| Show LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF LONDON foundling hospitals are establishments in which children unlucky waifs waife abandoned abondo ned by their natural fia tural protectors and found by others are nurtured at the public expense in an ciena timea the disposition of children was usually placed by law in the hands of the father who could rear them or sell th them eni into slavery according as his interest or inclination prompted whether the modern modem practice of desertion and exposure to the mercy of strangers be less atrocious we leave to christian moralists mora lists to determine to mitigate in some measure the guilt of infanticide one of the stubborn remnants of heathen dom the catholic church at a very early period lent its encouragement to the establishment of foundling hospitals the aoth article of the council of nice enjoined that A house shall be established in each town for the reception of children abandoned by their parents in the ath cantu ry at treves a marble basin was placed in front of the cathedral in which the bishops permitted abandoned infants to be deposited which when found were given in charge of the members of the church these institutions abound in catholic countries at the present in the foundling hospital at paris the child is deposited in the revolving cradle by the mother or some other person and by turning the box round the waif is carried inside the walls it is then taken out and weighed and if its weight be less than six pounds it is considered that its chance to live is very small it is then inscribed in a register and a formal statement is drama up of any name which may have been given with it or of any mark which it bears either on its person or otherwise of the hour at which t was received its sex and dress etc parents or relatives can reclaim the children at any period ar or they may be legally adopted by any french citizen who is in a condition to maintain them the mortality amongst these infants odthe of the state is quie qui e appalling according to published statis average life does not exceed four years 52 per cent dying during the first ye year arand and 78 per cent during the first twelve years only 22 out of loo foundlings thus reach the age of twelve years the lot of the unfortunate foundling is a hard one As might naturally be expected those who survive and are ushered into the world without friends of or means constitute a large proportion of the thieves and prostitutes of large cities of the male convicts of 01 france 13 per cent are foundlings and females from the same class form one fifth of the inmates of houses of ill fame the foundling hospital in london was established by captain thomas coram in 1739 as an hospital fors for exposed and destitute children in many respects this establishment differs from the older and more famous institutions of paris amsterdam moscow and st petersburg and is conducted upon stricter strict ek and more humane principles on sunday morning the ath of november zm 1886 I 1 paid a visit to the foundling hospital london I 1 presented myself at the entrance a few minutes past az n an I 1 was confronted by a porter in bright blue livery holding a bright silver plate in his hand and as he had the emblematic appearance of a sprat to catch a mackeral I 1 took the hint and deposited a piece of silver upon the shining disc I 1 dropped it lightly modestly preferring not to call attention to my liber aliby three penna bits have a modest ring anyhow I 1 entered the centre building which proved to be it a large handsomely furnished chapel the deep tones of the organ and the vocal accompaniment of rich and solemn strains admonished me that divine service was then being held the pulpit galleries and pews had a cosy and comfortable appearance and the ample audience were a high toned class of worshipers possibly the silver plated doorkeeper door keeper had a refining influence upon the congregation I 1 soon discovered that the services sel 6 were of the episcopal type and after the high church order the prayers and liturgy were chanted by the ministering mini a monotone and the responses were sung by the congregation accompanied by the impress ive intonations intonation of the grand organ and professional choir the the music and singing were very beautiful the preachers voice rich sd aad charming the sermon was a gem of elocution that alone was worth three pence the text was what god edour let no man put asunder I 1 thought directly of marriages also of divorce courts but the gifted clergyman gym annever never glanced at subjects so commonplace common place and vulgar he discoursed of prof huxley and of the ampler anthem which will be sung when science and theology shall be united in sweet and union jon upon either side of the organ was a steep gallery filled on the right hand with boys on the left with little girls these were the more advanced foundlings 1 I never saw or heard the babies there were at least soo of these children in the galleries apparently parent ly between the ages of five and ten years they were dressed in uniform and were very still and well behaved during the whole time of the service in which they took an active part and appeared as serious serious and decorous as the most devout worshipers I 1 st I 1 P 11 when the ie religious exercises were over quite a number of the congregation including myself went through the domestic apartments of the hos pital I 1 visited the dormitories and bath ro rooms Q ms the former are lofty and and capacious and appear to be near pec perfection tion in cleanliness and general sanitary appointments there was a large fireplace fireplace in each in which blazed a cheerful fire while a refresh ing strem stream of pure air swept through from end to end I 1 walked through the picture gallery and nd was much in te rested in the gems of art and other noteworthy note worthy objects which adorned the hl e walls and were otherwise dispersed in the elegant apartments I 1 went to the dining rooms on the first floor there is one for the boys and another for the girls each room is probably a hundred teet feet long and is furnished with two tables running I 1 nea nearly aly the whole length with forms without backs at the sides when the children came in for dinner they entered in single file and walked in slow and even order down each side of the tables there were t ibur four rows of them and they the girls looked very pretty iv in their white tip pits and aprons As the first reached the foot of the table the last stood at the other end they all stopped together like well drilled soldiers on a signal being given by a rap upon the table they instantly turned and faced the table another rap and each pair of tiny hands were rais ed and held palm to palm in front oi of the breast A few moments pause and then a childish voice lisped out the grace before meat at adoth er rap the hands dropped to the sides again and still another and each child stepped with the right foot over the low form ind and sat down at the table the dinner appeared abundant and substantial and was served by girls of fifteen or eighteen these children did not seem to be unhappy they had the appearance of being as well fed and cared for as any children need be and yet as I 1 gazed upon their little countenances there was something in their looks which moved me deeply the spectacle drew a gloom over my spirit and filled my soul with a melancholy sadness they were more like old and antique dwarfs than young children there was a mute and sedate espres sion on each face that was painful to me every face wore this subdued cast it was not childlike and natural it was more the anxious careworn look of chastened chasteney chast ened age I 1 was with those little ones half an hour and I 1 saw only one smile smie that smile mile went into my heart and sent up something om ething to my throat and my eyes got wet it was the only bit of childhood I 1 saw where there ought to have been so much and that was so precious it melted me in a moment if they had all laughed I 1 should not have been moved but that one faint ripple such as a tiny minnow might make on the placid surface of the still water was so touching it was a strange sight this annat ural hush of mirth and childlike frolic not a sound was uttered not even a whisper passed but the children viewed everything the table the eatables visitors with a quiet leaden stare there was a something behind that look there was a idason for that mysterious hush it made me think of the grave the pale face of a female corpse floating above the turbid surface of the thames I 1 saw in these sad white features those of the frail tg mother other as with stealthy hand she placed her babe upon the doorstep I 1 could trace the lin laments of fear anxiety and shame those little innocent waifs waife had been thrown f from rom moral wrecks upon the worlds bleak shore outcasts abandoned not wanted how could they laugh their eyes never drank in the rapturous love gaze of a mothers face how could their eyes shine they have never been warmed and soothed upon the soft breast and kissed and hugged and squeezed like natural children of course they were cold and cheerless and without soul they were caged birds who had never known the freedom of the meadow and the wildwood and never tuned their voices to the joyous shout and had never joined in the merry romping gambols of their free fellows no there was a settled stillness brooding over those little spirits a chilly hush that froze the gushing gladness at the fountain and forbade the childish mirth to now flow I 1 have seen such faces on little children who had lost their parents and being too young to realize the extent of the bereavement have sat and watched with anxious expectation for papa or mamma to come L back ack also in pictures of the babes in the wood where the hapless innocents lie clasped in each others arms and had sobbed themselves into exhausted submission to their fate what was this power which had spread such a mysterious spell over this host of little oies ones and made them look like long rows of inanimate dolls or lifeless statuettes had they come from the land of silence where the rivers glide with noiseless flow where the birds are mute and still and the breezes waft no sound nor stir the leaves with gentle nutter flutter no it is the reflex of the hush of guilt it is the phantom of fear and dread that always follows and hovers around secret transgression it is the sign of conscious guilt skulking behind the vail of innocence it is the dark shadow of the hand w which would fain hide its foul work in the grave but shrinks from committing murder it is the hush of the forbid den meeting and the stolen embrace it is the hush born of cankering terror that drives the bloom from the cheek and steals the light from the eye when the tokens of retribution turn the stolen sweets to bitter gall it is the hush begotten of sighs and sobs in the secret closet it is the hush that attends the innocent but ill starred victim when with trembling hands it is thrust through the dark stony portal it is the hush of the cheerless nursery where caresses and loving kisses are unknown where the purchased and mechanical routine of motherhood is dispensed by strangers with cold breasts and chilly hand handstand sand faces without smi smiles les it is the hush that pervades every hall of that home of strange and arctic comfort this is only one of the dusters clusters or of deadly fruit which load and bend to the earth the corrupt tree of apostate christianity with a branch thereof nourishing flourishing in pompous wealth in this same building when the church service closed a number of richly dressed worshipers repaired to the dining rooms and wat varied interest the with ton f or juvenile feeders A curious and detective eye guided perhaps by unjust suspicion could not help observing certain strange gestures looks and positive traces of lineament and features of resemblance leading from the unconscious face of the child up to that of the interested te onlooker on looker it is not improbable that on the present occasion there were some private recognitions ot of parental affinities and not annat ural that a motherly instinct should prompt the frail one to gaze upon her child but what of the social tree which bears such fruit what of the religion r e that embraces such append ages what of a church that fellowships such members fancy that holy and devout congregation adorned with jewels clad in silk and fine cloth piously bending over their perfumed gilt and plush prayer books bowing their solemn hypocritical faces in reverent attitude in the presence of soo discarded and disowned bastards some of whom were without doubt the offspring of members of that saintly congregation another place of striking interest which I 1 visited while at london was the tower my first application for admission was met with a prompt re fasal by one of of the grotesquely cos tided guards who resting the pole of his halberd as helmet split splitter terl I 1 on the ground and striking an attitude of pompous importance demanded if I 1 was a foreigner not knowing the damaging effect of my words I 1 answered that I 1 was from america whereupon the armed beef eater informed me that I 1 could not be admitted within the gates without a permit from the department of war as the recent blowing up of the armory had caused all foreigners by official offic fal tal order to be excluded without a rigid examination shortly afterwards I 1 noticed another guard kept the gate I 1 went to him and rexi renewed owed my application for admittance and upon my assurance to him that I 1 was a natural born englishman and paying the inevitable fee of admission P I 1 was per bitted to enter within the somber walls the first object that absorbed my attention was the traitors sate data through which all prisoners formerly entered the tower from the river thames it is now walled up the structure called the tower of london is an aggregation of black walls gloomy looking turrets and embattled parapets it is built on ground much lower than the adjacent streets and while this situation makes the edifice took less tall than it really is it might be compared to a whelp of the british lion crouching low and frowning from his lair there are four towers called tower gwyn the oldest rufus ruffis tower the bloody tower and the lions it is said in the traditions of old london that tower rower gwyn or white tower had its foundations laid in blood that the mortar was of pounded bones and gore the lions was used as a menagerie by one of the edwards it is a place of dark deeds and gloomy memories in feudal times it was a powerful fok fortress tress then and long loag aft af erJa terla state prison it is now a government storehouse and armory containing arms and accouterments ter ments for the complete equipment of a large army it contains also the jewel house in which are kept the crown jewels or regalia crowns seep and jewels of enor coups value the horse armory is is a collection of ancient and medieval mediaeval media med Leval eval arms and armor the latter being exhibited in complete suits of mail on wooden figures of men and horses the exterior of this gloomy fortress is an irregular quadrilateral collection of towers turrets and battlemented walls the space covered is from 12 to 13 acres and the whole is surrounded by a moat now dry but ca pable of being flooded at any time from the thames the moat is bor dered within by a lofty castellated wall broken by massive flanking tow ers at frequent intervals within this wall rises another of similar construction st but greater height in inside ide of this second wall are the barracks armory etc in the centre of all stands the lofty keep or donjon known as the white tower it is a structure of great antiquity and immense strength its walls in some parts being 16 feet thick of solid masonry after viewing |
