The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-06-16
lLOndon Register.l

Hospital, made some remarks on the sever
ance OF aocial ties which is caused by the huge
ness OF the metropolis. He observed with truth
that the inhabitants of the West End know
nothing of the Inhabitants of the East End
and that both ct the West End and ut the EAsi
End social pride is despotic, and the demarca-
tions of status are absolute He might have
added, had he: so willed, that every class OF
society, from the highest to the lowest in the
next above it-or, for that matter, from the
next GLASS below it--ss though the Himalsyas
were piled on the Gapges to obstruct ell har-
monious communicating. Geographically, the
geography OF another point; and, socially, the
| Inhabitants OF one point know nothing Of the
habits OF another point. How many persons
who live in Mayfair, or in any part Of "res.
pectable" London, have ever heard of the ex-
lstenos of, cay, Shoreditch, unless some trip
into the country, by the line of the Eastern
shaw" or A. B. CT And more curious fact is
that each district Of the metropolis 10 cut off
In eympathy from other distriots. Pimlioo
has no moro affinity to Dalston, and Isiington
has NO more sympathy with Brompton than
has Paris with Vienna or Naples, or than an
Englishmau has with an Irishman. A writer
he could slwsys teil the district which any
person lived in, by the style Of his walk or his
look and though this was ludicrous e1ag.
geration, 1t eoggested some thoughts which
were true. 1t 10 . fact that, save with excep-
| sional object, the people of each district do not
wander. The women do their shopping in
their own district And there might be no
south London for those who live In North Lon
don, nor any West End for those who live in
the East End. Persons whose unsavory lot is
cast In Ghoreditch OF, iaaWhiteohapel would
and would be as surprised and as bafnsd in an
attempt to appreciate it as though they were
suddenly plunged into the Coreo. There is
metropolis than there 10 between Rome and
st. Peters burg; o score Of worlds, as we'll az of
districts, existing in what 10 commonly called
Neighborlinees is killed by such contrast
and ell sense of oompAtriotism 10 destroyed.
An Englishmsn who cells tripe in Stepuey, and
an Englishmsn who has apartments in CuIzon
street, my just possibly understand each
ends.
There is a serious as well as a comic estimate
of this anomaly. Mr.. Gladstone alluded nasu.
rally to the serious side. He spoke, too, Of an
other feature in this Diversity of London life, |
which is quite as regrettsble as patent. "If
London, You will find within two hundred or |
three hundred yards Of the most splendid resi- |
denoes-and and in abandanee-she humble |
habitAtions of the poor." Aud Of the humble |
habitations the rich ere NO more conscious |
than they are of the spots upon the sun. It is |
not the fashion with fashionable people to |
low them in position. They send them checks, |
very seldom,-snd send small checks buI |
here is the full limit of communion. We wish |
it could be made fashionable, by some leader
of hdut ton. to cherish INSTRUMENTATION with
the poor. We know one reason why shie is not |
done. The rich are afraid that, in visiting the
poor, they would meet persons one OF two
shades beneath them; and the incidental per-
sonol contact might generate acquaintance
which would be found to be hereafter moon
venient "There is nothing so oowardly as
and certainly in England We illustrate that
truism by the most exaggerated examples of
cowardlce. The rich are not afraid OF the poor,
but the are horribly afraid of respectability
and the mntiOn Of nnmhar |
in rubbing elbows with number one stratum
is q disaster which must be scrupulously avoid
ed. Hence the poor are made to suffer in their
severance from social sympathy by the petty
iealousies of the numerous ranks which are
above them the contiguity of social links
forming anomalously, the stoutest barrier be.
tween the GLASSES who are supposed to be
proximate. The result is not simply, as Mr..
Gladstone expressed it, that ''to most of ne ,
who live in the West End of London the East
End is an unknown land, as unknown, aye, |
and more unknown, than are many of the dis
tant cities of Europe;' but the result is also
that the tens Of any one dietrict in constant
Tread OF the twenties of the came district; =
while the tWentieo are in trepidation of the !
aad the hundreds keep aloof from
The thousands. There 10 no more mixing in q
,ocial sense between the different strata of the
,ame district than there is between q Shet-
ander and Welshmsn o next door neighbor
being ss removed from our cognisauce as Il
Laplander is remote from Bengalese.
Mr.. Gladstone drew attention 20 the greater I
,ympathy between classes which exists on the l
Continent Of Europe end to the fact that \
material separations were In some way conn !
by charity. There was truth in :
his remark, feom purely Catholic point of
7iew, though We hardly know how Mr.. Glad
tone intended it. go fSr as social differences Q
ire concerned, there is the same clsss-feeling j
IN the Continent as in England there is an !
,lmost ludicrous excess of it in Rome and the
severity Of etiquette is more burdensome in the
Eternal City than in almost any other city of :
Europe. We may account for this severity By I
he amRllpess of Rome by the crowd of OH | g
,ial personages within small compSssj and by
he stringency of manners which is inevitably
By the presence of dignttaEies of q
ihe Church Still, in Rome, as in other cities
,isher of Italy, or of France, of Spain, of Bel
zium, of Austria, there is this boon which
must strike every observer-that the same
DOliteness 10 shown to all clAsseSs What We
infer from in EnRlAnd--more than from any
iOoini falIacy--is tho vulRAr code Of public
manners or 'Apolitsness = the Tuao behavior 20
In ingsEieE b9isg inagined 9 g oomPensated h