DECEMBER 427 



hayricks for me before now, and that his daughter was servant in 

 this house eighteen years ago, when I married. 



Never shall I forget my early experiences of Heckingham Work- 

 house. Having been elected a guardian, I attended the Board in due 

 course, and, as is too often my fortune, at the very first meeting 

 fell into controversy. At that date all children in the house, 

 including infants, were fed upon skimmed milk. Owing to some 

 illness, however, the doctor ordered them a ration of fresh milk, 

 which ration the master had neglected to discontinue when the 

 sickness passed. Consequently there arose trouble, and with 

 the doctor he was brought up before the Board to be questioned 

 and reprimanded. Thereon, with all the courage of inexperience, 

 I rose and announced boldly that I considered new milk to be a 

 necessity to infants, and that, if I could find a seconder, I would 

 propose that the allowance should be continued to them until they 

 reached the age of nine years. Somewhat to my astonishment a 

 worthy clergyman, now long dead, seconded the motion, and 

 there followed a great debate. Soon we found that it would be 

 absolutely hopeless to carry the innovation in its original form, 

 and were therefore obliged to reduce the age limit from nine to 

 five years. 



The argument of the opposition was that the children were not 

 fed upon new milk in their own homes, to which I replied that even 

 if they were starved at home, it was no reason why they should 

 be starved when in the public charge. Ultimately the Board 

 divided, and to my surprise I carried the motion by a majority of 

 one vote, so that thenceforth the infants at Heckingham were 

 rationed with fresh milk instead of ' blue skim.' 



Now I hear that the age limit has been raised to what I 

 originally proposed, namely, nine years. 



I remember that in those days I thought the condition of the 

 graveyard not all that it should be. It lies in an open meadow of 

 about two acres, on which cows were grazed, and the visitor, 

 standing at the top and looking down it, could, and indeed can 

 still, see long lines of little mounds, some of them sunk below the 



