"IT WAS MY FATHER'S CUSTOM 5 



settled down to do justice to a good dinner, and 

 I did my best I believe not unsuccessfully to 

 keep pace with them. My father was a good 

 trencher-man, and he had two other qualifications 

 which carried weight in agricultural circles he 

 was an accomplished smoker and an exceptionally 

 good singer. Farmers, in the matter of social 

 observances, as well as in many other things, are 

 extremely conservative, and it was soon brought 

 home to me that I must follow my father's example 

 in both these respects if I were to occupy that 

 pleasantly familiar footing on which an official 

 desires to find himself with regard to those whom 

 he serves. So I brought both the accomplish- 

 ments in question to bear, though I must admit 

 I was but a poor second to my father as a prac- 

 titioner of either of them. In those days and in 

 that company cigarettes had no vogue whatever, 

 and the briar-pipe had not made much headway, 

 tobacco being enjoyed through the medium of 

 either a long clay or a cigar, with, of course, a 

 dip into the handed-round snuff-box. I selected 

 the long clay simply because it kept the flavour 

 of tobacco, which I disliked, further away from 

 my mouth than was the case with a cigar. When 

 I was strong enough to hold my own without 

 such an accessory to popularity, I abandoned it. 

 I have no conscientious objections whatever to 

 smoking, and can stand any amount of it when 

 others round me are enjoying it, so long as I am 

 not expected to be an active participator. As to 

 my vocalization, it may be said to have possessed 

 the negative quality of not provoking listeners to 

 hostile demonstrations. 



61 



