Page:The Slippery Slope.djvu/81

 House. An intercepted letter, which ran as follows, was one day laid before the Guardians:—

"Dear liz lizey I am going out on Monday. If you like you can come with me. I shall wait for you at the prince of wails, yrs. truly, Bill."

Flirtations of this kind are by no means uncommon in workhouse life. Probably every workhouse has its in-and-out couple who have originally been "married by the chaplain of the workhouse." Sometimes even the aged succumb. Two old men have taken to themselves wives from amongst the female inmates. In neither case, unfortunately, have the marriages turned out happily. "She isn't at all the sort of woman I expected," said one of them plaintively; "she drinks a bit."

The allowance of "extra diet to helpers" is a difficult question. It is probably not uncommon in London workhouses, and doubtless counts as one of the attractions to the able-bodied. At first sight it would appear that if a man or woman can work inside a workhouse they can work outside, and that they would be better outside. If, however, they prefer to remain in, then they should work for their keep. In neither case is it good either for them or for the ratepayers to bribe them to stay. It is assumed, of course, that the workhouse has a proper and sufficient dietary scale.

There are some who think that the able-bodied day-room, both on the men's side and on the women's, has its charms for a certain class of inmate. They are said to be scenes of a certain rough conviviality, not always of too lofty a tone, which is dear to the heart of the able-bodied in-and-out. The supervision is often not very stringent, and one has heard of such things as card-playing, chuck-penny, and other similar amusements being