The Children's Book of LondonMitton, G. E. (Geraldine Edith)
History
The Children's Book of London
Mitton, G. E. (Geraldine Edith)
London (England) -- Description and travel -- Juvenile literature
That-God-Sent-Us ought to have been a very good girl, and there was
another Jane That-God-Sent-Us, too; and there was a boy called James
Cinerius, because he was found on a cinder-heap.
After a good many years it was found that there were far too many
children left at the Hospital, and they could not all be kept; and so
the men who looked after the place made a rule that the mother must
bring her child and tell all she could about it, and if she was very
poor, and the father would not give her money or take care of her and
the child, then the child was taken in and kept.
For a long time past babies who came to the hospital have been sent to
the country, and now the older ones live in the country too. Then, when
they are fourteen, the boys have to learn some trade to earn their
living, or become soldiers, and the girls begin to work as little
servants. The boys wear coats and trousers of a kind of chocolate colour
with brass buttons and red waistcoats, and the girls' dresses are the
same colour, and have trimmings of red. On Sundays the girls wear a high
snowy-white cap and a large white collar, and they used to sit in the
gallery of the chapel, the girls on one side of the organ and the boys
on the other. It was one of the sights of London; many people used to go
to the chapel on Sundays to see it.
After chapel the children march to their dining-rooms and walk in, and
stand round the table and sing their grace before dinner. On Sundays
they get mutton and potatoes and bread, and on some other days meat and
potatoes, and on some days fish and pudding. For breakfast they have
bread, with butter or dripping, and boiled milk, or cocoa, or porridge;
for tea they get bread-and-butter and milk, and for supper bread, with
cheese, butter, or jam.
It is a very good thing to think they are all being well taught and
looked after and helped to turn into honest men and women, but it is
very sad to think there are so many boys and girls whose parents don't
want them, and will willingly give them away; and we can't help feeling
that it can never be quite a happy place, for every child must feel that
it is only one in a crowd of others, and that no one loves it
especially.
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