Εικόνες σελίδας
PDF
Ηλεκτρ. έκδοση

1838.]

PUBLIC HOUSES.

417

wrong to go on there; and that, by encouraging what was good, and by trying to check all drunkenness and profligacy, he might be doing much good in his present Occupation; and that his life would not be an unhappy one, when the thieves and drunkards had left his house, and it was frequented by sober travellers, and such respectable persons as wanted the accommodation of house room and provisions. The landlord took the advice, and his house flourished, and became known for its quietness and respectability: and the honesty of all that was made in the house, caused the home-brewed, to be so known for its goodness and genuine quality, that the neighbours were glad to send for what they wanted for their own tables; and, when there was a public meeting or dinner of any kind, the good fare and good management, and cleanliness and comfort of this house always caused it to be selected for the purpose. It has, moreover, often afforded accommodation between morning and evening church on a Sunday, for those persons who came from a distant part of the parish. Some of them brought their dinner with them, and ordered some little refreshment at the house; but the landlord was very willing that they should rest at his house, whether they spent anything or not; and there was never any drinking company on the Sunday to disturb the quietness of religious people; and the landlord always went to church himself and took his family with him. If public houses were conducted in this manner, a conscientious and religious man might keep one of them well enough, and might get an honest living without being obliged to witness the scenes of profligacy, and hear the vile and profane language which too commonly resounds from these houses. There need be no such number of these houses as there are at present, where there cannot be custom enough for all in the fair way business; but the worst characters are brought together by the temptations which a landlord holds out, for the sake of assembling those people who like the place the better, the more wickedness is to be found in it." What do they sell?" is a question which was lately asked in a newspaper. They ought to sell food and refreshment,

of

and to find rest for the traveller; but this purpose seems, in many places, wholly forgotten; and, instead of being victuallers and selling victuals, as the name imports, they sell nothing but drinkables, nothing that can bring any body to the house but those who delight in wasting their time and their money in the filthy practice of drinking, when there is no necessity; and starving their families, and ruining their own characters, and destroying every feeling that might lead to what was honest, respectable, and good.

V.

FROM A YOUNG LADY RESIDING IN READING, BERKS.

We go on as usual at church. Our valuable pastor is, I think, increasingly excellent, laying himself out for the good of his flock. During the summer season, he has had three services in his church, always performing the greater part himself, with the addition of catechizing the Sunday school children in the afternoon: this has been I trust a benefit to them and useful to the teachers also: for they want stirring up. And, now, let me inquire for your progress. I should think there must be hundreds of ignorant neglected children in your neighbourhood. I hope your pastor has been enabled to gather some of those little ones out of this naughty world for instruction and training in the ways of God! J. W.

GIN PALACES AND CHEAP GIN.

THE inhabitants of Blackfriars-road have been greatly annoyed by the performance of bands of music stationed at two gin palaces recently opened, and the concourse of persons necessarily collected. The band representing one establishment has been driven backwards and forwards in a van, increasing the nuisance by distributing bills of the prices of the spirits in front of the house of the rival. One of these temples is a very magnificent building, the architecture being superior to that of any other similar establishment in town, and the street is illumined with the glare of three splendid lamps, at about half the height of the building, each having numerous jets of flame.

1838.]

GIN PALACES AND CHEAP GIN.

419

Whilst the rise of such establishments in every neighbourhood of the metropolis is a matter which the moralist cannot pass by without reflection, the quality of the articles which they in general vend, from the nature of the ingredients employed, to enable the proprietors to diminish the prices and increase the consumption, is a matter which requires legislative inquiry and interference. The immense mass of poison distributed through their agency, independent of the moral influence of the destructive vice upon the community, is a matter, indeed, which cannot be viewed without serious alarm. By the rapid increase of such establishments, it is not too much to say that whole districts are becoming more demoralized, and proportionally increase with the wretchedness in which they are engendered. The low priced gin, which is the general excitement to indulgence, will not indeed bear chemical examination, and the nature of the ingredients which it contains is sufficient to excite a just apprehension of the physical and moral consequences which necessarily ensue from excessive indulgence. Were this confined merely to a reduction in the strength of the spirit, it would be comparatively unobjectionable; but, in addition to this, the articles employed to give a factitious strength to the reduced gin are by no means of a harmless quality. The effect of the sulphuric acid, sulphate of zinc, and some other matters employed, is to create an artificial stimulus on the palate, and excite a thirst which the drinker vainly endeavours to allay with more of the deadly fluid. It cannot be considered a matter of surprise that the first indulgence is the almost inevitable forerunner of those confirmed habits which reduce the honest and industrious to a level with the crew of wretchedness surrounding the portals of these mansions reared on their wretchedness and woe. Some excellent laws exist on the statute book for the punishment of adulteration, and the legislature cannot be considered as doing its duty for the common weal, if it any longer neglects to place this branch of trade, unhappily so much on the increase, under some judicious, efficient, and salutary control.-Hampshire Advertiser.

[merged small][graphic][merged small]

THIS animal is of the dog tribe,-but is larger and more strong and muscular than the generality of dogs. His colour is a sort of pale grey. The wolf belongs to almost all the temperate and cold parts of the world. They were formerly very common in England, and were so destructive that about eleven hundred years ago Edgar, one of our Saxon kings, determined to destroy them, and allowed the tribute which had been usually paid in money, to be paid by numbers of wolves' heads, which had the effect of nearly putting an end to the whole race. Historians, however, tell us, that these animals were troublesome in Scotland some years after this; and that Sir Edward Cameron of Lochiel, killed with his own hand the last wolf in the island about 160 years ago. The wolf, when pressed by hunger, is a most fierce and formidable creature; and will then attack even the buffalo, and other large and powerful animals.

The wolf is a deadly enemy to the sheepfolds: whole droves of them will sometimes descend from the mountains, and dig the earth from under the doors, and enter with the most dreadful ferocity, and destroy every sheep in the fold.

The wolf is a most outrageous thief; and, like other thieves, it is said that he is at the bottom a coward, and dreadfully suspicious. He imagines every thing that he sees is intended for a trap to take him. It is said, that if a deer is tied to a post to be milked, he dares not approach lest it should be placed there to entrap him; but when the animal is set at liberty, he will then pursue and devour it. The wolf is so strong that he can carry

1838.]

NATURAL HISTORY.

421

away a sheep in his mouth, and run off with it. His sense of smelling is particularly strong, which enables him to pursue his prey at a great distance.

Although the wolf is of so savage a disposition, yet, when taken young, it may be tamed; and many instances are recorded to shew what they may be taught by care and good management. They are not, however, to be trusted; for some of them which have been brought up in the house, and have had the run of the poultry yard for a long time without doing any injury,-have, all on a sudden, shown the natural fierceness of their disposition, and destroyed every thing within their reach.

The skin of the wolf is of value, and makes a warm and durable fur covering; his flesh is good for nothing, and is considered so bad, that it is said no animal will eat it.-Chiefly from Bingley's Animal Biography.

[graphic][subsumed][merged small]

THE fox is of the dog tribe also; he inhabits nearly all parts of the world, and is of so wild and fierce a nature, that it is no easy matter to take him. He is considered one of the most cunning and crafty of the beasts of prey, and this he shows in his manner of providing himself with his food out of the lambs, geese, hens, and any kind of birds, which he can bring into his den. He usually makes his burrow in a wood or thicket, and likes to be within reach of a farm-yard or a sheep-fold, where he can lay his plots for the purpose of plunder. He goes to work very quietly and slyly; and, when he has got his prize, he will carry it to his den, and lay it up there, and then go back for a further supply, which he conBb

VOL. XVIII.

« ΠροηγούμενηΣυνέχεια »