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Chapter 1 – Introduction to Systems Analysis and Design
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. In launching a new information system, the greatest risk occurs when a company ____.
a. begins by outlining its business models and identifying possible IT solutions
b. tries to decide how the system will be implemented before determining what the system is
supposed to do
c. considers implementation options after having a clear set of objectives
d. all of the above
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 7
2. ____ software controls the flow of data, provides data security, and manages network operations.
a. Enterprise c. Application
b. System d. Legacy
3. Examples of company-wide applications, called ____, include order processing systems, payroll
systems, and company communications networks.
a. enterprise applications c. operating applications
b. network operating systems (NOS) d. legacy systems
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 8
4. Over 40 years ago, a concept called Moore's Law accurately predicted that computer processing power
would double about every ____.
a. 2 months c. 24 months
b. 12 months d. 48 months
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 8
5. When planning an information system, a company must consider how a new system will interface with
older systems, which are called ____.
a. enterprise applications c. operating applications
b. network operating systems (NOS) d. legacy systems
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: 9
6. For complex operations, analysts apply computer-based modeling tools that use a standard language
called ____.
a. electronic data interchange (EDI)
b. joint application development (JAD)
c. business process modeling notation (BPMN)
d. rapid application development (RAD)

7. Systems analysts use a process called ____ to represent company operations and information needs.
a. JAD c. RAD
b. Scrum d. business process modeling
8. A business ____ is an overview that describes a company’s overall functions, processes, organization,
products, services, customers, suppliers, competitors, constraints, and future direction.
a. matrix c. index
b. profile d. glossary
9. Which of the following is one of the main sectors of e-commerce?
a. C2C c. C2B
b. B2C d. BBC
10. ____ enabled computer-to-computer transfer of data between companies, usually over private
telecommunications networks.
a. EDI c. TCH
b. ACH d. O-O
11. Transaction processing (TP) systems ____.
a. provide job-related information to users at all levels of a company
b. simulate human reasoning by combining a knowledge base and inference rules that
determine how the knowledge is applied
c. process data generated by day-to-day business operations
d. include e-mail, voice mail, fax, video conferencing, word processing, automated
calendars, database management, spreadsheets, and high-speed Internet access
12. Business support systems ____.
a. provide job-related information support to users at all levels of a company
13. Knowledge management systems are called expert systems because they ____.

14. User productivity systems ____.
d. include e-mail, voice mail, fax, video and Web conferencing, word processing, automated
calendars, database management, spreadsheets, desktop publishing, presentation graphics,
company intranets, and high-speed Internet access
15. In a typical company organizational model, top managers ____.
a. develop long-range plans, called strategic plans, which define the company’s overall
mission and goals
b. provide direction, necessary resources, and performance feedback to supervisors and team
leaders
c. oversee operation employees and carry out day-to-day functions, coordinating operational
tasks and people
d. include users who rely on TP systems to enter and receive the data they need to perform
their jobs
16. In a typical company organizational model, middle managers ____.
a. develop long-range plans, called strategic plans, which define the company’s overall
mission and goals
b. provide direction, necessary resources, and performance feedback to supervisors and team
leaders
c. oversee operation employees and carry out day-to-day functions, coordinating operational
tasks and people
d. include users who rely on TP systems to enter and receive the data they need to perform
their jobs
17. A ____, or requirements model, describes the information that a system must provide.
a. process model c. business model
b. data model d. network model
18. A(n) ____ describes the logic that programmers use to write code modules.
a. process model c. business model
b. object model d. network model
19. ____ is a systems development technique that produces a graphical representation of a concept or
process that systems developers can analyze, test, and modify.
a. Prototyping c. Scrum
b. Rapid application development d. Modeling
20. ____ is a systems development technique that tests system concepts and provides an opportunity to
examine input, output, and user interfaces before final decisions are made.

a. Scrum c. Modeling
b. Prototyping d. Rapid application development
21. ____ methods include the latest trends in software development.
a. Object-oriented analysis c. Structured analysis
b. Agile/Adaptive d. Rapid application development
22. The ____ method of developing systems is well-suited to project management tools and techniques.
a. object-oriented analysis c. structured analysis
b. adaptive d. rapid application development
23. The ____ method of developing systems produces code that is modular and reusable.
b. adaptive d. rapid application development
24. The ____ method of developing systems stresses team interaction and reflects a set of community-
based values.
b. agile/adaptive d. rapid application development
25. Structured analysis is a traditional systems development technique that uses a series of phases, called
the ____, to plan, analyze, design, implement, and support an information system.
a. O-O c. MSF
b. SDLC d. RUP
26. Because it focuses on processes that transform data into useful information, structured analysis is
called a(n) ____ technique.
a. iterative c. inferred
b. process-centered d. empowered

27. In the ____, like that shown in the accompanying figure, the result of each phase, which is called a
deliverable or end product, flows sequentially into the next phase in the SDLC.
a. interactive model c. waterfall model
b. requirements model d. object model
28. In the model of the SDLC shown in the accompanying figure, the ____ usually begins with a formal
request to the IT department, called a systems request, which describes problems or desired changes in
an information system or a business process.
a. systems design phase c. systems support and security phase
b. systems planning phase d. systems analysis phase
29. In the model of the SDLC shown in the accompanying figure, the purpose of the ____ is to build a
logical model of the new system.
a. systems analysis phase c. systems design phase
b. systems implementation phase d. systems support and security phase
30. In the model of the SDLC shown in the accompanying figure, the purpose of the ____ is to create a
physical model that will satisfy all documented requirements for the system.
a. systems implementation phase c. systems analysis phase
b. systems planning phase d. systems design phase
31. In the model of the SDLC shown in the accompanying figure, during ____, the new system is
constructed.

a. systems planning c. systems design
b. systems support and security d. systems implementation
32. In the model of the SDLC shown in the accompanying figure, during ____, the IT staff maintains,
enhances, and protects the system.
a. systems support and security c. systems analysis
b. systems implementation d. systems planning
33. Whereas structured analysis treats processes and data as separate components, ____ combines data and
the processes that act on the data into things called objects.
a. the MSF c. RUP
b. the SDLC d. O-O
34. In object-oriented programming, an object is a member of a(n) ____, which is a collection of similar
objects.
a. property c. message
b. class d. instance
35. In object-oriented design, built-in processes called ____ can change an object’s properties.
a. methods c. attributes
b. functions d. features
36. Agile methods typically use a(n) ____model, which represents a series of iterations based on user
feedback.
a. gradual c. spiral
b. extreme d. evaluative
37. When building an information system, all of the following basic guidelines should be considered
except ____.
a. stick to an overall development plan
b. identify major milestones for project review and assessment
c. provide accurate and reliable cost and benefit information
d. ensure that users are not involved in the development process
38. The ____ group typically provides leadership and overall guidance, but the systems themselves are
developed by teams consisting of users, managers, and IT staff members.
a. Web support c. systems support
b. application development d. database administration

39. ____ provides vital protection and maintenance services for system software and hardware, including
enterprise computing systems, networks, transaction processing systems, and corporate IT
infrastructure.
a. User support c. Systems support and security
b. Database administration d. Network administration
40. A systems analyst needs ____.
a. solid technical knowledge and good analytical ability
b. strong oral and written communication skills
c. an understanding of business operations and processes
d. all of the above
MULTIPLE RESPONSE
Modified Multiple Choice
1. An example of a vertical system is a(n) ____.
a. inventory application c. payroll application
b. medical practice application d. database for a video chain
ANS: B, D PTS: 1 REF: 8
2. An example of a horizontal system is a(n) ____.
a. inventory application c. payroll application
b. application for a Web-based retailer d. medical practice application
ANS: A, C PTS: 1 REF: 8
3. A business process describes a specific set of ____.
a. transactions c. events
b. employees d. results
ANS: A, C, D PTS: 1 REF: 10
4. Product-oriented firms produced ____.
a. retail services c. computers
b. routers d. microchips
ANS: B, C, D PTS: 1 REF: 11
5. Database administration involves ____.
a. network administration c. data design
b. user access d. backup
ANS: B, C, D PTS: 1 REF: 29
MODIFIED TRUE/FALSE
1. System software consists of programs that support day-to-day business functions and provide users
with the information they require. _________________________

ANS: F, Application
PTS: 1 REF: 8
2. Value-added services such as consulting, financing, and technical support can be more profitable than
hardware. _________________________
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 11
3. Rational Unified Process documents the experience of Microsoft’s own software development teams.
_________________________
ANS: F
Microsoft Solutions Framework
MSF
PTS: 1 REF: 27
4. Rapid application development focuses on team-based fact-finding. _________________________
ANS: F
Joint application development
Joint application development (JAD)
JAD
JAD (joint application development)
PTS: 1 REF: 27
5. User support provides users with technical information, training, and productivity support.
_________________________
TRUE/FALSE
1. Most firms give their IT budgets a low priority in bad economic times.
ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 4
2. A mission-critical system is one that is unimportant to a company’s operations.
3. In an information system, data is information that has been transformed into output that is valuable to
users.
4. In an information system, information consists of basic facts that are the system’s raw material.

5. The success or failure of an information system usually is unrelated to whether users are satisfied with
the system’s output and operations.
6. Although the business-to-business (B2B) sector is more familiar to retail customers, the volume of
business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions is many times greater.
7. TP systems are inefficient because they process a set of transaction-related commands individually
rather than as a group.
8. In a knowledge management system, a knowledge base consists of logical rules that identify data
patterns and relationships.
9. A knowledge management system uses inference rules, which consist of a large database that allows
users to find information by entering keywords or questions in normal English phrases.
10. Most large companies require systems that combine transaction processing, business support,
knowledge management, and user productivity features.
11. Because they focus on a longer time frame, middle managers need less detailed information than top
managers, but somewhat more than supervisors who oversee day-to-day operations.
ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 18-19
12. Many companies find that a trend called empowerment, which gives employees more responsibility
and accountability, improves employee motivation and increases customer satisfaction.
13. CASE tools provide an overall framework for systems development and support a wide variety of
design methodologies, including structured analysis and object-oriented analysis.
14. It is unusual for system developers to mix and match system development methods to gain a better
perspective.
15. In the systems planning phase, a key part of the preliminary investigation is a feasibility study that
reviews anticipated costs and benefits and recommends a course of action based on operational,
technical, economic, and time factors.

16. In the systems analysis phase, the first step is requirements modeling, where business processes are
investigated and what the new system must do to satisfy users is documented.
17. In object-oriented design, objects possess characteristics called properties, which the object inherits
from its class or possesses on its own.
18. A scalable design can expand to meet new business requirements and volumes.
19. In object-oriented design, a message requests specific behavior or information from another object.
20. Microsoft offers a development approach called Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF), which
documents the experience of its own software development teams.
21. An IT group provides technical support, which includes application development, systems support and
security, user support, database administration, network administration, and Web support.
22. Network administration includes hardware and software maintenance, support, and security.
23. Companies typically require that systems analysts have a college degree in information systems,
computer science, business, or a closely related field, and some IT experience usually is required.
24. The responsibilities of a systems analyst at a small firm are exactly the same as those at a large
corporation.
25. A corporate culture is the set of beliefs, rules, traditions, values, and attitudes that define a company
and influence its way of doing business.
COMPLETION
1. _________________________ refers to the combination of hardware, software, and services that
companies use to manage, communicate, and share information.

ANS:
Information technology (IT)
IT
PTS: 1 REF: 4
2. _________________________ is a step-by-step process for developing high-quality information
systems.
ANS: Systems analysis and design
PTS: 1 REF: 7
3. A(n) _________________________ combines information technology, people, and data to support
business requirements.
ANS: information system
PTS: 1 REF: 7
4. An IT department team includes _________________________ who plan, develop, and maintain
information systems.
ANS: systems analysts
PTS: 1 REF: 7
5. A(n) _________________________ is a set of related components that produces specific results, such
as routing Internet traffic, manufacturing microchips, and controlling complex entities like the Mars
Rover.
ANS: system
PTS: 1 REF: 7
6. In the accompanying figure showing the components of an information system,
_________________________ consist(s) of everything in the physical layer of the information
system.
ANS: hardware
PTS: 1 REF: 8

_________________________ refer(s) to the programs that control the hardware and produce the
desired information or results.
ANS: software
PTS: 1 REF: 8
_________________________ is/are the raw material that an information system transforms into
useful information.
ANS: data
PTS: 1 REF: 9
_________________________ describe(s) the tasks and business functions that users, managers, and
IT staff members perform to achieve specific results.
ANS: processes
PTS: 1 REF: 9
10. In the accompanying figure showing the components of an information system, the people, called
_________________________, interact with an information system, both inside and outside the
company.
ANS:
users
end users
PTS: 1 REF: 10
11. The newest category of company is the _________________________ whose primary business
depends on the Internet rather than a traditional business channel.
ANS:
Internet-dependent firm
dot-com company
.com company
PTS: 1 REF: 12
12. Traditional companies sometimes are called _________________________ companies because they
conduct business primarily from physical locations.
ANS: brick-and-mortar
PTS: 1 REF: 12
13. Internet-based commerce is called _________________________ and includes two main sectors: B2C
(business-to-consumer) and B2B (business-to-business).

ANS:
e-commerce
electronic commerce
I-commerce
Internet commerce
PTS: 1 REF: 13
14. _________________________ technology uses high-frequency radio waves to track physical object.
ANS:
RFID
Radio frequency identification
RFID (Radio frequency identification)
Radio frequency identification (RFID)
PTS: 1 REF: 16
15. A truck fleet dispatcher might run a series of _________________________ scenarios to determine
the impact of increased shipments or bad weather.
ANS: what-if
PTS: 1 REF: 16
16. _________________________ programs run on a company intranet and enable users to share data,
collaborate on projects, and work in teams.
ANS: Groupware
PTS: 1 REF: 17
17. The systems implementation phase of the SDLC includes an assessment, called a(n)
_________________________, to determine whether the system operates properly and if costs and
benefits are within expectation.
ANS: systems evaluation
PTS: 1 REF: 24
18. A(n) _________________________ uses various symbols and shapes to represent data flow,
processing, and storage.
ANS:
data flow diagram
DFD
data flow diagram (DFD)
DFD (data flow diagram)
PTS: 1 REF: 22
19. _________________________ design and construct Web pages, monitor traffic, manage hardware and
software, and link Web-based applications to a company’s information systems.

ANS: Web support specialists
PTS: 1 REF: 29
20. Many hardware and software companies offer _________________________ for IT professionals,
which verifies that an individual demonstrated a certain level of knowledge and skill on a standardized
test.
ANS: certification
PTS: 1 REF: 32
MATCHING
Identify the letter of the choice that best matches the phrase or definition.
a. MIS f. team leaders
b. network model g. operational employees
c. object model h. supply chain management
d. fuzzy logic i. data model
e. ERP j. prototype
1. In many large companies, these kinds of systems provide cost-effective support for users and managers
throughout the company.
2. The name for new business support systems that produced valuable information, in addition to
performing manual tasks; their primary users were managers.
3. A B2B site that allows buyers, sellers, distributors, and manufacturer to offer products, submit
specifications, and transact business.
4. Many knowledge management systems use this technique, which allows inferences to be drawn from
imprecise relationships.
5. People who oversee operational employees and carry out day-to-day functions.
6. People who rely on TP systems to enter and receive data they need to perform their jobs.
7. Describes the design and protocols of telecommunications links.
8. Describes objects, which combine data and processes.
9. Describes data structures and design.
10. An early working version of an information system.
1. ANS: E PTS: 1 REF: 15
2. ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 16
3. ANS: H PTS: 1 REF: 14
4. ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: 17
5. ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 19
6. ANS: G PTS: 1 REF: 19
7. ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 19
8. ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 19
9. ANS: I PTS: 1 REF: 19
10. ANS: J PTS: 1 REF: 20
ESSAY

1. Explain what a knowledge worker is, and why this kind of worker is required by successful
companies.
ANS:
Knowledge workers include professional staff members such as systems analysts, programmers,
accountants, researchers, trainers, and human resource specialists. Knowledge workers also use
business support systems, knowledge management systems, and user productivity systems. Knowledge
workers provide support for the organization's basic functions. Just as a military unit requires logistical
support, a successful company needs knowledge workers to carry out its mission.
PTS: 1 REF: 19 TOP: Critical Thinking
2. What are the disadvantages of each of the three system development methods?
ANS:
With structured analysis, changes can be costly, especially in later phases. Requirements are defined
early, and can change during development. Users might not be able to describe their needs until they
can see examples of features and functions. With object-oriented analysis, this somewhat newer
method of development might be less familiar to development team members. Also, the interaction of
objects and classes can be complex in larger systems. With agile/adaptive methods, team members
need a high level of technical and communications skills. Lack of structure and documentation can
introduce risk factors. Finally, the overall project might be subject to scope change as user
requirements change.
3. Discuss the five basic systems development guidelines.
ANS:
Develop a Plan
Prepare an overall project plan and stick to it. Complete the tasks in a logical sequence. Develop a
clear set of ground rules and be sure that everyone on the team understands them clearly.
Involve Users and Listen Carefully to Them
Ensure that users are involved in the development process, especially when identifying and modeling
system requirements. When you interact with users, listen closely to what they are saying.
Use Project Management Tools and Techniques
Try to keep the project on track and avoid surprises. Create a reasonable number of checkpoints — too
many can be burdensome, but too few will not provide adequate control.
Develop Accurate Cost and Benefit Information
Managers need to know the cost of developing and operating a system, and the value of the benefits it
will provide. You must provide accurate, realistic cost and benefit estimates, and update them as
necessary.
Remain Flexible
Be flexible within the framework of your plan. Systems development is a dynamic process, and
overlap often exists among tasks. The ability to react quickly is especially important when you are
working on a system that must be developed rapidly.

Exploring the Variety of Random
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on a new suit, which cost him thirty shillings. He had thrown off his
coat and vest before jumping into the water, and someone had
stolen them; the dirty water had spoiled his trousers, which he had
dried and put on for his Worship to see. The magistrate inspected
the garments. They had been originally of that cheap material that
costers affect, and of a bright lavender colour. He had jumped into
an unusually nasty piece of water. Some tar and other chemicals had
been moving on its surface, and his lavender clothes had received
full benefit therefrom. The garments had been tight-fitting at the
first, but now, after immersion and drying, they were ridiculously
small. Even the magistrate had to smile, but he ordered the brave
fellow to receive five shillings for expenses and loss of day's work,
and ten shillings compensation for damage to his clothing. He looked
ruefully at his ruined clothes and at the fifteen shillings in his hand,
and went out of the court. I went to speak to him. "Look here, Mr.
Holmes," he said, "fifteen shillings won't buy me a new lavender
suit. The next blooming woman that jumps in the canal 'll have to
stop there; I've had enough of this." I made up the cost of a suit by
adding to his fifteen shillings, and he went away to get one. But I
know perfectly well that, whether he had on a new lavender suit or
an old corduroy, it would be all the same to him—into the canal,
river, or any other water, he would go instinctively when he heard
the heavy splash in the darkness or fog.
An Amusing Rescue.
An amusing episode occurred with regard to a would-be suicide in
the early part of one winter. A strong, athletic fellow, who had been
a teacher of swimming at one of the London public baths, but who
had lost position, had become homeless, and was quite on the
down-grade. Half drunk, he found himself on the banks of the Lea,
where the water was deep and the tide strong. Suddenly he called
out, "I'll drown myself!" and into the water he went. The vagabond
could not have drowned had he wished, for he was as much at
home in the water as a rat. It was a moonlight night, and a party of
men from Hoxton had come for a walk and a drink. One was a little

fellow, well known in the boxing-ring. He also could swim a little, but
not much. He heard the cry and the splash, and saw the body of the
man lying still on the water. In he went, swam to the body, and took
hold of it. Suddenly there was a great commotion, for the little man
had received a violent blow in the face from the supposed suicide. A
fight ensued, but the swimmer held a great advantage over the
boxer.
A boat arrived on the scene, and both were brought ashore
exhausted. The swimmer recovered first, and was for making off, but
was detained by the friends of the boxer, who, being recovered,
walked promptly up to the big man and proposed a fight to the
finish. This was accepted, but the little man was now in his element,
and the big man soon had reason to know it. After a severe
handling, he was given into custody for attempted suicide and
assault, and appeared next day in the police-court, with cuts and
bruises all over his face. The charge of attempted suicide was
dismissed, but the magistrate fined him twenty shillings for assault.
"Look at my face." "Yes," said the magistrate; "you deserve all that,
and a month beside."
I give these examples of manly pluck to show that, in spite of all the
demoralizing influence of slum life, and in spite of all the decay of
manhood that must ensue from the terrible conditions that prevail,
physical courage still exists among those born and bred in the slums,
under the worst conditions of London life.
More Slum Heroes.
But higher kinds of courage are also manifested. Who can excel the
people of our slums in true heroism? None! If I want to find
someone that satisfies my ideal of what a hero should be, down into
the Inferno of the slums I go to seek him or her. It is no difficult
search; they are to hand, and I know where to light on them. The
faces of my heroes may be old and wrinkled, their arms may be
skinny, and their bodies enfeebled; they may be racked with
perpetual pain, and live in dire but reticent poverty; they may be

working endless hours for three halfpence per hour, or lie waiting
and hoping for death; they may be male or they may be female, for
heroes are of no sex; but for examples of high moral courage—a
courage that bids them suffer and be strong—come with me to the
slums of London and see.
And how splendidly some of our poor widows' boys rise to their
duties! What pluck, endurance, and enterprise they exhibit!
Hundreds of such boys, winter and summer alike, rise about half-
past four, are at the local dairy at five; they help to push milk-
barrows till eight; and with a piece of bread and margarine off they
go to school. After school-hours they are at the dairy again, washing
the churns and milk-cans. Sharp-witted lads, too. They know how to
watch their milk on a dark morning, and how to give evidence, too,
when a thief is brought up. For supreme confidence in himself and
an utter lack of self-consciousness or nervousness, commend me to
these boys. They fear neither police nor magistrate. They are as
fearless as they are natural; for adversity and hard work give them
some compensation. But their dangers and temptations are many.
So I love to think of the lads who have stood the test and have not
yielded. I love to think of the gladness of the widow's heart and her
pride in the growing manliness of her boy—"So like his father."
I was visiting in the heart of Alsatia, and sat beside the bed of a
dying youth whose twenty-first birthday had not arrived—which
never did arrive. It was but a poor room, not over-clean. From the
next room came the sound of a sewing-machine driven furiously, for
a widow by its aid was seeking the salvation of herself and children.
She was the landlady, and "let off" the upper part of the house. The
dying youth was not her son; he belonged to the people upstairs.
But the people upstairs were not of much account, for they spent
their time largely away from home, and had scant care for their
dying son; so the widow had brought his pallet-bed into the little
room on the ground-floor wherein I sat, "that I might have an eye
on him." There must have been some sterling qualities in the
woman, though she was not much to look upon, was poorly clad,

and wore a coarse apron over the front of her dress. Her hands were
marked with toil and discoloured by leather, for she machined the
uppers of women's and children's boots, and the smell of the leather
was upon her; but she had a big heart, and though every time "she
had an eye on him" meant ceasing her work and prolonging her
labour, she could not keep away from him for long periods. But, my!
how she did make that machine fly when she got back to it!
Blessings on her motherly heart! There was no furniture in the room
saving the little box and the chair I occupied. The ceiling was
frightfully discoloured, and the walls had not been cleaned for many
a day. But a number of oil-paintings without frames were tacked on
the walls, and these attracted my attention. Some were very crude,
and others seemed to me to be good, so I examined them. They
bore no name, but evidently they had been done by the same hand.
Each picture bore a date, and by comparing them I could mark the
progress of the artist. As I stood looking at them, forgetful of the
dying youth below me, I said, half to myself: "I wonder who painted
these." An unexpected and weak reply came from the bed: "The
landlady's son." My interest was increased. "How old is he?" "About
twenty." "What does he do?" "He works at a boot factory"; adding
painfully: "He went back to work after having his dinner just before
you came in." "Why," I said, after again examining the dates on the
pictures, "he has been painting pictures for six years." "Yes. He goes
to a school of art now after he has done his work." The youth began
to cough, so I raised him up a little; but the landlady had heard him,
and almost forestalled me. This gave me the opportunity I wanted,
for when the youth was easier, I said to her: "You have an artist son,
I see," pointing to the pictures. "Yes," she said; "his father did a bit."
"How long has he been dead?" "Over seven years. I was left with
four of them. My eldest is the painter." "What was your husband?"
"A shoemaker." "How long have you lived here?" "Ever since I was
married; I have kept the house on since his death." "Any other of
your children paint?" "The youngest boy does a bit, but he is only
thirteen." "Have you any framed pictures?" "No; we cannot afford
frames, but we shall, after a time, when he gets more money and
the other boy goes out to work." "You are very good to this poor

youth." "Well, I'm a mother. I must be good to him. I wish that I
could do more for him." I never saw the consumptive lad again, for
he died from hæmorrhage the next day.
Some years afterwards I thought of the widow and her artist son,
and being in the neighbourhood, I called at the house. She was still
there, still making the machine fly. I inquired after her painter son.
"Oh, he is married, and has two children; he lives just opposite."
"What is he doing now?" "He has some machines, and works at
home; his wife is a machinist too. They have three girls working for
them." "I will step across and see him." "But you won't find him in:
he goes out painting every day when it is fine." "Where has he gone
to-day?" "Somewhere up the river." "How can he do machining if he
goes out painting every day?" "He begins to work at five o'clock and
goes on till nine o'clock, then cleans himself and goes off; he works
again at night for four or five hours. His wife and the girls work in
the daytime. His wife is a rare help to him; they are doing all right."
"I suppose he has some framed pictures now?" "Yes, lots of them;
but you come in and look at the room the poor lad died in." I went
in, and truly there had been a transformation. The ceiling was
spotless, the walls were nicely coloured, the room was simply but
nicely furnished, and there were some unframed pictures on the
wall, but not those I had previously seen. "My youngest son has this
room now; those pictures are his."
"What does he work at?" "Boots." "Does he go to a school of art?"
"Every night it is open." I bade the worthy woman good-day, telling
her how I admired the pluck, perseverance, and talent of her boys,
also adding that I felt sure that she had a great deal to do with it
and their success. "Well," she said, "I have done my best for them,
but they have been good lads." Done her best for them, and a
splendid best it was! Who else could have done so much for them?
Not all the rich patrons the world could furnish combined could have
done one-half for them that the brave, kindly, simple boot-machining
mother had done for them. She was better than a hero; she was a
true mother. She did her best!

But her sons were heroes indeed; they were made of the right
material. Birth had done something for them, although their parents
were poor, and one departed early, leaving them to the mother,
themselves, the slums, and the world. When I can see growing
youths, surrounded by sordid misery and rampant vice, working on
in poverty, withstanding every temptation to self-indulgence, framing
no pictures till they can pay for them, whose artistic souls do not
lead them to despise honest labour, whose poetic temperaments do
not lead them to idleness and debt, when they are not ashamed of
their boot-machining mother, I recognize them as heroes, and I
don't care a rap whether they become great artists or not. They are
men, and brave men, too. I can imagine someone saying: "He ought
not to have married; he should have studied in Paris. Probably the
world has lost a great artist." Perhaps it has, but it kept the man,
and we have not too many of that stamp. Perhaps, after all, he did
the right thing, for he got a good helpmate, and one who helped
him to paint.
Genius is not so rare in the slums as superior people suppose, for
one of our great artists, but lately dead, whose work all civilized
countries delight to honour, played in a gutter of the near
neighbourhood where the widow machinist lived, and climbed a
lamp-post that he might get a furtive look into a school of art; and
he, too, married a poor woman.
A "Foster-Mother."
And what wonderful women many of our London girls are! I often
think of them as I have seen them in our slums, sometimes a little
bit untidy and not over-clean; but what splendid qualities they have!
They know their way about, nor are they afraid of work. Time and
again I have seen them struggling under the weight of babies almost
as big as themselves. I have watched them hand those babies to
other girls whilst they had their game of hop-scotch; and when
those babies have showed any sign of discontent, I have seen the

deputy-mother take the child again into her arms, and press it to her
breast, and soothe it with all the naturalness of a real mother.
And when the mothers of those girls die, and a family of young
children is left behind, what then? Why, then they become real
deputy-mothers, and splendidly rise to their position.
Brave little women! How my heart has gone out to them as I have
seen them trying to discharge their onerous duties! I have seen a
few years roll slowly by, and watched the deputy-mother arrive at
budding womanhood, and then I have seen disaster again overtake
her in the death of her father, leaving her in sole charge.
Such was the case with a poor girl that I knew well, though there
was nothing of the slum-girl about Hettie Vizer. Born in the slums,
she was a natural lady, refined and delicate, with bright dark eyes.
She was a lily, but, alas! a lily reared under the shade of the deadly
upas-tree. When Hettie was fifteen her mother, after a lingering
illness, died of consumption, and Hettie was left to "mother" five
younger than herself. Bravely she did it, for she became a real
mother to the children, and a companion to her father.
In Hoxton the houses are but small and the rooms but tiny; the air
cannot be considered invigorating; so Hettie stood no chance from
the first, and at a very early age she knew that the fell destroyer,
Consumption, had marked her for his prey.
Weak, and suffering undauntedly, she went on with her task until
her father's dead body lay in their little home, and then she became
both father and mother to the family. Who can tell the story of her
brave life? The six children kept together; several of them went out
to work, and brought week by week their slender earnings to swell
the meagre exchequer. Who can tell the anxiety that came upon
Hettie in the expenditure of that money, while consumption
increased its hold upon her?
Thank God the Home Workers' Aid Association was able, in some
degree, to cheer and sustain her. Several times she went to the

home by the sea, where the breath of God gave her some little
renewal of life.
But the sorrowful day was only deferred; it could not be prevented.
At length she took to her bed, and household duties claimed her no
more. A few days before her death I sat by her bedside, and I found
that the King of Terrors had no terror for her. She was calm and
fearless. To her brothers and sisters she talked about her
approaching end, and made some suggestions for her funeral, and
then, almost within sound of the Christmas bells, only twenty-one
years of age, she passed "that bourne whence no traveller returns,"
and her heroic soul entered into its well-earned rest. And the five
are left alone. Nay, not alone, for surely she will be with them still,
and that to bless them. If not, her memory will be sanctified to
them, and the sorrows and struggles they have endured together
will not be without their compensations. "From every tear that
sorrowing mortals shed o'er such young graves, some good is born,
some gentler nature comes, and the destroyer's path becomes a way
of life to heaven."
It was my privilege to know her, and in my gallery of heroes she has
a foremost place. Strong men may do and dare and die. Firemen,
colliers, lifeboatmen, may risk their lives to save others; martyrs may
face the flames, and prophets may undergo persecutions. Their
deeds live, and their stories thrill us. But Hettie Vizer stands on a
higher plane still: a slum-girl, but a lady; a foster-mother, with a
mother's love; a child enduring poverty, hard work, bereavements,
and burning consumption. But, rising triumphantly over them all, she
listened to the bells of God as they rang her into that place where
sorrows and sighing are no more.
And now her younger sister has succeeded her, for the home is still
kept together, and every week their little budget is considered, as it
was "when Hettie was alive."

I have elsewhere spoken of the patient courage shown by weak and
elderly women, but I must again refer to it, for in my judgment there
is no sphere of life wherein greater courage is exhibited. For it must
be borne in mind that they are not sustained by hope. It may be
said that there is a good deal of fatalism connected with their
courage and endurance, and doubtless this is true; but no one can
deny their courage, endurance, and magnificent self-reliance. I have
in my mind as I write some hundreds of women engaged in London
home industries whose lives and struggles are known to me and
who compel my veneration, so when courage is spoken of I like to
think of them; for though the circumstances under which they live
and the wrong they suffer bring a terrible indictment against us, no
one can, no one shall, deny their possession of great courage, poor,
weak, and elderly though they be.
Ay, it takes some courage to face day after day their life. I do not
think that I am short of pluck, but I am quite certain that I should
want to lie down and die were I submitted to lives such as theirs.
Men with animal courage could not endure it, and I freely grant that
even patient women ought not to endure it: perhaps, for the sake of
future generations, it might be best for them to die rather than
endure it.
But when I see them and know their circumstances, see their
persistent endurance and their indomitable perseverance, I marvel!
And in spite of the oppression they suffer I know that these women
are exhibiting qualities that the world sadly needs, and are showing
a type of heroism for which the world is bound to be ultimately the
better. Poor brave old women! how I respect you! I venerate you! for
the only hope that touches your heart is the hope that you may keep
out of the workhouse, and be buried without parochial aid. Poor
brave old women! I never enter one of your rooms without at once
realizing your brave struggle for existence. I never see you sitting at
your everlasting machines without realizing your endless toil, and I
never see your Industrial Life Assurance premium-book lying ready
for the collector without realizing that the two pennies that are ready

also are sorely needed for your food. Poor brave old souls! how
many times when your tea-canister has been quite empty, and 4.30
in the afternoon has come, and the collector has not yet called, have
you been tempted to spend those pennies and provide yourself with
a cup of tea? How many times have you picked up the pennies? how
many times have you put them down again? for your horror of a
parish funeral was too strong even for your love for a cup of tea!
Brave old women! is there a stronger, more tragical, temptation than
yours? I know of none. Esau sold his birthright for a tasty morsel,
well fed as he was; but you will not surrender your "death right"—
nay, not for a cup of tea, for you are made of better stuff than Esau.
So you go without your tea; but your burial money is not imperilled.
Yes, it takes some moral courage to resist such a temptation; but
there is no glamour about it: the world knows not of it;
nevertheless, it is an act of stern self-repression, an act of true
heroism. Shame upon us that it should be required! glory to us that
it is forthcoming! What a life of heroism a poor woman has lived for
that ten, twenty, or forty years, who, in spite of semi-starvation, has
resisted the temptation to spend her burial money! Those few
pounds so hardly saved are as fragrant as the box of costly ointment
poured upon the Master's feet, and convey the same sentiment, too,
for their brave old souls respect their poor old bodies, and against
their day of burial they do it! It may be a mean ambition, but of that
I am by no means sure; still, it is better than none, for poor,
desolate, and Godforsaken must the old woman be who does not
cherish it. Poorer still will the old women be, and more desolate their
hearts, when this one ambition disappears, and they are heedless,
apathetic, and unconcerned as to how and where their poor old
bodies are buried.
So the heroism of the slums is of the passive more than the active
kind, of the "to be and to suffer" sort rather than of the "to do and
dare." And it must needs be so, for opportunities of developing and
exhibiting the courage that needs promptitude, dash, and daring
have very largely been denied the people who live in our narrow
streets. But their whole lives, circumstances, and environments have

been such that patience under suffering, fortitude in poverty, and
perseverance to the end could not fail to be developed. In these
qualities, despite all their vices and coarseness, poor people, and
especially poor women, set a splendid example to the more favoured
portions of the community.

CHAPTER XI
A PENNYWORTH OF COAL
It was winter-time, and the cold damp fog had fallen like a heavy
cloud on East London. The pavements were grimy and greasy;
travelling, either on foot or by conveyance, was slow and dangerous.
The voices of children were not heard in the streets, but ever and
again the hoarse voice of some bewildered driver was heard asking
his way, or expostulating with his horse. Occasionally a tell-tale
cough came from some foot-passenger of whose proximity I had
been unaware, but who, like myself, was slowly groping his way to a
desired haven.
I found my objective at last, and I entered a queer room possessing
two doors—one the ordinary street door; the other, of which the
upper part was glass, opened into an outhouse at a right angle with
the house door. This annexe had once been a greengrocer's shop,
and fronted a side-street; now it was used as a coal and coke depot,
and to it resorted the poor for their winter's supply of coal and coke.
The proprietor was ill, had been ailing for years, and now the
shadows of eternity hovered around him. It was afternoon, and he
was resting. I sat talking with his wife, an elderly woman, who sat at
a machine making a new pair of knickers out of an old garment for a
neighbour who had many children, the while a girl waited to have a
new frock made out of an old dress that had been purchased
probably at a street causeway auction, when, "A penn'orth of coal,
please, Mrs. Jenkins!" The voice came from the coal depot. Mrs.
Jenkins got up from her machine. "John, can you come down and
attend to the shop?" I heard a step on the bedroom floor above me,
and presently John, weak and gasping, descended the stairs, passed
through the little room and through the glass door, and served the
pennyworth of coal; came back, and, delivering the penny to his

wife, gasped his way upstairs again. "How much coal do you give for
a penny?" I asked Mrs. Jenkins. "Six pounds." "Why, that is above
one shilling and sixpence halfpenny per hundredweight—nearly
thirty-two shillings per ton," I said. "Yes, sir, it is dear buying it by
penn'orths, but I can't sell it any cheaper." "How much do you give
for a ton?" I asked, for I had not then been in the coal depot, or I
need not have asked. "Oh, sir, we never get a ton; I buy it by the
hundredweight from the trolly-man, and give one and fourpence the
hundredweight." "Do you get full weight from the trolly-man?" "Well,
we don't get anything over; but the London County Council has
looked after them so sharply that they dare not give us short weight
now." "But there is some dirt and slack in every sack you buy." "Yes,
but I burn that myself with a bit of coke." She then continued: "I
wish the poor people would always buy fourteen pounds." "Why?"
"Well, it would be better for them, you see; we only charge them
twopence farthing for fourteen pounds, so it comes cheaper to
them." "Yes," I said, "they would save one halfpenny when they had
bought eight lots of coal." "Yes, sir. I make just twopence on a
hundredweight when they buy it like that." "No," I said, "you don't,
for you cannot make eight complete lots out of one sack."
"Fourteen pounds of coal, please, Mrs. Jenkins!" Again a voice came
from the depot. "John! John!" Again John came wearily downstairs
to weigh the coal. He returned with twopence halfpenny, which he
handed to his wife, and said: "A farthing change."
Mrs. Jenkins searched her small pile of coppers, but failed to find a
farthing. "Is it Mrs. Brown?" she asked her husband. "Yes," was the
reply. "Oh, then give her the halfpenny back, and tell her to owe me
the farthing." John went into the shop, taking the halfpenny with
him, and I heard a discussion going on, after which John returned
with the coin, and said: "She won't take it." But Mrs. Brown followed
him into the room with her fourteen pounds of coal in a small
basket. "No, Mrs. Jenkins, I can't take it; I owe you two farthings

now. If you keep the ha'penny I shall only owe you one, and I'll try
and pay that off next time." "Never mind what you owe me, Mrs.
Brown; you take the ha'penny. You have little children, and have no
husband to work for you like I have," was Mrs. Jenkins's reply. But
Mrs. Brown was not to be put down, so after a protracted discussion
the halfpenny remained in the possession of Mrs. Jenkins, and poor
feeble John retired to rest.
I sat wondering at it all, quite lost in thought. Presently Mrs. Jenkins
said: "I wish Mrs. Brown had taken that ha'penny." "Why?" I said.
"Well, you see, she has little children who have no father, and they
are so badly off." "But you are badly off, too. Your husband is ill, and
ought to be in the hospital; he is not fit to be about." "I rest him all I
can, but this afternoon I have these knickers and frock to make; that
work pays better than coal when I can get it." "How much rent do
you pay?" "Fifteen shillings and sixpence a week, but I let off seven
and sixpence, so my rent comes to eight shillings." "But you lose
your tenant sometimes, and the rooms are empty?" "Yes." "And
sometimes you get a tenant that does not pay up?" "Yes." "And
sometimes you allow poor women to have coal on credit, and you
lose in that way?" "Yes," she said, and added slowly: "I wish I could
have all that is owing to me." "Show me some of your debts." We
went into the coal depot. "I have had to stop that woman," she said,
pointing to a name and a lot of figures chalked up on a board. She
owes me one and elevenpence farthing." I reckoned up the account.
"Quite correct," I said.
"She had sixteen lots of coal for one and elevenpence farthing; she
can't pay me at all now, she is so far behind. I ought to have
stopped her before, but I did not like to be hard on her." Several
other "chalked up" accounts confronted me—one for sixpence,
another for ninepence—but that one and elevenpence farthing was
the heaviest account. It was too pitiful; I could inquire no further.
The difficulty of obtaining even minute quantities of coal constitutes
one of the great anxieties of the very poor, and exposes them to
unimaginable suffering and hardship.

To poor old women with chilly bones and thin blood, who especially
need the glow and warmth of a substantial fire, the lack of coal
constitutes almost, and in many cases quite, tragedy.
The poorest class of home-workers, who require warmth if their
fingers are to be nimble and their boxes or bags are to be dried,
must have some sort of a fire, even if it be obtained at the expense
of food. Small wonder, then, that their windows are seldom opened,
for the heat of the room must not be dissipated; they must be thrifty
in that respect. During the winter, generally in January, I set out on
a tour of discovery, my object being to find out old widows who
manage to keep themselves without parish relief, and get their little
living by making common articles for everyday use. Formerly I
experienced great difficulty in finding the brave old things; I have no
difficulty now, for at a day's notice I can assemble five hundred self-
supporting widows to whom a single hundredweight of coal would
loom so large that it would appear a veritable coal-mine.
So I ask my readers to accompany me on one of these expeditions—
in imagination, of course. Come, then, through this side-door, for it
stands open, though not invitingly so, for the stairs are uncarpeted
and dirty and the walls are crumbling and foul.
We pass the room on the ground-floor, and observe that it is half
workshop and half retail-shop, for old furniture is renovated and
placed in the shop-window for sale. Up one flight of unwashed stairs
and past another workshop—this time a printer's. Up again! The
stairs are still narrow, and the walls are still crumbling, the stairs still
unwashed. We pass another workshop, mount more stairs, and then
we come to a small landing and some narrow, very narrow, stairs
that are scrupulously clean, though innocent of carpet or linoleum.
We are now at the very top of the house and in semi-darkness, but
we discover the door of the room we are looking for. On rapping, we
are told to "Come in." It is a small attic, just large enough to contain
a bed, a table, and a small chest of drawers.

She sat at the table underneath the dormer window, and was busy
at work making paper bags: a widow alone in the world, seventy-
eight years of age, who had never received one penny from the
parish in her life. Take notice of the little bedroom grate. It is a very
small one, but you notice it is made much smaller by two pieces of
brick being placed in it, one on each side, and between them a very
small fire is burning, or trying to burn. She tells us that she gets
fivepence per thousand for her paper bags, and that she buys her
own paste; that she works for her landlord, who stops her rent every
week out of her earnings. She buys her coal by the quarter of a
hundredweight, which costs her fivepence; she does not buy
pennyworths. Sometimes the men below give her bits of wood, and
the printer lets her have scraps of cardboard. She can't do with less
than two quarters in the week, it is so cold, but she manages with a
bit less in the summer-time. So the brave old woman gabbles on,
telling us all we want to know. I produce some warm clothing, and
her old eyes glisten; I give her a whole pound of tea in a nice
canister, and I think I see tears; but I take her old skinny hand, all
covered with paste, and say: "You must buy a whole hundredweight
of good coal with that, or give it back to me; you must not use it for
anything else." Ah, this was indeed too much for her, and she burst
out hysterically: "Oh, don't mock me—a hundredweight of coal! I'll
soon have those bricks out."
Come with me into another street. We have no stairs to climb this
time, for the house consists of but two stories, and contains but four
small rooms. We enter the front room on the ground-floor, and find
three old women at work. There being no room or accommodation
for us to sit, we stand just inside and watch them as they work. Two
are widows bordering on seventy years of age; the other is a
spinster of like years. One sits at a machine sewing trousers, of
which there is a pile waiting near her. As soon as she has completed
her portion of work she passes the trousers on to the other widow,
who finishes them—that is, she puts on the buttons, sewing the hem
round the bottom of the trousers, and does all the little jobs that
must needs be done by hand. When her part of the work is

completed, she passes the trousers on to the spinster, who has the
heaviest part of the task, for she is the "presser," and manipulates
the hot and heavy iron that plays such an important part in the
work. Each of them occupies one of the four rooms in the house, but
for working purposes they collaborate and use the widow machinist's
room; for collaboration increases their earnings and lessens their
expenses, for the one room is also used for the preparation and
consumption of food. One kettle, one teapot, and one frying-pan do
for the three. Old and weak as they are, they understand the value
of co-operation and the advantages to be obtained by dividing
labour. But they understand something else much better, for "one
fire does for the three," and the fire that heats the iron warms the
room for three, and boils the kettle for three. Talk about thrift! Was
there ever seen that which could eclipse these three old women in
the art and virtue of saving? Thrift and economy! Why, the three
poor old souls fairly revelled in it. They could give points to any of
the professional teachers of thrift who know so much about the
extravagance of the poor. One gaslight served for the three, and
when a shilling was required to gently induce the automatic gas-
meter to supply them with another too brief supply of light, the
shilling came from common funds; and when the long day's work
was done, and the old widow machinist prepared to lie down in the
little bed that had been erstwhile covered with trousers, the other
widow and aged spinster went aloft to their little rooms to light their
little lamps and to count themselves happy if they possessed a bit of
wood and a few crumbs of coal wherewith to make the morning fire.
If not so fortunate, then, late and cold though the night be, they
must sally forth to the nearest general shop, and with a few hardly-
earned coppers lay in a fresh stock, and return laden with one pint
of paraffin oil, one halfpennyworth of firewood, one pennyworth of
coal, and most likely with one pennyworth of tea-dust. And in such
course their lives will run till eyesight fails or exhausted nature gives
way, and then the workhouse waits.
It is the old widow machinist that talks to us, but she keeps on
working. Her machine whirrs and creaks and rattles, for it is an old

one, and its vital parts are none too good; and the old woman
speaks to it sometimes as if it were a sentient thing, and reproves it
when a difficulty arises. In her conversation with us frequent
interjections are interposed that sometimes appeared
uncomplimentary to us: "Now, stupid!" "Ah! there you are at it
again!" But when she explained that she was referring to her
machine and not to us, we forgave her.
"I have had this machine for twenty-one years, and it has been a
good one. I bought it out of my husband's club and insurance
money." "How much did you have altogether?" "Twenty pounds, and
I paid for his funeral and bought my mourning and this machine,
and it's been a friend to me ever since, so I can't help talking to it;
but it wants a new shuttle." "How much will that cost?" "Five
shillings!" "Let me buy one for you." "I don't want to part with the
old one yet. It will perhaps last my time, for I want a new shuttle,
too. We are both nearly worn out;" and the machinist kept on with
her work, and the other widow with her finishing, and the aged
spinster with her pressing.
Oh, brave old women! We are lost in wonder and veneration.
Utilitarians and the apostles of thrift tell us that the poor are
demoralized by "charity," and of a surety indiscriminate giving
without knowledge and personal service is often ill bestowed. But in
the presence of three old women possessed of heroic souls, living as
they lived, working as they worked, who cares for utilitarianism or
political economy either? A fig for the pair of them!
"But," say our teachers, "you are in reality subsidizing their
employers, who exploit them and pay them insufficiently." Another
self-appointed teacher says: "Ah! but you are only helping them to
pay exorbitant rents; the landlord will profit." Who cares? Others, in
very comfortable circumstances, who themselves are by no means
averse to receiving gifts, say: "Don't destroy the independence of
the poor." Wisdom, prudence, political economy, go, hang
yourselves! we cry. Our love is appealed to, our hearts are touched,
our veneration is kindled, and we must needs do something, though

the landlord may profit, though the employer may be subsidized—
nay, though we run the terrible risk of tarnishing the glorious
privilege and record of these independent old women—a record
nearly completed. Help them we must, and we bid defiance to
consequences. So we find the "trolly-man," and three separate bags
of good coal are borne into three separate rooms. A whole
hundredweight for each woman! Where could they put it all? What
an orgie of fire they would have! Would the methodical thrift of the
old women give way in the face of such a temptation?
We don't care: we have become hardened; and we even promise
ourselves that other bags of coal shall follow. Then we examine their
tea-caddies, and throw this tea-dust on the fire—a fitting death for
it, too—and further demoralize the ancient three with the gift of a
pound of good tea, each in a nice cannister, too. A hundredweight of
coal and a pound of tea! Why, the teapot will be always in use till
the pound is gone. The poor drink too much tea. Perhaps so; but
what are the poor to drink? They have neither time, inclination, nor
money for the public-house. Coffee is dear if it is to be good. Cocoa
is thick and sickly. Water! Their water!—ugh! At present poor old
women have the choice of tea or nothing. Then leave them, we
beseech you, their teapot, but let us see to it that they have some
decent tea. So, with five shillings in silver for each of them, we leave
the dauntless three to their fire, their teapots, and wonder, and go
into the streets with the feeling that something is wrong somewhere,
but what it is and how to right it we know not.
I could, were it necessary, multiply experiences similar to the above,
but they would only serve to prove, what I have already made
apparent, that the worries and sufferings of the very poor are
greatly aggravated by their inability to procure a reasonable supply
of coal. Slate-clubs, men's meetings, and brotherhoods have of late
years done much to secure artisans and working men who are
earning decent wages a supply of good coal all the year round.
Weekly payments of one shilling and upwards enable them to lay in
a store when coal is cheap—if it is ever cheap—or to have an

arrangement with the coal merchant for the delivery of a specified
amount every week. People possessed of commodious coal-cellars
may buy largely when coal prices are at their lowest; but the poor—
the very poor—can neither buy nor store, for they have neither
storehouses nor barns. Even if they could, by the exercise of great
self-denial, manage to pay a sum of sixpence per week into a local
coal-club, they have nowhere to put the supply when sent home to
them. They must needs buy in very small quantities only. The
advantages of co-operation are not for them, but are reserved for
those that are better off. One scriptural injunction, at any rate, the
community holds with grim tenacity: "To him that hath it shall be
given."
Yet I have seen attempts at co-operation among the poorest, for one
Christmas-time, when the weather was terribly severe, and when, as
becomes a Christian country, the one great necessity of life among
the poor was put up to a fabulous price, I knew four families living in
one house to contribute threepence per family wherewith to
purchase fifty-six pounds of coal that they might have extra fire at
that happy season. Some of the very poor buy pennyworths of coke
to mix with their coal, but though coke seems cheaper, it only
flatters to deceive, for it demands greater draught, and it must be
consumed in larger quantities. If for economy's sake a good draught
and a generous supply be denied, it sullenly refuses to burn at all,
and gives off fumes that might almost challenge those of a motor-
car. The lives of many young children have been sacrificed by
attempts to burn coke in small rooms where the draught necessary
for good combustion has not existed. Certainly coke is no friend to
the very poor. There are still meaner purchases of firing material
than pennyworths of coal or pennyworths of coke, for
halfpennyworths of cinders are by no means uncommon. A widow of
my acquaintance who had several young children startled me one
day when I was in her room by calling out, "Johnny, take the bucket
and run for a ha'porth of cinders and a farthing bundle of wood."
The farthing bundle of firewood I knew of old—and a fraudulent
fellow I knew him to be, made up especially for widows and the

unthrifty poor—but the halfpennyworth of cinders was a new item to
me. I felt interested, and decided to remain till Johnny returned. He
was not long away, for it was the dinner-hour, and the boy had to
get back to school. He was but a little fellow, and by no means
strong, yet he carried the bucket of cinders and firewood easily
enough. When the boy had gone to school the widow turned to me
as if apologizing for wasting three farthings. "I must have some fire
for the children when they come in." "Aren't you going to make the
fire up for yourself? It will soon be out, and it is very cold to-day."
"No; I am going to work hard, and the time soon goes. I shall light it
again at half-past four," said the unthrifty widow. Meanwhile I had
inspected the cinders, which I found to be more than half dirt, fit
only for a dust-destructor, but certainly not fit to burn in a living-
room. "Do you buy cinders by weight or measure?" "I think he
measures them." "How much have you got here?" "Two quarts." "Do
you see that quite half is dirt?" "They are dirty. I expect he has
nearly sold out. When he has a fresh lot we get better cinders, for
the small and the dirt get left till the last." "I suppose he will not
have a fresh supply in till he has cleared the last?" "No; he likes to
sell out first. One day when I complained about them he said: 'Ah!
they are pretty bad. Never mind! the more you buy, the sooner
they'll be gone; then we'll have a better lot.'" "How many fires will
your cinders make?" "Two, if I put a bit of coal with them." "Do you
ever buy a hundredweight of coal?" "Not since my husband died. I
try to buy a quarter twice a week." "How much do you give for a
quarter?" "Five-pence." "How many fires can you light with your
farthing bundle of wood?" "Two, if I don't use some of it to make the
kettle boil." "How much rent do you pay?" "Five shillings for two
rooms."
Poor widow! Because ye have not, even the little that ye have is of a
truth taken from you.

CHAPTER XII
OLD BOOTS AND SHOES
One hundred pairs of old boots and shoes that have been cast off by
the very poor present a deplorable sight—a sight that sets one
thinking. Many times I have regretted that I did not call in a
photographer before they were hurried off to the local dust-
destructor. What a tale they told! or rather what a series of tragedies
they revealed! There was a deeply pathetic look about every pair:
they looked so woefully, so reproachfully, at me as I contemplated
them. They seemed to voice not only their own sufferings, but also
the wrongs and privations of the hundred poor widows who had
discarded them; for these widows, poor as they were, had cast them
off. The boots and shoes seemed to know all about it, and to resent
the slight inflicted on them; henceforth even the shambling feet of
poor old women were to know them no more. They had not a coy
look among them; not an atom of sauciness or independence could I
discover; but, crushed and battered, meek and humiliated, they lay
side by side, knowing their days were over, and pitifully asking for
prompt dissolution. What a mixed lot they were! No two pairs alike.
Some of the couples were not pairs, for a freak of fortune had united
odd boots in the bond of sufferings and the gall of poverty. Many of
them had come down in life; they had seen better days. Well-
dressed women had at some time stepped daintily in them, but that
was when the sheen of newness was upon them and the days of
their youth were not ended. In those days the poor old boots were
familiar with parks, squares, and gardens, and well-kept streets of
the West; but latterly they have only been too familiar with the
slums and the grime of the East. How I wished they could speak and
tell of the past! How came it about that, after such a splendid
beginning, they had come to such a deplorable end? Had the West
End lady died? Had her wardrobe been sold to a dealer? What had

been the intermediate life of the boots before they were placed,
patched and cobbled, in the dirty window of a fusty little second-
hand shop in Hoxton? I know the widow that bought them and
something of her life; I can appreciate the effort she made to get
possession of them. She paid two shillings and sixpence for them,
but not all at once—oh dear, no! Week by week she carried
threepence to the man who kept the fusty little shop. He cheerfully
received her payments on account, meanwhile, of course, retaining
possession of the coveted boots. It took her four months to pay for
them, for her payments had not been quite regular. What would
have become of the payments made if the widow had died before
the completion of purchase, I need not say, but I am quite sure the
boots would have speedily reappeared in the shop window. But,
after all, I am not sure that the old cobbler was any worse in his
dealings with the poor than more respectable people are; for
pawnbroking, money-lending, life assurance, and furniture on the
hire system among the poor are founded on exactly the same
principles. How much property has been lost, how many policies
have been forfeited, because poor people have been unable to keep
up their payments, we do not know; if we did, I am quite sure that it
would prove a revelation. In this respect the thriftiness of the poor is
other people's gain.
It was a triumph of pluck and grit, for at the end of four long
months the widow received her cobbled boots. Her half-crown had
been completed. "I had them two years; they lasted me well—ever
so much better than a cheap new pair," the widow told me;
nevertheless, she was glad to leave them behind and go home with
her feet shod resplendently in a new pair of seven-and-elevenpenny.
She might venture to lift the front of her old dress now as she
crossed the street, and I am sure that she did not forget to do it, for
she was still a woman, in spite of all, and had some of that quality
left severe people call vanity, but which I like to think of as self-
respect.

"How is it," I was asked by a critical lady, "that your poor women let
their dresses drag on the pavement and crossings? I never see any
of them lift their dresses behind or in front. They must get very dirty
and insanitary." "My dear madam," I replied, "they dare not, for
neither their insteps nor their heels are presentable; but give them
some new boots, and they will lift their dresses often enough and
high enough."
There was another pair, too, that had come down, and they invited
speculative thought. They were not born in the slums or fitted for
the slums, but they came into a poor widow's possession
nevertheless. They had not been patched or cobbled, and just
enough of their former glory remained to allow of judgment being
passed upon them. They had been purchased at a "jumble sale" for
threepence, and were dear at the price. The feet that had originally
worn them had doubtless trodden upon carpet, and rested
luxuriantly upon expensive hearthrugs. They were shoes, if you
please, with three straps across the insteps, high, fashionable heels,
buckles and bows in front. But their high heels had disappeared, the
buckles had long since departed, the instep straps were broken and
dilapidated, the pointed toes were open, and the heels were worn
down. When completely worn out and unmendable, some lady had
sent them to a local clergyman for the benefit of the poor. I gazed
on them, and then quite understood, not for the first time, that
there is a kind of charity that demoralizes the poor, but it is a charity
that is not once blessed.
Here was an old pair of "Plimsolls," whose rubber soles had long ago
departed; there a pair of shoes that had done duty at the seaside,
whose tops had originally been brown canvas, and whose soles had
been presumably leather; here a pair of "lace-ups"; there a pair of
"buttons"—but the lace-holes were all broken, and buttons were not
to be seen.
But whatever their style and make had been, and whoever might
have been their original wearers, they had now one common
characteristic—that of utter and complete uselessness. I ought to

have been disgusted with the old rubbish, but somehow the old
things appealed to me, though they seemed to reproach me, and lay
their social death to my charge and their present neglect to my
interference. But gladness was mixed with pathos, for I knew that a
hundred widows had gone to their homes decently booted on a
dismal Christmas Eve.
But now, leaving the old boots to the fate that awaited them, I will
tell of the women who had so recently possessed them.
It had long been a marvel to me how the very poor obtained boots
of any sort and kind. I had learned so much of their lives and of
their ways and means that I realized boots and shoes for elderly
widows or young widows with children must be a serious matter.
Accordingly, at this particular Christmas I issued, on behalf of the
Home Workers' Aid Association, invitations to one hundred widows
to my house, where each widow was to receive a new pair of boots
and Christmas fare. They came, all of them, and as we kept open
house all day, I had plenty of time to converse with them
individually. I learned something that day, so I want to place
faithfully before my readers some of the things that happened and
some of the stories that were told.
One of the first to arrive was an elderly widow, accompanied by her
epileptic daughter, aged thirty. I looked askance at the daughter, and
said to the widow: "I did not invite your daughter." "No, sir; but I
thought you would not mind her coming." "But I do mind, for if
every widow brings a grown-up daughter to-day I shall have two
hundred women instead of one hundred." "I am very sorry, sir; but I
could not come without her." They sat down to some food, and my
wife looked up a few things for the daughter. "Now for the boots," I
said. "Of course, we cannot give your daughter a pair." "No," said
the widow; "we only want one pair." I knew what was coming, for I
had taken stock of the daughter, who was much bigger than her
mother. "What size do you take?" "Please, sir, can my daughter try
them on?" "No; the boots are for you." "Oh yes, sir, they will be my
boots, but please let my daughter try them on." It was too palpable,

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