A Pathetic Story.

Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2938, 16 July 1878, Page 3

A Pathetic Story.

Viscountess Kingslanb Making Shirts at Twopbkce Apiece.

The Earl of Beaconsfield has recommended a grant from the royal bounty fund of £100 to the Universal Beneficent Society, 15 Soho-square, to be applied for the benefit of Vicountess Kingslaud, one pf the society's pensioners. The history of the unfortunate lady is sad to a degree, and strango as sad. She was married to the late Viscount in 1819, and on his death, in December 1833, inherited as her sole means of support, the interest on the sum of £1,200, which was placed in trust for her. After a time one of the trustees died, and shortly afterward the surviving trustee, who was the lady's own brother, absconded with the principal and in the most heartless manner left her utterly destitute and penniless. The parochial authorities, on being informed of the facts of the case, granted her outdoor relief to the extent of 2s 6d per week, which she herself supplemented by her needle_ by between 2a and 3s more. She lived in a small room in Lambeth, and bore for a long time her hard fate in silence, being too proud lo parade her wrongs and misery. Ultif^atdjf", however, sheer necessity ■compeli€&*Tier to apply tp a subscriber of the Universal Beneficent Society, who kindly brought the case before the notice of the council, who, after due investigation, and finding the facts to be exactly as alleged, placed her on thri list of the society's pensioners. Her deceased husband* was Matthew Barnewall, sixth Viscount "Bamewall of King?land, in the peerage of Ireland, on whose death the title became extinct, he;having no male -issue or heir. Since that time Lady Eingsland has eked out a precarious living in the manner already stated, in a small back room, about thirteen feet square, in the company of the daughter of her sister, who earns a weekly pittance by braiding mantles. The house is so ruinous it has been condemned as unsafe and ordered to be pulled down, and the apartment in which the two ladies live is destitute of furniture, with the exception of a wretched apology for a bed for Lady Kingsland, whose niece has none at all and has to sleep on the bare boards.' KTer ladyship is a shirtmaker, for which she is magnificently remunerated at the rate of 2d a shirt. Surely, Hood's " Song of the Shirt "hag never received more pitiful and startling confirmation and comment! Qwiria to the kindness of the Premier, Lady England's position will be considerably improved in future, it_ bring decided to expend the £100 grant in purchasing for her an annuity of from £10 to £12, after laying out a small sum in making a new apartment, to be.procured for her ladyship,, a little more comfortable than the wretched hovel in which she at present lives. .Facts like these require no comment. The story is inexpressibly sad in every particular, without even a solitary gleam of light to relieve itsdarkjiess. Lady KLingslandV misfortunes have not been of her own making, and during all these long and bitter years she has struggled bravely and with great courage, which goes to one's heart even to think of, against the pitiless stings and arrows of outrageous fortune. It is hard enough for the uncultivated poor to endure such hardships, who have all their lives been accustomed to and hunger, and we can well imagine how infinitely harder it must be for a delicate, high born lady like' Viscountess Eingsland. ;^e commend her case to the Irish public. If only for her ladyship's connection with the Irish peerage, she has particularly strong claims on the charity and support of the Irish people.—Dublin Times.