"Brutal savages, degraded Irish," mutters the idle reader of Newspapers; hardly lingering on this incident.

Yet it is an incident worth lingering on; the depravity, savagery and degraded Irishism being never so well admitted.

In the British land, a human Mother and Father, of white skin and professing the Christian religion, had done this thing; they, with their Irishism and necessity and savagery, had been driven to do it.

Such instances are like the highest mountain apex emerged into view; under which lies a whole mountain region and land, not yet emerged.

A human Mother and Father had said to themselves, What shall we do to escape starvation?
We are deep sunk here, in our dark cellar; and help is far .-- Yes, in the Ugolino Hungertower stern things happen; best-loved little Gaddo fallen dead on his Father's knees!--The Stockport Mother and Father think and hint: Our poor little starveling Tom, who cries all day for victuals, who will see only evil and not good in this world: if he were out of misery at once; he well dead, and the rest of us perhaps kept alive?
It is thought, and hinted; at last it is done.