92 RECORDS OF OLD TIMES 



from the railway. When the learned professor caught 

 sight of it he called his wife's attention to it, as being 

 a most lovely residence, and as beautiful as any 

 he had seen in England. At this I was delighted, 

 and informed him that that was the residence of one 

 of his despised English tenant farmers ; that I had 

 had the pleasure during the past week of visiting him. 

 And although I could not quite give in full his bill 

 of fare for my dinner, which I had much enjoyed, 

 I thought it was as follows : ' Clear soup, salmon 

 and lobster sauce, two entrdes, a saddle of four-year- 

 old wedder mutton of his own breeding and feeding, 

 two brace of partridges, sweets made by the ladies of 

 the household, together with Amontillado sherry and 

 Moet's champagne ; whilst after dinner we had, as 

 was then the custom, a splendid dessert, with grapes 

 and peaches from his own garden, with the choicest 

 old port and Chateau Lafitte claret ; that we joined 

 the ladies afterwards with tea and coffee, and that I 

 played a rubber at whist, the ladies enlivening us 

 with music. The entertainment, I ventured to sub- 

 mit, was one that would compare favourably with a 

 Texas or Kentucky farmer of their highest grade. 

 The ladies in the carriage laughed heartily at the 

 professor's discomfiture, especially when I told him 

 that he had evidendy mistaken our agricultural 

 labourers for English farmers. The contrast was 

 more fully exemplified when we reached Evesham 

 station, as the lady American expressed her 

 highest admiration of a pretty ' turn-out,' a handsome 

 phaeton, with a pair of ponies driven by a young 



