58 Spring ^^ 



They have to go deep down, for in the soft upper 

 strata the stones are grey and almost worthless, while 

 the valuable black flints are only found in the harder 

 rock underneath. Exposure to the atmosphere, or 

 even proximity to the surface, appears to have the 

 effect of causing the best black flints to lose some of 

 their colour and lustre, and, besides, it deprives them 

 of the moisture without which they are ever so much 

 more difficult to work. 



To look at one of the diggers is to imagine that, 

 like certain insects, he has taken on the colour of his 

 environment. Not only are his little cap, his torn old 

 jacket, his trousers, and his heavy boots all as dusky 

 white as the clothes of a miller, but the colour of his 

 complexion is midway between that of chalk and 

 cream. It is by no means an unhealthy hue, for he 

 belongs to a strong and long-lived race, but by living 

 out of the sunlight he has become as blanched as a 

 stalk of celery. And to listen to his talk is to be car- 

 ried into another world ; for, like all those who live 

 detached and solitary lives, his impressions of the uni- 

 verse are peculiarly his own. The coal-miner is one 

 of a multitude, and his mind is full of strikes, wages, 

 and friendly societies. In his subterranean gallery, 

 with no companion save a boy assistant on the surface, 

 the flint-digger is master and man in one. Politics, 

 labour questions, and votes interest him little. He is 

 not well paid not much better than a Norfolk farm- 

 servant but ' to be your own master is worth three 



