" And what, I further asked, were the feelings of the
landlords with regard to their tenants dying of starvation? He answered
with solemn emphasis--"DELIGHTED TO BE RID OF THEM."
The present leader of the Conservative party seems to entertain feelings
akin to this; for, some years ago, addressing his constituents, and
speaking of some results of the Irish Famine, he said
significantly--"there are worse things than a famine."
"I shall never forget," said Rev. Mr. F---- to W.G., "the impression
made on my mind a few days ago by a most heartrending case of
starvation. It was this: The poor mother of five children, putting them
to bed one night, almost lifeless from hunger, and despairing of ever
again seeing them alive, took her last look at them, and bade them her
last farewell. She rose early in the morning, and her first act was to
steal on tiptoe to where they lay. She would not awake them, but she
must know the truth--are they alive or dead? and she softly touched the
lips of each, to try and discover if there was any warmth in them, and
she eagerly watched to see if the breath of life still came from their
nostrils. Her apprehensions were but too well founded, she had lost some
of her dear ones during the night.
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