Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: LETTER V. Rosendale Forest,, 1842. At every step of my journey I find the truth of what I was told in Manchester, that the great wish of the manufacturers is to have their case thoroughly investigated and honestly made known. Every one to whom I have applied has exerted himself to facilitate my inquiries; a gig and servant were placed at my disposal by the hospitable proprietor of Sunnyside, and, thus provided, I started early this morning for Colne. On my road I was stopped by a group of seven operatives, who stated their distress in firm but respectful terms, and asked for relief. One of the men particularly struck my attention; he was the living skeleton of a giant. His tale was soon told: he had been a weaver of mousselines-de-laine, and in prosperous times had earned from thirty to forty shillings per week; he had a wife and four children dependent on his exertions, and he had long maintained them in decency and comfort; work began to grow slack, he hoped that times would mend, and was unwilling that his family should lose the comforts to which they h'ad been accustomed; he drew the littlefund he had placed in the savings-bank; it was soon exhausted, and work was slacker than ever. He began to retrench, and to sell part uf his furniture. He told how each article was resigned with bitter regret, and how hope of retrieving his affairs gradually faded. Before last Christmas everything had disappeared, including the Sunday dresses of himself, his wife, and children. Since that time he had been for seventeen weeks without work of any kind, and had been principally supported by the charity of neighbours little better off than himself. When I offered him a shilling he refused to receive it until I had given him my name and address, that he might repay it if ever an opportu…
