Paved With Gold: Or the Romance and Reality of the Streets of London (Classic Reprint) - Tapa blanda

Excerpt from Paved With Gold: Or the Romance and Reality of the Streets of London

IT has often struck me that if a truthful account were written of the miseries of criminal life, it would, by destroying the fancied ro mance of wickedness, have a quicker effect in checking juvenile de pravity than any moral appeals that could be made to the under standings of the evil-disposed.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Paved With Gold: Or the Romance and Reality of the Streets of London

It has often struck me that if a truthful account were written of the miseries of criminal life, it would, by destroying the fancied romance of wickedness, have a quicker effect in checking juvenile depravity than any moral appeals that could be made to the understandings of the evil-disposed.

Crime has now become a trade. Cunning is the only capital needed. The youths who take to this desperate calling are of such a nature that they are beyond a sense of danger. They would carve their names on gallows-wood as calmly as an Eton boy disfigures his desk. They are insensible to the fear of the law.

Of course, crime means - unrestrained selfishness, or, in other words, the gratification of desires, regardless of the misery the indulgence may inflict on others. There are many of the leaden-souled who, if crime were treated as a business speculation, - if the chances of profit and loss were as thoroughly weighed as when a merchant studies his ventures, - might be impressed with the folly of the risk, and, swayed by their selfishness, take to honesty as the better policy. As I have said, these wicked of the world have no fear of the law, but they have a full appreciation of personal advantages. Prove to them that the rewards of virtue are by one penny higher than those of vice, and they will, with marvellous rapidity, alter their courses. If they are once coaxed into this passive honesty, the schoolmaster may, with good prospects of success, commence his work.

Of one thing I may humbly make a boast - the extreme truthfulness with which this book has been written. The descriptions of boy-life in the streets, the habits and customs of donkey-drivers, the peculiarities of tramp-dom and vagrancy, have all resulted from long and patient inquiries among the individuals themselves. They are actual records of the earnings and condition of these peculiar classes among the uncivilised of London. Indeed, some portions of this book (such as the chapters on the "Crossing-sweepers" and the "Rat Match" at the "Jolly Trainer") were originally undertaken by me at the request of my brother, Mr. Henry Mayhew, and will, I believe, form part of his invaluable work on "London Labour and the Poor."

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.