5</td><td>24</td><td>* 59·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>5</td><td>0·5</td><td>31</td><td>* 47·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>9</td><td>0·9</td><td>29</td><td>* 50·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td>5</td><td>0·5</td><td>17</td><td>* 71·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>19</td><td>1·9</td><td>46</td><td>* 22·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2</td><td>0·2</td><td>8</td><td>* 86·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>43</td><td>4·3</td><td>83</td><td>† 40·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>4</td><td>0·4</td><td>19</td><td>* 67·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>20</td><td>2·0</td><td>62</td><td>† 5·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2</td><td>0·2</td><td>51</td><td>* 13·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2</td><td>0·2</td><td>12</td><td>* 79·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>12</td><td>1·2</td><td>43</td><td>* 27·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>79</td><td>7·9</td><td>59</td><td>* . ..</td></tr>
-<tr><td>8</td><td>0·8</td><td>31</td><td>* 47·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>7</td><td>0·7</td><td>17</td><td>* 71·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="total">772</td><td class="total">·2</td><td class="total">59</td><td class="total"></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="nomobile">
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2"><span class="smcap">Counties.</span></th><th rowspan="2">Average Marriages for 10 years, from 1830-48.</th><th colspan="10">Total Number committed for Bigamy.</th><th rowspan="2">Total for 10 Years.</th><th rowspan="2">Annual Average.</th><th rowspan="2">No. committed Annually in every 100,000 Marriages.</th><th rowspan="2">Percentage above and below the Average. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1841</th><th>1842</th><th>1843</th><th>1844</th><th>1845</th><th>1846</th><th>1847</th><th>1848</th><th>1849</th><th>1850</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>925</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>0·3</td><td>32</td><td>* 45·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>1,294</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>7</td><td>0·7</td><td>54</td><td>* 8·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>960</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>1,392</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>0·3</td><td>22</td><td>* 62·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>2,580</td><td>4</td><td>7</td><td>11</td><td>6</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>12</td><td>6</td><td>9</td><td>8</td><td>67</td><td>6·7</td><td>259</td><td>†338·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>2,447</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>0·2</td><td>8</td><td>* 86·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>1,036</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>13</td><td>1·3</td><td>125</td><td>† 11·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>1,826</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>6</td><td>0·6</td><td>33</td><td>* 44·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>4,339</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>14</td><td>1·4</td><td>32</td><td>* 45·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>1,174</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>0·1</td><td>9</td><td>* 4·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>2,885</td><td>..</td><td>6</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>28</td><td>2·8</td><td>97</td><td>† 64·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>2,114</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>6</td><td>0·6</td><td>28</td><td>* 52·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>3,459</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>14</td><td>1·4</td><td>40</td><td>* 32·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>634</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>0·4</td><td>63</td><td>† 6·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>988</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>452</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>0·2</td><td>44</td><td>* 25·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>4,047</td><td>2</td><td>5</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>21</td><td>2·1</td><td>52</td><td>* 11·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>17,034</td><td>13</td><td>11</td><td>35</td><td>19</td><td>20</td><td>27</td><td>29</td><td>19</td><td>19</td><td>20</td><td>212</td><td>21·2</td><td>124</td><td>†110·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>1,730</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>0·1</td><td>6</td><td>* 89·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>2,765</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>4</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>14</td><td>1·4</td><td>51</td><td>* 13·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>15,795</td><td>8</td><td>8</td><td>10</td><td>9</td><td>16</td><td>9</td><td>12</td><td>10</td><td>9</td><td>11</td><td>102</td><td>10·2</td><td>65</td><td>† 10·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>1,281</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>10</td><td>1·0</td><td>78</td><td>† 32·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>3,021</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>12</td><td>1·2</td><td>39</td><td>* 33·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>1,597</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>0·1</td><td>6</td><td>* 89·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>2,047</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>7</td><td>0·7</td><td>34</td><td>* 42·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>2,084</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>5</td><td>0·5</td><td>24</td><td>* 59·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>1,158</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>158</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>1,590</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>5</td><td>0·5</td><td>31</td><td>* 47·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>3,113</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>9</td><td>0·9</td><td>29</td><td>* 50·9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>2,884</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>5</td><td>0·5</td><td>17</td><td>* 71·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>4,146</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>19</td><td>1·9</td><td>46</td><td>* 22·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>2,369</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>0·2</td><td>8</td><td>* 86·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>5,187</td><td>2</td><td>7</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>8</td><td>43</td><td>4·3</td><td>83</td><td>† 40·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>2,134</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>4</td><td>0·4</td><td>19</td><td>* 67·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>3,247</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>20</td><td>2·0</td><td>62</td><td>† 5·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>390</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>0·2</td><td>51</td><td>* 13·6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>1,618</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>0·2</td><td>12</td><td>* 79·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>2,769</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>12</td><td>1·2</td><td>43</td><td>* 27·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>13,332</td><td>3</td><td>6</td><td>6</td><td>8</td><td>4</td><td>9</td><td>7</td><td>14</td><td>9</td><td>13</td><td>79</td><td>7·9</td><td>59</td><td>* . ..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>2,582</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>8</td><td>0·8</td><td>31</td><td>* 47·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>4,076</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>7</td><td>0·7</td><td>17</td><td>* 71·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total for England and Wales</td><td class="total">130,670</td><td class="total">50</td><td class="total">65</td><td class="total">107</td><td class="total">69</td><td class="total">62</td><td class="total">82</td><td class="total">84</td><td class="total">88</td><td class="total">83</td><td class="total">82</td><td class="total">772</td><td class="total">·2</td><td class="total">59</td><td class="total"></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-
-<h3>LIST OF COUNTIES, IN THE ORDER
-OF THEIR CRIMINALITY WITH REGARD
-TO BIGAMY, AS SHOWN BY
-THE NUMBER COMMITTED FOR THIS
-OFFENCE IN EVERY 100,000 MARRIAGES.</h3>
-
-
-<h4><i>Counties above the
-Average.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>259</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>125</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>124</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>97</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>83</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>78</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>65</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>63</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>62</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<h4><i>Counties below the
-Average.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>59</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>54</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>52</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>51</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>51</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>46</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>44</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>43</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>40</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>39</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>34</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>33</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>32</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>32</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>31</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>31</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>29</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>28</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>24</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>22</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>19</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>17</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>17</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>12</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>6</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>0</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Average for England and Wales</td><td>59</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_501" id="Page_501">[501]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="figcenter break illowp52" id="i_i_1104" style="max-width: 52.875em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_1104h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>
-<span class="x-large b">MAP</span><br />
-SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PERSONS COMMITTED FOR<br />
-<span class="x-large">ABDUCTION</span><br />
-IN EVERY 10,000,000 OF THE MALE POPULATION,<br />
-IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES OF<br />
-<span class="x-large">ENGLAND AND WALES.</span></p>
-
-<p>⁂ The counties printed <i>black</i> are those
-in which the number committed for this
-offence is <i>above</i> the average.</p>
-
-<p>The counties left <i>white</i> are those in
-which the number committed for the same
-offence is <i>below</i> the average.</p>
-
-<p>The average is calculated for
-the ten years, from 1841 to 1850.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center i">
-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td>The Average </td><td>for </td><td>all England and Wales is</td><td>3 </td><td>in every </td><td>10,000,000 </td><td>of the Male Population.</td></tr>
-<tr><td>„</td><td>„</td><td>Nottingham and Bucks (the highest) </td><td>14 </td><td>each</td><td>„</td><td>„</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-</div>
-</div>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_502" id="Page_502">[502]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<h3>TABLE SHOWING THE CRIMINALITY OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES WITH REGARD TO ABDUCTION.</h3>
-
-<div class="mobile">
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2"><span class="smcap">Counties.</span></th><th rowspan="2">Average Male Population 1841-50.</th><th colspan="10">Total Number committed for Abduction.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1841</th><th>1842</th><th>1843</th><th>1844</th><th>1845</th><th>1846</th><th>1847</th><th>1848</th><th>1849</th><th>1850</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>58,372</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>97,055</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>69,226</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>.1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>89,762</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>193,728</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>168,854</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>91,199</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>124,224</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>263,055</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>82,998</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>183,956</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>166,255</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>192,960</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>48,985</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>83,264</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>28,761</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>291,219</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>917,922</td><td>1</td><td>6</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>111,629</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>189,768</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>815,107</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>85,564</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>202,811</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>102,853</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>139,028</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>138,413</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>83,290</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>11,937</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>121,316</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>216,177</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>186,661</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>294,120</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>159,561</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>303,083</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>157,915</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>303,083</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>217,569</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>28,680</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>119,528</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>119,808</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>835,816</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>196,064</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>279,818</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total for England and Wales</td><td class="total">8,270,087</td><td class="total">3</td><td class="total">7</td><td class="total">..</td><td class="total">4</td><td class="total">..</td><td class="total">1</td><td class="total">2</td><td class="total">2</td><td class="total">..</td><td class="total">4</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th>Total for 10 Years.</th><th>Annual Average.</th><th>No. committed Annually in every 10,000,000 Males.</th><th>Percentage above and below the Average. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>10</td><td>†233·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>14</td><td>†366·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>11</td><td>†266·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1</td><td>.1</td><td>3</td><td>*....</td></tr>
-<tr><td>7</td><td>·7</td><td>8</td><td>†166·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>2</td><td>*133·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>7</td><td>†133·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>14</td><td>†366·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>10</td><td>†233·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>7</td><td>†133·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>9</td><td>†200·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="total">23</td><td class="total">2·3</td><td class="total">3</td><td class="total"></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-</div>
-
-<div class="nomobile">
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2"><span class="smcap">Counties.</span></th><th rowspan="2">Average Male Population 1841-50.</th><th colspan="10">Total Number committed for Abduction.</th><th rowspan="2">Total for 10 Years.</th><th rowspan="2">Annual Average.</th><th rowspan="2">No. committed Annually in every 10,000,000 Males.</th><th rowspan="2">Percentage above and below the Average. <br />† denotes above. <br />* &nbsp;&nbsp; „ &nbsp;&nbsp; below.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1841</th><th>1842</th><th>1843</th><th>1844</th><th>1845</th><th>1846</th><th>1847</th><th>1848</th><th>1849</th><th>1850</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>58,372</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>97,055</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>10</td><td>†233·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>69,226</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>.1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>14</td><td>†366·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>89,762</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>11</td><td>†266·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>193,728</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>168,854</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>91,199</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>124,224</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>263,055</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>82,998</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>183,956</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>166,255</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>192,960</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>48,985</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>83,264</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>28,761</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>291,219</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>.1</td><td>3</td><td>*....</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>917,922</td><td>1</td><td>6</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>7</td><td>·7</td><td>8</td><td>†166·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>111,629</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>189,768</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>815,107</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>2</td><td>*133·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>85,564</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>202,811</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>102,853</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>139,028</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>·1</td><td>7</td><td>†133·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>138,413</td><td>2</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>14</td><td>†366·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>83,290</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>11,937</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>121,316</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>216,177</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>186,661</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>294,120</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>3</td><td>·3</td><td>10</td><td>†233·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>159,561</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>303,083</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>7</td><td>†133·3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>157,915</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>303,083</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>217,569</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>·2</td><td>9</td><td>†200·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>28,680</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>119,528</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>119,808</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>835,816</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>196,064</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>279,818</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>..</td><td>*100·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total for England and Wales</td><td class="total">8,270,087</td><td class="total">3</td><td class="total">7</td><td class="total">..</td><td class="total">4</td><td class="total">..</td><td class="total">1</td><td class="total">2</td><td class="total">2</td><td class="total">..</td><td class="total">4</td><td class="total">23</td><td class="total">2·3</td><td class="total">3</td><td class="total"></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-<h3>LIST OF COUNTIES, IN THE ORDER OF
-THEIR CRIMINALITY WITH REGARD
-TO ABDUCTION, AS SHOWN BY THE
-NUMBER COMMITTED FOR THIS OFFENCE
-IN EVERY 10,000,000 OF THE
-MALE POPULATION.</h3>
-
-
-<h4><i>Counties above the
-Average.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>14</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>14</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>11</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>10</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>10</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>9</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumberland</td><td>7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>7</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<h4><i>Counties below the
-Average.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>3</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>0</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Average for England and Wales</td><td>3</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_503" id="Page_503">[503]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter break illowp59" id="i_i_1107" style="max-width: 59.1875em;">
- <img class="w100" src="images/i_1107h.jpg" alt="" />
- <div class="caption"><p>
-<span class="x-large b">MAP</span><br />
-SHOWING<br />
-<span class="x-large">THE CRIMINALITY OF FEMALES</span><br />
-IN EVERY 100,000 OF THE FEMALE POPULATION,<br />
-IN EACH COUNTY OF<br />
-<span class="x-large">ENGLAND AND WALES.</span></p>
-
-<p>⁂ The counties printed <i>black</i> are those
-in which the number of Criminal Females
-is <i>above</i> the average.</p>
-
-<p>The counties left <i>white</i> are those in
-which the number of Criminal Females is
-<i>below</i> the average.</p>
-
-<p>The average is taken for the last 10 years.</p>
-
-
-<div class="center i">
-<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td>The Average </td><td>for </td><td>all England and Wales is </td><td class="right">62 </td><td>in every 100,000 of the Female </td><td>Population.</td></tr>
-<tr><td>„</td><td>„</td><td>Middlesex (the highest)</td><td class="right">110</td><td>„</td><td>„</td></tr>
-<tr><td>„</td><td>„</td><td>Derby (the lowest)</td><td class="right">23</td><td>„</td><td>„</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_504" id="Page_504">[504]</a></span></p>
-
-<h3>TABLE SHOWING THE RELATIVE AMOUNT OF FEMALE AND MALE CRIMINALITY IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES.</h3>
-
-<p class="center">† denotes above the average, * below it.</p>
-
-<div class="mobile">
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2"><span class="smcap">Counties.</span></th><th rowspan="2">Average Female Population, 1841-50.</th><th colspan="10">Number of Female Criminals in each year.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1841</th><th>1842</th><th>1843</th><th>1844</th><th>1845</th><th>1846</th><th>1847</th><th>1848</th><th>1849</th><th>1850</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>62,711</td><td>11</td><td>36</td><td>22</td><td>20</td><td>15</td><td>20</td><td>21</td><td>22</td><td>17</td><td>19</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>97,708</td><td>45</td><td>55</td><td>43</td><td>44</td><td>42</td><td>37</td><td>55</td><td>43</td><td>52</td><td>39</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>71,732</td><td>20</td><td>23</td><td>31</td><td>17</td><td>25</td><td>21</td><td>22</td><td>21</td><td>27</td><td>16</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>90,985</td><td>29</td><td>28</td><td>33</td><td>42</td><td>34</td><td>20</td><td>44</td><td>32</td><td>34</td><td>44</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>202,190</td><td>195</td><td>171</td><td>170</td><td>147</td><td>139</td><td>183</td><td>197</td><td>209</td><td>169</td><td>184</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>181,137</td><td>61</td><td>67</td><td>75</td><td>56</td><td>62</td><td>67</td><td>78</td><td>68</td><td>69</td><td>46</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>95,563</td><td>39</td><td>39</td><td>38</td><td>40</td><td>37</td><td>36</td><td>37</td><td>34</td><td>36</td><td>43</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>126,025</td><td>21</td><td>26</td><td>34</td><td>33</td><td>28</td><td>47</td><td>24</td><td>25</td><td>27</td><td>25</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>291,683</td><td>171</td><td>194</td><td>177</td><td>151</td><td>184</td><td>184</td><td>206</td><td>226</td><td>224</td><td>193</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>89,738</td><td>46</td><td>34</td><td>42</td><td>41</td><td>33</td><td>35</td><td>51</td><td>53</td><td>61</td><td>38</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>184,931</td><td>46</td><td>57</td><td>58</td><td>65</td><td>40</td><td>55</td><td>61</td><td>72</td><td>45</td><td>82</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>166,108</td><td>82</td><td>85</td><td>99</td><td>89</td><td>75</td><td>89</td><td>65</td><td>75</td><td>64</td><td>64</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>214,544</td><td>193</td><td>221</td><td>224</td><td>198</td><td>178</td><td>190</td><td>204</td><td>188</td><td>188</td><td>148</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>48,828</td><td>64</td><td>49</td><td>45</td><td>38</td><td>39</td><td>34</td><td>52</td><td>52</td><td>44</td><td>45</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>84,914</td><td>35</td><td>34</td><td>24</td><td>27</td><td>30</td><td>21</td><td>28</td><td>30</td><td>29</td><td>23</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>29,181</td><td>7</td><td>8</td><td>10</td><td>15</td><td>19</td><td>14</td><td>12</td><td>18</td><td>15</td><td>10</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>294,029</td><td>161</td><td>183</td><td>147</td><td>156</td><td>151</td><td>161</td><td>171</td><td>182</td><td>200</td><td>167</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>963,338</td><td>927</td><td>947</td><td>847</td><td>689</td><td>698</td><td>826</td><td>882</td><td>902</td><td>819</td><td>950</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>115,991</td><td>56</td><td>69</td><td>55</td><td>56</td><td>30</td><td>61</td><td>49</td><td>37</td><td>38</td><td>41</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>188,477</td><td>74</td><td>100</td><td>86</td><td>92</td><td>71</td><td>78</td><td>106</td><td>87</td><td>91</td><td>72</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>926,007</td><td>869</td><td>989</td><td>980</td><td>948</td><td>1102</td><td>1118</td><td>1176</td><td>1223</td><td>945</td><td>882</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>78,528</td><td>63</td><td>51</td><td>53</td><td>77</td><td>41</td><td>46</td><td>67</td><td>64</td><td>78</td><td>97</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>216,652</td><td>112</td><td>127</td><td>117</td><td>127</td><td>101</td><td>120</td><td>143</td><td>78</td><td>100</td><td>89</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>103,642</td><td>45</td><td>38</td><td>25</td><td>34</td><td>47</td><td>41</td><td>32</td><td>38</td><td>24</td><td>38</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumb.</td><td>145,749</td><td>54</td><td>52</td><td>66</td><td>77</td><td>46</td><td>43</td><td>50</td><td>44</td><td>64</td><td>83</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>144,171</td><td>38</td><td>49</td><td>43</td><td>51</td><td>42</td><td>45</td><td>64</td><td>33</td><td>37</td><td>34</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>82,461</td><td>46</td><td>48</td><td>52</td><td>37</td><td>44</td><td>43</td><td>41</td><td>35</td><td>34</td><td>31</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>11,774</td><td>6</td><td>4</td><td>7</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>7</td><td>10</td><td>4</td><td>2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>122,035</td><td>80</td><td>75</td><td>89</td><td>84</td><td>73</td><td>48</td><td>62</td><td>65</td><td>61</td><td>59</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>236,337</td><td>172</td><td>166</td><td>136</td><td>160</td><td>143</td><td>150</td><td>141</td><td>145</td><td>159</td><td>134</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>190,379</td><td>102</td><td>127</td><td>124</td><td>93</td><td>115</td><td>94</td><td>137</td><td>115</td><td>120</td><td>120</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>285,566</td><td>179</td><td>190</td><td>197</td><td>175</td><td>161</td><td>188</td><td>221</td><td>176</td><td>189</td><td>193</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>165,775</td><td>77</td><td>80</td><td>68</td><td>92</td><td>66</td><td>77</td><td>82</td><td>57</td><td>76</td><td>74</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>332,838</td><td>212</td><td>236</td><td>177</td><td>194</td><td>215</td><td>200</td><td>316</td><td>278</td><td>275</td><td>237</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>163,028</td><td>61</td><td>81</td><td>83</td><td>69</td><td>86</td><td>93</td><td>83</td><td>92</td><td>101</td><td>83</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>226,989</td><td>168</td><td>157</td><td>177</td><td>119</td><td>144</td><td>163</td><td>179</td><td>199</td><td>142</td><td>162</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>28,814</td><td>9</td><td>9</td><td>10</td><td>6</td><td>7</td><td>8</td><td>4</td><td>6</td><td>9</td><td>8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>122,359</td><td>65</td><td>57</td><td>65</td><td>57</td><td>52</td><td>60</td><td>86</td><td>59</td><td>78</td><td>47</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>124,766</td><td>75</td><td>102</td><td>104</td><td>87</td><td>121</td><td>105</td><td>128</td><td>116</td><td>112</td><td>109</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>850,625</td><td>331</td><td>380</td><td>375</td><td>323</td><td>290</td><td>294</td><td>351</td><td>344</td><td>347</td><td>321</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>200,096</td><td>60</td><td>56</td><td>48</td><td>45</td><td>49</td><td>47</td><td>68</td><td>65</td><td>63</td><td>62</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>288,612</td><td>93</td><td>79</td><td>84</td><td>117</td><td>84</td><td>91</td><td>127</td><td>145</td><td>134</td><td>151</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total for England &amp; Wales</td><td class="total">8,648,371</td><td class="total">5200</td><td class="total">5569</td><td class="total">5340</td><td class="total">4993</td><td class="total">4962</td><td class="total">5257</td><td class="total">5930</td><td class="total">5763</td><td class="total">5401</td><td class="total">5265</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th>Total Female Criminals in Ten Years.</th><th>Average No. of Female Criminals per year 1841-50.</th><th>Average No. of Male Criminals<a name="FNanchor_96_96m" id="FNanchor_96_96m"></a><a href="#Footnote_96_96m" class="fnanchor">[96]</a> per year 1841-50.</th><th>No. of Female Criminals in every 100,000 of Female Population.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>203</td><td>20·3</td><td>166</td><td>32</td></tr>
-<tr><td>455</td><td>45·5</td><td>268</td><td>47</td></tr>
-<tr><td>223</td><td>22·3</td><td>266</td><td>31</td></tr>
-<tr><td>340</td><td>34·0</td><td>232</td><td>37</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1764</td><td>176·4</td><td>722</td><td>87</td></tr>
-<tr><td>649</td><td>64·9</td><td>217</td><td>35</td></tr>
-<tr><td>379</td><td>37·9</td><td>95</td><td>40</td></tr>
-<tr><td>290</td><td>29·0</td><td>235</td><td>23</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1910</td><td>191·0</td><td>596</td><td>31</td></tr>
-<tr><td>434</td><td>43·4</td><td>210</td><td>48</td></tr>
-<tr><td>581</td><td>58·1</td><td>232</td><td>31</td></tr>
-<tr><td>787</td><td>78·7</td><td>559</td><td>48</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1932</td><td>193·2</td><td>875</td><td>90</td></tr>
-<tr><td>462</td><td>46·2</td><td>187</td><td>94</td></tr>
-<tr><td>281</td><td>28·1</td><td>267</td><td>33</td></tr>
-<tr><td>128</td><td>12·8</td><td>69</td><td>45</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1679</td><td>167·9</td><td>792</td><td>57</td></tr>
-<tr><td>8487</td><td>848·7</td><td>2635</td><td>88</td></tr>
-<tr><td>492</td><td>49·2</td><td>342</td><td>42</td></tr>
-<tr><td>857</td><td>85·7</td><td>398</td><td>46</td></tr>
-<tr><td>10232</td><td>1023·2</td><td>3244</td><td>110</td></tr>
-<tr><td>637</td><td>63·7</td><td>232</td><td>81</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1114</td><td>111·4</td><td>607</td><td>51</td></tr>
-<tr><td>362</td><td>36·2</td><td>259</td><td>35</td></tr>
-<tr><td>579</td><td>57·9</td><td>177</td><td>40</td></tr>
-<tr><td>436</td><td>43·6</td><td>289</td><td>31</td></tr>
-<tr><td>411</td><td>41·1</td><td>256</td><td>50</td></tr>
-<tr><td>50</td><td>5·0</td><td>28</td><td>42</td></tr>
-<tr><td>696</td><td>69·6</td><td>293</td><td>57</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1506</td><td>150·6</td><td>751</td><td>64</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1147</td><td>114·7</td><td>555</td><td>60</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1869</td><td>186·9</td><td>851</td><td>65</td></tr>
-<tr><td>749</td><td>74·9</td><td>436</td><td>45</td></tr>
-<tr><td>2340</td><td>234·0</td><td>806</td><td>70</td></tr>
-<tr><td>832</td><td>83·2</td><td>409</td><td>52</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1610</td><td>161·0</td><td>799</td><td>71</td></tr>
-<tr><td>76</td><td>7·6</td><td>39</td><td>28</td></tr>
-<tr><td>626</td><td>62·6</td><td>394</td><td>51</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1059</td><td>105·9</td><td>506</td><td>85</td></tr>
-<tr><td>3356</td><td>335·6</td><td>1587</td><td>40</td></tr>
-<tr><td>563</td><td>56·3</td><td>233</td><td>28</td></tr>
-<tr><td>1105</td><td>110·5</td><td>368</td><td>38</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="total">53680</td><td class="total">5368·0</td><td class="total">22474</td><td class="total">62</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th>No. of Male Criminals in every 100,000 of Male Population.</th><th>Percentage above and below the average of Female Criminals.</th><th>Percentage above and below the Average of Male Criminals.</th><th>No. of Female Criminals to every 100 Male Criminals.</th><th>Percentage above and below the Average of Female to Male Criminals.</th></tr>
-<tr><td>284</td><td>*48·4</td><td>† 4·4</td><td>11</td><td>*52·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>276</td><td>*24·2</td><td>† 1·5</td><td>17</td><td>*26·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>384</td><td>*50·0</td><td>†41·2</td><td>8</td><td>*65·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>258</td><td>*40·3</td><td>* 5·2</td><td>14</td><td>*39·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>373</td><td>†40·3</td><td>†37·1</td><td>23</td><td>* &mdash;</td></tr>
-<tr><td>128</td><td>*43·6</td><td>*52·9</td><td>27</td><td>†17·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>104</td><td>*35·5</td><td>*61·8</td><td>38</td><td>†65·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td>189</td><td>*62·9</td><td>*30·5</td><td>12</td><td>*47·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>227</td><td>*50·0</td><td>*16·5</td><td>14</td><td>*39·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>253</td><td>*22·6</td><td>* 7·0</td><td>19</td><td>*17·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>126</td><td>*50·0</td><td>*53·7</td><td>25</td><td>† 8·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>336</td><td>*22·6</td><td>†23·5</td><td>14</td><td>*39·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>453</td><td>†45·2</td><td>†66·6</td><td>20</td><td>*13·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>382</td><td>†51·6</td><td>†40·4</td><td>24</td><td>† 4·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>321</td><td>*46·8</td><td>†18·0</td><td>10</td><td>*56·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>240</td><td>*27·4</td><td>*11·8</td><td>19</td><td>*17·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>272</td><td>* 8·1</td><td>* &mdash;</td><td>21</td><td>* 8·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>287</td><td>†41·9</td><td>† 5·5</td><td>31</td><td>†34·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>306</td><td>*32·3</td><td>†12·5</td><td>14</td><td>*39·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>210</td><td>*25·8</td><td>*22·8</td><td>22</td><td>* 4·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>398</td><td>†77·4</td><td>†46·3</td><td>28</td><td>†21·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>271</td><td>†30·6</td><td>* O·4</td><td>30</td><td>†30·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>299</td><td>*17·7</td><td>† 9·9</td><td>17</td><td>*26·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>252</td><td>*43·6</td><td>* 7·4</td><td>14</td><td>*39·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td>127</td><td>*35·5</td><td>*53·3</td><td>31</td><td>†34·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>209</td><td>*50·0</td><td>*23·2</td><td>15</td><td>*34·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>307</td><td>*19·4</td><td>†12·9</td><td>16</td><td>*30·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>235</td><td>*32·3</td><td>*13·6</td><td>18</td><td>*21·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>242</td><td>* 8·1</td><td>*11·0</td><td>24</td><td>† 4·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>347</td><td>† 3·2</td><td>†27·6</td><td>18</td><td>*21·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>297</td><td>* 3·2</td><td>† 9·2</td><td>20</td><td>*13·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>289</td><td>† 4·8</td><td>† 6·2</td><td>22</td><td>* 4·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>273</td><td>*27·4</td><td>† O·4</td><td>16</td><td>*30·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>266</td><td>†12·9</td><td>* 2·2</td><td>26</td><td>†13·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>259</td><td>*16·1</td><td>* 4·8</td><td>20</td><td>*13·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>367</td><td>†14·5</td><td>†34·9</td><td>19</td><td>*17·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td>136</td><td>*54·9</td><td>*50·0</td><td>21</td><td>* 8·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>330</td><td>*17·7</td><td>†21·3</td><td>15</td><td>*34·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td>422</td><td>†37·1</td><td>†55·1</td><td>20</td><td>*13·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td>190</td><td>*35·5</td><td>*30·1</td><td>21</td><td>* 8·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td>119</td><td>*54·9</td><td>*56·3</td><td>13</td><td>*43·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td>132</td><td>*38·7</td><td>*51·5</td><td>29</td><td>†26·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="total">272</td><td class="total"></td><td class="total"></td><td class="total">23</td><td class="total"></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class="nomobile">
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right lightborder" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><th rowspan="2"><span class="smcap">Counties.</span></th><th rowspan="2">Average Female Population, 1841-50.</th><th colspan="10">Number of Female Criminals in each year.</th><th rowspan="2">Total Female Criminals in Ten Years.</th><th rowspan="2">Average No. of Female Criminals per year 1841-50.</th><th rowspan="2">Average No. of Male Criminals<a name="FNanchor_96_96" id="FNanchor_96_96"></a><a href="#Footnote_96_96" class="fnanchor">[96]</a> per year 1841-50.</th><th rowspan="2">No. of Female Criminals in every 100,000 of Female Population.</th><th rowspan="2">No. of Male Criminals in every 100,000 of Male Population.</th><th rowspan="2">Percentage above and below the average of Female Criminals.</th><th rowspan="2">Percentage above and below the Average of Male Criminals.</th><th rowspan="2">No. of Female Criminals to every 100 Male Criminals.</th><th rowspan="2">Percentage above and below the Average of Female to Male Criminals.</th></tr>
-<tr><th>1841</th><th>1842</th><th>1843</th><th>1844</th><th>1845</th><th>1846</th><th>1847</th><th>1848</th><th>1849</th><th>1850</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>62,711</td><td>11</td><td>36</td><td>22</td><td>20</td><td>15</td><td>20</td><td>21</td><td>22</td><td>17</td><td>19</td><td>203</td><td>20·3</td><td>166</td><td>32</td><td>284</td><td>*48·4</td><td>† 4·4</td><td>11</td><td>*52·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>97,708</td><td>45</td><td>55</td><td>43</td><td>44</td><td>42</td><td>37</td><td>55</td><td>43</td><td>52</td><td>39</td><td>455</td><td>45·5</td><td>268</td><td>47</td><td>276</td><td>*24·2</td><td>† 1·5</td><td>17</td><td>*26·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>71,732</td><td>20</td><td>23</td><td>31</td><td>17</td><td>25</td><td>21</td><td>22</td><td>21</td><td>27</td><td>16</td><td>223</td><td>22·3</td><td>266</td><td>31</td><td>384</td><td>*50·0</td><td>†41·2</td><td>8</td><td>*65·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>90,985</td><td>29</td><td>28</td><td>33</td><td>42</td><td>34</td><td>20</td><td>44</td><td>32</td><td>34</td><td>44</td><td>340</td><td>34·0</td><td>232</td><td>37</td><td>258</td><td>*40·3</td><td>* 5·2</td><td>14</td><td>*39·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>202,190</td><td>195</td><td>171</td><td>170</td><td>147</td><td>139</td><td>183</td><td>197</td><td>209</td><td>169</td><td>184</td><td>1764</td><td>176·4</td><td>722</td><td>87</td><td>373</td><td>†40·3</td><td>†37·1</td><td>23</td><td>* &mdash;</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>181,137</td><td>61</td><td>67</td><td>75</td><td>56</td><td>62</td><td>67</td><td>78</td><td>68</td><td>69</td><td>46</td><td>649</td><td>64·9</td><td>217</td><td>35</td><td>128</td><td>*43·6</td><td>*52·9</td><td>27</td><td>†17·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>95,563</td><td>39</td><td>39</td><td>38</td><td>40</td><td>37</td><td>36</td><td>37</td><td>34</td><td>36</td><td>43</td><td>379</td><td>37·9</td><td>95</td><td>40</td><td>104</td><td>*35·5</td><td>*61·8</td><td>38</td><td>†65·2</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>126,025</td><td>21</td><td>26</td><td>34</td><td>33</td><td>28</td><td>47</td><td>24</td><td>25</td><td>27</td><td>25</td><td>290</td><td>29·0</td><td>235</td><td>23</td><td>189</td><td>*62·9</td><td>*30·5</td><td>12</td><td>*47·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>291,683</td><td>171</td><td>194</td><td>177</td><td>151</td><td>184</td><td>184</td><td>206</td><td>226</td><td>224</td><td>193</td><td>1910</td><td>191·0</td><td>596</td><td>31</td><td>227</td><td>*50·0</td><td>*16·5</td><td>14</td><td>*39·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>89,738</td><td>46</td><td>34</td><td>42</td><td>41</td><td>33</td><td>35</td><td>51</td><td>53</td><td>61</td><td>38</td><td>434</td><td>43·4</td><td>210</td><td>48</td><td>253</td><td>*22·6</td><td>* 7·0</td><td>19</td><td>*17·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>184,931</td><td>46</td><td>57</td><td>58</td><td>65</td><td>40</td><td>55</td><td>61</td><td>72</td><td>45</td><td>82</td><td>581</td><td>58·1</td><td>232</td><td>31</td><td>126</td><td>*50·0</td><td>*53·7</td><td>25</td><td>† 8·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>166,108</td><td>82</td><td>85</td><td>99</td><td>89</td><td>75</td><td>89</td><td>65</td><td>75</td><td>64</td><td>64</td><td>787</td><td>78·7</td><td>559</td><td>48</td><td>336</td><td>*22·6</td><td>†23·5</td><td>14</td><td>*39·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>214,544</td><td>193</td><td>221</td><td>224</td><td>198</td><td>178</td><td>190</td><td>204</td><td>188</td><td>188</td><td>148</td><td>1932</td><td>193·2</td><td>875</td><td>90</td><td>453</td><td>†45·2</td><td>†66·6</td><td>20</td><td>*13·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>48,828</td><td>64</td><td>49</td><td>45</td><td>38</td><td>39</td><td>34</td><td>52</td><td>52</td><td>44</td><td>45</td><td>462</td><td>46·2</td><td>187</td><td>94</td><td>382</td><td>†51·6</td><td>†40·4</td><td>24</td><td>† 4·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>84,914</td><td>35</td><td>34</td><td>24</td><td>27</td><td>30</td><td>21</td><td>28</td><td>30</td><td>29</td><td>23</td><td>281</td><td>28·1</td><td>267</td><td>33</td><td>321</td><td>*46·8</td><td>†18·0</td><td>10</td><td>*56·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>29,181</td><td>7</td><td>8</td><td>10</td><td>15</td><td>19</td><td>14</td><td>12</td><td>18</td><td>15</td><td>10</td><td>128</td><td>12·8</td><td>69</td><td>45</td><td>240</td><td>*27·4</td><td>*11·8</td><td>19</td><td>*17·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>294,029</td><td>161</td><td>183</td><td>147</td><td>156</td><td>151</td><td>161</td><td>171</td><td>182</td><td>200</td><td>167</td><td>1679</td><td>167·9</td><td>792</td><td>57</td><td>272</td><td>* 8·1</td><td>* &mdash;</td><td>21</td><td>* 8·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>963,338</td><td>927</td><td>947</td><td>847</td><td>689</td><td>698</td><td>826</td><td>882</td><td>902</td><td>819</td><td>950</td><td>8487</td><td>848·7</td><td>2635</td><td>88</td><td>287</td><td>†41·9</td><td>† 5·5</td><td>31</td><td>†34·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>115,991</td><td>56</td><td>69</td><td>55</td><td>56</td><td>30</td><td>61</td><td>49</td><td>37</td><td>38</td><td>41</td><td>492</td><td>49·2</td><td>342</td><td>42</td><td>306</td><td>*32·3</td><td>†12·5</td><td>14</td><td>*39·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>188,477</td><td>74</td><td>100</td><td>86</td><td>92</td><td>71</td><td>78</td><td>106</td><td>87</td><td>91</td><td>72</td><td>857</td><td>85·7</td><td>398</td><td>46</td><td>210</td><td>*25·8</td><td>*22·8</td><td>22</td><td>* 4·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>926,007</td><td>869</td><td>989</td><td>980</td><td>948</td><td>1102</td><td>1118</td><td>1176</td><td>1223</td><td>945</td><td>882</td><td>10232</td><td>1023·2</td><td>3244</td><td>110</td><td>398</td><td>†77·4</td><td>†46·3</td><td>28</td><td>†21·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>78,528</td><td>63</td><td>51</td><td>53</td><td>77</td><td>41</td><td>46</td><td>67</td><td>64</td><td>78</td><td>97</td><td>637</td><td>63·7</td><td>232</td><td>81</td><td>271</td><td>†30·6</td><td>* O·4</td><td>30</td><td>†30·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>216,652</td><td>112</td><td>127</td><td>117</td><td>127</td><td>101</td><td>120</td><td>143</td><td>78</td><td>100</td><td>89</td><td>1114</td><td>111·4</td><td>607</td><td>51</td><td>299</td><td>*17·7</td><td>† 9·9</td><td>17</td><td>*26·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northampton</td><td>103,642</td><td>45</td><td>38</td><td>25</td><td>34</td><td>47</td><td>41</td><td>32</td><td>38</td><td>24</td><td>38</td><td>362</td><td>36·2</td><td>259</td><td>35</td><td>252</td><td>*43·6</td><td>* 7·4</td><td>14</td><td>*39·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumb.</td><td>145,749</td><td>54</td><td>52</td><td>66</td><td>77</td><td>46</td><td>43</td><td>50</td><td>44</td><td>64</td><td>83</td><td>579</td><td>57·9</td><td>177</td><td>40</td><td>127</td><td>*35·5</td><td>*53·3</td><td>31</td><td>†34·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>144,171</td><td>38</td><td>49</td><td>43</td><td>51</td><td>42</td><td>45</td><td>64</td><td>33</td><td>37</td><td>34</td><td>436</td><td>43·6</td><td>289</td><td>31</td><td>209</td><td>*50·0</td><td>*23·2</td><td>15</td><td>*34·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>82,461</td><td>46</td><td>48</td><td>52</td><td>37</td><td>44</td><td>43</td><td>41</td><td>35</td><td>34</td><td>31</td><td>411</td><td>41·1</td><td>256</td><td>50</td><td>307</td><td>*19·4</td><td>†12·9</td><td>16</td><td>*30·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>11,774</td><td>6</td><td>4</td><td>7</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>7</td><td>10</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>50</td><td>5·0</td><td>28</td><td>42</td><td>235</td><td>*32·3</td><td>*13·6</td><td>18</td><td>*21·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>122,035</td><td>80</td><td>75</td><td>89</td><td>84</td><td>73</td><td>48</td><td>62</td><td>65</td><td>61</td><td>59</td><td>696</td><td>69·6</td><td>293</td><td>57</td><td>242</td><td>* 8·1</td><td>*11·0</td><td>24</td><td>† 4·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>236,337</td><td>172</td><td>166</td><td>136</td><td>160</td><td>143</td><td>150</td><td>141</td><td>145</td><td>159</td><td>134</td><td>1506</td><td>150·6</td><td>751</td><td>64</td><td>347</td><td>† 3·2</td><td>†27·6</td><td>18</td><td>*21·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Southampton</td><td>190,379</td><td>102</td><td>127</td><td>124</td><td>93</td><td>115</td><td>94</td><td>137</td><td>115</td><td>120</td><td>120</td><td>1147</td><td>114·7</td><td>555</td><td>60</td><td>297</td><td>* 3·2</td><td>† 9·2</td><td>20</td><td>*13·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>285,566</td><td>179</td><td>190</td><td>197</td><td>175</td><td>161</td><td>188</td><td>221</td><td>176</td><td>189</td><td>193</td><td>1869</td><td>186·9</td><td>851</td><td>65</td><td>289</td><td>† 4·8</td><td>† 6·2</td><td>22</td><td>* 4·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>165,775</td><td>77</td><td>80</td><td>68</td><td>92</td><td>66</td><td>77</td><td>82</td><td>57</td><td>76</td><td>74</td><td>749</td><td>74·9</td><td>436</td><td>45</td><td>273</td><td>*27·4</td><td>† O·4</td><td>16</td><td>*30·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>332,838</td><td>212</td><td>236</td><td>177</td><td>194</td><td>215</td><td>200</td><td>316</td><td>278</td><td>275</td><td>237</td><td>2340</td><td>234·0</td><td>806</td><td>70</td><td>266</td><td>†12·9</td><td>* 2·2</td><td>26</td><td>†13·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>163,028</td><td>61</td><td>81</td><td>83</td><td>69</td><td>86</td><td>93</td><td>83</td><td>92</td><td>101</td><td>83</td><td>832</td><td>83·2</td><td>409</td><td>52</td><td>259</td><td>*16·1</td><td>* 4·8</td><td>20</td><td>*13·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>226,989</td><td>168</td><td>157</td><td>177</td><td>119</td><td>144</td><td>163</td><td>179</td><td>199</td><td>142</td><td>162</td><td>1610</td><td>161·0</td><td>799</td><td>71</td><td>367</td><td>†14·5</td><td>†34·9</td><td>19</td><td>*17·4</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmorland</td><td>28,814</td><td>9</td><td>9</td><td>10</td><td>6</td><td>7</td><td>8</td><td>4</td><td>6</td><td>9</td><td>8</td><td>76</td><td>7·6</td><td>39</td><td>28</td><td>136</td><td>*54·9</td><td>*50·0</td><td>21</td><td>* 8·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>122,359</td><td>65</td><td>57</td><td>65</td><td>57</td><td>52</td><td>60</td><td>86</td><td>59</td><td>78</td><td>47</td><td>626</td><td>62·6</td><td>394</td><td>51</td><td>330</td><td>*17·7</td><td>†21·3</td><td>15</td><td>*34·8</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>124,766</td><td>75</td><td>102</td><td>104</td><td>87</td><td>121</td><td>105</td><td>128</td><td>116</td><td>112</td><td>109</td><td>1059</td><td>105·9</td><td>506</td><td>85</td><td>422</td><td>†37·1</td><td>†55·1</td><td>20</td><td>*13·0</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>850,625</td><td>331</td><td>380</td><td>375</td><td>323</td><td>290</td><td>294</td><td>351</td><td>344</td><td>347</td><td>321</td><td>3356</td><td>335·6</td><td>1587</td><td>40</td><td>190</td><td>*35·5</td><td>*30·1</td><td>21</td><td>* 8·7</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">North Wales</td><td>200,096</td><td>60</td><td>56</td><td>48</td><td>45</td><td>49</td><td>47</td><td>68</td><td>65</td><td>63</td><td>62</td><td>563</td><td>56·3</td><td>233</td><td>28</td><td>119</td><td>*54·9</td><td>*56·3</td><td>13</td><td>*43·5</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">South Wales</td><td>288,612</td><td>93</td><td>79</td><td>84</td><td>117</td><td>84</td><td>91</td><td>127</td><td>145</td><td>134</td><td>151</td><td>1105</td><td>110·5</td><td>368</td><td>38</td><td>132</td><td>*38·7</td><td>*51·5</td><td>29</td><td>†26·1</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Total for England &amp; Wales</td><td class="total">8,648,371</td><td class="total">5200</td><td class="total">5569</td><td class="total">5340</td><td class="total">4993</td><td class="total">4962</td><td class="total">5257</td><td class="total">5930</td><td class="total">5763</td><td class="total">5401</td><td class="total">5265</td><td class="total">53680</td><td class="total">5368·0</td><td class="total">22474</td><td class="total">62</td><td class="total">272</td><td class="total"></td><td class="total"></td><td class="total">23</td><td class="total"></td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-</div>
-
-<h3>LIST OF COUNTIES, IN THE
-ORDER OF THEIR CRIMINALITY
-AMONGST FEMALES,
-AS SHOWN BY
-THE NUMBER OF FEMALE
-CRIMINALS IN EVERY
-100,000 OF THE FEMALE
-POPULATION.</h3>
-
-
-<h4><i>Counties above
-the Average.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Middlesex</td><td>110</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hereford</td><td>94</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Gloucester</td><td>90</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lancaster</td><td>88</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Chester</td><td>87</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Worcester</td><td>85</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Monmouth</td><td>81</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Warwick</td><td>71</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Surrey</td><td>70</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Stafford</td><td>65</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Somerset</td><td>64</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-
-<h4><i>Counties below
-the Average.</i></h4>
-
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Southamp.</td><td>60</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Kent</td><td>57</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Salop</td><td>57</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Sussex</td><td>52</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Norfolk</td><td>51</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Wilts</td><td>51</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Oxford</td><td>50</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Essex</td><td>48</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Dorset</td><td>48</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Berks</td><td>47</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Lincoln</td><td>46</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Suffolk</td><td>45</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hunts</td><td>45</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Leicester</td><td>42</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Rutland</td><td>42</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">York</td><td>40</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northumb.</td><td>40</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cumberland</td><td>40</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">S. Wales</td><td>38</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cambridge</td><td>37</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Cornwall</td><td>35</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Northamp.</td><td>35</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Hertford</td><td>33</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bedford</td><td>32</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Devon</td><td>31</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Durham</td><td>31</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Nottingham</td><td>31</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Bucks</td><td>31</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">N. Wales</td><td>28</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Westmor.</td><td>28</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left">Derby</td><td>23</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-
-<div class="center">
-<table class="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
-<tr><td class="left">Average for England and Wales</td><td>62</td></tr>
-</table></div>
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-
-<div class="footnotes break">
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">FOOTNOTES</h2>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> <i>Meliora</i>, No. viii., p. 317.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> <i>The City, its Sins and its Sorrows</i>, p. 8.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Any person wishing for further information respecting these Societies, may obtain it from
-a work published by Messrs. Low and Son, entitled “London Charities.”</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> The following circumstance may be regarded as an illustration of this assertion:&mdash;
-</p>
-<p>
-A girl is reported to have applied for admission into one of the older Institutions in London
-for the rescue of the fallen. On examination, however, it was ascertained that she had <i>not
-fallen low enough</i> to merit the assistance she craved, and she was accordingly rejected because
-her moral character was not sufficiently depraved. Here, at least, the greater the sinner, the
-greater the compassion!</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> The Homes are situated in Nutford Place, Edgware Road; Hatton Garden, Holborn; Blackfriars
-Road; and Woodland Terrace, Greenwich. The Society is very inadequately supported,
-and is greatly in need of funds to maintain its efficiency.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Any one desiring further information respecting this truly admirable movement, will do
-well to procure a little pamphlet, entitled, “A Brief Sketch of the Origin, Aim, and Mode of
-Conducting the Young Women’s Christian Association, and West London Home for Young
-Women engaged in Houses of Business, 49, Great Marlborough-street, Regent-street, London;
-in a Letter to the Earl of Roden, President of the Association.”</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> “The Magdalen’s Friend and Female Homes’ Intelligencer, No. 12, vol. ii.”</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Those who wish for further information respecting these Institutions are referred to a
-handbook containing authentic accounts of the various Metropolitan Reformatories, Refuges, and
-Industrial Schools, published by the Reformatory and Refuge Union. A magazine, edited by a
-clergyman, price 3<i>d.</i> monthly, designed to awaken and sustain public sympathy on behalf of
-the fallen, and to draw attention to the most prolific causes, contributing to the extension of
-the social evil.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> “Magdalen’s Friend,” vol. ii. p. 131.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Mr. Mill’s mistake in ranking the Employers
-and Distributors among the Enrichers, or those
-who increase the exchangeable commodities of the
-country, arose from a desire to place the dealers
-and capitalists among the productive labourers,
-than which nothing could be more idle, for surely
-they do not add, <i>directly</i>, one brass farthing, as
-the saying is, to the national stock of wealth. A
-little reflection would have shown that gentleman
-that the true function of employers and dealers
-was that of the <i>indirect aiders</i> of production
-rather than the direct producers. The economical
-scale of production appears to be as follows:&mdash;(1)
-The Employer, providing the materials, tools,
-and shelter necessary for the due performance of
-the work, together with the food for the subsistence
-of the artificer during the work. (2) The
-Labourer, fitting or preparing the materials for the
-artificer. (3) The Artificer or workman, positively
-doing the work and creating a new product.
-(4) The Superlative Artizan, engaged in
-adding to the beauty or utility of such product.
-(5) The Distributor or Dealer, engaged in carrying
-and disposing of the product in the best
-market. The functions of Nos. 1 and 2 generally
-precede production, those of Nos. 4 and 5 usually
-succeed it; while No. 3 is the absolute producer.
-The labours of No. 4, however, are so intimately
-associated with the produce&mdash;sometimes designing
-the work, and sometimes “finishing” it&mdash;that it
-seems but right that the superlative artizan should
-be ranked with the artificer; the mere labourer,
-however, who turns the wheel for the turner, or
-carries the bricks to the bricklayer and the like,
-cannot strictly be ranked as a <i>producer</i> any more
-than a porter or dock labourer.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> At one time, however, murder became a <i>trade</i>
-in this country, namely, when the dead bodies of
-human beings grew to be of such value that the
-burking of the living was resorted to by the
-“resurrectionists,” as a means of keeping up the
-supply.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> The word Shoful is derived from the Danish
-<i lang="da" xml:lang="da">skuffe</i>, to shove, to deceive, cheat; the Saxon form
-of the same verb is <i lang="ang" xml:lang="ang">Scufan</i>, whence the English
-<i>Shove</i>.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> A Charley Pitcher seems to be one who
-pitches to the <i>Ceorla</i>, or countryman, and hence is
-equivalent to the term <i>Yokel</i>-hunter.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> The titles of the classes as here given do not form part of the original table.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> Those marked thus [15] are of a non-migratory character.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> The marriage institution is mentioned early
-in Genesis vi. 1, 2, “And it came to pass, when
-men began to multiply on the face of the earth,
-and daughters were born unto them,
-</p>
-<p>
-“That the sons of God saw the daughters of
-men that they were fair; and they took them
-wives of all which they chose.”</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> The passage here alluded to is as follows:&mdash;
-</p>
-<p>
-“Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in
-law, Remain a widow at thy father’s house, till
-Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure
-he die also, as his brethren did. And
-Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.
-</p>
-<p>
-“And in process of time the daughter of
-Shuah Judah’s wife died; and Judah was comforted,
-and went up unto his sheepshearers to
-Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
-</p>
-<p>
-“And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy
-father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his
-sheep.
-</p>
-<p>
-“And she put her widow’s garments off from
-her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped
-herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the
-way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was
-grown, and she was not given unto him to wife.
-</p>
-<p>
-“When Judah saw her, he thought her to be
-an harlot; because she had covered her face.
-</p>
-<p>
-“And he turned unto her by the way, and
-said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto
-thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter
-in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me,
-that thou mayest come in unto me?
-</p>
-<p>
-“And he said, I will send thee a kid from the
-flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge,
-till thou send it?
-</p>
-<p>
-“And he said, What pledge shall I give thee?
-And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and
-thy staff that is thine hand. And he gave it her
-and came in unto her, and she conceived by him.
-</p>
-<p>
-“And she arose, and went away, and laid by
-her vail from her, and put on the garments of her
-widowhood.
-</p>
-<p>
-“And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his
-friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from
-the woman’s hand: but he found her not.
-</p>
-<p>
-“Then he asked the men of that place, saying,
-Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way
-side? And they said, There was no harlot in
-this place.
-</p>
-<p>
-“And he returned to Judah, and said, I
-cannot find her; and also the men of the place
-said, that there was no harlot in this place.
-</p>
-<p>
-“And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest
-we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou
-hast not found her.
-</p>
-<p>
-“And it came to pass about three months after,
-that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter
-in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold,
-she is with child by whoredom. And Judah
-said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.
-</p>
-<p>
-“When she was brought forth, she sent to her
-father in law, saying, By the man, whose these
-are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I
-pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and
-bracelets, and staff.
-</p>
-<p>
-“And Judah acknowledged them, and said,
-She hath been more righteous than I; because
-that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he
-knew her again no more.”&mdash;Gen. xxxviii. 11-26.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> All this is based on the authority of the
-Bible. Elucidations also have been afforded by
-“The Book of the Religion &amp;c., of the Jews,”
-from the Hebrew, by Gamaliel ben Peldahzur;
-“The Laws and Polity of the Jews,” Sigonius,
-“<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Republica Hebræorum</span>;” and the various commentators.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> Mary Magdalene, of Magdala, was not the
-sinner, the woman of the city, who washed the
-feet of Jesus. She appears to have been a reputable
-person, while the other had been a prostitute.
-What a lesson is read to us by Christ’s
-behaviour to her!</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> See Goguet, “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Origine des Loix</span>,” with Herodotus,
-Strabo, and Quintus Curtius.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> Dr. Beloe also takes this view.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> Diodorus Siculus, i. 59. See also the
-Euterpe of Herodotus, and Sir G. Wilkinson’s
-Ancient Egypt.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> Manners and Customs of Ancient Greece,
-by J. A. St. John.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> Manners and Customs of Ancient Greece,
-by J. A. St. John.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> Mackinnon’s History of Civilization.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_26_26" id="Footnote_26_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> This view is chiefly drawn from information
-collected in Manners and Customs of Ancient
-Greece, by J. A. St. John.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_27_27" id="Footnote_27_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> Potter’s Antiquities of Greece.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_28_28" id="Footnote_28_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> Ibid.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_29_29" id="Footnote_29_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> Hase On the Ancient Greeks.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_30_30" id="Footnote_30_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> Boeck’s Public Economy of Athens.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_31_31" id="Footnote_31_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> Potter’s Antiquities of Greece.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_32_32" id="Footnote_32_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> Hase On the Ancient Greeks.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_33_33" id="Footnote_33_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> Boeck. Potter. Mitford’s notions of the
-Hetairæ appear to have been somewhat fanciful.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_34_34" id="Footnote_34_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> Occasional exceptions occurred. At one time
-there was no connubium between the plebeian and
-the patrician; but the Lex Canuleia allowed it.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_35_35" id="Footnote_35_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> The sacerdotal functionary, termed <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">flamen
-dialis</i>, like the high-priest of the Jews, could only
-wed a virgin of unblemished honour, and when
-she died, could not marry again, but was forced
-to resign his office.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_36_36" id="Footnote_36_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> See Julian Law, Ulpian, Gaius, Tacitus, Suetonius,
-and Dion Cassius, from whom, with various
-others, Smith’s Dictionary is compiled.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_37_37" id="Footnote_37_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> Dion. Halicar.; Apuleius; Festus; Lactarra
-Columna; Tertullian’s Apolog.; Ambrose’s
-Hexam.; Lucian, <span lang="la" xml:lang="la">De Syriâ Deâ</span>.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_38_38" id="Footnote_38_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> See Satire vi. 121-2.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_39_39" id="Footnote_39_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> Taylor’s Elements of the Civil Law;
-Becker’s Private Life of the Greeks and
-Romans; Suetonius, with Burmann’s Notes; the
-Codes of Justinian and Constantine; Smith’s Dictionary
-of Antiquities; Adams’s Antiquities;
-Fergusson’s Roman Republic; Niebuhr’s History;
-Gibbon’s Decline and Fall, supply facts
-for the above; while the writings of Horace,
-Juvenal, Lactantius, Dion Cassius, the Augustine
-History, and numerous other authors, afford
-scattered notices, not easy to collect or digest.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_40_40" id="Footnote_40_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40_40"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> To show that a prostitute class existed,
-among women without means of support, we
-might mention instances of wills in which mothers
-left property to their daughters, on condition
-that they should marry or keep themselves
-chaste, and not earn money by prostitution.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_41_41" id="Footnote_41_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_41_41"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> Consult Sharon Turner; the various old
-chroniclers; the Leges Anglo-Saxonicæ, ed.
-Wilkins; Brand’s Popular Antiquities, &amp;c.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_42_42" id="Footnote_42_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_42_42"><span class="label">[42]</span></a> Napier’s Excursions in Southern Africa.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_43_43" id="Footnote_43_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_43_43"><span class="label">[43]</span></a> Harriet Ward’s Five Years in Kaffir Land;
-Barrow’s Travels; Methuen’s Life in the Wilderness.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_44_44" id="Footnote_44_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_44_44"><span class="label">[44]</span></a> Cowries are valued at fifteen pence to the
-thousand.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_45_45" id="Footnote_45_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_45_45"><span class="label">[45]</span></a> Bowdich’s Essay; Thompson and Allen’s
-Expedition to the Niger; Laird’s Voyage.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_46_46" id="Footnote_46_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_46_46"><span class="label">[46]</span></a> A letter, published in the <i>Times</i> in August
-last, announces the disastrous defeat of the celebrated
-body of fighting women in the pay of the
-King of Dahomey. The Amazons had advanced
-to the attack of Abbeokuta, a town in the Bight
-of Benin, with the object of surprising and carrying
-off the inhabitants, to supply the demand for
-slaves; but the latter, being apprised of the approach
-of the female warriors, turned out in force,
-repulsed them from the town, and in the course
-of pursuit effected great slaughter amongst their
-ranks. More than 1000 are reported to have been
-left dead on the field.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_47_47" id="Footnote_47_47"></a><a href="#FNanchor_47_47"><span class="label">[47]</span></a> Dahomey and the Dahomans, by J. E.
-Forbes; Dalzel’s History of Dahomey; MʻLeod’s
-Account; John Duncan’s Travels; Adams’s
-Remarks on the West Coast; Adams’s Sketches;
-Meredith’s Account of the Gold Coast.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_48_48" id="Footnote_48_48"></a><a href="#FNanchor_48_48"><span class="label">[48]</span></a> Dupuis’ Observations.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_49_49" id="Footnote_49_49"></a><a href="#FNanchor_49_49"><span class="label">[49]</span></a> Thompson and Allen’s Expedition up the
-Niger.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_50_50" id="Footnote_50_50"></a><a href="#FNanchor_50_50"><span class="label">[50]</span></a> Isaacs’ Travels on the East Coast; Captain
-Owen’s Voyage.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_51_51" id="Footnote_51_51"></a><a href="#FNanchor_51_51"><span class="label">[51]</span></a> Richardson’s Travels in the Sahara.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_52_52" id="Footnote_52_52"></a><a href="#FNanchor_52_52"><span class="label">[52]</span></a> Account of Africa, by Jameson, Wilson,
-and Hugh Murray.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_53_53" id="Footnote_53_53"></a><a href="#FNanchor_53_53"><span class="label">[53]</span></a> Count St. Marie’s Visit to Algeria.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_54_54" id="Footnote_54_54"></a><a href="#FNanchor_54_54"><span class="label">[54]</span></a> These views of Abyssinian society are
-afforded by Bruce, and lately by Gogat, and have
-been contradicted by Mr. Salt. They are fully
-corroborated, however, by the more recent and
-valuable authority of Sir Cornwallis Harris.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_55_55" id="Footnote_55_55"></a><a href="#FNanchor_55_55"><span class="label">[55]</span></a> Ignatius Palme’s Travels in Kordofan.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_56_56" id="Footnote_56_56"></a><a href="#FNanchor_56_56"><span class="label">[56]</span></a> Expedition to Dongola and Sennaar.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_57_57" id="Footnote_57_57"></a><a href="#FNanchor_57_57"><span class="label">[57]</span></a> Werne’s Expedition up the White Nile.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_58_58" id="Footnote_58_58"></a><a href="#FNanchor_58_58"><span class="label">[58]</span></a> See Sturt’s Two Expeditions, and Sturt’s
-Expedition to Central Australia; Westgarth’s
-Australia Felix; Leichardt’s Expeditions; Hodgson’s
-Australian Settlements; Haydon’s Australia
-Felix; Stoke’s Discoveries; Angas’ Savage Life
-and Scenes; Sir George Grey’s Journals; Eyre’s
-Expedition; Pridden’s History; Earl, Mackenzie,
-Mitchell, Howitt, Mudie, Macconochie, Oxley,
-Henderson, Cunningham, with the other travellers
-and residents, almost innumerable, who have
-described the aborigines of Australia.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_59_59" id="Footnote_59_59"></a><a href="#FNanchor_59_59"><span class="label">[59]</span></a> Tyrone Power’s Pen and Pencil Sketches;
-Angas’s Savage Life and Scenes; Handbook of
-New Zealand, by a Magistrate of the Colony;
-Dieffenbach’s Travels; Brown on the Aborigines;
-Jerningham Wakefield; Earl’s Travels, &amp;c., &amp;c.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_60_60" id="Footnote_60_60"></a><a href="#FNanchor_60_60"><span class="label">[60]</span></a> Rovings in the Pacific, by a Merchant long
-Resident in Tahiti, 1851.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_61_61" id="Footnote_61_61"></a><a href="#FNanchor_61_61"><span class="label">[61]</span></a> See Stuart’s Voyage to the South Seas;
-Walpole’s Four Years in the Pacific; Ellis’s Tour
-through Hawaii; Ellis’s Polynesian Researches;
-Herman Melville’s Omoo and Typee; Progress of
-the Gospel in Polynesia; Montgomery’s Narrative
-of Bennett and Tyerman’s Voyage; Williams’s
-Missionary Enterprise; Mariner’s Tonga Islands;
-Wilkes’s United States Exploring Expedition;
-Three Years in the Pacific, by Ruschenberger;
-Rovings in the Pacific, by a Merchant; Sir
-George Simpson’s Voyage round the World;
-Coulter’s Travels in South America; and Coulter’s
-Voyage in the Pacific.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_62_62" id="Footnote_62_62"></a><a href="#FNanchor_62_62"><span class="label">[62]</span></a> See Bancroft’s History of the United States;
-Catlin’s Eight Years’ Travels; Carver’s Travels
-in North America; Wilkes’s United States’ Exploring
-Expedition; Mackenzie’s Memoirs,
-Official and Personal; West’s Residence in the
-Red River Colony; West’s Mission to the
-Indians of New Brunswick; Hunter’s Memoirs
-of his Captivity; Drake’s Book of the Indians;
-Halkett’s Historical Notes; Buchanan’s Sketches
-of History; Sir James Alexander’s Acadie;
-Maclean’s Twenty-Five Years’ Service in Hudson’s
-Bay; Sir George Simpson’s Voyage round the
-World; Robertson’s History of America;
-Robertson’s History of Missions to the Indians;
-Cleveland’s Voyages and Enterprises.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_63_63" id="Footnote_63_63"></a><a href="#FNanchor_63_63"><span class="label">[63]</span></a> Short and general as this sketch is, the facts
-it contains, or is based upon, are drawn from
-Dunlop’s Travels in Central America; Captain
-Basil Hall’s Journal; King’s Twenty-Four Years
-in the Argentine Republic; Robertson’s Letters
-on Paraguay; Robertson’s Letters on South
-America; Stephenson’s Incident of Travel in
-Central America; Norman’s Rambles in Yucatan;
-Waterton’s Wanderings in South America;
-Southey’s History of Brazil; Young’s Residence
-on the Mosquito Shore; Gardiner’s Travels in
-Brazil; Hawkshaw’s Reminiscences; Stephenson’s
-Historical and Descriptive Narrative; Humboldt’s
-Personal Narrative; Prince Adalbert’s Travels;
-Macgregor’s Progress of America.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_64_64" id="Footnote_64_64"></a><a href="#FNanchor_64_64"><span class="label">[64]</span></a> Macgregor’s Progress of America; Kidder’s
-Residence in Brazil; Walpole’s Four Years in the
-Pacific; Ruschenberger’s Three Years in the
-Pacific; Rovings in the Pacific, by a Merchant;
-Mayer’s Mexico as it is; Matheson’s Travels in
-Brazil; Wilkes’s Exploring Expedition; Caldcleugh’s
-Travels in South America; Robertson’s
-Letters on South America.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_65_65" id="Footnote_65_65"></a><a href="#FNanchor_65_65"><span class="label">[65]</span></a> Capadose’s Sixteen Years in the West
-Indies; Antigua and the Antiguans; Breen’s
-Historical Account of St. Lucia; Gurney’s Winter
-in the West Indies; Bidwell’s West Indies as
-they Are; Stewart’s State of Jamaica; Lloyd’s
-Letters from the West Indies; Bayley’s Four
-Years’ Residence; Southey’s History of the West
-Indies; Washington Irving’s Life and Voyages of
-Columbus; Baird’s Impressions of the West
-Indies, &amp;c.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_66_66" id="Footnote_66_66"></a><a href="#FNanchor_66_66"><span class="label">[66]</span></a> Raffles’s History of Java; Crawfurd’s Indian
-Archipelago; Stavorinus’s Voyages; Earl’s Eastern
-Seas, &amp;c.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_67_67" id="Footnote_67_67"></a><a href="#FNanchor_67_67"><span class="label">[67]</span></a> Marsden’s Sumatra; Anderson’s Mission to
-the East Coast; Crawfurd’s Indian Archipelago;
-Journal of the Indian Archipelago.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_68_68" id="Footnote_68_68"></a><a href="#FNanchor_68_68"><span class="label">[68]</span></a> Brooke, Keppel, Mundy, Belcher, Low, &amp;c.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_69_69" id="Footnote_69_69"></a><a href="#FNanchor_69_69"><span class="label">[69]</span></a> Brooke’s Journals; Mundy; Keppel’s Voyage
-of the Dido; Crawford’s Archipelago.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_70_70" id="Footnote_70_70"></a><a href="#FNanchor_70_70"><span class="label">[70]</span></a> Malcolm’s History of Persia; Javler’s Three
-Years in Persia; Kotzebue’s Embassy to Persia;
-Brydges’ Narrative of the Embassy; Morier’s
-Second Journey in Persia; Ker Porter’s Travels;
-Stocqueler’s Pilgrimage.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_71_71" id="Footnote_71_71"></a><a href="#FNanchor_71_71"><span class="label">[71]</span></a> See Elphinstone’s Kabul; Vignes’ Visit to
-Ghuzni; Burnes’ Kabul.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_72_72" id="Footnote_72_72"></a><a href="#FNanchor_72_72"><span class="label">[72]</span></a> Vigne’s Travels in Kashmir; Hugel’s Travels
-in Kashmir; Moorcroft’s Travels in the Himalayan
-Provinces; Forster’s Travels from Bengal to
-England; Hamilton’s East India Gazetteer;
-Bernier’s Travels in the Empire of the Mogul.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_73_73" id="Footnote_73_73"></a><a href="#FNanchor_73_73"><span class="label">[73]</span></a> Hamilton’s East India Gazetteer; Buchanan’s
-Journey in the Mysore, &amp;c.; Bishop Heber’s
-Journal; Hamilton’s Description of Hindustan;
-British Friend of India Magazine; Asiatic Researches;
-Hugh Murray’s Account of India;
-<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Conformité des Coutumes des Indes Orienteaux
-avec celles des Juifs</span>; Tod’s Travels in Western
-India; Tod’s Annals of Rajasthan; Launcelot
-Wilkinson’s Second Marriage of Widows in India;
-Papers presented to Parliament in 1803, on Infanticide;
-Grant’s Observations on Society and
-Morals among our Asiatic Subjects; Davidson’s
-Travels in Upper India; Mayne’s Continental
-India; Campbell’s British India; Hough’s
-Christianity in India; Abbé Dubois’ Letters on
-the Hindus; Malcolm’s Memoir on Central India;
-Bevan’s Thirty Years in India; Crawfurd’s Researches
-concerning India; Hoffmeister’s Travels
-in India; Ward’s Account of the Hindus; Mill’s
-History of British India, Notes by Wilson;
-Ferishta’s Mohammedan History; Thornton’s
-History; Penhoen’s Empire Anglais; Xavier;
-Raymond; Jaseigny; L’Inde.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_74_74" id="Footnote_74_74"></a><a href="#FNanchor_74_74"><span class="label">[74]</span></a> Sirr’s Ceylon and the Singhalese; Pridham’s
-History of Ceylon; Forbes’s Eleven Years in
-Ceylon; Davy’s Interior of Ceylon; Campbell’s
-Excursions in Ceylon; Knox’s Captivity in
-Ceylon; Knighton’s History of Ceylon; Tennent’s
-Christianity in Ceylon.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_75_75" id="Footnote_75_75"></a><a href="#FNanchor_75_75"><span class="label">[75]</span></a> Staunton, Tee Tsing Leu Lee, Code of
-Criminal Law; Davis, the Chinese; Guttzlaff’s
-China Opened; Fortune’s Wanderings in the
-North of China; Smith’s Visits to the Consular
-Cities of China; Montgomery Martin’s China;
-Forbes’s Five Years in China; Williams’s Survey
-of the Chinese Empire; Tradescant Lay’s Chinese
-as they Are; Morrison’s View of China; Meadow’s
-Desultory Notes on China; The Chinese Repository;
-Hugh Murray’s Description of China;
-Thornton’s History of China; Abeel’s Residence
-in China; Cunynghame’s Recollections of Service;
-Abel’s Embassy to China; Medhurst’s State of
-China; Auguste Harpman, <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Revue des Deux
-Mondes</span>; Langdon’s China; De Guignes, <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Voyage
-à Peking</span>.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_76_76" id="Footnote_76_76"></a><a href="#FNanchor_76_76"><span class="label">[76]</span></a> Craufurd’s Embassy to Siam; Craufurd’s
-Embassy to Avar; Tomkin’s Journals and Letters;
-Finlayson’s Mission; White’s Journey;
-Latham’s Natural History of the Varieties of
-Man.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_77_77" id="Footnote_77_77"></a><a href="#FNanchor_77_77"><span class="label">[77]</span></a> Lane’s Modern Egyptians; Poole’s Englishwoman
-in Egypt; Yates’s Egypt; St. John’s
-Egypt and Mohammed Ali; St. John’s Egypt
-and Nubia; St. John’s Oriental Album;
-Cadalvene and Breuvery, <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">l’Égypte</span>; Mugin’s
-<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Histoire de l’Égypte</span>; Burckhardt’s Arabic Proverbs;
-<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Expédition Française à l’Égypte</span>; Niebuhr’s
-Travels in Egypt, &amp;c.; Thackeray’s From Cornhill
-to Cairo; Warburton’s Crescent and the
-Cross; Bayle St. John’s Levantine Family;
-Henniker’s Travels; Minutoli’s Recollections of
-Egypt; Boaz’s Modern Egypt; Clot Bey’s <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Aperçu
-Général sur l’Égypte</span>; Pueckler Muskau’s Egypt
-and Mehemet Ali.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_78_78" id="Footnote_78_78"></a><a href="#FNanchor_78_78"><span class="label">[78]</span></a> See Kennedy’s Algeria and Tunis in 1845;
-Russel’s Barbary States; Jackson’s Account;
-St. Marie’s Visit to Algeria; Pananti’s Narrative;
-Beechey, Blaquière, &amp;c.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_79_79" id="Footnote_79_79"></a><a href="#FNanchor_79_79"><span class="label">[79]</span></a> The most valuable body of information on
-the Turkish Empire ever published was collected
-by the Rev. Robert Walpole, whose acquirements
-as a scholar are equalled by his accomplishments
-as a writer and a preacher.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_80_80" id="Footnote_80_80"></a><a href="#FNanchor_80_80"><span class="label">[80]</span></a> Niebuhr’s <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Description de l’Arabie</span>; Burckhardt’s
-Travels in Arabia; Burckhardt’s Notes on
-the Bedouins, &amp;c.; Chesney’s Euphrates Expedition;
-Farren’s Letters to Lord Lindsay;
-Perrier’s <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Syrie sous Mehemet Ali</span>; Skinner’s
-Overland Journey; Kinnear’s Cairo, Petra,
-and Damascus; Kelly’s Syria and the Holy
-Land; Walpole’s Memoirs; Poujolat’s <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Voyage en
-Orient</span>; Ainsworth’s Travels in Asia Minor;
-Blondel’s <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Deux Ans en Syrie</span>.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_81_81" id="Footnote_81_81"></a><a href="#FNanchor_81_81"><span class="label">[81]</span></a> Walpole’s Memoirs of Turkey; <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Deux Années
-à Constantinople</span>; Walpole’s Travels; Sketches
-of Turkey by an American; Castellan’s <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Mœurs
-des Ottomanes</span>; Macfarlane’s Constantinople in
-1828; Porter’s Philosophical Transactions; Lady
-M. W. Montague’s Letters; St. John’s Notes;
-Thornton; Walsh; Slade’s Travels; Marshall;
-Marmont’s Turkey; Arvieux’s Voyages; Russel’s
-Aleppo, &amp;c.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_82_82" id="Footnote_82_82"></a><a href="#FNanchor_82_82"><span class="label">[82]</span></a> Spenser’s Western Caucasus; Klaproth’s
-<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Voyages dans le Caucase</span>; Spenser’s Travels in
-Circassia; Wilbraham’s Travels; Marigny’s
-Three Voyages.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_83_83" id="Footnote_83_83"></a><a href="#FNanchor_83_83"><span class="label">[83]</span></a> Levchine’s <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Les Kirghiz Kazaks</span>; Spencer’s
-Travels; Klaproth’s Travels, &amp;c., &amp;c.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_84_84" id="Footnote_84_84"></a><a href="#FNanchor_84_84"><span class="label">[84]</span></a> Kohl’s Russia and the Russians; <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">La Russie
-en 1844&mdash;par un Homme d’État</span>; Russia under
-Nicolas I.; Clarke’s Travels; Lyall’s Character
-of the Russians; <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Voyages des Deux Français</span>;
-Granville’s Travels; Golovine’s Russia under the
-Autocrat; Venables’ Domestic Manners of the
-Russians; Bourke’s St. Petersburgh and Moscow;
-Thompson’s Life in Russia; Jesse’s Notes by a
-Half-Pay; Erman’s Travels.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_85_85" id="Footnote_85_85"></a><a href="#FNanchor_85_85"><span class="label">[85]</span></a> Wrangell’s <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Nord de la Siberie</span>; Cottrell’s
-Recollections of Siberia; Dobell’s Travels; Hollman’s
-Travels; Erman’s Travels; Parry’s Three
-Voyages; Bache’s Narrative; Bache’s Land Expedition;
-King’s Journey to the Arctic Ocean;
-Fisher’s Voyage of Discovery; Barrow’s Voyage;
-Shillinglau’s Arctic Discoveries; Snow’s Arctic
-Regions; Scoresby’s Arctic Countries, &amp;c., &amp;c.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_86_86" id="Footnote_86_86"></a><a href="#FNanchor_86_86"><span class="label">[86]</span></a> Henderson’s Residence in Iceland; Trail’s
-Letters on Iceland; Kames’ Sketches of Man;
-Gaimard’s <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Voyages en Islande</span>; Hooker’s Tour
-in Iceland; Crantz’s History of Greenland;
-Account of Greenland, Iceland, &amp;c.; Dillon’s
-Winter in Greenland; Barrow’s Visit to Iceland;
-Egede’s Descriptions of Greenland; Graah’s
-Voyage to Greenland.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_87_87" id="Footnote_87_87"></a><a href="#FNanchor_87_87"><span class="label">[87]</span></a> Angelot’s <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Legislation des États du Nord</span>;
-Capel Brookes’s Winter in Lapland and Sweden;
-Reiçhard’s <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Guide des Voyageurs</span>; Bramsen’s
-Letters of a Prussian Traveller; Laing’s Tour in
-Sweden; Tryzell’s History of Sweden; Frankland’s
-Visits to Courts of Russia and Sweden.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_88_88" id="Footnote_88_88"></a><a href="#FNanchor_88_88"><span class="label">[88]</span></a> Laing’s Residences in Norway; Wittich’s
-Western Coast of Norway; Two Summers in
-Norway; Latham’s Norway and the Norwegians;
-Elliot’s Letters from the North; Mathew Jones’s
-Travels; Clarke’s Travels; Count Bjornstyere’s
-Moral State of Norway; Buch’s Travels in
-Norway; Price’s Wild Scenes in Norway; Ross’s
-Yacht Voyage to Norway; Kraft’s <span lang="no" xml:lang="no">Topographisk,
-Statistisk, Bestrifelse-iber Kongeriget Norge</span>,
-Christiania, 1820, 5 vols. 8vo.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_89_89" id="Footnote_89_89"></a><a href="#FNanchor_89_89"><span class="label">[89]</span></a> Angelot’s <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Legislations des États du Nord</span>;
-Bremner’s Excursions in Denmark; Feldborg’s
-Denmark Delineated, &amp;c., &amp;c.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_90_90" id="Footnote_90_90"></a><a href="#FNanchor_90_90"><span class="label">[90]</span></a> Rabuteaux, ex Lascher, La Chaus, Layard,
-Knight, Dulaure, Chaussard, Jacob, Saint Hilaire,
-Hugues, Faumin, Sabatier, Beraud, &amp;c., &amp;c.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_91_91" id="Footnote_91_91"></a><a href="#FNanchor_91_91"><span class="label">[91]</span></a> We rely for certain facts, statistics, &amp;c., upon
-Reports of the Society for the Suppression of Vice;
-information furnished by the Metropolitan Police;
-Reports of the Society for the Prevention of Juvenile
-Prostitution; Returns of the Registrar-General;
-Ryan, Duchatelet, M. les Docteurs G. Richelot, Léon
-Faucher, Talbot, Acton, &amp;c., &amp;c.; and figures, information,
-facts, &amp;c., supplied from various quarters:
-and lastly, on our own researches and investigations.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_92_92" id="Footnote_92_92"></a><a href="#FNanchor_92_92"><span class="label">[92]</span></a> Life and Adventures of Col. George Hanger,
-1704.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_93_93" id="Footnote_93_93"></a><a href="#FNanchor_93_93"><span class="label">[93]</span></a> Acton.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_94_94" id="Footnote_94_94"></a><a href="#FNanchor_94_94"><span class="label">[94]</span></a> Imprisoned for three months.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote nomobile">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_95_95" id="Footnote_95_95"></a><a href="#FNanchor_95_95"><span class="label">[95]</span></a> In 1841 Flats were returned in Northumberland as separate Houses: this accounts for the decrease in 1851.</p></div>
-
-
-<div class="footnote mobile">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_95_95m" id="Footnote_95_95m"></a><a href="#FNanchor_95_95m"><span class="label">[95]</span></a> In 1841 Flats were returned in Northumberland as separate Houses: this accounts for the decrease in 1851.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote nomobile">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_96_96" id="Footnote_96_96"></a><a href="#FNanchor_96_96"><span class="label">[96]</span></a> The average number of Male Criminals has been arrived at in the same manner as that for Female Criminals, but the table itself is reserved for
-another place.</p></div>
-
-
-
-<div class="footnote mobile">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_96_96m" id="Footnote_96_96m"></a><a href="#FNanchor_96_96m"><span class="label">[96]</span></a> The average number of Male Criminals has been arrived at in the same manner as that for Female Criminals, but the table itself is reserved for
-another place.</p></div>
-
-
-</div>
-
-<hr class="full" />
-
-<div class="transnote">
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">Transcriber's Note</h2>
-
-<p>Large tables have been refactored for display on smaller screens.</p>
-
-<p>Illustrations have been moved to paragraph breaks and/or placed next
-to the text which they illustrate, and may not match the locations
-give in the List of Illustrations.</p>
-
-<p>The sidenote beginning "Removing any goods off" on p. 444 was printed as vertical text.</p>
-
-<p>On p. xxii, the figures "2,721,73" and "54,00" were each printed without the final digit.</p>
-
-<p>The following apparent errors have been corrected:</p>
-
-
-<ul><li>p. vii "City Mission," changed to "City Mission"</li>
-
-<li>p. viii "Houses of Assignation" changed to "Houses of Assignation 258"</li>
-
-<li>p. xx "clasess" changed to "classes"</li>
-
-<li>p. xxxix "But ‘the demand" changed to "“But ‘the demand"</li>
-
-<li>p. 6 "20 years of age" changed to "20 years of age."</li>
-
-<li>p. 6 "iron manufacturers" changed to "iron manufacturers,"</li>
-
-<li>p. 9 "all persone" changed to "all persons"</li>
-
-<li>p. 10 "Army, Navy." changed to "Army, Navy,"</li>
-
-<li>p. 11 "printing bookbinding" changed to "printing, bookbinding"</li>
-
-<li>p. 17 "viii. Breaking (stones)" changed to "ix. Breaking (stones)"</li>
-
-<li>p. 17 "ix. Scouring" changed to "x. Scouring"</li>
-
-<li>p. 20 "Commisioners" changed to "Commissioners"</li>
-
-<li>p. 41 "unto me!’" changed to "unto me!”"</li>
-
-<li>p. 48 "occuption" changed to "occupation"</li>
-
-<li>p. 48 (note) "Antiquities of Greece" changed to "Antiquities of Greece."</li>
-
-<li>p. 53 "recordered" changed to "recorded"</li>
-
-<li>p. 54 "characters to lose[39]" changed to "characters to lose[39]."</li>
-
-<li>p. 72 "difficul course" changed to "difficult course"</li>
-
-<li>p. 74 "expected. in any general" changed to "expected, in any general"</li>
-
-<li>p. 76 "comnities" changed to "communities"</li>
-
-<li>p. 93 "regions, espepecially" changed to "regions, especially"</li>
-
-<li>p. 111 (note) "Stocqueler’s Pilgrimage" changed to "Stocqueler’s Pilgrimage."</li>
-
-<li>p. 125 (note) "Hoffmeister’s Travel’s" changed to "Hoffmeister’s Travels"</li>
-
-<li>p. 135 "says Conyngham" changed to "says Cunynghame"</li>
-
-<li>p. 136 "appaparently" changed to "apparently"</li>
-
-<li>p. 136 (note) "Cunyngham’s Recollections" changed to "Cunynghame’s Recollections"</li>
-
-<li>p. 137 "cross.”" changed to "cross."</li>
-
-<li>p. 144 "the case" changed to "the ease"</li>
-
-<li>p. 146 "Enggland" changed to "England"</li>
-
-<li>p. 163 "longer period" changed to "longer period."</li>
-
-<li>p. 179 "parents or guardians or guardians" changed to "parents or guardians"</li>
-
-<li>p. 180 "frighful" changed to "frightful"</li>
-
-<li>p. 183 "heavest punishment" changed to "heaviest punishment"</li>
-
-<li>p. 196 "40 centimes;" changed to "40 centimes."</li>
-
-<li>p. 197 "week of labour," changed to "week of labour."</li>
-
-<li>p. 200 "be estalished" changed to "be established"</li>
-
-<li>p. 203 "with out expressing" changed to "without expressing"</li>
-
-<li>p. 203 "numeous" changed to "numerous"</li>
-
-<li>p. 203 "w-er at Turin" changed to "were at Turin"</li>
-
-<li>p. 203 "prostituion" changed to "prostitution"</li>
-
-<li>p. 204 "sanitary visis" changed to "sanitary visits"</li>
-
-<li>p. 204 "away from him," changed to "away from him."</li>
-
-<li>p. 208 "Ismeria." changed to "Ismeria"</li>
-
-<li>p. 210 "‘Rue Fromenteau”" changed to "“Rue Fromenteau”"</li>
-
-<li>p. 216 "possessed o" changed to "possessed of"</li>
-
-<li>p. 219 "minds o" changed to "minds of"</li>
-
-<li>p. 225 "his divison" changed to "his division"</li>
-
-<li>p. 231 "fron the ashes" changed to "from the ashes"</li>
-
-<li>p. 232 "rapped up" changed to "wrapped up"</li>
-
-<li>p. 233 "which, however" changed to "which, however,"</li>
-
-<li>p. 238 "abound there" changed to "abound there."</li>
-
-<li>p. 249 "disapointment" changed to "disappointment"</li>
-
-<li>p. 250 "nighbourhood" changed to "neighbourhood"</li>
-
-<li>p. 262 "we had supper.," changed to "we had supper,"</li>
-
-<li>p. 264 "Females" changed to "Females."</li>
-
-<li>p. 264 "9 12" changed to "9 3 12"</li>
-
-<li>p. 266 "3 <span class="smcap lowercase">P.M</span>" changed to "3 <span class="smcap lowercase">P.M.</span>"</li>
-
-<li>p. 269 "lots of money”" changed to "lots of money’"</li>
-
-<li>p. 270 "sixteen years’ old" changed to "sixteen years old"</li>
-
-<li>p. 272 "come to me!" changed to "come to me!”"</li>
-
-<li>p. 279 "descriptious" changed to "descriptions"</li>
-
-<li>p. 280 "low neigbourhood" changed to "low neighbourhood"</li>
-
-<li>p. 281 "such a street.”" changed to "such a street."</li>
-
-<li>p. 283 "of his property" changed to "of his property"</li>
-
-<li>p. 283 "pinafores towels" changed to "pinafores, towels"</li>
-
-<li>p. 284 "the others’ cap" changed to "the other’s cap"</li>
-
-<li>p. 293 "<i>Attic or Garret Thieves</i>" changed to "<i>Attic or Garret Thieves.</i>"</li>
-
-<li>p. 295 "neighbourhoood" changed to "neighbourhood"</li>
-
-<li>p. 303 "starving Some" changed to "starving. Some"</li>
-
-<li>p. 306 "to sip the hand" changed to "to slip the hand"</li>
-
-<li>p. 310 "£6 194" changed to "£6,194"</li>
-
-<li>p. 319 "It was on a Saturday" changed to "“It was on a Saturday"</li>
-
-<li>p. 329 "somes cases" changed to "some cases"</li>
-
-<li>p. 330 "seven o’clock, <span class="smcap lowercase">P M.</span>" changed to "seven o’clock, <span class="smcap lowercase">P. M.</span>"</li>
-
-<li>p. 339 "eater, or it gives" changed to "enter, or it gives"</li>
-
-<li>p. 339 "in wich drills" changed to "in which drills"</li>
-
-<li>p. 343 "police station" changed to "police station."</li>
-
-<li>p. 345 "burglareis" changed to "burglaries"</li>
-
-<li>p. 348 "bought this instrument" changed to "brought this instrument"</li>
-
-<li>p. 356 "fashionable careeer" changed to "fashionable career"</li>
-
-<li>p. 357 "in the West-end" changed to "in the West-end."</li>
-
-<li>p. 360 "thorougfares" changed to "thoroughfares"</li>
-
-<li>p. 360 "want and suffering" changed to "want and suffering."</li>
-
-<li>p. 361 "I don’t mind seeing" changed to "“I don’t mind seeing"</li>
-
-<li>p. 361 "King s Cross, and" changed to "King’s Cross, and"</li>
-
-<li>p. 364 "healthy girls. When" changed to "healthy girls When"</li>
-
-<li>p. 366 "with plunderiug" changed to "with plundering"</li>
-
-<li>p. 368 "pay, they were" changed to "pay they, were"</li>
-
-<li>p. 371 "Ionly get copper" changed to "I only get copper"</li>
-
-<li>p. 372 "jacket for 2<i>d</i>" changed to "jacket for 2<i>d.</i>"</li>
-
-<li>p. 372 "old cap for ½<i>d</i>" changed to "old cap for ½<i>d.</i>"</li>
-
-<li>p. 374 "low coffee-house" changed to "low coffee-houses"</li>
-
-<li>p. 375 "515<i>l</i>" changed to "515<i>l.</i>"</li>
-
-<li>p. 375 "in the City" changed to "in the City."</li>
-
-<li>p. 375 "from a well known" changed to "from a well-known"</li>
-
-<li>p. 375 "2 843" changed to "2,843"</li>
-
-<li>p. 378 "shilling’s worth, Then" changed to "shilling’s worth. Then"</li>
-
-<li>p. 380 "than a-good one" changed to "than a good one"</li>
-
-<li>p. 390 "remittance, This system" changed to "remittance. This system"</li>
-
-<li>p. 390 "position in society," changed to "position in society."</li>
-
-<li>p. 395 "c. 3 and 4 (1598,)" changed to "c. 3 and 4 (1598),"</li>
-
-<li>p. 400 "350 were convicted," changed to "350 were convicted."</li>
-
-<li>p. 403 "expenses, and&mdash;’" changed to "expenses, and&mdash;”"</li>
-
-<li>p. 409 "as to character." changed to "as to character.”"</li>
-
-<li>p. 410 "about town He tells you" changed to "about town. He tells you"</li>
-
-<li>p. 418 "done it ,for" changed to "done it, for"</li>
-
-<li>p. 422 "Waldegrave" changed to "Waldegrave)"</li>
-
-<li>p. 427 "obliged to you." changed to "obliged to you.”"</li>
-
-<li>p. 428 "sitting on the sca fold" changed to "sitting on the scaffold"</li>
-
-<li>p. 428 "arm? Your’e a" changed to "arm? You’re a"</li>
-
-<li>p. 430 "clohes, first of all" changed to "clothes, first of all"</li>
-
-<li>p. 432 "desease. This man" changed to "disease. This man"</li>
-
-<li>p. 435 "small piece of soup" changed to "small piece of soap"</li>
-
-<li>p. 438 "clothes, as as if" changed to "clothes, as if"</li>
-
-<li>p. 445 "Brass Rods &amp;c" changed to "Brass Rods &amp;c."</li>
-
-<li>p. 445 "Lord Brougham 2" changed to "Lord Brougham 2”"</li>
-
-<li>p. 448 "machinery, which, &amp;c. &amp;c. &amp;c." changed to "machinery, which, &amp;c. &amp;c. &amp;c.”"</li>
-
-<li>p. 453 "<i>Manufacturing and Sub-Mining Counti</i>" changed to "<i>Manufacturing and Sub-Mining Counties.</i>"</li>
-
-<li>p. 473 "There aer, on an average" changed to "There are, on an average"</li>
-
-<li>p. 477 "841 to 1850" changed to "1841 to 1850"</li>
-
-<li>p. 479 "Females is the <i>least</i>" changed to "Females is the <i>least</i>."</li>
-
-<li>p. 489 "ENGLAND &amp; WALES" changed to "ENGLAND &amp; WALES."</li>
-
-<li>p. 495 "Middlesex 09" changed to "Middlesex 0·9"</li>
-
-<li>p. 495 "Norfolk 07" changed to "Norfolk 0·7"</li>
-
-<li>p. 495 "Lancaster 02" changed to "Lancaster 0·2"</li>
-
-<li>p. 501 "’ ’" changed to "„ „"</li></ul>
-
-
-
-<p>Inconsistent or archaic spelling and punctuation have otherwise have been left as printed.</p>
-
-
-<p>The following possible errors have not been changed:</p>
-
-<ul><li>p. 1 the elimination of the truth</li>
-
-<li>p. 139 Mesco</li>
-
-<li>p. 178 Mary Wolstonecroft</li>
-
-<li>p. 180 oath that he had intercourse</li>
-
-<li>p. 185 regulations was</li>
-
-<li>p. 244 expences</li>
-
-<li>p. 366 ladened</li>
-
-<li>p. 377 pair this off</li>
-
-<li>p. 396 except in ordinary cases</li>
-
-<li>p. 413 by, a despairing</li>
-
-<li>p. 440 sell his work for him?</li>
-
-<li>p. 447 The sufferings of this minority is</li>
-
-</ul>
-
-
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-<pre>
-
-
-
-
-
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