To labour ere their strength be come,
Or starve—such is the doom
That makes of many an English home,
One long and living tomb.
This is no overcharged picture: many a cottage in our villages—many a court in our cities, attest its truth. Example is the influence of a sovereign; and royal sympathy will avail to draw that attention which is the harbinger of remedy. In the education of the poor lies the true preservative against the worst ills of want. The first steps towards this object must be taken by the rich; this brings the two classes together, and for their mutual benefit. Indifference is startled out of selfish indulgence—and ignorance awakened into hope. Instruction forms the habit, and lays open the resource—while the schemes that originated in pity will be matured by thought; for to effect the beneficial result, it is the mind that must direct the heart.
