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diff --git a/old/63415-0.txt b/old/63415-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 306764a..0000000 --- a/old/63415-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,45976 +0,0 @@ -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 - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LONDON LABOUR, LONDON POOR, VOL 4 *** - -***** This file should be named 63415-0.txt or 63415-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/4/1/63415/ - -Produced by Henry Flower, the booksmiths at eBookForge and -the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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