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
agotheindustriousPartofthecommunity，particularlythosewhocreate
everyusefulthingbytheirlabour，havebeenspokenofbyeveryonepossessing
thepowertooppresstheminanydegreeinjustthesamemannerinwhich
wespeakoftheanimalswhichcomposethestockuponafarm。Thisisnot
themannerinwhichtheforefathersofus，thecommonpeople，weretreated。’(4*)
Suchlanguage，Cobbettsaid，wastobeheardnotonlyfrom’tax-devourers，
bankers，brewers，monopolistsofeverysort，butalsofromtheirclerks，
fromtheveryshopkeepersandwaiters，andfromthefribblesstuckupbehind
thecountertodothebusinessthatoughttobedonebyagirl。’Thisis
perhapsonlyanotherwayofsayingthattheisolationofthepoorwasbecoming
amoreandmoreconspicuousfeatureofEnglishsociety。
Manycausescombinedtodestroythecompanionshipofclasses，andmost
ofallthebreak-upoftheoldvillagewhichfollowedontheenclosuresand
theconsolidationoffarms。Intheoldvillage，labourersandcottagersand
smallfarmerswereneighbours。Theykneweachotherandlivedmuchthesame
kindoflife。Thesmallfarmerwasafarmeronedayoftheweekandalabourer
another；hemarried，accordingtoCobbett，thedomesticservantofthegentry，
afactthatexplainstheremarkofSophiaWestern’smaidtothelandlady
oftheinn，’andletmehavethebaconcutveryniceandthin，forIcan’t
endureanythingthat’sgross。Prytheetryifyoucan’tdoalittletolerably
foronce；anddon’tthinkyouhaveafarmer’swifeorsomeofthosecreatures
inthehouse。’Thenewfarmerlivedinadifferentlatitude。Hemarrieda
youngladyfromtheboardingschool。Heoftenoccupiedtheoldmanorhouse。(5*)
Hewasdividedfromthelabourerbyhistastes，hisinterests，hisambitions，
hisdisplayandwholemanneroflife。ThechangethatcameovertheEnglish
villageinconsequencewasapparenttoallobserverswithsocialinsight。
WhenGoldsmithwantedtodescribeahappyvillagehewascarefultochoose
avillageoftheoldkind，withthefarmers’strangersaliketoopulence
andtopoverty，’andCrabbe，towhosesincereandrealistpenweowemuch
ofourknowledgeofthesociallifeofthetime，givesaparticularlypoignant
impressionofthecoldandfriendlessatmospherethatsurroundedthepoor：
’WherePlentysmiles，alas！shesmilesforfew，Andthosewhotastenot，yetbeholdherstore，Areastheslavesthatdigthegoldenore，Thewealtharoundthemmakesthemdoublypoor。’(6*)
Perhapsthemostvividaccountofthechangeisgiveninaletterfrom
CobbettinthePoliticalRegisterfor17thMarch1821，(7*)
addressedtoMr。Gooch：——
’IholdareturntosmallfarmstobeabsOlutelynecessarytoarestoration
toanythinglikeanEnglishcommunity；andIamquitesure，thattheruin
ofthepresentraceoffarmers，generally，isanecessarypreliminaryto
this……Thelifeofthehusbandmancannotbethatofagentlemanwithout
injurytosocietyatlarge。Whenfarmersbecomegentlementheirlabourers
becomeslaves。AVirginianfarmer，asheiscalled，verymuchresemblesa
greatfarmerinEngland；butthen，theVirginian’sworkisdonebyslaves。
ItisinthoseStatesofAmerica，wherethefarmerisonlythefirstlabourer
thatallthedomesticvirtuesaretobefound，andallthatpublic-spirit
andthatvalour，whicharethesafeguardsofAmericanindependence，freedom，
andhappiness。You，Sir，withothers，complainoftheincreaseofthepoor-rates。
But，youseemtoforget，that，inthedestructionofthesmallfarms，as
separatefarms，small-farmershavebecomemerehiredlabourers……TakeEngland
throughoutthreefarmshavebeenturnedintoonewithinfiftyyears，and
thefargreaterpartofthechangehastakenplacewithinthelastthirty
years；thatistosay，sincethecommencementofthedeadlysystemofPitt。
Insteadoffamiliesofsmallfarmerswithalltheirexertions，alltheir
decencyofdressandofmanners，andalltheirscrupulousnessastocharacter，
wehavefamiliesofpaupers，withalltheimprovidenceandwrecklessness
belongingtoanirrevocablesentenceofpovertyforlife。Mr。Curweninhis
HintsonAgriculture，observesthathesawsomewhereinNorfolk，Ibelieve
itwas，twohundredfarmersworthfromfivetotenthousandpoundseach；
andexclaims“Whataglorioussight！”Incommentingonthispassage
intheRegister，intheyear1810，Iobserved“Mr。Curwenonlysaw
theoutsideofthesepulchre；ifhehadseenthetwoorthreethousandhalf-starved
labourersofthesetwohundredfarmers，andthefiveorsixthousandragged
wivesandchildrenofthoselabourers；ifthefarmershadbroughtthosewith
them，thesightwouldnothavebeensoglorious。”’
ApracticereferredtointhesameletterofCobbett’sthattendedto
widenthegulfbetweenthefarmerandthelabourerwastheintroductionof
bailiffs：’Alongwithenormouspricesforcorncameintheemploymentof
Bailiffsbyfarmers，anaturalconsequenceoflargefarms；andtowhata
degreeofinsolentfollythesystemwasleading，maybeguessedfromanobservation
ofMr。ArthurYoung，whorecommended，thattheBailiffshouldhaveagood
horsetoride，andabottleofportwineeverydayathisdinner：whilein
thesamework，Mr。Younggivesgreatnumbersofrulesforsavinglabourupon
afarm。Aprettysortoffarmwherethebailiffwastohaveabottleofport
wineathisdinner！Thecustomwas，too，tobringbailiffsfromsomedistant
part，inordertopreventthemfromhavinganyfeelingofcompassionfor
thelabourers。Scotchbailiffsaboveall，werepreferred，asbeingthought
harderthananyothersthatcouldbeobtained；andthus(withshameIwrite
thewords！)thefarmsofEngland，likethoseofJamaica，weresuppliedwith
driversfromScotland！……Neverwasatruersaying，thanthatofthecommon
people，thataScotchmanmakesa“goodsole，butad——dbadupper
leather。”’(8*)Bamford，speakingof1745，says：’Gentlementhenlived
astheyoughttolive：asrealgentlemenwilleverbefoundliving：inkindliness
withtheirneighbours；inopenhandedcharitytowardsthepoor，andinhospitality
towardsallfriendlycomers。Therewerenogrindingbailiffsandlandstewards
inthosedaystostandbetwixtthegentlemanandhislabourerorhistenant：
toscrewuprentsandscrewdownlivings，andtoinventandtransactall
littlemeannessesforsomuchperannum。’(9*)Cobbett’sprejudiceagainst
Scotsmen，theraceof’feelosofers，’blindedhimtovirtueswhichwerenotoriously
theirs，asinhisrounddeclarationthatallthehardworkofagriculture
wasdonebyEnglishmenandIrishmen，andthattheScotsmenchosesuchtasks
as’peepingintomelonframes。’Butthathisremarksuponthesubjectof
theintroductionofScottishbailiffsreflectedageneralfeelingmaybe
seenfromapassageinMissAusten’sEmma，’Mr。Grahamintendstohavea
Scotchbailiffforhisnewestate。Willitanswer？Willnottheoldprejudice
betoostrong？’
Thechangeinthestatusofthefarmercameatatimeofageneralgrowth
ofluxury。Allclassesabovethepooradoptedamoreextravagantandostentatious
styleandscaleofliving。Thiswastrue，forexample，ofsportingEngland。
Fox-huntingdatesfromthiscentury。Beforetheeighteenthcenturytheamusement
ofthearistocracywashuntingthestag，andthatofthecountrysquirewas
huntingthehare。ItwasbecauseWalpolekeptbeaglesatRichmondandused
tohuntonceaweekthattheHouseofCommonshasalwaysmadeSaturdaya
holiday。InthePeninsularWar，Wellingtonkeptapackofhoundsatheadquarters，
buttheywerefox-hounds。Initsearlydaysfox-huntinghadcontinuedthe
simplertraditionsofhare-hunting，andeachsmallsquirekeptafewcouple
ofhoundsandbroughtthemtothemeet。Grayhasdescribedhisuncle’sestablishment
atBurnham，whereeverychairinthehousewastakenupbyadog。Butas
thecenturyadvancedthesportwasorganisedonagranderscale：theold
buck-houndsandslowhorsesweresupersededbymoreexpensivebreeds，and
fargreaterdistanceswerecovered。Foxhuntingbecametheamusementboth
ofthearistocracyandofthesquires，anditresembledratherthepompand
stateofstag-huntingthanthemodestpleasuresofWalpoleandhisfriends。
Inallotherdirectionstherewasageneralincreaseofmagnificenceinlife。
Theeighteenthcenturywasthecenturyofgreatmansions，andsomeofthe
mostsplendidpalacesofthearistocracywerebuiltduringthedistressand
famineoftheFrenchwar。Theambitionsofthearistocracybecametheambitions
oftheclassesthatadmiredthem，asweknowfromSmollett，andSirWilliam
Scottin1802，speakinginfavourofthenon-residenceoftheclergy，’expressly
saidthattheyandtheirfamiliesoughttoappearatwatering-places，and
thatthiswasamongstthemeansofmakingthemrespectedbytheirflocks！’(10*)
Therichandthepoorwerethusgrowingfurtherandfurtherapart，and
