CH. VIII.] Trip to the Seaside. 131 



but with my dogs, ferrets, nets (the long 

 ones) and the boy Jack ; he and I dressed in 

 our well-worn corduroys, gaiters, and navvy 

 boots ; and instead of choosing a town to 

 visit with Marine Parade, Esplanades, Lodg- 

 ings to let, Brass Bands, Nigger Minstrels 

 and spouting M.P.'s, we go to a little village 

 unknown to "trippers," and put up at a 

 small inn for a week or ten days. We sleep 

 in a room not unlike a hay-loft, and take our 

 meals and rest in the common kitchen, with 

 its rattling latticed windows and sanded 

 floor. 



We go there twice each winter to kill 

 rabbits on what are called the " Denes," 

 which are great, wide, down-like lands on the 

 top of the steep earth cliff, partially covered 

 with the ever-flowering gorse, a cover dear 

 to rabbits and all sorts of game. We reach 

 the inn in time for an early dinner ; and after 

 we have housed the ferrets in a big tub and 



