258 NATURE IN DOWNLAND 



eagles, and after them all a playful dolphin. Nor 

 is this all; to the procession of birds and beasts and 

 fishes, succeed things great and beautiful and magnifi- 

 cent — fountains and rainbows, and the sun in his 

 glory, and the rising sun, and the moon and half- 

 moon, and doubtless many stars and constellations; 

 and angels, too, and beautiful thoughts and emotions, 

 good intents, and hope, and I daresay faith and 

 charity to keep her company. 



These, the reader will understand, are public-house 

 signs and names. They are symbols and descriptions 

 not of things in nature and the soul, but of something 

 better and dearer to the Chichesterians, and their chief 

 good. As to beauty in the moral or material world — 



The bubbles that swim 



On the beaker's brim 



And break on the lips while meeting 



is the most beautiful sight they know, and their joy 

 for ever. 



The amazing sight of all these signs, and other 

 sights that are happily rare in small rural towns, led 

 me to make a few inquiries, and the result may interest 

 those of my readers who care to hear something (not 

 too much) about the little ways and vagaries of their 

 own species. 



There are 12,000 souls in the town; that is to say, 

 an adult male population of 3000. This number in- 

 cludes a rather large body of clergymen and ministers, 

 and perhaps a couple of hundred highly respectable 



