292 AWAKENING OF ENGLAND. 



influence in village life. If the new family be 

 very wealthy, the head of it descends upon it 

 like a conqueror. The little village grocer 

 and the publican may rub their hands with 

 self - gratulation, but the parson and the 

 schoolmaster, if they be thoughtful men, and 

 the little lady with slender means who drives 

 herself about in a pony-chaise, will fear the 

 setting up of the golden calf in their midst. 

 The labourers will no doubt regard the change 

 from the old squire to the new squire with 

 indifference. As an economic factor the 

 large country house is to him what Buckingham 

 Palace is to the sleeper on the benches in the 

 Park. His wife may cast an anxious glance 

 at her daughter growing to maturity. Charity 

 will come their way, she supposes, as it came 

 before, for they look upon it now as a matter 

 of right, and though charity may ennoble the 

 giver, it rarely ennobles the receiver. 



Probably the most evil outcome of a large 

 establishment in the country with a great 

 number of male servants is in the exaltation of 

 a false standard of life. Parasitic labour, of 

 no use from the national standpoint, will be 

 valued higher than honest productive toil. 

 !Male servants, selected often for their looks, 



