Page:Heroines of freethought (IA cu31924031228699).pdf/171

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HARRIET MARTINEAU
163

form, and her trenchant pen could not long be withheld from telling pertinent truths. So we find among even her earlier productions hits at popular follies, and hints as to methods of overcoming some widespread public evils. Thus, in "The Rioters," “The Turnout,” and other books written in 1827-8, she had in view illustrations of the workings of some political evils incident to the times, and the dissemination of her ideas as to the proper method of overcoming or avoiding them.

In 1831, she conceived the plan of publishing monthly tracts, illustrative of true and false political economy in regard to taxation, the poor laws, and paupers; but she met with considerable difficulty in finding a publisher willing to accept the responsibility of issuing the projected series. She tried one after another, undaunted by failures, until she succeeded in her search. These tracts, in the form of short tales, met with excellent success, and were, doubtless, the means of instructing many on