be carried beyond the individual's strength to bear it; and that while sufficiently brisk to maintain circulation, it should not be so quick as greatly to disturb it. If these points are not attended to, over-walking, whether as to speed or distance, may, like running, occasion affections of the heart, varicose veins of the legs, and injury, rather than benefit, to digestion.

NOTE (4.) P. 251.

The injurious influence of continuance in a bad posture, and more especially that of having the body much bent forwards so as to compress the stomach and interfere with the expansion of the chest, is not only seen in the occupations which I have mentioned, and in which confinement to close rooms and factories may be supposed to have done as much as position in producing the symptoms complained of. Very similar effects are produced in those who work in the open air. I have observed striking illustrations of this remark in gardeners; and I have been induced to refer the remarkable difference which may be observed between the health of gardeners and farmers' labourers, to the unhealthy, bent position into which they are brought whilst employing their hands on the surface of the ground. It is probable that some advantage might be derived, were gardeners frequently to kneel on a pad provided for the purpose, instead of stooping. Stooping should be especially avoided after a meal; and those who can find no substitute for this position, would do well carefully to avoid over-distension of the stomach, either with fluids or solids. Excess in the latter, without reference to the quality of the beverage, is productive of much more inconvenience and injury than are generally ascribed to it.

NOTE (5.) P. 255.

"The Bill which should have put an end to the inhuman practice of employing Children to sweep Chimneys, was thrown out, on the third reading, in the House of Lords, (having passed the Commons without a dissentient voice,) by a speech from Lord Lauderdale, the force of which consisted in, literally, a Joe-Miller jest. He related, that an Irishman

used to sweep his chimney by letting the rope down, which was fastened round the legs of a goose, and then pulling the goose after it. A neighbour, to whom he recommended this as a convenient mode, objected to it upon the score of cruelty to the goose: upon which he replied, that a couple of ducks might do as well. Now, if the Bill before the House had been to enact that men should no longer sweep chimneys, but that boys should be used instead, the story would have been applicable. It was no otherwise applicable than as it related to chimney-sweeping: but it was a joke, and that sufficed. The lords laughed: his lordship had the satisfaction of throwing out the Bill, and the Home Negro Trade has continued from that time, now seven years till this day, and still continues. His lordship had his jest; and it is speaking within compass to say, that, in the course of those seven years, two thousand children have been sacrificed in consequence.

"The worst actions of Lord Lauderdale's worst ancestor admit of a better defence before God and man.

"Had his lordship perused the evidence which had been laid before the House of Commons when the Bill was brought in, upon which evidence the Bill was founded? Was he aware of the shocking barbarities connected with the trade, and inseparable from it? Did he know that children inevitably lacerate themselves in learning this dreadful occupation ?— that they are frequently crippled by it ?-frequently lose their lives in it by suffocation, or by slow fire ?-that it induces a peculiar and dreadful disease?-that they who survive the accumulated hardships of a childhood, during which they are exposed to every kind of misery, and destitute of every kind of comfort, have, at the age of seventeen or eighteen, to seek their living how they can in some other employment; for it is only by children that this can be carried on? Did his lordship know, that girls as well as boys are thus abused?—that their sufferings begin at the age of six; sometimes a year earlier ?— finally, that they are sold to this worst, and most inhuman of all slaveries, and sometimes stolen for the purpose of being sold to it?"-From The Doctor &c. 2 vols. 12mo. London, 1834; quoted in the Quarterly Review, No. 101. March 1834.

Since the First Edition of these Lectures was printed, an Act has been passed, in 1840, rendering it illegal to employ climbing-boys for the purpose of sweeping chimneys, and attaching the penalty of fine or imprisonment to the violation of this law. This important Act does not come into operation till the seventh month (July) in next year, 1842. Those who feel an interest in this subject, and desire the termination of this species of British slavery, must be pained at the very little attention which it is evident that the public give to this subject. The number of sweeping-boys who may constantly be observed in the streets, prove that the public, generally, are quite satisfied to let their chimneys be swept in the old-fashioned barbarous manner, as long as the law of the land will permit them to do so with impunity. Ladies have even been known to insist on having their chimneys swept by boys. They would doubtless shudder at the idea of such an employment for any children of their own; and their humanity is very much on a par with that of the woman who consented to the proposal of Solomon for the division of the living child. Those who desire to see the new Act fairly carried out, and to prevent any proposal for a renewed indulgence of the old system, on the ground of the inadequacy of machinesweeping, would do well to pay attention to the very faulty machines with which a number of idle men may be seen professing to cleanse chimneys. Such apparatus, and such hands, cannot fail to bring the method into disrepute.

NOTE (6.) P. 260.

The unhappy lot of the milliners' and dressmakers' girls, under a system ruinous to health and morals, has, since the publication of the First Edition of these Lectures, been taken up by persons of benevolence and influence; whose exertions, if sustained, will, it is hoped, lead to a correction of the abuses complained of. I allude especially to Lord Ashley; who has not only employed his voice and his pen on the subject, but has taken particular pains to collect information relating to it, through official inspectors and medical men. This inquiry has confirmed not only the existence of the iniquitous system

briefly noticed in this Lecture, but also the kinds of mischief produced, and the great extent to which they prevail. In the course of this inquiry, it was stated, that, in anticipation of a Drawing Room, the milliners' girls frequently work all night; and that on other occasions it is not an uncommon practice to keep them till three o'clock in the morning: that when they reside on the premises of their employers, they not only suffer from long confinement to work and want of exercise, but from unhealthy crowding in confined lodgingrooms: that on the other hand, if they are lodged out of the house, they are exposed in the streets, at hours injurious alike to their health and their morals. The Saturday Magazine has taken up the subject; and it is to be hoped that that influential periodical will not abandon it, until an enlightened public opinion has put a stop to an evil, which it is ashamed to tolerate. It is doubtless, in itself, a good thing to encourage manufacture, and to give employment to the working classes; but it is no less impolitic than wicked to allow this plea to produce the evils here complained of. The tradesman cannot be substantially benefitted by sudden fits of transiently increased demand, which, having no legitimate basis, must interrupt and derange his regular business; and the miserable operatives must pay dearly in pocket and health for the pittance which they may receive for the few hours of extra labour.

Whilst noticing the case of the dressmakers' girls, we must not altogether overlook the case of those who occupy a somewhat corresponding position in the male sex. It can scarcely have escaped observation, that the working tailors are, as a body, a squalid, sickly, and feeble set of men. On this very ground, public attention is notoriously directed to them, but rather for ridicule than for pity. There is a manifest absurdity in this mode of treating the subject; since, whilst necessity and comfort impose a certain degree of attention to dress on every man; and fashion, love of display, and dandyism, call for a far greater amount from very many, the class of men who meet the demands so produced must be numerous and important. In the employment itself, there should

be nothing degrading. Laudable ingenuity may be well exercised in properly fitting the endless varieties in the human figure, so as to conjoin ease with the necessary protection and desired good appearance in every movement and attitude. Good workmanship, honesty, and punctuality, may be exhibited in the completion of the garment: and these qualities should obtain their just value and esteem in a tailor, as well as in any other operative. If their health suffer from their useful occupation, do not despise them, but let the evil be avoided or counteracted. A late distinguished writer on the injurious influence of various occupations has made the following important remarks respecting tailors:

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Though all inhabitants of large towns suffer in a greater or less degree from the impurity of the atmosphere, yet it is obvious that those who are most crowded together will be chiefly affected, particularly if ventilation be imperfect. A serious addition to the evils of a confined atmosphere is the defect of muscular exercise. Certain classes of muscles are for twelve or fourteen hours a-day scarcely moved, and postures maintained injurious to the proper actions of the internal organs.

"Tailors are very unfortunately situated in this respect. Sitting all day in a confined atmosphere, and often in a room too crowded, with the legs crossed, and the spine bowed, they cannot have respiration, circulation, or digestion well performed. The employment, we must admit, produces few acute diseases. But disorders of the stomach and bowels are general, and often obstinate. Pulmonary consumption is also frequent. Some of the men state their liability to pains of the chest; but the majority make no complaint. It is nevertheless apparent, even from observing only the expression of countenance, the complexion, and the gait, that the functions of the stomach and the heart are greatly impaired, even in those who consider themselves well. We see no plump and rosy tailors; none of fine form and strong muscle. The spine is generally curved. The reduction in the circumference of the chest is not so much as we might expect. The average of our measurements presented 33 to 34 inches, while that of