m one
another. The hard lot of the village labourer to-day is not what it
was, is not what it will be; the discomforts for all classes remaining
from those of seventy years ago look now very small, and may yet look
smaller; and history, even the local history of a country town and its
neighbouring villages, though it moves slowly, shows foot-prints for
the most part tending one way and justifying the old hopeful belief
that--

Life shall on and upward go,
Th' eternal step of progress beats,
To that great anthem, calm and slow,
Which God repeats.

THE END.

{195}

APPENDIX.

In the following table is given the population of 45 parishes in the
Royston district, viz., of the Royston and Buntingford Poor-law Unions,
situated in the counties of Herts., Cambs., and Essex, for each decade
from 1801 to 1891. In them the reader will be able to trace the growth
of the rural population during the middle of the century, and its
remarkable decline during the last twenty years, the economic effects
of which have led to the cry for bringing back the labourer on to the
land, instead of his drifting away to aggravate the social problem in
London and other populous centres.

ROYSTON SUB-DISTRICT.

1801 1811 1821 1831 1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891
Ashwell 715 754 915 1072 1235 1425 1507 1576 1568 1556
Barkway 699 686 771 859 1002 986 940 932 782 761
Barley 494 593 695 704 789 870 808 714 614 574
Chishill, Great 309 298 353 371 466 532 473 432 129 140
Chishill, Little 71 55 71 106 96 105 110 110 129 140
Heydon 246 272 272 259 324 368 270 265 257 221
Hinxworth 228 243 247 295 328 347 320 313 297 289
Kelshall 179 180 208 251 276 326 318 286 249 241
Morden, Guilden 428 489 570 675 808 931 906 1059 959 819
Morden, Steeple 430 483 614 645 788 889 912 1018 981 810
Nuthampstead 152 172 222 249 289 302 281 254 217 207
Reed 164 158 214 232 260 277 224 224 189 206
Royston, Herts. 975 1309 1474 1272 1431 1529 1387 1348 1272 1262
Royston, Cambs. 356 * * 485 566 532 495 453 440 439
Therfield 707 692 872 974 1224 1335 1222 1237 1175 996

* In the Census of 1801 and 1811 Royston, Cambs., was taken with
Royston, Herts.

MELBOURN SUB