About= The essay "The Praise of Chimney Sweeper has been written by famous essay writer Charles Lamb (1775-1834). The essay extracted from the remarkable essay entitled "The Essay of Elia"
In this essay, Lamb shows his essential kindness and generosity toward the poor children. He asks his reader to be generous to the little sweeps who work so hard at their tender age.
- compare with clergymen;- Lamb compares chimney sweeper with the clergyman, like a clergyman they preach moral lessons to mankind. But clergyman moral lesson is theoretical, those of the chimney sweeper is practical. Thus Lamb means to say that the human being learns a moral lesson through them.
- sassafras tea:- Lamb advice to the people that if they happen to see a black-faced young chimney sweeper on their way, they should be kind enough to give them at least six peens as they enable to buy their favorite food. A man called Mr.Read had a shop on the south street where he sold this. The shop is very popular with the laborer's setting. If anyone wants to show generosity to a sweep, one should buy him a large basin of this called sassafras. It would not cost much but it would make the little boy very happy. The sweep would be ever so grateful and clean your chimney extra well. once, in the course of a walk, Lamb had slipped on a wet road and fallen. By this, they laughed till the tears flowed down his cheeks.. lamb felt happy that he had given some pleasure to the child,,. here Lamb becomes moralistic in tone.
- NOBLE ORIGIN:-Lamb believes that these poor chimney sweepers originally belonged to the noble families. They must have adopted this profession under adverse circumstances. Lamb says that there are many noble mothers who are seen to mourn for their loss of sons. Lamb mentioned the example of Edward Wortley Montague who was recognized by a gentleman even after he becomes a chimney sweeper. according to lamb, his recovery is the rare and lone example of good fortune. In the majority of case infant, one lose are never recovered.
- The annual feast for chimney sweeper:- finally lamb tells us how his friend used to give annual parties to entertain a large number of young chimney sweeper because he was so much sympathy for them. He treated them as if the were aristocrat and recommended the best dishes and fed them tasty bits of food. Lamb says that now Jean White was dead and the feast was no longer heald, and no one else comes forward cheer the poor sweeps.