The laboring classes of England : especially those engaged in agriculture and manufactures; in a series of letters / by an Englishman ; also, A voice from the factories, a poem, in serious verse.

  • Dodd, William, 1804-
Date:
1847
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The laboring classes of England : especially those engaged in agriculture and manufactures; in a series of letters / by an Englishman ; also, A voice from the factories, a poem, in serious verse. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    firmed cripple for life. His knees gave way and gradu- ally sunk inwards till they touched each other, thus form- ing a kind of arch for the support of the body. At 12 years of age the easiest position in which he could stand, was with his feet about 10 or 12 inches apart, his knees resting as above, with the centre of gravity crossing the thigh and leg bones and falling within the feet. The school in which he was thus placed was any thing but favorable to a life of morality. Under the same roof were more than 100 children and young persons of both sexes, going together in the morning, associating with each other through the day, returning again in the eve- ning, with no moral restraint upon their actions, no ex- ample set them worthy of imitation. On the contrary, low, vulgar, brutal language, swearing, singing immoral songs, and acts of gross indecency, were not only tolera- ted, but in many instances actually countenanced and encouraged. A factory conducted thus was not a very- desirable place to train up a child in, and many a time did it grieve the heart of his mother to hear him, in an- swer to her inquiries as to how he had come by a bruise or cut on the head or back, tell how he had been beat by the overlooker or spinner, and how he swore he would kill him if he did not work faster. Anxiously did she in- quire of her friends for some more suitable employment, for her boy; but on account of his deformity, which had become now quite conspicuous, none could be found. The situation of Jemmy at 14 was truly distressing. He could not associate with the other boys at play in his leisure moments ; neither could he go to the Sunday school, as he had done in his younger days; on the con- trary, he sought every opportunity to rest himself, and to shrink into any corner to screen himself from the prying eyes of the curious and scornful ! During the week days he frequently counted the clock, and calculated