88 AWAKENING OF ENGLAND. 



who gave the orders, and he said * No ' quite 

 sharply. Another young gentleman, feeling, 

 I suppose, rather ashamed at drinking tea 

 while the chauffeurs had to go without, said 

 to me, ' Give them a drink ; I'll pay.' " 



Curiously enough I had a similar complaint 

 made to me by a Wingland small holder, and 

 I only tell the anecdote as an illustration of 

 the insufferable patronage which small holders 

 all over the country have to put up with from 

 those claiming to be interested on their behalf. 

 I myself have had to suffer bores gladly. 



The Wingland small holder hospitably 

 asked me in to lunch, and on my refusing told 

 me that a party of M.P.'s had recently motored 

 to his holding with their five motor cars. 

 " They came in here," he said, "just as though 

 they were on a bean-feast, and fell to eating 

 my strawberries in a way that would have 

 made them lock me up if I entered one of 

 their gardens. Some of them asked me a lot 

 of questions, whilst the others went on picking 

 and eating the strawberries. At last, when 

 they had taken a good feed, one of them came 

 up to my daughter and said, * How much are 

 these strawberries a pound, for we ought to 

 pay you for what we have eaten ? ' My 



