The Answer Lies in One Word--Duty
We have been reading Georgina Battiscombe's biography of the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury. It is insightful and instructive. For anyone wanting to come to grips with the Victorian period it ought to be considered an essential read.
It is a skillful account, insofar as Battiscombe gives us a "warts and all" rendition. We have often made mention of God being pleased to strike straight blows with crooked sticks--and this case is no exception. Shaftesbury was actually Anthony Ashley-Cooper and became the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury on the death of his father. He spent his entire adult life labouring on behalf of those who were sorely afflicted. Whilst he had a sterling career, firstly in the Commons, then in the House of Lords, it was not one removed from those he was seeking to help. He was driven by a genuine human compassion--and aided therein by the faithful help of his wife, Minnie.
Here is an excerpt at the beginning of Battiscombe's biography which gives us a measure of the man. Ashley-Cooper had been made one of fifteen commissioners charged with the licensing and inspection of mental asylums:
