quod she,
Come, and if it lyke yow
To daucen daunceth with us now.'

An awkward lad is 'ungain.' A good deal may be written to show that our
Suffolk dialect is the nearest of all provincial dialects to that of
Chaucer and the Bible, and if anyone has the audacity to contradict me,
why, then, in Suffolk phraseology, I can promise him--'a good hiding.'

I am old enough to remember how placid was the county, how stay-at-home
were the people, what a sensation there was created when anyone went to
London, or any stranger appeared in our midst. From afar we heard of
railways; then we had a railway opened from London to Brentwood; then the
railways spread all over the land, and there were farmers who did think
that they had something to do with the potato disease. The change was
not a pleasant one: the turnpikes were deserted; the inns were void of
customers; no longer did the villagers hasten to see the coach change
horses, and the bugle of the guard was heard no more. For a time the
Eastern Counties Railway had a somewhat dolorous career. It was thought
to be something to be thankful for when the traveller by it reached his
journey's end in decent time and without an accident. Now the change is
marvellous. The Great Eastern Railway stands in the foremost rank of the
lines terminating in London. It now runs roundly 20,000,000 of train
miles in the course of a year. It carries a larger number of passengers
than any other line. It carries the London working man twelve miles in
and twelve miles out for twopence a day. It is the direct means of
communication with all the North of Europe by its fine steamers from
Harwich. It has yearly an increased number of season-ticket-holders. On
a Whit Monday it gives 125,000 excursionists a happy day in the country
or by the seaside. In 1891 the number of passengers carried was
81,268,661, exclusive of season-ticket-holders. It is conspicuous now
for its punctuality and freedom from accidents. It is, in short, a model
of good management, and it also deserves credit for looking well after
the interests of its employes, of whom there are some 25,000. It
contributes to the Accident Fund, to the Provident Society, to the
Superannuation Fund, and to the Pension Fund, to which the men also
subscribe, in the most liberal manner, and besides has established a
savings bank, which returns the men who place their money in it four per
cent. It is a liberal master. It does its