^^^^ AND ^^^^ 



JOURNAL OF VARIATION. 



No. S. Vol. IV. August 15th, 1893. 



By Eev. G. M. a. HEWETT, M.A. 



By some oversight Nature made me a sleepy man, nor has a con- 

 siderable course of compulsory rising in the immediate vicinity of G.3U 

 done anything to draw the desire for sleep out of my blood. Consequently 

 on the morning of a Leave-out Day, there is always a battle, because 

 the train to Lyndhurst starts at 8.25, which means breakfast at 7.30 or 

 earlier. ' What is the good of a Leave-out Day,' argues my sleepy 

 brain, ' if I only score a beggarly quarter of an hour in bed ? ' ' Get 

 out and look what sort of a day it is,' suggests Diplomacy : and after 

 some argument, the suggestion is generally accepted, and then it is 

 hardly worth getting into bed again. I am rather afraid that some 

 day my sleepy half will begin to understand the trick, and refuse to 

 turn out, but it is always so very sleejjy, that Diplomacy fights under 

 great advantages. 



Well ! It was a fine May-day morning. Diplomacy had Avon pretty 

 easily, as the Term was young and sleep had been apj^eased by many 

 sacrifices in the Easter holidays, I had more time than usual for break- 

 fast, and caught the train comfortably. Now that I have got so far, I 

 must pluralise myself : I expect we shall eventually be three — Self, A 

 and B. You can choose your own letters, but just at j^resent they have 

 a majority of two to one as they stand. Of course, in the train we are 

 very plural, but for lots of reasons, ' we ' shall dwindle down to three, 

 or at most four, at Lyndhurst. It is a big place, but even three is a 

 lot to work together in harmony. Besides, it just makes odd man out 

 for any special bug that may haj^pen to be common j^'operty. Also, 

 the Graces were three. For all these reasons I recommend you to be 

 thi-ee. 



We have to wait for twenty minutes at Eastleigh, and will i^lan 

 out our day. It is well to have a plan and not work iiromiscuously. 

 But even a whole day is short for a plan. We shall have to limit our 

 area, and not waste time in getting from place to place. Another day 

 we will go somewhere else. Meanwhile here is our train. The plan 

 will come out when we get there. It is a dawdling train for eager 

 bug-hunters, but what a pretty bit of line. We must make it high 

 water, without consulting almanacks, which is risky, but we are above 

 criticism in spreading a trifle of mist over the water. These pictorial 



