76 THE EARLY DAYS OF 



round to hear him retail stories of his " soldiering " at Oxford. As 

 he was barely five feet high, though quite that measure round the 

 waist, no uniform could be found to fit him. At last a pair of 

 miHtary trousers, with a corresponding long-tail coat, were produced, 

 and to show how they were made to fit, he would raise his extended 

 palm above his head, and bring it sharply down upon the crease 

 opposite the elbow of his other arm, exclaiming, " Why, they cut 

 off as much as that, 77/ warrant,''' amid the loud laughter which 

 was sure to follow. Then, at the earnest request of his audience, he 

 would give further details of his military career, which, like his 

 trousers, was soon cut short. For according to his own account, 

 the commanding officer, calling to the sergeant and pointing to him, 

 in angry tones cried out, " There, take that fellow away, and send 

 him home or anywhere you like, so long as he keeps out of my road, 

 for I can't abear the sight of him." 



Only those perhaps, who have been hungry, more or less, for 

 eight long years, as I was, will understand why that basket should 

 dwell upon my memory. When the sheep-fair came round the 

 following year, we hoped that a similar hamper would appear. 

 With mingled hope and fear we went from time to time to 

 see if Master Beauchamp had demanded admittance at the " iron 

 gates," but being disappointed, my brother and I determined to pay 

 a visit to the fair next day ; as perhaps the things had come, but by 

 some oversight had been forgotten. Accordingly we went ; and 

 almost the first thing we saw on arrival on the Downs was the 

 farmer's familiar figure, inspecting a pen of sheep and deeply 

 engaged in striking a bargain with another dealer standing by. 



On going up he recognised us and shook us warmly by the hand, 

 whilst we felt happy at seeing anyone from home. But no mention 

 was made of any hamper, and as we were too shy to ask point- 

 blank, our interview was soon cut short by the other man abruptly 

 turning round, and demanding information as to whom we were 

 and what we wanted. To this our friend replied, that we were the 

 youthful sons of the parson in the village where he lived. 



