appears in a court
of law. Of course, in these villages there are cottages which have been
built expressly for the use of labouring men, and these, like those in
the open country, may be divided into three classes--the hovel, the
cottage proper, and the model modern cottage.

In the villages there is almost sure to be one or more cottages which
carries one's idea of Lilliputian dwellings to the extreme. These are
generally sheds or outhouses which have been converted into cottages. I
entered one not long since which consisted of two rooms, one above and
one below, and each of these rooms could not have measured, at a guess,
more than six feet six across. I had heard of this place, and expected
to find it a perfect den of misery and wretchedness. No such thing. To
my surprise the woman who opened the door was neatly clad, clean, and
bright. The floor of the cottage was of ordinary flag-stones, but there
was a ceiling whitewashed and clean. A good fire was burning in the
grate--it was the middle of winter--and the room felt warm and
comfortable. The walls were completely covered with engravings from the
_Illustrated London News_. The furniture was equal to the furniture of
the best cottages, and everything was extremely clean. The woman said
they were quite comfortable; and although they could have had a larger
cottage many times since, they never wished to change, as they had no
children. That of course made a great difference. I never should have
thought it possible for two human beings to have existed, much less been
comfortable, in such a diminutive place. Another cottage I know contains
but one room altogether, which is about eight feet square; it is
inhabited by a solitary old woman, and looks like a toy-house. One or
two such places as these may be found in most villages, but it does not
by any means follow that because they are small the inhabitants are
badly off. The condition they are found in depends entirely upon the
disposition of the inmates. If they are slatternly and dirty, the
largest cottages would not improve them.

In some rural villages a great many cottages may be observed sadly out
of repair--the thatch coming off and in holes, the windows broken, and
other signs of dilapidation. This is usually set down to the landlord's
fault, but if the circumstances are inquired into, it will often be
found that the fault lies with the inmates themselves. These cottages
are let to labourers at a merely nominal