Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 63, No. 391, May, 1848Various
General
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 63, No. 391, May, 1848
Various
England -- Periodicals; Scotland -- Periodicals
We should here observe that a considerable number of the examinations
were conducted not by the inspectors themselves, but by persons hired
by them, more or less on account of their knowledge of the Welsh
language. To these we attach little or no weight, because they have
not the sanction of a Government commission, nor do the persons
themselves hold any official or private rank by which their capacities
for conducting such examinations can be ascertained.
As a specimen of the state in which some of the peasantry are, we find
Mr Lingen, while in Pembrokeshire, remarking thus:--
"I entered two cottages, where the children were said not to
be attending school. In the first I found an extremely
well-spoken and intelligent girl of twelve or thirteen years
old, and her brother somewhat younger. They had been to
Yerbeston day-school for about a quarter, and to Molleston
Sunday-school for about two years, though not for the last
month. It was closed during the bad weather and short days.
She read about Jesus in the Testament; but could tell me
_nothing_ about him except that he was called the Son of
Man. She said, 'They only teach us to read; they don't tell
us any of these things at the Sunday-school.'
"In the other cottage I found two little children, a boy and
girl, going, and having been, to no school of any kind. The
girl was nursing an infant: there were two other children
from home. The mother of four of them was a widow, the fifth
child was apparently a pauper, billeted upon her in
consideration of 5s. per week from the parish. At the time
of my visit the mother was out at farm-work (winnowing), and
had to be called; I could get no answer from the two
children. The girl, who was the eldest, and in her ninth
year, only replied to my questions by a cunning, unpleasant
grin, though her face was intelligent and not ill-looking.
The boy had a most villainous expression of sullen
stolidity; he was mixing culm with his hands. They knew no
prayers, nor who to pray to--and of course never prayed. The
mother could not read nor write--'worse luck,' as she said;
her only chance of educating these children was a
free-school. The entire 5s. went in food at the present high
prices, and 'not enough then.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account