It seemed to the author an admirable project, and he consented to do all that he could for it.  But when the persons who were the most likely to contribute to such an institution were applied to, they threw such floods of cold water upon it,[1] that it became evident, in the face of their opposition, that “The Navvy’s Home” could not be established.  Of course, excuses were abundant.  “Navvies were the most extravagant workmen.  They threw away everything that they earned.  They spent their money on beer, whisky, tally-women, and champagne.  If they died in ditches, it was their own fault.  They might have established themselves in comfort, if they wished to do so.  Why should other people provide for them in old age, more than for any other class of labourers?  There was the workhouse:  let them go there.”  And so on.  It is easy to find a stick to beat a sick dog.  As for the original projector, he recovered his health, he forgot to subscribe for “The Navvy’s Home,” and the scheme fell to the ground.

“The devil was sick, the devil a saint would be:  The devil grew well, the devil a saint was he.’

[Footnote 1:  With one admirable exception.  A noble-hearted man, still living volunteered a very large subscription towards the establishment of “the Navvy’s Home.”]

CHAPTER XV.

HEALTHY HOMES.

“The best security for civilization is the dwelling. “—­B.  Disraeli.

“Cleanliness is the elegance of the poor.”—­English Proverb.

“Sanitas sanitatum, et omnia sanitas.”—­Julius Menochius.

“Virtue never dwelt long with filth and nastiness.”—­Count Rumford.

“More servants wait on Man
Than he’ll take notice of:  in every path
He treads down that which doth befriend him
When sickness makes him pale and wan.”—­George Herbert.

Health is said to be wealth.  Indeed, all wealth is valueless without health.  Every man who lives by labour, whether of mind or body, regards health as one of the most valuable of possessions.  Without it, life would be unenjoyable.  The human system has been so framed as to render enjoyment one of the principal ends of physical life.  The whole arrangement, structure, and functions of the human system are beautifully adapted for that purpose.

The exercise of every sense is pleasurable,—­the exercise of sight, hearing, taste, touch, and muscular effort.  What can be more pleasurable, for instance, than the feeling of entire health,—­health, which is the sum-total of the functions of life, duly performed?  “Enjoyment,” says Dr. Southwood Smith, “is not only the end of life, but it is the only condition of life which is compatible with a protracted term of existence.  The happier a human being is, the longer he lives; the more he suffers, the sooner he dies.  To add to enjoyment, is to lengthen life; to inflict pain, is to shorten its duration.”