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230 CHARITIES FOR WOMEN.
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Preston Hospital, Shropshire. T The Ains...
the matron ' s and agent ' s rooms , the children ' s dormitories , and a large kitchen , bright with "what one rarely sees now-a-days , an array
of old fashioned pewter plates and dishes , though kept for show , not use .
There are but few rules , one necessitating a certain amount of residence , and another negativing that any trade or calling be
carried on within the hospital , are the chief . There are no badges , no restrictions as to dress , the old ladies visit their friends , or receive
them in turn . The matron ' s monthly visit of inspection to the rooms , necessitated by the rules , is never , as such , ostensibly made ; a
kind call , an enquiry after health , the loan of a book or newspaper , does away "with all formality . Those -who have much to do with
old age , with its querulousness , its depressions , its weary indispositions of so many kinds , know how much forbearance ,
cheerfulness , and real Christian charity are needed ; and in this case these virtues are exercised to the full , by one , who though still young ,
holds firm but gentle rule . It is an arduous position , but woman ' s prudence and gentleness shine here as in other places of difficulty
and trial in the world . Cheerfulness , good health , and thorough contentment with the peace , the rest , the little competency secured ,
are the rule not the exception . Great longevity is a characteristic of the larger portion of lives , and though the place is not an Eden ,
little sticklings for precedency , small gossip , small frailties of temper or manner , exist here , as under every roof in teh broad world ,
still the goodness of these old gentlewomen to one another , their neighbourly friendships , their sympathy , and the kindness they shew
to such a solitary stranger as I was when I trod their precincts , do the greatest honor to their warm and motherly hearts . The
more that vacancies are filled up with candidates from the superior and educated classes , the more perfect will this assimilation of tastes
and friendship be . For no barrier is more impassable than that arising from differences of education and breeding . In closing our
little history of the founders of Preston Hospital and its present condition , one point of great _significancy must not be forgotten , that
of the kindly manner in which the quarterly stipends are paid by P . Potter , Esq ., the agent of the Earl of Bradford . Courteous and
accessible at all such times as he visits the hospital , this gentleman ' s manner of distributing what others have given is deserving of all
praise , and this is written advisedly and with disinterested sincerity . It is a point highly estimated , and does great credit to the charity ,
for there are those amongst the recipients , widows of professional men , mothers of physicians and barristers , sisters of clergymen ,
governesses , and ladies of good family , who would keenly feel it , did the manner of the giffc add one single pang to the sufficient
sorrows of poverty , old age and incapacity . The present Earl of Bradford , descended through the female line
from the Newports of Pligh Ercall and Eyton-upon-Severn , is sole
representative of Richard , Earl of Bradford , in whom the patronage
230 Charities For Women.
230 CHARITIES FOR WOMEN .
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Citation
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English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), Dec. 1, 1858, page 230, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01121858/page/14/
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