218 AWAKENING OF ENGLAND. 



workman ever stands much chance of 

 getting too much game. The Japanese have 

 a proverb, too, that " bean sauce that smells 

 too much of bean sauce is not the best sort 

 of bean sauce." So it is with the English 

 mechanic and the agricultural labourer. The 

 carpenter who has been at work with his tools 

 all day does not want to return to the bench 

 after tea. The agricultural labourer at work 

 hoeing turnips all day on some farmer's land 

 is not particularly keen about trudging up to 

 the allotment ground after his evening meal 

 to hoe his cabbage- patch. This accounts for 

 the partial failure of the allotment system for 

 the agricultural labourer, and also for its strik- 

 ing success for the mechanic or urban worker. 

 The Simple Life need not necessarily be 

 a dull life. A change of occupation Avill be 

 entered into with zest by the man who has 

 worked all day at one particular job. The 

 ploughboy may possess the joy of the artist as 

 he follows the plough. 1 have written else- 

 where : As the strong, deep line is drawn 

 across the acres of seared stubble he may 

 strike the impelling, vivid line sought for so 

 eagerly by every artist as he stands before his 

 canvas at the inception of his creations. The 



