med an
increasing body inside the Church. Among its clerical chiefs were
Romaine, Venn, Cecil, and Newton of Olney, the spiritual guide of many
of its leading adherents; it owed much to Lord Dartmouth's patronage,
Cowper's poetry presented its doctrine in a pleasing form, Hannah More
furthered its cause by her writings, and Wilberforce brought it into
connexion with political life. Only one of the avowed evangelical
clergy, Isaac Milner, Dean of Carlisle, received dignified preferment
before 1800, for the king was averse from "enthusiasm," and though
Pitt's Church appointments were eminently respectable, he does not seem
to have been guided in making them by any exalted consideration.
Whatever the failings of the evangelical party may have been, it
certainly exercised a strong and wholesome influence on the national
life, which was aided by the effects of the war with France. Not only
did the discipline of war sober the nation, but it also extended the
revolt against unreality which took place in the domains of literature
and art, to that of religion, and brought people to accept a teaching
which appealed more strongly to the heart than that of the older school
of clergy. While most of the work of the evangelicals lies outside our
subject, the character of its influence on society may be gathered from
their efforts for the suppression of the slave trade; from the stricter
observance of Sunday which became general towards the end of our period;
from their plans for bettering the condition, and their care for the
education of the poor. The institution of Sunday schools was largely due
to Robert Raikes, of Gloucester, who began his work in 1780. Six years
later some 200,000 children attended these schools, and in many cases
gained in them their only education. The work was encouraged by the king
and queen, and along with other efforts for the education of the poor
was helped forward by Hannah More, Wilberforce, and other evangelicals.

Apart from any religious movement, many laymen, among whom Burke holds a
high place, strove to soften the hardness and cruelty of the age. There
was need of their efforts. The criminal law was fearfully severe. Early
in the reign as many as 160 crimes were capital felonies, and the number
was constantly augmented. A theft of more than the value of twelve
pence by picking a pocket was punishable by death. This severity led to
an increase of crime. The injured would not prosecute, juries would