Why do you think the sweeper could scarcely believe his ears?
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Answer:
In William Blake’s London, the fate of chimney sweeps was a cruel one. Little boys as young as six were often sold by families who could not afford to feed them and apprenticed to the trade. They were sent terrified up the dangerous and dark chimneys and, if they dared refuse, they were frequently terrorised by their new masters, who threatened to return them to the life of poverty and starvation from whence they had come. As the House Report on Sweeps shows[1], the job was not only horribly frightening but also profoundly dangerous. Sweeps suffered high rates of cancer from exposure to soot, along with respiratory diseases, broken bones and stunted growth. Sweeps usually chose the chimney over starvation but whatever choice they made, their lives were haunted by a fear of death.