266 NATURE IN DOWNLAND 



Amazed and terrified at the sight of such things, 

 he will turn and hurry away from that dreadful pre- 

 sence, a sudden darkness in his heart as if all the light 

 and sweetness and glory had gone out of the world, 

 all hope from the soul. And his guide will no longer 

 be there; nor will he miss him, nor require to be 

 told that he has been face to face with a god, the 

 only god known and worshipped by the people of this 

 town. 



To come back. We have always known, since 

 Cowper lived and was once near Chichester, that 

 " man made the town," and that he did not well make 

 it, seeing that all vices and unhealthy appetites and 

 habits and modes flourish most and take a darker 

 colour in its close atmosphere. This being true of all 

 towns, the only fair way to judge the moral state of 

 any one town is to compare it with others, or with one 

 other, not greatly differing from it in population, pur- 

 suits, and other conditions. Here, then, is an experi- 

 ence which seemed to me to throw a pretty strong 

 light on the comparative position, with regard to the 

 drinking habits of the people, of the cathedral town 

 of Sussex. 



From this agricultural centre, with a tall spire 

 and many tavern signs to distinguish it, I went to 

 Midhurst, on the other side of the downs, to find 

 myself in a small, old, and extremely picturesque town, 

 which, in its rough paved, crooked, uneven streets, 

 ancient timbered houses, its curfew bell, and darkness 



