An Account of some of the Attempts which have been made at different Periods to benefit the Condition of ChimneySweepers. SIR, To the EDITOR of THE PHILANTHROPIST. THE peculiar sufferings of the children employed to sweep chimneys have at different periods claimed the attention of the considerate part of the community, and several plans have been proposed for the purpose of lessening the hardships which these unfortunate children undergo.-The late Mr. Jonas Hanway, well known for his benevolence, formed with several other persons an Association for preventing some of the grievances attendant on sweeping chimneys by climbing, as appears by his work entitled "The Defects of Police the Cause of Immorality,' (London 1775,) in which is a list of "The Committee in behalf of Chimney-sweepers' young Apprentices;" and as it was, I be lieve, the fist Committee formed for that purpose, it may be interesting to know the names of its members, which are as follow: John Thomson, Jonas Hanway, Rev. Mr. Burrows, John Blackburn, Jacob Gonsales, Edmund Boehm, John Anthony Rucker, George Paterson, Thomas Walker, the Rev. Dr. Kaye, John Dorrien, John Levy, A. Winterbottom. A letter was sent by this Association in June 1773 to Master Chimney-sweepers, inclosing the form of an indenture, (for apprentices,) and recommending them to treat the boys under their care with humanity. The next Society of which I have met with any account, was formed in 1780, and Mr. Hanway was the Treasurer to it. The meetings were holden at the Swan in Chandos-street, CoventGarden. It does not appear that any good was done to the children from this association; for the members were advised to receive back their subscriptions, and break up the Society*. In 1788 a third Society was formed, chiefly consisting of members of the Marine Society. At the request of its members a Bill was brought before Parliament for the regulation of Chimneysweepers' apprentices, and was with some alterations passed into an Act, which is at present in force, but is very defective in many instances. * See "Considerations on the present State of Chimney-Sweepers. By David Porter: Lond. 1800." (unpublished.) A fourth Society was established, consisting of Master Chimney-sweepers within the liberties of Westminster and the Holborn division of Middlesex, and other persons. A printed copy of their Resolutions is dated London 1799, which underwent some alterations, as may be seen by a copy of Articles of Agreement of the 19th March 1800, inserted in Mr. David Porter's "Considerations on the present State of Chimney-sweepers." The late Duchess of Gloucester was Patroness, and the late Mrs. Montagu Vice-patroness. These several societies, well-intended as they no doubt were, were calculated only to lessen some of the miseries endured by those employed in the hazardous, and, as it is now conducted, shocking occupation of climbing chimneys; and I fear, comparatively speaking, very little good has been effected by the efforts used to benefit them. The object which we should have in view is, entirely to put a stop to the practice of sending up little children to sweep chimneys; and should this letter meet with a ready insertion in your useful publication, it is my intention to send you some account of a Society (now in existence) formed with this view. 22d Sept. 1815. I remain, &e. B. M. F. The Excursion; being a portion of The Recluse, a Poem. By William Wordsworth, London, printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, Paternoster Row, 1814. Ir is the duty of THE PHILANTHROPIST to sanction whatever tends to the moral and intellectual improvement of mankind; and it is immaterial to us, whether or no such improvement result from the labours of the agriculturist, the manufacturer, or philosopher, that great triumvirate, on whom (politically speaking) depend the prosperity and happiness of every civilized country. Of these three classes of society, the last, though least in number, is not so in importance; and it were well for the moral interests of the world, if every man of letters would, like a prudent father, duly train up the children of his imagination in such a manner, that when introduced to the world they might become the moral agents of virtue and philanthropy; and so carry home to the author of their existence the love and admiration of his fellow-creatures, and the invaluable blessings of an approving conscience. We do not mean by this observation to insinuate that a respectable author does not take such precautions, nor are we ungenerous enough to suppose that philosophy and religion do not of themselves suggest them to the votaries of literary fame. .. But there is one department of literature, which, from the peculiar licenses it allows, is apt to mislead the judgement of its followers, and inculcate a notion that it is not amenable at all times to the strict laws of morality and virtue. To this fatal delusion the Muse of every country owes her disgrace; and it is to be lamented that the evil charms of wit and genius have too often polluted the pure streams of Castaly, and disorganized that natural harmony which ought to exist between the Muses and the Graces. Without dwelling on this painful subject, we may observe that fashion and popular taste, nowadays, have sanctioned a species of poetry which ill accords with our national character, and may in many respects be likened to poetical novels and tales, or to musical and romantic dramas, the highest aim of whose author is to please the eye and the ear, to play round the senses, but never touch the soul. There are, it is true, occasional beauties interspersed, and sketches of nature so drawn as to keep up a sufficient interest till the tale be told, which then passes away like a dream, needing neither after thought nor interpretation. Compositions of this kind require only to be perused to be understood. Philosophical reflections are quite excluded. The œconomy of the universe; the scale and the sword of divine justice and mercy; the connexion between the material and immaterial world; moral agency, cause and effect, and all that ought to interest the rational and thinking part of mankind, are never considered. The amiable virtues sometimes appear, but seldom the severer ones; the pictures have colouring, but need solidity and keeping. The Muse does not act in the twofold character of painter and sculptor, and the forms she pourtrays want the solemn majesty and the animating inspirations of philosophy and truth. There is however another Muse, who disdains to creep along her earthy path with reptile pace, and, boldly soaring towards that sacred temple which stands on high, looks down upon the scene below, and catches all that is sublime and beautiful. She strikes the rock with her lyre, and the living waters of Poesy gush forth; she treads the mountain and holds communion with the cloudy spirit of the storm, and the sunny shades that dance in the sunbeams; if she descend into the valley, Rural Happiness and Simplicity are her handmaidens; in the populous city she walks hand in hand with Industry and Benevolence; and when conducted by the inward and invisible monitor, amid the visible associations of life and death, the urn and the cypress, Faith allied to Hope and Fear support her through the vale of tears, and open to her view the distant dawn of the promised Land. In short, wherever she treads, her ways are ways of pleasantness and peace. Our readers must not look beyond this imperfect outline (of what we consider as the highest and most edifying species of Poetry) for metaphysical proprieties of unity in time and place, or for obsolete definitions and models of ancient and modern excellence; nor shall we enlarge upon the present state of British poetry, a topic which would carry us beyond our prescribed limits. Criticism we wish to avoid, and would not draw further comparisons (if comparison can be drawn) between the Muse educated in the confined schools of fashion and popular taste, and the same being trained up in the free and boundless expanse of nature. As philanthropists, we would abstain from all bitter and personal allusion, pleased rather with the title of panegyrists than of critics, and happy whenever the press furnishes us with new subjects of praise and commendation-happier still when persuaded that the labours of the poet will be ultimately blessed by the pensive gratitude and moral improvement of his enlightened readers. In this belief we have now taken up the poem of The Excursion; and in order that a fair estimate may be formed of the nature and design, (of the whole poem of The Recluse, of which this forms the second part,) we cannot do better than quote a portion of the author's own preface: "It may be proper to state whence the poem of which The Excursion is a part derives its title of The Recluse.-Several years ago, when the author retired to his native mountains with the hope of being enabled to construct a literary work that might live, it was a reasonable thing that he should take a review of his own mind, and examine how far nature and education had qualified him for such employment. As subsidiary to this preparation, he undertook to record in verse the origin and progress of his own powers, as far as he was acquainted with them. That work, addressed to a dear friend most distinguished for his knowledge and genius, and to whom the author's intellect is deeply indebted, has been long finished; and the result of the investigation which gave rise to it, was a determination to compose a philosophical poem, containing views of man, nature, and society, and to be entitled The Recluse, as having for its principal subject the sensations and opinions of a poet living in retirement." After a few more observations, the author thus concludes his preface to The Excursion: "Nothing further need be added, than that the first and third parts of The Recluse will consist chiefly of meditations in the author's own person; and that in the intermediate part (The Excursion) the intervention of characters speaking is employed, and somewhat of a dramatic form adopted. It is not the author's intention formally to announce a system; it was more animating to him to proceed in a different course; and if he shall succeed in conveying to the mind clear thoughts, lively images, and strong feelings, the reader will have no difficulty in extracting the system for himself; and in the mean time the following passage, taken from the conclusion of the first book of The Recluse, may be acceptable as a kind of prospectus of the design and scope of the whole poem; "On Man, on nature and on human life Pure, or with no unpleasing sadness mix'd; And dear remembrances, whose presence soothes I would give utterance in numerous verse. I sing fit audience let me find tho' few!' |