"Brown,.Mary.-.Unicorn's.Ring.4.-.1999.-.Dragonne's.Eg" - читать интересную книгу автора (Brown Mary)

Gaskell and Mr. Thackeray, a Treasury of Poetry, the collected Histories of Mr.
Shakespeare andThe Commonplace Cook . This latter I could not really put to the
test, as the fire in my room would only hold one pan at best and cooking in
one's room was discouraged, but if some day I had a home of my own I should,
theoretically, have knowledge enough to produce good, nourishing meals.
In the meantime I, like pupils and teachers alike at the Reverend Ezekiel
Moffat's Charity School, lived on just that: the posthumous generosity of our
founder. Founded sixty years ago in the early 1820s, the worthy minister had
envisaged saving the souls of London's poorest children with his four "R's":
Religion, Reading, 'Riting and 'Rithmetic. His daughters, who now ran the
school, had added another "R": Refreshments.
For many of these children of the streets the food they received at school was
their only sustenance. On arrival each child was given a slice of bread and
dripping and a drink of milk and water. At lunchtime there was a bowl of Ellen's
soup and another slice of bread and at hometime a slice of bread and scrape and
another drink of milk and water. We teachers shared the same diet, which made
the twenty-six pounds a year we received go a little further. It meant I only
had to buy supper during the week, and could spoil myself on Saturday nights and
Sundays.
Still, ten shillings a week didn't go far. Four shillings a week for rent, plus
a penny for hot water. One penny a day for the emptying of my slop bucket. This
last was definitely worth it, not having to tramp down two flights of stairs to
use the revolting, fly-infested privy in the backyard. That made five shillings
and four-pence. Three-pence for laundry, a penny for the library, which left
four shillings and four-pence for everything else, which included clothes,
coals, sewing materials and ribbons, soap and, of course, food.
At present I was managing to save one shilling a week towards the cost of
material for a winter dress and new boots, and another shilling went into the
Co-operative Bank. Then there was the collection at church on Sundays and a
penny for the Missionary Fund, which left me two-pence a night for a meat pie or
a couple of sausages. This week I had bought wool to knit mittens and a muffler
for the winter, but I had the princely sum of nine-pence left with which to
indulge myself tomorrow.
In the fine weather I would make a packed lunch and take it out into one of the
parks, but when it was wet or cold on Saturday nights I would visit the butcher
for a couple of chops, then the greengrocer for potatoes and some apples or an
orange, plus a loaf from the baker and perhaps a chunk of cheese from the
grocer. Saturday night was cheapest too, as all was closed for the Sabbath, and
the later you went, the better the bargain.

Back in the classroom my pupils were in disarray. Obviously those who could had
scratched their versions of "Cat, Rat, Mat, Hat, Sat" onto their slates, and
were now teasing one another, throwing things or fast asleep. I hurried over,
apologising to Miss Hardacre and Miss Hepzibah Moffat for the possible
disruption of their Middle and Senior classes, clapped my hands for order,
tapped a few heads with my ruler and hurriedly wiped the blackboard with a damp
cloth and substituted "Dog, Log, Hog, Bog, Fog" for the earlier words. I then
moved down the aisle, praising where I could, as blame was no use with these
deprived children.
Some of them were patently ineducable, others would never get further than