th his egotism. On the contrary, he conceals it under the vilest
hypocrisy. What? The wealthy English fail to remember the poor? They
who have founded philanthropic institutions, such as no other country can
boast of! Philanthropic institutions forsooth! As though you rendered
the proletarians a service in first sucking out their very life-blood and
then practising your self-complacent, Pharisaic philanthropy upon them,
placing yourselves before the world as mighty benefactors of humanity
when you give back to the plundered victims the hundredth part of what
belongs to them! Charity which degrades him who gives more than him who
takes; charity which treads the downtrodden still deeper in the dust,
which demands that the degraded, the pariah cast out by society, shall
first surrender the last that remains to him, his very claim to manhood,
shall first beg for mercy before your mercy deigns to press, in the shape
of an alms, the brand of degradation upon his brow. But let us hear the
English bourgeoisie's own words. It is not yet a year since I read in
the _Manchester Guardian_ the following letter to the editor, which was
published without comment as a perfectly natural, reasonable thing:

"MR. EDITOR,--For some time past our main streets are haunted by
swarms of beggars, who try to awaken the pity of the passers-by in a
most shameless and annoying manner, by exposing their tattered
clothing, sickly aspect, and disgusting wounds and deformities. I
should think that when one not only pays the poor-rate, but also
contributes largely to the charitable institutions, one had done
enough to earn a right to be spared such disagreeable and impertinent
molestations. And why else do we pay such high rates for the
maintenance of the municipal police, if they do not even protect us so
far as to make it possible to go to or out of town in peace? I hope
the publication of these lines in your widely-circulated paper may
induce the authorities to remove this nuisance; and I remain,--Your
obedient servant,

"A LADY."

There you have it! The English bourgeoisie is charitable out of self-
interest; it gives nothing outright, but regards its gifts as a business
matter, makes a bargain with the poor, saying: "If I spend this much upon
benevolent institutions, I thereby purchase the right not to be troubled
any further, and you are bound thereby to stay in your dusky holes and
not to ir