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possible ejectment, sorrowing over the unemployment of her
husband, distracted with the slow progress of her homework and
its merciless remuneration, with no immediate hope of betterment
or of relief from her task, she deserves much sympathy and quick,
generous material help. Hood's "Song of the Shirt is sung
to-day in strident, lancinating tones in many a Finsbury home.
Illustrative Cases.
1. The family consisted of the parents, and the baby 2 weeks
old, breast fed. They had lost one child. They occupied one
room. The father was out of work. The mother was a flower
mounter, and had continued her employment during the lying-in
period. She had been sitting up in bed, working to earn money
for "food and firing." The family owed several weeks' rent, and
were under notice to quit. Their landlady proposed to get rid of
them as soon as the mother got up.
2. The baby was 3 weeks old. The mother made artificial
flowers during her lying-in, and was helped by the father and
2 children, 12 and 10 years. Both parents sold the flowers in the
street. At one time the father alone sold them, and the mother
was able to " wash the children all over " on Saturday—but now,
owing to the fact that both sold in the streets on Saturday, the
children had to be washed on Sunday.
3. The family consisted of the parents, four children, and the
baby, and occupied one room. The father, formerly a soldier, had
been out of work for 16 weeks. The mother had borrowed 24s.,
and had during this time paid 32s. interest to a woman slum moneylender,
without paying off any of the original loan. The mother
was afraid to tell her husband, but the moneylender threatened
to do so unless the interest were paid promptly. The mother was
sent to the South Coast to recruit for two weeks. On her return
she was met at the station by her drunken husband. He had a
quarterly pension of 45s.; he gave the mother 5s. and drank the
rest. The mother now pawned her husband's Sunday clothes
"to pay him out," and meant to let him redeem them with his
overtime money, which he never gave her. The mother kept her
room extremely clean.