The Vagrant and the Law. or salary which were accustomed to be given." In the latter part of the fifteenth century, the penalty for vagrancy in England was three days and three nights in the stocks without other sustenance than bread and water, and the vagrant was then driven from the town. Henry VIII. tried hard to stamp out the pest of vagabonds and thieves, and is said to have hanged no fewer than seventy-two thous and of them, " great thieves, pettie thieves and rogues." Lighter offenders such as "michers that live in truandise; flouches, who put soap in their mouths to make foam, and fall down as if they had Saint Cornelius's evil; Newgate nightengales who strut about pretending they have suffered shipwreck; ruffelers and rogers which say they are poor scholars of Oxford or Cambridge " —all these were tobe stripped naked from the waist up wards, men and women alike, scourged sharply and sent home. They had to take with them a billet signed by two justices certifying that the punishment had been inflicted. But the foregoing laws against " idlenes and vagabundrye " were mild compared with those of Edward VI. The severity of these enact ments is thought to be due to the fact that Sir John Cheke, Greek professor at Cambridge and one of the preceptors of the new king, had rendered fashionable at the time a study of the laws of Lycurgus, Draco, and Solon, ancient legislators who were particularly down on men dicants. The act of Edward VI. begins with the statement that idleness and vagabondism is the mother and root of all thefts, robberies, and other evil acts and mischiefs. It then proceeds to repeal all former laws against vagabonds and beggars, and ordains that every person not impotent, found loitering or wandering and not seeking work, or leaving it when engaged, shall be taken up as a vaga bond, and every master who has offered such idle person service and labor, shall be entitled to bring him before two justices of the peace who " shall imediatelye cawse the said loyterer to be marked with a whott iron in the breast the marke of V, and adjudge the said
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parsone living so Idlye to such presenter to be his Slave, and to have and to hold the said Slave to him, his executors or assignes, for the space of twoo yeres then next following." The slave was to be fed on bread and water or small drink and such refuse meats as the master thought fit; and if he refused to work his master could belabor him without penalty. If such a one ran away and was captured, he was branded on the forehead or cheek with the letter S. If he ran away with this mark upon him, he was when caught exe cuted as a felon. This Draconic law re mained in force only two years. By a proclamation of the city of London dated 1584, all vagabonds and masterless men, as well strangers as Englishmen, were ordered to leave the city within five days; and all who sold food were forbidden after that time was expired to sell to any servingman who could not produce a testimonial from his employer. But all these laws seem to have had little permanent effect in repressing vagrancy, for at Cambridge, in the year 1557, " the vaga bonds, naughtie and jolly persons " were stated to be " farr more in mimbre than hath been in tymes past." In 1595, the privy council of London got an idea into their heads that it would tend to lessen vagabondism if certain days were observed as fish days; therefore they caused Friday and Saturday of every week to be so appointed, and made it unlawful for any per son within the realm to eat any flesh on those days, upon pain of forfeiting three pounds for every offence, or suffering three months' imprisonment. Their argument was .this: the sale of fish would be increased, and so many idle fishermen would be given employ ment. Moreover, as many of the seacoast towns were falling into decay, the increased demand for fish would, by building up the shipping interests, giving work to shipwrights, ropemakers, sailmakers, blacksmiths and others, cause these moribund towns to take on a new lease of life. " And this proclama
