Page:Hannah More (1887 Charlotte Mary Yonge British).djvu/179

Rh years. "They are all miners, all poor, and all have been unable to earn a penny, the material they subsist upon, lapis calaminaris, with which brass is made, lying upon hand without any call for it, so that industry is of no use. After assisting them individually to the best of our power, my friend and neighbour, Mr. H. Addington, and myself have commenced merchants, and purchase a large quantity of their commodity weekly, which is deposited in warehouses till better times return, and both their minds and bodies are improved by having employment as well as bread. I am labouring hard to prevail on the real merchants to renew the trade by the time our private funds are exhausted. The distress of these eleven hundred souls has been exquisite. I condemn you to this tedious detail that you may know how acceptable your bounty has been."

For this account was elicited by a handsome donation, for the benefit of the Mendip poor, from Sir William Pepys. These exertions were made in the midst of ailments of all the three sisters, and constant interruptions, but still there was vivacity enough to enjoy any humorous event or anecdote. One which Sir William tells in his reply is worth repeating. There was a discussion, at the Prince Regent's table, which was the higher title, Dauphin or Prince of Wales, on which one of the company quoted the line—