Stranica 40 [40]
18
But he hadn’t,
because nobody had taught
him. 3 |
cated, and taught a useful trade,” said
the red-faced gentleman in the high chair.
“So you’ll begin to pick oakum to-mor¬
row morning at six o’clock,” added the
surly one in the white waistcoat.
For the combination of both these bless¬
ings in the one simple process of picking
oakum, Oliver bowed low by the direction
of the beadle, and was then hurried away
to a large ward, where, on a rough hard
bed, he sobbed himself to sleep. What a
noble illustration of the tender laws of this
favoured country ! they let the paupers go
to sleep! 3
Poor Oliver! he little thought, as he lay
sleeping in happy unconsciousness of all
around him, that the board had that very
day arrived at a decision which would ex¬
ercise the most material influence over all
his future fortunes. But they had. And
this was it:— |
The members of this board were very
sage, deep, philosophical men; and when
they came to turn their attention to the
workhouse, they found out at once, what
ordinary folks would never have discover¬
ed,—the poor people liked it! It was a
regular place of public entertainment for
the poorer classes,—a tavern where there
. "was nothing to pay,—a public breakfast,
dinner, tea, and supper, all the year round,
. ua brick and mortar elysium, where it
. was all play and no work. . * Oho!” said
the board, looking very knowing; “ we
are the fellows to set this to rights; we’ll
stop it all in no time.” So they establish¬
ed the rule, that all poor people should
have the alternative (for they would com¬
pel nobody, not they,) of being starved by
a gradual process in the house, or by a
quick one out of it. With this view, they
contracted with the water-works to lay on
an unlimited supply of water, and with a
corn-factor to supply periodically small
quantities of oatmeal; and issued three
meals of thin gruel a-day, with an onion
twice a week, and half a roll on Sundays.
They made a great many other wise and
humane regulations having reference to
repeat ; kindly undertook to divorce poor
married people, in consequence of the
mons; and, instead. of compelling a man
to support his family as they had thereto¬
fore done, took his family away from hin,
and made him a bachelor! There is no
started up in all classes of society, if it
had not been coupled with the workhouse.
But they were long-headed men, and they
had provided for this difficulty. The re¬
lief was inseparable from the workhouse >
and the gruel; and that frightened people.
-For the first three months after Oliver
Twist was removed, the system was in
full operation. It was rather:expensive ¬
at first, in consequence of the increase in
the undertaker’s bill, and the necessity of
taking in the clothes of all the paupers,
which fluttered loosely on their wasted,
gruel, But the number of workhouse in¬
mates got thin, as well as the paupers;
and the board were in ecstasies. The
room in which the boys were fed, was a
large stone hall, with a copper at one end,
out of which the master, dressed in an
apron for the purpose, and assisted by one
or two women, ladled the gruel at meal
times; of which composition each boy
had one porringer, and no more,—except
on festive occasions, and then he had two
ounces and a quarter of bread besides.
The bowls never wanted washing —the
boys polished them with their spoons, till
they shone again; and when they had
performed this operation (which never took
very long, the spoons being nearly as large
as the bowls), they would sit staring at
the copper with such r eyes, as if
they could devour the very bricks of which
it was composed; employing themselves
meanwhile in sucking their fingers most
assiduously, with the view of catching up
any stray splashes of gruel that might
have been cast thereon. Boys have gene¬
rally excellent appetites: Oliver Twist
and his companions suffered the tortures
of slow starvation for three months; at
last they got so voracious and wild with
hunger, that one boy, who was tall for his
age, and hadn’t been used to that sort of
thing, (for his father had kept a small
cook’s shop,) hinted darkly to his compa¬
nions, that unless he had another basin of
gruel per diem, he was afraid he should
some night eat the boy who slept next him,
who happened to be a weakly youth of
tender age. He had a wild, hungry eye,
and they implicitly believed him. A coun¬
cil was held; lots were cast who should
walk up to the master after supper that
evening, and ask for more; and it fell to
Oliver Twist.
The evening arrived: the boys took
their places ; the master, in his cook’s uni¬
form, stationed himself at the copper; his .
pauper assistants ranged themselves be¬
hind him; the gruel was served out, and