The Tumbling Girl .....

[grannysrock]

I came across this by chance whilst looking for something altogether different.

The Edinburgh Evening Courant, September 18 1868.

THE "TUMBLING GIRL" AND HER MOTHER - Emma Clark, a wretched, half starved child, ten years of age, was brought before Mr Benson on Thursday, at the Thames Police Court, charged with an act of vagrancy. Harvey 184 K, stated that he saw the prisoner throwing somersaults and tumbling alongside the omnibuses on Commercial Road on Monday evening. Mr Benson - Do you mean to say that the little girl was in the road throwing somersaults among the boys? Harvey- She was indeed, sir. The prisoner's mother, of dissipated appearance, began whining, talked about her "dear child", and said she sent her out to fetch her little brother home to tea, and she joined the boys in the road. Mr Benson, in very indignant terms, reptimanded the mother for sending her child into the public road to tumble. He knew the woman and her child well. the last time the girl was before him she was charged with begging. The girl was sent out by her mother to beg. The mother of the prisoner here commenced whining loudly, and begged of the magistrate to discharge her dear child.Mr Benson was afraid that the woman had no affection for her child at all, and that she made use of her to obtain money from those foolish persons who rode in and upon omnibuses, and who gave money to children for tumbling. the mischief done by omnibus passengers was terrible, and now he had the evidence of a public officer that a girl was tumbling head over heels in the street. He never heard of anything so shocking as this.Those who encourage such things should be ashamed of themselves. The mother of the prisoner continued her whining. Mr Benson - I know you are demoralising all your children. I will take more care of your child than you will. Go out of the Court directly, and don't stand whining in that box. I shall send the girl to the workhouse for a week, and then ascertain what institution will take care of her. The mother -Don't send her away from me. Mr Benson - Leave the Court directly woman. I'll hear no more from wuch an unnatural mother. The prisoner was then formally remanded for a week to the workhouse. The mother - Oh my darling, my dear one, my innocent, let me have her. Mr Benson - Your child will be taken good care of - better care than you have ever taken care of her. The woman who made considerable resistance, was forced out of the Court by the officers, and the girl was sent to the workhouse - Express.


Made me feel very sad. Left me wondering about what happended to Emma and her mother after that, about what exactly an omnibus was in 1868 and what was so bad about the people that rode in them.

Sallu

[emanday]

Omnibus - what buses used to be called.

[Russell]

I don't know who or what Mr Benson was but I would presume a Justice of some sort. From a different class to the common rabble.
To someone who would be driven in a Brougham or Hackney anyone who had to ride in an omnibus would be beneath him. He would consider any passenger 'foolish' who gave a coin to the girl knowing that her mother would take it and spend it in a gin palace.
An omnibus was a four wheeled passenger vehicle rather like a tramcar, usually small enough to be pulled by one horse and not confined to a set of rails.
In actual practice the commonest of the common man walked on Shanks' pony, quite a few would be in bare feet. Only those who could afford the fare would ride in an omnibus.

As for the poor waif I suppose it would be possible to track her down through the poorhouse records but, without addresses, it would be a tedious trawl through the records of umpteen London districts.
Who knows! She might have become a renowned circus performer

Russell

[sheilajim]

Hi Salu

I suppose that they were shocked, because they might have seen the bloomers of a ten year old. They thought that the people on the omnibus, (which I think was some kind of large horse driven vehicle) were considered wicked for giving money to the children for doing such immoral acts as "tumbling".

You will notice that it was the girl that they took into custody, none of the boys.

Women and children didn't have an easy time of it in those days.

Sheila

[Russell]

Hi Sheila

I would be surprised if poor Sally even had 'bloomers' which probably accounted for the outrage.

Russell

[sheilajim]

Hi Russell

Oh my! That would have really shocked them! Maybe they transported them in that case.

Sheila

[AnneM]

Hi

I too would suspect that she had no bloomers! For lots of stuff on London omnibuses see http://www.victorianlondon.org/ . One of my husband's ancestors was an owner/conductor we know not which. It varies from certificate to certificate.

10 is still the minimum age of criminal responsibility in England and it's 8 in Scotland. However these days the mother, if in Scotland could be prosecuted under the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937 s12 which among other things prohibits the use of children in begging and some forms of performances, no doubt to deal with just that kind of situation. This one obviously happened in London as it was dealt with by the Thames police court. Must have been a slow news day in Edinburgh, either that or the editor thought the good staid burghers of our capital would enjoy a guilty shock about the depravity of the real big smoke.

Anne

Anne

[grannysrock]

Thanks for all of your replies. I did try to reply that night - but I see my reply had gone awol - I am having severe problems with my telephone line ( ie it's no workin') - perhaps there are also issues with my ADSL( same as broadband ? ) line too .

Russell said

I would be surprised if poor Sally even had 'bloomers' which probably accounted for the outrage.

Sally may be Scottish - but she is weel covered in that area. ( Think Kirk Alloway here ) But she cannae tumble like wee Emma ....

Anne - your legal points interested me - in a modern as well as historical sense. I didn't realise that criminal reponsibilty started at 8 years old in Scotland- Having been an 8 year old once, it seems a little scary!

As for omnibus, well I thought I knew it as the origin of the word bus - but I was trying to picture the type of vehicle and the type of person it may have carried in the 1860's and why Mr Benson had such a bee in his bonnet about them...

I hope the full facts weren't reported in this story. I hope that it was more than Emma's gymnastic exhibition that led her to be institutionalised.
( I think I might have found her in 1871 still in the workhouse ) .

Sally

[AnneM]

Hi again

That's why that site is so interesting. It gives you an idea of the low esteem in which omnibuses and those who worked on them were held and gives some pictures.

I think that if wee Emma was institutionalised it was probably because her mother was using her to beg or perform for money probably to drink. Sadly I've known of the begging bit to happen still in Scotland for drink for the parents.

Anne

[G.Love]

Victorian costume is something I'm very interested in. Drawers weren't wore by everyone, and I should think that a poor street girl like the tumbler wouldn't have worn them. Here's a nice little page
http://www.tudorlinks.com/treasury/arti ... nder1.html