DISCONTENTED FARMERS 169 



" Ay, goin' to the Devil fast enow, I'se warrand." 



" Oh ! how d'you make that out ? " 



" Make it out, is it ? Why, look a-here at them 

 there turmuts ; d'you iver see sich poor things ; a}^ 

 an' all the root crops is bad's can be." 



" Yes ; but you^re all right with your fruit ; cherries 

 and apples," 



" M'yes, there's a dale o' fruit this year : darned 

 sight too much ter please me." 



" But you can't ^'ery well have too much of a good 

 thing, can you ? " 



" Can't you just, though ; look at the price ; down 

 ter nothing, as you might say. Get it for the asking." 



" But / didn't get cherries for the asking ; / had 

 to pay eightpence a 2:)ound for some I bought at 

 Chatham." 



" Oh ! I dessay. Wish / c'd git a penny a pound. 

 But that's jist like them 'ere starv'em, rob'em, and 

 cheat'em folks. Wouldn't give 'ee so much's the 

 parings o' their finger-nails if they c'd help it." 



" Then why don't you make preserves of some of 

 your fruit ? " 



" Preserves ? what's that, mister ? " 



" Why, jam, you know. Besides, surely you eat 

 some of your own fruit, don't you ? " 



" Fruit's to sell, not to heat ! " 



" Well, then, if you can't sell it, don't preserve it, 

 and won't eat any of it, zvhat do you do with it ? " 



" Give it ter the pigs, in coorse ! " 



" Yes, but why not eat some of it yourself ? " 



" Heat it ! D'yer take me for a bloomin' Nebuchad- 

 nezzar ? Besides, it's that there ondergestuble ! " 



" But Nebuchadnezzar didn't eat fruit. He hadn't 

 got the chance, poor fellow. He could only find grass 

 to eat." 



" Grass 'ood'n't be so ondergestuble as fruit, I reckon. 

 Blame me if you town folks don't think a man can 

 live on nothink. Now, a pound or two o' steak, a 

 few rashers o' fat bacon, an' a few heggs for bre'kfuss 



