148 WAYFARING NOTIONS 



acres of pasturage. Apropos of skating and the 

 like, I used to wonder at the Sandown and 

 Kempton directors, who might readily Instal big 

 areas for use in winter, when frost would bring 

 them much profit. All required Is to puddle the 

 acreage to be brought into work, make a low 

 clay wall, lay on water company's service, and 

 wait till the time comes in which to flood the 

 space. Turf might be allowed to flourish at other 

 periods ; no disfigurement would accrue, and now 

 and then gate-money would roll In to help the 

 dividends. 



I bear nothing but goodwill towards golfers, 

 but I do wish they could make some land for them- 

 selves, or have It made without wanting to take 

 It out of stock. As I have previously remarked, 

 golfs powers of absorbing common lands, or we 

 will call them free wastes, is great. Not only 

 ordinary common but in these enlightened days 

 village greens can be practically jumped for the 

 game, so that ''aliens" who have no part or 

 parcel, kindred or tie In the district, except 

 membership of a club, do drive off peaceful 

 Inhabitants from exercising their lawful rights. 

 Why, bless me ! there would, as I said, not have 

 been any commons at all if golf had caught on a 

 century ago, and very likely no horse-racing 

 except in great lords' and others' private parks. 

 Fancy there being no Epsom Downs, as downs 

 are understood — a sort of no man s land on which 

 somebody was allowed to run sheep at his own 

 risk, and Dick, Tom, or Harry might come and 

 do jolly well as he pleased, how, when, where, 

 and as often as suited him! It was an awful 

 shock to me the first day I recognised that the 

 Downs belonged to somebody. But what a 



