106 IDLEHURST : 



down at Rispham ; an' when I was a boy, I'd take 

 the leather into Lewes every Saturday, for his sister 

 to make up ; and at Christmas-time, he'd give me 

 a pair o' leggin's, made just as I liked, brass buttons 

 and all. Jack was a man, he was. He used to live 

 over by Steyning, afore he come to Rispham ; and 

 he'd often tell me about the smugglers. He was 

 ploughman in those days, and after he's done his 

 day, he'd walk over the hills to help get up a lot 

 o' sperrits. Well, the smugglers they'd give him a 

 keg o' gin now and again ; and he'd alias fill his 

 bottle out o' that, and take it with him in the field, 

 ploughin' ; an' he'd get through his bottle in the day. 

 I asked him once if he didn't put no water to it? 

 'Water?' he says'; 'not unless it was uncommon 

 hot.' And he'd do his day's ploughin', and over 

 the hill again at night to the smugglin'. There's 

 not many men 'ud do the like of that now, would 

 they? They was stronger then, an' rougher too. 

 The men on the farms was terrible hard sometimes 

 on the lads. When I first went as carter-boy, I 

 never had a misword from the carter but once, an' 

 then I deserved it. The carter-boys used to be 

 beaten cruel, sometimes mos' generally. The second 

 place I was at, the carter was a rough 'un. Once we 

 was ploughin', and he told me he'd kill me. He 



