,transcribed from the #ahjj's ,religious
 ,tract ,society pamphlet by ,david     
,price1 email ccx#jgdpglaf4org          
,picture3 ,public domain cover          
,,talk ,,about ,,socialism              
,,with ,,an ,,old ,,shopmate4           
99 99 99 99 99                  ,,the   
,,religious ,,tract ,,society1          
,,instituted #agii4             #ef1    
,,paternoster ,,row1 ,,and #fe1 ,,st4   
,,paul',s ,,churchyard4    ,,thinks ,i  
to myself the other sabbath afternoon1  
as ,i sat alone with my  ,bible before  
me--thinks ,i to myself1 that was a     
comforting text in ,god's  holy word    
that our minister preached from this    
morning2 8,all things work  together for
 good to them that love ,god30 and a    
capital sermon it was1  too1 that he    
gave us2 for though it cut me to the    
heart on account of my  sins1 it brought
 the tears into my eyes1 on account of  
,god's mercy and  grace4    ,well1 ,i   
read the chapter that the text was taken
 from all to myself2 for  my ,nancy was 

gone to public worship1 and ,i was left 
to take care of the  house1 and our     
little ,mary1 and the young one in the  
cradle4  ,the house  was clean and tidy1
 and everything was quiet1 and ,i felt  
happy like4  ,trust me for having as    
many cares as my neighbours2 a poor man 
ought not  to expect to be without them1
 nor1 for the matter of that1 a rich man
  neither3 but ,i felt happy1 and though
 ,i said nothing1 my heart thanked      
,god4    ,thinks ,i to myself1 we are   
bad enough as it is2 ay1 the very best  
of us2  but if places of worship were to
 be shut up1 and we had no ministers to 
preach to us1 and had no ,bibles to     
read1 we should be a deal worse than  we
 are3 and this set me a thinking about  
the blessing of the sabbath day1  and   
the comfort of prayer1 and the peace of 
mind there is in thinking of  the       
salvation of ,christ1 and the promises  
of ,god4  ,not that ,i can always  get  
the comfort from them as ,i could wish1 
for ,i am a poor ignorant  creature1 and

 the turn of a straw is enough1 at      
times1 to turn my  thoughts from good   
things to bad4  ,but ,i felt1 as ,i     
said1 happy like in  the quietness that 
a ,god fearing man enjoys on the sabbath
 day1 and in  the peace of that religion
 in which my dear father and mother     
before me  had lived and died2 and ,i   
was determined1 with ,god's help1 to    
stick to  it1 while ,i had any breath in
 my body4  ,thinks ,i1 there is many of 
us  that have sadly stood in our own    
light1 in neglecting the sabbath and    
holy things4  ,what fools we are to     
cheat ourselves as we do6  ,when we run 
after our follies1 the jack o' lanterns 
that dance before us1 and lead us       
astray1 no wonder that we get into the  
mire2 8but they that wait upon the      
,lord shall renew their strength2 they  
shall mount up with wings as  eagles2   
they shall run1 and not be weary2 and   
they shall walk1 and not  faint10       
,isaiah xl4 #ca4    ,as ,i sat musing in
 this way over my ,bible1 the door-way  

was darkened a  little1 all on a sudden2
 so ,i lifted up my head1 and there ,i  
saw ,tom  ,fletcher with a lot of books 
in his hand4    ,tom was once a shopmate
 of mine2 and1 though ,i never took him 
to be a  very wise man1 nor over bright 
in his upper story1 yet1 for all that1  
he  was better than many4  ,he had      
brought his books on purpose to talk to 
me  about them4  ,in a minute or two we 
were in the thick of them4    ,says he1 
8,i have not seen you for some time2 and
 since you and ,i met1 ,i  have joined  
the ,socialists40  8,joined who80 says  
,i4  8,why10 says he1 8the              
,socialists20 and with that he told me  
all about it4  ,by his account it       
seemed that the world had been going    
round the wrong way ever since it  was  
made1 but the ,socialists were going to 
put matters to rights again4  8,just    
shut up your ,bible10 says he1 8and ,i  
will show you my books40    ,now ,i had 
heard of the ,socialists before1 and as 
,i had not the best  opinion of them1 ,i

 thought my ,bible quite as good1 and a 
pretty deal  better than their books4   
8,tom10 says ,i1 8a bird in the hand is 
worth two  in the bush4  ,if ,i shut my 
,bible1 you are not likely to open as   
good a  book1 ,i have a notion2 so we   
had better let well alone40  ,but ,tom  
was  very pressing2 and so1 putting his 
books on the table1 he began to tell    
me1 that the ,socialists had no object  
in the world but the good of  mankind2  
that everything had been for ages1 and  
now was1 all sixes and  sevens2 and that
 matters were not likely to be mended1  
till1 burning our  ,bibles1 and putting 
aside religion1 and all our other       
fanciful notions1  we became            
,socialists4    ,thinks ,i to myself1   
,great cry and little wool1 ,tom2 but as
 ,i had never  looked into any of the   
books of the ,socialists1 ,i picked up  
the one that  lay at the top1 and turned
 over a few pages1 dipping here and     
there4    ,i suppose the colour came    
into my cheeks2 for ,tom looked hard at 

me4  8,tom10 says ,i1 8if so be that ,i 
haven't been walking on my head instead 
of my heels all the days of my life1 and
 if ,i know black from white1 why  then 
this book of yours is an indecent and   
abominable book1 that ,i should  be     
ashamed to put into any body's hand4    
,is it possible that ,tom  ,fletcher1 my
 old shopmate1 can hold--0  8,oh10 says 
,tom1 looking as sharp  as a hawk at the
 book in my hand1 8oh10 says he1 8,i    
didn't mean you to  see that6  ,i       
thought ,i had put that number a one    
side4  ,i don't hold  exactly with it40 
8,don't hold exactly with it60 says ,i2 
8why it's no  more fit to be touched    
than a tarred stick4  ,if the rest of   
your books  are like it1 a precious lot 
they must be altogether40    ,tom looked
 a little queerish1 as if he was ashamed
 of the book and of  himself too4       
,thinks ,i to myself1 ,now's my time to 
have a rap at him2 for  though ,i feel  
kindly to him1 yet as he seems to want  
it1 a rap on the  knuckles mayhap will  

do him good4    8,and so1 ,tom10 says   
,i1 8this is one of the books of the    
,socialists1 is  it8  ,one of the books 
that you want to recommend to me8  ,now 
tell me if  you really think in your    
heart and conscience that that book is  
fit to be  read by anybody80    ,tom    
looked first one way1 then another2 he  
was all abroad4  ,at last1 says  he1 8,i
 meant to burn that book40  8,glad to   
hear it10 says ,i2 so taking up  the    
book1 with his consent1 ,i poked it     
between the bars of the grate1 and  a   
rare blaze it made1 flaring half way up 
to the mantel piece1 giving  more light 
to the world than it had ever done      
before1 or ever would have  done in any 
other way4    ,says ,i to ,tom1 when the
 filthy book was burned1 says ,i1 8,tom1
 when a man  goes to market to buy a    
cheese1 and the cheesemonger pushes in  
his borer  that he may taste it1 if he  
doesn't like the bit that he bores out1 
it  sets him against the whole cheese2  
for he naturally expects that one is    

like the other4  ,now it is just the    
same with your books3 birds of a        
feather1 you know1 flock together2 and  
as one of them has turned out to  be a  
black crow1 ,i hardly expect to find the
 rest of 'em to be white  pigeons40     
,well1 ,i took up all his books1 one    
after another3 some things in them ,i   
did understand and some ,i did'nt2 for  
there was so much about  impressions1   
and principles1 and institutions1 and   
propensities  and organizations that it 
flustered me4  ,it was clear that a     
longer  head than mine had been         
concerned in getting 'em up2 so all that
 ,i could  do was to try to get at some 
of the marrow of them here and there4   
,i'm not over clever at book learning1  
but still ,i had gumption enough to     
make out a few points that settled my   
opinion about ,socialism4  ,i saw1 or   
thought ,i saw1 that the god of the     
,socialists was only a 8,cause of all   
existences20 that he never troubled his 
head about us1 and that we ought  never 

to trouble our heads about him4  ,that1 
in fact1 there was no such  ,god1 in the
 ,socialists' opinion1 as the gracious  
,almighty ,being whom  ,christians      
worship4    ,i saw1 too1 that           
,socialists believed the ,bible to be a 
lie1 trumped up to  keep silly people in
 bondage3 that marriage was considered  
8the greatest  crime against nature10   
that ought to be done away with2 that   
theft1  adultery1 blasphemy1 and murder 
were no crimes1 for man was 8not a      
responsible being20 he was 8neither to  
be blamed or praised1 rewarded or       
punished for either his thoughts1       
feelings1 or actions20 that death was   
8simply a change of one organization for
 another20 and that the ,christian      
notions of hell1 heaven1 and hereafter  
were all a bag full of moonshine4       
,now it grieved me that an old shopmate 
of mine should have tumbled into  such a
 bog hole as ,socialism2 but thinks ,i1 
mayhap1 after all1 he has  only been led
 out of the way by sharper fellows than 

himself1 and doesn't  above half believe
 the juggling claptraps that are printed
 in his books2  so ,i said to him1      
8,tom1 look at me and answer me this    
question1 ,do you  believe that there is
 a ,god80  ,tom blinked1 and shuffled1  
and stammered1  and opened one of the   
books and read a bit about 8nature10 and
 a 8first  cause10 and 8a general       
principle10 and a 8supreme power10 and  
8an  external cause of all existence10  
and an 8all pervading cause of motion   
and change20 but ,i stopped him at once4
    8,tom10 said ,i1 8you may spare     
yourself the trouble of running over    
that  long rigmarole2 for ,i'm not to   
have dust flung in my eyes in that way4 
,i  do not want to know what your book  
says1 but what you believe2 so  answer  
my question4  ,a handful of good grain  
is better than a bushel of  chaff1 and a
 yes or a no can be understood by any   
body4  ,do you believe  that there is a 
gracious and merciful ,god1 that you are
 bound to fear and  to love with all    

your heart1 with all your mind1 with all
 your soul1 and  with all your strength1
 to worship him1 to give him thanks1 to 
put your  whole trust in him1 to call   
upon him1 to honour his holy name and   
his  word1 and to serve him truly all   
the days of your life80    ,i saw that  
whether ,tom said yes or no1 it was all 
one1 for he didn't know  which to say4  
,it suited him better to read to me out 
of his books than  it did to answer my  
questions2 but ,i asked him another     
question4  8,tom10  says ,i1 8do you    
really believe that the ,bible is a lie8
  ,you don't doubt  the history of      
,england1 the history of ,rome1 and the 
history of ,greece1  and these have     
never been kept with half the care1 nor 
gone through a  tenth part of the       
sifting that the ,bible has4  ,do you   
really believe that  the ,bible is a    
lie80  ,tom had not the boldness to say 
that he did2 and ,i  felt sure in my    
heart that he did not think it was4     
8,tom10 says ,i1 8are  you so far gone  

as to think that marriage is a foolish  
and wicked  institution8  ,i thought    
your sister was going to be married2 is 
it all  off1 then1 or is she to disgrace
 you and her family80    ,this question 
twisted ,tom as much as the last1 and ,i
 saw that ,i was about  as likely to get
 a badger out of his hole1 as to get an 
answer from him4  8,well10 says ,i1     
8,tom1 ,i'll say nothing about your     
sister1 if its  disagreeable1 but ask   
you another question instead4  ,have you
 so little  uprightness left in your    
deceived heart as to suppose that theft1
  adultery1 blasphemy1 and murder are no
 reproach to a man2 and that any  one   
may set up the trade of a robber on the 
highway1 and justify himself  by saying 
that he cannot help it1 for #8his       
character is formed for him by          
circumstances8'0    ,tom was not at all 
staunch2 he did not stick up like one   
that believes  and has confidence in    
what he says4  8,tom10 says ,i1 8t'other
 day a loaded  cart was standing in the 

road half way up ,gravelly ,hill1 with  
the wheels  scotched1 when a mischievous
 lad knocked the stones from under the  
wheels1 and away went the loaded cart1  
over his foot1 rattling down the  hill1 
clearing every thing before it4  ,the   
young urchin was half  frightened out of
 his wits2 he set the cart off easily   
enough1 but not  the whole neighbourhood
 could stop it4  ,now ,i take it1 ,tom1 
that the  young rapscallion played just 
the same game as the ,socialists are    
playing1 with this difference1 that the 
wheel of the cart only went over  his   
toes1 whereas the mischief that the     
,socialists are setting on foot  will in
 the long run1 go over their own necks40
    ,tom kept fumbling at his books1 not
 knowing what to be at4  ,he wanted     
somebody to back him4  ,he believed his 
books just as much1 and no more1  than  
he would have believed any other tale of
 a tub1 told him by a  cleverer fellow  
than himself4    8,tom10 says ,i1 8when 
a man once turns his back upon ,god1    

there is no  folly and no sin that he   
may not be led to commit4  ,you have    
gone a long  way1 and ,i'm sorry for it2
 but ,i hardly think you are gone as far
 as your  famous books will take you4   
,speak up now like a man1 and tell me1  
have  you been fooled into the belief   
that there is no hereafter8--no hell1   
and  no heaven80    ,at this ,tom looked
 like any thing but a conjurer4  ,at    
length he said that  if ,i would read   
more of his books ,i should understand  
them better than ,i  did4    8,read your
 books1 ,tom60 says ,i1 8,i should just 
as soon think of taking a  dose of      
arsenic4  ,a pretty deal rather had ,i  
walk barefoot through ,boxley  ,bog1 and
 many a better man than me has been     
stuck fast there1--a pretty  deal rather
 had ,i do that1 than turn ,socialist4  
,if ,i wanted to be worse  than ,i am1  
to deprive myself of all hope1 and to   
plunge myself into  despair1 ,i couldn't
 do a better thing than read your       
trumpery2 but as it  is1 ,i will have   

nothing to do with it4  ,tom10 says ,i1 
8you are no fool in  driving a bargain3 
you would not be persuaded to exchange a
 quartern loaf  for a handful of        
sawdust4  ,now ,socialism takes away    
from a ,christian man  the ,bible that  
comforts him1 the sabbath that is his   
delight1 the ,god  that he worships1 the
 ,saviour that died for him1 and the    
heaven that he  hopes for3 tell me1     
then1 ,tom1 what does it give him in    
return80    ,if ever poor fellow was    
confounded1 it was ,tom ,fletcher4  ,had
 he been  sitting on a furze bush1 he   
could hardly have been more fidgetty4   
,he got  out a few words1 but they were 
very scarce and a long way apart2 and as
  he could'nt well put 'em together1 no 
wonder that ,i can't4    ,well1 ,i had  
only been firing at him1 as it were1 a  
pop1 now and then1  from a long way off1
 but now ,i was determined to bear upon 
him all at  once4    8,it isn't for me1 
,tom10 says ,i1 8that am not what ,i    
ought to be by a  great deal--it isn't  

for me1 knowing as ,i do a little of the
 wickedness of  my own heart1 to deal   
out fire and brimstone against my fellow
 sinners1  and to pretend that ,i am    
white as snow and they as black as soot2
 but for  all that1 ,tom1 we may be too 
tender with one another4  ,if ,i see an 
adder  lying in a thoroughfare where he 
may sting the passer by1 ,i'm bound to  
disable him2 and if ,i see a mad dog1   
foaming at the mouth1 running  through  
the crowded street1 ,i'm bound1 if ,i   
can1 to kill him4  ,now the  adder and  
the mad dog are not likely to do half   
the mischief that your  books are1 and  
therefore ,i hold up both my hands1 and 
cry out aloud  against them4    8,look  
you10 says ,i1 8,tom1 there lies the    
,bible4  ,it condemns every thing  that 
is evil1 even every sinful thought1 and 
upholds every thing that is  good4  ,it 
teaches me to fear ,god1 and to love my 
neighbour2 and tells me1  sinner as ,i  
am1 that there is mercy for me through  
,jesus ,christ who died  for sinners4   

,it gives me comfort in life1 it        
promises me support in  death1 and holds
 up before me the bright prospect of a  
happy eternity2  and it has done this   
for thousands who have left this world  
in peace1 and  who are now1 as ,i       
believe1 in a world of glory4    8,and  
there1 ,tom1 be your wretched books1    
which tell me1 that is1 if ,i at  all   
understand them1 that there is no ,god2 
that the ,bible is a lie2 that  marriage
 is a foolish institution2 that men     
ought to live just as they  think       
proper2 that theft1 adultery1 blasphemy 
and murder are no crimes2  that there is
 neither hell nor heaven2 and that it is
 idle to dream of a  hereafter4    8,if 
,i know my own heart1 ,tom1 or even any 
part of it1 ,i wouldn't  knowingly say a
 cruel thing of a butcher's dog2 but    
this ,i will say1 that  ,i should as    
soon expect to be taught manners by a   
,hottentot1 cleanliness  by a sweep1    
honesty by a highwayman1 and godliness  
by a heathen1 as to be  made either     

wiser1 better1 holier1 or happier by    
having any thing to do  with ,socialism4
  ,but what says that book8  #8,the     
grace of ,god that  bringeth salvation  
hath appeared to all men1 teaching us   
that1 denying  ungodliness and worldly  
lusts1 we should live soberly1          
righteously1 and  godly1 in this present
 world2 looking for that blessed hope1  
and the  glorious appearing of the great
 ,god and our ,saviour ,jesus ,christ2  
who  gave himself for us1 that he might 
redeem us from all iniquity1 and  purify
 unto himself a peculiar people1 zealous
 of good works1' ,titus ii4  #aa-ad40   
,never did a poor fellow caught in the  
fact of robbing a hen-roost1 slink  away
 in a more humble1 chopfallen spirit    
than poor ,tom ,fletcher did4  ,whether 
he will ever bring me another batch of  
his ,socialism books or  not1 ,i can't  
tell2 but if he does1 the first question
 that ,i shall ask  him will be this1   
,what have you got to offer me in       
exchange for the  consolations of my    

,bible1 the comfort of prayer1 the peace
 of the  sabbath1 the goodness of ,god1 
the mercy of the ,redeemer1 and the     
never-ending joys of heaven8  ,and never
 till he gives me something like a      
reasonable answer will ,i ever open     
another of his books on ,socialism4     
99 99 99 99 99          ,,hymn4         
,,god1 in the gospel of his ,son1       
,makes his eternal counsels known2      
',tis here his richest mercy shines1    
,and truth is drawn in fairest lines4   
,here sinners of an humble frame1       
,may taste his grace and learn his name2
     ',tis writ in characters of blood1 
,severely just1 immensely good4         
,wisdom its dictates here imparts1      
,to form our minds1 to cheer our hearts2
     ,its influence makes the sinner    
live1     ,it bids the drooping saint   
revive4       ,our raging passions it   
controls1     ,and comfort yields to    
contrite souls2     ,it brings a better 
world in view1     ,and guides us all   
our journey through4       ,may this    

bless'd volume ever lie     ,close to my
 heart1 and near my eye1     ,till      
life's last hour my soul engage1        
,and be my chosen heritage6             
99 99 99 99 99                          
99 99 99 99 99      ,london3 ,printed by
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,lambeth1     for ,,the ,,religious     
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and #fe1 ,st4 ,paul's ,churchyard2 by   
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