MAY 6 1 



person who cannot be labelled, but it is impossible 

 to deny that his life is spent in a period about two 

 thousand years agone, and the idea of reverting 

 to scenes of a mere three centuries past seemed 

 the easiest thing in the world to him. Mrs. Vicarius 

 protested, and I supported her in a half-hearted 

 way ; but the Vicar is a masterful man, and he 

 gained his point in the end. 



"It will be a great deal of trouble," she said. 



" There are plenty who will share it," cried he. 



" And very expensive." 



"We shall get subscriptions. I don't anticipate 

 any difficulty at all." 



"You wouldn't, dear," said Mrs. Vicarius softly. 

 " But I don't see the object of it." 



"The object is to provide amusement for the 

 villagers. Why do they leave the country and 

 go to live in towns ? Because rural life is so dull 

 and circumscribed. It was only yesterday that 

 I was reading an article on the subject by one of 

 our Berkshire historians. He said that the old 

 revels infused poetic feeling into the villagers, and 

 softened their manners, and prevented their grow- 

 ing hard and discontented. He said that the 

 ancient festivals promoted good relations between 

 rich and poor, between farmer and labourer. If 

 we could help in a humble way to bring back 

 the good old days of contentment in our rural 

 population I should count no trouble too great." 



He looked appealingly at Mrs. Curtice, who gave 

 in at once. She would rather die than thwart her 

 husband in a matter which she knows he has taken 

 to heart. 



