On this page
-
Text (1)
-
264 THE DEPARTURE OF MISS RYE.
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.
-
-
Transcript
-
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.
The Numerous Friends Who Have Heartily S...
whispered into her private ear , but assuredly no truer manifestation of affectionate respect ever accompanied a departing fellow-worker .
On the Monday , Lady Dowling , Mrs . Bodichon , Mrs . Webber , Miss Craig , and the writer , accompanied Miss Rye and the
members boat to the of John her own Duncan famil l y ying to Gravesend in the middle , and of thence the river took opposite a small
the town . The emigrants , were already on board , and Miss Rye ' s first occupation was to settle the order of their beds in the long
under-deck allotted to their use . The little groups into which the girls were divided interested us
exceedingly . Half a dozen fine healthy-looking " lasses " had come ironi Lancashire , another little set from Manchester , from the midst
of the " distress . " One woman testified strongly to the kind manner in which her employer had treated his 300 " hands , "
providing sewing work for the women , and latterly , -a daily dinner in- _, the mill for his men . The mill was put on half time last Christmas
and stopped work at Whitsuntide , after which the sewing class , commenced . From Boyle , in Roscommon , nine Irish , girls ha ( J set
out with , no superintendence whatever . The changing of a Post Office order for 55 ., sent by the brother of one of themput us
, into friendly relations with this Irish colony—fine , fresh , hearty girls they were ; able and willing to workmodest and full of fun .
, They were glad to find themselves going out in the saine vessel with Miss Rye , and promised to put themselves under her care .
One young girl , surrounded by the bustle of the deck , sat quietly knitting in a corner . We asked , have you not begun too soon , you
can hardly expect your work to last so long as the voyage ? " Oh I " she answered , smilingly" I have fourteen pounds of cotton to knit
, up , and there are four Skye girls with us , who liave promised to teach us all sorts of knitting . "
The John Duncan is not a large vessel , but Miss Rye ' s cabin looked clean and comfortableand many little contrivances and
, adaptations for her comfort were being devised by her friends . If the voyage is tolerably calm it will afford her a season of
comparative repose , which she imperatively needs . The charge and instruction of 100 women willof coursegive her much occupation
but she will be spared the peculiar , grindin , g labour of incessant , correspondence and interviews with sympathising strangerswhich
is the very staple of any benevolent work carried on in our , busy England .
While these lines are being read , may those who read them remember that even now the John Duncan is steadily ploughing her
way over the deep waters towards the other side of the earth , and breathe a prayer for the safety and success of the little band of
emigrants , and the good , and true , and loving woman who is at their head !
Nov . 19 _£ A , 1862 . Bessie R . Parkes .
264 The Departure Of Miss Rye.
264 THE DEPARTURE OF MISS RYE .
-
-
Citation
-
English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), Dec. 1, 1862, page 264, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01121862/page/48/
-