can be withdrawn, and the cashier demurred to making the
payment. "Well," said the boy, "the reason's this--mother can't pay her
rent; I'm goin' to pay it, for, as long as I have owt, she shall hev'
it." In another case, a youth drew L20 to buy off his brother who had
enlisted. "Mother frets so," said the lad, "that, she'll break her heart
if he isn't bought off, and I cannot bear that."
Thus these institutions give help and strength in many ways, and,
besides enabling young people to keep out of debt and honestly to pay
their way, furnish them with the means of performing kindly and generous
acts in times of family trial and emergency. It is an admirable feature
of the Ragged Schools that almost every one of them has a Penny Bank
connected with it for the purpose of training the scholars in good
habits, which they most need; and it is a remarkable fact that in one
year not less than L8,880 were deposited, in 25,637 sums, by the
scholars connected with the Ragged School Union. And when, this can be
done by the poor boys of the ragged schools, what might not be
accomplished by the highly-paid operatives and mechanics of England?
But another capital feature in the working of Penny Banks, as regards
the cultivation of prudent habits among the people, is the circumstance
that the example of boys and girls depositing their spare weekly
pennies, has often the effect of drawing their parents after them.
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