WILD LIFE IN A SOUTHERN COUNTY. 131 



and the sympathies of the hamlet would be with the 

 smugglers still. 



The old folk, too, talk of having the ague, and say 

 that it was quite common in their early days ; but it 

 is rare to hear of a case now. Possibly the better 

 drainage of the fields and the better food and lodging 

 enjoyed by the labourers have something to do with 

 this. There are, of course, no scientific or precise 

 data for exact comparison ; but judging from the 

 traditions transmitted down, the hamlet is much more 

 healthy at the present day than it was in the olden 

 times. 



