Chap. XIV.] AND Religion'. 23S 



" there, who would soon let you know, that your fine 

 " apple-trees do not belong to you. He would have his 

 " nose in your sheep-fold, your calf-pens, your milk- 

 '^ pails, your sow's bed, if not in the sow herself. Your 

 " daughters would have no occasion to hunt out the 

 " hen's nests: he would do that for them." And then 

 I gave them a proof of an English Parson's vigilance 

 by telling them the story of Baker's peeping out the 

 name, marked on the sack, which the old woman was 

 wearing as a petticoat. To another of my neiglibours, 

 who is very proud of the circumstance of his grandfa- 

 ther being an Englishman, as, indeed, most of the Ame- 

 ricans are, who are descended from Englishmen: to this 

 neighbour 1 was telling the story about the poor woman 

 at Holly Hil', who had nearly dipped her rushes once 

 too often. He is a very grave and religious man. He 

 looked very seriously at me, and said, that falsehood 

 vvas falsehood, whether in jest or earnest. But, when 

 1 invited him to come to my house, and told him, that I 

 would show him the acts which the Borough-men had 

 made to put us in jail if we made our own soap and 

 candles-, he was quite astonished. " What!" said he, 

 >' and is Old England really come to this! Is the land 

 " of our forefathers brought to this state of abject sla- 

 " very ! Well, Mr. Cobbett, I conless, that 1 was alwav s 

 *' for King George, during our Revolutionary war ; but, 

 " I believe, all was for the best ; for, if I had had my 

 " wishes, he might have treated us as he now treats; 

 " the people of England." " He!" said I. " It i» 

 " not he; he, poor man, does nothing to the people, 

 *' and never has done any thing to the people. He has 

 " no power more than you have. None of his family 

 " have any. All put together, they have not a thou- 

 " sandth part so much as 1 have ; for I am able, though 

 ." here, to annoy our tyrants, to make them less easy 

 •' than they would be ; but, these tyrants care no more 

 " for the Royal Family than they do for so many posts 

 " or logs of wood." And then I explained to him who 

 and what the Boronghmongers were, and how they op- 

 pressed us and the king too. I told him how they dis- 

 posed of the Church livings, and, in short, explained 

 to him all their arts and all their cruelties. He was 



