Amcricaji Presidents and Royalty, 233 



improvement, he said, and he got out at a station, mut- 

 tering as he went : " No, sir, she isn't in it, I tell you ; she 

 isiit in it" All right, you constitutional grumbler, have 

 it your own way. If this man were upon our side, he 

 would not live twenty-four hours without finding fault 

 with something. He is one of those who carry their pea- 

 sheller with them, or find it at every turn. He belongs 

 to the class of grumblers — those who cannot enjoy the 

 bright genial rays of the sun for thinking of the spots 

 upon it — just such another as he who found that even 

 in Paradise " the halo did not fit his head exactly." 



The coaches in the Lake District have now the Eng- 

 lish and the American flags upon their sides, and we 

 often see the Stars and Stripes displayed at hotels. Our 

 present hostelry has a flaming advertisement ending 

 with : " Patrons — Royalty and American Presidents." 

 There must be slender grounds for both claims, I fancy. 

 General Grant, however, may have been there. As the 

 elected of the largest division of the English-speaking 

 race, he no doubt outranked all other patrons, and the 

 proper way to put it would be "American Presidents 

 and Royalty." 



At luncheon to-day it was found that our drinkables 

 had better be cooled in the brook — an unusual perform- 

 ance this for England ; but how vividly this little inci- 

 dent brings to mind the happy scene — the row of 

 bottles (contents mostly harmless) In the stream, stick- 

 ing up their tiny heads as if resentful at the extraor- 



