JANUARY 289 



"Oh, I didn't know." 



"What! not about King Alfred? He was the first 

 man that settled in England and took possession of 

 these parts, don'tchersee ? There wasn't anybody 

 here till he came, and it's so jolly to feel that we 

 live in the oldest inhabited part of the country. 

 Gives you a kinder feelin' that you've come to 

 the right place, don'tcherknow." 



And until we left the dining-room he was kind 



" INTERESTIN' PART OF THE COUNTRY THIS" 



enough to instruct me at large upon this interesting 

 topic, and I am free to admit that I enjoyed myself 

 thoroughly. 



Jan. ji. I have just had a letter from Petunia 

 announcing her engagement to Mr. Thomas Spencer 

 Moreville, of Redlands Park, Surbiton, and Arden- 

 braughtantinny, Inverness-shire. I am delighted that 

 she is happy, but I cannot help feeling sorry for 

 poor Mr. Mumby, who, as I have now begun to 

 believe, has been shockingly treated. 

 u 



