Petty Tyranny. 213 



and the constable may carouse to the top of their 

 bent : the landlord is only too glad to be on good 

 terms with them ; his own little deviations pass 

 unnoticed, and if by accident they are discovered he 

 has a friend at court to give him a good character. 



The worthy pair have an engine of oppression in 

 their hands which effectually overawes the cottagers : 

 they can accuse them of poaching ; and if not pro- 

 ceeding to the ultimatum of a summons, which might 

 not suit their convenience, can lay them under 

 suspicion, which may result in notice to quit their 

 cottages, or to give up their allotment gardens ; and 

 a garden is almost as important to a cottager as his 

 weekly wages. In this way a landlord whose real 

 disposition may be most generous may be made to 

 appear a perfect tyrant, and be disliked by the whole 

 locality. It is to the interest of the keeper and the 

 constable to obtain a conviction now and then ; it 

 gives them the character of vigilance. 



Sometimes a blackleg keeper, not satisfied with 

 the plunder of the estate under his guardianship must 

 needs encroach on the lands of neighbouring farmers 

 occupying under small owners ; and so further ill- 

 will is caused. In the end an exposure takes place, 

 and the employer finds to his extreme mortification 

 how deeply he has been deceived ; but the discovery 



