ONE OF THE NEW VOTERS. 97 



they may get a present now and then— food for them- 

 selves, cast-off clothes for their families, and so on. 

 For it is a remarkable feature of human natural 

 history, the desire to proselytize. The spectacle of 

 John Bull — ^jovial John Bull — offering his men a 

 bucket of oatmeal liquor is not a pleasant one. Such 

 a John Bull ought to be ashamed of himself. 



The truth is the English farmer's man was and 

 is, and will be, a drinker of beer. Neither tea, 

 nor oatmeal, nor vinegar and water (coolly recom- 

 mended by indoor folk) will do for him. His natural 

 constitution rebels against such *' peevish" drink. 

 In winter he wants beer against the cold and the 

 frosty rime and the heavy raw mist that hangs about 

 the hollows ; in spring and autumn against the rain, 

 and in summer to support him under the pressure 

 of additional work and prolonged hours. Those who 

 really wish well to the labourer cannot do better than 

 see that he really has beer to drink — real beer, 

 genuine brew of malt and hops, a moderate quantity 

 of which will supply force to his thews and sinews, 

 and will not intoxicate or injure. If by giving him a 

 small money payment in lieu of such large quantities 

 you can induce him to be content with a little, so much 

 the better. If an employer followed that plan, and at 

 the same time once or twice a day sent out a moderate 

 supply of genuine beer as a gift to his men, he would 

 do them all the good in the world, and at the same 

 time obtain for himself their goodwill and hearty 

 assistance, that hearty work which is worth so much. 



Koger breathed heavily in his sleep in the cow- 

 house, because the vile stuff he had taken puffed 



