56 FIELD AND HEDGEROW. 
all those who, for want of a better expression, I may 
term the humble-minded, those who have no aristocratic 
or exclusive tastes, very simple in their reading and 
studies even if well-to-do, and simple in their daily 
habits, rising early and retiring early, and plebeian in 
their dinner-hour. It is a peculiar cast of mind that I 
am trying to describe—a natural frame of mind; these 
are ‘chapel people ’—perhaps a phrase will convey the 
meaning better than explanation. This is ¢#ezr church, 
and whatever the theology may be there is undoubtedly 
a very strong bond of union among them. 
Not only the old women with their Sunday pennies, 
but great numbers beside, young and old of both sexes, 
take their cup of tea, for these people take tea with every 
meal, dinner and supper as well as breakfast and five 
o'clock, and if they don’t feel well they will rise at two in 
the morning to get a cup of tea. They are as Russian as 
the Russians in this particular ; they have cheese on the 
table, too, at every meal. The pastor has, meantime, 
been entertained with a good dinner at some house ad- 
jacent, where he goes every Sunday ; by-and-by the flute 
begins to tune again, the hymns resound, and the 
labour of the day is resumed. Somewhere about four 
o’clock the summer-dusty roads are full again of the 
returning pilgrims, and the crowd gradually sinks away 
by footpath and stile. The black albatross is still 
wheeling in the upper atmosphere, the white-barred 
swallow rushes along the road and dives upwards, the 
ynwearied roses are still opened to the sun’s rays, and 
calm, indifferent Nature has pursued her quiet course 
without heed of pitch-pipe or organ, or bell or chalice: 
Perhaps if you chance to be resting by a gate you may 
hear one of the cottage women telling her children to let 
the ants alone and not tease them, for ‘thaay be God’s 
