5^ Human Physiology. 



dishonesty reigns in the kitchen, occasional dishonesty in the 

 pantry ; cooks are detestably unfaithful ; man-servants more or 

 less dishonest, and more dangerous." 



"England," another publicist informs us, "is aghast at the 

 disclosure of her frauds in the adulteration of food, of drugs, 

 and of almost every fabric in her mills and shops; finding that 

 milk will not nourish, nor sugar sweeten, nor bread satisfy, nor 

 pepper bite the tongue, nor glue stick. In true England all is 

 false and forged." 



If there be so much dishonesty in England, we cannot 

 wonder that, when united to courage, or driven to desperation, 

 it culminates in crime. Where there is no sense of truth, and 

 justice, and honour, to keep people to the path of right-doing 

 nothing but the fear of exposure and disgrace, or the dread 

 of punishment we must expect that thousands will be held in 

 check by no such dread. 



The popular instinct makes the bold highwayman, the 

 daring burglar, and even the adroit pickpocket, a sort of hero ;. 

 and he is a hero, in comparison with cheating tradesmen and 

 pilfering domestics. 



The gardens of guilt are everywhere. There are parts of 

 London where every house is inhabited by thieves and other 

 open plunderers of society. Children are born and educated 

 to a life of crime, as others are bred from infancy to prosti- 

 tution. The favourite reading of many thousands of the boys 

 of London and other towns, consists of the adventures of high- 

 waymen, pirates, burglars, and thieves, in which their exploits 

 are described in the most exciting and seductive fashion. The 

 favourite dramas at some of the minor theatres are based on 

 the exploits of noted criminals. The boys most devoted to 

 this kind of literature, form themselves into gangs for purposes 

 of plunder. Every returned or released convict is a teacher of 

 crime; every prison a college. The thieves' public-houses., 

 thieves' coffee-houses and kitchens are seminaries. 



