Page:The English Peasant.djvu/183

 of all their thoughts about life lay quite unconsciously communist principles. They had a right to live; and if they, by hard labour, could not keep themselves and their families, then the parish was bound to step in and provide whatever was necessary. Therefore it appeared to them that the increased strictness of the parish now-a-days in giving relief was an additional element of hardness in the poor man's lot. In former times, they said, every man who had more than three children received a gallon of flour per week from the parish for each additional child; now nothing is given, except in the case of absolute need.

They had both gone to work when about seven years of age, and had never had a day's schooling in their lives. Peter could read a little, but old H—— could not read at all. They could scarcely ever go to church. Sometimes, if they happened to have two or three trusty boys, they might venture to leave the flock.

Old H—— had had several children, but like most other grown-up families—

Lately he had lost his wife and a poor deaf and dumb son, who had notwithstanding been a great comfort to him. Both the old father and Peter were loud in his praise. It was good to see the affection the old friends had for each other.

All of a sudden Peter rose and bid me good-night. I took out a shilling, remarking that perhaps he knew some poor man who might want it. He looked at the shilling, and, turning round, gave it to his old comrade, saying, "Well, I do know a poor man, and this is him;" and then, without waiting for thanks, he was gone. Old H—— received it with a meek dignity truly admirable.

In former times every shepherd had his hut on the Downs. Sometimes it was a cave scooped out of the side of a bank, lined with heath or straw, and covered with sods of turf or hawthorn boughs. Here in rough weather the shepherd took refuge and watched his sheep. Sometimes he would read or otherwise amuse himself. "It was in my hut," said one of these worthies to Mr Lower, "that I first read about Moses and his shepherding life