The Merry Past 



the King with, " Stop, sir, this is not a patent path." 

 The Royal sportsman, unaccustomed to such freedom 

 of address, replied with some heat, " Sir, do you 

 know whom you address ? " " Yes," rejoined the 

 gentleman, " I know that I have the King of Great 

 Britain talking to me, but I, too, am a king when upon 

 my own property." Upon this the King, clapping 

 his hand on the pommel of the saddle, astutely ex- 

 claimed, with an air of exultation and pleasure, " Now 

 I see that I am the greatest King on earth, for while 

 other monarchs rule over slaves, I reign over princes." 



Whilst in a vast number of ways our manners and 

 customs have undergone a decided change for the 

 better, there has been a marked weakening in certain 

 ancient and admirable features of the national charac- 

 ter. Responsibility in serious matters is too often 

 shirked, glossed over, or shifted on to other shoulders. 

 Sturdiness of mind is rare, and no one dares to speak 

 out, whilst every effort is made to compromise with 

 the ideas advocated by the class of individual whom 

 a new and clever writer has so aptly called " the 

 superior person from the gutter." 



Though much is heard of improvements in the 

 general well-being of the masses in great towns, 

 little is ever done to render the lot of the rural 

 population more agreeable. 



In old days the hay-harvest, sheep-shearing, and 

 the wheat-harvest were always occasions for special 

 festivity, where master and men jointly celebrated 

 the fruits of their toil in the fields. Of all such 

 celebrations the Hock-cart or Harvest-home, when 



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