MANURES. 85 



tridges, sea-shells, ninepins, buttons, marbles, and 

 keys. In the vivid imagination of childhood, not- 

 withstanding, they represented all the luxuries 

 dearest to the palate of youth ; and if the Colonel, 

 who, by the by, was in full uniform, made from 

 the supplement of the Times newspaper, and was 

 dccore with the Order of the String and Penwiper, 

 had partaken of a tithe of the delicacies pressed 

 on him, and according to the order in which they 

 were served, there must have been inevitably 

 speedy promotion in his regiment. The mcfiii, 

 orally announced by the host, opened with cheese, 

 and passed on to hasty-pudding, which were fol- 

 lowed in rapid succession by peaches, beef, roley- 

 poley, hare, more hasty-pudding, honey, apricots, 

 and boiled rabbits, the liquids being cowslip-wine 

 and beer. " And now, Colonel, dear," were the 

 last words I heard, " you shall have some custard 

 and pineapple, and then we'll smoke a cigar."* 



In like manner does the w^ee golden-haired 

 lassie delight to do homage to the queen of her 



* I cannot resist an impulse to record another small incident 

 which occurred to " Colonel" soon after the publication of this book. 

 Late one winter's night, Joe, my footman, heard him growling angrily 

 outside the stable-yard, and found him standing over the prostrate 

 form of a man, or rather beast, so drunk that he was muttering 

 responses to the dog, evidently under the impression that he was 

 being severely reprimanded by some indignant person in authority. 

 ' ' Well, Sir ' ' '(Joe heard him plead) , " // / did say so, I'm sure I didiit 

 ■mean it !" 



