MANURES 83 



keys. In the vivid imagination of childhood, not- 

 withstanding, they represented all the luxuries dearest 

 to the palate of youth ; and if the Colonel, who, by 

 the bye, was in full uniform, made from the supple- 

 ment of the Times newspaper, and was decore with 

 the Order of the String and Penwiper, had partaken 

 of a tithe of the delicacies pressed on him, and 

 according to the order in which they were served, 

 there must have been inevitably speedy promotion in 

 his regiment. The menu, orally announced by the 

 host, opened with cheese, and passed on to hasty- 

 pudding, which were followed in rapid succession by 

 peaches, beef, roley-poley, hare, more hasty-pudding, 

 honey, apricots, and boiled rabbits, the liquids being 

 cowslip-wine and beer. ' And now. Colonel, dear,' 

 were the last words I heard, *you shall have some 

 pigeon-pie and custard, and then we'll smoke a 

 cigar.' ^ 



In like manner does the wee, golden-haired lassie 

 delight to do homage to the queen of her little world, 

 her doll, watching her tenderly, and singing a lullaby 



1 I cannot resist an impulse to record another small incident which 

 occurred to ' Colonel ' soon after the publication of this book. Late 

 one winter's night, Joe, my footman, heard him growling angrily 

 outside the stable-yard, and found him standing over the prostrate 

 form of a man, or rather beast, so drunk that he was muttering 

 responses to the dog, evidently under the impression that he was being 

 severely reprimanded by some indignant person in authority. * Well^ 

 sir^ (Joe heard him plead), ^ if I did say so ^ Fin sure I didtt't mean it!' 



