III. J POOR MAN'S FRIEND. 61 



pression on the minds of my readers, and so likely 

 to lead to some useful practical result; no way seems 

 to me so well calculated to answer these purposes, as 

 that of taking the very village, in which, I, at this 

 moment, happen to be, and to describe, with names 

 and dates, the actual state of its labouring people, as 

 far as that state is connected with steps taken under 

 the poor-laws. 



65. This village was in former limes a very con- 

 siderable place, as is manifest from the size of the 

 church as well as from various other circumstances. It 

 is now, as a church living, united with an adjoining 

 parish, called VERNON DEAN, which also has its church, 

 at a distance of about three miles from the church of 

 this parish. Both parishes, put together now contain 

 only eleven hundred, and a few odd, inhabitants, men, 

 women, children, and all; and yet, the great tithes 

 are supposed to be worth two or three thousand pounds 

 a year, and the small tithes about six hundred pounds 

 a year. Formerly, before the event which is called 

 " THE REFORMATION," there were two Roman Catho- 

 lic priests living at the parsonage houses in these two 

 parishes. They could not marry, and could, therefore 

 have no wives and families to keep out of the tithes; 

 and, WITH PART OF THOSE TITHES, 

 THEY, AS THE LAW PROVIDED, MAIN- 

 TAINED THE POOR OF THESE TWO PA- 

 RISHES ; and, the canons of the church commanded 

 them to distribute the portion to the poor and the stran- 

 ger, " with their own hands, in humility ^d mercy. 11 

 66. This, as to church and poor, was the state of 

 these villages, in the "dark ages" of " Romish 

 superstition" What ! No poor-laws ? No poor- 

 rates? What horribly unenlightened times! No se- 

 lect vestries ? Dark ages indeed ! But, how stands 

 these matters now? Why, the two parishes are 

 moulded into one church living. Then the GREAT 

 TITHES (amounting to two or three thousand a year) 

 belong to some part of the Chapter (as they call it) 

 of Salisbury. The Chapter leases them out, as they 

 would a house or a farm, and they are now rented by 



