The Seven Ages of a Village Pauper

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1874. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER IX. CONCLUSION. T HAVE thus attempted to trace our Hero's life. Born by the parish, dandled on the knees of a parish nurse, and educated by the parish. Then comes a change, and he is unwillingly estranged and made an independent being, during the robust health of manhood and prime, although, all along encouragements are held out to him by his fond foster-parent, to return to her as to his true friend, whenever sickness or misfortune can give a pretext, or the slightest excuse. Then as decline and decay creep on, the grey hairs secure for the second childhood, and to the end of the chapter, a permanent continuance of the comforts and blessings of the parish pittance and the pauper's dole! one word of reproach, provided they forsake their mistaken notions, and give up all idea of helping themselves, or at any rate make a pretence of so doing. That independent spirit, that proud look which delights to boast of its requiring no help from anybody is what the parish most objects to. She will give to such no aid whatever; be their trouble what it may, they must be broken before they can be again received into favour. The growth of such a spirit might endanger, particularly in these prosperous times, the very existence of the parish itself! Such is in short the life of our Hero, the Village Pauper. Whether man or woman; whether indolent or industrious; whether respectable or dissolute, whatever be the previous history of the past life, as the instances we have seen have shown, the result is about the same, except that the advantage is invariably given to the worst of each category. Nor can we console ourselves with the idea that the class is but a fraction of the community. It is almost co-extensive with the name of the relief, -- The Parish. It permeate...