Page:A short history of social life in England.djvu/102

windows and no chimneys, neither were there any tapestry or hangings to keep out the bitter cold The labourer could not read or write; his bread was black, and tough as his shoe leather. He had no pipe to smoke, nor had he any gin, rum, or whisky—for those spirits which have become the curse of modern England were as yet undiscovered. Only little "ardent spirits" known as cordials, were made in well-appointed houses and dealt out by the lady of the house in thimblefuls. Money was scarce; the silver penny was the chief coin of the realm till halfpennies and farthings were first coined in 1276. But what did the agricultural labourer want with money? He paid his "rent" in hens and eggs and forced labour. For it will be remembered that England was as yet entirely an agricultural country, and the holder of much rich land was the man of wealth. At the same time we must note the industrial progress of the period, with its germs of that great mercantile development, which has played such an immense part in the history of social life in England. Each village practically supplied its own wants in these days, and what could not be made was done without There was no dumping down of foreign goods—the Englishman valued his own