churchyard, in
stentorian chorus, "Crown Him! crown Him! crown Him! crown Him Lord of
all." Thus, you see, there was an element of the comic; but how, how sad
it was to me, how incomprehensible! Verily, I am left behind; I can't,
after all these years, adjust myself to the dimensions of such a change.
The people behaved better than they used to do in our time; but the
numbers! the systematisation! the total absence of the native
population! the show atmosphere! the "Walk up, gentlemen" style of
thing! Over all this Vanity Fair the dear old bells rang out precisely
as of old....

* * * * *

Yesterday, at the Kerroo-Kiel, I met a delightfully bright and witty
man. He soon got to know who I was, and we had the most glorious talk.
The mischief of it is that these worthies are only too glad to get into
a _coosh_ with you, and they would talk all day, leaving a spade, or
forsaking plough and horses to lean over a hedge, leaning on something
at any rate, and talking away. Their talk is bright, aimless, rambling,
not without dives into the depths, and pokes into your personality,
above all, _engouement_ the most absolute, and desire of
intercommunication the most insatiable. And you are up on the
mountain-side at the farther limit of plough-range, and the wind
whistles just the right sort of accompaniment to such talk.

I think I must have a sail here. But, do you know? the Manx seamen and
fishermen tend to become self-conscious: the "strangers" are spoiling
them. Not so the farmer; of course no one can make him understand that
the visitors do him any good by raising the prices of his produce, so he
cares very little about them, and in no way guides himself according to
them or their fashions. So far as the outer world comes to him, it is by
the channel of the newspapers. He has all the boundless curiosity, the
thirst for knowledge miscellaneous, pulpy, and piquant, which
characterise those that dwell remote. When he gets hold of you he flies
at you, hugs you, gets every blessed thing he can out of you.
"Favourable specimen," you will say. That is true; but, as regards the
independence and primitive state of mind, what I say applies to almost
all. You see, you must get down beneath the gentleman or would-be
gentleman-farmer, down to the man who never conceived the idea of
ruffling it with gentlefolk. Also, you must not go down to the mere
labourer. But they are desperate gossips--gossips not s