Speaking of the eager groups of artisans who could be seen discussing political questions forty years ago, Thomas Cooper remarks, with bitterness, in his autobiography: " Now you will see no such groups in Lancashire. But you will hear well-dressed working men talking, as they walk with their hands in their pockets, of ' co-ops.,' and their shares in them, or in building societies. And you will see others, like idiots, leading small greyhound dogs, covered with cloth, in a string ! They are about to race, and they are betting money as they go! And yonder comes another clamorous dozen of men, cursing and swearing, and betting upon a few pigeons they are about to let fly! As for their betting on horses—like their masters !—it is perfect madness. . . Working men had ceased to think, and wanted to hear no thoughtful talk; at least, it was so with the greater number of them." p. 229
Lectures on the Industrial Revolution of the 18th Century in England: Popular Addresses, Notes and Other Fragments
By Arnold Toynbee, Benjamin Jowett
Edition: 2
Published by Rivingtons, 1887
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