A "BACCA" FED BABY by Gov. St. John

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Sep 29, 1881

A "BACCA" FED BABY.

By Gov. St. John

A VISITOR among some of the English poor, during one of the lockouts, when mills were stopped and labor suspended, gave the following account how one baby lived and grew fat through the hard times.

The wife of a laborer, while looking on at a game of "hop-scotch," in which her husband was engaged with other idlers, was describing their way of living. While she was speaking, there came toddling in at the door a splendid specimen of Suffolk infantine humanity, aged about four years, and with limbs like a baby giantess.

"There, sir," remarked the old lady, "she don't look much the worse for the lockout, do she?"

I replied that she did not, but rather as though a fair amount of the fat of the land fell to her share. "What do you feed her on?" I asked.

" 'Bacca, sir," replied the old lady, with a grin. "Tobacco!"

"Well, that's what they say about here. You see, sir, it's this way. She's my gran' young un, and her poor mother has seven of 'em, and the father is locked out like the rest; and so a month ago my old man—him as you see, making such a donkey of himself a minute ago—he says, says he,—"

" 'Old woman, dashed if I can enjoy my pipe,'—which costs ten and half pence a week—half an ounce of three penny a day,—'a cruel hard smoker he's allers been—' I can't enjoy my pipe,' says the old man, 'and see our Joe's young uns wanting a meal; so I'll make over my 'bacca money to help 'em, and put my pipe out till things mend a bit.'"

"And this is the young un that gets the benefit of it in milk night and morning."

A good many other babies and their mothers too, might be well fed and well clad, if they had the "bacca money," and whisky money, which husbands and fathers squander. And the secret of much of the suffering in the world is neither the low wages, the hard times, nor the high prices, but the wasteful vices of those who consume on their own ungodly lusts the money that should support their families, and make themselves independent and comfortable.—Christian.