144 THE EXETER ROAD 



not fail to excite produced, at first, a desire to quit 

 the room and the house, and even a proposition to 

 that effect. But,_ after a minute or so, to reflect, the 

 company resolved not to quit the room, but to turn 

 him out of it who had caused the interruption ; and 

 the old fellow, finding himself tackled, saved the 

 labour of shoving, or kicking, him out of the room, by 

 retreating out of the doorway, with all the activity of 

 which he was master.' 



The speech at last finished, the company began to 

 settle down to what Cobbett calls the ' real business 

 of the evening, namely, drinking, smoking, and 

 singing.' It was a Saturday night, and as there was 

 all the Sunday morning to sleep in, and as the wives 

 of the company were at a convenient distance, the 

 circumstances were favourable to an extensive con- 

 sumption of ' neat ' and ' genuine ' liquors. At this 

 juncture the landlord announced, through the waiter, 

 that he declined to serve anything so long as Mr. 

 Cobbett remained in the room ! This uncorked all 

 the vials of wrath of w^hich Cobbett had so laro-e and 



O 



bitter a supply. ' Gentlemen,' he said, ' born and 

 bred, as you know I was, on the borders of this 

 county, and fond as I am of bacon, Hampshire hogs 

 have with me always been objects of admiration 

 rather than of contempt ; but that which has just 

 happened here induces me to observe that this feeling 

 of mine has been confined to hogs of four legs. For 

 my part, I like your company too well to quit it. I 

 have paid this fellow six shillings for the wing of a 

 fowl, a bit of bread, and a pint of small beer. I have 

 a right to sit here ; I want no drink, and those who 



