Increasing Evil And Lust Of Aristocratic Assimilations (1796)

[RichardB]

An increasing evil at Sheffield is, that the apprentices used to live with their masters and be of the family; now, their wives are grown too fine ladies to like it.

(Life by his Sons, ii 164).

This was in 1796, and the described may be traced to other causes than the decrease of piety, namely, to augmented wealth and intelligence, and their natural result - lust of aristocratic assimilations of which Mr Wilberforce himself, who one of the burgess order, was no bad type in his time, in his predilections in favour of rank and authority.

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Starts well enough then trails off into gibberish ...