ably
in every clime and every age such women and men have existed. The savage
lives in all of us, and the simple life has its attractions. To be free
of responsibility is, no doubt, a natural aspiration. But when I see how
easy it is for this class of people to obtain food, when I see how easy
it is for them to obtain shelter, when I see and know how thousands of
the poor are unceasingly at work in order to provide a modicum of food
and the semblance of a shelter, then it occurs to me, and I am sure it
will to any one who thinks seriously upon the matter, that these men and
women, who are harking back to the life of the idle savage, are treated
better in Christian England than the industrious, self-respecting but
unfortunate poor. But come with me to see another sight! It is again
afternoon, and we take our stand at 3.30 p.m. outside a shelter for
women which every night receives, for fourpence each, some hundreds of
submerged women.

The doors will not be opened till six o'clock, so we are in time to
watch them as they arrive to take their places in the waiting queue. A
policeman is present to preserve order and keep the pavement clear; but
his service is not required, for the women are very orderly, and allow
plenty of room for passers-by.

As the time for opening approaches, the number of waiting women
increases until there is a waiting silent crowd. No photograph could
give the slightest idea of their appearance, for dirt and misery are not
revealed by photography.

Let us look at them, for the human eye sees most! What do we see?
Squalor, vice, misery, dementia, feeble minds and feeble bodies. Old
women on the verge of the grave eating scraps of food gathered from the
City dustbins. Dirty and repulsive food, dirty and repulsive women! who
have begged during the day enough coppers to pay for their lodging
by night. Girls of twenty, whose conduct in their homes has been
outrageous, and whose life in London must be left to imagination.
Middle-aged women, outcasts, whose day has past, but who have still
capabilities for begging and stealing. The whole company presents an
altogether terrible picture, and we are conscious that few of the women
have either the ability or the desire to render decent service to the
community, or to live womanly lives.

At length the door opens, and we watch them pass silently in, to sleep
during the night in the boxes arranged on the floors, their bodies
unwashed, and their clothing un