which they resorted to trying to cajole people away from sin with talk of hell, conditional offers of material help, or the provision of 'exciting' services and religion. 'Dignity has given way to hurry, she comments ( op. cit. : 53). How can these degraded people be given these priceless gifts? The usual religious means have failed, the unusual must be tried; we must deal with the people as individuals, being content to speak, not to the thousands, but to ones and twos; we must become the friend, the intimate of a few; we must lead them up through the well-known paths of cleanliness, honesty, industry, until we attain the higher ground whence glimpses can be caught of the brighter land, the land of spiritual life. (Barnett and Barnett 1888: 54) Henrietta and Samuel Barnett turned in later chapters to explore the role of town councils and social reform, art for the people, the experiences of young women in workhouses, the church, charitable effort, and sensationalism in social reform. Samuel Barnett's important piece on university settlements (first published in Nineteenth Century in 1884) was also included. The essay from which the book draws its title -- Practicable Socialism -- brings out some familiar 'Barnett' themes: The study of political economy and some familiarity with the condition of the poor had shown us the harm of doles given in the shape either of charity or of out-relief. We found that the gifts so given did not make the poor any richer,