214 IDLEHURST : 



corners that hens affect brings to table things of all 

 degrees of suspicion and dread certainty. Shop-jams 

 are a poor make-believe after the fine aromas, the 

 gold and ruby syrups, the all but natural fruits of the 

 right home-made conserves. And the worst of it is, 

 as Avery says, that a great many people don't see 

 much difference. 



" Half the people in Arn'ton village thinks as how 

 they've only just learnt what's good to eat, and that 

 we old 'uns used to live on tater-peelings. When I 

 was a boy we used to live in a bit of a wood where 

 there was a brook runnin' by, and a lot of wet 

 meadas, and sallys growin' about. My father he 

 was won'erful clever with traps, and he'd a gun the 

 keepers didn't say much generally and most days 

 we'd have a hare (we didn't make much account of 

 rabbits, they was so common), or a pheasant as he'd 

 pick up a day or two after a shoot ; and we'd wild- 

 duck sometimes ; and I got trout out of the brook 

 sometimes up to a pound and a half, and eels ; and 

 we'd plenty of honey, and alias eggs ; and apples most 

 years round to Easter ; and then the nuts and the 

 mushrooms. There's plenty of people nowadays as 

 don't live better than that." 



Not bad faring, and all fresh and fine ; and I 

 fancy that most of the outlying cottages could still 



