190 WAYFARING NOTIONS 



of interstices, if I may put the situation that 

 way. 



Nobody seems to find much while dealing 

 with the ditch, but you would expect some 

 oddments to turn up or be turned up, if only the 

 early British, Pictian, Roman, or other navvy of 

 the long ago's "old man." What is an ''old 

 man " ? As I understand the article, it is the 

 little miniature wooden spade thing that dealers 

 with dirt — i.e., ballast of sorts — use to clean their 

 spades or shovels with, and for handiness stow 

 in the strap below the knee that keeps sufficient 

 play in the breeches to obviate tension and strain 

 in stooping. But, there, perhaps our ditch-makers 

 of the dim far long ago couldn't accommodate an 

 ''old man" in a strap round their trouser-legs 

 because, not wearing the things, there would be 

 no place for the cincture and, by consequence, 

 none for the "old man." I wonder whether 

 expert navvies could tell you by inspecting the 

 work left centuries ago what class tools were 

 used and the methods. Likely enough, the 

 useful lads I watched playing at being locusts 

 with the grains of corn, taking in turn another 

 barrow-load of chalk, were repeating the " form " 

 of the workers who dug out and built up on the 

 Heath so long before any of us "bought his 

 shovel," which is a trade phrase appropriate to 

 the occasion. 



In the days gone by, when at meeting times 

 strangers evidently unacquainted with New- 

 market thronged the wide main street and filled 

 all the hotels and inns in search of luncheon, 

 those who did not so attend to that department, 

 or were unprovided with thumbers and like 

 substantial sustenance, had only Jarvis's long 



