“The following is a sketch of the history now under notice, and I am too well assured that hundreds of similar sketches might be made by any one who has the opportunity of studying from the abundance of models supplied by the great towns of this country:—
“An Irish soldier, named Clarke, on his discharge from the army, with a pension of a shilling a day, settled first at Stockport and then at Manchester with his family, consisting of his wife, three boys, and two girls.
“The father occasionally worked at his trade as a shoemaker, and could have earned a comfortable living by it.
“The two elder boys and the elder girl obtained employment at the factories; the girl, however, after a little time exchanged her occupation for domestic service, in which she continued a year or two.
“The parents, as is too frequently the case, bestowed no moral or religious care upon their children, who in consequence soon picked up bad companions, and beginning with petty theft, like Laura Stanbridge, at such places at Knott Fair, gradually entered upon a course of systematic crime.
“The second son, Richard, led the way, and all the rest of the children, with the exception of the youngest girl, followed in quick succession.
“At first the parents remonstrated, scolded, and gave good advice, but never hesitated to accept all that was offered to them of their children’s ill-gotten gains.
“In a short time the father became ‘a great drunkard,’ while the mother, it is evident, encouraged and assisted practices which provided her with the means of enabling her and her husband to live in idleness and luxury.
“The man does not appear to have quitted Manchester, but the woman took a more active part in the proceedings of her children, frequently making long journeys to meet one or other of them on discharge from prison, and occasionally making herself useful in passing stolen bank notes.
“One of the occasional associates of this family, named James O’Neill, attracted by the skill and success with which the girl exercised her vocation, after a short courtship married her.