86 THE DOVER ROAD 



and sang " Hearts of Oak " with an unction that was 

 truh^ admirable. His faihnofs were onl}^ those of a 

 free and noble nature, and it is very largely owing 

 to his qualities of courage and tenacity that England 

 stands where she is to-day. Let us not, however, 

 decry, either directly or by implication, the sailors 

 who now man our ships. They live in more peaceful 

 times, and have neither the discomforts nor the 

 hard knocks that were distributed so largel}^ 

 years ago ; but they ha^c approved themselves no 

 whit less stalwart than their ancestors who wore 

 pigtails, fought like devils ; talked of Rodney, 

 Nelson, Trafalgar, and the Nile, and finally dis- 

 appeared somewhere about the time of the Battle 

 of Navarino. 



It was for the delight and to secure the custom of 

 these very full-blooded heroes that these old taverns 

 with signs so nautical and bowling-greens so enticing 

 were planted so frequently on this very sea-salty road, 

 and now that the humblest traveller finds it cheaper to 

 pay a railway-fare than to walk, they look, many of 

 them, not a little forlorn. As for the " Lord Nelson," 

 at Chalk, I fear it lies too near London suburbs to 

 last much longer. Already, on Bank Holidays, when 

 the Cockney comes to Gravesend, literally in his 

 thousands, riotous parties adventure thus far, and 

 dance in the dusty highwa^^ to sounds of concertina 

 and penny whistle. Their custom will doubtless 

 enrich the place, and presently a gin-palace will be 

 made of what is now a very romantic and unusual 

 inn, grey and time-stained ; its red roof-tiles thickly 

 overgrown with moss and house-leek, and its gables 

 bent and bowed with years. 



XVIII 



There is little to see or remark upon in the three 

 miles between Chalk and Gad's Hill. Two old roadside 



