this lazar-house; but on going thither next morning he found the woman
and her helpless brood of infants gone. It then turned out that this
woman "farmed" infants; deliberately neglected them till she succeeded
in killing them off, and then concealed their deaths in order to
continue to receive the wretched pittances allowed for their
maintenance. Such scenes and facts as these must have opened the eyes of
Mrs. Fry to the condition of the poorest classes of that day, and
educated her in self-denying labor on their behalf.

She also took an interest in educational matters, and formed an
acquaintance with Joseph Lancaster, the founder of the Monitorial
system, and quickly turned her talents to account in visiting the
workhouse and school belonging to the Society of Friends at Islington.

About this time, one sister was married to Mr. Samuel Hoare, and
another to Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton. Other members of her family passed
away from this life; among them her husband's mother, and a brother's
wife. Some time later Mr. Fry senior, died, and this event caused the
removal of the home from St. Mildred's Court to Plashet, in Essex, the
country seat of the family. Writing of this change, she said: "I do not
think I have ever expressed the pleasure and comfort I find in a country
life, both for myself and the dear children. It has frequently led me to
feel grateful for the numerous benefits conferred, and I have also
desired that I may not rest in, nor too much depend on, any of these
outward enjoyments. It is certainly to me a time of sunshine."




CHAPTER IV.