TALPA LOQUITUR. 153 



shrewd bargainer, as he was, gave a little fling to the 

 general discourse before he came to business. In fact 

 he had the true diplomatic tact of always making the 

 business come of itself. " Well then ! Here's ' Better 

 Prices for 'thirty-six ' ! and that 's with all my heart, 

 and no mistake," said he, ' topping up/ with a final 

 cup of Coffee, that healthiest and purest of mortal 

 meals, a plain but hearty breakfast. " And now, Sir, 

 when are we to see 'em ! " he added, giving his 

 chair a shove sideways, slapping his hands on his 

 knees, and facing me, like a lion refreshed : " for it 's 

 my notion we never shall again ! " 



"And then ?" 



" Why the farmers '11 be ruined, and the land '11 

 go out of cultivation." 



"And the Landlords ?" 



"Will follow, of course. They depend upon the 

 Farmers, and the farmers on the land." 



"And the land on the price of Wheat?" 



" Surely." 



" Tell me this, Greening, have rents risen or fallen 

 since the War?" 



" Risen, certainly ; and too much, to my thinking." 



" And the price of Wheat has been falling : from 

 eighty or ninety shillings a quarter to forty or fifty, 



