As part of my Autumnal Read-a-thon I decided it had been an age since I had an adventure with Cathy Morland, and so opened up Northanger Abbey for a pleasant day of Austen-ian humor and gothic parody. But almost immediately in the first chapter, which is ever more enriched by my understanding of the era –so funny–, my attention snagged on the reference to The Beggar’s Petition and the fable of The Hare and Friends, both evidence of Cathy’s selective attention as a child.
The book of British poesy, ancient and modern; select extracts. With an essay on British poetry, by G. Gilfillan. (1851). United Kingdom: William Tegg.
It’s a Job-like story of a man much worn down by circumstance and tragedy and reduced to begging told in verse.
I found an 1809 letter to the editor in the Universal Magazine that referred to it as a popular composition with some uncertainity of authorship, and the writer’s erroneous claim that a Dr. Webster.
According to a dissertation by Margaret Leeson, between 1760 and 1820 there was a substantial amount of beggar images and motifs in British Art, representing the socio-economic undercurrent of rapid change, industrialisation, and a shift from paternalism to laissez faire attitudes. Urbanism also likely accounted for the increased visibility of poverty, with the beggar image appearing in both rural and urban settings (Leeson, M. A. (2021). The Image of the Beggar in Britain 1760-1820. Open University (United Kingdom).).
Given Cathy’s naivete and sense, as portrayed with her artless understanding of social interactions in Bath, it makes sense that The Beggar’s Petition would be a bore to her, especially as one so unexposed to dramatic income diversity — her village being so devoid of even a baronet but conversely a beggar.
There are other references to children learning The Beggar’s Petition enough to recite by heart, like this essay from Charles Lamb:
The Hare and Many Friends was a fable from an earlier, 1727, collection from John Gay.
A derivative woodcut illustrating the fable that appeared in the 15 editions of A Museum for young gentlemen and ladies, 1750–1799
And this is a brilliant addition to Northanger, because it speaks of the inconstancy of friends when one administers their friendship indiscriminately — to their peril.
Both poems are delicate foreshadowing of the misfortunes and lessons of Cathy Morland, but one resonates more likely because of the accessibility of animals over an old man.
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