“When the ‘slave-gangs’ are at work in the fields under their ‘driver’ in winter, they are certainly a motley and uncouth group; many of them having on their fathers’ great coats, and others long woollen dresses, reaching to their ankles, above their other clothes, to defend them from the cold. But in summer, the jaunty air of their short white, or light cotton jackets, an article of dress which has somewhat the appearance of the waist of a lady’s riding-habit, with its open collar displaying a gay handkerchief beneath, with their pink or blue gingham petticoats, give them quite a picturesque appearance. “I should like to shew you too, what a pleasant sight it is when you pay a visit of enquiry on the occasion of a _birth_. You will find the mother laid among her well-bleached sheets, and comfortable home-made blankets, surmounted by a gaily-patched quilt; and though you may be no admirer--as gentlemen seldom are--of new-born babies, yet, when the little thing is brought out of its snug cradle for your inspection, you cannot but cast an approving glance on its nicely-plaited cap, and the warm flannels and neatly made frock (often ornamented with braiding), which bespeak it the child of competence and comfort. The Bondager too is there, rather _dressed_ for the occasion (though ‘said by the wives to be of little or no use to them’), it being customary for her to stay at home to look after the house and nurse the mother, till she is well enough to resume her duties. Should it be a first-born, you are invited to inspect the baby’s wardrobe, and there is little appearance of wretchedness in the sufficient stock of neat little garments ‘laid up in lavender’ for the little stranger. It is expected, too, that you should drink the child’s health, and a bottle of wine or spirits is produced from the cupboard, along with a noble cheese, and a loaf to match it, which it would be thought very ‘mean’ not to have to offer on such occasions.” Mrs. Grey luxuriates in descriptions of the “_white loaf_ which the women always have, and the dainty _white cake_ for tea, kneaded with butter or cream, when a friend comes to visit them; of the fat things with which their cows and their pigs overflow their dairy and larder; of their general good fare; and of the many days when the Bondager is not at field-work, but stays to spin, knit, wash and iron for the household,-- always milking the cow, and frequently churning and making cheese.” She adds that the hinds’ wives make great profit of their butter, about 5_l._ a year; and that they have “great spinning matches, and spin all the woollen articles that they use.” Mr. Grey in “Two Letters on the State of the Agricultural Interests, and the Condition of the Labouring Poor,” published by Ridgway, London, 1831, draws a similar picture, describing the hind’s cottage as “a scene of comfort and contentment.”