PART ONE CHAPTER I THE EARLY MARRIED LIFE OF
THE MORELS 0
“
THE BOTTOMS 56
” succeeded to “
Hell Row 1
” .
Hell Row 1
was
a block of
thatched , bulging cottages that stood by
the brookside 55
on
Greenhill Lane 3
2 .
There 1
lived
the colliers who worked in
the little gin-pits two fields away 5
4 .
The brook 6
ran under the alder trees , scarcely soiled by
these small mines , whose coal was drawn to the surface by donkeys that plodded wearily in a circle round
a gin 8
7 .
And all over
the countryside 9
were
these same pits 10
,
some of which 107
had been worked in the time of
Charles II 11
,
the few colliers 12
and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into
the earth 13
, making queer mounds and little black places among
the corn-fields 14
and
the meadows 15
.
And
the cottages 16
of
these coal-miners 4
, in blocks and pairs here and there , together with
odd farms and homes of
the stockingers 18
, straying over
the parish 19
17 , formed
the village of Bestwood 20
.
Then , some sixty years ago , a sudden change took place ,
gin-pits 21
were elbowed aside by
the large mines of
the financiers 23
22 .
The coal and iron field of
Nottinghamshire 25
and
Derbyshire 26
24 was discovered .
Carston , Waite and Co. 27
appeared .
Amid tremendous excitement ,
Lord Palmerston 28
formally opened
the company 27
's first mine
29 at
Spinney Park 30
, on
the edge of Sherwood Forest 31
.
About this time
the notorious Hell Row 1
, which through growing old had acquired an evil reputation , was burned down , and much dirt was cleansed away .
Carston , Waite & Co. 27
found
they 27
had struck on a good thing , so , down
the valleys of the brooks from
Selby 33
and
Nuttall 34
32 ,
new mines 35
were sunk , until soon there were
six pits 36
working .
From
Nuttall 34
, high up on the sandstone among the woods , the railway ran , past
the ruined priory of
the Carthusians 38
37 and past
, down to
Spinney Park 30
, then on to
Minton 41
,
a large mine among corn-fields 42
; from
Minton 41
across
the farmlands of
the valleyside 44
43 to
Bunker 's Hill 45
, branching off
there 45
, and running north to
Beggarlee 46
and
Selby 33
, that looks over at
Crich 47
and
the hills of
Derbyshire 26
48 :
six mines like black studs on
the countryside 50
49 , linked by a loop of fine chain ,
the railway 51
.
To accommodate the regiments of
miners 52
,
Carston , Waite and Co. 27
built
the Squares 53
,
great quadrangles of dwellings on
the hillside of
Bestwood 20
54 , and then , in
the brook valley 55
, on
the site of Hell Row 1
,
they 27
erected
the Bottoms 56
.
The Bottoms 56
consisted of
six blocks of
miners 58
' dwellings
57 ,
two rows of three 59
, like the dots on a blank-six domino , and
twelve houses 61
in a block
60 .
This double row of dwellings sat at the foot of the rather sharp slope from Bestwood , and looked out , from the attic windows at least , on the slow climb of the valley towards Selby .
The houses 61
themselves 61
were substantial and very decent .
One could walk all round , seeing
little front gardens with auriculas and saxifrage 62
in the shadow of the bottom block , sweet-williams and pinks in
the sunny top block 63
; seeing neat front windows , little porches , little privet hedges , and dormer windows for the attics .
But that was outside ; that was the view on to the uninhabited parlours of
all
the colliers 4
' wives
64 .
The dwelling-room , the kitchen , was at the back of the house , facing inward between the blocks , looking at
a scrubby back garden 65
, and then at the ash-pits .
And between the rows , between the long lines of ash-pits , went the alley , where
the children 66
played and
the women 67
gossiped and
the men 68
smoked .
So , the actual conditions of living in
the Bottoms 56
, that was so well built and that looked so nice , were quite unsavoury because
people 69
must live in the kitchen , and the kitchens opened on to that nasty alley of ash-pits .
Mrs. Morel 70
was not anxious to move into
the Bottoms , which was already twelve years old 56
and on the downward path , when
she 70
descended to
it 56
from
Bestwood 20
.
But it was the best
she 70
could do .
Moreover ,
she 70
had
an end house in one of
the top blocks 72
71 , and thus had
only one neighbour 73
; on the other side an extra strip of
garden 74
.
And , having
an end house 75
,
she 70
enjoyed a kind of aristocracy among
the other women of
the “ between ” houses 77
76 , because
her 70
rent was five shillings and sixpence instead of five shillings a week .
But this superiority in station was not much consolation to
Mrs. Morel 70
.
She 70
was thirty-one years old , and had been married eight years .
A rather small woman , of delicate mould but resolute bearing 111
,
she 70
shrank a little from the first contact with
.
She 70
came down in the July , and in the September expected
.
was
a miner 112
.
They 0
had only been in
three weeks when the wakes , or fair , began .
Morel 79
,
she 70
knew , was sure to make a holiday of it .
He 79
went off early on the Monday morning , the day of the fair .
The two children 81
were highly excited .
William 82
,
a boy of seven 108
, fled off immediately after breakfast , to prowl round
the wakes ground 83
, leaving
Annie 84
, who was only five , to whine all morning to go also .
Mrs. Morel 70
did
her 70
work .
She 70
scarcely knew
yet , and knew
no one with whom to trust
the little girl 84
86 .
So
she 70
promised to take
her 84
to
the wakes 83
after dinner .
William 82
appeared at half-past twelve .
He 82
was
a very active lad , fair-haired , freckled , with a touch of the Dane or Norwegian about
him 82
113 .
“ Can
I 82
have
my 82
dinner ,
mother 70
? ”
he 82
cried , rushing in with
his 82
cap on .
“ 'Cause it begins at half-past one ,
the man 87
says so . ”
“
You 82
can have
your 82
dinner as soon as it 's done , ” replied
the mother 70
.
“ Is n't it done ? ”
he 82
cried ,
staring at
her 70
in indignation .
“ Then
I 82
'm goin ' be-out it . ”
“
You 70
'll do nothing of the sort .
It will be done in five minutes .
It is only half-past twelve . ”
“
They 89
'll be beginnin ' , ”
the boy 82
half cried , half shouted .
“
You 82
wo n't die if
they 89
do , ” said
the mother 70
.
“ Besides , it 's only half-past twelve , so
you 82
've a full hour . ”
The lad 82
began hastily to lay the table , and directly
the three 90
sat down .
They 90
were eating batter-pudding and jam , when
the boy 82
jumped off
his 82
chair and stood perfectly stiff .
Some distance away could be heard the first small braying of a merry-go-round , and the tooting of a horn .
His 82
face quivered as
he 82
looked at
.
“
I 82
told
you 70
! ”
he 82
said , running to the dresser for
his 82
cap .
“ Take
your 82
pudding in
your 82
hand -- and it 's only five past one , so
you 82
were wrong --
you 82
have n't got
your 82
twopence , ” cried
the mother 70
in a breath .
The boy 82
came back , bitterly disappointed , for
his 82
twopence , then went off without a word .
“
I 84
want to go ,
I 84
want to go , ” said
Annie 84
, beginning to cry .
“ Well , and
you 84
shall go ,
whining , wizzening little stick 84
! ”
said
the mother 70
.
And later in the afternoon
she 70
trudged up
the hill 91
under the tall hedge with
.
The hay was gathered from
the fields 92
, and cattle were turned on to the eddish .
It was warm , peaceful .
did not like
the wakes 83
.
There were two sets of horses , one going by steam , one pulled round by a pony ; three organs were grinding , and there came odd cracks of pistol-shots , fearful screeching of
the cocoanut man 94
's rattle , shouts of
the Aunt Sally man 95
, screeches from
the peep-show lady 96
.
The mother 70
perceived
her 70
son 82
gazing enraptured outside
the Lion Wallace booth 97
, at the pictures of this famous lion that had killed
a negro 98
and maimed for life
two white men 99
.
She 70
left
him 82
alone , and went to get
Annie 84
a spin of toffee .
Presently
the lad 82
stood in front of
her 70
, wildly excited .
“
You 70
never said
you 70
was coming -- is n't the ' a lot of things ?
-- that lion 's killed
three men 100
--
I 82
've spent
my 82
tuppence -- an ' look here . ”
He 82
pulled from
his 82
pocket two egg-cups , with pink moss-roses on them .
“
I 82
got these from that stall where y' ave ter get them marbles in them holes .
An '
I 82
got these two in two goes - ' aepenny a go-they 've got moss-roses on , look here .
I 82
wanted these . ”
She 70
knew
he 82
wanted them for
her 70
.
“ H 'm ! ”
she 70
said , pleased .
“ They ARE pretty ! ”
“ Shall
you 82
carry 'em , 'cause
I 70
'm frightened o ' breakin ' 'em ? ”
He 82
was tipful of excitement now
she 70
had come , led
her 70
about the ground , showed
her 70
everything .
Then , at the peep-show ,
she 70
explained the pictures , in a sort of story , to which
he 82
listened as if spellbound .
He 82
would not leave
her 70
.
All the time
he 82
stuck close to
her 70
, bristling with
a small boy 101
's pride of
her 70
.
For
no other woman 102
looked
such a lady 103
as
she 70
did , in
her 70
little black bonnet and
her 70
cloak .
She 70
smiled when
she 70
saw
.
When
she 70
was tired
she 70
said to
: “ Well , are
you 82
coming now , or later ? ”
“ Are
you 70
goin ' a ' ready ? ”
he 82
cried ,
his 82
face full of reproach .
“ Already ?
It is past four ,
I 70
know . ”
“ What are
you 70
goin ' a ' ready for ? ”
he 82
lamented .
“
You 82
need n't come if
you 82
do n't want , ”
she 70
said .
And
she 70
went slowly away with
, whilst
stood watching
her 70
, cut to the heart to let
her 70
go , and yet unable to leave
the wakes 83
.
As
she 70
crossed
the open ground in front of the Moon and Stars 105
she 70
heard
men 106
shouting , and smelled the beer , and hurried a little , thinking
was probably in the bar .
At about half-past six
came home , tired now , rather pale , and somewhat wretched .
He 82
was miserable , though
he 82
did not know it , because
he 82
had let
her 70
go alone .
Since
she 70
had gone ,
he 82
had not enjoyed
his 82
wakes .
“ Has
been ? ”
he 82
asked .
“ No , ” said
the mother 70
.