The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

- 2 In charitable thought of human mind. Oh no! they're quarrelsome because forlorn; They fight for life; and, frightened, flit away Even from your good table, snatching crumbs To eat within the hedge, however kind Your meaning be, set up on pole or spike. It is not you they fear, but one another. - Christ would have said that bird to bird was brother, But Christ and Nature seldom speak alike. HELP FOR OTHERS LESS FORTUNATE More extracts from our old friend "The Diary of a Farmer's Wife, 1796 - 1797"). March Ye 11 - In comes Mistress Prue at midday to tell me Joe Shorts wife do have a child and she with littel clothes for it, bein very poor. Mistress Prue do say can I help her; which I will most willen, bein sorry for any who do suffer from want. So I with her late to see the poor wretch, and did find her lying most worrie and comfurtless. I back home to get some clean sheets and a blankit to make the poor sowl better, and some milk for her to drink; which did warm her. We then home with her blessing us. I did not tell John of me giving her the sheets and blankit, he bein a mere man, so it not wise to do so. Yet I could but think how much better off I be to hav a good bed to He upon, and plenty of vittels to my inside. I should not like to live in a hovel like Emma Short. March Ye 12 - John to church by himself while I to Emma Shorts cot (cottage) to wash her. I did cumbe her hair, which was verrie lumpy, did also wipe the babes face and make it tidy and comfurtable, no boddy else doin it. March Ye 20 - Carters wiffe did come to help with the baking and did bring the news of Gunns cot, in the lane, being strange of late. She do say that lights have been seen in it, and of groans to be heard after dark, so that some do fear it much. This be strange, the cot bein empty for many months. She did warn Sarah not to go courting Carters lad that road, which did make Sarah giggel much, the silly wench. And I did tell them both to get to their work verrie sharp. April Ye 3 - Me to see Sarah's mother who do seem verrie poorly. She be a nice woman, and do deserve help, for she do work harde to keep her childer. Sarah did offer to come back to feed the piggs and such like, but I did tell her no, to stop home until her sister do come. April Ye 6 - After leaving Carters wiffe bussie, I to Sarah's to see how her mother be, finding her no better, I did send the boy for the doctur to cum, and did give her sum warm milk with a egg beat up in it. The house bein verrie clean and tidie, did set me down to wait the docturs cuming, who did look verrie grave saying she be in a high fever, and needed blood letting, which me helping him, he did. I did feel verrie sick but did not show it and he did praise me much for being useful. Cums to the door later Mistress Prue who had herd of the sickness, saying she will stop with Sarah till her sister do come, so I home, to find Carter's wiffe bussie with the milking; and saying she had fed the pigges and hens, I to get the eggs, then indoors to see the tee reddie and the water boiling reddie for the pot. Carter's wiffe works verrie well and can be trusted to do her work well. .../3