Original Stories from Real Life/Chapter 24
CHAP. XXIV.
Viſit to a poor Family in London.—Idleneſs the Parent of Vice.—Prodigality and Generoſity incompatible.—The Pleaſures of Benevolence.—True and falſe Motives for ſaving.
AFTER the impreſſion which the ſtory, and the ſight of the family had made, was a little worn off, Caroline begged leave to buy one toy, and then another, till her money was quite gone. When Mrs. Maſon found it was all expended, ſhe looked round for an object in distreſs; a poor woman soon preſented herſelf, and her meagre countenance gave weight to her tale.—A babe, as meagre, hung at her breaſt, which did not ſeem to contain ſufficient moisture to wet its parched lips.
On enquiry they found that ſhe lodged in a neighbouring garret. Her huſband had been out of employment a long time, and was now ſick. The maſter who had formerly given him work, loſt gradually great part of his buſineſs; for his beſt cuſtomers were grown ſo fond of foreign articles, that his goods grew old in the warehouſe. Conſequently a number of hands were dismissed, who not immediately finding employment elſewhere, were reduced to the moſt extreme diſtreſs. The truth of this account a reputable ſhopkeeper attested; and he added that many of the unhappy creatures, who die unpitied at the gallows, were firſt led into vice by accidental idleneſs.
They aſcended the dark ſtairs, ſcarcely able to bear the bad ſmells that flew from every part of a ſmall houſe, that contained in each room a family, occupied in ſuch an anxious manner to obtain the neceſſaries of life, that its comforts never engaged their thoughts. The precarious meal was ſnatched, and the ſtomach did not turn, though the cloth, on which it was laid, was died in dirt. When to-morrow's bread is uncertain, who thinks of cleanlineſs? Thus does deſpair encreaſe the miſery, and conſequent diſeaſe aggravate the horrors of poverty!
They followed the woman into a low garret, that was never viſited by the chearful rays of the ſon. A man, with a ſallow complexion, and long beard, ſat ſhivering over a few cinders in the bottom of a broken grate, and two more children were on the ground, half naked, near him, breathing the ſame noxious air. The gaiety natural to their age did not animate their eyes, half ſunk in their ſockets; and, inſtead of ſmiles, premature wrinkles had found a place in their lengthened viſages. Life was nipped in the bud; ſhut up juſt as it began to unfold itself. "A froſt, a killing froſt," had deſtroyed the parent's hopes: they ſeemed to come into the world only to crawl half formed—to ſuffer, and to die.
Mrs. Maſon deſired the girls to relieve the family; Caroline hung down her head abaſhed—wiſhing the paltry ornaments which ſhe had thoughtlessly bought, in the bottom of the ſea. Mary, meanwhile, proud of the new privilege, emptied her purſe; and Caroline, in a ſupplicating tone, entreated Mrs. Maſon to allow her to give her neck-handkerchief to the little infant.
Mrs. Maſon deſired the woman to call on her the next day; and they left the family cheered by their bounty.
Caroline expected the reproof that ſoon proceeded from the mouth of her true friend. I am glad that this accident has occurred, to prove to you that prodigality and generoſity are incompatible. Œconomy and ſelf-denial are neceſſary in every ſtation, to enable us to be generous, and to act conformably to the rules of juſtice.
Mary may this night enjoy peaceful ſlumbers; idle fancies, fooliſhly indulged, will not float in her brain; ſhe may, before ſhe cloſes her eyes, thank God, for allowing her to be His inſtrument of mercy. Will the trifles that you have purchaſed afford you ſuch heart-felt delight, Caroline?
Selfish people ſave, to gratify their own caprices and appetites; the benevolent curb both, to give ſcope to the nobler feelings of the human heart. When we ſquander money idly, we defraud the poor, and deprive our own ſouls of their moſt exalted food. If you wiſh to be uſeful, govern your deſires, and wait not till diſtreſs obtrudes itſelf—ſearch it out. In the country it is not always attended with ſuch ſhocking circumſtances as at preſent; but in large cities, many garrets contain families, ſimilar to thoſe we have ſeen this afternoon. The money ſpent in indulging the vain wiſhes of idleneſs, and a childiſh fondneſs for pretty things not regulated by reaſon, would relieve the miſery that my ſoul ſhrinks back from contemplating.