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    NOTICES OF BOOKS. 61

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    X.—NOTICES OF BOOKS.

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    The "Workwoman .. . "I? Cie Ouvriere ., ...

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    - ¦ ' '. ' < ¦ " ¦' ' " '" ¦ ' .-. '¦ ¦ ...

    _<> nly field open to women for public discussion ; it is here _, they can _fcest test the value of work doneandaided by the experience of

    ihe past , return to their various , labors , , their hands strengthened , a , nd their spirits cheered "by the synrpathy and co-operation of the

    best men and women who have been among their listeners .

    Notices Of Books. 61

    NOTICES OF BOOKS . 61

    X.—Notices Of Books.

    X . —NOTICES OF BOOKS .

    The "Workwoman .. . "I? Cie Ouvriere ., ...

    The " Workwoman .. . "I ? Cie Ouvriere ., Rue _" Pierre Par Sarrazin Jules Simon , 14 . . Paris : Hachette , et

    At a first glance one might deem a subject bearing this title most dull and unattractive , especially to the English reader . We shall ,

    however , be enabled as we proceed , to demonstrate that the condition of the wives and children of the French working-classes closely

    resembles that of our own lower orders , and that the reflections on , and the _suggestions ; for , ameliorating . their . present mode of life ,

    contained in M . Simon's volume , are well calculated to afford valuable information to all English reformers and philanthropic workers .

    Perhaps the greatest praise we can bestow on our author is , to ' affirm that his opinions are just and moderateuntainted with the

    , _revolutionary heat so often rendering this class of books , not only uselessbut highly injurious to that section of the community whose

    interests , they are supposed to advance . M . Simon has divided his volume into four parts , all equally well written and well treated .

    Before specifying the subjects which are entered upon in each of these ' divisionswe must acquaint the reader with our author's

    , object populations , which of France is to restore . "family life" . ; to . ¦ ¦ .... the manufacturing

    This term , - family life , '' may n eed some little explanation at pur hands ; and as its non-existence is the evil condemned by M . Simon

    , we will briefly explain its meaning . In all the large manufacturing towns of England and Franceit is the rule for husbandwifeand

    / children to work through the , day at the manufactory , , merel , y returning at night to sleep undei the same roof . The miseries

    arising from this system are most serious , and only by restoring a more natural mode of life to the working population can we hope

    to check the prevailing want and unhappmess . . Husband , wife , and - child being separated except for an hour or so in the eveningwhen

    , all are fatigued by the long day's work , it may be said no home exists . Machinery has beyond doubt brought about this melancholy

    . state of things , having offered inducemeats to women and children to spend their days in a factory . The mere fact of the wife being

    engaged all the day will easily convince the least thoughtful how pernicious is the system of out-door employment for , married women _.

    The _cjiildfen _, without a mother ' sqare , run to seed ; the house becomes

• Citation
  • English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), Sept. 1, 1861, page 61, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01091861/page/61/