Passing Rich.
Goldsmith tells us in his Deserted Village, that the clergyman was “passing rich with £40 a year.” This is no covert satire, but a sober fact. Equal to about £350.
In Norway and Sweden the clergy are paid from £20 to £40 a year, and in France £40 a year is the usual stipend of the working clergy. Of St. Yves it was said (1251–1303):—
“Il distribuait, avec une sainte profusion aux pauvres, les revenus de son bénéfice et ceux de son patrimoine, qui étaient de £60 de rente, alors une somme très notable, particulièrement en Basse Bretagne.”—Dom Lobineau: Lives of the Saints of Great Britain.
