anguish and their despair together, and set forth in quest of some
archway or place of shelter, beneath which they may crouch until the
gas-lamps are put out, and the day breaks once more upon their
sufferings. Well, on they roamed, until one of the two, Sarah
Sherford, was actually seized with the pangs of labour, when they
resolved to stagger back to the workhouse; but again the door was
shut in their faces. What was to be done? They were driven away from
the house, and moved slowly along, with many a pause of agony, no
doubt, until they met with a policeman, one Daniel Donovan, who
directed them to a coffee-house where they might hope to get shelter.
The coffee-house did not open till 2 o'clock, when they had two
hours' shelter. But at that hour they were again cast out, as the
keeper was obliged to come into the street with his stall and attend
to it. 'At this time (we will here copy the language of our report)
Sherford's labour pains had considerably increased, and they again
spoke to the same policeman, Donovan, and told him that, unless she
was taken into the workhouse or some other place, she must give birth
to her infant in the street.' Daniel Donovan accordingly conveyed the
two unfortunate creatures to the workhouse once more, at 4 o'clock in
the morning. 'The policeman on duty there,' said this witness, 'told
him that they had been there before, and seemed to have some
_hesitation_ about admitting them, but on being told that one was in
the pains of labour, he let them in.'"

What slavery can be worse than this? Here are young women, women in
distress, starving and almost in the pains of labour, driven about
from post to pillar, and from pillar to post, by day and by night,
totally unable to obtain the smallest aid. Assuredly it would be
difficult to find any thing to equal this in any other country
claiming to rank among the civilized nations of the world.