第36章

toagreatage，andbutlittleabletowork，shegrewtobeseriouslyafraid，

that，atlast，shemightbecomechargeabletotheparish(theheaviest，in

herestimation，ofallhumancalamities)，andthatthusalarmedshedidsuffer

herselfmorethanonce，duringtheexacerbationsofafitofdistempered

despondency，peevishly(andperhapspetulantly)toexclaimthatGodAlmighty，

bysufferinghertoremainsolonguponearth，seemedactuallytohaveforgotten

her。’’Such，’concludesEden，’arethesimpleannalsofDameStrudwick：and

herhistorian，partialtohissubject，closesitwithlamentingthatsuch

villagememoirshavenotoftenerbeensoughtforandrecorded。’(2*)This

wastheidealcharacterforthecottage。HowEdenoranybodyelsewouldhave

hatedthispoorwomaninwhomeverykindlyfeelinghadbeenstarvedtodeath

ifshehadbeeninhisownclass！WeknowfromCreeveywhathisfriendsthought

of’thestingykip’Lambtonwhentheyfoundthemselvesunderhisroof，where

’aroundofbeefatasidetablewasrunatwithasmuchkeennessasabanker’s

shopbeforeastoppage。’AlittlepeevishnessorevenpetulancewithGod

Almightywouldnothaveseemedthemostseriouschargethatcouldbebrought

againstsuchaneighbour。ButifeveryvillagerhadhadDameStrudwick’s

hardandnarrowvirtues，andhadcrushedallothertastesandinterestsin

thepassionforlivingonashillingadayinacoldandbitterindependence，

theproblemofpreservingthemonopoliesofthefewwithoutdisorderortrouble

wouldhavebeengreatlysimplified。Therewouldhavebeenlittledanger，

asBurkewouldhavesaid，thatthefruitsofsuccessfulindustryandthe

accumulationsoffortunewouldbeexposedto’theplunderofthenegligent，

thedisappointed，andtheunprosperous。’

Thewayinwhichtherulingclassregardedthepoorisillustratedin

thetoneofthediscussionswhentheproblemofpovertyhadbecomeacute

attheendoftheeighteenthcentury。WhenPitt，whohadbeenpesteredby

Edentoreadhisbook，handedavolumetoCanning，thenhissecretary，that

brilliantyoungpoliticianspenthistimewritingaparodyonthegrotesque

namestohefoundintheAppendix，anditwillberecollectedthatPittexcused

himselfforabandoninghisschemeforreformingthePoorLaw，ontheground

thathewasinexperiencedintheconditionofthepoor。Itwasnoshameto

apoliticiantobeignorantofsuchsubjects。Thepoorwerehappyorunhappy

intheviewoftherulingclassaccordingtothesympathytherichbestowed

onthem。Iftherewereoccasionalmisgivingstheywereeasilydispelled。

Thusonephilosopherpointedoutthatthoughthepositionofthepoorman

mightseemwantingindignityorindependence，itshouldberememberedby

wayofconsolationthathecouldplaythetyrantoverhiswifeandchildren

asmuchasheliked。(3*)Anothertrainofsoothingreflectionswasstarted

bysuchpapersasthatpublishedintheAnnalsofAgriculturein1797，

underthetitle’OntheComfortsenjoyedbytheCottagerscomparedtothose

oftheancientBarons。’Insuchasocietyasentimentlikethatexpressed

byFoxwhensupportingWhitbread’sBillin1795，that’itwasnotfitting

inafreecountrythatthegreatbodyofthepeopleshoulddependonthe

charityoftherich，’seemedachallengingparadox。Edenthoughtthisan

extraordinarywayoflookingattheproblem，andretortedthatitwasgratifying

toseehowreadytherichweretobestowtheirbenevolentattentions。This

wasthepointofviewofPittandofalmostallthespeakersinthedebate

thatfollowedFox’soutburst，Buxtongoingsofarastosaythatowingto

thoseattentionstheconditionofthepoorhadneverbeen’soeligible。’

JustastheboisterouscaptaininEvelinathoughtitwasanhonourtoawretched

FrenchwomantoberolledinBritishmud，sotheEnglishHouseofCommons

thoughtthatpovertywasturnedintoapositiveblessingbythekindness

oftherich。

Writingtowardstheendoftheancientré；gime，Cobbettmaintained

thatinhisownlifetimethetoneandlanguageofsocietyaboutthepoor

hadchangedverygreatlyfortheworse，thattheoldnameof’thecommons

ofEngland’hadgivenwaytosuchnamesas’thelowerorders，’’thepeasantry，’

and’thepopulation，’andthatwhenthepoormettogethertodemandtheir

rightstheywereinvariablyspokenofbysuchcontumelioustermsas’the

populace’or’themob。’’Inshort，bydegreesbeginningaboutfiftyyears

agotheindus

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