tions, and influences of an unseen and spiritual world. The prevalence of this spirit in modern English society, is a fact too obvious to admit of dispute, or to require demonstration.
The very expressions of our common, familiar conversation, testify to it. A "respectable" man has come to signify, a man who lives in a manner which denotes the possession of a certain income; a "successful" man means a man who has succeeded in realizing a certain fortune; a "good match" is synonymous with a marriage to a man of handsome means. The practical working faith of most people for the last century seems to be, that to get on in the world, and realize a certain amount of money and social position, is the one thing needful. The sense of duty, which is in itself infinite, has resolved itself into a sort of infinite duty of making money. Our whole duty of man, is, in the first place, to be rich; or, failing in this, in the second place to appear rich. On all hands the doctrine is zealously preached and practised, that "poverty is disgraceful, and that hard cash covers a multitude of sins." Now to the prevalence of this spirit may be directly traced a large portion of the evils of which society complains. This part of the subject might be carried to a much greater length, did our limits allow it; this not being the case, I shall simply draw the attention of the reader to the want of sufficient remuneration for industry, which is one of the principal causes of the evils of the poor.
I find on reference to a book in my possession, that in the time of Henry the VIII, laws were passed relating to food and wages, which placed the working man in a far more favorable position, than he is in England at the present time. The price of provisions, and the wages of labor were settled by act of Parliament. The very same Parliament that passed the law that no corn be exported,
