| Three degrees of poore | { | The poore by impotencie. Poor by casualtie. Thriftlesse poore. | |
| 1. The poore by impotencie are also diuided into three kinds, that is to saie: | { | 1. The fatherlesse poore mans child. 2. The aged, blind, and lame. 3. The diseased person, by leprosie, dropsie, etc. | |
| 2. The poore by casualtie are of three kinds, that is to saie: | { | 4. The wounded souldier. 5. The decaied housholder. 6. The visited with greeuous disease. | |
| 3. The thriftles poore are three kinds in like wise, that is to saie: | { | 7. The riotor that consumeth all. 8. The vagabond that will abide in no place. 9. The idle person, as the strumpet and others. |
For these sorts of poore were prouided three seuerall houses. First for the innocent and fatherlesse, which is the beggers child, and is in deed the seed and breeder of beggerie, they prouided the house that was late Graie friers in London, and now is called Christes hospitall, where the poore children are trained in the knowledge of God, and some vertuous exercise to the ouerthrowe of beggerie. For the second degree, is prouided the hospitall of saint Thomas in Southworke, & saint Bartholomew in west Smithfield, where are continuallie at least two hundred diseased persons, which are not onelie there lodged and cured, but also fed and nourished. For the third degree, they prouided Bridewell, where the vagabond and idle strumpet is chastised, and compelled to labour, to the ouerthrow of the vicious life of idlenes. They prouided also for the honest decaied housholder, that he should be relieued at home at his house, and in the parish where he dwelled, by a weekelie reliefe and pension. And in like manner they prouided for the lazer, to keepe him out of the citie from clapping of dishes, and ringing of bels, to the great trouble of the citizens, and also to the dangerous infection of manie, that they should be relieued at home at their houses with seuerall pensions.”—Holinshed, iii. 1082. The rest of the page should be read about “blessed king” Edward VI., and his thanking God that he’d given him life to finish “this worke” of relief to the poor “to the glorie of thy name”: two days after, the good young king died.—F.
[166] At whose hands shall the blood of these men be required?—H.
[167] Objection 2, sign. e. i. “I praie you shewe me by what occasion or meanes, this huge nomber of Beggers and Vacaboundes doe breede here in Englande. And why you appointe twelue of them to euery Shipp: I thinke they maie carie the Shippe awaie, & become Pirates. [Answer.] If you consider the pouerty that is and doth remaine in the Shire tounes, and Market tounes, within this Realme of England and Wales, which tounes, being inhabited with greate store of poore householders, who by their pouertie are driuen to bring vp their youth idlely; and if they liue vntil they come to mans state, then are they past all remedie to be brought to woorke. Therfore, at suche tyme as their Parentes fayles them, they beginne to shifte, and acquainte them selues with some one like brought vppe, that hath made his shifte, with dicyng, cosenyng, picking or cutting of purses, or els, if he be of courage, plaine robbing by the waie side, which they count an honest shift for the time; and so come they daiely to the Gallowes. Hereby growes the greate and huge nomber of Beggers and Vacaboundes, which by no reasonable meanes or lawes could yet be brought to woorke, being thus idely brought vp. Whiche perilous state and imminent daunger that they now stande in, I thought it good to auoide, by placeyng twelue of these poore people into euery fishynge Shippe, accordyng to this Platte.” 1580. Robert Hitchcok’s Pollitique Platt.—F.
[168] See the earliest known specimen of the Gipsy language, the “Egyptian rogues’” speech, in my edition of Andrew Boorde, Early English Text Society, first series, 1870, p. 218.—F.
[169] Thomas Harman. See the edition of his book, and Audeley’s prior one, by Mr. Viles and myself, in the Early English Text Society’s extra series, 1869, No. IX.—F.
[170] See Appendix.
[171] Law of the Marshal.—F.
[172] See my Ballads from MSS., 121-123, Ballad Society.—F.
[173] Harrison has confounded two very similar Keltic words. It should be a “d” in place of the second “c.”—W.