ABSTRACT
The life outside London was the life of four fifths of the population of England. And in 1700 this four fifths was still largely an agricultural people, living either in deep country or clustered round villages and towns. As a result, village officials were for the most part close-fisted in matters of charity. When an eighteenth-century stagecoach left London behind and lumbered over bumpy uneven roads, it was on its way to a world of different inspirations. A Roman citizen quartered in some remote province of the Empire could hardly have complained more of life there than would an inveterate Londoner in the age of the first Georges who withdrew to a Yorkshire hamlet. The tradesman worked for his money, often performing all kinds of jobs. A smith might be also a metalworker and hardware merchant; and he would even make andirons or grills. Shops opened at daybreak and closed long after nightfall.
