Water Babies

I just finished reading the book "The Water Babies" by Charles Kingsley. bunch of hogwash if you ask me, kids gettin' killed by their master and turning into sprites free of dirt, soot, and sins. That's just cruel, giving us kids hope for somethin' that doesn't exist. I've heard of master sweeps being cruel, but never killin' a child. I don't think they're as soulless as that.