"THERE is formed in every thing a double nature of good; "the one, as every thing is a total or substantive in itself; "the other, as it is a part or member of a greater body; "whereof the latter is in degree the greater and the worthier, "because it tendeth to the conservation of a more general "form. Therefore we see the iron in particular sympathy "moveth to the loadstone; but yet if it exceed a certain 66 quantity, it forsaketh the affection to the loadstone, and "like a good patriot moveth to the earth, which is the re66 gion and country of massy bodies. This double nature of 66 good, and the comparative thereof, is much more engraven 66 upon man, if he degenerate not; unto whom the conser"vation of duty to the public ought to be much more precious "than the conservation of life and being: according to that "memorable speech of Pompeius Magnus, when being in "commission of purveyance for a famine at Rome, and 66 being dissuaded with great vehemency and instance by his "friends about him, that he should not hazard himself to sea "in an extremity of weather, he said only to them, 'Ne66 cesse est ut eam, non ut vivam.' But it may be truly "affirmed that there was never any philosophy, religion, or "other discipline, which did so plainly and highly exalt the good which is communicative, and depress the good which "is private and particular, as the Holy Faith; well declaring, "that it was the same God that gave the Christian law to 66 men, who gave those laws of nature to inanimate crea"tures that we spoke of before."

66

Bacon's Advancement of Learning.

"AND well may masters consider how easie a transposition "it had been for God, to have made him to mount into the "saddle that holds the stirrup; and him to sit down at the 66 table, who stands by with a trencher."

Fuller's Holy State.

011-28-41 ASA.

44297

TO HENRY TAYLOR, ESQ.

MY DEAR TAYLOR,

I HAVE great pleasure in dedicating this book to you, as I know of no one who, both in his life and writings, has shown a more profound and delicate care for the duties of the Employer to the Employed. Pardon me, if following the practice of the world, I see the author in his hero, and think I hear you speaking, when Van Artevelde exclaims

"A serviceable, faithful, thoughtful friend,
Is old Van Ryk, and of a humble nature,
And yet with faculties and gifts of sense,
Which place him justly on no lowly level-
Why should I say a lowlier than my own,
Or otherwise than as an equal use him?
That with familiarity respect

Doth slacken, is a word of common use.
I never found it so."

I have had some peculiar advantages in writing upon this subject. I should have been unobservant indeed, if, with such masters as I have served under, I had not learnt something, in regard to the duties of a great employer of labour, from witnessing their ever-flowing courtesy; their care for those who came within their sphere; their anxiety, as the heads of departments, to recognize every exertion on the part of their subordinates; and their ready sympathy with the poor and the friendless, a sympathy which the vexations and harassments of office, and all those things that tend to turn a man's thoughts in upon himself, could never subdue.

But, happily, it is not only amongst the high in office that such examples are to be found. The spirit, and even some of the very modes of benevolent exertion which I have endeavoured to recommend, have already been carried into practice, and I trust may be frequently seen, in the conduct towards their dependents, both of manufacturers and landed proprietors.

I must also say how much I owe to the ex

cellent Reports which of late years have been presented to Parliament on subjects connected with the welfare of the labouring classes. It is to be regretted that these reports are not better known. I have made frequent use of them, and hope that the quotations I have given may induce my readers to turn to the original sources.

With regard to the subject generally, it appears to me that knowledge of the duties of an employer is every day becoming more important. The tendency of modern society is to draw the family circle within narrower and narrower limits. Those amusements which used to be shared by all classes are becoming less frequent: the great lord has put away his crowd of retainers: the farmer, in most cases, does not live with his labouring men: and the master has less sympathy and social intercourse with his domestics. If this be so, if the family circle is thus becoming narrower, the conduct of those in domestic authority, having a more intense influence, has the more need of being regulated by the highest sense of duty: and, with respect to society in general, if the old bonds are

loosened, other ties must be fostered in their

place.

You will not be likely to mistake my meaning, and to suppose that I look back with any fond regret at the departure of the feudal system, or that I should wish to bring the present generation under its influence. Mankind does not so retrace its steps. But still, though the course of our race is onwards, the nature of man does not change. There is the same need for protection and countenance on the one side, and for reverence and attachment on the other, that there ever has been; and the fact that society is in many respects more disconnected than it used to be, renders it the more necessary to cultivate in the most watchful manner every mode of strengthening the social intercourse between rich and poor, between master and servant, between the employers and the employed, in whatever rank they may be.

I am afraid it may be said with justice, that both this letter and the following Essay are "sermoni propiora," according to Charles Lamb's translation, " properer for a sermon:" but it is impossible to dwell long on any such