COUNTBY LITERATURE. ' 217 



London newspapers come now to the village and 

 hamlet in all sorts of ways. Some by post, others by 

 milk-cart, by carrier, by travellers ; for country folk 

 travel now, and invariably bring back papers bought 

 at the railway book-stalls. After these have been 

 read by the farmers and upper sort of people who 

 purchased them, the fragments get out through 

 innumerable channels to the cottages. The regular 

 labourers employed on the farm often receive them as 

 presents, and take nothing more gladly. If any one 

 wishes to make a cottager a little present to show 

 friendly remembrance, the best thing to send is a 

 bundle of newspapers, especially, of course, if they are 

 illustrated, which will be welcomed, and not a corner 

 of the contents slurred over. Nothing is so contrary 

 to fact as the common opinion that the agricultural 

 labourer and his family are stupid and unintelligent. 

 In truth, there are none who so appreciate information ; 

 and they are quite capable of understanding anything 

 that may be sent them in print. 



London papers of various descriptions come to the 

 villages now in greatly increased numbers, probably 

 fifteen or twenty for one that formerly arrived, and all 

 these, or some portion of each, are nearly sure to be 

 ultimately perused by some cottager. At the inns and 

 beer-houses there is now usually a daily paper, unless 

 the distance is farther than general to a station, and 

 then there are weeklies with summaries of everything. 

 So that the London press is accessible at the meanest 

 beerhouse, and well bethumbed and besmeared the 

 blackened sheets are, with holes where clumsy fingers 

 have gone through. The shepherd in his hut in the 



