New-York tribune., 1905-01-21
ENGLISH STORIES.
The Diary of a Country Gentle
man.
PAGES FROM A COUNTRY DIARY. BY Perci-
val Somers. Illustrated. limo. pp. $50 Edward
Arnold.

PAGES FROM A COUNTRY DIARY: BY Perci--
Arnold.
This English country gentleman, who shares
with the public divers pages from his diary,
promptly engages his readers interest and lik-
ing. He has set down with seeming candor his
observations Of life and society in town and
country. his opinions as to the conditions Of
British agriculture, his notes on nature and his
experiences a sportsman He has an un-
obtrusive sense OF humor, a capacity for gentle
satire and a practical common sense. which
make excellent seasoning for this record of a
year.
Like all other writer's rural England. Mr..
Somers comments upon the astonishing change
which in the last twenty or thirty years has
come over the farm Iaborers They loathe their
hereditary vocation, and they won't live on
the land If they can help It. The authors point
of view in this matter may be inferred from
this statement:
"Of one thing I am convinced by experience.
and that is that out of the many agricultural
laborers have known in my life the worst edu-
Gated have usually been not only the best
craftsmen in their particular vocation. but also
the steadiest and most respectable men," he
tells various entertaining anecdotes Of rustic
life and character. the strangest being the tale
Of the farmers wife who. on her way home
from market drew EGO out of the bank and
completely disappeared the instant. She
thought to have been murdered for the
money on the lonely roads. and for six months
more heard Of old Nancy. Then she
suddenly walked into her own home and went
about her work as usual. She had taken it into
her head that after forty years of hard work
she wanted holiday; and accordingly this an
cient rustic, who had never been more than
few miles from home. steered herself triumph
antly to the United States, and took the said
holiday among relatives whom she had never
seen up to the moment Of this belated appear
ance In dealing with country life among the
classes that make holiday more frankly than
did the old farmers wife, the author grumbles
about tipping" the social tax, which he pro-
nounces excessive and which. he declares, is
becoming more and more oppressive every day.
He adds:
There exist, know, certain great houses the
owners of which are wealthy enough TO pay their
servants such wages as enable them to offer una
dulterated hospitality to their friends but fucn
are few hosts who expect their domesticS to
mTg ahy ges eeRSe Mo ca O entail @ Extra ou6e o
friends establishment without form of recog-
and perhaps best solution Of It is the system
Of having none box into n which d oT a6 can Put Put
contents Of which are subsequently divided among
the servants.
That this plan may De open 10 abuse our COM
mentator Acknowledges. and in proof of it he
quotes the anecdote of the young gentleman
who at the end of his visit remarked to fellow
guest as he lit his cigar IN the railway carriage:
Well. I've thoroughly enjoyed my visit. I've
had capital ball and two rippin' days shootin;
I've won 70 los. at bridge, and it's only cost me
my railway fare and a St0iSs franc put IN the
SERVANTS bOTg
In noting a change in social ideas which
permit even comparatively wealthy people TO
travel third class" on the railway-a thing
which would have been impossible quarter Of
a century ago-the author relates a story told
TO him by a certain lawyer:
One Of oh his clients, very great personage; wish
issued nat to his house steward that in future all
instead Of as heretofore by second class adding
as sop 10 Cerberus, that 'at present many ladies
iattering chain Of reasoning TO the unhappy class
Indeed, your grace!' politely assented the great
mans great man. II cannot speak from personal
Of clergy habitually do So"
Queer or humorous incidents of shooting, fox
hunting or angling fill many of Mr.. Somers's
pages. One Of these concerns the curious effect
upon a covey of partridges of the flying OF a
hideous kite. The sight Of it floating in the
void reduced the birds to panic, and they trem-
bled together under a hedge until the shooters
we're actually trampling among them. 1t must
be confessed that this seems "a hit below the
belt at the game. In wood pigeon shooting
the author takes special pleasure since it In
wolves pitting human skill against one Of the
craftiest and widest birds that fly. Unless you
play every move in the game correctly, he de-
clares, the pigeon viii beat you. Two appar-
emily simple axioms are essential to success:
one. not TO keep your face turned up to the
sky-nothing shows plainly against q dark
background Of trees. nor scares the pigeons
more; and the other, to remain perfectly mo-
tiUnless until you throw up your gun to fire
but both are easier preached than practised"
In some pleasant paragraphs on the knowledge
Of horses affected by people who are not used
to them. the author tells this story, for which
he vouches as perfectly true:
Lady a. once purchased pony from one of the
great London horse dealers, whom we will call
she apparently considered herself entitled to the
freedom Of his yard, which she visited with such
usual and finding Mr. sloane at home ar " oncs C
she had him driving in the park that morn
ing. They were such darlings! Would Nr sloane
respective Of the fact that hour the horses
Mr. Sloane was little nonplussed by such an
unexpected demand on his good nature but. after
a momentary hesitation; yielded with that ready
politeness for which he Is famous. Certainly my
lady he replied II should like TO have the opin-
ion Of good a judge yourself l am sorry 7
cannot put the horses together for YOU but you
ing TO hic head man. bring out the brown team
by one for her ladyship's inspection" Lady A
the first horse being stripped and brought out she
subjected 1t TO careful scrutiny from nose to tail
with the result that she declared it TO have mar
vellous shoulders but be light behind the saddle
z1 e[LaPS you are right. my lady, assented the
ship 20 BE- the exact antithesis Of the oibeT
itS Sh0