Lord Shaftesbury, in a speech at Glasgow on mission chapels,
good books, city buildings, and civilization generally, told a good story to illustrate the difficulty of housing the people well. 4' There was an abominable district in London inhabited by Irish. He selected a house, and persuaded the inmates—an Irish family— to allow him, at some expense, to whitewash the walls, and make the place as tidy and comfortable as possible. They consented. A short time afterwards lie went there, and anything more begrimed than the appearance of the house, more shocking to any person caring for decency, he could not conceive, lie said,
What on earth is this?' and the reply was, 'Plaza your honour, the house looked so cold and uncomfortable that I sent for the sweep, and axed him to give us a few warm touches.'" Is it not just possible that the Irishman told the truth, that his taste was offended by the monotonous colour, and not his love of dirt ; that, in fact, he employed the only substitute for a creeper he could think of ?
Previous page
